《Mechanical Alchemist》


 Chapter 1: Kidnapped

    Chapter 1: Kidnapped


    "This is a bit troublesome. The danger level of this cursed space is likely to reach ''A-level''. Without this kid, we might have to exin ourselves here..."


    "Boss, it''s one thing for there to be an unrecorded relic under the ''D33 Wastnd'', but this broken manor is actually a rare ''A-level cursed space''. Who is this kid and why did hee here?"


    "For the big shots in the inner city to exile him and offer a reward topletely silence him, his identity must not be simple. It''s a pity, I wanted to kill him before and ask for some secrets from his mouth. I didn''t expect to get into trouble..."


    "Huh... looks like he''s not dead yet."


    ........


    "Hoo... Heh..."


    His chest heaved violently, as if awakening from a drowning nightmare, Su''en suddenly opened his eyes.


    He gasped for breath, and the intense suffocation gradually dissipated.


    His gaze gradually focused, and he found himself in an unfamiliar room.


    "Where am I..."


    Su''en tried to struggle to sit up, but he realized that he was firmly tied to a wooden chair and couldn''t move.


    The strong smell of blood filled his nostrils, and when he looked at his condition, it was terrible.


    There were blood stains and wounds on his white linen shirt. Even more terrifyingly, each of his hands was pinned to the chair handle by a sharp dagger, and crimson blood was flowing out.


    The intense pain from struggling was like a tide, stinging his nerves...


    "I''ve been kidnapped?"


    Without time to think about why he woke up to this scene, Su''en''s gaze fell on the two unfriendly guys in the room.


    One was a bald muscr man with purple lips and dark circles under his eyes, and the other was a skinny man with a nose ring and ear studs.


    Their attire was full of iron studs on their ck leather jackets and worn-out leather pants. From their appearance, they looked like two punk enthusiasts.


    Of course, the most eye-catching thing about them was the weapons they carried.


    "Guns... Are they gangsters?"


    Su''en frowned slightly.


    Both of them had holsters withrge revolvers around their waists, and the gun barrels hadplex inscriptions that looked ancient and mysterious.


    But what surprised him even more was the strange... mechanical arm on the right arm of the bald muscr man.


    This mechanical arm had a strong dark industrial style, with almost all the parts exposed in the air. The white paint on the shoulder was already blurry, with the words "DH-031" written on it. There were brass gears, power transmission bearings, mechanical joints, air valves with gauges, high-pressure pipes... and the joints were smeared with ck lubricating oil.


    At the front end of the mechanical arm, there was a fist-sized spiral muzzle and a crosshair sight. It seemed that this mechanical arm was also a handheld individual artillery.


    Of course, these metal parts were also engraved with someplex symbols.


    What puzzled Su''en the most was that there were white steaming out of the exhaust pipe of the mechanical arm, as if it was a power device.


    "This... is a steam-powered machine?"


    Su''en''s eyebrows slightly furrowed, feeling that he had seen something incredible.


    In this era, are there still people ying with steam-powered machines like antiques?


    He wasn''t very shocked, but more confused.


    Making a movie?


    No!


    The intense pain from his palms reminded Su''en that he had indeed been kidnapped!


    .......


    "I remember that I received a strange email before, and then everything went ck... and I woke up here?"


    Su''en, who woke up in an unfamiliar ce, couldn''t make sense of anything.


    No matter how hard he tried to recall, his brain had no memory of the "kidnapping" process.


    Su''en felt that something was off.


    He wanted to find more clues and his gaze returned to the room.


    The dazzling crystal chandelier, exquisitely carved wooden furniture, gold-ted metal handles... a row of gold-stamped books neatly arranged on the bookshelf, and a ck and white family portrait on the wall...


    Every detail was filled with a strong aristocratic style.


    "It looks like a study. From this, I deduce that the house is not small. The retro style of the decoration is very detailed. The owner of the house should be a very particr fan of British retro style, or maybe this is a European castle. But in any case... very wealthy."


    Su''en quickly spected in his mind.


    But if they are so wealthy, why would they kidnap me?


    The two sharp daggers nailed into his hands reminded him that these two guys were definitely ruthless kidnappers.


    "What do these two guys want by kidnapping me?"


    Su''en focused his gaze on the two people in the room again.


    Whether it was their European faces, the retro equipment on their bodies, or the steam-powered mechanical arm... everything seemed strange.


    Of course, what was even stranger was that when Su''en looked up from the mirror-like ceiling, he saw his own reflection - the appearance of a handsome brown-haired young man, even if his face was covered in blood stains!


    "What the hell, how did I be a foreigner?!"


    Su''en vaguely guessed that something strange had happened to him.


    And when he woke up and opened his eyes earlier, he also noticed some strange characters on his retina.


    He blinked, confirming that it was not an illusion.


    ......


    In a sh of thought, just at that moment, a fierce shout brought Su''en''s thoughts back to reality.


    "Hey! Kid, I know you''re awake, don''t pretend!"


    The skinny man with the nose ring stared at him with a ferocious look and shouted, "This is yourst chance. Confess how you knew about this relic, why you came here, or..."


    As he spoke, this guy grabbed the handle of the dagger piercing Su''en''s left hand and twisted it warningly.


    "Sss~"


    The excruciating pain surged through his forehead like grinding meat, and cold sweat instantly covered Su''en''s forehead as he took a deep breath.


    He immediately understood that these two guys were "interrogating" him, seemingly wanting to know something from his mouth.


    Interrogation?


    Intelligence?


    The characters on his retina...


    In an instant, a sh of insight connected the clues in Su''en''s mind.


    "These guys didn''t kidnap me, they kidnapped the ''original host''!"


    Su''en suddenly realized and roughly guessed his situation.


    And at this moment, a bold idea emerged in his mind: "It seems like... I''ve crossed over?"


    Although this idea was absurd, it was the most reasonable exnation.


    Whether it was his blond-haired young body or the two punk-like "kidnappers" in front of him, or the fact that he could understand but didn''t know whatnguage they were speaking, it all proved that this was no longer the original world.


    As a seasoned fan of online novels, crossing over was not something difficult to ept.


    After a moment of shock, Su''en became even calmer.


    If he had crossed over, he might be doomed. What kind of strange start was this?


    .......


    "Last chance? Heh..."


    The original host had already been killed by these two guys once, so Su''en didn''t hold any hope.


    The two kidnappers in front of him could resort to disabling methods during interrogation, and he had no doubt that once they obtained the information they wanted, they would kill him as easily as squashing a cockroach.


    He looked at the two men with a mocking expression, and his gaze gradually became sinister. He muttered to himself, "Looks like I have to... kill you guys!"


    In the next instant, a crazy curve appeared at the corners of his mouth, and there was no longer any fear of death on his face.


    Instead... a hint of excitement emerged.


    As if he had changed personalities!

 Chapter 2: Killing fails and brings trouble to oneself

    Chapter 2: Killing fails and brings trouble to oneself


    The rooster-headed man stood on one leg on the chair where Su''en was tied, shouting with a fierce look on his face: "Hey, kid, my patience is limited..."


    The two were very close, and this guy didn''t seem to consider the injured prey as a threat at all,pletely unguarded.


    Su''en was tied to the chair, his palms pinned by a dagger, unable to move.


    But no one noticed that the ropes tied to Su''en''s arms had loosened due to his previous struggles, leaving enough space for him to pull out his hand.


    "Hey, kid, say something!"


    The rooster-headed man pped Su''en hard across the face.


    A "smack" sound, and blood dripped from the corner of Su''en''s mouth.


    But despite being hit, there was no trace of anger on his face. Instead, a sinister and ruthless smile appeared in the corner of his eyes.


    In his eyes, the demon that had been suppressed deep in his heart finally broke free.


    "Hehe..."


    A coldugh in his heart.


    And at this moment, without any hesitation, Su''en suddenly pulled his right hand back.


    The dagger nailed to his right hand happened to pierce the gap between his middle finger and ring finger, and with a pull, a chilling "tearing" sound was heard as the soft tissue was torn apart.


    The sharp dagger directly cut through the flesh between the bones, and blood spurted out like a fountain.


    "???"


    This action stunned the rooster-headed man beside him.


    Looking at the blood spattered on his own pants, his eyes widened in shock, as if he hadn''t recovered from the astonishment.


    But his eyes realized what had happened: this kid had forcibly broken his own hand to free himself from the dagger?


    In the next instant, the rooster-headed man immediately realized the danger and eximed in his heart, "Not good!"


    But it was already toote.


    With a sinister smile, Su''en paid no attention to the pain in his hand. With one hand free, he didn''t give the enemy any chance to react.


    He stretched out his freed hand and swiftly snatched the silver revolver attached to the rooster-headed man''s waist, then without hesitation, aimed it at the man''s chest and pulled the trigger.


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    Two thunderous gunshots echoed throughout the room.


    The bullets pierced through the rooster-headed man''s chest, and then "plop plop" two fist-sized holes burst out on his back, instantly killing him.


    .......


    Warm blood sprayed onto Su''en''s face, adding a touch of ferocity to his appearance.


    The power of the silver revolver was unexpectedly strong, and due to the huge recoil, Su''en, along with the chair, fell backwards.


    Hearing the gunshots, the bald muscr man with smoky makeup on the other side was also stunned by this sudden turn of events.


    The kid who was easily caught earlier had suddenly revealed such a ferocious side?


    Looking at the two fist-sized holes pierced through hispanion''s back, the bald man finally realized that the prey that had been trapped by the hunter had suddenly turned into a bloodthirsty wolf.


    "Damn it!"


    The bald man shouted in his heart, his reaction was not slow either.


    Seeing the muzzle of Su''en''s gun pointing at him again, he instinctively raised his steam-powered mechanical arm, and the muzzle fired towards the front.


    With a loud bang, the whole study trembled.


    Instead of a burning me, the muzzle fired a "high-pressure air bullet".


    And Su''en, who was lying not far away, seemed to have anticipated this attack long ago. He cleverly used the momentum to twist his falling angle, avoiding the fatal aim of this shot.


    The sound of breaking wind passed in an instant, and the high-pressure air bullet rapidly pierced a corner of Su''en''s chair, then "crack" prated the ground, leaving a bowl-sized ck hole on the wooden floor, disappearing without a trace.


    Even though he avoided the direct hit, the airflow from the "high-pressure air bullet" grazed his body, crushing the ropes and a piece of flesh on Su''en''s leg.


    It felt like countless sharp wind des cutting through, burning and stinging the wound.


    However, Su''en didn''t show any pain on his face, but rather a bloodthirsty excitement.


    In the moment the chair fell, he moved again.


    ......


    From the moment Su''en woke up to deciding to take action, it took less than half a minute. Although it seemed rushed, his considerations were already mature.


    Before taking action, he had already anticipated the current attack.


    The unconscious movement of the bald man''s mechanical arm made Su''en realize that the steam-powered mechanical arm joints with rough bearings and gear transmissions were not very flexible. The aiming reaction time was likely much slower than a human''s neural reaction.


    And Su''en could predict that once he killed the rooster-headed man, the bald muscr man would immediately retaliate under the threat of the gun. The trajectory of the muzzle would definitely be aimed at the original position of the chair, and the chance of avoiding it was not small.


    And if the bald man spent too much time aiming urately, then Su''en would have enough time to fire another shot.


    The oue was fifty-fifty.


    So, there was a risk, but it was worth the gamble.


    This was the only chance to escape.


    This was also the most important reason why Su''en decided to ruthlessly kill even if it meant self-muttion of his hand!


    .......


    Thoughts raced through his mind, but reality onlysted for an instant.


    Just as Su''en had anticipated, the bald man hurriedly fired back, but missed.


    The jet pierced the floor, but the expected explosion of the bullet did not ur.


    Su''en narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint shed in them.


    Now is the time!


    He instantly adjusted his defensive posture, and in the moment of falling, he raised the silver revolver again, decisively aimed at the bald man, and pulled the trigger.


    "Bang!"


    A familiar gunshot, as if the space had frozen.


    The bullet pierced through, leaving a long trajectory in the air, and urately hit the bald man''s eye.


    The blue light from the muzzle illuminated his terrified face. The bald man didn''t have time to react, and the bullet had already shot towards his right eye socket.


    "It''s done!"


    Su''en licked his lips, seemingly satisfied with this shot.


    Unlike the opportunity to fire two shots at close range earlier, after this shot, the huge recoil caused the muzzle to rise significantly. Even if he fired another shot, it would be impossible to hit the bald man''s head again.


    Moreover, the wound on his palm was torn by the recoil of the gunshot, causing his finger flexor muscles to tremble, almost unable to hold the gun.


    However, it was enough.


    Su''en was confident that this shot would hit 100%, enough to blow the guy''s head off.


    But...


    Su''en never expected that this seemingly foolproof shot would encounter an ident.


    ......


    "How is this possible!"


    Su''en''s pupils suddenly contracted, looking at the scene in front of him in disbelief.


    The bullet was aimed at the bald man''s eye socket, and that guy''s crisis response was not weak. In the instant the muzzle shed, he instinctively tried to dodge.


    Slightly tilting his head, the bullet hit his forehead.


    Under normal circumstances, the power of thisrge-caliber revolver would cause the head to explode like a watermelon, no matter where it hit.


    But in this case... it didn''t!


    Looking at the strange scene in front of him, Su''en''s expression froze.


    He actually watched as the bullet hit the bald man''s forehead and... got embedded in his skull?


    "What''s going on? Why is his skull so hard?!"


    In that instant, Su''en immediately realized that he had probablye to a world that was beyond imagination.


    Steam-powered mechanical arms, humans who didn''t die from a gunshot to the head...


    After a moment of shock, Su''en''s gaze regained rity, and the madness and frenzy in his eyespletely dissipated.


    And at this moment, the bald man, who had been shot in the head but was almost unharmed, looked at him with a sinister look.

 Chapter 3: [C079-Steel Reinforced Bones]

    Chapter 3: [C079-Steel Reinforced Bones]


    "''He'' hasn''t been released yet, and the situation is getting worse... Su''en sighed inwardly as he met the murderous gaze in the bald man''s eyes.


    He had nned to shoot the bald man in the head and then take advantage of the opportunity to shoot him again. The n was already well thought out, and luck was on his side. Everything was going ording to n, and even the artillery fire hadn''t caused much damage.


    Unfortunately, the final shot didn''t kill the bald man.


    After pulling the trigger, Su''enpletely lost the advantage. The bald man removed the bullet embedded in his forehead with his fingers and smirked. Instead of using the high-pressure cannon on his mechanical arm, he stomped his foot and a wave of energy exploded, causing his figure to disappear from the spot.


    When Su''en focused his gaze again, the bald man had already appeared in front of him like a ghost, having rapidly advanced several meters. The giant iron hand grabbed Su''en''s neck and, with the force of the collision, smashed both Su''en and the chair he was tied to against the wall.


    A loud crash echoed as the wooden chair shattered into pieces, and the broken wood chips fell like rain. Su''en didn''t have time to react and felt as if he had been hit by an elephant. His vision went ck, and he couldn''t hold back the surge of blood mixed with internal organs as it sprayed out of his mouth.


    The silver revolver in his hand also fell to the ground, and he lost his only weapon to resist.


    And now it seemed that the gun was useless anyway.


    The bald man''s speed was astonishing, surpassing that of an ordinary human. He had burst forth from close range, too fast for the eyes to follow. It was another ability that surpassed that of an ordinary human...


    However, Su''en wasn''t surprised by this either.


    Even a headshot couldn''t kill him, so it wasn''t surprising that he was fast.


    ...


    The bald man stared fiercely at Su''en, who was suspended by his feet against the wall, and gritted his teeth. "Kid, you didn''t expect it, did you? My awakened talent is [C079-Steel Reinforced Bones]. If it weren''t for this ability, I''m afraid I would have fallen into your hands today..."


    As he spoke, the bald man nced at the corpse of hispanion in the pool of blood on the ground, his eyes growing colder. He remembered the close call from earlier. If he hadn''t dodged the fatal blow, he might have been the one lying dead on the ground.


    The bald man exerted force in his hand, wanting to strangle the boy in front of him.


    But for some reason, he hesitated for a moment.


    Su''en silently said to himself, "Talent, Steel Reinforced Bones? Transcendent ability..."


    Then he weakly closed his eyelids...


    The mechanical arm of the bald man mped tightly around his neck like a pair of iron pliers, and the suffocating feeling made it clear that the guy could easily snap someone''s neck.


    But instead of being killed immediately, Su''en didn''t panic at all.


    Because he could see the bald man''s hesitation.


    He knew very well that this guy didn''t kill him immediately because he coveted the "secret" of the original owner.


    However, at this moment, the bald man''s patience had probably been exhausted due to the death of hispanion.


    Su''en understood that if he said one more word at this moment, this guy might kill him in a fit of rage.


    So he exhaled hisst breath from his chest and struggled to spit out five words, "I have a treasure map."


    As expected!


    With these words, the killing intent in the air remained chilling, but Su''en could clearly feel the suffocation weakening.


    The iron hand that was gripping his neck quietly loosened, allowing him to breathe.


    "Heh..."


    A disdainful sneer.


    The bald man wasn''t as foolish as he appeared. He knew that Su''en was trying to save his own life.


    But he still gave him a chance and coldly said, "Kid, you only have one chance. Tell me the information that interests me, and I''ll let you die quickly."


    As soon as he finished speaking, the iron hand tightened with force, and a clear sound of bones cracking could be heard.


    Su''en winced in pain, appearing weak as he squinted his eyes. In reality, he was quickly reading the information on his retina.


    To die a quick death by telling the truth?


    He didn''t pay any attention to that statement and directly said, "In the corridor to the left of the main hall of this mansion, there is a secret door. The wall sconce is a mechanism that leads to the underground, where there is a maze..."


    These words were not made up on the spot but obtained from the information on his retina.


    In such a short time and in an unfamiliar world, it would be easy for a wless lie to be exposed.


    And the consequence of being exposed was death.


    Although he didn''t know the method used to leave this information on his retina, as long as he closed his eyes, Su''en could see that information.


    The content was as follows:


    "My dear Fick, by the time you see this information, your memories should have been erased. Although fate is cruel, the deed is done. As for the truth of the matter, it no longer matters to you now. I know you may be unwilling, so I have left you something aspensation. If fate hasn''t abandoned you and you gain enough power in the future to seek the truth, you will naturallye into contact with the exiled truth; if not, living in the darkness may be a good thing for you. Remember, do not trust anyone, especially those upper-level guys in the ck Tower..."


    In addition to this passage, there were some obscure texts that Su''en didn''t have time to read, seemingly exining the magical power called "alchemy" in this world.


    There was also a strange diagram.


    It wasn''t a t map but a three-dimensional, winding fluorescent line, marked from top to bottom. It looked like a mine or some kind of abyssal cave.


    After scanning it quickly, Su''en understood the reason behind the situation.


    The previous owner''s name was "Fick," and for some reason, he was "exiled."


    But all of this had nothing to do with him as a transmigrator.


    Since he had no memories, he had no interest in the previous owner''s past.


    Su''en was more concerned about the current situation.


    From the way he was addressed, someone rted to the previous owner had left these words on his retina.


    And because of this information, the previous owner hade to this mansion in search of the ancient ruins marked on the map...


    Without further examination, it was probably rted to the miraculous "transcendent talent" that could withstand bullets like the bald man''s hard skull.


    ...


    Su''en selectively revealed some information while ignoring some key details.


    For example, he didn''t mention the details of the maze''s path or that there were many wall sconces in the room, and only the correct one could open the underground passage, while the others would trigger traps...


    To survive under the hands of the bald man who had murderous intentions, he had to show his value.


    And to continue living, he couldn''t reveal his entire value at once.


    As long as the enemy wasn''t stupid, they wouldn''t kill him right now.


    As expected!


    Hearing this, a sh of astonishment crossed the bald man''s eyes.


    He had already guessed that the kid in front of him, who was targeted for assassination by someone important in the inner city, had a secret.


    But after losing a brother, the bald man had be more cautious. He asked, "What treasure is hidden in this mansion?"


    Su''en pretended to be weak, closed his eyes, and looked at the information on his retina, then said, "It is said... that there are relics left by ''Sir Isaac''."


    As soon as the words fell, the bald man''s expression changed dramatically, as if he had heard something incredible. "What!"


    "..."


    His tone suddenly became heavy, and Su''en nced at him.


    Although he didn''t know what "Sir Isaac" meant, judging from the bald man''s expression, it was probably an incredible treasure.


    But for Su''en, it was good news.


    Now he had more confidence that he couldn''t be killed temporarily.

 Chapter 4: Phantom seed

    Chapter 4: Phantom seed


    Su''en''s words stirred up waves in the bald man''s heart.


    He immediately asked in response, "Is there really a relic left by Sir Isaac in this mansion?"


    Su''en, with blood foaming at his mouth, responded in detail, "Yes. At least, that''s what the treasure map I obtained records."


    ...


    Upon hearing the confirmation, the bald man''s eyes flickered as if he was contemting something.


    Excitement, anticipation, hesitation, and a few traces of concern.


    He nced at Su''en, a hint of doubt shing in his eyes, but he suppressed his killing intent.


    If he didn''t know the secret of this mansion, killing Su''en would be meaningless.


    But now that he knew there was such a huge treasure in this mansion, how could he just give up?


    As the senior leader of the "Old Lingdun" hunting team, how could he not know the value of Sir Isaac''s relics?


    That legendary alchemist, who was renowned for his mastery of ancient alchemy and was hailed as a "demigod." He had researched countless new alchemy forms, countless unique potions, and had countless invention patents. Each of his alchemy manuscripts could be sold for a sky-high price in the ck market of Lingdun.


    The bald man had witnessed it himself. At an auction in the inner city, someone bought a useless page of Sir Isaac''s personal notes for three hundred gold krona, just because it was a relic left by Sir Isaac.


    But you should know that his "DH-031 excellent modified version" mechanical arm, including the materials and modification costs, is only worth a few tens of gold krona.


    Although the bald man knew that Su''en might be hiding something, as long as it involved Sir Isaac, it was worth risking his life!


    In case they really found any relics left by Sir Isaac, it would definitely make them instantly rich. Why would they need to risk their lives for hunting in the second half of their lives?


    ......


    Thinking of this, the bald man squinted his eyes and coldly asked, "Kid, who are you exactly?"


    "I don''t know either."


    Su''en pretended to be puzzled for a moment and added, "My memories have been erased."


    The information on the retina mentioned that the original owner had "memory erased," so this answer was eptable.


    ...


    Upon hearing this, the bald man fell into deep thought for a moment.


    He didn''t seem to doubt it, nor did he pursue it further.


    Being exiled from the inner city and being wanted for assassination, Su''en''s identity was definitely not simple, and the exnation of memory erasure was usible.


    He didn''t delve further into Su''en''s identity, but instead asked, "How did you get the treasure map you mentioned?"


    Su''en answered, "I don''t know who left it for me."


    After a pause, he added, "I once stumbled upon it in an old book, and then I burned it."


    ...


    The bald man frowned and remained silent.


    They had already searched Su''en during the interrogation and didn''t find anything that could be the treasure map.


    So, killing him now would be even more pointless.


    He also guessed that Su''en must be withholding something. Things that could save his life would definitely not be foolishly revealed all at once.


    The iron mp-like hand around Su''en''s neck loosened, and Su''en knew that he had temporarily saved his life.


    Although he looked a bit disheveled, he remained calm in his heart.


    If he really wanted to survive, he would have to find another way.


    The bald man was obviously still wary of him and kept asking for details about the "treasure map." But at this moment, a desperate cry came from outside the door, like a ghost''s wail.


    "Squad leader, where are you... help!"


    The sudden cry made the atmosphere in the room instantly eerie.


    The bald man''s expression immediately turned serious upon hearing it.


    He realized that they were still in a curse space with a suspected "A-level" danger!


    This mansion still held unknown dangers.


    Su''en didn''t know what terrifying things had happened to the person outside, but from the desperate tone, he could guess that something extremely horrifying had urred outside the door.


    The bald man furrowed his brow and used Su''en''s neck as a shield as he walked over to open the door.


    The door creaked open.


    At this moment, a bloodied figure rushed in, looking panicked.


    The bald man obviously recognized the person dressed as an assassin in leather armor and said with a frown, "Marcus?"


    The man looked at the bald man, and his pale face suddenly turned rosy. He eximed in joy, "Captain Ivan!"


    After a pause, his terrified expression turned into a relieved one, and he gasped for breath as he said, "Oh my god... Captain, I finally found you!"


    On the side, Su''en silently observed this scene and finally learned their names.


    Captain?


    It sounded like some kind of organization.


    Su''en examined the wounds and bloodstains on Marcus''s body and looked at the smoking gun in his hand. He felt a little puzzled. "Injuries caused by a sharp weapon... someone who uses a gun was actually cut by a knife?"


    Perhaps, it wasn''t a human?


    Obviously, things were not as simple as they seemed.


    At this moment, the bald man, Captain Ivan, looked at Marcus, who was alone, and looked outside, but he didn''t notice anything unusual.


    After closing the door, he asked solemnly, "Where''s Vice Captain Mark, Daniel, and the others?"


    "Captain... they''re dead, all dead!"


    Marcus''s eyes were filled with fear as if he recalled something. He said with a trembling voice, "Just now... just now, we entered this cursed space and got lost. Then we discovered that there were many terrifying dolls in this house! It seems like there''s a ''phantom seed'' in this house, controlling those dolls. It''s everywhere, and it wants us to y games with them... hide-and-seek... if we''re found, we''ll be killed..."


    "Phantom seed?"


    After listening to his subordinate''s stuttering ount, Captain Ivan''s face became grave.


    ......


    Phantom seed?


    Eerie?


    Su''en caught a few words that he understood but were beyond his original knowledge.


    However, after experiencing the supernatural abilities in this world, he easily understood that this term should refer to some kind of "transcendent creature."


    "It" had just killed more than ten members of this bald man''s team.


    Before his transmigration, Su''en was a video blogger who specialized in horror games and supernatural movies. So, although Marcus''s story was bizarre, it wasn''t too unbelievable for him.


    He didn''t feel much shock, but rather a sense of familiarity. "A horror plot? It seems like this is the correct way to unfold."


    Vaguely, he could even specte on some of the quirks of the "phantom seed" from the process, such as liking to kill humans, liking childish games...


    Now it seemed that the deadly threat was not just this bald man, but there was another "phantom seed."


    ......


    Captain Ivan was still carefully inquiring about the situation of his subordinates. At this moment, Su''en, lost in thought, suddenly noticed something and raised his eyebrows.


    "Huh..."


    His gaze shifted away from Marcus and fell onto the red, ck, and green soldier doll in the corner of the study, which looked like a "nutcracker."


    Initially, he thought it was just a decoration in the study.


    But whether it was an illusion or not, Su''en saw the doll''s eyeballs tremble slightly.


    And at this moment, the doll''s pitch-ck eyes were staring directly at the three of them.


    As if it were like this _!


    So, the person moved, but the doll didn''t, yet its eyeball direction did.


    This was a habit he had developed from ying horror escape games. In a confined environment, his gaze would instinctively gather all the "clues" around him to solve the puzzle.


    This was how he noticed the difference in the nutcracker doll.


    "So, it''s being monitored by ''someone''..."


    Su''en noticed the anomaly and had a sudden realization.


    He had initially thought he was mistaken, but now that he heard about the killer puppets in the house, Su''en immediately confirmed that everything in the room was being secretly monitored by someone.


    Perhaps, it was that so-called "phantom seed."


    However, even if he discovered this, Su''en didn''t show any abnormality on his face.


    For him, although he was not sure what the "eerie" in the room meant, judging from the expressions of the bald man and the other man, it was definitely a dangerous presence.


    But this didn''t mean that the "eerie" would be more deadly to Su''en than the bald man and the other man.


    It might even be good news.


    If he wanted to survive in the hands of the bald man, this "eerie" might be one of the conditions he could use.

 Chapter 5: alchemical implantation Adamantite Scales

    Chapter 5: alchemical imntation Adamantite Scales


    After listening to the report from his subordinate, Ivan, the bald man, asked, "How strong are those puppet people?"


    "Not very strong. They use cold weapons, and their bodies can easily be destroyed by firearms..."


    Marcus, obviously still frightened, swallowed and continued, "But there are too many puppets, and we can''t kill them! Even if they are sted by firearms and only have a severed arm left, they can still chase and attack people. And the puppets are everywhere in the house, they can appear in any corner, in the cabs, behind the doors, in the basement..."


    "They can be destroyed by firearms? I see..."


    After carefully listening to his subordinate''s description, Ivan also gained some confidence.


    He analyzed, "It seems that the ability of the ''ghost breed'' is to control the puppets and kill people. It should only be a first-order strangeness. Otherwise, if it had second-order strength, it wouldn''t be so troublesome to kill you all... The previous estimation of the curse space was overrated, at most it''s a B-level."


    "..."


    Su''en, who was on the side, heard the bald man''s analysis and didn''t quite agree with it.


    ording to his experience of watching over a thousand horror movies, the actions of the "ghost breed" gave him the feeling of "Hey, I won''t kill you, I''m just ying with you."


    Killing people seemed more like a game.


    ...


    Obviously, there were only two choices in front of the bald man now.


    Either leave the creepy mansion immediately, or continue to search for "Sir Isaac''s relic."


    But no matter which choice, they would most likely directly face the strangeness of the "ghost breed" in the house.


    If the strange ability of the "ghost breed" is only to control puppets, it wouldn''t pose much threat to Ivan.


    At least, in his eyes, those puppets of that level were not deadly.


    The best oue would be to obtain the treasure and eliminate the strangeness.


    But if the ability of the "ghost breed" goes beyond that, even if they didn''t search for the treasure and just tried to escape, they would still have to face it.


    As the leader of a hunting squad who had been through countless life-and-death situations, Ivan had almost no hesitation and said directly, "Let''s go! Let''s see what''s strange about this mansion!"


    And as the "living map," Su''en naturally had to go with them. The bald man turned his head to look at his subordinate and said, "Marcus, keep an eye on this kid. If he makes any suspicious moves, kill him immediately!"


    Marcus nced at Su''en beside him and replied, "Yes, leader!"


    ...


    Su''en wasn''t surprised by the bald man''s decision to continue forcefully, he would have done the same if he were in his shoes.


    But what surprised him was that before they left, the bald man unexpectedly disyed another extraordinary ability that was unimaginable.


    Su''en originally thought that the bald man possessing a steam-powered mechanical arm was already quite astonishing, but at this moment, the bald man shouted, "Seal Imntation - Release!"


    He then made several hand gestures at a rapid pace and chanted several indistinct incantations.


    This strange and bizarre action caused a miraculous transformation.


    As soon as the incantation ended, the room suddenly emitted a bright golden light.


    Upon closer inspection, a hexagram magic array with a brilliant golden glow appeared under the bald man''s feet. The patterns on the array were mysterious andplex, as if possessing a magical power that made people feel as if they were looking into the depths of an endless void, exuding a strong sense of mystery.


    "Magic?"


    Su''en blinked his eyes in astonishment at this scene.


    But the even more bizarre thing happened afterwards!


    After the light from the magic array disappeared, the bald man''s exposed skin, which Su''en originally thought was a tattoo, slowly solidified into a tangible substance.


    Upon closer inspection, it had turned into ayer of shining metallic scales!


    After the ritual, the entire body was covered in the metallic scales, and the bald man''s whole demeanor suddenly changed, bing a majestic armored giant.


    Marcus, who was beside him, seemed to gain some confidence and spoke with a hint of ttery, "No matter how many times I see it, the leader''s alchemical imntation, ''Adamantite Scales,'' is still so awe-inspiring..."


    "Hmm."


    The bald man nodded without saying much, and said in a deep voice, "Follow me!"


    With that, he opened the door and walked out fearlessly.


    Seeing this scene in front of him, Su''en''s interest grew stronger.


    He observed carefully, and it seemed that after the appearance of the magic array, the metallic scales on the bald man''s body solidified from the tattoos.


    Obviously, this was another extraordinary power that Su''en couldn''tprehend.


    Without much time to think, the pulling of the rope made him stumble forward, almost falling.


    In the instant before he stepped out of the door, Su''en suddenly thought of something.


    Instead of avoiding it, he turned his head and looked directly at the "Nutcracker Puppet" in the corner, then smiled at it.


    The meaning was: I''ve found you.


    Since it was discovered, let''s "trigger" it.


    Based on his experience of ying horror games for many years, triggering certain specific conditions might lead to unexpected plot developments, although most of the time, such behavior would be considered "suicidal." But...


    Anyway, the situation couldn''t get any worse now, right?


    In an instant, Su''en and the other two had already walked out of the door.


    At this moment, no one saw that the lower jaw of the "Nutcracker Puppet" in the corner actually trembled, making a creepy "click-ck" sound, as if it wasughing happily...


    ...


    "Kid, you go in front!"


    Compared to the caution of the bald man, Marcus''s footsteps were much lighter, and Su''en appeared much calmer.


    He was also self-aware that although hisbat and marksmanship were decent in his previous life, in this fantasy world where the body could withstand bullets, he was just a "trash" level.


    To survive, using his brain was definitely more practical than using force.


    He was tied with a rope and served as a shield, walking at the front.


    But this was also good, Su''en could carefully observe everything in the corridor.


    As he had anticipated, it was a luxurious mansion.


    The corridor was brightly lit, but not with electric lights or gasmps. Instead, there were gemstones glowing inside ssmpshades. There were many closed doors on both sides of the corridor, soft cashmere carpets covered the floor, and there were exquisite oil paintings on the walls at intervals...


    But the corridor seemed a bit too long.


    After walking for a while without seeing the end, Marcus asked with a trembling voice, "Leader, where are we going? We... seem to be trapped."


    After a moment of contemtion, Ivan seemed to have also noticed the abnormality of the mansion and asked, "Kid, where is the room you mentioned?"


    Su''en looked around and said directly, "I haven''t been here before either. But if we want to find the room on the treasure map, we must first find the banquet hall..."


    In fact, he had already noticed that even in arge mansion, this corridor was unusually long.


    But before he could say more, a creepyughter of an olddy echoed in their ears, "Hehe... ording to the rules of the game, if you are found, you will be killed..."


    This didn''t sound like a voice that could be produced by a human, it was a low and demonic whisper that made the soul tremble.


    Upon hearing this, Marcus turned pale with fear, as if he had received a great shock, and anxiously said, "It''sing... It''sing!"


    Every time they heard this voice, one of theirpanions would be killed. At this moment, Marcus was on the verge of copse, trembling all over.


    Su''en scanned everything in the corridor with his eyes, quietly leaning against the wall, bing extra cautious.


    Ivan, on the other hand, snorted disdainfully, "Humph, ying tricks!"


    Just at this moment, several figures suddenly floated in from the distance.


    Upon closer inspection, they were several eerie puppets floating in the air. Their appearance was simple, like sections of lotus roots pieced together. However, each one held a slender and sharp knife, and their jaws were rapidly clenching and unclenching, making a dense "click-ck" sound that sent shivers down one''s spine.


    "So these are the killer puppets in the mansion that that guy mentioned? And they can fly too?"


    Su''en looked at these puppets that were surging towards them from both sides of the corridor, and his eyelids twitched.


    But just at this moment, a loud bang resounded from a distance.


    Without needing to look, just by hearing the airwaves that almost knocked people off their feet, they knew that Ivan had fired a shot.


    The shot directly hit the group of puppets dozens of meters away, causing them to be blown into pieces.


    However, this did not stop the puppets from continuing their onught like a tide.


    Those puppets with severed limbs still carried a pile of "parts" and continued to charge.


    "Hmph!"


    Ivan snorted, fearless, and charged into the group of puppets.


    His metallic scales yed a huge role at this moment. When the puppets'' knives and swords struck, they produced a burst of sparks, but they couldn''t harm him at all.


    "This bald man is indeed strong... But those puppets can''t be killed. If we don''t break the situation, we will eventually be worn down here."


    Su''en, with his hands tied, had little room to move. Under the attack of the puppet tide, his chances of survival were very low.


    However, he didn''t n to give up without a fight.


    At this moment, Marcus had been frightened to the point where his hands holding the gun were trembling, and he had already let go of the rope that bound Su''en.


    And most of the puppets were being restrained by Ivan, the opportunity couldn''t be missed.


    "Now!"


    Su''en looked around at the environment and without hesitation, kicked off with one leg and forcefully crashed into the ss window on one side of the corridor.


    He had observed earlier that there was fog outside the window. Although he didn''t know which floor the corridor was on, judging from the structure, it definitely wasn''t a high floor.


    The probability of falling to death was low.


    But...


    Just as he jumped, something went wrong again!


    ...


    With a loud crash, Su''en easily shattered the ss window and flew out,nding on the thick fog.


    He thought he would fall into a garden or something, and prepared for the impact of a high-altitude fall.


    But unexpectedly, as soon as hended, he stepped on a soft carpet again.


    Looking around at the familiar surroundings, Su''en was stunned.


    "F*ck... I''m back again?"

 Chapter 6: Bloody banquet

    Chapter 6: Bloody banquet


    The brightly lit corridor gave Su''en a familiar feeling.


    The sound of fighting in his ears was incessant, and when he looked again, he saw the bald man with a body covered in metallic scales. Wasn''t this the same corridor as before?


    "I''m back again?"


    Su''en felt his eyelids twitch.


    Did I crash through the ss and then crash back through another window?


    When he turned around again, he found that the ss that had been shattered earlier had miraculously restored to its original state. If it weren''t for the ss shards on the ground, he would have thought he had experienced an illusion.


    There was something wrong with the space in this mansion!


    "Illusion space? Or is it the ability of the ''phantom species''?"


    Su''en felt that this world was getting stranger, but he quickly realized, "Indeed... if one can easily escape by jumping out of the window, those guys wouldn''t have been killed by these eerie puppets."


    With this jump, Su''en fell back into the corridor and crashed into a pile of puppets.


    Now he''s in a dangerous situation.


    Although the puppets didn''t pose much harm to the bald man, they were definitely lethal to Su''en, an ordinary person.


    Su''en had already given up struggling and was about to lie down, but to his surprise... these puppets seemed to ignore himpletely and floated past him, rushing towards the bald man.


    "Huh... they didn''t attack me?"


    Su''en watched the puppets floating past him and felt a sense of relief, specting secretly, "Could it be because they noticed the ''surveince'' earlier?"


    He vaguely guessed that these puppets didn''t kill him because the "phantom species" felt... that they had gained a new toy and didn''t want to kill him so soon.


    This was really frustrating.


    ......


    And at this moment, without warning, there was suddenly a creepy sound of bones breaking, "crack, crack."


    When he looked closely, he saw that Marcus''s joints were breaking in the opposite direction.


    Like a marite, he was suspended in the air by invisible threads, his head hanging weakly.


    Marcus was dead!


    After he died, the knife-wielding puppets that were attacking Ivan also suddenly disappeared, as if they were receding like a tide, and disappeared at the end of the corridor.


    Not far away, Ivan, the bald man, looked at his subordinate''s sudden and unexpected death, obviously confused and angrily cursed, "Damn it!"


    How did Marcus die without any puppets around him?


    He suddenly realized that the abilities of this "phantom species" were not just about controlling puppets.


    Ivan naturally noticed Su''en, who had been spared by the puppets earlier, and guessed that he might know something.


    But before he could ask, at this moment, a closed door not far away suddenly opened.


    And at this moment, a kind old man in a tailcoat walked out from the door, speaking in an emotionless tone, "My master invites you both to the banquet hall for dinner."


    Master, dinner?


    Su''en raised an eyebrow as he listened, feeling that it didn''t seem like a good thing.


    As he heard these words, his gaze also fell on the butler-like old man.


    He noticed that this guy''s eyes didn''t move at all while speaking, and upon closer inspection, his skin had a wax-like sheen.


    Obviously, this butler was not a living person.


    Su''en remained calm.


    The key was that even if he wanted to do something, he wouldn''t be able to win.


    But Ivan couldn''t control his temper.


    He had just killed one of my brothers in front of me, and now he''s inviting us to dinner?


    "Go to hell!"


    Ivan cursed angrily and raised his hand to attack.


    The butler was shattered by the attack.


    And at this moment, the low voice suddenly sounded again, ominously saying, "If you don''t follow the rules of the game, you will be killed..."


    "Hmph!"


    Ivan sneered, not taking it seriously.


    But suddenly, without warning, his whole body stiffened in ce.


    Just like when Marcus died.


    Su''en, who was not far away, saw it clearly this time. Transparent threads, like fishing lines, bound Ivan, making him unable to move.


    And as the threads tightened, the metallic scales on Ivan''s skin cracked, and the threads cut into his flesh, oozing out crimson blood.


    Su''en watched with wide eyes, "What a strange technique..."


    Clearly, this mysterious power was far beyond his imagination.


    In the next second, it seemed like Ivan was about to be dismembered into several pieces, but just before his body was torn apart, the bald man, who had been defiant just a moment ago, shouted, "Wait, I''m willing to go!"


    .......


    In this way, Su''en and Ivan, both with half of their bodies blown away, were invited into the banquet hall by the butler.


    The decoration here was also extremely luxurious, and soothing music yed from the phonograph.


    There were already many people seated at the dining table, and it looked lively, with a harmonious dining atmosphere.


    A maid puppet guided Su''en to an empty seat.


    He nced at the people at the table and had a rough idea in his mind.


    Although these "people" were sitting in their respective positions, they had no expressions and stiff bodies...


    Clearly, none of them were living beings.


    They were either puppets or corpses fixed to their seats with threads, giving off a creepy and eerie feeling.


    But Su''en wasn''t surprised. He naturally didn''t think that this "phantom species" would be so kind as to invite them to dinner.


    Judging from the disgusted expression on Ivan''s face, he probably recognized these corpses.


    The two of them took their seats, and the maid puppet behind them ced napkins on them and uncovered the silver covers in front of them.


    When Su''en sat down, he smelled a strong smell of blood and vaguely guessed what it was.


    When the cover was lifted, the smell of blood became even stronger.


    In front of him was a reddish-brown liver, still slightly oozing blood, looking like it had just been taken from a living creature.


    There were probably no live animals in this mansion, so it was easy to guess what kind of liver it was...


    Su''en raised an eyebrow, not surprised.


    In this eerie mansion, it would be strange if it was normal food.


    He had yed many twisted horror games, and this kind of plot... wasn''t too out of the ordinary.


    With a nce, he realized that his dish was rtively tame.


    In front of Ivan, there was a peeled human head. The eyeballs, still attached to the optic nerves, were ced in a small dish, seemingly a "dessert" after the meal.


    Looking at the green hair beside it, this head seemed to belong to the cockade-haired guy that Su''en had killed in the study earlier.


    And at this moment, that lingering voice sounded again, "The rule of the game is: you must finish your meal. Otherwise... you will die."


    And at this moment, all the "people," whether puppets or corpses, turned their heads and stared at the two living people on the table with hollow eyes.


    The butler on the side also urged with a warning tone, "So, esteemed guests, is the food not to your liking?"


    .......


    Su''en and Ivan definitely had no intention of voluntarily eating what was on the te.


    But obviously, whether they wanted to eat or not, it was not up to them.


    At this moment, transparent threads silently dropped from the ceiling and bound their limbs.


    Su''en noticed something, but he didn''t feel any abnormalities in his body.


    On the other hand, Ivan realized what was happening and his face turned ugly. He murmured in despair, "Mind control of the ''body,'' at least a ''gold-level'' phantom species. We''re done for..."


    He had already experienced the power of these threads earlier and thought that it was simply physical control. He thought that he might have a chance if he found an opportunity.


    But he didn''t expect that sitting in this chair would confirm that the "phantom species" was also adept at mental control.


    This was an ability that could easily kill him.


    "..."


    Su''en listened carefully and heard what Ivan was muttering.


    Soon, he also understood what "body control" meant.


    At this moment, he found that his hands were involuntarily lifting up and picking up the knife and fork next to the te, elegantly and gentlemanly cutting the liver on the te...


    This feeling was strange. It wasn''t just a simple marite, it was as if his brain had lost control of his body, and he could only watch as his hands cut the meat on the te without his control.


    One cut, another cut... the te was filled with blood.


    Meanwhile, Ivan, not far away, had already swallowed a burst eyeball with a crunch.


    The sound of chewing in the quiet banquet hall was particrly eerie.

 Chapter 7: Rune Puppetry

    Chapter 7: Rune Puppetry


    Su''en''s gaze gradually became serious.


    Because he also picked up a fork and skewered arge piece of bloody meat, bringing it to his mouth.


    If he didn''t find a solution, he would probably taste the vor of human organs for the first time.


    He knew that if he didn''t find a breakthrough, he would eventually be yed to death by the "ghost species".


    .......


    A terrifying manor, eerie dolls, a ghost species that enjoys killing humans...


    Su''en''s thoughts raced.


    Suddenly, he thought of something, a sh of inspiration: "Since the weirdness in this room has the ability to easily kill us, but it doesn''t... it means that this ''weirdness'' has some intelligence, and it''s not low."


    It''s a good thing that the monster has intelligence.


    He was afraid that the monster only knew instinctual killing, which would be a desperate situation.


    Fighting was definitely not an option.


    But based on his experience from thousands of horror games and movies, as long as an NPC has intelligence, they can obtain plot twists (clues) through conversation.


    The study, the corridor, the banquet hall... the clues in his mind suddenly connected.


    Su''en felt that he had probably found the key to breaking the deadlock!


    "Phew..."


    He let out a sigh of relief.


    Su''en decided to give it a try.


    At this moment, his expression suddenly froze, and he said something inexplicable to the empty space: "Miss Pestoya, can I talk to you?"


    ......


    With this opening, it was as if time had stopped.


    Su''en, with a piece of meat in his right hand, stopped in mid-air.


    Upon hearing these words, the bald man nearby, whose mouth was filled with blood, clearly paused, not understanding why Su''en suddenly said something so inexplicable.


    However, at this moment, a response came from the void, "Huh... How do you know my name?"


    It was still the deep and eerie voice of the olddy from before.


    He guessed it right!


    Upon hearing these words, Su''en immediately realized that his reasoning was correct.


    That Marcus guy mentioned that this "ghost species" discovered them but didn''t kill them directly. Instead, they yed a few games, like hide-and-seek, marbles, and bowling...


    As long as they followed the rules of the game, they could temporarily survive; but if they vited the rules, they would be killed immediately.


    The current situation was the same. This weirdness could easily kill them, but it chose to "y".


    This also proved that this "ghost species" was young, or rather, psychologically young.


    On the dining table, besides the corpses, there were only three dolls: a gentleman in a suit, a noblewoman, and a young woman. The gentleman sat in the main seat, indicating that they were a family of three.


    When Su''en observed them on the table earlier, he had a familiar feeling about these three people.


    After thinking for a moment, he remembered seeing a family photo on the wall in the study.


    In the photo, these three people were present.


    And there was actually a fourth person in that photo.


    A little girl holding a teddy bear!


    So... it wasn''t difficult to guess that the only remaining person was the little girl referred to as "the master" by the butler, who liked bloody pranks. The identity of this "ghost species" could only be that little girl.


    And on that photo, there happened to be a name written, "Pestoya Isaac"!


    ......


    Su''en didn''t answer that question but said directly, "Can I have a chat with you, Miss Pestoya?"


    Although he didn''t know what this "weirdness" was, it was probably simr to the "ghosts" he had in mind.


    Moreover, since he knew that she was young at heart, there was more room for conversation (maniption).


    Therefore, he needed to pique her interest first.


    He continued, "I can tell you interesting stories, dance, sing, perform shadow ys, puppet shows... I think Miss Pestoya will like them..."


    .......


    After saying these words, the room fell silent for a while.


    Su''en thought that things were still not quite there, but at this moment, the surroundings suddenly changed. The banquet hall transformed into a delicately decorated girl''s bedroom.


    At the workbench by the window, a little girl in a princess dress was sitting, tinkering with some doll parts.


    She seemed to be earnestly assembling a doll covered in runes. Without turning around, she said, "You haven''t answered how you know my name."


    Her voice was gentle and sounded tender.


    The first step was sessful!


    He sessfully piqued her interest.


    While quickly observing everything in the room, Su''en continued, "I saw your name on a photo in the study..."


    He spoke in a calm tone as much as possible, fearing that he might provoke the other party.


    Because he knew that the seemingly harmless little girl in front of him had a twisted mind that enjoyed killing humans.


    The little girl asked, "How did you discover me in the study?"


    Obviously, she was referring to the incident with the nutcracker.


    Su''en thought it was a good sign. At least, she took the initiative to start a conversation. He responded, "Because I noticed that the eyes of the doll moved."


    "Oh, so that''s how it is."


    Upon hearing this, the little girl slowly put down the rune doll in her hand.


    As if time stood still for a moment, she then turned around slowly.


    Seeing this, Su''en narrowed his eyes slightly and had a vague feeling that there would be a major turning point in the plot. Just in case, he silently yed a background music from a horror movie in his mind - "Today is a Good Day."


    As expected!


    In the next moment, the little girl turned to face Su''en and suddenly reverted to the previous low and terrifying voice, asking in a sinister tone, "Now, do you still want to chat with me?"


    .......


    It was a burnt and charred face, with facial features wrinkled together due to high temperature burns, and only three holes left for the mouth and nose.


    A normal person would definitely be startled upon seeing this face.


    But what surprised the little girl was that Su''en''s expression remained unchanged. There was no fear, disgust, or fear... Instead, he looked at the little girl''s face intently and even showed a warm smile.


    If you have watched a thousand horror movies, it''s probably hard to be scared.


    In horror movies, there were countless ways of "turning back and killing," including sulfuric acid, burning, dismemberment, pus... all kinds of terrifying and disgusting scenes.


    So, when Su''en saw this burnt face, he wasn''t particrly affected.


    He knew that if he showed an expression of being scared or afraid, it might trigger some instant death effect, and the conversation would definitely not continue.


    However, he sessfully passed this first level.


    Su''en went straight to the point, "Of course, Miss Pestoya. I can sense your loneliness..."


    He imitated the tone of the psychiatrist who treated him before and began the conversation.


    .......


    The little girl was stunned, as if she hadn''t figured out how to respond if the other person wasn''t scared by her terrifying appearance.


    Su''en didn''t give her a chance to attack. He immediately started telling his own story.


    "When I was in the juvenile detention center, I was often put in solitary confinement. Oh, the juvenile detention center is a ce for disobedient children. So, I can understand the loneliness of being locked in a small room alone..."


    "I was born into a loving family, but at a young age, my parents left..."


    "..."


    If you have read eight hundred books, you won''t find anything new in the world.


    Italian writer Carlo Gozzi said that there are only thirty-six plotlines in the world: pleading, rescue, revenge, revenge between rtives, pursuit, disaster, misfortune, enlightenment, seeking...


    Upon seeing the face of "Pestoya," Su''en immediately spected on many plotlines.


    Burned?


    Either it was an ident, or she was a victim.


    And the family sitting neatly at the dining table, either it was nostalgia or resentment.


    From the limited clues, it seemed like a harmonious family.


    Pestoya was probably born into a loving family, but when she was around ten years old, she lost her life in an idental fire.


    Her life was frozen in that year.


    Su''en wasn''t entirely bluffing; he could actually empathize with that kind of loneliness.


    Because he was telling his own story.


    Perhaps only a mentally ill patient could understand a mentally ill patient?


    After being treated in the juvenile detention center for so many years, reading so many books on psychology, he could easilymunicate with troubled children.


    Although this "weirdness" was powerful and could easily kill a hundred Su''en, it was ultimately just a little girl with limited life experience.


    With intelligencees emotional needs...


    That''s what the psychiatrist who treated him said.


    The desire to survive overwhelmed any guilt Su''en had for manipting the little girl. They slowly started talking as if they were good friends, sitting side by side.


    Su''en told her some strange and interesting stories from Earth.


    Pestoya also talked about the events that happened in the manor.


    "My parents are both powerful alchemists, and they are busy every day... Only these dolls apany me all the time, but unfortunately, they can''t talk..."


    "..."


    Su''en didn''t ask about the fire incident. It was easy to guess that it would trigger painful memories for Pestoya.


    The two of them chatted about happy and interesting trivial matters.


    The plot unfolded as he had predicted.


    Su''en''s goal was to survive, and it seemed that he probably wouldn''t be killed.


    But it seemed like something else had been added.


    Resonance, it was always mutual.


    Although there was no affection level panel like in games, Su''en felt that he got along well with this little girl.


    .......


    They chatted for a long time, and Pestoya seemed very satisfied, with a lovely smile on her face.


    "Thank you. It''s been years since someone talked to me."


    The little girl thought of something and said, "But you can''t stay with me for too long... Otherwise, you will be distorted."


    "Distorted?"


    Su''en thought it wouldn''t hurt to stay a little longer, but upon hearing Pestoya''s words, he realized that there might be other dangers in this space.


    At this moment, Pestoya seemed to think of something else.


    She walked to her workbench and picked up thepleted rune doll, putting it in an exquisite box. She said, "This is a farewell gift for you, Mr. Su''en. Thank you for talking to me."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en knew that he had sessfully survived.


    Su''en didn''t hesitate and epted the wooden box containing the rune doll.


    It was a simple doll with yellow skin, quite heavy to hold, as if it contained many metal parts. The most peculiar thing was the faint blue rune light that appeared on its surface.


    He didn''t ask further questions but smiled slightly and said, "Thank you for your gift, Miss Pestoya."


    "Mr. Su''en, we probably won''t see each other again. Even if youe again, I might forget about you..."


    As they were about to part ways, Pestoya''s face showed a touch of sadness.


    Then, she took off a butterfly brooch from her clothes and pinned it on Su''en''s chest with her own hands. "This is my favorite brooch. It was a birthday gift from my mother when I was six years old. It''s also a small gift from me to you. I hope you can do me a favor when you leave."


    Su''en readily agreed, "Sure."


    "If you can see my parents in the future, please ask them..."


    When Pestoya said this, she suddenly stopped and didn''t continue.


    Su''en asked in confusion, "Ask them what?"


    Pestoya''s tone suddenly became painful, alternating between the terrifying voice of the olddy and the voice of a young girl, "Ask them... why did they burn me to death?"


    With these words, an inexplicable chill suddenly swept through the entire room.


    Ah?


    Su''en never expected her to suddenly say such a thing.


    He immediately realized that the truth of the matter wasn''t so simple.


    So Pestoya was burned to death by her parents?


    How is that possible? A harmonious and loving family, and yet the parents burned their beloved daughter to death?


    Where did the problem lie?


    Was it Pestoya who had a problem, or was it her parents?


    However, there was no time to think further. At this moment, Pestoya seemed to be reminded of something else.


    She walked to her workbench again, took out a well-made rune doll, and put it in an exquisite box, saying, "This is a parting gift for you, Mr. Su''en. Thank you for talking to me."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en knew that he had sessfully survived.


    Su''en didn''t hesitate and epted the wooden box containing the rune doll.


    It was a simple doll with yellow skin, quite heavy to hold, as if it contained many metal parts. The most peculiar thing was the faint blue rune light that appeared on its surface.


    He didn''t ask further questions but smiled slightly and said, "Thank you for your gift, Miss Pestoya."


    "Mr. Su''en, we probably won''t see each other again. Even if youe again, I might forget about you..."


    As they were about to part ways, Pestoya''s face showed a touch of sadness.


    Then, she took off a butterfly brooch from her clothes and pinned it on Su''en''s chest with her own hands. "This is my favorite brooch. It was a birthday gift from my mother when I was six years old. It''s also a small gift from me to you. I hope you can do me a favor when you leave."


    Su''en readily agreed, "Sure."


    "If you can see my parents in the future, please ask them..."


    When Pestoya said this, she suddenly stopped and didn''t continue.


    Su''en asked in confusion, "Ask them what?"


    Pestoya''s tone suddenly became painful, alternating between the terrifying voice of the olddy and the voice of a young girl, "Ask them... why did they burn me to death?"


    With these words, an inexplicable chill suddenly swept through the entire room.


    Ah?


    Su''en never expected her to suddenly say such a thing.


    He immediately realized that the truth of the matter wasn''t so simple.

 Chapter 8: Statue, altar, offering

    Chapter 8: Statue, altar, offering


    Saying goodbye to a friend that he had only known for a few hours, but would probably never see again, Su''en felt a bit down.


    The surroundings suddenly changed from the luxurious mansion to ruins.


    "Is this... the remains of the mansion from before?"


    Although everything inside the house had decayed, from the intact framework of the house, it was the mansion where he had stayed before.


    The banquet hall, the corridors, the study... theyout was all familiar.


    "It must have taken hundreds of years for it to decay like this..."


    Su''en found it unbelievable.


    He thought he was mentally prepared, but seeing the scene of destruction in front of him, he still couldn''t fully process it.


    Could it be that the previous mansion was an illusion, and Pestoya and the others he encountered were also illusions?


    But when he looked down, he saw that he was holding a wooden box, the same one that contained the "rune doll".


    And on his chest, he was wearing the butterfly brooch adorned with a ck gem.


    "The items are real..."


    Su''en touched the box in his hand, feeling like he had woken up from a dream and brought something from the dream into reality.


    "Could it be that the brightly lit mansion just now was like a special space, like a game instance?"


    Su''en looked around but couldn''t figure it out.


    His knowledge of this world was too limited, and many questions couldn''t be understood just by thinking.


    However, now he was faced with another question: where should he go from here?


    And the first thing that came to his mind was the information on his retina.


    "The original owner came here to find something called ''Sir Isaac''s relic''..."


    With some free time, Su''en finally had the opportunity to carefully read the obscure and difficult-to-understand information on his retina. He also realized that the "treasure" the original owner was looking for seemed to be quite extraordinary.


    Coincidentally, he was also very interested in that "transcendent ability".


    After some thought, Su''en decided to go and take a look. He spected that there shouldn''t be any other dangers in this mansion. If there were, Pestoya would probably be the biggest boss.


    ...


    Based on his memory, Su''en found the banquet hall of the mansion.


    Then, counting from his left, he found the seventh room.


    The door of the room hadpletely decayed, and there were spider webs everywhere, giving it a gloomy appearance. But the structure of the room was still stable, except for the peeling paint on the walls, it could still be recognized as a storage room.


    Su''en cautiously walked in, and besides asionally hearing the squeaking of mice, there were no terrifying monsters that would appear in horror movies.


    He took in the sight of the furnishings in the room and saw the hexagonalmp on the wall.


    Finding the correctmp, he turned it clockwise, and heard the sound of gears clicking. A hidden door appeared.


    "After hundreds of years, this mechanism can still work..."


    Su''en was slightly surprised by the deep passage that appeared in front of him.


    Without hesitation, he walked in.


    The passage seemed to be isted from the outside air and was very well preserved.


    He tested it and found that it wasn''t stuffy and he could breathe normally.


    The passageway was built with green bricks, and every few meters on the walls, there were wallmps. The faint yellow light from the gemstones, whose material he didn''t know, was weak but enough to illuminate the entire secret passage.


    Su''en didn''t dare to touch anything. Since the hidden door could open normally, the mechanisms in the secret passage should still be functioning.


    The information on his retina specifically warned him not to touch anything outside of the safety lines.


    In this way, after walking for a while, Su''en noticed that the passageways around him became strange, as if they were all the same.


    He knew that he had entered a maze.


    There were mechanisms that caused visual disturbances here.


    He carved some necessary directional markers on the ground and continued forward.


    "After the first intersection, left, left, right, up, down..."


    Luckily, the correct path through the maze was left on his retina. Su''en didn''t encounter any trouble along the way.


    After about fifteen minutes of walking, he arrived at his destination, a spacious sealed stone chamber.


    There wererge glowing gemstones here, illuminating the entire room.


    "So this is the ''Hermit''s Altar'' marked on the treasure map?"


    Su''en didn''t immediately step into the stone chamber, but carefully observed it.


    In the center of the circr chamber, there were five tall stone statues. They were wearing cloaks that covered their entire bodies and most of their faces, giving them a mysterious appearance. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that three of the statues had cracks, while two were intact.


    And behind the cloak of each statue, there was a special symbol carved: , , , , ...


    They seemed to be special codes.


    What surprised Su''en was that just by gazing at these statues, he felt a sense of sacred majesty, as if he wanted to bow down and worship.


    That feeling was as if he was being watched by a god, making him feel insignificant like dust.


    "These statues are really peculiar..."


    Su''en sighed as he looked at the scene.


    The unveiled world was gradually revealing its mysteries to him, and his curiosity was growing stronger.


    ...


    There was nothing unnecessary in the sealed chamber.


    The five statues stood in different positions, facing the center where there was a circr altar with a diameter of about five meters.


    The altar was engraved with an eight-pointed star magic array, surrounded by some unreadable special words and runes. In the center, there was an engraved pattern of a "coiled snake" and a "bnce".


    "The secret to obtaining the ''talent'' that allows one to withstand bullets like the bald man is hidden on this altar?"


    Su''en looked at the well-carved patterns on the altar, his face showing a pensive expression.


    The retina still had this message: "My dear Fick, I''m sorry that you have lost everything; through deciphering and decrypting, I discovered an astonishing secret from the mysterious ''Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript'' that I obtained from the family: besides natural awakening and bloodline inheritance, there is actually a third way for transcendent talents to awaken, through specific conditions... Although it''s just an unconfirmed ''treasure map,'' it''s the bestpensation I can think of for you..."


    Su''en didn''t think too much about this passage, as the cause and effect were no longer important.


    He caught a few important keywords: sacrifice medium, directional awakening, talent.


    It said that after "sacrificing one''s own eyeball," he "might" obtain an extremely powerful S-level talent. A highly rare ability that everyone in the alchemy world dreams of.


    If it were on Earth, Su''en would have definitely taken it as a joke.


    Remove his own eyeball as a sacrifice and gain superpowers?


    Fuck those superpowers!


    But after witnessing so many transcendent powers just now, Su''en thought carefully about this question.


    As for the word "might," it carried a gambling element.


    Because no one had tried it before.


    "I remember the bald man called his ability ''C079-Steelized Bones''? It seems more powerful than ''S-level''..."


    Su''en weighed his options for a moment, not knowing how the talent ratings in this world were distinguished.


    But if he could obtain the "transcendent power" like the bald man, it seemed worth it to pay some price.


    Certain thoughts had already begun to stir in his mind.


    And what made Su''en determined was another reason.


    He also thought about the background of the original owner, which seemed extraordinary. The person who left the information on his retina acknowledged the high specifications of this altar with respect. Perhaps the awakened talent here would be even stronger than the "steelized bones".


    Opportunity, no matter which world, always had a gambling element to it.


    The worst result would be blindness, without gaining anything.


    After experiencing a life-and-death battle, Su''en felt that this was not an uneptable price.


    To obtain something, one must pay a price. This was a basic rule in any world.


    Thinking this, he raised his eyebrows and reassured himself, "Since I''m already here... let''s give it a try."

 Chapter 9: [Talent S-018 - All-Seeing Eyes]

    Chapter 9: [Talent S-018 - All-Seeing Eyes]


    Su''en made a decision and walked calmly towards the altar.


    Hesitation was never his character.


    He had already made a n when he intended to follow the route.


    Coming to such an interesting fantasy world, it would be boring to be timid.


    ......


    Su''en stood on the altar, stepping on the intricate engraved runes and carefully observing.


    He had seen the bald man use this "Alchemy Array" before, using a hexagram magic array to create a set of metal scales.


    But obviously, the array engraved on this altar was much moreplex.


    "Blood stains the tail-biting snake, activate the array..."


    Following the instructions on his retina, he tore off the simple bandage on his palm. Then, with a slight force, he tore the wound apart, and the blood flowed down his fingers and dripped onto the engraved "tail-biting snake" on the magic array.


    As the blood stained the tail-biting snake, the red color automatically spread.


    The stone-carved snake gradually turned into a shining ruby-like red.


    In an instant, the runes on the altar lit up, and the golden light was so dazzling that it was almost impossible to open one''s eyes.


    "The array is functioning normally..."


    Su''en muttered to himself, with a hint of joy.


    This was a good sign.


    If the array could function, it meant that the decoding method in the "Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript" had a high chance of being correct. After all, no one would y such aplicated prank.


    With the array activated, the next step was the "sacrifice" ceremony.


    ording to the information on his retina, all alchemy in this world followed the principle of "equivalent exchange". To obtain such talent, an equivalent price must be sacrificed.


    What he had to sacrifice now was his own eyeball.


    "Phew..."


    Su''en took a deep breath and slowly raised his right hand, reaching towards his left eye. He sarcastically muttered to himself, "Indeed, my body seems to be excited about experiencing pain. Even if it means gouging out my own eye..."


    Gouging out an eye might be bloody for others, but it was not unfamiliar to Su''en.


    In his first year in the detention center, when he had an episode, he did the same thing. The target was a prison bully who had bullied him. After that, his cellmates called him "madman".


    Later, after studying "Human Anatomy" in the detention center, he learned how to urately kill, injure, and fight...


    Feares from the unknown, and Su''en knew very well what he would face when gouging out his eye, so he remained calm.


    He acted decisively, as if he was not the one enduring the pain.


    ......


    The pain, the piercing pain...


    And the fear of losing one eye.


    Blood dripped from his eye socket and fell onto the altar.


    The intense pain made Su''en''s forehead covered in cold sweat, and his face turned pale.


    After a few breaths, he took the crimson object and ced it in the left basket of the "bnce" stone carving.


    In that moment, as if a specific condition had been activated, a bright red light suddenly emanated from the central bnce of the altar, devouring the eyeball. At the same time, a faint green aura, like a small snake, quietly flowed into Su''en''s bleeding left eye...


    This was a veryplex alchemical transformation ritual.


    At this moment, this ancient and majestic altar, which had been sealed for thousands of years, seemed to connect different time and space... An ancient and majestic aura descended upon this secret room.


    Unaware of all this, Su''en''s limited perception allowed him to touch the mystery of this miraculous alchemy. It was as if he was traversing an endless starry sky, plucking a brilliant star from the sky and integrating it into his body.


    The process went more smoothly than expected, without any unexpected incidents.


    Su''en didn''t know what had happened, as his vision was filled with blood.


    Soon, he clearly felt the pain in his eye disappearing, and the light in his left eye was restored.


    "It worked..."


    Su''en guessed what had happened and let out a sigh of relief.


    The tingling sensation was a phenomenon of muscle tissue regeneration, faster than he could believe.


    The whole processsted about three minutes, and the red light on the magic array on the altarpletely dimmed.


    And as the red light dissipated, the statue with the symbol "" on the five stone carvings beside the altar cracked open.


    Su''en''s left eye slowly focused, clear and radiant, shining like a newborn baby. Upon closer inspection, there was a silver "moon" within the golden iris. With a flicker, the moon disappeared into the depths of the pupil.


    It was a strange experience. The altar in front of him was still the same, but it now appeared as a strange "new world". All objects became extremely clear, like a high-definition original photo with no filters, every detail visible. Even the spiderweb-like cracks on the statue were clearly distinguishable.


    ......


    "So... what kind of transcendent ability have I awakened? Is it ''Enhanced Vision''?"


    After confirming that the ritual wasplete, Su''en looked around and then lowered his head to examine his own body.


    His appearance seemed unchanged, but his vision had improved significantly. Even in dim light, his field of vision was incredibly clear.


    If that was all, he felt that it was much inferior to the bald man''s ''Steelized Skeleton''...


    But just as Su''en wasining in his mind, a strange sensation urred.


    He carefully examined his body and, after staring intently as if trying to see something clearly, strange text appeared in his eyes.


    Su''en (Fick Reigade)


    Dark Spiritual Power: 233/1130


    Charm: 9


    Strength: 6


    Agility: 6


    Constitution: 5


    Perception: 4


    Skill: 8


    Mental Power: 26


    Talent: [Talent S-018 - All-Seeing Eyes]


    Skills: [Hegem Breath Method], [Basic Firearms Proficiency], [Advanced Combat Introduction]


    Overall Combat Evaluation: B+ (For ordinary people who have not be transcendent, you are weak inbat except for your handsome appearance. But with the awakened S-level talent ''All-Seeing Eyes,'' you have endless possibilities in the future.)


    Seeing this, it felt as if time had frozen for a moment.


    Su''en eximed, "Data panel?"


    When he saw the string of data appearing on his retina, he felt as if he was ying a game.


    But when he saw the talent ''All-Seeing Eyes'' on the panel, he suddenly realized.


    "So, this transcendent talent awakened through the sacrifice ritual is this ability? It doesn''t seem that powerful..."


    Su''en muttered to himself, understanding why he had to sacrifice his own eyeball.


    So this "directional awakening" meant exchanging one eye for another.


    Su''en''s thoughts were jumping, and he no longer dwelled on things he couldn''t change. Instead, he began toin about the evaluations on the panel.


    But to think that hisbat skill, which could defeat ten opponents on Earth, was only considered "advanced introduction"?


    And the marksmanship that he had spent most of his savings practicing at the shooting range was only "basic proficiency"?


    Then what would advanced proficiency be like? Could the bullets turn corners?


    And there''s more!


    Overall evaluation, weak?


    Not very damaging, but extremely insulting...


    "Hehe... Compared to that bald guy, I can indeed be called ''weak''."


    Su''en smiled wryly, but he had a rough idea of the power levels in this world.


    And that strange [Hegem Breath Method] should be a "passive skill" that the original owner had learned and mastered.


    Su''en had felt a strange energy flowing in his body before, and his breathing followed a specific rhythm. It was like a "muscle memory," almost instinctively moving in a certain way.


    As for the Dark Spiritual Power, it should be simr to the "internal energy" of the previous life.


    But when he looked at his attribute panel, he showed a puzzled expression. The value of 26 for mental power was too eye-catching.


    "Could it be because of the multiple personalities?"


    Su''en pondered with his chin resting on his hand, but before he could think further...


    Suddenly, an anomaly urred!


    At that moment, the previously extinguished altar suddenly lit up again.


    This time, it was not golden light, but a gray mist enveloped in a cold light. It was like opening a gateway to hell, and he felt a shivering aura originating from the soul.


    "What''s going on? The alchemy array is activated again?!"


    Su''en felt puzzled because the information on his retina did not mention such a strange situation urring during the ritual.


    But he did not panic, as this scene was very simr to when he awakened before.


    After the light of the magic array shed, the statue with the symbol "" on the cloak emitted a fluorescent light, and a faint ck aura overflowed from the statue.


    This time, the transformation process was much faster than before.


    "Why is the talent awakening again when it has already awakened? I didn''t sacrifice anything..."


    Su''en looked at this familiar process, feeling greatly confused.


    At the same time, he felt as if something invisible was being drawn out of his body, and he inexplicably felt much lighter.


    Not long after, the octagram light dissipated, and the statue cracked again.


    This time, none of the five statues remained intact.


    Su''en also clearly felt that the sense of mystery and awe that these statues had given him suddenly disappeared, and they became ordinary stone carvings.


    ......


    Su''en looked at the panel again, wanting to know what had happened to his body.


    Then, he saw something new in the talent section - [Talent S-004 - Reaper of Death].

 Chapter 10: Extraordinary items harvested

    Chapter 10: Extraordinary items harvested


    "Double talent? What is this?"


    Su''encks basic knowledge of this world, so even if he sees this extra talent, he doesn''t know what it''s used for.


    Moreover, he found that his spiritual power value has changed from "26" to "18".


    His spiritual power has decreased by 8 points, and the feeling of hearing whispers in his ears haspletely disappeared.


    Su''en spected in his heart, "The principle of this altar is to offer items and exchange them for some kind of transcendent talent. It used to be an eye for an eye. Now that my spiritual power has decreased, could it be... the previous owner''s remnants werepletely sacrificed within my body, and then I obtained a new talent?"


    He didn''t dwell on this question too much, as there was no way to confirm it anyway.


    But at this moment, a strange thought popped into Su''en''s mind: if he wasn''t a traveler, what would a normal person sacrifice to obtain this talent? Would theymit suicide on the altar and sacrifice their own soul?


    .......


    "What is the use of this talent S-004, Death Reaper?"


    After all, this is not a game, and reality doesn''t have skill usage instructions.


    Su''en looked at it for a while, but still had no clue, and his body didn''t undergo any changes.


    He thought for a moment, didn''t dwell on it, and continued to test the abilities he gained from his eyes.


    In an instant, he turned his gaze to several stone sculptures, and a string of words appeared on them.


    [Damaged stone sculptures]


    Exnation: Stone sculptures without transcendent power, no significant observation value;


    This time, Su''en probably knew the use of this talent, "Isn''t this the ''appraisal skill'' in the game..."


    If we talk about the enhancement ofbat power with this talent... it''s not significant, it can be consideredpletely useless.


    This can basically be ssified as a support function.


    At least, in a real fight, it is not on the same level as the previous bald man''s [Steelized Skeleton].


    "Maybe I haven''t understood the use of this ''All-Seeing Eye'', or perhaps there are still undeveloped abilities. This awakening ritual is soplicated, it shouldn''t be that simple..."


    Su''en looked at it, but he wasn''t too disappointed.


    At least, his vision has improved, and it seems that his marksmanship has be more urate.


    At this moment, he suddenly thought of something, walked down from the altar, and took out the rune doll that Pestoya had given him to appraise.


    Upon inspection, he realized that it was a valuable treasure.


    [Cursed Item: Rune Puppet]


    Quality: Gold


    Description: It doesn''t like being controlled by others, but it enjoys controlling humans;


    Curse Attribute: Within a range of ten meters, it can indiscriminately control the minds of target creatures with a spirit level below 15, causing hypnosis, physical confusion, madness...


    Exnation: A material for alchemists specializing in mysterious puppets; after specializing, it greatly enhances skill and agility attributes and gains exclusive inherited skills.


    Evaluation: Bodypatibility 93%, this is already a very good quality material for advancing professions.


    If it weren''t for this "All-Seeing Eye," Su''en wouldn''t have expected that a random toy doll he considered a "souvenir" would be so powerful.


    "Physical confusion... this seems to be one of Pestoya''s transcendent abilities?"


    He looked at the detailed description of the puppet and immediately thought of the scene where he uncontrobly ate in the banquet hall before.


    Directly depriving control of the body, this ability is truly bizarre.


    "It even has indiscriminate mind control..."


    Su''en looked at it with a startled expression. If his spiritual power wasn''t stronger than that of an ordinary person, having this thing around would probably drive him crazy.


    Hmm... it''s probably equivalent to carrying a dangerous "nuclear radiation toy" with you.


    And at this moment, he also noticed a new term in the detailed descriptionspecialization material.


    He thought of the bald Ivan who transformed his entire body into metal scales using a magic array. Could this be some kind of special method for advancing professions?


    Su''en had quite a lot of strange knowledge in his head, and he spected that this so-called "specialization" was simr to job changes in games.


    "Pestoya''s profession should be ''Puppeteer''... but how do I specialize?"


    Countless question marks popped up in Su''en''s mind, and he sighed softly.


    He had limited knowledge of this world andcked much necessarymon sense.


    And now it seems that having this "All-Seeing Eye" ability is quite useful, at least it allows him to see these magical items without beingpletely clueless.


    ........


    Su''en put the puppet back into the wooden box.


    To his surprise, upon closer inspection, he found that the box containing the rune puppet was also a treasure.


    [Level 2 Rune Sealing Wooden Box]


    Exnation: A special alchemical box that can block fluctuations in spiritual power; upon careful observation, you will find some inscriptions on it.


    Su''en had previously felt that the patterns on the box were somewhat special, and now seeing this prompt, he took another look and discovered that the intricate patterns were actually tiny words, which turned out to be a book titled "Comprehensive Guide to Puppet Making."


    "Could it be that Pestoya thought my spiritual power was strong and suitable for being a puppeteer, so she not only gave me a ''specialization material'' but also included a skill book?"


    Su''en suddenly thought of the gentle little girl with golden hair and blue eyes, and there was always an indelible sense of regret in his heart.


    What a pity...


    He also didn''t forget his promise to the girl, to ask his parents why they burned her to death.


    But this estate has been abandoned for hundreds of years, and his parents are probably long gone.


    This "promise" may never be fulfilled.


    Then, he looked at the butterfly brooch pinned to his chest by the little girl, which turned out to be a transcendent item as well.


    [Pestoya''s Brooch]


    Focus +10


    Exnation: A brooch with strong resentment. It is a delicate alchemical product that allows the wearer to be more focused in learning, casting spells, working... But prolonged wearing will make one''s temperament be irritable and violent.


    (Note: Your transcendent ability prevents you from detecting and understanding too many things beyond your cognitive level, so after careful perception, you also see a string of ''unknown ???''...)


    Su''en looked at the brooch, thinking it was just a little trinket the girl gave him.


    But unexpectedly, when he saw the "???" note behind the brooch, a series of question marks also appeared in his mind.


    An elusive sense of mystery immediately enveloped him.


    There is actually something in this brooch that he temporarily can''t understand?


    What exactly could it be that the "All-Seeing Eye" judges him unable toprehend... Is it like exining the concept of three-dimensional or four-dimensional space to a two-dimensional creature, where they can hear and see but simply cannot understand?


    Something that even a traveler like himself can''tprehend must be extraordinary...


    "Could there be some secret hidden in this brooch?"


    Su''en instinctively felt that something was off.


    And at this moment, the question that troubled Su''en resurfaced in his mind: why did Pestoya''s parents burn her to death?


    Perhaps... she herself had some kind of problem?


    In this world with transcendent abilities, who knows what strange existences there might be.


    If it weren''t for the "All-Seeing Eye," Su''en probably wouldn''t have noticed any issues with the brooch.


    But now that he has discovered it, he feels a sense of caution.


    However, Su''en quickly thought that Pestoya is the big boss of this estate, so even if he suspects something, it''s best not to bring it up here.


    Thinking this, he decided to leave this ce before making any decisions.

 Chapter 11: Reaper of Death

    Chapter 11: Reaper of Death


    "The original host came to this mansion in search of the ancient altar, and then obtained the ''S-level'' Transcendent talent through sacrifice.


    Su''en fulfilled the original host''s wish.


    The only difference now is that he has awakened dual talents.


    Without any reference, Su''en doesn''t know if this situation is normal or not.


    He has understood some of the abilities of the ''All-Knowing Eyes'', but he has no clue about the function of the ''Reaper of Death''.


    There is no additional information left on the retina, the only useful thing is probably the map.


    At least, he knows where the original host came from and can follow the same path back to find the ''starting point''.


    Su''en also ns to leave here and find a human gathering point to learn more about this world.


    ......


    After careful inspection, there is nothing else in the basement.


    The five stone sculptures already have spider-web-like cracks, which have spread to the altar. It seems that the ancient altar haspletely lost its function.


    Su''en didn''t stay long and walked out of the secret passage.


    Back in the ruined mansion, Su''en was already out of breath.


    Losing arge amount of blood made his head dizzy.


    And the things on his body were taken away by Ivan and his gang before he crossed over. He urgently wanted to find some food to fill his stomach and replenish his energy.


    Otherwise, he knew he would not be able to go far alive.


    "I wonder what kind of existence Pestoya is and where that special space is..."


    Su''en looked at the ruined mansion and felt like it was all just a dream.


    ording to Marcus'' previous words, more than ten people in Ivan''s group died in the mansion, so he should have seen the bodies no matter what.


    But Su''en looked around and didn''t see any bodies at all. Even the spider webs on the passage indicated that no one hade except for himself.


    Su''en didn''t find anything in the house and walked out of the door.


    Walking into the courtyard, he noticed that the sky was gloomy, as if the dark night was covered by dark clouds, and everything around was hazy.


    The mansion seems to be built on a half-mountain slope. With the enhancement of his ''Enhanced Vision'', Su''en could vaguely see the shadows of somerge buildings in the distance.


    It looks like a ruined ghost city.


    There are no light sources in the city, shrouded in mist, and there are faint shadows of huge moving creatures...


    Seeing this scene, Su''en''s gaze gradually deepened, and he muttered to himself, "The mysteries of this world are bing more and more intriguing..."


    Like discovering a mysterious map that has never been explored in a game, the strong desire to explore made his heart restless.


    This is also one of his beliefs in order to survive.


    However, if a ruined mansion is so strange and dangerous, there must be dangers lurking in the ruined buildings in the distance.


    Su''en had no intention of exploring the city ruins now. He carefully looked at the map on his retina and nned to first find the route the original host came from and return the same way.


    The map is even more strange, with the route from top to bottom.


    It means that if the scale on the route is not marked incorrectly, Su''en is now at least hundreds of kilometers deep underground.


    Who would build such arge city in such a deep underground?


    This is a very strange point.


    Moreover, if this is underground, what is the meaning of the faint light source in the sky?


    This underground space is also unusuallyrge...


    However, Su''en, who had witnessed the power of Transcendence, did not delve into these questions.


    No matter how strange this world is, it is within his expectations.


    ......


    Su''enpared the directions and nned to leave the mansion.


    But just as he took a few steps, he saw a bloody figure lying in the dpidated garden of the mansion.


    The shiny bald head immediately alerted Su''en.


    Obviously, this guy is Ivan, the leader of the bandits!


    At this moment, this guy''s metal scales had fallen off, and his skin was covered with wounds as if he had been tortured.


    "This guy is still alive?!"


    Su''en looked at the slightly undting chest of the bald head and felt a little surprised.


    He thought that Pestoya''s ability should easily kill this guy.


    "Could this also be a gift she specially left for me? Or does this bald guy have some life-saving means to escape from that special space?"


    Su''en pondered for a moment and chose not to escape, but opened the wooden box and took out the rune puppet.


    Then, he slowly walked towards the bald head.


    It just so happened that he urgently needed supplies to survive, and this bald head came at the right time.


    Twenty meters, ten meters...


    When he reached within ten meters, Su''en also let out a sigh of relief.


    Even if the bald head still had the strength to resist at this time, the rune puppet should be able to control him.


    Obviously, Su''en''s caution was unnecessary. The bald head had alreadypletely lost consciousness.


    Facing this guy who had almost killed him before, Su''en had no mercy. He drew the dagger from his waist and stabbed it into his heart.


    The sharp dagger urately pierced through the ribs, instantly ending the bald head''s life.


    Su''en looked at the lifeless bald head and finally rxed.


    At this moment, a strange scene appeared.


    Su''en fixed his gaze and saw a grayish, glowing mist-like substance appearing on the bald head''s body.


    He thought it might be a "corpse transformation" or "evil spirit conversion", but before he could think too much, he found himself having an urgent desire to devour that "mist" unconsciously...


    It was the kind of craving one feels when extremely hungry and sees food.


    "Could this be... a soul?"


    Su''en suppressed that desire and suddenly realized something. He tentatively touched the "mist" with his hand.


    In the next moment, a series of images and information flooded into his mind.


    "You have obtained ''Ivan Adams'' memory fragments."


    "You have acquired some ''basic mechanical knowledge''."


    "You have captured a piece of information: ''Oh! Sabina''s peaches are really big...''"


    "Combat experience +5"


    "Mental power +0.1"


    ...


    "This ''mist'' is actually Ivan''s memory fragments!"


    Su''en found that his mind suddenly had something extra.


    First, it was like watching a movie, seeing Ivan modifying and maintaining the mechanical arm, and seeing him fighting with others...


    However, after the mist was devoured and fused, there was no longer any barrier. That memory seemed like his own "personal experience".


    As for the erotic scene that shed into his mind,pared to other surprises, it was naturally ignored.


    When he came back to his senses, Su''en realized that he seemed to have acquired some of Ivan''s skills.


    He looked at his panel again.


    Indeed!


    His mental power had increased by 0.1, and a new skill, ''Basic Mechanical Knowledge'', appeared in his skill list.


    The increase of "Combat experience +5" made Su''en estimate that even if he trained hard for three to five months, he might not have achieved such a huge improvement.


    He suddenly realized the potential of this ''Reaper of Death'' ability: "This ability, ''S-004-Death Reaper'', can actually strip memory fragments from the soul and make them his own..."


    Realizing the potential of this ability, he couldn''t believe it. "Is this ability so incredible?"


    Although this talent does not directly increasebat power, it is definitely a "god-level" ability for growth and development!


    He can strip the memories of deceased targets and gain some of their abilities... no wonder it''s called the ''Death Reaper''!


    The more Su''en thought about it, the more he marveled.


    This meant that as long as he had enough memory fragments, he could easily master more skills and abilities.


    Magic, alchemy, mechanical knowledge,bat experience, marksmanship... and so on. Skills that others need to spend a lot of time experiencing and umting, he could instantly master.


    The future potential is limitless!


    Indeed, it is worthy of being an ''S-level'' talent!


    Without further thought, Su''en noticed another problem.


    When the bald head was still alive, there was no "mist" on his body. It only appeared after he was killed.


    It seems that this ''Reaper of Death'' ability can only strip the soul of the deceased?


    "But, whether dead or alive, where can I find so many souls to harvest..."


    Thinking of this, Su''en furrowed his brows.


    In the next moment, he murmured as if having a conversation with someone, "Hey hey hey... don''t be so excited."


    At this moment, he didn''t realize that he hade to a cruel world where human life is as insignificant as grass.


    Here, death is like the wind, always apanying everyone."

 Chapter 12: Bountiful spoils of war

    Chapter 12: Bountiful spoils of war


    The bald man died, and Su''en began to collect his spoils.


    The mechanical arm on his right arm was damaged in the previous battle. The barrel, valve, and high-pressure pipes were all cut open.


    However, this did not hinder Su''en''s research on this steampunk technology.


    He had just extracted the memories from the bald man and gained some basic "steam mechanical knowledge". With a nce, he roughly understood the structure of this mechanical arm.


    "It seems like the technology tree in this world is a bit crooked, abination of alchemy and steam power..."


    Su''en looked at the runes engraved on the mechanical arm and fell into deep thought.


    Pure metal materials alone could not support such aplex structure, especially the ultra-high-pressure steam cannon. These mysterious alchemical runes yed a very important role in maintaining the stability of the structure.


    However, his knowledge of mechanics was still limited, and he temporarily couldn''t understand the principles behind these inscriptions and enchantments.


    ......


    Without looking further, Su''en began to scavenge the other equipment on the bald man''s body.


    Unfortunately, except for the dagger he just found, almost all the items on the body were damaged. The shotgun was also cut into several pieces, with only half of the barrel left in the holster.


    Su''en couldn''t help but feel disappointed. He didn''t find the supplies he wanted and wondered, "Is this it? Don''t these guys bring any food with them when they go out?"


    Just as he was wondering in his mind, he suddenly noticed three ck gemstone rings that the bald man was wearing.


    If Su''en remembered correctly, one of them was peeled off from the finger of the cock''sb-headed man who died.


    He focused his attention and immediately received a response from the "All-Seeing Eye".


    [Damaged spatial ring]


    Exnation: Inferior spatial equipment engraved with identity recognition runes (damaged).


    "Spatial equipment?"


    Su''en looked at it and revealed an expression of "just as expected".


    In this deste underground world, water and food should be more important than weapons. These guys didn''t even have a water bottle, which was abnormal.


    He took off one of the storage rings and put it on his finger. With a thought, he suddenly saw that the "ck gemstone" on the storage ring was a folding space.


    Approximately half a cubic space, densely packed with various bottles and jars.


    Red, green, arranged in rows, they looked like potions.


    Su''en randomly took out a red test tube of potion and identified it with the "All-Seeing Eye".


    [Inferior healing potion (oral)]


    Exnation: Quickly stops bleeding and elerates wound healing; although there are impurities, there are no significant side effects.


    Then he looked at a blue one, which was for restoring dark spiritual power.


    There were also some high-level potions with inscriptions on the test tubes, but there were only a few of them.


    "It seems that emergency medicine is essential for adventurers. Now I probably won''t die..."


    Su''en felt delighted.


    Just a moment ago, he was worried about theck of essential potions. The wounds on his body could be infected and inmed, posing an unpredictable and fatal threat.


    Now that he saw these potions, he immediately opened a medium-level healing potion and drank it. He then used an external disinfectant to clean his wounds.


    If it weren''t for the "All-Seeing Eye," Su''en felt that even if he saw these potions, he wouldn''t know that they were life-saving potions stored in these test tubes.


    Of course, there were also poisons.


    Now it seemed that this talent ability was really a perfect match for him as a transmigrator.


    What was amazing was that after Su''en took the potions, he suddenly felt a tingling sensation in the palms of his hands. He knew very well that it was the elerated division of cells, a sign that the wound tissue was healing.


    However, under normal circumstances, this healing sensation would only be apparent several days after the appearance of the wound.


    "What amazing potions. If they were avable in my previous life, they would be life-saving miracles in surgery..."


    Su''en''s current vision allowed him to clearly see his wounds healing at a visible speed.


    It seemed that it would bepletely healed in less than half an hour.


    However, he couldn''t help but mutter, "It seems a bit wasteful to use ''medium-level healing potions'' for this kind of injury..."


    The "medium-level healing potion" seemed to have such a powerful effect that it should be used to treat more severe injuries. The wounds on his palms seemed to be enough with the inferior potions.


    But Su''en didn''t feel regretful about using them on himself.


    ......


    In the second storage ring, Su''en found the food and water he wanted, but they looked very unappetizing.


    The food was hard, like bricks of ck bread, and the water was murky.


    If it weren''t for identifying it as "inferior drinking water," Su''en wouldn''t have thought that this turbid liquid, which seemed to be directly pumped from a swamp, could be drinking water.


    Not in a hurry to eat, Su''en checked thest storage ring, and inside were weapons.


    There were two punk-style pistols and a short-barreled shotgun.


    There were also numerous bullets and recement parts for the mechanical arm.


    The guns were of good quality, and the bullets were not ordinary gunpowder bullets.


    After identifying them, Su''en found that among the ordinary bullets, there were some special alchemical bullets with engraved magic patterns, such as [Alchemical Bullet (High Explosive)], [Alchemical Bullet (Armor-Piercing)], [Alchemical Bullet (Demon-Breaking)]...


    There weren''t many of them, but they seemed to be very powerful.


    There were no other food items in thest storage ring. Su''en had no choice but to eat. Low blood sugar had already made him feel dizzy. He took a few bites of the ck bread and drank some water that had a rotten taste.


    While eating, Su''en couldn''t help but wonder.


    Judging from the equipment carried by the bald man, the production of firearms and bullets seemed to be very sophisticated in this world. However, the food was quite miserable.


    "Do these guys really not have ess to clean drinking water and food?"


    It was hard for Su''en, who had transmigrated, to understand why these guys could have such sophisticated equipment but couldn''t guarantee a pot of clean drinking water and food.


    He vaguely guessed that it might be because the living environment in this world was extremely harsh.


    ......


    Su''en sat next to the bald man''s corpse, eating while watching the physiological features of a living person gradually disappear from the body, the skin turning pale, and the body temperature gradually fading away...


    While he was still counting the items in the storage ring, he suddenly noticed two glowing objects on the bald man''s body.


    A palm-sized blue scale slowly condensed on the skin of the corpse, and there was also a dark red fibrous bundle that looked like muscle fibers.


    After identifying them, they turned out to be two special items.


    [Adamantite Scale (Damaged)]


    Exnation: Damaged alchemical nt equipment. Perhaps you can extract some useful transcendent materials from it.


    [Cursed Item: Resilient Demon Muscle (Damaged)]


    Exnation: Material for the warlock''s strength-based ''Iron Goliath'' job. It is missing some of its cursed properties and needs to have the curse runes redrawn to be used.


    "So this is the scale that made the bald man invulnerable before? It turns out to be something simr to equipment..."


    Su''en suddenly felt amazed. What kind of existence was this? It could turn into a tattoo and cover the body, and with a magic array, it could be activated to be a physical object. Now that the bald man was dead, it was peeled off.


    The "alchemy" that frequently appeared in the "All-Seeing Eye" was bing more and more intriguing to him.


    After the "demon muscle" was removed from the corpse, the visible size of the bald man''s body decreased significantly.


    Su''en also understood what was happening. He realized, "So this is how ''job materials'' are used... directly fused into the body to enhance physical attributes?"


    He immediately thought of the "job material" of the "Puppeteer" that he had in his hands. After bing a puppeteer, it could greatly increase agility and skill.


    Now it seemed that this "demon muscle" of the bald man was the root cause of his exaggerated strength!


    However...


    Even if he knew the principle, Su''en found that he still didn''t know how to "be a job."


    ......


    After filling his stomach reluctantly, Su''en had also sorted out most of the items in the bald man''s storage ring.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t want to figure everything out, but identifying items with the "All-Seeing Eye" was not without cost.


    Identifying consumed dark spiritual power.


    The higher the level of the item, the more it consumed.


    He now had only a few dozen points of dark spiritual power left in his body, and even if he drank a restorative potion, it would take several hours to fully recover.


    Since he had already found the remaining potions and water, there was no rush to find out what the rest of the items were for.


    Su''en loaded the two pistols with bullets.


    One was loaded with regr bullets, and the other was loaded with special alchemical bullets. He then holstered them at his waist.


    He nned to leave this ce first and find a human city to learn about the situation in this world.


    As he was about to leave, looking at the bald man''s corpse and the deste manor, Su''en suddenly had another doubt.


    "ording to reason, the original host came to search for this ruin. Why did the bald man kidnap the original host? Did he specifically track him down, or did a fellowpanion suddenly turn malicious?"


    Su''en felt that the former possibility was more likely.


    Even if the original host was foolish, he probably wouldn''t share such an important "Baron Isaac''s treasure" with others. Moreover, even if he were looking forpanions, he wouldn''t choose someone like the bald man, who was capable of plotting for wealth and life at any time.


    From the information left on the retina, the original host''s identity seemed to be very sensitive, like an exiled scion of a certain big family.


    When these conditions were put together, it became intriguing.


    "First of all, in such a remote ce, the chances of a chance encounter are very low. Judging from the previous interrogation by the bald man, they didn''t know about the treasure or the true identity of the original host. So, their purpose in following him was very simple, to kill and silence him!"


    "And the reason they didn''t act immediately might be because the bald man was greedy for the secrets on the original host, so he followed him all the way here..."


    "If they didn''t know each other, there wouldn''t be any old grudges. So, the most likely scenario is ''hiring a killer''."


    Su''en connected the limited information in his mind and roughly reconstructed the truth of the matter.


    He spected in his mind, "It also means that there are people who want to kill the original host wherever he came from. If I go back, I might be assassinated as well?"


    Thinking of this, he frowned. This was not good news.


    It also meant that even if he returned to the city where the original host came from, he couldn''t expose his identity.


    Otherwise, it might bring fatal trouble.


    "This is a bit troublesome..."


    Su''en thought of something and muttered to himself, "With such a handsome face, it''s highly recognizable."

 Chapter 13: Grotto World

    Chapter 13: Grotto World


    A few dayster.


    In aplex underground passage, in a dark pit.


    Su''en tried to suppress his breathing as much as possible, and his gaze was focused on a few hundred meters away.


    There, a humanoid monster was wandering aimlessly in the cave, hunting for food.


    It still had some human clothes and equipment on it, but its appearance hadpletely turned into a swollen monster like a giant tumor.


    Su''en looked at the monster, his finger already resting on the trigger of the alchemy bullet-filled gun.


    As long as it came closer, he would blow its head off with one shot.


    Distorted Humans


    Exnation: Humans who cannot withstand the curse''s power and have turned into monsters, possessing strong auditory perception. They don''t have much intelligence, only the instinct to hunt and kill.


    Luckily, not long after, the monster wandered away in another direction, not approaching the ce where Su''en was hiding.


    Su''en also breathed a sigh of relief: "Phew... How many strange creatures are there in this underground?"


    This wasn''t the first time he encountered such monsters.


    Three days ago, when he walked out of the secret passage, he encountered one.


    Because he had no idea about the dangers of this underground, he didn''t know that the sound of stepping on stones would attract these creatures with extremely sensitive hearing.


    Fortunately, with his enhanced vision, he noticed in time.


    The thing came charging at him like a mountain of flesh, almost killing him on the spot.


    The distorted monsters couldn''t be approached at all. Just a random wound would cause your face to be covered in disgusting rotten flesh and mud.


    They had strong corrosiveness and a foul odor.


    Normal bullets were almost useless. Shooting at them was like shooting into a pile of mud.


    "Boer~" it would bubble, but have no effect.


    Luckily, Su''en was prepared and used several "high-explosive" alchemy bullets.


    With precise shots, the monster was blown to pieces like a grenade.


    But he didn''t have many alchemy bullets left, and there were more than just these monsters in the caves.


    If he hadn''t awakened the "Eye of Omniscience" and greatly enhanced his night vision, he would have died many times on this journey with just the crude alchemy night vision goggles.


    <em>Su''en had previously thought that this underground world was arge mine or a cave.</em>


    But the size of the underground space was so unimaginablyrge, not only with remnants of human cities but also aplete ecosystem with various animals, nts, and monsters hidden in the dark corners.


    Have you ever seen a glowing mushroom forest tens of meters high?


    Have you seen lizard-like creatures the size of dinosaurs?


    Have you seen red-eyed rats that look like locusts passing by?


    Have you seen a centipede that is over ten meters long and really has a thousand legs?


    And have you seen a giant tentacle monster with eyes covering the entire wall?


    Su''en had never seen any of these in his previous life, but in these few days, his mind had gained a lot of strange knowledge. With the identification of the "Eye of Omniscience," he also got to know many strange creatures.


    Most of these underground creatures were grotesque and disgusting, like deformed creatures after nuclear radiation...


    The living conditions here were extremely harsh for humans!


    ***


    Su''en was afraid that the monster hadn''t gone far, so he decided to stay in the pit for a while to replenish food and water.


    "ording to the map I found in the bald storage ring, I should be heading towards the B-level area with a higher frequency of human activity. Maybe I can encounter other hunting teams and find out the situation..."


    Su''en looked at the map with markings, checked the food and water reserves, and estimated that his supplies would notst until he reached the human settlement city marked on the map.


    Being alone, he had always been cautious and didn''t dare to randomly shoot and kill the underground creatures, fearing that it would attract bigger trouble.


    These few days of experience had gradually given him a more urate understanding of this mysterious world with transcendent powers.


    The fact that there was a huge city ruin underground indicated that there were arge number of humans living here thousands of years ago.


    Moreover, Ivan and his baldpanions were miners, and it seemed that their team was specifically adventuring in the underground to search for supplies as a "hunting team".


    Their pale skin was not only due to their bloodline, but also because they hadn''t been exposed to sunlight for a long time.


    Su''en suspected that even the destination he was heading to was not on the surface, but underground.


    But all of this was just spection.


    If he could survive for a few more days and reach the "destination," he would probably have a clearer understanding.


    ***


    After a short while, the feeling of fullness from the food made Su''en feel that his glycogen was replenished, and he could continue on.


    At this moment, he suddenly remembered something and took out the <em>Pestoya''s Brooch</em> that he had put in the storage ring before.


    For the past few days, Su''en had been pondering over the unknown information disyed as <em>"???"</em> on the brooch.


    The mystery of Pestoya''s death had always puzzled him.


    An abandoned mansion that had been deserted for thousands of years, a ghost species, a story with obvious doubts...


    It felt like a missing piece of a puzzle.


    Having watched over a thousand horror movies and yed countless horror games, Su''en had a hunch that there was something wrong with this brooch.


    And in this world, there were many strange supernatural powers. It might be a big trouble.


    If he didn''t know, he would just leave it alone. But since he had doubts, Su''en didn''t n to keep this "potential bomb" with him.


    Now that he was far away from the mansion, he no longer worried about triggering anything bad.


    Without much hesitation, Su''en dug a hole in the pit and buried the brooch, making a mark.


    He thought that if there was no problem, he would dig it outter when his cognition could identify the hidden information on it.


    Little did he know that shortly after burying it, a certain will within the brooch awakened and whispered from the abyss: "Huh... Did that kid discover something?"


    ***


    Unbeknownst to Su''en, a group of ck-clothed people arrived at the "Storm Manor" a few days after he left.


    In the dpidated mansion, a blond young man in a pink suit was leisurely drinking coffee. It seemed that he was already ustomed to the eerie and terrifying atmosphere, and it had no effect on his mood.


    Before long, the subordinates of the blond young man had violently broken open the <em>"cursed space"</em> filled with creepy dolls.


    A man in a ck suit approached, holding a box, and reported: "Young Master Evan, there was a ''ghost species'' in the cursed space of this mansion, and we have killed it."


    The man in the suit seemed rxed, as if he had a lot of experience in dealing with such things.


    After a pause, he opened the box to disy the spoils and said: "This is the <em>''cursed object''</em> we found after killing that strange creature. It should be the source supporting this cursed space. Master Nick has already identified it, and the quality of this cursed object is very high, with excellent effects..."


    The blond young man nced at the ck butterfly brooch in the box. Since it seemed to be a women''s essory, he wasn''t very interested and waved his hand: "Theresa likes to collect these essories. Send it to her mansion when we return."


    The man in the ck suit respectfully replied, "Yes, Young Master."


    ***


    It seemed that this group of people also had the same <em>"treasure map"</em> as Su''en. They quickly found the secret passage, then the maze, and finally the shattered altar.


    The blond young man was still looking forward to the legendary relic of the most mysterious and powerful alchemy organization of the previous era, the "Twilight Cross Society." He fantasized that if the altar really existed as recorded in the manuscript, he might awaken a legendary super talent.


    But unexpectedly, not long after, he heard some "bad news."


    The captain of the suit-wearing guards walked over with a slightly unpleasant expression and reported, "Young Master, we have explored the basement and it does indeed match the deciphered contents of the ''Isaac Alchemy Manuscript.'' However, the ancient altar in the secret room has already been destroyed, and there is no way to perform the sacrifice ritual. Moreover..."


    The blond young man had a premonition that he would hear something bad: "Moreover, what?"


    The man in the suit said, "Moreover, after careful investigation, we found traces of recent human activity in the basement. So we conclude that the altar may have already been triggered by someone..."


    Hearing this, the blond young man angrily said, "How is that possible! We are the only ones who knew this information!"


    After experiencing such a huge disappointment of missing the treasure, he suddenly thought of something and said angrily, "Damn it! It must be that old man from the Rega family who is causing trouble again!"


    "What about the ancient city ruins over there?"


    "We have sent people to investigate, but no one hase back alive... Preliminary judgment is that the danger level is at least ''red.''"


    ***


    On the other hand, after a few more days, Su''en finally encountered living people.

 Chapter 14: Mechanical prostheses

    Chapter 14: Mechanical prostheses


    "Lao En, congrattions on your sessful job cement. Your profession as a ''Windrunner'' is suitable for a wide range of alchemical nt materials. Our main target this time is the ''Lightning Lizard'' or the ''Dungeon Horn Dog.'' There are quite a few of these two types of monsters in the shallow depths of the dungeon. As long as luck is not bad, the chance of obtaining cursed materials is very high..."


    "Yes, if we happen to encounter the ''Beast King,'' perhaps we can even extract ''Silver-grade'' cursed materials. Then we can ask the guild''s mechanic to help refine them, and you, Vice Captain Laon, will be an official professional."


    "Boss, guys, please don''t make fun of me. Buying job cement materials and that nt equipment blueprint has almost depleted all my savings. If I don''t gain anything this time, I will really be a pauper..."


    "Haha, don''t worry, Vice Captain Laon. Once you be a professional, yourbat power will skyrocket. The initial investment will quickly pay off, and we will rely on you to take care of us then..."


    "..."


    This is a fully armed hunting team, consisting of eight people.


    They chose to camp in a building ruin with a dpidated watchtower. The location of this campsite happens to be a must-pass route on Su''en''s map.


    While chatting, a vignt team member suddenly noticed abnormal movements deep in the cave and shouted, "Be careful, someone ising over there!"


    ...


    The progress in the dark dungeon was not fast, and it would probably take another four or five days to reach the "city" where Su''en originally came from.


    But Su''en''s situation was not good.


    His food was almost depleted, and if he didn''t get any supplies, he would probably have to try hunting some dungeon monsters for food.


    But water was a big problem.


    Su''en originally thought that there would be an ecological chain underground and that water sources should not becking. After walking in the dungeon for several days, he did find a few water puddles and seeping cracks in rocks. However, the All-Knowing Eye identified them as various degrees of "polluted water sources," which would cause distortion when consumed.


    Su''en also vaguely understood why the water in the bald man''s storage ring was so turbid but still drinkable.


    Compared to distortion, turbidity was eptable.


    Su''en had hoped to encounter some people who could buy drinking water and inquire about the situation. But obviously, meeting anyone in this deste dungeon was not a good choice for asking directions or buying water.


    But now, he encountered such a hunting team.


    Having witnessed the ruthlessness of the bald man''s group, Su''en didn''t think highly of the people in this world.


    However, he had no choice but to take the risk and make contact with this team.


    Because they had also noticed him.


    Obviously, there were special abilities among them that were good at long-range perception. Even before Su''en saw them, they had already aimed their guns at him.


    Su''en had amazing eyesight. When he saw the sniper on the high watchtower aiming at him with a sniper rifle, he had no intention of resisting and raised his hands, indicating that he had no intention of drawing a weapon.


    And on his waist, there was a wooden box hanging there, and with a slight touch, the puppet inside would drop out.


    Eight people, two snipers, and six in the camp...


    After observing for a while, Su''en roughly estimated the situation.


    The range of the ''Rune Phantom Puppet'' was only ten meters, and he was trembling with fear at the thought of walking hundreds of meters.


    But if he chose to escape, the sniper on the opposite side would probably shoot him like shooting a mole.


    As he walked, he shouted loudly, "I mean no harm... I just want to exchange for some food and water."


    ...


    "Boss, it''s a human, not an anomaly."


    "Yeah, it seems to be a lone unlucky guy."


    "Huh... That kid''s red fire gun on his waist, could it be the famous gun ''Three-Headed Ghost''? Isn''t that the gun used by ''Ironhead'' Ivan from the Crow Gang?"


    "Yeah, I saw it too. ''Ironhead'' Ivan is not someone to mess with..."


    "..."


    The small team camped in the ruins of the watchtower was obviously curious when they encountered a lone human here.


    After the "bald man" didn''t make any dangerous moves, they let hime closer.


    Yes, that "bald man" was Su''en.


    Without undergoing any cosmetic changes, how could he quickly change his facial features?


    Su''en was worried that the troubles of his previous body would be passed on to him if he didn''t change his appearance.


    Returning to the city with this face would definitely not work.


    Intentionally destroying his appearance, like disfiguring himself, would attract even more attention.


    Therefore, he decisively used the physical disguise method - shaving his eyebrows.


    If someone had tried it before, they would know that the most direct way to make a face suddenly unfamiliar is to shave off the eyebrows. It was definitely a disfiguring-level disguise method, and it worked quickly.


    And, Su''en had no attachment to any idol image. To be safe, he even shaved off all his hair.


    Then he used oil paint to apply eyeshadow and create a smoky makeup.


    He went from a handsome gentleman to a punk hooligan.


    Judging from the dressing style of the bald man and his group, this dark punk style was not umon in this world and was even mainstream.


    Just as Su''en saw several people in this hunting team dressed in this way.


    ...


    Su''en walked to the broken wall, and at least ten guns were already aimed at his head.


    He didn''t know if his understanding of steam machinery was insufficient, but he felt that the equipment of these guys in front of him, although not as sophisticated as the bald man''s group, was much moreplex and had a stronger sense of technology.


    They were equipped with various long guns and short cannons, strange-looking mechanical swords, mechanical shields, full-body metal exoskeletons for carrying heavy loads, backpack-sized steam-powered boilers...


    What surprised him even more was that the guy who looked like the "captain" had both arms reced with well-made steam-powered mechanical arms!


    Not the external exoskeleton-type mechanical arms like the bald man, butplete "mechanical prostheses" that reced flesh and blood arms.


    "Did I guess wrong? This is not a magical world, but a cyberpunk world?"


    Seeing this, Su''en doubted his previous spection.


    Perhaps, the tech tree of this world had already deviated... to the extent that they had developed technology like "prosthetic modification," which was extremely difficult.


    With limited knowledge of machinery, he was confused.


    These people clearly appeared to be in a world of steam technology + magic, so how could they be connected to high-tech prosthetic limbs driven by nerves?


    This was a strong sh of technology mixtures, just like people from the steam age developing lightsaber technology from Star Wars. Theoretically, this was several eras apart in terms of technology.


    However, the confusion quickly disappeared.


    Su''en did not show too much surprise on his face.


    And at this moment, the guys on the wall also seemed cautious and shouted, "Stop!"


    Su''en cooperatively stood still.


    The captain with the mechanical arm asked, "Who are you?"

 Chapter 15: Annihilate Team

    Chapter 15: Annihte Team


    "What kind of person are you?"


    Facing the other person''s question, Su''en gave the prepared answer, saying, "I am a wilderness hunter. My team encountered a group of ''lightning lizards'' before, and my team got separated. Now I amcking food and water. If you are willing, I would like to buy some or exchange for some..."


    Because hecked knowledge of this world, he tried to speak in ambiguous terms.


    This statement was half true and half false, not entirely made up. He did encounter a group of giant lizards before.


    But he didn''t expect that these people in front of him seemed to be heading towards the hunting of thoserge lizards that were as fast as cheetahs.


    Su''en clearly noticed their reaction when he said this, and the faces of the people on the other side showed a bright expression.


    Sure enough, someone directly asked, "You encountered a group of ''lightning lizards''?"


    "Yes."


    Su''en turned and pointed to the passage, saying, "On the left side of this passage, in the direction leading to Zone B11, there is arge group of them. I guess that''s where their nest is."


    Hearing the urate reply, the joy on the faces of the people on the other side became even stronger.


    The captain with the mechanical prosthetic limbs, Yuguang, nced at the gun hanging at Su''en''s waist and asked, "Are you alone? Which wilderness hunting group are you from?"


    Without thinking, Su''en casually said, "I am from the ''Straw Hat Wilderness Hunting Group''."


    "Oh?"


    The captain squinted his eyes, seemingly thinking of something. His gaze also fell on the ck storage ring in Su''en''s hand, and he asked, "Are you a member of the Crow Gang?"


    Upon hearing this, the expressions of the eight people on the other side turned unfriendly.


    "..."


    Su''en keenly noticed the expressions of the few people and became alert.


    He didn''t understand the exact meaning of the term "Crow Gang," but he vaguely felt that the other party''s tone was certain, as if they had figured something out about him.


    Clearly, something was wrong.


    He felt that the problem might lie with the gun at his waist.


    Without aparison, he didn''t know, but now that hepared it, the runic firearm he found from the bald man''s storage ring looked much more advanced than the ones these people had on them.


    But obviously, admitting that he was a member of the "Crow Gang" might lead to immediate death.


    Su''en knew that continuing to ask questions might lead to trouble, so he could only respond vaguely, "As you can see, I am a frence adventurer. Sorry, I just wanted to buy some food and water. If you don''t have any extra, then forget it."


    "A frence adventurer?"


    The captain listened to Su''en''s response, and his eyes suddenly became yful.


    But he clearly saw Su''en''s hesitation and suddenly had a friendly smile on his face. He gestured to his subordinates to put down their guns and said, "No, what I mean is... if you don''t have a faction, you can consider joining us. As you can see, we are the ''Steam Brotherhood.'' You can call me Dick."


    As soon as he finished speaking, someone next to him added, "This is our captain, Dick, the famous ''Silver Mechanic Hand'' of the Lang Street District in the East City."


    Su''en nced at his silver mechanical arm and casually said, "Of course, I have heard of Captain Dick''s reputation."


    ttery never hurts, whether he knew him or not.


    From the other party''s tone, he guessed that this "Steam Brotherhood" should be a veryrge organization. Moreover, judging from the tone of the person next to him, this Dick should be very powerful...


    Dick, the "Silver Mechanic Hand," suddenly changed his attitude and invited, "Brother, would you like toe into the camp and rest? We can sell you some food and water."


    "That would be much appreciated."


    Although he was no longer held at gunpoint, Su''en felt that he had no right to refuse.


    He entered the camp, where a bonfire was burning.


    Su''en had no intention of staying for long or speaking much. But obviously, the other side kept testing his bottom line.


    "What should I call you, brother?"


    "I am called Su''en."


    "Brother, aren''t you a professional?"


    "Well, not really."


    "Oh, then you should consider joining our ''Steam Brotherhood.'' Once you join a faction, there will be many ''employment materials'' and ''alchemy blueprints'' for you to choose from. You know, besides the ''Cross Society'' and the ''Crow Gang,'' no one in the outer city can provide more resources than us. And if you want to modify mechanical prosthetics, only our ''Steam Brotherhood'' is the top choice..."


    "I will consider..."


    Su''en captured a lot of useful information from their conversation.


    It seemed that there was a distinction between the "Inner City" and the "Outer City" in that city.


    And there were three major factions in the Outer City...


    Seeing that Su''en did not agree, Captain Dick brought up the purpose of their trip.


    He tentatively said, "We came out this time to prepare the cursed materials needed for the vice captain, Lorne, to craft alchemy prosthetics. Our target is the ''lightning lizard''s leg tendons'' or the ''abyssal horned dog''s skin.'' If you have these materials, you can sell them to us..."


    "Sorry, I don''t have any. Our team encountered danger shortly after we set out and didn''t gain anything."


    "..."


    The atmosphere of the conversation seemed harmonious.


    The other side prepared three days'' worth of drinking water and food for Su''en.


    Originally, Su''en didn''t want to think badly of human nature, but with the next move, he knew it was time to act.


    They handed him their water sk, and Su''en used his All-Knowing Eye to appraise it, revealing a few words: [Water with neurotoxin].


    Their intentions were clear.


    Before, they probably didn''t act because they saw that he was alone and were unsure if he had any hidden cards or secrets. Now that they had tested him enough, it was time to act.


    Poisoning the water was the best choice.


    Once he drank it, everything would be over.


    Even if he didn''t drink it, with so many of them, it wouldn''t be toote to act.


    Now that he knew they had ill intentions, Su''en looked at those people with a slightly unfriendly gaze.


    They seemed to be sitting around the bonfire chatting, but it felt more like they were surrounding him.


    And their wandering gazes were always on his gun at his waist. If he made any sudden movements, they would attack first.


    Su''en pretended not to know and opened the water sk. He had no intention of reaching for his gun.


    He knew very well that even if he drew his gun quickly, he could only fire one or two shots at most.


    And there were eight of them.


    Not to mention the highly threatening professional, Dick, the "Silver Mechanic Hand."


    But the good news was that, except for the two lookouts, the other six people were within ten meters of Su''en.


    And this distance was within the range of influence of the Cursed ItemRune Puppet.


    .......


    Su''en had a sincere smile on his face as if he was about to drink the water.


    But just as the water sk was about to touch his lips, he stopped, as if he suddenly remembered something, and said with a smile, "Captain Dick, thank you for your hospitality. Although I encountered some danger on this trip, I did gain something..."


    Saying that, Su''en calmly reached for the cloth bag hanging at his waist and revealed the wooden box inside.


    "Su''en, you are too kind..."


    Although Dick''s face was full of smiles, a hint of vignce shed in his eyes.


    He was confident that even if at this moment, Su''en took out a hand grenade to detonate, he would be able to dodge it immediately.


    "This is something I found in a manor ruin before. I haven''t figured out what it is for yet, so I''ll give it to Captain Dick for now..."


    Su''en pretended to be clueless, with a rxed smile on his face. He opened the box and took out the rune puppet.


    Since there were curse items that could control spirits in this world, there must be something to resist spirit control as well.


    In his mind, Su''en was actually calcting that if it didn''t have the desired effect, he would have an excuse.


    Clearly, Dick was blinded by Su''en''s "kind" smile and saw that he didn''t make any dangerous moves. The few people did not guard against him.


    Of course, no one would have expected him to take out such a "sinister thing"!


    As soon as the puppet was exposed to the air, something strange happened!


    An invisible mental power fluctuated instantaneously.


    Obviously, the power of this puppet was stronger than expected.


    Even Dick, who saw the puppet, had a momentary stiff expression. The other five people by the bonfire also seemed to have lost their souls, their gazes fixed in one ce.


    This was the moment Su''en had been waiting for!


    Seeing the situation, a fierce light burst out of Su''en''s eyes!


    Without any hesitation, he pulled out his gun from his waist and pulled the trigger at the eye socket of Dick, the captain, in front of him.


    Su''en had been paying attention before. As the only "professional" in the team, this guy, like Ivan the bald man, possessed many magical transcendent abilities.


    So, even if he was controlled, Su''en believed that this guy had to be killed first!


    "Bang!"


    The head exploded like a smashed watermelon.


    "Obtained ''Dick Nelson''s Memory Fragment *2''"


    "You have acquired some ''Intermediate Mechanical Knowledge''"


    "You have acquired a memory: ''The distortion events in the city are increasing, I feel...''"


    "Steam Mechanical Combat Experience +4"


    "Spirit Power +0.13"


    A "gray mist" also appeared on the corpse. Su''en waved his big hand, and the mist was swallowed into his soul.


    He didn''t have time to digest the information he obtained and immediately raised his gun for another shot, killing the sniper on the watchtower in the distance.


    The bullet hit the abdomen, and a figure fell down.


    The two snipers were not within the control range of the puppet, but they didn''t expect Su''en to suddenly attack.


    Furthermore, they didn''t expect that Su''en could instantly "control" six people in their team and kill their captain.


    Su''en fired two more shots without hesitation. He knew he didn''t have a chance to shoot a third time, and the sniper on the other side wasn''t a fool.


    Then he decisively leaped back and hid behind a mud wall.


    As expected, the next second, with a "crack" sound, a bullet exploded on the mud wall, shattering arge piece of it.


    The bullet directly prated the mud wall and narrowly missed Su''en.


    Then, with a rapid session of gunfire, the nearly one-meter-thick mud wall was instantly reduced to rubble.


    At this moment, the only remaining threat was the sniper hiding in the watchtower.


    Su''en knew that he was at a disadvantage in terms of marksmanship and terrain. If they engaged in a shootout, his pistol would definitely lose to the sniper rifle.


    Without wasting any time, he directly drew the rifle filled with special alchemical bullets, and then fired several shots towards the sniper''s position on the watchtower.


    Alchemy Bullet (Incendiary)*2, Alchemy Bullet (High Explosive)*2, Alchemy Bullet (Shockwave)*2.


    Although therge-caliber revolver only had six bullets, he used them to overwhelm the sniper directly.


    Su''en had no idea that this round of shooting consumed much more ammunition than an average gunman would use in a year.


    The three types of special bullets had astonishing power, and after the ammunition was used up, the entire watchtower was sted away.


    The explosion at a distance of a hundred meters was quite loud, especially thest two "shockwave bullets." Even Su''en, who was far away, felt his head buzzing.


    Without any dy, Su''en rushed out after the shooting.


    Due to his enhanced vision, he saw the struggling sniper trying to climb up from the tower in the thick smoke. Su''en shot two more rounds at him.


    "Bang!" "Bang!"


    The body fell to the ground.


    "Obtained ''Xenos Carter''s Memory Fragment *2''"


    "You have gained some ''Basic Alchemy Knowledge''"


    "Firearm Experience +6"


    "Spirit Power +0.07"


    ........


    Su''en didn''t let his guard down and found the other sniper who had been shot in the abdomen and shot him as well.


    Then, he returned to the bonfire and without any hesitation, fired four shots at the five bodies that were twisted like marites, killing four of them.


    Only the vice captain, Lorne, was left.


    From the moment the fight started until it ended, the entire process did not exceed one minute. A reorganized wilderness hunting team was wiped out by Su''en''s decisive action.


    However, there was a small problem.


    "I extracted too many memories at once, and my head is a bit overwhelmed..."


    After extracting the memories from three bodies in a row, Su''en found that his head was a bit dizzy.


    It felt like staying up all night, with a confused mind.


    But he also discovered that if he didn''t extract the memories in time, the "gray mist" on the bodies would be lighter and lighter. The longer the interval, the lower the quality of the extracted memories. After about five minutes, the gray mist on the body wouldpletely dissipate.


    At this moment, Su''en probably understood some of the limitations of the Reaper of Death ability.


    After resting for a while andpletely digesting the memory fragments in his mind, Su''en opened his eyes.


    Su''en took a deep breath and looked radiant. "With this Reaper talent, I feel like I can be invincible in this world..."


    The soul fragments of the seven bodies brought him many benefits. His mind was filled with all sorts of strange knowledge, as well as an understanding of this world.


    He felt visibly stronger.


    In just a few minutes of digestion, he felt that he had mastered knowledge and skills that would take one or two years of study to learn!


    .......


    Su''en put the Rune Puppet back in the wooden box.


    He looked at Lorne, who was tightly bound, and muttered to himself, "I didn''t n tomunicate with you in this way..."


    Unfortunately, you had to harbor evil intentions.


    After putting away the puppet, Lorne regained his rity from the mental confusion.


    Like waking up from a dream, this guy seemed to not understand what had happened yet. But when he saw the bodies scattered all over the camp and looked at Su''en, he instantly showed a terrified expression. "You..."


    Su''en didn''t waste any more words and stabbed his right leg with a knife, coldly saying, "Now, I will ask you a question, and you will answer..."


    PS. Please vote~

 Chapter 16: Old London

    Chapter 16: Old London


    "Originally, I wasn''t shot dead by these guys. It turns out they recognized the origin of this gun..."


    Su''en felt fortunate that he narrowly escaped death once again.


    After interrogating for over an hour, he gave thest survivor of the <em>"Silver Hand Hunting Expedition"</em> a quick death.


    <em>Only then did he understand that this group of guys didn''t attack him earlier because of the rune gun he carried on his waist - the famous gun</em><em>"Three-Headed Demon".</em>


    It was the gun that belonged to "Ironhead" Ivan from the Crow Gang, capable of harnessing the energy fluctuations of special alchemical bullets.


    It turned out that the bald guy, who was notorious in the city called Old London, was a veteran killer in the Crow Gang, known for his ruthless methods and vengeful nature. Few dared to provoke him...


    Those guys saw Su''en alone and had the intention to rob and kill him. However, they were unsure about his rtionship with Ivan, so they tested the waters first.


    ***


    Sure enough, no one bes rich without windfall.


    <em>Su''en obtained the supplies he desired - ten storage rings, as well as ample water and food.</em>


    <em>He didn''t know the basic prices in this world, but looking at the total number of alchemical bullets on the eight corpses, which wasn''t more than what the bald guy had, he guessed that the price he paid was probably not small.</em>


    But, he definitely made a profit.


    He took two of the most valuable items from the corpse of <em>"Silver Mechanism Hand"</em> Dick.


    A strange blood vessel and a bone.


    <em>Cursed Item: Trembling Witch''s Blood Vessel</em>


    Quality: ck Iron


    Exnation: Material for the Warlock Mechanist "Gunner" upation; after joining, it provides a moderate increase in skills and a slight increase in neural reflexes. The curse''s special attributes are rtively intact, but it needs to be re-enchanted for optimal effect.


    Evaluation: Bodypatibility 61%, an ordinary material for joining.


    <em>Golden Humerus Bone</em>


    Exnation: A first-tier alchemical imnt with highpatibility for the Gunner upation; it can rece a portion of the host''s bones; toughness +6, stability +153%, bone strength +175%.


    Two cursed items with intact special attributes.


    ording to Laun''s words, each of these two items could be sold for at least one hundred thousand lisuo on the ck market.


    And the average monthly sry for ordinary mechanical workers in this world didn''t exceed three thousand lisuo.


    This was already a huge fortune that could make someone overnight rich.


    Su''en was also d for his judgment and promptly killed <em>"Silver Mechanism Hand"</em> Dick.


    ording to Laun''s words, official "professionals" were very strong.


    This Dick specialized in the modification direction of the Gunner upation. He reced both of his arms with gun and cannon limbs. Once given the opportunity, he would definitely be a human-shaped Gatling gun.


    The flexibility of these "limbs" and the externally attached bones werepletely on different levels.


    Even if his brain was under psychic control, his mechanical arms would automatically activate the counterattack device, a capability that came with the imnt.


    And machines were not within the range of psychic control at all.


    If Su''en had hesitated even for a moment before, once the automatic counterattack device in the mechanical arms was activated, he would have been the one to die.


    ***


    Several dayster, Su''en followed the route on the map and finally arrived at the city called <em>"Old London"</em> after narrowly escaping danger multiple times from encountering monsters.


    This was the only gathering ce for humans, as Laun had informed him.


    An underground city.


    "It''s really spectacr..."


    Although Su''en had already heard about the tall walls of <em>"Old London"</em> from the people, he was still shocked when he saw the cement wall that was as high as a dam, reaching a hundred meters.


    A city that was not inferior in size to the main city area of a provincial capital in his previous life waspletely enclosed within such a high wall. Just the scale of this project alone could be considered an architectural miracle.


    <em>Moreover, the high walls still bore many terrifying marks - w marks of giant beasts, impact craters like meteorite collisions, corrosion marks caused by spells...</em>


    It was hard to imagine what kind of intense battle had taken ce here in the past, and what kind of "existence" had left so many terrifying battle marks on this wall.


    Indeed, this city was also an ancient relic.


    It had silently stood here for thousands of years before these humans appeared.


    The All-Knowing Eye confirmed this statement.


    Su''en looked up at the high wall and a string of text appeared.


    City Wall


    Exnation: An ancient city wall that has been built for over 1,400 years.


    ***


    Old London had four huge city gates in the north, south, east, and west.


    If Su''en hadn''t known about the situation in "Old London" beforehand, he might have foolishly entered through the main gate.


    Because that seemed to be the only passage that could enter this kind of city.


    If he did that, he would be subjected to inspection at the city gate. And without a "legitimate identity," he would immediately be singled out for further investigation. The worst-case scenario would be the exposure of the original host''s identity, and Su''en would once again face assassination.


    As for outside the high walls? No one would choose to live outside the city for a long time except for hunting expeditions.


    Because... they couldn''t!


    It was like being in a radiation zone for a long time. Even if they didn''t encounter monsters, the intense dark spiritual power would still cause a high probability of "aberration" in people.


    And the mostmon monsters outside the city walls were the aberrant humans wandering around.


    But in reality, there was another way to enter the city, and that was through "gang smuggling."


    ***


    Su''en learned a lot of useful information from Laun.


    Old London was divided into an inner city and an outer city.


    The inner city was where the rich and elite gathered, while the outer city was themoners'' district.


    Although the entire Old London was managed by Duke Roberto, who controlled the <em>"ck Tower,"</em> and his Raphael family behind him, the actual control of most of the outer city was in the hands of the three major gangs.


    The three major gangs in the outer city were the <em>"Steam Brothers"</em> in the eastern district, the <em>"Steel Cross Society"</em> in the southern district, and the <em>"Crow Gang"</em> in the western district.


    They also represented the three mainstream branches of alchemy in this world: the mechanical faction, the fusion faction, and the ancient magic faction.


    The essence of alchemy was <em>"equivalent exchange of matter."</em> The <em>"ancient magic faction"</em> had the ability to cast various spells like a magician. They excelled in alchemical potion brewing, enchanting, and mysticism.


    Although they could cast spells, they didn''t believe in any elemental gods, and casting spells didn''t rely on magicalws to activate them. Instead, it was a pure fusion of energy and elements, using alchemical principles to exchange the form or nature of the elements.


    For example, standing on the ground, an alchemist could transform the form of the earth element to create the "Earth Spike" spell. By consuming more energy, they could exchange the earth element for the fire element and release the "Fireball" spell.


    The <em>"mechanical faction"</em> was also known as the new faction.


    Their alchemical research direction was more focused on manufacturing mechanical devices, firearms, mechas, steam devices... and mechanical inscriptions!


    The <em>"mechanical limbs"</em> that had puzzled Su''en before were essentially semi-technological products based on alchemy, rather than pure technology.


    The <em>"fusion faction"</em> was abination of the two factions, with both skilled mechanical engineers and ancient magic practitioners who studied spells, epting anyone who came.


    ***


    Su''en couldn''t use the original host''s identity, so he didn''t have a legitimate identity to enter the city.


    He could only choose to join one of the three major gangs and smuggle his way in.


    The bald Ivan he killed earlier was a prominent figure in the Crow Gang, and that "Silver Mechanism Hand" Dick was from the Steam Brothers. Although no one knew that it was Su''en who killed these people, he still felt it was better to be cautious.


    Especially since he still had some spoils of war to sell, he didn''t want to get into trouble because of them. Just like when the gun <em>"Three-Headed Demon"</em> belonging to the recognized Ivan almost got him killed by those who wanted to rob and kill him.


    "It seems like I can only join the ''Steel Cross Society''..."


    Su''en avoided the city gate and took a detour under a segment of the wall in the southern district.


    Looking up, he saw a crude iron cage elevator on the city wall, ready to transport people into the city.


    Su''en didn''t hesitate much and walked over.


    Joining a gang had good benefits and plenty of transcendent resources...


    But in reality, most people in Old London would rather be workers for their whole lives than join a gang.


    Because... the casualty rate among gang members was extremely high, and their lifespan was short.


    They reced the city''s public security department and dealt with aberration incidents, violent conflicts, and hunting expeditions within their jurisdiction... areas involvingbat with a very high casualty rate.


    <em>It was somewhat simr to Su''en''s previous life, where he sold his life on the battlefield for money... a mercenary.</em>


    The main reason why the impoverished district with chaotic management allowed the existence of the three major gangs was that they took care of security.

 Chapter 17: Iron cross

    Chapter 17: Iron cross


    On the city wall, a group of armed militants stood, some in punk style and others in ck suits and trench coats.


    Their clothes were all marked with a clear "iron cross", which was the gang symbol of the "Steel Cross Society".


    Every day in Old Lingdun, there were people who wanted to join the gang for various reasons, such as desperate fugitives, murderers, those who wanted to get rich overnight, and those who wanted to obtain transcendent resources...


    And on the high walls, they often recruited fighters to go outside the city.


    The gang leaders liked to wait here and recruit new members.


    "Hey Kay, can you put away your de Imnt? It''s so shy, it makes people think that the ''Cross Society'' professionals have never seen the world. We are all captains, can''t you be more steady..."


    "Hehe, Smoke Boss, I just sessfully integrated the de Imnt, so I''m a bit excited."


    "The high-level of the gang has assigned you to take care of the three blocks on Green Street. Be careful in the future. There are many gambling dens and flower houses there. Although they are profitable, the old people in the gang have avoided them. Do you know why they let you take advantage?"


    "Isn''t it because the ''Steam Party'' guys have been causing trouble recently? It''s okay... if they dare to cross the line, I guarantee I''ll chop off their heads, haha."


    "As long as you know. Not only are the ''Steam Party'' causing trouble, but there have also been more incidents of distortion in the city recently. You''d better be more vignt. Let me know if you need any help. Pick a few of the new recruits that you like..."


    "Thank you, Smoke Boss. Hehe, I hope I can recruit a few capable fighters today..."


    "..."


    The one speaking was a middle-aged man with a gloomy look in his eyes. He was smoking a cigar andzily lying on a chair.


    Standing beside him were young people who emanated sharp metallic light, like "des".


    Su''en looked up and saw the two of them. Without hesitation, he walked into the shabby iron elevator and climbed up the city wall.


    .......


    "Neer? Want to join our ''Cross Society''?"


    "Yes."


    "What''s your name?"


    "Su''en."


    "What awakened talent do you have?"


    "[D-016-Hawkeye]."


    "Oh? So you''re pretty good at marksmanship?"


    "It''s alright."


    "Alright, then follow me. You can call me Captain Kay."


    "Okay."


    The process of joining the gang was unbelievably simple.


    Su''en was asked a few simple questions and officially became a member of the "Steel Brotherhood".


    As expected from the previous interrogation, the gang didn''t care about your background. After all, the majority of people who joined the gang had a questionable past.


    As long as you dedicated yourself to the gang, no one cared about your past.


    In exchange for loyalty, the gang could also provide protection.


    No one searched him, no one asked too many questions, no one bothered him...


    Su''en also breathed a sigh of relief, as he managed to keep his storage ring. The precautions he had taken earlier were useless, but it was a good start.


    .......


    Captain Kay looked only a few years older than Su''en, but he seemed to have been in the gang for many years.


    To survive for many years in the underworld, one had to have skills.


    This Kay was also a formal "professional", currently an agile type with a highly aggressive alchemical imnt called "[de]".


    Su''en silently watched everything, his eyes shining with anticipation and curiosity for this new and exciting world.


    After waiting for a while, the recruitment for the day wasing to an end.


    Besides Su''en, three other people were chosen by Captain Kay.


    One awakened talent was "[D-082-Strongman]", another was "[D-071-Stone Skin]", and thest one was "[D-031-Enhanced Smell]". They all had talents that could enhancebat abilities to varying degrees.


    "Let''s go, Smoke Boss. I''ll take the neers to patrol the area..."


    "Okay."


    Kay greeted the middle-aged man who hadn''t stopped smoking and got off the city wall.


    Su''en remained silent throughout, following behind him quietly as an inconspicuous member.


    This young man named Kay was talkative and seemed quite satisfied with the new recruits.


    As they walked, he distributed a few stacks of banknotes to the neers, exining, "The benefits in the gang are 20,000 lis per month, and additional money will be given depending on the mission. Since our team is newly formed, we don''t need to go outside the city to hunt for the next three months, so you can enjoy yourselves..."


    The neers easily received their first substantial "sry".


    20,000 lis was equivalent to half a year''s sry for an ordinary worker in the city''s factory.


    Su''en was slightly surprised, as he didn''t know this detail. But looking at the excited expressions of the other three, they didn''t seem surprised.


    Getting paid before work, this would have been considered excellent treatment in his previous life.


    Was this still a gang?


    After thinking about it, Su''en understood.


    In the gang, members couldn''t guarantee that they would survive until the next month.


    Getting paid first meant enjoying life first.


    If something happened, it wouldn''t be much of a loss.


    Moreover, there were no restrictions or constraints after joining the gang, not even restrictions on freedom.


    Su''en could even take the money and run away...


    But no one would do that.


    Because if you were wanted by the authorities, joining the gang provided a way out. If the three major gangs were after you, there would be no ce for you in Old Lingdun.


    Only a dead end.


    So for the majority of people, once they joined the gang, they could only go down one path.


    But for Su''en, a high mortality rate?


    Tsk tsk, it didn''t matter...


    Compared to facing death, the ordinary world would make him feel more bored.


    His awakened talent, [Reaper], would inevitably involve dealing with death in order to be stronger.


    To avoid risks and be an ordinary person?


    No,ing to such a wonderful and exciting world, being timid and cautious would be truly boring.


    Su''en looked at his slightly trembling pulse, and he knew that "he" also loved this world.


    ......


    Su''en and the new recruits followed Captain Kay off the city wall and entered the city.


    The city was filled with densely packed slums, looking like a "post-war Syria style" from a distance.


    Just like the high walls, the reinforced concrete buildings in the city were ancient relics from thousands of years ago. The great war seemed to have captured this city, leaving behind dpidated buildings everywhere.


    And on top of these ruins, there were towering steam chimneys and steel container slums, which were the "new buildings".


    As for the inner city, it was at the end of the line of sight. There was another high wall that separated it, with bright lights shining. Vaguely visible in the center of the inner city was a "ck tower" of unknown height.


    The city wasrge, and they rode an open steam lotive, speeding into the city.


    Su''en remained silent, observing everything on the streets.


    As a transmigrator, he didn''t dare to speak carelessly, afraid of revealing that he waspletely unfamiliar with this city.


    But perhaps because Su''en mentioned that his awakened talent was [Hawkeye], which was considered one of the most practicalbat abilities among D-level talents, Captain Kay seemed to value him. He specially reminded Su''en, "With your talent, you''re quite suitable for the Gunner sequence profession. I''ll keep an eye out for relevant ''employment materials'' for you. Meditate more when you have free time, and when your Dark Spirit Power is full, you can change professions. Let''s try to have two ''professionals'' in our team..."


    Su''en responded, "Okay."


    Kay didn''t say much more and waved his hand, saying, "Let''s go, let''s take everyone to patrol our designated area. Besides that, we can go wherever we want..."


    "Understood, Captain."


    Obviously, this was also what the others expected. No one wanted to take risks.


    .......


    "Fancy meeting you here, Mr. Clive. Business must be booming..."


    "Mr. Milton, I heard you have some good goods recently. Remember to save a few beauties for me and my brothers tonight."


    "..."


    The "Cross Society" controlled almost all the entertainment venues on Green Street.


    Kay and his group casually greeted the nightclub madams and the courtesans as they passed by.


    Su''en was also quite surprised. This seemingly rundown industrial city actually had such a lively side. The liveliness of these entertainment venues was not much different from therge bars in his previous life, bustling with people.


    Groups of heavily made-up courtesans stood on the street, attracting customers. They wore revealing clothes, with long, slender legs and impressive breasts, making it difficult for people to look away.


    The streets were filled with a strong scent of sensuality.


    yboy bunnies, catwoman costumes, qipao dresses with high slits, motorcycle leather jackets, maid outfits, bondage ve themes, nobledy styles...


    Su''en didn''t expect the fashion style in Old Lingdun to be so diverse. Almost any kind of sexy attire that could stimte a man''s hormones could be seen here.


    The courtesans were bold and sexy, not caring about the wandering hands of men on their bodies. Instead, when their hands reached certain ces, they would even flirt and giggle.


    "Hey, Elena, it seems like you''ve gained weight. No no, I don''t mean it in a bad way, I mean your butt feels even better~"


    "Oh, Lisa, why haven''t I seen you recently? Are you fooling around with some man~"


    "Mua~ Captain Kay, do you want to have some fun tonight?"


    "..."


    Kay and the old members seemed familiar with the ce, joking their way through the crowd.


    They were not only local bosses but also regr customers here.


    The survival rules in Old Lingdun were cruel. The ordinary civilians who couldn''t engage inbat professions were very cheap. Here, spending a few hundred lis could find a good-looking courtesan for a night of pleasure.


    Therefore, the 20,000 lis monthly sry from the gang could allow people to indulge in pleasure until they were drained.


    Su''en and the new recruits mingled with the crowd, bing familiar faces.


    .......


    Green Street consisted of three main streets.


    Every corner was filled with violence, sensuality, and illegal transactions...


    They patrolled a street purely for entertainment, then a street full of taverns. Neon signs of various colors illuminated a world of drunkenness and debauchery...


    Most of the taverns on this street had a strong industrial style, with steel elements in every corner.


    Su''en was starting to find the patrol boring when they encountered a problem.


    Passing by a ce called the "Elephant Tavern," a middle-aged man with a brown beard called out to Kay.


    "Hey, Captain Kay, you came at the right time. I have a problem in my tavern and need you to take a look."


    The tavern owner led them to the back alley, pointing at a half-bloodied corpse on the ground and said, "It should have happenedst night. Some poor guy got drunk and slept in the alley. Now you can see, his body was bitten off by some unknown creature..."


    This was the back alley of the tavern, filled with empty bottles. Unlike the morous front, it was dirty, dark, and smelly...


    Su''en''s eyesight allowed him to clearly see the half-body on the corpse. There were bite marks that looked like saw teeth, as if it had been gnawed by a creature of considerable size.


    And on the street corner, there were several dark sewer openings, emitting a foul stench.


    The owner seemed ustomed to such things and continued muttering, "Captain Kay, it seems that some monster has appeared in the sewer. I''ve also heard that homeless people have been disappearingtely. It seems that they were carried away by some man-eating monster, making people panic... I''m afraid if this continues, it will affect the business of our tavern."


    "Oh, I understand the situation."


    Kay nced at it and kicked the corpse into a nearby trash can.


    The body would probably be eaten clean by rats soon, and no one would care who died.


    He scraped his boots on the ground, and Kay said, "Mr. Chapman, don''t worry, I will send someone to investigate."


    With that, he didn''t stay any longer and led Su''en and the others away from the "Elephant Tavern".


    After leaving the tavern and walking on the main street, one of the new recruits asked, "Captain, are we going to investigateter?"


    This was also Su''en''s question, as he thought it was their job.


    However, Kay smiled dismissively and replied, "Hehe, investigate? The sewers in Old Lingdun are ancient relics from a thousand years ago. The underground structure is ten times moreplex than the surface roads, and no one can figure out the underground structure. It''s a paradise for all kinds of distorted monsters down there. Who the hell wants to go to such a stinky ce..."


    After a pause, he looked at the new recruits and said, "As long as those monsters don''te to the surface, we don''t need to worry about it. We have this free time, so we might as well enjoy ourselves..."


    "Understood, Captain."


    Obviously, this was also what they expected. No one wanted to take risks.


    .......


    The next stop after the entertainment district and taverns was the gambling dens.


    The group made their presence known at all the establishments on Green Street, marking their territory.


    Before long, they arrived at the underground boxing gambling den.


    And when Su''en saw the cloud of "mist" appearing on the dead diator''s body in the arena, his eyes lit up.


    Finally, it wasn''t so boring...


    He knew that for a long time toe, he would probably have things to do.

 Chapter 18: Death Battle

    Chapter 18: Death Battle


    Su''en didn''t expect that there would be a "Death Battle" in the underground casino of the Green District.


    This is a very brutal fightingpetition, with no rounds, regardless of points, only victory or defeat.


    Because it is a fight to the death, diators will do their best to fight, with strong entertainment value.


    Because the killer moves are often instantaneous, it leads to a lot of uncertainty in the oue, making it more exciting and entertaining for gambling.


    Therefore, this bloody diatorial match is the most popr gambling event in the underground world.


    ...


    Su''en followed Captain Kay into thebat gambling den called "Crimson Stronghold".


    Each gang has its own reputation. Whether they know each other or not, gamblers will unconsciously make way when they see the "Cross Star" symbol on their bodies.


    The air was filled with a sweet fragrance, which was a hallucinogenic drug that could stimte the nerves. "Pharmacology" is the basic skill of alchemists, and there are people in the ck market who specialize in making these addictive hallucinogenic drugs for sale.


    "Shatter his skull!"


    "Oh, ''Doombringer'', get up quickly! I''ve bet 10,000 Lisos on you, don''t let me down!"


    "Hahaha, ''Skullcrusher'' is going to win! Kill him, kick that guy''s head to pieces..."


    "..."


    The underground second floor was as big as an indoor basketball court, with a huge octagonal cage in the center.


    On the arena, two diators covered in blood were fighting to the death.


    The pace of the battle was fast. After a few rounds of fighting, the strong diator named "Skullcrusher" snapped his opponent''s neck, and the casino erupted in cheers like a tide.


    Of course, there were also curses from the gamblers who lost their bets.


    And Su''en''s gaze focused on the "gray mist" floating above the corpse in the distance, his eyes narrowing slightly.


    Before, he felt that his "Death Reaper" didn''t have much room to y after entering the city. Now it seems that joining a gang might not be a bad idea.


    Kay looked at Su''en''s gaze with a strange look, guessing that he was probably attending this kind of diatorial match for the first time, and also introduced to the neers, "This is the hottest gambling method in our Green District..."


    As he spoke, he pointed to the private rooms on the highest level of the audience seats and said, "See that? Many of those private rooms belong to important figures from the inner city. They are the real big spenders..."


    Listening to this, a neer asked, "Will the important figures from the inner citye to the outer city? Aren''t those arrogant guys disdainful of our dirty and rundown outer city and never set foot here?"


    "Hehe... quite a few of theme."


    Kay shrugged, seemingly not respectful towards the people from the inner city, "After all, the inner city doesn''t have such exciting matches. Those guys want to have fun, they have toe to our territory. But it''s also because of these big spenders that we can live sofortably."


    As he said that, he seemed to remember something and warned the neers, "Although we and those people from the inner city are from two different worlds and are unlikely to have any intersections, if you really happen to encounter them in the future, don''t provoke those people from the inner city. Otherwise, it will cause trouble for our boss."


    Su''en also nodded along with the neers, "Understood, Captain."


    ...


    Kay led the group to wander around the casino, making the neers familiar with the ce.


    "Alright, today''s mission is done. You can go do whatever you want, just remember to bring yourmunicators."


    "Okay, Captain."


    "Get lost, stop ttering."


    As soon as Kay announced "off duty", the veterans scattered excitedly.


    He looked at the still confused neers and said again, "It''s your first day in the gang, so you can have some fun. The taverns and brothels we just passed by are all under the protection of our ''Cross Society'', and there are discounts if you want to find girls."


    Upon hearing this, the other three neers showed eager and ambiguous smiles on their faces.


    Kay seemed to notice that Su''en was more interested in thebat arena and specifically advised him, "You can try other things, but it''s better to stay away from gambling... especially this kind ofbat arena, it''s easy to get addicted. With that money, there are plenty of other things to enjoy."


    The group said, "Understood, Captain."


    Kay then seemed to remember something and gave an example.


    He pointed to the only veteran who hadn''t left yet, Sam, with a disdainful expression, "Look at this guy Sam, he spent his sry fromst month in one night. Now he has to rely on the help of our brothers in the gang to eat. Isn''t it embarrassing..."


    On the side, Sam, who was pointed out, looked like a wronged little wife, murmuring weakly, "I won several rounds and made thousands... I didn''t expect one upset, I was angry and raised the bet..."


    The mentality of a gambler is the same in any world.


    When winning, they don''t leave; when losing, they want to make it back; and when they lose even more, they double down, sinking deeper and deeper.


    Su''en also understood while listening that Kay was worried that he would lose all his money in one day.


    This captain seems to be a good person.


    Kay rolled his eyes, not listening to this guy''s exnation, waved his hand, and said to Su''en and the others, "Alright, you can go now."


    Everyone nodded, "Yes, Captain."


    ...


    As soon as Kay left, the group felt liberated.


    The other three neers had been thinking about the beautiful women they saw earlier.


    Being in a gang, isn''t it for the carefree life of having alcohol, meat, and women?


    "Su''en, aren''t you going?"


    "No, I want to stay here for a while."


    "..."


    Su''en didn''t go to the brothel with the other three. His attention had been on the arena.


    His rationality told him that,pared to women, enhancing his strength was the capital to survive in this world.


    His awakened talent, "Collector," focused on development. Only by living long enough would he be able to obtain everything he wanted.


    In just a moment, a new diatorial match began.


    In the octagonal cage, two new diators reced the previous ones, and a bloody battle to the death began again.


    Su''en squeezed through the crowd of gamblers and approached the cage.


    If he remembered correctly, this would be the passage where the bodies were dragged away.


    There were at least thousands of people in the casino, and it was noisy.


    No one would pay attention to where a failed body was dragged away, but Su''en was also worried that someone would notice his actions of collecting soul fragments, so he deliberately chose this inconspicuous corner.


    At this moment, a graceful woman carrying a tray squeezed through the crowd.


    She smiled at Su''en with a charming expression and asked softly, "Sir, do you want to ce a bet? If you can''t bet on this match, you can bet on the next one. Blind guessing will have additional multiplier bonuses~"


    "Buy a thousand on the red side."


    Squeezing to the front like this, anyone would think that Su''en was an enthusiastic gambler. Su''en naturally took out a stack of bills and ced them on the tray.


    The woman was pressed against Su''en by the crowd, and her chest was deformed by the pressure. She seemed to not mind, took the money, handed over the ticket, and threw a flirtatious nce at Su''en, saying, "I think sir will definitely guess correctly~"


    "Well, I think so too."


    Su''en smiled faintly.


    He didn''t think that his bald appearance now was handsome enough to attract the initiative of beautiful women.


    When he observed earlier, he had already noticed that the bettingdies in the casino would try to please the customers. Because the winning gamblers would generously tip them. Despite being touched by those perverted hands, their ie for one night was even more considerable than most of the male gamblers. This job earned much more money and was much easier than the prostitutes standing outside.


    ...


    "Kill him!"


    "Kill him!"


    "..."


    Near the cage, a group of gamblers holding betting tickets were shouting their diator''s name hoarsely. Although Su''en wasn''t interested in gambling, he was also fully focused on observing the battle.


    This was the first time he had seen such a bloody and brutal fight, and a certain suppressed emotion inside him started to stir.


    The fighters on the arena gave him his first lesson in interdimensionalbat.


    The punches were fierce, and the killing intent made one''s scalp tingle...


    Su''en imagined himself as one of the diators in the arena, feeling deeply moved, "No wonder the All-Knowing Eye only rated mybat skills as ''advanced beginner''. If I were to face them on the arena, I would probably be killed as soon as we met."


    At this moment, Su''en saw the huge gap.


    The attack moves of the diators on the arena were ruthless, sharp like bullets, like daggers, stabbing at vital points, and immediately following up with a finishing move, not giving the opponent any chance to counterattack.


    One strike, one kill.


    This kind ofbat had no fancy moves, everything was aimed at killing.


    This waspletely different from thebat Su''en had in mind!


    This world gradually revealed its cruel side to Su''en, the transmigrator.

 Chapter 19: A-class wanted criminal

    Chapter 19: A-ss wanted criminal


    "Haha, I knew it, the ''Blue Side'' is definitely going to win. After all, this guy''s height and arm span are too advantageous..."


    Before long, amidst the cheers of the gamblers, another fighter was killed, and the match ended.


    The gamblers cheered for the winner, while the body of the loser was dragged away from the octagonal cage like a dead dog, leaving a ring bloodstain on the ground.


    Su''en calmly watched the scene before him.


    When the body passed in front of him, no one noticed that a "gray mist" was swallowed by him.


    "You obtained ''Watt Smith''s Memory Fragment *2''."


    "You obtained the information: ''I really don''t want to be someone''s ve and fight in this damn underground boxing match...''"


    "You have mastered the skill [Ground Technique: Cross Lock],bat experience +2."


    "Mental power +0.05."


    Su''en digested the just obtained memory fragment, a sharp light shed in his eyes, and he felt somewhat surprised in his heart: "I actually directlyprehended abat skill?"


    This was the first time that the [Reaper of Death] had stripped off aplete skill.


    Does that mean that he also has a chance to directly strip offplete alchemy and spell skills?


    In that instant, Su''en suddenly felt a sudden surge of excitement.


    Although he couldn''t always strip off useful skills from the souls of the dead, fortunately, there were many bodies!


    In this deadly battle, there were seven or eight matches in one night, and over two hundred bodies in a month.


    Moreover, the fighters were skilledbat experts, so there was a great possibility of stripping offbat skills!


    Compared to the difficulty of killing a few enemies and obtaining memory fragments, this method of "collecting" memory fragments was much easier.


    Just by staying at the arena and watching the matches, there was almost no risk.


    If he could survive for a few more months, Su''en felt that hisbat power would definitely undergo a qualitative leap!


    Of course, the premise was that he could survive long enough in the average short-lived gang.


    On his first day on the job, Su''en suddenly started to like this gang identity...


    .......


    After one match, without resting for long, the next one began.


    Su''en''s attention was focused on the bodies, and he didn''t notice the betting girl in hot pants who had walked over with a smiling face.


    She handed him a tray and smiled flirtatiously, "Hey, sir, congrattions on your correct guess. Do you need me to help you ce bets for the next match? The final match tonight is a true ''professional'' one..."


    "Professionals participate in this kind of deadly battle?"


    Su''en''s gaze slightly paused, he wasn''t particrly happy about winning money, considering the ratio, he probably won over a thousand li-suo.


    What surprised him was that there were actually professionals participating in this deadly battle?


    In his opinion, those professionals with magical transcendent powers could do something else instead of earning this desperate money?


    Seeing that Su''en seemed interested, the betting girl asked again, "Sir, which one do you think will win? Do you want me to ce bets for you?"


    As she spoke, she had already pressed her body against Su''en''s, like a little cat, and even rubbed against him.


    Su''en naturally understood that this wasn''t a romantic encounter, but a subtle way of asking for a tip.


    He wasn''t stingy either, so he took out two green bills of one hundred li-suo each and stuffed them into the girl''s bra.


    This was the proper behavior of a normal gambler.


    "Haha... Thank you, sir."


    The girl felt a tickling sensation in her chest, and not only did she not feel taken advantage of, but she also smiled even more flirtatiously.


    Su''en''s hand didn''t linger for long, he took out a few more stacks of banknotes and said, "I''ll bet on the red side for the next few matches, one thousand per bet."


    "The boss has a good eye, I also think that the red side has a higher chance of winning tonight~"


    The girl filled out the betting card, blew a kiss full of charm, and then left gracefully.


    .......


    The life and death battles in the octagonal cage were still going on, and Su''en was also carefully observing each battle.


    In addition to stripping soul fragments, he was also earnestly studying thebat techniques of this world.


    Although these diators were not "professionals," their physical fitness was far superior to that of humans on Earth, and their fighting styles and techniques werepletely different from what Su''en had known.


    To disguise his purpose of "collecting" and his actions, he yed the role of a normal gambler, cheering for the side he bet on, getting excited when he won money, andmenting when he lost.


    On his first day in the gang, he felt that the environment was quite rxed, and his intuition told him that someone''s eyes were asionally watching him.


    The identity of the original host was problematic, and he didn''t want to attract too much attention.


    And indeed, that was the case.


    While ying cards with the captain, Kay, who had been with him for a long time, received a report from his subordinates.


    "What are the new guys doing now?"


    "That Su''en has been gambling at the arena the whole time. The other three, Kige went to the tavern, Sapa and Andrew went to the ''Emperor''s Bath''..."


    "Oh, I see."


    Kay responded to the report without expression and didn''t say anything more.


    Sam, who was sitting across from him, was also a long-time member of the gang. He spoke without any reservations and curiously asked, "Captain, why do we have to keep an eye on those new guys?"


    "Boss Smoker said before, normal people need to eat, drink, gamble, prostitute, and smoke, it''s a basic human instinct. And those who don''t show desire either have ulterior motives, are extremely self-disciplined, or are monsters... None of these can be our friends."


    Kay continued ying with the ying cards and exined indifferently, "I don''t want anyone with ulterior motives to infiltrate our team..."


    .......


    Su''en found that his luck seemed to be quite good. He won more and lost less in the matches he bet on, and he even made a few thousand li-suo.


    Finally, thest match began.


    And before the match started, there was a rumbling sound of elevators in the underground of the arena. The cage of the octagonal cage was removed and lowered underground, and a huge transparent ss cover rose up.


    After this unusual movement, the gamblers at the scene were not surprised, but instead erupted into waves of exmations.


    "Wow~ We''re in for a good show tonight!"


    "..."


    Su''en looked at the thick ss walls on the stage and felt a sense of familiarity. Wasn''t this the bulletproof ss from the bank counter in his previous life? It just looked thicker.


    And the fat gambler next to him seemed to be a regr customer here. He muttered, "Tsk tsk... It''s been a long time since I''ve seen this ''Explosion-Proof Cover'' rise. It looks like the two ''professionals'' who came tonight have strongbat power."


    At this moment, the first contestant had already entered the stage.


    He was a guy who was being escorted by several mechanical arms, looking like a prisoner.


    Su''en looked at his posture and raised an eyebrow slightly, "A dangerous person has arrived..."


    The moment this person appeared, the scene instantly exploded.


    "How is this possible, how could it be him!"


    Someone in the crowd recognized the person''s identity and eximed, "A-ss wanted criminal ''Scorpion'' Abel, this guy is a genuine second-tier professional. To think that he would participate in this fighting match?"


    Others began whispering to each other, it seemed that no one had expected the level of this match to be so high!


    "I heard that this guy was caught by the ''Umbre Organization'' in the inner city after causing trouble. I didn''t expect it to be true."


    "This match is interesting. This guy hasmitted countless murders, and he has been rampant for so many years without being caught. He must be quite skilled..."


    "To be able to have ''Scorpion'' Abel participate, who will his opponent be? Could it also be a second-tier professional? Hehe, that''s rare. Second-tier professionals are top-notch experts no matter where they are, and they are actually sent to the arena."


    "..."


    Second-tier?


    Su''en listened to the conversations of the gamblers and found it hard to believe.


    The "Steel Brothers Association" was already one of the three major gangs in Old Lingdun, and it was already considered a powerfulrge transcendent organization. But second-tier professionals were also rare.


    Even Captain Kay, who controlled three blocks, was only a first-tier professional who had just entered. But tonight''s death match actually brought two second-tier professionals, and one of them was destined to die?


    "How strong are second-tier professionals?"


    Su''en''s curiosity was also aroused, he didn''t have much concept of thebat power of second-tier professionals.


    Both "Ironhead" Ivan and "Silver Mech Hand" Dick, whom he had killed before, were first-tier professionals. But to him, they were already extremely strong individuals. If it weren''t for fortuitous circumstances, a hundred Su''en probably wouldn''t be able to kill them.


    And now there were two second-tier professionals?


    "Does that mean... I can strip the soul of a second-tier professional soon?"


    Su''en''s surprise turned into anticipation, the match hadn''t even started yet, and he was already looking forward to what he would obtain from the bodies.


    .......


    After the cheers, the second contestant also entered the stage.


    He was a burly man in a suit, with a cold and stern face, and a scar on his left eye, making him look like a cold stone.


    This guy was impably dressed, with shiny hair that was styled with hair gel. Even after stepping onto the stage, he exuded an air of superiority. He looked a bit like a bodyguard for some important person in the inner city.


    The host introduced his name, he was called "Red Devil" Gelong!


    A guy who seemed to have no reputation in the outer city.


    However, the knowledgeable gamblers always managed to get some insider information.


    Upon hearing his name, it seemed that someone knew his background.


    "Huh... Is it him?"


    "Do you know him?"


    "Some time ago, I heard that the personal bodyguard of a big shot in the inner city secretly had an affair with the beautiful wife, and their scandal spread widely... Could this ''Red Devil'' be the real master?"


    "It''s possible. Otherwise, who would allow a second-tier professional to participate in a death match? Most likely, he was sold to the casino, or maybe he was personally sent by that big shot who was cuckolded..."


    "Tsk tsk, being a personal bodyguard for an important person in the inner city means he must have strongbat power. It is said that those big shots have high requirements for the talent of their bodyguards, at least ''C-level'', or even rare ''B-level talents''..."


    "..."


    Su''en listened to the rumors around him and pondered.


    But it seemed like that "Scorpion" Abel was even stronger?


    .......


    "Ding!"


    The bell rang, and the match began.


    However, with the opening move, Su''en, the transmigrator, was stunned!


    "Splitting a bullet with a knife? Damn, this is so explosive at the beginning, is this the power of a second-tier professional?!!!"


    Su''en was dumbfounded.


    Just a moment ago, he felt that he was very strong, or rather, with the talent of [Reaper of Death], he would be strong in the future.


    He was full of confidence...


    But seeing the skills of these two people, Su''en instantly felt an overwhelming pressure, and his confidence was so ignorant.


    This was the power that he couldn''t even imagine matching with his current knowledge.


    He could hardly imagine, no... he couldn''t even think of any means to deal with the probing attacks of the two just now.


    He felt that if he were to face these two, even if he had a famous gun in his hand, he would probably be killed instantly.


    In that instant, Su''en squinted at the two figures on the stage, and a certain thought burned in his heart: "So this is the power of a second-tier professional. I can''t wait to ''join'' now..."


    PS. Brothers, let''s vote, new book votes are very important~

 Chapter 20: second-tier professionals

    Chapter 20: second-tier professionals


    "It seems like I''m going to lose money on the red square I bought..."


    <em>"The Red Devil"</em> Gelong is fighting against the A-ss wanted criminal <em>"Yinxie"</em> Yaboke. Su''en''s first impression is that Yaboke will win.


    After all, both are second-tier professionals, and the infamous wanted criminal definitely has strongbat abilities. The other one is just an unknown bodyguard.


    Even if someone has great talent, a well-fed hunting dog kept in a greenhouse cannotpare to a hungry wild dog in the wilderness.


    But unexpectedly, this matchpletely overturned Su''en''s understanding.


    Under normal circumstances, when both diators enter the arena, the referee would ring the copper bell to announce the start of the match.


    But this match is different.


    Yaboke had no intention of following the rules at all. In the moment when several mechanical strongmen released him from his restraints, this guy magically produced two handguns in his hands. He pulled the trigger and fired two shots at the suited strongman in front of him.


    This guy obviously knows that only one person can survive on this arena today.


    There are no damn rules that are more important than staying alive!


    Because they are close enough to the arena, Su''en even saw a cold and mocking expression on his face. This guy disyed the word "scheming" to the fullest extent.


    ***


    This is an unrestrictedbat, and fighters can use weapons they are good at, including guns.


    Su''en finally understands why there is a<em> "st-proof shield".</em>


    But when he saw the second-tier expertunching a sneak attack, his expression immediately became strange. "This...this guy has no sense of martial ethics!"


    You are an A-ss wanted criminal, and this is all the courage you have?


    The image of the second-tier professional that Su''en had just established in his mind copsed immediately.


    However, he also felt that this guy''s cunning personality is suitable for the survival rules of this cruel world.


    A true viin, not pretending.


    No wonder he keepsmitting crimes and can still survive for so long.


    ***


    Everything happened too fast. In less than a tenth of a second, that guy fired his gun.


    In the eyes of anyone, this move is very unfavorable for the suited bodyguard.


    These two shots are very tricky and unavoidable. Once hit, even if he doesn''t die, he will lose the advantage after being injured.


    The gamblers who bet on "The Red Devil" Gelong were about to curse the opponent for being cunning, but the turn of events came too quickly...


    Before the shocked expressions on the faces of the gamblers had time to appear, they suddenly saw sparks shing in front of the suited bodyguard''s hands, just as the gunshots and the sound of metal colliding sounded almost at the same time.


    A moment of silence.


    The gamblers in the hall were dumbfounded.


    Even Su''en was shocked when he looked at the two men confronting each other in the arena.


    It seemed as if time had stopped for a moment, and his thoughts in his mind finally returned to normal.


    Su''en looked at the short knife that appeared out of thin air in the hands of the suited bodyguard and realized what had just happened. He also seemed to doubt what he saw: "The knife split the bullet? Damn..."


    The sound of swallowing saliva filled the surroundings.


    No one expected that the suited strongman would actually use a knife to intercept the two bullets from the sneak attack!


    He just stood there expressionless, calm as a cold stone.


    In the next moment, the entire arena erupted with half apuse and cheers like a tsunami.


    <em>"The Red Devil!"</em>


    <em>"The Red Devil!"</em>


    <em>"The Red Devil!"</em>


    "..."


    The emotions of the gamblers instantly reached their peak.


    This high-profile fighting match just started and it has already provided the audience with a visual feast, stimting their nerves.


    The battle between the two second-tier professionals made everyone...open their eyes!


    ***


    "So strong!"


    Su''en''s gaze narrowed as he focused on everything happening in the arena, not wanting to miss any details.


    At this moment, Yaboke''s expression also changed slightly.


    Only a peer of the same level can urately perceive how strong the opponent is.


    Although he didn''t underestimate his opponent and expected that the two shots might not hurt the other party, he didn''t expect the other party to resolve it so easily.


    And at this moment, a sharp light shed in his eyes, and he made his move again!


    Yaboke''s cloak fluttered, and suddenly a string of sharp throwing knives flew out.


    <em>DING! DING! DING! DING!</em>


    With flickering mes, Gelong easily intercepted the flying knives with his short knife.


    But obviously, Yaboke didn''t expect the throwing knives to harm the enemy. In that moment of sshing mes, he had already appeared behind Gelong like a ghost!


    He was like a phantom, and a ck dagger was shing towards Gelong''s neck.


    It was as fast as teleportation, unbelievable.


    Seeing this scene, the underground gamblers also became excited.


    "So fast, is that Yaboke''s speed...no wonder he is an assassin!"


    "It is said that the talent Yaboke awakened is <em>[Talent C-009-Instant Body]</em>, which gives him the ability to make short-distance bursts. Within twenty meters, the opponent doesn''t even have a chance to shoot..."


    "The A-ss wanted criminal is indeed well-deserved."


    "..."


    Su''en listened to the shocked words of the gamblers around him, and his thoughts hadn''t had time to digest when the two men in the arena had already fought several rounds.


    Yaboke''s speed of movement was extremely fast, like a ghost, as if the entire arena was his shadow.


    If it weren''t for Su''en''s enhanced vision, he wouldn''t even be able to see clearly that the two men on the stage had shed thirteen times, with two elbow strikes being blocked...


    And obviously, Gelong was stronger.


    Despite the intense storm-like attacks, he calmly waved his short knife, urately blocking each strike.


    "That guy fights like a machine,pletely calm..."


    Su''en watched carefully, and Gelong didn''t even move his feet, just stood in ce and parried with his knife.


    It looked like the two were engaged in a fierce battle, but...upon closer inspection, even his suit was not disheveled.


    "Are all the bodyguards of those big shots in the inner city this strong?"


    Su''en found it hard to believe.


    Yaboke''s ghostly body movements were enough to ensure his invincibility. Moreover, both his marksmanship and knife skills were top-notch techniques that were beyond Su''en''s understanding as an "advancedbat beginner".


    But he didn''t manage to harm anyone.


    Su''en never expected that a bodyguard would be so strong.


    And there is more toe!


    ***


    The battle between the two second-tier professionals on the stage was very intense, and the ordinary gamblers were just enjoying the spectacle.


    "Why doesn''t Gelong fight back when he''s constantly being suppressed?"


    "He wants to fight back, but he needs to react in time. Yaboke''s speed is so fast that it''s already good enough to block his attacks."


    "Heh, you guys don''t understand. That''s the smart way to deal with it. Yaboke has the <em>[Instant Body]</em> talent, it''s almost impossible to catch him. But that talent consumes a lot of energy when used frequently. The best response is to stay still and adapt to changes. Gelong is not stupid, but rather clever. Just watch, it won''t be long before Yaboke starts to panic..."


    "Hmph~ I didn''t realize that big guy was so powerful. I still think Yaboke will definitely win, his agility is too unpredictable..."


    "..."


    Most of the gamblers are ordinary people, and they only care about their own bets.


    The pace and techniques of the battle on the stage can only be understood by a few people.


    However, quietly, many experts have gathered around the "Crimson Fortress" gambling booth, even Captain Kay and the other veterans of the "Cross Society" havee to watch this exciting duel.


    The gamblers'' eyes were outside of Su''en''s sight. In the private box on the second floor, those important figures from the inner city were standing in front of the one-way ss, watching this bloody battle with great interest.


    They are the real protagonists behind this match, and the heavy bets on the two diators are the most important reason for thispetition.


    Beside the arena, Su''en muttered to himself, "The test is over, is it time to get serious..."


    He knew that the excitement had just begun.


    <em>After all, they are two alchemists!</em>

 Chapter 21: B-002

    Chapter 21: B-002


    "Abok, the ''Scorpion'' used all his means, but it seems to have no effect on the ''Red Demon'' Gelong.


    Su''en also noticed that if they continue like this, the one at a disadvantage will definitely be Abok, who appears ghostly on the arena.


    The oue of the match seems to have be confusing in an instant.


    And obviously, this A-ss wanted criminal also realized this.


    At this moment, he suddenly backed away, then drew a distance, and instantly drew a hexagram alchemy on the ground with one leg. At the same time, his hand constantly changed gestures, and in an instant, hepleted the transformation ceremony with a light drink: ''nt Armor  Unseal!''


    The gamblers below watched Abok''s actions and became excited again.


    "Look, Abok is getting serious!"


    "That''s his alchemy nt armor, the legendary ''Blue Steel Scorpion Tail,'' forged from the hardest known alloy, ''Mithril Blue Steel,'' indestructible..."


    "Hey, he actually forced this guy to use his special skill. I remember seeing him easily kill a reorganized security guard with this scorpion tail back then..."


    "..."


    Su''en didn''t expect that this guy would actuallyplete the unsealing of his nt armor in just an instant.


    He remembered that back at the Storm Manor, even the bald Ivan seemed to have taken several seconds.


    But Abok only took 1.3 seconds.


    At the moment when the alchemy array dissipated, Abok''s clothes suddenly tore apart, and his body crawled on the ground like a scorpion, with a nearly three-meter-long metal scorpion tail appearing behind him.


    This nt armor scorpion tail was made up of sections of blue steel armor, with graceful lines and extraordinary flexibility. It twisted at a strange angle, as if it were a living creature. At the tip of the tail, there was also a sharp triangr de, resembling a raised-necked Eysh Viper.


    Even from a distance, one could feel the strong sense of danger.


    ...


    After unsealing the nt armor, Abok did not give his opponent any chance to react and chose to take the initiative.


    The ''Blue Steel Scorpion Tail'' moved and made a strange, crisp sound of fine metal.


    This time, Abok changed his previous fighting style and directly charged forward.


    The metal scorpion tail resembled the head of a predatory snake, and it actually shot out!


    "It can stretch and retract?"


    Su''en, watching the scorpion tail suddenly stretch like a spring, was somewhat surprised.


    To achieve this level, the structure of this metal nt armor must be much moreplex than he expected. It was not only mechanicallyplex, but also had numerous mysterious runes.


    Although it seemed like a frontal attack, it was actually an ambush.


    The suddenly ejected scorpion tail swiftly stabbed towards Gelong''s chest...


    Indeed, as soon as the nt armor appeared, Abok''sbat power increased several times. Gelong could no longer stand still, and his short knife in his hand was unable to block the imposing scorpion tail.


    "ng!" A spark flew.


    The harsh sound of metal friction indicated that the two had already fought for a round.


    Gelong, holding the short knife, retreated violently. When he looked closely, he saw a smooth cut on his white shirt. Although he didn''t see any bloodstains, this cut was extremely dangerous.


    And Abok''s attack obviously did not stop there. Unable tond a hit, the ''Blue Steel Scorpion Tail'' that could freely stretch and retract behind him stabbed out again.


    The sound of breaking wind was incessant, and the phantoms were everywhere.


    If it were in an open space, Gelong might have enough space to dodge. But on the arena, especially on the restricted arena with the explosion-proof shield, his space for movement was already limited.


    "ng," "ng," "ng"...


    The short knife and the scorpion tail shed hundreds of times in a very short period, making it difficult for people to follow.


    No one expected that Gelong, who appeared strong and sturdy, would have such agile footwork.


    This bodyguard in a suit, although he appeared disheveled, at this moment, he did not show any signs of defeat.


    "So strong!"


    Su''en waspletely stunned.


    Thebat skills of these two fighterspletely exceeded his understanding. In his previous life, no matter how powerful a fighter was, they couldn''t perform such exaggerated moves and footwork.


    In terms of physical strength, strength, speed, and reflexes, both of them had reached an unimaginable height.


    The moves that didn''t seem to cause casualties on the arena were fatal to ordinary people, and even to official ''professionals''. Any small mistake could lead to instant death.


    This deadly battle opened the door to a new world for Su''en.


    ...


    Surprisingly, despite facing such a fierce attack from his opponent, Gelong still blocked with his knife. Even though his suit was already riddled with holes and bloodstains, he didn''t seem to show any signs of using his ''ultimate move''.


    ording to reason, as two second-tier professionals, this bodyguard should also have an alchemy nt armor, right?


    Or maybe he didn''t have time to activate it?


    "Why hasn''t this guy unseal his nt armor yet? What is he waiting for..."


    Su''en''s eyes turned, vaguely guessing that things might not be that simple.


    And at this moment, what he expected happened.


    Perhaps after watching the fight on the arena for a long time, suddenly, the one-way ss in the private rooms on the second floor of the arena slowly lowered. A slightly obese middle-aged man with a gold-framed monocle, with a gloomy expression, shouted towards the underground arena in a deep voice, ''Kill that guy, and I''ll give you your freedom!''


    This monocle-wearing man had ced a heavy bet on this match.


    Clearly, it was a situation where he was supposed to win, and he couldn''t afford to have a ''draw'' or intentionally lose to that despicable bodyguard, causing him to lose arge sum of money.


    Although the voice was not loud, it seemed to have a magical power.


    Everyone''s eyes turned towards him.


    Someone recognized the monocle-wearing man and whispered, ''That''s... Mendes Batolov, the boss of the ''Batolov Winery Group''!''


    Old Lingduncked clean water sources and did not have enough food to make wine, but the demand was high. Therefore, the wine industry, a highly profitable industry, has created many wealthy tycoons, and this ''Mendes Batolov'' is one of the top tycoons in the inner city.


    ...


    At this moment, Su''en immediately understood what Gelong had been waiting for.


    "Hmph!"


    As soon as the monocle-wearing man appeared, a cold snort sounded on the arena.


    The entire person of the ''Red Demon'' Gelong suddenly changed, like a lion awakened from sleep, the calm numbness in his eyes disappeared, and for the first time, a tangible killing intent burst out.


    The one who felt it the most was undoubtedly Abok on the arena.


    This A-ss wanted criminal, who had killed countless people, saw the sudden rise in Gelong''s momentum and felt a sense of danger. That terrifying gaze, like needles, pierced into his body.


    Originally, he wanted to hide some tricks and find an opportunity to ''escape''.


    But now, he gave up on the idea of reserving his strength. Suddenly, he opened his mouth, and his lower jaw dislocated exaggeratedly, revealing a tube that shimmered with a metallic luster.


    Before others could see what had happened, a strong purple poison gas spewed out, instantly engulfing the entire arena.


    Therge ''explosion-proof shield'' unexpectedly became the best barrier against the poisonous gas, but in just a few seconds, the entire arena waspletely obscured.


    "This...what happened?"


    "It seems like Abok sprayed poison gas..."


    "This is bad, we can''t see anything, and the air is toxic. That big guy is probably in danger."


    "This arena is too advantageous for Abok, an assassin-ss professional. Hey...looks like I''m going to lose all the money I bet on the ''Red Demon.'' I heard some rumors that this guy is very powerful..."


    "..."


    The purple poison gas enveloped the entire arena, and the gamblersined.


    But this kind ofpetition was cruel. Everyone epted the result without watching the process.


    Su''en also frowned as he looked at it.


    The poison gas that Abok considered as his trump card would definitely not be simple.


    The arena was sealed, with no escape.


    Thinking about the powerful Gelong, the best oue would probably be a mutual destruction.


    "It seems like I''m going to lose a thousand coins..."


    Su''en muttered to himself, not feeling regretful about losing money.


    At least he witnessed such an exciting battle between professionals, and the ticket was worth it.


    At the same time, looking at the poisonous fog, his expression became somewhat strange, thinking to himself: If that guy had released this earlier when he stepped on the arena, wouldn''t everyone in this casino be buried with him?


    Damn...this world is so dangerous.


    Su''en felt that without strength, he could be in danger anytime and anywhere.


    ...


    The poisonous gas filled the air, and visibility was reduced to zero.


    Therge gambling hall fell into silence, with only asional whispers among the gamblers.


    Is it over?


    The gamblers were mentally prepared and waited for the result of this match to be revealed.


    But at this moment, suddenly!


    A strange sound caught everyone''s attention.


    With a loud bang,


    It seemed like something heavy collided with the explosion-proof shield.


    Then...


    Another rough "thud" sound came from another direction. Faintly, a shadow was seen falling on the ss shield, and then it disappeared in an instant.


    "Is it not over yet? What happened inside?"


    In an instant, the entire gambling hall fell silent.


    All the gamblers stared at the poison gas shield, wanting to figure out what had happened.


    And at this moment, suddenly, a roar sounded.


    "Roar!"


    The voice was like a terrifying monster roaring in anger, making people feel dizzy even through the ss shield.


    Then, the sound of dense "thud thud" like raindrops echoed...as if a hammer was striking the ground, causing the entire gambling stall to tremble.


    Before long, themotion disappeared.


    Everything returned to calm.


    In front of them was still the explosion-proof shield filled with poisonous gas.


    Everyone looked confused.


    Everyone looked at each other, as if their eyes revealed the same question: What happened?


    ...


    "The match is over, the red side wins!"


    In the bewildered expressions of the gamblers, the organizers suddenly announced the result.


    It seemed that the casino had a special method to confirm that the blue side''s diator had already died.


    At this moment, the automatic venttion system under the arena also started, and the dense purple poison gas was quickly sucked underground.


    As the poison fog dissipated, the visibility gradually improved, and everyone saw what had happened.


    On the arena, a huge red-skinned monster stood there with a strong killing intent.


    "That...isn''t that the Hell Baron?"


    Su''en looked at the red-skinned muscr monster and his temples twitched.


    But obviously, it wasn''t. This guy didn''t have horns on his head.


    On the ground, there was a mass of crimson flesh, no longer in a human shape. And the indestructible ''Blue Steel Scorpion Tail'' was also broken into pieces...


    The entire arena was in a mess.


    Obviously, the body on the ground was Abok, the ''Scorpion.''


    So...that red-skinned muscr monster was Gelong, the ''Red Demon.''


    As if time had stopped for a few seconds, someone finally eximed, "My God...I thought it was just a nickname, but I didn''t expect that guy''s awakened talent is really ''B-ss,'' one of the strongest melee talents, B-002-Red Demon!"


    The legendary super melee talent that was even stronger than most A-ss talents!


    ...


    Beside the arena, looking at the mighty and domineering red-skinned ''Hell Baron,'' a certain emotion that made his scalp tingle surged from Su''en''s heart.


    He guessed that Gelong was strong, but he didn''t expect him to be so brutal!


    When his ultimate move was unleashed, it was simply crushing.


    The gap between the two was unbelievable.


    Why were the bodyguards in the inner city so strong?


    Could it be just because of their talent?


    Doubts arose in Su''en''s mind.


    Looking at the ''gray mist'' on the ground, he became even more curious.


    And at some point, Captain Kay also squeezed to the side of the arena.


    Looking at the situation on the arena, this newly promoted professional was also full of emotions and muttered to himself, "The inner city gathers more than 90% of Old Lingdun''s alchemy resources, amodates the top curse objects, has the most transfer sequence, alchemy blueprints, and rare talents... That''s why so many strong people are eager to go to the inner city."


    PS. This is not filler, this is a supporting character with a plot. Brothers, please vote~"

 Chapter 22: Gunfighting Technique

    Chapter 22: Gunfighting Technique


    Su''en had just arrived in Old Lingdun on the first day and was not sure of the exact concept of the "Inner City". He thought it was a wealthy area isted from the rest, but now it seems that the ss differences in this world are even greater.


    As Captain Kay approached him, he greeted him out of courtesy, "Captain."


    "Mm."


    Kay nodded and let out a sigh.


    The "Red Demon" Goron on the arena gradually returned to human form, and the overwhelming dominance that made everyone breathless slowly dissipated.


    Kay seemed to have deep feelings about the battle just now and looked at the burly Goron, saying, "Those guys in the Inner City have the best resources, cursed materials, aplete professional promotion system, and endless knowledge of alchemy... Professionals who grow up under those conditions are notparable to us outsiders who rely on our own exploration. The boss of the Yama Gang told me before, don''t underestimate those who have been living in the Inner City since childhood. If you have the chance to really go to the Inner City and see it for yourself, your perspective will bepletely different..."


    "..."


    Su''en listened to these words as if they were spoken to him, but it seemed like Kay was talking to himself.


    Although they hadn''t known each other for long, Su''en could tell that this newly appointed gang leader seemed to have aspirations and ideals.


    Unlike most gang members who only seek pleasure, Kay seemed to be more interested in alchemy and transcendent powers.


    Otherwise, he wouldn''t have be an official professional at such a young age.


    You should know that although the "sry" of the gang is good, bing a professional is the real bottomless pit. Not to mention the materials for employment that can cost tens of thousands of li, even the alchemical imnts after employment are expensive.


    The more advanced the materials, the more expensive they are. If you want to be stronger, you have to spend more money.


    In the gang, relying solely on sry, it would probably take many years of frugality to have a chance of bing a professional.


    This would make most gang members who want to live a carefree life refuse this idea. Didn''t they join the gang just for good wine and women?


    Su''en had heard the old birds chatting before and heard that when Kay was just an ordinary gang member, he actively participated in many dangerous missions and expeditions, which led to his current position.


    ...


    As Kay looked at the arena again, the hope on his face faded and he said with envy, "B-002 Red Demon... Ah, it''s really enviable. Those rich people in the Inner City are really capricious. Such a powerful expert actually came to the arena."


    Great strength, high recovery, high endurance, petrified skin, hardened bones...


    In general, it meant being able to fight, endure, and self-heal...


    That''s why B-002 Red Demon was known as one of the strongest melee talents.


    "Yes, it was a wonderful match."


    Su''en raised an eyebrow as he listened, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.


    If it was about talent, he didn''t have much to envy.


    Although this "B-level" Red Demon had strongbat power, if he looked at it from a long-term perspective, his "S-level" Death Reaper had even greater potential.


    But then again, would a cold and powerful bodyguard like this really be expelled because of romantic problems?


    Su''en didn''t think much about it. At least for a long time, he wouldn''t have any contact with the people in the Inner City.


    Because he suspected that the original owner of this body was probably a member of a certain big family in the Inner City. It would be best to remain as a "little transparent" until he investigated it thoroughly.


    The more low-key, the longer he would live.


    Kay didn''t look at the arena anymore and casually asked Su''en, "How''s your luck today?"


    Su''en shrugged and said, "Not bad, won two or three thousand."


    "A little gambling for fun."


    Even though he was young, Kay adopted an old and domineering tone and said again, "If you want to be a professional in the future, there will be many ces where you need money. Knowledge, materials, imnts... all cost money."


    This was what his former captain, the boss of the Yama Gang, had told him.


    "I understand, Captain."


    Su''en could tell that Kay didn''t seem to be very ustomed to this "preaching tone" with him. But maybe it was because of his new position as the team leader, he tried to adapt to this role as much as possible.


    Without watching the match any longer, Kay didn''t stay and said, "I''ll go first, remember to gather on time tomorrow."


    Su''en waved his hand and said, "Okay, Captain."


    ...


    The martial artspetition ended, and the excitement in the "Crimson Fortress" gradually died down.


    The gamblers began to disperse, the winners happily went to redeem their tickets, and the losers cursed and prepared toe back tomorrow.


    The hall was a mess, with discarded lottery tickets scattered all over the floor.


    Su''en didn''t hurry to leave because he had to wait.


    Professional''s bodies contained cursed materials, and even if they were beaten to a pulp, the materials of a second-tier professional were still valuable.


    On the arena, the staff started to clean up the body of the "Scorpion" Abok.


    Su''en nced at the "gray mist" on the body and prayed that those guys would hurry up. The longer it took, the more fragmented the memory fragments would be.


    Perhaps his prayer worked, as the people cleaning up the body collected the valuable cursed materials and showed no interest in the body itself. They gathered the severed limbs and arms on a piece of bup and dragged it over.


    When they passed by Su''en, the "gray mist" was finally devoured by him as he wished.


    "You obtained ''Abok Turner''s memory fragments *4''"


    "You have gained some information: ''Hmph, those fools from the ''Umbre Organization'' really thought that I only had a few hiding ces for my treasures... Unfortunately, that ''Forbidden Item'' is still in the ''Moon Hotel''. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have been caught...''"


    "You have acquired some ''Advanced Alchemy Knowledge''"


    "You haveprehended the firearm skill ''Gunfighting Technique'', firearm experience +19"


    "Assassin''sbat experience +26"


    "Mental power +0.3"


    Arge amount of information flooded into Su''en''s mind, and he felt like he had just had a nightmare digesting the soul fragments of a second-tier professional.


    After he figured out what he had obtained, his eyes lit up.


    "I''ve made a big harvest this time..."


    Su''en muttered to himself and organized the gains from Abok''s memories.


    Firstly, this guy gave him ten times thebat experience of an ordinary corpse, truly worthy of being a second-tier professional.


    This gave Su''en a certain understanding of the assassin''s professional skills, cunning, ruthless, and malicious... His mind was filled with many vicious assassin techniques.


    Moreover, this time he also obtained aplete skill!


    "Gunfighting Technique? Huh... can bullets really curve in this world?!"


    When Su''en looked at this skill, he couldn''t help but feel incredulous.


    In the memory scene, Abok threw his gun and the bullet actually followed a curved trajectory, bending around and hitting the enemy behind cover.


    Bullets that curve, this was definitely a divine skill!


    A second ago, Su''en believed in science.


    ording to thew of inertia, force is the reason for changing the motion of an object. After the bullet leaves the barrel, regardless of its initial speed, it is only affected by gravity and air resistance, which means the trajectory will be a straight line downward.


    But curving halfway?


    Where does the forcee from?


    After fully digesting this "Gunfighting Technique", he suddenly understood that this secret firearm skill required extremely high firearms proficiency to support it.


    Not only that, it also required a sturdy firearm capable of amodating the initial bullet trajectory deviation, as well as wind alchemy to control the spiral force when the bullet leaves the barrel, providing the "force" for the curve.


    And he currently only knew this skill.


    To be able to use it proficiently like in the memory fragments, urately hitting enemies behind cover with a single shot, there was still a long way to go.


    That would requireplex ballistic data analysis and shootingprehension.


    "No wonder my firearm skill is only ''Elementary Mastery''. There are so many tricks in firearms usage..."


    Su''en suddenly realized.


    On his current attribute panel, the experience value for elementary mastery had reached 239/300, but he felt that even if he reached "Intermediate", he still had a long way to go before fully mastering Gunfighting Technique.


    Perhaps, to truly reach "Advanced Firearm Mastery", he would be able to fully grasp this secret firearm skill.


    Seeing this, Su''en unconsciously ced his hand on the firearm at his waist, feeling a bit restless.


    But he had a strange feeling, that even though he understood the techniques, he couldn''t draw the gun.


    At least, the action of "throwing the gun" required extraordinary strength and skill. It was an action that his current body simply couldn''t perform.


    "My body is too weak..."


    His eyebrows furrowed, and Su''en realized the source of this difort.


    His mind said: You''ve learned it.


    His hand said: No, you haven''t.


    Skills cannot be used just by learning them. They also require the body to have enough strength to support them and the muscle memory from repeated practice to be able to use them freely.


    Thinking of this, a self-deprecating smile appeared on Su''en''s face.


    He knew that although he had the ability to quickly learn skills with the "Reaper", he would still need to strengthen his physicalbat training in the future.

 Chapter 23: Emergencies

    Chapter 23: Emergencies


    After stripping a second-order professional, Su''en felt that hisbat skills had improved significantly.


    When he looked back, he also found a keyword, "Moon Inn," in Abok''s memories.


    "What did that guy hide in the inn?"


    Su''en was curious.


    Abok, the "Scorpion," was originally an assassin-ss professional, notorious as a ss A wanted criminal. He loved stealing treasures and killing people.


    For many years, he hadmitted numerous major crimes and stolen a considerable amount of wealth.


    From the limited fragments of memory, Su''en also learned that this guy had been caught by the "Umbre Organization" and had confessed to several hiding ces for his treasures. However, it seemed that an important "forbidden item" had been hidden by him.


    "What is this ''forbidden item''?"


    Su''en felt that something that could make this second-order professional feel that it could save his life must be extraordinary.


    But he didn''t dwell on it.


    Abok had just been captured, and it was possible that his actions, which he thought were concealed, were being closely monitored by certain people. For example, the "Umbre Organization" in the inner city, a specialw enforcement departmentposed of professionals.


    Just like in his previous life, the police would trace the criminal''s history and actions to find clues.


    If he were to look for the "dirty stuff" now, he would most likely attract the attention of those who were tracking him.


    The more valuable the item, the higher the chance of being targeted.


    Su''en thought that when things cooled down, he would have the opportunity to inquire about the whereabouts of the "Moon Inn."


    .......


    Tonight''s diatorial matches had all ended, and after themotion, the gamblers dispersed.


    The ordinary gamblers didn''t know that many important figures hade to the "Crimson Citadel" gambling den for the final match tonight.


    In a private room on the second floor, smoke filled the air, and there was a strong sweet tobo smell.


    These were top-grade cigars produced by the "Bagman Tobo Company."


    There were several men and women with modified mechanical prosthetics in the private room. Although they were dressed in gentlemanly ck suits, they couldn''t hide the strong murderous aura emanating from them.


    They were gangsters.


    If there were others present, they would undoubtedly recognize the bearded man smoking a cigar as Ban''na, the president of the "Steam Brotherhood" in the outer city, a well-known figure.


    One of the most powerful figures in the outer city.


    Ban''na had watched the entire battle, and although he had lost a little money, he seemed to be in a good mood. "Tsk tsk, this ability is interesting... Send someone to contact this ''Red Devil'' Goron. If he is willing to join our gang, give him the position of an officer."


    Goron, a second-order professional expelled by the Bartalov family, would no longer be hired by other families in the inner city.


    This guy could only stay in the outer city to make a living.


    For their gang, such people were the best "neers."


    Upon hearing this, the man standing by the door of the private room responded, "Yes, boss."


    At this moment, the seductive woman nestled in Ban''na''s arms also spoke, coquettish, "Old man, what should we do about Green Street? These gambling dens and nightclubs are a gold mine... The ''Cross Society'' has sent a young kid to watch over the ce, making it difficult for us to operate."


    Ban''na, with his big hand that had not yet been modified into a mechanical prosthetic, unceremoniously roamed and caressed the woman''s chest as he said, "Heh heh, just a rookie who has just been promoted to a professional. Since they don''t allow officers to intervene, let''s notpromise our own status. In a few days, send a few people to deal with them and test the attitude of the ''Cross Society''s'' high-level members."


    The seductive woman seemed to know some inside information and guessed something when she heard this. Curiously, she asked, "Old man, did something really happen to the leader of the ''Cross Society''?"


    "Well..."


    Ban''na neither confirmed nor denied it. After thinking for a moment, he said, "That guy Chuck hasn''t shown up in the ''Cross Society'' for two or three months. There are rumors that he went to deal with a ''Cursed Space'' outside the city and had an ident."


    Pausing for a moment, a trace of doubt appeared in his eyes, and he changed his tone, "But, based on my understanding of that old cunning guy, even if something really happened, he would have made some arrangements. Now, that guy shouldn''t be making any big moves and is probably preparing to ambush someone. That''s why we need to test... Otherwise, if it weren''t for these few streets, my ''Steam Brotherhood'' would have taken over long ago."


    As Ban''na spoke, his big hand became more and more unscrupulous.


    The seductive woman was already wearing a long skirt, and with a flick, arge expanse of her spring scenery was exposed.


    But the others in the room seemed to turn a blind eye to this alluring scene, and no one dared to look directly at it.


    The seductive woman was slightly panting andined, "Old man, are you noting to my ce tonight?"


    Unexpectedly, Ban''na shook his head, "Not tonight."


    Hearing this, the woman pouted, "Huh?"


    It was this seemingly casual pout that gave off a charming and seductive charm, as if it had an inexplicable magical power that made people feel pity.


    Ban''na looked at the woman''s provocative gaze, smiled, and unconsciously exined, "I received news that there will be something exciting to watch tonight, so I have to go out."


    "Exciting?"


    When the woman heard this, curiosity also appeared in her crystal-clear eyes.


    Ban''na thought for a moment and didn''t conceal much, saying, "It is said that the ''Cross Society'' brought back a mysterious antique from the ancient ruins they discoveredst time. Coincidentally, many important people in the inner city are interested in that thing. Therefore, a group of people will probably attack the ''Cross Society''s'' treasury tonight."


    His words were vague and concealed many key pieces of information, but the woman could still sense that something explosive was happening.


    She became a little excited and asked, "Are we going to war with the ''Cross Society''?"


    Ban''na shook his head and corrected her, "Not us. It''s probably the ''Raven Gang'' and the influential figures behind them in the inner city who want to make a move. It''s not considered a war, just a raid. We''re just going to watch the show. Of course, if there''s an opportunity, we might as well take advantage of it."


    ......


    There were no more souls to strip in the arena today, and Su''en didn''t stay any longer.


    He also wasn''t interested in participating in the other gambling games upstairs.


    On his first day in the city, Su''en nned to familiarize himself with the environment, at least understanding the three blocks of Green Street. After all, the "Cross Society" was the local power, and it wouldn''t be good if their members were not familiar with their territory.


    The more chaotic the order, the more developed the entertainment industry. After leaving the gambling den, Green Street was filled with lights and revelry.


    The streets were bustling with pedestrians.


    Weapons could be seen everywhere on the street, firearms, swords, steam-powered mechanical arms, leather armor, cowboy hats, and boots. These were the standard equipment of adventurers.


    The sry of ordinary people in the outer city was only two to three thousand li per month, while sitting in a tavern on Green Street would cost several hundred li. Therefore, most of the people who could afford to consume here were adventurers. They risked their lives to explore outside the city, and after getting rich, they would enjoy a life of debauchery in the city.


    Su''en walked on the street, weaving through the crowd.


    The walls of the street were covered in painted graffiti, with patterns that had a strong dark style, abstract, ironic, advertisements, and even explicit content...


    In the dim alleyways, the continuous hissing sound of steam leaking from the walls could be heard. These were the sounds of steam pipes rupturing and releasing steam.


    In various parts of the city, there were towering chimneys emitting white smoke. These were the smokestacks of the underground steam boilers that provided energy and hot water to the city''s factories.


    In the damp alleys near the tavern, one could often see one or two drunkards lying next to trash bins, vomiting and sleeping. The rats scavenging seemed ustomed to it and asionally sniffed the drunkards, perhaps hoping they could be used as food.


    Su''en thought of the half of a body he had seen in the alley behind the "Elephant Inn" earlier and his gaze fell on the dark sewer deep below the flowing water. In the pitch-ck hole, it seemed that pairs of crimson eyes were hidden...


    After walking for a while, Su''en''s empty stomach made him find a rtively clean restaurant.


    The main dish was mushroom soup with ck bread, a specialty of the underground city. The meat dishes were expensive luxury items, and you never knew what kind of animal meat you were eating.


    Su''en didn''t mind as long as it was not poisonous. In his eyes, it was all high-quality protein.


    The taste was a bit strange, but it was much better than the ck bread he had been eating all this time.


    ......


    The working hours of the gang were only half an hour each day.


    Su''en thought that this leisurely lifestyle wouldst for some time.


    But he didn''t expect that on the first day, a sudden incident would ur.


    While he was dining in the restaurant, themunicator hanging from his waist suddenly emitted an urgent call, "Everyone, gather at the back alley of the ''Imperial Bathhouse''!"


    Although Kay didn''t exin anything on themunicator, the urgency in his voice indicated that something was wrong.


    The gathering point was not far, and Su''en didn''t dy, quickly walking over.


    By the time he arrived, dozens of members of the "Cross Society" had already gathered in the dark alley. Steam motorcycles roared, and motorcycles and armored transport vehicles were already in position...


    The efficiency of the gang in rallying was always high, and an emergency gathering meant that a battle was about to take ce.


    Most of the gang members didn''t know what had happened yet and had smiles on their faces.


    Su''en looked at the weapons and ammunition being distributed and furrowed his brows slightly, realizing that something big seemed to have happened.


    Kay got straight to the point and said seriously, "The headquarters warehouse has been attacked. We need to go there immediately! Although we don''t know who the enemy is yet, prepare for battle, everyone!"


    Note: The trantion is a direct trantion and may not capture the literary style of the original text.

 Chapter 24: Sealing Item

    Chapter 24: Sealing Item


    "What! The headquarters warehouse of the gang has been attacked?!"


    "Damn it, it must be those guys from the ''Steam Party''. Let''s go, brothers, let''s get them!"


    "..."


    Upon hearing the news from Captain Kay, the gang members grabbed their weapons and got on the cars.


    It took less than three minutes for everyone to gather, but it was enough time for the gang members near Green Street to arrive at this dark alley.


    Su''en joined the gang on his first day and had never participated in a collective mission like this before, so he didn''t know what he was supposed to do. But seeing everyone queuing up next to the armored vehicles distributing weapons and equipment, he also went to get some bullets and grenades.


    Without waiting any longer, Captain Kay waved his hand and said, "Get on the car, let''s go!"


    Although this young captain was still young, he looked serious and terrifying at critical moments. He also said, "Write down the names of those who haven''t arrived. They will be dealt with ording to the gang rules tomorrow!"


    Everyone got on the cars one after another.


    Steam motorcycles led the way, followed by two-wheeled, three-wheeled, four-wheeled... and evenrge iron hoop unicycles, each with unique designs.


    The gang had its own mechanical modification shop, and these steam motorcycles, which looked rough in craftsmanship with many exposed parts, performed well. They had exaggerated shock absorption systems that could jump more than ten meters, ejection systems, hinges, hooks, machine guns on the front... they had everything they needed.


    <em>BOOM~ BOOM~ BOOM~</em>


    The steam boilers roared, and the old birds carrying rocketunchers andrge-caliber rifles shouted as they rushed out.


    Then came the armored personnel carriers, jeeps, and various four-wheeled vintage motorcycles.


    Su''en didn''t wait for someone to assign him a vehicle; he followed a few experienced gang members and jumped onto the middle motorcycle.


    His intuition, having watched a thousand movies, told him that the center of the convoy was the safest.


    And it was safer to follow experienced gang members than to stick with rookies.


    Coincidentally, Captain Kay was in the car in front.


    When he saw Su''en, he seemed to remember something and said to the person next to him, "Sam, the neers have never participated in gang operations before. Take care of themter."


    Sam still had a carefree look on his face as he replied, "Sure thing, Captain."


    The convoy set off in a grand manner, attracting the attention of the people on Green Street.


    ***


    The headquarters of the "Steel Cross Society" was located in the core area of the South City, Block 41, the ck Forest Building.


    After receiving the news of the headquarters being attacked, this huge gang started to move. The cadres and captains scattered in various blocks quickly organized the gathering of personnel and headed towards the headquarters.


    At this moment, in the ck Forest Building, a group of fully armed masked individuals had already broken in.


    Outside, there was intense gunfire, but these people didn''t seem to have the intention to fight the members of the "Cross Society" head-on. They held a long box that looked like a coffin and headed straight for the underground vault.


    These people were equipped with various alchemical night vision goggles, and their masks covered most of their faces, making it difficult to see their appearances.


    They were very powerful and easily killed the guards along the way. Then, calmly, they arrived in front of a silver metal door.


    Looking at this sturdy door that could probably withstand even explosives, the leader, a masked person, sneered, "Hehe, I always heard that the ''Cross Society'' silver warehouse was an advanced alchemical weapon left over from the previous era, indestructible. Now it seems truly extraordinary."


    At this moment, the technicians also studied the code lock on the warehouse door and shook their heads.


    Seeing this, another masked person wearing a crow mask said, "There''s no time to decipher the code. Let''s get started."


    "Tsk tsk... If we didn''t bring this ''Sealing Item'', it would still be difficult to open this warehouse door."


    "Let''s get started quickly. The mercenaries can only dy us for a limited time. If the executives of the ''Cross Society'' dare toe, it will be troublesome if we get surrounded."


    "Hehe, Chuck and the core executives haven''t returned to the city yet. If we do get surrounded, we might still be able to break out."


    "..."


    Although the group of masked people said they were not afraid, their actions were not slow.


    At this moment, they had taken out the item from the "coffin," which turned out to be a nearly two-meter-long ck scythe.


    The ck scythe emitted a strange ck me, and its de shimmered, looking incredibly sharp.


    As soon as it was exposed to the air, a terrifying aura, as if the god of death had descended, instantly enveloped the scene, making people''s hair stand on end. The group of ck-clothed people looked at the scythe with a hint of fear.


    "Felix, get ready! Although this ''Sealing Item'' is eerie, as long as we can return to the medical base within an hour, our chances of survival are high."


    "Okay."


    Felix, the cloaked person, nodded.


    He took a deep breath and then picked up the chain de from the box.


    With the scythe in hand, his whole demeanor suddenly changed, as if a real death god had descended upon the world.


    Without any dy, he raised the scythe and swung it towards the metal vault door.


    In the next moment, a strange scene unfolded.


    The de of the scythe was at least ten meters away from the vault door, but with this swing, a ck arc of light, simr to a spatial rift, suddenly appeared in the empty air.


    The ck light shed and disappeared, and when people looked again, a crack had appeared on the metal door.


    Silently, the ck scythe had cut open a gap in the one-meter-thick alloy door as if it were cutting through air, without any resistance.


    Felix, the cloaked man, looked at his own strike, and his face twitched as if it hurt a bit.


    But obviously, one gap was not enough to open the vault door.


    However, Felix didn''t dare to strike again.


    At this moment, another ck-clothed person took over the scythe and swung it at the door. Another smooth gap appeared.


    In this way, after four people took turns, they cut a square incision on the vault door.


    The leader of the ck-clothed people kicked it, and with a "bang," the alloy block easily fell off, revealing arge hole.


    The group stared at the opened vault door, finally showing relieved smiles. "Everyone, we''ve found that thing. Take as much as you can of the rest!"


    ***


    On the other hand, Su''en and his group were still on their way from Green Street to the gang headquarters, the "ck Forest Building."


    Even if they were driving at full speed, it would still take them at least ten minutes to reach the headquarters.


    But as their convoy was crossing a bridge, something unexpected happened.


    The lead car suddenly hit a high-explosivendmine, causing a violent explosion.


    Clearly, someone had guessed that they woulde to support and set up an ambush on the route they had to pass.


    This bridge had a unique geographical position, and taking a detour would waste more time.


    <em>"Boom"</em> went the deafening sound as mes shot up into the sky.


    The lead car was overturned and tumbled in the air for dozens of rounds before finally falling to the ground.


    Fragments from the explosion flew in all directions, and the shockwave even overturned several motorcycles.


    "Ambush!"


    Captain Kay shouted loudly.


    The screeching sound of brakes filled the air.


    Su''en''s reaction was also extremely fast. Before the motorcycle coulde to an abrupt stop, he used his inertia to support himself on the guardrail, jumped off with one hand, and then rolled to find a solid cement pile on the bridge to hide behind, keeping his entire body hidden behind the stone to avoid the fate of crashing and falling.


    Jump off, find cover, draw the gun, all in one breath.


    "Indeed, there was an ambush!"


    Su''en had a vague expectation before setting off.


    The "Cross Society" was the ruler of the South City, and if someone dared to attack the headquarters warehouse openly, they must have anticipated that there would be reinforcements.


    If it were him, he would never let the support personnel arrive easily if he wanted to cause trouble.


    Divide and conquer for better results.


    So, along the way, his gaze had been observing the surroundings. When he saw the abnormality in the front car, he was the first to react by jumping off.


    The sudden explosion caused a moment of panic in the convoy, but the next second, both sides began a fierce firefight.


    Gunfire and bullets rained down.


    <em>Su''en didn''t dare to expose himself easily. He took out a small mirror and extended it out of his cover to observe the situation. Then, in the mirror, he saw a group of masked gunmen on the opposite side using the terrain to snipe at the convoy.</em>


    However, the members of the "Cross Society" were not weak either and fought back.


    The gang had its own military factory, and their firearms and equipment were not inferior to any force in the outer city. The members of this world''s gangs were not afraid of a fight. They were a group of desperados.


    They leaned against the motorcycles for cover and took out heavy firepower weapons to counterattack.


    For a while, bullets rained down like a storm, and the sound of explosions was deafening.


    While Su''en was observing the situation with a small mirror, a "crack" sound suddenly rang out, and a severed arm fell from the sky andnded at his feet. The ckened traces of gunpowder were still emitting smoke, and blood flowed from the severed end, staining the ground...


    Before he could react, another "bang" sound came, and a shrapnel hit the cement pir, sshing arge amount of debris.


    <em>Su''en felt the fiery pain on his cheek caused by the cement fragments, squinted his eyes, and looked at the scene in front of him. He muttered with a slightly solemn tone, "Such a bigmotion on the first day..."</em>

 Chapter 25: The cadres of the Red Cross

    Chapter 25: The cadres of the Red Cross


    Su''en knew very well that death on the battlefield was not something that could be avoided by hiding.


    They were here to support the headquarters, and Captain Kay would definitely not choose to retreat.


    The only choice to survive was to kill the enemy.


    Since joining the Cross Society, Su''en quickly entered the role. He silently estimated the position of the enemy gunner he had observed earlier, took a deep breath, and rolled over, firing several shots with therge-caliber gun in his hand towards the other side of the bridge.


    "Bang", "Bang", "Bang"...


    After this roll and gunshots, Su''en happened to hide behind a steam car a few meters away.


    Just as he stood firm, he heard a loud praise from beside him, "Hey, kid, not bad! Many rookies are easily scared on their first mission, but you can still shoot..."


    Turning his head, it turned out to be the burly Sam.


    He had been paying attention to the new recruits as instructed by Captain Kay.


    When he saw Su''en hiding behind cover for the first time, he thought he was too scared to move. But unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, he saw him shooting.


    Rolling, aiming, shooting...calm judgment, skilled action.


    And when Sam looked again, he saw a gunman on the other side of the bridge with a bullet hole in his head, falling to the ground. He was even more surprised and praised Su''en again, "Your marksmanship is urate..."


    Su''en smiled without saying anything.


    In that situation just now, he wasn''t sure if he could hit the enemy, but he didn''t expect the process to go so smoothly. The whole tactical rolling action seemed toe naturally, precise and seamless...


    He realized that he had collected so much firearms experience with the "Reaper", and hisbat level was now much higher than before.


    At this moment, Captain Kay, not far away, seemed to have seen this scene too, and his eyes showed a moment of surprise.


    However, he didn''t look for long, as the intense gun battle had already drawn his attention back.


    Of course, Kay and Sam didn''t know that the reason Su''en took the initiative to shoot was not to show off his marksmanship, but for his own safety.


    He was changing positions.


    Because he found that in this level ofbat, the cement block provided him with no sense of security. On the contrary, the bulletproof motorcycle with modified rune armor was the safest cover.


    He didn''t forget that this world was a world of alchemy, where there were not only ordinary bullets, but also various alchemical bullets.


    That cement block could be blown to pieces in minutes.


    Not to mention the group of veteran protectors.


    Sam probably thought that a neer would be easily frightened, and he didn''t want to fall behind. He directly opened the equipment box on the car and took out a shoulder-mounted rocketuncher, firing it towards the other side of the bridge.


    "Boom~"


    A loud noise, mes soaring.


    ...


    The battle became intense from the beginning.


    Both sides fought fiercely.


    However, what Su''en felt was good news, as it seemed that the enemy did not use any "weapons of mass destruction". This ensured his safety.


    Considering that alchemical bullets were worth thousands or even tens of thousands of miles, they were not feasible as regr ammunition in this gang warfare.


    This battle was destined to be a war of attrition, only ending when one side suffered heavy casualties or voluntarily retreated.


    But this was also the enemy''s goal - to buy time.


    By the time they really attacked the bridge, the battle at the headquarters warehouse would have ended.


    But what Su''en didn''t expect was that even though they had been attacking for a long time, Captain Kay made an unexpected decision.


    ...


    "They should be mercenaries from the North City district. Damn it...they want to dy us from supporting."


    Kay looked at the armed branch on the opposite bank and guessed the enemy''s intentions.


    Naturally, he couldn''t let the enemy achieve their goal. He said to Sam and the others, "Wait for my countdown of three, cover me!"


    Upon hearing Kay say this, everyone''s faces showed a shocked expression. "Captain Kay, are you going to charge across the bridge?"


    This was a crazy idea.


    Since the enemy had nned to intercept, they must have estimated the presence of "professionals" among their own ranks.


    In such a situation, even the "professionals" who could withstand bullets with their bodies would not dare to expose themselves easily. Otherwise, they would be met with special bullets and artillery. Under concentrated fire, no matter how strong their bodies were, they would be riddled with holes in an instant.


    "Yes! The enemy''s goal is to dy us. The more they do this, the bigger the trouble at headquarters. We can''t continue like this. We must support the headquarters as soon as possible..."


    But it seemed that Kay had already made up his mind. With a solemn expression, he shouted, "nt Armor, Activate!"


    As he spoke, his hands quickly formed a spell, and the ground lit up with an orange hexagram alchemy array.


    In just an instant, his shins and forearms protruded and sharpened, gradually turning into metal sickle-like des.


    This was Kay''s alchemical nt armor - "de"!


    Kay didn''t give the others time to persuade him. After activating the armor, he began the countdown in his mouth, "Three, two, one...charge!"


    "Damn it! Screw them!"


    Sam and the others shouted angrily, but they didn''t hesitate at all. Everyone stood up at the same time, picked up their guns, and unleashed a barrage of fire towards the other side of the bridge.


    Su''en also didn''t hesitate, firing both guns.


    And with his peripheral vision, he watched Captain Kay charging out!


    In the moment of the gunshots, Kay leaped up with great force, leaping dozens of meters. In the sky, his agile figure looked like a flying mantis as hended on the stone pir of the bridge, then pushed off with force and charged another dozens of meters forward. With just two leaps, he had plunged into the enemy''s position.


    Seeing this, Sam and the other veterans shouted together, "Brothers, charge!"


    With themand, the members of the Cross Society rushed out of cover, like a group of trapped beasts, surging forward.


    The enemy seemed unprepared for someone tond in their position and was caught off guard.


    Behind them was a deadly "de Mantis" constantly reaping lives, and the firepower of the forward shooting was instantly extinguished by more than half. In just an instant, it disrupted the enemy''s formation in their position.


    Kay was like a god of war, agilely killing in the enemy''s position.


    A few secondster, the frontmost members of the Cross Society had already rushed into the enemy''s position.


    The ughter began...


    When Su''en followed the team and rushed in, the battle was already nearing its end.


    Bodies were scattered on the ground.


    Su''en looked at Kay, who was sitting not far away with bandaged wounds, and a hint of surprise shed in his eyes.


    Kay''s lower abdomen was bleeding, indicating that he had been shot when he charged alone just now.


    However, he seemedpletely indifferent, injected a healing potion, and immediately urged everyone to clear the obstacles and continue forward.


    Su''en didn''t look much and proactively helped move the bodies.


    There were more than ten members in this mercenary squad, most of whom had recently died, and the "ash mist" on their bodies was still clear.


    After busy work, Su''en gained a lot.


    ...


    The teams from various districts that went to the headquarters "ck Forest Building" were all obstructed by mercenaries, and everything seemed to be going ording to the n of those masked people.


    But no one expected that at this time, there would be a change in the underground vault.


    Just after those masked people broke into the vault, a group of mysterious experts appeared suddenly outside the "ck Forest Building". The mercenaries couldn''t stop them at all, and they headed straight for the vault.


    The situation suddenly reversed.


    The information reached the underground vault, and a group of ck-d people immediately panicked. They clearly felt the change in the gravity field around them and realized that the iing people must be Chuck, the "Arbiter" who awakened the rare talent "A-017 Gravity Field", the president of the Steel Cross Society!


    The masked people immediately realized their situation and started cursing, even starting to fight among themselves.


    "Everyone, it seems the situation has changed..."


    "Damn it! Wasn''t the information saying that Chuck was still outside the city hunting? What the hell is this gravity field? And those Cross Society executives, how did theye so fast!"


    "Most likely, our operation has been figured out by that guy Chuck."


    "Sigh...it''s useless to say anything now. The task given to us by that important person is to get that ''thing''. Now that we have the thing, whether we can escape alive depends on our own abilities."


    "Number Five, be careful. With such a bigmotion, Chuck must have guessed that there is an insider in the Cross Society..."


    "Hmph, if it weren''t for his faulty intelligence, we wouldn''t be in such a passive situation!"


    "Our operation has been exposed, and there must be something wrong internally as well. But...let''s worry about this after we can escape alive. Let''s go, scatter and escape!"


    The group of masked people didn''t have their previousposure and explosively sted open the ground, then hurriedly rushed into the underground pipeline.


    ...


    The convoy from Green Street was the first support team to arrive at the 41st district.


    Su''en originally thought there would be a more intense battle than on the bridge, and wondered if he should use the alchemical bullets he had hidden to save his life.


    But when they arrived, the situation didn''t seem as bad as he had imagined.


    In fact...it was very calm.


    There were gunshots near the "ck Forest Building," but they were sporadic and didn''t sound like intense gunfire, but more like scattered shots during a pursuit.


    And in the distance, Su''en also saw a strange mist shrouding the streets near the ck building.


    Seeing the mist, Captain Kay was not surprised but delighted, eximing, "That''s the ability of the Smoke Ghost!"


    The veterans in the team also seemed to recognize this technique and eximed with joy, "Haha...great! With the Smoke Ghost here, everything will be fine!"


    Regardless of whether there were any problems, they had to go over.


    Sure enough, after the convoy entered the mist, they encountered armed personnel cleaning up the battlefield not far away. They were members of the Cross Society.


    Someone recognized Kay and greeted him, "Hey, Kay, you guys are here..."


    Kay looked at the calm headquarters, puzzled, and asked, "I received information that the headquarters was attacked. Where are the attackers?"


    The person responded, "Haha, the president and the executives suddenly came back, and those guys were naturally killed."


    Kay was first stunned, then overjoyed, "Ah? The president and the executives are back?"


    Hearing this rxed tone, Su''en also breathed a sigh of relief.


    At least it seemed that he wouldn''t face a transcendent battle that was far beyond his current strength on his first day joining the society.


    ...


    The convoy from Green Street arrived at the "ck Forest Building" in a grand manner, and the surrounding fog gradually dissipated.


    At this moment, a figure with a watery expression slowly condensed from the smoke not far away.


    Kay and the other veterans recognized this person and greeted him respectfully, "Smoke Ghost!"


    Su''en remembered seeing this middle-aged man just ten hours ago on the city wall.


    This person was one of the executives of the Cross Society, Sandbuk Kachinsky, also known as the Smoke Ghost.


    "Mmm."


    The middle-aged man nodded in response.


    He seemed to be injured, his face pale.


    Before Kay could ask, another figure suddenly swooped down from the sky.


    Su''en instinctively reached for the gun at his waist, but when he took a closer look, it turned out to be a human with ck metal wings. When hended, the wings on his back instantly retracted and disappeared without a trace.


    Kay recognized the person and greeted him excitedly, "Angel!"


    This was another executive of the Cross Society, Goethe Amato, also known as the Night Angel.


    Goethe seemed to be familiar with Kay and asked curiously with a smile, "Oh...Kay, I heard that the teams from other districts were hindered by mercenaries, how did you guys arrive so quickly?"


    Kay modestly replied, "We were afraid there would be trouble at headquarters, so we rushed a bit."


    Goethe seemed to understand Kay''s character and guessed something, saying with a smile, "You, always charging ahead?"


    "Heh..."


    Kay rubbed the back of his head and smiled.


    Goethe shook his head, but didn''t say much, his eyes filled with admiration.


    Su''en quietly stood among the crowd, but when he saw the wings that could fly, a hint of surprise shed in his eyes. "Alchemy equipment that can fly, very practical..."


    He nned to "join" in the near future and would then face the choice of alchemical equipment.


    "Maritist" was a profession that grew in agility and skill, so it seemed like a good choice to obtain the blueprint for these alchemical wings.


    ...


    Since it seemed that there was no problem with the headquarters, everyone''s nervousness also eased.


    At this moment, the two executives suddenly turned their heads, seeming to have noticed something.


    Following their gaze, Su''en also looked over.


    In the next second, he saw a woman carrying a heavy object jump down from the rooftop about ten meters away.


    As soon as shended, she dropped the burden on her shoulder, revealing a body covered in knife wounds, and the masked person fell into aa.


    Apparently, she was another executive, Qiantiao, the "Four-Armed Rakshasa."


    Kay greeted her again, "Qiantiao!"


    This woman had a bold and heroic appearance.


    Her thick blue hair was tied into a high ponytail, and she wore arge red rope simr to a shimen around her waist, with four single-edged long knives of different colors attached to it.


    She wore a half-body leather armor simr to the Japanese samurai, but only covered the front and back, leaving her long white legs and half of her buttocks exposed. It was even questionable whether she would expose herself if she made big movements.


    Her upper body was even more revealing, with only a bandage-like bandeau and two simple fire-red leather shoulder pads and wrist guards. Arge area of her skin was exposed, making it clear to see her exaggerated muscr arms and the Rakshasa tattoos covering her back.


    When Su''en caught a glimpse of the Rakshasa tattoo, he felt a fierce and sinister aura that made it difficult to look directly at. Another nce at her heavy and majestic chest, it was indeed an omen of great danger.


    Qiantiao saw Kay and the others, and the killing intent she had when she firstnded suddenly dissipated. She joked, "Hey, little Kay, I heard you are in charge of Green Street now? Tsk tsk, when will you arrange a few handsome men for your sister to y with?"


    Kay patted his chest andughed, "Of course, Qiantiao, anytime youe, I''ll arrange it personally if you think the men in the Flower Field aren''t good enough!"


    Qiantiao nced at him disdainfully, with a look of disgust, joking, "Tsk tsk, with your skinny arms and legs, I''m afraid you won''t be able tost long in the pleasure district..."


    Hearing this, the veterans in the car burst intoughter.


    Sam and the other guys were even shameless, shouting loudly, "Qiantiao, if the Captain can''t do it, we can!"


    Seeing this scene, even Su''en''s face showed a rxed smile.


    But even though it was a joke, everyone also noticed the unconscious captive that Qiantiao brought back. The Smoke Ghost and the Night Angel, the two executives, looked at the person and had different expressions in their eyes.


    At this moment, another group of people walked out of the ck Forest Building.


    Seeing the leader, whether it was Kay or the executives, everyone respectfully shouted, "President!"

 Chapter 26: Kill the prophet

    Chapter 26: Kill the prophet


    "Arbiter" Chuck, the most powerful figure in the southern city, a godfather-like character in the underworld.


    Dressed in exquisite brown suit, heavy woolen coat, low-crowned hat, thick sideburns... Although not very tall, his muscr arms and sharp facial features, along with his deep wolf-like eyes, give off a dignified and steady aura, like a mountain.


    This president of the "Steel Cross Society" fulfills every image of a mafia boss that Su''en had imagined.


    ......


    Seeing the president approaching, the members of the Cross Society greeted him one after another, saying, "President!"


    "You all have worked hard."


    Chuck nodded to the crowd and looked at the unconscious captive on the ground.


    Qiantiao, who was standing by, took the initiative to exin, "This guy tried tomit suicide when he couldn''t escape earlier, but I stopped him. He looks unfamiliar and should be a mercenary from the northern city."


    In the outer city of Old Lingdun, there are three major gangs that dominate the east, west, and south districts respectively. As the northern district is close to the inner city, it is still managed by the urban security department and no major gangs can reach there.


    As the buffer zone between the slums and the inner city, the various forces in the northern district areplex, and various neutral organizations such as the "Mercenary Guild," "Alchemy Guild," "Wilderness Hunting Guild," and "Professional Guild" are also gathered there...


    Except for the three major gangs, most of the "professionals" in the outer city are mixing in the northern district, and there are also many experts.


    The people who attacked the headquarters of the Cross Society this time seemed to be a mercenary group from the northern city.


    Upon hearing this, Chuck didn''t know what he was thinking and nodded, "Hmm."


    He said in a calm tone, "These guys used a ck scythe to break open the door of the vault. It should be the same forbidden item that appeared in the auction house in the inner city a few years ago, the ''Night ck Scythe of Supnos.''"


    Upon hearing this, several captains seemed to remember something. Their brows furrowed slightly, but they also showed a sudden realization.


    Only that forbidden item could open the vault door in a short amount of time.


    At this moment, Chuck frowned and said seriously, "The ''forbidden item'' cannot be put into a storage ring. It is a big target. People can leave, but the thing must not leave the southern city! Notify the brothers below to immediately seal off the city district. No one should be allowed to escape."


    The captains responded one after another, saying, "Yes, President!"


    .......


    The support team on Green Street originally did not have the qualifications to listen to the decisions of the gang''s high-level members, but because they arrived too early, they happened to be in front of the headquarters building.


    Upon hearing President Chuck''s order, they immediately took action and prepared to return to Green Street to fortify their defenses.


    The motorcycles started, just about to turn around and leave.


    At this moment, Qiantiao thought of something and threw the unconscious captive onto one of the bright open-top motorcycles, saying, "Kay, take this guy to the interrogation room."


    "Okay!"


    Kay nodded and instructed a few people to tie up the captive.


    The gang''s interrogation room was just three blocks away, which was on the way.


    After the group of people from Green Street left, the captains also left one after another, each going to their respective patrol areas.


    Leaving President Chuck alone standing in ce, he looked at the mist-covered district in the distance, deep in thought.


    After a while, a middle-aged man with a cigarette in his mouth walked over and reported, "President, the investigation has beenpleted. We killed four of the seven people who entered the vault earlier and captured one. But the ''thing'' was also lost, probably taken away by the guy with the scythe. As for thest one, he might be..."


    Chuck didn''t wait for him to finish and waved his hand, saying, "I know."


    No one saw it, but upon hearing these words, a hint of sigh shed in the eyes of this mafia godfather with a notorious reputation.


    .......


    The convoy on Green Street was heading back on the return journey.


    Unlike the tense atmosphere when they came, the car was now filled with joy.


    Captain Kay also announced some good news, saying, "Brothers, Boss Smoker just said that everyone who participated in the mission will receive a bonus of 50,000 each. And for our team from Green Street, we will receive an additional bonus of 50,000!"


    "Hahaha, Boss Smoker is mighty! Captain is mighty!"


    Laughter filled the convoy.


    100,000 lisuo was equivalent to five months'' sry for everyone. For ordinary gang members, it was definitely a huge sum of money.


    Although six gang members died and more than ten were injured in the battle on the bridge earlier, it didn''t seem like a big deal to these gang members who were ustomed to death and bloodshed. The lives of most people in the outer city were not worth 100,000, including them.


    If they could survive, they would continue to enjoy themselves.


    Even those with minor injuries could be healed with a healing potion. Even those with severed limbs could use the 100,000 bonus to install a mechanical prosthetic limb and enjoy themselves in the pleasure district of Green Street for several months...


    Listening to the cheers and shouts of the crowd, Su''en also had a smile on his face.


    On his first day joining the gang, he encountered so many things, which really surprised him.


    Indeed...


    The high risks and casualties in the mafia were not just empty words.


    But the rewards were also proportional.


    However, Su''en felt that this kind of life was not bad either.


    It made him feel the long-lost thrill.


    In his previous life, he spent several years in a juvenile correctional facility undergoing mental therapy until he could perfectly control his emotions before being released.


    The "illness" seemed to have been cured, but he rarely felt the adrenaline rush of excitement anymore. Even the most terrifying movies and games rarely made his heart have any significant waves, and as time went on, the sense of boredom became more severe, and the joy in life became less and less.


    On the contrary, this cruel underground world made Su''en feel satisfied.


    ......


    Lost in his thoughts, his mind drifted away.


    "A surprise attack on the headquarters of the Cross Society turned out to be surrounded and killed by the president and the executives. The high-level members of the gang are quite capable..."


    Su''en sighed in his heart and thought of the several "important figures" he had seen before.


    President "Arbiter" Chuck, as well as the executives "Four-Armed Rakshasa" Thirteen, "Smoker" Sambu Kacinski, and "Night Angel" Goethe Amato...


    Each one of them was a second-order or higher professional, not only powerful but also now appearing as flesh-and-blood characters.


    The term "mafia" alone could not fully describe them.


    However, suddenly.


    Su''en didn''t know what he was thinking, and his gaze suddenly fell on the captive from the raid. His thoughts instinctively started ying a game of deduction.


    Who could the enemy be?


    Is it the "Raven Gang," their long-time rival, or the "Steam Party"?


    But from the current situation, almost all those who participated in this operation were mercenaries from the northern city, so it was unlikely that the two major gangs were directly involved or had a significant role.


    For such well-funded mercenaries, they were probably... important figures from the inner city.


    Also, why did they attack the warehouse of the headquarters?


    It was not worth it just for simple robbery.


    With this free time, robbing the rich would be much easier than robbing the mafia.


    The target of these mercenaries should be a very important and special item in the warehouse...


    Connecting the limited clues together, Su''en quickly deduced some truths in his mind.


    However, he wasn''t interested in delving deeper.


    After all, he didn''t want to and didn''t have the ability to get involved in the affairs of the gang''s high-level members.


    "But then again, why would these mercenaries, who clearly know that the Cross Society''s high-level members are formidable, choose to pick a fight?"


    Su''en thought of some interesting things.


    Judging from the calm expressions of the executives earlier, it probably didn''t take much effort to deal with that group of mercenaries.


    So where did the enemies get their confidence from?


    "Oh, wait, that person said earlier that the president and the others just returned... which means that the enemies caught the gang''s high-level members off guard when they were not in the city. However, the president and the executives were actually already lurking in the city, waiting for the trapped turtle?"


    Su''en felt that things seemed to be getting moreplicated.


    No one would be idle enough to y the empty city strategy and get beaten up. After all, the breach of the gang''s headquarters was like being pped in the face. For the "Steel Cross Society," one of the three major gangs, even if the losses could be recovered, it was not a glorious event.


    Therefore, Su''en came to the conclusion: "If the high-level members of the gang were ying a trick, it must be for some purpose..."


    Such as:


    Establishing dominance?


    Or maybe capturing an inside traitor?


    With such arge-scale invasion, there must have been support within the Cross Society...


    Su''en thought so and became puzzled, "Hmm... that doesn''t seem right."


    Suddenly, he looked at the captive who was still unconscious, and a random thought popped into his mind, "If there really is an inside traitor in the gang, ording to the normal plot, someone shoulde and kill him to silence him. The plot feels iplete without it..."


    The interrogation room was just three blocks away. If they didn''t kill this captive on the way, it would be difficult to do so once he was inside. By then, the identity of the traitor would definitely be exposed.


    It was probably a case of "seek and you shall find."


    As soon as this thought arose in Su''en''s mind, a gunshot rang out like thunder.


    In the next moment, the captive in the front car had his head blown open.


    "..."


    Su''en watched the bloody scene in front of him, his face twitching.


    He immediately realized that he seemed to have guessed correctly.

 Chapter 27: Introduction to Alchemy

    Chapter 27: Introduction to Alchemy


    Knowing from the sound of the gunshots, it was not an ordinary sniper rifle; seeing the explosion of the head, one could also guess that the bullet was an alchemy bullet.


    The purpose was probably to ensure that one shot could kill the target.


    Although Su''en instinctively shuddered at the sound of the thunderous gunshot, he soon calmed down.


    Because he anticipated the cause and effect of the whole incident, he was confident that the sniper would not fire a second shot.


    After all, the sniper was here to kill and silence, and would definitely not waste bullets on them, the "small fry" helpers.


    Moreover, the position of the convoy was not far from the headquarters building of the Green Gang, and the experts of the gang could arrive in an instant. The longer the sniper dyed, the more unlikely it was for him to escape.


    ...


    "Damn it, there''s a sniper, everyone be careful!"


    The sudden attack scared the people on Green Street.


    The convoy stopped urgently, and everyone found cover to avoid being shot by the sniper hidden in a building.


    Su''en guessed the motive of the gunman and no longer worried.


    He looked at the corpse with a blown head ten meters away on the motorcycle, turned his eyes, and "bravely" jumped and rolled, hiding beside the motorcycle with the corpse.


    Su''en didn''t care about the conspiracies of the high-ranking officials or the "mole".


    In his eyes, there was only the corpse on the motorcycle.


    This was the body of at least a second-tier professional. How often did he have such good luck toe across it?


    In the eyes of others, it was a pile of rotten meat, but in Su''en''s eyes, it was a lump of priceless treasure shining with golden light.


    However, his "brave act" made the captain Kay and the other experienced veterans by the car slightly surprised.


    Are all the neers so brave now?


    Facing an unknown sniper, they were not afraid at all, but took the initiative toe forward and relieve the pressure on the old helpers?


    Su''en also noticed the strange look in their eyes and naturally wouldn''t say that he came to "harvest" fragments. He could only find an excuse and say, "The gunman is on the high building southwest, 1,300 meters away!"


    This was not a fabrication. His current "Basic Firearms Proficiency" allowed him to quickly determine the position of the gunman through the trajectory of the bullet.


    The blood sttered from the corpse on the motorcycle was scattered in the northeast direction, indicating that the bullet must havee from the southwest. The prating power of the alchemy bullet was strong, as it blew up the target''s head and created a hole in the ground through the motorcycle. The angle of the two bullet holes on the ground and the bottom of the car could determine the angle of the bullet''s entry.


    Of course, the most important thing was Su''en''s amazing vision. When he judged the location where the sniper fired, he saw the figure on the high building in the distance at a nce.


    "To the southwest?"


    Upon hearing Su''en''s words, Captain Kay and the other veterans were initially stunned but soon realized.


    As seasoned warriors, they naturally knew how to determine the position of a sniper. It was just that their minds were still in shock from the surprise attack and hadn''t recovered, so they didn''t expect a neer to already have the answer.


    At this moment, because the distance was close enough, Su''en sessfully stripped the memory fragments from the corpse.


    "You obtained ''Vincent Isakov''s Memory Fragments *3''"


    "You gained some information: ''How could they not think that the manuscript would be hidden there...''"


    "You learned ''Elemental Language Beginner''..."


    "You gained some knowledge of mysticism, alchemy experience +31"


    "Spiritual Power +0.35"


    This time, Su''en didn''t strip anybat skills, which made him slightly regretful.


    However, after digesting the "knowledge of mysticism" in his mind, he realized that the value of this knowledge was not lower than that of abat skill, or even rarer.


    This was a world with various alchemy arts, where alchemy was everything.


    Even for the "Curse Imntation" that was most important for enhancing thebat power of professionals, it was just a routine application of alchemy.


    The mysteries of alchemy went far beyond that. Enchanting, metalworking, crafting, potions, imnts, spells... almost all fields were rted to alchemy.


    It could be said that alchemical knowledge wasbat power.


    Thew of equivalent exchange allowed alchemy to exchange everything!


    This was why the "Crow Gang" old-school alchemists of the magical faction despised the mechanical technology of the other two gangs.


    That was because, so far, thebat power of the "new-school" steam machinery was far inferior to the "old-school" magical faction.


    The higher the rank, the greater the gap.


    But why were the old-school alchemists still prevalent, and mechanical arms and steam equipment were everywhere?


    Because they were cheap and had a low entry threshold.


    In the field of low-level professionals, firearms and steam machinery were very useful. But in high-levelbat, only alchemy was the truth.


    Su''en didn''t dwell on whether steam technology or ancient alchemy was stronger or weaker, as hecked a lot of knowledge about this world and was still exploring.


    But knowledge was always beneficial.


    As for the "Elemental Language," Su''en was not aplete novice anymore. He knew that it was the basic ancientnguage that must be mastered in the study of mysticism. Almost all old-school alchemy, ancient scrolls, and ancient books were written in this script...


    Without thinking too much, Su''en looked at the two new skills, "Alchemy Beginner" and "Elemental Language Beginner," that appeared on his character panel and felt satisfied with the gains.


    Then, he also stripped a fragment of iplete memory from the corpse.


    "Manuscript? Could it be the thing those people attacked the headquarters vault for?"


    Su''en spected in his mind.


    It was a fragmentary thought without any context, but he knew that the so-called "manuscript" was hidden in an unexpected ce...


    The specific location was not mentioned in the memory fragment.


    "Unexpected? Could it be one of those ''the most dangerous ce is the safest'' tricks..."


    Su''en sarcastically thought to himself but didn''t dwell on what the manuscript was or where it might be hidden.


    After all, it wouldn''t fall into his hands.


    In Su''en''s opinion, if that thing was important, the high-ranking officials of the gang would definitely make every effort to find it.


    If they found it, it wouldn''t belong to him.


    And if the gang couldn''t find it, as a lone individual, he didn''t have any hope either.


    ........


    After waiting for a few seconds without hearing a second shot, Kay finally realized that the gunman was here to kill and silence, not targeting them, the people of Green Street.


    "Damn it, the gunman is here to kill and silence!"


    Captain Kay''s face turned ugly.


    The mission that the cadres had just given him, and now, after only two streets, the captive was killed right in front of him. How was he supposed to exin this?


    "Sam, you, and you...e with me! Let''s go catch that gunman!"


    Kay pointed to a few people, probably because of Su''en''s performance earlier, he included him as well.


    Su''en didn''t mind, as he thought, even if he went, he wouldn''t be able to catch up.


    The fact that the sniper didn''t fire a second shot meant that the guy had a lot of experience and would retreat after killing.


    Running to that distance, the probability of catching him was low.


    The group of them ran towards the southwest building.


    As Su''en had expected, they returned empty-handed after a short while.


    Captain Kay had a dark expression when he saw the gang member "Night Angel" Goethe Amato, who had already arrived at the scene of the assassination.


    "Boss Angel..."


    Kay looked guilty.


    "It''s alright. It''s not your fault."


    Goethe looked at the corpse with a calm expression, as if the death of this "important captive" was inconsequential.


    He alsoforted Kay, "The chairman said it''s fine, you can go back."


    "But..."


    Although Kay wanted to make up for his "mistake," it was already toote, and there was no way to salvage the situation.


    The people of Green Street set off again, feeling gloomy.


    On the motorcycle, no one spoke, and everyone had a gloomy expression, like children who had made a mistake.


    Su''en, on the other hand, was in a good mood, but he didn''t show it on his face.


    Although this trip was dangerous, his gains were also astonishing. He stripped more than ten corpses and one second-tier professional, improving his proficiency in various skills.


    Oh, and he also received a reward of 100,000 yuan.


    But when he looked at the gloomy Kay, a thought suddenly popped into Su''en''s mind: "This doesn''t seem right. If I can think of a mole, the high-ranking officials shouldn''t be so oblivious. Since they can think of it, how could they be so careless as to let a group of rookies escort such an important captive?"


    With this thought, Su''en immediately realized that this was not carelessness but an intentional act!


    "Could it be that the high-ranking officials of the gang deliberately wanted to lure someone toe and kill to expose the mole?"


    Thinking of this, Su''en suddenly realized that he might have guessed the truth.


    This was the "scheming" of the high-ranking officials of the Cross Society.


    The mole probably also guessed that this was a deliberate attempt to expose him, but he had no choice but toe and kill to silence. Otherwise, if the captive''s testimony was revealed, he would still face death.


    But Su''en also knew that it was difficult to cultivate a sniper, and out of ten thousand gunmen, not necessarily one would be a qualified "sniper." Moreover, the farther the distance, the more factors would affect the shot.


    So, being able to blow someone''s head off at this distance meant that the gunman had good marksmanship.


    If it was someone from within the Cross Society, it wouldn''t be difficult to investigate the identity of the gunman...


    Thinking of this, Su''en nced at Kay and shook his head slightly.


    This poor little captain med himself for everything and felt deep guilt.


    Little did he know that this was part of the n of the high-ranking officials.


    .......


    Su''en rubbed his temples and dismissed the chaotic thoughts from his mind.


    Whether it was a conspiracy or a scheme, it had nothing to do with him.


    He only cared about one thing in his heart, which was to buy materials as soon as he returned and prepare for his "induction"!


    Who knew that on his first day joining the gang, he would encounter such an unexpected event?


    Who knew that this unexpected event would have such a high level of danger?


    Although it was safe and sound this time, Su''en didn''t have the confidence that he could always turn danger into safety in the face of unexpected idents.


    Therefore, enhancing his strength was the most urgent goal!

 Chapter 28: Alchemy Planting Blueprint

    Chapter 28: Alchemy nting Blueprint


    The captives were assassinated, and the people on Green Street returned to their jurisdiction in disappointment.


    Not far from the headquarters of the ck Forest Building, in a basement, a young man was cleaning his beloved sniper rifle.


    A few minutes ago, it was with this rifle that he assassinated an important captive of the gang.


    Then, because of his identity, he easily shook off the suspicion of the gang members and returned to this basement.


    But he didn''t escape, as if waiting for something.


    Soon, a man in a cloak walked in silently.


    The young man seemed to have expected it, and without turning around, he continued to focus on wiping his sniper rifle.


    The man in the cloak asked, "Did you get rid of him?"


    "Yeah."


    The young man nodded.


    Then, as if thinking of something, his expression dimmed. "Captain, this is thest thing I promised you. I won''t do it anymore."


    "Yeah."


    The man in the cloak didn''t care at all. He came here to kill and silence.


    And at this moment, the young man seemed to have guessed something. There was a bitter smile on the corner of his mouth.


    He put down the cloth in his hand, his eyes trembling with crystal tears. Finally, he nced at the man in the cloak and said, "Captain, I have paid off my debt to you."


    Upon hearing these words, the man in the cloak''s gaze slightly chilled, and he fell silent for a moment. "Don''t you want to try to escape?"


    The young man smiled and shook his head. "You saved my life before, Captain. I am prepared to do this for you. If you don''t kill me, I won''t have the face to continue in the gang."


    "Anyst words?"


    "None. I have no family, so no one will care if I die. I won''t cause trouble for you, Captain."


    ***


    Upon hearing the young man''sst words, something seemed to touch the man in the cloak''s heart, but he still decisively killed him.


    He looked at the corpse, and in his cold eyes, there was finally a slight tremor.


    The captured captive had to die.


    But he also knew that this was a test from the leader. At that time, whoever killed would definitely be the traitor.


    Therefore, a middleman who would not be suspected was needed.


    If it weren''t for this desperate situation, he wouldn''t have wanted to kill the old team member he had brought out with his own hands...


    ***


    Soon, Su''en and Kay''s group returned to Green Street.


    Returning to the familiar territory, the low spirits of the gang members quickly dissipated. With a hundred thousand yuan in their hands, the next period of time would be their carnival days.


    The convoy was still gathering in the alley, ammunition was stored, battle losses were counted, damaged motorcycles were sent to the repair shop, and seriously injured members were sent to the hospital...


    There were procedures for gang fights, and everyone was familiar with them.


    Soon, all the misceneous matters were taken care of.


    Captain Kay''s mood was still a bit low. He said to the others, "Alright, everyone can do whatever they want..."


    Sam and the other veterans couldn''t wait any longer and winked at each other. "Captain, can we go now?"


    Kay nodded. "Yeah, don''t go too overboard, remember to gather for patrol tomorrow on time."


    "Got it!"


    The veterans dispersed excitedly.


    Su''en originally wanted to leave with the crowd, but Kay stopped him.


    "You did well in this operation."


    Kay praised Su''en''s performance and said straightforwardly, "Your marksmanship is good. If you have the intention to be an advanced professional, practice well on normal days. If you meet the requirements for employment, I will mention it to the executives, and the gang will provide certain resources."


    "Yeah, thank you, Captain."


    Su''en nodded.


    However, he didn''t ce his hopes for employment in the gang, nor did he want to be a "promising neer" in the gang.


    He already had the materials for the "Phantom Puppeteer" employment and sold the loot from killing the baldies. He probably had enough money for now. He didn''t n to show himself until he had the power to protect himself.


    Kay might still be concerned about the captive being killed, so he wanted to chat a bit more, but he didn''t have much interest.


    "If you have any questions or encounter any difficulties regarding employment as a Transcendent, let me know."


    After a pause, a smile appeared on his face. "This mission was hard on everyone. If there''s nothing else, Su''en, you should also rx a bit..."


    "Yeah."


    Su''en didn''t say much.


    Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly thought of something and asked, "By the way, Captain, I have a question to ask you."


    Kay raised his eyebrows. "What is it?"


    Su''en pretended to hesitate and then asked, "I saw the ''Angel Boss''s'' alchemy wings before, and they were very powerful. I want to ask... if I have the opportunity to be an advanced professional in the future, is it possible to obtain the blueprints for that kind of imnt?"


    This was a question he had wanted to ask before. The wing imnt was the most appealing to him at the moment, as it could fly and fight. The key was that he felt it was more suitable for his career developmentpared to imnts like "Adamantite Scale" or "Golden Arm Bone."


    "Haha, you also think that imnt looks cool?"


    Hearing this, Kay''s eyes suddenly lit up.


    Heughed, "Before... I also wanted the ''Thousand Kill Feather Wings'' imnt from the Angel Boss. I thought it would be cool to fly and use the wings as flying knives..."


    It seemed like there was a naive dream in everyone''s childhood, but it became unattainable as they grew up.


    Kay looked at Su''en and seemed to find resonance.


    But suddenly, he changed the topic and said, "But after I became qualified as a professional, I realized it was impossible."


    Su''en frowned, not understanding. <em>"Impossible?"</em>


    Kay seemed to guess that Su''en misunderstood and exined, "In the gang, as long as you have a certain contribution, you can buy any blueprint from the gang''s warehouse at a price lower than the market price. Even the alchemy blueprints of the executives and the leader can be bought!"


    Su''en listened without rushing to speak.


    This was something he had learned before. As long as he joined the gang and made some contributions, he could buy imnt blueprints with money.


    This was also one of the benefits of joining a gang.


    So he asked that question just now because he was confused about why Kay said it was "impossible."


    Kay smiled and exined, "You should know that alchemizing alchemy imnts is not without conditions, but requires a certain ''Containment Value.'' The curse characteristic of the Angel Boss''s imnt is very strong and requires a high Containment Value for the body."


    "Containment Value?"


    A strange term popped up in Su''en''s mind. He really didn''t know about it.


    Upon hearing this, he realized that the Containment Value was approximately equal to Dark Spirit Power Value + Rank.


    Kay continued to exin, "For ordinary people like us, the Dark Spirit Power Value is about seven to eight hundred after practicing the breathing technique. If you have an advanced breathing technique, it might be higher."


    After a pause, he smiled bitterly and said, "The ''Thousand Kill Feather Wings'' of the Angel Boss is a ''Silver-grade'' imnt, which has very high requirements. To ensureplete containment of the body, you need at least nine hundred to one thousand points, so as to prevent the curse characteristic of the imnt from bacshing and distorting!"


    "Oh?"


    Su''en finally understood.


    So the difference between "ck Iron" and "Silver" quality imnts was this. The higher the grade of the imnt, the stronger the body''s tolerance needed to be to ensure no distortion.


    But when Su''en heard that the "Thousand Kill Feather Wings" required a thousand Dark Spirit Power Value to ensure no distortion, his thoughts became a bit strange.


    He looked at the data panel, and his Dark Spirit Power limit had already increased to 1157. His eyebrows twitched unconsciously, and he couldn''t help but sigh, "The original host''s ''Hegem Breath Technique'' seems to be of a high grade..."


    For ordinary people, their Dark Spirit Power would be seven to eight hundred when it overflowed. Very powerful executives might have a thousand. He already had nearly twelve hundred.


    And he felt that it was barely overflowing and hadn''t reached its limit.


    This was enough to show that either the gap between breathing techniques was too big, or the original host had extraordinary talent.


    Before Su''en could think too much, Kay remembered the time when he said he wanted the "Thousand Kill Feather Wings" before and was scolded by the Smoke Boss.


    He smiled bitterly and used the same rhetoric, saying, "Alchemy imnts should first match your own talent, and then your profession... Actually, the ''Thousand Kill Feather Wings'' is not very suitable for a gunner, but more suitable for assassins and rangers. I think you can look for blueprints that enhance vision and skill, such as the powerful gunner imnt ''Titanium Eye'' or ''Agile Hand Bones''..."


    "Ordinary blueprint prices are around twenty to thirty thousand yuan. With the bonus you received now, you can keep an eye out. Blueprints are something that can''t be sought but can be encountered. The more suitable they are, the more you should buy them."


    "If you''re not satisfied with the blueprints in the gang, you can also go to the ''Shadow Alley'' in the North City. asionally, unexpected good things can be found on the ck market..."


    "Oh, you haven''t tested your Dark Spirit Power Value yet? When you feel it''s necessary, I''ll take you to the headquarters. They have instruments there that can urately measure your situation..."


    Su''en listened to Kay''s nagging and smiled, "Alright."

 Chapter 29: Black market

    Chapter 29: ck market


    Captain Kay is a pretty good person. He probably doesn''t want Su''en to take the wrong path, so he exined it in detail.


    However, Kay doesn''t know that Su''en''s awakened talent is not the D-level "Hawkeye", but the S-level dual talent. He also doesn''t know that Su''en doesn''t want to advance to a normal profession, but already has a highlypatible golden employment material called "Rune Puppet" and wants to be a rare profession called "Puppeteer".


    Therefore, the career advice that is suitable for ordinary people is not suitable for Su''en.


    Indeed, as Kay said, choosing alchemical imnts requires a highpatibility between one''s profession and talent in order to achieve abat power greater than the sum of its parts.


    Choose body-enhancing imnts for melee, agility-enhancing ones for assassins, and various enhancements to casting efficiency for mages...


    But Su''en''s career path is focused on skill and agility growth, so alchemical imnts are quite versatile, but it is difficult to find highpatibility.


    From the current perspective, except for the Silver-tier "Thousand Kill Feather Wings" imnts, which have rtively highpatibility, the other essible Iron-tier imnts are somewhat "wasting" his own attributes.


    But he thought, what if there were morepatible ones?


    Su''en didn''t dwell on this issue too much.


    There is no need to hurry about the alchemical imnt blueprint, as that is something he will face after bing a professional.


    First, he needs to prepare for his "employment".


    In addition to requiring exclusive employment materials, bing a "professional" also requires some items to set up a transformation array. For example, magic crystals, star antimony, mercury salt... as well as various powdered metal media such as red copper and gold.


    .......


    After a night of tossing and turning, the hustle and bustle of Green Street gradually subsided.


    As the liveliest nightlife street in the southern district, the city wakes up in the early morning, bing the night here.


    It is worth mentioning that there is no sun or moon in the underground city. The distinction between day and night is marked by the mist and lights in the city.


    When night falls, the mist permeates the entire city, and the light towers set up by the municipal office to save energy will be extinguished. During the day, the mist dissipates and the lights illuminate the streets.


    6:55 in the morning.


    The members of the Crossroads Association in Green Street are still in their peaceful dreams, while Su''en has already left.


    Due to the operation of numerous steam boilers in the city''s factories and the burning of coal mines, the mist appears in a pale gray color, and the air is filled with a strong smell.


    Five minutes before the city train departs, there are not many pedestrians on the street.


    Su''en changed into arge ck windbreaker, with a round-brimmed hat covering most of his face, and squeezed into the line of waiting passengers. A slight breeze blew into his cor, bringing a hint of coolness.


    "Ding Ling Ling~"


    After a crisp sound of a copper bell, a steam lotive on tracks arrived with a "woo woo".


    Just like taking a bus in his previous life, Su''en followed suit and squeezed in.


    Arrived at the station and got off.


    The Bird Street in the North District is the intersection of the four districts, and the X-shaped intersection of the two major districts is also the boundary line of three factions. This ce does not belong to the territory of the three major factions, and the North District Security Office cannot reach here. It is a "no-man''snd" where various forces intertwine.


    Under the crossroads, there is an inconspicuous alley leading to the underground called "Shadow Lane".


    In the underground, there is a ck market for professionals named after this alley.


    There are interconnected underground pipelines that connect to theplex sewer system of Old Lingdun. Even if they are besieged by arge army, the people inside can escape through the underground officialwork.


    Therefore, due to the special geographical environment, this has gradually be thergest underground ck market in the outer city.


    .......


    "Shadow Lane" is the favorite ce for wanderers and adventurers. They bring the harvest from hunting outside the city to sell here, including curse materials, alchemical scrolls, ores, rare cursed items... and many strange ancient alchemical products.


    This is also the extraordinary market that professionals from the outer city like to visit, because there are many goods here that are notmonly seen or even unavable in the market.


    As long as you have money, those ck market shopkeepers can always satisfy you.


    Many shady things, such as stolen goods sold by thieves, and goods obtained through murder and robbery, can be found in certain inconspicuous shops in Shadow Lane.


    Famous guns, swords, high-level potions, alchemical bullets, steam machinery, alchemical blueprints, and even military-modified prosthetics that only nobles can enjoy... and top-secret intelligence.


    Everything is avable here.


    .......


    Shady things are always hidden in dark corners.


    There is only one dim gasmp every ten meters, and the light is dim.


    Su''en walked through a long underground passage, probably going underground for one or two hundred meters, beforeing to a huge underground crevice.


    "Shadow Lane" is not a t street, but a three-dimensionalplex of buildings.


    Ancient sewer pipes are neatly arranged on the rock walls, and the end of the pipes leads to the endless darkness deep underground. People have built steel-framed small shops using the pipes. Just like Su''en''s previous life''s "Hanging Monastery", they rely on various crude steel structure stairs and bridges for passage.


    Su''en stood at the intersection of the street that leads to the district, looking at the pitch-ck abyss in front of him, with a pensive look in his eyes.


    Without dy, he went straight to the market street.


    Stepping on the steel road surface, making a nging sound.


    Probably because it was still early, Shadow Lane, which had just opened, didn''t have many customers.


    Su''en looked around.


    Most of these shops are only a few square meters in size, with some materials hanging at the entrance, indicating what the shop sells. asionally, some shops would write a small sign with charcoal and hang it at the entrance, such as "ck Witch''s Alchemical Materials Shop", "Starry Bookstore", "Giant Mechanical Shop"...


    Interestingly, Su''en actually saw his "missing person notice" in the street bulletin board, or more precisely, the notice of the original owner.


    Although it is not a wanted warrant, the photo states that providing clues can earn a reward of 100,000 miles. This is already the reward price for a B-level wanted criminal.


    Very tempting.


    This is a bulletin board posting information about buying materials, with half of the space filled with various information about buying materials, and the secret code for the trading address is left behind.


    Only those who frequently frequent the ck market know what those secret codes represent.


    On the other side, there is a section for information brokers to exchange intelligence. Like a small advertisement area in a newspaper, it is densely filled with various "missing person notices", bounties, and trading codes.


    And the A-level wanted criminal "Shadow Scorpion" Abelk, who died in the arena yesterday, is also among them. However, a red cross has been drawn on his photo at this moment.


    Su''en only nced at it and didn''t pay much attention.


    The wanted person on the list is the brown-haired youth Feek Leka, what does it have to do with the bald Su''en?


    Appearancees from the heart, and with a new soul in his body, both temperament and facial features have be increasingly different from the original owner.


    He doesn''t think that just with this photo, bounty hunters will find him.


    ......


    "Shadow Lane" is not only home to fixed shops, but there are also some antique dealers iming to be wilderness hunters on the narrow roadsides.


    They casually spread a piece of cloth and put a few things on it, iming that they are ancient treasures found in certain ruins.


    This gives Su''en the feeling of visiting the Panjiayuan Antique Market in his previous life. Various strange and odd things look impressive, but when seen through the All-Knowing Eye, they are all "fake"!


    Although he has the "All-Knowing Eye", Su''en doesn''t think he can pick up any bargains. He didn''t waste time identifying those fakes one by one.


    Transcendent items have a very special energy fluctuation, especially curse materials, even ayman can feel that they are not simple.


    Moreover, alchemists are very knowledgeable professionals. It can be said that almost every hunting team has an "appraiser" who is proficient in archaeology and mysticism.


    One person may overlook something, but if everyone overlooks it, the probability is almost zero.


    There are good things in the ck market, but theye at a corresponding price. Instead of going to various shops to look for bargains, it is more likely to attract attention.


    "Shadow Lane" has good things, but they are definitely expensive. You don''t need to scavenge on your own, just ask the store owner directly, and they will mysteriously bring out the good things that are not disyed on the counter.


    After all, his wanted notice is still hanging on the wall, and Su''en has no intention of wandering around in the market.


    His purpose foring to the ck market this time is to buy some materials for "employment".


    Kay had told him before that "Rosen''s Alchemical Shop" has a good reputation and good quality items.


    He walked for a few minutes and found that inconspicuous little shop in the market corner.


    A quaint copper bell hung at the entrance of the shop, and the narrow door had to be touched when entering.


    With a jingle, the shopkeeper knew that a customer had arrived.


    The shop was very small, with ss counters on three sides, and the walls were filled with small grid cabs. Even the air was filled with many disyed material samples hanging from ropes.


    Listening to the bell, an old man with sses who was organizing the materials appeared behind the counter, saying, "Dear customer, what materials do you need to purchase?"


    Su''en nced at him and without hesitation, took out the material list and said, "I want six pieces of white quartz, thirty grams..."


    But as soon as he started, the old man looked surprised, as if he had misheard, "You want white quartz?"


    Su''en asked, "What''s wrong? Don''t you have it in your store?"


    The old man exined, "No, esteemed customer, I didn''t mean anything else. I mean, advancing as a ''professional'' doesn''t require high-purity quartz. Ordinary yellow quartz is enough."


    The shopkeeper sells alchemical materials, so he naturally knows that buying quartz is most likely for setting up an alchemical transformation array for employment.


    In his shop, he sells dozens of units of quartz every month, and more than 95% of people buy impure yellow quartz. Only a few buy higher purity blue quartz.


    As for high-purity white quartz? No one in the outer city needs such advanced materials.


    Not only are they expensive, but it is a waste to use such high-level materials to set up a normal employment transformation array.


    So he assumed that the customer in front of him made a "slip of the tongue".


    "Thank you for your kind suggestion, but I''m sure I need six pieces of white quartz."


    Su''en said in a deep voice.


    It''s not that he is ignorant, on the contrary, he now knows a lot about alchemy. He knows that he must have this kind of material.


    In the case of a normal employment ceremony, impure yellow quartz is indeed sufficient.


    But the "Rune Puppet" employment material he has reached the gold level, so he needs to set up a transformation array of the same high level to have a chance to sessfully advance.


    "Oh, I see..."


    The old man nced at him and didn''t say much.


    He took out something from his personal storage ring and introduced, "Coincidentally, I received a few pieces from a group of wilderness hunters yesterday. I originally nned to sell them to the big merchants in the inner city, but I can sell them to you now. However, the price is not cheap. The six pieces in total will cost 12,000 miles."


    Su''en looked at the six palm-sized crystal clear white quartz on the tray and nodded in satisfaction.


    Although he doesn''t have the ability to judge purity, the All-Knowing Eye has revealed the name of this thing as "high-purity white quartz".


    The old man asked again, "What else do you need?"


    "Snowke star antimony, fifteen grams. Mercury salt liquid of at least grade IV quality, eighty milliliters. Eight portions of refined red copper powder. Two hundred grams of lizard powder from at least thirty years ago. Green glow crystals..."


    Su''en didn''t hide anything and directly reported the list of materials he needed.


    He was well aware that there was no need to conceal his intentions.


    The merchants here have sold too many materials and are extremely shrewd. Once you open your mouth, they can actually guess what you want.


    If you really go to different shops to buy, the likelihood of being targeted will be even higher.


    "All these are very high-level materials... If you go to other shops, you may not be able to gather them all at once. Fortunately, I still have some stock in my shop."


    The old man muttered to himself, apparently guessing that the customer in front of him was nning to set up a very high-level transformation array.


    However, as a professional merchant, he would not inquire about the customer''s secrets. This is the rule of the ck market.


    He didn''t hesitate either and took out various materials one by one, weighing them on the scale, and then quoted the price, "A total of 42,000 miles."


    Listening to the price, Su''en took out the bonus that hadn''t been heated yet and said, "This is the money, please count it."


    Just a few hours ago, Kay had told him that when he himself advanced, he spent 8,000 miles to buy array materials.


    And now, Su''en has spent five times that amount.


    However, the good news is that everything is ready, and he can now advance.

 Chapter 30: Inauguration ceremony

    Chapter 30: Inauguration ceremony


    ''''In the "Shadow Alley" ck market, there are many good things, and the treasures in various shops are dazzling.


    But Su''en didn''t n to stay long.


    The ck market has its own survival rules, and naturally there are "rats" living in the shadows. Beforeing here, Kay specifically instructed Su''en. There are often wandering gangs near the ck market, and they like to engage in such activities as killing and smuggling. Even the people from the three major gangs are not picky eaters.


    Just bought tens of thousands of yuan worth of materials, and the money was already exposed.


    For people from the outer city, this is already a fortune that can make people murderous.


    Leaving the "Rosen''s Alchemy Shop", passing by a bookstore, Su''en casually picked up a few introductory books on alchemy, "The Secret Book", "Natural and Secret Things", "Basic Alchemy Knowledge"...


    In the outer city, knowledge is expensive. Except for antiques from the wilderness, all bookse from the inner city, especially books about alchemy, which are even more expensive and belong to the category of luxury goods.


    Although Su''en had extracted some alchemy knowledge from corpses before, it was scattered and not systematic at all.


    He evencked a lot ofmon knowledge.


    He was well aware that in the future, if he wants to go further in the path of alchemy, his demand for knowledge will only increase.


    .......


    Su''en left the ck market and took a steam train back to Green Street.


    He wanted to find a ce where no one would disturb him to set up his alchemy array for his inauguration, but he found that the guild did not arrange amodation for him.


    Perhaps they thought it was unnecessary.


    After all, for the majority of guild members, taverns and pleasure quarters are their "homes". Even if amodation is arranged, those guys would only spend a few days there each month.


    In the end, Su''en found a hotel.


    The walls were not soundproof, and there were strange noisesing from the neighboring rooms, rhythmic creaking of the wire bed, the moans of women, and the sound of a whip...


    Su''en automatically blocked out these unpleasant sounds and frowned: "It''s really dirty..."


    Looking around the room, the corners of the walls were damp and dpidated, and there was a dusty white mattress on the shabby iron bed. There were some stains on the sheets that he didn''t know if they were blood or something else. Under the bed, a thickyer of old dust, cigarette butts, and hair piled up.


    The room always had an indelible musty smell that rushed into his nose.


    But it didn''t matter, Su''en didn''t n to sleep here.


    As an ordinary guild member, as long as he wasn''t stupid, he wouldn''t be so high-profile as to stay overnight in a super luxurious hotel. He just wanted to find a ce where no one would disturb him and set up the transition ceremony.


    He pushed the bed aside and swept the space under the bed clean with a broom, clearing a space with a diameter of about three meters.


    Then he took out the alchemy materials he had purchased in the ck market.


    Using six pieces of white crystal as the pivot, he arranged a hexagram pattern. Then he mixed red copper powder and lizard powder in proportion, used the powder as ink, and drew a circr pattern. He then used a mercury salt solution to draw a serpent with a scale and a symbol of bnce...


    The alchemical conversion array needed for the inauguration was the most basic alchemical array, with simple runes and notplicated materials. As long as the specific materials and patterns were ced correctly, it could produce wonderful magical reactions.


    Su''en carefully arranged it, and after about half an hour, hepleted the entire array.


    "Phew... a slightly more advanced basic alchemical array would cost tens of thousands. No wonder there are so few ''old-school'' magic alchemists. It''s truly a profession that burns money..."


    Su''en sighed slightly.


    In his impression, ancient alchemists of the old school needed to arrange simr alchemical arrays every time they cast spells to convert elements.


    Casting spells was, in fact, burning money.


    There is a saying among alchemists: there is nothing that alchemy cannot do in this world; if there is, it means there is not enough money.


    Without thinking too much about the past, it is worth paying any price to be stronger.


    Su''en took out the wooden box containing the "Rune Puppet" without hesitation and opened it.


    The most important thing to be a professional is the "inauguration material".


    .......


    The essence of the inauguration is actually to transfer the transcendent characteristics in the material to the human body through the transition ceremony.


    There are various inauguration materials sold in the market, and they are not too expensive, with a market price of about a hundred thousand lisos.


    Those materials are usually obtained by wilderness hunters who hunt and kill monsters in the underground caves, then extract materials with cursed characteristics from the monsters, and use specific magic patterns to create alchemical items.


    Su''en now also knows that the materials sold on the market are all made of ck iron.


    But in reality, there are higher quality "silver materials".


    However, the silver-quality inauguration materials belong to "controlled goods" and can only be seen by the major merchants in the inner city, and they are also rare. They are monopolized byrge families and conglomerates.


    These are the best inauguration materials that the alchemists in Old Lingdun can produce.


    But in reality, the best inauguration materials are not silver materials, but the "cursed objects" handed down from ancient times.


    Those rare and hard-to-find materials are called "golden materials".


    Just like the golden-quality "Cursed Object - Rune Puppet" that Su''en obtained.


    Because any inauguration material that can withstand the erosion of time is of extremely high quality. They are often left by the outstanding alchemists of ancient times and can awaken special abilities, making them rare professions.


    For example, the mysterious series Puppeteer of Illusions.


    ........


    "It''s been a long time since I felt this sense of anticipation..."


    Su''en took out the Rune Puppet and a faint excitement appeared on his face.


    The inauguration ceremony is not without risks. Failure means being affected by the curse characteristics in the inauguration material and suffering from abnormal bacsh.


    But for Su''en, he doesn''t need to worry about this problem.


    The All-Knowing Eye has confirmed that the magic circle he drew can be used normally, and thepatibility between the inauguration item and his body is also high, so there is no reason for failure.


    He stood in the center of the hexagram array, ced the puppet in the center of the serpent pattern, and then chanted a spell in his mouth: "Following thew of equivalent exchange of all things, praising the glory of the original Creator, witness the miracle of creation with alchemy..."


    The spell was simple, not like the kind of spell that a magician would use to beg for power from a deity. It was just a short phrase like a motto.


    It is said that it is not necessary to chant it.


    Chanting such a phrase is just for more "ceremonial feeling".


    Because alchemists do not believe in any deities. In their eyes, even the so-called deities are just higher beings who have mastered certain higherws, and they also have to follow the principle of equivalent exchange.


    If they really believe in something, alchemists only believe in the "original Creator", the one who created everything in the universe.


    Su''en was not careless and followed the prescribed procedure.


    Just as expected, when the spell fell, the conversion array lit up with a bright blue light.


    The six white crystals gathered the magic power of the entire array, bing brighter and brighter, and the mysterious power became stronger and stronger.


    Su''en remained calm. He watched as the puppet doll on the ground melted into the light, gradually integrating into the hexagram array.


    Then, the dazzling light like vines entwined around his body, and visible particles of light entered his skin.


    That mysterious power gradually merged into his body.

 Chapter 31: Mechanical Puppeteer

    Chapter 31: Mechanical Puppeteer


    "This is the transformation ceremony..."


    Su''en earnestly experienced the process that could bring him transcendent power. The feeling of continuous surging power flowing through his body made him feel relieved in every pore.


    The entire transformation ceremonysted about fifteen minutes, and the light of the hexagram alchemy array gradually dissipated. All the materials turned into a team of lifeless ashes as if they had been burned.


    <em>"Sess!"</em>


    Su''en felt delighted.


    Because he could see his own panel after sessfully "taking office," he could clearly see the changes in his body.


    All his attributes had been improved, strength, perception, physique... all had increased by about 3-5 points.


    But the most exaggerated increase was in three of them.


    "Agility" changed from 6 to 24!


    "Skill" changed from 8 to 35!


    "Spiritual power" also changed from 19 to 31!


    They directly doubled.


    And on the skill panel, there was an additional passive skill called "Multitasking."


    Just like stripping off fragments of the soul, integrating with the eerie puppet, Su''en''s mind gained some new abilities, but they seemed to have merged into his bones.


    The most tangible change brought by the increase in data was that Su''en felt that his body had be stronger.


    Especially the three greatly improved data, he could clearly feel the "transcendent feeling."


    The change in agility made him feel as light as a swallow, able to leap and jump several meters high with a single jump;


    The improvement in skill made him feel that his body had be more agile. The recruitment ability of his nerves to his muscles became extremely strong, allowing him to almost precisely control every piece of bone and muscle in his body;


    Although there was no specific manifestation of the improvement in spiritual power, Su''en felt that his senses had be much clearer.


    At this moment, Su''en felt like a "superhuman."


    He felt that he could now fight ten of his previous selves!


    ***


    Moreover, the most direct reflection of the increase in data was the skills on the panel.


    The two skills Su''en mastered, "Basic Firearms Mastery" and "Advanced Combat Introduction," directly changed to "Intermediate Firearms Mastery 334/800" and "Basic Combat Mastery 99/300"!


    "The improvement in skill can also directly enhance the mastered skills?"


    Su''en felt somewhat surprised.


    He eagerly wanted to experience the sensory differences brought by the increase in skill level, so he casually pulled out the pistol from his waist and immediately felt the difference.


    At this moment, the pistol no longer felt like a tool, but an extension of his arm. It made him feel that if he were to shoot, with a casual aim, he could easily hit the target.


    It was an extremely smooth feeling of "familiarity breeds skill."


    "So this is intermediate firearms mastery? Just by increasing one level, it bes so powerful..."


    Su''en''s eyes sparkled.


    Without reaching that height, one could never understand the scenery at the top.


    What he couldn''t understand before, now became clear.


    He even felt that with a little more practice, he could barely use the high-skill "Secret Technique: Gunfighting" that required great skill.


    But with a little thought, he also understood.


    The significant improvement in skill also allowed him to have an extremely detailed control over variousrge and small muscle groups in his body. With stronger muscle control, regardless ofbat skills or firearm skills that used muscles, the proficiency would undoubtedly increase significantly.


    <em>Swish~</em>


    The pistol in Su''en''s hand formed a flower of gun smoke and urately returned to the holster.


    At this moment, he suddenly thought of something. Both hands moved simultaneously, and he pulled out two pistols at lightning speed, pointing them at the door and the windowsill.


    In that instant of experimentation, a new passive skill was automatically unlocked on the panel.


    Su''en looked at the changes on the panel and eximed, "Multitasking... tsk tsk, it even unlocked the skill ''Dual Weapon Mastery''!"


    This was apletely new and wonderful experience.


    He could clearly feel the feeling of controlling the left and right hands separately, aiming at two targets. His two thoughts in his mind had clear divisions ofbor and could independently give instructions to search for targets, aim, and pull the trigger.


    Although it was also dual-wielding, it was fundamentally different.


    One was "able to use" both hands, the other was "mastery"!


    Hisbat power had skyrocketed.


    ***


    The inn was not a shooting range, so there were no conditions for live shooting.


    Su''en put away the pistols.


    Although the "Multitasking" skill was also powerful for a gunman profession, in reality, it was an awakening ability for the "Puppeteer" profession.


    Su''en shifted his gaze back to the wooden box that had contained the puppets before. On it was a book titled<em> "Comprehensive Guide to Puppet Making for Beginners."</em>


    The significant increase in spiritual power and the passive ability of "Multitasking" were obviously skills exclusive to puppeteers.


    "The road is still long..."


    Su''en pondered.


    To be a qualified "Puppeteer," he still had to learn many things, such as puppet making and maintenance.


    The process of making puppets was extremelyplicated.


    This involved engraving, enchanting, runes... each process required a lot of time to study.


    For example, the most basic rune drawing.


    Don''t think that just drawing some curved special symbols on the puppet is easy. It''s like giving you a sketch, can you immediately draw it urately if you have no foundation? Even slight mistakes would greatly reduce thebat power of the runic puppet.


    "It seems that I''ll have to go to the ck market again sometime, buy some spiritual wood, and try to make my own runic puppet..."


    Su''en was not afraid of difficulties. On the contrary, he enjoyed the process of learning new knowledge.


    At this moment, a new idea suddenly popped into his mind as a time traveler: "Hmm... the material for puppets doesn''t necessarily have to be spiritual wood!"


    He thought of the scene where Pestoya controlled a group of puppets to attack Ivan in the dpidated underground mansion.


    At that time, Ivan, who had awakened "Hardened Bones" and had "Adamantine Scales" imnts, easily killed the puppets made of ordinary materials. The ordinary puppets armed with cold weapons couldn''t even scratch him.


    Arge part of thebat power of the "Puppeteer" profession depended on the puppets.


    And the attack power of the puppets themselves was also the most important factor in determining the oue of a battle.


    Wooden puppets were easily broken, but what if they were reced with mechanical puppets armed with hot weapons?


    Su''en''s expression suddenly brightened when he thought of this.


    The reason for using wooden puppets was for easy control. After all, the lighter the puppet, the greater the room for control. Low-level puppeteers couldn''t control puppets that were too heavy...


    But it''s not a thousand years ago anymore!


    Old Lpndon was in the age of steam technology.


    Micro steam boilers could provide enough power for heavy mechanical arms and external skeletons. Why couldn''t they provide power for mechanical puppets?


    Thinking of this, Su''en''s thoughts suddenly diverged.


    As a time traveler, he didn''t have any conservative concepts. Whether it was technology or transcendent power, weren''t they all for bing stronger?


    Having seen all kinds of high-tech products in his previous life, his mind was now filled with many "design inspirations." Since this world didn''t have electronic control systems, how about a "Puppet Gundam" or a "Puppet Transformers"?


    Su''en felt like he had opened the door to a new world. In his mind, he could already imagine himself controlling not a group of puppets, but a group of battle mechas...


    However, it was difficult to turn his thoughts into reality.


    It was like turning the technology of making fireworks into a rocket that could reach the sky. They might look simr, but the difference in technological content was worlds apart...


    Firstly, the machinery was not agile enough. Even with a power device, steel materials were much heavier than wooden puppets;


    Secondly, to create mechanical puppets, he needed to have a deep understanding of machinery and puppet knowledge.


    Of course, there was also alchemy, the foundation of everything.


    For Su''en, a time traveler, there was too much to learn, and he had to start from scratch with everything.


    The amount of knowledge needed would probably take hundreds of years to learn.


    <em>However... he had the "Reaper of Death"!</em>


    Su''en felt that his future self would probably take apletely different path from the traditional inheritance. That path would be the<em> "Mechanical Puppeteer"!</em>

 Chapter 32: Gang Regulations

    Chapter 32: Gang Regtions


    After sessfully starting his job, Su''en finally felt the gap between "professionals" and "non-professionals" clearly.


    Moreover, this was only the difference in the enhancement of physical attributes and skills after starting the job. The real focus on improving thebat power of "professionals" was still on the "alchemy nt equipment".


    Although Su''en couldn''t see other people''s attribute panels, he could guess that his advanced rare profession "Puppeteer" using golden materials would definitely overpower other professionals of the same type.


    This made him more "worried" about the direction of his future alchemy nt equipment.


    Such good talent attributes felt like a waste to use ordinary nt equipment blueprints. Even the silver nt equipment "Thousand Killing Feather Wings" that Goethe, the officer of the guild, used, Su''en always felt somewhat unsatisfied.


    His high agility attribute was a good match, but high skill and high mental power were a bit wasted.


    Without much thought, after sessfully starting his job, Su''en meditated in the hotel for a whole day.


    He needed time to adapt to the skyrocketing attributes after starting the job.


    The "Rune Puppet" brought a leap in his physical fitness. And for a long time in the future, this growth would continue in a decreasing form until the curse characteristics in the materials werepletely digested.


    During the whole "digestion" process, he would often hear whispers in his ears. It was the alchemy art that made the materials for the inheritance of the "Puppeteer" wanting to enlighten him. Perhaps during this process, he wouldprehend more professional abilities.


    .......


    At night, the fog that enveloped the entire city gradually thickened.


    It was time for the work meeting.


    Su''en woke up from meditation earlier than the scheduled time.


    His thoughts returned to reality, and the unpleasant noises from the next room came over again.


    He nced at the terrible environment in the room, frowned, and muttered, "It looks like I need to find a long-term residence."


    He checked out and left the hotel.


    Su''en arrived at the gathering ce fifteen minutes earlier than the scheduled time.


    Beside Green Street, in front of the abandoned building, a bonfire was burning in an iron bucket, and the flickering fire cast strange shadows on the wall.


    However, something seemed off about the atmosphere today.


    Captain Kay sat on the steps with a cold face, without a hint of a smile on his face. The veteran members didn''t joke around today either, as if they knew something was going to happen, they all stayed quietly.


    Su''en walked to the side of the road and found a spot, imitating the casual posture of the veterans, and squatted there.


    One by one, more people arrived, and some whispered to each other when they noticed that something was wrong with the atmosphere.


    "What happened? Captain doesn''t look good..."


    "Oh, the sniper who attacked us yesterday was found out. It''s an old man from the guild named Miller. He had a good rtionship with Captain Kay, but..."


    "Ah...you mean Captain Miller from Hongfan Street is the mole?"


    "Shh, the captain is in a bad mood, don''t mention this."


    "..."


    Su''en listened on the side and roughly understood the reason for Kay''s gloomy face.


    But he wasn''t too surprised.


    He had already guessed that there weren''t many sharpshooters who could urately kill targets from that distance. If it was someone from within the Cross Society, they would probably be easily found out.


    When Su''en heard about the suicideter, he also felt that things might not be that simple.


    But he didn''t think too much about it. It was a headache for the high-level members of the guild.


    Soon, everyone gathered.


    Kay didn''t waste any words and said directly with a ck face, "Those who didn''t show up for the guild''s operation yesterday, step forward!"


    Although his voice wasn''t loud, everyone could hear the coldness in his tone.


    The people looked at each other, and at this moment, two veteran members with pale faces stood up.


    "Captain, it''s not that I didn''t want to... I drank too much yesterday and really didn''t hear the assembly..."


    The bearded man wanted to exin something, but Kay interrupted him and said expressionlessly, "Joe, you are also an old member of the guild. You should be clear about the guild rules. Take care of it yourself..."


    "I..."


    Upon hearing this, the bearded man''s face turned ugly.


    But he also knew that there was no room for mercy in the guild rules. He gritted his teeth, picked up an axe not far away, and without hesitation, chopped off his left hand.


    Crack!


    The sharp axe instantly severed his wrist, and his severed hand fell to the ground, blood sttering.


    Joe was covered in cold sweat, looked at Kay, and lowered his head. "Captain, I was wrong."


    Kay still didn''t say anything and nced at another person. "Duan, what about you?"


    "I..."


    The other thin man with a roosterb hairstyle was pale with fear, but he still walked out tremblingly.


    Not everyone could cut off their own hand without blinking. This guy was still scared and stuttered, "Captain, I... I can''t do it..."


    As soon as he finished speaking, a cold light shed, and another severed hand fell to the ground.


    A scream of howling ghosts and wolves echoed through the building.


    .......


    Su''en and the gang witnessed a bloody scene of the guild''s execution, but this was amon small episode.


    The discipline of the gang was loose, but once the guild rules were vited, there was no room for mercy.


    However, losing an arm was not a big problem in this world. The most basic mechanical prosthetic arm only cost about ten to twenty thousand yuan. But those two unlucky guys didn''t participate in yesterday''s mission and didn''t receive any rewards. They would probably have to live with a severed hand for a long time.


    At seven o''clock in the evening, Kay led everyone to patrol three blocks of Green Street on schedule.


    Half an hourter, they finished work.


    The veterans went to drink or find women, and the crowd dispersed.


    Su''en sat next to the octagonal cage of the Crimson Fortress and began his night of gambling.


    Perhaps as a gambler who didn''t care about winning or losing, Su''en won two consecutive rounds.


    But the bets were not big, only one thousand yuan per bet.


    Originally, he wanted to follow yesterday''s strategy and evenly bet on either the red or blue side for all the matches tonight to save the trouble of betting each time.


    This kind of betting method definitely wouldn''t make him rich, but ording to probability, he wouldn''t lose too much either.


    Su''en didn''te for gambling anyway, so he didn''t mind.


    But just as he was about to bet like yesterday, a bold female voice came from behind him, seeming to ask him something.


    Turning around, it was unexpectedly a green-haired woman with four long knives hanging from her waist, exuding a heroic aura.


    She walked straight to Su''en''s side and leaned on the railing. Seeing her serious expression, she seemed to be more interested in the gambling arena because it was closer to the octagonal cage.


    "Boss Qian?!"


    Su''en found this person very familiar, and when he saw the fierce tattoo on her exposed arm, he immediately recognized her. Wasn''t this the Cross Society''s officer, "Four-Armed Asura" Qian Tiao?


    Although she wasn''t wearing the sexy and revealing red leather armor from yesterday, today she wore a loose dress simr to a kimono, which couldn''t hide her towering figure.


    Qian Tiao seemed slightly surprised by Su''en''s address, raised an eyebrow, and looked at him, "Oh...a neer?"


    Su''en nodded, "Yes."


    Thinking that she probably didn''t mind being called that because of the "Cross" symbol on his clothes.


    Qian Tiao didn''t seem to care about the address, she said, "You''re the same as Little Kay, just call me Sister Qian."


    Su''en nodded, "Okay, Sister Qian."


    But in his heart, he wondered why this officer came to the arena.


    Qian Tiao''s gaze returned to the octagonal cage, and she seemed to have a fanatic obsession with gambling.


    It seemed that she really came here specifically for gambling.


    She asked again, "You seem to have good luck...who do you think will win the next round?"


    "I can''t be sure either..."


    Su''en knew that his two red tickets in his hand already exposed the fact that he had won two consecutive rounds.


    But his betting was just a cover, he was only here to "harvest" the fragments of memories from the corpses. He didn''t really have a preference for either side.


    Qian Tiao found his hesitant answer unsatisfactory and raised her eyebrows, "Then which side are you nning to bet on?"


    "Red...blue side."


    Su''en felt that if he continued to bet on the red side, it would give people a feeling of perfunctoriness, so he changed to the blue side.


    But unexpectedly, as soon as Qian Tiao heard this, she waved her hand to call the bettingdy and shouted loudly, "Come, bet ten thousand on the blue side."

 Chapter 33: See a person, send a message

    Chapter 33: See a person, send a message


    Qian Tiao threw a thick stack of green banknotes urately into the tray of the girl, without looking back.


    Looking at her swift movements, she was definitely a regr at the casino.


    But even though the sry of a cadre in the Cross Society was not low, ten thousand yuan was still a considerable bet.


    Su''en''s eyelids twitched slightly, hoping that the boss wouldn''t me him if he lost.


    In order to not make people suspect that he was not just a gambler, he also bought a thousand blue squares.


    ***


    "Ding~"


    The bell rang, and the match began.


    One charge, and the two diators collided in the octagonal cage, starting an intense fight.


    Perhaps due to luck, the blue side with serious injuries narrowly won this round.


    <em>"Wow~ You won! Your luck is really good!"</em>


    Qian Tiao eximed, in high spirits.


    After winning money, she turned her head and looked at Su''en again, asking, "Which side do you think will win the next round?"


    "..."


    Su''en didn''t care about winning or losing.


    He didn''t understand betting, he just bought whatever he thought of.


    But now, with a boss from a gang by his side, sincerely asking him, he couldn''t just brush it off.


    In order to make himself appear more like a gambler, he thought for a moment and said a mystical phrase, "If red wins, then blue will win next... I guess?"


    "Yes!"


    Qian Tiao blinked and nodded, looking like she thought it made sense.


    After winning a round just now, even though the casino took a cut, she still had eighteen thousand yuan.


    After hearing Su''en''s words, she directly told the betting girl to put all the money she had just won on the blue side, boldly saying, "Let''s bet on the blue side together."


    "..."


    Su''en felt that something was off. This boss seemed to have a gambling addiction.


    After hesitating for a moment, he also agreed, "I''ll bet a thousand too."


    If it weren''t for the intimidating tattoos and the four long knives at her waist, who would have thought that this woman with a glint in her eyes while gambling was a member of a gang.


    ncing sideways, Su''en cautiously sized her up for a moment. If he didn''t know that this boss was a ruthless professional, he would have thought that Qian Tiao had attractive features and a great figure, with a sexy mature woman vibe.


    But... she was actually a killer.


    Can''t afford to provoke, can''t afford to provoke.


    Su''en retracted his gaze.


    ***


    "Ding~"


    The bell rang again, and another gambling match began.


    This time, it was a fierce battle with no clear winner. The two diators in the octagonal cage fought with all their strength, bringing a fierce and bloody battle to the gamblers.


    The gambling booth was filled with the cheering and shouting of the gamblers.


    And Qian Tiao, like an anxious coach, shouted and gave instructions to the diators in the arena, just like any ordinary gambler.


    "Oh, take him down, Blue Knight!"


    "Hey, buddy, use the ''Guillotine'' and strangle him, strangle him!"


    "Damn, what a stupid move, pursue the advantage!"


    "..."


    Qian Tiao was like a coach who cared deeply, shouting while also giving instructions to the diators in the arena.


    Su''en listened with a mix ofughter and tears, not knowing if this counted as cheating. As a skilled fighter, her guidance was enough to change the oue of the gambling.


    However, Su''en''s attention was no longer on who would win or lose, but rather on carefully observing the movements of the two diators in the arena.


    Unlike before, at this moment, as long as he focused on the punches and kicks of the diators, he would notice that their movements had be slower. This allowed his gaze to clearly capture every detail.


    It was like watching a slow-motion video.


    "It''s not an illusion. There has been some change in my left eye..."


    Su''en murmured to himself, confirming his previous spection.


    Since his sessful job induction, he had noticed that his "All-Knowing Eye" had gradually changed.


    Not only could he see farther, but he could also see more details.


    It was like a fly flying by. Before, he could only see a ck shadow, but now he could clearly see the frequency of the fly''s transparent wings vibrating.


    Looking at this match again, every move of the diators was within his sight. Su''en confirmed that because of the awakening of his profession, his talent had also improved.


    "S-grade talent, it''s not that simple indeed."


    Su''en confirmed that the talent "Talent S-018 All-Knowing Eye" was not just for identifying items, it had many other undeveloped abilities.


    This new ability of "Dynamic Capture" was one of them.


    Su''en''s mind wandered a bit, and just at this moment, a powerful arm suddenly and roughly wrapped around his neck. He had just realized it and instinctively moved to draw his gun, but then he thought of something and instantly rxed.


    Then, Su''en bumped into something warm and soft, feeling like waves crashing.


    "Haha! I won again!"


    Hearing Qian Tiao''s excited voice in his ear, Su''en realized what had happened.


    But he was also amazed. Was this the strength of a cadre?


    He was extremely agile now, with a super-fast reaction speed that allowed him to dodge crossbow arrows. But just now, he almost didn''t react in time.


    Su''en sighed in his heart and felt a little dizzy from hitting something warm and soft...


    Qian Tiao let go of Su''en andughed, "Hahaha, luckily your luck is good, otherwise I would have lost myst bit of sry and would have to rely on my brothers in the gang for support for the next half month."


    "..."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en''s expression slightly froze.


    This... Qian Tiao, a gang member, only had ten thousand yuan in her pocket?


    She bet her entire fortune on a single bet?


    Indeed, in any world, gamblers have nothing.


    ***


    Su''en thought that Qian Tiao would stop after winning tens of thousands of yuan, but unexpectedly, she spoke again, "Hey, who do you think will win the next round?"


    At this moment, there was a strange green light flickering in Qian Tiao''s eyes as she looked at Su''en, full of excitement and enthusiasm...


    Su''en had already won two rounds in a row. No, including the previous two rounds, he had won four rounds in a row.


    He bet small amounts, so winning or losing didn''t matter to him.


    But now that he knew this was Qian Tiao''s entire fortune, Su''en felt a bit pressured.


    He asked, "Are you still going to gamble?"


    "Why not?"


    Qian Tiao asked back and then shouted, "I''ve been out of the city for a few months, it''s been so boring... I need to have some fun tonight."


    Pausing for a moment, she exined seriously, "Besides, not increasing bets in gambling is soulless! Good luck without increasing bets, when will you get rich?"


    This gambling rhyme, one after another... Su''en''s head was spinning.


    Saying that, Qian Tiao didn''t care about how Su''en felt and directly told the betting girl, "Come, bet all of that on the red side!"


    "..."


    Su''en looked at it, his forehead twitching.


    Betting everything... this woman was really daring.


    Well, if she loses, the world will be peaceful again.


    ***


    However, things didn''t go as nned.


    Perhaps it was fate ying tricks, but Su''en guessed correctly again.


    This time, the red side defeated the blue side after a fierce battle.


    And then, the dramatic scene continued.


    Qian Tiao would ask Su''en after every bet, and Su''en would casually say one, and she would bet everything...


    An amateur gambler dared to speak, and a fierce woman dared to bet.


    In this way, this strange duo gradually became the focus of the entire gambling booth.


    In the next match,


    They won;


    In the next match,


    They won again...


    No matter what Su''en guessed, he would win just by saying it!


    Familiar scenes repeated mysteriously and strangely...


    In the end, the two of them actually guessed correctly for eight consecutive rounds!


    Qian Tiao''s initial ten thousand yuan capital turned into an astonishing two million yuan in cash every time she bet everything.


    Even Su''en, seeing such arge pile of cash for the first time, was amazed.


    A pile of green banknotes, like a small mountain, constantly stimted people''s nerves, directly driving the gamblers in the casino crazy!


    Su''en originally didn''t want to attract so much attention, but it seemed like his luck was a bit too extraordinary.


    But fortunately, after the eighth round, he breathed a sigh of relief. Because the final round of the diatorial match had also ended.


    Finally, he no longer had to worry about guessing the winner for this gang boss.


    ***


    "Hahaha, Goethe''s gambling secret is indeed useful. If I have bad luck, I''ll just follow someone with good luck; otherwise, I''ll find a loser and bet against them!"


    "Your name is Su''en, right? From now on, you''re under me, Qian Tiao. If anyone bullies you, just mention my name!"


    "..."


    After winning money, the boss was in a good mood.


    Su''en decisively refused her suggestion to continue gambling upstairs and nned to slip away.


    But at this moment, Kay, covered in blood, approached them.


    "Qian Tiao, why didn''t you inform me when you arrived?"


    "Oh, why are you so bloody?"


    "I just had a conflict with a few guys who didn''t know any better. They were probably from the ''Steam Party''."


    "Oh? Where are they?"


    "Dead, dumped in the sewer. They were just small characters, not worth making a big fuss over."


    "..."


    Qian Tiao listened to Kay''s words, pouted, and it seemed like the hungry and thirsty long knife at her waist calmed down.


    But today, she won money and was in a good mood, so she waved her hand and said, "Let''s go, I''ll treat you guys to a drink."


    Su''en, as the hero who won the money, naturally couldn''t refuse and reluctantly followed her to the tavern.


    As they walked, Kay chatted with Qian Tiao.


    "Qian Tiao, why did youe to Green Street? Hehe, is it because you want me to arrange something for you?"


    "You brat, I came for business, okay?"


    "What business?"


    "To meet someone, and also to deliver a message to you."


    "Oh... what''s the message?"


    "Yesterday, one of the attackers who raided the headquarters of the gang escaped. He took something very important from the warehouse. We chased him all the way, but his trail disappeared in the streets near Green Street. The boss doesn''t want that thing and the ''Forbidden Item'' to be taken away, so he wants you to be more vignt..."


    PS. Requesting votes on Monday, monthly votes, and rmendations~

 Chapter 34: Tool man

    Chapter 34: Tool man


    It was expected that the high-level members of the Cross Society would actively recruit the "Red Devil" Gelong, which was also within Su''en''s expectations.


    After all, such a highly skilled expert who was expelled from the inner city would be a great help to any gang in the outer city.


    It''s possible that not only the Cross Society, but also the Raven Gang and the Steam Party are in contact. Otherwise, the guild leader Chuck would not have personally visited the Cross Society''s core member, Qiantiao.


    Now Su''en probably understands the difference between professionals in the inner city and the outer city.


    Although it is not absolute that professionals in the inner city are stronger than those in the outer city, the inner city, which concentrates more than 90% of the resources of Old Lingdun, cannot deny that the averagebat power of professionals of the same level is much higher than that of the outer city.


    Rare silver blueprint for nt instation and employment materials that are rarely seen in the outer city often appear in the inner city''s auction, and there are even rarer ancient cursed objects.


    After all, only those wealthy and powerful figures can afford the good things that hunters find in ruins.


    Over time, the major conglomerates have certainly umted a lot of rare alchemical resources.


    And the difference in resources is the fundamental reason for the difference inbat power between professionals in the inner city and the outer city.


    Just like the "Red Devil" Gelong, a bodyguard can obtain top-level resources, which is unimaginable in the outer city.


    ......


    In the Elephant Tavern, heavy metal music was deafening.


    Su''en followed Qiantiao and Kay and found a booth to sit down.


    Qiantiao waved her hand and shouted, "Hey, bartender, bring us three sses of ''Golden Wheat''!"


    As a gambling addict who won money, Qiantiao didn''t hesitate to order the most expensive Golden Wheat beer in the tavern.


    Each person had arge pitcher.


    Because this "Golden Wheat ck Beer" was a high-quality product directly from the inner city brewery, it was also expensive. A pitcher cost about 1,000 lisuo, equivalent to half a month''s sry for an ordinary worker.


    Su''en didn''t taste anything special about this beer. Its taste was simr to the blended whisky he had in his previous life.


    But when he looked at the ingredients of the beer, he understood that the reason why this beer was expensive was mainly because of its water.


    Old Lingdun''s water source was not actually scarce, but itcked clean water sources. The underground water sources were mixed with arge amount of dark energy substances, and drinking them directly could easily cause distortion.


    To deal with these pollutants,rge-scale filtering water nts were needed. It was said that the filtering cost was high, and it was also because of the monopoly of the conglomerates. Only residents of the inner city were eligible to enjoy truly pure drinking water.


    In the outer city, ordinary people could only enjoy inferior drinking water, and the prices were not cheap either. The cost of daily drinking water was the biggest expense for most ordinary people.


    ......


    Su''en had just joined the gang, and although he felt that Captain Kay and Qiantiao were quite appetizing, he wasn''t too familiar with them.


    After sitting down, he silently drank his beer and listened to their conversation.


    "Qiantiao, you said that the guy who escaped ran to our Green Street and disappeared?"


    "Yeah... The tracking expert of the guild followed him all the way to the next block, and then the traces disappeared. But whether it''s that item or the ''forbidden item,'' they can''t be put into the storage ring. It''s not easy for that guy to escape. We suspect that he is hiding in one of the sewers nearby..."


    "Also, Kay, be careful when you and the brothers are doing thingstely. It seems that something has happened in the ck Tower, and there is some internal turmoil among the top conglomerates in the inner city. The Steam Party and the Raven Gang are supported by major corporations, so there may be some actions recently..."


    "I understand, Qiantiao."


    "..."


    Su''en listened on the side, but the two of them didn''t mention what exactly "that thing" was.


    Perhaps it was tacit understanding, or maybe they themselves didn''t know what they had lost.


    But Su''en understood that it should be that "manuscript."


    As for the news of turmoil in the inner city, it seemed to be something from another world and had nothing to do with him.


    What interested Su''en more was something else, the special items called "forbidden items" mentioned by them.


    He also understood that the forbidden item seemed to be arge ck scythe of about two meters. And those intruders used the scythe to cut open the door of the guild''s vault.


    Su''en didn''t bother to ask what the forbidden item was. It sounded like a cursed object with special effects, simr to the "Rune Puppet" in his previous life.


    To make the Cross Society, one of the three major gangs in the outer city, go to such lengths to find it, Su''en became even more curious about the magical properties of these so-called "forbidden items."


    The only information he knew now was that the scythe wasrge and sharp, and could easily cut through metal doors. And the guy who escaped with the treasure was suspected to be hiding in the sewer near Green Street...


    Drinking his beer, a thought suddenly shed in Su''en''s mind, "Huh... In the memory I stripped from the ''Scorpion'' Abok, it was said that a forbidden item was hidden in the ''Moon Inn,'' I wonder what it is."


    Thinking about it, he became somewhat absent-minded.


    ......


    Because he didn''t have the opportunity to interject, Su''en was either drinking or ying with the coin in his hand out of boredom.


    At this moment, the copper coin on the back of his hand was flipping between his fingers, from the base to the gap between his little finger and then flipping back. No matter how his hand moved, there was no sign of the coin falling.


    This was a direct manifestation of his greatly improved skills after joining the gang.


    He could now precisely control almost every muscle in his fingers. The coin seemed to stick to his skin, rolling skillfully, but it wouldn''t fall.


    Of course, this wasn''t just for fun.


    Su''en was actually practicing a basic skill of a Puppeteer - the Ten-Finger Maniption Technique.


    It was the most basic operation technique for manipting string puppets.


    It required the operator''s fingers to be flexible and versatile, using subtle finger movements to make precise movements with the puppet''s limbs.


    Now that he had learned the technique, but his muscle memory was still a bit awkward, he needed to practice continuously.


    And just at this moment, Qiantiao seemed to have noticed that Su''en was bored. She raised her ss again and said boldly, "Cheers!"


    "Cheers."


    Su''en clinked sses with her and took a big gulp of beer.


    Qiantiao drank boldly, gulping down the beer, and the beer stains flowed down her mouth and neck.


    She also noticed Su''en ying with the coin and raised an eyebrow, casually asking, "Are you on the gunslinger career path?"


    Su''en nodded, "Yeah."


    There was no need to hide this, and he even intentionally did so.


    Although he had already joined the gang, Su''en had no intention of revealing his special Puppeteer profession.


    asionally showing some skills that were in demand in the profession would make people think he was a gunslinger.


    On the contrary, the more secretive he was, the more curious people would be.


    Qiantiao became interested and asked casually, "Are you interested in learning knife skills from me? Your hands are very dexterous, so you should learn quickly."


    Su''en shook his head and politely declined, "Thank you, Qiantiao, but my awakened talent is ''Hawkeye,'' so gunslinging might be more suitable for me."


    Before he had self-defense abilities, he nned to continue being inconspicuous. Besides, "knife user" was not his career n.


    "Oh, that''s a pity..."


    Qiantiao pouted and didn''t say much.


    After a moment of contemtion, she suddenly said something that sounded somewhat mncholic, "Kid, don''t die so easily. There will definitely be a ce for you in the gang in the future."


    This gang leader seemed to be ustomed to farewells and said the most sentimental expectation in the most indifferent tone.


    Don''t die...


    In the gang, this was the best expectation.


    Su''en listened and smiled, nodding slightly, "Yeah."


    He felt that this gang leader''s temperament was quite to his liking, and he was slightly moved.


    But sometimes, plot twists could catch people off guard.


    Just as the serious atmosphere was building up, Qiantiao suddenly leaned her arm on his shoulder and leaned in mysteriously, "There''s one more thing..."


    "???"


    Su''en''s expression became serious, thinking it was something important.


    But in the next moment, the dignified image of this gang leader suddenly copsed.


    Qiantiao''s eyes suddenly emitted the same green light as before in the casino, and she excitedly said, "Hahaha... It''s rare to encounter someone with such good luck as you. Let me tell you, this kind of good luck usuallysts for several days. We''ll meet at the arena tomorrow, don''t bete!"


    "..."


    Su''en''s eyes twitched as he listened.


    So, when she said not to die easily, it wasn''t because she valued his talent, but because she was afraid of losing her "lucky tool"?


    "Plfft~"


    Unable to hold back, Captain Kay, who was beside them, also sprayed out his drink and burst intoughter.

 Chapter 35: Distortion event

    Chapter 35: Distortion event


    A cadre, a captain, and a small gang member.


    A strangebination started drinking heavily in the tavern.


    Su''en and the other two were drinking happily.


    Suddenly, Sam and several members of the Cross Society rushed into the tavern in a panic, carrying heavy firearms.


    They scanned the tavern and immediately spotted Kay sitting at a table.


    Sam walked over with urgency in his eyes and said, "Captain, something bad happened! We heard that one of the troublemakers we dealt with earlier was the younger brother of a member of the ''Steam Party.'' I received information that Kun Tu, the ''Red Hair,'' ising with a group of people and seems to be nning to cause trouble for us! Captain, we need to gather our brothers quickly..."


    Sam spoke in a long string of words, almost out of breath.


    Gang fights were normal, especially in territories where two gangs had contact.


    Originally, this was an urgent matter.


    The enemy wasing with great momentum, and the Cross Society would definitely gather their brothers. They might not necessarily engage in a full-blown fight, but they wouldn''t let the enemy have the advantage in numbers.


    However, after Sam finished speaking, he noticed that the atmosphere at the table was strange.


    Normally, the captain should have mmed the table and started rallying the troops, right?


    But... Kay seemed calm.


    He even picked up his drink and leisurely took a sip before sneering, "Younger brother? Heh... It seems like those ''Steam Party'' guys are deliberately looking for an excuse to start a war."


    Su''en remained silent and nced at the gambling addict next to him.


    In other circumstances, he might have been worried about his own safety.


    But now...


    Qiantiao had her back to the entrance of the tavern, and Sam and the others were so focused on finding Kay that they didn''t notice the woman at the table seemed familiar.


    Now that the atmosphere seemed off, they finally recognized the woman with therge tattooed arm as Qiantiao.


    "Qiantiao?" Sam and the others eximed in surprise.


    Qiantiao raised her ss and took a sip,zily asking, "What''s going on?"


    "Well, the ''Steam Party''..." Sam was about to repeat the previous situation, but when he saw Qiantiao''s uninterested expression, he quickly changed his tone and said, "Ah, you''re here, so there''s no problem."


    Everyone: "..."


    Not long after, the sound of motorcycles roared outside the door as the notorious "Biker Gang" of the Steam Brotherhood arrived on Green Street.


    Su''en looked at the modified steam-powered Harley motorcycles outside the door, feeling a bit envious. It couldn''t be denied that the Steam Party had superior mechanical modification technology in the outer city.


    More than twenty people with mechanical prosthetics and long guns and short cannons rushed into the "Elephant Tavern" with great momentum, scaring the tavern''s customers away.


    Judging from their posture, it was clear that they were here for revenge.


    But what happened next was a dramatic scene.


    The far-headed man with red hair saw Kay at the table and angrily raised his gun, shouting, "Kay, you..."


    But before he could finish his sentence, he caught sight of the woman with therge tattooed arm on the table, and his face suddenly changed. The harsh words he was about to say got stuck in his throat and he swallowed them back.


    Red Hair was quick on his feet as well. Without saying another word, he holstered his gun and turned to leave the tavern, as if he had taken the wrong path.


    This scene left the tavern''s customers, who were unaware of the truth, confused.


    But the members of the Cross Society burst intoughter and jeered, "Hahaha..."


    Qiantiao ignored the departing Steam Brotherhood members. As a member of the Cross Society, she wouldn''t stoop so low as to cause trouble with a small gang leader from a rival faction.


    After finishing their drinks, Qiantiao said to Kay, "Kay, be careful recently. The Steam Party guys are also eyeing Green Street. They won''t hesitate to make some moves..."


    Kay nodded thoughtfully, "I understand, Qiantiao."


    In the world of gangs, it was always about fighting and killing.


    From the moment they joined, they were prepared for it.


    .......


    The first day of joining the gang was eventful, but the following days returned to normal.


    Every evening at seven o''clock, Kay would lead the new recruits on a half-hour patrol before disbanding.


    The days were leisurely.


    Even the Steam Party guys didn''t show up again after the incident at the Elephant Tavern.


    The gambling addict, on the other hand, would always appear in the arena every night, dragging Su''en along to gamble.


    But gambling was all about luck.


    Even though Su''en had good luck, he couldn''t win every time.


    Of course, he only gambled small amounts, so wins and losses were manageable.


    But this gambling addict, when she won, she would lecture about the importance of stopping losses and taking profits...


    But when she lost her temper, she didn''t care about any of that. She would increase her bets after losing once, and double them after losing again...


    No amount of advice could stop her.


    This kind of gambling behavior led to her winning over two million at first, but she squandered it all in just a few days.


    This was the typical behavior of a gambling addict. When they won, they were intoxicated with wealth, but when they lost, they were destitute.


    However, this gambling addict, despite her average winnings, had good character.


    After losing everything, she didn''t borrow a single penny from Su''en or Kay, only relying on them for food and drink.


    Su''en had to go to the arena every day to collect soul fragments, so he could only apany her in gambling. As a result, they became quite familiar with each other.


    Qiantiao didn''t have the airs of a big sister, and they were more like drinking buddies.


    It was no wonder she had a good rtionship with the gang members.


    A few dayster, Qiantiao lost all her savings and reluctantly returned home. She nned to earn money by doing gang tasks and agreed to gamble with Su''en another day.


    Su''en bid farewell to this influential gang member, and his own life returned to normal.


    Every night, he would stay in the arena until dawn, then find a hotel to meditate, practice puppetry techniques, and read alchemy books...


    The days were regr and leisurely, harvesting soul fragments every day, practicing professional skills, and rapidly gaining experience.


    The arena had eight to ten corpses every day, and asionally there were professional diator matches.


    In just a few days, he had acquired a variety of strange abilities, such as "Lip Reading," "Dart Throwing," "Motorcycle Riding," and "Gwent Card Skills"...


    A mix of various skills, he had them all.


    However, he gradually discovered a problem.


    After his firearm andbat skills reached a certain level, he started gaining less experience from the corpses.


    Later, he realized that as he approached the level of "Advanced Firearms Mastery," he naturally couldn''t learn much from a "Basic Mastery" corpse.


    Although he could learn from others'' strengths to make up for his weaknesses, it wasn''t much.


    Fortunately, there was no risk, and every little bit counts.


    During this time, Su''en visited the ck market a few times but couldn''t find the ideal blueprint for his imnts. However, he heard that there would be a high-quality auction held by the ck market in a few days, where many good items would appear as hunters and thieves gathered to sell their goods.


    He nned to try his luck then.


    .......


    On this day, in the hotel room.


    A gunshot rang out, causing the lime powder on the wall to fall.


    It was unclear who had been shot.


    Although he was used to it, Su''en''s arm instinctively trembled at the sound, causing the runic pen with blue paint in his hand to deviate from its intended path, leaving a ring mark of failure on the puppet''s body.


    "Another failure..."


    Su''en looked at the puppet in front of him, which had beenpletely ruined by his painting, feeling a bitter helplessness.


    Although he was usually focused and not easily distracted, he couldn''t ignore the frequent fights and gunshots in this noisy environment.


    In the corridor of the cheap hotel, there were often drunken tenants fighting. In this world where everyone had a gun, physical fights almost always led to gunfights, which were always terrifying. Just yesterday, there was an incident in the room above Su''en''s, where a call girl and her aplices conspired to shoot a mercenary. The ensuing chaos almost hit Su''en downstairs.


    "It''s really difficult to find a suitable ce to live..."


    Su''en sighed softly, feeling tired of this harsh noise environment.


    He wanted to find a ce with soundproofing, quietness, and preferably a shooting range.


    As a puppeteer, a rare profession, he could hardly learn relevant skills from diators in the arena. He could only practice diligently. Enchanting and carving were much more difficult than he had expected, requiring a quiet environment and a lot of time to practice.


    Since he had already been disturbed, Su''en didn''t dwell on the sound of gunshots.


    He looked at the ruined puppet in front of him and turned his gaze. Just then, he suddenly bent his fingers, as if grabbing an invisible object. The puppet stood up strangely.


    It was only half a meter tall, like a toddler taking its first steps, and it started moving around the room.


    The sound of wooden joints rubbing against each other, "click, click," was somewhat eerie.


    Su''en stood still, his fingers moving rapidly like ying the piano, and the puppet followed suit, making various movements. Although it still looked stiff, it could perform somebat actions like punching, kicking, rolling, and stabbing.


    After practicing maniption for a while, Su''en felt his finger muscles stiffening and stopped.


    "Phew..."


    He let out a long breath.


    Looking at the steel wires entwined between his fingers, Su''en shook his head slightly and muttered, "The wires are not thin enough or tough enough, and the maneuverability is too low... It''s really not easy to find the right thread material."


    This was the most suitable material he could find to control the puppets, but it still fell short.


    He thought of the scene in the mansion ruins where Pestoya controlled dozens of puppets with threads, effortlessly restraining the bald Ivan.


    Controlling threads, but the effects were vastly different.


    The unfinished puppetcked the right steel wire, and the maniption skills were still unfamiliar...


    As a novice "puppeteer," he still had a long way to go to formbat power with puppets.


    But Su''en had a good mindset. To achieve this level in just a few days, he felt that his progress was not bad.


    There were still several hours before work, and Su''en originally nned to continue practicing puppet maniption.


    But just then, he received a call from Kay on themunicator, "All new recruits, gather at the usual ce. We have a distortion mission."


    Su''en didn''t dare to dy, checked his equipment and ammunition, and walked out of the room.


    ........


    Shortly after the gathering message was sent, Kun Tu, the "Red Hair" of the Steam Party, quietly infiltrated the vicinity of Green Street with a group of people.


    A mysterious voice came through themunicator, "Captain Kun Tu, it has been confirmed that Kay and a group of new recruits, about twenty people, have gone to the Tube Building."

 Chapter 36: Monster in the high-rise building

    Chapter 36: Monster in the high-rise building


    "Hehe, twenty people? Only Kay, the professional, is a bit tricky. The other neers are not worth worrying about."


    "But that kid who was close to the ''Four-Armed Rakshasa'' before needs to be watched more closely. If there''s a chance, kill him first to avoid any idents."


    "Yes, Captain Kuntu."


    "..."


    Kay gathered his men to prepare for the first time to deal with the anomaly event. The members of the "Steam Brotherhood" received the news and quietly ambushed near the tenement building.


    The incident of the Elephant Tavern escaping in embarrassment has be a joke for "Red-Haired" Kuntu in the underworld, making him lose face in front of his peers.


    Now that Qiantiao is no longer on Green Street, they are ready to take action again.


    .......


    Although the city is much safer than outside, anomalies still ur from time to time.


    Old Lingdun City is an ancient relic, and even after years of cleaning and excavation, some "cursed objects" with residual curse characteristics that have notpletely dissipated are still asionally found underground. These things are good for professionals, but for ordinary people, they are nightmares like radiation sources and easily trigger anomalies.


    The air in the city, although the concentration of dark spiritual power is thinner than outside the city, is enough to trigger anomalies with a low probability.


    Eating contaminated food and water, returning from hunting in high anomaly environments, and various other reasons... Almost every month, there are several anomaly events in each major district.


    And recently, the frequency seems to be quietly increasing.


    Of course, the most troublesome are the out-of-control professionals.


    The essence of "anomaly" is the uncontroble dark spiritual power in the body, which destroys a person''s will and transforms the body into a giant-like monster or other special forms.


    After the anomaly, the dark spiritual power in the body will be unrestricted and rapidly increase. Therefore, professionals who turn into monsters will be several times stronger than theirbat power when they were alive, making them very difficult to deal with.


    There are no city guards or security forces in the outer city, and the anomalies in the jurisdiction are all handled by the underworld.


    So, this is also the daily work of the Ten Cross Society members on Green Street.


    Shortly after the assembly order was issued, Su''en had already arrived at the dpidated building.


    In the recent period, more than ten neers have joined, making up for the members who were killed in the support headquarters battle.


    The efficiency of the assembly was very high, and soon there were nearly twenty people in front of the dpidated building.


    Su''en, who was already considered an old-timer, looked at the almost all "neers" gathered in front of the building and was slightly surprised.


    After waiting for a while, Kay counted the number of people and said as usual, "Alright, everyone is here, get ready to go."


    Dealing with anomaly events is a good practical training. Listening to the old birds like Sam, Su''en learned that this time the captain intends to take the neers out for some realbat practice.


    Everyone got on motorcycles, and Kay exined the content of this operation, saying, "There have been many homeless people missing near the tenement building these days. Some people have seen bodies that have been gnawed on and monsters with anomalies... Maybe the seal in the nearby sewer has been broken, and monsters havee out, or maybe there are ''cursed objects''. Anyway, our task this time is to clean up the basement near the incident at the tenement building. If we''re lucky, we might find ancient cursed artifacts buried underground; at worst, we can get some cursed materials. By then, everyone will receive a bonus..."


    After speaking, he waved his big hand and said, "Let''s go, set off."


    Everyone nodded, "Yes, Captain!"


    Su''en remained silent as usual, not saying a word as an insignificant person.


    Although "anomaly events" are the daily unexpected events of the underworld, there are still casualties, especially for inexperienced neers.


    Su''en was not careless at all.


    He observed the people in the team and checked his equipment before silently boarding the motorcycle with a few veterans.


    .......


    In addition to the bustling three entertainment districts, there is a tenement building in the north of Green Street, which is the "slum" in the civilian area.


    Because this ancient architectural relic preserved some dpidated tenement buildings that can still be inhabited, it has gathered arge number of homeless people, beggars, and thieves. But even the members of the underworld rarely set foot in this ce. gue, stench, filth, and anomalies are the synonyms of this area...


    The people of Green Street marched in a mighty manner and arrived at the tenement building, where someone was already waiting.


    "Captain Kay, you''re here!"


    The one who spoke was an old man in coarse cloth, Bravo the "One-Eyed". This guy is also the leader of the thieves in the Green Street area, and he has dozens of half-sized kids under hismand, specializing in learning theft techniques to make money.


    Those with good talent will be sent to the guild to be trained as professionals.


    They are considered a subordinate organization of the Ten Cross Society.


    Kay nodded, familiar with this old man, and didn''t bother with pleasantries. "Old man, where did the incident happen?"


    Bravo said, "Follow me."


    The old man led the group of people through a ruin.


    The air was filled with a strong sewage stench.


    Su''en asionally scanned the surroundings and saw faces of emaciated people peering curiously and timidly from the shabby huts.


    These were the residents of the tenement building.


    There were also some children, ten or eight years old, wearing tattered clothes and barefoot on the ruins. They followed the people from Green Street from a distance, their eyes filled with envy and longing.


    In the outer city, there are many such poor people, and no one knows the exact number, but it is definitelyrge.


    Their lives are as cheap as rye, with a hundred lisu buying a life. In such a harsh living environment, only sewer rats can survive, but they stubbornly survive.


    These slum dwellers are also one of the most important reasons why the inner city gave up on governing these areas.


    The Ten Cross Society asionally sends food here.


    Because many people in the underworld havee out from here.


    At least Captain Kay did.


    As they walked, the old man sighed, "Ah... I don''t know what''s been happening recently. The monsters in the sewer seem to be very active. A few days ago, someone even heard about a beautiful endless woman in the Snail Alley. Hehe... I think it''s probably some anomaly monster luring people to eat... Sure enough, a few dayster, all the homeless people in that area disappeared."


    Su''en listened from behind, his eyes showing contemtion.


    Beautiful women would be in the brothels on Green Street, but they would never appear here.


    But... what kind of anomaly monster would turn into a beautiful woman?


    This touched on Su''en''s blind spot of knowledge.


    .......


    Before long, the old man led the people from Green Street to the northernmost part of the tenement building.


    The smell of the sewer here was even stronger, as if they were close to certain pipe outlets.


    The old man pointed to a ck tenement building several hundred meters away and said, "Someone saw anomaly monsters appearing in that dpidated building before. They are more active when the mist appears at night. But be careful, there is a basement under that dpidated building that seems to be connected to the undergroundwork. I don''t know what kind of monsters are hidden there, so don''t go too deep."


    After listening, Kay waved his hand and said, "Alright, leave the rest to us."


    Next was the job of thebat personnel.


    He pulled the gun bolt and said to Su''en and the others behind him, "Brothers, let''s get to work!"


    The old man stayed where he was without saying anything.


    Everyone put on gas masks and night vision goggles and walked into the dpidated building.


    Su''en held the shotgun distributed by the guild, loaded it with a click.


    Compared to pistols, this kind of scatter gun is more suitable for dealing with anomaly monsters. Even without alchemical bullets, a few more shots can st the monsters to pieces.

 Chapter 37: Mutation

    Chapter 37: Mutation


    A group of twenty people swaggered into the cylindrical building.


    Several veterans had participated in such events many times before. Before entering the dpidated building, Sam loudly exined the precautions to the neers.


    "<em>Check your ammunition!</em> Keep your spare firearms within reach..."


    "Be careful and aim before shooting. Don''t throw grenades randomly unless absolutely necessary. You don''t want to bury yourself if the monsters aren''t killed!"


    "Also, keep your gun pointed at the ground, not at the person in front of you. Don''t keep your finger on the trigger, or you might identally shoot someone due to fright. That''s a vition of the rules!"


    "Don''t speak loudly after entering. The distorted monsters in the darkness are very sensitive to sound."


    "..."


    Su''en listened carefully. These were all practicalbat experiences. No wonder Kay wanted the neers to gain experience.


    He nced at the cylindrical building not far away and frowned slightly. The dpidated building stood alone, like an ugly toad monster crouching there. The dark windows looked like lumps on its back.


    Su''en didn''t know if it was an illusion, but he always felt like something was staring at their team.


    <em>"Is it a person or a monster?"</em>


    Su''en couldn''t figure out where the uneasiness in his heart came from.


    He knew very well what this feeling meant. There were some clues in his mind that caused his uneasiness, but they were not enough to form a clear connection, so it was intermittent.


    But he didn''t say much because even if he didn''t warn everyone to be careful, everyone would be extremely cautious in this environment.


    Before he could think too much, the team had already entered the cylindrical building.


    ***


    The interior of the cylindrical room was spacious, somewhat resembling a shopping mall from Su''en''s previous life.


    The housepletely blocked the external light source.


    The gasmps in the team provided sufficient light, but even so, everyone felt like they had entered a dark world. The light was only enough to illuminate a corner.


    Su''en thought it was fine. After bing a professional, his "night vision ability" had greatly improved.


    Even without wearing the crude night vision goggles, he could still see the rough outline of things in the distance.


    But the other neers seemed a bit uneasy. The dark environment made them feel a fear originating from the unknown, afraid that something man-eating would suddenly appear from the darkness...


    And at this moment, a gunshot suddenly rang out.


    <em>"Bang!"</em>


    The fire illuminated the area for a moment, and everyone saw a ck shadow falling from the nearby ceiling.


    Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a white-haired rat.


    This sudden movement made the neers shudder. It was no wonder that Sam had told them not to keep their fingers on the trigger. Otherwise, with that sudden scare, many guns would have identally fired.


    And in front, Sam''s heartyughter came, "Oh... lucky us. This ''White Rat''s Ear Bone'' is a cursed material worth 3,000 Lis. I didn''t expect to get the material just by shooting one casually..."


    Monsters living in the distorted environment had a chance to produce "cursed materials" in their bodies, but the probability of ordinary monsters producing materials was very low. Usually, only elite monsters like beast kings had a higher probability.


    Su''en''s mind shed with a thought as he listened.


    The first monster produced a cursed material. <em>Was it a coincidence or something else?</em>


    The veterans looked at the nervous expressions of the neers andughed, "Hey, everyone, don''t be so nervous. This ''White Rat Giant Mouse'' is just the mostmon monster in the sewer. Shoot it in the head, and it''ll die. But be careful, they can jump up and bite your bird..."


    "Hahaha..."


    The veterans seemed ustomed to this. This kind of operation was much safer than hunting in the wilderness.


    After all, this was Old London City, where there wouldn''t be groups of monsters. Even the distorted humans were only sporadic.


    With more than twenty people, they had an absolute firepower advantage and didn''t need to be overly cautious.


    Kay carried his gun on his shoulder, looking rxed. At this moment, he said, "Get ready, the monsters in this building should being."


    The gunshot immediately attracted the monsters in the darkness.


    But as the veterans had said, sporadic monsters couldn''t pose much threat to the team.


    The journey ahead turned from hunting monsters to a shooting game.


    Gunshots would attract monsters in the darkness, saving them the trouble of searching each room one by one.


    Soon, two "distorted humans" that had been seen by witnesses appeared in the darkness and were quickly shot to pieces by the group.


    Su''en had seen these monsters twice outside the city. At that time, he was alone, and the surroundings wereplex, making it difficult to deal with. But for a team, a lone monster was just a live target.


    Except for one unlucky guy who stepped on nothing and broke his leg, everything went smoothly.


    And the harvest was good.


    They found that the probability of monsters in this cylindrical building producing "cursed materials" was much higher than outside the city...


    ***


    In less than an hour, the people from Green Street had cleared out the cylindrical building and arrived at the entrance to the "underground chamber" mentioned by the old man earlier.


    It wasn''t a copsed hole but had obvious architectural traces.


    Looking at it, it reminded Su''en of the entrance to a subway station in his previous life.


    The clearing operation this time was so smooth that it became a bit boring. They probably felt like they hadn''t had enough fun yet. Looking at the entrance to the underground chamber, one of the veterans asked, "Captain, should we go down and take a look?"


    Kay looked at the entrance of the underground chamber, his brow slightly furrowing. "Thest time we cleared these underground chambers on arge scale was ten years ago. There were significant casualties. I don''t know what kind of monsters are down there now..."


    Apparently, he seemed to recall some unpleasant memories and shook his head. "Going down to the underground chamber requires stronger equipment and more manpower. We are not prepared enough this time, so there''s no need to go down..."


    The harvest today far exceeded expectations and gave Kay a bad feeling.


    Su''en blended in with the crowd without drawing attention.


    He didn''t have many opportunities to shoot during the entire clearing process. The monsters would appear and be shot down by the group in one round. Regardless of marksmanship, with dozens of gun muzzles firing together, there would always be hits. That''s the advantage of having more people.


    Now, hearing Kay say they were going back, he also thought it was good. The faint uneasiness in his heart made him feel that if they continued to explore, something unexpected might happen.


    And at this moment, something came just as he thought about it.


    Suddenly, his gaze caught a humanoid shadow rushing out of the subway station entrance.


    Su''en''s pupils contracted, and he eximed in his heart, <em>"So fast!"</em>


    <em>A distorted human?</em>


    <em>No, this was definitely not the speed of a normal "distorted human"!</em>


    Moreover, that thing could even climb walls!


    <em>"Be careful!"</em>


    Almost at the same time, Kay also shouted urgently.


    Apparently, he had also noticed the shadow rushing out.


    Before the words could fully leave his mouth, a gunshot rang out, followed by a barrage of gunfire.


    Although the monster was fast, it was hit in the leg by the scattered bullets, and then it was covered by another round of firepower. The lizard-like creature that could climb walls was rendered immobile by the shots.


    But before everyone could rejoice, a cry of horror mixed with fear suddenly came from the crowd, <em>"Ah!"</em>


    As Su''en heard the scream from behind, he turned around, and his smoking firearm was already spewing mes, his movements seamless.


    <em>Bang!</em>


    The shotgun hit the long mouth organ that had fallen from the ceiling, and the helper who had screamed fell from mid-air.


    Everyone looked at the smoking firearm in Su''en''s hand, their eyes filled with shock, probably surprised at how quickly he reacted. But their attention was instantly drawn to something elsethe half-broken mouth organ wriggling like a severed snake on the ground. Everyone''s faces turned pale.


    It was a crimson mouth organ as thick as a bowl, withyers of sharp teeth wriggling in the red flesh, causing people with trypophobia toe out.


    Sam approached with a stiff face and used his gun to flip the still twitching mouth organ. He swallowed his saliva and asked, <em>"What kind of monster is this?"</em>


    The veterans also showed confusion, no one recognized it.


    "I''ve never seen it before."


    Kay''s face became serious, and he looked at the shattered corpse and the half-broken mouth organ, furrowing his brows. "This monster is definitely not simple. Even out-of-control professionals wouldn''t have such fast speed."


    If it weren''t for Su''en''s quick shot just now, one of them would have been dragged away by the monster.


    Kay''s expression became slightly solemn as he looked at the "entrance to the underground chamber" and said, "Something''s not right. This kind of monster has never appeared in the city''s sewers before... I think it''s best for us to leave here first."


    Su''en''s All-Knowing Eye allowed him to have superhuman vision, and in an instant, he saw the name of this monster.


    <em>[Mutated Distorted Monster]</em>


    <em>Exnation: Distorted humans affected by special environments; their weaknesses are the same as humans, and shooting them in the head or heart can quickly kill them.</em>


    But at this moment, he wasn''t interested in specting about the cause of the monster''s mutation. Since two monsters had appeared here, it meant...


    <em>There might be more in the underground chamber!</em>


    <em>"Let''s go!"</em>


    Kay also realized that they couldn''t stay here for long and was about to tell everyone to leave.


    But just at this moment, piercing screeches suddenly sounded.


    <em>"Squeak~", "Squeak~", "Squeak~"</em>


    In the next moment, several incendiary bombs lit up the surroundings.


    The intense light illuminated the entire cylindrical building, and the monsters hiding in the shadows seemed frightened and hid in various small caves.


    The people surrounding them were a group of individuals with various mechanical prosthetic limbs, and they had already surrounded them.


    Sam recognized the people and shouted angrily, <em>"Steam Party! Damn it, we''ve been ambushed!"</em>


    Su''en saw this and his expression turned cold. He finally realized where his sense of crisis hade from.


    It wasn''t from these monsters, but from these Steam Party guys!


    He nced at the "entrance to the underground chamber" and then at the blocked exit of the cylindrical building. He muttered to himself, "They chose a good ce for an ambush..."

 Chapter 38: Hysterical strength

    Chapter 38: Hysterical strength


    "Hey, isn''t that Captain Kay? Long time no see..."


    The voice echoed in the tenement building, and everyone could hear the sarcasm in the words.


    The members of the "Steam Party" surrounded the people of Green Street who were at the bottom of the tenement building.


    The leader was the "Red-Haired" Kun Tu, who had appeared at the Elephant Tavern before. He looked at Kay with a rxed smile, as if victory was already in his hands.


    ......


    Su''en looked at the enemies and his expression became serious. "Two professionals, this is going to be troublesome..."


    Kun Tu''s alchemical nt was the "me Lizard," with the main material being the oil nd of the me Lizard, a curse material that was obscure and somewhat useless. But this nt gave him a high resistance to fire and the ability to manipte mes. After adding some improved me-throwing mechanical devices, he became a "pseudo-fire mage."


    Thisbination of machinery and nts was the mainstream "new-style" alchemist.


    Although itcked the flexibility of a pure first-order old-style fire alchemist and the strength of a normal professional, its destructive power was not inferior. The key was that the casting process was more cost-effective.


    It was like using a lighter to ignite and using a magnifying ss to focus the fire. The methods were different, but the results were the same (limited to low-level spells).


    As "new-style" alchemists, the members of the Steam Party preferred machinery over alchemy.


    To them, alchemical nts were just auxiliary tools, and machinery was the focus. Although this clever approach limited the potential of the nts, the mechanical modifications had no limits. Moreover, the curse properties of the nts, although weaker in effect, also had a smaller chance of distortion, making them suitable for people with less talent.


    However, facing only Kun Tu, Kay didn''t have much advantage.


    In a one-on-one fight, the probability of Kay, a high-agility assassin, killing Kun Tu, a pseudo-mage, was obviously higher.


    But obviously, the enemy had also thought of this.


    In their team, there was another person who had unsealed their alchemical nt.


    It was a person wearing a ck windbreaker, with an octopus metal mask on his head. The exposed skin on his hands and neck emitted a dark metallic cold light.


    When Su''en saw this person, he instantly matched the information in his mind: "The captain of the Thirteenth Block of the West City, ''Steel Gori'' Sis!"


    Since he knew that the Cross Society and the Steam Party would always have shes, he had done his homework during this time and had some understanding of the abilities of the famous professionals from the opposing factions.


    This "Steel Gori" Sis awakened the beastification talent, "Talent C-071-Ape," which allowed him to transform into a giant ape like a werewolf, greatly increasing his physical strength, speed, and toughness.


    It was a very good melee talent.


    And this guy also obtained the obscure alchemical nt, "Smander Iron Skin," a "metal bio-skin" with super toughness that the Steam Party had developed. This allowed him to have super defense against firearms after unsealing the nt.


    Because of this, Sis earned the title of "Steel Gori."


    "This is a bit tricky..."


    Su''en looked at the situation and knew that it was specifically targeted at Kay.


    One could fight, and the other could withstand.


    Although Kay''s "de" was sharp and could cut people in half, it was obvious that this "Steel Gori" was specifically targeting assassins like him.


    At least Kay''s de would not be able to kill him in a short period of time.


    ........


    "The ''Red-Haired'' Kun Tu is not much of a threat. Although his fire control ability is strong, his attack range is limited..."


    In Su''en''s eyes, Kun Tu, who had joined the organization, was not much of a threat.


    His attack methods were single, and there was a lot of room to predict the direction of the attacks from his mechanical methrower.


    Moreover, Su''en had already advanced to "Advanced Mastery" in marksmanship, which was enough for him to use the "kite-flying" method to turn that guy into a sieve.


    But there was still the "Steel Gori" Sis.


    Su''en squinted his eyes and observed the man in the windbreaker upstairs, thinking to himself, "I wonder if the ''Armor-Piercing Alchemical Bullet'' can prate his goggles..."


    Without actualbat data, it was difficult to determine.


    ording to legend, this guy had a record of withstanding alchemical bullets...


    The only weak point, his eyes, seemed to be hidden behind the goggles with runes, and it didn''t seem easy to break through. Moreover, since it was one of the few "weak points" on his body, he would definitely be heavily guarded.


    Su''en felt that choosing these two professionals as the first targets of attack was not logical.


    Because the most troublesome situation at the moment was not the two professionals, but the number of enemies!


    There were nearly fifty enemies, with dozens of guns and rockets aimed at the people of Green Street.


    Under concentrated fire, there would definitely be casualties.


    Su''en also didn''t have the certainty to avoid the concentrated fire in the first moment.


    But for him, there was one good news... most of the guns were aimed at Kay.


    After all, in the eyes of those people, only Kay, as a professional, was the biggest threat.


    Thinking of this, Su''en''s gaze began to wander...


    .......


    Gang fights were a daily urrence in the underworld.


    The veterans were prepared for death at any time in the firefight with rival gangs. But the neers seemed a bit at a loss.


    Perhaps it was because these neers were trembling in the face of death that the members of the Steam Party didn''t immediately take action.


    It was like a hunter seeing its prey fall into a deep trap. It wouldn''t kill it immediately, but would appreciate its masterpiece.


    Kun Tu looked down from above and smiled, "Captain Kay, oh, you don''t look too good, do you?"


    "Hehe... is this all the Steam Party has? You ran away with your tail between your legs at the Elephant Tavernst time, and now you want to y dirty tricks?"


    Kay mocked mercilessly.


    Then, he whispered to the people beside him, "Most of their attention is on me. I''ll attract their firepower, and you find an opportunity to strike. Prepare for a fight, everyone..."


    Surrendering was impossible. In gang fights, only one side beingpletely wiped out by the other would end it.


    Everyone was aware of this.


    Su''en had a gun pointed at him, and his adrenaline surged.


    He had also been mentally prepared to face unexpected events, so there was no surprise on his face.


    However, upon closer observation, he noticed something strange.


    Su''en''s super vision allowed him to clearly see that among the group of gunmen upstairs, two of them were staring at him through their scopes.


    In the instant their gazes met, he realized that he was receiving "special treatment."


    Su''en also found it strange in his heart: "Huh... why aren''t those two aiming at the veterans or Kay? Why are they staring at me?"


    The other gunmen were casually aiming at the crowd, but the gazes of those two gunmen were urately locked onto him.


    Su''en''s thoughts quickly turned, and he immediately realized: Could it be that I attracted attention because I was too close to Boss Qian before?


    He pouted at the thought. It seemed that he should avoid getting involved with important figures in the future, or else he would easily be the focus of the enemy.


    .......


    Since he noticed that he was being targeted, Su''en didn''t make any rash moves. Instead, he slowly rxed his grip on the shotgun in his hand.


    In the eyes of the enemy, this action was not threatening and could make them rx their guard.


    But others didn''t know that Su''en was analyzing the situation in his mind at a rapid pace: "The exit of the tenement building must have been blocked. After the first round of concentrated fire, the only chance to escape is to go to that ''underground chamber'' and use cover and the dark environment to kill the enemy..."


    The position of the people from Green Street was awkward. Besides a few load-bearing columns, there were almost no cover on the ground floor.


    The enemy had the high ground, and if they engaged in a direct shootout, the people of Green Street would be wiped out instantly.


    Therefore, Su''en decided to take the initiative.


    The feeling of adrenaline surging made his body excited as well.


    He licked his lips, and a strange ferocity appeared in his eyes. "I''m going to kill again..."


    .......


    Su''en was well aware that he had a "dangerous personality."


    This was diagnosed by the therapists at the juvenile detention center when he was twelve years old, after he killed those thugs. But he didn''t think of it as another self; it was more urate to say that "he" was a part of his emotions.


    Later, the learning and treatment at the detention center also taught Su''en how to manage this part of his "emotions" precisely.


    This allowed him to separate certain negative emotions in his daily life, such as ferocity, fear, killing, desire... or pain. He used to think of it as an "illness."


    Butter, he realized that it was also a self-defense ability.


    In dangerous situations, letting certain specific emotions erupt would stimte his potential.


    It was like the news in his previous life where a young mother lifted a several-ton car to save her child in a moment of desperation.


    It was like when he was twelve years old and could deal with those young and strong thugs.


    It was a potential called "hysterical strength."


    Scientifically speaking, in extreme situations, hormones in the body would rush out of the adrenal nds, flow into the blood, and circte throughout the body. This would fill the muscles with excess oxygenated blood, allowing them to exert more strength. But this process was also dangerous and had a high chance of causing the breakdown of various tissues in the body and death.


    Su''en wasn''t sure if his situation was like that.


    But once he released "him," his body would be extremely excited, hormones would surge, and his strength and nerve reactions would increase significantly...


    Now, with a gun pointed at his head, he felt this sensation again.

 Chapter 39: Firearms expert

    Chapter 39: Firearms expert


    Captain Kay said, let them find an opportunity to take action themselves?


    Su''en would not be polite. The people on Green Street were already at a disadvantage, and giving the initiative to the enemy would be suicidal.


    Just as the thought arose, a cold light shed in his eyes.


    "Hehe..."


    Su''en smirked in his heart and let go of the shotgun in his hand.


    In that instant, time seemed to slow down, and the long gun fell slowly in the air.


    At the same time, his hands quickly reached for the handles of the two pistols at his waist.


    Before the shotgun hit the ground, he already had the two pistols in his hands.


    Draw the guns, aim, and pull the trigger!


    The whole action was smooth and without hesitation, so fast that people only saw a fleeting shadow of his hands.


    While the members of the Steam Party were still enjoying the thrill of being hunters, and while Kay and the others were still struggling to find a way out, suddenly the entire tenement building was filled with thunderous gunshots.


    "Bang!"


    A loud explosion.


    If you listened carefully, you would find that it was two ovepping gunshots.


    The shotgun did not have the range and uracy to kill the two gunmen aiming at their heads from upstairs, but therge-caliber pistols did!


    Su''en''s proficiency in dual-wielding weapons allowed him to urately aim at both targets. His advanced firearms proficiency allowed him to draw his guns at a speed that was unimaginable, even faster than the two snipers whose fingers were already on the triggers.


    After the gunshots, two heads exploded, and blood sttered everywhere.


    In that instant, time seemed to stand still.


    The gunshots came too suddenly...


    So much so that the seventy to eighty people in the tenement building were all stunned.


    No one expected that a "rookie" would suddenly be a killer in this situation.


    After pulling the trigger, Su''en''s reflexes had reached their peak. His dual pistols were still spewing tongues of fire, and his body was pushed back by the recoil of the bullets.


    Throughout the process, his face was filled with a numb calmness.


    Taking advantage of the moment when everyone was stunned, he quickly kicked the ground and rolled away from the crowd.


    At almost the same time, Kay, as a professional, also reacted. He thought to himself, "What an opportunity!"


    Without any dy, the muscles in his legs suddenly bulged, and he shot out like apressed spring, "swoosh"!


    Taking the initiative in the battle into their own hands was also Kay''s idea!


    But before, most of the enemies were focused on them, and he didn''t have a chance to strike first.


    Now, Su''en''s two shots not only broke the deadlock but also relieved some of the pressure on Kay, creating an opportunity for a counterattack. As long as he was given the space to operate, he could unleash a shocking speed that the enemy couldn''t even catch up with, breaking the deadlock!


    .......


    The neers hadn''t figured out what had happened yet, but in the next second, the battle was ignited by the gunshots.


    For a while, nearly a hundred guns from both sides were firing frantically, like thunder in the summer, deafening.


    Bang, bang, bang, bang...


    The mes illuminated the tenement building, and the intense shockwaves caused debris to fall from the surrounding buildings. The floors and load-bearing columns exploded like tofu under the dense barrage of bullets...


    Kay rushed forward, and most of the firepower was drawn away.


    But even so, the people on Green Street were still in a desperate situation facing the enemy shooting from above. Except for a few veterans who rolled and dodged the bullets in time, barely leaving room for counterattack, the neers became living targets almost immediately, with blood holes exploding on their bodies, falling to the ground...


    Under such firepower suppression, even Su''en, who was already several meters away from the crowd, was under considerable pressure.


    He fired the first shot and attracted a lot of firepower. Even though he reacted as fast as a cheetah, he was still forced into a miserable state by this barrage of bullets.


    In that moment of rolling, he keenly felt the hot wind of several bullets passing by his side. Even though he reacted so quickly, some of the stray bullets still hit his body.


    But at least he managed to save his life.


    Su''en took cover behind a thick stone pir and took a few deep breaths.


    Under the chaotic gunfire, no matter how good his footwork was, it was useless. He had a few blood holes on his back from the iron sand, but he had managed to survive.


    However, since he didn''t die in the first ce, the ferocity in Su''en''s eyes grew stronger.


    He held the dual pistols, calcting the countdown in his mind: "Five, four, three..."


    Sure enough, within five seconds, the gunshots suddenly quieted down by more than half.


    He knew that this was the interval when the heavy firepower weapons ran out of bullets.


    Su''en''s eyes suddenly sharpened, and he urgently shouted in his mind, "Now is the time!"


    Without any hesitation, he rushed out again!


    ......


    If it were an ordinary person, they would definitely think about self-preservation in this situation.


    But Su''en knew very well that if he didn''t kill all these Steam Party guys, there was no way he could walk out of the tenement building alive today!


    Although Captain Kay was strong, he had no chance against the two professional enemies. If he waited for Kay to die, Su''en''s fate would also be a dead end!


    Therefore, Su''en didn''t hold any hope. Even if the enemy''s main target was not him at the moment, he had to take the initiative to attack.


    .......


    Su''en directly circled around from behind the stone pir, seemingly without aiming, but his hands were already alternating between firing the guns.


    But even with this seemingly random shooting, every time the gun barrel spewed fire, an enemy upstairs would fall to the ground.


    If someone observed carefully, they would notice that not only did he hit his targets, but almost all of them were fatal shots, hitting the heart or the head...


    At this moment, Su''en''s face was filled with a cold frost, like the arrival of the Grim Reaper, mercilessly harvesting the lives of his enemies.


    With two revolvers, one with six rounds and the other with eight, in just 2.4 seconds, fourteen bullets took the lives of twelve or thirteen people!


    Listening to the sound and determining the position, analyzing the trajectory and judging the enemy''s position, this was the miraculous skill of "advanced firearms proficiency". It was a magical feeling, as if the firearms were a part of his arms, and the bullets shot out were pulling invisible threads...


    As soon as he thought of it, the bullets had already arrived.


    When Su''en rushed out earlier, he had already roughly judged the positions of these ten or so gunmen. With a nce, he had locked onto them, and there was no need to waste time aiming again. Shooting was as smooth as breathing.


    However, bullets were limited.


    No matter how strong he was, he only had two guns.


    Even if he seeded, it was purely because Kay had drawn away most of the firepower, catching the Steam Party off guard. But the enemy were all bloodthirsty gangsters who had licked the edge of a knife. How could they give him the opportunity to reload and shoot again?


    Su''en was well aware of this, he only had one round of gunfire.


    After this round of gunfire, he didn''t hesitate to roll again. While emptying the shells from the cylinder, he had already taken cover behind a sturdy stone pir.


    The entrance to the underground passage was less than ten meters away from here.


    In the next second, a torrent of ammunition poured onto the stone pir, and Su''en tried to curl up his body as much as possible to avoid being hit by the bullets.


    "Da, da, da, da..."


    The sound of gunfire was deafening, and fragments of stone and bullets grazed past him.


    At this moment, Su''en''s gaze regained rity.


    ......


    The Steam Party members were not ignorant. They were all shocked by Su''en''s amazing marksmanship.


    Except for the "Steel Gori" Sis, no one dared to show their heads casually and instead took cover to shoot.


    It was too terrifying, one shot, one head exploded. Anyone would feel a piercing headache.


    Kuntou, the "Red-Haired" man, cursed angrily, seemingly questioning the person who provided the wrong information: "Damn it, how could there be a ''firearms expert'' among the Cross Society guys? Wasn''t it said that none of them posed a threat except for Kay? What the hell is going on now?!"


    "Firearms expert" was an exclusive title for advanced marksmen.


    In the entire Outer City, besides the few famous "firearms masters," this was the ceiling ofbat power that ordinary people could touch.


    These marksmen were well-known in the three major gangs, and now there was an unknown rookie who turned out to be a "firearms expert"?


    But which "firearms expert" wasn''t a seasoned gunman who had been feeding bullets for decades?


    Clearly, he looked young, so how did he acquire such marksmanship?


    A freak!


    Kuntou cursed in his heart.


    Originally, the two Steam Party professionals had nned to team up against Kay, and everything was going ording to n. But they didn''t expect a sudden turn of events!


    This level of marksman couldn''t be underestimated. Otherwise, it would be an extremely deadly threat to professionals.


    At this moment, Kay also got a chance to catch his breath. His face lit up, and he quickly retreated, taking cover behind another stone pir. And that position happened to be able to make eye contact with Su''en.


    The two exchanged a nce, and Kay''s eyes couldn''t hide his astonishment. He had known that Su''en''s marksmanship was good, but he never expected it to be at such a level!


    It turned out that there was still a "firearms expert" hidden in his team?


    But now was not the time to talk about this.


    And Su''en made a gesture, pointing to the nearby "entrance to the underground passage."


    Kay instantly understood that they couldn''t break out with the enemy shooting from above. Even if Su''en''s marksmanship was astonishing, it would be difficult for him to kill the two professionals.


    The only way out now was to escape to the underground passage and maybe hold on until the guild reinforcements arrived.


    However, the enemy didn''t give them much time to catch their breath.


    The bullet battle couldn''t break the load-bearing columns for the time being, but the mes could!


    .......


    Su''en only knew that Kuntou had the ability to manipte mes, but he had never seen it before.


    And in the next instant, he immediately experienced the abilities of this pseudo-professional!


    The entire tenement building suddenly lit up with a dazzling red light.


    Su''en sensed the danger and nced over, only to see a stream of fire spraying out from the mechanical gun on Kuntou''s arm. As soon as the fire touched the air, it immediately turned into a small fireball. In the blink of an eye, the small fireball grew into a huge fireball with a diameter of about ten meters!


    This was not just simplebustion, but a range spell created by fire control!


    "AlchemyExplosive Bomb!"


    Before the fireball even reached him, Su''en felt as if the air had been burned dry, and his breath was hot and painful.


    "Not good!"


    Su''en inwardly cursed, "Without alchemical imnts, there is still quite a gap inbat powerpared to a formal professional..."


    He had been suppressed by the fire guns earlier and didn''t dare to show himself, but he didn''t realize that Kuntou had already gotten close.


    This fireball was unavoidable.


    Su''en was extremely decisive. Before the red light appeared, he had already switched to a strange-looking fire gun in his hand.


    It was none other than the gun named "Three-Headed Demon"!


    In this situation, he was willing to be seriously injured and burned in order to fire an alchemical bullet at Kuntou. Only by gambling on a mutual destruction could he bring a glimmer of hope to this desperate situation.


    But just as he was in this extremely dangerous situation, a figure suddenly rushed towards him, ignoring the mes!


    "Huh...?"


    Su''en looked and saw that it was Kay. He immediately realized what he was trying to do.


    In that moment of thought, he felt like he had been hit in the stomach by a cheetah, and his whole body was sent flying.


    So fast!


    Almost at the same time, the overwhelming mes mmed into them like a tsunami. Taking advantage of this impact, the two of them fell even faster. After a loud explosion, they fell directly into the dark underground passage.


    .......


    Seeing Su''en and Kay fall into the entrance, Kuntou shouted, "That guy is injured! Chase after them, we must not let them live!"


    He knew very well that this was the best opportunity to kill Kay, who must have been seriously injured. There was no hesitation, and the twenty to thirty members of the Steam Party followed them into the underground passage.

 Chapter 40: I can fight back

    Chapter 40: I can fight back


    Su''en was somewhat surprised that Kay would bring him along at such a critical moment.


    The distance was enough for Kay''s burst of muscles to send him flying, but bringing another person along resulted in injuries from the aftermath of the explosion.


    But obviously, this was the right choice.


    Not to mention that Kay was a straightforward person, as the captain, he wouldn''t abandon his subordinates and escape alone. Otherwise, when the enemy appeared earlier, knowing that he was no match, he would have done so.


    And the current situation was even worse. If Su''en died, he wouldn''t be able to escape the encirclement of the Steam Party on his own.


    Even if they escaped into the underground cave, it would only dy their deaths.


    ***


    The two fell into the underground cave and rolled to the ground.


    Su''en immediately smelled the burnt flesh and the scent of burning hair.


    His night vision ability was not weak, and he could see at a nce that Kay''s back was burned over arge area, with bleeding wounds. It seemed that this guy had also been shot during the firefight.


    Kay stood up panting, his leather armor melted onto his skin, causing him great pain.


    But he didn''t make a sound, took out a potion and injected it into his leg, temporarily dying the worsening of his injuries. He asked, "Su''en, are you okay?"


    "I''m fine."


    Su''en was fine because Kay had protected him. The explosion only burned his thigh and the iron sand on his back didn''t prate deeply.


    These injuries didn''t affect his movements.


    Kay nced at the "Three-Headed Demon" in Su''en''s hand, looking slightly surprised. It seemed that he recognized this famous gun but didn''t say much.


    Many people who joined the gang had their own secrets.


    He looked around at the dark environment and said seriously, "We can''t stay here for long. The Steam Party will definitelye after me since they know I''m injured."


    "Okay."


    Su''en nodded as well. If Kay didn''t die, this operation would bepletely meaningless.


    The two didn''t say much and observed their surroundings as they walked.


    Su''en looked around and realized that this was probably a subway station from a thousand years ago. tforms, stairs, waiting rooms, and even traces left by the decayed tracks.


    Kay''s night vision goggles couldn''t provide a clear view, but as someone who had escaped from the slums, he knew how to determine the direction of escape underground. He listened to the sound of water and whispered, "There''s the sound of water to the west, so that passage should not be blocked. I''ll distract them for a while, and you can escape on your own. Their target is me, so we''ll find a way to hold on a bit longer. There''s a lot of activity here, and the gang will definitely send reinforcements. Maybe we can survive..."


    When Su''en heard this suggestion, his eyebrows slightly raised.


    Kay''s n was not bad.


    Being together would indeed burden each other.


    Kay''s own burst speed was strong, and he would be more likely to survive alone. Moreover, if they split up, the enemy''s focus would definitely be on chasing him, increasing Su''en''s chances of survival.


    But Su''en looked at the restless shadows in the darkness and his face became serious.


    In this underground cave, there were not only them but also some "natives."


    Judging from the "Mutated Aberration" they had killed earlier, there were probably more unknown monsters in this underground area.


    If they went deeper, their chances of survival might not necessarily be higher than facing the Steam Party.


    Thinking of this, Su''en shook his head and said, "I think it''s best if we don''t go too deep."


    Kay seemed to have also thought of the existence of monsters, furrowing his brows. "But now, it seems like we don''t have a better choice..."


    "No, I think we can ambush them here."


    Su''en looked at theyout of the ancient subway station, whether it was the tform, the passage, or the tracks... they were all well-preserved.


    In the previous battle, these ancient buildings withstood most of the bullets, giving Su''en a clear understanding.


    This was the best cover.


    For a gunman, thisplex environment was also the most advantageous battlefield.


    "Are you suggesting we ambush them here?"


    Kay was also surprised by Su''en''s crazy suggestion. If it wasn''t for him being a lunatic, then he must have extraordinary abilities.


    At least for Kay, a melee fighter, there was absolutely no chance of winning!


    Su''en''s suggestion seemed to fit Kay''s taste, and he became excited. Killing the enemy was much more satisfying than being chased.


    His eyes lit up and he asked, <em>"Are you confident?"</em>


    He couldn''t see the calm and confident expression on Su''en''s face.


    Su''en analyzed, "This ce is very suitable for sniping. Except for those two professionals, the others... are not to be feared."


    When Su''en said this, his tone was very calm.


    But Kay could hear the confidence andposure in his words. He realized that this was a "gun expert" who never missed a shot!


    Su''en continued, "But once I start shooting, my position will be exposed. That ''Iron Gori'' will definitelye to kill me first. At that time, I''ll need you, as the captain, to buy me some time. I still have two alchemical bullets. If I''m lucky, maybe I can kill him... and then we can counterattack!"


    <em>"Counterattack?"</em>


    Not just sniping, but also counterattacking?


    Kay''s spirits were instantly lifted when he heard this. He immediately understood the key to this tactic.


    To counterattack, the two couldn''t separate, otherwise, they would be picked off one by one.


    But professionals weren''t so easy to kill, even if you had a gun. Advanced professionals had extremely high reaction speed and alertness, and it would be difficult for even a gun expert to kill them, not to mention the presence of "Steel Gori" Sis, who was impervious to both knives and guns.


    However, looking at Su''en''s expressionless face, Kay also knew that this calmness must be matched with confidence: this guy must have a "trump card"!


    <em>"Good!"</em>


    Kay chose to believe in Su''en and nodded without hesitation. He said, "Although Sis''s profession has some advantages over me, he won''t be able to defeat me in a short time."


    Su''en replied, "Okay. Please make sure to dy him for at least ten breaths."


    Kay said confidently, <em>"Just ten breaths? That''s definitely not a problem."</em>


    Su''en felt thatmunicating with smart people saved time and said, "Not only do we have to deal with the Steam Party, but there are also monsters. I heard some abnormal movements near the water source earlier, which might be the nest of the monsters..."


    He pointed to the dark area as he exined, which was the most important reason why Su''en chose to stay hidden here instead of escaping.


    He continued, "Most of the aberrant monsters here rely on ''auditory perception.'' Once I start shooting, it might attract the monsters. But the monsters are not only our enemies, the Steam Party will also have to face them. We can use the monsters to distract them, but our risk is also not small..."


    Upon hearing this, Kay seemed to have figured something out and pped his thigh, "Right, why didn''t I think of the aberrant monsters!"


    Now the enemy had the numerical advantage, but once those aberrant monsters in the darkness joined the battle, it would be a three-way melee.


    The numerical advantage of the Steam Party would instantly copse, and Su''en and Kay''s two-person team, with fewer people and smaller targets, would be more flexible.


    ***


    Time was running out, and reality didn''t give them much time to discuss the details.


    Su''en casually used his puppet control to set up a "Ghost Thunder" on the ground as they passed by.


    Then the two chose a passage that allowed them to advance or retreat and waited quietly for the enemy.


    Sure enough, a few secondster, a group of people rushed into the underground cave.


    The gasmps illuminated several figures, but Su''en didn''t rush to attack. His eyes were fixed on Kun Tu and Sis, the two professionals, hiding in the darkness where the light couldn''t reach.


    Those guys were also smart. Knowing that Su''en''s marksmanship was astonishing, they obviously anticipated the possibility of an ambush and let the ordinary gang members go ahead.


    Once Su''en revealed his position by firing a shot, the initiative would immediately change hands.


    Kun Tu was also an experienced veteran, and he saw the traces left by some unknown creature on the ground, realizing that there might be danger here. He warned, "Be careful, something doesn''t feel right in this underground cave."

 Chapter 41: Sickle in the sewer

    Chapter 41: Sickle in the sewer


    Su''en and Kay were both injured, leaving bloodstains on the ground.


    However, since it was a chase, the members of the Steam Party did not dare to slow down. They walked near the tform when suddenly, the person in the front did not see the thin thread on the ground and stepped on it.


    Unfortunately, when the safety lever of the hand grenade flew off with a "ng," the burly steel gori immediately became alert and quickly stood in front of everyone.


    With a loud bang, mes sttered.


    But the effect was minimal.


    Ordinary hand grenades were limited in their effectiveness against fully armed members of the Steam Party, who had also modified their limbs with mechanical prosthetics.


    There was no time to set up more traps, but Su''en didn''t expect this method to cause much damage to the enemy anyway.


    The explosion was used to disrupt the enemy''s formation and attract the attention of the monster!


    ......


    Listening to the sound of the explosion, Su''en stepped out of cover without hesitation. As he raised his arms, the muzzles of his two guns spewed mes towards the members of the Steam Party a hundred meters away.


    For a sharpshooter, this was the mostfortablebat distance.


    Crack! Crack! Crack...


    Those guys holding gasmps were the first targets of the gunfire. In the blink of an eye, seven or eight light sources fell to the ground.


    "Damn!"


    A shout came from the darkness.


    Before Su''en had time to reload, a burly figure rushed towards him.


    Just as expected.


    "Here ites!"


    Su''en''s pupils contracted, but he showed no intention of retreating. He raised his hand and fired several shots, hitting the remaining bullets in the revolver at the figure.


    However, these shots did not hinder the guy''s speed at all.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang!"


    The bullets sparked on Kay''s body, bouncing off like hitting a steel te.


    Even the shot that hit the goggles precisely did not cause any damage to this guy.


    Su''en ran out of bullets and deftly switched the magazine.


    His gaze was not on the gun, but on the steel gori that had always been there. He calcted in his mind, "Indeed, based on this strength, even armor-piercing bullets may not be able to prate his rune goggles."


    If he rashly used alchemical bullets and failed, the enemy would be alert, making it difficult to seed next time.


    These shots, besides testing, were also meant to lower the enemy''s vignce. To make him think that Su''en''s gunfire posed no threat!


    Just as the steel gori was about to collide with Su''en, a slender but swift figure also rushed towards him.


    "Bang!"


    After a muffled sound, a struggle ensued.


    Kay''s de Imnt on the steel gori''s body created sparks and emitted a piercing sound of metal being cut.


    The two engaged in a fierce battle.


    Su''en could clearly hear West''s coldughter, as if mocking Kay''s ipetence.


    Kay followed the agile path of a ranger profession. If he chose to move around, West might not be able to catch him in a short time.


    But if he chose closebat, it was exactly what he wanted!


    The steel gori was not agile enough, but its physical strength had an absolute advantage over Kay in closebat.


    In this head-on confrontation, Kay was already at a disadvantage in the blink of an eye.


    But once Kay retreated, West would definitely choose another target and kill Su''en, who was the gunner, first!


    Therefore, when Su''en and Kay chose this tactic, it meant that they had no way out.


    To survive, the two of them had to trust each otherpletely.


    And because they had to entangle this guy, Kay became somewhat sluggish in his movements due to his injuries. He was identally caught by West''s foot and tossed around like a sandbag.


    Life and death were just moments away.


    At this moment, Su''en still stood ten meters away without taking a step back.


    He calmly loaded the ammunition and raised the muzzle again.


    For him, a "firearms expert," this distance was enough to ensure urate shots even if the opponent moved violently.


    This time, Su''en didn''t test anymore. He aimed at the buckle on the steel gori''s face mask!


    Even though this mask was part of an external mechanical skeleton and was indestructible, the weaknesses of the machinery were obvious. The welds, joints, and connections were all more fragile than other parts.


    The high-level enchanted goggles could block bullets, but the buckle of the fixed mask might not be able to.


    If one shot was not enough, then shoot more.


    "Ding! Ding! ng! ng!"


    Su''en fired several shots, each one urately hitting the buckle on the face mask, causing cracks to appear in the welds.


    And while Kay was engaged in closebat with the steel gori, he also seized the opportunity and kicked it.


    "Bang!"


    After a dull sound, the face mask fell off.


    Revealing the steel gori''s eyes filled with astonishment.


    West looked at his fallen face mask, his expression stunned. Then, a moment of terror before death struck.


    His gaze shifted and happened to see a dark muzzle aiming at his eye socket. At the same time, it seemed to recognize the origin of the gun: "Ironhead" Ivan''s famous gun, "Three-Headed Ghost"?


    At the same time, he realized that he had been careless.


    The previous ordinary bullets made him lose the necessary vignce, thinking that this was just an insignificant gunman. But he didn''t expect that the opponent also had alchemical bullets.


    However, facing the dark muzzle, a sneer appeared at the corner of West''s mouth. "Hmph, naive!"


    He was extremely vignt as well.


    In fact, when he noticed that Kay chose to confront him head-on, he sensed that something was wrong.


    Now, seeing his face mask being knocked off, he realized the purpose of Su''en and Kay.


    Heh, breaking the goggles was to hit the eyes, right?


    The idea was not bad, but... if a professional was so easily killed by a gun, it would be too weak.


    Even alchemical bullets would need to hit the few "weak points" on his body to kill him.


    West''s crisis response ability allowed him to instinctively turn his head as soon as the face mask fell off. This angle was a blind spot for shooting, and he felt that the bullets posed no threat to him.


    But just the next second, something despairing happened.


    In the instant West turned his head, he saw Su''en on the opposite side suddenly make a strange shooting motion, and when the mes spewed from the muzzle...


    He actually "threw the gun"?


    Seeing this, the mocking smile on West''s mouth had not yet disappeared, but turned into horror.


    He didn''t have time to react anymore.


    At thest moment of his life, this veteran Steam Party captain thought of a "master-level" gun technique: "Gunfighting Technique!"


    So...


    There was such a terrifying person hidden among the enemies.


    Like a venomous snake hidden in a pile of dead leaves, it would strike a fatal blow when the hunter least expected it.


    ......


    Su''en''s eyes were almost numb with calmness. He changed guns, predicted the angle of the enemy''s head movement, calcted the trajectory, and pulled the trigger while throwing the gun.


    There were no mistakes in his movements, and he didn''t give the enemy any chance to turn the tables.


    An alchemical armor-piercing bullet shot out from the silver skull-adorned gun, drawing an arc in the air and urately hitting the left eye socket of the steel gori.


    With a "bang," blood sttered in front of his eyes.


    The alchemical bullet prated West''s head, and the steel gori, who had been menacing just a second ago, fell to the ground with a loud crash.


    This shot was a fatal blow.


    ........


    Su''en breathed a sigh of relief, walked over, and helped up the heavily injured Kay.


    At the same time, he also swallowed the mist from the corpse.


    "Obtained ''West Arnold''s Memory Fragment *3''"


    "You have obtained a small amount of ''Intermediate Mechanical Knowledge''..."


    "You have mastered the ''Basic Mechanical Arm Kic Energy Device Modification Technique''..."


    "Combat Experience +8"


    "Mental Power +0.12"


    Su''en felt that his mind suddenly gained a lot of mechanical skills, but he didn''t have time to think about it.


    Because at this moment, the battle was far from over.


    Su''en supported Kay and asked, "Captain, are you okay?"


    "Not..."


    Kay wanted to say he was fine, but before he could finish his sentence, he couldn''t hold back the bloody taste in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood. He shook his dizzy head, smiled bitterly, and said, "I can''t die for now."


    Then, Kay looked at West''s body with bullet holes in his eye sockets and nced at Su''en, his expression bing extremelyplicated.


    Su''en''s astonishing performance time and time again shattered Kay''s perception of this "rookie."


    It turned out that he was not just a "firearms expert," but also proficient in the master-level gun technique, "Gunfighting Technique."


    This was a super difficult gun skill that only truly talented professional gunmen could master...


    "With this gun skill, no wonder he is so confident."


    Kay sighed and also felt fortunate that he chose to believe.


    .......


    From the sound of the explosion to West rushing over and engaging in a fight, then being killed by Su''en and Kay''s cooperation, the whole process took just over twenty seconds.


    Kun Tu, the "Red-Haired" man in the distance, originally thought that even if West couldn''t kill the two, he could at least hold them back.


    And when he and his men rushed over, it would be easy to kill the opponents.


    But unexpectedly, ns were always subject to change, and the explosion attracted the distorted monsters lurking in the shadows!


    Those agile monsters that could climb walls appeared out of nowhere, using their long mouths to bite one member of the gang after another.


    The members of the Steam Party were now too busy to take care of themselves. Even if they didn''t take action, it was uncertain whether those creatures could survive the monster pile.


    Inparison, although Su''en and Kay were in a somewhat unfavorable situation, it was not worse than before.


    Some monsters were also attracted to them and climbed onto their heads.


    However, the two of them cooperated well, with one shooting urately and the other engaging in closebat with a knife.


    Although these distorted climbing monsters were astonishingly fast, the two managed to hold on for a while as they fought and retreated.


    But suddenly!


    While Su''en was killing, he unexpectedly found a "mist" in the pile of monster corpses.


    "Huh... an elite monster actually produced a soul fragment?"


    Almost no "mist" appeared on the bodies of monsters due to their low intelligence.


    But at this moment, just as he shot and killed a strong distorted monster, Su''en saw a fragment on its body.


    Because the distance the body fell was right at his feet, Su''en swallowed it without thinking while shooting.


    However... after digesting the information in this mist, his expression suddenly became strange.


    "Obtained ''Mutated Distorted Monster''s Memory Fragment *2''"


    "You have obtained the ''Partial Layout of the Sewer''s Pipe Network''..."


    "You have obtained some iplete images..."


    "You have mastered the ''Intermediate Climbing'' skill..."


    "Mental Power +0.01"


    .......


    It was not surprising that Su''en learned the "Intermediate Climbing" skill from these humanoid distorted monsters that could climb walls.


    The "Partial Layout of the Sewer''s Pipe Network" was also expected...


    But the "iplete images" behind it made Su''en feel that something was wrong.


    The perception system of monsters was not as clear as that of humans. In the monster''s memory, Su''en saw a fragment of a warm yellow image that looked like a thermal image.


    Even though it was unclear, he could still recognize that it was a sickle-shaped object!


    PS. Brothers, please vote~

 Chapter 42: Dilemma

    Chapter 42: Dilemma


    "Is this... the scythe known as the ''Forbidden Object''?"


    Su''en''s mind quickly made a connection.


    From his fragmented memories, it was clear that the monster had a strong aversion to the scythe, indicating that it was not an ordinary object and likely had cursed properties.


    Moreover, the appearance of the scythe perfectly matched the description of the ''Night ck Scythe of Supunos'' given by the high-ranking members of the guild.


    Thinking further, the person who attacked the guild headquarters and escaped to the vicinity of Green Street, presumably hiding in the underground tunnels, Su''en immediately concluded that the scythe in the monster''s memories was most likely that object!


    "So that guy actually came here? Is the scythe here? Did he die or escape?"


    Su''en believed that it was highly probable that the person had died.


    That ce was the monster''sir, and it was unlikely for a living person to enter.


    .......


    Although Su''en unexpectedly obtained some valuable information from the monster''s memories, it didn''t change his current situation.


    Regardless of whether the scythe was a forbidden object or had any incredible uses, it was currently in the depths of the sewer and couldn''t solve their immediate crisis.


    Furthermore, although Su''en now had a yout map of the sewer" in his mind, the consciousness of the monster was vastly different from that of a human. Even though Su''en found the tunnels familiar, it was of no use. Besides the exit of the apartment building, he couldn''t think of a better escape route.


    But at this moment, the monsters in the depths of the underground surged out like a tide, blocking the subway tunnel tightly, and the only exit became a dead end.


    Not far away, the gunfire from the Steam Party members was gradually diminishing.


    The louder the noise, the more distorted monsters it attracted.


    Fortunately, their firepower attracted most of the attention, otherwise the monsters would have torn the two of them to pieces in an instant.


    That ''Red-Haired'' Kun Tu was still standing strong, mes from his spells burning everywhere, covering a wide range and causing the monsters to emit piercing screams.


    However, just like the gunners, both spellcasters and gunmen had high damage output but obvious weaknesses.


    Once they were engaged in closebat, their meleebat abilities were poor.


    Moreover, even Kun Tu, who used semi-mechanical spellcasting, had his casting intervals.


    The densely packed monsters would take advantage of these intervals to rush forward and take a few bites.


    As the number of their gang members around him dwindled, the death of that guy was also expected.


    On the other hand, Su''en and Kay were also in a precarious situation.


    As they fought and retreated, they were forced into a culvert-like tunnel where they could hide from the train drainage.


    The advantage was that they only had to deal with the monsters in front of them and didn''t have enemies on all sides.


    But the disadvantage was that more and more monsters were gathering outside, making it increasingly difficult for them to break through.


    .......


    "This is bad... there are too many monsters, and we''re injured. It''s highly likely that we won''t be able to break out and can only wait for rescue."


    However, Kay''s words also had an element offorting himself.


    Even if the support troops from Green Street received the message, it was unlikely that they would be able to rush in and save them.


    Unless... a high-ranking officer personally came.


    But there was no guarantee that the two of them would be able to hold on until then.


    Thinking of this, while mechanically making shing motions, Kay cursed angrily, "Damn it, how could there be such arge-scale group of distorted monsters in the city''s sewer!"


    This was also something that puzzled Su''en.


    It was not surprising to have monsters outside the city with dense dark energy, but in Old Lingdun City, the conditions for distortion were limited, and there were people who regrly cleaned it. So why were there so many monsters in the sewer?


    The density of monsters in the sewer was definitely abnormal.


    Moreover, under the identification of the All-Knowing Eye, all of them were distorted monsters that had undergone unpredictable mutations due to special environmental factors.


    There were crawling monsters with long mouthparts, bulky mountain-like creatures, tall humanoid monsters with long arms and legs, and corrosive monsters that could spew acid...


    It was these monsters with long-range attack methods that forced Su''en and Kay to retreat step by step.


    "..."


    Su''en listened to Kay''s angry curses without saying a word, and his index finger on the trigger was starting to feel numb.


    There were simply too many monsters, and even without aiming deliberately, he could easily hit them.


    But even after killing so many, new monsters continued to emerge endlessly.


    .......


    "I''m going to use explosives to copse the entrance. Captain, be careful!"


    "Alright!"


    During the interval of changing bullets, Su''en took the opportunity to throw a grenade, blowing away a group of monsters and temporarily relieving some pressure.


    He felt that there might be some problems in the sewer, but now was not the time to consider that.


    It was also fortunate to have Kay, a melee professional. Otherwise, no matter how good Su''en''s marksmanship was, he would be overwhelmed by the tide of monsters after firing only a few shots.


    Looking again, due to the intense and prolonged battle, Kay''s condition was getting worse, and it was bing increasingly difficult for him to cope. Without hesitation, Su''en decisively chose to use directional explosives to copse part of the pit.


    This would narrow the exit and reduce the monsters'' attack space.


    But in doing so, they would also be unable to leave.


    With a loud "bang," rubble fell, effectively blocking more than half of the opening.


    And Kay took the opportunity to use his skill, ''de,'' to cut off severalrge rocks above, blocking thest bit of the passage. The two of them slumped down there.


    Outside the rocks, the sound of monsters digging holes could be heard incessantly.


    The monsters with sharp teeth and fangs were digging at a fast pace, and these rubble would probably not hold for long.Su''en and Kay took advantage of the rare respite to bandage their wounds and reload their ammunition.


    At this critical moment, Su''en didn''t hold back and filled the cylinder of theThree-headed Ghostwith the remaining alchemical bullets.


    Kay, who was not used to firearms, stuffed a few grenades into his pockets.


    The acid spray from the monsters and the wounds inflicted by their mouthparts made the two look quite miserable. However, after cleaning the wounds and injecting healing potions, they were not in any serious danger.


    They probably had a few more minutes to rest.


    Kay looked at Su''en and sighed, "I''m afraid we might not make it through this ordeal today..."


    As someone who had been involved in gangs since childhood, Kay had long been prepared for the possibility of dying on the streets. He spoke these words quite calmly.


    He thought he would see some fear on Su''en''s face, but instead, he found the man calmly reloading his ammunition, showing no signs of fear or panic.


    Kay recalled the scene where they had killed the members of the Steam Party. Even now, it still felt like a dream to him.


    The two of them had actually killed thirty people from the other side?!


    Heh, it was worth it.


    Kay couldn''t figure out why Su''en was so calm and asked, "Su''en, aren''t you nervous at all?"


    Su''en didn''t borate, "I was born with a cold personality."


    Kay showed a sudden realization, "Oh."


    Perhaps feeling that he was about to die, Kay suddenly became more talkative.


    "Su''en, I didn''t expect you to know ''gunfighting''..."


    "Yeah, I''ve been practicing my shooting skills."


    "Is that the famous gunThree-headed Ghost?"


    The two had gone through hardships together, and now they didn''t know if they could survive. Su''en felt there was no need to hide anything, especially since the gun was so recognizable.


    He nodded lightly, "Yes."


    Hearing this answer, Kay looked at Su''en''s bald head and smoky makeup, as if guessing something, and suddenly became interested.


    After hesitating for a moment, he asked with a wicked smile, "Could it be... you''re the son of ''Ironhead'' Ivan?"


    "..."


    Su''en''s eyelids twitched as he wondered how Kay hade up with that idea.


    Kay guessed that it wasn''t true, but he still joked, "Don''t worry, I''ll keep your secret."


    Su''en exined, "No, I killed him."


    "You actually killed Ivan?"


    Kay''s eyes were filled with disbelief. This was even more shocking news than being Ivan''s illegitimate child.


    Ivan was a veteran assassin of the Crow Gang, even more difficult to deal with than the previous ''Steel Gori'' Sis. He was not someone ordinary people could kill.


    But then, thinking about Su''en''s previous performance, Kay guessed that there were many secrets hidden within him.


    Such a young "firearms expert" who also knew gunfighting couldn''t have an ordinary background.


    But in the gang, many people had secrets in their past. He didn''t ask further and said seriously, "If we can make it out alive, I''ll keep your secrets."


    "Alright."


    Su''en didn''t say much either.


    There was no point in hiding anything now that he had already revealed some of his cards.


    In fact, upon careful consideration, the only secret he really couldn''t reveal was the identity of the original owner of his body.


    As for the others...


    The two S-rank talents didn''t have any obvious characteristics, so as long as he didn''t say anything, no one would know;


    The "Puppeteer" profession could be passed off as an ordinary puppet master;


    As for his shooting skills, in a gang where gunfights were asmon as meals, it was bound to be exposed sooner orter.


    Although they hadn''t known each other for very long, Su''en felt that Captain Kay was worth some trust.


    Besides, Kay had saved his life before.

 Chapter 43: Emergency rescue

    Chapter 43: Emergency rescue


    "Prepare for battle."


    "Mm."


    Su''en and Kay were not the type to easily ept their fate, even in such dire circumstances.


    Now there was no room for them to retreat in the alley. They nned to wait until the monsters cleared the rubble blocking the door, and then make one final charge.


    This charge would probably determine their life or death.


    However, what they didn''t expect was that just as the monsters were about to clear the rubble, the gunshots that had already ceased suddenly rang out again from outside.


    <em>"Reinforcements?"</em>


    Su''en and Kay exchanged a nce, both seeing the disbelief in each other''s eyes.


    The only ones who coulde to their rescue were the veterans of Green Street.


    But with so many monsters, not a single professional was among them. How did they manage to charge in?


    Kay thought of something and said, "There must be high-level professionals here! Hopefully, they''re not enemies..."


    Su''en tightened his grip on the firearm in his hand and said sharply, "Whoever it is, the monsters outside have already been attracted by the gunshots. This is our best chance to charge out."


    "Mm."


    Kay nodded. "Should I go first?"


    Su''en nodded.


    Kay took a deep breath, and the cold light of the mantis des on his arms shed, creating several cracks in the stone wall.


    <em>"Charge!"</em>


    After a sharp shout, Kay smashed through the rubble and charged out first.


    Su''en didn''t hesitate either and followed closely behind.


    The two of them had already prepared themselves for a fierce battle against the tide of monsters after breaking out. But they didn''t expect that when they charged out, they found themselves facing an empty space!


    Upon closer inspection, besides the corpses they had killed earlier, there was not a single living monster in the tunnel.


    And when they looked again, not far away, a group of people and horses were engaged in a fierce battle with the monsters.


    The two leaders were a green-haired Rakshasa with four arms wielding four long knives, exuding a chilling aura, and a burly figure like a bear, with muscles as solid as rocks, and a deep redplexion.


    One of them swung their four arms, cutting through the crowd of monsters like cutting melons and vegetables, with limbs and arms flying everywhere. The other charged like a wild bull, a single punch enough to burst the monsters'' bodies, blood and flesh sttering in a brutal manner.


    Just these two alone left a trail of corpses in their wake.


    <em>"They... are so strong!"</em>


    Su''en''s eyes widened in astonishment. Although he had never seen a thousand transformations of alchemical imnts, he recognized the familiar four long knives and identified the gambling-addicted woman.


    As for the other red-skinned giant, he left a deep impression on Su''en. He was none other than the second-tier professional "Red Demon" Gelong who appeared in the arena back then!


    ***


    Su''en didn''t understand. <em>Didn''t Qiantiao go back to headquarters?</em>


    <em>And why did Gelonge to their rescue? Did he join the Cross Society?</em>


    Su''en and Kay never expected that these two would be the ones toe to their rescue.


    The veterans of Green Street who followed behind the two big shots saw Su''en and Kay and eximed, "Captain Kay!"


    The veterans rushed over, relieved to see that their captain was unharmed.


    "Wow, Captain, you''re so cool. You actually killed so many monsters."


    "Haha, I knew it, Captain must be fine."


    "Captain is mighty~"


    "..."


    The veterans cheered, as long as the captain was alive, that was the greatest relief.


    At this time, the distorted monsters in the tunnel had already been killed and scattered.


    The remaining scattered ones had also fled back into the depths of the tunnel.


    Qiantiao looked at Su''en and Kay, a relieved expression appearing in her eyes.


    She sheathed her long knives and the imnts merged back into her tattoos.


    She walked over and teased, "Oh, little Kay, you''re really lucky..."


    Kay had a good attitude. Just as he had escaped from danger, a smile appeared on his face. "Thanks to you foring in time. If you hade a littleter, I''m afraid we would have be corpses for you to collect."


    After a pause, he asked, "Huh... Qiantiao, didn''t you go back to headquarters? How did you end up here?"


    Qiantiao exined, "Mr. Gelong and I were discussing something and happened to be in the nearby Red Pine Street. When we heard that you were ambushed by the Steam Party, we rushed over..."


    As she spoke, she looked at the numerous monster corpses on the ground, a faint surprise crossing her face.


    The number of these corpses was quite astonishing.


    And upon closer inspection, there were two types of wounds on the monster corpses on the ground: gunshot wounds and knife wounds.


    The knife wounds were naturally caused by Kay''s abilities, but what about those gunshot wounds?


    Qiantiao, with her experience, could immediately see that most of the gunshot wounds on the distorted monster corpses were fatal shots.


    One or two corpses could be attributed to luck, but if every single one had this kind of wound, then this marksmanship was quite rare.


    Thinking of this, Qiantiao seemed to have guessed something and looked at Su''en, a hint of curiosity in her eyes.


    Because they had already be familiar with each other at the casino, there was no awkwardness when she spoke to Su''en. However, she didn''t mention the corpses on the ground and just asked, "Su''en, are you okay?"


    "I''m fine. Thank you, Qiantiao."


    Su''en didn''t intend to say much and politely smiled at Qiantiao.


    Let Kay take the limelight. He was content to be a quiet little transparent person.


    Qiantiao didn''t ask further and said, "It''s good that you''re fine. Let''s leave here first. There''s something strange underground, possibly some special distorted material. It''s best not to stay here for long..."She naturally noticed that there were unusually many cave monsters here, and almost all of them were species she had never seen before.


    There must be powerful distortion factors in the environment.


    Not to mention anything else, it''s not necessarily safe to stay here for too long.


    After hearing this, everyone didn''t dare to dy and quickly cleaned up the battlefield before leaving the building together.


    ***


    Breathing the outside air, Su''en felt rxed. The intense battle had made him tired.


    But as soon as they reached the surface, Kay, who had been rescued, had a cold expression on his face. He immediately called out to his brothers, "Brothers, let''s go. It''s time for us to cause trouble for the Steam Party!"


    "The Steam Party dares toe and cause trouble in our territory. This time, we must break their legs!"


    "So many brothers died this time, they must give us an exnation!"


    "Yes, let''s teach them a lesson!"


    "..."


    The veterans were excited to hear that they were going to fight the Steam Party.


    Qiantiao seemed unsurprised by Kay''s decision and didn''t try to dissuade him. Instead, she had a nonchnt expression and said, "If we''re going to fight, we should do it sooner rather thanter. Otherwise, the leaders of both sides will end up sitting at the negotiation table. We will not only suffer losses, but we will also have to pay. Our brothers'' lives are not worth it."


    While they were ready to fight, someone raised a question, "Qiantiao, if we go there so openly, won''t they wait to surround and attack us? What if their leaders show up..."


    Qiantiao was already familiar with this kind of conflict and spoke with certainty, "Don''t worry, those Steam Party guys have no shame. They will have to bear the consequences this time. Although their leaders will definitely show up, there are still rules in the underworld. They definitely won''t start a fight."


    After a pause, shezily added, "Besides, there''s me and Mr. Gelong. If something unexpected happens, the Cross Society executives won''t just sit idly by."


    Upon hearing Qiantiao''s words, the members of the Cross Society gained confidence.


    Qiantiao looked at everyone ready to seek revenge and then nced at Su''en, who had remained silent. She exined to the two survivors, "The Steam Party''s intrusion this time is directly rted to the internal struggle between the inner city financial factions. But many of these matters will be negotiated by the leaders, involving high-level power struggles. I can''t go into details..."


    In other words, conflicts and shes were expected and inevitable in high-level power struggles.


    Green Street was a lucrative "piece of cake" in the outer city, conveniently located on the border between two gangs'' territories. As the defending side, they couldn''t take the initiative to attack, but if they were attacked, they had to fight back.


    Listening to all this, Su''en quickly understood the meaning behind Qiantiao''s words.


    This ambush was not just a simple territorial conflict.


    It was like the border issues between major countries in his previous life. Conflicts were expected, but just because they were expected didn''t mean they couldunch a preemptive strike with atomic bombs.


    There were too many interests and power struggles between international forces involved.


    The Cross Society and the Steam Party were the tworgest gangs in Old Lingdun''s outer city. They not only involved countless gang members and various industries, but also the interests of the hidden backers in the inner city.


    Fighting for territory among the lower ranks was normal and apetition method tacitly approved by both sides'' high-level executives.


    Small shes resulted in small losses, but they could still determine who was superior.


    This was how gang turf wars worked. Either you were beaten down or you couldn''t afford to back down and had to give up your territory.


    The Steam Party and the Cross Society had fought countless times for Green Street.


    Kay, the former captain of Green Street, was killed in the crossfire.


    Everyone wanted a piece of the pie, but it wasn''t possible for the leaders to intervene every time the kids fought.


    If a minor incident escted, high-level executives would step in and it could eventually evolve into a full-scale war between the two gangs.


    No one could bear the consequences of such arge-scale war.


    Even the leaders of the two gangs!


    Without an obedient Steam Party, the inner city backers could immediately support a new "Steam Party"... Interests were eternal, not the struggle for supremacy.


    Although it sounded cruel, in Old Lingdun, in the outer city, in the underworld, the lives of the lower ss were worthless.


    The gang members had long been prepared for this.


    ***


    Originally, if the Steam Party had carried out the ambush cleanly and killed Kay''s team, there would be no trouble at all.


    This was the norm in gang fights.


    Although everyone knew who was behind it, in gang warfare, if there was no caught-in-the-act evidence, no one could do anything. You could send someone to assassinate them in return, as long as you weren''t caught.


    But now, Kay and Su''en had survived, while the bodies of the Steam Party members were still lying in Green Street''s territory.


    The nature of the situation had changed.


    This was the evidence.


    The Steam Party was in the wrong, and now when Kay and the others went to fight back, the other side didn''t even have a bit of temper.


    ***


    Kay acted decisively as always.


    After dealing with his own injuries, he gathered hundreds of people from the nearby blocks and headed straight for the Steam Party''s territory.


    They directly took over Kun Tu''s territory, and when they were about to go and overturn Sis''s territory as well, they were intercepted by the Steam Party''s executives, just as expected.


    Then, the executives from both sides showed up, sat at the negotiation table, and the fighting stopped.Losing money, ceding territory, temporary reconciliation.


    This was the old standard procedure.


    Su''en didn''t care about the high-level negotiations, but he still went along and harvested many fragments.


    It had to be said, the Steam Faction, worthy of the title "New School", had gang members whose mechanical skills were indeed a cut above the average person. Every gang member, more or less, was proficient in some mechanical knowledge. After picking a few sites, Su''en extracted a lot of mechanical knowledge, going straight from a mechanical novice to a "Intermediate Mechanical Beginner".


    After this battle, the Steam Faction would probably be quiet for a long time.


    Su''en also had time to steadily improve himself.


    However, after the fierce battle in the tube building, his need for alchemical imnts became increasingly urgent. Professionals without imnts were far less powerful than those with imnts. Relying solely on gun skills was not enough to survive in the brutal outer city.


    Finally, several dayster, the monthly ck market auction opened.

 Chapter 44: The voyeurism of the mysterious person

    Chapter 44: The voyeurism of the mysterious person


    After the ambush incident in the Tubr Building, the turf war in Green Street temporarily ceased.


    Not only did the Steam Party admit defeat and sign a ceasefire agreement this time, but more importantly, the "Red Demon" Gelong became a cadre of the Cross Society and was responsible for protecting several small teams near Green Street. With such a powerful second-tier professional, the cost ofunching another attack would be much higher.


    As for the "scythe," the information left by the monster''s memory fragments was different from human memory. It was vague and simple, only having the concept of turning at intersections, without the spatial concept of up, down, left, and right. Therefore, Su''en knew how to find it by entering the underground entrance, but he didn''t know its exact location.


    This meant that if he wanted to find it, he had to go down to the underground of the Tubr Building again.


    Before he regained his self-defense ability, Su''en wouldn''t be foolish enough to go down again.


    So, his goal was to find a suitable alchemical imnt as soon as possible.


    He nned to try his luck in the ck market and see if he could buy a more advanced blueprint.


    Unless absolutely necessary, he didn''t want to exchange the silver blueprint for the "Thousand Kill Feather Wings" at the headquarters of the guild.


    After all, if he did that, it would expose the fact that his body had a high containment value, which might attract the attention of someone with ill intentions.


    Normal people knew that, without special circumstances, the higher the containment value, the higher the quality of the breathing technique.


    And high-quality breathing techniques were mostly mastered by the top financiers in the inner city, or even exclusive techniques of certain prominent families.


    Su''en increasingly felt that the "Hegem Breathing Technique" that the original owner had learned was of extremely high quality and definitely couldn''t be revealed.


    For the time being, he nned to remain inconspicuous.


    .......


    The "Shadow Lane" ck market held an auction every month at an irregr time.


    During the auction, hunters, mercenaries, and professional thieves gathered to sell their goods, and the shop owners in the ck market also brought out the good things and collections they had acquired from various sources for auction, so there were many valuable items avable.


    On this day, Su''en received the newly delivered "Old Lingdun News" in the inn.


    In an inconspicuous corner, he saw a piece of news.


    [Recruitment Information: Greenham Printing Factory is recruiting 12 workers, monthly sry of 2180 Lisuo, day and night shifts...]


    It was said that the sources of the secret codes obtained by each force were different, not just the same message in the newspaper. If there were any problems, the organizers behind the ck market could follow this code to find out where the problem originated.


    It is worth mentioning that "cryptography" is an entry-level skill for alchemists.


    The secret codes in the newspaper were the simplest applications.


    In the previous era (a thousand years ago) when alchemy was flourishing, in order to prevent their research results from being stolen and to conceal the secrets of certain astonishing research, alchemists would divide their knowledge into many pieces and scatter them in various ces.


    Almost all the content of the ancient alchemical scrolls that have been passed down contains hidden messages that must be deciphered to reveal their contents. The purpose is to ensure that only those who are truly worthy can ess them.


    Therefore, the phrase "one book opens another book," frequently mentioned by Sir Isaac, who was hailed as the "Alchemy Demigod," became the motto of alchemists inter generations.


    ......


    Su''en asked for a day off from Kay, saying that he wanted to visit the ck market.


    Because of their shared experience in the Tubr Building, he now had an extraordinary rtionship with Kay, so taking a day off was smooth.


    He nned to try his luck at the auction and see if he could find a suitable blueprint for the alchemical imnt, and also see if he could exchange for another runic musket.


    After all, the recognition of the "Three-Headed Demon" was too high, and everyone in the gang knew that it was the signature weapon of the assassin "Ironhead" Ivan.


    He took the tram to the intersection of Bird Street in the North City and arrived here two hours early.


    After observing the surroundings and finding no suspicious situations, he headed towards the "Shadow Lane."


    There was a security gate because of the auction tonight.


    Behind the iron gate, there was a small window, and the toll collector was a muscr man covered in tattoos.


    Everyone entering needed to report the invitation code and pay an entrance fee of 5,000 Lisuo.


    Spending 5,000 without buying anything made Su''en feel a little heartbroken. But this was also to prevent most people who were just here to watch the excitement.


    Su''en wasn''t a first-time visitor to the ck market and was familiar with the route.


    But today, there were indeed many more people here than usual, mostly wearing long coats and duckbill caps to cover their faces, or hooded masks, dressed mysteriously.


    Su''en, wearing a deerstalker hat, blended in with the crowd without attracting attention.


    The ck market auction didn''t have a specific hall; it was a bit like the "market day" in the previous era, where everyone found their own ce and waited for the auction to begin.


    With time still early, Su''en strolled along the narrow streets built with steel frames. He noticed that the "Missing Person Notice" of the original owner was still hanging on the bulletin board.


    But today, in the most prominent position, there was an additional red missing person notice.


    "Provide information and get a reward of one million Lisuo?"


    Su''en became interested when he saw the long string of rewards and stopped to look for a moment.


    The ck and white photo showed a woman with delicate features and a professional demeanor, looking like a white-cor worker in an office. From the photo, it could be seen that she had apletely different temperament from themoners in the outer city and should be someone from the inner city.


    "This is a reward amountparable to an S-ss wanted criminal... What did this woman in the photo do?"


    Su''en was puzzled but didn''t stay for long.


    Although a million reward was tempting, a high reward also meant high risk.With a bounty equivalent to an S-level fugitive, he had no intention of bing a bounty hunter, even if he really encountered the target.


    Su''en left the notice board, and at this moment, he just happened to pass by two people in ck trench coats.


    Judging from their figures, they seemed to be a man and a woman.


    As soon as Su''en passed by, the man nced sideways and muttered to hispanion, "Huh... I feel like I''ve seen that guy before. Even though his face is covered, I''m sure I''ve seen him..."


    The woman in the trench coat said indifferently, "Half of the people in the ck market are wanted criminals, or have a criminal record in some organization. It''s normal for you to find him familiar. But this is not our territory, it''s best not to meddle."


    The man in the trench coat withdrew his gaze and didn''t think any further, "Hmm!"


    ......


    Meanwhile, Su''en, pretending to know nothing, continued to walk forward, his face bing serious, murmuring in his heart, "Have I been noticed..."


    When he passed by those two people just now, he also felt an invisible pressure. It was the kind of hierarchical pressure that only came when facing high-ranking professionals.


    His extremely high mental power made his perception very sharp, allowing him to sense some subtle things, such as other people''s gazes.


    He was certain that when they passed by just now, the man had nced at him out of the corner of his eye.


    "That guy must have recognized something with some special identification ability, or maybe he was just curious..."


    Su''en didn''t think that his current bald and eyebrow-less appearance had much resemnce to the original owner, but in this world with Transcendent abilities, people would definitely not rely solely on their eyes to identify others.


    He became alert, but a momentter, the feeling of being watched disappeared, and Su''en breathed a sigh of relief.


    It seemed that it was probably just a casual nce.


    He didn''t linger on the street, nced at the sign of "Rosen''s Alchemy Shop" on the side of the road, and plunged in.

 Chapter 45: Golden blueprint

    Chapter 45: Golden blueprint


    Not long after, the auction began.


    The ck market auction was quite interesting, somewhat resembling the open-air car movies from Su''en''s previous life.


    Because the ck market of the "Shadow Alley" was built on the pipes on the rock wall, there was a pitch-ck rock wall on the opposite side.


    And it was this rock wall that the organizers of the ck market didn''t know how to create a projection-like thing. Then the information of the auction items was disyed on the rock wall in the form of "slides", so that everyone on every floor and in every shop of the ck market could see it clearly.


    There were no auctioneers, only the introduction of the items and the constantly changing prices.


    Famous guns, famous swords, ancient relics, cursed objects, alchemy secrets... every item was a good one.


    Su''en was envious in the shop, but also felt somewhat powerless.


    There were too many things he wanted to buy, but with items that were worth hundreds of thousands or even millions, his current financial resources could probably only afford one, which would deplete his savings.


    Not only the inner city had wealthy people, but also the top professionals in the outer city had considerable worth.


    .......


    "Forget it... I''ll just wait for the blueprints."


    Su''enforted himself like this, resisting the temptation to bid on the impressive famous gun.


    And at this moment, an item appeared and its price instantly skyrocketed.


    It was something that looked like a notebook, a thin sheet with blurred images, making it impossible to see the words on it clearly.


    But on the introduction of the item, it was written, "Authentic Sir Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript Page".


    You should know that amon ck iron nt would only cost around a hundred thousand li.


    As soon as this page appeared, its price soared to over two million, causing Su''en''s eyelids to twitch, and he couldn''t help but feel amazed, "There are indeed many wealthy people in the outer city..."


    In the end, the manuscript was bought by a mysterious buyer for over three million.


    This was still a "bargain" price. You should know that in the auction in the inner city, it would probably be sold for four or five million.


    And at the time this item appeared, in an inconspicuous shop, the two ck-clothed figures that Su''en had encountered before were sitting there.


    The man in the ck cloak looked at the manuscript and seemed to recognize something, eximing softly, "Boss, isn''t that the one that was stolen from the Duncan family''s ancestral vault?"


    The woman in the ck cloak had an expression of indifference, saying calmly, "Probably."


    The man''s face turned somewhat ugly upon hearing this. This was a case that had given their umbre organization a headache, and they still hadn''t caught the suspect. He muttered, "Damn it, that arrogant little thief actually brought the stolen goods here."


    The woman in the ck cloak had a nonchnt expression on her face, her gaze deep as she stared at the projection in front of her, saying calmly, "What else could it be? If it''s not stolen goods of unknown origin, what do you think would be sold in the ck market? Just watch quietly, don''t get so worked up. Our purpose foring this time is not to find some thief, but to find the person who escaped from thatboratory..."


    "Oh."


    Upon hearing this, the young man shrugged indifferently.


    He looked at the manuscript and suddenly thought of something, asking again, "Boss, I heard that Chuck from the ''Cross Society'' found a copy of the ''Isaac Alchemy Manuscript'' outside the city recently. It is rumored to be one of the five books that record the divine-level alchemy?"


    The woman in the ck cloak said, "It''s probably true. Otherwise, those guys from the Oliver Consortium wouldn''t have gone to such great lengths to secretly snatch it. Hehe, in the end, they didn''t get the item, but instead lost a very powerful ''forbidden object''..."


    The young man asked again, "Boss, do you think... that manuscript ended up in Chuck''s hands again?"


    The woman in the ck cloak shook her head and responded, "It''s unlikely. Since the news leaked, Chuck knows that he can''t keep that notebook. That guy is smart and definitely wouldn''t leave such a big trouble by his side. The information should be urate, the manuscript should have really been lost..."


    "Oh."


    "Wow... that''s actually thetest military mechanical prosthesis from the inner city defense force! Damn it, who let this restricted machinery flow into the market!"


    "Hiss... the effect of that ''cursed object'' is unexpectedly strong. Even in the inner city, it could be sold for a better price. Oh, it''s probably stolen goods again!"


    "Oh, my god, the batch of ''super recovery potions'' stolen from the Nathan Chamber of Commerce..."


    "..."


    It seemed like it was the young man''s first time attending the ck market auction, and he was shocked again and again by the high-quality shops.


    The woman in the ck cloak, on the other hand, seemed to be ustomed to it and watched calmly.


    And at this moment, an item called the "Aberrant Distortion Curse Material" appeared at the auction, and the young man seemed to remember something and asked.


    "Boss, recently there have been several serious ''sewer monster incidents'' reported by the outer city security department. Looking at the specimens of those monsters, they seem to be mutated species that have never appeared before. Could it be a sign of something bad?"


    "Sewer monsters? Hehe... most likely aboratory leak, with some remnants flowing into the sewers. Those guys in the ck Tower always like to conduct some crazy experiments, and idents like this are not umon. You haven''t been in the organization for long, but as you stay longer and gain enough authority to ess some high-level confidential files, you won''t find it strange..."


    "Ah... then, do you think the person I was ordered to find this time by the higher-ups is rted to some secret experiments in the tower?"


    "Did you forget about the confidentiality agreement?"


    "..."


    The two mysterious figures in ck cloaks exchanged whispers in the shop.


    And the auction continued.


    .......Su''en looked at the projection in front of him and sighed from time to time.


    Just now, he auctioned off a silver-quality finished nt, as well as a blueprint, but they were all melee-based and had a lowpatibility with his profession.


    Of course, it''s not just aboutpatibility, but also the price.


    Last time at the Tongzi Building, Su''en received over two hundred thousand inpensation, and with his own savings, he had nearly four hundred thousand in cash.


    He originally thought that buying a nt blueprint would be enough, but now, as he looked at the increasing prices of the auction items, he became less hopeful.


    Silver blueprints have already appeared, so the following items will only be better and more expensive.


    Could it be that the legendary "golden blueprint" will appear?


    Su''en thought that he would return empty-handed this time, but unexpectedly, an extremely rare blueprint appeared.


    Just at this moment, a blueprint without detailed descriptions appeared on the projection. The pattern was eight spider legs, and thebeled name was [Eight-Armed Spider God Spear (Golden)].


    The origin of this item was a "ancient blueprint" discovered by a hunting team in the ruins outside the city, and it could be considered a unique item.


    Starting bid: three hundred thousand lisuo.


    As soon as this item appeared, it immediately caused an uproar in the entire ck market.


    "It''s actually a golden blueprint?"


    "This is rare. Even in the inner city auction house, a golden blueprint might not appear once a year..."


    "Heh, it''s a pity that although the quality is high, probably no one will bid for it."


    "..."


    A blueprint brought out by the ck market side must have been verified, and no one doubted its authenticity.


    But after reading the introduction of this blueprint, almost everyone didn''t think it would sell for a good price.


    .......


    At the same time, in a small shop in the corner, the two "umbre organization" cloaked figures also saw this item.


    The cloaked man looked at the projection in surprise and eximed, "It''s actually a ''golden blueprint''. How can such a good thing be seen in the outer city?"


    The cold woman also took a nce but shook her head,menting, "Although the grade of this blueprint is high, its practicality is not great. The alchemical nt in the form of a spider is tooplicated to control and requires extremely high skills and multitasking abilities. For most professionals, it is difficult to match."


    Pausing for a moment, she continued incisively, "Moreover, the moreplex the nt, the stricter the material requirements, and the higher the requirements for alchemy. If not handled properly, it is easy to have defects and high failure rates. Simr things have appeared in the inner city auction before, but they are only good as collectibles and have low practical value."


    Hearing this, the cloaked man felt a bit regretful and hesitated, "But...this is something from an ancient ruin, so it shouldn''t be simple, right?"


    "A nt that can reach the golden grade is naturally not simple. Once it bes a finished product, its power will definitely surpass the same-grade nts by arge margin. However..."


    The cloaked woman agreed with this statement.


    She changed the topic and said, "Perhaps some rare ancient professionals can fully utilize the function of this nt. But now...even a first-tier professional who can multitask with eight arms is probably nowhere to be found in the Old Lingdun."


    Hearing this, the cloaked man suddenly realized and lost interest, "No wonder...this blueprint is so mediocre. The auctioneer probably knows that it won''t sell for a good price even in the inner city, so they brought it to the ck market auction to give it a try."


    .......


    Almost everyone in the ck market didn''t think highly of this golden blueprint, and few people were interested. But in Gerson''s alchemy shop, someone couldn''t take their eyes off it.


    "Requires high skills, high difficulty in control...high discement speed, climbing ability, poison needle mechanism..."


    Su''en squinted his eyes and muttered something as he looked at the image on the projection.


    He didn''t know that this alchemical blueprint was considered mediocre by others, but the moment he looked at it, he immediately realized that it was the perfect alchemical nt for his "Puppeteer" profession.


    After reading some of the effects described on the blueprint, Su''en felt that this was definitely something tailored for him at the moment.


    Controlling eight spider arms may be difficult for others, but for Su''en, who awakened the ability of [Multitasking], it was not impossible as long as he practiced diligently!


    Su''en calcted, "With this eight-armed nt, it means that I will have ten arms in total. In the future, I won''t be limited to just two hands when controlling puppets..."


    Looking at this blueprint, he could already imagine himself simultaneously controlling ten or even more puppets in battle.


    With this nt, coupled with his Puppeteer profession, he alone would be an army!


    Moreover, the blueprint stated that this nt had extremely high discement and climbing abilities, capable of both fighting and fleeing. This was the idealbination.


    The reason for the high skill requirement and limitation of the eight-arm climbing was also mentioned.


    This nt was a perfect fit for Su''en!


    However, although he was satisfied, Su''en''s eyelids twitched slightly as he looked at the auction price, "The starting bid is three hundred thousand..."


    He had never witnessed the scene of a golden blueprint auction, but he estimated that the final hammer price would be at least one million or more.


    After crossing over for so long, Su''en felt poor for the first time.


    It should be noted that a normal finished ck iron alchemical nt would only cost around one hundred thousand. This blueprint alone started at three hundred thousand, not to mention the cost of materials. If he really wanted to refine this [Eight-Armed Spider God Spear] finished nt, it would probably be a discouraging number.


    However, blueprints are something that cannot be sought after. Especially one that suits oneself.If I miss this opportunity, I don''t know when the next one wille.


    The auction item was put up, and for a long time, no one bid.


    Su''en gathered his wandering thoughts and raised his sign for the first time, "Three hundred thousand!"


    .......


    Blueprints for imnts are strategic materials, and they are also the favorite collectibles of major powers and tycoons.


    Logically speaking, such a "unique" blueprint appearing at an auction would definitely be snapped up.


    But when this golden blueprint appeared, it wasn''t even as popr as the previous silver blueprint.


    Su''en thought for a moment and understood.


    The requirements for physical attributes of this imnt are too high, most professions are not suitable, and it''s useless for ordinary people!


    It''s impractical, just a dust-collecting collectible in hand.


    People in the inner city might spend hundreds of thousands on a collectible, but there are definitely no such extravagant people in the outer city.


    Seeing that the price didn''t skyrocket too quickly, Su''en breathed a sigh of relief.


    But... the auction price soon exceeded four hundred thousand.


    This was the total amount of cash Su''en had.


    Then, four hundred and fifty thousand, five hundred thousand...


    Su''en looked at the blueprint, a touch of determination in his eyes.


    Then, he turned his gaze to the bespectacled old man engrossed in reading at Rosen''s Alchemy Shop and asked, "Boss, do you buy cursed materials and finished imnts here?"


    "Yes."


    The old man nced at Su''en and nodded.


    .......


    Finally, after several rounds of bidding, Su''en gritted his teeth and shouted the high price of "eight hundred thousand", finally getting the blueprint.


    The cost was that he sold all the spoils of war from killing ''Ironhead'' Ivan, ''Silver Mechanic'' Dick and his group, and almost everything from the Tube Building.


    A blueprint for an alchemical imnt, he had spent his entire fortune.


    PS. Brothers, the rmendation next week is crucial, it determines the life and death of this book. Please don''t just read, vote. If you can, a small tip would be appreciated~ Thank you, everyone.

 Chapter 46: Ancient relics at the auction

    Chapter 46: Ancient relics at the auction


    Su''en emptied his savings and bought the blueprint for the "Eight-Armed Spider God Spear Imnt".


    But besides feeling fortunate, he also found it strange.


    This alchemical imnt blueprint seemed to be tailor-made for his "Illusion Puppeteer" profession, with its strict usage conditions and perfectpatibility.


    In this world, there was a concept of "profession-specific imnt blueprints", which had been improved by countless generations of alchemists to achieve the highest level ofpatibility between imnts and professions.


    However, generally speaking, only the major families in the inner city would pay attention to thebination of professions and exclusive imnts.


    For the people in the outer city, being able to change professions was already extremely rare, and finding an alchemical imnt that was somewhatpatible was considered good enough. It was too much to ask for an exclusive blueprint.


    Moreover, it was extremely rare for a golden blueprint to appear in the ck market, and yet he happened toe across one. It was too much of a coincidence.


    However, it didn''t take long for him to realize that it wasn''t just his luck. It was because arge number of astonishing treasures had indeed arrived at this ck market auction.


    The golden blueprint he had won was considered mediocre by others, just an appetizer.


    ***


    While Su''en was stillmenting the loss of his 800,000, the next auction item appeared on the projection on the rock wall.


    It was a piece of dark hand bone.


    The product description showed that it was a cursed item called the "me Demon''s Hand Bone", an excellent silver-quality material for the rare magic profession "Dark Fire Mage". It was also a recently unearthed ancient relic.


    As soon as this item appeared, it immediately caused a fierce bidding war among the people in the ck market, eventually selling for over four million to a mysterious buyer.


    But the climax didn''t end there.


    The next item was another golden-grade blueprint, the melee-type "Diamond Skeleton Imnt Blueprint", with an auction price of 1.9 million...


    The next item was a "Alchemy Codex" excavated from an ancient ruin. Its contents had not been deciphered yet, but it was suspected to contain second-tier or higher elemental conversion techniques and spell forms. The auction price was 2.1 million...


    The next item was an ancient animal skin alchemy scroll. It had also not been deciphered yet, but it was believed to contain advanced rune knowledge. It sold for 1.3 million...


    One rare treasure after another appeared, and the prices kept getting higher.


    The atmosphere in the dark underground auction house of the ck market became extremely heated.


    It seemed that some wealthy tycoons had received advance information and had prepared arge amount of cash for these valuable items. They bid generously without hesitation when they saw something they liked.


    While Su''en marveled at the existence of so many hidden rich people in the outer city, he also realized that most of these treasures today were products of the same ancient ruin.


    He immediately realized that a newrge-scale ruin had been discovered.


    Clearly, he wasn''t the only one with this idea. Many others had guessed that arge ruin had been found, and whispers could be heard on the streets of the ck market.


    "Arge ancient ruin?"


    Su''en suddenly thought of the city ruin he had seen deep underground when he traveled here.


    Could it be that the city had been discovered?


    Although the auction did not specify where these items came from, Su''en couldn''t confirm his spection. However, there were powerful figures in the outer city who had connections. Since these were ancient relics, they must have been brought back by the hunting teams. There were no secrets in the world, and after this auction, news of a sudden wealth would likely spread quickly.


    ***


    This was a rare auction, even the shop owners in the ck market were amazed.


    If someone were to leave now, they would definitely be followed by the beggars waiting outside the ck market.


    So Su''en, after winning the blueprint, did not rush to leave.


    The shop owners in the ck market usually had more sources of information than ordinary people.


    Perhaps because he had sold materials before, the owner of the Gerson Alchemy Shop decided to give Su''en some free information.


    The old man spoke up, "There''s a rumor that these goods were brought out from the ''D33 Wastnd'' underground ancient ruins by the Red Gauntlet Hunting Team from the inner city. However, before the hunting team could enter the city, they were ambushed by a group of mysterious looters andpletely wiped out. These items are naturally stolen goods. That''s why they couldn''t be auctioned off in the inner city..."


    The "looters" were actually professional bandits who would ambush hunters on their way back to the city.


    But usually, those people were professionals, mercenaries, or even other hunters.


    When Su''en heard the old man say this, a look of realization appeared on his face.As expected, these items could fetch a better price in the inner city, but now they appear in the ck market of the outer city. Only illicit goods that can''t see the light of day could exin this.


    However, upon hearing this, Su''en''s brow furrowed slightly, thinking to himself, "The D33 Wastnd? If it''s nearby, it could indeed be something produced from that ruined city..."


    Upon hearing this news, he even felt that the blueprint of the "Eight-Armed Spider God Spear Imnt" might actually be the exclusive alchemical imnt diagram for his profession as a "Puppeteer".


    If his guess was correct, then the ce where this blueprint was found could very well be the "Storm Manor" from before.


    Could it be that after he left, some scavengers went and cleared out the "Cursed Space" in the Storm Manor?


    That''s not right, Pestoya is clearly very strong.


    In Su''en''s view, she has at least thebat power of a cadre level, and is a very tricky "Ghost Species". Ordinary scavenger teams can''t handle her at all.


    He had heard the boss mention the "Red Spear Scavenger Group". It seemed to beposed of only a few senior first-order professionals, without even a second-order one. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have been so easily ambushed and wiped out.


    <em>Could it have been found somewhere else?</em>


    <em>Did those guys go to the city?</em>


    Su''en''s thoughts drifted as he pondered, feeling it even less likely.


    He still clearly remembered that there were even more terrifying mutant monsters roaming in the ruins of that dpidated city.


    At this time, the boss spoke again, "Although the specific location of the ruins hasn''t been widely spread yet. But it won''t be long before a wave of scavenging fever will sweep through Old Lingdun, and business will be good for a while."


    After saying this, the old man added a seemingly regretful remark, "Tsk tsk, it''s a pity, a lot of people will die..."


    "..."


    Listening to this, Su''en''s thoughts raced.


    The more he understood about this world, the more mysterious it seemed to him, rather than making him feel like he understood it.


    The ruins left behind so many treasures, which meant that there was a very glorious civilization and powerful alchemists in the underground city.


    If such a powerful civilization existed... how did that city end up destroyed?


    The alternation of civilizations must have been apanied by great disasters.


    Intuition told Su''en that the ancient city ruins were definitely not simple.


    ***


    "Something doesn''t seem right. It feels like someone is deliberately spreading the news of the ruins through the auction, to attract people to search for the ruins..."


    An instinctive conspiracy theory possibility popped up in Su''en''s mind.


    But he didn''t dwell on it too much.


    If someone really used such a deadly "bait", even if the scavengers knew the high mortality rate, they would still rush forward.


    In Old London, human lives aren''t that valuable.

 Chapter 47: Distorted people and potions

    Chapter 47: Distorted people and potions


    While the people in the ck market were indulging in the treasures produced by these ruins, the duo in the corner of the shop quietly watched everything.


    They were members of the Umbre Organization and had obviouslye into contact with more ssified information.


    Seeing these ancient relics, the young man naturally guessed their origin.


    He asked, "Boss, are these the goods that were robbed from the ''Red Gopher Expedition'' before? There are so many good treasures. It seems that the ruins they found are not simple..."


    "Yes."


    The woman in the windbreaker nodded.


    But she seemed to have thought of something and a pensive expression appeared on her face. After a moment of contemtion, she said, "That ruin should be the ''City of Dawn Hidden in Eternal Darkness'' mentioned in the ancient records. Previously, the organization sent people secretly to investigate. It seems that they have confirmed the location of the ruins. That city was the Alchemy City nned and built by Sir Isaac himself, so it''s no wonder it produces so many treasures."


    "What? The City of Dawn?!"


    The young man obviously didn''t know some of the inside information.


    But when he heard the name, his expression suddenly became excited.


    Because this was a legendary ce that all alchemists yearned for, the holynd in the hearts of alchemists, the "City of Dawn" where the "Alchemy Demigod" Sir Isaac lived!


    In his excitement, the young man suddenly thought of something and anxiously said, "This is bad! Boss, should we quickly inform the higher-ups and seal off the news in the entire city? Otherwise... if this news spreads, the hunters will definitely flock to find that ruin!"


    "No."


    Upon hearing this, the woman in the windbreaker shook her head, her gaze deep.


    After a moment''s pause, she slowly said a meaningful sentence, "The information about the auction has always been under the control of the higher-ups. This news... might have been intentionally leaked by someone important."


    "Huh?"


    The young man obviously didn''t understand for a moment.


    But after thinking about it, he understood the meaning behind his boss''s words and asked again, "But... if it''s really the legendary ''City of Dawn'' and the news spreads, won''t the treasures in the ruins be taken by the hunters?"


    "Taken? Taken to where?"


    The woman in the windbreaker shook her head indifferently, as if she had already seen through the essence of the matter.


    She smiled faintly and said, "Most hunters risk their lives to venture out of the city for the sake of wealth. The treasures they find will mostly end up in the auction houses in the inner city. At that time, the important figures above will just spend some money to buy them back."


    The young man still didn''t understand, "But... those rare treasures, like Sir Isaac''s magical alchemy manuscripts, would be a pity if they fell into the hands of the hunters..."


    "Don''t worry... the higher-level ancient relics are less useful to the lower-level people. Otherwise, why do you think the high-level alchemy knowledge monopolized by the upper echelons exists? The truly advanced alchemical items, themoners in the outer city don''t even know how to obtain them. Items like silver blueprints and gold blueprints, how many of the lower-level practitioners in the outer city who practice low-level breathing techniques can use them? They are useless in their hands and can only be auctioned off."


    Listening to his boss''s exnation, the young man seemed to feel frustrated and weakly argued, "But... how much money would that cost?"


    "How much money do you think the auction tonight will make? Several billion, tens of billions? Hehe... do you know how much profit the water price in Old Lingdun increases by one percent in a day?"


    The woman in the windbreaker raised her eyebrows and said lightly, "You''re thinking too simplistically about the conglomerates..."


    .......


    The following auction items had nothing to do with Su''en. He had already spent all his savings to buy that blueprint.


    Although there were many treasures, his heart was full but his strength wascking.


    Now, what he was more worried about was what to do after obtaining the blueprint.


    Alchemy equipment not only required blueprints but also materials... not to mention other things, the main material for this blueprint was "spider legs with cursed properties," preferably materials produced by elite-level monsters.


    The blueprint was like a mold. If you were given a top-quality mold, it was up to you to choose what materials to use for production.


    Use gold to get gold equipment, use silver to get silver equipment.


    The final product could also vary greatly in effectiveness.


    Therefore, this was also the reason why there were many simr alchemical equipment on the market, but the finalbat power of the finished products differed.


    The price of cursed materials like "spider legs" varied greatly from ordinary quality to gold quality. Not to mention some special cursed properties, such as toxins, elements, resistances, and toughness... the better they were, the more expensive they were.


    In Su''en''s impression, there seemed to be ordinary spider legs avable for sale on the market for about tens of thousands.


    But with such a good gold blueprint, he naturally couldn''t settle for low-quality ck iron equipment.


    No matter how you thought about it, he had to get a silver-quality main material, right?


    In that case, Su''en estimated that the main material alone would cost at least two to three hundred thousand.


    Moreover, the better the main material, the higher the quality requirements for the auxiliary materials. Plus the cost of enchanting and refining, after calcting, Su''en estimated that it would cost about five hundred thousand to refine a silver-quality [Eight-Armed Spider God Spear].


    "Sigh... theck of money is still a big problem."


    Previously, Su''en was worried about finding a suitable blueprint for himself and thought he had enough money.


    Now that he had found a blueprint that far exceeded his expectations, it was way beyond his budget.


    However, expensive things have their reasons for being expensive. For Su''en, this seemingly exclusive blueprint for Puppeteers, the [Eight-Armed Spider God Spear Blueprint], was exactly what he wanted.


    Once sessfully refined, hisbat power would increase by at least several times.Without saying anything else, the ability to survive will greatly improve. Even if Su''en encounters the attack incident of thest tube building, he is confident that he can handle it even without Kay.


    This is the significance of alchemical imnts to professionals!


    ......


    The auction section has ended, but most of the customers did not leave immediately, but wandered around the market.


    The ck market is very lively today, not only with auctions, but also many shops disying precious treasures, waiting for customers toe.


    The organizers also specially set up some temporary iron frames so that those scattered vendors can also set up stalls to sell the valuable items they have, which are still rare.


    There are stalls everywhere, and various shops are filled with a dazzling array of goods.


    Su''en also wandered among the crowd.


    With only a few thousand lisu living expenses left on him, he naturally did note to consume.


    He wanted to find business opportunities with the perspective of a transmigrator.


    Don''t even think about things like homemade soap, perfume, and alcohol, which are the basic skills for transmigrators to get rich. Those things are what alchemists y with, and even apprentice alchemists can master dozens of obscure methods.


    Su''en also thought of the "lucrative business" written in the criminalw in his previous life.


    Be a desperate poison master?


    No, "pharmaceuticals" are the most important skill for alchemists, and you can find a hundred forms for hallucinogenic potions in the ck market.


    Open a pleasure house?


    That is an industry mixed with gang bosses and tycoons. Su''en, a small transparent person, is not qualified to get involved in such a big business. Moreover, the entertainment industry is long-term, and it is impossible to get rich overnight.


    As for gambling?


    Su''en stayed in the gambling stall every day and saw countless people lose everything.


    If you go gambling with the mentality of winning money, you will undoubtedly lose.


    As for other businesses such as resource monopolies, don''t even think about it. The social hierarchy in this world is already fixed. The inner city tycoons monopolize all resources, and people from the outer city can''t even think about getting involved.


    So the fastest way for Su''en to make money at the moment is to use the "All-Knowing Eye" to find a big loophole in the ck market.


    Therefore, he strolled around and looked at various shops and stalls along the way.


    Surprisingly, after walking for a while, he really saw an opportunity to pick up a bargain.


    ......


    It was a simple stall, with several crude test tubes ced on a ck cloth, which looked like potions.


    The "fat man" wearing a ck cloak that covered his face was probably the stall owner.


    At this moment, he seemed to be arguing with someone.


    It was the sound of the argument that caught Su''en''s attention.


    "You dare to sell this potion for thirty thousand without even the production batch number and seal of the Pharmaceutical Guild? Haha, with this shoddy potion, you dare to im that it has a simr effect to the ''top-level healing potion''?"


    "And this... you said this twenty thousand potion can enhance the body''s containment value and overload fusion of alchemical imnts? Hahaha... I''ve never heard of such a magical potion from the Pharmaceutical Guild. Why don''t you say it can bring people back to life? Do you really think we''re fools?"


    "..."


    Faced with the customer''s questioning, the stall owner looked helpless, wanting to exin something, but it seemed that he couldn''t exin a single question.


    Su''en walked over and took a look at the stall owner.


    The bloated body covered by the ck cloak was probably a disguise. Because of the irregr obesity, it looked more like a deformed monster than a human.


    And the slight movements of the body showed that the stall owner was slightly nervous, and he didn''t look like a merchant who often frequented the ck market.


    After observing the person, Su''en looked at the several potions on his stall, and his eyelids twitched slightly.


    No wonder those customers spoke harshly just now, because the appearance of these potions was too poor!


    They were just ordinary cheap test tubes filled with some red and green unknown liquids.


    It is well known that as long as the potions are produced by regr manufacturers, the containers will have trademark inscriptions.


    After all, potions are often used to save lives, and almost all potions sold on the market have special seals and anti-counterfeiting marks.


    Therefore, potions without seals and anti-counterfeiting marks will never be bought.


    Although there are indeed some inferior counterfeit drugs on the market, those counterfeit merchants have also put a lot of effort into packaging, and no one dares to make them so fake!


    The feeling given by the potions on this stall is like finding a mineral water bottle at random, filling it with some yellow-brown liquid, and iming that it is Kangshuai Fu iced ck tea. And it''s sold for three yuan?


    Moreover, even if it''s not fake.


    How can you prove that this is a genuine potion?


    Potion appraisers are a prestigious profession in high society, and can only be seen in the inner city.


    Take a sip?


    There are only four small workshop potions in total, who dares to drink them?


    Or if you identally drop it and break it, you have topensate tens of thousands...


    No matter how you look at it, these potions are definitely problematic.


    Su''en originally thought it was some kind of "staged collision" trick, but looking at the stall owner''s helpless appearance, he became curious and focused his gaze on the Extreme Potion, scanning it with the All-Knowing Eye.


    But as soon as he looked, his gaze immediately froze.


    The small red potion disyed a row of information.


    Extreme Healing Potion


    Exnation: High-purity extreme healing potion, stops bleeding rapidly, wounds heal quickly; almost no impurities, no side effects.


    "It really is an extreme healing potion?"


    Su''en was truly surprised.


    Although he is not knowledgeable about potions, the All-Knowing Eye cannot be faked.


    Is this three-zero product from a small workshop really an extreme life-saving potion that sells for hundreds of thousands on the market?


    So, selling it for thirty thousand is actually cheap?


    Seeing this, Su''en vaguely felt that the stall owner seemed to be telling the truth.At this moment, his gaze fell on the green potion that was priced at two hundred thousand.


    Upon seeing it, even if Su''en had some expectations, he couldn''t help but twitch his eyelid.


    Mutation Tolerance Enhancement Potion


    Detailed exnation: Increases the human body''s curse characteristic tolerance value by 10-18%; only for first-tier professionals; the potion has about a 3% chance of causing the user''s body to grow flesh mushrooms, butpared to the effect of the potion, this is a negligible side effect.


    "They weren''t bluffing... But this kind of miraculous potion is only selling for two hundred thousand?!"


    With just this simple two-sentence introduction, Su''en felt as if he had discovered a huge business opportunity.


    What does an average increase of about 15% in human tolerance mean?


    It means that it can significantly increase a professional''sbat power!


    Professionals who could only bear iron imnts before, after taking the potion, can overload and integrate silver-quality imnts. Those who can bear silver can even imnt gold imnts.


    For professionals, this is a priceless treasure!


    The key is that such a potion with a heaven-defying effect, no one in the whole of Old Lingdun has heard of it being sold. If this stall owner made it himself, not to mention the value of the potion, just the patent of the potion form could make him a millionaire instantly.


    What is the background of this stall owner?


    Why doesn''t he go to the inner city?


    A wanted criminal, or what?


    Su''en felt this was a great opportunity to "pick up a big leak".


    But he also had doubts, and on a whim, he used the Eye of Omniscience to look at the stall owner.


    And then,


    Huh... what''s going on?!


    Su''en could use the Eye of Omniscience to see his own attributes, but when looking at others, there was only a simple description of Human above their heads.


    However, something different appeared above the stall owner''s head for the first time.


    It showed Semi-Mutated Human.


    (To avoid being scolded for spoilers: It''s not the wanted woman.)


    PS. Brothers, don''t hoard books recently, if there''s an update, please flip it out and click, thanks everyone~

 Chapter 48: Wanderer

    Chapter 48: Wanderer


    "Is this guy''s bloated figure not a disguise, but a real physical mutation caused by distortion?"


    Su''en looked at the ring words "Half-Mutated Human" on the cloak vendor''s head and felt somewhat incredulous.


    Distortion is distortion, is there really such a thing as "half-mutation"?


    What exactly is the current state of this vendor, a person or a monster?


    This also involves Su''en''s blind spot in knowledge.


    But thinking about it, if he has reason, he should be considered a human.


    He didn''t think much about it and instead turned his gaze to the potions on the stall.


    The items are good, and the prices are really cheap.


    If Su''en had money in his pocket at this moment, he would definitely buy these potions. The packaging is so simple that it''s impossible to sell them, but it would be great to keep them for personal use.


    Unfortunately, he has no money.


    .......


    Su''en had no intention of giving up this opportunity to "pick up a bargain". When he saw the crowd dispersing around the stall, he walked over and said directly, "I intend to buy all these potions, but I don''t have enough cash with me. Can you leave me another contact method so that I can contact you when I find the money? Of course, everything will be done ording to the rules of the ck market."


    There was nothing wrong with this statement.


    People in the ck market are always cautious and usually don''t leave their own contact information. However, they can leave an intermediary, such as certain taverns that provide message delivery services for customers. Both parties agree on a secret code, and the transaction can bepleted without meeting face-to-face, ensuring safety and secrecy.


    Because he currently has no money, he wants to first obtain the vendor''s contact information and figure out a way to establish a connectionter.


    The potions are secondary. Even if there is a price difference, it''s only for four potions. If these potions were made by the vendor himself, then it would be a continuous source of goods, which is the real "big bargain". It''s not just a one-time deal.


    When the cloak vendor heard that someone wanted to buy his potions, he was initially delighted.


    But when he heard Su''en''s words, he immediately shook his head and said, "No, I only want cash."


    "..."


    Hearing his tone, Su''en felt that he seemed to be in urgent need of money.


    But after a moment of thought, he suddenly realized that if such good potions were sold at a low price, it must be because the vendor urgently needs money.


    This made him even more curious about the vendor''s identity. Alchemists who can produce such potions are usually from the elite ss of the inner city. They dare not show themselves and are probably wanted criminals or something.


    After hesitating for nearly a minute, Su''en racked his brains and proposed several ns, but the vendor stubbornly insisted on an immediate cash transaction.


    He knew that if he continued speaking, he would appear somewhat suspicious, so he could only retreat and say, "That''s really a pity... If you change your mind, you can leave a message at the ''Three Fire Guns Tavern'' on Green Street. The secret code is ''Pigeon''. Once I receive the message, I will contact you immediately..."


    "Um..."


    Upon hearing this, the vendor also seemed hesitant.


    Obviously, he also knew that his potions were not easy to sell, and it was rare to encounter an interested buyer. He didn''t want to give up so easily.


    Just as he was hesitating whether to agree or not, he suddenly seemed to see something in the crowd and a trace of panic shed in his eyes. "I''m sorry, sir, I have something urgent to attend to..."


    Without waiting for any reaction from Su''en, he quickly collected the potions on the stall and hurriedly blended into the crowd.


    .......


    Su''en had noticed before that the vendor''s gaze had been wandering, as if he was afraid of being recognized.


    Seeing him suddenly leave, Su''en was slightly surprised. He nced at the crowd in the ck market and wondered who the vendor had seen that made him so flustered.


    Hmm... Could it be those two trench coat-wearing individuals he encountered earlier?


    Su''en didn''t look too closely and restrained his gaze, blending into the crowd.


    He himself couldn''t afford to be exposed for too long.


    But even in this brief exchange, Su''en had roughly guessed that the vendor was young, polite, and probably had a good upbringing. He was likely from the inner city.


    In urgent need of money, with a distorted body, and considerable knowledge in alchemy...


    Thinking about it, Su''en had a rough idea of the vendor''s background. He was probably from a prestigious medical family in the inner city.


    Although the person had left, Su''en had done what he needed to do and didn''t dwell on it any longer.


    Looking at the bustling ck market in front of him, Su''en sighed softly, "I hope he will contact me..."


    .......


    Having been here a few times before, Su''en had already figured out what each shop in the ck market sells.


    He didn''t waste time in those shops with shrewd owners. He strolled along the way and gradually walked to the makeshift shack area at the bottom of the ck market.


    Today, the ck market was probably crowded because of the appearance of some relics and treasures, attracting many wealthy hidden big shots. As a result, there were also many opportunistic merchants.


    Some of them were even branches of major tradingpanies from the inner city.


    After all, although the outer city is poor, its poption is tens of timesrger than that of the inner city, and the low-end market is also very profitable.


    The low-end goods and second-hand items that cannot be sold in the inner city are top-notch hot items in the outer city. For example, textiles, outdated steam equipment, mechanical prosthetics...Su''en passed by the stalls piled with arge number of mechanical prosthetics. He took a nce and found that the military mechanical prosthetics discarded from the inner city were indeed good. Although they were old, the parts that could be disassembled were definitely top-notchponents in the gang''s mechanical modification shops.


    These military machines were all ssified as "contraband". The inner city would concentrate on destroying them and they would not be allowed to circte. It was unknown where the opportunistic merchants found their sources.


    However, old mechanical equipment and prosthetics were not cheap, costing tens of thousands. A mechanic with good judgment might be able to make a 20-30% profit from disassembling parts, but it required arge amount of capital.


    Su''en didn''t have that much money, and it wasn''t suitable for him to stockpile mechanical parts.


    As he continued to wander, he was unexpectedly drawn to a bustling storefront.


    It was a shop that appeared in the ck market for the first time, and it had directly hung up a sign that read "Rose Ore Trading Company".


    Su''en had an impression of this tradingpany from some fragmented memories he had harvested from somewhere.


    It was a famous financial conglomerate in the inner city, the "Heide Mining Group", which specialized in various rare ore businesses.


    From a distance, he could hear the bustling noise.


    "Oh my god, this gentleman is so lucky, he got a high-purity ''Cursed Crystal'' from just three raw stones! He made ten thousand Lisuo with just nine hundred!"


    "Come and see, three hundred Lisuo each, free cutting."


    "Over here, eight hundred each for high-purity cursed raw stones, there''s a chance to get top-grade crystals..."


    "..."


    As he approached, he saw severalrge piles of fist-sized gray stones on the ground of the shop.


    A group of people were bending over, rummaging through the mountain-like pile of stones, "lighting up", "watering", and flipping through the stones back and forth, their eyes filled with frenzy.


    "Isn''t this... stone gambling?"


    Su''en looked at this familiar scene and immediately realized what these people were doing.


    ......


    "Cursed Crystal" was the most important hard currency in this world.


    It was a special energy crystal simr to jade, containing a vast amount of energy and having a wide range of uses.


    Cultivation, casting spells, enchanting, alchemy, mechanical energy supply... In the field of alchemy, almost all the energy used in the w of equivalent exchange" refers to this thing.


    Cursed Crystals were natural products, sourced from mineral veins in the earth''s crust. The veins could yield exposed crystals, as well as "Cursed Raw Stones" wrapped in stone skin.


    The raw stones might contain crystals or crystal fragments, but most likely, they contained nothing.


    The grayish raw stone skin also had energy fluctuations, so it was impossible to determine from the outside whether there was definitely a "crystal" inside the stone.


    That''s why opportunistic merchants came up with a clever business opportunity.


    Under normal circumstances, the probability of a crystal appearing in the raw stones mined from a certain area is roughly the same, say 3%.


    So, out of a thousand raw stones, thirty crystals could be cut out. Given the market price of about ten thousand Lisuo per crystal, that''s three hundred thousand Lisuo.


    But if you sell a thousand raw stones as "blind boxes" for five hundred Lisuo each, then each stone has value, and the total value is five hundred thousand.


    The value of this batch of ore instantly increased by two hundred thousand.


    Many people are willing to gamble on the chance of winning ten thousand with five hundred.


    Besides, if you''re extremely lucky, there''s a chance to get a "Top-grade Cursed Crystal" worth one hundred thousand Lisuo.


    Just like buying a lottery ticket, you lose a little money if you don''t win, but if you do, you get rich.


    This is the origin of the stone gambling shops in this world.


    ......


    "I remember this thing being a pastime for the rich in the inner city, right?"


    Su''en looked at the stone gambling project that appeared in the ck market for the first time and muttered to himself, "It seems that those guys in the inner city have also realized that the poor are more likely to gamble on luck..."


    That''s why no matter how poor the ce is, gambling stalls can always do well.


    The shop was getting busier and busier. In addition to those gambling on stones, many outer city people interested in this business had already started talking with the manager of the "Rose Ore Trading Company". It seemed that those people from the inner city also intended to bring this business to the outer city, and both sides were having a lively conversation.


    However, all of this had nothing to do with Su''en.


    Looking at the raw stones all over the ground, his eyes were sparkling.


    The prestigious S-level talent [Eye of Omniscience], at this moment, he seemed to have finally found the correct way to use it...

 Chapter 49: Pick up corpses

    Chapter 49: Pick up corpses


    Su''en approached the shop filled with raw stones and casually identified a stone using the All-Knowing Eye.


    <em>Cursed Raw Stone</em>


    <em>Exnation: Purity 6;</em>


    There was no further exnation, only a purity number.


    He identified several more stones, all of them being low-quality raw stones with a purity of less than ten.


    This pile was the cheapest, costing two hundred lisuo per piece.


    Su''en identified dozens of them, consuming a considerable amount of dark energy, but he didn''t find a single stone with a purity higher than ten.


    He spected that they were all waste stones, so he didn''t buy any of them.


    "If the probability of cutting a ''Cursed Crystal'' is theoretically no more than 2% for a stone that costs two hundred lisuo, then only one out of every fifty stones on average can produce a crystal. The merchants are the ones making a profit... In other words, only stones priced above fifty can have a chance of producing a crystal."


    He calcted in his mind and knew that unless he had extraordinary luck, this probability was normal.


    Merchants were shrewd, so the price of gambling stone ore fluctuated.


    After a vein was opened, the ore merchants could only estimate the approximate crystallization rate of the raw stones through samples. However, no one could determine the final condition of this batch of stones until they were cut open. There might be cases of localized rich ore or localized poor ore.


    If the frequency of crystals cut during sales was high, the shop owner would automatically increase the price of this batch of stones.


    If the probability was low, it would be reduced ordingly.


    Therefore, theoretically, the probability of raw stone crystallization could be roughly estimated from the unit price of the raw stone.


    ***


    Su''en didn''t rush to make a move, as cautious as ever. He carefully observed on the side, wanting to see if there were any other tricks in this gambling stone.


    The size and appearance of the stones varied, and the size of the crystals determined their value.


    The two-hundred-lisuo raw stones were slightly smaller, with the lowest probability of producing crystals. On the other hand, the five-hundred-lisuo and eight-hundred-lisuo raw stones wererger, of better quality, and had a higher chance of having a purity between 10 and 20.


    While Su''en was observing, the cutting room in the shop suddenly heard good news from time to time.


    "Oh! Congrattions to this gentleman for cutting a medium-sized ''Cursed Crystal''. Our shop is willing to purchase it for thirteen thousand lisuo!"


    "Look, thisdy''s luck is also quite good. She cut some good-quality crystal fragments, worth at least one thousand lisuo. You only spent five hundred and earned double..."


    "Wow~ That gentleman''s batch of thirty thousand raw stones unexpectedly produced crystals worth over fifty thousand. Oh my, such good luck..."


    "...."


    The shop manager energetically presided over the sales, loudly announcing each shipment with enthusiasm.


    This also led to more and more peopleing to mine the stones.


    The people in the outer city seemed to enjoy this novel form of gambling.


    Those who coulde to the ck market were probably not poor. Batch after batch of raw stones were cut open, and news of stones being cut out would asionally spread.


    More and more people came to watch the excitement.


    Su''en silently watched on the side.


    After watching for a while, he finally figured out the rule for disying the purity of the stones.


    Purity below 10 meant low-quality stones that werepletely useless.


    Among the piles of raw stones, over ny percent were these low-quality ores.


    Those with a purity between 11 and 20 could be cut into some crystal fragments. Although their value was not high, it was enough to break even.


    Then there were the ones with a purity above 20, but they were extremely rare.


    Su''en looked at every stone that produced a crystal when cut in the shop, and they all disyed a purity of "20" or higher.


    Having figured out this rule, Su''en looked at the piles of raw ores and a meaningful smile gradually appeared in the corner of his eyes. He murmured to himself, "This is the correct way to use the All-Knowing Eye..."


    ***


    As time passed, more and more people crowded into the gambling stone shop. Su''en was not afraid of attracting attention and blended in with the people selecting raw stones.


    He pretended to learn from others, shining lights, watering, and carefully observing.


    Then, after appraising dozens more stones, his eyes lit up.


    <em>Cursed Raw Stone</em>


    <em>Exnation: Purity 24;</em>


    Seeing this gray stone in his hand that was almost indistinguishable from the other raw stones, Su''en calmly put it in his pocket. To avoid trouble, he also casually stuffed a few low-quality ores.


    Five pieces in total, costing one thousand lisuo.


    Su''en still had over three thousand lisuo in his pocket.


    In this way, Su''en picked and chose, squatting among the group of people selecting stones. He picked a basket full of stones, big and small. But out of these dozen or so stones, eight of them had a purity of over twenty.


    This meant that once they were cut open, they would be worth at least eighty thousand lisuo!


    A cost of three to four thousand turned into eighty thousand, a twenty-fold increase, faster than gambling!


    But Su''en didn''t n to continue selecting.


    First, he didn''t have the money to buy more raw stones today. Second, he felt that if he used cheating methods to pick out most of the stones with crystals from this batch, the shop owner might be suspicious.


    However, good luck kepting.Just as Su''en was preparing to pay and leave, suddenly, an unremarkable stone was thrown at his feet.


    It was a piece of ore that others had overlooked. Among the 800-unit price ores, this one indeed had a poor appearance.


    Since Su''en was already nning to leave, he casually appraised it and immediately realized that he had found a treasure.


    <em>Cursed Origin Stone</em>


    <em>Detailed exnation: Purity 99;</em>


    <em>"Such high purity?"</em>


    Su''en''s eyebrows jumped in surprise.


    <em>With a purity of 20, it was already possible to produce cursed crystals. How could a 99 purity suddenly appear?</em>


    <em>Clearly, this was most likely the legendary "top-quality cursed crystal" worth a hundred thousand!</em>


    Finding such a treasure, Su''en didn''t show any unusual expression and casually threw the stone into the frame.


    The staff enthusiastically helped him settle the bill.


    "Sir, would you like us to cut it open on the spot?"


    "Alright, cut a few pieces to test my luck..."


    Su''en didn''t behave too differently and chose two pieces of inferior ore with a quality below 10 to be cut open. As expected, they were both worthless.


    Seeing this, he had an uninterested expression and stopped the staff from continuing to cut, muttering, "Forget it, I''ll take the rest back and deal with it myself."


    The gambling stone shop was bustling, and the staff happily packed it for Su''en.


    And so, Su''en discreetly left the ck market with a stone worth nearly two hundred thousand.


    ***


    Shortly after Su''en left, this batch of ore had already been sold out, and a new batch arrived. The manager of the gambling stone shop also had doubts.


    "Huh... strange, even though a batch of high-quality ore was selected and sold at a reduced price, why is the probability of finding valuable stones not as high as expected..."


    "Also, this pile of 800-unit ores was brought from the special rich ore area that produced ''top-quality ores.'' They even said they would create an explosive atmosphere today, but not a single one has been found until now..."


    But because the quantity of ore sold today was toorge, the abnormal probability of this batch of stones was quickly overlooked.


    The gambling stone shop continued to be lively.


    ***


    As the instigator, Su''en had already taken a steam train back to the small inn on Green Street.


    He rented a room and locked the door.


    He took out the pile of ore from his storage ring and started cutting it himself with cutting tools.


    Choosing a piece with a purity of over 20, as soon as he made the first cut, he saw a pure green light representing a crystal sh before his eyes.


    Although Su''en was already quite calm, he couldn''t help but mutter, "I''m going to make a fortune..."


    After polishing, a walnut-sized "cursed crystal" appeared in hisrge hand.


    It was like the most beautiful gem in the world, emitting a strange and vibrant green light under themp.


    "So, this is a cursed crystal..."


    Su''en looked at the green gem in his hand, his gaze deep.


    With just this crystal, it could release astonishing energy.


    <em>Cursed Crystal</em>


    <em>Detailed exnation: An energy gemstone containing the power of dark origin force, it is the energy source of alchemists.</em>


    Su''en was not yet a formal professional, so he didn''t have many ces to use this thing.


    However, that didn''t prevent him from selling it for money.


    And then, he continued cutting the next piece.


    Su''en also felt a bit lucky. The All-Knowing Eye was indeed an S-level talent.


    As he cut, he muttered to himself, "I just said I spent all my money on buying blueprints, and now I have materials for alchemy equipment..."


    As he continued cutting, he thought of the mysterious person who sold potions in the ck market.


    If he had discovered this batch of ore earlier, he estimated that he could have obtained those potions.


    But Su''en didn''t dwell on it because he was certain that the owner of the potion shop would most likely contact him.


    Because no one would probably buy those potions based on their appearance, but that person urgently needed money.


    ***


    In a short time, all the ore was cut.


    Just as he expected, there were eight differently sized cursed crystals in front of him, as well as one dazzling green "top-quality cursed crystal."


    For less than four thousand li, he exchanged for crystals worth nearly two hundred thousand in total.


    Moreover, this was a sustainable and stable source of ie.


    Su''en felt that this was a good sign, and it seemed that he could see a long period of time in the future where he wouldn''t have to worry about money.


    "The ''Rose Ore Trading Company'' came to the ck market today for a sales exhibition. It''s obvious that they''re not here to sell a few pieces of ore, but to promote this business. It''s not surprising that this new form of gambling, stone gambling, will soon be popr in the outer city..."


    Su''en pondered in his mind.At this moment, he seemed to have thought of something, muttering to himself, "If we consider the shipment probability of around 2-8%, out of tens of thousands of raw stones in a shop, only about a thousand could possibly yield crystals. If I were to hoard them all, it would definitely cause problems. It seems I''ll have to run around the city from now on. Otherwise, if I keep shearing a single sheep, once it''s bald, it would easily arouse suspicion..."


    However, although running around the city was a bit tiring,pared to hunting in the wilderness or going into the sewers to kill mutated monsters as backup money-making ns, gambling on stones was obviously a much easier way to make money...


    With money, Su''en also gained confidence.


    He nned to buy the materials needed for alchemical imnts and get himself some new equipment.


    For instance, recing the famous gun, "Three-headed Ghost", in his hand.

 Chapter 50: Mechanical gloves

    Chapter 50: Mechanical gloves


    After returning from the ck market, life returned to normal.


    With money, Su''en could also tinker with the equipment he needed.


    There were several inconspicuous mechanical shops near Green Street, which was the favorite ce for the members of the Cross Society to modify motorcycles.


    The owner of the "Bearded Mechanical Modification Shop" was called Lait.


    He was skilled in craftsmanship and was a certified "Intermediate Mechanic" of the Mechanic Guild. He was good at modifying steam motorcycles and firearms, and had a certain reputation in the mechanical modification circle.


    With two hours left before work, Su''en arrived at the mechanical shop and looked at the greasy bearded man. He smiled and greeted, "Hey, Laisen, has the thing I wanted arrived?"


    "Su''en, brother, your material requirements are too demanding."


    The bearded Lait looked at Su''en and grumbled.


    He put down the steam Harley shock absorber he was tinkering with, picked up a ck cloth next to him, wiped his hands, and suddenly raised his eyebrows, "But, this can''t stump me, Lait."


    As he spoke, he took out a coil from the house and introduced it in a boastful tone, "This is the ''Huirui VII Alloy Wire'' produced by Gerson Arsenal. I dare say, this is the finest and most resilient alloy wire you can find in the outer city. It''s a top-grade material that flows out of the inner city''s military industry channels. It''s just too expensive, three hundred li per foot. I managed to get three hundred feet for you, and they''re all here."


    These shop owners all had their own fixed channels for goods. As long as you could afford the money, those material merchants would always be able to find satisfactory materials for you.


    Even prohibited and controlled goods from the inner city.


    "Oh, I''m very satisfied with this material!"


    Su''en looked at the alloy wire, which was slightly thicker than a hair, and showed a kind smile.


    As Lait said, this was already the best material that could meet his requirements in the world.


    If he wanted better performance, he could only use some cursed materials.


    However, not all wires could be used to manipte puppets, and Su''en felt that this wire was enough for now. He said, "Thank you so much. Here''s a hundred thousand li. I''ve been doing well at the gambling den recently and won quite a bit."


    Everyone knew that Su''en was a gambler. He would stay at the arena every night until dawn.


    His record of winning over two million at once with Qiantiao Yiyue had spread throughout Green Street and became a topic of conversation for people after dinner.


    Su''en also felt that it was just right for him to get rich at the gambling den. It was reasonable and could exin the source of his funds.


    He generously took out a stack of banknotes, received the coil, and said, "Leta, I also need to use your workshop."


    Lait shrugged as if he was already familiar with this request and said, "Feel free to use it. If you need any help, just ask."


    ......


    Su''en had been here many times before and walked into the workshop of the shop with familiarity.


    There were two operating rooms in the shop. One room was for modifying steam motorcycles. It was filled with various old parts that were dismantled from different channels. The air was always filled with a strong smell of rust.


    The other room was for firearm modifications. The walls were like an arsenal, hanging with various firearms of different shapes.


    Sprayers, pistols, submachine guns, sniper rifles...


    Because of the existence of alchemy in this world, there were many directions in which the performance of materials could be modified, which also led to the variety of firearms in this world. There were all kinds of modified machine guns with exaggerated magazine capacities, steam-powered high-pressure air guns,rge-caliber enchanted pistols, and gunpowder war hammers that could be used as melee weapons...


    Although there were no "famous guns" in the shop, the modified firearms produced here provided enough firepower support for the members of the Cross Society.


    Su''en walked in and took out some tools, starting to tinker with the "Huirui VII Alloy Wire" he had just obtained.


    These days, he spent some time designing a pair of half-mechanical leather gloves that resembled "sleeve arrows" for himself, in order to use the steel wire that controlled the puppets more flexibly.


    After the battle at the Tubazi Building, he killed many members of the Steam Party and stripped off many pieces of mechanical technology, turning his mechanical knowledge into "Advanced Mechanical Introduction".


    Designing such simple mechanical equipment came naturally to him.


    Su''en took out the leather gloves that he had alreadypleted most of, and then put on the goggles.


    Although these mechanical gloves looked simple, in order to meet the requirements, there were also densely packed brass paper wheels and springs on them, just like the core of a watch.


    The coreponents of the mechanical gloves were the "H-33 Spring Adapter" and the "B15 Spring Power Modtion System". They were good things dismantled from the military mechanical arm of the inner city that Su''en bought from the ck market. They could make the steel wire shoot out like a slingshot with precision.


    These high-precision mechanical parts that small workshops in the outer city couldn''tplete, Su''en''s current mechanical knowledge could only allow him to use them flexibly, rather than create or invent them.Before long, Su''en had adjusted the parts of his mechanical glove, then wound the entire spool of thread into the metal storagepartment on his forearm.


    He flexed his fingers. The half-mechanical glove didn''t interfere with his shooting.


    He tested theunching device. The alloy thread would smoothly spring out from theuncher on the back of his hand, and his fingers could deftly control the thread, which could be used to manipte puppets at any time.


    He pulled down his sleeve, perfectly covering the mechanical devices, so they weren''t too conspicuous.


    Su''en was quite satisfied with his handiwork. After a few more minor adjustments, it would be ready for actualbat.


    ......


    Before long, Su''en left the bearded mechanic''s shop and made a trip to the "Three Muskets Tavern".


    It wasn''t the tavern''s business hours yet, and the bartender was idly wiping sses at the bar.


    Su''en walked over and asked, "Hey, mate, any ''pigeon'' messages today?"


    He had been expecting to hear "no" again, but to his surprise, the bartender nced at his notebook and gave a different answer: "Yes."


    "Huh?"


    Su''en walked over with a smile and received the note made up of newspaper clippings.


    It was the third day since their initial meeting in the ck market, and he had finally received a message from the mysterious stall owner.


    The note read: "At 5 p.m. on the 12th, put ten thousand lira in a leather bag and ce it under the mailbox at the entrance of the Berman Bakery on No.14 Ginkgo Street. I''m sorry, sir, I need to see your sincerity in purchasing the potion, so I need you to pay some deposit in advance. If you don''t see this message in time, I will wait until the 13th. But if you don''t pay the deposit as agreed, I will refuse this transaction."


    "Heh, quite cautious."


    Su''en looked at the note in his hand, a smile ying at the corners of his mouth.


    Thenguage in the letter was as polite as he had anticipated. As he had guessed, the stall owner was well-mannered and young.


    If it were him, he probably wouldn''t trust someone he met randomly in the ck market either. The suggestion to pay a "deposit" was reasonable.


    Of course, the most important thing was that Su''en had money now, so paying a deposit in advance was not a problem.


    He was also confident that this money wouldn''t go to waste.


    His intuition told him that the mysterious stall owner would bring him more surprises.


    Checking the time, he had twenty minutes until five o''clock, enough time for him to make a trip to Ginkgo Street five blocks away.


    Su''en gave the bartender two hundred lira as a tip for passing on the message.


    Then he casually took a leather bag, stuffed a stack of banknotes into it, folded it neatly, put it in the inner pocket of his trench coat, and left the tavern.


    ......


    Green Street was the territory of the Cross Society, and Su''en was very familiar with it.


    With a casual wave of his hand, he borrowed a steam motorcycle from the side of the street.


    Two minutester, he arrived at a small alley near Ginkgo Street.


    He parked the bike, pulled down his hat to cover his face.


    Su''en checked the time, three minutes to five o''clock.


    Timing his steps, he left the alley, blended into the crowd, and walked onto Ginkgo Street.


    The No.14 shop was the Berman Bakery, with a green mailbox at the entrance.


    When Su''en got there, it was exactly five o''clock.


    Without looking around, he directly stuffed the oil-paper bag with money into the gap of the mailbox against the wall.


    Then he walked away without looking back. In the underworld, this kind of transaction method was verymon.


    Of course, Su''en was also a bit curious about who woulde to collect the money.


    Considering that this area was all Cross Society''s territory, he might even know them.


    By the time he passed the corner, he had walked far enough. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a young boy deftly take the oil-paper bag from behind the mailbox and quickly disappear into the crowd.


    The handover was very professional, like a seasoned thief.


    "Huh, looks like one of the kids from the tenement..."


    Su''en nced at him, but didn''t think much of it.


    He circled back to find his bike in the alley, then returned to Green Street.


    Having paid the deposit, all he had to do now was wait for the next message.


    By then, the mysterious person would probably bring the potion for the transaction.

 Chapter 51: The Trial Team of the Inner City

    Chapter 51: The Trial Team of the Inner City


    Back on Green Street, Su''en began his regr nightlife.


    At seven o''clock in the evening, the members of the Cross Society gathered punctually at the dpidated building.


    Then half an hour of patrol.


    After finishing, Su''en went to the arena of the Crimson Stronghold as usual.


    As expected, he would stay here for the whole night.


    Recently, there seemed to be some changes in the inner city, and there were more professional death matches in the arena.


    ording to the rumors, several major financial conglomerates in the inner city were engaged in intense internal struggles due to conflicting interests. The participants in the arena were mostly outstanding professionals, bodyguards, retainers, or people with special identities. In any case, their backgrounds were not simple.


    However, the turmoil in the inner city had nothing to do with Su''en, the little gangster.


    On the contrary, he felt that the more chaotic it was, the better.


    After all, these professionals from the inner city indeed had much deeper "knowledge" than the professionals from the outer city. During this period, Su''en had gained a lot of alchemical knowledge and mechanical knowledge from the bodies in the arena. These were benefits that the professionals from the outer city, who could only extractbat skills, could notpare with.


    Today, the arena was as lively as ever.


    But before Su''en could bet on a few matches, Captain Kay came over with a mysterious look on his face.


    He said that he was going to take him to meet an important person.


    .......


    "Captain, who exactly are we going to meet? You''re making it so mysterious."


    Su''en felt a bit regretful about being taken away halfway. There was a professional death match tonight.


    If he missed it, he would miss out on a lot of experience.


    "Hehe, of course it''s a good thing!"


    Kay put his arm around Su''en''s shoulder and winked, "You can earn a lot of money, contribute to the gang, and have the opportunity to meet important people in the inner city. Let me tell you, as long as things go well, the benefits will be unimaginable."


    "Ah... What exactly is it?"


    Looking at Kay''s excited expression, Su''en became more and more puzzled.


    Meeting important people in the inner city?


    For others, it might be a rare opportunity, but for Su''en, it might not necessarily be a good thing.


    The identity of the original host was sensitive, and he didn''t want to have any contact with important people in the inner city until he figured out the situation, for fear of running into acquaintances.


    At this moment, Kay looked at Su''en''s exaggerated smoky makeup and frowned, "Hey, brother, your outfit is getting stranger. The heavy metal style may be cool, but I don''t think it suits you..."


    Pausing for a moment, he seemed to think of something and muttered, "I wonder if that important person will be influenced by your style and have a bad first impression..."


    Su''en muttered in his heart, "It''s better if they don''t like it."


    He also understood that it seemed that an important person from the inner city hade and wanted to "interview" him. Then they could see if he was suitable for some conditions...


    Earning money and getting to know important people?


    Could it be that they were selecting gigolos?


    This thought involuntarily popped into Su''en''s mind, making him feel a bit annoyed.


    After all, he was still a member of the Cross Society and couldn''t refuse the captain''s tasks. So he followed him out.


    Thinking about it, Kay shouldn''t be so unreliable.


    .......


    As they walked, Su''en felt uneasy again. He quietly put on a pair of steel tooth braces, making his facial features even stranger. This was also a mainstream dark punk style, not considered too unconventional.


    The two of them walked through the crowd and then left the gambling den, arriving at the back door guarded by someone, which led to the VIP rooms on the second floor of the gambling den.


    But when they arrived here, Kay didn''t go in. He said, "Su''en, you go up by yourself. Qiantiao is already up there."


    Su''en was a little puzzled, "Aren''t you going?"


    Kay rolled his eyes and said with a hint of resentment, "I just went there, but it seems like that important person didn''t pay attention to me..."


    "..."


    Su''en understood. So that was the case.


    But he was also very surprised. Kay was not weak among the first-tier professionals in the Cross Society, and his character was also good. How could he not be chosen?


    Even if they were selecting gigolos, Kay''s appearance was much better than his current punk style, right?


    What kind of conditions did that "important person" want?


    At this moment, Kay looked at Su''en, who was full of doubts, and finally revealed some information. He said, "Forget it, I originally wanted to give you a surprise."


    Pausing for a moment, he continued, "It''s not a difficult task. That important person wants to find a guide who has been to the Tubr Tower Dungeon. Only the two of us have survived before, so... well."


    So, he wasn''t chosen, and Su''en was called instead.


    "The Tubr Tower Dungeon? As a guide?"


    Su''en became even more puzzled. The important people from the inner city despised evening to the outer city because it was dirty, so why would they go to a smelly and dangerous ce like the dungeon?


    Kay exined, "I heard from Qiantiao that some noble students from the ''ck Tower Alchemy Academy'' in the inner city have a graduation trial. Those precious young masters anddies definitely can''t risk their lives going outside the city to hunt for resources, so they can only find a ce with monsters in the city to go through the motions. The distorted monsters in the inner city have all been cleared, so they can only go to the outer city. I don''t know where they heard that there are monsters in the Tubr Tower, so they need a local expert as a guide and to handle some negotiations..."


    "That''s it?"


    Su''en finally understood after hearing this. So that was the case.


    "You can rest assured, you don''t need to fight at all in the Tubr Tower. The noble students are apanied by second-tier professionals as their mentors. You know, the professionals in the inner city are very strong, especially those who can be mentors at the ''ck Tower Alchemy Academy.'' They are definitely not weaker than our cadres..."


    As Kay said this, he seemed to be a bit resentful that he wasn''t chosen by the big shot.He pursed his lips and continued, "So, you just need to follow them, there''s no need for you to lift a finger. Just lead the way for them and make sure the residents of the Tube Building don''t disturb those young nobles."


    "I see..."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en finally understoodpletely.


    An inner city trial team was going to the Tube Building to kill monsters for their graduation trial, and they needed a local guide?


    ......


    If it was just guiding, Su''en would definitely try to get out of this task.


    He didn''t want to run into people the original owner knew.


    But hearing the address of the Tube Building made Su''en hesitate.


    Because he immediately thought of the sealed weapon, the scythe, still deep in the tunnel.


    After the battle at the Tube Building, Su''en realized the terror of the underground monsters. He estimated that without second-order strength, he had no confidence in retrieving the sealed weapon alive from the depths of the tunnel.


    What if this group of people went down for the trial and, by some twist of fate, found the ce where the scythe had fallen? Wouldn''t he be wasting a great opportunity?


    Now he also understood the value of the sealed weapon.


    During this time, he had specifically inquired about the legend rted to the "Night ck Scythe of Shub-Niggurath".


    He was quite shocked when he understood it.


    That ck scythe was a super weapon that could sh open spatial rifts!


    Nothing could withstand it, nothing could resist it.


    Even the toughest armor would be split in two under that scythe.


    So, that group who attacked the headquarters was able to easily break open the door of the treasury with this scythe.


    Although the scythe must have its unknown negative "cursed characteristics", Su''en felt that if he could really get such a divine weapon, it would definitely be a life-saving weapon.


    If he encountered a powerful enemy and couldn''t beat them, at least he would have some confidence to die together.


    ......


    "Maybe I can follow this group of people, and then use their high-endbat power to clear the monsters in the tunnel, to achieve my goal of retrieving the item?"


    At this time, Su''en quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.


    If he was to guide them to the cave tunnel, he was indeed the most suitable for this task.


    After all, he had a real map in his mind!


    Without much thought, Kay urged him, "Su''en, you should go up, don''t keep that big shot waiting too long."


    "Okay."


    Su''en nodded, regardless of his decision, he had to go up and meet the big shot from the inner city.


    Maybe, they wouldn''t even like him?


    He walked up the stairs to the second floor private room, then down a quiet corridor with luxurious floor mats.


    Although there was no one, the moment Su''en stepped into the corridor, he felt as if there was a gaze watching him.


    This was not an illusion, but a warning of danger brought by high perception.


    "An assassin?"


    Su''en suddenly became alert, his hands quietly reaching for his gun.


    Just then, a cold dagger silently pressed against his neck from behind.


    In that instant, Su''en''sbat experience allowed him to make the most timely response. His super-fast nerve reaction speed allowed him to make a pre-judged evasive action before the dagger could cut his throat.


    Then, with a swift elbow strike, he hit the attacker''s abdomen.


    The assassin grunted, and in the moment he curled up, a fire gun was already pressed against his chin.


    However, Su''en didn''t pull the trigger.


    If it were anywhere else, this guy''s head would have been blown off.


    Because Su''en remembered Kay''s words, he was more cautious. Since there were executives here, the attack was somewhat intriguing.


    A test?


    Sure enough, at that moment, a familiar voice sounded from not far away, "I told you he''s good, but you had to test him..."


    This was obviously not addressed to Su''en, but to the person in the room.


    After saying that, the woman called out to Su''en from a distance, smiling, "Come, let me introduce you to someone."


    "..."


    Seeing this gambling-addicted woman, Su''en raised an eyebrow and finally let out a sigh of relief.


    He naturally holstered his gun and walked over.


    Entering the private room, he saw a very cool woman.

 Chapter 52: Just took a quick glance at your legs

    Chapter 52: Just took a quick nce at your legs


    It was probably because she was going to meet an important person in the inner city that Qiantiao dressed quite formally today.


    She didn''t have her usual street thug look, with one arm bare and the intimidating big tattoo on her arm exposed. Today, she was wearing a red, green, and blue mixed-color battle kimono, giving off a homely vibe.


    Su''en looked at her with a hint of surprise, feeling that something was off.


    The loose ovepping robe had a white cor, without any bandages to bind it, making it even more heavy and profound, catching one''s eye.


    Her dressing style was as bold as ever.


    She had lost some of her bossy social aura and gained a bit of sexiness.


    Perhaps Su''en didn''t expect Qiantiao to have this side.


    Of course, don''t look at the four murderous long swords hanging from her waist, she still had a bit of the charm of a gentle wife.


    Qiantiao looked at Su''en, who easily dealt with the assassin in the corridor, squinting her eyes and seeming very satisfied with his performance.


    Listening to her tone when speaking to the people in the room, it seemed like she was saying, "See, the person I introduced, isn''t he good?"


    "Come, let me introduce you, Lady Filov..."


    Qiantiao greeted Su''en, casually putting her arm around his shoulder, and whispered, "This is the patron of our Cross Society, behave well."


    If it weren''t for Kay telling him the purpose of this trip beforehand, Su''en would have found the phrase "behave well" quite strange.


    Su''en felt his arm being enveloped in tenderness, unable to refuse, and nodded, "Hmm."


    He was also curious about what the patron behind the Cross Society would look like.


    ***


    It was not a secret that the three major gangs in the outer city were supported by major corporations in the inner city.


    It could also be said that it was because of the support of these corporations that the three major gangs existed.


    Many times, the conflicts between the gangs were actuallypetitions between corporations.


    Qiantiao led Su''en into the VIP private room, and then introduced him to the patron sitting on the sofa, saying, "This is Su''en, he has excellent marksmanship."


    Su''en nced over and immediately identified the main person. Although there were other people in the room, the woman sitting on the sofa had a very special aura, making it easy to guess that she was the "Lady Filov."


    The gothic-style ck one-piece short skirt reflected a high-quality pure ck under the lights, which was a high-end fabric that could be seen at a nce. The silk strapless top outlined her figure perfectly, and the appropriate hollowce revealed her cleavage, standing proudly.


    The embroidered hem of the pencil skirt was finely crafted, and the skirt had a high slit, almost reaching the root of the thigh, revealing her long and beautiful legs, captivating the eyes. The cold expression matched her graceful figure, sexy yet with a hint of aloofness. She was a woman who made people''s desires surge but dared not defile, with a conflicting style of coldness and desire.


    She sat on the sofa so casually, but the feeling she gave was like a queen sitting on a throne.


    Su''en only took a nce and then lowered his gaze, saying, "Hello, Lady Filov."


    He didn''t dare to look directly at her, partly out of courtesy, and partly afraid of running into acquaintances of the original host and being recognized.


    But in that moment of avoiding eye contact, the woman in the ck dress on the sofa raised an eyebrow slightly.


    Qiantiao, who was beside her, naturally knew the criteria for selecting candidates by the patron, and seeing Su''en''s calmness, a slightly proud smile appeared on her face. "How about it, I told you he''s good, right?"


    Su''en found the phrase "he''s good" quite intriguing, as if he had just gone through a test.


    Obviously, the woman in the ck dress was not familiar with the original host. Su''en felt that there were eyes scrutinizing him, but there was no trace of anything unusual.


    As long as they didn''t know each other, it was fine.


    After a few moments of silence, the woman in the ck dress finally spoke, in a cold and emotionless tone, "Hmm... it''s you."


    Then, she said without any emotion, "Alright, you can leave now."


    Her lofty tone made Su''en, as a transmigrator, feel that this woman was arrogant, but he remained unaffected.


    Being cold was the normal attitude.


    As the behind-the-scenes patron of a gang, it was already good enough for her to look at a small gang member directly.


    In the entire Cross Society, besides Su''en, there probably wasn''t anyone else who could personally meet this ordinary gang member.


    The concept of social hierarchy in this world was strong, and people from the outer city naturally felt inferior to those from the inner city, let alone someone from the upper ss like the woman in front of them.


    This was also why Kay, even though he wasn''t chosen, was so excited just by meeting her briefly.


    Su''en didn''t say anything and turned to leave.


    Qiantiao seemed afraid that Su''en would misunderstand something, so she gave him a smiling nce, probably meaning to say that he had performed well and that the patron had no ill intentions.


    Su''en nodded slightly and walked out of the private room.


    ***


    After Su''en left, Qiantiao immediately broke the formal atmosphere of the meeting between superiors and subordinates in the VIP private room.Qian Tiao seemed to be quite familiar with the woman in the ck dress. She unabashedly sat across from her and said, "See, the people I rmend are always good, right? Su''en''s marksmanship has reached the level of a ''firearms expert'', and his crisis awareness is strong. He''s not your average professional. Of course, Kay was also pretty good before..."


    "That''s indeed true."


    With no outsiders around, the coldness on the woman in the ck dress''s face eased.


    She looked at Qian Tiao and exined somewhat helplessly, "Kay was eptable, but he''s too young andcks steadiness."


    Qian Tiao knew what she was referring to. Feeling a bit indignant for her own people, she retorted, "So what if he looked at your legs a bit more..."


    Hearing this, the woman in the ck dress gave Qian Tiao a nce andzily said, "It''s always better to be more careful. After all, those young masters and misses are not easy to serve. If the person we choose causes trouble, it will be a big problem for your Cross Society."


    "..."


    Qian Tiao shrugged nomittally.


    But at least they had chosen someone, and she had understood the task assigned by the president.


    She unabashedly nced at the woman in the ck dress''s beautiful legs again and said in a low voice, "I knew Su''en would satisfy you. After all, a person who can control his bets when gambling, how could he be disturbed by your beauty?"


    Hearing this, the woman in the ck dress shook her head with a wry smile.


    Her old friend was good in all aspects, but she was a bit blunt when it came to matters between men and women.


    Clearly, the woman in the ck dress understood human nature better. She had read a lot from Su''en''s gaze. He had desires but could restrain them, such people live longer.


    But she didn''t exin further.


    At this moment, she looked at Qian Tiao, a cunning smile shed across her face, and she deliberately asked, "But, are you sure that Su''en likes women?"


    <em>"Eh... right!"</em>


    Upon hearing this, Qian Tiao was taken aback, as if she had discovered something, "I''m really not sure about that."


    If he liked men and was not moved by women, wouldn''t that be too normal?


    But the young masters in the city were all fair and tender, wouldn''t that be a problem?


    ***


    Su''en left the private room and went downstairs, where he ran into Kay who was still waiting.


    Kay asked expectantly, "Brother, how did it go? Did thatdy choose you?"


    Su''en frowned and thought, "I''m not sure."


    He should have been chosen, but the woman in the ck dress gave him a strange feeling, not like an ordinary noblewoman.


    At this moment, Kay leaned in mysteriously and said in a tone that all men would understand, "Hehe, isn''t Lady Philo beautiful?"


    "Of course."


    Hearing this, Su''en''s expression became a bit strange, and he suddenly realized why this guy wasn''t chosen.


    If you''re talking about beauty, that woman''s figure and looks were impable.


    But lust should be appropriate.


    In any world, no woman in a high position of power is simple, and it''s not just about appearance.


    His intuition told him that the woman in the ck dress was very cunning.


    When the name of the sponsor was mentioned, Kay showed a fascinated expression and sighed, "The big shots in the inner city really have a different temperament..."


    He stopped halfway through his sentence, probably feeling it was inappropriate, and swallowed the rest of his words.


    Su''en was a bit curious and asked, "Captain, do you know what that big shot does in the inner city?"


    Kay frowned and thought, "Who knows... But I heard that she lives alone now. Um... I also heard that she has business dealings with many big tycoons in the inner city, but I don''t know what she does."


    "Oh, I see..."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en became curious.


    Living alone and being called ady, could she be a widow?


    Since she''s a sponsor, there should be some big consortium backing her.


    But this one, seems a bit wild...


    A socialite of high society?


    Or the spokesperson for some real big shots behind the scenes?


    ***


    But before the two could say more, footsteps sounded from the stairs.


    Turning their heads, they saw Qian Tiao.


    The gambling-addicted young woman seemed to be in a good mood. She waved her hand and said, "Kay, Su''en, let''s go, I''m treating you guys to a hot spring."


    "Ah... hot spring?"


    Upon hearing this, Kay''s expression instantly became strange, as if he had recalled some not-so-good memories.


    Su''en was also curious, why did this boss suddenly invite them to a hot spring?


    Qian Tiao nced at Su''en, her eyes slightly strange, but she didn''t exin further.

 Chapter 53: Daily soaking

    Chapter 53: Daily soaking


    Norton Street is about a seven to eight-minute drive from Green Street, and that street is also the busiest "soup street" in the southern city.


    Outside the city of Old Lingdun, there are arge number of factories that consume endless amounts of coal every day with theirrge steam boilers. As a result, the air quality in the city is very poor, with arge amount of particles and dust floating in the sky. Often, after walking on the street for a few hours, people''s bodies and hair would be covered in thick dust.


    Because of this, the residents of Old Lingdun City also have a strong culture of soaking in hot springs. Whether rich or poor, they would choose to soak in hot springs every day to cleanse their bodies.


    Although the underground water in Old Lingdun City cannot be directly consumed, it is suitable for soaking and bathing. Every day, arge amount of boiler water flows out from the factories, ranging from cheap public bathhouses to high-end hot spring facilities that provide various services.


    And Norton Street has thousands of hot spring facilities, big and small.


    This is the territory of the big shots.


    ........


    Green Street also has ces for hot springs, but they are usually known as bathhouses.


    Su''en didn''t understand why Qiantiao suddenly invited them to soak in hot springs.


    But looking at Kay''s eager behavior, he felt that things might not be that simple.


    After leaving the gambling den, the three of them went to pick up their vehicles on the side of the street. Kay had his own Harley motorcycle, and Su''en originally nned to borrow one as well, but Qiantiao seemed to find it troublesome and asked him to ride with her.


    "Kay, let''s go to ''A Kun''s Hot Spring''."


    "Oh, okay, Sister Qiantiao."


    Kay nced at Su''en, revealing a mischievous smile, then started the motorcycle and disappeared around the corner in a sh.


    Su''en was a bit puzzled, but could only sit on the back seat of Qiantiao''s motorcycle with a stiff face.


    It must be said that the cadre''s motorcycle was several levels higher than an ordinary one.


    Qiantiao''s ride was a ck cheetah motorcycle, with body lines that matched the softness of a woman, but also had a fierce and wild appearance. Su''en''s mechanical knowledge now allowed him to understand that the modifications on the motorcycle were high-end, and its performance was definitely top-notch.


    However... the back seat was small, as if it was more suitable for a single rider.


    Qiantiao got on the motorcycle and seemed to feel restrained, so she rolled up one of her sleeves, revealing her iconicrge floral arm. She started the motorcycle, looking like she was ready to speed off, and reminded Su''en behind her, "Hold on tight!"


    In the gang, street racing was one of the favorite entertainment activities for the gang members. These guys were extremely reckless in their street racing, and their speed on the streets was even faster than professional racers in the previous life''s racing tracks...


    Su''en was afraid of being thrown off, so he got on the motorcycle and naturally held onto the waist of this gambling-addicted woman.


    The two of them were quite familiar with each other, and they often had physical contact in their daily lives, so it wasn''t awkward.


    "Vroom~"


    "Vroom~"


    "Vroom~"


    The motorcycle''s boiler roared like a wild beast, and the sound of the tires rubbing against the ground was piercing. With a swoosh, the motorcycle shot forward.


    The sudden eleration made Su''en feel like his whole body was rapidly tilting backwards, but fortunately, he reacted in time and hugged Qiantiao''s waist, avoiding the embarrassment of falling off.


    The wind rushed past their ears, and the scenery on the side of the street quickly shed by.


    Su''en gradually adapted to this speed, and his perception became clearer.


    It must be said that melee professionals generally had good physiques, and this gambling-addicted woman''s figure was also excellent. Her well-proportioned and strong waist had no excess fat, and it felt warm to the touch.


    Because of the leaning riding position, Qiantiao seemed to be lying on the engine, and Su''en, who was hugging her waist, felt like his hand was being pressed down by something heavy and couldn''t move.


    The wind blew her green hair, and the strands tickled Su''en''s face.


    Su''en felt that their posture seemed a bit too intimate, after all, she was a high-ranking member of the gang, so it was somewhat presumptuous. But seeing that the big shots didn''t say anything, he didn''t say much either.


    ......


    After a while, the motorcycle slowly decelerated and stopped by the roadside.


    This was a Japanese-style hot spring facility, with low tiled houses,ttice windows, and a sign hanging at the entrance that said "A Kun''s Hot Spring".


    Kay''s motorcycle had long been turned off, and he was squatting on the side of the street chatting and joking with a group of acquaintances.


    When Su''en and Qiantiao got off the motorcycle, those people also stood up straight and bowed, shouting.


    "Sister Qiantiao!"


    "Sister Qiantiao!"


    "..."


    The dressing style of the gang members in this block was mostly rted to the boss. The Ten Cross Society members on Norton Street also followed Qiantiao''s style, withrge floral arms and various colors of punk hairstyles. Both men and women had a fierce and aggressive look, resembling the yakuza from the previous life in Japan.Qian Tiao nodded to everyone and waved her hand, "There''s nothing to do today, everyone can leave."


    After a pause, she added, "By the way, make arrangements for the Sanquan Pool, I want to take a bath."


    "Yes, Qian Tiao."


    The group of little gang members greeted each other and dispersed.


    Kay''s face twitched slightly when he heard "Sanquan Pool". He looked at Su''en with a strange look, as if he was holding back a smirk.


    Qian Tiao nced at Su''en beside her, hooked her shoulder familiarly, and enthusiastically said, "Su''en, you probably haven''t been to Norton Street before, right? Come, I''ll show you the special services in my jurisdiction today..."


    "Oh..."


    Su''en felt something was off.


    But looking at the in storefront in front of him, without any exposed girls weing guests, it seemed like a regr bathhouse for massages and baths.


    He thought that as a female cadre of the gang, Qian Tiao wouldn''t make such a ridiculous move of bringing her subordinates to a ce of pleasure. So he didn''t think much about it and followed her inside.


    As soon as they entered, Su''en noticed that the storefront of this bathhouse was in, but the interior decoration was luxurious, indicating that it was high-end.


    Qian Tiao led the way, probably guessing that Su''en would be confused, and casually exined, "This is a bathhouse specially for receiving high-level VIPs of the gang. It''s not open to the public. The water in all the pools here is not boiler water, but underground hot springs. It''s very beneficial for professionals."


    As she spoke, she seemed to think of something and added, "The president and the cadres oftene here, oh... even Mrs. Filov, whom you met before, asionallyes all the way from the inner city to take a bath."


    Listening to this, Su''en realized that Qian Tiao had invited them to take a bath on a whim?


    ......


    After entering, there were dedicated female attendants to receive them one-on-one.


    Qian Tiao went to the women''s changing room, while Su''en and Kay went to another side.


    After they separated, Su''en finally had the opportunity to ask Kay, "Captain, is there anything special about bathing here?"


    He naturally noticed that Kay''s expression was a bit strange and guessed that there might be some special rules.


    "Hehe... nothing, just enjoy it."


    Kay smirked, but didn''t say directly, and said, "The services here are ording to the standards of the inner city. Ordinary people can''t enjoy them. Last time, I came with the boss of the Smoke Gang..."


    Before they could chat for long, the female attendant led Su''en and Kay to separate ces.


    The services in this high-end bathhouse were very attentive, and Su''en didn''t need to know what he needed to do throughout the whole process.


    The tall and slender female attendant led Su''en to a separate dressing room, then carefully helped him wash his body, changed into a bathrobe, and provided considerate service. Even though it was his first time here, he didn''t feel ufortable at all, but rather feltpletely at home.


    Su''en didn''t find it strange either. After changing his clothes, he followed the female attendant into the courtyard behind.


    "Sir, please follow me."


    The backyard wasrger than it appeared, with a Japanese-style courtyard and corridor design, taking care of the environment while cleverly ensuring the privacy of the guests.


    You could see the smoke and hear the sound of water, but the bath was cleverly hidden by artificial hills and vegetation, so no one could be seen.


    White smoke emerged everywhere, seemingly an open-air bath.


    The female attendant who Su''en followed walked through several corridors and arrived at an independent courtyard called the "Sanquan Pool".


    The female attendant stopped at the door, seemingly not intending to go in, and said, "Sir, it''s clean inside. If you need anything, just call me."


    "Okay."


    Su''en didn''t say much either and walked in.


    After passing through a small bonsai of shrubs, his vision suddenly opened up.


    Su''en saw clearly the open-air bath of about seventy to eighty square meters in front of him, and his face froze in ce, "Huh... Did I walk the wrong way? Did Ie to the women''s bath?"


    As soon as Su''en said this, the seven or eight big-armed women soaking in the pool all turned their gazes towards him.


    This scene was not romantic at all. As far as the eye could see, there were several heavyweight fighters weighing three to four hundred pounds each, with full-back tattoos, fierce and intimidating. It almost made Su''en instinctively reach for his gun.


    Looking at the calm temperament of these women, they were almost on par with professionals.


    Suddenly, Su''en thought of something and thought to himself, "Could these be the powerful subordinates by Qian Tiao''s side that the Cross Society talks about?"


    There is a legend circting in the Cross Society that Qian Tiao has a group of strong women as her capable subordinates, with formidablebat power. Could these be the ones in front of him?


    He thought he must have gone the wrong way, but before he could turn around, he saw Qian Tiao entering through another entrance, with a towel hanging on her shoulder.


    She greeted Su''en, "Huh... why are you standing there? Come and join me in the bath..."


    "..."Su''en''s face twitched, suddenly realizing what Kay''s teasing gaze meant.


    However, he was only surprised for a moment before his expression returned to normal.


    Because he suddenly knew why the gambling addict had invited him to soak in the hot spring.


    .......


    Qiantiao took off the towel and walked into the hot spring pool.


    He wasn''tpletely naked, still wearing a thin gray linen robe and shorts specifically for swimming.


    However, when the robe and pants, as thin as paper, got wet, they became semi-transparent, not much different from being naked. Su''en could see through them clearly.


    Hmm... this boss does have a good figure, with distinct curves.


    It''s not that he "doesn''t look at others" and only looks at Qiantiao, but the other people in the pool are a bit eye-catching.


    This is a mixed bathing encounter, and Su''en is not shy. He calmly enters the water.


    At this time, Qiantiaozily lies by the poolside and shouts, "Get a few people to give me a back rub."


    With a call, several female attendants dressed in the same cool attire enter, and the atmosphere finally bes less "oppressive."


    After waiting for a while and Kay still hasn''te, Su''en knows that the guy probably already knew what would happen here.


    However, he is also at ease.


    Since he''s here, he might as well enjoy it.


    Although the color of the hot spring water is slightly dark, it is still clear. Soaking in the water, he feels the refreshing sensation on his countless pores. And with each breath, he can clearly feel the cirction of that dark spiritual power in his meridians.


    With these several gang elders by his side, Su''en doesn''t have to worry about his safety. After traveling through time for so long, this is the first time he has enjoyed such a leisurely time.


    .......


    The clothes of the female attendants around him arepletely soaked, sticking to their bodies as if they were not wearing anything, even adding a hint of temptation. The two attendants help with the washing, asionally making provocative physical contact, and casually reaching out can touch their alluring tenderness.


    "Although there is no danger this time, you should be more careful. Those noble young masters anddies are not easy to serve. Do your guiding job well and try not to talk to people."


    "Okay."


    "Themunication signal is cut off in the depths of the underground cave. So, be more vignt and adapt ordingly."


    "..."


    It''s just some irrelevant small talk.


    Even if Su''en doesn''t open his eyes, he can feel certain stolen nces wandering over his body. In this scene, he has already guessed Qiantiao''s "scheme."


    Finally, he didn''t say anything, but the other person couldn''t help but speak.


    "Ah... It''s been a long time since a man dared toe to these three spring pools even though it''s a mixed bath."


    "..."


    "Su''en, do you know why I invited you to soak in the hot spring?"


    "To see if I''m really not interested in women."


    "Huh... You guessed it?"


    "Heh, it''s a test... Probably thatdy was afraid that I had abnormal tendencies and would disturb those noble young masters in the inner city. And you, Qiantiao, were curious if I really liked men..."


    "Heh, you''re quite clever. So... you really have no interest in women?"


    "..."


    Su''en felt that this boss was good in many aspects, but his emotional intelligence seemed to becking.


    He looked at Qiantiao''s curious gaze, feeling a bit helpless.


    "No, my preferences are normal."


    "Then why didn''t you react? When Kay camest time, it was quite embarrassing. He didn''t dare toe together this time..."


    "..."


    Although the two of them are already familiar, Su''en didn''t expect Qiantiao to be so straightforward.


    And when the boss asked this, the capable attendants beside her also had a teasing smile on their faces.


    Su''en could probably imagine the embarrassing situation Kay had been in.


    In this world, the concept of gender is very open, especially for gang members who live on the edge of life and death. Pleasure ismonce, and the nightlife is like home. The hot spring culture in Old Lingdun is very ancient, just like ancient Rome in Su''en''s previous life, mixed bathing between men and women is normal.


    And Qiantiao seems to have no problem exposing herself in front of Su''en. In her eyes, there are no men, only brothers and knives.


    Su''en was speechless when asked, he didn''t exin his ability to control certain emotions in his body.


    But he also nced at the several capable attendants, the meaning was clear: Are you going to make me perform in front of everyone?


    Qiantiao probably guessed something and waved her hand. The several capable attendants also wrapped themselves in towels and left the pool, instantly lowering the water level by several centimeters.In the pool now, there were only Qian Tiao and a few female attendants, all of whom were quite attractive, creating a scene of springtime beauty.


    The attendants probably knew what Qian Tiao wanted them to do, so they clung even closer to her.


    Seeing the gossip-hungry eyes of the gambling-addicted woman, Su''en helplessly stood up.


    Qian Tiao saw something, her eyes lit up, and she even let out a meaningful "hmm," saying, "Oh, not bad..."


    She didn''t shy away from her gaze, seemingly not finding anything inappropriate.


    Having witnessed it firsthand, she confirmed that this guy was indeed straight.


    "..."


    Su''en rubbed his temples in annoyance, and in retaliation, he stared at Qian Tiao''s almost uncovered chest.


    Hmm... majestic and upright, round and smooth.


    And those tight, slender, beautiful legs...


    However, the carefree smile that Qian Tiao had on her face from beginning to end was not a pretense, but a true reflection of her pure heart. After a few seconds, Su''en felt as if his gaze was somewhat disrespectful.


    It was just like that inte phrase from his previous life, "I treated you as a brother, and you actually want to X me?"


    Qian Tiao seemed to have noticed Su''en''s unabashed gaze, and only then did she realize something.


    But she didn''t cover herself, instead, she squinted her eyes and warned in a stern tone, "Hey, hey, hey... you''re really not polite, are you..."


    In the guild, there were no such bold guys. Even if there were, they would have been souls under the knife.


    The corner of Su''en''s mouth slightly lifted, he didn''t argue, but he did avert his gaze.


    He didn''t sense any killing intent, so this boss probably didn''t really mind.

 Chapter 54: Haunted house

    Chapter 54: Haunted house


    When Su''en came out of "Akun''s Soup Room," it was already the middle of the night.


    On the street, he ran into the refreshed Kay.


    This guy disappeared as soon as he entered, probably sneaking off to another bathhouse to enjoy a soak. He caught up with Su''en and started the motorcycle, asking, "How was the soup room here?"


    Seeing his teasing expression, Su''en guessed that Kay wasn''t genuinely curious about the luxurious service he had enjoyed, but rather wanted to know about the embarrassing situation he had encountered.


    After all, thest time Su''en came, he was almost humiliated by a group of capable subordinates. The women''s eyes were too sharp, and their words were full of malice... It still left him with psychological trauma.


    Su''en guessed what Kay was thinking and smiled without exining much, "It''s not bad."


    As he spoke, a fleeting and beautiful image shed through his mind.


    Hmm... that gambling addict''s figure is indeed good.


    Although Qiantiao didn''t have much of an attitude towards familiar subordinates and everyone was eloquent whenmunicating, besides being addicted to gambling, he hadn''t heard of any chaotic private life from this boss.


    Su''en felt like she had no interest in men at all.


    "Oh~"


    Kay thought that Su''en didn''t want to talk about his embarrassing situation and showed a knowing smile.


    The two rode the motorcycle back to Green Street.


    .......


    It wasn''t toote when Su''en returned, and he caught thest professional diatorial match at the gambling stall, conveniently harvesting some soul fragments.


    This night was not wasted.


    Then he went to the "Three Fire Guns Tavern" and, as expected, received a message from the potion stall owner.


    "Tomorrow at noon, the warehouse on the back street of Gingko Street."


    The note left the meeting ce and time, and Su''en looked at it and had a rough idea, "He paid the deposit this afternoon and made an appointment to meet tomorrow morning. He must be urgently in need of money."


    Looking at Gingko Street again, Su''en also guessed that the mysterious stall owner might be active in this area. After all, secret transactions generally wouldn''t take ce in unfamiliar territory. He had previously chosen to pay the deposit on Gingko Street and now chose to meet there, indicating that the other party was familiar with the environment there.


    Su''en didn''t think much about it. After all, it was the territory of the Cross Society, and many underground forces had some connections. The mysterious stall owner might indeed have some involvement with the Cross Society.


    It was already early morning when Su''en left the tavern. He went to the hotel to meditate and rest, replenishing his energy.


    But before noon, he received news from the real estate agent that they had found a suitable property.


    Big enough, cheap enough, and quiet enough...


    Thinking that it wouldn''t affect the noon transaction, Su''en decided not to rest and took the opportunity to go to the real estate agency.


    He was tired of the poor amodation conditions in cheap hotels.


    He wanted to find a suitable ce to live, preferably spacious enough, with a shooting range where he could practice marksmanship, alchemy, and making puppets.


    ......


    Su''en didn''t expect that the meeting ce the real estate agent arranged for him was also Gingko Street.


    Areas with a high concentration of entertainment venues usually wouldn''t be too remote. Gingko Street, which was not far from Green Street, belonged to the "middle-ss district" of the outer city.


    Here, there were rtivelyplete social resources, and many people with stable jobs in the outer city lived in this area.


    "There used to be a banker from the inner city who nned to choose this ce as the address for the bank and even wanted to build a vault underground... Butter, because they dug too deep and probably hit the earth''s veins, a thick dark spiritual power surged out. It was unbearable for ordinary people, and the bank n was abandoned, so this house became vacant..."


    "I heard that you are about to advance to a professional, looking for a ce with a strong dark spiritual power. I think there is no better ce than this property of mine. The underground vault is spacious enough, and the sound instion effect is excellent. You can even use it as a shooting range. Even if you practice marksmanship in the middle of the night, I don''t think anyone willin about disturbing the peace..."


    "And, you can rent this two-story house with a basement for only two thousand liang. I dare say there is no cheaper option in Old Lingdun."


    "..."


    Thendlord''s name was Gngtai, a middle-aged man who looked shrewd with a big belly.


    He followed Su''en all the way, introducing the house at 88 Gingko Street.


    It was a grayish small Western-style building, located in a slightly secluded corner of the back street, inconspicuous. The house had simple furniture, and the basic decoration was almostplete. Gas and water pipes were installed, and it was ready to move in with just a twist...


    Su''en didn''t expect to be pleasantly surprised during this house viewing. The previous few times, various conditions didn''t meet his expectations.


    But this property in front of him met all his expectations in every aspect.


    Not eye-catching, quiet enough... especially the sturdy and spacious basement, which made him most satisfied.


    The house itself was an ancient building, sturdy enough, and the thick cement walls of the basement prevented the sound of gunfire from spreading.


    Here, Su''en could already imagine having his own workshop in the future, making runic puppets, modifying machinery, and using it as a shooting range...


    Moreover, the reason why this house was so cheap was because of the thick "dark spiritual power" permeating from below.


    For ordinary people, this was a deadly "radiation" that could cause distortions.


    The dark spiritual power in Old Lingdun City was much weaker than outside the city, and the practice of breathing techniques for professionals would also be much slower, probably only one-fifth to one-tenth of that outside the city.


    But it wasn''t absolute, and there were also some localized "high distortion areas" in the city where the dark spiritual power was much denser.


    Like this small building.


    However, ordinary professionals didn''t like this kind of ce because in a high distortion environment, humans could unknowingly undergo distortions. Environmental factors were one of the most difficult distortion factors to control. The denser the dark spiritual power, the more violent and difficult to control it became.However, Su''en had no such concerns. He possessed the All-Seeing Eye, which allowed him to clearly see the changes in his own data surface. If he detected any abnormal spearheads, he could leave in time.


    Moreover, he was in need of such high concentrations of dark spiritual power.


    Su''en had now taken up the position of a first-order puppeteer, his rank limit had been lifted, and his body needed to absorb more dark spiritual power toy the foundation for advancing to the second-order profession in the future.


    Although most of the members of the Cross Society had never thought they could advance to the second order in their lifetime, Su''en, as a transmigrator, was not just satisfied with the bottom-level scenery.


    Therefore, this small building was very suitable.


    He signed the contract, paid the rent, and spent several thousand Lisuo.


    Su''en received the keys to the house.


    Thendlord, Gngtai, seemed very pleased as well. This troublesome property of his had finally been rented out.


    ......


    Su''en was always efficient in handling matters. It took him less than an hour to view the house and sign the contract.


    Landlord Gngtai said he would arrange for someone to clean the house in the next two days and agreed to hand over the house in three days.


    Su''en had no objections. He needed to prepare for the "Inner City Trial Group" in the next two days.


    He left the small building. It was not yet nine o''clock, and the morning crowd was already bustling on Ginkgo Street.


    Su''en nned to find something for breakfast and thought of the Bellman Bakery at No. 14 Ginkgo Street where he had previously paid a deposit.


    Because many middle-ss people lived on this street, the bakery offered not only hard ck bread that could be used as a baseball bat, but also a variety of other styles to choose from.


    Su''en randomly picked a few, stuffed them into an oil paper bag, and prepared to pay.


    At this time, two half-grown boys wearing duckbill caps and overalls followed him in, seemingly making some small moves.


    In fact, Su''en had noticed them before he entered the door and knew that these children were the mostmon thieves in the outer city.


    But they were not after Su''en''s wallet, but the bread on the counter.


    While Su''en was choosing and paying, the two boys had quietly swiped two pieces of ck bread, their technique was very skilled.


    Su''en pretended not to see, but the bakery owner seemed to be very familiar with these habitual offenders'' methods.


    As soon as the two boys came in, the clerk''s eyes became very alert. At this moment, they had just seeded and had no chance to slip away, the baker with the golden handlebar mustache came out angrily with a rolling pin, grabbing one of them by the cor.


    With this pull, a foot-long piece of bread fell to the ground.


    "Hey, you damn brats, you''re back again!"


    The baker roared angrily, lifting the little thief into the air.


    The duckbill cap fell off, revealing a dirty little face. With clear eyebrows and bright eyes, it turned out to be a "tomboy" with short hair.


    Su''en originally didn''t n to interfere, such things were toomon in the outer city.


    Children in the slums mostly lived by begging and stealing. Being beaten and going hungry were part of their growth. Whether they could survive in this cruel world depended on their own fate.


    However, when Su''en saw the look of fear and helplessness in the child''s eyes, he suddenly saw his own past. He had been helpless like this, as if the whole world had abandoned him.


    The little thief was hit with a stick, her eyes full of tears, but she didn''t cry out.


    Su''en thought for a moment, pointing to the ck bread on the ground: "How much for these breads?"


    The handlebar mustache baker guessed Su''en''s intention and advised: "Oh, honorable customer, these thieves are not worth your sympathy... You don''t need to spend money on them."


    He paused, looking like he was about to beat the little thief, and said menacingly: "If we don''t give these guys a painful lesson, they''ll be back tomorrow!"


    Su''en didn''t argue, he handed over a banknote: "Here''s fifty Lisuo, it should be enough to buy these breads."


    He showed no expression on his face, paid the money, and turned to leave the bakery.

 Chapter 55: Mysterious pharmacist

    Chapter 55: Mysterious pharmacist


    Su''en had no intention of being a good person, nor did he intend to owe anyone gratitude.


    He left the bakery, but he didn''t expect that the tomboy would chase after him with the bread in her arms.


    "Sir, please wait..."


    Su''en heard someone calling him from behind and stopped.


    Perhaps it was because people who mingled with the underworld had a domineering aura, the tomboy instinctively took a step back when she saw Su''en''s expressionless face.


    She said, "Sir, thank you for your generosity. We... we really need this food."


    "Mm."


    Su''en nced at her, nodded, and epted her verbal gratitude.


    He could naturally tell that this skinny tomboy needed food, or rather, everyone in the slums needed food.


    Su''en originally didn''t n to stay longer, but at this moment, the tomboy spoke up. Due to her panic, her words were a bit incoherent. "Um, sir... we didn''t intentionally follow you. We just saw you renting a house earlier..."


    Su''en frowned as he listened.


    The tomboy seemed startled and quickly exined, "You were deceived by that Ge Langtai! He definitely didn''t tell you that people have died in that building. It''s a haunted house and can''t be rented out. Two months ago, a blind man went in and never came out, and there were also..."


    Before Su''en could ask further, she ran away like a frightened rabbit.


    So, she chased after him just to tell him this news?


    A piece of bread in exchange for a piece of news.


    Su''en listened with a pensive expression.


    It wasn''t surprising to him that someone had died in the house. If it were an ordinary person, they would definitely encounter trouble living in such a highly distorted environment.


    Otherwise, the rent wouldn''t be so cheap.


    But ording to the little girl''s implication, more than one person had died in that building?


    In that case, thendlord was indeed an unscrupulous businessman.


    Thendlord had indeed deliberately concealed a part of the truth, but for Su''en, if it was only because of the dense dark spiritual power, it wouldn''t be too troublesome.


    But perhaps the deceased were not ordinary people, but professionals?


    After all, it was rare to find such a suitable property, and Su''en wouldn''t give up just because someone had died.


    He also thought that before moving in next time, he should use the All-Knowing Eye to carefully examine what was strange about the house.


    .......


    The agreed time for the transaction was twelve noon.


    Su''en went to the hotel and changed into a ck market-style trench coat suit.


    The meeting ce was an abandoned warehouse on Gingko Street. He had explored the area when he was wandering around before. It was sparsely popted and indeed suitable for some shady transactions.


    The mysterious stall owner was obviously cautious too. The chosen location had aplex cluster of buildings, making it easy to escape in case of emergencies.


    At eleven fifty-five, Su''en arrived at the warehouse on time.


    As a member of the underworld, he didn''t feel much pressureing to these remote ces. On the contrary, when he saw the few half-sized guys disguised as members of the underworld, he felt a bit surprised.


    These guys were wearing obviously ill-fitting old trench coats, with ck hats on their heads and their hands resting on their chests, as if they were about to draw their guns. They almost had the words "we are the underworld" written on their foreheads.


    It seemed like they wanted to overpower Su''en, a genuine member of the underworld, with their imposing manner?


    "I''m actually trading with a bunch of half-sized guys?"


    Su''en''s eyesight easily captured the six people who hade to the abandoned factory.


    In addition to the potion stall owner who was still wearing a ck cloak, there were five thugs who seemed to be guarding the ce. The clothes they were wearing seemed to have been stolen from somewhere, clearly a size too big.


    But with their cold expressions, silent aura, and the way they touched their guns, it was like a scene from a gangster movie.


    Of course, if it weren''t for the trembling feet, Su''en would have thought that these people were really the real deal.


    But he felt that their gun-drawing actions were probably just for show. They probably couldn''t pull out a firearm from their trench coats.


    Although firearms were everywhere in Old Lingdun, for people in the slums, it was better to exchange a piece of bread than to carry around a lump of iron.


    Of course, even if they had guns, they wouldn''t pose any threat to a firearms expert.


    And after observing for a while, Su''en was surprised to find that the world was really small.


    Upon closer inspection, two of the trench coat-wearing individuals were the two thieves from the bakery this morning.


    "..."


    Su''en suddenly felt that the mysterious atmosphere of the transaction had disappeared in an instant.


    If he didn''t know that the stall owner really had top-grade potions, he would have thought that this was a prank.


    .......


    Su''en also clearly saw the other party''s realization that he hade alone, and their rxed movements.


    The person in the ck robe said in a deep voice, "Did you bring the money?"


    After guessing the other party''s identity, Su''en wanted to take it seriously, but he couldn''t bring himself to do so.


    Although his face was covered, when he looked with his True Eyes, it was indeed the "Half-Deformed Human" from the ck market.


    "I brought it."


    Su''en didn''t see the goods, but he took out the money bag containing two hundred thousand in cash and handed it over directly.


    He was confident that the other party wouldn''t y any tricks. Of course, he also had the confidence that before the other party could cheat him, he would shoot them all in the head and take his money back.


    The person in the ck robe took the money bag and a smile appeared on his face.


    He asked, "What kind of potion do you need?""I''m very interested in your potions. You''ve seen my sincerity, and we believe we can have a long-term partnership. I have channels to sell the goods..."


    Su''en said directly, he didn''t want just a few potions, but an opportunity to earn money through long-term cooperation.


    But before he could finish his words, the cloaked figure interrupted him decisively, saying, "No, unless there''s a problem, I won''t sell my potions. Our transaction is limited to this one time."


    "..."


    Su''en frowned slightly upon hearing this.


    A one-time deal?


    His thoughts instantly changed.


    He was now more certain that these potions were made by this cloaked figure. It meant that this person had at least the level of an "advanced alchemist." And such technical talents, even in the inner city, were the elite ss thatcked no money.


    Perhaps the reason for not wanting topete with potions was not only because of the fear of attracting attention?


    Is he really a wanted criminal?


    It was normal for criminals to be wanted, but if an alchemist was wanted, it would be intriguing.


    What charges?


    Illegal production of controlled potions, causing medical idents, or something else?


    Su''en guessed that the other party might have a shady background like himself.


    He didn''t say much either.


    After all, since he recognized two of the kids as thieves in this neighborhood, there was no need to rush.


    There would be plenty of opportunities for further contact in the future.


    Su''en said, "Alright! Then I need an equivalent amount of potions..."


    Suddenly, he remembered that he would be going to the underground dungeon in three days and added, "I n to hunt and kill aberrant monsters in the city dungeon. Do you have any rmended potionbinations?"


    It was better to buy potions directly from an alchemist than to prepare blindly on his own.


    "The dungeon?"


    But upon hearing this, the cloaked figure''s tone suddenly became serious, and he casually said, "The aberrant monsters in the sewers have undergone uncontroble and violent mutations due to environmental influences. The city sewers have be very dangerous now. I suggest you not go. If you really want to go... you should at least have a team of second-tier professionals to ensure basic safety."


    "Huh..."


    Su''en thought the other party would introduce him to potions, but he didn''t expect to hear this.


    He keenly caught many key words.


    The fact that the monsters in the sewers had mutated had not spread among the general public. Even the high-level members of the Cross Society only knew that there were more new monsters in the sewers, but they had no idea about the cause of this abnormal situation.


    This guy actually knew about the mutations in the sewer monsters and even knew that the mutations were caused by environmental factors?


    "Of course, it''s just my spection."


    Obviously, as soon as the cloaked figure spoke, he seemed to realize that he had said something he shouldn''t have, and his tone became slightly panicked.


    He quickly remedied, "If you really want to go, I suggest you bring at least intermediate-level ''antidote potions.'' I have two types of advanced potions here, one for neurotoxins and one for septic toxins. The sewers are full of various toxins, and these two potions are enough to deal with most poisoning situations. Of course, you also need essential healing potions, paralysis relief potions... adrenaline and blood-booster potions are also essential for battles... If you have extra budget, I suggest you buy some ''aberrant monster repellent.'' This powder is expensive, costing 100,000 lis, but it might save your life when you encounter danger..."


    "Oh?"


    Listening to the string of professional terms, Su''en once again confirmed that this guy was very knowledgeable in alchemy.


    Moreover, he seemed to be very familiar with the situation of underground monsters.


    However, Su''en also sensed that this guy had a good heart from his words.


    If he were a shrewd businessperson, upon hearing that Su''en was going hunting, he would definitely rmend his own potions. But he first warned Su''en about the danger in the dungeon.


    Su''en directly asked, "How much do all these potions cost?"


    The cloaked figure thought for a moment and said, "These potions are very expensive on the market, but I''ll only charge you 250,000 lis. However, you have to promise me one condition, that you won''t tell anyone about our transaction."


    Su''en wasn''t surprised at all by his words and immediately agreed, "Alright!"


    You should know that the inferior potionsmonly used by hunters cost only three to five hundred lis each. This batch of potions would cost over 200,000 lis, which was definitely a luxury that ordinary people wouldn''t even dare to think about.


    Su''en didn''t hesitate to take out 50,000 lis in cash.


    Although it seemed like there was no danger in this mission, he believed in being prepared.


    After receiving the money, the cloaked figure said again, "I only brought a portion of the potions with me. If you trust me, I''ll have someone deliver the rest to the ''Three Fire Guns Tavern''ter. If you don''t trust me..."


    Before he could finish, Su''en interrupted, "No problem, I trust you."


    Pausing for a moment, he continued, "If I need more potionster, how can I contact you?"The cloaked man originally intended to say that he would no longer trade in the future. But looking at the customer in front of him who had given him enough trust, he found it hard to refuse.


    After a moment of hesitation, he finally said, "You can leave a note, just put it in the mailbox at the entrance of the Bellman Bakery on Ginkgo Street No.14. After I get the message, I will contact you in the old way. But you need to know, I have very few potions on hand, it''s impossible to provide on arge scale..."


    Su''en agreed without hesitation, "That''s fine!"


    This cloaked man probably only has a simple small potion workshop, he didn''t expect to get arge batch of potions. But as long as this path is not cut off, he can consider other options in the future.


    ......


    The transaction was sessfullypleted, and Su''en left the abandoned warehouse.


    Those half-grown kids who got the money also carefully crossed the building ruins, and after a lot of twists and turns, they finally crawled into a broken house underground.


    In the dim room, they lit candles, counting a bag full of cash, all of them were very excited.


    "Ah, finally we can save Susan''s mom!"


    "Yeah, with this money, Big Brother Danny can buy those expensive materials and make the mutation suppression potion..."


    "..."


    ......


    In the afternoon, Su''en got the potion at the tavern.


    And two dayster, the trial team from the "ck Tower Alchemy Academy" in the inner city finally arrived.


    A day earlier than nned.

 Chapter 56: Leather clothing

    Chapter 56: Leather clothing


    The "ck Tower Alchemy Academy Trial Team" from the inner city arrived one day earlier than scheduled, which didn''t surprise Su''en.


    He thought that the mentors deliberately adjusted the time for the safety of the young masters and misses, so as not to be ambushed.


    But for Su''en, whether it was one day earlier or one dayter didn''t make much difference.


    After all, his task was to take this group of prince sightseeing group to the underground cavern and see if there was a chance to visit the location where the banned scythe was sealed.


    .......


    At five o''clock in the morning, Su''en received a sudden message while squatting at the gambling stall, saying that the sightseeing group would arrive at Green Street at seven o''clock.


    But fortunately, the equipment, ammunition, and potions were all prepared early, and he wasn''t caught off guard.


    Half an hour in advance, Su''en waited alone at the designated location outside the tenement building.


    It seemed that the big shots from the inner city didn''t like to interact with too many people from the outer city. Even the members of the Cross Society didn''t have the qualifications to pick them up.


    Qiantiao specifically reminded him to dress in a "gangster" style that wasn''t too revealing, for fear of frightening those inner city nobles who had never seen a real gangster.


    So today, Su''en didn''t continue his dark punk style, but changed into a standard hunter outfit: high boots with puncture resistance, tactical vest, knee and shoulder guards with metal parts, and a worn leather cloak. In addition to the gas mask on his face, he also applied oil paint and covered it with ayer of ck gauze. After putting on the alchemy night vision device, probably no one could recognize him.


    Hanging from his waist were two pistols with increased ammunition capacity, which he had recently modified into firearms ording to his shooting habits. There were also mechanical gloves, daggers, magazines, and a first aid kit...


    .......


    After waiting for half an hour, at exactly seven o''clock, a heavily armored military transport vehicle arrived outside the tenement building.


    This kind of military heavy truck was rarely seen in the outer city, just like a spaceshipnding in a garbage dump. This movement inevitably attracted the attention of the original residents of the tenement building.


    There was the emblem of the Cross Society on Su''en''s cloak, indicating his identity.


    This identity had enough deterrent power. He raised his hand to signal for them to avoid, and those poor people who looked like distorted monsters in the eyes of the inner city nobles didn''te to disturb these young nobles out of curiosity.


    This was also the biggest role of him, the "local snake".


    Su''en walked over and greeted the leading mentor, introducing himself, "Mr. August, I am Su''en. Miss Philo rmended me to be in charge of guiding you in this trial."


    August was a middle-aged man with a brown beard, very steady in his demeanor. He was also a second-tier professional and the leading mentor of this trial.


    The mentor appeared very cultured. Even though he knew Su''en''s gangster identity, he didn''t show any contempt, giving him enough respect and politely said, "Hello, Mr. Su''en, you will be responsible for the trial of the students this time."


    Su''en responded in the same courteous manner, "It is my honor."


    The students got off the car one after another, looking around like curious babies.


    Su''en didn''t say anything and quietly watched them get off the car.


    A total of twenty-three students participated in this trial, in addition to the second-tier professional mentor August, there were also two assistants. One male and one female, the male named Daniel, had well-crafted and technologically advanced mechanical exoskeletons on his arms and legs; the female named Rosa, dressed in a sexy low-cut teacher''s skirt, looked like a mage from the French system.


    The students were all young, about fifteen or sixteen years old, and fully armed.


    Although their outfits were different, they all wore a tight ck "liquid battle suit" underneath.


    "Could it be... school uniforms?"


    Su''en had never seen this kind ofbat suit that looked like sharkskin swimsuits. Not only did it take into ount the design aesthetics, but also the mysterious runes asionally revealed under the light and the blue fluorescent energy marks full of technology on the clothes. He knew that this suit was not only clothing but also an alchemical product, and its functionality must be excellent.


    The male students looked very heroic in these leather suits, exuding a sense of stability in ck.


    The female students, who were full of youthful vitality, wore these ck liquid leather pants, fully disying their tall figures. The well-developed chests, perky buttocks, and slender and symmetrical thighs outlined the most perfect and enticing lines. They exuded a pure and beautiful aura from head to toe.


    Su''en took a nce and then restrained his gaze.


    It was no wonder that Lady Philo was so demanding when selecting a guide. These young female students were indeed attractive to this group of rough gangsters.


    .......


    All the students got off the car, and no one talked to Su''en, and he didn''t intend to seek any attention.


    Before entering the underground cavern, Mentor August gave a routine speech to the students, saying, "Today is your graduation trial. Complete the mission in groups of five... The two assistants will giveprehensive evaluations based on your performance in the trial. This is a practical trial, and the teachers will not lend a hand. I will not apany you either. Everything depends on the knowledge you have learned to solve the difficulties you encounter... Please take it seriously..."


    Su''en listened on the side, it was all boring admonitions, and the students listened with some boredom.


    August said he wouldn''t apany them, but Su''en knew that this second-tier professional would always protect them in secret. Only when they encountered insurmountable danger would he take action.


    But instead of worrying, the students showed excited expressions on their faces.


    For the people from the outer city, "hunting the wilderness" was a matter of life and death; but for these noble students from the inner city who had never tried it before, it had a deadly allure like poppy flowers. The adventurous journey of exploring unknown territories made these students who had never traveled alone and explored excited with fanaticism.


    "Wow... Mentor, aren''t you going? Haha, don''t worry, we will definitelyplete this trial perfectly!"


    "Yes, we are now official professionals and will definitely not embarrass the academy."


    "..."Su''en watched the energetic students with a cold gaze, hoping that they would still be happy when they saw the disgusting distorted monsters in the dungeonter.


    However, these guys did have their reasons to be proud.


    When Su''en and Kay went to the dungeon before, they were chased by the distorted monsters and were in a miserable state. It was because there were only two professionals at that time. But the trial group in front of them, each and every one of them was a professional, and they had a hundred times advantage in terms of equipment, imnts, professions, and logistical supplies.


    That''s why Kay said this mission was easy.


    Being able to receive a reward of 100,000 yuan and contribute to the guild was indeed a "freebie".


    ......


    After the mentor''s speech, the students began their excited group activities. They formed teams of five to undergo the trial, and in the end, their team and individual performances would be assessed.


    In fact, there were standard five-person team professionbinations for hunting in the wilderness. A tank + DPS + healer were the three necessary roles, and then two otherplementary professions, such as an assassin responsible for observing the environment or a warlock for crowd control, or even a demolitions expert...


    A "five-person team" could ensure the best professionbination for the team, allowing them to exert their strongestbat power. But obviously, these students didn''t have that kind of idea for their teamposition. Each of them started inviting their own friends or were overly confident in bringing girls along for the trial.


    The teachers didn''t say anything either. This trial was entirely decided by the students themselves, testing their organizational abilities.


    "Miss Rena, can I invite you to join my team? I just received the ''Academy''s Top Marksman'' honorary medal, so I will definitely achieve the best results in this trial..."


    "Hey, Jack, stop bragging. I have the highest overall score in alchemy. I will definitely get first ce in this trial!"


    "..."


    The male students were likepetitive bulls, not showing any modesty. They treated this trial as apetition and a way to show off their abilities in front of the opposite sex.


    Soon, the twenty people were divided into four teams.


    Assistant Daniel said to Su''en, "Mr. Guide, please help us lead the way to the dungeon."


    Su''en nodded. There was indeed a difference in temperament between the young assistant and the mentor. Although this guy sounded polite, he couldn''t hide his contempt in his eyes.


    Su''en didn''t mind. The people from the inner city had always had a sense of arrogance.


    He led a group of noble students through the ruins and headed towards the entrance of the dungeon in the cylindrical building.


    These youngdies and gentlemen were very excited, holding their guns and aiming around. As they walked on the ruins, they were eager to try.


    Because the entrance to the dungeon was close to the sewer, the foul smell in the air became stronger and stronger, causing many pampered students to startining.


    "Oh, the air in the outer city is really terrible... I can smell the stench even through the gas mask."


    "Wow... do you think those monsters hiding in the ruined buildings are distorted monsters? Are we going to shoot them?"


    "..."


    As soon as they spoke, Su''en knew why Sister Qiantiao said that the noble students from the inner city were difficult to serve. These guys had never been to the outer city andcked a lot of basic knowledge.


    At this time, the female assistant Rosa exined, "Those are not distorted monsters, they are just malnourished wanderers."


    After hearing this, the students lost interest.


    ......


    Soon, the group arrived at the entrance of the dungeon in the cylindrical building.


    Everyone put on their night vision goggles and entered.


    The traces of the previous battle between Su''en, Kay, and the Steam Party were still visible on the buildings, with bullet marks everywhere on the walls.


    Although the bodies had been devoured by the monsters in the sewer, there were still many horrifying traces on the ground, such as blood stains from dragging and marks of decaying bodies...


    Entering the dim interior from the outside, a terrifying atmosphere instantly swept over the entire trial team.


    The students nervously gripped their guns, looking around, afraid that monsters would suddenly emerge from the darkness.


    Mentor Auguste did not continue forward and stood at the entrance of the dungeon, saying, "The trial below begins. Each person''s task is to kill at least ten distorted monsters, and each team must obtain at least five cursed materials. Also, collect samples of the mutated monsters in the sewer..."


    "Yes, mentor."


    The students responded one after another.


    Auguste made it seem like they were guarding the entrance of the cave, and then he said to Su''en, "Mr. Su''en, I''ll trouble you from here on."


    Su''en nodded.


    Then, as the guide, he took the lead and entered the entrance of the dungeon.


    Returning to this familiar ce, he remained calm.


    He was already very familiar with this subway station, and he even remembered which bullet holes were made by himself.


    But the students, one by one, became nervous.


    After entering the dungeon, the two assistants became spectators, and the students had to rely on themselves.


    Among the four teams of five, the team leaders took care of their respective team members. All the students were experiencing their first realbat trial, and they had no experience, so they could only encourage each other based on the knowledge from the textbooks: "Keep the muzzle low, don''t put your finger on the trigger, pay attention to the ground and the ceiling..."


    Su''en was called the guide, but after leading them into the dungeon, he was basically free.


    Exploring the unknown and choosing the path were also part of the students'' trial.


    The four teams of five walked ahead, with the two assistants behind them. Su''en naturally knew that he was not the same as them, so he stayed on the side as a transparent person.


    In the dark dungeon, this was a ce where light couldn''t reach.


    The sound of fragments asionally came from the darkness, pairs of red eyes, and ck shadows passing by at the edge of their vision, causing the students to scream in fear from time to time...


    Su''en appeared very rxed. At least, he was very familiar with the environment on this level of the subway station.


    There was no danger here.


    But unexpectedly, after walking a few steps, a chubby student quietly approached.


    "Hey, guide brother, how should I address you?"


    Su''en had actually noticed this chubby student a long time ago because everyone looked good in their liquid skin suits. Only this person, dressed like a "Michelin Man," was impossible to ignore.It seems that no matter what school, there''s always one chubby guy in every ss.


    This guy came over in a friendly manner, whispering to Su''en, "My name is Charlie Leonard. My family owns the Sunbird Mechanical Equipment Company."


    His straightforward self-introduction left Su''en somewhat puzzled about his intentions, but he courteously replied, "Just call me Su''en."


    Although he didn''t know the guy, he had heard of "Sunbird Mechanical", one of thergest military equipment manufacturers in the inner city.


    Beforeing here, Su''en had heard that this trial team was not an ordinary student ss, but a ss of top nobles in the "ck Tower Alchemy Academy".


    The students in front of him, each one of them came from a significant background, either a wealthy princess or a young master of arge family.


    This random chubby guy was a bona fide son of a billionaire family.


    At this point, the chubby guy named Charlie revealed his purpose, whispering to Su''en, "I''ve asked around, and they say you''re a formidable gunman in the ''Iron Cross Society''. So, I was hoping you could look out for our team when necessary. After all, you''ve probably noticed that my team is full of nonbatants..."


    As he spoke, he stealthily slipped a package into Su''en''s hand.

 Chapter 57: The Joy of Rich People

    Chapter 57: The Joy of Rich People


    Is this bribery so tant?


    Su''en suddenly felt that this fat guy was quite "spiritual".


    In a group of arrogant lions, a fox suddenly appeared, which was quite interesting.


    Moreover, this guy even considerately said, "Brother, don''t worry about anything else. This is a reasonable rule. Just ept it with peace of mind. Consider it my hiring fee. The trial rules of the academy allow the use of all avable resources to pass, and do not prohibit hiring guides. If it weren''t for the assistants ignoring me, I would have wanted to give them..."


    Hearing this, Su''en suddenly felt that this fat guy was to his liking.


    A business family, no wonder they are so well-behaved.


    Beforeing here, Qiantiao had mentioned that there might be clever students who would give gifts during the trial, so he should just ept them. Su''en had no psychological burden in epting the thick stack of money from this fat guy.


    The fat guy looked at Su''en taking the money and also breathed a sigh of relief. He casually started chatting, "My father told me that we don''t need to be very powerful ourselves, just find our own career positioning. I will be a great businessman in the future, understanding how to make money is enough, fighting is the job of a bodyguard. To be honest with you, I came to the academy just to get a graduation certificate. I want to show off in high society in the future..."


    Su''en smiled slightly as he listened. This honest fat guy''s words made sense.


    Not everyone needs to be able to fight, especially for the big financial magnates who monopolize resources in high society. Leave the life-threatening matters to subordinates.


    Charlie was talkative, and he said mysteriously, "I have received reliable information that the school intends to increase the difficulty of the trial this time, and the casualty quota will be increased to ten percent. Although I know that Professor August will definitely follow us, in such aplex environment, the professor cannot take care of everyone. After all, there have been casualties in the previous trials..."


    Pausing for a moment, the fat guy continued, "And, don''tugh at me, but every time there are casualties, it''s always us nonbatants..."


    "..."


    Su''en listened helplessly.


    This guy really knows himself well. In a realbat trial, it is natural that the weaker ones are more likely to be the "casualties".


    But it''s fine to be at the bottom, but to call themselves "nonbatants," this fat guy really has thick skin.


    After hearing this, Su''en deliberately took a look. It seemed that the fat guy''s group was indeed a bunch of rookies who couldn''t even hold a gun properly.


    The powerful students gathered together for the sake of their trial results, leaving behind the fat guy''s group, which consisted of the stragglers.


    At this time, Charlie knew that it wasn''t good to be away from the team for too long, so he didn''t say much. He just whispered to Su''en, "If we encounter danger, please take care of my team. Um... especially me!"


    Su''en looked at his strong desire to survive, and since he had already taken the money, he nodded, "Okay."


    If necessary, he didn''t mind taking care of this fat guy.


    But it seemed that there was no need for such a spring outing-level trial at all.


    .......


    Although Fat Charlie deliberately avoided the gaze of the others when he came to find Su''en, some people still noticed his secretive behavior.


    Word quickly spread.


    They were still at the entrance of the underground cave and hadn''t encountered any monsters yet, so the students began to whisper.


    "Hey, that Charlie guy probably went to take a bribe again. He bribed the examiner during thest assessment and barely passed. Now he''s using the same trick again. It''s really embarrassing for our elite ss..."


    "Hmph, is a guide worth spending money to please? I heard that those guys from the outer city treat even the ck iron nt blueprint as a treasure. They don''t even understand basic alchemy. If something happens, we''ll probably have to protect him."


    "Shh... that guy is a member of the underworld! I heard from my mother that the underworld are ruthless murderers. Their minds are full of despicable and dirty calctions. They especially like to kidnap wealthy people like us from the inner city..."


    "We must not provoke the underworld. My father also said that those guys are like rats hiding in the dark. They will stop at nothing to achieve their goals..."


    "..."


    Su''en could feel some faint gazes on him.


    Although he couldn''t hear clearly what those guys were whispering, he was sure they weren''tplimenting his looks.


    Thinking about it, in the eyes of those pampered young masters anddies, he, an underworld member from the outer city, was probably a ferocious monster...


    ......


    As the trial team gradually went deeper, small groups of monsters began to appear around them.


    Perhaps because Su''en and Kay had killed too manyst time, only a few wall-climbing monsters appeared this time. They hung on the ceiling like geckos, crawling around.


    At this time, the students gradually adapted to the dark environment and became bolder.They had shot down a few stray rats, the sound echoing deep into the cavern.


    Then, sporadically, small waves of monsters began to attack.


    After the initial panic, the students gradually found their confidence. Under the overwhelming firepower, the monsters would instantly drop dead.


    Su''en found it somewhat boring.


    Pure firepower suppression, without a hint of technique or tactics.


    But he finally experienced the pleasure of the wealthy in this world.


    The equipment of these rich second generations was too luxurious. They fired alchemical bullets as if they were free, a single volley costing tens of thousands in ammunition.


    Bad aim?


    No problem, just use a high-explosive grenade.


    Hitting the target was like a spray effect, causing an area explosion.


    Too many monsters?


    No problem, just use a machine gun.


    If one shot doesn''t hit, just fire a hundred more, one of them is bound to hit.


    It was like a group of godly equipped yers clearing a low-level dungeon. Even if they were low-level and inexperienced, it didn''t stop them from clearing it without any losses.


    Of course, such a scene would never ur in a "serious" hunter team.


    With this kind of fighting style, the value of the cursed materials they harvested wouldn''t even amount to one percent, or even one-thousandth of the ammunition they consumed.


    Su''en watched with mixed feelings. If they had this kind of firepower and equipment back then, they wouldn''t have almost died here.


    Indeed, in any world, money can do anything.


    ......


    However, equipment was just one aspect.


    Su''en had to admit, the knowledge these systematically trained students possessed was mostly at an elite level, surpassing over 99% of the people in the outer city.


    Whether it wasplex magic alchemy, mechanical armor, or medical skills, they were proficient in all... Although their operation was immature due to their equipment, it couldn''t hide their talent.


    Many areas of knowledge were even beyond Su''en''s understanding.


    Being proficient in firearms, he naturally paid more attention to the gunners.


    There was a student in the team with decent gun skills. Su''en heard people calling him "Jack", apparently the only one in this ss of ck Tower Academy who had won the "Sharpshooter Medal".


    On the way here, he had killed the most mutated monsters.


    In terms of skill, this Jack had probably reached the threshold of a "firearms expert".


    But that was it.


    These students stillcked realbat experience.


    Their attacks were very standardized: drawing the gun, aiming, shooting... You could see the rigid training in every move.


    It wasn''t bad, but this kind of guny was too predictable andcked flexibility.


    Moreover, to measure whether a gunman has reached the level of a "firearms expert", besides target shooting results, the most important thing is their mentality in actualbat.


    Su''en was confident that against this Jack, thetter wouldn''t even have a chance to draw his gun.


    But it was just a hypothetical enemy, they would never face each other.


    After all, unlike those in the outer city who risk their lives for a living, these young nobles from the inner city didn''t need to risk their lives to gain realbat experience. This trial was already the most dangerous experience of their lives.


    ......


    "If the trial ends like this, it seems a bit boring."


    Su''en followed behind the team, never drawing his gun, feeling somewhat detached.


    The five teams were like ying a monster hunting game, pushing forward all the way.


    They killed monsters and collected some samples of mutated creatures and water sources.


    But these sporadic monsters didn''t seem to satisfy their bursting sense of achievement, and they were still far frompleting the mission.


    They needed a more thrilling sensory experience and more monsters.


    At this moment, the team leader "Sharpshooter" Jack seemed to remember something and asked Su''en, who was at the back of the team, "Hey, guide, which way should we go now? Where are the most monsters in this cavern?"


    His tone was quite rude.


    Su''en saw that the two assistants didn''t speak, apparently acquiescing to the students'' choice.


    He thought for a moment, pointed in the direction of the scythe he remembered, and said, "When we came here before, we saw monsters running in that direction. I think that should be their nest."


    Anyway, these guys weren''t satisfied with killing monsters, so they might as well use their overwhelming firepower to clear this passage.


    The two assistants didn''t make a move, and the second-order instructor hiding in the dark didn''t show up either.


    With this team configuration, they could easily sweep this area of the cavern.


    Upon hearing this, everyone became excited, "Great, let''s go there! This time we must destroy the monster''s nest, maybe we''ll even encounter a ''weird'' one, hahaha..."


    The students were still immersed in the excitement of the adventure, unaware of the mysterious smiles exchanged between the two assistants following the team.


    PS. Tomorrow is the 1st, asking for monthly tickets and rmendations in advance. Brothers, please help~

 Chapter 58: Zombie-type Aberration

    Chapter 58: Zombie-type Aberration


    In aplex underground dungeon, Su''en was ying a monster-hunting game with the trial team of the "ck Tower Alchemy Academy".


    Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, in the street above their heads, arge disguised tanker truck stopped in a hidden alley.


    Several men in ck held a certain device and scanned the sewer entrance, seemingly searching for something.


    After a while, the device lit up with a red light, and the leader of the men in ck spoke.


    "Have you determined their location?"


    "Yes, the target is about two hundred meters underground, currently exploring deeper to the west."


    "Release the distorted monster."


    "Yes, boss."


    As they spoke, they opened the valve of the tanker truck and inserted a pipe into the sewer entrance on the street. With a squirming sound, a ck viscous liquid, resembling oil, slowly poured into the sewer.


    ......


    The students'' shooting game continued.


    Su''en leisurely followed along, although he hadn''t gone this deepst time, the surroundings were familiar to him.


    In addition to the ancient subway tunnels left behind in this dungeon, there were also many pits dug out by monsters, leading in various directions, and it was unknown where they ultimately led to.


    Even the monsters in the sewer had their own territories. Su''en knew that they were about to reach their of those crawling monsters, a huge space resembling a subway hub.


    "Haha... Captain Jack just killed eight monsters again, all headshots. He truly deserves to be the number one sharpshooter in our academy."


    "Our team has already collected seven cursed materials, exceeding the trial task requirements."


    "Hey, Galen, your goals are too low. Captain Jack doesn''t want these ordinary materials. We need higher quality silver materials. Hopefully, we''ll encounter more elite monsters, preferably of the ''Eerie'' level. Maybe we''ll even get some gold materials. Then our trial results will definitely be disyed on the academy''s honor wall..."


    "Miss Rena, I''m telling you, our team will definitely take first ce in this trial. The results of this trial will be our besting-of-age gift..."


    "..."


    The four teams of five steadily advanced, feeling no sense of danger.


    During their free time, the young students would chat and joke with each other.


    As the guide, Su''en followed behind the team, appearing idle. He took the opportunity to carefully observe each student in the team. Although they all wore gas masks and night vision goggles, he could roughly discern their personalities through their attire, skin color, and physique.


    Although he couldn''t see the faces of the female students clearly, he could guess that they were surrounded by admirers and must have attractive appearances.


    Especially Rena, there were always boys hovering around her, trying to impress her.


    However, Su''en wasn''t particrly interested in those delicate female students. Compared to them, he was more interested in the monster corpses.


    Although the probability of "gray mist" appearing on the distorted monster corpses was low, the number of monsters killed was high.


    Along the way, as the students pushed forward, Su''en also collected two clusters of gray mist.


    From the memories of the monsters, he extracted more detailed maps of the dungeon and some "counter-joint movement techniques".


    Although these movements didn''t conform to the normal human body''s power exertion habits, there was no denying that some of these monster techniques were suitable for his high agility attribute as a "Deceptive Puppeteer".


    Simr to the "Five Animal Frolics" from his previous life, imitating the postures of animals could develop the rarely used small muscle groups in the human body. These climbing techniques of the monsters made Su''en feel like he could climb walls like a gecko, maximizing the utilization of his agility attribute.


    With money to earn and fragments to harvest, Su''en felt that this mission was not bad, at least for now.


    ......


    After a while, everyone arrived at an open space, about the size of six or seven football fields, with a high ceiling.


    From theyout of the buildings, it could be seen that this was once a hub station for the underground railway in Old Lingdun.


    Obviously, this was the monster''s nest that Su''en remembered.


    When the trial team arrived, the monsters were briefly startled and hid in various pits and buildings.


    The students were excited. They had been in narrow tunnels all the way, and the monsters had been killed by those with good marksmanship. Now, in such a spacious area, everyone had the opportunity for realbat, and they rushed forward eagerly.


    "Wow... this is indeed the monster''sir, there are so many distorted monsters!"


    "Haha, now it''s our turn to show off!"


    "Team Three, follow me. We need to catch up with the trial results..."


    "..."


    The four teams of five chose different directions and began their extermination operation. Of course, except for Charlie''s team deliberatelygging behind, everyone else seemed very enthusiastic.


    The two teaching assistants didn''t follow along either. They chose a high vantage point to stand, holding notebooks and recording the performance of each student in the academy. That position allowed them to overlook most of the space and provide timely rescue in case of emergencies.


    Su''en also chose a distance that was neither too far nor too close to observe everything here.


    Although the mission was easy, he never let his guard down. The safety of the students was guaranteed, but he didn''t believe that if he encountered danger himself, those mentors would definitely save a low-level member of the underworld like him.


    He was indeed very familiar with this space, and Su''en knew that this was their of the "Zombie Breed" distorted monsters. However, he didn''t know how many monsters were here and what kinds of mutated creatures there were...He nced at the buildings and the countless dark holes above his head, his gaze slightly heavy.


    His sense of danger told him that something in the darkness seemed to be watching their group.


    The two assistants were observing the progress of the team while chatting.


    "The new generation ''Night III Combat Suit'' does indeed have strong protective capabilities. But over-reliance on equipment can also cause the students to lose arge part of their necessary crisis response capabilities. The effect of the trial may not meet expectations..."


    "Yeah, when we were tested, it was the first generation. The defense was not far off. Tsk, these kids should suffer a bit, after all, the academy has instructions to increase the difficulty of the trial, right?"


    "Let''s find an opportunity to test their adaptabilityter."


    "Mm, there should be an opportunity soon..."


    The two did not avoid Su''en while chatting. From their conversation, it seemed that the two assistants might take some action to increase the difficulty of the trial.


    But it made sense. With bodyguards around all the time, the students would not be alert at all.


    Just as the two assistants were chatting, a sudden change urred!


    ......


    The students, in groups of five, were reaping the lives of those mutant monsters.


    But at this moment, a mutant beast over three meters tall suddenly sprang out from nowhere. It charged like a gori, directly knocking a team flying.


    Immediately, someone shouted, "Be careful, it''s a ''Zombie-type Aberration''!"


    Upon hearing this, Su''en''s pupils contracted sharply, and he focused his gaze.


    An "Aberration" is defined as a cursed creature that is stronger than its peers, has a certain level of intelligence, and usually has the ability tomand other mutant monsters.


    In simpler terms, it''s a boss monster.


    Aberrations are also divided into ordinary, silver, gold, lord-level... based on their strength.


    There are generally three types of Aberrations: Zombie-type (humanoid), Ghost-type (spiritual), and Beast-type (monster).


    In more detail, there are some extremely rare special categories, such as "Mythical-type", "Elf-type", "Phantom Beast-type", "Abyss-type"...


    And mutant monsters that can reach the "Aberration" level almost 100% produce cursed materials, and the quality far exceeds that of silver and gold materials of the same level.


    This is the monster that the hunters are reluctant to face, but look forward to hunting.


    ......


    "This Zombie-type Aberration is so strong... But, the defense of thosebat suits is too exaggerated."


    Su''en watched the sudden situation in front of him. After a slight surprise, he didn''t show much difference.


    It would be strange if there weren''t one or two bosses in such arge group of mutant monsters.


    The two assistants obviously knew this, but they didn''t warn in advance, letting those impulsive students suffer a loss.


    However, what surprised Su''en more than the ferocity of the monster was the "Liquid Combat Suit" on the students.


    Just now, the "Zombie-type Aberration" directly hit several students, knocking them all flying. Judging from the impact and the speed of the body flying backwards, Su''en determined that the monster''s impact was extremely strong, not inferior to a heavy truck hitting at full speed.


    If it were an ordinary person, they would probably die on the spot from this hit.


    But just like that, the students who were knocked flying, although embarrassed, stood up unscathed.


    Su''en''s keen eyes allowed him to clearly see what had just happened, and he quickly analyzed some properties of thebat suit: "The blue light mark on the clothes should be the energy supply system, and the alchemical runes on it are at least second-level ''Solidity Runes'' and ''Resilience Runes''... It''s a strange material, it''s like a non-Newtonian fluid, absorbing most of the impact energy with its fluctuations."


    At this time, Su''en saw that the rune blue light on the student who was hit the hardest had be dim. Then he reced a few new energy crystals like changing batteries, and sighed in his heart: "Ah... using ''Cursed Crystals'' worth ten thousand each as energy, no wonder the defense is so strong. It''s another money-burning piece of ck technology..."


    Such armor, not to mention whether it can be bought outside, for ordinary hunters, even if they have it, they can''t afford such extravagant consumption.

 Chapter 59: The Power of Money

    Chapter 59: The Power of Money


    Suddenly, a "Bizarre-level" distorted monster appeared, catching the four teams off guard.


    However, Su''en was leisurely watching the scene unfold, with the two assistant instructors observing from a higher vantage point without any intention of helping.


    The students had seen samples of the zombie-like creatures in the academy and had practiced tactics to deal with them, but this was their first time encountering living creatures.


    Although slightly panicked, it had to be said that the students'' theoretical knowledge was sufficient, and they were handling the situation withposure.


    The four teams cooperated with each other, with the heavy machinery students dying the onught of the distorted creatures while others searched for cover and focused their firepower on the boss.


    However, not only did the bizarre creature appear, but the distorted monsters hiding in the shadows also went mad and charged out.


    For a moment, the students were overwhelmed by the tide of monsters.


    ...


    Fortunately, the academy''sbat suits had good defense, otherwise, with just one encounter, these inexperienced students would likely have suffered casualties.


    At this moment, while everyone was engaged in the intense battle, Su''en noticed a fleeting gaze from the crowd directed towards him.


    Upon closer inspection, he saw a chubby guy giving him an innocent look from a distance. It was as if the gaze was saying, "Brother, remember to take care of me!"


    Although Su''en found it both funny and exasperating, he understood the meaning behind the gaze and nodded towards the guy.


    After all, they were all elite students, and they were not so helpless.


    After a brief moment of panic, the team leaders of the four teams finally reacted and began implementing the tactics they had practiced.


    "Form a defensive formation, triangr formation!"


    "Don''t panic, prepare heavy firearms!"


    "Mages, set up alchemy formations for area coverage attacks..."


    As soon as the giant mechanical shield was brought out, it made a crisp sound as it unfolded into a steel te. The sps interlocked, instantly forming four iron triangles, tightly protecting the team members inside.


    It had to be said that this was the advantage of having superior equipment.


    Then, variousrge-caliber, high-powered firearms were set up, firing rapidly.


    Steam cannons, six-barreled fire god guns, anti-armor methrowers...


    Su''en watched the firearms emitting bizarre blue and ck mes, and his eyelids twitched.


    These high-end heavy military firearms were not even seen in the firearms shops outside the city.


    Yet, almost every student had one in their hands.


    While feeling envious, Su''en couldn''t help but think, "These rich kids sure know how to spend... They use up all their ammunition on the small monsters before even facing the boss. They are really extravagant."


    However, despite his musings, the effects were immediately apparent.


    With a single burst of fire, the monsters within the range of the firepower werepletely destroyed, with limbs and arms flying everywhere.


    And it wasn''t just these mechanical weapons.


    After the defensive formation was established, the alchemy formations under the feet of the mage alchemists also lit up.


    One by one, the mage students formed their hand seals, their expressions serious as they began to condense elements...


    In terms of destructive power, alchemy magic was not inferior to firearms at all.


    The power of alchemy magic was directly proportional to the amount of energy involved. Within the limits of the caster''s physical endurance, the more energy added, the more exaggerated the elemental magic would be...


    Then, Su''en watched as this group of rich second-generation mages used the most basic first-tier spell, "Fire Serpent Coiling," and with the surplus energy, they piled up small fire serpents the thickness of two fingers into me pythons the size of water barrels, directly incinerating the distorted monsters into ashes.


    For a while, the underground space was filled with lightning and thunder, and various elemental spells showcased the astonishing killing power of the old-school mages.


    These students who had mastered a wealth of magical knowledge treated this ce as a demonstration ssroom for magic, opening Su''en''s eyes wide.


    However, at the same time, Su''en couldn''t help but mutter to himself incessantly: "Tens of thousands, tens of thousands... and they''re all gone in an instant..."


    Alchemy practitioners truly were a money-burning profession, especially the mages.


    Su''en felt a bit distressed. Clearly, with just a few shots of ordinary bullets to the head, the monsters could be dealt with, but these guys insisted on using a thousand or ten thousand times the cost... He had witnessed the "wealth ability," a transcendent ability exclusive to the rich!


    ...


    The boss was indeed extremely powerful.


    As a "Bizarre-level" creature, it possessed considerable intelligence. Not only did it know how to find cover to avoid attacks, but it also used tools to throw heavy objects from a distance. Moreover, its body''s resilience was extraordinary. Even high-explosive alchemical shells that could st open concrete could only leave fist-sized holes on its body.


    However, in the end, the "wealth ability" quickly quelled this unexpected situation.


    The tide formed by the distorted monsters was suppressed by even more terrifying firepower.


    Knowing that it was no match, the bizarre creature abandoned itsir and fled towards the depths of the tunnel with its heavily injured body.


    Su''en casually crushed a few stray distorted monsters that had escaped to his side and muttered, "These guys waste so much ammunition. Aren''t they afraid of encountering even greater dangerter on..."


    Although he knew that the storage space rings of these noble students wererge, the quantity of ammunition was definitely limited. Moreover, firearms also had cooldown times. The more powerful the firearm, the more it needed to cool down and be maintained after continuous firing...This wave has been repelled, but what about the next wave?


    However, Su''en also feels pretty good, anyway, it''s not wasting his own money.


    It''s also fortunate that there is such a group of people to clean up the monsters. Otherwise, Su''en would have no idea how long it would take for him to find that sickle by himself and whether he would have the ability to do so.


    The injured boss escaped, but the students dared not chase after it. However, the assistant Daniel thought of something and smiled as he whispered to the female assistant next to him, "I''ll go after that weird one!"


    Rosa seemed to know what he was going to do and nodded with a rxed smile, "Okay."


    These young students, without a bit of crisis pressure, the trial would be meaningless.


    .......


    Because of the battle suits, although the students were in a sorry state, except for a few minor injuries, there were no major losses.


    After experiencing a big battle, these young students suddenly rxed from the tension and smiles appeared on their faces again.


    "Phew... it''s finally over."


    "It seems that the distorted monsters are not that terrifying..."


    "Oh my god, we actually repelled a ''zombie-like weird'' too. We almost killed it!"


    "That''s right, I haven''t even unlocked my equipment yet, and this wave of monsters has been repelled. Boring..."


    "..."


    Alright, they''re showing off again.


    This is typical ofck of experience.


    Experienced hunters would definitely choose to clean up the battlefield and leave quickly at this moment.


    But these students probably thought that the previous round of fire had already cleared all the monsters in thisir, so there shouldn''t be any danger. They sat down one by one, chatting and resting.


    But they didn''t think about whether thismotion would attract monsters from deeper in the cave.


    .......


    At this time, Su''en, who was watching from a distance, gradually became serious, muttering to himself, "It seems like they''ve been attracted..."


    He looked up at the dark hole that looked like a beehive above his head, and suddenly heard the sound of friction, as if some monster was about toe out.


    Su''en took a closer look and his super vision allowed him to see that something strange was wriggling out of the hole, like a chubby white worm?


    Like an erged slug, these two to three-meter-long worms secreted sticky bodily fluids and slowly slid down from the hole in the ceiling.


    [Aberrant Acidic Worm]


    Exnation: Arge carnivorous worm that contains arge amount of acid in its body; this type of distorted monster is timid by nature, moves slowly, and has no attacking ability; unless it is under a lethal threat, it generally does not leave its nest. However, its mature form is highly aggressive.


    It''s another kind of distorted monster that I''ve never heard of.


    Su''en looked at the identified information and immediately became suspicious, "No attacking ability, then how did theye out? And what is the mature form of this thing?"


    He vaguely felt that something was wrong.


    He originally thought that the distorted monsters were attracted passively, but he didn''t expect them to be worms.


    At this time, the sticky fluid dripped from the ceiling, and the students only realized what was happening.


    "Huh... something fell on my head?"


    "Ah! It''s so disgusting, what is this?"


    "Be careful, this slime is highly corrosive!"


    ..."


    The students were stillining and hadn''t realized the danger.


    They once again missed the best opportunity to dodge in time.


    And at this moment, with a thud, a fat worm fell from the sky andnded heavily on the ground. With a st, it turned into a puddle of green acid emitting corrosive smoke.


    After the first one, it was like opening a floodgate. The white worms in the sky fell like rain, making crackling sounds.


    Hundreds and thousands of worms instantly turned this space into a pool of acid.


    Su''en was rtively far away, but he could still feel the burning sensation in his respiratory tract through his gas mask. He could imagine that the students in the acid would definitely be in a bad state.


    Oh~ Their gas masks are more advanced, maybe they can''t smell it.


    But it''s definitely nauseating.


    "Damn it, this acid is corroding my battle suit!"


    "We need to get out of here clean. Oh my god, the corrosiveness is too strong, I can already feel my skin burning."


    ..."


    There is no eternal substance in the world. Even the best battle suit materials will wear out, let alone being soaked in such a highly corrosive environment, the runes on them are also quickly corroded.


    The students didn''t even have time to retrieve their mechanical shields and ran out of the acid area in a sorry state.


    At this time, Assistant Rosa also had a serious expression and spoke up for the first time, "A sudden situation has urred now that Assistant Daniel is no longer here. I can''t guarantee the safety of each and every one of you. Everyone, stay alert!"


    Su''en listened and guessed what the purpose of the male assistant leaving just now was.


    With one less "bodyguard," the students were nervous, but Su''en didn''t feel anything. Because he knew that there was still a second-tier professional mentor hiding in the dark.


    Thinking of this, his gaze unconsciously looked towards a certain hole in the tunnel.A hint of confusion shed in Su''en''s eyes. Could this also be part of the trial?


    Did the academy instructors drive these bugs out?


    .......


    In the darkness, two figures seemed to have noticed that Su''en was aware of their presence.


    "Huh, that guide is quite alert. He seems to have noticed us."


    "That''s normal. Professionals struggling to survive at the bottom all have the alertness of a beast. Those who have crawled and rolled out of a pile of corpses won''t have poorbat abilities. Ah, our studentsck these kinds of experiences..."


    "..."


    The two people hiding in the dark turned out to be Daniel and the instructor, August.


    As they were chatting, Daniel suddenly bent over and spat out a mouthful of turbid blood.


    August instinctively supported him, expressing concern, "Huh. Daniel, are you injured?"


    Daniel leaned on his arm, a trace of cold light shed across his face, "Hmm, I got punched when I was chasing that weird creature just now."


    August was about to say something, but before he could speak, he suddenly sensed something and his gaze sharply turned towards the void several meters away, "Huh... Something''s not right, a professional is approaching, it''s a stealth!"


    But before he could react, the next second, he felt a tremendous force on his arm, and a sense of impending death instantly enveloped him, "You... Daniel, what are you doing!"


    PS. Asking for monthly votes and rmendations at the beginning of the month, thank you all~

 Chapter 60: Something is wrong

    Chapter 60: Something is wrong


    The [Mutated Acidic Worm] is also a mutated monster that has never appeared before. If Su''en hadn''t seen its habits with the All-Knowing Eye, he wouldn''t have been puzzled.


    But now he knows, and doubts arise.


    Why did these non-aggressive worms fall from their nests?


    "They generally don''t leave their nests unless they face a life-threatening threat." This exnation is particrly eye-catching. What exactly threatened their lives?


    Did the academy instructors want to increase the difficulty of the trial?


    A sense of unease shed through Su''en''s mind, but he didn''t have time to think about it. The group of students had already run out of the acid pool and rushed towards the hidden tunnel entrance where he was hiding.


    .......


    "Oh, it''s so disgusting. This slimy mucus almost made me vomit my breakfast."


    "Damn it! What kind of bug is this? I''ve never heard of it before..."


    "Can someone help me wash off the mucus on my clothes? I feel like I can''t breathe..."


    "..."


    The students abandoned their mechanical shields and heavy equipment and ran over, covered in green slime, looking very miserable.


    However, it was clear that these worms were just appetizers.


    Su''en''s gaze was focused on the depths of the passage, as if searching for something. He hadn''t forgotten that there was a note behind the worm''s description that said "the mature form is highly aggressive."


    Since this was thervae''s nest, the mature monsters must be nearby!


    The female assistant instructor, Rosa, also realized this and stopped the students who wanted to take off theirbat suits on the spot. She said, "Everyone, be careful. The next wave of monsters may being! Everyone, unlock your alchemical imnts and prepare for battle!"


    At hermand, the students who hadn''t unlocked their imnts before also activated their alchemical formations one by one. Various magnificent alchemical imnts were like a high-end exhibition, dazzling Su''en''s titanium alloy eyes.


    [Diamond Dragon''s Skin], [Magma Demon''s me Core], [Thunder Serpent''s Eye], [Rampaging Demon Muscle of the Velociraptor]... and a familiar type of imnt, the Cross Society cadre''s [Thousand Kill Feather Wings]!


    Theplexity of the alchemical formations on the ground indicated the level of the alchemical imnts. There was not a single ck iron imnt!


    Su''en had only seen silver imnts in the Complete Guide to Alchemical Imnts, and there were even several students with suspected gold imnts.


    As soon as the alchemical imnts were unlocked, the entire team''s momentum changed instantly.


    (Note: Unlocking the imnts consumes dark spiritual power, and low-level practitioners cannot maintain the unlocked state for a long time.)


    "..."


    Su''en looked at these students, his gaze slightly stagnant.


    He had spent all his money to obtain a gold imnt blueprint, but he hadn''t even found the main materials yet. Now, these students who hadn''t even left the school had easily equipped themselves with top-of-the-line imnts.


    However, after witnessing the luxurious equipment of these little nouveau riche, he wasn''t too surprised.


    Of course, there were always exceptions among this group of arrogant little lions.


    Assistant instructor Rosa''s words made everyone aware of the crisis, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.


    And at this moment, Su''en once again felt a gaze from the crowd directed at him.


    He turned his head and saw Charlie, the chubby guy, looking at him with a weak pleading look, as if saying, "See, I told you it was dangerous. Brother, you should understand~"


    Almost all the students in the ss had unlocked their alchemical imnts, except for the few stragglers in Charlie''s team.


    Not that they didn''t want to, but because they couldn''t.


    The only one left was the ck iron imnt that Su''en had overlooked, the [Ironhead Dragon''s Mushroom Skull], an imnt that enhanced survivability but had an extremely ugly appearance.


    Perhaps his talent was too poor, and he couldn''t fuse high-quality imnts. He could only reluctantly equip this thing.


    The other chubby guys were not even practitioners!


    After all, money could assist in cultivation, but it couldn''tpletely rece it.


    Advanced practitioners needed to reach the standard of dark spiritual power, which required countless days and nights of arduous meditation. For many people, it was an extremely difficult process. The more they wanted to join the workforce as soon as possible, the higher their self-discipline needed to be.


    Obviously, Charlie was not the kind of person who could be disciplined in his cultivation.


    Su''en once again showed a wry smile, but he nodded at Charlie, who then turned his head in relief.


    .......


    Obviously, Su''en''s worries were not unfounded.


    Assistant instructor Rosa''s reminder prevented the students from being caught off guard again.


    After the white worms fell and shattered on the ground, it didn''t take long for a chain reaction to ur.


    Although they didn''t see any distorted monsters for the time being, the dense and eerie "squeak squeak squeak" cries came from the deep holes in the ceiling...


    In this dark underground cave, it made people''s hair stand on end.


    "They''reing!"


    Su''en''s eyesight allowed him to see the monsters before anyone else.


    Suddenly, some flying creatures that looked like bats and moths burst out of the caves where the worms had fallen.


    [Mutated Fleshwing Moth]


    Exnation: ''Blue-eyed Poison Moth'' that has undergone mutations due to environmental influences; although they are fragile, their mouthparts have extremely strong armor-piercing abilities and can inject a deadly neurotoxin; they are abnormally sensitive to luminous objects and highly aggressive!


    "So, these are the mature forms of those worms?"Su''en looked at the giant moth in the distance, about half a meter long, with bat-like wings and a long proboscis, his expression slightly serious.


    Without any hesitation, he immediately hid all the reflective and glowing items on his body behind his trench coat.


    Before he could warn anyone, the moth swarm descended from the sky in an instant.


    At this moment, Assistant Rosa quickly approached Su''en and kindly reminded him, "Mr. Guide, don''t stray too far from me."


    This was a trial for the students, not a death sentence for the guide. Seeing Su''en''s "simple equipment", she naturally wanted to help if she could. She didn''t want the guide to die here just after the trial had begun.


    "Okay."


    Su''en nodded, not refusing this kindness, and replied, "Thank you."


    Although the monsters were fast, he could clearly distinguish and capture almost every approaching moth through his left eye.


    He didn''t prepare to draw his gun, but instead reached for the two Nepalese curved knives he had made himself at his waist.


    Knowing that these moths were attracted to light, it was best not to use a gun, otherwise the sh would definitely attract more moths. Although he hadn''t shown much closebat ability in the past, Su''en, who had mastered intermediate swordsmanship, was not weak in closebat!


    ......


    Su''en instantly learned about the moths'' phototactic behavior through his All-Knowing Eye, but the students didn''t know about it.


    Moreover, the energy symbols on theirbat suits (to prevent friendly fire in the dark), their imnts, and the glow of their spells were all sources of light that couldn''t be concealed.


    In the darkness, they were particrly ring.


    As soon as the swarm of moths descended, they immediately rushed towards the students.


    For a moment, gunfire erupted, and all kinds of dazzling spells were thrown at the swarm of monsters without hesitation.


    But this time, their "money power" didn''t seem to be as effective.


    The previous battle had used too many heavy weapons, some needed to cool down, and some were left in the acid...


    Although they killed arge number of moths under concentrated fire, the sudden burst of light made the moth swarm even more "excited".


    They enveloped the entire team like a sandstorm in an instant.


    Su''en didn''t dare to approach the students'' team, he found a dark corner and crouched down. This was a trial for the students, not for him. Even so, he still killed several moths that were flying around him with his knife.


    "Now those students are in for a tough time..."


    Su''en looked at the students who were still using mes to kill monsters, and knew that their "money power" was definitely going to take a hit this time.


    Experienced hunters knew that dealing with mutant monsters was not a one-size-fits-all approach, they needed to observe the monsters'' habits. If they found the right technique, they might be able to achieve a lot with a little; if they didn''t, even high-level professionals could be killed by low-level monsters.


    Just like now, the students were using fire spells against a swarm of moths that were sensitive to light sources. Regardless of how effective they were at killing the enemy, they were indeed good at attracting them.


    These moths, upon seeing a light source, would fearlessly rush over in a frenzy!


    Moreover, flying monsters were much more agile than the previousnd monsters.


    The all-around three-dimensional attack also made the students'' defense line virtually useless.


    Moreover, because the monsters had the ability to dodge obstacles as agilely as bats, the damage that firearms could cause was very limited. Without superb marksmanship, they couldn''t even hope to hit them.


    ......


    "Captain Jack, what do we do?!"


    "Damn it, these moths are interfering with my sight, I can''t aim at all. Shooting their wings is useless, if we can''t hit their heads, we can''t kill them!"


    "What kind of monsters are these, the more we burn them with the methrower, the more theye! If we don''t think of a solution, we''re screwed."


    "..."


    As the moth attack came, the students instantly felt that their firearms were bing less and less effective, even Jack, who was known as the "best marksman in the academy", was silenced and made frequent mistakes.


    He had been full of confidence before, killing a mutant monster with every shot, but now he couldn''t even manage basic self-defense.


    Su''en watched from a distance, clicking his tongue.


    This was the difference between target practice and realbat.


    The reason Jack had performed so well before was because his teammates had created a stable shooting environment for him. But now that the moths had gotten close and started to harass him, hisck of adaptability in realbat was immediately exposed.


    ......


    Half a momentter, the situation was getting worse and worse.


    "These guys should have learned bat observation'', they''ve suffered so much, but they still haven''t noticed that these moths are attracted to light sources?"


    Su''en asionally frowned as he watched.


    Their equipment, imnts, skills, and knowledge reserves could all be considered elite, but their adaptability was too poor, they had no realbat experience at all. When they encountered unfamiliar monsters, they were immediately confused.


    Originally, Su''en knew that there was a second-order tutor secretly following them, watching the students being beaten and fleeing in embarrassment, he also followed from a distance, without saying a word.


    But gradually, as the situation got worse and worse, he realized that something was wrong.

 Chapter 61: The gun skills shocked the audience

    Chapter 61: The gun skills shocked the audience


    "Ah! Damn it, my battle suit has been pierced by something. Ah... my arm is numb!"


    "Everyone be careful, the mouthparts of that monster are highly toxic, it''s a neurotoxin!"


    "How could my battle suit be pierced? Oh my god, the mouthparts of those monsters are too sharp..."


    "..."


    Suddenly, screams came from the crowd.


    Su''en looked at the figure that fell among the group of monsters and frowned, "Is the battle suit damaged?"


    Yes, the mouthparts of this monster have armor-piercing abilities. The acid from earlier also corroded the runes on the battle suit. If the energy is not reced in time, it will weaken the defense and it''s not surprising that it was pierced.


    He looked at the panicked students who relied too much on their battle suits and thought to himself, "They rely too much on their battle suits, resulting in poor crisis response capabilities."


    In fact, he had noticed this problem before. Those students relied on their battle suits and hardly dodged the monsters'' attacks.


    But what about continuous attacks at a high frequency?


    Now they encountered a swarm of armor-piercing moths. The battle suits had long endured the high-frequency attacks that they couldn''t handle, and finally, they were pierced.


    .......


    At this moment, Su''en looked at the female assistant teacher beside him and noticed something. He couldn''t bear to watch any longer and shouted, "The monsters are sensitive to light, stop creating more light sources!"


    Indeed, she was an assistant teacher, with much morebat experience than the students.


    After hearing this, the students stopped using spells that would create strong light sources, and even the sound of gunfire quieted down.


    But...


    This reminder came a bit toote, there were already too many monsters.


    Moreover, the students gathered together, and as long as they attacked, they would inevitably create some shes of light.


    Before long, the battle suit of the second student was pierced.


    A scream that made people''s scalp tingle.


    "Ah... my battle suit has been pierced too, damn it, my legs are paralyzed!"


    The worst thing on the battlefield was not casualties or death, but serious injuries.


    One seriously injured person meant that at least two healthy team members would be burdened. With the appearance of the injured, the already chaotic student team became even worse.


    Su''en looked at the increasingly dire situation in the distance and suddenly felt that things seemed to have exceeded his expectations.


    The unexpected happened too quickly.


    "Teacher Rosa, I don''t want to continue the trial, I want to go home, I don''t want to die here..."


    "Ah, I''ve been stung again, my heart and lungs are... paralyzed... I can''t breathe..."


    "Quick, inject him with the antidote!"


    "..."


    Finally, the worst situation urred.


    The first student with a critical life-threatening injury appeared. If not treated in time, he would probably die here.


    Su''en frowned and looked around, "Is it really the case that the mentors won''t intervene?"


    ........


    "Damn it!"


    Rosa, who was not far from Su''en, cursed without hesitation. She quickly formed more than ten wizard seals with her hands.


    Before the words fell, the alchemy array under her feet lit up, "nting ArtUnseal!"


    Su''en watched as this female assistant teacher almost instantly unsealed the nting art, and he was greatly surprised, "She forms the seals so quickly!"


    She was definitely the fastest person he had seen in unsealing the nting art!


    And it didn''t end there.


    After unsealing the nting art, Rosa''s body suddenly emitted a faint blue cold me. She once again changed the wizard seals in her hands, and her momentum suddenly changed. She softly chanted, "Alchemy Secret TechniqueUnhindered!"


    In the next moment, Su''en saw the cold me on her body condense into two illusory giant arms, floating behind her.


    "What kind of alchemy is this?"


    Su''en watched with curiosity. From a short distance away, he could clearly feel the chilling intent emanating from those cold eyes.


    At this moment, Rosa charged towards the students.


    "She''s actually a melee ss practitioner?"


    Su''en didn''t expect that this seemingly gentle and soft female assistant teacher would fight in closebat.


    And what surprised him even more was yet toe.


    Those cold me fists swung without a gap, instantly forming a whirlwind of mes, burning down arge number of moths.


    "Is this her ability to inflict double damage on monsters?"


    Su''en was seeing this ability for the first time, which subverted some of his fixed impressions of traditional alchemists.


    He thought that they could only cast spells, but it turned out they could also engage in closebat.


    Being able to be an assistant teacher at the ck Tower Alchemy Academy was indeed not simple.


    .......


    Because of Rosa''s intervention, the crisis situation for the students improved significantly.


    However, because her technique also attracted the moths, after killing one wave, another wave came rushing in.


    At this moment, Rosa shouted, "Extinguish the light sources! You all go first!"


    It turned out that she wanted to attract the swarm of monsters herself and let the students escape.


    The students didn''t dare to dy after hearing this and quickly ran towards the passage where Su''en was hiding.


    At this moment, Su''en finally realized what was wrong.


    If this was a trial, it seemed that the level of danger had far exceeded expectations."This is not right... There are already multiple severely injured people, and the hidden mentor is still not ready to take action?"


    Su''en had no doubt that these inexperienced students, running around in panic, were likely to be wiped out in the underground cave.


    That assistant, Rosa, alone cannot stop this group of strange moths.


    Do they still find the trial not difficult enough?


    Do a few people have to die to scare these students before the mentor behind the scenes will take action?


    But as Su''en looked at the anxious face of the assistant, Rosa, he felt that something was increasingly wrong.


    And at this moment, a deadly crisis appeared again.


    Charlie, the chubby boy running at the back of the student group, felt a slight sting on his back and immediately realized something. His face turned pale in an instant.


    He didn''t care about his image anymore and suddenly shouted, "Brother Su''en, help!"


    .......


    Hearing the cry, Su''en hesitated for a moment, but his hands had already decisively reached for the gun at his waist.


    There are still a small number of moths chasing them, and there is no sign of the mentor appearing. If he doesn''t take action now, Charlie''s group will likely be the first to have casualties.


    After all, he had taken the money, so he still had some sense of obligation.


    "Bang, bang, bang, bang..."


    In that instant, Su''en suddenly drew both guns and fired nearly twenty bullets in a very short amount of time.


    But his actions immediately drew a shout from the leading students, "Are you an idiot? Don''t shoot! The light will attract those moths..."


    But before they finished speaking, they heard a series of heavy objects falling to the ground.


    The expressions of the students instantly froze: How... is this possible?


    Charlie had already given up hope.


    He shouted for help without caring about his image because he had already felt the piercing sensation of the moth''s mouthparts stabbing his back.


    He thought he was going to die.


    But suddenly, he realized that the piercing sensation disappeared?


    When he looked again, he found that more than twenty moth corpses had fallen around him. And on the head of each moth, there was a bullet hole.


    Looking at this scene in front of him, and then at Su''en not far away holding a gun, Charlie immediately realized what had happened. He finally felt the sensation of his frightened soul returning to his body.


    After a moment of daze, a look of joy after surviving a disaster appeared on his face. "Brother Su''en, save me!"


    .......


    The student who had scolded Su''en for shooting looked at how easily Su''en killed so many moths and saved Charlie and his ssmates, and instantly felt a burning sensation on his face.


    They were all just focused on running, and no one noticed that Charlie and his group had already fallen into danger.


    But unable to resist his pride, that person still weakly muttered, "Don''t shoot randomly, the fire might..."


    Su''en didn''t give this group of people a chance to waste time with theirints. He pressed the magazine release button and quickly changed the magazine with both hands. At the same time, he said, "If you want to shoot, it''s best to use regr submachine gun bullets."


    There was no time to hide his clumsiness. He had to shoot to save people.


    He didn''t exin in detail why he used regr bullets. If they couldn''t figure it out, it would make these proud elites look foolish.


    There was no need to use alchemical bullets to deal with these monsters!


    The rate of fire and power of a firearm were often inversely proportional. Alchemical bullets had greater power, but slower rate of fire, and the resulting sh and noise were also greater.


    For dealing with these numerous and fragile moths, firearms with a fast rate of fire and fewer bullets werepletely sufficient.


    With less noise and a fleeting light source, the attraction to those moths was very limited.


    As long as the shots were urate, the efficiency was higher than alchemical bullets, and it was safer.


    Just like what was happening right now.


    While everyone was still staring at the ground covered in moth corpses without reacting, Su''en had already swiftly changed the magazine and pulled the trigger again.


    In the next instant, he gave these students a textbook-like demonstration of practical shooting.


    Both guns raised, index fingers quickly pulling the triggers.


    Dah, dah, dah... The sound of gunfire was dense like raindrops, but it had a fast and steady rhythm. This waspletely different from the panicked shooting rhythm of the students.


    Su''en seemed to aim aimlessly, but with each gunshot, at least one moth corpse fell from the air, and sometimes even two or three...


    The targets of his bullets seemed to be not just a single point, but a line.


    Throughout the shooting process, no one saw Su''en show any signs of panic. He remained calm and almost numb, calmly pulling the trigger, as if he calcted the precise timing and trajectory of each monster''s attack.


    The firearms in his hands seemed to have eyes, always urately dealing with the approaching moths, hitting each monster''s head with a single shot.


    With just his two guns, he blocked the group of moths chasing after the twenty students who were fleeing in panic.


    After three rounds of magazines were emptied, the ground was already densely covered with hundreds of moth corpses.


    At this moment, all the students were dumbfounded...


    Su''en''s marksmanship was shocking!


    .......


    Charlie, the chubby boy, was already stunned.Having narrowly escaped death, he didn''t hide his excitement at all, "Wow...my information was indeed correct, brother, you are the top gunman of the Cross Society!"


    His smug expression seemed to be showing off to the students around him: See, I was right, wasn''t I? Are you stillughing at me now?


    The students on the side were whispering to each other.


    "He''s so strong! I noticed he used at least seven advanced firearm techniques just now, precise trajectory calction, moving target lock-on, attack prediction, quick reloading, simultaneous multi-target attack..."


    "This...he must be a ''firearm expert''."


    "But...isn''t Jack also a ''firearm expert''? Why does it feel like there''s such a big difference? Seeing this guy, I even feel like I''m seeing our firearms instructor, Master Punk. He always hits the target..."


    "I didn''t expect there to be such a skilled gunman in the outer city. This guide, he must be a famous veteran gunman from the outer city..."


    "..."


    Listening to the whispers in his ear, Su''en felt a headacheing on.


    These students were really clueless. Assistant Rosa risked her life to attract most of the moth monsters for them, and he himself had just killed the ones that had slipped through the and chased after them.


    Now that they could finally catch their breath, these guys actually stopped running?


    Su''en didn''t want to be dragged down, so he said expressionlessly, "You guys go first, find a ce to hide, and extinguish all light sources!"


    Upon hearing this, the students finally realized that the crisis was not over.


    Then, they really ran...


    Although Charlie was a coward, he still had some sense of loyalty.


    At the critical moment, when everyone else had fled, he was the only one who asked in a panic, "Brother, is there anything I can do for you?"


    Su''en thought for a moment and said, "Leave some bullets for me, you go first!"


    "Okay."


    Charlie didn''t waste any time, he took out several fine firearms and a pile of bullets from his storage ring, "Brother, take care!"


    "Okay."


    Su''en nodded, holding two guns, he stood at the entrance of the tunnel.


    It wasn''t that he was selfless and willing to sacrifice himself for others.


    But with this group of burdens, he would be safer running alone.


    Now that Assistant Daniel had disappeared without a trace, the second-order instructor was nowhere to be found, and there were inexplicably falling bugs... All these abnormal situations indicated that something had happened in the cave.


    Although Su''en didn''t understand what had happened, his intuition told him that perhaps bigger trouble was waiting for them.


    Following these students would only increase the danger!

 Chapter 62: The beautiful woman in the cave

    Chapter 62: The beautiful woman in the cave


    Originally, Su''en thought it was just a simple trial guide task, but now he can see that there is something fishy about this trial.


    After some simple recollection, Su''en has connected the limited clues in his mind.


    Even if he doesn''t know the ins and outs of the matter, he can guess that it probably involves some grudges and power struggles among the wealthy families.


    This is a premeditated "ident".


    The disappearance of the mentor and assistant for no reason is most likely an ident.


    After all, if something happens to these young masters and misses from wealthy families, the mentors cannot escape me.


    Of course, Su''en, as a guide, will also be implicated.


    It seems that the target of the mastermind behind the scenes is not Su''en, but probably these students. But for him, this is a bigger threat than the crisis he is facing.


    If even second-tier professionals can be sent to the arena, then these wealthy families are definitely not easy to deal with. If something happens to these noble students, Su''en, a member of the lower-ss gang in the outer city with no foundation, will definitely be the first to be buried.


    By then, even the president of the Cross Society may not be able to save him.


    "I thought it was an easy way to make money, but I didn''t expect to get involved in the power struggle of the wealthy families. This is troublesome."


    Su''en''s thoughts were racing in his mind, already thinking about his future path: "Could it be that after this, I have to change my identity again and join the ''Steam Party'' or the ''Cross Society''?"


    Only by joining the gang will he know how powerful the three major gangs are in the outer city.


    Once he betrays the Cross Society, he will be in big trouble with the gang, and then he will have nowhere to go in the entire outer city.


    Unless it is absolutely necessary, Su''en does not n to give up his current identity.


    And in the blink of an eye, the students behind him have already run far away.


    Su''en also breathed a sigh of relief.


    At least he has saved his own people now, and even sacrificed himself, which can be considered as fulfilling his duty. If there are casualties, he can also exin himself, and the high-level members of the gang can also give an ount to the inner city gold owners. It''s not in vain that he was rmended by Mrs. Filov in front of that person.


    After all, before they came, everyone regarded this guide task as a great "opportunity".


    If used well, it is indeed an opportunity for these lower-ss gang members to turn their lives around.


    ........


    If he can help the female assistant, Su''en doesn''t mind using a few more bullets.


    But obviously, the number of these strange moths is not something that a few guns can solve.


    If Rosa, who attracts firepower, is gone, these moths will definitely chase after any living creature in the tunnel. Su''en doesn''t have thebat suit like those noble students, and his simple leather armor probably won''tst long.


    He also thought that the assistant at the ck Tower Academy must have more means to save her life than he expected, so he has always maintained a safe distance.


    Sure enough, as he expected.


    At this time, when the female assistant saw Su''en taking action to alleviate the crisis, she also breathed a sigh of relief. Without any hesitation, she took out something like a grenade, twisted it fiercely, and threw it towards the entrance of the tunnel.


    "A bomb?"


    Su''en looked at the thing thrown at him by the woman and guessed that she might want to blow up the tunnel andpletely block the path of these moths'' pursuit. But if it''s a bomb, it will probably blow him up too, and maybe even cause arge-scale copse.


    Su''en instinctively wanted to shoot down this thing in the air, but when he saw the female assistant rushing towards him, he knew that it was not as simple as a bomb.


    "Run!"


    Rosa shouted urgently while running.


    Su''en''s reaction was not slow either. He turned his head and ran towards the depths of the tunnel.


    And at this moment, he heard the "grenade"nding and heard the sound of gas leaking.


    Looking again, white foam gushed out of the bottle, suddenly expanding thousands of times. In just a few seconds, it had the tendency topletely block the entrance of the tunnel.


    The expanding foam behind them was like a tsunami, chasing after them as they ran. After two or three hundred meters, the foam stopped expanding, and they finally slowed down.


    Su''en looked back at the foam that blocked the passage, somewhat surprised. This thing is much more reliable than a bomb, and it won''t cause arge-scale copse. In his impression, although there were simr expanding materials in the chemical industry in his previous life, they could not achieve such arge volume expansion.


    It was probably because the female assistant had consumed too much energy before, she was panting heavily, and her chest was rising and falling violently.


    She looked at Su''en with interest in the foam and took the initiative to exin: "That''s the ''Super Foam Expansion Bomb'', an alchemical product. It is currently in the experimental stage and cannot be seen on the market."


    Su''en showed a sudden realization: "Oh."


    No wonder he hadn''t heard of it before, it turned out to be aboratory-level product.


    The ck Tower Academy indeed has a lot of high-tech.


    At this time, the female assistant nced at Su''en, as if she remembered something, and said again, "Thank you for saving the students just now."


    She probably didn''t expect that the guide arranged by the academy, who was a local gang member, would turn out to be a hidden "firearms expert".


    If it weren''t for the person in front of her, she would have been overwhelmed by herself.


    Su''en nodded in response and said politely, "It''s what I should do."


    After thinking for a moment, he spoke again, "If it''s convenient, I would like to ask, did something unexpected happen during this trial?"


    In principle, as a guide, he is not qualified to ask anything about the trial.


    But now, the situation is obviously not right.The female assistant thought for a moment, then spoke seriously without evasion, "Assistant Daniel and Professor August seem to have encountered some problems. We need to find the students now and end this trial immediately!"


    "..."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en realized that something unexpected had indeed happened.


    However, ending the trial now was also good news for him.


    At least no students had died.


    He, as a guide, hadn''tpletely failed in his duties.


    But... it seemed that the current situation was such that they couldn''t end the trial just because they wanted to.


    .......


    Without saying much, the two of them retraced their steps.


    However, after walking for a while, when they reached a crossroad, Su''en discovered an unexpected situation.


    The traces at the scene showed that the group of students didn''t return the way they came, but chose another path at this crossroad, running deeper underground.


    Clearly, something was wrong.


    Su''en and the female assistant exchanged a nce, both guessing what might have happened.


    "Be careful, there might be monsters."


    "Mm."


    The students didn''t choose to return the same way, there was only one exnation, something forced them not to dare to return the same way!


    Moreover, there were some strange battle traces left at this crossroad.


    Some ck, oil-like viscous fluid was left in various ces in the tunnel.


    Su''en used his All-knowing Eye to identify it, showing that it was a trace left by a mutated creature.


    Mutated Amoeba Debris


    Exnation: This is a part of a slime amoeba''s body; its main body has the characteristics of splitting, transforming, merging, and strong corrosive toxins, and its vitality is extremely tenacious; it has almost no sensory system, but it is very sensitive to certain specific smells;


    "Did we really encounter a monster?"


    Su''en looked at the ck viscous fluid, his eyebrows furrowed.


    Encountering another unknown monster didn''t surprise him, but... why didn''t they encounter it when they came, but the students encountered it when they returned?


    Moreover, even if the mutated monsters are "strange", the students'' abilities should be able to handle them.


    Judging from the traces at the scene, it seemed that the students had no resistance and were driven deeper underground?


    Su''en found this puzzling.


    Looking at the introduction of "very sensitive to certain specific smells", his eyes narrowed slightly, sensing that something was wrong.


    .......


    The female assistant didn''t recognize the origin of the ck viscous fluid, but she also guessed that the situation was urgent. She urgently shouted at Su''en, "The students must be in danger, let''s go check it out!"


    Su''en nodded and followed her.


    As the two of them descended, the fragments of the route in Su''en''s mind became more and more blurred. He vaguely remembered that this had already exceeded the territory of the previous zombie-type mutated monsters.


    The mutated monsters in the underground cave were not just one or two types, they also had aplete food chain.


    Su''en didn''t know what kind of monsters were in the direction they were heading deeper underground, but judging from the memories of the monsters he had harvested before, there seemed to be a very terrifying group of mutated monsters hidden.


    Fortunately, not long after, they finally found the group of students hiding in a cave.


    "Oh my God, Teacher Rosa, you''re finally here!"


    The students saw Su''en and Rosa, and like seeing a lifesaver, they all gathered around.


    Before Assistant Rosa could ask, the students started talking about their experiences.


    "Teacher Rosa, it was terrifying! We encountered several ck dogs that we couldn''t kill..."


    "Yes, those ck dogs chased us madly. No matter how we attacked, it was useless. When we smashed their bodies, the ck viscous fluid would quickly gather and resurrect. Even if we burned them with fire, their size only shrank a little, we couldn''t kill them..."


    "Moreover, those smaller ck dogs would merge with each other and then transform into arger monster..."


    "..."


    Listening to the students, Su''en understood that the oil-like traces he saw earlier were fragments of the "ck dogs''" bodies.


    Su''en carefully looked at the students, apart from some corrosive injuries on their bodies, there didn''t seem to be any fatal injuries.


    Wait... weren''t there twenty students? Why was one missing?


    Assistant Rosa obviously also noticed something wrong. One of the four five-person teams was missing a person. She asked, "Where''s Kome?"


    "He... he''s gone."


    "Gone?"


    Rosa looked surprised. How could such a big living person just disappear?


    At this time, a student named Brown said, "Just now... Kome told me he saw a very beautiful woman in the tunnel. I didn''t take it seriously. Then when I turned around, he was gone."


    Rosa thought an enemy had arrived and asked seriously, "What woman?"


    "A... a naked woman!"


    "..."


    As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere suddenly became strange.


    There were plenty of monsters in this cave, but where would a beautiful naked womane from?


    Su''en, who was standing by, felt very familiar when he heard this, as if he had heard it somewhere before.


    A very beautiful woman?


    Suddenly, he thought of something.

 Chapter 63: Mutated amoeba

    Chapter 63: Mutated amoeba


    "Beautiful woman... Could it be the thing rumored to be near Green Street?"


    As the local boss in Green Street, Su''en naturally knew that there had been many inexplicable cases of missing people in Green Street recently. There were multiple witnesses who imed to have seen a beautiful woman appearing in the ces where the disappearances urred.


    Obviously, that "beautiful woman" was most likely not human.


    But rather, some kind of distorted monster.


    ........


    Su''en looked at the surroundings and frowned. This was no longer the area he was familiar with.


    The bad news was that one student was missing, and there were no signs.


    The good news was that it was only one.


    He suggested to the female assistant, "I think... we''d better leave here."


    Cutting losses in time was not toote.


    Rosa clearly knew the situation was critical. If there were other teachers here, she would have chosen to search in the underground cave.


    But now, she had no choice but to ensure the safety of the students in front of her as much as possible.


    She nodded in agreement with Su''en''s suggestion and said, "Students, there have been some changes in this trial. I announce the termination of the trial. Everyone should return to the surface immediately."


    Someone said, "But teacher, are we... giving up on Com?"


    "I wille back to find himter."


    Rosa thought for a moment and then asked Su''en, "Mr. Guide, do we have any other way to return to the surface?"


    Su''en thought for a moment and realized that there was, but he didn''t dare to say too much, "I''ll try."


    He also wanted to leave here as soon as possible and distance himself from these students as soon as possible.


    Because he felt that if things dragged on, they would only get worse!


    And his premonition of bad things was always terrifyingly urate.


    .......


    The students were frightened and had no intention of staying any longer, but as they were preparing to leave after packing up their equipment.


    Suddenly, from the tunnel they hade from, there came the sound of sshing water, as if something wet was running quickly.


    The students seemed to be familiar with this sound and eximed in fear, "Teacher Rosa, it''s not good, the ck dog is here again!"


    Su''en listened and his expression froze. He didn''t dare to be careless and used his eyes to observe.


    He saw at the end of his field of vision, seven or eight "dogs" with blurred features in their "dog" form, running out of the tunnel.


    The appraisal still showed Mutated Amoeba Shapeshifter.


    At this moment, Assistant Rosa took out the methrower tied to her thigh, raised her hand, and fired several shots at the monsters.


    Her marksmanship was good, directly hitting the heads of two monsters.


    Then Su''en watched as the heads of the monsters exploded into a puddle of ck water, but the monsters continued to run, and in an instant, they reformed a head.


    Seeing this, Su''en frowned slightly.


    The students anxiously said, "Teacher, physical attacks are useless, we can only use fire to pose a threat to them!"


    .......


    "Strong vitality, good at shapeshifting and fusion..."


    Su''en coldly watched everything in front of him. He had already put away his ordinary pistol and was now holding two rune firearms loaded with alchemical bullets.


    His eyes flickered as he captured the movements of the monsters and analyzed in his mind, "It''s difficult to kill them unless their bodies are burned dry. The only attacking method is close-range corrosion, which is not too lethal... The trouble is their numbers."


    Looking again at the end of the tunnel, it seemed that there were more than just seven or eight of those ck dogs!


    Assistant Rosa quickly tried other attack methods, but they had little effect. She immediately shouted, "Retreat!"


    Their escape route had been blocked, and they had no choice but to move deeper into the cave while retreating.


    Physical professionals had no way to deal with these monsters. Once they got close, even theirbat suits would be quickly corroded, emitting white smoke. Only "Elemental Alchemical Bullets" and some fire-based spells had some use, but they only slowed down the pursuit of those monsters.


    Those things couldn''t be killed at all!


    Even if they used another foam bomb to seal the tunnel, those "ck dogs" would still appear from somewhere, relentlessly chasing after them.


    Su''en followed the students as they ran downhill.


    He quickly pieced together the fragments of his memory in his mind, trying to find another route back to the surface.


    But strangely, no matter how they changed their path, those ck dogs always appeared like ghosts, finding them urately in every corner.


    Before long, not only were they being chased, but intercepting monsters had also appeared.


    The situation became more and more critical.


    ......


    But a turning point came suddenly.


    By chance, in an open area, after the personnel dispersed, Su''en discovered a characteristic of those "ck dogs": they did not attack everyone, but specifically targeted one particr team.


    That was the team led by Jack, who was known as the "number one gun" in the academy!


    Previously, when a female student fell, those ck dogs could have killed her, but theypletely ignored her and instead rushed towards the team in front of the crowd.


    Before long, all the students noticed that as long as they avoided Jack''s team, those ck dogs would not attack them at all.


    Upon closer inspection, the target of the ck dogs'' attacks was not the team itself, but a girl in the team.


    Someone noticed something abnormal and shouted, "Teacher, those monsters are after Rena!"


    At this moment, everyone understood that those ck dogs had been chasing Rena from the beginning to the end, not them.


    They had inadvertently blocked Rena in the crowd, so they mistakenly thought that the ck dogs would attack everyone.


    Realizing this, almost all the students instinctively avoided the girl.


    Sure enough, the ck dogs directly passed by them, and the crisis was instantly resolved.


    Su''en watched this scene and instantly connected the clues in his mind, forming aplete conspiracy.


    He suddenly realized, "So that''s how the monsters use their ''extremely sensitive sense of smell to certain specific scents''!"


    Like a trained drug-sniffing dog, it wouldn''t bite ordinary people, but it would attack criminals carrying contraband.


    "Is this monster being controlled by someone?!"


    Su''en immediately concluded, "In order to avoid causing too many casualties, they''ve set up this targeted monster to ambush here... The culprit must be some big shot from the inner city!"


    Even without thinking hard, it was clear that this was some clichd power struggle among the wealthy elites.


    The puppet master behind all this was aiming to kill the girl named "Rena"!


    ......


    Su''en felt extremely annoyed, inexplicably getting involved in the power struggle of the inner city elites.


    With his current status as a small-time gangster, he was nothing but cannon fodder in the face of such powerful forces.


    Regardless of whether the puppet master''s plot seeded or not, he, as the guide, would be implicated.


    He might even be framed as an aplice, after all, he was the one who led the way!


    "I''ve really gotten myself into a big mess... If that girl''s identity is extremely important, and if she dies on the territory of the Cross Society, the higher-ups of the gang would probably have a hard time exining."


    Su''en''s mind was racing.


    Looking at the situation at hand, he was almost certain that he needed to make a run for it.


    But if he ran away and left no one to take the me, Qianjiao and Kay would definitely be implicated.


    So unless it was absolutely necessary, he still had no intention of immediately washing his hands of the matter.

 Chapter 64: I hate it when others threaten me

    Chapter 64: I hate it when others threaten me


    In a short while, the number of ck dogs increased.


    At the end of the field of vision, the corridor was filled with chaotic ck shadows.


    Assistant Rosa also noticed this and realized that it would be a burden to follow therge group. She decided to take one person and be more agile.


    Her decision was resolute. She grabbed the girl named "Rena" and shouted loudly to Su''en, "Mr. Guide, let''s split up and please make sure to lead the students to a safe ce!"


    Without waiting for Su''en''s response, she didn''t look back and took the girl into the darkness.


    The group of chasing ck dogspletely ignored the other students hiding against the wall and chased after them.


    Su''en knew very well that he had no way to deal with those ck dog monsters. Even if he knew that Rosa and the girl student running down there were in danger, he had no hesitation.


    "Let''s go!"


    The underground cave was not a good ce to stay. Su''en gave a lightmand and nned to lead the students out first.


    Now that there was no mentor, if these young nobles died here, not only would Su''en himself be in trouble, but the "Cross Society" would also be retaliated against by the influential figures in the inner city.


    Upon hearing this, the frightened students had no objections and hurriedly followed Su''en back to the corridor they came from.


    After walking for a while, they didn''t encounter any trouble.


    The few ck dog monsters they encountered didn''t pay any attention to them and continued chasing after Rosa and the girl.


    Everyone could now be sure that all the abnormalities in this trial were because someone wanted to kill "Rena".


    Originally, it was just an ordinary trial where they might encounter some small crises, but it would pass.


    But unexpectedly, so many idents happened.


    The missing Kom was probably in great danger, Mentor Auguste never showed up, Assistant Daniel didn''t return, and now even Assistant Rosa had fled deeper... and Rena.


    .......


    Su''en found a route leading to the surface and they continued on.


    The monsters around them became sparser, and the people finally saw hope of survival.


    After running for a while, they were close to the surface and the environment was already safe enough. Some people were exhausted, so they stopped to rest in an open area.


    With no intimidating monsters around, the thoughts of the people returned to normal.


    At this moment, someone weakly asked, "Will Teacher Rosa and Rena... be okay?"


    As soon as this question was asked, the atmosphere became unusually quiet.


    In fact, everyone knew in their hearts that they couldn''t do anything to those ck dog monsters even with so many people. How could two people possibly kill the monsters?


    The best hope was for them to escape...


    But Su''en knew the habits of those monsters. If Rosa escaped alone, she might survive; but if she took "Rena" with her, both of them would be in great danger.


    However, at this moment, an inappropriate voice appeared.


    It was Jack who stood up, with a serious expression on his face, and said, "No, we can''t just give up on Teacher Rosa and Rena... and Kom! We have to go save them!"


    As soon as he said this, someone immediately expressed opposition, saying, "But those monsters are not something we can deal with. All we can do is go to the surface and inform the academy. They should send rescue soon."


    "No!"


    Jack insisted on going down, his tone resolute. "We must do something. Waiting for rescue is not an option!"


    "I think it''s better if we don''t go..."


    "Yeah, going won''t change anything."


    "I won''t go anyway. If you want to go, go ahead, don''t morally pressure me."


    "..."


    Suddenly, an internal conflict broke out. Su''en watched this group of arrogant little lions quarreling and thinking about something else.


    He also noticed that Jack had always been attentive to that "Rena" along the way, probably pursuing her.


    It seemed like a plot where someone bravely risked their life for their loved one.


    Originally, it was somewhat admirable.


    But suddenly, the plot took a turn.


    Jack didn''t dare to go alone and wanted to invitepanions. After calling for a while, no one responded, and he became angry. He probably wanted to use provocation and no longer spoke politely, saying, "Hmph, you cowards! Our most respected teacher and our ssmates we spend time with are in danger!"


    His words were harsh and tore off the facade.


    Someone also stood up and revealed the truth.


    "Jack, aren''t you a coward? Haha... Don''t think we don''t know why you''ve been trying so hard to get close to Rena. Isn''t it for her family''s assets? Now if something happens to her, you and your family''s only reliance will be gone. You selfish person, you want us to follow you to our deaths, impossible!"


    "Normally, we didn''t expose you when we saw through your intentions towards our ssmates, but now you''re stepping on our faces? The second-ss citizens are desperately trying to climb up the socialdder, thinking we don''t know about your petty thoughts?"


    "That''s right! We didn''t see you bravely rushing down earlier. Now that you''re thinking about how it might affect your family, you regret it and want us to go die with you?"


    "..."


    The students became more and more impolite in their words, hitting where it hurt.


    The conflicts between the upper ss and the lower ss seemed to have no difference, exposing weaknesses and adding salt to the wound.


    Su''en, who was watching this drama unfold silently, suddenly didn''t expect the fire to burn onto himself.Jack looked around and found no one willing to apany him, so he turned his gaze to Su''en, the only person on the scene he could suppress with his status.


    Without a second thought, hemanded, "You, I order you toe with me to save people!"


    Hearing this arrogant tone, Su''en nced at him, not arguing, and said indifferently, "My task is to get you all out."


    Charlie, the fat man who had been silent all along, also stepped in to mediate, "Jack, don''t go too far. The guide''s task is to get us all out. You can''t sacrifice everyone''s safety for your selfish goals!"


    "Hmph!"


    Jack''s face turned red with anger, and his gentlemanly demeanor was nowhere to be seen.


    Ignoring Charlie, he stared at Su''en and threatened, "You, a lowly outsider, dare to refuse mymand? Let me tell you, if anything happens to Miss Rena, you won''t live to tell the tale! Not just you, but the forces behind you as well. I guarantee that the Reiss family of Miss Rena, my Edward family will definitely pursue it to the end!"


    Hearing him mention the "Reiss family", Charlie''s face froze.


    Su''en, however, remained expressionless throughout.


    A death threat?


    Tsk tsk...


    This guy really threw his sense of superiority as an inner city resident onto his own face.


    At that moment, a thought shed through his mind. Without finding any more reasons to refuse, he stood up and said, "If no one else has any objections, I can apany you..."


    Hearing Su''en "submit", everyone thought he was intimidated by Jack''s words. It was only natural to think so. An outer city gang member, whose status was even lower than that of a ve in the inner city''s major families, how could he dare to defy?


    No one spoke up, and the students seemed unwilling to speak up for an outsider.


    Charlie wanted to say something, but swallowed his words, sighing deeply.


    After all, while one Jack was insignificant, almost everyone in the ss was not afraid of him.


    But if they were known to have obstructed the "rescue Rena" operation, and something really happened, causing the upper echelons of the Reiss family to be furious, that would be a real disaster.


    No one could bear it.


    Seeing no one speak, Jack sneered, "No need to ask these cowards, youe with me to save people!"


    Upon hearing this, Su''en stood up expressionlessly and apanied this young master back into the depths of the cave.


    ......


    Soon, the two arrived at the fork in the road where they had separated from the female assistant.


    This ce was remote enough, the quiet underground space, even their breathing could be clearly heard.


    Su''en thought, probably no one would hear the gunshot.


    Jack had been walking behind him all the time, seemingly on guard against him.


    Little did he know that Su''en had already had the intention to kill.


    Just then, a strange noise came from the depths of the cave, and human instinct would be attracted to such a moment.


    Su''en, who had been prepared, quickly drew his gun and decisively pulled the trigger.


    Without any warning, the gunshot did not deviate at all.


    With a "bang", a bullet hit Jack right between the eyebrows, and he died with his eyes wide open.


    Su''en put away his gun, looked at the corpse, and said indifferently, "I hate being threatened more than I hate causing trouble."


    People from the inner city can''t be killed?


    Ha...


    There''s no such word in Su''en''s dictionary.


    Following you was just a convenient excuse to break away from the group.


    PS. The new book period updates six to eight thousand words every day, it feels like the word count is going to run away again... Asking for monthly tickets, rmendations, all kinds of requests!

 Chapter 65: Bumper harvest of knowledge

    Chapter 65: Bumper harvest of knowledge


    A headshot.


    Su''en looked at the "mist" on Jack''s body in front of him and swallowed it casually.


    "Hmm..."


    After digesting the fragments of those memories in his mind, he eximed in surprise, a hint of joy appearing on his face.


    "Obtained 6 memory fragments of ''Jack Edward''."


    "You obtained some information: ''Damn it, if something happens to Rena, all the family''s investments will go down the drain...''"


    "You have mastered arge amount of ''alchemy knowledge''..."


    "You have mastered some ''basic, intermediate, and advanced potion knowledge''..."


    "You have gained some ''intermediate mystery knowledge''..."


    "You have mastered fluent Gnidenguage..."


    "You have acquired some ''advanced firearms theory knowledge'', firearm experience +365."


    "Mental power +0.11."


    The memory fragments obtained from this corpse suddenly made Su''en feel like his mind had gained a lot more.


    After a moment, he snapped out of that dazed feeling and couldn''t help but exim, "The knowledge reserve of the students at the ck Tower Academy is so exaggerated..."


    This was the first time Su''en had gained so much "knowledge" from the same corpse.


    The useful knowledge obtained from the corpses in the outer city''s arena was very scarce. It was already good enough to harvest somebat experience. The memories of the diators living in the lower levels were ny percent filled with useless information, scenes of pleasure quarters, gambling dens, taverns... and various intimate scenes with women.


    The stripped memory fragments had a low chance of containing experience and skills, but a high chance of containing these low-quality contents.


    However, Jack''s memories were theplete opposite.


    The alchemy knowledge he had studied for many years at the academy upied arge portion of his memories. With just a simple extraction, he could dig up a "treasure".


    Upon thinking about it, Su''en also understood.


    As the top noble academy in Old Lingdun City, the ck Tower Alchemy Academy''s students had no survival pressure. Their only task was to cram various knowledge. The students had top professionals as their teachers and could ess the richest alchemical ssics and scrolls. Naturally, they were the small group of people who possessed the highest quality alchemical knowledge.


    Harvesting the soul fragments of this Jack made Su''en feel like he had saved several years of hard study.


    Moreover, many of them were advanced alchemical knowledge that even people in the outer city couldn''t learn with money.


    Just the "firearms theory knowledge" alone filled in the gaps in Su''en''s theoretical understanding. Before this, he could use many firearms techniques, but he didn''t understand their principles. He couldn''t be considered aplete master.


    Now that he had filled in this theoretical knowledge, his firearm experience also skyrocketed, instantly reaching Advanced Firearms Mastery 487/2000.


    Su''en was also curious about what kind of scene the legendary "firearms master" would be when his experience was filled.


    And that Gnidenguage had also changed from "beginner" to "fluent". There were also improvements in mystery studies and potion studies. Although they didn''t seem to be useful for the time being, it was still a decent harvest. More knowledge was always better.


    ......


    Su''en collected the glowing "employment materials" and "alchemy equipment" from Jack''s body. They were all silver-quality materials. Along with the storage ring, the two runic methrowers on his waist,bat suit, advanced gas mask, night vision goggles, and protective gear were all stripped off.


    These were all good things, but they couldn''t see the light of day.


    Just talking about the two runic methrowers with me runes all over them, they were obviously much better than the gun Su''en had obtained before, the "Three-Headed Ghost". They felt very smooth in his hands, with superior sights, stability, recoil, and durability.


    They looked very tempting, but Su''en couldn''t use any of these things, and he couldn''t even sell them on the ck market to cash in.


    Once others discovered that these things had entered the market, it would expose the fact that he killed Jack.


    The "fake death n" would also fail.


    ......


    He hadn''t nned to give up his current identity as a member of the Cross Society because he didn''t think things were that bad.


    Now that he knew the identity of that "Rena," he knew he had to make a decision.


    That youngdy had a significant background, the only daughter of the top Lingdun City financial conglomerate, the "Reyes Family".


    Even for people from the outer city, this financial conglomerate was well-known. The conglomerate operated two of the most famouspanies, the "Old Lingdun Resident Drinking Water Supply Company" and the "ckde Mining Group".


    One controlled the residents'' drinking water, and the other controlled the development and trading of most of Old Lingdun''s minerals. The scale of their assets was unimaginable.


    If someone wanted to kill Rena, it must be rted to interests. After all, she was the first heir of the conglomerate.


    This kind of clich power struggle plot, whether in novels or in reality, Su''en was already used to it.


    He wasn''t interested in getting involved.


    But because he was involved in this inexplicable conspiracy, Su''en''s current situation had be very bad.


    Those people chose to ambush him during the trial, naturally considering all factors. They killed the mentor first, then released this relentless and relentless pursuit of a monster...


    In everyone''s eyes, Rena was as good as dead.


    Once she died, it would definitely involve many people.


    As a guide, Su''en would definitely be implicated.


    In the eyes of the major financial conglomerates in the inner city, the lives of people from the outer city were not worth mentioning. They wouldn''t listen to your exnation of whether you were powerless. If the youngdy died, someone had to take the me and be buried with her.


    Even if he couldn''t die, once he was interrogated and the identity of the original host was exposed, Su''en''s fate would be very miserable.


    Therefore, although it seemed unrted to him, he actually had no choice.


    To be on the safe side, he decided to "run away".


    But the Cross Society had taken him in, and whether it was the Thousand Stripes or Captain Kay, they treated him well.


    Even if Su''en ran away, he didn''t want to involve them.


    Now that this guy Jack forced him to go deep into the underground cavern to save someone, everything was justified.


    Both of them would "die" in the underground cavern, with no trace of their bones left. This was the best oue.


    A small guide sacrificing his life to save someone, what could those inner city financial conglomerates say?


    By then, the Cross Society would be minimally affected.Su''en felt that he had done his best, and no one else could have done better.


    ......


    As Su''en was collecting the spoils of war, he was already nning his life after leaving.


    Giving up his current identity meant giving up everything he was familiar with.


    This would be a very difficult process. He couldn''t reveal his shooting skills, lifestyle, current image... everything had to start over.


    Feeling a bit of a headache, Su''en didn''t think too much about it.


    He cleaned up the murder scene to avoid leaving any traces. Then he carried the body and walked towards the depths of the cave.


    Since he nned to run away, there was something even more important he had to do now.


    That was to find the [Forbidden Object] - the scythe!


    Without his identity, he still needed to take the treasure.


    Several students and tutors with sensitive identities had died. Before their bodies were found, the big shots in the inner city would definitely organize arge-scale search and clean-up of the cave.


    If high-ranking professionals came down, the mutated monsters in the cave wouldn''t be able to stop them.


    The scythe was nearby now, and it might be found by someone.


    So, Su''en nned to find it and take it away before he ran away.


    This was the best opportunity, and perhaps the only one.


    ......


    After carrying the body for a while, Su''en saw a vertical hole on the side of the cave.


    In his memory, this seemed to lead to the deep underground.


    Hearing the rustling sounds of monsters, he threw the body with treated wounds down. In the cave, fresh bodies were the favorite food of the mutated monsters. The smell of blood would attract nearby monsters. It wouldn''t be long before even the bones were gnawed clean.


    Su''en didn''t think too much about it and continued to move deeper into the cave.


    Fortunately, the previous battle had cleared most of the zombies in this area, so the journey was smooth.


    Then, following the memory route he had harvested, he arrived near the cave where the scythe was located.


    This part of the cave was connected to a part of the city''s sewer system. He could hear the sound of water, and the air was filled with a strong stench.


    Suddenly, Su''en saw traces of something like oil on the ground and his expression became serious: "Those ''transforming bugs'' actually followed us here?"


    He hadn''t seen any traces along the way. It seemed that Assistant Rosa and a girl named Rena had led them from another tunnel. They were probably also trying to find a way to the surface, but it seemed to be blocked.


    "I hope we don''t run into them."


    Su''en muttered to himself.


    Although he knew that those transforming bugs hardly attacked others, it was better not to encounter them.


    Not far away, as he was about to reach the ce where the scythe was, Su''en saw signs of battle.


    Several spider-like mutated monster bodiesy in the tunnel. The bodies looked like they had been sted by firearms, with green blood flowing out. Upon closer inspection, there was a strange human face pattern on the abdomen of these spider bodies.

 Chapter 66: Stop talking, take off your clothes quickly

    Chapter 66: Stop talking, take off your clothes quickly


    The characteristics of the spider''s corpse looked simr to several types of deformed spiders, but not exactly the same. It seemed to be another type of mutated monster.


    Su''en used the Eye of Omniscience to firmly determine and immediately revealed the information.


    [Mutated Ghost-Faced Spider]


    Exnation: A mutated creature of the beast species that excels in mental control. It prefers dark and damp environments and its venomous fangs can release deadly blood toxins. Do not look directly into its eyes, as it will evoke your most primal desires. Although it is deadly, its body is also fragile.


    "There is another group of mutated spider monsters near the sewer?"


    Seeing the corpse, Su''en frowned.


    Poisonous and skilled in mental control... this thing doesn''t seem easy to deal with.


    The appearance of several of them means that there may be more in the depths of the cave.


    As he was about to reach the location of the sickle, a new monster suddenly appeared. Should he go or not?


    Suddenly, he thought of the eerie human face pattern on the spider''s abdomen, and a sh of insight came to his mind: "Could it be that the student who saw the ''fruit body woman'' before was controlled by this spider monster?"


    In other words, it wasn''t that he saw a "fruit body woman," but that he was mentally controlled?


    Thinking of this, Su''en felt that the monster''s ability was a bit strange.


    He looked around the sewer pipes and gradually formed a three-dimensional map in his mind.


    "Hmm... calcting the distance, this seems to be directly below Green Street Sewer. So, the cases of missing people are also caused by the spider monsters here?"


    Upon careful consideration, everything matched up.


    The case was solved, that''s how it was!


    ......


    But reality did not give Su''en much time to think. Just at this moment, there was suddenly an abnormal movement from deep within the cave.


    "Bia Ji, Bia Ji, Bia Ji..."


    Hearing the wet and rapid running sound, Su''en immediately guessed that it must be the big ck dog that had transformed from the previous deformed worms!


    "They''re not dead yet?"


    Su''en was also somewhat surprised.


    Upon hearing the noise, he didn''t waste any time and quickly retreated, trying to find a corner to hide from the pursuit of the "Rena" ssmate who was being chased by the monsters.


    She was like a time bomb now, whoever was close to her would be unlucky.


    He didn''t want to provoke this deadly trouble.


    He even thought that if she was killed by the ck dogs, maybe he could take the opportunity to search her body.


    Not long after hearing the noise, Su''en saw a agile figure running out from the darkness. Behind her were seven or eight fierce big ck dogs.


    "Beastification talent [C-011-Catwoman]?"


    Seeing the agile running on all fours, Su''en immediately thought of this talent.


    Looking at the familiar liquid-like leather suit, although he couldn''t see her face clearly, wasn''t she "Rena"?


    No wonder she could survive until now. This talent was one of the few talents that excelled in agility.


    Although she wasn''t good at fighting, she was excellent at running.


    In just a moment, Su''en saw three more ck dogs appear out of nowhere and block her path. But Rena was like an agile ck cat, skillfully avoiding the attacks of the ck dogs.


    Seven or eight ck dogs turned into ten, and the situation became increasingly worse.


    And looking at her violently heaving chest, the intense and continuous consumption, she was probably at her limit.


    ......


    Su''en had no intention of meddling in other people''s affairs, and he couldn''t do anything about the ck dogs anyway.


    He even thought that if this woman dared to lead the monsters over, he wouldn''t mind shooting her in the leg.


    But obviously, Rena also saw the guide who appeared inexplicably in the corridor.


    What Su''en didn''t expect was that she not only didn''t have the intention to lead trouble to him, but instead shouted a reminder: "Be careful! Avoid me!"


    Before the words fell, she probably felt that it was toote to dodge. The dozen or so dogs had almost blocked the entire passage. Even if he passed by, the corrosive gas emitted would cause Su''en, who didn''t have protectivebat gear, to suffer greatly.


    Knowing that she couldn''t escape, Rena apparently didn''t want to involve others anymore. At this moment, she bit her silver teeth and suddenly changed direction, not rushing towards Su''en, but choosing another vertical well passage that required even more physical strength and rushed into it.


    Then, the dozen or so ck dogs followed suit and disappeared into the passage.


    Watching this scene, Su''en rxed his grip on the gun, somewhat surprised: "These young masters and misses from the inner city''s wealthy families are not all like Jack, selfish and naive..."


    However, he didn''t dwell on it.


    Su''en watched the figure running past and felt no emotional fluctuations.


    An unfamiliar nobledy who caused him to have to "run away," it was already good enough that she didn''t push him into the well.


    It was probably impossible to pick up the corpse now. He walked out of the hiding corridor and nned to continue forward and get the sickle first.


    But just at this moment, his ears twitched and he retreated: "Huh, why did shee back?"


    The footsteps that had gradually gone away suddenly returned!


    Su''en hadn''t figured it out yet, but he already heard Rena''s desperate and anxious shout in the corridor, even though he couldn''t see her: "Mr. Su''en, please help me deliver this thing to my Aunt Qiantiao, please!"


    "???"


    Hearing his own name, Su''en''s gaze froze, filled with astonishment.


    This... Rena actually knew his name?


    And, listening to the rest of her words, Qiantiao was actually her aunt?!


    What''s going on?


    The gang members from the outer city actually have rtives from the inner city''s wealthy families. Could this be another melodramatic plot of a wealthy family?


    Su''en felt that this sentence contained a lot of information.In the moment of his astonishment, the catwoman had already torn off a crystal ne from her neck and tossed it over.


    Then, this woman, as swift as the wind, led a pack of vicious dogs away...


    Su''en looked at the ne that had fallen not far from his feet, his expression suddenly bing somewhat strange.


    Did Rena know she was going to die, so she left her belongings behind?


    Just because of her mention of "auntie", Su''en felt he should send her belongings to Chiantiao.


    ......


    Obviously, this ne was not simple.


    But out of caution, Su''en didn''t immediately pick up the ne, but instinctively avoided it as if avoiding a gue.


    Seeing that the dogs had no intention of chasing after the ne, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    This meant that this thing did not have the "specific scent" that attracted the mutated monsters to pursue relentlessly.


    "Huh...specific scent?"


    Su''en looked at the figure running away, and suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head.


    He found a turning point in the situation!


    And... he also found the key to breaking the situation!


    In this instant, Su''en''s thoughts were racing.


    Since Chiantiao was Rena''s aunt, then Chiantiao''s influence in the inner city must be extraordinary.


    Correspondingly, as someone under Chiantiao''s protection, Su''en was not apletely manipble tool.


    The premise was... that Rena didn''t die!


    A hundred Jacks dead would not be as important as this one Rena!


    Suddenly obtaining this important information, Su''en quickly deduced various possibilities in his mind.


    At this moment,


    If he watched Rena being chased to death by the dogs, Su''en would indeed save a lot of trouble now, but the identity of "Su''en" must die, and there would be endless troubles in the future;


    If she didn''t die, Su''en might take some risks now, but the situation would have more room for maneuver.


    After quickly weighing the pros and cons, he thought the best choice was to let Rena live!


    .......


    But... this group of "transforming bugs" that could infinitely resurrect, merge and split couldn''t be killed at all.


    Even a second-order powerhouse might not be able to save her, how could he save her?


    In a split second, Su''en''s thoughts were running at high speed, and all the means he could use to save his life shed through his mind.


    Suddenly, he thought of something and shouted urgently at the figure that was about to disappear at the end of the corridor: "Run towards the third corridor on the left, circle back after a detour!"


    He thought of a way that might give this woman a chance to survive.


    But whether it would work or not, it depended on her own fate!


    After Su''en shouted this sentence, he also chose another corridor to run through.


    He installed directional sting explosives on the rock wall, then pulled them up with a wire, and then hid in the distance.


    Soon, he saw the catwoman running back in a disheveled state.


    At the brink of death, Rena had no choice but to follow Su''en''s guidance and instinctively circled back.


    Su''en shouted urgently again: "There''s a detonation wire on the ground, be careful to avoid it."


    Upon hearing this, Rena saw the marked detonation wire not far away on the ground. Instead of being happy, she frowned.


    Copsing the corridor couldn''t stop these liquid monsters, they had tried it before!


    It''s nice that this guide has a heart to save people, but the method is wrong!


    Rena had no choice but to jump over the wire, ran a few steps, and a loud explosion sounded behind her.


    The "rumbling" sound echoed, and the shock wave sent sand and stones flying.


    The rubble copsed instantly, blocking the corridor.


    But at this moment, visible to the naked eye, some ck droplets quickly overflowed from the cracks, and in an instant, the ck dogs reformed again.


    Rena rushed to Su''en''s side, no longer holding any hope of survival. She didn''t stop, and anxiously said: "You go on your own, don''t worry about me! Remember to give the stuff to my aunt..."


    I appreciate your kindness, but you can''t save me!


    As she spoke, she didn''t notice that Su''en had calmly lit something that looked like a "smoke cake" in his hand, and a pungent smell was quickly filling the entire corridor.


    Now is not the time to babble, Su''en directly interrupted the other party''s babble, and ordered sternly: "Stop talking, take off your clothes quickly!"


    "You don''t worry about me, hurry..."


    Rena instinctively thought that the other party still wanted to save her, but she had already killed Teacher Rosa, and she didn''t want to drag others down.


    She was about to turn around and leave, but her brain only reacted at this moment that her ears seemed to have received some strange words.


    Take off clothes?


    The moment she realized this, her body seemed to be under a spell, frozen in ce.


    Time seemed to stand still.


    She thought she had heard wrong, her body was still moving forward due to inertia, but her gaze instinctively turned to stare at Su''en, her face full of question marks: "???"


    We''re running for our lives, dude, what are you thinking?

 Chapter 67: Pretend not to see

    Chapter 67: Pretend not to see


    Su''en looked at Rena, who was still stunned, and knew that he was not clear in his instructions, so he felt it necessary to exin: "Take off your clothes quickly, leave nothing behind. Clothes, equipment, storage ring... take them all off! The smell of the burning powder can only disturb the monsters'' sense of smell for a minute."


    Take off my clothes?


    Rena was a little surprised at first, but in the next second, her cleverness naturally made her understand Su''en''s intention.


    In fact, when they were escaping earlier, Assistant Rosa had already guessed this problem, which was that these ck dog monsters might be relying on their sense of smell to locate their "prey".


    But those monsters started chasing them as soon as they appeared, without giving her any chance to catch her breath.


    And they had also tried, even the highest-grade "odor-removing potion" had no effect at all, which made them doubt their judgment.


    Hearing the words "take off your clothes," she naturally guessed that Su''en was thinking the same way.


    Originally, she had no hope, but she was shocked to find that Su''en''s method actually disrupted the monsters'' perception abilities!


    Calcting the time, those distorted monsters should have already broken through the rubble, but none of them rushed into the smoke to attack her. It was obvious that the smoke was really effective!


    ......


    After Su''en finished speaking, he had no intention of staying in ce.


    He quickly took out a bottle of odor-removing potion and one of his own clothes from the storage ring and ced them on the ground. Then he turned around and ran to the end of the corridor to hide.


    It wasn''t because he was being a gentleman and avoiding Rena changing clothes, but because he wasn''t sure if the powder would be one hundred percent effective against those ck dogs; he also wasn''t sure if the scent that attracted those monsters was something external or Rena''s own scent.


    So he could only give it a try.


    If it was something external that attracted the monsters, Su''en wasn''t sure which item it was on her, and he didn''t have time to try them one by one, so he could only ask her to take them all off.


    If it was Rena''s own scent, when the burning of the powder ended, it would be her death sentence.


    Run a little further away to avoid being affected.


    Now it seems that the powder is more effective than expected.


    Not only was Rena shocked, even Su''en himself was amazed by the fact that the burning smoke from the powder really disrupted the ck dogs'' sense of smell.


    This burning smoke powder was obtained from the memory fragments of that mysterious pharmacist, the "Disgustant for Distorted Monsters".


    Originally, Su''en thought he was just ignorant and hadn''t heard of such a miraculous medicine.


    But now, after harvesting arge amount of knowledge of alchemy from Jack''s memory fragments, he realized that even the ck Tower Academy had no records of this special medicine.


    So there are only two possibilities: either the memory fragments he obtained happened to be missing this part, or the powder is really high-end to the point where even the ck Tower Academy doesn''t have it!


    Su''en felt that the second possibility was more likely.


    Otherwise, Assistant Rosa should have thought of this method too. She must have had a lot of advanced potions on her, and if she had this "Disgustant for Distorted Monsters", she wouldn''t have been chased so dangerously.


    This also made Su''en even more curious about the origin of that mysterious pharmacist.


    ......


    Su''en walked without leaving any traces of water, and now it was Rena''s turn to make a difficult decision.


    Take off all her clothes?


    Although she knew that this was the only way she could save herself at the moment, she still had some reservations in her heart.


    She had never changed clothes in a strange environment before, let alone with a strange man urging her.


    But there was only one minute left, and she didn''t have any room for hesitation.


    Rena was extremely decisive. After a moment of hesitation, she bit her silver teeth and directly took off her night vision goggles and gas mask. Then, without any hesitation, she pulled open the hidden zipper on herbat suit at her chest, "zip" it down to below her abdomen, exposing arge area of white skin in the air.


    Her talent as a "Catwoman" gave her a liquid-like delicate figure. She quickly took off her sleeves, and then her one-piece shapewear... like shedding snake skin, she quickly took off the entirebat suit. Her snow-white and beautiful body was exposed in the air without any cover.


    Then, her close-fitting sports vest, seamless underwear, jewelry, hairpin, storage ring... everything was taken off.


    Rena took off everything she could take off from her body, and then poured the "odor-removing potion" on herself, quickly covering her naked body with the oversized clothes.


    Finally, she was no longer exposed to the air, and the feeling of shame instantly disappeared.


    Because of the talent of the "Catwoman", her night vision ability was not bad.


    Even if she didn''t deliberately look, she could still catch a glimpse of the end of the tunnel with her peripheral vision, and the figure of that person was still there. She couldn''t help but feel a slight blush on her cheeks, and the shyness spread from her face to her slender neck, turning it pink.


    With a turn of her head, she pretended not to see.


    ......


    Su''en watched Rena undress and change clothes so decisively, and praised her in his heart: "Smart choice!"


    If this woman hesitated, he would turn around and leave without hesitation, letting her fend for herself.


    Someone who couldn''t distinguish the situation didn''t deserve his help. That would only harm himself.


    Seeing Rena decisively take off her clothes, Su''en finally didn''t turn his head away.


    He held the runic fire gun and guarded the entrance of the tunnel, his gaze fixed on the graceful figure in the smoke.


    It wasn''t that he deliberately watched the girl change clothes, but he was observing the distorted monsters.


    Taking off thebat suit meant that Rena had almost no defense. After all, he wanted to save her, in case she didn''t have time to change clothes, he could still help by shooting.


    However, with just one nce, his gaze inadvertently caught a glimpse of a hint of spring.


    "ck hair? It''s rare..."


    Su''en had strong eyesight and could see almost everything clearly.Previously, his view of Rena was obscured by a gas mask and night vision goggles. He had no idea what she looked like, only that she was probably not unattractive.


    Now, seeing her clearly, she was even more beautiful than he had anticipated, stunning even.


    She had beautiful, long, straight ck hair, and her ck pupils shimmered with a captivating golden glow. Her figure was impable, even without the shaping effect of her liquid suit, her chest and hips were still perky. She exuded a pure aura that was unique to young girls...


    Her chest was proudly full, her waist slender, further entuating the impressive proportions of her hips and legs...


    Her skin was as smooth and lustrous as porcin, glowing faintly in the dim firelight, making her seem more like a warm jade sculpture. The smoke from the burning powder swirled around her curvaceous figure, adding a touch of hazy beauty, a sight as smooth as silk.


    Su''en raised an eyebrow slightly, watching Rena''s deliberate movements to cover herself, and chuckled to himself, "Ah, so she noticed me..."


    Even when discovered, he didn''t avert his gaze, his expression remained calm throughout.


    Because his focus was always on the sprawling tunnels, not the girl changing her clothes. The seriousness on his face didn''t fade in the slightest, but rather, as the smoke dissipated, his brows furrowed even more.


    After all, it seemed that the "Mutant Monster Repellent" had sessfully interfered with the ck dogs'' sense of smell, but that didn''t mean that once the smoke from the burning powder disappeared, the ck dogs wouldn''te chasing again.


    Moreover, the source of the crisis was never just these ck dogs...


    ......


    Clearly, Rena also realized this.


    She quickly changed into Su''en''s clothes, leaving all her belongings behind and fled from the changing area.


    But she didn''t immediately approach Su''en, instead, she stopped at a safe distance at a fork in the road. If the monsters were to chase her again, she could run.


    However, there probably wouldn''t be a chance to escape.


    Without her battle suit, without any equipment, if this attempt failed, she was essentially on a path to death.


    .......


    A minuteter, the yellow smoke from the burning powder dissipated.


    At the end of the tunnel, more than a dozen ferocious liquid ck dogs had gathered. They seemed to have lost their way, spinning in ce. The corrosive liquid on their bodies evaporated, corroding the tunnel into a pitted mess.


    But as soon as the smoke cleared, they seemed to have picked up a scent, excitedly pouncing on the pile of clothes Rena had taken off. More than a dozen ck dogs tore and twisted together, finally merging into a huge ck monster, blocking the entire tunnel.


    Fortunately, they didn''t seem to have any intention of pouncing on Rena in the distance.


    Seeing this, Su''en finally let out a sigh of relief, "I''m d I bet right, the source of the smell is external. It wasn''t a waste to use a high-priced drug that works for a hundred thousand miles."


    As for Rena, the girl who was saved, a look of relief spread across her face, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.


    It was then that she turned her gaze to the man who had saved her life in the nick of time, her expression somewhatplex.


    She felt she should say thank you, but something seemed to cross her mind, and her cheeks flushed.


    Su''en looked at Rena, guessing that a young girl being naked in front of a strange man would probably feel ufortable.


    But he wasn''t a nanny, nor a suitor, there was no need to cater to her girlish feelings.


    He waved his hand, signaling her to follow, and said curtly, "Follow me!"


    With that, Su''en took the lead and walked into the depths of the dark tunnel, without any intention of waiting for her.


    His attitude was clear, it was up to her whether she wanted to follow or not.


    Rena, in the distance, watched as Su''en coldly walked away, a look of surprise crossing her pretty face.


    But his indifferent attitude somehow made the awkward atmosphere less awkward.


    The surrounding darkness swallowed everything like a monster, making Rena, who was without her equipment, feel insecure. After a moment''s thought, she followed him, running barefoot to catch up.


    ......


    The two of them walked, one in front of the other, Su''en showing no intention of amodating her, walking at a brisk pace.


    The wind blew through her thin shirt, making Rena feel a chill run through her body, a moment of shyness. She wanted to say something, but looking at the cold figure in front of her, she swallowed her words.


    Finally, after a long walk, Rena broke the awkward silence, saying, "Mr. Su''en, thank you for saving me."


    "Hmm."


    Su''en remained cold as ever.


    He didn''t want to get too involved with her, after all, she might be an old acquaintance of the original owner.


    But he was curious about something, and after a moment''s thought, he asked, "How do you know my name?"


    Rena timidly replied, "Aunt Qian told me. She said you''re a good shot, calm in handling things, and that if I ever got into trouble, I could seek your help."


    She paused, then added, "I didn''t think it was necessary before, so I didn''t mention it..."


    Su''en listened expressionlessly, not caring about the details, and asked again, "Is Aunt Qian your real aunt?"


    Rena nodded, "Yes."


    "..."


    Having satisfied his curiosity, Su''en didn''t speak again.


    He could guess the rest.


    After the brief conversation, the two fell silent again.


    In the dark tunnel, only the sound of their footsteps and breathing could be heard, which was somewhat eerie.

 Chapter 68: Bait, please adjust your attitude

    Chapter 68: Bait, please adjust your attitude


    The two walked in the darkness, going deeper and deeper underground.


    Rena looked at the tunnel leading deeper underground, realizing that it was not the way out. Her anxiety and fear grew stronger.


    She felt as if she was stepping closer to the abyss...


    Finally, unable to bear the eerie atmosphere any longer, Rena cautiously asked, "Mr. Su''en, where are we going? Aren''t we going back to the surface?"


    Seeing her timid and hesitant look, she probably thought that if something happened in this environment, even if she screamed her lungs out, no one would know.


    "..."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en turned his head and nced at her. After a moment of contemtion, he finally spoke, "Do you think you''re safe now?"


    "Huh?"


    Rena felt a bit guilty under his gaze, as if she could see the word "stupid" written on her forehead.


    Su''en thought for a moment and exined, "Explosions can be heard from far away, enough to attract assassins. The distorted monsters are just a means of murder, but the mastermind behind them... is human. If they find out you''re not dead, do you think they won''te looking for you? If you go out now, I guarantee there are assassins waiting for you."


    If saving someone was as simple as dealing with a few distorted monsters, he wouldn''t have hesitated before.


    The mastermind behind it all was what he truly feared.


    .......


    "Huh? I... I..."


    As soon as Rena heard this, her mind seemed to be filled with conflicting information, and her speech became incoherent.


    She hadn''t had time to think about it while being chased by monsters all the way. And now, in this unfamiliar environment, changing clothes under the gaze of a stranger, her mind was still nk.


    Listening to his words, she instantly understood.


    Now, she finally realized that the man in front of her was indeed as her aunt had described, always possessing an almost inhuman calmness in any situation. (The original words seemed to be about betting on a gambling table or something, but it doesn''t matter.)


    Thinking of this, Rena realized that she had asked a really stupid question earlier.


    This intelligent gentleman must have guessed her foolish and naive thoughts.


    Blushing, she weakly expressed her apologies for her random guesses, "I''m sorry..."


    "..."


    Su''en didn''t pay much attention to her, seemingly indifferent, and continued walking.


    To ease the awkward atmosphere, Rena thought for a moment and took the initiative to say, "Mr. Su''en, aren''t you curious about why the trial went wrong? And who the mastermind is?"


    Su''en frowned slightly, feeling that she was being a bit verbose.


    Perhaps it was because the enclosed environment made this youngdy feel uneasy, and she wanted to talk to seek somefort. But in this situation, was it the time for idle chatter?


    Huh, as expected, women only slow down the speed of drawing guns.


    He casually said, "Not curious."


    "..."


    Rena felt embarrassed for a moment.


    Seeing that she still wanted to say something, Su''en felt that he should put an end to this meaningless conversation.


    After thinking for a moment, he said in one breath, "If I''m not mistaken, your father is either critically ill or retiring, and you are the first heir of the conglomerate, destined to inherit it. Unfortunately, you also have some greedy uncles and cousins. And... the mastermind behind this attack is most likely a close rtive who stands to inherit the conglomerate if you die."


    Upon hearing this, the shock in Rena''s eyes grew stronger, and she couldn''t help but exim, "Ah... how... how did you know?"


    "..."


    Su''en''s mouth twitched slightly, feeling a bit bored.


    It was probably because the entertainment industry andmunication in this world were not developed enough, so themon people couldn''t get a taste of the upper ss society.


    But in Su''en''s previous life, these power struggles within wealthy families had been yed out countless times in novels and in reality. The gambling king prolonging his life, the concubines fighting for power; the son of a certain chaebol forcing his father to abdicate and seizing power; the wealthy prince hunting down his bodyguard and lover who had cuckolded him...


    Reality was more melodramatic than fiction.


    The richer they were, the more ruthless they were towards their own family.


    There was nothing new about it.


    Su''en felt that he had talked enough and didn''t say anything more.


    However, the advantage of saying such a long speech was that Rena finally understood and obediently followed behind him, poking her fingers together, silently keeping up.


    She felt that this man seemed to be able to guess everything.


    As calm as a monster.


    .......


    As the two went deeper and deeper, the foul smell of the sewer became stronger.


    Suddenly, Su''en realized something and turned to look at Rena, whose face was flushed from holding her breath. There was a helpless expression in his eyes.


    He had been thinking about other things and forgot that this girl was only wearing a thin shirt and didn''t even have a gas mask.


    But perhaps because she had been repeatedly embarrassed in the conversation just now, Rena didn''t feelfortable asking for anything.


    Su''en shook his head slightly and took out clothes, a gun, a dagger, and bullets from his storage ring.


    "The bulletproof clothing technology in the outer city is outdated and heavy. Wearing it will greatly affect your agility. It''s up to you to choose. If you don''t wear bulletproof clothing, there will be no room for error, and you must remain highly vignt throughout. The underground is very dangerous, and a slight carelessness could be fatal. But if you wear it, you won''t be able to escape if you encounter danger..."


    Rena took the heavy bulletproof vest, which was dozens of times heavier than the academy''sbat uniform. She was about to put it on, but upon hearing Su''en''s analysis, she seemed to have thought of something and backed off, answering weakly, "I... I think I won''t wear it."


    Su''en put away the bulletproof vest, then pointed to the firearm hanging at her waist, reminding her, "Try the feel of the firearm first, but don''t fire it. The firearms in the outer city are not as good as those in your academy, the recoil will be quite strong. Be mentally prepared in case of any situation. The other one is a rune firearm, which was given to me by Charlie before, it should be handy. But the alchemical bullets are limited, please don''t fire at will unless necessary..."


    "Oh."


    Rena felt that she understood everything, but in front of this man, it seemed like she knew nothing.


    She was like a puppet being manipted, whatever Su''en said, she could only say "okay", there was no room for refusal.


    Before this man spoke, he had already considered everything.


    The clothes were Su''en''s men''s wear, which was too big for Rena. In the end, she only wore the thin shirt, without even wearing pants, revealing her white thighs. Fortunately, the darkness concealed her embarrassment on her pretty face, and Su''en didn''t seem to take an extra nce, which saved her from feeling shy and awkward.


    The shoes also didn''t fit, so she went barefoot. However, thanks to the catwoman''s natural talent of enhanced toughness in the foot muscles, going barefoot wasn''t a problem, except that stepping on the damp sewer made her feel a bit nauseous.


    After distributing the equipment, Su''en spoke again, announcing, "Alright, from now on, keep a safe distance from me. Don''t talk to me, don''t make any noise... Stay absolutely quiet."


    "Huh?"


    Upon hearing this, Rena looked puzzled.


    Su''en didn''t beat around the bush, he exined directly, "From now on, you are the bait. I will decide whether I can save you again based on the potential strength of the enemy. Don''t look at me like that. If you''re with me, the enemy will choose to take us both out at once. I''m just an ordinary gangster, only if I survive, can you survive..."


    What Su''en didn''t say was that if the enemy was too strong, he would not hesitate to abandon the "bait".


    After a pause, he added, "Of course, the ideal situation is that the enemies think you were killed by the mutant monster, and no onees after us."


    "..."


    Listening to this, Rena was stunned, her pretty face full of awe.


    Right, there are assassins.


    Listening to him, it seemed like... his words made sense?


    But even though they made sense, she always felt something was off about them.


    In high society, wouldn''t gentlemen protect their femalepanions'' lives first, even in the face of death?


    Why would Mr. Su''en want me to be the bait?


    Although she had never experienced such a sudden event, Rena still felt that the plot was unfolding in a strange way.


    She wanted to ask, but didn''t know what to say, as he had already exined everything.


    Su''en felt the pitiful nces from behind, but he didn''t turn around. He quickly increased the distance between them, saying as he walked, "I''m just an ordinary guide... The reason I risked saving you is because of your aunt, Sister Qian."


    Not taking credit for himself would save a lot of trouble.


    By the way, it would also curry favor with Boss Qian, which would make things easierter.


    Moreover, Su''en''s actions were not pretending to be cold, but the most rational choice.


    Because he understood human nature.


    Facing this tsundere nobledy, if you treat her well, she takes it for granted, because that''s how she''s treated in her daily life; however, when she realizes that your kindnesses at a price, she will truly value it.


    Being bait is more valuable than being a burden.


    To be a good bait, one must be prepared to be bait.


    In short, a sycophant has nothing, equivalent exchange is the eternal truth.


    If you want to be saved, you have to pay the price.


    Besides, although his words were ruthless, this was the best way Su''en could think of to save Rena''s life.


    He was very clear that the assassins who dared to target this youngdy were not simple.


    PS. The update iste, sorry. Please vote~

 Chapter 69: Rosas corpse

    Chapter 69: Rosa''s corpse


    Su''en chose a path that led deep into the underground cave. They had entered the city''s sewer system, with sewage flowing all around them. Originally, Su''en had intended to go in the direction of the scythe, but now it was also a good opportunity to avoid any potential pursuers.


    Although the environment was foul, the sewage conveniently masked their footsteps.


    However, to their surprise, before they could encounter any pursuers or find the scythe, they stumbled upon a corpse in a drainage pipe.


    It was the body of a half-naked woman, wrapped in spider webs, pale and lifeless. Arge red-eyed spider had pierced her skull with its venomous fangs, feasting on her brain...


    Rena wanted to scream in horror when she saw the body, but she remembered something and quickly covered her mouth. Her crystal-like eyes trembled with a mixture of grief and sorrow.


    The corpse turned out to be none other than Rosa, the female assistant teacher from before.


    As Su''en looked at the mist emanating from the body, his eyes lit up. "Hmm... freshly dead?"


    With so much knowledge harvested from Jack''s body, what about an assistant teacher who could teach the students?


    ......


    This kind of corpse was a treasure to Su''en, its value surpassing that of an ordinary professional''s body by a hundredfold.


    However, Su''en remained calm and instead squinted at the red-eyed spider that was about to feast. He appraised the monster''s attributes and muttered, "Hmm... an elite monster?"


    At that moment, the spider also looked back at him.


    Su''en thought of something but did not avoid its gaze.


    In that instant, the six crimson spider eyes stared at him, as if an invisible hand was teasing his soul. But it was fleeting.


    At the same time, the All-Knowing Eye disyed a negative status effect.


    "You have been subjected to a mental attack. The intensity of the mental fluctuation is lower than your mental power, so you have sessfully resisted this negative status..."


    Su''en looked and confirmed that, as the All-Knowing Eye had indicated, this elite spider''s mental attack was not enough to pose a threat to his exceptionally high mental power.


    "A high mental power can resist low-level mental spells... It seems that as long as I don''t get surrounded by the monster horde in this spider''s nest, it doesn''t seem too deadly for me..."


    Encountering a living monster, Su''en deliberately tested some hypotheses.


    He now had the confidence to continue searching for the scythe.


    However, Rena, who was behind him, was not as lucky. Inadvertently, she made eye contact with the spider and then stood there like a soulless statue.


    Moreover, it seemed that she saw something erotic in her imagination, and her desire surged. Her face quickly flushed, and she even let out some strange moans.


    Su''en nced at Rena, who was standing there with a vacant expression, walking towards the spider. He didn''t rush to help her but observed carefully.


    As he watched, he analyzed in his mind, "So this is the state after being affected. The monster''s mental attack simply influences desire. If I block this emotion of ''desire,'' will I be able to ignore this mental attack?"


    The All-Knowing Eye made it clear to him the attack method of this ghost-faced spider. Direct eye contact would arouse instinctual lust, causing one to lose consciousness and easily be captured like prey.


    Just like the youngdy in front of him.


    Rena''s breathing technique and everything else were top-notch among first-tier professionals, yet she was easily affected. This meant that even if a second-tier professional came, if their mental power was not strong enough, they would likely be influenced by this elite spider.


    Su''en didn''t know what he was thinking, but his gaze gradually deepened. "Tsk tsk... It seems that this youngdy''s fate is not meant to end here..."


    ......


    Su''en felt that he had observed enough and raised his hand, using a pistol with a silencer to shoot the spider''s head.


    Just like the information appraisal had indicated, although these distorted monsters were deadly, their physical defense was extremely poor. Ordinary bullets could easily createrge holes in their bodies.


    As the monster died, Rena also snapped out of her infatuated state.


    She instantly realized that there was something embarrassing about her body, unsure if it was shyness or if her face had been red from the beginning. She weakly asked, "What... What happened to me just now?"


    "Don''t make direct eye contact with those ghost-faced spiders'' red eyes, or else you''ll be mentally controlled."


    Su''en didn''t exin much and simply said in a calm tone.


    He didn''t look at Rena''s shy appearance, which could make many boys'' hearts flutter. Instead, he walked straight towards the body of the assistant teacher, Rosa.


    "Hmm... the spider monster even dropped some nt materials."


    Su''en looked at the glow emanating from the corpse of this calf-sized spider. Among the remains, there were actually two cursed glowing spider legs.


    However, the quality was not that great; they were just ordinary ck iron materials.


    Su''en ignored the spider legs and approached Rosa''s body.


    The mist on the body would dissipate over time, and every second of dy meant a loss of these high-quality fragments.


    He had to harvest them quickly.


    Then, as he approached the mist, he sessfully extracted arge amount of useful things.


    "Obtained ''Rosa Williams'' memory fragments *5"


    "You have obtained some information: ''Daniel has been acting strangetely. I saw him secretly opening some kind of signaling device in the underground passage...''"


    "You have mastered arge amount of ''Advanced Alchemy Knowledge''..."


    "You have mastered the arcane alchemy Void Servant (Iplete)..."


    "You haveprehended arge amount of ''Alchemy Theory''..."


    "You have mastered the proficient Quick Seal Formation Technique..."


    "You have gained some ''Advanced Alchemy Casting Techniques'', Alchemy experience +111"


    "Mental power +0.35"


    An expected harvest.


    Su''en felt that there was too much "knowledge" in his mind.


    Like a shattered puzzle suddenly piecing together arge chunk, it gave him an indescribable sense of aplishment.


    .......


    "Did I actuallyprehend Rosa''s arcane Void Servant?"


    Su''en looked at the additional skill on the panel and immediately thought of the scene in the dungeon where Rosa single-handedly held off countless moth monsters.


    The ghostly cold fire burning the monsters kept them at bay, which still made him feel uneasy.


    He was no longer a novice in alchemy, he naturally knew that skills crowned with "arcane" were top-tier rare and valuable knowledge. Not only was it difficult to acquire the skill, but the learning difficulty was also great, and understanding it was key!


    This Void Servant in the inner city, was probably a top-tier arcane secret. To learn it, one would have to be one in ten thousand.


    However, due to the talent of the Harvester, Su''en easily mastered this arcane level alchemy.


    A moment of curiosity shed through Su''en''s mind. At this moment, the dark energy in his body circted in a special and familiar way, and a small stream of pale blue cold me suddenly emerged from his fingers.


    "It really worked..."


    Su''en looked at the me like a lighter, a smile appeared on his face.


    This cold me not only burned with dark elemental magic, but also added a "defense-breaking" effect to physical attacks.


    It gave the user''s "basic attack" the effect of both physical and magical damage, causing a massive increase in damage!


    Because it was an iplete secret, Rosa only had two me arms, which was just a small achievement in arcane. If it was aplete secret, one could even condense aplete "Void Servant" to cover the whole body, as if possessed by a god...


    "What a powerful arcane secret."


    After carefully sensing the special features of this cold me, Su''en sighed in his heart.


    He felt that he could probably poke a hole in a concrete wall with one finger now.


    Although he didn''t have Rosa''s exaggerated mes, it was enough for his basic attack to crit.


    At the same time, he also admired that the assistant was indeed an assistant, possessing much more knowledge than the elite students.


    The surge in alchemy knowledge made Su''en feel like he had "skipped grades", jumping from third grade to sixth grade in an instant.


    However, before he could digest all this knowledge, when he saw one piece of information in the memory fragments, his face suddenly became serious, and he wondered, "Is there something wrong with Assistant Daniel?"


    .......


    There was a mole in the trial team, Su''en had always suspected.


    Otherwise, the enemy wouldn''t have been able to urately grasp their trial movements and precisely send the mutant worm to chase after Rena.


    However, he wasn''t sure whether the mole was a student or a tutor.


    Previously, Daniel had disappeared without a trace, and the tutor Augustus had never shown his face, so Su''en had prematurely judged that they were dead.


    Now, from Rosa''s memory, he found a clue.


    Rena was still immersed in sadness, after all, Assistant Rosa died because she tried to save her.


    Su''en''s eyes shifted, and he directly asked, "Miss Rena, what are Assistant Daniel''s profession and talent? Does he have any powerful trump cards?"


    Rena was previously confused, but she wasn''t stupid.


    Hearing Su''en''s question, she instantly guessed something and directly said, "Assistant Daniel''s advanced profession is a ''Ranger'', he is good at tracking, anti-tracking, and closebat. Many of our practicalbat courses were taught by him..."


    Hearing the words "good at tracking", Su''en''s expression turned cold.


    At this moment, he also felt as if there were pairs of red eyes in the darkness staring at him, muttering to themselves, "Scythe, killer, mutant monster..."

 Chapter 70: I am a ventriloquist

    Chapter 70: I am a ventriloquist


    "Mr. Su''en... Do I... Do I really have to keep my eyes covered? But I can''t see anything..."


    "Yes, because they have arrived."


    Su''en didn''t exin how he knew someone hade, and Rena didn''t ask further.


    Although they hadn''t known each other for long, Rena had an almost blind trust in this stranger introduced by her aunt.


    She knew the assassins were powerful, and she knew this underground dungeon was full of danger. But from the beginning until now, she hadn''t seen any panic or unease in this man. He remained calm andposed. Because of his indifference, Rena herself felt influenced, feeling a calmness that could face death.


    And at this moment, being led by Su''en with a thick blindfold over her eyes, she didn''t know where they were going.


    Blindfolded, she hadpletely given up on fighting.


    It wasn''t that Renacked strength. On the contrary, her basic skills were quite solid. Whether it was martial arts, marksmanship, or alchemy, she surpassed the average first-tier professional.


    But in the current desperate situation, herbat power was not enough to survive against the distorted monsters or assassins.


    On the contrary, focusing on being a "bait" would give her a greater chance of survival.


    After blindfolding herself, she didn''t notice the pairs of crimson eyes that lit up in the darkness around her, nor did she see the almost pathological smirk on Su''en''s face.


    In this crisis, Su''en once again felt that adrenaline rush, and "he" also enjoyed this feeling of walking on a tightrope.


    Escape?


    Tsk tsk...


    No... I want to kill people, obtain forbidden items, and kill monsters too!


    Wasn''t there a high-quality spider leg material? There are suitable targets here, and quite a few.


    "The uing battle will be dangerous, but as long as I''m not killed first, you won''t die before me... Remember, if you get poisoned, inject the antidote, but never take off the blindfold or run around..."


    "Yes, I understand."


    Rena felt that Su''en''s voice became colder, and just by hearing it, she felt a strong killing intent.


    Su''en let go of her hand, and Rena felt as if she had fallen into an endless abyss. A strong sense of fear instantly enveloped her. The world in front of her was pitch ck, and there was no one speaking in her ears. The sound of flowing sewage was particrly clear...


    She felt that there was a "person" staying by her side, but her intuition told her that it seemed like it wasn''t Mr. Su''en anymore, but someone unfamiliar and terrifying.


    .......


    Not long after, a figure indeed walked quietly into the tunnel where Su''en had predicted.


    He saw the two figures in the distance and cautiously stopped.


    He slowly raised the gun in his hand and aimed at one of the two.


    He didn''t shoot, but instead exposed his position by shouting, "Miss Rena, where are you..."


    Daniel knew that even if he didn''t speak, the small mechanism triggered at the entrance of the tunnel had already exposed his presence.


    At this moment, Rena was also surprised to hear Daniel''s voice.


    So, Mr. Su''en had guessed everything.


    She took a deep breath, although she couldn''t see, in order to not reveal any ws, she pretended to be surprised and turned around. From a distance, she shouted loudly in the direction of the voice, "Teacher Daniel, I''m here!"


    Daniel probably thought that his identity as a mole hadn''t been exposed yet, so he continued to act, sounding very anxious, "Oh my, finally I found you. You don''t know how worried I was when I heard that you were being chased by monsters... Miss Rena, did Assistant Rosa save you?"


    Su''en, hiding in the darkness, heard the probing and a cold smile appeared in his eyes. "Knowing that the opponent is far inferior, yet still so cautious... No wonder he could be a mole."


    He should have already discovered Rosa''s body, but he pretended not to know now.


    The purpose was to say these few sentences and get closer, to make a fatal strike!


    Hearing this, Rena directly said, "No, Assistant Rosa died trying to save me. It was Mr. Guide who saved me."


    But before her words could finish, she suddenly heard a gunshot. Almost at the same time, a gust of wind blew her hair, the feeling of a bullet grazing her ear.


    Rena was shocked. Assistant Daniel did indeed shoot.


    Mole!


    He wants to kill me!


    However, the bullet wasn''t aimed at herself, but at the "Mr. Su''en" beside her!


    .......


    After losing her vision, Rena''s attention was focused on her hearing.


    Hearing the sound of the gun, she instinctively felt a sense of danger and thought it wasn''t good.


    Although she was shocked that her respected teacher Daniel could be the mole behind this assassination, she was more worried about the Mr. Su''en beside her!


    But before the feeling of worry could dissipate from her heart, in an extreme moment, Rena heard a second gunshot.


    "Bang"!


    But this shot wasn''t fired by Daniel, nor was it fired by the "Mr. Su''en" beside her. Judging from the direction of the sound, it came from another direction in the darkness.


    Could there be a third person here?


    Amidst her surprise, Rena also noticed something unusual. After the "Mr. Su''en" beside her was shot, there was a sound like the cracking of wood.


    No, even before she reacted to the gunshot, wood splinters had already scattered and hit her.


    A puppet?


    Although Rena couldn''t see, she guessed what was happening and felt inexplicably excited and surprised!


    Mr. Su''en had actually anticipated that the enemy would shoot at him and had arranged a puppet decoy in advance?......


    Su''en had guessed that the assassin woulde after him when he saved Rena earlier, and he had never relied on luck.


    Although the highly corrosive metamorphic worms hadpletely corroded Rena''s belongings, as long as there were people proficient in tracking traces, the faint traces left by the two of them in the corridor could not be concealed.


    And coincidentally, this Daniel was a very skilled trace tracker, a silver professional known as a "Patrol Ranger"!


    So, when Su''en extracted the information from Rosa''s memory, he knew that this guy would definitelye.


    He was certain of one thing: if Rena didn''t die, everything this mole had done would be meaningless.


    And Rena wanted to ambush this guy, so she didn''t choose to leave Rena alone as bait.


    After all, if the traces of two people appeared but only one person was present, it would definitely alert Daniel, the "Patrol Ranger," and the ambush would be meaningless.


    The puppet left by Rena''s side was naturally meant to attract firepower.


    As for why Su''en was certain that Daniel would shoot "himself" first instead of killing Rena first, he was 80% sure.


    Between two people, would a cautious "firearms expert" kill a student who was familiar and easy to kill, or kill an unknown stranger?


    Of course, there was also an element of gambling.


    But without risks, what''s the point of being bait?


    But no matter who Daniel shot first, the result would be the same.


    Whoever shot first would expose their position and lose the advantage.


    ......


    In a duel between masters, the difference in skill and experience is negligible, and victory or defeat often lies in the details.


    Su''en and Rena also learned from their mouths that Daniel was a genuine "firearms expert" and one of the firearms instructors at the ck Tower Academy.


    He didn''t dare to underestimate him.


    This wasn''t like Jack, who was a mediocre expert, but possibly a stronger gunman than himself.


    Facing a gunman of the same level, it all depended on who seized the opportunity, often determining victory or defeat in an instant.


    When Daniel asked just now, he actually wanted to deceive the other party, find an opportunity and distance, and ensure a guaranteed kill with one shot.


    This cautious response, even Su''en couldn''t find any ws.


    But that guy never expected that he would shoot the puppet instead.


    Since the shot didn''t work, then... it was Su''en''s chance!


    In the instant the mes lit up, Su''en decisively pulled the trigger without hesitation.


    "Bang~"


    The tongue of fire spewed out.


    The armor-piercing alchemical bullet shot out from the muzzle, not hitting the head or heart, but the right hand holding the gun of Daniel.


    Because Su''en knew that with thebat suit and gas mask, this shot definitely couldn''t kill that guy.


    Thebat suits at the ck Tower had special reinforcements in vital areas, and even alchemical bullets might not be able to break through as long as there was enough energy. However, this kind of protective clothing also had its weaknesses. In order to ensure flexibility, the stability at the joints would be rtively weak.


    And the palm was the part of the body with the most joints. (This information also came from Rena)


    The armor-piercing bullet couldn''t be fatal, but it was enough to break the bones in the hand.


    With this gunshot, Daniel''s firearm immediately slipped from his hand not far away, and a burst of blood mist exploded, revealing a glimpse of white bones.


    Even though he was shot, this guy didn''t even groan. With a sh, he dodged behind a stone pir.


    Because Daniel had already judged from the timing of the shot that Su''en was also a "firearms expert"!


    He was well aware that if he didn''t leave now, the second shot would definitely follow.


    ......


    "What a cautious guy!"


    Su''en broke the opponent''s right hand with one shot, and the enemy didn''t even give him a chance for a second shot.


    Facing a gunman of the same level, it was clear what the other party would do.


    Being able to be an assistant teacher at the ck Tower Academy, even if it was only first-tier, he must be among the best in the same tier. Daniel and Rosa, both were almost half a step into the second tier and had very strongbat skills.


    Su''en knew that even with a broken hand, that guy''s truebat power hadn''t been greatly reduced.


    Because... Daniel''s true strengthy in his closebat abilities!


    And in this instant, suddenly a loud "sizzling" sound came from the darkness, like the feeling of a high-pressure gas tank exploding in an instant, causing a wave of turbulence that shook the entire space.


    "It''sing!"


    Su''en''s pupils suddenly contracted, and he suddenly saw a figure rushing towards him like a cannonball.


    The speed was so fast that there was no time for any reaction, and it directly broke the cement pir, then collided with Su''en''s body.


    His muscles didn''t have time to react, but Su''en was already prepared. He saw his fingers curl, and the steel wire on the mechanical glove pulled his body sideways, moving him a distance of one position.


    With a "thud," an invisible figure shed by.


    The two figures collided directly with the wall in the distance, instantly creating arge spiderweb-like crack.


    Such a brutal impact was enough to crush a flesh-based professional into pieces!


    Daniel thought he had seeded, but suddenly felt that the texture of the "person" he was holding in his arms was wrong. When he looked closely, he realized that it was a life-sized doll.


    "Not good!"


    Daniel''s face changed drastically, instantly understanding what had happened: the other party knew everything about his imnts and innate abilities!


    "That guy is actually a puppeteer?!"


    But at this moment, it was already toote to understand.


    This kind of misjudgment was fatal.


    ......


    Just a few meters away from the shattered pir, the firearm was already aimed at Daniel again.Su''en knew that the profession of "Forest Patroller" had a strong perception ability, so he deliberately made a noise to lure the opponent to seize the initiative and charge forward.


    This was the advantage of information asymmetry.


    Su''en was almost familiar with Daniel''s abilities, while the enemy knew nothing about him.


    If it were a fair fight, Su''en''s chances of winning would not exceed 20%!


    This guy was a "new school" alchemist, and his alchemical imnt was a ck technology product thatbined steam machinery and traditional imnts - the "Resentful Skeleton Jet".


    After umting steam, a sudden burst would produce a super-strong thrust like a jet ne. This thrust could make a person move quickly like a cannonball, with extremely strong linear lethality, which was almost impossible for peers to avoid.


    But this ability alone was not too tricky...


    The key was that this imnt had a very highpatibility with his talent!


    Although his talent was not the rare B-level, it was also a mysterious ability with strong practicalbat - "Talent C-001- Magic Bane".


    A strange talent that could instantly block the energy flow of the opponent''s body with close contact with both hands.


    As long as he touched you, dark spirit power, strength, magic power, and even blood flow speed... would be instantly blocked or slowed down.


    This imnt plus talent was simply a nightmare for closebat.


    Combined with high-speed collision and close-range magic ban, even a higher-level professional would suffer a lot!


    This was also one of the most important reasons why Su''en wanted to disable one of his hands with the first shot!


    ........


    Daniel''s face was ashen, and heughed bitterly in his heart: "He actually used Miss Rena as bait, haha... what a clever calction."


    At thest moment of his life, he realized that every step of his attack was within the enemy''s calction. From entering this space, to firing, to colliding... the opponent calcted his every move.


    The key was that he never thought that someone would dare to use the youngdy of the "Reyes family" as a live bait!


    But it was toote to realize this now.


    In a duel between masters, one mistake might still have a chance to turn the tide, but continuous mistakes were almost a dead end.


    The inertia of the collision had not disappeared, and it was toote to dodge. Su''en''s rune fire gun had already spewed out a tongue of fire.


    A shot hit his intact left palm, disabling the most threatening hands. Then several shots hit the ankle joint, knee joint, shoulder joint, elbow joint...


    Bang, bang, bang, bang...


    The sound of gunfire was endless.


    If one shot didn''t work, then he would fire two shots at the same position.


    At such a close distance, Su''en had no chance of missing.


    Even the battle suit couldn''t dissolve such terrifying continuous impact energy, and blood holes were shot out one by one.


    This Daniel had already lost his life due to two mistakes in face-to-face encounters.


    The enemy had been shot into a sieve, but at this time, Su''en''s face showed no rxation, but his pupils suddenly shrank.


    A sense of killing had quietly arrived, making one''s hair stand on end.


    And just as he shot Daniel, a jelly-like transparent figure in the darkness behind him stumbled for some reason, suddenly making a noise.


    Su''en''s eyes narrowed slightly, as if not surprised at all, thinking: "Sure enough, herees the stalker..."


    At this moment, he abandoned the fire gun, his ten fingers suddenly bent, the leather jacket on his back tore open, revealing two strange puppets glowing with blue rune light.


    He grabbed at the empty space with both hands, and the two puppets floated around him like guardians. Their wooden jaw joints kept opening and closing, as if they wereughing heartily.


    "Cackling..."


    In the dark sewer, this sound was particrly harsh.


    At this moment, pairs of strange red eyes gradually lit up in the darkness around, and those monsters also came out of the darkness under specific stimting smells.


    At this moment, the rity in Su''en''s eyes was reced by violence and sneer: "Want to assassinate me, hehe... I am a ''Puppet Master''!"


    PS. There is a group number in the introduction, interested friends can join~

 Chapter 71: No conditions to win, create conditions

    Chapter 71: No conditions to win, create conditions


    Su''en discovered the assassin who appeared out of thin air behind him, but instead of being surprised, he had already anticipated it.


    He decisively opened his leather jacket, and two puppets, one emitting a creepy howl and the other grinning, flew towards the enemy. Their hands cracked open, revealing the ck, poisoned dagger des.


    The assassin staggered, seemingly not realizing why he suddenly lost consciousness for a moment. He bit his tongue and instantly regained his rity. At this moment, he saw the poisoned des already poking in front of him, and a cold light shed in his eyes.


    With a "ng" sound, sparks flew.


    The assassin blocked the dagger of one puppet, but felt a moment of confusion: not good!


    Instinctively reacting to the crisis, he made an extreme backward movement. At this moment, the dagger of another puppet had already passed by the assassin''s cheek, apanied by a slight corroding sound, and a seam was cut open at the edge of his hood.


    "This puppet is strange!"


    The assassin noticed something fishy and was about to reach out, but suddenly saw the two puppets flying back like lightning.


    Unable tond a hit, he promptly withdrew.


    At this moment, Su''en, as the controller, also revealed a hint of regret on his face, thinking to himself, "Second-tier professionals are indeed not so easily injured..."


    The assassin across from him also showed a hint of seriousness in his eyes: this is not an ordinary puppeteer!


    .......


    In fact, ever since Su''en saved Rena from the assassination attempt by the shape-shifting worms, he had been trying to reconstruct the entire assassination process in his mind.


    He had already suspected that there might be a mole in the trial team.


    But the mentor, Auguste, should be fine.


    Otherwise, the assassins wouldn''t need to go through all this trouble to kill Rena. With his mentor''s identity and the strength of a second-tier professional, there were countless opportunities to directly kill Rena.


    Instead, the reason why the assassins chose to attack in the underground cave and went to the extent of putting a special scent on Rena and using shape-shifting worms to chase her... all of this was probably because of the protection provided by Auguste along the way, which led to this n.


    Moreover, Su''en also discovered a suspicious point.


    That is, he was certain that Auguste had always been near the trial team, but this powerful individual died without making any noise, which was somewhat puzzling.


    After all, the mentors of the ck Tower Alchemy Academy were carefully selected strong individuals. Even if the second-tier mentor Auguste was ambushed, he couldn''t possibly fail to send out a warning signal.


    He didn''t understand why before, but now that he knew the fact that Daniel was the mole, it perfectly filled in the missing piece of Su''en''s puzzle.


    In Su''en''s mind, he could even reconstruct the entire battle process.


    At that time, Daniel left the trial team, actually to secretly attack Auguste. Because of his role as an assistant, it was easy for him tounch a close-range surprise attack and then use his special talent, the "Forbidden Magic" ability, to seal Auguste. But with his strength, he couldn''t kill a second-tier professional. Therefore, Su''en concluded that there was at least one more second-tier professional in the assassin team who was skilled in stealthy surprise attacks.


    That''s why when the stealthy assassin appeared behind him just now, Su''en wasn''t surprised at all.


    .......


    Facing a second-tier professional, especially an agile-enhanced stealthy assassin, the firearm had almost no effect.


    Having witnessed the feat of "Red Devil" Gelong cutting bullets with his sword, Su''en didn''t think that as a "firearm master," he had any chance of winning against a second-tier professional.


    Therefore, he decisively gave up the firearm and revealed his professional ability for the first time: controlling puppets.


    But Su''en was not an ordinary puppeteer.


    The reason why "entric Puppeteer" was so bizarre was mainly because of the various strange rune puppets he created.


    The two puppets beside him, one with a red and white smiling face and the other with a blue and gold crying face, were exactly two types of basic entric puppets, the "Howling Doll" and the "Sneering Doll."


    These two little things didn''t look like the stiff dead objects in a puppet show. Under Su''en''s skillful maniption, they seemed toe alive, dancing happily with their limbs, their joints twisting flexibly, and even the expressions on their eerie faces were lifelike, blinking, grinning, angry, and howling...


    They were like two ghosts dancing in the darkness, emitting a sinister and eerieughter...


    As soon as they appeared, a terrifying aura instantly enveloped the surroundings.


    Of course, these cuties were not just cute in appearance; their curse effects were also extraordinary.


    Both of these entric puppets were mental curse objects, one was a sonic attack that affected people''s consciousness upon hearing the sound, and the other was a visual attack simr to these spider monsters, causing hallucinations when looking at the smiling face.


    After Su''en knew that he would be fighting, he carried the two dolls on his back to be prepared for any unexpected situations.


    Although his puppet-making skills were just at the beginner level, the two entric dolls were of low quality and had a small attack range. But it was enough to temporarily control a target in closebat.


    That''s why the stealthy assassin stumbled and revealed himself just now; that guy''s consciousness was affected by the two entric puppets.


    ......."He''s disappeared again. His talent must be rted to stealth, either Talent C-025-Chameleon, Talent B-077-Invisibility, or even the rarer Light Absorber..."


    Su''en squinted into the darkness, once again losing sight of the second-order assassin.


    He dared not be careless. His two puppets continuously emitted psychic waves, oneughing, one crying, to ensure he wouldn''t be killed up close.


    However, despite the strong curse properties of the puppets, their power was still a rank lower.


    Su''en didn''t believe these two odd puppets could save his life in front of a second-order assassin.


    After all, facing an assassin skilled in stealth, their attack methods were not limited to closebat. Assassins were also proficient in various long-range weapons.


    No matter how cautious, the current situation was almost a death sentence for Su''en.


    However...


    In a one-on-one situation, Su''en indeed had no chance of winning, but there were more than just the two of them in this cave!


    The dark underground of Old Lingdun was not human territory, but the domain of mutated monsters.


    If there was no chance of winning, then he would create one!


    Su''en had caused such amotion in this cave, the Mutant Ghost Face Spiders hiding in the dark were already starving.


    He caught a glimpse of the dense spider swarm overhead and sneered, "Heh, let''s see who can survive in the monster swarm..."


    Potions to shield monster perception were hard to find, but bait to attract mutated monsters was easy toe by.


    Fresh human blood, corpses... were the best things.


    Daniel''s body on the ground was still steaming with blood, and the few "inducing potions" that Su''en had smashed earlier were also emitting a pungent smell.


    Since the monsters were enemies, and the assassin was an enemy, wouldn''t a three-way battle be good?


    "He" enjoyed the feeling of dancing on the edge of a knife.


    ......


    Su''en knew almost all the characteristics of the monsters and had targeted countermeasures, but the second-order assassin knew nothing.


    This was a mutated monster, which meant it had never been seen in the outside world.


    Its psychic attacks were unpredictable and gave no room for error. Once controlled, it was a dead end.


    At this moment, these spider monsters didn''t disappoint Su''en.


    These eight-legged creatures hung upside down from the ceiling, moving extremely fast.


    The first thing they did was not attack the three humans in the space, but scurried to the entrance of the tunnel, spewing spider silk, and blocked the escape route in the blink of an eye.


    "Sealing the entrance? This is not the wisdom amon mutated monster possesses. There is indeed a ''strange'' one hidden in the monster swarm..."


    Seeing this, Su''en raised an eyebrow.


    He had always felt a chilling gaze from the darkness, intermittently watching him. Now, seeing the spiders'' unusual behavior of "blocking the door", he immediately guessed that there was a "strange" one among this Ghost Face Spider swarm!


    However, it was just what he wanted.


    He had no intention of escaping in the first ce.


    Whether he gambled on the door or not, there was no difference. He couldn''t run, and the assassin was also limited.


    Perfect for a three-way battle.

 Chapter 72: Spider Queen

    Chapter 72: Spider Queen


    This second-tier assassin has a very advanced stealth ability, and Su''en''s current perception is not enough to easily capture him.


    But he didn''t even think about looking for that guy.


    Because those countless red eyes can weave a spiritual that covers the entire cave, making it impossible for anyone in the dungeon to escape.


    Now all they can do is see who is lucky enough to survive.


    Sure enough, as Su''en expected.


    Just as countless red eyes lit up, there were numerous "spiritual attacks" prompts appearing on his body panel, like a wave of widespread coverage, one wave after another. Even if he didn''t directly face the monsters, he would still be affected to some extent.


    Su''en was unaffected, but the assassin was not so lucky.


    Almost at the same time the spiders blocked the exit of the nest, in the void more than ten meters away from Su''en, the hooded figure was also affected by the shockwave of the spiritual attack, revealing his figure once again.


    This guy was also extremely alert, as if he immediately noticed the abnormal spiritual fluctuations around him, he directly took out a potion and stabbed it into his waist.


    Su''en looked at the guy stabbing the potion and immediately saw his spirited appearance, and guessed what it was: "Awakening potion? Quite vignt..."


    However, the duration of the awakening potion is very short, as long as he is still trapped in this space, sooner orter it will be a dead end.


    .......


    Those who can advance to the second tier of their profession have some means, more or less.


    Probably because of Rena''s baiting, this assassin also keenly noticed that the red eyes of those spider monsters cannot be looked at directly.


    Faced with such a dangerous situation, the assassin immediately lowered his head and focused his gaze on his feet.


    Su''en looked at this guy''s small movements and secretly admired him.


    Professional killers indeed have amazing intuition.


    But in this way, his field of vision was reduced by more than 90%, and even a second-tier professional would definitely suffer.


    And the moment the assassin lowered his head, his hands trembled, and two short des with flickering lightning appeared.


    He ignored therge spider that fell from above, and instead rushed towards Rena not far away!


    "Tsk tsk... he can''t even save his own life, but still wants to kill the target. Seems like a fanatic. But I just saved her with great difficulty, I can''t let you kill her so easily..."


    Su''en was slightly surprised by the assassin''s choice, but also felt that it was just right.


    If the enemy''s target is not himself, then he can also free up his hands to fight back.


    Seeing this, Su''en grabbed something invisible with one hand and instantly pulled it straight.


    And at this moment, arge spider that fell from the ceiling above Rena suddenly disintegrated in mid-air, as if it was cut intorge pieces by an invisible de.


    Upon closer inspection, there were steel wires as thin as hair strands surrounding Rena.


    The bodies of the ghost-faced spiders were very fragile. When they fell from a high ce, their bodies touched the wires just like touching a de. In an instant, they were easily cut into pieces, leaving behind a trail of green blood on the wires.


    Seeing this, a hint of doubt shed in the assassin''s eyes, and his sudden attack instinctively stopped.


    The dark environment and the inability to look up high made it impossible for him to determine what the wires were.


    He was still wary after being tricked by that puppet just now. His intuition told him that this "guide" dared to confront him head-on, there must be other means.


    Actually, he didn''t guess that Su''en was actually gambling.


    These wires couldn''t stop a second-tier professional at all, and he was betting on the opponent''s cautious mentality.


    At this moment, the assassin hesitated, but Su''en didn''t show any hesitation.


    He manipted the wires with one hand, and his other hand had already pulled out a flintlock pistol. Without giving the assassin a chance to attack, he fired several shots at him.


    As expected, the assassin''s nerve reaction speed was already at its peak.


    He caught a glimpse of the direction of the muzzle, leaned back to avoid the first shot, and then performed several consecutive backflips, perfectly avoiding this round of gunfire. Even the "curved trajectory" hidden in thest shot only grazed him and did not hit him.


    .......


    Su''en didn''t expect to injure him, as long as he could create distance, his goal would be achieved.


    Because at this time, the monsters on the ceiling had alreadyunched their attacks.


    That "strange" one obviously also knew that the second-tier assassin was the most threatening among the three, so it mobilized therge spiders to surround the assassin.


    Faced with the tide of monsters, the assassin''s methods were also extremely sharp. He threw flying knives with his hand, piercing through several spider monsters in one go, even stronger than the damage caused by the flintlock pistol. With a single sh, he could easily cut off half of arge spider''s body.


    Even though he didn''t dare to look directly at the red eyes of the monsters, he relied on his keen hearing and the movement of the spider legs near the ground to dodge with ease. He was like cutting melons and vegetables in the midst of the spider swarm, without any disadvantage.


    But... the attack methods of these ghost-faced spiders were not limited to this.Not to mention there is a cunning creaturemanding in the dark!


    At this moment, therge spiders on the ceiling suddenly raised their abdomens, and white spider webs gushed out.


    When the spider silk is thin enough, it looks like threads; but when it bes as thick as a thumb, it turns into sticky glue!


    Although the assassin dodged the first round of spider silk with his agile body movements, he found that the sticky spider silk was already everywhere on the ground afternding. It was like stepping into a swamp, and his movements were instantly restricted.


    Realizing the danger, the assassin panicked a little. But at the first moment, he chose to kill Rena instead of escaping. At this moment, the cave had already been sealed off by spider webs... it was difficult to escape.


    Bombs and incendiary bombs were thrown around like they were worthless, but in the wave of monsters, it was futile...


    .......


    On the other hand, Su''en faced the same situation.


    Originally, these spiders would be more deadly for him as a first-tier professional without any equipment.


    But facing the overwhelming spider webs, he did not dodge or avoid them. A faint blue cold me suddenly rose from his body.


    When the spider webs touched the cold me, it burned up like flying fluff. Before it even touched Su''en''s clothes, it had already been burned to ashes.


    This was the Alchemy Secret Technique - "Mushi"!


    This was also why he blindfolded Rena.


    One was to prevent her from being controlled by the spiders, and the other was to prevent her from seeing his abilities.


    If he hadn''t extracted this skill from Rosa''s body before, Su''en would never have chosen the tactic of a "three-way deathmatch".


    Because of the existence of the cold me, Su''en didn''t have to worry about the spider webs at all.


    He also freed up his hands, dual-wielding guns, and shot at the spiders around him.


    He single-handedly formed awork of firepower, making it impossible for the fragilerge spiders to get close.


    For a while, severed limbs and broken arms flew in the air, and green spider blood sttered all over the ground...


    .......


    At the same time, because of the defense barrier woven by steel wires around them, therge spiders were temporarily unable to approach Rena.


    But this did not prevent them from spitting spider silk from a distance.


    Rena was extremely frightened at this moment.


    She could hear the dense sound of gunfire and grenades in her ears... and she could also hear the high-frequency sound of the monsters'' joints moving. Even if she didn''t open her eyes, she could guess that there were arge number of monsters around her, staring at her intently.


    She stood there alone, feeling helpless.


    Just now, she was drenched in the foul-smelling spider blood, and now she was covered in sticky stuff...


    But she couldn''t open her eyes, and she couldn''t move around.


    She could only stand there, trembling, allowing the asional spurt of spider webs to tightly bind her.


    However, luckily, the spiders seemed to have the habit of storing food. They saw Rena not running away and not attacking, so after being tightly bound by the spider webs, they didn''t attack her again!


    Rena, as the bait, didn''t know why she was temporarily safe...


    But she could also hear that the battles in the directions of Lein and the assassin were extremely intense.


    Suddenly, she heard the sound from one side suddenly disappear.


    Rena''s heart instinctively skipped a beat, praying, "The gunfire is still there, Mr. Su''en should not have encountered any danger..."


    ........


    At this moment, Su''en had gone crazy with killing.


    The spider monsters were muchrger and clumsier than the flying moth monsters before. They were just crawling creatures, making them easier to hit.


    He almost shot one head with one bullet, and even when using alchemical bullets, he could kill a group with one shot.


    The spider''s two killer moves, mental control and spider webs, werepletely useless against him. So Su''en was like a killing god, killing and maiming hundreds of monsters in a short period of time.


    Around him, the bodies of the spider monsters had piled up into mountains, and more spider monsters kept crawling over the "mountain of corpses" to offer their heads.


    Su''en''s face showed no panic, because although there were many spider monsters in this nest, he absolutely didn''t believe that there were more of them than his bullets!


    But just as he was killing, suddenly there were no more monsters.


    Therge spiders seemed to have received some signal and receded like a tide.


    Su''en looked into the distance with a puzzled look, only to find that the battle on the other side had already ended.


    The "cunning" creature hiding in the dark looked at the casualties of itsckeys and finally appeared in person.


    At this moment, Su''en was looking at the second-tier assassin as if he was dumbfounded. The assassin stood still in ce.


    A spider spear easily pierced through his skull, and with a stab, it went through like skewering meat, leaving him dead without any resistance.


    .......


    Su''en also looked at the monster, identified it, and his face instantly became serious. "This is going to be a big trouble..."


    Fortunately, it was only a first-tier strange creature;


    Unfortunately, it was a "Lord-level monster".If "weird" is a special term humans use for the boss among the mutant monsters, then the lord monster is the boss among the weird. It''s roughly equivalent to a super high rank between "gold+" and "legend-".


    The zombie-type weird that Su''en and his team encountered at the subway hub station before was merely a "ck iron level", two or three grades lower than the one in front of them now.


    Such monsters are extremely rare, usually only a small chance of appearing in a superrge-scale mutant monster group.


    The chance of a wilderness hunting team encountering such a monster in the wild is about the same as winning five million in a lottery.


    But once encountered, it almost always means a total wipeout.


    "Lord monsters" often awaken some special abilities, possessing the power to crush peers and even higher-ranked weirds.


    Just like this first-order lord in front of them, who easily killed a second-order professional.


    Su''en guessed that there would be a "weird" here, but he was not surprised by ck iron or silver.


    But he didn''t expect it to be a lord.


    ......


    This big boss is half-human, half-spider.


    Its upper body is a naked female body. The skin is white and tender. Although the chest only has the soft outline of a woman,cking a cherry-red point. Even so, it is still extremely sexy and charming, making people unable to look away.


    Its face is also extremely beautiful, the kind that makes people instantly aroused with desire, wanting to press it down and rub it on the ground.


    However, the lower half of its body is somewhat chilling, a huge and hideous spider body, eight spider legs shining with metallic luster... its ferocity fully disyed.


    [Mutated Ghost Face Spider Queen (Lord)]


    Detailed exnation: Lord-level Ghost Face Spider, possessing powerful mental control ability; due to mutation, its body has undergone extraordinary changes, bloodline regression, rank limit increased by 270%. The spider body''s flesh and tissue are extremely tough, possessing high intelligence,pound type of extreme poison, and extremely fast movement speed...


    Looking at the row of "top configuration attributes" introduction, Su''en didn''t need to fantasize, he definitely couldn''t beat it.


    But he didn''t intend to surrender, he raised his hand and fired two shots.


    "Bang", "Bang"!


    The armor-piercing alchemical bullets made two charred dents on the skin of the Spider Queen, and then, there was no more...


    The bullet heads fell to the ground, making two crisp sounds, "ng", "ng".


    "Holy shit, its skin can block ''armor-piercing bullets''?"


    Seeing this, Su''en''s expression changed drastically, and he couldn''t help butin in his heart, "This can''t be killed at all..."


    But since he had to face it sooner orter, he didn''t feel any regret, his expression was as calm as ever.


    In an instant, he thought of something and muttered to himself, "I can only try that..."


    At this time, his two shots sessfully attracted the attention of the Spider Queen. A strong wave of mental power hit Su''en like a wave, making him feel dizzy.


    Even from this distance, looking at his continuously weakened mental power panel, he knew he could only hold on for a few more seconds before beingpletely controlled.


    The mental power level of this lord monster hadpletely crushed him.


    At this moment, the scenes in his eyes alternated between reality and illusion, one moment it was a dirty monster cave, the next it was a paradise that fulfilled all human fantasies, everywhere he looked there were beautiful...


    His body also quickly became hot, his lower abdomen was already so restless that he couldn''t suppress it with reason, that urgent need to unleash the power of the wild, made his will copse rapidly.


    ......


    Su''en felt his consciousness gradually bing confused, the evil arc at the corner of his mouth getting higher and higher: "It''s a life-or-death gamble..."


    It wasn''tpletely unexpected, he just didn''t think he would really have to use thisst resort.


    While he still had a bit of reason left, he didn''t hesitate at all, his right hand took out a potion and jabbed it into his neck.


    At the same time, he raised his left hand, made a grabbing motion in the air, the steel wire in the mechanical glove quickly retracted, and with a "whoosh", it grabbed an item soaked in the sewage not far away.


    Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a big ck scythe.


    At the same time, thest bit of reason in his eyes disappeared,pletely turning blood red. It was at this moment of losing his reason that the bursting lust was instantly suppressed.


    At this moment, with the ck scythe in hand, Su''en was like the god of death descending.

 Chapter 73: Just a knife

    Chapter 73: Just a knife


    Actually, Su''en had already found the ck scythe lying in the sewage when he was setting up theyout for the assassins who wouldeter.


    In the midst of his surprise, he used the All-Knowing Eye to take a look at this legendary "forbidden item" and suddenly felt...


    Um... how should I put it...


    It''s quite troublesome.


    He had heard of the name of this forbidden item before, knowing that this scythe had extremely strong killing power and could break through anything.


    But no outsider knew that its curse was even more powerful.


    [Nocturnal ck Scythe of Supnos]


    Quality: Legendary


    Description: It is indestructible and can break through anything, but be careful, as it may cut off your head in your sleep.


    Curse: Using the scythe can create long-range shes that tear through space, causing a "one sh, two halves" effect on any material whosew level is not higher than the scythe''s sharpness limit. However, within an hour, the user''s body will suffer 80% of the damage from that sh, even if the scythe is no longer with them, the de will silently cut through space. The more frequently it is used in a short period of time, the greater the power of the sh and the shorter the bacsh time.


    Exnation: A super-cursed item created by ancient alchemists using the alchemicalws. These items generally have some of the effects of artifacts, but they follow thew of equivalent exchange. The more powerful the cursed item, the stronger the negative effects. They can be used as materials for advancing to higher-level professions.


    (Note: Artifact - Forbidden Item - Cursed Item - Ordinary Alchemical Item)


    In fact, a "forbidden item" is actually a more powerful cursed item.


    Usually, their curse characteristics are uncontroble, so most of the time, those super-cursed items are sealed to prevent the overflowing curse characteristics from affecting others or things around them.


    When Su''en saw the attributes of this scythe, the first thing that came to his mind was: killing a thousand enemies, injuring oneself eight hundred times.


    Clearly, it was a super powerful weapon, but with such a curse, it immediately became a "suicide bomb" that would kill both the enemy and the user.


    Now that he had been living in this world for a long time, he also had some understanding of "curse characteristics".


    It seemed that because the alchemists did not have faith in deities, they relied only on their own power and the power of natural substances. Therefore, certain high-levelw powers that surpassed the user''s currentprehension level could not be directly used.


    Therefore, those ancient alchemists came up with the idea of using thew of equivalent exchange to forcefully activate these powerful forces.


    Alchemists believe that "everything has a price," and the use of power is no exception. The higher the level of power used, the corresponding bacsh must be endured.


    Thinking about itter, Su''en also felt that it made sense.


    Otherwise, how could a first-level professional casually sh through space?


    Even artifacts can only be used by those who haveprehended high-levelws.


    So, this ck scythe was also hisst resort.


    Unless absolutely necessary, he didn''t n to use this thing to "gamble with his life".


    .......


    Now suddenly encountering such a "lord-level" Spider Queen, unable to even move with alchemical bullets, it was already a situation where Su''en believed he would die. He didn''t think he had any means to deal with it other than the ck scythe.


    But there was no regret.


    As long as he still had the forbidden item scythe in mind, he would eventuallye to this sewer.


    As long as he came, he would eventually be ambushed by this Spider Queen.


    Before, he didn''t know the situation in this underground cave, and he thought that maybe he would have the ability to take the scythe when he reached the second level.


    But now, even if he reached the second level, he was afraid he would only be giving his head to the Spider Queen.


    Just like the second-level assassin before.


    On the contrary, this time, someone helped him step on andmine, and the timing, location, and people were just right.


    Allowing him to obtain the scythe and have a chance to gamble.


    ......


    At this moment, Su''en knew he was no match, but he decisively chose to gamble with his life.


    Um... why did I say "again"?


    It seems like it''s not the first time, and he didn''t feel anything wrong with it himself.


    With the ck scythe in hand, he infused it with dark spiritual power, and the de instantly ignited ayer of flickering ghost fire. Su''en clearly felt a powerful force being controlled in his hand, as if he could tear through space with a light swipe of the scythe.


    A sense of dominance over the world suddenly arose.


    But even though he was the owner of this ck scythe, the sharpness of the de made him feel a chill in his heart, as if it was a tiger that would devour its master, and he could identally suffer bacsh.


    With therge scythe in hand, Su''en''s whole demeanor suddenly became sinister and terrifying, like a demon that had just walked out of the gates of hell. He tilted his head and looked at the scythe in his hand, licked his lips, seemingly enjoying the feeling of controlling such a powerful force.


    With a weapon in hand, evil arises from the heart.


    At this moment, the red eyes of Su''en, with a fierce smile on his face, stared at the Spider Queen not far away and said, "Hehe..."


    The Spider Queen, who used to rule the n, instinctively felt a deadly crisis when she was stared at by this sinister gaze.


    And at this moment, Su''en suddenly pushed off the ground with his feet and rushed towards the Spider Queen!


    Red light burst from the Spider Queen''s eyes, but it did not hinder his charge at all. That beautiful face instantly showed confusion, as if she was shocked why her mental control did not work on this person. Clearly, he was much weaker than the human he had just killed...


    Looking at the ck scythe, it gradually showed fear on its face as well.


    After all, it was eerie. The Spider Queen could feel that the scythe was very dangerous and instinctively did not want to touch it. But after all, it was eerie, and it didn''t know what dangers the scythe held.


    Su''en, with his red eyes, was as swift as a cheetah, reaching the distance of a hundred meters in an instant. Faced with the ghost-faced spiders that were closing in on him, he showed no fear, only a crazed desire to kill!


    He was covered in cold mes that were even more intense than before, with a scythe in one hand and a firearm in the other. Charging into the spider swarm, it was as if he had entered a realm without anyone.When he was about twenty or thirty meters away from the Spider Queen, this mutant lord also sensed danger. She spat out spider silk to block in front of her, and the sharp spider spear stabbed forward. As long as the human rushed up, he would definitely be pierced with several bloody holes.


    But what she didn''t expect was that suddenly, red-eyed Su''en stopped.


    A smirk appeared on his face, and then he raised his hand and swung his scythe without hesitation!


    In that instant, it seemed as if time had slowed down a hundred times.


    The ck scythe slowly fell, and the ck fire on the de made the void ripple. The de vibrated at a high frequency, as if it had torn a crack on God''s canvas, revealing a void that made people see the nothingness of the world.


    And the next second, an even stranger scene urred.


    Tens of meters away, the Spider Queen sensed danger and wanted to block with her spider spear. But suddenly, a void crack appeared near her neck. Without giving her any time to react, the crack disappeared in a sh, and a head with a shocked expression fell to the ground with a thud.


    Green blood gushed out from the headless body of the Spider Queen, spraying several meters high.


    The Ghost Face Spider Queen, whose defense couldn''t be broken by alchemical bullets, was easily beheaded by the ck scythe.


    Just one strike, only one strike.


    The elite monsters and small monsters on the side werepletely panicked...


    Seeing their lord being killed, these Ghost Face Spiders, who were not very intelligent, lost their organization and instantly became chaotic. Their instinct for survival made them feel that this ce was dangerous, that human was dangerous, they wanted to escape. After a moment of chaos, they rushed into the tunnels deep in the cave like a tide...


    But a few momentster, in the vast space, except for those spiders with broken legs struggling in the pile of corpses, no intact spider was seen.


    ......


    After using the power of the ck scythe for the first time, red-eyed Su''en had a look of insatiable greed on his face.


    He looked at the body of the Spider Queen, tilted his head, seemingly not satisfied.


    Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he turned his head sharply and looked at the only other living person in this space, Rena.


    Like a wolf seeing its prey, the killing intent in his eyes became even stronger.


    "There''s one more..."


    Red-eyed Su''en let out a strangeugh, just about to rush over, but suddenly something happened. He suddenly held his head and showed an extremely painful expression, letting out a suppressed roar like a beast.


    It was a kind of frenzy as if he had finally gained freedom, but was forcibly dragged back and locked up.


    Frenzy, rationality, his face alternated between red and white.


    As the potion continued to take effect, waves of coldness washed over his frenzy, and rationality gradually took the upper hand.


    The red light in Su''en''s eyes quickly faded, and then rity was restored.


    "Huff...huff...huff..."


    Su''en was panting heavily, his chest heaving.


    He was like someone who had just been fished out of the water, his back soaked with sweat.


    He rubbed his slightly aching temples, his face returned to normal, as if the hysterical struggle that had just urred on him had never happened.


    "The ''Advanced Calming Potion'' seems to be a bit forced... Next time I have to ask that mysterious pharmacist if there''s anything better."


    Muttering to himself, Su''en turned to look at the headless body of the Spider Queen not far away.


    Then he looked at the still alive Miss Bait.


    He finally let out a sigh of relief and muttered, "Not bad, the timing was just right. The bait wasn''t killed by that guy..."

 Chapter 74: Dark gold material

    Chapter 74: Dark gold material


    Su''en looked a bit weak, but it couldn''t hide the joy in his eyes.


    Almost 100% of the Lord-level monsters would drop materials of silver quality or higher, with a high chance of gold.


    Looking at the glowing corpse of the Spider Queen, Su''en felt like he had found a pile of gold. "Wow, it really dropped high-level cursed materials..."


    This was his first time killing monsters and obtaining high-level materials.


    The corpse of this Lord-level monster emitted a special aura from the cursed materials, which was the luster of cursed materials.


    Spider silk, venom sacs, skin, skull, blood, bones... even the internal organs, although they couldn''t be used as imnt materials, were all very advanced and rare alchemical materials.


    What Su''en cared most about were the spider legs needed for his "Eight-Armed Spider God Spear".


    Originally, he only hoped to buy eight silver spider leg materials and assemble them together, which would have satisfied him. Gold was even harder toe by. Unexpectedly, he now had aplete set of spider legs!


    "Huh... these spider legs are actually dark gold quality?"


    The eight dark golden spider legs on the Spider Queen''s corpse made Su''en unable to look away.


    "Dark gold" was an extremely rare material that was half a tier higher than gold. Even the top auction houses in the inner city might not see it for years.


    This was truly priceless.


    The structure was intact, sturdy, tough, with barbs, hooks, and natural magic patterns... almost every aspect met the requirements of the blueprint, or even exceeded them. At first nce, Su''en felt that this was probably the most suitable material for the blueprint of the "Eight-Armed Spider God Spear".


    Although this trip to the underground dungeon was risky, just obtaining these materials made it worth it!


    .......


    "What kind of mutation happened to this Lord-level monster that allowed it to produce such high-quality distorted limbs?"


    While pleasantly surprised by the harvest, Su''en also felt that something was amiss.


    The appearance of a Lord-level monster in the first-tier distorted monster group was already very low in probability. Now, the degree of mutation in this Lord-level monster was so exaggerated, making him wonder what had happened in this underground area.


    At this moment, Su''en looked at the mist on the Spider Queen''s corpse and swallowed it without thinking.


    After all, it was a highly intelligent distorted monster, and the fragments of the queen''s memory contained some information that humans could discern.


    "Obtained ''Distorted Ghost-Faced Spider Queen'' memory fragments *2"


    "You have obtained some information: ''Terrifying presence in the water pit, do not approach''..."


    "You haveprehended ''Intermediate Spider Climbing''..."


    "Spirit Power +3.5"


    There wasn''t much in the memory fragments of the Spider Queen, but they were all very practical.


    The "Intermediate Spider Climbing" skill was very suitable for Su''en, and it could even be said to be an exclusive skill.


    Once he integrated the spider spear imnt, this skill would immediatelye in handy. Ignoring obstacles, hanging and climbing, rapid discement... essential skills for escaping and pursuing.


    And the surge in spirit power by "3.5" was equivalent to the spiritual strength of nearly ten Rosa assistants at the "pseudo-second-tier" profession.


    After the surge, he felt refreshed and his perception became much clearer.


    However, thest piece of information made Su''en frowned and analyzed in his mind, "There is a huge water pool in the sewer... and in the water pool, there is a ''terrifying presence'' that even this Lord-level monster fears? A giant tentacled predator... could it be a distorted octopus monster?"


    Although everyone knew that the underground of Old Lingdun was a paradise for distorted monsters, after seeing this information, Su''en felt that things were probably worse than he thought.


    The mutations caused by the environment might have given birth to many terrifying monsters.


    However, he didn''t dwell on it.


    If he could survive this trip, he probably wouldn''t willinglye to the dungeon again.


    After collecting the cursed materials from the Spider Queen, Su''en went to the body of the assassin that was no longer in human form and looted some spoils.


    Unfortunately, killing monsters took some time, and the soul had already dissipated a lot, so he didn''t harvest anything valuable except for some proficiency.


    The items carried by the body were worth a lot of money, second-tier imnts, weapons, mechanical equipment, potions... a wide range ofbat items.


    However, most of these spoils couldn''t be easily converted into cash.


    If these items were to appear on the ck market and be recognized, it would immediately reveal a lot of useful information to those who were interested.


    Su''en didn''t want everything he did in the dungeon to be public knowledge.


    After looting the assassin, Su''en went to the pile of spider monster corpses and harvested a few pieces of spider monster fragments, gaining some experience points for "Spider Climbing".


    Then, he flipped over the pile of corpses and found Daniel''s broken body.Previously, after killing this guy, I hastily stripped his soul, but his storage ring and other things are still on the body.


    I have to say, after harvesting Rosa''s soul fragments before, there is a lot of "knowledge" ovep when harvesting Daniel''s.


    After all, they are both teaching assistants at the ck Tower Academy, and they have ovepping knowledge in many fields.


    But the advantage is that the knowledge of the two teaching assistantsplements each other, and Su''en has be more proficient in certain knowledge.


    Hmm... the spoils from Daniel''s body cannot be exposed or cashed.


    This is quite annoying.


    .......


    The process of looting the spoils is always enjoyable.


    After doing all this, Su''en finally thought of his own trouble.


    He didn''t forget that using the Night Reaper of Sopnuses at a painful price.


    It''s satisfying to kill monsters instantly, but he will have to endure 80% of the bacsh.


    Su''en sighed helplessly and estimated the size of the wound on the Queen''s body, calcting in his mind, "ording to the calction, the damage from the previous attack should bacsh to the body in about an hour. If it cuts the head or heart, it will almost trigger instant death. It means there is at least a 10-30% chance of death. Well... it''s not too bad."


    He estimated his chances of survival and was quite optimistic.


    After all, exchanging a situation of certain death for a 60-70% chance of survival is already a big gain.


    But then he faced a big problem, which is how to deal with the wounds that will appear in the future.


    Those terrifyingcerations will randomly appear on his body, and it would be easy to lose a hand or a foot... but if it cuts through internal organs, that would be bad.


    If not handled properly, although he won''t die on the spot, he won''t live long either.


    The actual death rate is higher than he calcted.


    Su''en thought of the advanced healing potions he brought, but then shook his head, "Thesecerations, advanced healing potions probably have limited effect. Surgery is the most direct treatment method. If there were cutting-edge medical equipment, maybe the chances of survival would be higher. Unfortunately, this is the sewer, and there is no time to go to the hospital in an hour..."


    Moreover, those crude clinics and mediocre doctors in the outer city probably wouldn''t be able to handle such serious injuries.


    "Oh, didn''t Rosa and Daniel, the two teaching assistants, have some medical equipment in their storage rings?!"


    Su''en suddenly thought of something and quickly looked through the storage rings that were taken as spoils.


    Sure enough, he saw several high-end medical emergency devices. There were surgical instrument sets, simple operating beds, blood transfusion and oxygen supply equipment... all kinds of emergency equipment!


    They were probably carried in the storage rings of the two teaching assistants for emergency treatment of injured students during trials. They were the top medical equipment in the inner city.


    But when Su''en saw these good things, he was happy for a moment, but then hesitated. He muttered, "I do know some basic first aid, but... I can''t stitch myself up, right? What if the injury is in a special ce and I can''t move my hands? Then I would just wait for death."


    Thinking of this, he suddenly had a sh of inspiration.


    "Isn''t there still someone else?"


    At this moment, Miss Rena, who was used as bait, had been listening for a long time without any movement. Finally, she couldn''t help but cautiously ask, "Mr. Su''en, are you still there?"


    Upon hearing this, Su''en raised an eyebrow slightly.


    .......


    Rena was given permission and finally took off her blindfold.


    Her body was covered in sticky spider webs, and as soon as she opened her eyes, she couldn''t wait to get rid of the disgusting slime.


    But when she looked around, she was stunned.


    Piles of spider monster corpses filled her vision, with limbs and arms scattered everywhere, and green blood flowing like a river...


    Only the small area where she was standing still had some space to stand.


    Did Mr. Su''en kill all these monsters? The number is too exaggerated...


    Although she had witnessed the intense battle just now, seeing such an exaggerated mountain of monster corpses left her speechless.


    Rena was about to ask what had happened when she turned her head and saw a pair of scorching eyes staring at her.


    Miss Bait''s heart skipped a beat. She didn''t remember wrongly, this was the first time the indifferent guide Mr. Su''en looked at her directly.


    Could it be... Mr. Su''en was affected?


    Strange images automatically popped into her mind, and Rena couldn''t help but feel anxious.


    But at this moment, Su''en didn''t give her a chance to overthink. He directly asked, "Can you use these emergency medical devices?"


    Rena looked at the devices on the ground. Weren''t these the standard battlefield emergency equipment of the academy?


    Although she didn''t know what Su''en wanted to do, she weakly replied, "I can."Upon hearing this, Su''en let out a sigh of relief, then asked, "Can you handle serious injuries? Like, say, being cut in half..."


    Rena felt a bit guilty under his gaze, "Well... I think so."


    "You think?"


    Su''en didn''t like the sound of her uncertainty.


    This was a matter of life and death, he needed a definite answer.


    Seeing Su''en''s apparent need for a doctor, Rena added, "Actually... I''m not abat major, I''m a medical major..."


    She paused, then asked, "Mr. Su''en, are you injured?"


    But upon inspection, Mr. Su''en didn''t seem to have any serious injuries.


    Hmm... If it''s just minor wounds, she should be able to handle it.


    That''s what Rena thought.


    This girl is actually a medical major?


    Upon hearing this, Su''en felt like a sleepy person who had just found a pillow, "How... How good are your skills?"


    "They''re... They''re okay."


    Rena thought for a moment, it was something she was proud of, but she said it without confidence, "I... I scored full marks in my medical graduation exam."


    Oh, a top student?


    Su''en felt his chances of survival had increased, "Have you ever saved anyone in practice?"


    "Yes..."


    Just as Su''en was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Rena added, "Yes, in theb."


    "Good, you''re hired!"


    Although Su''en found this girl a bit clueless, in this dungeon, finding someone who could use these emergency equipment was a stroke of luck.


    Having this deadweight around finally paid off.


    "Huh...?"


    Hearing the usually calm and monster-like Mr. Su''en show a normal emotional fluctuation for the first time, Rena was somewhat taken aback.


    She asked timidly, "Mr. Su''en, what... what can I do?"


    Su''en said, "Save me!"

 Chapter 75: Doctor Miss

    Chapter 75: Doctor Miss


    Su''en didn''t stay long in this spider nest full of corpses.


    Although he thought that all the second-tier assassins had appeared and there should be no more killersing, the corpses were scattered everywhere, and the smell of blood would spread far, attracting the distorted monsters from other parts of the underground.


    After tidying up the battlefield and covering up some necessary traces of the battle, he nned to lead Miss Bait away...


    Oh no!


    Now Rena is no longer a burden, but a useful lifesaving doctor.


    This youngdy, who has never been so embarrassed as the heiress of a wealthy family, can''t stand the sticky spider webs all over her body. The wet shirt sticks to her body, making her feel a sense of shame as if she is wearing see-through clothes. But there are no conditions for cleaning here, so she can only use a towel to clean her body briefly and then ask Su''en for a shirt to change into.


    She used to be so nervous when changing clothes before, but she doesn''t know why she can change clothes so calmly this time.


    She probably thinks it''s because she has been influenced by the guide Mr. Su''en, who is as calm as a monster.


    Rena now finds it incredible that Mr. Su''en calmly stated that he might die and asked her for help with first aid.


    That tone, as if he was talking about someone else.


    Hmm... he''s really a strange guy.


    .......


    "Let''s go, let''s find another ce."


    There''s no time to find a way to the surface, so they can only find a rtively safe ce in the underground.


    Su''en called Rena and then slung the scythe wrapped in a rag over his shoulder.


    After identification, he also understood why the "forbidden items" could not be stored in the storage ring.


    The reason is that the rules contained in ordinary forbidden items are much higher than the pseudo-space rules of the storage ring. It''s like a paper bag can''t hold a red-hot iron ball. If a forbidden item is put into the storage ring''s inferior folding space, it will immediately copse.


    With this scythe in his hand, he didn''t avoid Rena''s meaning, nor could he avoid it.


    She, as the heiress of an inner-tier top family, has an incredible range of information channels. If she really wants to inquire, there is no way to hide it.


    The injuries on his body that are about to erupt due to bacsh are too special. As long as someone has heard of the curse characteristic of the "Night ck Scythe of Supnos," they can guess something.


    And the girl naturally saw the "strange cloth package" in Su''en''s hand, but she didn''t show any intention to ask.


    She was just asionally a little absent-minded, but she wasn''t stupid, and even her inner mind was sharp.


    The guide Mr. Su''en risked so much to save her, and she felt that she should be grateful, which was enough.


    As for the rest, Rena didn''t think it was important at all.


    .......


    Su''en didn''t want the things that happened in the underground to cause amotion, nor did he want everyone to know that he had saved Rena.


    Blocking the shape-shifting worms, ambushing Daniel, and plotting to kill the second-tier assassin... a series of events would be considered bizarre to a third party.


    Probably no one would believe that a small member of the outer-city gang like Su''en could do all this.


    If it really caused amotion, there would definitely be people investigating.


    By then, the "forbidden items," the "distorted monster repellent," and his identity... everything would be impossible to hide.


    However, before he could speak, Rena cleverly thought of this point.


    She walked quietly behind Su''en, just like when she came before.


    And suddenly, she spoke.


    "Mr. Su''en, don''t worry... everything this time was caused by me. I have already caused the death of Mentor August and Assistant Rosa. I won''t cause you any more trouble."


    The big families are used to seeing too many things like this. The lives of the lower-ss people are just a word in the hands of the top elites.


    After such a serious assassination incident, even if she didn''t die, the responsibility would definitely be investigated.


    Bodyguards, security officers... and so on.


    And Su''en, as a guide, would definitely be implicated.


    As Rena spoke, she also noticed the "cloth package" on Su''en''s shoulder. She felt that she had an obligation to keep the secret of her lifesaver.


    After a pause, she continued, "Don''t worry, I won''t tell anyone about what happened here. I won''t say it, and no one can force me to say it. This is our secret."


    "..."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en suddenly stopped and turned to look at the serious-faced heiress.


    He didn''t say much, just responded with a faint smile.


    Rena was slightly startled by his sudden turn. Although she couldn''t see Su''en''s face covered by a gas mask, she could tell from the details of his raised eyebrows that he was smiling.


    This was the first time she saw such a friendly expression on the cold guide Mr. Su''en''s face.


    Su''en turned his head back and continued walking forward.


    This was also his purpose in risking his life to save someone.


    Rena''s identity is very special, and as long as she is willing to help conceal it, it''s not a big deal.


    Moreover, Su''en thought that even if it was exposed, it wouldn''t be a problem.


    The only thing he did in the underground that couldn''t see the light was killing Daniel. But because he was careful enough, he could easilye up with an excuse to cover it up.


    Compared to saving Rena, the weight of the heiress, the lives of a hundred Daniels were not as important.


    He was just afraid of trouble and afraid of exposing the identity of the original owner.


    As for this scythe... if it really gets exposed, he can just hand it over to the gang. Even if there are any problems, they won''t be able to trace it back to him.


    This trip to the underground has gained so much "knowledge" and obtained the much-needed spider leg imnt materials, which is already satisfying for him.


    Now it seems that he has unintentionally found a way out for himself by saving someone.Since Rena was willing to keep the secret, it was just what he wanted.


    ......


    Su''en led Rena around in the underground cave for a while and found a dry abandoned sewer pipe. Three sides of the pipe were blocked by cement walls, making it difficult for monsters to disturb them.


    Then he took out a temporary surgical frame and a pile of emergency medical equipment and ced them on the ground.


    Rena skillfully connected various pipes to the equipment and powered them up.


    Su''en watched her professional technique and felt relieved. If he had to do it himself, he wouldn''t understand how to operate these devices.


    Perhaps because they had gone through hardships together, Rena didn''t seem as distant as before. She quickly assumed her role as a "doctor".


    While preparing surgical instruments, she asked, "Mr. Su''en, did you use any medication just now? I want to ask to avoid any conflicts with the medication I will useter."


    "A potent sedative."


    "How many milliliters?"


    "10 milliliters."


    "What?"


    Upon hearing this, Rena suddenly stopped what she was doing, shocked. She looked at Su''en incredulously, "That dosage... is a highly lethal dosage. How... how could you inject so much?!"


    "I didn''t die, did I?"


    Su''en smiled and didn''t exin further.


    He was well aware of his condition, and that dosage did carry a certain risk. But if he didn''t inject it, the two of them wouldn''t be sitting here talking right now.


    Su''en didn''t intend to dwell on this topic and changed the subject, asking, "What should I do next?"


    Rena nced at him, with an expression of helplessness as if a doctor was looking at a patient who was taking medicine randomly.


    She didn''t ask further and instead said, "I want to confirm again, Mr. Su''en, you said that a part of your body will suddenly split open, about one foot in size?"


    Su''en nodded, "Yes. There may be some error, but it shouldn''t be significant."


    Rena didn''t ask for the reason. She also guessed that it might be the bacsh of a powerful curse.


    After thinking for a moment, she said, "If that''s the case, I suggest setting up a ''Life Conversion Alchemy Array''. Because I''m the only one here, I''m afraid I won''t have time to stitch up the wound. With that array, even if the carotid artery and nerves are severed on arge scale, you won''t die immediately. I..."


    She paused and added in a less confident tone, "I... I should be able to handle such a tricky injury."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en was greatly surprised: you can survive even if your neck is severed?


    In his knowledge base, most of it was aboutbat skills, and he didn''t have much knowledge in the field of medicine yet.


    Listening to this "Life Maintenance Alchemy Array," it seemed very powerful. He asked with some anticipation, "Is it troublesome to set up this array?"


    If he could survive even if his neck was severed, then he felt that his chances of survival would be even greater.


    "It''s a bit troublesome."


    Rena said, seemingly afraid that the patient would question her medical skills. She continued, "But that happens to be the topic of our graduation assessment in the medical department. I... I happened to get a perfect score."


    As she spoke, she took out the corresponding materials from the storage ring of the teaching assistant Rosa and exined while setting up the array, "The principle of this alchemy array is to convert ''physical energy'' into ''biological energy''... as long as the energy is not depleted, it can continuously replenish the patient''s life force."


    Su''en listened with amazement. Could equivalent exchange be used like this?


    He felt that this alchemy array was very practical and definitely a life-saving tool. If he learned it, he might be able to use it in the future.


    However, as he looked at the materials Rena took out and a pile of curse crystals worth 11,000 Riso, he suddenly realized something.


    He asked, "Are the materials needed for this ''Life Conversion Alchemy Array'' expensive?"


    "Not too expensive."


    Rena continued her work without stopping and casually replied, "The basic array materials cost about one or two hundred gold crowns, and if the materials are better, the effect will be better. Then it depends on the duration of the surgery, which also consumes some curse crystals..."


    (Note: 1 gold crown = 10,000 Riso)


    Su''en''s eyelids twitched as he listened. Once again, he experienced the financial power of top conglomerates.


    To forcefully extend one''s life with money, it was terrifying.


    If it weren''t for the loot from the corpses they obtained during this trip to the underground cave, as a poor person like him, he wouldn''t even have the qualifications to listen to this kind of array.


    No wonder there weren''t manyrge hospitals in the outer city, only some small clinics. The surgery fees of several million Riso were simply beyond the reach of ordinary people.


    ......


    "Alright, Mr. Su''en, you can lie on the operating table now."


    "..."


    Su''en did as he was told.


    But as Rena looked at hisplex adventurer attire, she suddenly thought of something and a strange expression shed across her face. She said, "I... I suggest that you take off your equipment and clothes for the surgery. Because we''re not sure where the wound will appear, it''s better to..."


    "Okay."


    Before she finished speaking, Su''en understood what she wanted to say.


    He didn''t show any hesitation and directly took off all his clothes, walking naked to the operating table.


    Rena also seemed to have entered the role of a doctor. Her cheeks blushed slightly, but it quickly disappeared.


    She picked up the disinfectant and began to carefully disinfect, preparing for the surgery.


    As she worked, this heiress of a conglomerate muttered to herself in a voice that only she could hear: it''s like dissecting a cadaver in the anatomy ssroom.


    ......


    The wait for the curse bacsh was somewhat long.Su''en, a grown man, didn''t feel the slightest bit awkward being naked, but the innocent young girl, Rena, was somewhat embarrassed.


    In order not to let the atmosphere be stiff, the two of them started to chat intermittently.


    Whether it was her knowledge or her upbringing, Rena, the heiress of a wealthy family, was impable. The conversation was quite pleasant.


    After this trial, Su''en became interested in some aspects of the inner city. In the course of their indirect conversation, he subtly probed whether Rena knew the original owner.


    He had originally thought that the original owner was a top noble in the inner city, part of the upper-ss society, and should be known to Rena.


    But to his surprise, when he asked, he discovered a big problem.


    Not only did Rena not know the original owner "Fick Regadi", but even... there was no "Regadi" family in the inner city''s upper-ss society at all!

 Chapter 76: Musketeer Inn

    Chapter 76: Musketeer Inn


    Su''en had been traveling through time for a while now, and he had always been cautious about being discovered as the original owner.


    During this time, he had actually gained some understanding of the inner city. Just like the top 500panies in the world, many of the major families in the inner city also had industries in the outer city and were well-known.


    But strangely enough, he had never heard of the "Leijia" family''s origins.


    He had thought that the original owner shoulde from a low-key hidden family, but he never expected to hear an unbelievable answer from Rena: there was no "Leijia" family in the upper-ss society of the inner city!


    This puzzled Su''en.


    Whether it was the information on the retina or the mysterious wanted order, they all indicated that the original owner''s identity was definitely not simple, and definitely not from some unknown small family. If it was a hidden family, others might not have heard of it, but as the daughter of a top financial conglomerate, Rena should have heard of it to some extent.


    Su''en thought for a moment. In this situation, either the "Leijia" family used a different name in the inner city, or... the original owner''s identity might be even more mysterious.


    However, before he could think too much, Su''en suddenly felt a sense of being stared at by a venomous snake, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.


    He immediately realized what was happening and eximed in his heart, "They''re here!"


    .......


    Su''en finally experienced the horror of being bacshed by the ck Scythe for the first time.


    He felt a slight chill in his chest, as if an invisible grim reaper had silently cut through his body with an extremely sharp de. Before he could feel any pain, he suddenly saw blood gushing out from his chest. In an instant, his skin split open, revealing a wound about a foot long that pierced through his chest and abdomen, exposing his internal organs.


    Rena, who was next to him, was carefully confirming the surgical instruments for the third time when she was caught off guard and sprayed with blood.


    Because she had anticipated this, she looked at the wound on Su''en''s chest that appeared mysteriously and was only slightly panicked. She quickly activated the "Life Conversion Array" by pinching the sorcerer''s seal.


    As the hexagram array lit up with a green light, Su''en felt a surge of vitality entering his body.


    Looking at the exaggerated wound on his chest, Su''en was not shocked, but rather delighted.


    Compared to cutting off his head or throat, the chest was the least fatal position. And although the wound was deep, it just missed his heart and didn''t go down another two inches to the most critical position.


    It could be considered extremely lucky.


    The rest of the surgery became thrilling but safe.


    Although the environment in this crude sewer was harsh, it had the best emergency medical equipment from the ck Tower Academy, as well as Rena, an intern doctor with perfect theoretical knowledge.


    For this type of non-lethal wound, Su''en didn''t even bat an eyelid.


    The only unexpected incident was probably the small mistake caused by Rena''s nervousness.


    "Ah... Mr. Su''en, I''m sorry, I... this is my first time handling a wounded person alone, and my hands are shaking a bit..."


    "It''s alright. If one time is not enough, just give a few more injections."


    "I''m very sorry, please bear with me!"


    "By the way, did you administer anesthesia?"


    "Ah... I''m sorry! I was too nervous and forgot."


    "Forget it, just sew it up like this. It''s almost done anyway..."


    "..."


    asionally, Su''en could use his mediocre medical knowledge to give some instructions to Rena andfort the intern doctor who was full of guilt because of her own small mistake.


    Perhaps because of Su''en''s calmness, Rena gradually found the feeling of being a doctor and smoothlypleted the second half of the surgery.


    Indeed, this girl''s perfect score in the assessment was not obtained through connections, but through her own abilities.


    Half an hourter, the surgery waspleted.


    After stitching up the wound, Rena originally wanted to give Su''en a bottle of "Advanced Recovery Potion" to elerate the healing of the wound.


    But Su''en stopped her.


    Now, even the shirt on Rena''s body belonged to Su''en, so naturally the potions did too.


    Su''en didn''t have the financial ability, and for this kind of injury, a bottle of intermediate potion was enough.


    The advanced ones were reserved for life-threatening situations, and it would be a waste to use them.


    The bacsh from the sealed object was thrilling but safe, and Su''en''s heart finally rxed.


    He didn''t stay in the sewer for long. After the wound had healed a bit, he led Rena to follow the map of the route extracted from the memory of the Ghost-Faced Spider, making their way up.


    .......


    There had been many cases of missing personnel on Green Street before, and Su''en now knew what it was. It was the Ghost-Faced Spider in the sewer, a distorted monster that could bewitch people''s minds.


    The two of them followed the spiders'' route to the surface, and after dealing with a few foolish monsters along the way, they finally saw the lights on the street through the cracks in the sewer.


    With a "ng" sound, the manhole cover was pushed open from below.


    Su''en climbed up and then pulled out the dirty Miss Rena.


    The surroundings were filled with colorful lights, and dazzling neon lights illuminated the entire block.


    Su''en looked at Rena''s wrinkled brow finally rxing, and he was very familiar with the surroundings. It was a corner of Green Street.


    Finally, they were safe.


    Both of them let out a sigh of relief at the same time.Rena was visiting the chaotic and dirty entertainment district of the outer city for the first time. She looked timid and afraid, but couldn''t help but sneak curious nces. Her beautiful ck eyes blinked, reflecting everything in front of her: staggering drunks, scantily d prostitutes, and gangs chasing after people... everything was so fascinating.


    Su''en was familiar with almost every corner of Green Street. He found a small corner in an alley to hide his conspicuous sickle.


    Rena waited quietly without peeking.


    But when she saw Su''en climbing down from the rooftop through the drainpipe, she was prepared to be led by him to the street, but she resisted internally.


    She bit her lip and weakly suggested, "Um... Mr. Su''en, can I find a ce to take a shower first?"


    The Green Bean Princess couldn''t stand the stench on her body anymore. With her life no longer in danger, the first thing she thought of was taking a shower.


    Su''en nced at her and pointed to the "Musketeer Inn" not far away, where pink neon lights were shining, seemingly asking if it was okay.


    Rena looked at the obviously suggestive pink lights and bit her lip, but nodded.


    .......


    Ten minutester, the door of Room 304 at the Musketeer Inn was knocked.


    Su''en had already seen the ck panther motorcycle downstairs by the window and knew who it was. He opened the door.


    Qiantiao walked in quickly, her furrowed brows rxing a bit when she saw Su''en.


    After receiving the news that the trial team had been attacked, not only was the Cross Society in an uproar, but arge number of top professionals from the inner city had also been dispatched to search the underground dungeon. ording to the surviving students, the incident had happened several hours ago. With the dy in the news, everyone thought Rena was probably in grave danger...


    But suddenly receiving a message from Su''en, Qiantiao felt an overwhelming joy as if she had won a bet!


    They actually survived?


    How did they manage to do that?


    With an incredulous mood, Qiantiao rode her motorcycle at full speed to arrive. Now she finally saw living people in front of her, and her anxious heart finally calmed down.


    She looked around the room and saw no one but Su''en.


    But she heard the sound of rushing watering from the bathroom, as if someone was taking a shower.


    Su''en looked at Qiantiao with a puzzled look and shrugged.


    Qiantiao''s expression suddenly became strange.


    What''s going on? Weren''t they assassinated... why are they taking a shower?


    And at this moment, the bathroom door opened, revealing a head. Rena couldn''t open her eyes because her wet hair was blocking her vision. She hugged her chest with one hand, closed her eyes, andined, "Mr. Su''en, why is the hot water in this hotel sometimes hot and sometimes cold?"


    Su''en responded indifferently, "For an 80-dor hotel, having hot water is already good enough. This is the condition in the outer city..."


    "Oh."


    Rena was scolded and lost her temper.


    She hadn''t noticed that there was another person in the room and continued, "Can you please bring me my clothes? This bathroom is too small, there isn''t even a changing room..."


    Su''en: "..."


    Upon hearing this, Qiantiao''s face suddenly became very strange.


    She came here with the mindset of encountering a killer, but instead of seeing the enemy, she witnessed this scene.


    What... is going on?


    Seeing Qiantiao''s puzzled expression again, Su''en spread his hands and exined, "Just came out from the sewer. This youngdy found it dirty, so she came to take a shower first."


    Qiantiao''s curiosity about Su''en instantly disappeared when she realized it was him.


    She naturally trusted the person she had chosen.


    And at this moment, another puzzled head popped out near the bathroom door as Su''en seemed to be talking to someone else.


    Rena rubbed her eyes and saw Qiantiao, her face suddenly showing joy, "Auntie!"


    After seeing a loved one in such dire circumstances, this girl was so excited that she almost forgot she was naked and almost ran out like that.


    Qiantiao looked at the unharmed youngdy and finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    .......


    "Ah... Auntie Qiantiao, will your clothes be too loose if I wear them? They seem a bit revealing..."


    "What should we do then?"


    "I... I... Can I borrow another piece of clothing from Mr. Su''en?"


    "Another one?"


    "..."


    After taking a shower, Rena, the young miss, finally felt fully revived.


    Qiantiao looked at Rena wearing a men''s shirt, with her long legs exposed and wet hair, and sighed: Isn''t this revealing enough?


    But she didn''t mind.


    She was just very puzzled. How did these two be so familiar in such a short time in this world?


    They were not strangers in the room, and the three of them began to exchange information.


    Su''en briefly exined what had happened in the underground dungeon.


    Everyone knew about the events before killing Jack, so they all spoke truthfully.


    As for what happened after killing Jack, they avoided the important and focused on the trivial.


    He didn''t mention encountering Daniel, the second-tier assassin, or the Spider Queen and the sealed creature...


    He only said that they were searching for an exit and happened toe across Rena, the "lostdy," who led them out. As for how she escaped from the pursuit of the shape-shifting worms, that was for Rena to exin herself.Rena, the youngdy, was very cooperative throughout, only saying one sentence: "Yes, that''s right, just as Mr. Su''en said!"


    Whenever she encountered something vague, she chose to feign amnesia: "Ah... I''m too nervous, I forgot."


    Listening to this story full of holes, Qian Tiao wore a helpless expression the entire time.


    Although she guessed that things might not be so simple, she didn''t ask further.


    The fact that this youngdy was still alive was the greatest fortune.


    No matter what Su''en had done during the process, he was the greatest contributor.


    After their coborated testimony, Qian Tiao gave Su''en a definite answer. She and the high-level members of the Cross Society would handle this incident. Su''en, the guide, would be an irrelevant "invisible man".


    This was exactly the oue Su''en wanted.


    He had managed to keep the scythe, obtained the imnt materials, and the future looked promising.


    He didn''t want to change his identity now...


    PS. Brothers, the story is about to get on track, don''t just bookmark it, click on it when there''s an update~ I''m aiming for the top three this week, please, please. Also, I''m asking for some votes~

 Chapter 77: Some aftermath matters

    Chapter 77: Some aftermath matters


    Qian Tiao led Rena out of the "Fire Gun Inn".


    Having gotten rid of such a hot potato, Su''en also felt relieved.


    He didn''t expect that a normal trial guide mission would cause so many idents. After several fierce battles and more than ten wounds of varying sizes, he felt exhausted.


    Thinking that Qian Tiao and the guild officials would handle everything, he didn''t have much to do, so he decided to rest in the inn for the night.


    However, he didn''t stay in Room 304, but opened a new room next door.


    Just in case something happened and someone traced him, he would have room to react.


    .......


    The next day, Su''en woke up on time from his meditation due to his biological clock.


    He looked at the time and realized it was time for the daily street patrol. Without much to prepare, he checked the bullets in his gun and walked out the door.


    There were no signs of anyone breaking into Room 304 next door, so he thought things should have been resolved properly.


    At exactly seven o''clock, at the abandoned building.


    The members of the Cross Society responsible for Green Street had already gathered together.


    Su''en greeted a few old birds and squatted on the roadside to listen to their chat.


    "Hey, did you guys know? I heard something big happened at the Tube Building yesterday. Many professionals from the inner city came, and it was quite a scene."


    "I heard about it too. I heard that dozens of transport vehicles came, and it seemed like they were going to war."


    "Hey, do you guys know why? Could it be that there was a powerful mutant monster in the underground dungeon?"


    "Not sure. I heard that the incident had a high level of confidentiality, and several guild officials went there..."


    "..."


    Su''en listened on the side without saying a word.


    Not many people knew about Su''en acting as a guide for the ck Tower Academy''s trial team, and with such a big ident happening, the news had been kept under wraps.


    No one knew that Su''en, one of the people involved, was squatting next to them.


    Before long, Captain Kay also hurriedly arrived on his motorcycle.


    This was the first time Su''en remembered Kay beingte. He exined that he had just returned from headquarters.


    Without saying much, the group started their daily street patrol.


    The guild members still flirted and joked with the street girls as carefree as ever, then walked through the bar street and the casino street...


    Kay took the opportunity to walk side by side with Su''en and said apologetically, "Sorry, brother. I didn''t expect this matter to cause such a big mess."


    "It''s alright."


    Su''en smiled.


    Kay did have good intentions. If nothing unexpected happened during this mission, it would be a good opportunity to make money.


    Kay seemed to be unaware of the full story and thought that Su''en was just a "bystander" in the incident. He pouted and said, "Those wealthy magnates in the inner city are getting more ruthless. I heard that this time it was because of a family feud. They sent assassins to kill a student, which disturbed the young masters and misses of the trial team, causing such a bigmotion... Luckily, nothing major happened. Otherwise, if it happened on Green Street, we would have been implicated too..."


    "Yeah."


    Su''en nodded in agreement without exining.


    Probably because the top-tier consortiums didn''t want the scandal to spread, not even Kay knew that it was the daughter of the Reyes family who was targeted for assassination. And this time, two students and three apanying mentors died, but the news didn''t leak out.


    When Kay said this, he also felt bored, "Forget it, let''s not talk about it. The higher-ups of the guild don''t want us to discuss these things too much."


    After a pause, he looked at Su''en and asked, "Brother, are you still going to the Crimson Stronghold?"


    Su''en nodded with a smile, "Yes. I received news that tonight''s diatorial fight at the Crimson Stronghold will be lively. I definitely have to go and see..."


    Kay pouted, looking disappointed, and said, "I probably won''t be able to go. The officials said that there might be a big upheaval because of yesterday''s incident, so they asked me to stay in the district..."


    Su''en and Kay were already quite familiar with each other, so they spoke without any barriers. Su''en even said teasingly, "Oh, then you go on your street patrol, and I''ll go watch the diatorial fight, okay?"


    Kay rolled his eyes, "..."


    This was the trouble of being a captain, there were so many things to deal with.


    This was also the reason why Su''en refused when Kay said he wanted to rmend him as the vice captain, so that he could be the captain in the future.


    .......


    Su''en was already a regr customer at the arena. He walked familiarly into the casino and greeted some familiar gamblers before arriving at his usual spot next to the octagonal cage.


    Listening to the advance information revealed by the betting girls, he learned that there would be professional diatorial fights tonight, and there would be three consecutive matches. It was said that the diators were from the inner city.


    Others didn''t know the reason, they just wanted to watch the excitement.


    But Su''en guessed that after the failed assassination of Rena, the high-level members of the Reyes family had started a purge. And with this kind of excitement, it would probablyst for a long time.Then it was the repetition of "work" every day, cing bets, shouting, and reaping.


    Su''en didn''t know why, but he wasn''t very interested in watching the matches today.


    Later, he realized that it was probably because he had lost interest in reaping from the corpses.


    In the underground dungeon, he reaped the souls of two ck Tower Academy assistants, a second-tier professional, and an elite student... gaining a lot of knowledge.


    Compared to those high-quality fragments, the power increase that the arena could bring him, even as a professional, was not much.


    It was like winning the five million jackpot a few times and then winning a few hundred or thousand prizes. It was hard to get excited.


    But as he continued to gamble, Su''en felt his arm being embraced by a gentle touch. He turned his head and saw a gambling addict woman with a face full of excitement leaning towards him.


    Without any hesitation, she boldly hugged Su''en''s shoulder and asked, "Su''en, which side do you think will win the next match?"


    Su''en didn''t mind and replied, "I bet on the red side."


    Upon hearing this, the woman called the betting attendant and shouted, "Red side, ten thousand."


    Su''en was already used to it. This gambling addict woman probably wanted to try her mysterious gambling technique again.


    While the arena match hadn''t started yet, the woman took out a well-crafted silver mechanical box and handed it to Su''en, saying, "Here, take it."


    "???"


    Su''en looked at her with confusion but still epted the box.


    It was heavy in his hands, as if it contained something valuable.


    The woman exined, "It''s a thank-you gift from Rena. She thanked you for taking care of her in the underground dungeon."


    "Oh."


    Su''en listened and suddenly realized. He was also curious about what kind of gift a top-ss heiress like Rena would give. He was about to open it, but the woman stopped him with a firm grip.


    She leaned in close and whispered, "If you open it here and let people know you have this thing, you''ll probably end up dead on the street tomorrow."


    The consequences were so severe?


    Upon hearing this, Su''en became even more curious about what was inside the box.


    Although he didn''t know what it was, it was definitely valuable.


    However, it seemed that beating around the bush was not the woman''s style. She directly revealed what the gift in the box was and said, "That girl doesn''t know how to choose gifts. If these two famous guns appear in the outer city, who knows how many murders will ur."


    "Famous guns?"


    Su''en''s eyes lit up as he thought to himself: Oh, that girl is quite thoughtful.


    If she had given him something else, he would have thought it was unnecessary. But for a gunman, "famous guns" indeed had an inexplicable attraction.


    Moreover, these were firearms that even the gambling addict woman valued so much. They must be extraordinary.


    At this moment, the woman took out another box.


    This time, she didn''t hide it and directly opened a corner of the box, revealing a stack of green banknotes, saying, "This is five hundred thousand in cash. It''s also a thank-you gift."


    After a pause, she added, "The young master of the ''Leonard Family,'' Charlie, sent someone to ask if you were interested in bing his personal bodyguard in the inner city."


    Su''en looked at the box of money and immediately thought of the chubby student who looked like "Michelin."


    That guy who knew how to handle things would never disappoint.


    Su''en epted the box of money with a smile and said, "I''ll take the gift, but being a bodyguard is not for me."


    The woman raised an eyebrow and said, "I knew you weren''t interested, so I rejected it for you. Being a bodyguard in the inner city is not as good as following me."


    "..."


    Su''en smiled and didn''t say anything.


    He had previously thought that the woman was just a gang member, but now that he knew she was Rena''s aunt, he realized that this big shot''s background was not simple either.


    But he didn''t ask any further. This matter didn''t need to be asked to be guessed. It was probably rted to some unpleasant past of the woman.


    ......


    At this time, the arena match had already ended.


    The blue side won, contrary to Su''en''s guess.


    The woman lost ten thousand yuan, pouted, and then turned to Su''en, asking, "What will you bet on in the next match?"


    Su''en knew he couldn''t persuade her, so he directly replied, "Still the red side."


    Upon hearing this, the woman raised an eyebrow and beckoned to the betting attendant, doubling her bet on the blue side, saying, "Blue side, twenty thousand!"


    Su''en looked at her helplessly. This gambling addict woman''s mystical gambling technique was at work again. She probably wanted to go against the unlucky guy.


    During the break, the woman said, "Things have been roughly taken care of, and you don''t have to worry about anything. Rena took care of everything herself and sent people to clean up the traces in the underground dungeon. However, there was a little trouble during the cleaning process. Terrifying distorted monsters emerged from the underground, causing some casualties. The entrance to the basement of the apartment building has also been sealed off, preventing anyone from getting close..."


    "Okay."Su''en breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.


    The fact that he killed Jack was not exposed, and no one from the inner city came to question him. This was the ideal oue.


    From now on, he would still be a member of the Green Street Gang, a small transparent under Captain Kay.


    At this point, Qiantiao nced at Su''en with a slightly teasing look and said, "It is said that in the elite ss of the ck Tower Academy, an old second-order instructor and two quasi-second-order assistants died in the underground dungeon. So some people specte that there is at least a second-order professional among the assassins. But they still couldn''t kill Rena..."


    Su''en listened with a calm expression, as if he had no connection at all.


    It was normal for outsiders to specte on this point. As long as those assassins were not fools, they must have been confident before taking action, so there must be a second-order professional involved.


    But the fact that the assassins were so well-prepared and still couldn''t kill Rena made this matter "mysterious."


    Qiantiao retracted his probing gaze, seeming to not care about the truth, and smiled slightly. "Now, high-level aberrant monsters have been found in the dungeon, so everyone has concluded that the problem lies with those monsters."


    "Oh..."


    Su''en also pretended to suddenly understand.


    Thinking about it, no one would probably believe that an ordinary member of an outer city gang could deal with a killer group that had at least a second-order expert, even if he was a "firearms expert."


    This way, the me could be shifted to the monsters, and the logical loopholes in the situation were also filled.

 Chapter 78: �Blue Ghost】 and �Thunder Snake】

    Chapter 78: ¡¾Blue Ghost¡¿ and ¡¾Thunder Snake¡¿


    Apanied by Qiantiao for a night of diatorial gambling, this gambling-addicted woman lost all her money and left.


    Her metaphysical gambling skills once again proved that gambling is a dead end.


    Su''en, on the other hand, was in a good mood.


    Although he lost a few thousand lisuo, the gratitude gifts from Rena and the fat guy Charlie were already a big profit.


    In the morning, Su''en treated Qiantiao, this poor boss, to breakfast and sent off this boss who had agreed to gamble again in the future. Su''en then found a hotel and wanted to see what was special about the gun Rena had given him.


    .......


    In the sealed room, Su''en opened the alloy metal box, entered the password, and heard a crisp sound of metal gears biting.


    Seeing the two runic pistols in the box, Su''en finally understood why Boss Qiantiao had said those "hidden wealth" words.


    The recognition of these two guns was extremely high, with a strong cyberpunk technology style, low-key yet luxurious. They were the kind of guns that people could tell at a nce that they were of high quality and valuable, with a steady style.


    One ck and one blue, the gun bodies were engraved with advanced runes that bnced aesthetics and practicality.


    "Blue Ghost and Thunder Snake?"


    Su''en looked at the inscriptions on the gun bodies, his pupils slightly narrowed.


    Having exclusive names meant that they were "named guns".


    The definition of "named guns" was that they were made by a famous gunsmith and were unique.


    These firearms were different from mass-produced goods in terms of materials, design, handcrafted enchantments, and runes. Some of their unique craftsmanship meant that they could not be mass-produced, and it also meant that these firearms had certain special functions.


    There was also an identification certificatebeled "Markchin Firearms Workshop" and technical parameter instructions for the two guns in the mechanical box.


    Su''en had heard of thete "Master Markchin", a top figure in gunsmithing, who dedicated his life to forging fine firearms. Because this master had passed away and his works were few, every one of his remaining works would cause a frenzy in the market. Those fine firearms were also the "artifacts" that all firearms enthusiasts dreamed of.


    Su''en raised an eyebrow slightly. This gift was not light.


    This was a top luxury item that was almost impossible for people from the outer city toe into contact with.


    Perhaps only the kind of financial conglomerate like Rena''s family could take out two guns as a thank-you gift at once.


    Thunder Snake


    Details: The gun body is made of Hegye nickel-based alloy, weighing 3.3 kilograms; the gun body is engraved with Level II stable runes, Level III sturdy runes, and residual shock energy recovery runes; the entire gun is enchanted with advanced elemental conduction, dust-free enchantment, and anti-oxidation enchantment; this firearm has a +20% firing speed, +135% uracy, and +50% initial bullet velocitypared to the benchmark; it can be loaded with Level III high-explosive shells, and the effective range with regr bullets is 300 meters, with alchemical bullets reaching 600 meters...


    Blue Ghost


    Details: Weighs 2.5 kilograms; the gun body is engraved with Level II stable runes, Level I cooling runes, Level II sturdy runes, and special-grade permanent runes; intermediate elemental conduction enchantment, dust-free enchantment, and high-level wind element rifling magic pattern; this firearm has a +110% firing speed, +40% uracy, and -75% recoilpared to the benchmark; it can be loaded with standard ammunition, with a record of firing seven hundred rounds without jamming, and alchemical bullet rapid-fire test rating of A+...


    "These attributes are so strong... and this is still a handgun?"


    Su''en looked at the technical parameters of the two guns and couldn''t help but feel a sense of attachment.


    He himself was now a mechanic who had mastered "Basic Mechanical Proficiency", and he could also modify and manufacture ordinary firearms.


    So when he saw the attributes of these two firearms, he was shocked.


    The attributes of these two runic pistols were not just outstanding, they were simply excellent.


    Thunder Snake was arge-caliber super-powered handgun, which could be called a "hand sniper" without any problem. The blessing of advanced runes gave it the power and range of a regr sniper rifle.


    The effective range of a conventional handgun was only 50-100 meters, but this gun reached 300 meters, and it was even more powerful when loaded with alchemical bullets.


    On the other hand, Blue Ghost was a high-speed firearm, urate, fast-firing, and with very little recoil, which was the only drawback of this firearm.


    The data of this thing was so exaggerated that it was no different from a regr light machine gun. The specially made extended magazine could definitely double the firepower of the gunner.


    After not daring to use the Three-Headed Ghost, Su''en was worried that he didn''t have a runic pistol that suited him, but now these two were just right.


    One with great power, one with rapid fire, it was simply a perfect match.


    These two guns were even a grade or two higher than the two that the fat guy gave him in the underground dungeon. They were clearly high-level runic firearms worthy of being collectibles!


    Moreover, besides the two handguns in the mechanical box, there were also neatly arranged boxes of alchemical bullets.


    Su''en gently stroked the bullets in the box, as if caressing the delicate skin of a peerless beauty.


    He didn''t have the slightest fluctuation in his heart when the fat guy gave him the five hundred thousand, but looking at these two guns that Rena gave him, he really liked them.


    Not to mention that there were several boxes of alchemical bullets, which were probably worth over a million. The two named guns were even more valuable and couldn''t be bought with money.


    Hmm, Miss Rena is so considerate.


    "But the luxurious appearance of these guns is also a problem..."Su''en looked at the two high-value firearms and thought of something.


    He didn''t have any collectibles here; guns were meant to be used.


    But it was too eye-catching to have them hanging on his waist like this. As a small gangster, he didn''t deserve such top-notch firearms.


    Although he couldn''t manufacture firearms of this level yet, it was no problem to make slight modifications, like... making them look old and painting them?


    Su''en finally understood that Rena had carefully selected these two seemingly ordinary-looking rune guns before sending them. She probably guessed that it would be inconvenient to carry them, so she wanted him to modify them for his convenience...


    .......


    When Su''en came out of the "Bearded Mechanic Shop" on Green Street, it was almost ten o''clock.


    By the time he came out, the gun holsters under his windbreaker had been reced with two slightly different-looking, old and worn firearms. The runes on the guns, which originally looked high-end, were covered with paint, concealing their sharpness and making them look ordinary.


    He tried the guns at the shooting range, and they felt surprisingly good.


    As their names suggested, the "Green Ghost" was a rapid-fire gun that emitted green ghostly mes from the muzzle. It could fire hundreds of rounds without getting hot and never jammed. The "Thunder Snake" was a sniper rifle that shot like a sh of lightning, urate and deadly.


    Su''en finally experienced the power of money. With the dual guns in his hands, hisbat power increased significantly.


    Now that he had money, Su''en also wanted to get himself a motorcycle for transportation. It was inconvenient to take the bus every time.


    Coincidentally, the owner of the mechanic shop, Wright, had just finished modifying a heavy-duty motorcycle using old military parts from the inner city. Su''en bought it for over 20,000 lisu.


    Firearms, leather jackets, motorcycles...


    Now he had everything, the standard equipment for a veteran gangster.


    .......


    Calcting the time, today was the day to move into the house.


    Su''en was tired of the environment in cheap hotels and urgently needed a private and stable ce to make puppets and practice some alchemy with significant movements.


    Before long, he rode his motorcycle to the small western-style house at 88 Gingko Street.


    Thendlord, Green, still greeted him with a smiling face, showing no signs that he had just rented out a "haunted house" where people had died.


    Perhaps because the money had already been paid, and the contract couldn''t be revoked, this fat man no longer concealed the fact that people had died here.


    "I heard that someone died in this house before?"


    "Oh, dear sir, as you know, too much dark spiritual power is a disaster for ordinary people. I think it was just an ident... And, don''t you happen to need this dark spiritual power?"


    "..."


    The small house had been cleaned up.


    The first floor had a living room, dining room, firece, and a maid''s room. The second floor had a bedroom and a study, a very standardyout.


    Although the furniture was a bit old, there were no signs of anyone using them.


    There was also the spacious basement that could be used as a shooting range andboratory.


    Considering the price and the environment, it was really impable.


    After all, more than one person had died in this house.


    Su''en asked Green to apany him and carefully visited every room.


    Whenever he had doubts, he quietly used his All-Knowing Eye to scan, but he didn''t find anything unusual.


    Except for the higher concentration of dark spiritual power in the basement, which could cause people to deform, Su''en couldn''t find any fatal factors.


    Could it be that he was overthinking?


    Rarely finding such a suitable property, Su''en didn''t n to give up just because people had died here.


    He took the keys and rested in the house for the whole day.


    Still, he didn''t find anything unusual.


    .......


    At night, Su''en asked for leave from Kay and didn''t go on patrol on Green Street.


    He had something very important to do now, which was to turn the spider leg materials and blueprints into alchemical imnts and officially be an alchemist.


    Turning curse materials into alchemical imnts requiredplex enchantments and alchemical conversion processes. With Su''en''s current level of "Intermediate Forging," he could only handle ck iron-level materials and had a high chance of failure.


    Originally, he thought he could get some silver spider leg materials and then find a decent alchemy shop to customize his "Eight-Armed Spider God Spear."


    But now, the materials were too good, which made him hesitate.


    Materials of silver and gold quality could still be found in the outer city for alchemical refinement.


    However, for "Dark Gold" curse materials, extremely high-end enchantments, runes, and refining techniques were required. This demanded a high level ofprehensive skills from alchemists. Even "Master-level" proficiency was needed to ensure that the materials wouldn''t be scrapped.


    In the entire Old Lingdun, there were only a few alchemists who reached the "Master-level," and those talents were often offered by the major families in the inner city. There were even fewer in the outer city, and even the alchemists in the three major gangs could only barely reach the "Expert-level."


    Su''en only had this one set of Queen Spider Legs and didn''t dare to try randomly.


    So, he nned to go to the ck market and inquire about any news of "Master-level craftsmen" in the outer city.Unless absolutely necessary, he had no intention of using his meager connections to seek out that wealthy woman Rena.

 Chapter 79: Mr. Hei

    Chapter 79: Mr. Hei


    Su''en felt that the money he spent was worth it. Riding his small motorcycle, he arrived at the Berde District in the North City, saving him half an hourpared to taking the intercity train.


    He parked his motorcycle in the parking lot guarded by the local gang and went to the underground Shadow Alley.


    The ck market in Shadow Alley not only sells various illicit alchemical materials but also serves as a gathering ce for information in the outer city.


    Here, one can find relevant information about many professionals and even some powerful professionals who dare not show their faces.


    Since he had been here many times before, Su''en was familiar with the ce and went directly to the information shop that posted hiringmission tasks.


    ......


    As he passed by the bulletin board, Su''en nced at it.


    The original owner''s "missing person notice" was still hanging there, and the reward had increased. The clues provided were now worth two hundred thousand lisuo.


    Since he learned from Rena that there was no original owner''s "Leijia" family in the inner city, he always felt something strange when looking at this wanted order.


    Who is it that is wanted by the original owner?


    Su''en looked at the method of receiving the reward on it, which pointed to a small tavern run by a professional information merchant.


    Although he could probably find out who was offering the reward by following this lead, it was unnecessary.


    Without thinking about it, if he followed this lead, he would find small fish, big fish, and eventually sharks. He would uncover a huge organization (family), which would alert the person behind the reward.


    If it weren''t for being implicated by the wanted order, Su''en had no interest in the original owner''s past.


    Now, what he needed to do was to keep a low profile and make the person behind the scenes think that the original owner was already dead. It would be best if this wanted order turned to ashes.


    Su''en didn''t pay much attention to his own wanted order and looked up at the familiar red notice at the top.


    It was still the woman who had a million bounty before, but now her bounty had increased to two million.


    "She hasn''t been caught yet. This woman is really amazing. What exactly did she do..."


    Su''en looked at it with a slightly strange gaze, pondering something in his mind.


    Afterst month''s auction, he happened to witness the scene where this mysterious woman was surrounded and chased by a group of umbre organization members.


    To escape under those circumstances was indeed surprising.


    After all, in the eyes of people from the outer city, especially gangsters, the inner city''s "Umbre Organization" was a mysterious organization that could not be resisted at all. It was said that this organization had an informationwork that covered the entire Old Lingdun, countless high-level professionals, and the most advanced technological equipment... Perhaps, someone around you is their temporary hired worker.


    Once they set their sights on you, there was only a dead end.


    Su''en felt that this organization was a bit like the CIA in his previous life, something like KGB.


    In the future, it would be best not to get involved with them if there was nothing to do.


    .......


    After a while, Su''en walked out of the information shop, but his brows were slightly furrowed.


    It was not easy to find a "master-level craftsman" who could handle dark gold materials in the outer city. The information merchant gave a vague reply, saying to inquire first and contact them if there was any news.


    After all, a person like that could get a good position in the inner city based on their skills and wouldn''t be short of money. Unless there were special circumstances, a master wouldn''te to the outer city to make a living.


    However, Su''en couldn''t wait.


    In the underworld, idents could happen at any time, and he urgently needed to refine the "Eight-Armed Spider God Spear" as soon as possible.


    "Do I really have to go to the inner city?"


    If it were before, Su''en would have no choice but to wait. As an illegal resident, he couldn''t go to the inner city at all. But now it was different. He knew Rena, and he had some small connections with Charlie the fat guy. Perhaps he could find a master-level craftsman by pulling some strings.


    However, he didn''t want to use this method unless it was absolutely necessary.


    Not to mention that the "Eight-Armed Spider God Spear" was already very picky about its applicable profession, the body containment value required for the alchemical equipment made from dark gold materials would definitely be extremely high. It was not something an ordinary member of an outer city gang could equip.


    A rat has its own path, and it''s best for gangsters to go through the ck market channels. Although there were still risks, it was definitely better than exposing oneself to the sunlight.


    As he was thinking, Su''en arrived at "Rosen''s Alchemy Shop" where the old man with sses was tidying up his cramped and crowded little shop.


    He needed some other materials for the alchemical equipment, and now that he had money, it was a good time to gather the other materials.


    The old man heard the sound of the copper bell at the door and looked up to greet the customer, "What do you need, esteemed guest?"


    Although Su''en took out a list of materials and read it out, "I need 30 milliliters of ''Thousand Orchid Juice,'' three kilograms of ''Water Ghost Copper,'' two hundred grams of ''Stoneheart Ghost''s Heart Powder,'' ''Colorless Solvent''...."The old man looked at the list and raised his gray eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, these are all high-quality materials. It''s not easy to gather them all at once... Let me calcte, these materials will probably cost around 300,000 lisuo. If you need them urgently, the price might increase by another 20,000."


    Pausing for a moment, he said, "50,000 deposit, and you can get these materials within five days at thetest."


    Su''en: "No problem."


    It didn''t matter if the craftsman couldn''t be found, and the materials could be dyed for a few days.


    Although he had lowered his hat brim, he felt that the old man must have recognized him. After all, he had bought materials here many times before, and these shrewd shop owners were always urate in judging people.


    At this moment, Su''en thought of something and casually asked, "Excuse me, do you know where I can find a master-level craftsman?"


    The ck market shop owners usually had connections and might have some useful information.


    "You''re looking for a master-level craftsman?"


    The old man didn''t seem too surprised and nced at him, pondering for a moment. "Hmm... It''s a bit difficult in the outer city."


    Hearing this, Su''en was taken aback and sensed that something was off in the old man''s tone.


    "A bit difficult" didn''t mean it was impossible!


    A flicker of surprise shed across Su''en''s face, and he asked again, "If you can provide valuable information, ording to the rules, I can pay a corresponding reward for my question."


    The old man nced at him without answering and instead asked, "Do you need a high-level nt equipment to be forged?"


    Obviously, it wasn''t just about money.


    "Yes."


    When Su''en heard this, he knew there was a chance, and he didn''t show any unpleasant doubts.


    Upon hearing this, the old man said, "There is indeed a frequent customer in my shop who is at least proficient in ''expert-level'' forging techniques. I can ask him for you, but you have to tell me what you want to forge first. I can also pass on the message and see if that gentleman is interested in epting themission."


    At least an "expert"?


    Then it was very likely a "master"!


    ck market shop owners rarely made mistakes. If he could say this, it must be reliable.


    Su''en felt a surge of joy in his heart. He didn''t expect to get a useful clue just by asking casually.


    Instead of directly mentioning themission, he cautiously asked, "Is the ''gentleman'' you mentioned... trustworthy?"


    The old man''s tone was affirmative. "Of course. That gentleman has a deep connection with the organizers of the ck market. If you have reached an agreement with him before, I can even vouch for him."


    "Great!"


    Hearing the old man''s words, Su''en no longer had any worries.


    He said directly, "I have a golden blueprint [Eight-Armed Spider God Spear] and a set of dark gold-grade main materials, so I need a master craftsman who can guarantee a sessful refinement."


    He had bought the blueprint herest time, and the old man recognized him, so he must know that he had the blueprint. There was no need to hide it. Besides, the old man dared to vouch for him, so the matter was settled. A ck market shop owner with a fixed store guaranteeing him carried weight.


    "Oh... dark gold materials? No wonder you need a master craftsman..."


    The old man''s face finally showed a hint of surprise.


    It seemed that he had not only seen good materials but was also curious about where a semi-professional who needed to forge a first-tier nt equipment got such high-level cursed materials.


    But he didn''t ask further, abiding by the rules, and said, "Let me ask for you. That gentlemanes to the store to buy materials several times a month, but I''m not sure when I will receive the information."


    Su''en nodded. "Thank you, I wille here frequently in the near future. If that gentleman is confident in forging this equipment, please make sure he offers themission conditions. Even if it''s slightly higher than the market price, it''s still worth considering."


    It wasn''t easy to find a master craftsman in the outer city, and even if he was being ripped off, he would ept it.


    Fortunately, he had money now, which gave him the confidence to say this.


    The old man said, "I can''t guarantee that. That gentleman has a peculiar temperament. He only forges alchemical items that interest him..."


    Su''en tactfully took out a stack of bills, neither thick nor thin, and pushed it onto the table. "I''m counting on you."


    The old man looked at the money and didn''t say much. "I''ll do my best."


    .......


    After Su''en left the ck market, it didn''t take long for a middle-aged man in a windbreaker to visit "Gesen''s Alchemy Shop."


    The old man looked at the middle-aged man, recognized him, and greeted him warmly. "Mr. Hei, what materials do you need today?"


    "Get me a copy of all the materials on the list."


    The man in the windbreaker handed over the list and casually asked, "By the way, has the shop received any rare cursed materials recently?"


    "We have received some. Let me show you."Every month, this gentleman woulde to buy some materials. The old man was not verbose and took out some rare materials from his storage ring that he had collected from hunters and colleagues. These materials were all high-level, not the basic materials disyed in the shop. They were second-order, and even third-order... high-quality goods.


    "Oh, I almost forgot, Mr. Hei. There is something that you might be interested in. A customer needs a set of dark gold materials forged for their equipment. They have entrusted me to find a skilled craftsman who can refine them..."

 Chapter 80: Harviers Resentful Morgue

    Chapter 80: Harvier''s Resentful Morgue


    Although I don''t know if the "sir" is really interested in epting themission to forge the spider nt, at least it is confirmed that there is such a master in the outer city.


    Su''en also felt a bit emotional. There are indeed hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the ck market.


    As for the identity of the mysterious sir, he spected that he was probably from the inner city.


    After all,bat professionals can stillprehend advancement through fighting, but for professions that require arge amount of specialized knowledge, they can only be cultivated in ces withplete inheritance like the inner city. For example, the ck Tower Alchemy Academy, orrge organizations like the "Alchemy Guild"...


    Su''en guessed that he was probably another powerful figure with a shady background.


    But for him, it''s better. Being shady means that the rtionship with the inner city is more distant, and it is safer to deal with.


    ...


    When Su''en came out of the ck market, it was still early. He rode his motorcycle back to Green Street and plunged into the arena.


    Recently, there have been battles between professionals, and he happened to be able to catch up with the final matches.


    After reaping a wave of experience from the corpses, he also helped Kay and the others resolve several brawls. The night passed like this.


    In the early morning, Su''en rode his motorcycle to Gingko Street.


    He went to buy bread for breakfast and suddenly thought of something, so he posted a note on the mailbox in front of Bellman Bakery at No. 14 Gingko Street.


    Su''en wanted to contact the mysterious pharmacist again to buy some special potions. He found the Abomination Repellent that saved Renast time very useful.


    It would be good to have some more in case they are needed in the future.


    After leaving the note, Su''en didn''t go far and watched the person approaching the mailbox from a distance.


    Sure enough, not long after, a half-sized kid appeared. He found the note on the mailbox and tore it off after looking around.


    Su''en bit into his bread and suddenly became interested, so he followed.


    Although the half-sized kid was cautious and looked back several times, and even sneaked into empty alleys several times, showing a certain awareness of being followed, Su''en''s Advanced Tracking Technique and the steel wire in his mechanical glove made it easy for him to follow.


    Finally, the half-sized kid came back and appeared on Camellia Street, four blocks away from Gingko Street.


    This is a civilian district in the outer city, with dpidated gray buildings on the street, as well as "iron box houses" made of containers and steel frames.


    Su''en leaned against a three-story small building with dark red tiles, calmly watching the half-sized kid who took the note enter a small alley and meet with severalpanions there.


    In the sewage-filled alley, a pale corpse that had been dead for an unknown amount of timey in a pile of garbage. More than a dozenrge gray rats with big heads were gnawing on the corpse, making a "squeak squeak" sound. They were not afraid of humans and stared at the few humans at the entrance of the alley while eating.


    "Hey, Luke, aren''t you supposed to be ''working'' on Gingko Street today? Why did youe back?"


    "Don''t block me, I have Danny''s mission. I got the letter!"


    "Oh~ Is someone buying potions? I hope that customer buys more so we can have money to buy bread."


    "Beta, stop saying things like that. It will make Danny very difficult..."


    "..."


    Listening to the conversation between the few people, Su''en probably knew the name of the pharmacist.


    The half-sized kid sneaked into a dpidated building and didn''te out again.


    Su''en didn''t follow him in either. He just had a sudden curiosity and wanted to see what was going on. And in case he needed any special potions in the future, he could recognize the ce.


    After finding the ce, he returned the same way.


    ...


    Soon, Su''en returned to No. 88 Gingko Street and hired someone to move severalrge boxes into the small Western-style building.


    No one noticed that there was arge ck scythe in one of the luggage bags that looked like a cello case.


    A "haunted house" had a new tenant, probably feeling unlucky, and no neighbors came to say hello.


    Su''en was also happy about this.


    After the movers left, he carefully checked the entire house for the third time and found no abnormalities. Then he set up some warning mechanisms on the windowsills, roof, and various room doors, and closed all the curtains.


    After doing all this, he plunged into the basement.


    He installed several shooting targets on the basement wall and moved down the training sandbags and equipment.


    After a little arrangement, the training room became a bit more interesting.


    He had prepaid the rent for half a year, and this small building would be his residence for a long time in the future.


    Su''en knew that although he had the talent of the Reaper of Death, which made his skills and knowledge progress rapidly in all aspects, his weakness was also obvious, which was that the talent had almost no amplification effect on his physical body.


    If he wanted his body to adapt to the skyrocketing skills in his mind, he had to train hard himself.


    But there are many high-tech enhancements in this world, and physical strengthening is also possible.In a fewrge boxes, there was a "steam-powered ultra-low temperature therapy device" that helps muscles recover quickly, and a "neuromuscr bioelectric stimtion device" that elerates muscle growth...


    These were good things that Su''en had previously found in the ck market mechanical shop.


    These iron lumps were taken out of the scrapped military arsenal in the inner city and sold on the ck market, probably intended to be dismantled for parts.


    After all, hardly anyone in the outer city knew what these devices were for.


    But after Su''en stripped the memories of the assistant at the ck Tower Academy in the underground dungeon, he learned that these devices were "military-grade instruments" used by the training department of therge organization in the inner city for new recruits.


    Although the models of the devices were a bit outdated, they were indeed good treasures for enhancing the body.


    Using these two devices properly could greatly improve the efficiency of physical training.


    Su''en tinkered with the devices a bit and found that they were in normal working condition, so he didn''t pay much attention to them.


    .......


    After setting up the basement, Su''en walked to the corner and took out the ck scythe.


    If such a powerful weapon was only used as a life-or-death gamble with enemies, Su''en felt it would be a waste.


    He wanted to try if there were other ways to avoid the curse bacsh on the scythe.


    As a puppeteer, his first reaction was to use puppets.


    Then, he actually controlled a puppet to hold the scythe and drew a subtle spatial crack on the wall.


    He didn''t dare to make it too big, just a crack the size of a fingernail.


    To avoid being instantly killed by the bacsh.


    An hourter, Su''en, who had taken off his clothes and stood naked in front of the mirror, suddenly felt a chill in his buttocks, and a jet of blood shot out.


    It was an embarrassing ce, but fortunately, there was no danger.


    "As expected..."


    Su''en sighed slightly and sprinkled medicine powder on the wound on his buttocks.


    It was an expected failure.


    If it was so easy to get stuck in a bug, Su''en believed that the previous owner of this scythe must have used it to kill many people.


    "Ordinary puppets won''t work. It seems that the curse of the scythe should trace back to the user. The most likely targets are ''living beings'', ''energy sources'', or some other signs of life..."


    Su''en roughly figured out some principles of the scythe''s curse bacsh, but he hadn''tpletely lost interest in trying.


    He analyzed again, "There is a high-level puppet called the ''substitute puppet'' that can transfer the injuries of the main body. That might work. Or directly controlling someone else''s limbs with steel wires to make them swing the scythe should also be able to avoid the curse bacsh..."


    As a puppeteer, he instantly thought of these two methods.


    But for now, he couldn''t create the ''substitute puppet'' with his current skills. And controlling others to use the scythe was still a long way off. He had just started learning puppet control techniques and had a long way to go before he could control them freely.


    Thinking of this, Su''en moved his ten fingers, and the two puppet dolls in the room happily danced and practiced puppet control instinctively.


    He suddenly thought of something and muttered to himself, "If I could strip the bodies of a few puppeteers, my control skills would probably improve quickly... Unfortunately, puppeteers are already a rare profession. It''s unlikely to find a few in the whole Old Lingdun."


    .......


    The technique of multitasking allowed Su''en to control the puppets with his hands while his mind could think about other things.


    Since he couldn''t free up his hands to do other things anyway, his thoughts suddenly drifted away.


    Looking at this house, Su''en didn''t feel sleepy. Suddenly, he instinctively thought about the fact that people had died in this house.


    Based on his experience of watching eight hundred horror movies, a "haunted house" with consecutive deaths definitely had a problem.


    With this thought, Su''en''s mind became active: "Let me think, assuming this house has a problem... besides dark spiritual power causing distortions, what other reasons could there be?"


    In an instant, scenes from countless horror movies shed through his mind, and Su''en''s gaze gradually became deep.


    Then, he quickly analyzed several possibilities for the deaths.


    NO.1: Thendlord pretended to rent out the house but actually lured tenants toe and then plotted to rob and kill them;


    NO.2: There were hidden "dangerous sources" in the house, such as radiation, that caused deaths invisibly;


    NO.3: There was something in the house that would only appear under certain conditions, such as "ghost seeds" or supernatural powers;


    NO.4: Other reasons, such as random thefts and killings for money...


    The first possibility was almost instantly ruled out.


    Before renting the house, he had already revealed his identity as a member of the Cross Society, so it was unlikely for thendlord to do such a thing.


    And he had the All-Knowing Eye, which could see body data panels and couldn''t be deceived by negative maic fields, so the second possibility was also basically ruled out.


    As for the fourth possibility, it was possible, but not very likely.


    Then, using the process of elimination, Su''en was left with thest option.


    Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a bit annoyed: "If there really is a problem with the reason for the deaths in this house, is it because there are ''ghost seeds'' inside? It can''t be that coincidental, right..."


    .......Su''en never harbored any illusions about matters of life and death.


    After thinking about this issue, he immediately went to find thendlord, Ge Langtai, and used threats and enticements to inquire about the situation of the previous tenants.


    To his surprise, he discovered that in the past year, three tenants had died in this house.


    The first two deaths were quite normal, probably caused by deformities. One died from a tumor on the head, and the other went mad and died from deformities all over the body.


    But the third blind man was very strange.


    From Ge Langtai''s words, Su''en noticed several anomalies about the blind man: 1. He had a mysterious background and was not from the Nan City area, possibly from the inner city; 2. He seemed to be investigating something; 3. The doors and windows were closed, and the blind man suddenly disappeared without a trace, with no body found; 4. The blind man was very skilled and could locate things by sound.


    After obtaining this information, Su''en immediately felt that this house was probably not just an "evil house."


    Did the third blind man simply leave without saying anything, or perhaps he didn''t die?


    Or maybe he did die, but his body disappeared?


    Whether it was just wild spection or cautious instinct, Su''en always sought out clues and reasoned through the doubts when encountering such bizarre events.


    It was like ying a puzzle game, refusing to give up until it was solved.


    "If the blind man came to this house to investigate... to find someone? There are no living people, but there might be ghosts."


    "Or maybe, there is a treasure in this house?"


    Returning to the basement, Su''en looked at the surrounding cement walls, and a thought became clearer in his mind: "If he was looking for something, the All-Knowing Eye would have detected abnormalities. Could it be that this house can only be seen (triggered) under certain special conditions, like a cursed object, or... a sealed object?"


    "Suppose the blind man died and his body disappeared. Either he was eaten by a monster, taken away by the murderer, or his body is still hidden in somepartment of the house. Wow, this is a transcendent world..."


    "Perhaps... this house itself is a monster that devours people?"


    As this thought emerged, as if imposing a psychological suggestion on himself, Su''en became more convinced that there was something "strange" in this house.


    His gaze involuntarily focused, scanning the entire basement.


    And just at that moment, suddenly!


    On the basement wall that had shown no abnormalities despite being observed several times by the All-Knowing Eye, a row of information appeared.


    [Harvier''s Resentful Morgue]


    Exnation: It only exists when you be aware of its existence; it appears before your eyes when you think of it;


    .......


    "I actually guessed it right..."


    Su''en''s eye twitched.


    Seeing the changing scenery around him, he realized for the first time that indulging in wild thoughts seemed to be a sin.


    This wasn''t a game. Solving puzzles might be fun, but it could also trigger some unimaginable things. Old Lingdun was originally an ancient relic, and even now, there were asional "strange incidents" that suddenly urred in the city.


    But I was just thinking... and it triggered this?


    It wasn''t the "ghost" he had spected, but the situation was even more absurd.

 Chapter 81: Cursed space

    Chapter 81: Cursed space


    Because he had personally experienced it before in Storm Manor, Su''en was not surprised by the sudden changes in the surroundings.


    "The basement of this house... is actually a ''cursed space''?" Su''en frowned.


    Suddenly, he found himself in a strange scene from the basement of 88 Gingko Street, and he suddenly understood why the blind body of the previous tenant had disappeared.


    Without a doubt, he had been sucked into this special space. The usual exnation for a "cursed space" is that it is a special space formed over time (but notpletely) by the overflow of ancient powerful cursed object energy, but the specific cause has not beenpletely deciphered.


    This is a secondary space simr to a storage ring, like bubbles in the air, containing certain specialws. It can also be understood as a "game instance" with a plot and monsters.


    The scenes in the space, whether fragments of the obsession of the original owner of the cursed object, or a nightmare, or a life and death experience... are usually very strange and full of danger.


    And once you enter, it means that you can only find the correct way to clear it in order to get out alive, otherwise you will be trapped here forever.


    Of course, after sessfully breaking through, perhaps he would be able to see the "powerful cursed object" that created this special space.


    .......


    "A cursed space triggered by a single thought... it''s a bit strange." Although Su''en was inexplicably drawn into a cursed space, he immediately realized something.


    The entrance to a typical "cursed space" is easy to identify, usually a dark and twisted portal or a mirage. You have to get close to it to be sucked in.


    But this one is obviously different. It''s triggered by thought.


    If Su''en hadn''t thought about the abnormalities of the house before and just acted as an ordinary tenant, he probably wouldn''t have encountered any problems.


    It was because he thought about it that he triggered this special entry condition.


    Just like the exnation given by the Eye of Omniscience: "It only exists when you be aware of its existence."


    However, Su''en''s character made him instantly calm down.


    If this space was a death trap, panicking would be useless. If there was a way to break through, being calm would increase his chances of survival.


    Like countless horror game openings in the past, Su''en instantly entered a state of contemtion. He calmly recalled all the useful clues in his mind and observed everything in front of him.


    In the cursed space in Storm Manorst time, the final boss was Miss Pestoya, the "Ghost Seed," and he sessfully cleared it by outwitting her.


    With the experience of clearing a level, Su''en believed that he would always find a way to break through. Either through intelligence or through firepower.


    This ce looks like a hospital, with white-painted walls all around, an iron chair at the entrance of the clinic. There are no windows, and there are rooms on both sides. The light is sometimes bright and sometimes dim, and the night wind blows in like a ghostly howl, just like a scene from a horror movie.


    He touched the gun at his waist and found that it was still there. The storage ring on his body was also brought in, which was good news.


    He used the Eye of Omniscience to examine everything around him, and everything could be identified normally, just like the real world.


    Items such as "Damaged Wall Brick," "Hexagonal Gas Lamp," "Rusty Iron Chair," "A Lump of Moldy Dog Shit"...


    After observing for a while, Su''en did not find any useful information.


    But no matter where he looked, this corridor was strangely quiet.


    Su''en did not move randomly.


    Suddenly, he thought of something and thought to himself, "If I am in a special space right now, then the Eye of Omniscience should be able to show me something..."


    With that in mind, Su''en dted his pupils and identified everything in his field of vision as "an item."


    The next second, he indeed saw different identification results.


    "A special scene condensed by an obsession."


    Description: This is a scene from the inpatient department of the Havier Hospital in Old Lingdun City a thousand years ago.


    Solution: Find the owner of this obsession, recite their full name, and you will be able to break free from this obsession.


    .......


    "It seems like I''ve found the way to clear this level?"


    Su''en looked at the prompt in front of him, and a slight smile appeared on his face.


    The Eye of Omniscience did not disappoint. It directly told him how to leave this cursed space.


    But upon careful consideration, he realized that something was amiss.


    "I have to recite the ''full name'' of the owner of the obsession? That... seems to be the key." Su''en keenly caught onto some clues.


    The identification revealed the method to clear the level, but because he didn''t see it, the Eye of Omniscience didn''t know the name of the owner of the obsession.


    Of course, he could take a gamble and identify it face to face with the boss. See if it kills him first or if he can recite its name first.


    And if, by any chance, the identification reveals a category description like "human" or "obsession" instead of a name, Su''en felt that he might die on the spot.


    "I remember seeing a scene called ''Harvey''s Obsession Morgue'' before. Is the big boss in the morgue now?"


    Su''en pondered for a moment, stood in ce for twenty seconds, and then roughly knew what he had to do next.


    He was quite familiar with this kind of start. Now that he knew the method to clear the level, the best choice was to find clues in other parts of the hospital, learn the full name of the "obsession master," and then recite it to get out.


    The worst-case scenario was that he had to go to the morgue and face the big boss head-on.The worst-case scenario is that the big boss wille out and wander around the world, suddenly appearing...


    .......


    "If the resentment in this space is as intelligent as Pestoya, then it might not be so troublesome to clear the level. If it''s a monster that kills... it depends on luck whether we can save ourselves."


    Su''en didn''t dare to be careless. The blind tenant from before came from the inner city.


    The morgue is a crucial term, usually located at the bottom floor of a hospital.


    Su''en didn''t n to go there directly.


    His goal was clear, he intended to go to the archives or the duty room to take a look. Although this hospital has been around for a thousand years, judging from its scale, there should be a considerable number of staff members, and there is probably some kind of scheduling management system. If he can find today''s duty roster, he will have a general idea of who is in the hospital.


    The long corridor was empty, with gasmps flickering, and there was a vague feeling of being blindfolded by a ck veil in the field of vision.


    Su''en pulled out his gun, lowered his breath, and tried not to make any noise.


    He quietly walked to the door of a ward and looked inside through the small ss on the door. The ward had seven or eight beds covered with white sheets, but there was no one inside.


    There was a small card hanging on the door, with the words "Duty Nurse Janice George" written on it.


    The hospital was unusually quiet.


    "This doesn''t seem right... How can there be no one?"


    Su''en nced at the ward and then at the nearby nurse station. There was no one there either. "Even in horror movies, there should be at least one zombie or ghost, right?"


    Just as this thought shed through his mind, his gaze suddenly sharpened, and he keenly noticed something.


    Without any hesitation, he drew his gun and pulled the trigger behind him.


    "Snap!"


    "Snap!"


    Two urgent and slight gunshots broke the eerie silence.


    Due to the muzzle suppressor installed on the gun, the sound was not deafening, and it didn''t travel far in this enclosed corridor.


    "Huh..."


    After firing two shots in a row, Su''en focused his sight and saw two bullets embedded in the wall. A hint of surprise and doubt appeared on his face. "I missed?"


    The atmosphere instantly became somewhat eerie.


    His pupils slightly contracted, his back against the wall, and his gaze coldly scanning the empty corridor in front of him.


    Su''en remembered very clearly that he saw a figure in the reflection on the ss of the ward door just now. It was a female nurse with a pale face, ck eyes, and blood stains all over her body, holding a knife and standing right behind him...


    He instinctively fired his gun, but unexpectedly, he didn''t hit the target.


    Moreover, not only did he miss, but the nurse with the knife had also disappeared?


    .......


    "Could it be a ''phantom breed''?"


    Su''en''s face became slightly solemn.

 Chapter 82: The man who stubbornly changed the rules

    Chapter 82: The man who stubbornly changed the rules


    "The Phantom Species" belongs to the category of spiritual beings, and they are rare but also very troublesome.


    Their usual method of attack is through mental attacks. Lower-level monsters create auditory and visual illusions, affecting the target''s senses and judgment. Higher-level ones can directly control a person''s body until they die, just like what happened to Pestoya before.


    But Su''en is no longer the clueless novice he was when he first crossed over.


    He knows that even if the Phantom Species wants to control a person, it is rted to their spiritual power. The weaker the target''s spiritual power, the easier it is to control them. That''s why many evil spirits choose to scare humans first instead of killing them on the spot. It''s not because they have a taste for scaring people, but because it''s difficult to control calm andposed humans. Only by continuously lowering the target''s sanity through fear can they reach the threshold of control.


    ...


    "They didn''t attack directly. It seems that the rank of that Phantom Species is not too high..."


    Su''en remains calm. Although his two shots were ineffective, he has deduced some useful information.


    He is well aware that his spiritual power far surpasses that of a first-tier professional and even most low-level Phantom Species.


    The "Eerie Nurse" from earlier didn''t directly attack, probably because she couldn''t control him at all!


    The calmer he is, the more helpless the other party bes.


    Moreover, his firearm is loaded with "Silver Alchemy Bullets" specifically designed for special monsters.


    But strangely, Su''en waited by the wall for almost a minute and didn''t notice anything unusual.


    Has the creature already left?


    At this moment, he slowly moves to change his position.


    But just as he does so, his peripheral vision catches a glimpse of the shadow of the knife-wielding nurse on the door''s ss once again.


    And it''s very close!


    Just a moment ago, there was a five-meter gap, but now it''s only three meters behind him!


    Without hesitation, Su''en pulls out his gun and fires two shots again.


    "Crack!"


    "Crack!"


    But this time, he still doesn''t hit the target. He turns around and sees no trace of the eerie nurse.


    Four bullet holes are now embedded in the wall.


    "It disappeared in an instant? Or is there another reason... like only being visible in the mirror?"


    Su''en is well aware that his two shots should not have missed.


    At this moment, he is rapidly specting on how this thing disappeared.


    If it were someone else, they would probably be scared to the point of a heart rate of 160+. But Su''en remains calm, maintaining a heart rate of around 70.


    Watching eight hundred horror movies wasn''t in vain.


    In a moment of enlightenment, Su''en suddenly has a sh of insight in his mind. He feels that this scene is somewhat familiar.


    Then he connects a certain clue and reveals a look of realization: That''s right, it''s her!


    Just as he was contemting, it seemed like he sensed something and looked up at the ss again. But this time, he doesn''t see a shadow; instead, he sees a ghostly face staring at him after being peeled off. It''s the pale-faced eerie nurse from before!


    Their eyes meet, and they are less than half a meter apart.


    But this time, Su''en doesn''t shoot again.


    He calmly looks at it, even blinking as if he''s not surprised by what he sees. "Tsk tsk... so this is how it starts. If I turn around now, this thing should stick to my face, right?"


    For a normal person in this situation, their first reaction would probably be to turn and run.


    Thinking this, Su''en seems to confirm his thoughts and decisively turns around.


    Then, he watches as the pale-faced ghostly nursees within a centimeter of him, almost about to touch him.


    "No physical means of harm, just a scare tactic. Is this the ''Miss'' I imagined? I remember the prototype should be..."


    Su''en instantly understands.


    This Phantom Species is something he created himself!


    He pays no attention to the terrifying face in front of him. He has already figured out the rules of this cursed space and mutters to himself, "When you think of it, it appears before your eyes." So that''s what it means."


    At this moment, Su''en reaches out and touches the ghostly nurse in front of him, but his hand passes right through, confirming that it is a spiritual being.


    He analyzes further, saying, "When I saw the name ''Janice'' on that nurse just now, my mind unconsciously associated it with a long-legged blonde beauty. Combined with the terrifying environment of the hospital, it created the image of a scary nurse. But it actually exists..."


    That ghostly nurse only has the ability to scare, and the knife in her hand is just for show. It looks at Su''en, who ispletely unaffected, and leaves on its own, uninterested.


    ...


    "Manifestation of imagination, projection of thoughts, making things happen with your mind? The rules of this cursed space are quite interesting..."


    Su''en finds this experience fascinating.


    Although he has practiced "lucid dreaming" during psychological therapy before, which can also achieve the effect of making thoughtse true, this is the first time he has directly materialized his thoughts in the real world.


    "I have the ability to create it, but I can''t make it disappear. So, that''s also the difficulty of clearing this. If I create too many powerful things because of my wild thoughts, they might end up killing me..."


    Su''en connects all the details and understands the entire set of rules.


    At least on this floor, the "danger" of this cursed space lies here.


    The hospital, filled with a terrifying atmosphere, may not actually have any monsters.


    Its purpose is to give people psychological suggestions. The dim lights, empty corridors, and empty hospital beds... these terrifying elements make you fill in the gaps in your mind and imagine some monsters.


    Then, these fantasies materialize and be real monsters thate to hunt you.


    And the things that can instinctively frighten people are probably things that you can''t defeat.


    Unfortunately, Su''en is a pathological yer who has cleared eight hundred horror movies and games.


    He has a little surprise, but he doesn''t feel scared.


    ...


    Su''en feels that he has already deciphered the rules, and he wants to give it a try."Since it can be manifested in imagination, then... let''s try a ''big wave''?"


    Su''en imagined the image of a beautiful woman riding a big wave in his mind, but...


    The next moment, he dragged his chin in surprise and showed a thoughtful expression: "Did it fail?"


    "Could it be that the imagination is not specific enough, not detailed enough?"


    Su''en pondered.


    Then, he automatically imagined several characters with detailed images.


    "Xiao Ze Maria?"


    "..."


    "Audrey Hepburn?"


    "..."


    "Gangshou Ji?"


    "..."


    Characters from the two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and film and television dramas all came to mind, but none of them manifested.


    The continuous failures made Su''en puzzled: "The way I opened it seems to be wrong... I think my spection should be correct, otherwise that ghost nurse shouldn''t have appeared before."


    He thought his train of thought should be correct, but there must be something missing.


    "Let me think, what conditions did I meet when I imagined that ghost nurse... I was fully focused on guarding against monsters, and then... right, emotional fluctuations!"


    Suddenly, he felt that he had found a blind spot.


    This cursed space cannot manifest everything, but only certain specific things that meet the rules.


    For example, things that can evoke fear in people... terrifying things!


    .......


    If it were an ordinary person, even if they thought of this rule w, the more they tried to control themselves from thinking about it, the more they would think about it in their minds.


    In that instant of random thoughts, the corridor would probably be filled with various cute little things.


    But Su''en seemed unaffected, although various "candidate characters" also appeared in his mind, he had no fear or emotional fluctuations.


    After ying eight hundred games, there was no novelty left.


    But he still didn''t n to give up trying, dragging his chin in thought: "If it''s a terrifying character, it''s best to be physically attacking, someone whose strength I can easily overpower, not a ghost, the best would be a zombie..."


    Hospital + horror elements + youngdy, what is the first reaction?


    Of course, it''s the invincible and extremely fierce nurse from "XX Ridge" with an amazing figure!


    Suddenly, Su''en imagined a screen full of long legs, tight low-cut tops, short skirts, faceless nurses, and then controlled himself to feel a little nervous...


    The next moment, the moment of witnessing a miracle arrived!


    Su''en thought that there should be people in those empty wards, and sure enough, nurses with twisted bodies, holding knives, steel pipes, and wrenches, walked out of the wards.


    Seeing this, Su''en''s eyes lit up, not surprised but delighted: "It really worked... I finally see something tangible!"


    After ying so many ssic games and collecting a row of figurines at home, he had always fantasized about seeing something tangible one day. At this moment, his dream finally came true.


    These nurses in short skirts had strong attacking emotions, but theirbat power was nothingpared to Su''en, who had already been employed.


    Su''en easily dodged the knives and sticks, and even had the leisure to carefully observe some details that had puzzled him before.


    "So their bodies under the clothes and human organizational structure are the same..."


    "Tsk tsk, thisce is a real detail. They even wear leggings, pah, poor taste! What about the basic trust between humans and the eerie?"


    "Indeed, they are made of real materials, not stiff, and the touch is great..."


    "..."


    Finally, his curiosity of many years was satisfied.


    Clearly, this terrifying hospital scene in the cursed space had been turned into a sensual game by Su''en, who didn''t follow the rules.


    After a while, when he had observed enough, he raised his hand and easily dealt with this group of monsters.


    If this wasn''t a dangerous cursed space, Su''en felt that this hospital that could manifest in imagination would be his "happy little house", and he would probably stop and create more cute things to satisfy his curiosity.


    Unfortunately, if he dyed too long, there might be unforeseen changes, so he decided to continue exploring.


    .......


    After understanding the curse rules in this space, Su''en walked horizontally on the third floor of the inpatient department and didn''t encounter any more monsters.


    However, apart from finding a few nurse duty rosters, he didn''t find any useful information.


    Then he looked at the hospital stairs and walked down to the second floor.


    As soon as he went down, he saw a blind man with a cowboy hat sitting at the door of a ward.


    The reason Su''en knew this person was blind was because he recognized this highly recognizable guy at a nce, and was surprised in his heart: "Blind Detective Bill? Could the previous tenant be this guy..."


    He didn''t know where the memory of this "Blind Detective Bill" image came from, but it didn''t prevent him from knowing that this person was the famous bounty hunter and one of the few "gun masters" in Old Lingdun!


    Legend has it that this blind man''s secret identity is also a major in the "Umbre Organization"!


    PS. Please vote for monthly tickets and rmendations~

 Chapter 83: Blind Detective Bill

    Chapter 83: Blind Detective Bill


    "It''s really that famous blind detective..."


    Su''en looked at the person sitting in the chair and briefly doubted whether it was a manifestation of his own thoughts, but immediately denied it. He was certain that he had only supplemented his brain with various cute things and definitely not this old man.


    Moreover, the appearance of "Blind Detective" Bill made things even more confusing.


    Why would someone who seemed to be a member of the "Umbre Organization"e here?


    ording to the intelligence, this guy had rented the property at 88 Gingko Street several months ago.


    Is the blind man in front of him dead or alive?


    ........


    "Blind Detective" Bill was blind, but his perception was extremely strong.


    When Su''en had juste down, he had already noticed the slight movement of this old cowboy''s cochlea.


    In front of a true "gun master," Su''en couldn''t afford to be careless. His hands were always on the gun handle at his waist, but he didn''t make any movements that would be misunderstood as drawing his gun.


    However, Bill didn''t show any malice. He spoke first and asked, "Are you human?"


    "Yes."


    Su''en responded and breathed a sigh of relief.


    It was good news that they didn''t start fighting without even meeting.


    And being able to have a conversation, even if it was "strange," instantly lowered the level of danger.


    At this moment, Su''en noticed the pool of crimson blood flowing under Bill''s feet, indicating that he was injured.


    Instead of underestimating this guy''s strength, Su''en became even more cautious.


    In the third-floor horror fantasy manifestation rules, it was difficult for Su''en to imagine anyone surviving unless they were lucky. And this guy not only survived, but also only suffered some non-lethal injuries, which proved that his strength was extremely strong.


    However, Su''en looked at the corridor without any signs of a fight and a trace of doubt shed in his eyes.


    At this moment, Bill spoke again and asked, "Who are you?"


    As he said that, he looked towards Su''en. Although his eyes were clouded with cataracts and he couldn''t see, they urately looked in Su''en''s direction.


    Su''en responded, "I am a tenant at 88 Gingko Street. I don''t know why I was inexplicably involved in this."


    Pausing for a moment, he directly asked, "Sir, do you know what''s going on?"


    He wanted to extract some information from this old cowboy''s mouth.


    After all, he was the legendary detective. If he came to Gingko Street, he must know something.


    Bill keenly caught a detail in Su''en''s words and asked in return, "New tenant? How long have I been missing?"


    Su''en secretly praised him but didn''t n to reveal everything. "Ah? I don''t understand what you''re saying. I just moved in today."


    "..."


    Bill''s expression was calm, obviously sensing that Su''en was withholding something, but he didn''t say much.


    Perhaps he thought that the curse space and the flow of time in reality were different, so he didn''t delve into this issue.


    There was no point in discussing this topic when they couldn''t leave.


    He didn''t hide his detective identity and said again, "As you can see, this is a curse space left behind from ancient times. I was involved because I epted a ''missing personmission'' and followed the clues to Gingko Street. How did you get in?"


    There was nothing to hide about this question, so Su''en truthfully replied, "I am a new tenant. I heard that someone died in the house before. I carefully inspected the house and unexpectedly got sucked in."


    Through the conversation, Su''en also captured some key information.


    He heard from Gngtai that this blind man was here to investigate something, probably the "missing personmission" he mentioned.


    Following the clues led him here, and it felt like... was 88 Gingko Street itself a "trap"?


    But who had such a big n to use a curse space to scheme against people?


    "Blind Detective" Bill was not an ordinary person, and the investigation he was conducting was definitely not simple. In an instant, Su''en understood that he had probably identally be involved in a conflict between high-level professionals.


    "Oh, I see..."


    Bill didn''t seem surprised by Su''en''s words. If he coulde in, he naturally knew the special triggering conditions of this curse space.


    At this moment, he said something inexplicable, "Those who eternal sleep are not the deceased. Even death itself will dissipate in the mysterious eternity."


    "..."


    Su''en, who had been mingling in the underworld for so long, immediately realized that this was either a password or some kind of secret code.


    Moreover, it was probably the password of the "Umbre Organization."


    This guy wanted to confirm his identity!


    Su''en wanted to respond, but he couldn''t connect. All he could say was, "Sir, what did you just say?"


    Upon hearing this, Bill seemed slightly disappointed and muttered to himself in a low voice, "That clue has already been cut off. There shouldn''t be anyone elseing."


    After a pause, he asked again, "The monster upstairs is very strong. How did you manage to survive? Judging from your breathing, you should not be a second-tier professional."


    Su''en also breathed a sigh of relief that Bill didn''t turn hostile just because the password didn''t match.


    Monster upstairs?


    There was no monster upstairs at all!


    Hearing this, Su''en suddenly confirmed something in his heart, had a sh of insight, and further confirmed something.


    He said, "I encountered several not-so-strong zombie species, and I found..."He wanted to remind the blind detective not to think too much, but he was interrupted.


    However, Bill seemed to have discovered something from his tone and shook his head, sighing, "Your tone tells me that you''re hiding something. But it doesn''t matter anymore. We probably won''t make it out alive..."


    "..."


    Su''en looked at the wax-yellow face with carved knife marks and was slightly startled.


    At the same time, he suddenly realized what this guy meant by saying that and thought to himself, "This is not good."


    But it was toote to stop him.


    At this moment, the old cowboy suddenly heard some movement, his ears twitched, and he shouted, "The monster ising again, be careful!"


    As he spoke, his hand had already reached for the shotgun hanging at his waist.


    Upon hearing this, Su''en knew it was toote.


    Just then, he suddenly heard the sound of rushing water, like the sound of a water tank bursting and gushing out. When he looked, he saw a terrifying monster rushing out from the end of the second-floor corridor. It was a distorted humanoid creature, with blurred facial features, like a gori with its skin peeled off.


    Just the oppressive feeling alone made Su''en immediately realize that this was definitely not a first-order anomaly!


    Su''en was shocked.


    He immediately realized that this monster was a terrifying manifestation imagined by the old cowboy.


    The blind man couldn''t see the precise appearance of the monster, but he could depict a rough outline in his mind through other senses. This abstract painting-like skinless blood gori in front of him, didn''t it perfectly match the manifestation in the blind man''s mind?


    .......


    The monster had just appeared, but Bill''s reaction was not slow at all.


    He stood up and swung his body, and a submachine gun with arge magazine capacity, resembling a "Chicago Typewriter," appeared in his hand. He pulled the trigger, and tongues of fire spewed out, making a dense and crisp "tatata" sound.


    Su''en looked at the gun and immediately recognized it, "The high-rate-of-fire famous gun, Woodpecker!"


    Although he couldn''t see, he urately hit the blood gori''s leg with a burst of bullets, causing a burst of blood.


    Su''en also noticed something, "Judging the position by sound?!"


    The gori''s leg was hit, causing it to stumble, and its head hit the wall.


    Just as this collision sound rang out, Bill suddenly pulled out a small-sized ck revolver from his left hand and fired three shots in quick session.


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    The sound of the gun was deafening, and the three shots almost sounded like one.


    Su''en himself was a firearms expert, naturally able to understand the skillfulness of Bill''s marksmanship.


    Three shots fired in quick session, the bullets seemed to connect end to end, perfectly ovepping and hitting the same spot on the monster''s head.


    "Advanced firearms technique - Multiple Ovepping Shots!"


    Su''en''s pupils slightly contracted, silently admiring the mastery of a master.


    Even with alchemical bullets, ordinary gunmen couldn''t break through the defense of at least a second-order anomaly. But if three shots hit the same spot on the target in a very short period of time, it could break through the defense while the target''s defense hadn''t recovered yet.


    One shot shook, one shot pierced armor, and one shot prated!


    This technique was something he currently couldn''t evene close to, requiring extremely high skill, precision, and... a runic firearm.


    And the heavy revolver in Bill''s hand was none other than the famous runic firearm - "Kiss of the Poisonous Snake"!


    One shot, one hit, and this was a blind man?


    In just a short one or two seconds, Su''en witnessed this "blind detective" Bill severely injuring a second-order anomaly.


    But everything wasn''t over yet.


    Human thinking is active, especially when encountering terrifying events.


    Su''en knew things were going to be bad when he saw the first monster appear, but he didn''t have time to warn anyone.


    Sure enough, before the blood gori waspletely dead, two huge "flying head monsters" suddenly appeared out of thin air at both ends of the corridor, almost blocking the way. The facial features of the heads were blurry like ster statues, but the hair on their heads was made up of living ck snake heads.


    Looking at the appearance of these monsters, it was obviously a product of the blind man''s sensory world, undoubtedly created by the old cowboy''s imagination.


    There weren''t many horror movies in this world that could provide material for this. What he thought of in his mind was probably something the original person had experienced or actually existed.


    How many terrifying things had this guy experienced?


    It''s one thing to make things difficult for oneself, but to this extent...


    Seeing this, Su''en didn''t hesitate at all, turned his head, and retreated back to the third floor along the stairs.

 Chapter 84: Research Diary of the Living Dead

    Chapter 84: Research Diary of the Living Dead


    Returning to the third floor again, Su''en suddenly heard the noise downstairs disappear.


    No sound of blood, no gunshots, and no strange noises from monsters.


    Su''en breathed a sigh of relief, deep in thought.


    He instantly confirmed something in his mind: "Usually, the flow of time in the cursed space is the same as the outside world. ''Blind Detective'' Bill should have been here for a few months, given his reckless brain frequency. He couldn''t have survived this long. So what I saw just now is probably not a living person..."


    He also confirmed a space rule he had deduced earlier, which is that when a person dies, the manifested monsters of horror will disappear, and the space will return to its original state.


    Otherwise, when he was first sucked into it, there were no monsters on the third and second floors, and there were no signs of battle. This is obviously not right.


    As he expected, this is a triggered plot!


    It can only happen when an outsider enters.


    Fortunately, the monsters didn''t chase after him, otherwise Su''en felt that he might have died on the spot.


    "It seems that I have to go down again..."


    There were still some unanswered questions in his mind, and although it was dangerous, Su''en still intended to go down again.


    After all, if he wanted to get out himself, he couldn''t avoid the second floor of the hospital.


    After listening carefully for a while, he didn''t hear any movement.


    Su''en cautiously went down again.


    Then, he saw the exact same scene as before.


    ''Blind Detective'' Bill was sitting at the door of a consultation room, blood flowing beneath his feet.


    Su''en''s gaze slightly chilled: "Did the plot rewind? It seems that the blind detective had some regrets before he died..."


    .......


    The old cowboy noticed Su''en again and asked the same question: "Are you human?"


    "Yes."


    Su''en responded with the same words.


    He originally wanted to use the All-Knowing Eye to identify what secrets the second floor held and to see the current state of the blind man. But in the instant his gaze fell on him, the blind man seemed to sense something and suddenly drew his gun!


    Su''en''s pupils contracted.


    As an "expert in firearms," he knew from the subtle movements of the blind man that he was about to draw his gun, so he didn''t hesitate at all and rushed up the stairs again.


    Almost at the same time, the sound of a gunshot filled his ears, and the bullet grazed his thigh.


    If he hadn''t dodged in time, that shot would have taken half his life.


    Back on the third-floor corridor, the second floor returned to calm again.


    Su''en let out a breath and sighed, "The firearms master is too strong. The gap is quite big..."


    It wasn''t too surprising that Bill could shoot.


    If it were Su''en himself, he would have done the same. In such a bizarre hospital, the possibility of encountering a human is unlikely, especially with the inexplicable gaze of the blind man.


    He had stood so close to the stairs just now to guard against this.


    However, although he was injured a bit on this trip downstairs, he also confirmed some things.


    In that moment of identification just now, the word "human" did not appear above Bill''s head, but "Manifested Soul."


    Biologically speaking, he was already dead.


    But in this space, he was still alive in a way simr to an NPC.


    .......


    "The events on the second floor should be a reenactment of the blind man''sst moments..."


    Su''en took out a potion and treated the scrape on his thigh, quickly analyzing the situation in his mind.


    If it weren''t for the brain-boosting blind man, he would have smoothly gone to the second floor to find the files.


    Now that he had this guy, if he went down again, he would have to face the high-level distorted monster created by the blind man''s brain.


    To prevent him from having any wild thoughts?


    The most effective method is to kill him.


    But... Su''en was now certain that Bill was unbelievably strong.


    He had only nced at him and already took a bullet.


    Su''en felt that if he had even the slightest intention to kill, he would probably be greeted with a barrage of bullets as soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs.


    The n to kill him was directly passed!


    "However... the monster didn''t appear until we had a conversation for so long. It''s probably because his attention was focused on me at that time. As long as I distract his attention and exin the situation in time, maybe I can prevent the appearance of the distorted monster..."


    Su''en thought of the key point and decided to go down again.


    He took a deep breath, reminding himself not to show any hostility or actions that could be misunderstood.


    Then he went down the stairs again and indeed saw the old cowboy bleeding on the bench.


    .......


    Bill also noticed him at the same time and asked the same question for the third time: "Are you human?"


    Su''en responded, "Yes."


    The same conversation unfolded again, and Bill wanted to test Su''en''s origins.


    This time, he didn''t hide his method and directly said, "I have discovered the rules of this cursed space. The monsters here are actually manifestations of our thoughts. As long as we control ourselves not to think about them, the monsters won''t appear."


    Since the other party was already dead, he didn''t think it was necessary to hide this information.


    Moreover, a firearms master who didn''t show any malice, in this eerie cursed space, might not be an enemy but a great help.


    Upon hearing this, Bill''s face showed a shocked expression.


    He furrowed his brows, seemingly pondering.


    In an instant, this blind man, known as a great detective, easily grasped the key point: "No wonder, I felt that the monsters that appeared before were familiar. So that''s how it is."


    The two of them chatted for a while, and Su''en noticed that no monsters appeared. He guessed that the blind detective had probably gained control over some of his terrifying thoughts.


    Clearly, Bill hadn''t realized that he was already dead.


    Su''en nned to win him over as a temporary teammate and said, "Mr. Bill, I have heard of your name. I think if we want to get out of this cursed space, it''s best to look for some clues that can lead us out."


    Bill nodded without hesitation, "Hmm. I happen to need a helper."Su''en didn''t expect that Bill had already figured out a way to break the curse space.


    The old cowboy directly stated his opinion: "There are three conventional methods to break a space curse. First, eliminate the curse source within the cursed space; second, find the cursed object; third, create energy fluctuations that the space cannot withstand to forcefully break it. However, this particr space is different. It absorbs people who be aware of its existence. So, I suspect that the ''curse source'' may not be a physical entity, but something like a spiritual body, such as some kind of ''grudge''. The ''rule of the manifestation of evil thoughts'' that you discovered also confirms my spection. I am almost certain now that the curse source in this space is likely an extremely powerful existence!"


    Extremely powerful?


    To make this gun master say such words, Su''en furrowed his brows.


    Things were much more troublesome than he expected.


    His understanding of the curse space was far inferior to Bill''s. Many things were beyond his knowledge, and he didn''t expect that breaking the curse space would involve so many intricacies.


    Now, upon hearing this, the option of confronting the boss head-on was immediately ruled out.


    Without even gambling on the probability, it was highly likely that there wouldn''t even be time for identification before death upon meeting.


    The option with the highest chance of survival seemed to be finding and reciting the name of the "grudge master."


    Su''en didn''t expect that Bill would actuallye up with the same idea as him.


    Bill continued, "Based on the current clues, the specifications of this curse space are probably very high. The ability of the ''curse source'' is likely beyond what we can bear. So, it would be dangerous to rashly search for it."


    Pausing for a moment, he continued, "However, I have learned some special methods to deal with this type of ''grudge'' from some old hunters. Perhaps we don''t need to confront it directly."


    Su''en asked, "What methods?"


    Bill said, "First, find a powerful cursed object that can restrain ghost species, such as the Carter family''s [Cross Emblem]. I don''t have it, and I think you don''t either. Second, use alchemical bullets, such as ''Silver'' and ''Evil-Breaker''. Third, perform an exorcism alchemy ritual. Fourth, recite its name... Different situations require different methods, and I''m not sure which one will be effective. But the first three methods all require directly facing the ghost species, so it''s best not to try unless absolutely necessary. We can try the fourth method first. Find the name of the ''grudge master'' in the hospital, and then recite it. Perhaps it can break the grudge and allow us to leave directly..."


    Su''en listened and gained some new knowledge. He didn''t expect that there were so many ways to deal with this. This was the experience gained at the cost of countless lives. The people from the "Umbre Organization" were indeed worthy of their reputation.


    ........


    After discussing their strategy, Su''en and Bill began searching for clues in various examination rooms.


    Su''en remained on guard against the sudden appearance of monsters throughout the process, but he found that his worries were unnecessary. He was also surprised that this blind detective, Bill, could perfectly control himself and not let his mind wander.


    Without the disturbance of monsters, they quickly found a special room: the director''s office.


    Without wasting much time, Bill''s detective skills allowed them to quickly find a safe behind a mural on the wall.


    Su''en originally thought that the safe would be troublesome, but he didn''t expect that this old cowboy would easily open it with a receiver and a master key.


    Detectives really were a mixed bag of professions that knew everything.


    There were no valuable items in the safe, only a pile of notebooks.


    Su''en casually picked one up and immediately realized that they had found the right clue!


    These notebooks recorded an experiment diary called "Undead Research." He easily saw the name of the person who signed it on almost every diary: Tirmido M. Chekhov.


    Su''en flipped through a few pages and saw that the notebook was filled with various dense data, rune knowledge, alchemy knowledge... The content was too advanced, and he couldn''t understand most of it.


    In an instant, Su''en realized that the value of this diary was immeasurable.


    Without looking closely, he stored all of them in his storage ring.


    ording to the nature of horror plots, Su''en''s intuition told him that upon discovering such a crucial clue, it would most likely trigger some kind of chain reaction.


    Sure enough, just as he put away the notebook, there was suddenly abnormal movement at the door of the director''s office.

 Chapter 85: T-Sealed

    Chapter 85: T-Sealed


    There was amotion outside the door, and the perceptive "Blind Detective" Bill was the first to notice something unusual. With a click, two guns were already pointed at the office door.


    Although Su''en''s perception was slightly weaker, he also quickly drew out his gun because he was on guard in advance.


    He knew that the problem wouldn''t be with him. Just as this thought crossed his mind, a blue-skinned creature covered in golden runes appeared at the office door.


    It wasn''t an abstract image that a blind person could imagine. This creature was very specific and detailed.


    It didn''t look like a living person, but it had the unmistakable aura of a living being. It wasn''t a distorted monster, but it definitely wasn''t a normal human either.


    "So fast! What is this thing?"


    Su''en''s expression suddenly changed as he looked at the blue-skinned creature.


    He had heard themotion downstairs earlier, and in the blink of an eye, it had already appeared at the door as if it had teleported.


    Based on his previous experience, he didn''t dare to use his identification ability immediately.


    Because as soon as he nced at the golden runes on the creature''s skin, a strong sense of imminent danger instantly surged in his heart. Without hesitation, he began reciting the name he had just seen on the notebook: "Terumido M. Chee..."


    Bill''s reaction was also extremely fast. As he listened to the noise at the door, his finger on the trigger of the gun had already pulled it.


    At this moment, time seemed to freeze. The tongue of fire from the gun was still slowly spewing out, but the blue figure was elerating towards the two of them.


    The metal bullets hit its skin, creating a spark, but it didn''t stop its momentum.


    In that instant, the blue-skinned creature had already "teleported" in front of Su''en and Bill, and then it raised its hand and punched towards Bill''s head.


    "Bang," a crimson explosion.


    This renowned master-level gunman had no chance to retaliate. He was instantly killed with just one blow!


    At this moment, the blue-skinned creature turned its head towards Su''en and punched again.


    Su''en watched the fist shadow, not only was it fast, but it also had a power that he couldn''tprehend. It made his scalp tingle and his body feel like it was about to burst...


    Fortunately, because he had predicted in advance, he had also recited thest syble of the name in his mouth.


    .......


    In an instant, the surroundings changed, and they were instantly back in the basement of 88 Gingko Street from the hospital.


    "Hoo...hah..."


    Su''en gasped heavily, as if he had just escaped from a huge pressure like a copsing mountain. Cold sweat poured down his forehead.


    His eyes still shimmered with an incredulous gleam, and he said with lingering fear, "So strong! What level of existence is that undead?!"


    He didn''t even have time to identify it just now. Just a nce made him feel like he had seen some kind of unfathomable forbidden horror, and a tremor of instinctive fear rose in his heart.


    He felt that the blue-skinned creature was definitely not someone he had ever seen before.


    Now that he thought about it carefully, he realized that the level of the runes could be discerned from theplexity of their patterns. The blue-skinned creature''s runes were definitely of a terrifyingly high level.


    To give an inappropriate but vivid analogy.


    Themonly seen low, intermediate, and advanced runes (Level I, II, III) on the market looked like simplified characters: one, two, three, four;


    But the golden runes on this creature''s body looked like this: .


    Just the luster of the runes gave people a sense of oppression. How powerful must it be?


    Usually, the people in Old Lingdun referred to those iprehensible ancient knowledge as "super-tier knowledge." Obviously, the runes on this blue-skinned creature far exceeded his understanding.


    Su''en immediately thought of the research content in his diary and realized that this blue-skinned creature was an "undead"!


    How powerful were those ancient alchemists? How could they create such ridiculously strong undead?


    .......


    "Blind Detective Bill was actually killed by that creature..."


    Su''en''s eyes flickered with seriousness.


    This was the first time that even in the face of death, he didn''t feel as strong of an oppressive feeling as he did from the blue-skinned creature just now.


    "It''s a good thing I didn''t rashly go to find a morgue, otherwise I wouldn''t even know how I died. There''s probably more than just one blue-skinned creature in the lower level of the hospital..."


    He looked at the empty basement, his face bing grim, and judged in his heart, "To be able to kill a second-tier professional in an instant, this cursed space is not just a Red S-ss, but a ''ck T-Sealed'' level!"(Note: The curse space level is divided into T, S, A, B, C, D ording to the degree of danger. S-level: High-level professionals can explore with a high probability of casualties; T-sealed level: The difference in rank is toorge, no one can survive, it is rmended to permanently seal it.)


    Su''en felt somewhat fortunate, and it was also fortunate that he knew the method to crack the space in advance with the True Eye. It was also fortunate that he found a temporary teammate and sessfully found a clue.


    Otherwise, if he had to face that monster alone, there would be no possibility of survival at all.


    However, the old cowboy was already dead, so he didn''t feel guilty about using his temporary teammate.


    Even...


    In the moment when Bill''s head exploded just now, he also swallowed the dispersing "gray mist" from the corpse.


    "You obtained 4 fragments of ''Bill Strauss''s memories''."


    "You obtained some information: ''Vice Dean Nik J. Emirich of the ck Tower Academy has defected. The organization''s order is to find him. Finally, I found some clues and investigated Silver Maple Street No. 88, but unfortunately, it seems to be a trap set by that guy...''"


    "You obtained some auditory perception skills. Youprehend the [Sound Positioning (Entry)]..."


    "Youprehend the psychic perception ability [Malicious Perception]..."


    "Youprehend the marksmanship secret technique [Multiple Ovepping Shots], firearm experience +547."


    "Spiritual power +1.19"


    Now that the crisis is resolved, Su''en also snapped out of that high level of tension and his mind started working again.


    "The soul of Bill is actually perfectly preserved in the space?"


    Su''en felt incredulous about being able to harvest so much content, even though that guy had been dead for several months.


    He even felt that next time he entered, he might be able to see that blind man.


    Next time?


    No, Su''en was certain that he would not have another chance.


    Although he was curious about what the "cursed object" behind the terrifying curse space was, he immediately dismissed that unrealistic fantasy.


    Looking back at his gains, he felt that life was worth living again.


    Su''en was very satisfied with the additional skills he obtained. His perception andbat abilities instantly soared.


    The skills [Sound Positioning] and [Malicious Perception] were simply exclusive skills for gunmen. One was an auditory perception technique, and the other was a passive psychic perception.


    After digesting that bundle of memories, Su''en felt as if he had opened the door to a new sensory world.


    He used to think that the basement was very quiet, but now he could hear a lot of noise.


    By listening carefully, he could even distinguish clearly which sounds were the sound of rats crawling in the walls, which were the sound of cockroaches crawling, and which were the sound of air cirction...


    Su''en took a shortcut again.


    This auditory perception ability, ordinary people might neverprehend it in their lifetime, because perhaps only blind people who have relied on auditory perception to perceive the world since childhood can focus on the development of auditory abilities.


    As for that [Malicious Perception], it was the reason why Su''en was shot immediately after he nced at Bill''s state.


    With this, if he encountered an enemy who shot without warning, he could immediately sense the malice.


    A well-rounded ability for offense and defense.


    And that gun technique [Multiple Ovepping Shots], Su''en had always heard of its reputation, but he had beencking a way to learn it and his skill in firearms was alsocking.


    Now, he achieved it in one step, making Su''en feel that he could already perform a "double shot" now. In the future, when his strength improved, multiple ovepping shots woulde naturally.


    From today onwards, he finally had the means to deal with heavily armored targets.


    Indeed, it was a soul fragment of a "firearms master".


    .......


    However, after reading the skill gains, the message that shed through Su''en''s mind made his brow furrow.


    "The Vice Dean of the ck Tower Academy defected? Did Bille to investigate him?"


    Seeing the name "Nik J. Emirich," Su''en happened to have an impression of this Vice Dean in his memory. It seemed to have been separated from the memory of the female assistant, Rosa.


    However, in Rosa''s memory, he was a kind and respected elder with a benevolent appearance.


    Defected?


    Su''en felt that this word was used very abruptly.


    In the vast underground world, Lingdun was just one city, and the Vice Dean of the ck Tower Academy, whocked neither fame nor power, where could he defect to?


    Could it be another person who failed in a power struggle?


    However, Su''en didn''t think too much about the grievances and entanglements among the important figures in the inner city. He was more concerned about another matter.


    "From Bill''s memory, he already guessed that he fell into the Vice Dean''s trap? Is Silver Maple Street No. 88 simply a ''trap''?"Su''en''s mind shed with a thought, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy. He thought of a possibility: if it was a trap, and a prey fell into it, would there be a huntering to investigate?


    Just like how there would always be a spider lurking in the shadows behind a spider web. Even if it wasn''t the prey it was waiting for, it would still go and take a look if there was any movement.


    With this thought, a sense of crisis instantly surged in Su''en''s heart.


    Without any hesitation, Su''en picked up the sickle with a ck handle that was in the corner and rushed out of the house.


    And the fact also proved that his intuition was correct!


    PS. A very small number of readers should not always think it''s a coincidence that he always harvests the skills he wants. It''s because it''s necessary that it was emphasized. A firearms master would have at least a hundred or eighty skills, so it wouldn''t make sense to list them all beforehand. It''s just like the spider blueprint, some people always think it''s a coincidence, but they overlook the fact that the protagonist has been to the ck market several times and didn''t find anything suitable. It''s like when you buy a suitable new piece of clothing, you have to describe the ny-nine pieces that you didn''t choose first before it can be considered a coincidence.

 Chapter 86: Defector

    Chapter 86: Defector


    Su''en had juste out of the basement and entered the living room when he immediately felt a strange gaze on him.


    In the past, Su''en might not have been able to perceive that faint gaze. But now, with his perception ability enhanced by Bill, he could clearly determine that the person peeping at him was standing behind him at the bay window!


    "There''s someone in the house!"


    Su''en''s heart skipped a beat.


    He acted decisively, and as soon as he sensed someone, he used one hand to grab the two puppet runes from his windbreaker and protect them by his side. His other hand was already gripping the handle of the ck box, ready to swing it and create a spatial rift.


    The fact that someone had broken in confirmed his previous spection.


    This house was a trap!


    The hunter hade to inspect his prey!


    If it was the former vice dean of the ck Tower Academy who had defected, Su''en knew that he only had one chance to make a move.


    So he didn''t even draw his gun, and as soon as he saw the person, he had to act before the other party could react. Even if it meant risking being killed in the process, he had to eliminate the person who had been secretly spying on him.


    All these actions were decided in an instant. Su''en thought he had reacted quickly enough, but he didn''t expect the other party''s reaction to be even faster!


    He was in the process of turning his body, trying to capture the intruder''s position, and his hand holding the ck box swung across. As long as he saw the person, the oue would be decided in an instant.


    But suddenly, something strange happened.


    Su''en found that he couldn''t move his body!


    It wasn''t because of mental control, but rather, the air around him seemed to have turned into a solid, imprisoning him and making it impossible for him to break free. "Control-type magic?"


    At this moment, the intruder behind him also eximed in surprise, "You''re actually alive?"


    ...


    "A top-tier professional..."


    Su''en murmured to himself as he listened to the voiceing from behind.


    But in an instant, he rxed.


    The gap in strength was already something that couldn''t bepensated for by desperate measures.


    Moreover, even if he made an attacking move, he still didn''t sense any "malice" from the person behind him. At least not for the time being.


    And when the person spoke, he slowly walked to Su''en''s front and first expressed his attitude, "Don''t misunderstand, I have no ill intentions towards you. Restraining you is also for the sake of our safety."


    Listening to these words, Su''en also knew that the other party had seen through his intentions and pretended to be confused, "Since you are a high-level professional and have trespassed into my residence, I''m afraid it''s not appropriate."


    The person in front of him was dressed in a ck cloak that covered his face, making his features a ck mist.


    He said with a hint of praise, "You are indeed very vignt. If it were someone else, even a high-level professional, you would probably have be a dead soul under their de..."


    Su''en narrowed his eyes slightly, neither confirming nor denying.


    He felt that the other party had seen what was in his box, and he felt uneasy about it.


    Thinking that even if he couldn''t die today, he probably wouldn''t be able to keep the Reaper''s Scythe.


    But it seemed that the cloaked personpletely guessed his thoughts and said directly, "You have the Night ck Scythe of Supnos in your hand, right? Tsk tsk, I didn''t expect it to fall into your hands. But rest assured, that kind of sealed object is a treasure to others, but it doesn''t hold much attraction for me. There aren''t many people who can force me to use that weapon, and when ites to a life-or-death situation, it''s useless."


    Upon hearing these words, Su''en''s eyes shed with a hint of surprise.


    But he immediately understood the hidden meaning in the cloaked person''s words: not many people in Old Lingdun could force him to use this scythe!


    To be able to say such words, this person must be very powerful.


    Su''en felt that looking at this cloaked person gave him a deeper sense of unfathomability than looking at Chuck, the leader of the Umbre Organization.


    And thinking about the person who would be tracked by Colonel Bill from the "Umbre Organization," he must not be simple.


    However, since he wasn''t here for wealth or to harm him, why did this cloaked persone here?


    Oh... right!


    For the cursed space!


    ...


    Su''en didn''t say much. He was the passive party and just listened silently. The other party would eventually reveal their purpose.


    And at this moment, he never expected that the cloaked person would not mention his purpose, but instead casually asked, "Did you go to the ck market before to find a master-level craftsman to forge a set of special imnts?"


    Upon hearing this, Su''en''s gaze narrowed, "You''ve been following me?"


    His first reaction was that he had been followed.


    But as he quickly recalled in his mind, he couldn''t figure out when he had exposed any ws. He also couldn''t understand the purpose of a high-level professional following him.


    "No, you misunderstood. It''s just my guess."


    The cloaked person didn''t beat around the bush and said in a casual tone, "I didn''t follow you. It''s just that I went to ''Rosen''s Alchemy Shop'' before, and the owner told me that someone wanted to customize a set of Dark Gold imnts for the Eight-Armed Spider God Spear. I thought that there aren''t many professionals who can use that set of imnts, probably a puppeteer..."


    Pausing for a moment, he looked at the two puppets that Su''en was holding and a hint of surprise shed in his eyes, "Your puppet maniption skills are quite good. Just out of curiosity, I didn''t expect it to be such a coincidence..."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en also revealed a hint of realization and surprise, "Are you the ''master craftsman'' mentioned by the shop owner?"


    A first-tier professional who can use suchplex imnts as a puppeteer does indeed meet this condition.


    It''s just that he didn''t expect such a coincidence, that the two of them would meet in this way.


    But as Su''en thought about it, he also felt that this person wasn''t lying.


    "Master craftsmen" are few and far between in the inner city, and it''s almost impossible for such important figures to appear in the ck market of the outer city. But if it was the vice dean who had defected from the ck Tower Alchemy Academy, the logic also matched!"Master? I guess so..."


    The cloaked figure spoke in a rxed tone, having already lifted the restraining spell on Su''en. He asked, "Do you still need your equipment forged?"


    "Of course."


    Freed from the restraints, Su''en felt a lightness in his body and didn''t make any rash movements. He even ced the ck box he was holding on the ground.


    The cloaked figure continued, "We can make a deal."


    Su''en replied, "I''m all ears."


    The neer showed no hostility and Su''en responded with enough courtesy.


    This cloaked figure gave him a strange feeling. Every word and action was polite, and there was no sense of malice. He exuded the air of a true noble gentleman with refined manners.


    In Su''en''s eyes, someone who revealed no ws like this person was either genuinely well-intentioned or extremely dangerous!


    The cloaked figure said, "I can forge your equipment for free, but in exchange, I want to know how you came out of that ''cursed space'' in the basement. Of course, if the value of the information exceeds my reward, I will pay you additionalpensation to your satisfaction."


    "Deal!"


    As expected, Su''en readily agreed without hesitation.


    He didn''t think the other party would deceive him about the materials in order to say this. After all, while the Dark Gold Spider Emperor''s leg was rare, it was only a first-tier material and had limited appeal to high-level professionals.


    Moreover, the other party said it was a trade, and he had no right to refuse.


    .......


    "However, before the trade, I have a question."


    After thinking for a moment, Su''en decided to take some initiative and asked, "I want to know why there is a ''cursed space'' in this house. And why did you appear in my house?"


    The cloaked figure was not surprised that Su''en asked this question and casually replied, "Are you sure you want to know?"


    "???"


    Hearing this, Su''en showed a puzzled expression.


    I asked, so why wouldn''t I want to know?


    The cloaked figure exined, "What I mean is... some things are troublesome once you know them. So, do you want to invite trouble?"


    Upon hearing this, Su''en frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "Can I choose to listen to the part of the information that won''t cause trouble?"


    Trouble?


    He was well aware that he had already gotten himself into trouble when he discovered this cursed space.


    If he didn''t figure out this question, he felt it would be even more troublesome.


    He needed some necessary information to judge his future choices.


    "Hehe, interesting."


    The cloaked figure chuckled lightly and began speaking directly, "Eight years ago, when a banker developed this property, there was a ''strange incident of missing personnel.'' At that time, I happened to be in charge of handling this incident. After investigating, I discovered from ancient books that this was the site of a hospital from the previous era. I also learned some of the cursed characteristics of this space..."


    At this point, he nced at Su''en and said, "It''s what you know, how to enter."


    Su''en listened calmly upon hearing this.


    The cloaked figure continued, "Later, many people who went in for investigation couldn''te out. This ruin was then ssified as ''T-Sealed.'' Of course, there are also some highly confidential plots involved, which I guess you wouldn''t want to hear."


    "Okay."


    Su''en didn''t ask about the hidden content, but instead listened quietly as he continued.


    "As for why I came here... it''s because this is a trap I set. I sensed someone entering, so I came to take a look."


    The cloaked figure also had no intention of hiding anything and said frankly, "Something happened back then that made me aware that this cursed space involved a big secret. Although I destroyed that top-secret file and most of the people who knew about it died during exploration, there are still some traces that cannot be erased. Since someone is investigating me, I used those remaining clues to lead the investigators to the basement of this apartment."


    Taking a breath, he continued, "I didn''t do this to harm ordinary tenants, so I said I have no ill intentions towards you. After all, as you know, the way to trigger this cursed space is quite special."


    Saying that, he looked at Su''en curiously and asked, "So, I''m also curious, how did you get involved?"


    Su''en simply said, "I heard that a few people died in the house before, so I thought about it a bit more and got sucked in without thinking."


    Indeed, this trap was not aimed at ordinary tenants. If he hadn''t overthought it, he probably wouldn''t have encountered any problems.


    "Hehe, it''s not something you can achieve just by thinking."


    The cloaked figure shook his head and spoke with a hint of admiration in his tone, "You have a meticulous mind. From the moment you came out and decisively left the apartment, I knew that you didn''t just stumble upon the cursed space by chance, but rather it was your ability. If you were a second-tier, perhaps I would be interested in sharing some more interesting secrets with you. But for now..."


    Su''en felt that this person had revealed too much information to him, as if he wasn''t afraid of others guessing his identity based on this information.


    Su''en was just about to wonder why he would do this.


    At this moment, the cloaked figure casually said, "Although I don''t know how you found out, I feel like you have already guessed my identity."


    "..."


    Upon hearing this, a barely noticeable stern expression shed across Su''en''s face.


    At this moment, he finally knew where the uneasiness in his heart came from.


    Now he was certain that this guy had the ability to "read minds" or something simr!


    Su''en tried his best to suppress his emotional fluctuations, avoiding being seen through, and simply exined, "I encountered ''Blind Detective'' Bill in the cursed space."


    There was no need for him to exin in detail. This cloaked figure would fill in the gaps himself and understand what had happened.The cloaked figure was not surprised, but rather curious. "He''s not dead yet?"


    Su''en: "No, he''s already dead. But his soul hasn''t dissipated yet."


    Listening to this, the cloaked figure muttered to himself, "Just as it was recorded in the ancient texts."


    At this point, he looked at Su''en and said, "Alright, I''ve told you what you wanted to know. You can tell me what you know..."


    Su''en didn''t hesitate. In front of such a powerful and wise person, ying tricks would only make him look like a clown.


    "After I entered, I found myself in an ancient hospital, marked as the third floor. I encountered monsters... andter I discovered the ''terror objectification'' rule of the space..."


    He roughly recounted his experiences in the space, avoiding some sensitive details.


    The cloaked figure listened patiently and carefully.


    When he heard Su''en mention the rule of "terror objectification," he eximed in surprise and admiration, "You actually discovered this rule?! Tsk tsk, this is not just ordinary meticulous thinking. Could it be that your talent is [B-059-Thinker]?"


    Su''en deliberately ignored the role of [All-Knowing Eye] in his narration, making it sound somewhat unbelievable.


    But he felt that if he lied, this guy would definitely see through it, so he simply avoided the question and said, "I''m just more cautious..."


    "Hehe."


    The cloaked figure naturally didn''t believe it, but he didn''t care about this irrelevant question.


    After a moment of contemtion, he asked, "Did you encounter a ''living corpse'' with blue skin?"


    Su''en knew that this guy was intentionally interrupting, just to remind him that he didn''t know everything about this cursed space.


    Su''en calmly replied, "Yes, I encountered it. That monster was very fast, and it easily killed Bill in the space. Because I had heard about a method to break this kind of space, in an emergency, I recited a name I happened to see, and then I came out..."


    "On which floor of the hospital did you encounter the monster?"


    "The second floor."


    "Which room?"


    "The fifth room on the left."


    "What is the name of the dean?"


    "Thermido M. Chekhov."


    "..."


    After asking a few questions, the cloaked figure fell into deep contemtion for a long time.


    Although Su''en couldn''t see his expression, he could sense that this guy was probably very satisfied with the information he provided.


    ........


    For the first time, a living person came out of the "T-level" cursed space where no one had survived. The cloaked figure felt that the harvest far exceeded his expectations.


    After a long contemtion, he took the initiative to speak, "I am very satisfied with your information. It even exceeds the value of the materials I helped you refine. So, ording to our agreement, I can promise to give you some additional rewards."


    Pausing for a moment, he asked Su''en, "What do you need? Money, materials, alchemical knowledge, anything is fine."


    Su''en said, "I haven''t thought of anything for now."


    The current situation was not a good time to ask for rewards.


    And no matter what reward he exchanged for, he felt that he would be at a loss. After all, this person was the top professional in Old Lingdun, a "Master Forger," a prominent figure that the people in the outer city couldn''t evene into contact with.


    If there was no hostility, just getting to know him would bring benefits that couldn''t bepared to any material wealth.


    The cloaked figure didn''t hesitate either and straightforwardly said, "Then I owe you a favor. Let me know when you need it in the future. Give me your materials, and five dayster, pick up the alchemical equipment at ''Rosen''s Alchemy Shop.'' If you decide what you want to exchange for the favor, you can leave a message at the shop as well."


    "Alright."


    The conversation between smart people saved a lot of unnecessary steps.


    But Su''en was also curious. Did this guy really just ask a few questions without any other purpose?


    And the process of the conversation was too casual. Wasn''t he afraid that the information he obtained might be incorrect?


    At this moment, as the cloaked figure was about to leave, he seemed to have guessed something.


    He felt that since Su''en already knew his identity, there was no need to hide anything and directly stated the reason, saying, "My talent is [C-042-Mind Reader]. Although it''s not a very strongbat talent, it''s practical."


    Hearing this, Su''en suddenly understood why he always felt like the other party already knew what he was going to say before he said it.


    So, he really understood "mind reading."


    But Su''en felt that the [Mind Reader] ability he knew wasn''t that exaggerated, after all, it was just a C-level talent.


    He vaguely guessed that this might involve a realm of high-level professionals that he was not familiar with...

 Chapter 87: The three ultimate subjects of alchemy

    Chapter 87: The three ultimate subjects of alchemy


    The cloaked figure talked with Su''en for a while, obtained the information he wanted, and then left the apartment.


    He didn''t even go to the basement to take a look.


    But thinking about it, even if he knew the way in and out, it didn''t mean he could definitelye out alive.


    Once he entered the basement, he would definitely be involved.


    If he really encountered the super-level blue-skinned undead, even though he was already one of the top professionals in Old Lingdun City, he might not be able toe out alive.


    However, Su''en was indeed slightly surprised by the unexpected arrival of the cloaked figure.


    The cloaked figure never showed any hostility from beginning to end, just like a true gentleman, polite, reasonable, and fair in his dealings...


    But why would this seemingly humble Vice Dean of the ck Tower Academy, "Nic J. Emirich," escape from the inner city?


    The reason was probably what he said himself: certain secrets that would cause trouble if known.


    Su''en''s special experiences allowed him to understand human nature more easily than others.


    At least he could distinguish between goodwill and malice.


    He even felt that this "Nic J. Emirich" was the easiest person to get along with that he had encountered since crossing into this cruel underground world.


    .......


    As the cloaked figure left, the sense of danger in Su''en''s heartpletely disappeared.


    Now that the hunter behind the trap had taken the initiative to reveal himself and exin his intentions, things were probably clear.


    Looking at the house that he was originally satisfied with, Su''en looked somewhat helpless. "Looks like I have to move again..."


    Although the cloaked figure said that the trap was not aimed at ordinary tenants and would not disturb him in the future, Su''en had no intention of continuing to live there.


    He preferred to stay away from this sensitive "battlefield" involving top professionals.


    He didn''t dare to go to the basement again and nned to find someone to move his things out tomorrow.


    At this moment, Su''en thought of something and took out a notebook from his storage ring.


    This was the "Undead Research Diary" that he brought out from the cursed space safe.


    The other party didn''t ask earlier, and he intentionally withheld information.


    Now that he had some free time, he carefully looked through it.


    It was a handwritten manuscript, with each page filled with dense text and illustrations.


    With just a flip, he could see colored pencil drawings of various human body structures, such as arms, heads, skeletons... or detailed depictions of various internal organs.


    The author of the diary had a very strong drawing skill, and looking at these hand-drawn pictures, Su''en even felt like he was looking at precise anatomical prints from his previous life, with every blood vessel, nerve, and muscle fiber clearly depicted...


    From the surface to the internal structure, even to the microscopic level of erged cell patterns.


    Moreover, it was not just drawings, the notebook also had a lot of annotated text. It detailed the functions of human organs, how blood, muscles, organs, and the brain worked. It even specified where runes should be drawn on which blood vessels.


    There were also many iprehensible diagrams of auxiliary instruments, various scales, and strange essory models...


    Su''en first looked at these iprehensible contents in the diary and couldn''t help but marvel at how ancient alchemists had researched life sciences to such an exaggerated extent.


    Life sciencesbined with mysterious alchemy truly created a magical world.


    However, with his current level of "Advanced Beginner Alchemy," when he saw the contents in the diary... he understood nine out of ten, but waspletely lost when it came to putting everything together.


    He was curious about the super-level runes on the blue-skinned undead''s body, but when he looked at it, his scalp went numb.


    The diary did indeed have detailed instructions and principles for drawing such runes. However, it was not a textbook, but an experimental log. There was no step-by-step exnation, just a simple record of something. Moreover, it involved sensitive research content and was clearly encrypted.


    After reading a few pages, Su''en waspletely confused and gave up on trying to understand those professional knowledge.


    He felt that this "advanced knowledge" was probably not something he, or even most people in Old Lingdun, had the qualifications to understand.


    However, Su''en also had doubts in his heart. Why were ancient alchemy and modern breakthroughs so powerful?


    Where did the missing stages go?


    .......


    Su''en didn''t dwell on the academic content any longer and instead focused on the parts of the "diary" that he could understand.


    With just a nce, he knew how this "Undead Research Diary" came about.


    The most basic exnation of alchemy was the transmutation of precious metals, such as gold.


    But in reality, alchemy was not mysticism or magic, but science.


    There were three ultimate topics in the field of alchemy: resurrection of the dead, transference of life, and creation of life.


    And in these diaries, it was the research report of a mad ancient alchemist named "Thermido M. Chekhov" who wanted to revive corpses.


    Following the timeline recorded in the diary, Su''en found the first volume.


    "January 2nd, 1221. Ah... it''s all because of my research mistake that Miss Pestoya suffered a cmity... Why can''t I bring her back to life? I looked through the research materials left by ancient alchemists and found a lot of inspiration. Finally, I decided to restart the ''Resurrection of the Dead'' project..."


    When Su''en saw the first volume of the diary, an incredulous expression appeared on his face.


    Because he saw a familiar name: Pestoya.


    If it wasn''t the same name, then it should be the little ghost girl from the Storm Manor''s cursed space when he first crossed over.


    He didn''t understand the background of this world before and didn''t know the origin of that little girl.


    Now he knew, her surname was very special, Pestoya Isaac.And that dpidated manor, without a doubt, was the residence of Sir Isaac, who was hailed as the "Alchemy Demigod" in the previous era.


    It''s no wonder that there is an altar underground in that manor that can awaken the S talent.


    There is not much information about Pestoya in the diary, and Su''en does not have enough clues to specte what "misfortune" she has encountered.


    Next is the hardcore research diary.


    "March 21, 1221. Experimental subject number #001. I used a fresh corpse and began the experiment..."


    "May 1. I found a method in ancient books that can slow down the decay of corpses... Active potion + [Level 8 Dark Attribute Convergence Rune] can gather the aura of the dead... I transformed the hospital morgue into a research field..."


    "August 13, 1221. Experimental subject number #624. I extracted an active substance from the body of that super-tier abyssal creature. I named it ''X Serum.'' After injection, the fresh corpse regained some of the physiological features of a living person..."


    "Increasing the dosage of ''X Serum,'' the fresh corpse became uncontroble. The body tissues underwent deformations and strange shapes appeared, eventually turning into repulsive monster forms, resembling atavistic abyssal creatures... Adjusting the form, continuing to increase the dosage for experimentation, the bodies of the test subjects couldn''t bear it, and their blood vessels and hearts ruptured..."


    "The hospital''s corpses are not enough, and the conditions cannot meet the requirements for active research. I need fresher corpses; I tried to use those patients who are about to die..."


    "The families of the patients discovered some abnormalities, so I dared not use hospital patients anymore. I entrusted a ck market merchant to buy ves from the ve market..."


    "November 7, 1222. Experimental target number #1135 showed signs of deformity after injecting X Serum, but miraculously survived and his physical qualities were unbelievably enhanced. I sessfully extracted a sample of biological antibodies that inhibit deformities from the blood of the test subject. Oh, today is a happy day, the experiment has made substantial progress..."


    "March 11. Today, a ''rat'' sneaked into theboratory and stole some research data. It seems that someone is interested in the ''X Serum,'' after all, it can fill the human body with vitality. Perhaps some dignitaries want to use it to prolong their lives. I''m not interested in dealing with them, let them be..."


    "Another failure. Oh, what a terrible day..."


    "April 24, 1224. Experimental subject number #3335. The experiment finally made progress, and I sessfully created the first active corpse. I started to attempt soul fusion..."


    "Damn it, even though I have sessfully given the corpse all the biological features of a living person and there are no problems with the bloodline, why did the soul fusion still fail?! The body showed obvious rejection of the soul... There is not enough time, I am unwilling..."


    ...


    Su''en flipped through the pages of the diary, understanding the contents that he couldprehend, and had a general impression of the story in his mind.


    It was a powerful alchemist who wanted to research a method to revive the dead and conducted crazy experiments in the morgue. From corpses to patients, and then to live subjects...


    Finally, the diary abruptly ended, as if something unexpected happened, and there was no further information.


    That Kekov created "active corpses," but ultimately failed to give them life.


    At least ording to the notes, he failed.


    ...


    "So, the ''active corpse'' in the cursed space came from this..."


    After reading the diary, Su''en had a sudden realization.


    When he looked at the description of the "active corpse," his first reaction was not to study any resurrection technique, but to suddenly realize whether the blue-skinned "active corpse" could be used as a puppet medium for wielding a scythe.


    It had almost all the life characteristics of a living person, and even had dark spiritual power...


    Almost all the conditions for manipting the scythe were met.


    But it was just a passing thought.


    The content in the diary was too advanced, and even the surface knowledge was too much for him to digest at the moment.


    Su''en put away the diary.

 Chapter 88: Controlled drugs

    Chapter 88: Controlled drugs


    Su''en didn''t rest at No. 88 Gingko Street, but instead found a random hotel to take a nap.


    In the evening, he received a reply from the mysterious alchemist at the "Three Fire Guns Tavern," agreeing to meet at the usual ce the next morning at ten o''clock.


    Then it was another day of wandering the streets, gambling and fighting in the arena all night.


    It is worth mentioning that the arena has been very lively these past two days.


    Many important figures from the inner city seemed to havee to the VIP room on the second floor. The gambling in the casino was getting bigger, and the fights in the arena were bing bloodier. The gamblers were excited, and Kay and the others thought it was a good sign of Green Street''s prosperity. The more lively it was, the more money they could make. But Su''en, who silently watched everything by the arena, always felt that there was an undercurrent behind this unusual liveliness.


    But he didn''t worry about it.


    For him, this was also a good thing.


    The more lively the arena was, the more soul fragments he could harvest.


    .......


    In the early morning, the deadly battles in the arena ended, and it was time for Su''en to finish work.


    He hired a few porters to move all the equipment from the basement of No. 88 Gingko Street.


    Since he couldn''t find a suitable ce to live, Su''en simply didn''t bother and rented a basement near the shooting range. Although the new ce had a less dense dark spiritual power, it was quiet enough when the door was closed. The mechanical workshop and training ground were barely enough. He could also go directly to the shooting range next door for target practice.


    It was still early after moving, so Su''en adjusted and tested two pieces of high-tech exercise equipment.


    The "Neuromuscr Bioelectric Stimtor" connected to his body, and a current-like energy flowed through his muscles, constantly stimting the muscle fibers to tear.


    The effect of training for half an hour was also very obvious.


    Because Su''en could urately grasp the changes in his body data, he confirmed that this high-tech equipment was indeed effective.


    Just in terms of muscle stimtion, the training effect with the connected equipment was about three times better than without it.


    Then there was the "Steam Ultra-Low Temperature Therapy Device." After intense exercise, the muscles were in a state of high excitement and fatigue, and they needed rest and recovery. Only when the values of muscle strength, muscle endurance, andctate threshold increased would it be beneficial. Spending two or three minutes in the device with a temperature of minus one hundred degrees instantly relieved the fatigue of the skin and flesh. This also greatly improved the efficiency of recovery and shortened the recovery period.


    Although the equipment greatly improved the effectiveness of physical training, Su''en was not satisfied.


    In this world, besides high-tech equipment, the most exaggerated and direct way to enhance the body was through "alchemy potions"!


    .......


    At ten o''clock, Su''en arrived at the dpidated warehouse where the previous transaction took ce on time.


    Because it wasn''t their first transaction, the few guys pretending to be gangsters were obviously not as nervous.


    Su''en saw the mysterious alchemist again.


    For some reason, when he saw the tightly wrapped body of that guy, he suddenly realized that the words "Semi-Mutated Human" identified earlier were somewhat ring.


    Su''en had insufficient knowledge in this area before, and he didn''t understand what it meant.


    But after harvesting the memories of the assistant professors from the ck Tower Academy during the expedition, he gained some basic understanding of biology.


    This made him feel incredible.


    In theory, mutations were irreversible.


    Once a person mutated, they were destined to be irrational monsters.


    Therefore, the situation of this mysterious alchemist named "Danny" being a "semi-mutated" was very special.


    This reminded Su''en of some advanced knowledge he read in the "Zombie Research Diary" yesterday.


    A thousand years ago, that crazy sorcerer did indeed sessfully extract "Mutation Suppression Samples" from live experiments, making the mutations of zombies controble.


    Although Su''en was not sure what the situation with Danny was, he felt that it was very simr.


    Su''en was lost in thought, slightly distracted.


    At this moment, the alchemist Danny took the initiative to speak, "Sir, what potions do you n to buy this time?"


    Su''en said, "The ''Mutation Monster Aversion Potion'' you gave mest time saved my life, so I n to get some more."


    Although it saved Rena''s life, in a sense, it also saved the identity of "Su''en."


    Keeping one on hand mighte in handy in the future.


    Hearing this, Danny seemed a little hesitant and said, "The main ingredient for that potion is hard to find in the outer city, and I don''t have much of that potion left."


    Su''en also felt that it was difficult. Even the ck Tower Academy instructors didn''t have the potion. "What materials do you need? Next time I go to the ck market, maybe I can help you keep an eye out."


    Danny said, "I need the marrow fluid of high-level mutated monsters. The higher the rank of the monster, the better the effect of the potion. The one I sold youst time was made from the marrow fluid of a second-rank silver strange creature."


    Listening to this, Su''en asked, "Can any kind of strange creature''s marrow fluid be used?"


    Danny said, "Basically, yes."


    "Okay, I''ll keep an eye out for you."


    Su''en nodded and then said, "I also want to buy the ''Mutation Tolerance Enhancement Potion'' that you wanted to sellst time."


    The ''Mutation Tolerance Enhancement Potion'' was prepared for the fusion with the Dark Gold Spider Imnt.After reading the materials yesterday, the defected vice dean told Su''en about a situation. That is, if top-quality materials are used to refine the finished nt equipment, it will be very powerful, but the "containment value" requirement will also be extremely high. It is estimated that he needs to reach a level of around 1400 in dark spiritual power before he can ensure that there will be no distortion. However, when Su''en was promoted to the first rank, he only had around 1200.


    Originally, the dean said he could demote and use inferior materials.


    But Su''en refused this proposal.


    He thought of the "Distortion Tolerance Enhancement Potion" in the alchemist''s hands, which can increase the curse tolerance value by 10-18%. If he takes this potion, it should be just enough to integrate with the dark gold nt equipment.


    ......


    "Okay, but I only have one."


    Danny had no intention of selling the special potion in his hands, and even if he did, he wouldn''t be able to sell it to others.


    And for the sake of the transaction, they also brought it with them.


    Su''en sessfully obtained the "Distortion Tolerance Enhancement Potion," and now everything was in ce.


    Then he asked again, "In addition, I now need a physical enhancement potion without side effects, the higher the level, the better."


    Danny gave a suggestion, "I happen to have a "PTX Rampage Enhancement Potion" and a "Lester VI Generation Blood Cell Enhancer"... These potions areboratory-level things that are not avable in the market. You may not be familiar with them, but I can guarantee that their effects are absolutely the best. Do you want to try them?"


    Su''en immediately agreed without even seeing the potions, "Okay."


    Danny thought of something and added, "I can sell you the potions, but I still hope that you can only use them yourself and not disclose them to anyone. Otherwise... both you and I will get into big trouble."


    "No problem!"


    When Su''en heard the names of the potions, he naturally knew what trouble they were referring to.


    Because these were truly controlled substances!


    He had an impression of the names of these two potions. They were special refining potions used for internal training by the noble students of the ck Tower Academy. They could greatly improve training efficiency and promote muscle growth.


    These were advanced potions exclusively provided by the ck Tower Laboratory for the "limited supply" of the academy, and any external cirction was prohibited. Once discovered, it would be a serious crime punishable by the gallows!


    And, if he remembered correctly, the students were only using "Fifth Generation Potions" now, but Danny took out the "Sixth Generation"?


    As soon as he heard the name of the potion, he could basically confirm that Danny was a pharmacist from a top-levelboratory in the inner city!


    In an instant, the two potions were handed over to him.


    [PTX Rampage Enhancement Potion]


    Exnation: Taking it will allow you to train beyond your limits, greatly increase muscle strength during training, elerate fatigue recovery, provide sustained explosive energy, endurance, and focus; the effectsts for 12-13 weeks.


    [Lester VI Generation Blood Cell Enhancer]


    Exnation: Taking the potion continuously enhances cell activity, muscle growth +60%, recovery efficiency +144%; the effectsts for 16-18 weeks; there is a 5-20% fluctuation in data due to individual differences in physique.


    Su''en used the All-Knowing Eye to take a look at the explosive effects of these potions, and he immediately decided to buy them, "How much?"


    These effects were at least two or three times better than the best refining potions he had seen on the ck market!


    When he heard the inquiry, Danny seemed a little hesitant in his eyes and said, "They are not sold on the market, so I don''t know how much they are worth. But the material cost alone for these two potions exceeds five hundred thousand. I''ll give you both for one million... or eighty thousand."


    "No problem."


    It was definitely a conscience price to sell them for less than the cost price.


    Su''en immediately paid in cash and obtained the two potions.


    He then asked, "If I need these potions in the future, is it possible?"


    Danny looked troubled, "It''s... difficult. Without aboratory-level potion room, even with the materials, these potions cannot be refined."


    "Oh."


    Su''en felt a little regretful.


    But being able to obtain such high-level potions was already an unexpected surprise.


    The effects wouldst for a few more months, which was enough for him to think of a solution.


    At this time, Su''en said again, "I know that your potions cannot be sold on arge scale, but if there are potions that need to be sold, you can contact me directly. At least I can guarantee that your information will never be leaked, and the price will satisfy you."


    Since he learned about the situation of this mysterious pharmacist, he knew that this guy must be in need of money.


    After all, being an alchemist was a very expensive profession. Although the finished potions were valuable, the materials wasted during the refining process were also astonishing. Relying solely on those half-sized kids around him to steal, he couldn''t support his daily research.


    After two transactions, they had established a basic trust. Hearing this, Danny nodded, "Okay."


    At this point, Su''en remembered something and casually asked, "By the way,st time when I was hunting in the underground dungeon, I encountered many mutated distorted monsters. Do you know what''s going on? Many of those monsters were species I had never seen before, and they were much stronger than ordinary distorted monsters."


    "This..."


    Upon hearing this, Danny clearly seemed a little hesitant. It seemed that he knew the reason for the situation but was reluctant to say it directly.But after selling so many special potions, he also guessed that Su''en must have already spected about his origins to some extent.


    Thinking about it, he just mentioned, "I heard that there was a serious ident in the inner cityboratory a few years ago, which caused some special substances to leak into the city''s sewer system, triggering biological mutations... I''m not sure about the specific situation, but it''s best for you, as a hunter, not to go to the sewer."


    So it was aboratory leak?


    Su''en listened and nodded, "Hmm."


    .......


    Two more days passed, and Su''en went to the ck market.


    He finally got his hands on the Alchemy nting of the "Eight-Armed Spider God Spear" as he had wished.


    The finished product was even more perfect than expected!

 Chapter 89: Eight-arm spider spear

    Chapter 89: Eight-arm spider spear


    In the dim basement, Su''en took out the alchemical imnt he retrieved from the ck market.


    It was an inconspicuous but nearly eight-meter-long spider arm.


    Under the flickering light of the gasmp, ayer of dark cold light, resembling gold, reflected on the eight spider arms. Upon closer inspection, each spider arm was densely engraved with mysterious and intricate runes.


    The reason why forging this imnt required a "master cksmith" was because of these runes. It was not something an ordinary craftsman could aplish to engrave enough runes on such narrow spider legs.


    Although Su''en''s alchemy level was still far from being a master, his vision was notcking.


    He could understand not only the singleyer runes on these spider legs but also the intricate technique of ovepping multiple runes.


    It was like drawing several different patterns on the same piece of paper, each pattern had to remain independent andplete, without affecting each other. This required a high level of rune carving skill.


    Su''en was very satisfied with the appearance of this imnt. The color was low-key and steady, and most importantly, it could meet various professional needs.


    With the firmness of the All-Seeing Eye, he was not afraid of any hidden dangers left by the defected Vice Dean of the ck Tower on the imnt.


    As expected, it was just like the description on the blueprint. It even had some minor attribute enhancements due to the special materials.


    [Eight-Armed Spider God Spear]


    Exnation: A first-tier dark gold quality alchemical imnt, requires high skill maniption; containment value rated A+ or above, first-tier dark spiritual power value of 1350 points, distortion rate less than 8%; after fusion, overall body resilience +25, elemental resistance +20, agility +12, toxin resistance +50%;


    .......


    Alchemy practitioners were a very ancient profession.


    They explored the mysteries of nature and sought the ultimate truth of the material world, but they did not pay much attention to their own physical training.


    The great alchemists of ancient times also discovered that their weak bodies were a limitation to their study of alchemy, and theirbat abilities were weak.


    Somebat-oriented spellcasters came up with the idea of transnting special biological parts into their bodies to enhance their attributes.


    However, direct transntation would cause rejection reactions between different species.


    Until a certain era in ancient times, a mysterious and powerful super-tier alchemist named Nichs mell came up with a method. He used thew of spacebined with thew of equivalent exchange to research a special imnt fusion method that "deceived" the body into not rejecting it.


    This method allowed the external imnt to exist on the host in the form of a "space imprint". It would be sealed on ordinary days and could be activated and used by driving it with dark spiritual power.


    After generations of improvements by alchemists, it gradually formed the current "Enchantment Imnt" system.


    And now, the "new generation spellcasters" were even more extreme. They were no longer satisfied with biological limbs and wanted to rece a part or even all of their limbs with machinery...


    .......


    After taking the Distortion Tolerance Enhancement Potion, Su''en identified that the fusion sess rate reached 97%.


    Without hesitation, heid out the prepared materials on the ground of the basement, forming a pentagram alchemy array. Just like before, he chanted the universal spell of the alchemist and guided the array to take effect.


    "Following thew of equivalent exchange, praising the glory of the original Creator, witness the miracle of creation through alchemy..."


    After the pentagram lit up, a strange "chemical reaction" began. The Eight-Armed Spider Spear imnt gradually dissolved and merged into the light of the array, then slowly integrated into his body.


    In no time, the light of the array dissipated, and the imnt fused perfectly.


    Su''en clearly felt afortable sensation as if his body was soaking in warm water. When he looked at his attribute panel, he could see a visible increase in resilience and resistance.


    It meant... he could take more beatings.


    For example, previously, getting shot would leave a fist-sized hole in his skin, but now it would be much smaller, increasing his chances of survival.


    Finally, the imnt fusion was sessful, and Su''en was now truly a first-tier professional.


    He thought for a moment, formed hand seals, and changed into eight different spellcaster hand seals: Light, Swift, Crystal, Wind, Dark, Thunder, Power, Stone.


    The essence of the "Spellcaster Seal" was to guide the dark spiritual power within the body to flow in a special trajectory, quickly condensing the alchemy array and unlocking the "space imprint" of the imnt.


    Each spellcaster seal represented a specific flow trajectory of dark spiritual power.


    Differentbinations of imnt seals also had differences, following the distinction of the four elemental attributes of "Earth, Wind, Water, Fire". Su''en''s Eight-Armed Spider Spear belonged to the "Metal attribute" imnt, requiring the arrangement of the eight seals to form the "Pentagram sh Gold Array".


    Also, because he harvested the soul of Rosa, the assistant of the ck Tower Academy, he gained the skill of Rapid Seal Formation. Although it was his first time forming seals, he had an inexplicable sense of familiarity. The eight seals were orderly, and the dark spiritual power within his body surged rapidly.


    With fast and urate seal formation, in less than two seconds, the pentagram array under his feet also lit up.


    As the light dissipated, eight ferocious dark gold spider arms suddenly appeared on Su''en''s back.


    "So this is what it feels like to have an imnt..."


    Su''en felt it was very strange. Eight spider spears appeared on his spine, and even his entire back skin became tough.


    It wasn''t the feeling of an external equipment, but rather as if eight arms had appeared out of thin air, allowing his brain to sense the existence of these limbs.


    The ability to multitask allowed Su''en to quickly enter a state. He controlled the spider arms and cautiously climbed up the wall, easily gripping it with the sharp bristles and barbs on the spider legs.Because he had killed the Spider Queen in the dungeon before and obtained the skill "Intermediate Spider Climbing," Su''en felt that climbing walls with spider arms was no longer difficult. After familiarizing himself with the operation, his body became more and more agile. His eight legs alternately grabbed the wall, and his speed became faster and faster. In the blink of an eye, he climbed up to the ceiling and hung there.


    "So fast!"


    Su''en was delighted.


    After a brief test, he was shocked by his own speed.


    Running with eight legs was at least several times faster than running with two legs, and it was much more agile. After a slight test, his straight-line running speed was about twice as fast, but the increase in speed when changing direction was exaggerated. The eight spider legs could ignore obstacles and move, stop and change direction, jump in the air, cross obstacles, and climb walls... The ability to pass through obstacles increased several times!


    After bing proficient, he could be even faster.


    If he had this spider imnt when he first entered the dungeon, would he still need to be chased by monsters?


    Even if he couldn''t defeat them, he could just run away, and those distorted monsters wouldn''t be able to catch up with him.


    Su''en even imagined a tactic that was very suitable for this spider leg imnt - the "Kite Flow"!


    Fight while running, fight while chasing...


    With his marksmanship and long-range shooting ability, this ability to move away from the body would visibly increase hisbat power.


    Whether in the wilderness or in the city, this was definitely a powerful ability for survival and pursuit.


    ...


    However, this spider spear not only had the function of movement, but also had strong attack power.


    The eight spider spears had retractable "poisonous spikes".


    These spikes, engraved with "Armor-Piercing Runes" and "Sturdy Runes," could easily prate iron tes.


    Su''en leaped down from the ceiling, and his eight spider arms dispersed and buffered the force, allowing him tond steadily without feeling any impact.


    At this moment, he controlled one of the spider spears and stabbed it towards a nearby old steam pipe. It easily pierced through, as if it had entered soft mud.


    "Such strong piercing ability..."


    Su''en looked at the cold light shing on the spider spear, his eyes filled with surprise.


    Although his marksmanship was good, his closebat ability was not outstanding. Now, with this spider imnt, his closebat ability instantly increased several times.


    Can the enemy with two arms defeat someone with ten arms? Especially when those arms can extend up to four meters, and the eight spears can instantly turn someone into a blood sieve...


    At this moment, Su''en took out a puppet entangled with steel wires.


    Although the spider arms didn''t have fingers, they had eight of them. The steel-hardened fluff and thorns on the spider spear were originally used to control spider silk, and they were smooth and flexible, not inferior to fingers.


    Now, when controlling the steel wires, one spider arm could even control multiple steel wires. With several spider arms cooperating with each other, the number of controlled wires could be even greater.


    This allowed Su''en to control two puppets while freeing up his hands to hold a gun.


    "Now both hands arepletely free. When ites to realbat, I can control the puppets while using hand seals..."


    The more Su''en tried, the more interested he became, and he seemed to want to test the limits of his control. The number of steel wires he controlled increased.


    But soon, he became helpless.


    After controlling four puppets, the steel wires were everywhere in the room, chaotic and disorderly, almost binding himself.


    It was his first attempt to multitask, and his skills were not proficient enough. Obviously, he couldn''t handle it.


    However, even so, Su''en was very satisfied.


    After all, the skill "Multitasking" could improve with practice...


    He was very satisfied with this eight-arm spider spear imnt.

 Chapter 90: Negotiation

    Chapter 90: Negotiation


    In the following days, Su''en''s life became more fulfilling.


    After sessfully integrating the eight-arm spider spear imnt, he needed a lot of time to practice controlling puppets with multitasking abilities, as well as climbing and shifting positions, and fighting and killing...


    Moreover, in order not to waste the two expensive body training potions he bought, he also needed to spend several hours a day on physical training.


    Fortunately, the lifestyle of the gang was very rxed. Except for the mandatory street patrol at seven o''clock every night, he could arrange his time freely if there were no emergencies.


    Recently, Su''en also found that harvesting ordinary corpses brought him less and less experience, so he didn''t waste time in the casino during the first half of the night. He only went to watch the professional fights in the second half of the night.


    In this way, time passed quickly, and peaceful and fulfilling days flew by in just over a month.


    ........


    On this day, Su''en was tinkering with mechanical modifications in the basement.


    This dpidated basement had changed a lot since he moved in a month ago. During this time, Su''en had been moving arge number of mechanical equipment and parts in, like ants moving their nest, and even a small steamthe.


    Various mechanical tools hung on the walls, which he bought from various shops and good items from the ck market.


    He had transformed this ce into his own mechanical workshop.


    At this moment, Su''en was wearing a greasy work suit, wearing goggles, and his hands were also equipped with two external "PT3 single-cylinder steam-powered arms." He was tinkering with something.


    The steam boiler provided the mechanical arms with powerful power, allowing him to shape the steel materials in his hands without using athe.


    He was making ammunition belts and ammunition boxes for his customized gun, "Qing Gui."


    This gun had a super high rate of fire. If used only as a pistol, its firepower advantage could not be fully utilized.


    But if it was fired continuously, even with an extended magazine, it would run out of bullets in a few seconds.


    So, he thought of the kind of ammunition belt and externally attached super-capacity ammunition box used by heavy machine guns. When he really encountered a need for firepower suppression, he could hang the ammunition box on himself, connect it with the ammunition belt, and the pistol would immediately turn into a "tututu" heavy machine gun.


    While his hands were busy, his eight spider arms behind him were not idle either.


    Because it was not convenient to hold other things with the working mechanical arms, when he was thirsty, one of the spider arms would bring a cup of tea from a table several meters away and feed him a sip of water.


    The eight spider arms saved him a lot of time andpleted some simple but time-consuming tasks.


    For example, loading bullets into the ammunition belt.


    It didn''t require precise control. With the cooperation of several spider arms, they could easily pour the bullets from the box onto the specially made bullet press, and then press the handle. With the rhythmic metallic sound of "click, click, click," the bullets would be neatly loaded onto the ammunition belt.


    In no time, thest two modified ammunition boxes from the ck market were alsopleted, and Su''en breathed a sigh of relief.


    He looked at his work and seemed satisfied, muttering to himself, "Finally done, ten ammunition boxes should be enough."


    These ammunition boxes were not only suitable for Su''en''s "Qing Gui," but also for another thing in this room: a mechanical power armor.


    Su''en took the ammunition box and walked to the suspended mech on the wall. He tried the card slot, and it fit perfectly.


    This mech was just an experimental product that Su''en put together, very rough, but basically formed.


    Su''en named this lump of iron "Iron Man Generation One."


    It didn''t have any extra things on it, not even a shell.


    The old and mottled body frame was a rough modification of the "Hunter VIII external mechanical skeleton"; the core was a "PT9 four-cylinder steam boiler" bought from the old goods market, which provided power for this lump of iron; the two arms were simple and crude six-barreled guns, connected with ammunition belts and bulletproof tes. There were also some hydraulic transmission devices, high-pressure valves, and otherponents that were dismantled from various old goods...


    Although it didn''t have much technical content, this thing was Su''en''s attempt.


    He tried to control this kind of power armor like a puppet with steel wires.


    But because the technology was far from enough and the machinery was too heavy, he hadn''t even solved the problem of easily falling when running.


    Now its only use was as a semi-fixed turret. Su''en could remotely control it to fire, make simple movements, and aim.


    It could be considered as a small step towards his idea of bing a mechanical puppeteer.


    .......


    It was midnight now, and Su''en originally had several hours to arrange freely in his studio.


    Afterpleting his mechanical manufacturing tasks for the day, he wanted to practice making "Rune Puppets."


    But at this moment, themunicator suddenly transmitted Kay''s urgent voice: "Everyone, bring your weapons and gather at the Elephant Tavern!"


    Upon hearing this, Su''en frowned.


    Themunicator was a tool used by the Cross Society members to gather manpower in the event of a very important emergency. For small fights and disputes, a few shouts in Green Street would be enough to gather twenty or thirty people, and there was no need for amunicator.


    He had only used it once when the Cross Society headquarters was attacked on the first day he joined. Now he heard it again?


    Judging from Kay''s tone, it seemed that the situation was not small.


    "Could it be those guys from the Steam Party causing trouble?"


    Su''en spected. Conflicts often urred at the boundary between Green Street and the Steam Party''s territory. If there was a big disturbance, it was probably those guys.


    He didn''t dy and changed out of his work suit.


    Because hisbat equipment was always stored in his storage ring, there was nothing to tidy up. Su''en left the basement and then started his motorcycle, racing all the way. In less than two minutes, he arrived in front of the Elephant Tavern.


    .......


    When Su''en arrived, two groups of people were already confronting each other on the street outside the tavern.The ordinary customers on the street have disappeared, and two gangs of about two to three hundred people each are standing outside the tavern with long guns and short cannons, facing each other. The number of people is still increasing.


    Su''en took a nce and saw that the Cross Society was not just a few dozen people from Green Street, but also captains and gang members from other districts.


    It seems that there is going to be a big fight tonight.


    The elimination rate of gang members at the bottom of the gang is very high, and Su''en is already considered an old man in Green Street.


    Because of his close rtionship with Kay, although he has not been officially appointed, the gang members also regard him as the "vice captain". Especially the neers, when they see his motorcycleing, they wave and greet him.


    A familiar neer walked over and greeted Su''en, "Vice Captain, you''re here..."


    Su''en didn''t see Kay and looked at the situation tonight, feeling a bit exaggerated, and asked, "What''s going on?"


    The person whispered, "The Steam Party suddenly gathered people to Green Street, and the cadres are negotiating in the tavern..."


    "Negotiating?"


    Su''en frowned as he listened.


    He looked at the arrogant motorcycle gang members of the Steam Party not far away and realized that something was wrong.


    In a normal situation, such arge-scale invasion would lead to direct warfare.


    But they are sitting down to negotiate?


    However, looking at the current situation, he also knew that they couldn''t fight for the time being. Since there are cadres negotiating, at least before there is any movement in the tavern, the people outside cannot provoke or fight.


    ...


    Su''en roughly understood the reason for the gathering and didn''t n to mix in the crowd. He walked to the corner of the street and squatted in a ce near the alley.


    In case a fight really breaks out, crowded ces will definitely be the focus of grenade attacks.


    After squatting for a while, he saw Kay walking out of the tavern.


    Kay also saw Su''en and gestured for him toe to a secluded corner, indicating that there was something to discuss.


    The two bumped their heads against the side wall of the tavern.


    Su''en had never seen such an ugly expression on Kay''s face before, so he asked, "What''s going on?"


    Kay gestured for him to look inside the tavern.


    Su''en nced through the window and saw that there were no ordinary customers in the tavern, only a group of strong men in ck leather jackets with guns.


    Two cadres from the Cross Society, "Red Devil" Gelong and "Smoke Ghost" Sambu, came. And on the opposite side of the negotiation table was the scar-faced man from the Steam Party whom Su''en also knew, second-tier cadre "Mad Dog" Hogg Wiesnat, with the talent of a werewolf in the Beast Transformation system, and strongbat power. He was also an old strongman of the Steam Party.


    At this time, Kay finally said, "There''s a big problem in the inner city, we might be in trouble..."


    Su''en listened to the tone and his face remained unchanged.


    If there''s a problem, there''s a problem. It won''t affect the livelihoods of the lower-level gang members like them...


    Kay was concise and said, "I just received news that the top-level financial consortium ''Reyes Family'' in the inner city has split into seven parts. The industry in Green Street is now in the hands of the third branch. Today, the young master of the third branch, Martin Reyes, is also here. He''s upstairs."


    "The Reyes Family?"


    Su''en heard this and felt that something good seemed to suddenly have something to do with him.


    Isn''t this the family of Rena, the rich woman?


    Their benefactor, Lady Finov, has a very close rtionship with the Reyes Family...


    What happened in just one month?


    Could it be that Rena couldn''t control the situation and her uncles split the family?


    Kay continued, "I don''t know the specific situation. But I heard that the ck Tower high-levels put pressure on them, and the major families in the inner city don''t want to see the Reyes Family dominate alone, so they forced the Reyes Family to agree to split the consortium."


    "..."


    Hearing this familiar pattern, Su''en immediately understood.


    The "Reyes Consortium" almost monopolizes the residents'' water and mining in Old Lingdun, a true oligopoly.


    But the fate of an "oligopoly" is usually already determined.


    Either they have immense power and control over the government.


    If they can''t reach the top, the final oue is getting beaten up.


    This is not a new thing in the previous life either, just like the seven oligarchs in Russia, how glorious they were at their peak, but in the end, they were all hammered without any resistance...


    Old Lingdun is a privately owned feudal lord system. In theory, everything in the city is the private property of the lord "Grand Duke Raphael". As long as the ck Tower, the highest authority in the inner city, is there, no matter how big the "oligopoly" is, they have to bow down.


    But...


    What does the split of the Reyes Family have to do with their Green Street?


    Su''en looked at the Steam Party, who was negotiating on the other side, and seemed to have guessed something.


    At this moment, Kay finally expressed his concern, "Most of the entertainment industry in Green Street is owned by the Reyes Family. Now that the Reyes Family has split, the taverns and gambling dens are mostly in the hands of the third branch. And those guys from the Steam Party somehow got involved with Martin Young Master. Now their intention is for the Cross Society to withdraw from Green Street and let the Steam Party take over..."


    Su''en understood immediately upon hearing this.


    ...


    Su''en felt that negotiations like this were likely to break down.


    Sure enough, after a few words, there was suddenly amotion in the tavern.


    The voices were loud and could be heard on the street.


    "Mad Dog" Hogg was very tough in his attitude and aggressively said, "Within three days, you Cross Society will withdraw from Green Street, otherwise..."


    Gangs do rely on their benefactors for their livelihood, but not entirely.


    They are not so weak as to give up their territory that they fought for.


    "Impossible!"


    "Smoke Ghost" Sambu directly mmed the table and interrupted the conversation.


    With a gloomy face and a slow pace of speech, he said, "Green Street has always been the territory of our Cross Society, Hogg, don''te up with these empty words. If the Steam Party wants the territory, they shoulde at us with open weapons!"


    The benefactor of the Cross Society is Lady Finov. As long as she doesn''t speak, no one can do anything.


    With these words, it meant that the negotiation had copsed.As soon as the words e and fight" fell, it irritated the nerves of both sides. Everyone in the tavern aimed their guns at each other.


    Su''en and Kay reacted quickly, pulling out their guns and aiming at the members of the Steam Party in the room.


    This action triggered a chain reaction. The members of both sides outside the door immediately became tense, hearing the sound of bullets being loaded, "click, click."


    The atmosphere suddenly became tense, like a lit fuse on a barrel of explosives. Any slight movement would immediately ignite a fierce fire.


    For a moment, therge Elephant Tavern fell silent.


    No one dared to fire the first shot.


    If a fight were to break out now, it would undoubtedly be the spark that ignites a full-scale war between the two factions!


    .......


    In gang negotiations, it''s all about showing off and flipping tables, but the possibility of actually fighting on the negotiation table is low.


    Normally, in this situation, a third party woulde out to mediate, to calm both sides down and sit down to negotiate again...


    But unexpectedly, something unimaginable happened.


    At this moment, a bottle of wine suddenly fell from the sky and smashed onto the negotiation table.


    With a "crash," it shattered, sshing everyone with wine stains.


    Everyone was stunned. This action clearly showed that they didn''t take the two major factions seriously and was a tant provocation.


    Everyone''s gaze turned to the second floor of the tavern. However, when they saw who it was, their anger subsided one by one.


    A young man in a silver suit leaned against the railing, looking down at everyone with a contemptuous expression. "Hmph! A bunch of ignorant fools. I gave you a little taste of sweetness, and you actually think highly of yourselves?"


    These words were clearly directed at them.


    Su''en didn''t know this young man, but judging from his luxurious suit, he guessed that he must be someone important from the inner city.


    Clearly, this person is the protagonist of today, the third young master of the Reyes family, Martin Reyes.


    PS. Seeking votes on Monday~

 Chapter 91: Im not here to negotiate with you

    Chapter 91: I''m not here to negotiate with you


    The entertainment industry in Green Street is one of the most developed districts in the outer city.


    Because of the mysterious Lady Filov behind it, there are many wealthy people from the inner city whoe here for entertainment and consumption. Especially for gambling projects that the inner city does not have, such as bloody diator arenas, even just themission from those gambling high rollers is an exaggerated amount.


    Usually, such entertainment venues are under the protection of the underworld, dealing with things that are more convenient for the local bosses to handle.


    For example, thieves, cheaters, non-paying customers, troublemaking drinkers, illegal human trafficking, hallucinogenic potions... and some other shady deals.


    It''s not that the behind-the-scenes bosses are incapable of handling these matters, but outsourcing them with some money can save a lot of trouble and even be a win-win situation.


    Originally, the situation was that the Cross Society had the power to control Green Street.


    And because the benefactors behind the Cross Society could bring some high-quality customers to the entertainment industry on this street, everyone was happy.


    But now, the third branch of the Reyes family has obtained the ownership of some major venues in the Green Street area, and the situation has changed.


    Young Master Martin wants to kick out the Cross Society and bring in his own Steam Party, which he is closer to.


    Originally, many venues on Green Street had shares owned by the Reyes family, such as the diator arena "Crimson Citadel" that Su''en always liked to go to, and now the third branch is the major shareholder.


    It''s reasonable to change the person in charge of one''s own industry, and there''s nothing wrong with it.


    But it''s reasonable, but it''s not in line with the rules of the underworld.


    After all, the outer city is the territory of the three major gangs, and they are all desperate ouws who live by the sword. They earn their lives with their lives. Why should they listen to you just because you say so?


    Originally, negotiations were about give and take.


    The ultimate goal of gangsters fighting and killing each other is to make a profit.


    The Steam Party does want toe and take a look, make some profit, and even lose arge sum of money, so there is room for negotiation.


    That way, everyone can save face.


    But Young Master Martin''s current intention is to kick the Cross Society out with nothing.


    ........


    "Smoke Ghost" Sangbu looked at the broken old-fashioned on the table, a sh of gloom in his eyes, and suppressed his anger without showing it.


    He looked at the young man in the suit upstairs and asked in a deep voice, "Young Master Martin, what do you mean by this?"


    "What do I mean? Hehe..."


    Young Master Martin sneered, not even looking at this member of the Cross Society, and said, "From now on, Green Street is under my control. Also, please watch your tone and don''t think that anyone has the right to talk to me. I didn''te here to negotiate with you. I just let Hogge to inform you. Within three days, I don''t want to see any members of the Cross Society in my venues."


    After speaking, he turned his gaze to Smoke Ghost and asked, "Now, do you understand?"


    Not only Smoke Ghost, but the faces of everyone in the Cross Society were very ugly.


    If someone else spoke so arrogantly, they would probably have already started a fight.


    But facing this big shot from the inner city, none of the members of the Cross Society dared to point their guns at him, and they all held back their anger, their faces turning red.


    With a cold face, Smoke Ghost spoke again, "Young Master Martin, we will withdraw from your venues, that''s not a problem. But by doing this, it might not be easy to exin to Lady Filov..."


    Soldier against soldier, general against general.


    Smoke Ghost knew very well that he didn''t even have the qualification to negotiate with this young master, so he could only bring up the benefactor.


    Gang members are all desperate ouws struggling at the bottom of society, in the upper ss of the inner city, they are just lowly "thugs", with miserable lives.


    Identity?


    Respect?


    Thinking too much, they are just tools.


    Although it sounds cruel, it is the truth.


    Upon hearing this, Young Master Martin coldly said, "If it weren''t for Lady Filov''s sake, I wouldn''t havee in person. Besides, this matter is the business of my Reyes family, and it has nothing to do with Lady Filov..."


    This statement directly blocked all the arguments of the members of the Cross Society.


    Without even giving face to the benefactor, there is no room for further negotiation.


    .......


    Upon hearing this, Su''en, outside the tavern window, frowned.


    The more powerful the family, the more they valueworking, and the less they should offend others so recklessly.


    This Young Master Martin looks aggressive and has the arrogant temperament of a spoiled young master. Facing this group of wicked gangsters, Su''en felt that this guy definitely shouldn''t be as shallow as he appears.


    Not giving face to the Cross Society is one thing, but not even giving face to Lady Filov is quite intriguing.


    This kind ofpletely disrespectful behavior gives the impression that... the other party doesn''t care about offending people at all.


    "It seems that things have be moreplicated..."


    Su''en''s thoughts started to spin.


    He quickly realized that the incident on Green Street was just the tip of the iceberg, involving more high-level power struggles.


    The control of several streets'' venues wouldn''t be enough to make this young mastere in person.


    If there is no further value, there is no need to give face...


    This kind of thing usually happens when a building is about to copse.


    A sh of insight came to Su''en''s mind, and from Young Master Martin''s words, he quickly deduced two possibilities: 1. Someone wants to take action against the Cross Society; 2. Someone wants to take action against the benefactor behind the Cross Society!"Could it be that someone is nning to target Lady Philo, or the power behind her?"


    Upon careful consideration, Su''en immediately felt that his spection was probably close to the truth.


    He had known before that the power behind Philo was closely rted to Rena''s father. After all, Rena was still her aunt.


    If anyone had the ability to force the Reis family to split, wouldn''t they take advantage of the situation and weaken them?


    In fact, when Rena was assassinated, Su''en had already guessed that things were not that simple.


    If it was only through killing that one could rise to power, then the people in the Leonard family who were in charge would be too foolish.


    Choosing assassination was probably to create internal conflicts.


    Now that Rena was not dead and the consortium was still forcibly split, the high-level members of the ck Tower who had been pushing things behind the scenes had alsoe to light. But since they had already done it, they had to swallow the criticism.


    Splitting the Reis family into seven clearly showed that the other party did not have the ability to kill this behemoth, so they created internal conflicts, rallied some people, divided others, and struck another group...


    This was a very clever political strategy.


    Therefore, this was also why the Third House did not continue to support the Cross Society, their old partners in the outer city, but turned to the Steam Party. This was actually a true reflection of the internal conflicts being transferred to the outer city.


    Thinking of this, Su''en suddenly understood why Martin Young Master was so tough, because he knew that someone was nning to target Lady Philo.


    In a sh of thought, Su''en muttered to himself, "If that''s the case, there will probably be a lot of deaths in this territorial dispute..."


    .......


    Martin Young Master pped all the members of the Cross Society in the face with a few words. Kay, who was beside him, gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath, "This damn Young Master, I really want to shoot him!"


    He said it, but no one dared to actually do it.


    Even though the Reis family had been split, it had gone from being an "oligarchy" to seven "tycoons".


    The Third House was not to be underestimated, and it was definitely not something that a gang in the outer city could provoke.


    At this time, Martin Young Master lost patience and no longer stayed in the tavern. He threw two gold coins as if he was giving alms and arrogantly said, "This is for the drinks just now."


    Without even looking at the members of the Cross Society, he said, "Remember, three dayster, I don''t want to see you again."


    Then, without looking back, he walked out of the Elephant Tavern with his bodyguards.


    The members of the Steam Party followed behind him like foxes behind a tiger''s butt, with a triumphant smile on their faces, and left with the Young Master.


    The Smoke Ghost and Red Demon, the two executives, had dark faces and remained silent.


    Although the members of the Cross Society were filled with anger, no one dared to stop them.


    .......


    After the enemy left, Kay and the other captains also rushed into the tavern.


    As long as the executives gave the order, they could immediately take their weapons and chase after them.


    "Smoke Ghost Boss, what should we do now? This damn Steam Party has gone too far!"


    "I''m telling you... Let''s take our weapons and teach them a lesson! I almost couldn''t resist shooting those damn dogs just now."


    "That''s right! That damn Young Master, I really want to twist his head off!"


    "..."


    There weren''t many gang members who were afraid of trouble, especially those who became captains. They had all crawled out of a pile of dead bodies.


    They weren''t afraid of fighting. They rolled up their sleeves and were ready to fight immediately.


    But the executives clearly knew that there were more internal factors involved in this matter, and they had a higher level of consideration.


    Su''en didn''t have the qualifications to go in, so he quietly listened outside.


    He felt that what he could think of, the executives would definitely be able to think of as well.


    If they really started a war now, the Cross Society would lose both in terms of reason and money.


    No matter what, would they dare to openly attack a young master of an inner city family?


    Killing people might be satisfying, but what about the consequences?


    Did they really think that the security and defense forces of the inner city couldn''t eliminate a gang because their knives were not fast enough?


    The Smoke Ghost suppressed the anger of the crowd and said, "I''ll go back to headquarters first and ask the president what he thinks... Don''t act impulsively, wait for news."

 Chapter 92: Start war

    Chapter 92: Start war


    "I''ll leave now, and leave the matters here to you. I''ll take care of the things in the inner city, so you can handle it freely. Three dayster, I don''t want to see any members of the Cross Society still on Green Street!"


    "You can rest assured, Young Master Martin. We''ll take care of it."


    "..."


    After leaving the Elephant Tavern, "Mad Dog" Hogg led a group of Steam Party members respectfully and sent Young Master Martin into his luxurious steam car.


    Watching the convoy leave, Hogg also breathed a sigh of relief.


    It was the first time he apanied such an important person, and he felt a lot of pressure. Just now in the tavern, he was really afraid that the Cross Society would lose their temper or even start shooting...


    Although there were bodyguards by his side, this young master probably wouldn''t die even if something happened, but even if he was just frightened, Hogg felt a great responsibility.


    And if a fight really broke out, the Steam Party would definitely be at a disadvantage on the Cross Society''s territory.


    But now that they had sent away this young master, the mission was perfectlypleted.


    Hogg was in a good mood and waved to the group of members, "Let''s go, brothers."


    The roaring sound of hundreds of motorcycles deafened the ears as this group of uninvited guests left Green Street in a grand manner.


    ........


    Before long, Hogg returned to the Steam Party gathering ce in the Wellington District of the East City.


    Here, various mechanical modification shops and essory stores could be seen everywhere.


    Illegal limb modifications were also an important source of ie for the Steam Party.


    Hogg walked into a heavy metal-style tavern and saw the president, "Butcher" Banner, in a private room on the second floor.


    "President, the job is done."


    "Is there any movement from the Cross Society?"


    "Not for now. It seems that they have to swallow this loss."


    "Well done."


    Banner was in a good mood andughed as he embraced the seductive woman beside him.


    Seeing that he was in a good mood, the woman asked coquettishly, "Old man, why would Young Master Martin be willing to personally handle such a small matter?"


    "A small matter? This is not small at all."


    Banner shook his head with a smile, a look of joy appearing on his face. He exined meaningfully, "If the matter on Green Street is sessful this time, the situation in the outer city will be different... The Cross Society might even suffer a big setback."


    "But... Will the backer behind the Cross Society just sit idly by?"


    "That Mrs. Filov also has a lot of power in the inner city. If the Reyes family hadn''t split, we wouldn''t have had any chance at all. But now... Mrs. Filov is also in a difficult situation herself, so she probably won''t tear her face over a small piece of territory in the outer city."


    The woman seemed to understand something and asked, "Are you saying that someone wants to target the backer of the Cross Society?"


    Banner neither confirmed nor denied it, and didn''t exin further. He smiled and said, "Who knows? We don''t need to worry about the matters in the inner city. Just take care of Green Street for now."


    "Oh."


    The seductive woman didn''t ask any more questions. She thought of something and said softly, "But when we met, I always felt that Young Master Martin looked at me strangely..."


    Bannerughed, "Well, men, how can they resist when they see you?"


    The woman gave him a seductive look and yfully asked, "What if the young master really takes a liking to me?"


    Banner had an indifferent expression, "Then I''ll send you over."


    "Pfft~"


    This remark made the seductive woman yfully punch her chest. Banner burst intoughter and his big hands wandered freely on the woman''s graceful figure.


    But unexpected events often ur when least expected.


    Just as Banner was in a good mood and was about to move his body, urgent footsteps could be heard outside the door.


    After all, he was a high-level professional, and his perception was extremely sensitive. Hearing the footsteps, his face changed slightly.


    Knock, knock, knock!


    In an instant, someone knocked on the door, and Banner said in a deep voice, "Come in!"


    The door opened, and a captain stood at the entrance with an anxious expression. He spoke quickly, "President, something bad has happened!"


    As soon as he spoke, the joyful atmosphere in the room instantly disappeared.


    Banner vaguely guessed what had happened, and his gaze suddenly turned cold. "What happened?"


    "Just now... The Reyes family''s convoy was attacked by a group of mysterious people on Wutong Street in the South City. The entire convoy was wiped out, and Young Master Martin... was killed!"


    "What?!"


    Upon hearing this, Banner''s face changed drastically, and he stood up with a swish.


    For a moment, the terrifying pressure of a high-level professional instantly spread, making it difficult for the people in the room to breathe.


    He asked urgently, "Is the news confirmed?"


    "It''s confirmed! There was a severely injured driver at the scene, and he said... among the attackers, there was a guy who could transform into a red giant."


    "The ''Red Demon'' Gollon?"


    Upon hearing this news, Banner''s eyes flickered frequently, and he cursed angrily, "Damn it!"


    He knew very well how much trouble the death of Young Master Martin would bring to their Steam Party. Not only would the cooperation they had just negotiated be in vain, but the pursuit that followed would be the most troublesome!


    He immediately ordered, "Gather manpower and immediately take over the Cross Society''s stronghold on Green Street! Notify the cadres to gather and prepare for a gang war!"


    "Yes, President!"


    The captain also knew that the situation was urgent and hurriedly left to carry out the order.


    ........


    The sudden bad news made the faces of the remaining people in the room extremely ugly, and the atmosphere became terrifyingly cold.


    They had just celebrated the great advantage the Steam Party had gained, and now they received news that the young master from the inner city had been killed.


    It was like a hole had been punched in the sky, and everyone was stunned by this news.


    Banner sat on the sofa with a gloomy face, not knowing what he was thinking.On the side, "Mad Dog" Hogg''s face turned pale. It was not long ago that he personally sent Martin away, and now he heard the news of his death. He knew he couldn''t escape from this.


    But he didn''t lose his rationality due to anger, and raised his doubts, "President, what if it''s not Gelong, but someone else who awakened the talent of the Red Demon?"


    Anyone with clear eyes could see that the convoy intentionally left survivors, and one of the attackers who awakened the talent of the Red Demon was recognized. It seemed suspicious no matter how you looked at it.


    "President, I feel like there''s something fishy about this. It seems like someone is setting a trap to provoke a war between our two gangs..."


    Hogg felt that he had found a point of doubt, and then analyzed, "After all, the members of the Cross Society feel like they''re at a disadvantage. As long as their brains are not damaged, they wouldn''t dare to really kill Martin. Now we have to go to Green Street to settle this. What if it''s a misunderstanding..."


    "Hehe... Do you think I don''t understand?"


    Barna interrupted him with a coldugh and said, "Now that the attacker is not Gelong, the Cross Society will have to bear this me!"


    He sneered and continued, "Also, our Steam Party won''t have it easy either!"


    It was clear that Barna was truly furious, "Whether it was the Cross Society who attacked the convoy or not, since the young master died, someone has to be buried with him! Do you really think the big shots in the inner city will wait for us to slowly investigate the truth and find the culprit? If no one dies today, we won''t be able to settle this!"


    "Ah... this..."


    Hogg immediately realized that the situation was even more serious than he had expected.


    In the eyes of those big shots in the inner city, their lives as gang members were no different from sewer rats.


    If a young master from a top financial family died, it would be worth more than ten thousand gang members.


    If they didn''t make a move, the high-level members of the Steam Party would immediately face the furious storm of those big shots in the inner city.


    After venting his anger, Barna gradually calmed down.


    He thought of something and his expression became extremely ugly. He muttered to himself with self-mockery, "I thought those big shots in the inner city were going to deal with the Cross Society. Now it seems like they don''t want to see us grow either..."


    It didn''t matter who the culprit was!


    What mattered was that the Steam Party and the Cross Society, the two major gangs, had to go to war and give an exnation!


    In this battle, both sides would suffer.


    The person behind the scenes wanted to see this situation!


    At this moment, Barna suddenly thought of something and his eyes turned cold. He asked, "Hogg, besides you, who else knows the route of the Rayes family''s convoy?"


    Hogg''s face instantly turned pale when he heard this.


    He instantly realized that the president asking this question meant that he suspected there was a problem within the Steam Party as well.


    ........


    After the guys from the Steam Party arrogantly left, the members of the Cross Society did not leave Green Street.


    Everyone knew that something big would happen within the next three days, and the members of the gang were prepared for a war.


    The members from other districts also canceled their rest and gathered in various taverns, carrying guns and ammunition.


    In the dpidated building on Green Street, Kay led forty to fifty men and squatted down.


    A bonfire burned in a metal barrel, and the firearms and ammunition from the arsenal were distributed. Mechanical arms, cannons, grenades, heavy machine guns... everything needed for a battle.


    The veterans set up their rifles on tripods next to the bonfire, then gathered together to chat and y poker. Fighting was amon urrence, not much different from usual.


    The neers had never experienced such a battle before and trembled with their firearms.


    The dpidated building had five floors, and standing on the top floor, one could overlook arge part of Green Street.


    Kay and Su''en stood at the edge of the building, looking at the bustling street below.


    A cool breeze blew into their cors, bringing a slight chill.


    When Kay came out of the tavern, he was already feeling down. Now, looking at this prosperous street, he sighed, "If we lose Green Street this time, I won''t have the face to see the boss and the others."


    This was his first time as a captain, and Green Street was his first jurisdiction.


    If they really lost, it felt like his wife had been taken away.


    Su''en looked at his expression and didn''t directly say that this was no longer something he, as a captain, could intervene in, or even something that President Chuck could reverse.


    All he could do was advise, "Captain, I have a feeling that something big is going to happen. Be careful."


    Upon hearing this, Kay became even more furious, "Hmph, if those guys from the Steam Party dare toe, I''ll definitely crush them!"


    Su''en: "..."


    He guessed that there might be an armed conflict, but he didn''t expect it toe so soon and so directly.


    Kay was also a jinx.


    Just as he finished speaking, there was a sudden explosion, and the entire Green Street was engulfed in mes.


    Someone immediately shouted in rm, "Something''s wrong! The Steam Party''s people are attacking!"


    Su''en looked closely and his pupils contracted.


    In the distance on the street, the Steam Party''s convoy came in a ck mass. There were transport vehicles, motorcycles, armored vehicles, modified heavy trucks... and even tanks. There were probably hundreds or even thousands of them!


    Seeing this scene, Kay beside him also eximed, "Damn, how many people did the Steam Party bring?"

 Chapter 93: A shot hit from three hundred meters away

    Chapter 93: A shot hit from three hundred meters away


    The Steam Party suddenly started a war, which is very unreasonable.


    ording to reason, they should have given three days to retreat. The Steam Party should not havee to provoke Green Street during this time.


    Moreover, with the support of the third branch of the Reyes family, as long as the Steam Party waits a few more days, the Cross Society will eventually withdraw from Green Street under the pressure of the higher-ups. Even if there is a conflict, it will be a small-scale one.


    It is iprehensible why they would create such a scene of a gang war when they could have easily taken over Green Street without much cost.


    Kay looked at the number of enemies and cursed angrily, "Are these Steam Party guys crazy? Do they want the two gangs to fight to the death?"


    Su''en looked at the sudden situation and suddenly thought of something. His expression became slightly strange as he muttered, "With such disregard for the consequences, could it be that the president of the Steam Party was assassinated, or... that Martin Young Master was taken out by someone?"


    Besides this reason, he couldn''t think of any other reason that would make the Steam Party so recklessly aggressive.


    However, it doesn''t matter what the reason for the Steam Party''s war is. The enemy has already reached the doorstep, and the Cross Society has to face them.


    ........


    The first shell exploded, blowing up the armored vehicle parked at the head of Green Street. The convoy rushed into the nearby blocks of Green Street like a torrent of steel.


    Then the two sides engaged in a fierce gun battle, with gunshots ringing out and cannons exploding throughout the streets.


    The Steam Party excelled in mechanical modifications and had a significant technological advantage with their cannons and armored vehicles.


    Almost every motorcycle was equipped with individual artillery and heavy machine guns. These hundreds of motorcycle knights were like hundreds of mobile artillery tforms.


    The Cross Society did not expect arge-scale gang war and was caught off guard. The frontal artillery battle did notst long, and the gang members were forced into the alleys between the buildings, starting a street battle.


    Preliminary estimates showed that the number of people from the Steam Party was ten times that of the current Cross Society members in Green Street!


    Moreover, the majority of the Steam Party members had mechanical prosthetics, which gave them a significant advantage inrge-scale firefights. Even if they were hit by bullets, it wouldn''t be as deadly as it would be for a flesh and blood body.


    Furthermore, although mechanical prosthetics were not as agile as a human body, in terms of uracy and stability in continuous shooting, they had a huge advantage over non-professionals.


    .......


    Kay and the others were waiting in front of a dpidated building, right next to a narrow alley.


    Large tanks couldn''t enter here, so they relied on this alley to fight a defensive battle.


    "Brothers, fight them! Hold on a little longer, reinforcements have already been sent from headquarters!"


    "Wolf, use the rocketuncher to blow up the transport vehicle at the street corner!"


    "Damn it, we need someone who can bandage wounds to treat Barty''s injury!"


    "..."


    The sound of gunfire was dense like raindrops, and Captain Kay shouted hoarsely as hemanded the battle.


    "Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh"... The sound of bullets whizzing through the air rang in their ears, and the oppressive feeling of death made everyone feel like there was a heavy stone pressing on their chests. The cloud of death hung over each and every one of them.


    Large-scale wars were not the time to show individual bravery. Even Kay, who had extremely strong closebat abilities, could only hide behind cover and shoot. If he rushed out now, he would immediately be the target of concentrated fire.


    After all, the gang was not a regr army, and although they fought fiercely, they had many shorings.


    For example, they didn''t have medics.


    Once injured, it was fatal for them.


    The veterans had some experience and changed their cover positions while fighting, overall engaging in a back-and-forth with the enemy. The rookies were prone to making mistakes, and their nervousness caused them to make frequent errors...


    Mistakes meant death.


    In a short time, about forty to fifty people were reduced by more than ten due to death or serious injuries. And because they discovered resistance in this dpidated building, more and more Steam Party members gathered at the entrance of the alley.


    ......


    Su''en hid behind cover and asionally took shots.


    His expression remained calm throughout.


    After all, ordinary gunmen didn''t pose much of a threat to him.


    Even if he didn''t stick his head out to observe, Su''en''s ability to "locate by sound" allowed him to easily determine the shooting positions of the enemies. Even if a rocket wasunched at him, he could predict the trajectory and impact point in advance from the sound of the burning gunpowder, calmly avoiding the deadly range of the explosion.


    Su''en''s currentbat power had already surpassed the majority of captain-level fighters. With his marksmanship, he could easily suppress the two or three dozen enemies at the alley entrance.


    But he didn''t do that.


    Because it wouldn''t solve the problem at all, and it would bring a real disaster to their Green Street team.


    Once the enemy discovered that there was a "firearms expert" in this dpidated building, captain-level professionals would immediatelye to deal with them. If Su''en killed the captains, there would be cadre-level fightersing... and the trouble would be endless.


    With the enemy outnumbering them tenfold, Su''en couldn''t possibly kill them all.


    The best choice was to continue wearing them down and wait for the reinforcements from the Cross Society to arrive. At least when there were people to hold back the local second-tier professionals, he could unleash a counterattack.


    For now, all he had to do was protect himself, asionally take shots to eliminate a few more threatening enemies.


    .......


    The members of the Green Street team were constantly being pushed back from the entrance of the alley.And at this moment, Kay suddenly noticed that the sniper on the dpidated rooftop behind them had gone silent. He turned around and realized that their sniper had been shot in the head by the enemy, with the body hanging halfway off the edge of the building.


    "Damn it, our sniper has been taken out!"


    "Captain, it seems like there are enemies approaching from behind!"


    "..."


    The enemies of the Steam Party dared not advance because the Cross Society had already upied the high ground, suppressing them with sniper fire.


    Now that they no longer had a sniper in a high position, the Steam Party outside the alley pushed forward with their powerful mechanical shields.


    The situation became increasingly dangerous, and Su''en was considering how long they could hold on before they had to retreat.


    But just then, he suddenly felt a pressure on his forehead, as if being pricked by a needle.


    "Am I being targeted by a sniper?"


    This was a warning from the "Malicious Perception" skill, indicating that someone was staring at him with hostile intent.


    The feeling was faint, indicating that the enemy was far away.


    But it was enough to make Su''en alert.


    Without any hesitation, he rolled to the side, and almost at the same time, a bullet hit the spot where he had just been, leaving a bullet hole on the hard ground.


    Su''en looked at the trajectory of the bullet and instantly identified the precise location of the sniper. Without hesitation, he pulled out his famous gun, "Razer," and aimed it towards the window of a small building over three hundred meters away at the eleven o''clock position to the left. He pulled the trigger.


    "Bang!"


    In an instant, a special sh of light, like that of a lightning bolt, shed from the muzzle of the Razer. The bullet was fired and urately hit the window three hundred meters away. The sudden stter of blood on the ss bed indicated that someone had indeed been hit behind the window.


    Kay, who was beside him, watched as Su''en suddenly rolled and fired towards the nk of the enemy''s position. His gaze instinctively followed the direction of the gun.


    He had been puzzled as to why Su''en had aimed the gun at such a high angle, but with this nce, he saw the stter of blood on the ss window.


    "A sniper?"


    Kay looked at Su''en, his eyes filled with astonishment as if he had witnessed something unimaginable.


    Su''en was a "firearms expert," and Kay knew that.


    He wasn''t surprised that Su''en could kill an enemy sniper with one shot.


    But to urately kill a target three hundred meters away with a pistol? That was unbelievable!


    Not to mention marksmanship, could your pistol even be used as a sniper rifle?


    Kay, after all, was a professional and had much more experience than an ordinary gang member. He took a nce at the old and worn pistol in Su''en''s hand and knew that this gun was definitely not ordinary.


    He had thought that Su''en didn''t bring his famous gun, "Three-Headed Ghost," because he was afraid of exposing himself, but it turned out that he had reced it with something better?


    Kay didn''t say much. It wasn''t the time for idle chatter.


    Losing the high ground was very disadvantageous for them. Kay instantly thought of something and approached Su''en, asking, "Su''en, can you take two of our brothers and seize the high ground of the dpidated building?"


    This was a very dangerous mission.


    Snipers were high-priority targets and once they opened fire, the enemy would immediately choose to eliminate the sniper position.


    Kay and Su''en had a close bond, and if it weren''t for the need of the position, he would have chosen to go himself.


    But he didn''t expect Su''en to agree without hesitation, nodding, "I can."


    He felt that it suited him well.


    There were too many people and distractions at the position, and he had many hidden cards that he couldn''t reveal. Moreover, the position was a high-priority target for the enemy, and even with his super perception, he couldn''t avoid being hit by stray bullets.


    And if things really became unbearable... it would also affect his tactical retreat.


    Su''en thought for a moment and added, "I can handle it alone."

 Chapter 94: One person suppressed the battle situation

    Chapter 94: One person suppressed the battle situation


    Su''en didn''t stay in the alley for long and turned to a dpidated building nearby.


    There were no lights in the building, it was pitch ck.


    Knowing that the enemy had already entered the building, he guessed that there must be traps, hidden explosives, or warning devices along the way.


    After all, this dpidated building was the usual gathering ce for the people of Green Street, and he was familiar with theyout.


    Su''en chose not to take the stairs and instead used the mechanical gloves on his arms to shoot steel wires to pull obstacles outside the building. After climbing a few times, he reached the rooftop along the outer wall.


    There was no one on the rooftop. He listened carefully and then went down to the fourth floor.


    Using the steel wire to descend to the fourth floor, he saw two figures setting up sniper rifles in a corner, acting suspiciously.


    They didn''t notice that someone had silently approached them from behind.


    Su''en raised his gun and shot, "Biu~ Biu~" Two shots ended the lives of these two people.


    He walked over and collected the soul fragments from the bodies.


    "Obtained 2 memory fragments of ''ggyLeet''."


    "You have acquired some ''basic mechanical knowledge''."


    "Firearm experience +6."


    "Mental power +0.05."


    "Obtained 1 memory fragment of ''PortHaddad''."


    ..."


    The two clusters of mist provided Su''en with some firearm experience, and the basic mechanical knowledge was exactly what he needed.


    Indeed, his performance was not affected when working alone.


    Su''en killed two people, obtained a decent sniper rifle, two additional mechanical arms, and several items from the storage rings. Altogether, they could probably be sold for around two to three hundred thousand.


    Although he rarely used sniper rifles, his marksmanship was not bad.


    He lifted the bodies,y on a dust cloth, and ced the enemy''s sniper rifle on his shoulder. Through the scope, he looked down at the battlefield below.


    This angle allowed him to see Kay and the others'' positions in the alley.


    Fortunately, he arrived quickly. If he had been dyed for a while, the people of Green Street would have been surrounded and most likely wiped out.


    In an instant, Su''en aimed the scope at a member of the Steam Party across the alley and shot him in the head.


    Then he pulled the bolt and aimed at the person next to the headshot target, who was looking at the broken building in astonishment. He shot him in the chest.


    Two shots killed two targets, and the enemy realized that there was a sniper in the broken building, so they didn''t dare to show themselves.


    ........


    After firing two shots, Su''en didn''t look for other targets but quickly put away the sniper rifle and left the area.


    Just a few seconds after he left, a burst of gunfire swept through the spot where he had just shot.


    Hearing the distinctive sound of the machine gun, Su''en knew it was the vehicle-mounted heavy machine gun on the armored vehicle.


    Armor-piercing bullets pierced through the cement wall,pletely obliterating the two bodies on the floor. If he hadn''t left, those bullets would have hit him.


    Su''en changed direction and hid behind a load-bearing column, his gaze fixed on the battlefield below.


    His expression was extremely calm, and he didn''t shoot frequently.


    He only shot asionally when he saw targets that posed a great threat to Kay and the others.


    After killing two more people, a rocket flew towards him and exploded arge hole in the floor.


    However, Su''en had anticipated this and avoided it in advance.


    Kay, who was watching the rocket fly towards the building, was initially worried about Su''en''s safety. But hearing the asional gunshots, he knew that Su''en was still safe.


    With such a precise sniper suppressing the enemy, their pressure was greatly reduced.


    .......


    From the dpidated building, Su''en overlooked the entire battlefield.


    Now the entire Green Street was in chaos, and the enemy''s main forces hadpletely poured into Green Street. In the few minutes since he went upstairs, several ces where gunshots were heard had fallen silent. The Steam Party had a numerical advantage, and the Cross Society was retreating step by step.


    It could be said that Kay''s team was still holding on solely because of him.


    But Su''en knew that it was time for him to retreat.


    This situation couldn''t be stopped by killing a few people.


    But suddenly, he saw a house in the distance copse.


    "An advanced professional in battle?"


    Su''en squinted his eyes and saw a red-skinned giant fighting with several Steam Party executives, like a war god.


    "Is that Gelong? He''s really strong..."


    Su''en''s eyes sparkled with excitement.


    Gelong fought against three opponents and didn''t fall behind at all.


    The Cross Society sent two executives this time, and Smoker had returned to headquarters, leaving Gelong alone in Green Street.


    Su''en hadn''t seen anyone before, so he couldn''t fully unleash his abilities.


    Now that he saw Gelong, he felt relieved.


    With this executive attracting firepower, it was like a bright light in the dark, attracting the attention of the enemy''s second-tier professionals.


    In this way, Su''en felt that the possibility of enemy executivesing to trouble him was even smaller.


    Thinking of this, he looked at Kay and the others who were still fighting downstairs and didn''t rush to leave.


    "It seems like I can take down a few more people."


    Su''en muttered to himself.


    He calcted the time and thought to himself, "Someone should being soon..."......


    The high ground in the battlefield is crucial, especially when there are snipers inside.


    Suddenly, there was an explosion near the staircase of the dpidated building.


    Su''en heard the explosion and showed no surprise. It was the warning bomb installed by the two snipers earlier.


    The explosion meant that someone had infiltrated.


    He quickly took out several smoke bombs from his tactical vest and threw them directly into the corners of the fourth floor.


    Secondster, the smoke filled the entire floor, making it impossible to see anything.


    Su''en adjusted his goggles, and his vision was not affected at all.


    The tactical goggles he wore on his head were equipment he scavenged from the ck Tower Academy in the underground, not only equipped with night vision, but also capable of prating smoke. This was military equipment that couldn''t be bought in the outer city.


    He didn''t think that the ordinary members of the Steam Party would have such good equipment.


    Before long, several figures quietly walked up the stairs. Before their feet could touch the fourth floor, Su''en fired four shots in a row.


    As soon as the gunshots fell, the bodies of four people rolled down the stairs.


    After firing the shots, Su''en''s ears twitched slightly, and he detected other movements. He immediately turned his gun towards the window and fired two more shots, shooting down two guys climbing up the wall.


    After killing six people in a row, the guys downstairs became smarter. They held mechanical shields in front of them, and about a dozen of them crowded together and came up.


    The smoke obscured their vision, and although they couldn''t see clearly, they shot their guns in all directions in the smoke.


    Su''en didn''t rush to attack. He hid behind a stone pir, carefully listening to the footsteps of the enemy and determining their positions.


    Bullets swept across the stone pir, causing debris to fall.


    After hearing the enemy''s round of gunfire, he urately determined the position of a row of enemies.


    Just at this moment, Su''en flicked his finger, and a creepy doll suddenly dropped from the ceiling at the staircase.


    The doll, like a tortured corpse, "struggled" and swayed in the air, emitting a creepyughter.


    As soon as this sound entered their ears, the members of the Steam Party felt a momentary daze, and their guns and shields suddenly slipped from their hands.


    Without any hesitation, Su''en quickly moved away from the pir, dual-wielding his guns, and fired thirteen shots in a row at the crowd, followed by three more shots.


    In the blink of an eye, thirteen more people were killed.


    The bodies piled up at the staircase.


    In front of this "firearms expert," even with the advantage of ambush, the ordinary members of the Steam Party were no match at all.


    ......


    Su''en didn''t bother to look at the bodies on the ground. He pulled the wire and pulled the creepy doll back up to the ceiling.


    Because he knew very well that this was just the beginning.


    There were still footsteps downstairs!


    Su''en changed his position again, fully focused on observing the entire fourth floor, and thought to himself, "The next wave should be captain-level professionals..."

 Chapter 95: Kays Mess

    Chapter 95: Kay''s Mess


    The enemy could appear from any direction, and Su''en didn''t dare to be careless.


    Suddenly, his ear moved, and he heard some movement.


    In a sh, he quickly turned around and fired a few shots towards the window.


    But these shots hit the metal, sparking for a moment.


    In the instant he fired, he saw a figure''s "arm" suddenly shoot out and grab onto the beam, pulling himself up andnding steadily on the fourth floor.


    "The retractable iron w? Captain of the Knight District, ''Anchor Hand'' Park?"


    Su''en saw the iconic steam-powered retractable iron w and instantly guessed the identity of the person.


    Seeing this person, he was not surprised, but rather relieved.


    Without hesitation, he directly shot at the figure. But no matter where the bullets hit, they only caused sparks.


    Seeing this, Su''en thought to himself, "Tsk tsk... as expected, it''s difficult to harm this guy with a firearm, just like the legends say."


    .......


    After all, he was the captain, and Park reacted quickly to the sound of the gunshots.


    He immediately determined Su''en''s position in the smoke and shot out an iron w.


    Su''en was prepared and easily dodged the attack by predicting the angle of the attack.


    Mechanical limbs had strong defense, but theirck of agility was very obvious.


    The mechanical hook lock had a distinct sound of steam energy umtion and release. Although this time was short, it was difficult for non-professionals to avoid. But for Su''en, who had strong auditory and nerve reaction speed, it posed no threat at all.


    That''s why he didn''t even consider the idea of removing the imnted device when facing someone of the same level.


    This lump of iron posed no threat to him!


    ......


    With a "ng," the mechanical iron w didn''t grab the person but instead grabbed arge piece of cement from the load-bearing column.


    Su''en was also surprised. If this thing grabbed a person, their bones would probably be crushed.


    And at this moment, because of Park''s distraction, nearly twenty members of the Steam Party suddenly rushed up the stairs.


    Those guys somehow obtained a powerful hairdryer and blew it randomly at the smoke on the fourth floor. Due to the venttion in the dpidated building, the smoke quickly dissipated after this random blowing.


    "Heh..."


    Su''en raised an eyebrow and found these guys who tinkered with machines quite interesting. They even carried a hairdryer with them.


    Moreover, just by blowing for a moment, Park also exposed Su''en''s approximate position and shouted, "Seven o''clock direction, focus fire!"


    Hearing this, Su''en had time to react.


    He calmly took out a bulletproof board and hid behind a stone pir, enduring a barrage of bullets.


    Seeing that the stone pir was about to break, he remained calm and counted in his mind, "3, 2, 1..."


    The enemies had all arrived at their designated positions. Suddenly, three creepy dolls fell from the ceiling,nding right in the middle of the crowd.


    They cackled strangely, as if pressing a pause button on the gunshots in the building.


    In an instant, the entire floor was filled with their eerieughter.


    Mechanical armor could block bullets, but it couldn''t block the wailing of psychic power!


    Wailing Dollswere almost always urate against non-professionals.


    Moreover, they were now an advanced version of the creepy dolls.


    Su''en wielded his dual guns and fired again.


    Although the members of the Steam Party had various mechanical parts on their bodies, as well as bulletproof helmets and bulletproof vests, their chances of being hit were rtively low.


    But in Su''en''s eyes, as long as they didn''t have full-body armor like "Anchor Hand" Park, there was no difference.


    Eyes exposed, shoot the eyes. Neck exposed, shoot the neck. Knees exposed, shoot the knees... as long as there was an exposed area, it was a precise shot.


    Su''en''s eyes were cold, and his dual guns spewed tongues of fire, mercilessly harvesting the lives of these gunmen.


    Blood sttered like fireworks, bursting in front of his eyes.


    Taking advantage of the intervals between shots, he could also avoid Park''s iron w.


    In just a few moments, nearly twenty peopley in a pool of blood.


    Even if a shot didn''t kill them, bullets would enter through the gaps in their bulletproof vests and helmets as they fell... precise follow-up shots to kill them.


    .......


    Park, the "Anchor Hand," in the distance waspletely dumbfounded by the scene before him.


    His subordinates died one after another, and he could only watch helplessly.


    He realized that the guy with the dual gunspletely ignored his intentions andpletely disregarded the iron w, mercilessly reaping lives like the Grim Reaper.


    Park was dumbfounded.


    Was there a "firearms expert" in this damn building? He had anticipated it, but this person...


    Facing their entire reorganized squad alone, not only did he not run away, but he also dared to ambush them?


    Every move was calm andposed, showing no signs of panic from beginning to end. Shooting and killing in the chaos, every shot precisely hit a vital spot, as if he were a cold-blooded monster.


    Was this guy a monster...


    This guy, facing their squad, showed no signs of panic at all?


    And what the hell was thatughing doll that emitted a terrifyingugh?!Reality didn''t give Park much time to think. In just a moment of shock, he suddenly saw the monster with dual guns kill all of his subordinates and then turn his gaze towards him.


    Park thought to himself, "This is bad," as he tried to control his mechanical arm to grab the guy. However, before the pressure of the mini steam boiler could build up, he saw the person on the other side aim the gun at his head.


    A firearm?


    Even alchemical bullets couldn''t break through his mask.


    But at this moment, Park looked at the expressionless face and suddenly felt less confident.


    It shouldn''t... be able to break through, right?


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    It sounded like two shots, but he only saw a sh of fire in his eyes.


    Two armor-piercing bullets connected end to end, hitting the same spot almost at the same time.


    In his final moment of life, Park watched as cracks appeared on the mask, and then the bullets entered his eye sockets, plunging him into eternal darkness.


    .......


    Suren looked at the fallen lump of iron in front of him and muttered to himself, "My proficiency in [Secret Technique: Double Shot] is still a bitcking when ites to hitting agile professionals. But it''s just right for dealing with clumsy targets like this."


    If it were another first-tier professional, they might have been able to do something about this Park.


    Unfortunately... they encountered Suren.


    After killing a fellow first-tier professional, Suren''s face remained expressionless.


    Without dy, he walked over and swallowed the floating mist above the corpse.


    "You obtained ''Park Cecil''s Memory Fragments *3''."


    "You obtained some information: ''The day for delivering next Friday hase again. Damn it, we''ve already captured all the orphans and beggars in the neighborhood. It''s barely enough this time, but where am I going to get so many people next time...''"


    "You obtained some ''Intermediate Mechanical Knowledge''..."


    "You gained insight into ''Mechanical Limb Modification Techniques'', Mechanical Manufacturing Proficiency +77."


    "You mastered the blueprint for [Park''s Mechanical stic Arm]..."


    "Spirit Power +0.11."


    "Huh... I actually directly extracted aplete mechanical blueprint? Hehe, this guy from the Steam Party really has a lot of mechanical knowledge."


    Suren wasn''t surprised that he could extract mechanical experience from a corpse, but it was the first time he had extracted a mechanical blueprint from a corpse.


    But he had also heard that this Park was a well-known inventor in the Steam Party, skilled in designing and modifying mechanical limbs. The steam w on his own hand was a limb he designed, so it made sense that he had the blueprint in his mind.


    As for the information he extracted, it was iplete and Suren didn''t pay much attention to it.


    After wiping out the team, he didn''t waste any time and started harvesting souls, pulling out the spoils from the bodies on the ground.


    .......


    On the other hand.


    Because Suren had to deal with the group of people who broke into the dpidated building and there was no sniper suppressing them, Kay and the Green Street group downstairs were already in a desperate situation.


    Just as Park led his men to attack the dpidated building, the enemies across the alley also began to charge.


    Kay''s team was being pushed back, and out of the forty or fifty people, there were still seven or eight intact.


    The enemies were increasing in number, and gunshots could be heard from all directions.


    Kay knew that it was pointless to hold on any longer and shouted, "Brothers, retreat! Hold on for a little longer, our reinforcements should be here!"


    "What about you, Captain?"


    "You guys go first!"


    Kay nced at the dpidated building not far away, hesitated for a moment in his eyes, and made a decision in an instant.


    His best option now was to try to escape into the alley and avoid the enemy''s main force. With his speed, it would be difficult for the enemy, who were not professionals, to catch up.


    But as he listened to the intensifying gunfire from the dpidated building, he knew that Suren was in trouble.


    If the gunfire hadn''t stopped, it meant that no one had died yet.


    Gritting his teeth, he charged back.


    "You guys go first and find a ce to fight in the alley. I''ll go save Suren!"


    Judging from the intensity of the gunfire in the building, Kay knew that there were at least twenty or thirty enemies.


    With almost a certain death in mind, he rushed in, but before he could reach the second floor, the sound of gunfire suddenly stopped.


    Kay''s heart sank, suspecting that Suren was probably in grave danger.


    But he didn''t retreat. With a fierce gleam in his eyes, he silently approached, intending to assassinate a few enemies.


    Then, on the stairs from the third floor to the fourth floor, he discovered several bodies.


    As he took a few more steps, he felt that something was off.


    Because he didn''t hear any movement...


    The fourth floor was deathly silent.


    Huh... why is there no one?


    Kay cautiously poked his head out, wanting to observe the situation on the fourth floor, and suddenly saw a gun pointed at his head.


    Just as he was about to dodge, he suddenly froze in ce, his eyes filled with disbelief as he said, "Suren, my brother?"


    Kay never expected that the one who survived was Suren, all alone!


    .......


    Suren had heard the footsteps long ago.


    He thought it was the enemy, but he didn''t expect it to be Kay.


    Looking at Kay''s astonished expression, he put away his firearm and continued to collect his spoils, calmly asking, "Captain, why are you here?"


    "I... I came..."


    At this moment, Kay somehow felt that his words were stumbling out of his mouth.


    He walked up to the fourth floor and saw the bodies scattered on the ground. The words "I came to save you" were stuck in his throat and couldn''t be spoken.What...what did I see?


    Kay was stunned for a full two seconds before he came back to his senses, trying hard to make his brain believe what he saw in front of him.


    There were a total of thirty-four bodies on the third floor stairs and the fourth floor.


    Are all these people dead?


    Upon closer inspection, there were no extra wounds on the bodies, almost all of them were killed with a single shot.


    Obviously, this was the work of the same person.


    And when he looked again at the body with the iron hook mechanical arm by the window, wasn''t that Captain "Anchor Hand" Park from the Knight District?


    Seeing this, Kay looked towards the man who was busy cleaning up the battlefield,pletely in chaos.


    He...he single-handedly took down a reorganization squad of the Steam Party?


    Including a veteran professional of the Steam Party?


    Without waiting for him to think further, Su''en looked up and smiled, urging him, "Captain, why are you standing there in a daze? Hurry up and help clean up the battlefield. Otherwise, we''ll have trouble with the higher-upster..."

 Chapter 96: A disdainful gaze

    Chapter 96: A disdainful gaze


    "We need to leave here quickly. Themotion here might attract the Steam Party''s cadres."


    "Mm."


    Kay helped Su''en clean up the battlefield, and the two of them prepared to leave.


    At this moment, Su''en listened carefully and discovered something. He grabbed Kay, who was about to go downstairs.


    "What''s wrong?" Kay looked at Su''en with a puzzled expression.


    Su''en shook his head. "There are peopleing downstairs."


    Kay listened to this and tried to hear for himself, but apparently, he didn''t notice anything.


    "Let''s go to the rooftop!"


    Su''en didn''t exin much and set up a few traps under the corpses on the ground before going up the stairs.


    Without much thought, Kay followed suit.


    They had been to this dpidated building many times before, and Su''en had already observed the escape route beforehand.


    Fifteen to sixteen meters away from the dpidated building was a shorter ck building. As long as they could get there, they could avoid running into the Steam Party downstairs.


    Going from high to low, the distance between the two buildings was far, and the steel cables in the mechanical gloves were not very useful. However, fortunately, there were several rusty iron pipes connecting the buildings.


    Originally, Su''en''s n was to untie the nt equipment and use spider legs to climb along the pipes with the help of leverage. The corroded pipes couldn''t withstand a person''s weight, but with the weight distributed among eight spider arms, it was easy to pass. Then, with the help of the nt equipment, they could easily crawl between the buildings and retreat safely, which was no big deal.


    But now that Kay was with him, Su''en didn''t n to show off his nt equipment.


    Although Kay didn''t say it, he could guess that this guy had actuallye up to save him.


    ...


    Kay looked at the opposite rooftop and then nced at Su''en with concern. "I can jump over, but what about you..."


    After all, as an assassin, his jumping ability was extraordinary.


    But he felt that... it would be difficult for Su''en, who was a gunner, to cover this distance.


    Su''en shrugged and didn''t exin much. "Just jump."


    It was indeed a bit difficult, but not impossible.


    With that, Su''en took a deep breath and then suddenly ran forward. He leaped off the edge of the rooftop without hesitation, falling like a bird in a parabolic trajectory.


    With a "pu" sound, he rolled to the ground.


    Although it was a bit embarrassing, it was still a safending.


    Su''en stood up and dusted off the dirt on his body.


    Thanks to a month of hard training, his physical fitness had made a qualitative leap. With the help of alchemical potions and the advanced ck technology device, the effect of this month was equivalent to one or two years of normal training. His muscle condition was now excellent.


    A few secondster, Kay also jumped over.


    He looked at Su''en, his eyes bing even more strange.


    "Su''en, my brother, what kind of profession did you advance to?"


    "A gunner."


    "..."


    Kay rolled his eyes when he heard that.


    In his impression, gunners were all weaklings with "visual enhancement" and "perception enhancement" abilities.


    Which gunner could jump over ten meters?


    But thinking about the corpses that Su''en had shot before, this "gun expert" was indeed genuine.


    Kay fell into deep self-doubt...


    Could it be that he was just overthinking?


    ...


    Perhaps because the noise of jumping off the building was a bit loud, the people downstairs saw them in mid-air.


    Not only did they see them, but they also recognized them.


    "That''s Kay, the ''de'' of the Cross Society. Chase after him and kill him!"


    "Whoever brings his head will receive a reward of 100,000!"


    "..."


    Listening to the Steam Party members shouting from below, Su''en nced helplessly at Kay beside him. His eyes seemed to speak.


    See, having a big reputation is impressive, but when you have acquaintances all over the battlefield, it''s hard to kill you.


    Being a small fry also had its advantages. At least not many people would pay attention to you.


    Kay responded with an innocent expression, muttering, "Hey, brother, why do I feel like you''re looking at me as if I''m a burden?"


    Su''en replied, "Please remove the questioning tone."


    Kay: "..."


    The two of them had gone through many hardships together and had a deep bond. They knew that the other was joking, so theyughed it off.


    After jumping over the dpidated building, they didn''t dare tond and instead continued to jump across several buildings.


    Perhaps because the bodies of the Parker team in the dpidated building had been discovered, the Steam Party members went crazy and quickly surrounded them.


    It was like a tightening, with more and more people surrounding them, leaving Su''en and Kay with less and less room to escape.


    Gunshots and rockets exploded in their ears, and their tracks had been locked on.


    To avoid exposure, they didn''t wander on the rooftops but entered a low building. As long as they rushed across the street in front of them, they could escape to the moreplex honeb building area. Once they entered there, no matter how many enemies there were, they wouldn''t be able to surround them.


    ...


    Running frantically, the two of them were panting for breath.


    During their escape, Kay became even more amazed at Su''en''s stamina.


    Most of the members in the guild had exhausted their energy on the bellies of the courtesans. When it came to fighting, they could give it their all for a short period of time, but if it came to a prolonged battle of endurance, not many could handle it.


    The two of them hid behind a "U-shaped" obstacle, taking the opportunity to catch their breath.


    The sound of gunfire on the street made it hard to breathe, like the big hand of death, gently caressing their trembling souls.


    At this critical moment, even Kay, who was ustomed to life and death, couldn''t help but feel a bit unsettled.But when he turned his head and saw Su''en, who was checking his firearms and ammunition without any expression, his eyes twitched. Finally unable to resist his curiosity, he asked, "Brother, why aren''t you panicking at all? It was the same in the underground dungeonst time, and it''s the same now... If we can''t escape this time, we''ll be done for. Why do I feel like you don''t care at all?"


    Su''en didn''t look at him and continued to work on his gun. He asked in return, "Can fear prevent us from being surrounded?"


    "It seems... not..."


    Kay pouted and suddenly felt bored.


    I just wanted to find some resonance with someone, but you have this indifferent expression towards life and death...


    Forget it, if you''re not afraid, as the captain, I won''t be afraid either.


    Kayforted himself like this.


    .......


    And in this moment when Su''en and Kay caught their breath, two enemies on the opposite rooftop suddenly spotted them.


    "They''re here!"


    A shout echoed through the alley, and almost at the same time, Su''en raised his gun and took them down.


    The two quickly changed their positions.


    But after being exposed, no matter where they hid, they would immediately be showered with bullets like a storm.


    Finally, they found themselves trapped behind a corner of a wall, unable to get out.


    Da da da da...


    Bullets came from all directions, leaving them no chance to break free.


    Kay took a look outside with a mirror and just saw a dense crowd of enemies before the mirror was shattered by stray bullets.


    At this moment, the pressure of impending death made Kay''s breathing heavy.


    He looked at Su''en beside him and said in a deep voice, "Brother, this is bad. We can only fight for our lives now. The enemy''s firepower is strong. I''ll charge first to attract their attention, and you find a chance to retreat... Let''s see who has better luck surviving."


    It was the same desperate situation as thest time in the apartment building, forcing the two of them into a corner again.


    But...


    Kay was still Kay.


    But Su''en was no longer the same Su''en as in the apartment building.


    "The enemy''s firepower is strong?"


    Su''en nced at him and didn''t say much.


    He thought for a moment, silently took out arge iron box, and hung it on the makeshift mechanical leg bone he designed.


    Kay looked at Su''en''s inexplicable action and couldn''t figure it out. "Is that... an ammunition box?"


    Then, he watched as Su''en removed the magazine from the old pistol in his hand and connected it to the ammunition box with a bullet chain.


    "You..."


    Kay was confused.


    Wasn''t an ammunition box only used for heavy machine guns?


    The act of connecting the pistol to the ammunition box seemed... very strange.


    Wait!


    We''re about to fight for our lives, but howe your expression was so indifferent just now?


    Could it be...


    Kay looked at Su''en''s still expressionless face and knew that he was serious.


    At this moment, Su''en took out another half-finished puppet that was dressed in the same clothes as him and said, "I''ll throw a shbangter, and you grab this puppet and run out at the fastest speed to attract their firepower. The rest, leave it to me."


    "???"


    Kay was full of question marks.


    He looked at the puppet in his hand, pinched it, and realized that it was just an ordinary puppet.


    It wasn''t some kind of "sealing object" with terrifying effects that could block bullets or kill enemies. What does this mean?


    Su''en continued, "As long as we rush across this street, we''ll be safe."


    "Huh?"


    Kay understood the n to attract firepower, but looking at Su''en''s posture, was he nning to charge through?


    He looked at the puppet in his hand and then at the ammunition box. It seemed like he guessed something and eximed in shock, "Are you... nning to fight them head-on?"


    As soon as the words came out, he found his own n in his mind unbelievable, and he said again, "But there are at least forty to fifty people on the other side!"


    Su''en didn''t exin much and asked inexplicably, "Have you seen any second-tier professionals?"


    Kay didn''t understand what he was thinking, but he answered, "No, but I saw two captains..."


    Su''en seemed to be more certain about something, and his expression became even colder. "Oh."


    Then he didn''t say anything else.


    Perplexed by the strange question, Kay suddenly felt that his brain wasn''t enough. He asked, "What does ''oh'' mean?"


    Su''en checked his gun onest time, then removed the shbang and casually responded, "The ''oh'' means it''s not too bad."


    "This isn''t too bad?"


    Kay felt that it was already a matter of life and death, but this guy''s dead fish face made it seem like they could really turn the tables.


    But the enemy''s firepower was so fierce that even if they had pure physical talents, they would still be riddled with bullets if they went out.


    Before he could think too much, Su''en closed his eyes, his cochlea trembled slightly, and his fingers drew on the ground. He determined the approximate positions of the enemies and didn''t exin further.


    "Get ready, I''m going to throw the shbang!"


    As soon as the words were spoken, Su''en opened his eyes fiercely, his expression as sharp as a knife.

 Chapter 97: Killed crazy

    Chapter 97: Killed crazy


    Actually, when Su''en was fleeing, he had already been observing whether there were any formidable enemies in the pursuit team.


    Generally speaking, high-level experts have some arrogance and would not stoop so low as to chase and kill low-level professionals.


    Unless... the prey disys astonishing killing power.


    That''s why Su''en was able to kill more pursuers earlier, but only dealt with a few threats to them.


    The more he kills, the more likely he is to be targeted by high-level professionals.


    Now is the perfect opportunity!


    .......


    There was no time for exnations.


    At this moment, Kay wanted to ask something, but when he saw that Su''en had already pulled out the pin of the sh grenade and thrown it away, he didn''t hesitate to grab the puppet and rush out.


    At this moment, he still chose to trust Su''en.


    Su''en didn''t expect the sh grenade to cause much interference to the enemy. The most important purpose was to tell the enemy that we are charging!


    This was a small psychological suggestion that would make people instinctively attack moving targets after the sh.


    Regardless of whether they saw clearly or not.


    Sure enough, the moment Kay rushed out with the puppet, gunshots rang out.


    All the enemy''s firepower was attracted to them, and they were frantically shooting at the two figures running at high speed.


    At the moment when the gunshots rang out, Su''en, who was hiding behind cover, suddenly stood up, raised his hands and fired both guns, covering everything in front of him in a fan-shaped pattern.


    The left and right "Green Ghosts" were in continuous burst mode, with blue mes gushing out of the barrels like ghost fire...


    The right hand "Thunder Snake" aimed at the formidable target, and each shot was an alchemical bullet...


    Therge-capacity ammunition box provided continuous bullets for Su''en''s continuous shooting. A "Green Ghost" instantly turned into a heavy machine gun.


    What does it mean for a "firearms expert" to have unlimited firepower?


    It means death is imminent!


    Su''en faced the enemies shooting at Kay and didn''t give them a chance to turn their guns. Headshots, eye shots, throat shots... every shot was fatal, and he wiped out a whole group in an instant.


    If it were an ordinary magazine, Su''en would have run out of bullets long ago. During the time it takes to reload, the enemy would have had enough time to kill him.


    But at this moment, the handguns in his hands continued to spew out deadly ghost fire.


    This was the suppressive power of a heavy machine gun!


    "Da, da, da, da..."


    The Steam Party guys were caught off guard by this burst of fire. They instinctively tried to avoid this damn suppressive firepower.


    Dodging and dispersing... their formation was in chaos.


    In just a few breaths, half of the enemy, about forty to fifty people, were shot and fell into a pool of blood.


    Su''en waspletely fearless and continued to harvest lives numbly. Even if the enemy had taken cover, as long as they showed the slightest w, he would shoot urately.


    Precise, calm, numb.


    There was not a trace of panic.


    .......


    Kay shouted and rushed out. As he heard the continuous gunshots, he didn''t have much hope of surviving.


    But something strange happened.


    After running a few steps, he suddenly realized that the sound of bullets whizzing past his ears had disappeared, and the fragments of shells flying past his scalp were gone.


    "Huh... why aren''t those guys shooting at me?"


    The gunshots hadn''t stopped, so what was going on?


    When he turned his head, Kay saw a scene that he would never forget.


    "F*ck, what the hell... handguns can be used like this?!"


    Kay cursed in his mind, finally understanding what was going on with Su''en''s outrageous ammunition box.


    From the beginning, that guy had intended to take on enemies twenty times his number head-on!


    At this moment, Su''en, with two guns, was suppressing all the enemies in front of him!


    Kay suddenly realized, and a hint of excitement appeared on his face: "What a crazy n..."


    But now was not the time to think about these things. Thoughts raced through his mind.


    Now, he and Su''en were in a triangr position with the enemy, and this was the best opportunity for him to escape.


    But Kay didn''t!


    The two of them had a trust and understanding, just like when he chose to trust Su''en without hesitation and brought out the puppet to attract firepower.


    Kay knew that Su''en''s firepower had temporarily suppressed the enemy, and they couldn''t give the enemy any chance to catch their breath.


    They were not trying to escape now, but to counterattack!


    "F*ck it! I''ll go crazy with you, you bastard!"


    Thinking of this, Kay didn''t hesitate to push off the ground with one leg, turning into a mantis that shot out, directly leaping into the crowd of enemies!


    Kay didn''t forget that his advantage was closebat.


    Now that there was no enemy firepower suppression, in closebat, he wasn''t afraid of these people!


    Meanwhile, Su''en continued to shoot from a distance, and a rxed smile appeared on his face as he saw Kay rushing out.


    With such a high-quality teammate cooperating, it would be much easier to kill all those guys on the other side!


    In just a breath, the extra ammunition box was emptied.


    And Kay''s charge gave him just enough time to reload.


    Su''en didn''t even dodge, he pressed the mechanical buckle, immediately took off the ammunition box and the supporting mechanical exoskeleton, and quickly reced it with the extended magazine hanging from his waist.


    The ammunition was replenished.


    Was there nothing to worry about after taking cover?Have you ever seen a bullet turn?


    Without the constraints of the ammunition box, Su''en''s marksmanship became more flexible.


    With a flick of his hand, he pulled the trigger, and two bullets slid through the air, tracing a beautiful arc before exploding into a burst of blood on the target behind cover.


    At the same time, Kay charged into the midst of the enemy crowd, wielding his de with ease. The enemies hiding behind cover were forced toe out.


    One person charging, one person urately shooting from behind.


    The two of them cooperated, swiftly reaping the enemies in front of them.


    Su''en calmly walked out of cover, dual-wielding his guns.


    As he fired, he advanced forward.


    His abilities of "Sound Positioning" and "Malicious Perception" allowed him to urately pinpoint the enemy''s location. Even if someone aimed at his back, he could turn around and shoot the person''s head before they could fire!


    His absolute calmness made his brain feel like an icy machine, precisely calcting the position of each enemy.


    A miraculous scene unfolded.


    In this war-torn street, a solitary figure walked leisurely, bathed in a hail of bullets, his face calm andposed.


    The bullets seemed to have eyes, unable to harm him at all.


    The artillery fire and flying debris seemed like weing fireworks, celebrating his arrival...


    He did not dodge or avoid, walking straight ahead. With each shot fired, he either severely injured or took a life.


    Both in momentum and firepower, Su''en alone suppressed the enemies on the entire street, leaving them breathless.


    The overwhelming sense of danger frightened even the ordinary members of the Steam Gang, as if they had encountered an envoy from hell.


    Just one nce, and they would truly die.


    .......


    Soon, Su''en dealt with all the ordinary enemies near the block.


    Meanwhile, Kay and the two captains of the Steam Gang were locked inbat.


    Almost all the professional members of the Steam Gang had undergone extensive mechanical limb modifications.


    One of them was "Scissorhands" Hosen, whose modified mechanical limbs were simr to Kay''s abilities. They were sharp mechanical scissors forged from mithril blue steel, equipped with a high-pressure steam-powered boiler, capable of easily severing bones and limbs.


    The other was "Iron Lungs" Durand, a member of the modified faction. This guy was covered in full-body armor and equipped with arge steam-powered propulsion device. He resembled a steel bull, capable of charging and swiftly moving. His hands were equipped with both frost cannons and machine guns, excelling in both close-quarters and long-rangebat.


    Both of them were veteran professionals of the Steam Gang.


    Their advantages in modification were obvious, giving them exaggerated mechanical strength and steel-like bodies.


    At least, facing these two as an assassin of the same level, Kay was at a disadvantage.


    Although he could dodge the enemy''s attacks with his agility, his own attacks had limited effect on the enemy.


    In a prolonged battle, it was difficult to gain an advantage.


    Under the joint attack of the two, Kay''s situation became even more precarious.


    Fortunately, Su''en arrived.


    .......


    Su''en walked like the God of Death, killing all the gang members of the Steam Gang along the way.


    The "Iron Lungs" Durand, watching his subordinates die in agony, was already furious.


    He looked at Su''en, who stood unwavering, like a raging bull. The steam boiler behind him umted pressure and instantly erupted. With a powerful kick from his mechanical legs, the ground cracked open like a spiderweb, as if a cannonball was charging towards Su''en.


    Before the person arrived, the immense pressure swept through with a gust of wind, carrying flying sand and rocks.


    Su''en''s expression remained unchanged.


    Machinery was still machinery, with obvious preparatory movements and insufficient maneuverability. The speed of a straight-line impact was fast, but... it posed no threat.


    He had long noticed the signs of pressure umtion and the indication of force from the guy''s feet.


    So when Durand made his charge, Su''en''s "Thunder Snake" was already raised.


    Perfect, a straight-line target, as simple as hitting a target.


    The opponentpletely underestimated Su''en and did not take his gun seriously.


    "Crack!"


    "Crack!"


    The special sound of armor-piercing alchemical bullets resounded throughout the street.


    Su''en fired two shots in a row, urately hitting the bulletproof goggles of the guy.


    Kay, who was not far away, anxiously watched Su''en, thinking that he didn''t know how formidable the opponent was. He was just about to shout "Be careful," but it was already toote.


    Once they collided head-on, there was almost no chance of survival!


    At this moment, time seemed to slow down.


    Everyone''s gaze focused on the figure charging forward.


    They all knew that this collision would determine life and death.


    However, the next second brought an unexpected scene.


    At the moment the gunshot sounded, Durand, who was charging like a steel bull, suddenly twisted his head in a strange manner, instantly slowing down his momentum.


    Dead?


    No one expected that the one to die would be the notorious "Iron Lungs" Durand!


    And he died so casually.


    In an instant, the oue was decided.


    The corpse inertia continued to charge forward, but Su''en calmly sidestepped, casually harvesting a cloud of mist from the corpse.


    Hmm... not bad mechanical experience.


    ........


    If it could be said that Su''en killing those ordinary members of the Steam Gang before was due to his marksmanship and some luck.But now, after killing a fully armed professional, everyone realized that his marksmanship was not just good.


    "Killed? This..."


    Kay looked at the fallen body, his eyes filled with disbelief.


    At this moment, he finally understood why Su''en was able to kill the "Anchor Hand" Park earlier.


    "Could it be... the advanced gun technique of that legendary door?!!!"


    Kay knew that Su''en knew Gunfighting, but after seeing those two shots just now, he immediately realized something else.


    [Secret Technique: Multiple Ovepping Shots], a super gun technique specifically designed to prate armor.


    Legend has it that only a few "gun masters" in Old Lingdun, or a few veteran "gun experts" who have immersed themselves in gun techniques for many years, can master this advanced secret technique.


    Su''en, at such a young age, actually knows this?


    And his almost inhuman calmness just now, his extraordinary perception...


    Kay felt that today, he had used up all the shock he would experience in his lifetime.


    .......


    "Damn it, where did the Cross Society find such a freak!"


    "Scissor Hand" Hossorn cursed as he looked at his deadpanion.


    He knew they had underestimated him.


    If they had known about this guy''s gun technique earlier, they wouldn''t have been so reckless.


    But who the hell could have imagined that the gunner who had behaved so "ordinary" during the previous chase would have this trick up his sleeve?!


    They had only considered "de" Kay to be a threat, but they never thought that the little-known gunner was the real deadly presence.


    "We''ve been yed!"


    Hossorn also instantly understood that from the beginning of the pursuit, they were destined for this oue.


    That gunner deliberately showed weakness, waiting for this moment to ambush them.


    It was toote for regrets.


    While cursing in anger, Hossorn also secretly rejoiced that he didn''t make a move just now.


    This guy was also extremely decisive. In the instant hispanion died, he immediately retreated without hesitation and fled into the nearby dpidated building.


    .......


    Su''en fired two shots, but failed to take down that guy, so he gave up.


    After all, their goal now was not to kill the enemy, but to retreat.


    He walked over.


    "Captain, are you okay?"


    "Yeah, got shot once and took a few cuts. But it didn''t hit any vital spots, so it won''t affect the fight for now..."


    "Let''s go, the Steam Party''s executives will definitelye soon."


    "Yeah."


    Su''en supported Kay, who was limping from being shot on the outer side of his thigh, and walked towards the alley.


    At this moment, in the distance on the main street of Green, the sound of heavy artillery bombardment suddenly came, and an armored vehicle was sted high into the sky.


    Seeing this, Kay eximed with joy, "Our reinforcements have arrived!"

 Chapter 98: Spider bomb

    Chapter 98: Spider bomb


    After the main forces of the Cross Society arrived, the confrontation between the two sides immediately escted.


    In the old town of Lingdun, where firearms were cheaper than drinking water, the gangsters fought fiercely, turning it into a partial war.


    Both sides invested arge number of personnel and equipment, vying for control of the "Green Street stronghold", engaging in back-and-forth battles.


    In the subsequent battles, Kay did not participate due to his injuries, while Su''en remained active on the battlefield.


    He avoided dangerous areas but often appeared where there were many corpses.


    However, Su''en did not stand out on the battlefield. Like an ordinary gang member, he fought when he needed to and ran when he had to. Thanks to his super perception ability, he could always foresee some dangers in advance, making it seem dangerous but actually safe.


    In fact, war is just burning money.


    The conflict between the two major gangs escted, causing heavy losses not only to their backers but also involving more and more powerful forces. The power struggle between the high-ranking families was intertwined with personal rtionships, and the more people involved, the greater the resistance. Eventually, it was said that the major families in the inner city came out to mediate, bringing peace to the situation.


    This conflictsted for three days and three nights, resulting in thousands of casualties, and the entire Green Street was turned into ruins.


    Both major gangs were severely weakened.


    Later, Su''en heard about the inexplicable cause of this gang war. It turned out that Martin, the young master, was assassinated. Among the attackers, there was someone who awakened the talent of the "Red Demon".


    Coincidentally, the "Red Demon" Golong from the Cross Society was also surrounded and killed on the battlefield.


    There was no evidence of their deaths.


    The "Mad Dog" Hogg from the Steam Party, who had previously apanied Martin during negotiations, was also killed in front of everyone.


    As for the true facts, ordinary gang members were not qualified to know.


    Su''en also felt that it was not important.


    He even thought that when the "Red Demon" Golong was sent to the outer city for a duel, it might have already nted the seeds for this battle.


    But it didn''t matter anymore.


    What mattered was that Su''en gained a wealth of mechanical knowledge in this war, allowing him to directly advance from "Advanced Mechanical Beginner" to "Intermediate Mechanical Expert".


    ........


    Green Street was turned into ruins. ording to the mediation agreement, it temporarily became a neutral territory.


    No one dared toe and consume, and various taverns, gambling dens, and the backers behind the scenes all withdrew. With no profit to be made, the two major gangs didn''t care about these dpidated streets.


    However, as the former leader of Green Street, Kay felt a bit deste.


    As the captain, he lost his territory and his manpower...


    In this confrontation, apart from him and Su''en, everyone from Green Street was wiped out.


    It must be said that the elimination rate of the lower-level gangsters was really high.


    If Su''en had joined the Cross Society and didn''t aim to be an advanced professional, but instead spent his sry every day in taverns and pleasure houses, he would probably have been cannon fodder in one of the confrontations.


    After this battle, many legends began to circte in the underworld of the outer city.


    A group of neers emerged, while a group of old-timers were buried.


    Among them, there was one legend that became more and more mysterious. The "Scissorhands" Hossorn from the Steam Party admitted in person that there was a top-notch shooter in the Cross Society. This person was a veteran firearms expert who could use the secret technique "Multiple Reflections". He killed at least two reorganized squads, including the squad leaders "Iron Lung" Durand and "Anchor Hand" Park.


    But after spreading for a long time, even the internal members of the Cross Society didn''t know who it was.


    Kay didn''t say anything, so no one knew who it was.


    After all, everyone from Green Street had been wiped out, and there were very few people in the Cross Society who knew Su''en.


    ording to reason, Su''en should have received rewards and honors for killing so many enemies in this confrontation, estimated to be worth millions.


    But he didn''t want to attract attention and didn''t go to im the money.


    After all, this conflict had taught him a lesson. It was not good to be too famous, and Kay almost died because of his reputation.


    But Qiantiao knew that Su''en was skilled in marksmanship, so he discreetly asked about the situation and sent a substantial reward.


    Su''en''s life returned to normal, and because there was no entertainment venue in Green Street, he even lost his nightly patrol duty at 7 o''clock.


    He had the whole day to arrange his leisure time freely.


    He stayed in the rented basement every day, training his physical fitness, tinkering with mechanical equipment, and making puppet dolls... asionally, he went to the shooting range next door to practice shooting to keep his skills sharp.


    As for the struggles within the Cross Society, he, as a small gang member, didn''t care.


    The only bad news was that there was no nearby arena to extract souls. If he wanted to watch diatorial fights in other districts, he had to travel a long distance. It was said that the backers behind the Cross Society were preparing a "New Green Street," but it would take some time.


    The knowledge gained from this battle was enough for Su''en to digest for a long time, so he wasn''t in a hurry to find a new arena.


    In the blink of an eye, half a month passed, and the situationpletely calmed down.


    .......


    On this day, in the basement.


    Su''en was wearing a stained work uniform, engrossed in tinkering with a new toy - the "Spider Bomb".


    This was an inspiration he found from his Eight-Armed Spider Spear Imnt.He wanted to design a mechanical bomb that could crawl on its own, equipped with discement devices and dyed detonation devices.


    This bomb could adapt to variousplex terrains, climb walls, drill holes, turn corners... and climb to blind spots that people throwing bombs could not reach.


    The mechanical spider on the workbench had already taken shape. Su''en focused his attention and installed several brassponents the size of melon seeds.


    This was the most crucial step, requiring him to connect the explosive device and the mechanical timing system.


    Su''en thought he had been careful enough, but suddenly, white smoke emerged from the mechanical spider on the workbench. He muttered to himself, "This is not good," and quickly took out a st shield and covered it on the workbench.


    With a muffled sound, the high-power exhaust device on the workbench whirred and sucked away the smoke generated by the explosion.


    Su''en lifted the st shield and looked helplessly at his failed creation. He murmured, "Something''s not right... The ''H2 Quartz Timer'' was fine, and the ''T3 Explosive Prototype'' was fine too... Why did it trigger an explosion? Could it be a conflict with the wall-climbing device I made myself?"


    Fortunately, it was just a test product, and there wasn''t much ammunition. Apart from making him feel embarrassed, it didn''t reach the level of causing harm.


    But with this explosion, Su''en once again fell into self-reflection and doubt.


    Repeated failures for unknown reasons made him gradually realize the root cause of the problem.


    Although the ability of the "Reaper of Death" was strong and allowed him to learn the knowledge of others in a few months that would take them several years or even more than a decade, there was also a very big problem: the acquired knowledge was not systematic.


    Without systematic learning, he couldn''t even figure out where his own problems were.


    Just like this explosion, his "experience" told him that there was no problem, but in reality, it exploded, which definitely indicated the existence of a "knowledge blind spot."


    All the machinery he currently mastered was stripped from various corpses, just like Lego building blocks, piece by piece.


    But these "knowledge puzzle pieces" were missing a part, just like building a high-rise building full of holes that could copse at any time.


    Despite having reached the level of "Intermediate Mechanical Mastery" in terms of knowledge, there were some basic knowledge that Su''en was not even as good at as a novice apprentice.


    "It''s really troublesome that the machinery is not systematic..."


    Su''en looked at the failed spider bomb, frowned, and pondered, "It seems that I need to systematically learn mechanical knowledge."


    Combat knowledge didn''t matter, as practice made perfect and he could master it through repetition.


    But theoretical knowledge was different. Without a knowledge framework, certain things couldn''t be connected.


    Having gone through nine years ofpulsory education in his previous life, Su''en was well aware of the importance of systematic learning. He urgently needed a thread to connect the fragments in his mind.


    With this thought in mind, Su''en instantly thought of a person.


    That person was the former Vice Dean of the ck Tower Academy, Niki J. Emirich, who had defected!


    When it came to systematic knowledge, who would know more than the Vice Dean of the top alchemy academy in Old Lingdun?


    .......


    "That gentleman still owes me a favor..."


    Thinking of this, Su''en no longer had the mood to continue tinkering with the spider bomb in the basement. He rode his motorcycle to the Shadow Lane ck market.


    He wanted to leave a message at "Rosen''s Alchemy Shop" and use that favor.


    Although he had only met Mr. Emirich once, Su''en believed in his intuition.


    That person had no ill intentions towards him.


    The key point was that being pursued by the Umbre Organization made him feel safer.


    If it was just for some basic alchemy knowledge, Su''en felt that it wasn''t necessary to use up this favor.


    He could find other channels in the ck market, although it would be more troublesome. For example, he could get textbooks from the ck Tower Academy or apprentice manuals from the Alchemy Guild.


    Su''en chose to contact that gentleman because he wanted to maximize the value of this favor.


    Because he knew that besides being a top professional suspected to be stronger than the Cross Society President, Emirich also had a deep rtionship with the organizers of the ck market.


    The ck market was very mysterious, and the organizer was rumored to be the true boss that even the Umbre Organization couldn''t do anything about.


    Although Su''en needed more information to understand this world, the mysterious alchemy world was like a stunning beauty veiled in mystery and strangeness, giving her infinite charm and arousing people''s curiosity. He had already lifted a corner of the veil and couldn''t wait to catch a glimpse of her true face.


    The gang''s structure was too small after all.


    He had already seen through the merger of the previous gang. Compared to the financial magnates in the inner city, the gang was just a tiger trapped in a cage.


    Su''en had crossed over to this fantasy world to witness the scenery at the top.


    Another consideration was that he wanted to understand the path to bing a second-tier professional in the future.

 Chapter 99: Second-order career planning

    Chapter 99: Second-order career nning


    Su''en currently only has three choices to advance to the second-tier professional: the inner city, the guild, and the ck market.


    The inner city is temporarily not considered, so there is only the ck market and the guild.


    The advancement of professions in the outer city ispletely unregted. Whatever conditions there are, one can advance ordingly, without any system.


    Many times, even if the profession and talent do not match, there is no choice but to waste one''s own potential.


    If Su''en wants to advance through the resources within the Cross Society, then he must first be a captain and gradually gain contributions and resources.


    However...


    Even the captains of the Cross Society have very limited choices for advancement. It is always the same two or three dozen paths that the cadres already have, and most of them aremon ordinary professions.


    Puppeteer?


    That kind of niche profession, Su''en has never heard of it in the entire Cross Society, so naturally it does not exist.


    In fact, just the first-tier profession choices recorded by the "Alchemy Guild" alone have more than eight thousand, and there are also thousands of second-tier profession paths...


    And those rare professions passed down from ancient times are even more dazzling.


    Su''en does not want to waste his talent and potential in vain.


    So, in fact, the only option in front of him is to try his luck in the ck market.


    Instead of groping around on his own, it is better to ask someone with experience and connections.


    Mr. Emirich, the former vice dean of the ck Tower Alchemy Academy, is obviously the most suitable person.


    .......


    Su''en arrived at the ck market and went straight to "Rosen''s Alchemy Shop".


    He left a message for the boss, saying that he wanted to see that gentleman.


    Then he went around various shops in the ck market as usual, hoping to find suitable curse materials and mechanical parts for himself.


    Passing by the bulletin board, the original owner''s wanted notice had already been pushed into a corner.


    Tasks that have not been found for clues for a long time will gradually be forgotten.


    This is also the situation that Su''en wanted to see.


    And among the top few, except for a new "S-ss" wanted criminal who is unfamiliar, the rest are all familiar faces.


    The one at the top is still that mysterious woman.


    Now the amount of her bounty has soared to a sky-high price of three million lisuo for providing information.


    Su''en thinks that if such a high bounty has not found any clues, either that woman has gone to the outer city or she has hidden herself like him, changing her appearance.


    Su''en didn''t look much and went to the "Whitebeard Mechanical Materials Shop" in the lower level of the ck market.


    The boss of this shop has wild channels for goods. The two body training devices he found before came from this shop. This time, he didn''t expect his luck to be good again. He actually found a "Cheetah IX Miniature Six-Cylinder Steam Boiler" that was scrapped by the inner city military industrial nt. It is small in size, the price is beautiful, and it can still be used after repairs.


    Su''en bought it and nned to bring it back to use as a power boiler for his "Iron Man II".


    It''s a coincidence that after buying the things, he nned to return to Green Street, but unexpectedly, when he passed by "Rosen''s Alchemy Shop" again, he saw a familiar figure in a cloak.


    "Sir?"


    Su''en walked over and tentatively called out.


    The cloaked figure turned his head, although his face couldn''t be seen clearly, his voice was very familiar and still gentle: "Heh... the boss just told me that you wanted to see me, I didn''t expect you haven''t left yet..."


    Su''en confirmed the identity of the person in front of him and directly stated his purpose, "I''m sorry, there are indeed some things that I need to trouble you with."


    After all, the other party is a top-tier professional, and he is so polite to him, a low-tier professional. Su''en also returned the courtesy with a polite greeting.


    The cloaked figure nodded, "Let''s talk while walking..."


    The narrow alchemy shop where they could barely stand is not suitable for chatting.


    ........


    The two walked on the streets of the ck market, talking quietly.


    Su''en expressed his desire to learn some systematic alchemy knowledge.


    The cloaked figure was not surprised, and even had a bit of a "willingness to help" meaning, "Knowledge is precious. But when I meet someone who sincerely wants to learn, I am willing to give some guidance."


    "Thank you."


    Su''en listened and didn''t expect him to agree so readily.


    Thinking of his position as the dean, it is not surprising.


    The cloaked figure continued, "But if it''s systematic knowledge, there is too much of it. Alchemy, enchantment, nt cultivation, runes, alchemical spells, machinery, forging, mysticism, medicine... what the outside world generally refers to as alchemy is divided into more than ten disciplines at the ck Tower Academy. Which one do you want to learn?"


    Su''en had a jumble of knowledge in his mind, and if he had to choose, he wanted to learn alchemical spells and mechanical knowledge... but if possible, he wanted to refer to all of them.


    It is impossible to digest so many categories of knowledge just by self-study with textbooks.


    But Su''en has the "Reaper of Death".


    If it were someone else, the cloaked figure would probably think they are too greedy. But looking at Su''en, he said this sentence, "Hehe... I don''t know why, but I always feel that you will give me a big surprise in the future."


    He didn''t refuse either and casually agreed, "That''s easy. I happen to have a set of teaching materials that I used before, which can be considered the mostplete and suitable introductory learning materials in the entire Old Lingdun. I don''t need them anymore, so I can give them all to you."Su''en listened and said, "Thank you for your generosity. It is already rare to gain some knowledge in the outer city."


    The cloaked man didn''t seem to mind and smiled, "After all, my original name was a bit troublesome. You can call me ''Mr. ck''."


    He spoke casually, without any fear or hesitation like other wanted criminals, and said, "I''m just giving you a few books, which is not enough to repay the favor I owe you. So... I think you still have something to ask me."


    As always, a gentleman who didn''t want to take advantage of others.


    Su''en wasn''t surprised when he heard that the other party understood "mind reading".


    He didn''t show much emotion and went straight to the point, "As you know, people in the outer city have little knowledge about high-level professions. I would like to ask, what are the considerations for advancing to the second rank? Or... do you know the choices for advancing to the second rank as a puppeteer?"


    "Oh? When ites to this question, it seems that no one can give you a better answer than me."


    Mr. ck smiled, seemingly self-deprecating his previous profession as a teacher.


    .......


    "After bing a professional, the subsequent advancements are actually to obtain the necessary abilities for your main profession. There is no fixed path for advancement, it depends on how you n your future profession."


    Mr. ck looked at Su''en and continued, "For example, for a normal puppeteer, the second rank path may choose to fuse curses rted to ''enhanced perception'', ''enhanced skills'', and ''puppet element control'' to improve the control andbat abilities of the puppets. But for some special puppeteers whock attack methods, they may choose more advanced auxiliary abilities, such as ''multi-tasking'' and ''space control''. After all, the ability to control multiple puppets is also a standard for measuring the strength of a puppeteer. And some puppets with special rules cannot be stored in a storage ring, so spatial abilities are also useful... There are also powerfulbinations such as ''corpse research'', ''mind control'', ''element annihtion'', ''reverse alchemy'', and so on..."


    "So many choices?"


    Su''en listened and felt a sense of enlightenment.


    He didn''t know that there were so many considerations for advancing to the second rank.


    "That''s why I said it depends on your own future career nning, so you can make a better choice..."


    Mr. ck didn''t continue and said, "If I go into more detail, it will be too much and can''t be finished in a short time. As far as I know, there are more than thirty types of second rank abilities suitable for puppeteers. Of course, the rarer the ability, the harder it is to find the corresponding cursed items. In the end, it depends on your own abilities and choose the best. Sometimes, career advancement also requires some ''luck''."


    "I see... Thank you for rifying, sir."


    Su''en listened to these words and felt that it was the right choice to ask this "Mr. ck".


    .......


    At this moment, Mr. ck seemed to have thought of something and suddenly said, "However... you are very special. I have a small suggestion for your future career nning."


    Su''en thought he had figured something out and restrained his emotions again, saying, "Please tell me."


    "Well... it''s ''mental control''."


    Mr. ck said, looking at Su''en as if observing something.


    After a moment of contemtion, he continued, "I found that you have a problem. That is, you have very good control over your emotions. You are the only novice I have seen who makes me feel that mind reading is limited. I noticed it when we were at the Gingko Street Apartmentst time, but I didn''t figure it out..."


    Su''en listened, his face showing a slight change.


    It was not surprising that someone who was very skilled in mind reading could see this.


    Mr. ck suddenly changed the topic, apparently having figured it out, and said seriously, "You have suppressed some of your emotions in exchange for a constantly calm state. But this long-term suppression is very dangerous and even fatal for your mental state. The more you suppress, the more deadly the bacsh..."


    "..."


    Su''en listened to these words, his eyes narrowing slightly.


    Mr. ck pointed out the hidden danger that even the psychologists in his previous life didn''t notice.


    He didn''t think there was anything to hide and calmly said, "I didn''t expect to live long before, and I didn''t care. But now..."


    In his previous life, he had no interest and didn''t expect anything for the future no matter how long he lived.


    But now, in this mysterious world, he was a bit reluctant to just die like this.


    Since Mr. ck brought up this topic, Su''en guessed that he might have a solution, so he asked, "So... Mr. ck, do you have a solution?"


    "For us alchemists, this may not be a bad thing..."


    Mr. ck neither nodded nor shook his head and said, "If I''m not mistaken, your mental power before employment should be much higher than that of an ordinary person."


    Su''en smiled without confirming or denying, half-jokingly said, "May I ask, Mr. ck, are you a doctor?"


    Mr. ck didn''t mind and corrected, "No, my profession is a ''Schr''. But when ites to those misceneous rumors, ancient alchemy knowledge, and medical mysteries... in the whole Old Lingdun City, there are not many people who know more than me. So it''s not wrong to think of me as a doctor."Su''en heard these calm words, but they sounded domineering, and a sense of admiration suddenly arose in his heart.


    He finally understood that the heavy temperament on Mr. Hei was like this.


    It turned out to be profound knowledge, which gave him a pair of eyes that seemed to see through everything in the world.


    Mr. Hei continued, "The solution is actually quite simple."


    Su''en listened attentively, "Please tell me more."


    Mr. Hei said, "The root cause lies in ''control''."


    Su''en: "..."


    Mr. Hei continued, "Relying solely on one''s willpower cannot control that kind of violent bacsh. Therefore, you need to rely on some external forces, such as mental power secret techniques."


    "Mental power secret techniques?"


    Su''en frowned as he listened.


    This was another blind spot in his knowledge. Even in any of the memories he had stripped away, no one knew about this concept.


    Mr. Hei seemed to sense his confusion and exined, "This is a field that only high-level professionals are qualified to explore. Even in the inner city, it is a ''forbidden technique'' restricted from spreading by the higher-ups of the ck Tower."


    "Forbidden technique?"


    Upon hearing this, Su''en realized that he had probablye into contact with some high-level secrets.


    "I have read ancient books and learned that ancient alchemists of higher ranks often practiced mental meditation secret techniques to increase their mental power and control it. It is also used to release high-level spells... Forget it, those things are too advanced for you now, and it would be meaningless to say them. It would only bring you trouble."


    When Mr. Hei said this, he seemed to have some concerns and didn''t say much more. "Just know that by learning a suitable mental secret technique, you can control that chaotic part of your mental power."


    "I see..."


    Su''en suddenly realized that there was a cure for his "condition".


    But even though ancient alchemists could practice it, why was it ssified as a "forbidden technique" by the ck Tower?


    Suddenly... he felt like he had guessed a part of the reason why Mr. Hei had defected.


    Upon hearing this, Su''en looked at Mr. Hei again, seemingly expecting something.


    "I have indeed been exploring a mental secret technique, but it is extremely dangerous and not suitable for you."


    Mr. Hei saw through Su''en''s thoughts and shook his head slightly, smiling, "I only mentioned this to let you know that if you encounter simr secret techniques in the future, you can pay attention... The ''Dawn City'' in the underground has been discovered, and arge number of ancient relics have been excavated. There will also be many good things appearing in the ck market recently. Perhaps you can find a suitable mental power secret technique for yourself before finishing your collection in the inner city..."


    "Dawn City?"


    "Yes... It is a newly discoveredrge-scale ancient ruin underground. Not many people in the outer city know about this news, but it should spread soon."


    "Oh..."


    Su''en''s first reaction was the ancient ruins he had traveled to.


    But what he cared more about was the "mental power secret technique".


    He didn''tck mental power, in fact, he had a lot of it.


    As the S-rank talent "Reaper of Death," every time he harvested soul fragments, it would increase his mental power a little. Although the amount of mental power he could extract from ordinary people''s bodies was decreasing, his current mental power value had already reached 75 points, more than double what it was when he first advanced as a professional!


    However, this doubled mental power value did not bring Su''en double benefits.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t have enough mental power, but that he couldn''t use it.


    But just like a handful of loose sand, no matter how much he wanted to use it, he couldn''t hold much with his own hands...


    He had felt that something was missing before, and now he realized that there was indeed a concept of "mental power secret technique" in this world.


    .......


    As they walked and talked, half an hour had already passed.


    Mr. Hei seemed to have no intention of continuing, and said, "The more you understand the path of alchemy, the more doubts you will have, and it is impossible to exin them all. After you finish reading those textbooks, I can guarantee that you will probably need ten times or even a hundred times more knowledge to unravel the mysteries..."


    "I don''t mind if youe to ask me. But meeting with me frequently will bring you a lot of trouble. So, as the final part of repaying the favor, I can introduce you to a ce where you can ess advanced knowledge..."


    Su''en asked, "Is there such a ce in the outer city?"


    "Yes, it''s in the ck market."


    Mr. Hei said, "It''s not a taboo organization, just a small circle for advanced professionals tomunicate. Generally, only second-tier professionals are qualified to receive invitations. I happen to be going there now, so you cane along."

 Chapter 100: The small circle of high-level professionals

    Chapter 100: The small circle of high-level professionals


    Su''en followed Mr. ck all the way down.


    The two walked through the streets of the ck market, then climbed over the fence and continued walking into the darkness, stepping on a steel pipe over a meter thick.


    Underneath their feet was an endless abyss. Ordinary people would be terrified to walk here. Su''en felt fortunate that his sense of bnce was good, otherwise he would have slipped and fallen into the endless darkness.


    After walking through dozens of meters of pipes, Mr. ck seemed to remember something and took out a cloak, handing it to Su''en, saying, "This is the token of entry into this small circle. Wear it, it will save you a lot of trouble."


    "Okay."


    Su''en nodded and took the cloak, looking at it and feeling strangely familiar. Wasn''t this the same cloak Mr. ck was wearing?


    Cloak of Concealment


    Exnation: An alchemical cloak with advanced concealment formations. It has the ability to distort vision, change voice, and weaken mental detection.


    Good stuff!


    Su''en put on the cloak, feeling as if his body was isted from the outside world. Suddenly, he had the feeling of peeping at people from a hole. This cloak could bring him more security than his high-cored windbreaker.


    The two continued forward, passing through an abandoned sewer.


    As they walked, Mr. ck said, "Before we go in, there are a few simple rules I need to tell you. This small circle is a membership system. Only when three or more members rmend you can you qualify to join. It''s best not to say that you joined through me, otherwise there might be trouble. Of course, with this cloak, no one will question you. Also, don''t casually inquire about the identities of other members, and be careful not to be discovered by others..."


    "There will be one or two exchange meetings every month, and the information will be printed on the third row of the ''Old Lingdun Daily'' advertisement column. The decoding method is the ''Hill Cipher''..."


    "The people here are very diverse, not as friendly as you imagine. They could be wanted criminals, evil alchemists, or spies from the ''Umbre Organization'' with ulterior motives..."


    "If you need any material knowledge, you can see how others exchange itter."


    "..."


    Su''en listened carefully, nodding frequently.


    Before long, the two arrived in front of a rusty iron gate and walked in, and the space suddenly opened up.


    It was a space about the size of a basketball court. There were pipes of all sizes everywhere, resembling observation rooms of ancient sewer systems.


    Even though he had been to the ck market many times, this was the first time Su''en knew that there was such a secret gathering ce at the bottom of the ck market.


    .......


    There was only one gasmp in the space, illuminating the stone round table in the center, which was carved with aplex hexagram alchemy formation.


    Dark, mysterious, and silent.


    The vast space waspletely silent, filled with a thick sense of mystery.


    Mr. ck seemed to be the host of the gathering. As soon as he arrived, those cloaked figures resting in the dark corners gathered around.


    "Mr. ck..."


    Everyone greeted him.


    Mr. ck nodded in response.


    Su''en casually nced over and saw fifteen figures by the round table. Although their heights and body shapes were different, they all wore the same cloak, making it impossible to see their faces and with voice modtion. Thinking that these cloaked figures were all second-tier professionals from the outer city, perhaps some of them were cadres of the Cross Society, he didn''t pay much attention.


    Mr. ck spoke, "Alright, today''s exchange can begin."


    Everyone seemed familiar with the process and no one wasted time, going straight to the point.


    Su''en originally thought it would be a serious and cold meeting of a mysterious organization, but it sounded more like a tea party.


    As soon as it started, it became lively.


    "I need some information. The steward of the inner city''s Cast family was assassinated, and the killer escaped to the outer city. I want to know how that person left the city. Besides the reward, the Cast family will also provide a cooperation opportunity..."


    "..."


    "The Sunbird Military Machinery Factory''s branch in the East City had a batch of military supplies stolen. Is there anyone here who can contact the group that did it? I''m not looking for trouble, I just want those goods, and the price is negotiable..."


    "..."


    "Any news on the S-ss wanted criminal who came out of the inner city?"


    "There is news that she wasst seen in the West City district. The Umbre Organization is closely monitoring her, and they have found some clues, but they haven''t caught her..."


    "Does anyone know her background?"


    "Hehe, I heard she is a very powerful mechanical warrior, and it seems she escaped with some kind of ''research secret''..."


    "A character as troublesome as her, even if she has earth-shattering secrets, I doubt anyone dares to take her on. Oh, except for that organization..."


    "..."


    The cloaked figures exchanged information with each other.


    asionally, secret information that needed to be traded would be written in envelopes.


    For less important matters, they would chat along the topic, each person sharing what they knew, often piecing together the truth of the whole matter.


    After all, these were all high-level professionals from the outer city. The events they mentioned were of high importance, and their sources of information were very broad. Moreover, almost all the questions asked had someone who could answer them.


    It was like watching the news, and Su''en silently listened on the side, only then did he realize that Old Lingdun was actually so lively.


    After listening for a while, he also roughly understood the role of this small circle.


    Here, they could understand the real-time information of the entire outer city, and even the inner city.


    Su''en also noticed that, except for him and Mr. ck, almost everyone at the round table spoke to some extent.


    It seemed to be an unspoken rule or an established custom.


    No one could just take information without contributing their own. To participate in the exchange, one had to provide some of their own information.


    That was why Su''en felt like someone had just nced at him, probably realizing that he was a neer.


    .......The intelligence exchange segment passed, and it was time for the item exchange segment.


    A cloaked figure spoke up, "I need advanced materials for the rare profession of a ''Withering Warlock''. The advancement direction is roughly ''Water Elemental Control''. Ideally, it should be a high-quality silver product from a relic. The price is negotiable..."


    As soon as he spoke, someone immediately responded.


    "I happen to have a silver cursed item, the ''Tears of the Poisonous Swamp Crocodile'', which should meet your requirements. But I need to exchange it for aplete set of thetest ''Frost Giant Battle Armor'' from the inner city..."


    "That item is a ''controlled product'' of the inner city army... It''s not just about the price."


    "I''ll add a set of second-order rare water magic scrolls, ''Acid Dissolution''..."


    "Deal! But it will take about a week to get the armor."


    "No problem."


    The two quickly reached an agreement, without any unnecessary words.


    Both parties handed their items to Mr. ck for inspection. Even though the armor wasn''t present, some promises were made, and the deal was concluded.


    Only then did Su''en understand that Mr. ck was not only the host of the gathering but also the "appraiser" and "guarantor".


    Everyone seemed to trust him implicitly.


    Materials and scrolls he deemed eptable could immediately conclude a deal.


    Su''en knew some of Mr. ck''s identities, so he wasn''t too surprised.


    What surprised him more was the immense power these cloaked figures possessed!


    The "Frost Giant Battle Armor" was said to be thetest generation of battle armor recently equipped by the inner city guard. The army hadn''t even fully equipped it yet, and someone could already get it?


    ......


    As soon as the trading segment began, a lot of high-level items that Su''en had never heard of started to appear.


    "I need a curse-breaking item for high-level ghosts, preferably someone can bring out the ''Cross Holy Emblem'' from the inner city Carter family. The price is negotiable..."


    "I have a few pages of manuscript from ''Alchemical Metaphor'' written by the great alchemist ''Master Arnold'' from the same period as ''Sir Isaac''. But the content hasn''t been deciphered, and I can''t guarantee it''s alchemical knowledge. I want to exchange it for a piece of information..."


    "Can anyone provide clues for third-order profession advancement curse materials? Any melee ones will do..."


    "..."


    The cloaked figures each stated their needs, and they seemed well-prepared, bringing items that could be exchanged for their needs.


    The materials needed were all high-level, almost all of them were of silver quality or above.


    Moreover, no one mentioned any prices, all were bartering.


    Su''en then understood why there were few second-order materials for sale in the ck market shops. Even if there were, they were just a few low-quality samples.


    Because high-level curse materials have a small output and an even smaller audience.


    Unlike first-order materials that cater to everyone, advanced materials can only be used by second-order or higher professionals, and they are hard to sell.


    Professionals who can get advanced materials probably don''tck money, what theyck are materials suitable for themselves.


    So, bartering is the best way.


    ......


    Su''en listened quietly for a while and fully understood the rules of this exchange meeting.


    At this point, he remembered what Mr. ck had suggested earlier, that he could ask here, so he spoke up directly.


    "I need aplete mental method of ancient alchemist cultivation. Also, I need a thread with curse properties, thin enough, resilient, preferably suitable for a puppeteer''s control... The price is negotiable."


    Although Su''en didn''t know the value of the two materials, he felt that he probably couldn''t offer materials of the same level in exchange.


    But whether there are fish or not, it''s better to cast the first.


    As soon as he spoke, all the cloaked figures around the round table fell silent for a moment.


    "Mental methods" belong to a very advanced field, and these people may not know what it is.


    And the market demand for puppeteer materials is small, few people keep them for exchange. Even if they do, they probably sell them to the inner city.


    Su''en saw that his words had cooled the atmosphere, and he was being scrutinized by a group of people.


    Fortunately, the cloaks blocked the gaze, otherwise, being stared at by a group of at least second-order professionals, he might not be able to stand here calmly.


    Just as the topic was about to be skipped, suddenly someone spoke up.


    "I don''t have the ''mental method'' you mentioned, but I do have a thread with a very magical curse property that meets your conditions. If you''re interested, you can take a look."

 Chapter 101: The Curse of the Witch

    Chapter 101: The Curse of the Witch


    Su''en heard this and said in a deep voice, "Alright."


    Originally, he was just asking, not expecting to find a suitable one on the first try.


    Then the cloaked person handed over a box.


    Inside the box was a circle of silver hair.


    The person continued to introduce, "I don''t know what kind of distorted creature this hair came from, maybe Mr. Hei knows its origin. But it is the most amazing thread I have ever seen, infused with dark spiritual power. You will understand why I say it''s amazing."


    When encountering unfamiliar materials, the usual procedure is to have Mr. Hei identify them.


    But Su''en didn''t need to, he directly used the All-Knowing Eye to take a look at the material, and immediately disyed its name.


    [Cursed Hair of the Mourning Witch]


    Exnation: Heartache of longing, longing grows, hair grows longer; this is a very special cursed material, it possesses the dual state characteristics of elementalization and solidification; it has super strong energy conductivity, super strong toughness, super strong controbility, super strong intermittence...


    Seeing the introduction, a hint of surprise shed in Su''en''s expression.


    It seems very powerful?


    Since it was an inspection, he didn''t hesitate and picked up the translucent silver hair with his fingers.


    With just a pinch, it felt like pinching a very thin needle, not soft at all, his fingertips clearly felt the extraordinary toughness of the thread.


    Then he infused it with dark spiritual power, and a magical scene happened.


    The originally solid hair gradually turned into a state of ethereal elements, and the more energy was infused, the more transparent it became... and it gradually lengthened!


    This one meter long hair visibly turned into two meters before stopping.


    Su''en felt like he was holding a faint "strand of light" in his hand, feeling it disappear from his line of sight, but still firmly holding a small section.


    And the most amazing thing was, when his palm passed through, this transparent thread didn''t break?


    As soon as the infusion of dark spiritual power stopped, it immediately returned to its original flexible solid state.


    Seeing Su''en''s attempt, the cloaked person who took out the thread also added, "You can pull it with confidence. This thickness, it is the toughest thread I have ever seen. I tested it before, even a normal de couldn''t cut it. If it is refined into a nt, it will be even stronger..."


    Su''en pulled it slightly, the thread tightened in his hand, but there was no sign of it breaking, so he didn''t try any further.


    He said lightly, "Hmm, not bad."


    .......


    Su''en saw this material, even though his mindset was good, he couldn''t help but feel delighted.


    With just one nce, he determined that this was definitely the most suitable thread for a puppeteer among all the materials he knew!


    Currently, he controls puppets using steel wire, which not only has weak dark spiritual power conductivity, but also has many limitations.


    Using steel wire in battle makes the position of the puppet too obvious. Once the steel wire is cut, the puppet will immediately stop moving...


    And controlling multiple puppets, encountering special environments, andplex battles, all make it very easy for the steel wire to be tangled...


    There are also length limitations...


    The drawbacks of physical steel wire are too many!


    He was still wondering before, when he saw Pestoya controlling puppets at Storm Manor, even though she wasn''t using physical wire, he thought it was some special secret technique. But he never thought that there would be such a magical cursed material in this world.


    This hair can freely transform between physical and elemental states, it can also lengthen and intermittently transmit energy...


    Even if it''s not the same kind, it satisfies all of Su''en''s requirements for puppet threads!


    Oh, praise this magical and mysterious world!


    .......


    At this time, Mr. Hei looked at the characteristics tested from this thread and spoke, "If I''m not mistaken, it should be the hair of a distorted monster called the ''Mourning Witch'' recorded in ancient books. That kind of monster is very special, seemingly a ghost species with physical attack methods, able to prate people''s dreams..."


    Su''en heard this and also secretly admired this [erudite schr], he knows everything.


    However, it doesn''t matter where ites from, what he wants is this hair!


    This thing... seems to only be useful for puppeteers.


    Hopefully, it won''t be too expensive...


    Su''en thought in his heart, feeling a bit anxious.


    This material is so amazing, he feels that the spoils he obtained from the gang fightst time may not be enough to buy it, at least not inrge quantities.


    But Su''en prayed in his heart that he wouldn''t miss out on such a perfect thread because of the price...


    However, before he could inquire about the price, the cloaked person who took out the thread poured cold water on him.


    He said, "However, it''s a pity... there are only three strands of this material."


    "Three strands?"


    Su''en frowned slightly as he listened.


    If there are only three strands, what''s the use of it?


    I''ve even taken off my pants, and you''re telling me this?


    The person seemed to realize that it was inappropriate to say this after teasing him, and exined, "I extracted it from a corpse near a ruin when I led a team to the underground before. That monster used this hair to kill people, but I didn''t actually see that distorted creature."


    Su''en understood his meaning and asked directly, "What price do I need to pay if I need specific information about the location of this material?"


    The cloaked figure seemed unafraid of exposure and directly revealed his identity, "This information can be given to you for free. I am Tuze from the ''Red Knight Hunting Team''. If you have any future missions, I can also help you."


    After all, in his opinion, everyone here was a high-level professional, and there might be opportunities for future interactions.


    A piece of information for a good rtionship, it was worth it.


    He was straightforward and wrote down an address with the quill on the table, then handed the note over.


    "It''s actually there..."


    Su''en nced at the note and recognized that the address pointed to the underground ruins where he had traveled from.


    He couldn''t help but furrow his brows and said, "If you still have this material, I am still interested in purchasing it. Of course, if the hiring price is suitable, I would like to know what price I need to pay to obtain this material..."


    Others didn''t know what the ruins were about, but Su''en did. He didn''t know what the ruins meant when he first arrived in this world because he didn''t have enough understanding of this world. But now he knew... those ruins meant "extreme danger"!


    Professional matters should be entrusted to professional hunting teams, and that was the most correct choice.


    Unfortunately, when the cloaked figure heard this, he shook his head, "Sorry, my team won''t be going to that ruin in the near future. We lost eighty percent of our team this time and will need a long time to recover."


    "..."


    Su''en''s eyes twitched when he heard this.


    The "Red Knight Hunting Team" was a well-knownrge hunting team in the outer city, with several second-tier professionals in the team.


    But if they suffered an eighty percent casualty rate, how dangerous must that ruin be?


    Now Su''en was in a dilemma. If even a professional hunting team didn''t want to go, what should he do to obtain the material he wanted?


    .......


    At this time, the people around the stone table became interested when they heard about the identity of the cloaked figure and the mention of the ruins.


    Someone asked, "Captain Tuze, did you just return from Dawn City? I happen to need information about Dawn City, the more detailed the better. Name your price..."


    "Yes, I just returned from Dawn City."


    Tuze sighed slightly, as if recalling some unpleasant experience.


    After a pause, he continued, "As for that ruin... I can give you all some information for free. After all, the news will naturally spread sooner orter."


    Upon hearing this, everyone turned their heads and listened attentively.


    After all, recently, the most talked-about topic among them was the legendary ancient ruins.


    Tuze said, "Our team was one of the first to receive the news. As you all know, exploring ruins means great opportunities. We went with this mindset, and then the nightmare began. There are many ferocious and distorted monsters in the dungeons near the ruins. They constantly attack hunting teams... We lost a group of brothers, and it was not easy for us to reach the city. Only then did we discover that there are a lot of cursed spaces in the city, A-level, S-level, and even T-level..."


    "As far as I know, our Red Knight Team has rtively fewer casualties. The death rate of other teams entering the ruins has exceeded 90%, and some even suffered total annihtion. And this is just the outskirts of the ruins. Currently, no one can prate deep into the city..."


    "..."


    Tuze exined in detail, and the crisis between the lines made people''s scalps tingle, as if they had experienced the nightmare-like hunting journey themselves.


    After listening, the people around the stone table fell into contemtion.


    Su''en, on the other hand, didn''t care about the ruins. Any wealth beyond his own abilities to control would only bring him trouble.


    He just felt... more frustrated.


    He had discovered a very strong thread that would allow his puppet to make a qualitative leap in control.


    But now you''re telling me that thing is in a ruin with a survival rate of less than ten percent?


    Su''en was in a dilemma...


    .......


    Tuze continued, "Most of the people still in the ruins are ve hunting teams from the inner city''s major financial families... Those who have actually been there and returned probably don''t want to go again. I even suspect that it was certain individuals from the inner city who discovered the ruins initially, but they found that their people couldn''t handle it, so they deliberately leaked the information. Now arge-scale hunting camp is being built near the ruins, and it seems that it won''t be long before the financial families organize arge-scale hunting operation to clean up the ruins..."


    Some risk their lives to explore, while the financial families wait behind the city walls with money to buy. This was a normal routine.


    At this time, someone asked again.


    "Captain Tuze, may I ask how your team''s harvest was during the hunting trip?"


    "I can only say... it was worthy of the sacrifices made by those brothers."


    This statement was obviously modest.


    Anyone could imagine that the harvest from exploring the ruins must be astonishing.


    Everyone present had a sufficient understanding of the danger level of the ruins from the words of this experienced hunting team captain.


    But after all, those present were not ordinary people, but high-level professionals.After a moment of silence, someone spoke again, "Captain Tuze, I need the detailed route and all the information from your team''sst wilderness hunting expedition. Name your price. If possible, I would like to hire a few members from your team who have taken this route as ''guides''."


    Tuze looked surprised, "Are you nning to go?"


    The man nodded, "I''ve been stuck at the second-order peak for a long time. The materials I need for advancement can''t be found in the city. The discovery of ''Dawn City'' is probably my only chance. I must try my luck..."


    Upon hearing this, the other cloaked figures also chimed in.


    "Give me a copy of the information as well. I have a few ve teams under me, I''ll send them to try their luck."


    "Heh heh, danger means potential gains. Sell me a copy too."


    "I n to form a high-level professional wilderness hunting team. I will post it on the recruitment board of the Hunting Guild soon. Those who are interested cane and discuss..."


    "..."


    The existence of the cursed space implies the presence of arge number of ancient high-level cursed items, even forbidden items!


    This was no ordinary temptation.


    Even if it was a matter of life and death, it constantly stimted people''s gambling nerves.


    If they survived, it would be a huge profit.


    Upon hearing Tuze''s words, the dozen or so people around the round table all asked to buy a copy of the information.


    Su''en sighed slightly on the side.


    Hopefully... when they return, they can bring back some hair strands.


    He was also grateful that Mr. Hei had rmended him to this small circle, giving him ess to high-level alchemical materials and knowledge.


    ......


    Before long, the small gathering ended. Su''en rode back to Green Street from the ck market, only to find a sneaky figure anxiously waiting at the door of his basement.


    He was surprised that someone had found his residence.


    "Are you waiting for me?"

 Chapter 102: The origin of the mysterious pharmacist

    Chapter 102: The origin of the mysterious pharmacist


    Su''en had always been careful about his whereabouts. Even Kay didn''t know the location of the basement he rented.


    Moreover, now that he had obtained the skill of "Malicious Perception," the possibility of being tracked was almost zero. Unless it was a high-level professional with special means to deceive perception, he should not be found.


    But unexpectedly, someone found his doorstep.


    He looked at the cloaked figure wandering near the basement and asionally ncing at the street, and knew that this guy was probably looking for him.


    .......


    Su''en looked around and didn''t see anyone paying attention to him. He walked over and asked in a deep voice, "Are you waiting for me?"


    The sneaky guy was none other than the mysterious alchemist.


    Hearing Su''en''s cold tone, the cloaked figure apologized repeatedly, "I''m sorry, sir. I do have a very important matter to trouble you with, so I took the liberty toe to your door."


    His tone was full of sincerity and uneasiness, and it seemed that he really had an urgent matter.


    Anyone would have an unpleasant expression if someone inexplicably found their doorstep.


    But what Su''en was more curious about was how this guy knew his ce of residence.


    He didn''t ask what Danny came for, but asked, "How did you know I live here?"


    In order to rify some misunderstandings as soon as possible, Danny quickly exined in a fast pace, "My profession is ''Debate Pharmacist,'' and my awakened talent is ''D-031-Enhanced Smell.'' Although I don''t have muchbat power, it makes me very sensitive to the smell of potions..."


    Taking a breath, he hurriedly exined again, "I''m sorry, sir, I didn''t mean to track you! But because you took the potions I gave you, the smell on you is very special to me. Since we''re not far apart, I followed the smell... I knocked on the door but you weren''t there, so I took the liberty to wait here... I''m really sorry, sir."


    Perhaps due to guilt, his speech became incoherent.


    But Su''en understood. This guy found him by smelling the potions on his body?


    Is the talent of "Enhanced Smell" really that powerful?


    The ce where the alchemist lived was two or three kilometers away from Green Street. If he could smell the scent from such a distance, this talent would be the top tracking ability, not just a D-level talent.


    Su''en felt that he was lying or hiding something, and coldly questioned, "Did your enhanced smell allow you to smell the scent of the potions on me?"


    Seeing Su''en''s displeased expression, Danny knew that he had been misunderstood and quickly exined, "No, others can''t smell this scent! It''s because... it''s because..."


    When he said this, it seemed that there were some words that were difficult to say.


    After weighing it for a moment, he seemed to have made a decision and said, "Because my body has undergone some changes, my smell talent awakened for the second time, which makes it more special."


    "..."


    Second awakening of talent?


    Su''en frowned as he listened.


    He instantly thought of the words "Semi-Mutated Human" that were identified. It seemed that this guy wasn''t lying.


    But at the same time, he also breathed a sigh of relief.


    If anyone could have such a strong tracking ability, it would be truly terrifying.


    At this moment, Danny seemed afraid that Su''en wouldn''t believe him. He gritted his teeth and, for the first time, revealed his face hidden by the cloak, revealing a distorted face full of pustules like toad skin.


    "Sorry, sir, I scared you. I just wanted to prove that I''m telling the truth."


    Uncovering the cloak, Danny''s gaze dodged, as if he could already predict the surprised expression of the gentleman in front of him.


    However, to his surprise, Su''en remained calm throughout the process, without any expression of surprise.


    "Follow me. This is not the ce to talk."


    Seeing this, Su''en said calmly and walked towards the alley behind the basement.


    Danny''s appearance did not surprise him at all. This was consistent with the situation of being a "Semi-Mutated" individual.


    ........


    Su''en walked to the depths of the alley and looked at Danny in front of him. Then he got to the point and asked, "Tell me, what do you want from me?"


    Danny anxiously said, "My friends were just captured. Beta, Brown, and Nancy. So I want to ask you to help me rescue them."


    Pausing for a moment, he seemed to feel that he didn''t specify clearly and added, "They are the ones who traded with me and you before. They are good people. Half an hour ago, several people got off a ck truck from another block and took them away. I heard that it was done by the gang that has been hunting down homeless people and orphans in Green Street recently..."


    "..."


    Su''en listened but didn''t respond.


    His first reaction was that the person who came to trouble Danny in the inner city had arrived at his doorstep.


    After all, being able to produce so many advanced potions must mean that the person had a remarkable background.


    Danny seemed to realize this as well and said directly, "Sir, I can guarantee that Beta and the others being captured has nothing to do with my identity! After all, in the eyes of those people, I died in thatboratory ident... No one wille looking for me again. I''m sorry, sir, the only solution I can think of right now is you. Please, help me..."


    Su''en listened and roughly understood the cause of the matter.


    After thinking for a moment, he asked, "I think you should first tell me about your background before I consider whether to help you with this favor."


    If it involved Danny''s mysterious background and the person who took action was from the inner city, then he would definitely not choose to get involved in this trouble.


    But if it was just some human traffickers, Su''en thought the matter was simple.


    After all, this was not umon in the underworld, and it wouldn''t take much effort to solve it.


    Listening to Danny''s words, he thought that Green Street had be a neutral area recently, without the restraint of the Cross Society, and people from other blocks were crossing the line to capture people involved in illegal human trafficking.Danny knew that in order to gain people''s trust, he had to disclose some information, so he didn''t hide it and said, "My name is Danny Banks, I am a researcher at the ''Number Seven Research Institute'' in the inner city. It is a secret research institute directly under the ck Tower. I don''t think you have heard of it."


    Suren listened without expressing any opinion. He had already guessed these news, which were irrelevant.


    The key information, Danny didn''t reveal anything.


    He asked directly, "I think if you really want someone to help you, it''s best to be more honest. For example, talk about theboratory leak you mentioned before, and also about your own physical condition and why you came to the outer city..."


    "This..."


    Danny hesitated.


    He knew that once his identity was exposed, it would definitely cause big trouble, but now he had no choice.


    In the end, he chose to trust this person who had traded potions with him twice.


    He said, "Sir, you probably guessed it. The ce where the ''leak ident'' happened was actually the ''Number Seven Research Institute'' where I am. The distorted monsters in the sewer were caused by a special potion we were researching that exploded and leaked three years ago, which led to the mutations..."


    "As for myself... because my parents were in charge of that project, they died in the ident. Unfortunately, I was also infected and then used an unfinished distortion suppressant, which is why I look like this."


    Danny looked like a bookworm, without much social experience, and he didn''t know how to divert attention from the important points when making up stories.


    He didn''t lie, but he did hide some key things.


    Suren had lost patience listening to him. "If that''s all you have to say, I''m sorry, I can''t help you."


    With that, he turned to leave.


    This story shouldn''t be so simple. How could aboratory ident that caused so many monsters to mutate in the sewer be described so casually?


    He wasn''t interested in helping someone who wasn''t honest.


    .......


    "Sir, wait!"


    Seeing Suren about to leave, Danny panicked.


    He also realized his concealment and quickly said, "I... I have something else to say."


    Suren nced at him.


    Danny knew he wasn''t good at lying, so in his anxiety, he decided to tell the whole truth.


    He said, "The project is called the ''X Serum n''. It is a top-level medical research project deciphered from ancient documents found in a certain relic by the high-level members of the ck Tower. Its purpose is to study the ultimate mystery of life..."


    "The X Serum has very strong activity, it can prolong a person''s life and greatly enhance their physical abilities. However, the serum also has very strong side effects, which is that it will 100% cause biological distortion. The ''Number Seven Research Institute'' where I am is responsible for developing the distortion suppressant..."


    "This secret project has been going on for many years and has already achieved some research results. Butter, my parents discovered that the high-level members of the ck Tower conducted arge number of live experiments for certain undisclosed secrets. At least tens of thousands of people died because of this project, and if the research continues, more innocent people will die... My parents felt that this vited the original intention of medical research, so they chose to detonate theboratory and destroy all the research results..."


    "And at that time, I was also infected in theboratory and injected with the unfinished distortion suppressant. Although I survived, I ended up like this."


    Danny finished telling the story in one breath, heaved a long sigh, and felt relieved.


    Suren listened with a slightly furrowed brow, bing more and more puzzled.


    Danny was born into a medical family, and Suren had guessed that.


    But at the beginning of the story, he felt strangely familiar, and when he heard the name "X Serum" without any change, he immediately realized that this was the research mentioned in the "Zombie Research Diary" before.


    And considering that the current "development" of the entire Old Lingdun City is actually archaeology, it is not surprising.


    Now listening to Danny''s story, in order to confirm his guess, he asked, "Where did the ''X Serum''e from?"


    Danny replied, "I don''t know either. This is a veryrge project with a very high level of confidentiality. Our research institute is only responsible for a part of it, which is the research on the distortion suppressant..."


    Upon hearing this, Suren asked again, "How did you escape?"


    Danny said, "Theboratory explosion opened the exclusive water pipe for handling experimental wastewater, connecting it to the city''s sewerwork. I was affected by the explosion and fell into the water pipe, which allowed me to survive by chance. Then I escaped to the outer city through the pipeline, and Aunt Susan and my friends took me in. That''s how I didn''t starve to death..."


    As he spoke, he nced at Suren. "Sir, I didn''t intentionally hide anything before, I just didn''t want to trouble you. I don''t have much time left to live now. If you think you can get a reward by taking me to the inner city, I won''t resist. I beg you to help rescue my friends."


    Even if this guy had a bounty, which Suren doubted, he had no intention of doing so. But he said unexpectedly, "You''re going to die?"


    Danny nodded, "Although I survived the ident, the unfinished ''distortion suppressant'' has a great side effect, which is that it greatly shortens lifespan. I estimate that I can live for at most two more years..."


    "..."


    Suren listened and realized that his superhuman sense of smell was obtained by squeezing out his life force?


    But he remembered that the solution to the distortion in the "Zombie Research Diary" had no side effects.


    .......


    After listening to the story, Suren''s concerns were basically dispelled.


    He thought for a moment and asked, "Besides you, does anyone else know my ce of residence?"


    Danny said, "Don''t worry, don''t worry, no one knows your ce of residence except me. I have never sold potions before, so no one would notice that I am still alive. As a reward, you can take me to exchange for a bounty, and I can also help you refine potions for free. I am a ''potion expert''..."


    As he spoke, he added somewhat embarrassedly, "But... I don''t have money, so you need to provide the materials.""Let''s talk about thister."


    Su''en responded indifferently.


    He had been interested in the "X Serum Project" for a long time. The serum could dramatically enhance physical abilities and even create "living dead"... Its effects were extraordinary.


    However, due to ack of clues, he hadn''t given it much thought.


    Unexpectedly, someone in the real Old Lingdun had restarted this research. This meant that the conditions for restoring the research already existed in reality!


    Although theboratory in the ck Tower that Danny mentioned had failed...


    The "Living Dead Research Diary" recorded the entire research process of the mad alchemist who had sessfully studied the living dead back then!


    Although the part involving technical content hadn''t been decrypted yet, the notebook was in his hands, and he would be able to decipher it sooner orter.


    Su''en''s current medical knowledge was far from enough for "conducting research", but Danny could. In the future, this guy might even be able to help him greatly in deciphering the diary.


    If he could really produce the "X Serum"...


    Su''en thought it might bring him tremendous benefits!


    .......


    But now was not the time to think about this. Su''en asked, "I can try to help you rescue your friends, but I can''t guarantee sess. Can you use your sense of smell to determine their location?"


    He nned to give it a try. If it wasn''t too troublesome, he wouldn''t mind lending a hand.


    Upon hearing this, Danny was overjoyed, "Yes! At least for an hour, I can smell the scent on Nancy and the others. I can clearly distinguish that the car carrying them went to the west of the city..."

 Chapter 103: Black Jazz

    Chapter 103: ck Jazz


    Pharmacist Danny truthfully exined his origin, and Su''en also confirmed that this incident should have nothing to do with the inner city. He also asked a few familiar faces on Green Street and heard that there have been outsidersing to this area recently to capture orphans and beggars. He agreed to help with this small favor.


    Su''en wore a brown dirty braid wig, changed into a rock-style shiny leather jacket, and "borrowed" an inconspicuous steam motorcycle using his lockpicking skill. Then, he took Danny and followed the scent all the way to the West City District.


    It must be said that Danny''s sense of smell was really extraordinary, as sensitive as a dog''s nose. Even after half an hour, he could still guide Su''en to the Knight Street area more than ten kilometers away based on the scent.


    Su''en had suspected that the people capturing orphans on Green Street were members of the Steam Party, and now that he had arrived in the Knight Street area, he knew who was most likely responsible.


    The "Anchor Hand" Park, whom he had killed in the conflict, used to be the patrol captain of the Steam Party in this area.


    And from that guy''s memories, Su''en also extracted some information. It seemed that they had always been capturing people for some kind of "delivery mission."


    ......


    Su''en took Danny for a stroll on the street and found the ck truck that was used for capturing people in an inconspicuous alley.


    But there was no one on the truck anymore.


    After searching, Danny finally determined that the scent of his friends was a few hundred meters away from the truck, inside a building called "ck Jazz" in the West City District.


    Su''en had heard of this entertainment club, which was quite famous in the West City District and very lively.


    He parked the motorcycle in a dpidated building that went unnoticed and let Danny hide in the darkness.


    Then, he swaggered down Knight Street.


    The West City District was the territory of the Steam Party and the ce with the strongest steam punk elements in the entire outer city. Everywhere on the streets, one could see people with various modified mechanical arms and prosthetics. Most of the buildings on the street were either Saxon or Romanesque domed gray-ck structures, with steel frames and steam boiler smokestacks on the exterior walls. The street was filled withplex train tracks, and there were multiyered steel train bridges overhead. Steam trains passed by from time to time, emitting a burst of white smoke.


    It was a lively and bustling scene, this was "Green Street" in the West City District.


    Su''en hadn''t taken many steps when a man with a sharp face approached him mysteriously, saying, "Hey friend, do you want to modify your prosthetics? I have the cheapest goods from the outer city here, with a one-year warranty..."


    In the territory of the Steam Party, there was a shortage of everything except for shops that specialized in mechanical modifications.


    Su''en, dressed in a rock style, didn''t have any mechanical prosthetics installed on him. In the eyes of these local snakes, he was a potential customer.


    But these shops that needed to attract customers usually had mediocre modification skills, with a high possibility of infection, distortion, or malfunction.


    Although he hadn''t been here before, because he had absorbed arge number of memory fragments from the gangst time, he was not unfamiliar with these tricks.


    Seeing that Su''en ignored him, the guy approached again, "Friend, I also have high-end goods from the inner city. Do you want to take a look?"


    Su''en didn''t say a word, but showed the gun at his waist. Only then did the guy leave.


    He was familiar with the ways of the gang. The more polite you were to these persistent guys, the more troublesome it became.


    Su''en walked straight to the "ck Jazz Club."


    Then he encountered pimps, little girls selling flowers, and cigarette vendors...


    "Brother, do you want a girl? Just arrived from the inner city, only three thousand Lisuo for one night. Oh, you may not know, the skin of those nobledies is so tender..."


    "Sir, do you need a rose?"


    "The best Berkeley brand cigarettes, Baghm Factory cigars. Would you like a box, sir?"


    "..."


    Su''en flicked a ten Lisuo coin to the little girl and took a rose, then walked into the club''s entrance.


    Inside the entrance was a security area surrounded by iron fences, with a neat row of firearms hanging on the wall. Several well-built men in suits with sunsses were standing with their hands inserted, scrutinizing the passing guests. These were the Steam Party''s helpers responsible for security, just like Su''en''s previous job.


    These guys paid special attention to unfamiliar faces.


    Naturally, they noticed Su''en, who was visiting for the first time.


    Entering the enemy gang''s stronghold, Su''en showed no signs of fear. He walked in confidently like an old regr customer and even handed the rose to the bunny girl in a sexy bunny costume at the entrance.


    He didn''t know where he had extracted the memory from, but he happened to know this girl. "Hey, Moyira, do you want to have a few drinks with me tonight?"The bunny girl looked at Su''en and immediately approached him, saying, "Oh, sir, it''s been a long time since youst came..."


    The professionalism of the night club girls was such that even if they didn''t remember you at all, they would still act as if they recognized you.


    Su''enughed and naturally wrapped his arms around the slender waist of the girl, entering the club.


    As a familiar customer of the club, the attention of those around instantly shifted away from him.


    .......


    Upon entering the club, there was a lobby with a dance floor and arge stage.


    The lights were dim, and the air was filled with the scent of hallucinogens and the intoxicating aroma of hormones.


    Su''en had be numb to the entertainment scene on Green Street. There was nothing new here, just the same pole dancers and seductive showgirls on the runway...


    A band with zombie makeup was ying wildly on the stage, while men and women in the dance floor moved their bodies to the beat of heavy metal music...


    Su''en sat with the bunny girl in a corner booth, drinking.


    With a tip of a thousand miles, he enjoyed the gentle and enthusiastic service of this girl named Moy.


    After all, this was the territory of a rival gang.


    Su''en''s n was simple: if a problem could be solved with money, he would try not to resort to violence.


    One could easily spend a lot of money here, and three and a half kids wouldn''t make much of a dent.


    By drinking in the night club, he could be familiar with the ce and smoothly conduct business without seeming out of ce.


    After a while, as they drank, the girl''s face flushed, indicating that the timing was right. Su''en casually clinked his ss and said to the girl, "Hey, Moy, is ''Golden Tooth'' Bali here?"


    Illegal human trafficking within the gang usually involved specialized ve traders, and Bali was the broker who operated in the "ck Jazz" club.


    The girl took a sip of her drink andzily replied, "Bali? Mr. Nichs, are you looking to buy some ves?"


    Su''en said, "Yes. A nobleman in the inner city needs a group of children to train as household servants. I want to pick a few sensible ones to send over..."


    As the girl listened, she became even more attached, coquettishly saying, "Oh, I almost forgot, Mr. Nichs, your business is connected to the nobles in the inner city, right? Shall I inform Bali?"


    Su''en smiled and said, "That would be great."


    .......


    Before long, a thin man with a gold tooth and a mechanical vest approached.


    "Sir, I heard that you need to buy some ves?"


    "I heard that you have good merchandise. I''m looking for some younger ones..."


    "Then you''vee to the right person."


    After a brief conversation, Su''en followed Bali out of the club through the back door. They descended the iron staircase to the basement, which looked like a prison cell.


    Inside the iron-barred cells were more than ten young women in a panic, all of them young and attractive. They were topless, with only small pieces of cloth covering their private parts, and most of them had whip marks on their fair skin.


    Such illegal human trafficking wasmon in the outer city.


    Bali introduced with a ttering smile, "Sir, these are truly good merchandise. Some of them were recently sent from noble families in the inner city. Look at their grace and legs, they understand the true etiquette of nobility. If you buy them, they will serve you well."


    Su''en was not here to buy female ves, and since he didn''t see those three and a half kids, he showed his dissatisfaction, saying, "I say, Bali, is this all you have? I need young ones that can be trained as household servants!"


    Pausing for a moment, he added provocatively, "I heard that you have the best merchandise on Knight Street!"


    Upon hearing this, Bali immediately patted his chest and said, "Of course! I guarantee that the merchandise in my hands is the best and mostplete in the entire Knight Street area!"


    Su''en nced at him, meaning: Is that all?


    Bali exined with a troubled expression, "To be honest, these are all truly good merchandise. The ones that are slightly inferior... I didn''t keep them."


    Hearing this, Su''en said, "I say, Bali, I need a few young ones, preferably around eleven or twelve years old, both boys and girls. As long as the merchandise satisfies me, the price is negotiable!"


    Since Danny confirmed that the person was in this building, there must be other ces where ves were held.


    Bali must know about it.


    Sure enough, when Su''en mentioned the negotiable price, Bali immediately changed his tune, saying, "Please wait a moment, I''ll bring a few for you to see."


    Su''en waved his hand and said, "No need to trouble yourself, just take me to see them directly."


    As expected, there was another ve warehouse.


    But when Bali heard that Su''en wanted to go, he looked hesitant and said, "Um... I''m sorry, it''s not very convenient."Su''en realized that it might be a secret base, but he didn''t insist. He waved his hand impatiently and said, "Forget it, just hurry up."


    "Alright, please wait a moment, it won''t take long."


    Bali left his two subordinates behind and walked out alone.


    There were people guarding nearby, but Su''en didn''t wander around. He sat on a chair with his legs crossed, seemingly careless but actually listening attentively.


    He listened to the sound of the iron staircase outside the door. After Bali went out, it seemed like he went upstairs and then came back down a few minutester.


    Su''en''s ears twitched slightly, and he silently thought to himself, "That guy went to the third room on the left on the third floor, then came down and walked at least one hundred and ten steps to the southwest. It should be in that building... What did he go up for? To report to the boss?"


    Just by listening to the sound outside the door, Su''en had already deduced Bali''s walking path and was silently contemting his backup n.


    .......


    Before long, Bali came back again, followed by eight half-sized children chained with iron.


    They were all dressed in tattered clothes, clearly just caught thieves and homeless orphans from the neighborhood. Some of them had resisted and were beaten up, with bruises on their faces.


    Su''en took a look and indeed saw a familiar face, he remembered his name was Brown.


    But...weren''t there three of them?


    There was only one here, which meant that the other two were still locked up.


    Su''en looked at them and felt that things were getting a little troublesome.


    Bali looked at Su''en without saying a word and asked, "Are you not satisfied?"


    Su''en pursed his lips, pretending to be uninterested.


    These few were actually of good quality, even better than the other two he was looking for. But it would be meaningless to buy them all at once.


    If he were to be more selective, it would appear that his intentions were not so pure.


    Su''en shook his head, took out a stack of tips and left them on the table, as if he had lost interest. "They barely pass...but the boss needs the real deal. Bali, my friend, I''ll trouble you to keep an eye out for me in the next few days. I''lle back to take a look."


    Although the deal didn''t go through, Bali looked at the tips on the table and smiled happily, "Don''t worry, sir. In three to five days at most, I guarantee I can find what satisfies you."


    ........


    Su''en returned to the private room in the hall, and the bunny girl was still waiting for him there.


    "Mr. Nichs, didn''t you find a suitable one?"


    "Sigh...Bali doesn''t have anything that satisfies me for now. I''ll have toe back in a few days."


    "That''s a pity. Sir, would you like a drink?"


    Su''en picked up the ss, but in his mind, he was thinking that if the deal couldn''t be made, he might have to resort to force.


    Fortunately, he already knew the location of the detention, so it wasn''t too troublesome.


    At this moment, he suddenly felt that the person who shed past in the dance floor seemed familiar. He said, "Huh...why do I feel like I''ve seen that person before?"


    He didn''t look closely, so he couldn''t remember who it was, but he guessed it was someone from his fragmented memories.


    The bunny girl apanied Su''en for another round of drinks. Su''en felt that it was time to take action. He said, "Wait for me for a few minutes, I''ll go to the restroom."


    The bunny girl seemed to misunderstand something and smiled ambiguously, "Sure~ Do you want me to apany you?"


    In the nightclub, the restroom was not just a ce to relieve oneself, it could also be a ce for transactions...


    Su''en took out some tips and stuffed them into her cleavage, wiped off the oil, and smiled, "Just wait for me."


    With that, he left the seat gracefully.


    ........


    Su''en left the private room and went to the restroom.


    Avoiding the drunken customers, he directly climbed out of the restroom window and appeared in the back alley. He took off his coat and covered his face with a skull mask.


    Because of his excellent hearing ability, he could easily avoid others.


    "One hundred and ten steps to the southwest, it should be that small building. There are two guys drinking on the second floor, most likely undercover guards..."


    Su''en was very familiar with the habits of the gangsters, and he could easily distinguish between the customers and the steam gang members.


    Taking advantage of the guards'' distraction, Su''en quickly approached the small building.


    Then he sneaked in and indeed saw a basement with a heavy iron door.


    There were three guards ying cards at the entrance. Su''en walked over and, in the astonished gazes of the three, pulled out a silenced pistol and took care of two of them with two shots.


    Then he pointed the gun at thest person''s head and said coldly, "Open the door."


    The person was already trembling in fear, "The...the key is with Boss Dam."


    "Where is Dam?"


    "On the third floor... Room 303."


    Su''en didn''t waste any words. He shot the guy in the head.


    The lock on the heavy iron door wasplex, not something that could be opened with mere technical skills. He turned around and left the basement.


    .......


    Su''en had guessed that Barley had gone to the third floor earlier, probably to get the key.


    He didn''t take the stairs guarded by the Steam Party, but instead went to the small alley outside the bathroom where bottles were piled up. In the shadows, he undid his nt suit, his spider-like arms firmly gripping the wall, easily climbing up.


    He didn''t rush to go up, but instead listened carefully on the outer wall of the second floor.


    "There''s only one person''s breathing, it must be Damu."


    Damu was the head of the ve traders in the Knight District, not a professional, and posed little threat to Su''en.


    His original n was to go in, kill the guy, get the key, and solve the problem within a minute.


    Unexpectedly, as soon as he showed his head at the window, his gaze froze.


    Inside the room... a naked fat man was tied to a chair, a woman with short purple hair was holding a knife to his throat, seemingly "interrogating" him.


    The man was naturally the ve trader Damu, and looking at the woman, Su''en finally understood why he had found the fleeting figure in the dance floor strangely familiar.


    It was... the mysterious woman who topped the ck market bounty list with a reward of three million!

 Chapter 104: Do you know me?

    Chapter 104: Do you know me?


    Su''en didn''t expect to see this scene inside the house from outside the window. A woman with a knife was interrogating the human trafficker, Dam, that he was looking for.


    With spider legs fixed, he instinctively pulled out his gun, wanting to aim, but instantly lowered the muzzle. He knew very well that the woman in front of him was incredibly powerful, and even shooting wouldn''t hurt her. What''s more, he noticed that even if the woman discovered him, she didn''t show any signs of attack or malice.


    The woman had shoulder-length purple hair and was wearing a tight bunny girl outfit. She wore a gothic-style short skirt with a left slit that reached her hip bone, ck thigh-high stockings, and furry bunny ears...coupled with her cold expression while holding the knife, she exuded a kind of cold-blooded sexiness all over her body.


    Judging from her attire, it seemed to be a disguise for infiltration.


    This was the first time Su''en had seen this woman''s figure, and a thought shed through his mind: "I remember the wanted notice said her hair color was silver-white...and wasn''t she called a ''mechanical warrior''? Doesn''t seem like it..."


    Because of the bikini-like bodysuit, her graceful figure was fully revealed, with a high hip line, which was a sign of strong gluteal and leg muscle explosiveness. She also wore ck high-heeled boots, making her legs look very slender. It was precisely because of this perfect proportion that it felt somewhat unreal, as if she had been artificially crafted ording to the golden ratio.


    The woman with purple hair also didn''t expect someone to suddenly appear outside the window, and a hint of surprise shed in her eyes.


    The two locked eyes for a moment.


    .......


    One person held a knife to the human trafficker''s neck, while the other was preparing to climb in through the window. Obviously, both sides realized that the other shouldn''t be a member of the Steam Party.


    But why did this "walking three million" not find a ce to hide ande here?


    Moreover, what Su''en found strange was that when the woman saw him just now, there was obviously a sense of alertness in her eyes, as if she wanted to raise her knife, but it disappeared in an instant, and she put away her intention to attack.


    That look, as if...she recognized someone?


    Both sides remained motionless in this tacit understanding.


    The woman with purple hair seemed to have obtained the information she needed. She didn''t care that there were onlookers outside the window and casually swung her white coiled rope katana, ending Dam''s life.


    Blood spilled onto the carpet, and the strong smell of blood permeated the air.


    Su''en hung outside the window, witnessing this woman casually killing someone, suddenly not knowing what he should do.


    The other party didn''t show any malice, but he didn''t get the key either. It didn''t feel right to go in, and leaving also seemed inappropriate.


    At this moment, the woman with purple hair extinguished her cigarette, sheathed her knife, and then turned her head to ask Su''en, "What are you here for?"


    Su''en said, "To get the key and save the ves in the basement."


    Upon hearing this, the woman gave him another look.


    She thought for a moment, bent down, and expressionlessly pulled a bunch of keys from the waist of the corpse, throwing them to Su''en. She added, "I''ll stay in the house for another five minutes."


    Although her words were brief, Su''en understood. He only had five minutes to save the people.


    Or maybe in five minutes, she was preparing to make a big move?


    "Thank you."


    But Su''en didn''t bother with her business. He was here to save people, and he wasn''t interested in what this woman wanted to do.


    He turned around and prepared to leave, but before he left, he couldn''t help but ask, "Do you know me?"


    "..."


    The woman was very indifferent andpletely ignored his question.


    Su''en waited for a second, didn''t get an answer, and climbed down the wall along the wall.


    But he understood the expression of the woman just now.


    She must know him.


    No, to be precise, she knew the "original host"!


    The transcendent abilities in this world were varied, and there might be the ability of high-precision facial recognition, such as eyes, skull contours, and teeth, which were not easily changed by disguise.


    This woman obviously recognized the original host, but it seemed that they didn''t have any rtionship.


    Who was she, and who was the original host?


    .......


    Su''en didn''t think too much about it and went down the wall with the key.


    He put away the equipment and went straight to the basement.


    Opening the heavy iron door, a foul smell rushed over. Inside were about fifty or sixty ragged people, young and old, clearly impoverished people struggling to survive. They crouched in various corners of the cell, trembling as they looked at the masked Su''en.


    Su''en didn''t waste time and said directly, "Go, go out and go upstairs. Remember not to make any noise. Jump over the wall from the second-floor window and you''ll be on the main street outside. Whether you can escape or not depends on your luck."


    If he could help, he didn''t mind lending a hand, but he knew very well that he couldn''t take away so many people alone.


    The people in the cell were initially afraid, but after seeing the body of the guard on the ground, they knew that the masked person in front of them was not a human trafficker.


    One person tried to walk towards the door and found that Su''en didn''t stop him, so he quickly escaped. Seeing this, the people in the house rushed out in a panic.


    Su''en acted quickly and caught three and a half children at the door.


    The others didn''t pay attention to him catching people and quickly fled therge basement.


    Nancy and the other three people were caught, their faces full of fear, thinking that this masked person was going to trouble them.


    But Su''en didn''t waste words and directly took out three sets of new clothes and boots from his storage ring, saying, "Danny entrusted me to save you. After jumping over the wall, immediately change into these clothes and remember to throw away your dirty clothes in the sewer. Then, don''t run around, walk slowly south along the street, and don''t look around!"The orphan thieves of the Knight District had been cleaned out. If these guys were to escape to the streets, they would easily be recognized and captured by the Steam Party. Su''en didn''t want to go through the trouble of rescuing them again.


    Upon hearing the name Danny, the three faces lit up with excitement.


    Beta: "Ah, Big Brother Danny ising to save us!"


    Brown: "I told you, Big Brother Danny will definitely find a way to save us."


    The little girl named Nancy looked at Su''en and timidly said, "Thank you, sir."


    Su''en interrupted the excitement of these little brats, and coldly shouted, "Get moving!"


    The three youngsters were startled and didn''t dare to dy, they quickly went upstairs.


    Su''en, however, walked straight out of the small building.


    Now that the people had been rescued, his job was to buy them some more time.


    After waiting a few seconds, Su''en listened carefully. It seemed that two members of the Steam Party had heard the noise and were heading towards the small building.


    Then in the darkness, there were two muffled gunshots, and the bodies fell directly onto the road.


    Su''en walked out of the small building and stood in the open space. The two sentries drinking on the second-floor iron staircase also noticed him, but before they could sound the rm, their heads exploded like snowkes, and their bodies fell from the iron staircase.


    While killing, Su''en also noticed a gaze from the third-floor window watching him. Looking up, the purple-haired woman was watching everything indifferently.


    Su''en nced at her and then withdrew his gaze.


    He killed all the members of the Steam Party near the small building, then calmly walked towards the bathroom window and climbed back in.


    He put on his coat, removed the skull scarf covering his face, and like a normal patron using the restroom, returned to the club''s main hall.


    The entire rescue process took less than eight minutes.


    In the booth, he was greeted by the seductive smile of a bunny girl.


    ......


    Su''en didn''t rush to leave, but instead sat drinking with the girl.


    He had been worried about being suspected, but now it seemed that this "Walking Three Million" would probably take the me for everything tonight.


    However, a few gang members dying wasn''t a big deal, revenge, turf wars, conflicts, people died every day.


    What he cared more about was, why was this woman here?


    And why did she know the original owner?


    "Darm is a ve trader, what does she want with him? She''s now an S-ss fugitive, instead of hiding, she''s taking such a big risk tomit a crime, her purpose must not be simple..."


    Just as this thought popped into Su''en''s head, he estimated that the five minutes the purple-haired woman mentioned should be almost up.


    At that moment, the lights in the entire club suddenly dimmed, and thick smoke began to billow from the ceiling.


    Someone shouted, "Fire!"


    Something mmable must have been ignited upstairs, the fire spread very quickly, and the thick smoke filled the entire "ck Jazz Club" in an instant.


    Seeing the ceiling on fire, Su''en''s eyebrows raised slightly, realizing it was arson to cover their tracks.


    With that shout, chaotic footsteps came from upstairs, and the thousands of people on the first-floor dance floor began to panic and rush towards the exit.


    Su''en calmly retreated with the bunny girl in his arms.


    As they were leaving, they saw a group of Steam Party members checking everyone at the door, seemingly guessing that someone with ill intentions might be trying to escape in the crowd.


    The bunny girl clung to Su''en''s hand in panic, as a "regr" he naturally wasn''t suspected, and they smoothly exited the door.


    "Oh my God, it''s so scary, how could it suddenly catch fire..."


    "Oh, what a letdown. Moira, I''lle find you another day."


    "Mr. Nichs, see you next time..."


    Su''en didn''t linger, hailed a steam taxi, and got in.


    The motorcycle was heading south along the street, just as Nancy and the three youngsters were walking along the roadside, pretending to be casual.


    Su''en called them over to get in the car, then picked up Danny at the corner, and the group headed back to the South District.

 Chapter 105: Lets go and do something big

    Chapter 105: Let''s go and do something big


    Su''en saved Danny''s three friends.


    They got off in a neighborhood far from Green Street and started walking.


    Along the way, both Danny and Nancy''s three kids were excited.


    But Su''en remained expressionless, reying tonight''s actions in his mind.


    Although the illegally captured people in the basement were released, not many of them could escape. The control of the gang in the area far exceeded the imagination of ordinary people. Those who looked like homeless people and orphans couldn''t run far with just their legs. Even if they hid, they were easily discovered because they were unfamiliar with the area.


    Su''en was not sure if the Steam Party would exclude those who were not caught, and remembered Nancy and the others, then traced back to Green Street where the arrests were made, and looked for clues.


    Although the possibility was small, Su''en knew it was best not to leave any hidden dangers.


    After all... this incident also involved that S-ss wanted criminal.


    If only a few gang members died and a few captured orphans escaped, the Steam Party might not go to great lengths to pursue the culprit.


    But if the inner city umbre organization discovered that woman had been there, things would beplicated.


    Before Su''en came, he also thought that the Steam Party was only involved in "illegal human trafficking," but now he realized there were some problems.


    The batch of illegally captured people were meant to be "delivered," but delivered to whom?


    Who would ept such a batch of low-quality ves? After all, half-grown children and homeless people were not as valuable as young women.


    Moreover, judging from the memories Su''en extracted from those bodies, this "delivery" had been going on for a long time.


    This indicated that the recipient had a great demand for people.


    Ordinary ve business couldn''t handle so many "low-quality" people.


    When Su''en thought about that S-ss wanted criminal, he felt that the situation might involve some other hidden issues.


    .......


    "I was so scared. I thought we were going to be sold to the meat factory and turned into canned food..."


    "The person I was captured with before said that the people in the inner city would raise some deformed monsters as pets, and they would feed us to the pets..."


    "..."


    Along the way, the three kids chattered and shared their terrifying experiences of being captured with Danny, as well as the exaggerated legends they had heard.


    "Oh, we can finally go home."


    "Susan''s mom must be worried sick knowing we were captured."


    "We owe it to Danny this time, otherwise we wouldn''t be able toe back."


    When Danny heard this, he quickly looked at Su''en next to him and corrected them, "You should thank this gentleman. He saved you."


    But he knew that Su''en probably didn''t want to reveal too much information, so he didn''t introduce how he had called for help.


    "Thank you, sir."


    The three kids were overjoyed and bowed to Su''en.


    But Su''en shook his head and didn''t pay attention to their gratitude. He poured cold water on them directly, "You can''t go back to your ce now, at least not for the next few months."


    The three of them were stunned, "Ah? Sir... why?"


    Su''en felt it necessary to exin the seriousness of the situation to them, so he said, "When I saved you, I killed several gang members. The people who captured you might remember that you came from Green Street. If they see you again when you go back, it will not only harm yourselves but also your otherpanions."


    "Ah?"


    As soon as he said this, the three of them were instantly at a loss.


    Thinking of the horror of those people before, they seemed to be really scared. They stood in ce, looking at Danny, and then at Su''en, "Then, sir... where can we go now?"


    Su''en thought for a moment and took out a stack of banknotes, "Here is some money, enough for you to live in another ce for a few months. I suggest you take the intercity train to the Marshal Street area in the East City District. It''s the territory of the Crow Gang, and the Steam Party''s reach doesn''t extend that far."


    Looking at the stack of green bills handed over by Su''en, the three of them simultaneously withdrew their hands and no one dared to take it.


    "No, no, no... sir, we don''t need money to survive."


    "Yeah, sir, we can earn money ourselves."


    "I can steal bread, I won''t go hungry..."


    The three of them looked at Su''en timidly. Thisrge sum of money made them feel fearful.


    The lives of orphans in the slums were cheap. Even if they searched for food in the garbage cans, they could still survive tenaciously.


    Su''en shook his head and exined calmly, "This money is for you to avoid wandering on the streets for the time being. Otherwise, it''s easy for people to see that you are outsiders."


    "But..."


    "Take it!"


    Before the three of them could say anything else, Su''en had already stuffed the money into the hands of the girl named Nancy.


    And at this moment, a distant "woo woo" sound came from the train approaching.


    With a threatening tone, Su''en said in a deep voice, "You take this train and leave. You can''te back for at least three months, otherwise, you might harm yourpanions."


    He knew that scaring them would make it less likely for things to go wrong.


    The three of them listened to Su''en''s serious tone and hadpletely lost their attention. They could only turn their heads and look at Danny helplessly.


    Danny knew the seriousness of the situation and also persuaded them, "Listen to this gentleman. He''s right, you can''t go back to Green Street now."


    By this time, the steam train had already arrived at the tform.


    Feeling sad, but helpless.


    The three of them turned back reluctantly to look again.


    Beta weakly asked, "Danny, will we see each other again in the future?"


    Danny thought for a moment and didn''t dare to answer immediately, but in the end, he looked at the expectant eyes of the three and smiled, "We will."


    The girl Nancy timidly asked Su''en, "Sir, can we know your name? I will pay you back the money in the future."


    "No need."


    Su''en shook his head.


    Thinking about it, he took out two pistols and a dagger and handed them to the three of them, "Keep these for self-defense."


    "Oh."The train doors opened, leaving no time for further farewells. The three of them carefully concealed their weapons and money under their robes, boarded the train, and journeyed into the distance.


    .......


    Two people stood on the tform, watching the three depart.


    Su''en felt relieved, as if he had just sent away three little troubles.


    Tears shimmered in Danny''s eyes. He knew he might never see these friends again in his lifetime.


    He was well aware that Nancy and the others couldn''t go home, and neither could he.


    Danny turned to Su''en and asked, "Sir, where are we going now?"


    Su''en led him towards Green Street, "I''ll rent another house for you near Green Street. You should stay indoors for a while."


    "Okay."


    Danny nodded, "What do you need me to do?"


    After all, saving people was a transaction, and he hadn''t forgotten to pay the price.


    Su''en didn''t beat around the bush and said directly, "You should prepare some emergency potions for the time being. Make a list of what materials you need, and I''ll bring them back for you the next time I go to the ck market. After a while, I might need your help with some things."


    Danny nodded, already prepared to work long hours, "Okay."


    The two of them walked back towards Green Street.


    Su''en also asked about the "X Serum Project" and some details about the inner city.


    Suddenly, he remembered something and asked, "By the way, Danny. Last time you went to the ck market, did you notice the top bounty on the list, the S-ss fugitive from the inner city? Do you know her?"


    He thought that since they were both from the inner city, Danny might know her.


    To his surprise, Danny did know.


    "Sir, are you talking about the silver-haired woman?"


    "Yes."


    "I don''t know her, but I saw her once in theb."


    "Was she a member of the research institute?"


    "I''m not sure, but she wasn''t a researcher, she seemed to be abatant. Once when I was at home, I overheard my parents mentioning another top-secret project that our medical research department and mechanical department were working on together, which seemed to be rted to her..."


    "Do your parents know her?"


    "They probably do..."


    "..."


    Listening to this, Su''en instinctively had a thought.


    Danny''s parents blew up theb, and this woman happened to steal some research results and defected. Could these two events, separated by more than three years, be somehow connected?


    .......


    They chatted casually along the way, and soon they were back on Green Street.


    Su''en was always efficient. Not long after they returned to Green Street, he rented a basement for Danny through a housing agency not far from his own rental.


    This distance could avoid some trouble and they could also look after each other.


    Because Danny''s deformed appearance was too conspicuous, and it was inconvenient for him to go out wearing a cloak, Su''en prepared plenty of food and water for him.


    Fortunately, alchemists are real homebodies. As long as they have something to do, they can stay in theb forever.


    After waiting for a few days without any trouble, Su''en knew that the trouble at the "ck Baron Club" had probably passed.


    Su''en''s life returned to normal.


    Since he got aplete set of textbooks from Mr. ck, he plunged into the study of theoretical knowledge and became busy.


    Not only textbooks, but also the vice principal''s teaching ns and annotations, filled a storage ring.


    The textbook content was easy to understand and progressive. As long as he followed the order of beginner, intermediate, and advanced reading, it was not difficult to understand.


    Moreover, Su''en could read the textbooks very quickly because many knowledge fragments had been stripped from his mind. Many pieces of knowledge in his mind felt strangely familiar when he saw them in the textbooks. By understanding some transitional content, he could connect the pieces of knowledge.


    These textbooks were like a thread, stringing together the beads of knowledge.


    Stringing beads into chains, gradually became a systematic discipline.


    Potions, enchantments, imnts, runes, alchemy spells, mechanics, forging, mysticism, medicine...


    Su''en was immersed in the ocean of knowledge of this fantasy world, absorbing it like a whale.


    His progress was rapid.


    Especially in the field of mechanical knowledge, his progress was simply iparable to before.


    The problem with the "Spider Bomb" that had always failed before was found. With theoretical support, he could even improve the previous design drawings and create a more perfect spider bomb. The "Iron Man Mark II" also had many technological innovations...


    Through systematic learning, his rune drawing skills and forging skills also improved significantly. Because of the more perfect skills, the rune puppets he made now were much more powerful than before. He could also slowly start to try to make those high-difficulty intermediate puppets...


    The same was true for alchemy spells and mysticism.


    Once the principle is understood, everything else follows.


    .......


    Su''en spent every day in the basement, nning a detailed and regr schedule for himself.


    Exercising, studying, tinkering with machinery and puppets, asionally going to the shooting range...


    He strictly followed the schedule every day, and the data on the panel visibly increased.


    The peaceful and fulfilling days passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, a month had passed.


    Su''en originally wanted to continue staying at home, but Kay came to find him.


    The former boss of Green Street, who was bored as amander without a territory, seemed to have nothing to do every day. In the end, he couldn''t stand the loneliness and found Su''en.


    "Let''s go, brother, let''s pull off a big job!"


    On this dark and windy night, Kay had an excited expression on his face, as if he was taking his brother to make a fortune. He said mysteriously, "I got a secret tip. The Steam Party will be transporting a batch of ''top-grade mechanical equipment'' from the inner city tonight..."

 Chapter 106: A highly confidential escort

    Chapter 106: A highly confidential escort


    After thest battle between the Steam Party and the Cross Society, both sides were seriously injured.


    Su''en also heard some news in the high-level professional exchange circle of the ck market, saying that the backer behind the Cross Society, Lady Finov, has been having a hard timetely, which has also led to the poor economic situation within the Cross Society.


    Although the Cross Society seems to be no different from before and is still the dominant gang in the southern city, Su''en has noticed some signs. The high-level members have be more low-key, and the most obvious manifestation is that the expansion of the gang has almost stagnated.


    The treatment of the elderly has not changed, but the number of new recruits has decreased significantly.


    Kay, the captain with only one team member, has been idle during this period.


    Because of this, this guy who has nothing to do all day is always thinking of causing trouble for the Steam Party.


    .......


    It was a dark and windy night.


    On a secluded abandoned overpass in the West City District, two armed masked men were quietly ambushing.


    Su''en held a sniper rifle, aiming at the end of the nearby road.


    Kay had a mouthful of grass roots and was also observing with a telescope.


    When Su''en first heard Kay''s idea of "doing something big," he actually refused in his heart.


    He wanted to develop sneakily, and he needed a lot of time to digest the knowledge in his hands.


    But the reality is that the money in his pocket is running out, so he has to find a way to make some money.


    Su''en is now in great need of money. The bonus and spoils from the gang battlest time have consumed most of it.


    Whether it is his mechanical research, puppet making, or the potion making from Danny, they all burn a lot of money.


    The higher the level of materials, the more money they burn.


    Can potions be made with just a few materials?


    Only amateurs would say that.


    Low-level potions are fine, but high-level potions are difficult.


    Just the precise instruments needed to make potions are diverse... The more advanced the potion, the more demanding the equipment. Even second-hand goods bought from the ck market are not cheap. They cost tens or hundreds of thousands, not to mention the maintenance and repair costs...


    And if you want to ensure a high sess rate and obtain low-impurity potions, you need a sterileboratory.


    ording to Danny, a standard ordinaryboratory equipped ording to the standards of the inner cityboratory would cost billions. Not to mention those specially developed special instruments...


    The production yield of a small workshop-style potion is extremely low, and you can try your luck with a few potions. But if Su''en wants to make this a long-term source of ie, some investment is necessary. In the end, he managed to set up a low-end version of a potionboratory, which cost several million.


    Then there are the attempts at advanced puppet making. If a failure urs, the material waste can be tens or even hundreds of thousands... This is also a necessary expense for bing stronger.


    And there are also mechanical research projects like the "Iron Man Second Generation"...


    Su''en calcted that he still needs to keep arge sum of money to prepare for purchasing the things he needs from the hunters who bring back items from ruins.


    Mental power secret techniques, the "Curse Hair of the Mourning Witch," or in case he encounters suitable curse materials for his advancement to the second rank... These are the real big expenses.


    He doesn''t want to miss opportunities because of ack of money.


    No windfall, no wealth. This is even more true in this different world.


    If you want to make money, there is no faster way than robbing enemy gangs.


    .......


    Kay said excitedly, "Hehe... I''ve always heard that the Steam Party has a channel to obtain mechanical equipment from the inner city, and this time I actually caught it. This time, I heard that they transported a batch of ''military-grade mechanical equipment'' that was just reced by the City Guard. There are quite a few of them, and I estimate that they are worth several tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions..."


    It is not a secret that the backer behind the Steam Party has a channel to obtain regted mechanical equipment from the inner city.


    Otherwise, relying solely on some underground mechanics in the gang, it would be impossible to support such arge gang''s limb modification and development business, let alone the truly cutting-edge mechanical limbs of the Steam Party.


    "Captain, you''ve said it for the eighth time..."


    Su''en joked with a smile.


    Listening to this, he also had some expectations at first.


    If what Kay said is true, and this batch of goods is worth hundreds of millions, it really is worth robbing.


    But the two of them have been squatting here for nearly two days and nights, and they haven''t seen a single ghost.


    Kay''s information is very limited except for knowing that the Steam Party''s convoy will pass through this road. The rest, such as the transport time, quantity of goods, and personnel configuration, are all "spections."


    But it is precisely because of the uncertainty of this information that the two of them have patiently waited for so long.


    As members of the gang, they are well aware that the higher the level of confidentiality, the more valuable the transported goods.


    "I say, Captain, could your information be wrong? This route is so remote, and the deserted park is just ahead. Even if it is mechanical equipment, it should be sent to the Steam Party''s various strongholds. It''s not reliable to send it to this wilderness..."


    Su''en is not impatient to wait, he is just joking when he says this.


    This road is overgrown with weeds and doesn''t look like a legitimate transportation route.


    However, except for the slightly remote route, everything else fits the situation of secret transportation.


    Kay is a bit bored and has a nonchnt expression, "Who cares? We''re just killing time here. If they don''te, we won''t lose anything; if they doe, we''ll make a profit!"


    "Hehe, you don''t even know the situation of the enemy''s transport force, but you think you can seed for sure?"Su''en also felt that it was only...


    Kay dismissed it, saying, "The standard convoy configuration is just a team leader leading the team. With your excellent marksmanship and me... the two of us are more than enough to take them down."


    "Heh..."


    Su''en chuckled nomittally.


    Coincidentally, at that moment, he spotted something in his sniper scope and eximed, "They''reing!"


    He observed carefully and added, "Three vehicles in total! One truck and two jeeps... drivers and convoy personnel included, I see twelve people!"


    This was a standard convoy configuration.


    "Holy shit, they''re reallying!"


    Kay was also delighted.


    He looked through his high-powered telescope and clearly saw the faces of the people in the vehicles. He shared the information he knew, "The convoy leader is ''Barbarian'' Buck Bista, a veteran from the Steam Faction. His talent is [D-003-Bloodthirsty Berserk], which allows him to block pain and enhance strength after going berserk. His prosthetic modification is a honeb firearm arm... Are you confident?"


    "No problem."


    Su''en squinted and nodded.


    He remembered this man, who was indeed quite strong.


    But any first-order mechanical warrior didn''t pose much of a threat in his eyes.


    However, Su''en didn''t let his guard down, his gaze swept over the other eleven people in the vehicle.


    Most of them looked familiar, and the fact that ''Barbarian'' Buck was sitting in the front passenger seat meant that there probably wasn''t anyone in the convoy with a higher status than him.


    Having confirmed that the enemy''s convoy strength was just a regr twelve-man elite team, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.


    As the convoy slowly approached, Kay licked his lips, "Heh heh, then brother Su''en, you stay here and snipe, I''ll go to the ambush point."


    Su''en nodded, "Hmm, be careful. Stick to the n, and if anything unexpected happens, retreat immediately."


    "Okay."


    Kay disengaged his imnts and quietly slipped away.


    ......


    Since it was an ambush, Su''en and Kay had already nted anti-tank mines in advance.


    Just as the convoy entered the ambush circle, the leading jeep drove over a mine and instantly turned into a ball of fire, being blown several meters into the air.


    Seeing the attack, the convoy showed no signs of wanting to fight and immediately tried to turn around and flee.


    But on the ground behind them, there were also mechanical mines modified by Su''en. As soon as they turned around, they triggered the mines that could only be activated by reverse crushing, and another steam jeep was blown over.


    Su''en wasn''t idle either, he aimed at the truck driver through the scope of his sniper rifle and pulled the trigger when he found the opportunity.


    Unexpectedly, the alchemical bullet didn''t prate the ss!


    "Bulletproof ss?"


    Su''en frowned, suddenly feeling something was off.


    If such arge windshield could withstand alchemical bullets, it wouldn''t be cheap. The modification cost would be equivalent to the price of a regr truck.


    At least, it''s definitely not something this rusty-looking convoy truck would normally install!


    He immediately informed Kay of the anomaly through themunicator, "Captain, the truck has bulletproof ss, be careful."


    "Roger that!"


    With the lead and tail vehicles already blown up, and the sessful robbery seemingly imminent, Kay naturally wouldn''t give up.


    Seeing the truck trying to escape, he agilely darted under the vehicle from the roadside, only to find that the bottom of the vehicle was also fitted with an explosion-proof te, with no ce to grab onto.


    "Good thing I was prepared..."


    Kay muttered to himself, took out a suction cup to attach himself to the bottom of the vehicle, and then installed Su''en''s modified suction alchemical bomb on the pipe.


    After activating the detonator, he rolled out from under the vehicle. The truck tried to escape like a madman, but suddenly there was a loud explosion.


    Although the vehicle wasn''t flipped over, the alchemical bomb sted through the bulletproof te under the vehicle, disabling the truckpletely.

 Chapter 107: How come you know everything?

    Chapter 107: Howe you know everything?


    Su''en looked at the sniper rifle that didn''t break the ss. To prevent any idents, he put away the sniper rifle and immediately rushed down.


    Although the truck had already overturned, the driver''s cabin was bulletproofed, and no one inside was foolish enough to open the door.


    Su''en stopped Kay from wasting another alchemical bomb to blow up the front of the truck. Instead, he used a ricochet shot to prate the ss and kill two people.


    Oh... there was one unexpected thing.


    The "barbarian" Buck surprisingly survived the explosion and jumped out of the mes. He fired his honeb methrower from his right arm, almost causing Kay to get injured.


    But after all, he was only a first-tier professional, a mechanical gunner with limited ammunition. Su''en and Kay, two professionals working together, quickly killed him on the spot.


    With that, all twelve members of the escort team on the three vehicles were killed.


    .......


    Kay looked at the steam party members who were wiped out in front of him, a smile on his face. "Hehe, the whole truck is bulletproofed. This batch of goods may be more valuable than expected... and thanks to you, Su''en, for preparing the alchemical bomb. Otherwise, they would have almost escaped."


    Su''en felt that Kay was right. The truck was obviously intentionally made to look old, and the cargo they were escorting was also very valuable, as proven from the side of the truck.


    He said, "Let''s get to work quickly. They should have already sent out a distress signal. If we dy any longer, there may be trouble."


    "Okay."


    Kay nodded as well.


    The reason they chose this ambush point was not only because it was remote but also because they considered the time it would take for the steam party reinforcements to arrive.


    Now that they had dealt with the enemies so smoothly, they had enough time to unload the cargo.


    Su''en didn''t dare to be careless. He walked to the side of the carriage and pressed his ear against it, listening carefully.


    The carriage wall was thick, and he didn''t hear any movement.


    Meanwhile, Kay was fiddling with the lock on the door. He quickly discovered that this mechanical lock, called the "Coltes alloy lock," was impossible to open without a key. He turned to Su''en for help and said, "Su''en, this lock seems to be a ''Coltes alloy lock.'' We can''t open it without a key. Should we use an alchemical bomb to blow it open?"


    Su''en shook his head and said, "The individual cost of an alchemical bomb is 600,000. It''s too extravagant to use a bomb just to open a lock. And what if there are valuable things inside and they get damaged by the explosion?"


    "It''s that expensive?"


    Kay''s hand immediately shrank back. Even as the captain of the Cross Society, he felt his hands trembling at that price.


    In an instant, he looked at Su''en with an expression of a nouveau riche and exaggeratedly said, "Brother, you''re so rich?"


    Su''en didn''t exin much and gave him a disdainful look. "The anti-tank mine from earlier wasn''t cheap either."


    Robbery also required costs. Without proper equipment, it was impossible to deal with this escort team.


    Kay knew it wasn''t the time to gossip and said helplessly, "Then what should we do?"


    "Of course, we''ll use a cheaper method..."


    Su''en walked over and took out some materials. With the lock as the center, he drew a hexagram alchemical array.


    Kay looked at the alchemical array drawn by Su''en curiously and asked, "What is this?"


    He was purely a melee professional and knew almost nothing about alchemy except for unlocking alchemical arrays.


    This was also amon problem for most outer city professionals. They could fight and kill, but their theoretical knowledge wascking.


    Su''en skillfully drew the alchemical array and exined casually, "First-tier alchemy, ''Melting Alchemy,'' a very practical auxiliary alchemy. The main materials for drawing the array are a mixture of magnesium powder and mithril powder. When activated, it produces extremely high temperatures and can melt most known metals. It should be enough to deal with this lock."


    Kay felt his knowledge greatly expand as he listened. But then he asked, "Aren''t you a gunner? How do you know alchemy? And alchemy knowledge is expensive and not easy to learn..."


    "I bought it from the ck market."


    Su''en didn''t exin much either. This spell was indeed obtained from the ck market, but it was a basic spell from the textbook that Mr. ck gave him.


    In the eyes of people from the outer city, it was an expensive spell, but in the inner city, it was just an example in the textbooks of noble students.


    Fortunately, he had some basic knowledge from the memories of the two assistant teachers he had previously separated from, so it was easy to pick up.


    He said to Kay, "Step back a bit."


    As soon as he finished speaking, Su''en formed several magician seals with his hands and pressed them onto the alchemical array. Immediately, the hexagram array lit up with a dazzling white light. Even from a distance, one could feel the scorching heat on their skin.


    Then a magical scene appeared.


    The high temperature generated after the alchemical array was activated instantly melted the entire metal lock, turning the alloy into red fluid-like magma that dripped onto the ground.


    Kay, who was watching from a distance, was filled with surprise and muttered, "Why do I feel like you know everything..."


    It was eptable for a gunner to make alchemical bombs, but to know alchemy as well... it was strange.


    Alchemy was not something that could be easily achieved just by drawing a hexagram alchemical array. It required learning spells, forming seals, and matching materials, aplete set of casting procedures...


    Under normal circumstances, even if a mage had good talent, it would be impossible to be so proficient without one or two months of hard practice.


    Which gunner would have so much free time and spend so much time learning an auxiliary spell?


    Su''en didn''t exin much to him. "Captain, get ready to work!"


    .......


    The lock was destroyed, and the door to the truck carriage was sessfully opened.


    Kay didn''t dwell on why Su''en knew alchemy and instead looked forward with anticipation to see what valuable goods were inside.


    But just at that moment, Su''en''s ear moved, and he heard some movement inside the carriage. Suddenly, his face changed drastically. "Get back quickly!"


    Kay hadn''t figured out what was happening yet, but hearing Su''en''s urgent warning, he didn''t hesitate at all and quickly retreated.In just an instant, a huge ck shadow burst out from the carriage. It leaped out and mmed its heavy fist into the spot where Kay had been standing, creating a half-meter deep pit on the ground.


    Kay eximed, "What the hell is this thing!"


    Su''en''s gaze also froze as he looked at the sudden appearance of the monster.


    Hateful Warrior


    Exnation: A first-order semi-distorted monster created by X serum. They have lost their rationality but can still execute simple killingmands through special conditioned reflex training. The potion enhancement has given them super strong physical bodies, fast movement speed, high recovery, high strength, high physical resistance, and medium magic resistance...


    This is a nearly three-meter tall, ugly blue-skinned humanoid monster.


    "Conditioned reflex? It seems that the way to open the carriage was wrong, activating this monster..."


    Su''en looked at the identification content disyed on the monster''s head and immediately guessed what it was.


    It turned out that there was not only a reorganized escort team from the Steam Party, but also a monster guarding it.


    What kind of cargo was in this carriage that required such cautious handling?


    The blue skin is somewhat simr to a living corpse...


    A thought shed through Su''en''s mind, and his actions were not slow at all. He immediately raised his hand and fired two shots at the monster.


    "Crack!"


    "Crack!"


    The alchemical bullets sessfully prated the back of the monster''s head, but they didn''t go deep. And strangely, the bullet slowly squeezed out of the muscle, and the wound visibly wriggled and recovered!


    "Such resilience!"


    Su''en looked at his two shots that didn''t even hurt the monster and was greatly surprised. Alchemical bullets could create a bloody hole in an ordinary professional with one shot, but when used against this thing, it only left a bullet hole the size of a little finger.


    The monster''s recovery ability was even more terrifying, making it hard to believe.


    On the other hand, Kay''s reaction was not slow either.


    After dodging the monster''s punch, he rushed forward, his arm transformed into a de, and he shed at the unprotected thigh of the monster.


    The de shed with a cold light, and under this sh, the normal flesh and blood would undoubtedly be cut apart.


    But just as he made his move, Kay''s expression suddenly changed. It was as if a blunt knife had hit the bark, almost causing his de to get stuck in the monster''s flesh.


    Upon closer inspection, this sh only left a superficial mark and did not cause any substantial damage.


    Moreover, in the blink of an eye, the scratch had already returned to its original state.


    And because of this momentary dy caused by the sh, Kay just wanted to avoid it when a fist the size of a sand pot smashed into his abdomen. Even if he tried his best to dodge, it felt like he had been hit by a rhino''s horn on his ribs.


    "Poof!" He couldn''t hold back the surge of dark blood and was sent flying like a cannonball.


    With just one encounter, Kay fell into a dangerous situation.


    .......


    Seeing that the monster was still chasing after Kay, Su''en fired several shots in a row, trying to attract the monster''s attention.


    As he watched various alchemical bullets explode on the monster''s vital points, Su''en also confirmed one thing: the monster had extremely high physical defense, but its magic defense was not too high!


    However, it was difficult for the double-shot "Armor-Piercing Bullets" to prate its defense. Ammunition like "Anti-Magic Bullets" had some killing power, but if they didn''t prate the surface, they wouldn''t cause much damage.


    Su''en sessfully attracted the monster''s attention with these shots. The towering body of over three meters looked burly and clumsy, but its speed was extremely fast!


    The monster turned its head and charged forward, cracking the ground. Its whole body was like a cannonball crashing over.


    "So fast! This monster''s speed has reached the level of a second-order professional!"


    Su''en felt the tremendous pressureing towards him and was already prepared.


    His muscles all over his body had contracted to the extreme, and with a pull of the steel wire in his hand, he used the collision force of brushing past to spin rapidly in the air beforending.


    Although he looked a bit disheveled, Su''en calmly analyzed many things in his mind. "Very fast in a straight line, but the ability is somewhatcking... Purely physical attacks, no imnts, no spellcasting, low intelligence..."


    This was a monster with some attributes surpassing a second-order professional but also obvious weaknesses.


    He instantly judged that he could fight!


    .......


    Seeing Su''en being knocked away, Kay suppressed the difort in his chest and swiftly rushed over.


    He felt that as a melee assassin, he might not win, but he could temporarily withstand a few blows.


    As for Su''en, with his weak physical body as a gunman, it was hard to say. Once the monster got close, a single punch could take his life.


    Kay urgently said, "This guy''s strength has reached the level of a second-order professional. We are no match for him. Get ready to retreat!"


    Su''en seemed indifferent, showing no intention of running away. He continued to fire his guns.


    He knew very well that without alternating cover from both of them, Kay would definitely not be able to hold on for long. He urgently said, "You can''t outrun it, don''t run, use your skills to dodge!"


    And if they chose to simply run away, the terrifying speed of the monster could catch up to either of them in an instant.


    Once it stuck to them, with a single mistake, they would immediately die on the spot.


    That was the tricky part about this monster. It couldn''t be killed, couldn''t be worn down, and couldn''t be escaped.


    .......


    The monster was mighty, its punches and kicks shattering gold and breaking stones.


    Kay''s figure was agile, darting around the armored truck. Sometimes he would dive under the carriage, sometimes he would go around the back, barely able to protect himself.


    But no matter how he attacked, the monster remained unscathed.


    If they continued to drag it out, they would eventually run into trouble.


    Not to mention being killed by the monster, if they were dyed, it would be enough for the Steam Party''s reinforcements to arrive.


    "Damn it! How could there be such a monster in the carriage!"


    Kay cursed angrily. He saw the cargo right in front of them, but they had to give up.He understood Su''en''s battle n. It seemed like they were trying to kite the monster, alternating in drawing its attention to find an opportunity to retreat. He urgently shouted, "Su''en, I''ll hold it off first. You snipe from a distance. We might still have a chance..."


    He wanted to persuade Su''en to leave first, to create enough distance for a kill shot, and then both of them could escape.


    But Su''en''s battle n was clearly not about escaping.


    He vaguely guessed what was in this batch of goods and decided to go all out.


    "Help me hold it off for a moment, prepare for a counterattack!"


    "???"


    Kay''s thoughts stalled.


    Before he could finish speaking, he saw from the corner of his eye that Su''en had already put away his twin guns. His hands were quickly forming seals, and a pentagram formation had already lit up under his feet.


    "Such a fast seal formation speed!"


    Astonishment shed through Kay''s mind, but he still couldn''t figure out what Su''en was trying to do.


    Was he going to unleash his imnt and fight head-on?


    But... this monster couldn''t be killed!


    In that instant, his puzzled thoughts hadn''t yet shown on his face when Kay''s gaze suddenly froze.


    That familiar feeling from the battlefield had returned...


    ......


    Su''enpleted the seal formation expressionlessly and lightly shouted, "Imnt: Release!"


    After the pentagram formation fully lit up, a dark golden, ferocious eight-armed spidernce was revealed behind him!


    PS. This Friday, or perhaps on September 1st, the book will be on the shelves. I hope everyone will support it by subscribing on Qidian. Otherwise, I feel like I''ll be on my knees begging for subscriptions. Thanks in advance.

 Chapter 108: Do you call yourself a gunman?

    Chapter 108: Do you call yourself a gunman?


    Su''en, why did you take off your alchemical armor?


    To escape?


    In the previous second, Kay hadn''t reacted yet, but in the next second, his expression became very strange.


    At this moment, he wasn''t just feeling that something was wrong with Su''en''s behavior, but also that there was something off about the dark golden and ferocious eight-armed spider spear.


    What the hell is this?


    Seeing this bizarre alchemical armor, it surprised him even more than when a monster suddenly appeared in the carriage earlier.


    If it weren''t for the pentagram formation on the ground, would I believe that this is alchemical armor?


    The spider-shaped alchemical armor is not only unique in the outer city, but probably also rare in the inner city.


    In a moment of thought, Kay seemed to realize that he had never seen Su''en''s alchemical armor before.


    He had asked before, hoping to help him get a suitable gunslinger''s armor. But Su''en said he already had a "decent" set of armor, so Kay didn''t ask further.


    But... is this it?


    You call this kind of armor "decent"?


    Also, is this the kind of armor a proper gunslinger should have?


    What''s the deal with those eight spider spears? Are they for running faster? But you also need to be able to control them!


    Although he didn''t understand what Su''en was doing, looking at that familiar dead fish face, Kay felt an inexplicable trust in his heart.


    The familiar feeling of the battlefield had returned. If this guy says he can fight back, then he definitely can.


    ........


    After taking off the alchemical armor, it''s not over yet!


    Su''en knew very well that simple physical damage would be difficult to prate the "Abomination Warrior''s" skin. Even though the spider spears were sharp, they didn''t prate deep enough, so the damage they caused to the monster was extremely limited.


    Just as he took off the armor, Su''en didn''t stop. His hands quickly changed into the gestures of a sorcerer.


    The alchemical formation lit up again, and his gaze became sharper and sharper. With the final sorcerer''s gesture, he softly chanted, "Alchemical Secret Technique: Unbound Servant!"


    In that instant, a faint blue cold me appeared on his entire body. The eight spider spears were covered in cold fire, resembling eight fiery spears, with a strange and ferocious style.


    When this cold me spell appeared, Kay, who was far away, was no longer surprised, butpletely shocked.


    The rank of alchemical spells often corresponds to the intensity of their disy. This cold me, filled with a chilling aura, didn''t look simple at all. This was definitely not an ordinary alchemical spell!


    However, the higher the rank of alchemical spells, the longer the learning time required, and more importantly, this high-ranking alchemical knowledge couldn''t be bought.


    Previously, Su''en had already shown him the "Gold Fusion Technique," which was already unbelievable. And now, he had this me protective spell that he couldn''t understand.


    With just this, you still call yourself a gunslinger?


    .......


    Now is not the time to hesitate. Once the reinforcements from the Steam Party arrive, they will face more than just a monster.


    After Su''en took off the armor, he didn''t hesitate at all. He raised his hands, dual-wielding pistols, and instantly attracted the monster''s attention.


    The monster charged forward, its eight spider arms moving together, and its eight legs supporting its body. It dodged at a strange angle.


    And in that moment of passing by, Su''en''s hands grabbed the air, and several strands of cosmic threads formed a lead-gray puppet. As the threads were pulled, the puppet, like a ma, firmly grabbed the monster''s right side.


    Almost at the same time, Su''en shouted, "Release!"


    The runes on the puppet immediately lit up. In an instant, the monster''s legs became unbnced, and it stumbled and fell to the ground.


    This was the intermediate puppet, Lead Weight Doll, engraved with the earth-based "Mountain Rune." When the doll stepped on the ground, it was like a ma attracting iron sand, and earth elements would continuously attach to the doll, making it heavier and heavier until it reached its limit. Originally a light wooden doll, it could generate a pulling force of over a thousand kilograms.


    The monster fell heavily to the ground, and Su''en knew that this wouldn''t cause it any harm.


    Almost at the same time, the eight spider legs pulled at the same time, and two more puppets, one ck and one red, made a crisp sound as their wooden joints moved. They rushed forward.


    When they approached the Abomination Warrior, the ck-faced puppet''s jaw split open, and a ck tube emerged, spraying a dark liquid like oil towards the monster. At the same time, the red-faced puppet opened its mouth and sprayed a me with a special phosphorescent glow that was over ten meters long.


    When the fuel met the me, it immediately became like a methrower, igniting the entire body of the monster.


    These two puppets were Su''en''stest mastery of two types of runic puppets, the Oil Devouring Doll and the Phosphorus Fire Doll!


    The red-faced doll was engraved with an alchemical formation and spewed a first-level alchemical spell called "Indestructible Phosphorus Fire."


    The ck-faced doll didn''t spray ordinary fuel, but a specially formtedbustion-enhancing material called "Refined Phosphorus Oil."


    The fuel was extremely sticky and couldn''t be shaken off once it stuck to something.


    And when phosphorus fire encountered water, it was difficult to extinguish unless it burned out.


    Strong defense and strong recovery, so what?


    If it were an alchemist who knew magic, they might have other means to extinguish the mes.


    But for a physically attacking and low-intelligence "Abomination Warrior," this burn would be enough to give it a hard time.


    .......


    The monster seemed to have no sense of pain. It had mes burning on its back, but it seemedpletely unaware.


    It stood up, pped and shattered the Lead Weight Doll clinging to its leg, and turned its head towards Su''en.


    But this time, the monster made a shaking motion with its head, as if trying to shake off the phosphorus blocking its vision.


    It was precisely this shaking motion that dyed it for a second, allowing it to charge towards Su''en.


    Su''en caught the monster''s subtle head movement and immediately judged in his heart, "As expected! This monster also relies on visual perception to locate its target. The burning mes have greatly limited its perception!"The hateful warrior charged furiously, running and dripping phosphorous fire all the way.


    A gust of wind carrying a bone-piercing heat wave brushed past him. This time, Su''en skillfully avoided the monster''s charge by using his spider spear to support his body.


    And this time, it was much easier than thest.


    The monster, with its limited perception, had a noticeably weaker reaction.


    For Su''en, the crisis was significantly reduced in an instant.


    He could just watch the monster burn. Although it probably wouldn''t burn to death, it could be severely damaged.


    Killing it would be much easier then.


    But Su''en knew he couldn''t wait any longer.


    This monster had an extraordinary vitality. If he didn''t fight quickly, it might hold out until the reinforcements from the Steam Party arrived.


    So, he had to take the initiative to attack.


    As he brushed past the ming monster, it collided with the steel wire. This pull caused Su''en to "whoosh" and fly out.


    But, this was exactly what he wanted!


    Su''en''s body flew backward, like a javelin thrower''s inertia sprint, giving him an extra eleration.


    At this moment, he had already set up eight spider spears vertically in front of him. With a "crack" sound, the sharp ends of the spider spears shot out sharp ck spikes.


    The monster, failing to hit its target, also sensed something and abruptly stopped.


    In that instant, Su''en was catapulted out by a huge inertia. The eight spider spears, wrapped in a cold, blue me, fearlessly pierced towards the monster''s body, aiming for its vital points.


    Four spears targeted the monster''s back of the head, chest, and waist.


    Not knowing if it finally felt pain, the monster''s movements noticeably slowed.


    Su''en didn''t stop. He pulled the steel wire, and his whole body was fixed in mid-air. The spider spears were flexible at the joints, not only capable of straight stabs, but also able to attackteral points. With a "hiss" sound, two spears pierced into the monster''s ears.


    The spider spears even had better pration than alchemical bullets, with six spikes prating half a foot into the flesh.


    The eight-armed spider spear, permanently engraved with the "Sharp Rune", was not only sharp, but also carried the toxic properties of the cursed material itself!


    The "Corrosive Toxin" gave the spider spear a remarkable armor-piercing effect; after piercing, it instantly released the "Blood Corruption Toxin" that slowed wound healing.


    The double toxins made the spear prate deeper, causing massive damage to the monster.


    Su''en was like a giant mosquito, with eight spider legs acting like mouthparts, firmly attached to the monster''s back.


    Because of the multiple legs, he had enough support points to calmly avoid the monster''s swinging arms, repeatedly stabbing and creating new wounds. In an instant, the monster''s body was like a punctured water bag, with blue blood spurting out.


    "Roar~"


    The remote wilderness echoed with the monster''s angry roar.


    The monster instinctively sensed danger and tried to shake Su''en off its back.


    After several unsessful attempts, it elerated and charged towards the bulletproof transport vehicle.


    With a "thud", the massive impact force shifted the heavy vehicle several meters.


    Su''en, however, was quick and pulled the steel wire in his hand, separating himself from the monster''s body before he could be crushed.

 Chapter 109: Goods beyond expectations

    Chapter 109: Goods beyond expectations


    Several meters away, eight spider armsnded steadily.


    Su''en shook his dizzy head, looking at the lively me monster in front of him. The seriousness on his brow finally eased a bit.


    Because he found that the monster''s defense had been broken!


    The previous gunshot damage, before it could attack again, the previous wounds had already healed.


    But now, with the burning of phosphorus fire and the dozens of holes pierced by the eight-arm spider spear, tons of damage was dealt. The wounds were healing with obvious difficulty, which meant that the monster''s self-healing ability had reached its limit.


    Although it was still healing, as long as he continued to output damage that exceeded the healing amount, the monster would be weaker and weaker.


    Moreover, self-healing was not without cost.


    In the field of alchemy, energy was conserved.


    Even though this monster had terrifying self-healing ability, it still needed to consume biological energy to heal itself.


    The more wounds, the greater the consumption, which would cause it to be weaker and weaker.


    Because of its weakness, the monster''s strength, perception, and reaction abilities would all decrease.


    The pressure of Su''en''s battle would be smaller and smaller.


    Moreover, this abomination warrior had a major weakness, which was "low intelligence"!


    Reality only gave him a moment to catch his breath. Just as Su''ennded, he saw the monster charging towards him again.


    However, he remained calm and used the same technique again, using both the "Oil Devouring Doll" and the "Phosphorus Fire Doll" to cover the mes that the monster was trying to extinguish, causing the mes to burn fiercely once again...


    Without intelligence, only the instinct to kill, just like fighting a boss in a game, he could attract hatred and choose a fixed routine of attack methods.


    After burning it, Su''en found another opportunity and jumped onto the monster''s back, stabbing it with the spider spear...


    The blue blood sprayed more and more violently, the monster became weaker and weaker, its movements slower and less threatening.


    .......


    Not far away, Kay watched the battle in silence.


    Originally, he wanted to rush up to help. Even if he couldn''t harm the monster, he could at least distract it and share some of the pressure with Su''en.


    But before he could do anything, he found that the plot had unexpectedly taken a different direction...


    Alchemy was one thing...


    Spider armor was one thing...


    Being covered in ghostly fire was one thing...


    And now there were several iprehensible runic puppets?


    He thought those spider legs were for running away, but it turns out...


    His eyes told him that Su''en was actually a puppeteer?


    But in the end, Su''en had the upper hand. Kay looked at him with shining eyes and felt a surge of excitement in his heart: "What quality is this spider armor? And he can control it so flexibly..."


    A monster with closebat abilities of a second-tier professional, a monster with abnormal defense and recovery, was actually being suppressed by Su''en?


    Alchemy bullets couldn''t break through the monster''s defense, but the spider spear could pierce through it... He now knew that the alchemical quality of this armor must be terrifying.


    It definitely wasn''t ck iron!


    Even Kay felt that the silver armor wasn''t as strong!


    After all, he was also a professional and knew the prerequisites for fusing armor.


    Su''en''s ability to fuse high-quality alchemical armor meant that his dark spiritual power far exceeded his peers when he joined.


    And to be able to control these eight spider legs so flexibly was definitely not something an ordinary person could do.


    "So he wasn''t joking on the battlefield before, he was serious."


    Thinking of this, Kay muttered with a deep gaze, "Damn, if it weren''t for encountering this monster today, I wouldn''t have known that this guy is so powerful!"


    Usually, he always protected Su''en as the team leader, but it turns out that he was the clown.


    But as he watched the bnce of victory tilt towards Su''en, Kay''s tightly clenched fist slowly rxed. His friend had be stronger, and he felt a genuine happiness from the bottom of his heart.


    .......


    From the moment Su''en found the opening in the abomination warrior, the oue of the battle was already determined.


    Before long.


    The monster covered in mes finally weakened due to continuous injuries, and after being pierced by the spider spear once again, it let out a reluctant howl and fell to the ground with a loud crash.


    Su''en looked at the corpse and finally let out a long breath.


    Although the entire battle process seemed to be repeating the same few routines, tripping, spraying oil and burning, and then stabbing...


    In reality, it was a constant dance of life and death.


    The strength of the monster did not allow him to make any mistakes.


    You could hit the monster a hundred times and it wouldn''t feel a thing, but if you made one mistake, the monster could seize the opportunity to kill you instantly.


    Because of his constant state of calmness, Su''en minimized the probability of making mistakes.


    However, there were also many gains from the battle.


    This was his first time using all his skills to kill a powerful enemy.


    Although he had trained many times in the basement before, it was not the same as actualbat.


    Fighting against this "abomination warrior" gave him a lot of inspiration.


    He also realized that the puppeteer profession was strong, but its strength was not only in the various magical effects of the puppets. It was also strong in the operability of this profession.


    If various puppets with different effects were used well, thebat power could almost double, and one person could achieve the effect of a whole team!


    This battle gradually made Su''en understand the future nning of his profession.Tank, DPS, healer, control, support... All these abilities could bepletely reced by various functional oddities.


    He didn''t need anyone to form a team with, he was a team himself!


    ......


    Su''en retracted his imnt, slowly calming his breath.


    At this moment, Kay quickly walked over, looking at Su''en as if he was looking at a monster, excitedly asked, "Bro, when did you be so powerful? What''s with your imnt, what spell is that cold me, and that puppet..."


    Su''en felt there was nothing to hide about these, but it wasn''t the time to exin. He shook his head with a smile, "Now is not the time to talk about this, let''s move the stuff, we don''t have much time."


    Kay pursed his lips, finally suppressing his curiosity, "Right."


    The two didn''t dy any longer and quickly walked to the back of the truck.


    They looked at the densely packed alloy boxes in the truck, their eyes full of anticipation.


    "Haha... Let me see, what kind of treasures could be guarded by this monster!"


    Kay said, casually opening a mechanical box.


    Suddenly, a chill hit their faces.


    Both of them were taken aback, because they saw a set of brand new, high-tech armor in the box.


    "This..."


    Kay looked at the armor, then at Su''en.


    Wasn''t it supposed to be second-hand mechanical equipment? This didn''t look like it...


    Gently touching it, a frosty chill could be felt on his palm.


    Helmet, armor, mechanical gloves, frost cannon, power boiler... Each part had high-level runes and enchanted coatings.


    Where would Kay, who was born in the slums, have seen such a thing?


    Looking at the armor, he was surprised and puzzled.


    The loot was too high-end, making him feel somewhat unreal. It was like they hade to steal some scrap metal, but ended up with bars of shining gold.


    He turned his head to look at Su''en, his voice trembling slightly, uncertainly asking, "Brother Su''en, what kind of armor is this? Refurbished?"


    Su''en''s eyes narrowed slightly, he actually recognized the origin of this armor.


    His eyes showed a hint of contemtion, and he slowly uttered a few words, "Thetest mechanical equipment of the Inner City Guard - Frost Giant Battle Armor."


    "..."


    Upon hearing this, Kay''s mind went nk.


    Looking again, there were dozens ofrge and small mechanical boxes in the truck, and they didn''t know what treasures were inside.


    The two immediately realized that this batch of goods... waspletely different from the information they had received!


    It seemed like they had hit the jackpot.


    PS. Some people have doubts, so let me exin a bit more. Don''t think that this low-profile escort team is unreliable or the plot is forced. The more valuable the item, the safer it is to transport it in a low-profile manner. If you''re interested, you can search for the ''1931 Gold Theft Case''. There are countless simr cases in reality. Many very precious things are often transported in the simplest and most unassuming ways, and the process of loss is also very coincidental. Moreover, this plot also involves a hidden plot. In the Outer City, the ck Tower also has opponents.

 Chapter 110: X Serum

    Chapter 110: X Serum


    When Su''en saw the mechanical box they casually opened, he immediately realized that the contents were not "second-hand mechanical equipment" bought by the steam party from the inner city.


    This kind of mechanical battle armor with top-level technological content is not sold to the outer city gangs as they are not fully equipped with the elite forces of the inner city.


    Without looking at the other boxes, Su''en knew that the goods in this truck far exceeded expectations and were of immeasurable value.


    Not long ago, he heard in the high-level professional circle of the ck market that someone was demanding to buy this type of battle armor for a unit price of over 15 million lisuo.


    The most crucial thing is that the configuration of this escort team feels strange to Su''en.


    A normal transport team wouldn''t be escorting something so valuable, would they?


    But with a little thought, it seemed reasonable.


    The steam party''s escort team has always been active.


    Who would think that a shop that sells bread every day would asionally have something other than flour in their supplies?


    In the outer city, second-tier professionals are all important figures and generally wouldn''t stoop down to rob a batch of "second-hand mechanical equipment".


    But in fact, the escort team led by the "barbarian" Buck is simply a decoy to deceive others. They may not even know what they are escorting.


    Special armored vehicles and abomination warriors are the real guarantee for this batch of goods.


    Even if normal bandits were to rob this transport team, not to mention whether they could intercept this special armored truck, even if they did, once they opened the carriage and faced the "abomination warriors", it would be almost impossible for a normal first-tier professional team to survive.


    Even if there were second-tier professional bandits, without means to restrain the monsters, they could be entangled and killed, or they could be dyed until the steam party reinforcements arrived.


    Even if they managed to escape, they would definitely not be able to take the goods.


    With this in mind, this low-profile escort method is not only not outrageous but rather clever.


    Moreover, when Su''en fully understood what these goods were, he understood even more why the owner of the goods chose this low-key escort method.


    .......


    Kay looked at the "Frost Giant Armor" and suddenly felt a little at a loss.


    In his life, he had never seen something so good.


    He looked at Su''en and asked, "What should we do now?"


    "What else can we do? Since we''ve already robbed it, of course, we take it with us."


    Su''en smiled indifferently and said, "We''ll clean up the scer."


    With people and monsters killed, even if they stopped now, the mastermind behind these goods would definitely investigate to the end.


    Kay''s face lit up when he heard this, "Haha, that''s what I was thinking too!"


    As a member of the gang, he still had some courage.


    That''s what he had in mind, but he was worried that his greed would cause fatal trouble for the gang and for Su''en.


    After all, the greater the value, the greater the price the mastermind behind the goods would pay to investigate. There were many bandits who had fallen into such situations.


    Now that he heard Su''en thinking the same way, he felt relieved.


    No pain, no gain!


    What''s there to be afraid of!


    The two of them happily started unpacking and then packed everything up.


    ........


    The storage ring is a simple application of spatial rules in alchemy. Because it is a secondary space, it cannot be toorge. Therger it is, the easier it is to copse, and the cost increases exponentially. A normal storage ring has a storage space of only one-eighth of a cubic meter, and arger one is only half a cubic meter.


    Even in Su''en''s hands, he only had a storage ring of about one cubic meter, which he obtained after killing the noble student Jack in the underground dungeon. It was barely enough to hold the puppets, but it was not enough to hold these rtivelyrge mechanical equipment.


    So the two of them had to take out all the mechanical equipment from the boxes. If they could be disassembled or folded, they were stuffed into the storage ring. Therger unremovable items were gathered together.


    The people from the inner city used an iron box over two meters long to transport this set of "Frost Giant Armor", but in reality, the space upied by the contents inside was less than one-third. It was probably to prevent any scratches or damage to the enchanted coating, affecting its appearance...


    But these bandits like Su''en naturally didn''t have such concerns.


    The two of them treated the equipment like firewood, roughly tying the mechanical arms and legs together, and packing them with the canvas they brought, making it convenient to take them away on the motorcycleter.


    The two of them worked quickly, and in no time, they had unpacked most of the boxes.


    Five sets of armor, ten individual artillery, several light/heavy external mechanical skeletalponents, fifty runic pistols, twenty mechanical rifles, fifteen alchemical bullets, and several ordinary ammunition grenades...


    In addition to the astonishingly valuable armor and ammunition supplies in the truck, there were also various types of protective clothing, gas masks, instrument essories... and other things.


    When Su''en saw the ammunition supplies, he began to suspect who in the outer city could use such advanced equipment.


    When he saw theseboratory equipment, a strange thought immediately came to his mind: "Could this batch of equipment be sent from the inner city to a secret experimental base in the outer city?"


    These high-quality biochemical equipment is of no use to people in the outer city, only ces likeboratories would have them.


    And to confirm his spection, a small ident happened at this moment.


    "Crack," a crisp sound like the shattering of ss echoed clearly in the carriage.


    Su''en turned around and saw Kay looking at him innocently.


    Kay also didn''t understand what had happened and pointed to the broken storage ring and the box on the ground, and said truthfully, "I... I saw that there were potions in this box, so I put them in the storage ring. I didn''t expect the storage ring to crack..."


    Kay had never encountered this situation before and didn''t understand what it meant.


    But Su''en immediately thought of something and his expression froze slightly.


    The storage ring cracked?


    He immediately opened that box and appraised it.


    As expected, inside were neatly arranged five potions!X Serum Raw Fluid


    Exnation: An active substance extracted from the body of a super-cognitive ''*** Abyssal Creature''. After injection, it significantly enhances physical attributes, raises the limit of rank advancement, and modifies bloodline;


    Effect: After injection into the body, the body will gain arge amount of enhancement in the following months. The tolerance limit for Dark Spirit Power increases by 230%-570%, strength increases by 270-350%, toughness increases by 220-325%, cell activity growth by 880-1100%, and the limit of cell division increases by 50%... The values fluctuate due to uncontroble mutation factors; After blood modification, the Abyssal bloodline inheritance is obtained, gaining rted growth potential, with each advancement in rank, all attributes additionally increase by 3-10%;


    Side effects: The serum is extremely violent. If injected into a human whose bloodline rank is not higher than that of the Abyssal bloodline, it will 100% cause mutation; After mutation, attributes will undergo non-directional mutation, gaining arge increase in attributes; It will turn your skin blue for a long period of time;


    ......


    "X Serum?!"


    Su''en''s gaze faltered, and he instantly fell into thought.


    He never expected to find five vials of the legendary "X Serum" in this batch of goods.


    He had guessed when he saw that "Abhorrent Warrior" that those guys in the inner city hadn''t given up on researching that project.


    But seeing this batch of potions, he realized that the experiment was so close, even in the West District!


    He also knew that he had guessed right, this batch of goods was indeed a supply for a secretboratory set up by the inner city in the outer city.


    "Things are getting a bitplicated..."


    Su''en murmured to himself.


    However, now that he had the goods in hand, any trouble was a matter for the future.


    He was more interested in the value of this potion.


    After all, the string of data identified was too eye-catching.


    "Even with ten times the cell activity, it can''t reach that exaggerated recovery ability. That Abhorrent Warrior must have undergone some mutations after the mutation..."


    "Cell activity and division times are attributes directly linked to lifespan, no wonder the big shots in the inner city can''t forget about it..."


    "And it can gain some bloodline growth... If it doesn''t mutate, it''s simply a miracle drug!"


    "..."


    Just talking about the body''s enhancement, this "X Serum" is ridiculously non-human.


    Dark Spirit Power, strength, toughness, cell activity... It''s simply a doubling of all dimensions.


    It''s even more exaggerated than the attribute increase of a first-rank job!


    It gives the feeling that with one injection, you can immediately have a superhuman physique.


    But that 100% mutation is too eye-catching.


    Su''en looked at the information identified from the potion, and many thoughts shed through his mind in an instant.


    Suddenly, he had a sh of insight.


    X Serum + Mutation Suppression Drug = Zombie, right?!


    That "Zombie Research Diary" recorded the detailed method of making zombies, now it seems like all the hardware conditions are met?


    Before he knew the whereabouts of the "X Serum", Su''en didn''t pay much attention to the contents of the diary.


    But now that he had a few real potions in his hand, his thoughts immediately became active.


    Now that he had the "X Serum", although the mutation suppression form was still in the research stage for the ck Tower, it wasn''t a big problem for Su''en.


    Because the diary had a detailed form!


    Su''en had always guessed that zombies could use that forbidden object, the ck Scythe... If he could really create zombies, it might give him an extra trump card!


    Moreover, if the "X Drug" could be used on zombies, could it also be used on humans?


    If the mutation on a living body could also be suppressed, wouldn''t he take off immediately?


    Thinking of this, Su''en felt that he should go back and take a good look at that "Zombie Research Diary"...

 Chapter 111: PX-911 Artificial Mechanical Limb

    Chapter 111: PX-911 Artificial Mechanical Limb


    Su''en''s thoughts drifted away for a moment, then returned to reality.


    Beside him, Kay muttered in confusion, "Strange, could it be that my storage ring is too old and has copsed?"


    If Su''en didn''t have the All-Knowing Eye, he would probably be just as confused.


    But now he could guess that the reason the storage ring copsed was probably because the source of this serum was identified as an unrecognized creature.


    The secondary space cannot store items with rules that are too high.


    That "creature" may represent some kind of indescribable high-level being.


    Su''en even spected that the main cargo that the owner of this batch really wanted to transport was this batch of potions, and everything else was just extras.


    These potions cannot be ced in the storage space and can only be transported by the transport team.


    The cargo cannot see the light, and the destination cannot see the light either. The Steam Party, the snakehead of the West City, is the best partner!


    .......


    Su''en searched through the other boxes and found more.


    In addition to these five bottles of [X Serum Original Solution], there were also one hundred bottles of [Second Generation X Serum] in anotherrge box next to it, which had a distortion rate of 100% but only had one-tenth of the effect.


    There was also a note left in the box, which said, "Dr. Victor''s personal letter."


    Su''en nced at the contents and roughly understood that a person named "Number Neen" had not been caught yet, the items had not been retrieved, and the stock of serum was running low, so the doctor should use it carefully.


    For some reason, when Su''en looked at this "Number Neen," the image of the woman with a three million reward immediately came to his mind.


    She was connected to the "X Serum n" and had escaped from the inner cityboratory without being caught. Her conditions almostpletely matched the conditions on the note.


    It seemed that the items she stole from theboratory were the key to making the serum?


    However, it was obviously not the time to think about this question now.


    Su''en felt that this robbery was getting more and more unexpected.


    If not handled properly, it would definitely cause big trouble.


    And these potions were too special.


    They couldn''t be put in the storage ring and could only be carried on the body.


    Su''en was also worried that there might be some tracking marks on the boxes. After thinking about it, he took out all the potions, sprayed them with [Odorless Potion] and [Interference Powder], and then put these more than one hundred potions into the prepared potion bag.


    Kay, who was beside him, looked at him being so cautious and asked, "Su''en, do you know about these potions? Do you need to be so careful?"


    Su''en didn''t exin in detail and said, "I roughly know what these potions are. They may cause big trouble, so it''s better to be cautious."


    But Kay didn''t seem to be interested in the potions either. He just casually asked, "You understand potions too?"


    Su''en: "A little..."


    "..."


    Kay rolled his eyes when he heard this, as if he was used to this guy knowing everything.


    He didn''t ask much and continued to search for other things.


    ......


    While Su''en was still dealing with the potions, Kay opened thest few boxes and found something. He eximed, "Su''en,e and see what this is!"


    Su''en nced over and saw that in the box at the bottom, there was actually a set of iprehensible machinery.


    Kay took out a shiny silver metal arm and looked at it repeatedly, uncertainly saying, "This is...mechanical skeleton? No, it seems to be a mechanical limb?"


    Su''en was also surprised when he looked at it.


    In this world, there is only a physical control system, so the core of all machinery control is actually a person.


    Whether it''s a mechanical skeleton or a battle armor, they are essentially a mechanical shell worn by a person.


    But this thing engraved with "PX-911 Artificial Mechanical Limb" on the inscription was very strange.


    It was not an external attachment, but a real mechanical limb with hands, legs, and even an energy conversion boiler in the chest. However, it was missing some connecting parts. But topletely assemble a robot, it stillcked some linkage devices and a...head?


    Su''en''s knowledge of machinery was already quite good now. Even if he didn''t understand the principles, he had a general idea of its origin.


    But when he looked at this set of mechanical limbs, he waspletely puzzled.


    How does this thing work?


    It''s not an external attachment, is it directly recing the human skeletal system?


    But how can nerves directly manipte machinery? Is it some kind of special alchemical prosthetic?


    In an instant, countless doubts filled Su''en''s mind.


    And at this moment, Kay, who was holding the mechanical arm, identally touched some mechanism. With a "click" sound, a sharp de suddenly popped out of the mechanical palm.


    Kay was startled, his hand trembled, and the arm fell off.


    Then the sharp de easily cut a smooth slit on the metal box next to it.


    Kay looked incredulous, "This...this dagger is so sharp?"


    Su''en squinted and looked for identification, which showed that the metal used to make this dagger was "Amande Metal," an extremely rare natural metal described in the ck Tower Academy textbook as being used to forge artifacts in ancient times. It has super hardness and magic conductivity...


    Seeing this, he also became very interested and picked up another arm to observe.


    It felt smooth in his hand, but he didn''t see any seams where a dagger could be embedded.


    "Hmm..."


    Seeing this, Su''en murmured.


    Not only was it sharp, but the precision of this set of mechanical arms was what truly shocked him.


    This was a true boratory-level" technology!Not to mention the outer city, even the military enterprises in the inner city probably couldn''t produce this level of precision machining.


    Just this piece of mechanical limb alone was many levels more technologically advanced than the "Frost Giant Battle Armor" they had seen before!


    Upon seeing a piece of machinery he couldn''t understand, Su''en felt a desire to disassemble it and understand its structure and principles.


    But now was obviously not the time to examine it closely. He said to Kay, "Let''s pack it up together, we don''t have much time. I''ll clean up the traces of the battle."


    "Okay."


    Kay didn''t dare to dy, and the two of them packed up everything.


    ......


    Kay rode over on the hidden motorcycle, then stuffed these "tattered canvas bags" full on both motorcycles.


    Now that they knew this batch of goods was not the "second-hand mechanical equipment" they had originally thought, Su''en had to be even more careful.


    They had originally thought they were robbing the Steam Party, but now it seemed they had stolen materials from a secretboratory in the inner city!


    Su''en carefully dealt with the traces they had left at the scene, including the traces they had made from two days of ambush. Then he set up incendiary bombs near the truck...


    After everything was dealt with, the two of them rode on their motorcycles and found a small road to leave the scene of the robbery.


    Not far away, the truck exploded in a ze, and all traces were engulfed in the sea of fire.


    Because they were carrying heavy things, the two of them didn''t ride fast.


    Kay was still immersed in the huge surprise of their harvest, riding the motorcycle and asking, "Hey, Brother Su''en, how much do you think we can sell our spoils for this time? A hundred million at least, right?"


    "More than that."


    Su''en shook his head.


    Five sets of "Frost Giant Battle Armor" alone were worth 75 million, not to mention other advanced firearms, ammunition, and research equipment.


    Especially the "X Serum" and "PX-911 Artificial Mechanical Limbs", these two items were the real priceless treasures.


    Hearing this, the smile on Kay''s face became even brighter. He was from the slums and had never seen so much money before. "Hehe, once we sell this, we''ll be rich overnight! I know a few reliable ck market merchants, our goods are so good, we can definitely sell them for a good price..."


    It wasn''t that Kay was careless, but that he didn''t know the true value of these goods and what they involved.


    If it was ordinary "second-hand mechanical equipment", it wouldn''t matter who the owner was, there were plenty of people in the ck market who would dare to buy it.


    But he didn''t know about the "X Serum" inside, which was rted to the inner city''s top-secret n.


    If they casually sold this batch of goods, there would definitely be problems.


    Su''en solemnly denied his idea, saying, "No. These goods cannot enter the market for the time being, otherwise there will be big trouble."


    He felt that if he were the owner of the goods, and they were lost, the first reaction would be to look for the ce where they were sold.


    The ck market in the outer city would definitely be a ce of focus.


    Mr. ck had told him that there were spies from the Umbre Organization in the ck market, and if they really went to sell the goods, they would probably be "delivering themselves to the door".


    "Why?" Kay asked, puzzled.


    Su''en didn''t exin in detail, only saying, "There are some very sensitive things in this batch of goods, they absolutely cannot be sold through normal channels."


    After a pause, he added, "No one can know about us robbing the Steam Party''s transport team this time. If it gets out, it will be a huge problem for anyone."


    "Okay."


    Kay frowned, actually, when he saw the battle armor and mechanical limbs, he had realized the seriousness of the situation.


    Although he didn''t understand where these things came from, he chose to believe Su''en''s words.


    There was enough trust between the two of them, he didn''t say much, just asked, "So, how do we deal with these goods? Hide them for now?"


    "Yes."


    Su''en had the same idea, and added, "I have a safe channel to sell the goods, but I need to observe for a while. The goods may not be able to be sold immediately."


    Ordinary merchants definitely wouldn''t work, but Mr. ck was trustworthy.


    That defector who was being hunted by the Umbre Organization would definitely not have any connection with the owner of these goods.


    The only thing Su''en needed to worry about was how to sell the goods in batches without arousing suspicion that they had intercepted this batch of goods.


    Hearing this, Kay nodded, "Okay."

 Chapter 112: Laboratory explosion

    Chapter 112: Laboratory explosion


    Su''en and Kay followed the predetermined route on their motorcycles, and halfway through, they switched to another motorcycle and continued on.


    The fact that no one had caught up with them for so long meant that their clean-up work had been done well.


    There were no major ws in the first stage of the robbery.


    However, as they rode, Kay felt that the motorcycle was a bit unstable. He muttered, "Huh... Su''en, why do I feel like the motorcycle is swaying today? Did something heavy break it?"


    Su''en had actually noticed the abnormality earlier. The feeling came very quickly, and before Kay finished speaking, Su''en''s face changed instantly. "Get off quickly!"


    Without exining further, he took out a folding bulletproof board and they both held it up.


    In the next instant, a thousand-meter-high mushroom cloud suddenly rose from the direction of the deste park several kilometers behind them!


    It felt like something was about to emerge from underground, rolling violently and making it difficult to stand.


    After a moment, a thunderous explosion rang in their ears, deafening.


    Boom boom boom~


    The shockwave came crashing like andslide and tidal wave,pressing the air and momentarily making it difficult to breathe. A tremendous force "bang" hit the bulletproof board, almost sending the two of them flying.


    Fortunately, they were far enough away. After the shockwave passed, although they were a bit dusty, they were not injured.


    Kay brushed off the dust on his body and looked at the direction of the explosion, his expression full of disbelief. "Could it be that the few incendiary bombs we lost set off an underground gas tank?"


    There didn''t seem to be a better exnation.


    "It shouldn''t be. The distance is too far..."


    Su''en stared at the rising mushroom cloud and responded.


    Suddenly, he realized something.


    The transport team they had just encountered was heading towards the secretboratory...


    And the explosion happened to be in that direction...


    Could it be...


    The secretboratory exploded?


    .......


    The explosion came suddenly.


    The outer city wasrge in area, but usually only ces with buildings had human gatherings.


    This "deste park" in the western city seemed to have been an ancient park, now deste and rarely visited.


    Now that he thought about it, wasn''t this the best location for a secretboratory?


    Although it was uncertain whether it was deliberately detonated or an idental explosion, Su''en''s first reaction was, "Could it have been bombed by someone?"


    Moreover, because of the explosion, a series of clues in his mind instantly connected, and a cold and beautiful face appeared in his mind. It was the S-ss female wanted criminal with a three million reward!


    "It couldn''t really be her, right?"


    Thoughts shed through Su''en''s mind, but the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed to be her.


    When he went to the Knight District to save Danny''s three friends, he encountered that woman.


    At that time, Su''en hadn''t figured out why she wouldmit crimes against the wind and cause trouble for a human trafficker.


    Now that he intercepted this batch of goods, he also learned that the Steam Party would transport supplies to a certainboratory. And thisboratory was researching the "X Serum" and was located in a certain position in the western city.


    With this association, he immediately guessed why the Steam Party was capturing vagrants and orphans.


    Because he had learned from Danny that the upper levels of the ck Tower had conducted arge number of live experiments for the "X Serum Project" in order to progress. And since the research was still ongoing, it made sense that they would need arge number of people for experiments.


    Such a live experimentboratory couldn''t be set up in the inner city, so the outer city, where human life was cheap, was the most suitable.


    And that woman going to find a human trafficker was very likely to be trying to lock down the location of theboratory through the clue of human trafficking!


    So, was it really her who caused the explosion?


    .......


    "That woman stole important items for extracting the ''X Potion''. If she really blew up the outer cityboratory now, the upper levels of the ck Tower would probably be furious..."


    Su''en suddenly became interested in that woman.


    A person with conviction, it would be a pity if they died.


    Su''en guessed the reason for the explosion, but he wasn''t interested in staying longer. After all, it wasn''t his home that was blown up.


    He called out to Kay, "Let''s go, there will probably be a lot of peopleing to watch the excitementter."


    A rxed smile appeared on Kay''s face as well. "Heh, this explosion actually helped us a lot. The traces of the robbery scene should be almost destroyed now."


    "Yeah, indeed."


    Su''en also raised an eyebrow, feeling that they were lucky.


    Since it was guessed to be deliberate, the timing of the explosion coinciding with the day of their robbery was probably not a coincidence.


    That kind of secretboratory couldn''t be entered and exited like a market, so it was highly likely that today was a day of concentrated resupply.It''s possible that Su''en and the others intercepted not only this batch of goods, but also other supply convoys, such as the ones used for experiments.


    That woman probably infiltrated through other means.


    However, they have nothing to do with it.


    They are just ordinary small bandits.


    .......


    Su''en and the other person did not bring the goods back to their residence on Green Street. Instead, they searched for some dpidated buildings and secluded ces in the sewers along the way, and hid the items in batches.


    After setting up some warning devices, the two of them burned the clothes they wore during the crime and got rid of any traces that could be tracked, before returning to Green Street.


    The news of the explosion in the West City District quickly spread throughout the entire Outer City. Even the higher-ups of the Cross Society sent people to inquire about what had happened.


    But the rumor circting among the ordinary members was that it was a methane explosion. It seemed that the Steam Party also deliberately controlled the information and there was no mention of the boratory".


    As for the "robbery" that Su''en and the other person participated in, it is unknown whether the Steam Party intended to secretly investigate or if it was all considered part of the explosion. At least for now, there was no news of anyone looking for that batch of goods or the bandits.


    But the calmer it was, the bigger the situation seemed to be.


    Because Su''en discovered...the reward for that S-ss wanted criminal in the ck market had increased again.


    This time, there was no specified price. It stated: "For those who provide valuable information, depending on the value of the information, they can obtain permanent residency in the Inner City, hereditary noble title, and any cursed materials currently recorded by the Alchemy Guild..."


    It can be seen that the person offering the reward was already "desperate".


    This unprecedented reward price was enough to tempt almost anyone.


    Permanent residency in the Inner City, for almost anyone in the Outer City, was a welfare that they would fight for even if it meant breaking their heads;


    Hereditary noble title, even the major families in the Inner City would probably dig three feet into the ground to find the person;


    And the reward of any cursed materials, it was enough to tempt even the second and third-tier professionals who were not interested in fame and fortune.


    And this was just the reward for providing information!


    Moreover, this wanted notice not only included the original photo of the woman, but also various disguise photos, as well as detailed data on height, bone structure, dimensions, and more.


    The pink-haired bunny girl outfit that Su''en had seen before was also among them.


    In other words, even if she covered her head, anyone with a keen eye could recognize her through her figure!


    Su''en felt that with such a reward, it would be difficult for the "walking treasure trove" to avoid being caught.


    Thinking about the next gathering of high-level professionals in the ck market, he nned to inquire about the news and also ask Mr. ck if he was interested in that batch of goods.


    And at the moment, Su''en had another important task.


    That was deciphering the "Zombie Research Diary"!


    .......


    Previously, Su''en didn''t pay much attention to the "Zombie Research Diary" because he thought it was meaningless to study it.


    At least for now, it was not useful.


    Tranting those ancient cryptograms would waste a lot of his time and energy, and the research content was too advanced to be of any use even if tranted.


    Most importantly, the key ingredient, the "X Serum," was missing, so it was impossible to sessfully study the zombies.


    But now, things were different. Su''en had a finished X Serum in his hands.


    If he could sessfully trante the diary and create a potion that suppressed distortions.


    Not only could he attempt to create "zombies," but if the serum could be used on humans, it would be great to give himself an injection.


    After returning from the robbery, Su''en didn''t go around everywhere. He stayed in the basement and started researching the cryptograms in the "Zombie Diary".


    The ancient alchemists'' manuscripts were mostly encrypted.


    The higher the level of content, the higher the encryption level.


    It was almost impossible to decipher an unknown ancient cipher with just one''s own strength.


    But there was a shortcut for modern people to learn how to decipher codes, and that was "cryptography," which was now a fully developed discipline at the ck Tower Academy.


    A bunch of cryptography experts and archaeologists studied it daily, deciphering the patterns of many ancient cryptograms andpiling various cryptography into textbooks.


    This made it easier and easier for modern people to decipher ancient alchemy scrolls.


    Most ordinary people had ready-made forms to apply to the dazzling encryption methods.


    As long as they knew the type of encryption and the key, many cryptograms could be cracked easily.


    And Su''en had the mostplete set of "Ancient Cryptography Deciphering Encyclopedia" in Old Lingdun.


    The textbook recorded almost all the methods of encrypting and deciphering cryptograms on the market.


    This greatly reduced the time and difficulty of deciphering.


    And, Su''en had a shortcut within the shortcut, which was the "Eye of Omniscience".Before he had read "The Complete Guide to Ancient Cipher Decryption", when he saw those ciphers with specific patterns, the All-Knowing Eye might hint, "This is a text with a ''three-grid horizontal and vertical discement encryption rule''...";


    But after reading it, it has now directly be "A cipher textpiled by the ''R''lyeh encryption method''...".


    This is also a pattern he gradually discovered after using the All-Knowing Eye for so long. That is, the information identified by the eye will appear in the form that is most easily understood and conforms to his cognition.


    The more knowledge Su''en has, the easier it is to understand the content identified.


    Now when ites to deciphering codes, when Su''en reads the content in the diary, it will directly indicate the specific name of the encryption method.


    Then he just needs to look it up like a dictionary, find the relevant cipher content in the textbook, directly apply the form, and he can decipher it.


    This has saved him a lot of time.

 Chapter 113: Deciphering a diary

    Chapter 113: Deciphering a diary


    With this clever method, Su''en spent several days burying himself in the basement, deciphering the contents of the diary.


    There were many encrypted contents in the diary, but he selectively studied the part about researching distortion suppression potions.


    Oh, not only encrypted text, but alsonguage.


    Fortunately, he had previously mastered the ancient alchemist''s writtennguage, "Guneed," when he separated his soul. Otherwise, it would have taken him several years just to be proficient in this ancientnguage.


    However, even so, the deciphering difficulty was still not small.


    The diary involved many obscure terms in ancient medicine.


    The worst part was that some ancient terms and modern references were fundamentally different.


    Su''en relied on the convenience of the "Complete Guide to Codes" and the All-Knowing Eye, stumbling through the trantion for several days, and actually managed to decipher quite a bit!


    He was certain that the deciphered part was theplete method for "distortion suppression potions."


    But he couldn''t trante the remaining thirty to forty percent, or the trantions were inurate.


    For that part that required highly specialized medical knowledge, Su''en handed it over to Danny, who was half a block away.


    And for the part that he couldn''t trante, he nned to consult the knowledgeable Mr. ck.


    Coincidentally, in the newly arrived "Old Lingdun Daily," he saw information about a gathering of the ck market circle.


    ........


    On this day.


    After spending several days at home, Su''en finally emerged from the basement.


    There were no unfamiliar gazes from strangers on the street, which was a good sign.


    It meant that their robbery operation two days ago was clean, and no one had found their way to Green Street for the time being.


    He rode his motorcycle to the ck market in Shadow Alley.


    Putting on his cloak, he arrived at the secret space in the lower level of the ck market five minutes before the agreed time.


    The participants seemed to be very punctual. In the few minutes after he arrived, more than ten people arrived one after another.


    This time, it was even more lively thanst time. By the time Mr. ck arrived, there were already more than twenty people standing around the stone table.


    Then came the familiar process, starting with the exchange of information.


    Sure enough, as soon as they started, someone immediately asked about the explosion in West City.


    "Does anyone know what happened at the abandoned park in West City a few days ago? I heard that even the Steam Party''s cadres were not qualified to approach the explosion site, and many mysterious people from the inner city came to handle it. It seems to be the work of the Umbre Organization."


    "I received some information saying that there was a secretboratory there. I don''t know why, but it suddenly exploded."


    "Heh, theboratory made it to the outer city. Could it be some highly dangerous research?"


    "..."


    Those who could advance to the second stage were not fools, especially in the outer city. Most of these cloaked people were influential figures, and they had a wide range of information sources.


    As soon as they heard that it was aboratory explosion, they immediately spected on a lot of information.


    Su''en listened quietly as these big shots discussed, and their spections were almost exactly the same as his.


    "I received information a long time ago that the Steam Party had been secretly capturing vagrants for a long time. But I haven''t heard of anyone in the inner or outer city who has received any of those goods. It seems that the disappearance of the poption is closely rted to that explodedboratory..."


    "Live experiments? Those damn guys from the ck Tower really don''t care about the lives of us outer city people."


    "I''m not sure about anything else, but I''m sure the one who caused the explosion is the current number one on the wanted list. By the way, I want to ask if any of you know any clues about her. Hehe... I''m very interested in that reward."


    "I have some information, but it has already been exchanged for the reward. Someone saw her at the ''ck Knight Club'' in West City. She killed Dam, the human trafficker in the Knight District, and then set the club on fire. Now that I think about it, she was probably asking about the whereabouts of the trafficked people..."


    "Oh? So that''s why the ck Knight suddenly caught fire. It was her doing! Hahaha, now that you mention it, I feel a bit satisfied with that explosion..."


    "I have thetest information. There was a big battle in the North Cityst night. The Umbre Organization somehow found her, and after a fierce battle, she was severely injured."


    "So, was she captured?"


    "No."


    "She managed to escape?"


    "..."


    When the topic reached this point, the person who provided the information seemed to have some concerns. After pondering for a moment, he continued, "I heard that a third party force intervened and broke through the Umbre Organization''s encirclement, allowing her to escape."


    "..."


    Listening to this, Su''en realized that he had been med for trying to save people.


    But at the end, when the person mentioned the "third party force," everyone present was surprised.


    Su''en also thought, who in Old Lingdun would dare to oppose the Umbre Organization?


    And then he realized that there was one right in front of him.


    Su''en also noticed that no one continued the topic after this, as if they all had concerns.


    Mr. ck, as usual, remained calm and didn''t speak.


    There was nothing noteworthy about the rest of the information exchange, and Su''en also contributed some of his own spective information.


    Then came the item trading session.


    The most discussed topic during this session was still the information about the "Dawn City" ruins.


    Recently, many ancient relics had been excavated and sent back to Old Lingdun. These big shots in the ck market now had many high-level cursed items and materials to exchange.


    After a lively exchange.


    Su''en also witnessed some strange and rare things.


    During this time, he also found an opportunity to inquire about the "Mental Power Secret Technique" and the "Cursed Hair of the Weeping Witch," but no one responded.


    That was expected as well.


    However, towards the end, a cloaked person raised a purchasing request that caught his attention.


    "I need a set of ''Frost Giant Battle Armor,'' and it must be in stock. I''m leaving the city in three days, and during this time, as long as someone can get it, I''m willing to pay 20 million or an equivalent value of cursed materials..."


    Su''en heard this and remained silent.In the batch of goods he and Kay had intercepted before, there were indeed five sets of finished battle armors.


    But this stuff was special, once sold, there were only a few ces it could havee from.


    He thought, this guy was very likely fishing for information.


    Moreover, the way the other party asked was very clever,


    They were in a hurry, offering above market price, and setting a time limit.


    If someone really had a channel and wanted to sell, they would definitely find a way to do so, after all, time waits for no one. And such goods were sensitive, it was not easy to find a buyer who dared to buy.


    Su''en didn''t speak, and the scene fell silent for a moment.


    At this time, another person spoke up: "I can get it, but I''m not sure when. And... it might not be aplete set."


    From the tone, it sounded a bit like the person who had a channel to get the battle armorst time.


    Upon hearing this, the buyer also wrote a note, replying: "This is my contact information. But I can only wait for three days. If you can get it in time, the price can still be negotiated."


    .......


    The transaction was over, and this small gathering was nearing its end.


    Su''en found Mr. ck, who was about to leave, and exined his purpose: "Mr. ck, I''ve encountered some difficulties in ancient knowledge and need your advice."


    He didn''t know if Mr. ck could see through this cloaking cloak, but he obviously recognized him.


    Mr. ck seemed to be very interested in ancient knowledge, "Oh? Let''s hear it."


    Su''en took out the notes of sentences he didn''t understand from the diary.


    Upon asking, this "schr" really knew.


    He casually tranted a few sentences.


    "This sentence is a metaphor often used by ancient sorcerers, ''The wheat falls to the ground and dies'' means that mercury dies in saltpeter and sulfuric acid. The flowing ''living silver'' mercury bes solid and dies, a pun. It is usually used when a certain material is being refined..."


    "''The belly of the fire dragon hides magic steel, take four parts of the fire dragon and nine parts of the ma'' This sentence is a high-level alchemy process, the corresponding materials are..."


    "Um... this one is very difficult. This is a professional term in the field of ancient medicine, using a double encryption method... I probably need some time to look through some materials to ensure uracy."


    "..."


    Listening to him casually tranting those codes that he couldn''t guess even after racking his brains, Su''en''s expression remained unchanged, but he was full of emotion.


    Mr. ck was truly knowledgeable, as if he knew everything.


    Thinking about his talent, Su''en felt that being erudite and mind-reading was a perfect match.


    It seemed that without making a move, those wise eyes could see through everything about the enemy.


    After all, it involved too many professional terms in ancient medicine, Mr. ck couldn''t trante some of the content urately for a while, but he didn''t refuse to help with this small favor: "How about this, give me the note, I should be able to decipher it in a few days at most. I''ll leave the note in the usual ce..."


    Su''en nodded and asked, "Mr. ck, what kind of price do I need to pay?"


    Mr. ck said nonchntly, "These precious ancient knowledge are the best reward you have already paid."


    After a pause, he smiled and said, "Tranting ancient scrolls is one of my favorite jobs. If you have more simr knowledge in the future, you cane to me, I would be happy to help."


    As always, a gentleman.


    Even if he guessed that Su''en must have more ancient scrolls in his hand, he hinted in the most unobtrusive way.


    "Thank you for your generosity..."


    Su''en sincerely thanked him.


    He didn''t rush to sell the stolen goods in his hand, nning to wait until the heat died down to ask.

 Chapter 114: Create zombies

    Chapter 114: Create zombies


    Half a monthter.


    Basement of Green Street.


    Su''en was tinkering with a newbat puppet in the basement of Green Street. He tried to use steel wires to manipte its movements, butpared to the wooden puppets, it was too clumsy in both shing and dodging.


    This puppet, which was almost the same height as him, was not made of wood, but a mechanical puppet assembled from dismantled parts of the PX-911 mechanical limbs.


    Su''en also knew that it was not that the mechanical limbs were not sensitive enough, but that his approach was wrong.


    During this period of research, he had already figured out many functions of these mechanical limbs.


    The outer armor of the limbs was made of a special alloy that could not be dented even by alchemical bullets. There were also various weapons hidden inside the limbs, such as knives, guns, energy cannons, retractable metal ropes, and jet thrusters...


    Once disassembled, it was a collection of top-level technological weapons.


    There was also a mechanical heart with a blood pumping function, and a mechanical lung for oxygen supply...


    And these were not the most amazing things.


    During this period of experimentation, Su''en discovered that the most iprehensible technology on these mechanical limbs was the high-sensitive mechanical contacts that could be triggered by bioelectricity.


    This was an extremely advancedboratory-level technology, surpassing even steampunk, making Su''en think that the technological tree of this world had reached the level of "neuro-mechanics" in cyberpunk.


    With these high-sensitive contacts, theoretically, connecting them to the human nervous system could directly control the movements of the mechanical limbs!


    Su''en also thought that this limb might be the secret project Danny mentioned, the Super Mechanical Warrior Project, which was a coboration between the ck Tower Medical Research Department and the Mechanical Department.


    Otherwise, it wouldn''t be so coincidental to find it on a transport vehicle headed to theboratory.


    After discovering this, Su''en reconstructed theplete structure of this mechanical limb in his mind. The missing parts might be aplete human nervous system or some other driving organization made of alchemical prosthetics.


    There was no intelligent control system in this world, so they simply installed a human brain and created a semi-mechanical human.


    As long as they covered it with ayer of synthetic skin, they would look no different from humans!


    This was more thorough than those "new-style" alchemists in the outer city, who were still limited to modifying mechanical limbs. The topboratories in the inner city had already developed warriors with almost fully mechanical limbs.


    Su''en spected that the wanted woman was probably such a mechanical warrior.


    .......


    However, the mechanical limbs involved too manyboratory-level cutting-edge technologies, which couldn''t be thoroughly researched by one person.


    Su''en had no intention of selling this thing, nor did he n to cut off his own head and connect it.


    So, all he could do was dismantle the parts.


    He disassembled the indestructible dagger from the arm of the mechanical limb and attached it to his wooden puppet. He also removed the spring-like sharp de from the mechanical leg and gave it to another puppet. As for the high-precisionponents, he didn''t need them, so he dismantled the alloy outer te and created a bulletproof puppet. As for the mechanical organs, they gave him a lot of inspiration for his "Iron Man Mark III"...


    Su''en was busy tinkering with the mechanical puppet,pletely absorbed in his work.


    But suddenly, his ears twitched slightly, and an unusual sound entered his ears.


    Su''en stopped his work and turned his head sharply to look.


    He became more certain that there was the sound of breathinging from the dissecting table in the corner of the basement, separated by a transparent curtain!


    "Hmm..."


    Listening to the faint sound, he was not surprised, but rather delighted: "It worked!"


    Su''en ignored the puppet in his hand and quickly walked over.


    At this moment, he looked at the body on the dissecting table with a slight rise and his eyes brightened.


    .......


    Half a month ago, Su''en found Mr. ck in the ck market and had him trante those profound cryptic texts. He sessfully deciphered the form for the "Distortion Suppression Potion" developed by the insane alchemist who created the living corpses a thousand years ago.


    It was also fortunate that Danny''s original work at the "Number Seven Research Institute" was the study of distortion suppression. Although the ancient form was veryplex and had some iprehensible parts, because many theoretical aspects were interconnected, hebined his own knowledge and tinkered with it, sessfully producing the first batch of "Distortion Suppression Potion" yesterday!


    The outer city was notcking in corpses, and Su''en immediately found a fresh corpse to try. After injecting the second-generation X serum in the appropriate dosage, the corpse slowly regained vitality. However, the effect of the second-generation serum was much worse than the original solution, and this was already the third injection. If there was no effect, he might consider injecting the fourth dose.


    Unexpectedly, the corpse suddenly started breathing!It looks like a sleeping human, but ording to the diary, it is just a soulless shell. Even the features of the body are not from the corpse itself, butpletely transformed by the active substance in the "X Serum," forcing the body tissues to revive. In a sense, this corpse is no longer a human corpse.


    After a moment of breathing, Su''en looked at the gradually appearing dark red marks on the body, and the overall skin color gradually turned blue. He thought to himself, "The skin is turning blue, and the marks are appearing. It''s indeed starting to deform..."


    The diary detailed the process of this deformation, and Su''en was not surprised at all.


    Without dy, he took out a distortion suppression injection and injected it into the body.


    After a while, the speed at which the distorted marks spread began to slow down.


    Su''en didn''t waste any time and took out a rune pen to start drawing basic runes on the breathing corpse.


    Corpse Vitality Rune, Level 1 Dark Attribute Gathering Rune, Wind Element Cirction Condensation Rune, Level 1 Life Rune...


    The materials were prepared in advance, and Su''en had been practicing rune drawing for days.


    He didn''t need to research on his own, he just followed the drawing order recorded in the diary and drewyer byyer.


    These were all low-level runes, and the difficulty of drawing them was not high.


    As described in the diary, the person named Kekov used this set of low-level runes to create a "useless" active corpse.


    Su''en knew that he definitely couldn''t create the terrifying blue-skinned monster in the cursed space with these low-level runes, nor did he intend to.


    What he wanted was not the ultimate research of "resurrecting corpses," but just a "living corpse" that could maintain normal life characteristics!


    .......


    Three hourster.


    Su''en had filled the body with various runes alternating between yellow, ck, white, and red.


    The runes on the entire body contained the four basic elements of "earth, wind, water, and fire," connected in a continuous cycle, giving life.


    "The ancient sorcerer who created thisbination of runes was truly talented..."


    Su''en put down the rune pen and looked at his work, feeling emotional.


    He could master these low-level runes proficiently, but he couldn''t understand the principles behind them. By consuming a small amount of materials, he could make these runes continuously operate, which involved extremely profound rune skills.


    It would also be convenient to add more runes in the future.


    With thepletion of the rune drawing, Su''en finally rxed.


    He had done everything he needed to do and began to check the state of deformation on the body.


    "The X Serum has changed the structure of the body''s tissues, significantly enhancing muscle strength. But while the distortion suppression agent takes effect, it also suppresses some of the serum''s effects..."


    Su''en was already satisfied with this result.


    Various signs indicated that the first active corpse he created was about to seed!


    He didn''t want to create a "hateful warrior." The strength of the corpse didn''t matter as long as it could rece him in bearing the bacsh of the ck scythe.


    Before long, the body''s skinpletely turned blue.


    "It''s done!"


    Su''en felt delighted.


    This meant that the serum-transformed body had stabilized. Although there would be some enhancements to the subsequent active corpses, this could already be considered a sessful "rune active corpse."


    ......


    Creating the active corpse was just the first step. What was important was that Su''en intended to use it to verify his conjecture.


    He used a steel wire to pull the body up and make it stand.


    The active corpse stood there like a sleepwalker, eyes closed, with a dull expression. It seemed alive yet not alive, appearing slightly eerie in this dark basement.


    "The muscle strength is enough to support the body, and the joints are normal. Itpletely meets the conditions..."


    Su''en checked the state of the active corpse.


    He had already determined that using the ck scythe required at least two necessary conditions: having life characteristics and infused with dark spiritual power!


    And the curse bacsh was also highly likely to be directly rted to these two conditions.


    The "living corpse" happened to meet both!


    After being transformed by the X Serum, the body was filled with surging dark spiritual power, even surpassing that of ordinary professionals, faintly overflowing.


    This was perfect, as it saved Su''en the trouble of finding another method to activate the release of dark spiritual power from the corpse.


    Su''en fixed the ck scythe in the hand of the active corpse.


    In an instant, the ck mes emanating from the scythe seemed to be stimted by the dark spiritual power, immediately surging up.


    Seeing this, Su''en faintly felt that his conjecture was correct.


    Taking a deep breath, he tried pulling the arm of the corpse lightly with the steel wire, and as if hearing a tearing sound, a small spatial crack appeared near the tip of the scythe de, mysteriously.


    "Indeed, a spatial crack appeared!"Seeing this, anticipation overflowed on Su''en''s face.


    This time, he didn''t infuse any dark spirit power into his main body, yet he seeded.


    He could now roughly confirm that his conjecture was correct!


    After making this cut, he didn''t move anymore.


    He put down the puppet and began the long wait for the bacsh.


    .......


    An hourter.


    Su''en didn''t feel anything unusual about himself, but at this moment, he saw a sudden gash appear on the right arm of the zombie in front of him.


    "It worked!"


    Su''en knew that this was a sign of the scythe''s curse bacsh.


    "My guess was indeed correct. As long as the conditions of a living body and dark spirit power are met, a spatial rift can be cut!"


    Now, Su''en''s face was radiant, as if he saw a glimmer of light piercing through the foggy future.


    Where the scythe passed, it cut in two!


    The "Night ck Scythe of Hypnos", which could only be used to gamble with enemies before, has now be a controble weapon of mass destruction.


    The curse bacsh won''t be applied to his main body, which means he can control the zombie to swing without any hesitation.


    There was also a pleasant surprise. Because of the modification of the "X serum", the zombie had a strong self-healing ability. The wound was slowly healing.


    This meant that as long as this zombie wasn''t killed in one go, it could be reused!


    Humans would hesitate to use the scythe for fear of crippling themselves and affecting theirbat power, but zombies were different.


    What Su''en wanted was a puppet. As long as the zombie could cut a spatial rift, even if it was missing an arm or a leg, it didn''t matter to him.


    He estimated that before the body bacsh and death, it could probably swing five or six times in a row!


    One swing could kill a lord-level Spider Queen, what was the concept of five or six swings?


    This meant that Su''en now had the ability to kill high-level professionals!


    However, Su''en wasn''t too excited, this was a result he had anticipated.


    Next, he faced more problems.


    The experiment was sessful, but to reach the level of actualbat, there were still many problems.


    He looked at the zombie on the dissecting table and pondered, "The zombie is not flexible enough to control now. If it really fights, there are many areas that need to be improved... The muscle strength of the corpse is enough for it to stand and support its body, but it can''t walk. What if I install a mechanical skeleton and add a steam power boiler? Hmm... The current technology is not mature, and it''s not convenient."


    As he thought, his thoughts began to diverge.


    "The phenomenon of the zombie''s dark spirit power overflowing also needs to be controlled, so that the intensity of the spatial rift can be controlled..."


    "The swing range and the infused dark spirit power value determine the size of the spatial rift, but urate control still requires more attempts to get urate data..."


    Now that he had a zombie, he didn''t need to risk his main body for such dangerous attempts.


    There were still ny-seven vials of "Second Generation X Serum", enough for him to create more zombies and get the precise data he wanted.


    But looking at the two-meter-long ck scythe, Su''en muttered in his heart, "And, the biggest problem is that both the zombie and the scythe can''t be stored in the storage ring, it''s not convenient to carry around."


    "Huh... Didn''t Mr. ck say before that the second-tier profession of Puppet Master can choose ''Spatial Ability''. Some high-quality spatial curse materials can give people the ability to create real folding space. Then, creating a folding space that can hold zombies and scythes would be perfect. However, it seems that such cursed items are not easy to find..."

 Chapter 115: Havent you noticed any changes in me?

    Chapter 115: Haven''t you noticed any changes in me?


    Su''en sessfully created a zombie.


    But he had another idea, which was whether he could inject himself with it.


    Su''en carefully looked through the "Zombie Research Diary" and found some experimental records of injecting "X Serum" into living people, which made him hesitate.


    Even with the "Deformation Inhibitor," the sess rate of fusing the serum was only 80 percent.


    The remaining 20 percent meant unknown mutations, deformations, or even direct body explosion.


    Moreover, the side effect of the skin turning blue for a long time was also a big problem.


    It''s not that he had any idol baggage, after all, he could ept the eyebrowless bald smoky style, and blue skin seemed no uglier.


    But ordinary people didn''t know what the skin meant, but anyone with discerning eyes could tell that it was the side effect of the "X Serum." Once discovered by the people in the inner city, it would definitely be a big problem.


    He also didn''t know how long the blue skin wouldst and didn''t dare to try it rashly.


    Anyway, it seemed that there was no reason for him to take the risk of using the serum now. Su''en nned to wait for a while and see if he could find other methods to increase the sess rate.


    ........


    Su''en stayed in the basement every day, tinkering with zombies, puppets, machinery, exercising his body, and studying alchemy knowledge...


    He felt busy, so busy that even with the help of his eight spider arms, it still wasn''t enough.


    It had been almost a month, and except for attending a small gathering of high-level professionals in the ck market, he hardly went out.


    He also inquired about the progress of the investigation into the robbery he and Kay carried out, but there seemed to be no significant movement.


    After all, theboratory had exploded, and who cared about a batch of lost supplies?


    In this way, Su''en sessfully sold a part of the stolen goods and exchanged them for some hard currency.


    But the more money he had, the more worried he became.


    Now, Su''en not only wanted to buy the "Mental Power Secret Method," but also the "Cursed Hair of the Mourning Witch," and now there was another second-tier advanced material that could awaken spatial abilities.


    ording to Mr. ck, the first two could still be bought. After all, many people didn''t recognize the value of the Mental Power Secret Method and didn''t need it, so there were opportunities to pick up bargains. As for the hair, only puppet masters could use such material, and it could be bought at a reasonable price.


    As for the cursed material that could awaken spatial abilities, it was almost impossible.


    Such rare advanced materials that could awaken "Spatial Abilities" were in short supply, and there were no reports of them being stocked in the treasuries of the major financial magnates in the inner city.


    Even if they were found by a hunting team, would they be able to keep it internally?


    Even if they were sold, the wealthy magnates in the inner city were the best buyers.


    Su''en felt that if he really wanted it, he could only try his luck in the wilderness.


    There were indeed more and more good things in the ck market.


    With the gradual excavation of the "Dawn City Ruins," more and more people also participated in hunting outside the city.


    Of course, the casualty rate remained high, and many small hunting teams were wiped out on the way without even seeing the ruins.


    But the harvest was truly astonishing.


    ording to the news that came back, the ruins were not empty cities, but seemed to have been destroyed by some terrifying disaster.


    The city preserved arge number of ancient artifacts, and there were also many S-level and T-level cursed spaces.


    Su''en didn''t feel anxious after hearing this news.


    After all, Mr. ck had evaluated that it would take at least ten or eight years to develop the ruins without sacrificing arge number of lives.


    But because the harvest was so tempting, the major financial magnates in the city organized hunting teams and daredevil squads to explore the underground.


    The three major gangs in the city also took action upon hearing the news.


    Within the Cross Society, multiple exploration hunting teams were organized, and they had already left the city to scout ahead.


    After hearing the news, Su''en also had some thoughts.


    Now he had a zombie that could manipte a sickle and a certain degree of self-defense ability.


    If the timing was right, he also nned to go and take a look.


    ........


    After all, they were members of the gang. Su''en and Kay, the two loners from Green Street, would eventually have to do some work.


    Others might forget about these two cking off for the past month, but Qiantiao knew very well about their talents.


    On this day, Su''en rarely went out and rode his motorcycle to wait at "Big Beard''s Mechanical Repair Shop." He chatted and exchanged experiences in mechanical repair with the boss, Wright, for a while. At half past six, Kay arrived on time riding a bicycle.


    Kay greeted, "Let''s go."


    Su''en followed, "Captain, why did you call me out?"


    Kay said, "The new ce on Norton Street is opening tonight, and Qiantiao wants us to go and check it out. ording to Qiantiao, we might have to follow her in the future..."


    "Oh."


    Su''en listened and suddenly realized.


    After Green Street was destroyed, the Cross Society had been nning to rebuild an entertainment district.


    It just so happened that the recent internal conflicts in the inner city seemed to have subsided.Mrs. Fino stood firm amidst the turmoil, and the Cross Society began to expand again.


    I''ve been hearing about the preparation of a new entertainment street for a while, and I didn''t expect it to bepleted so quickly.


    And that new street is located in Norton district, one of the thousand districts.


    .......


    There was plenty of time, so the two of them didn''t ride too fast.


    Kay seemed very excited, riding his motorcycle like a victorious rooster, puffing out his chest and raising his head, he asked with a smirk, "Brother Su''en, haven''t you noticed any changes in me?"


    Su''en nced at him and naturally noticed something.


    It had been half a month since hest saw this guy.


    Kay''s physique had obviously grown a lot, his leather jacket was bulging. His arm, gripping the handlebar, was muscr and rolling, as if there were worms wriggling under his skin, creating a visually striking image.


    Seeing Kay''s deliberately showy flexing, Su''en pretended not to see and cooperated with him, asking, "Ah...what''s up?"


    Kay let go of the motorcycle with one hand, showing off his massive biceps, "Look, what''s this?"


    Su''en looked at him, not knowing whether tough or cry.


    He felt he should be shocked, but he just couldn''t muster the surprise, and could only respond with an "Oh."


    "Oh?"


    Kay rolled his eyes, realizing he had chosen the wrong person to show off to, and seemed a bit deted.


    But he also knew Su''en''s character, saying "Oh" was already a good response.


    Even though his show-off attempt failed, it didn''t affect Kay''s mood, he excitedly said, "Brother, the body refining potion you got for me from the ck market is simply divine! I feel like a month of training with it is equivalent to a year''s worth of training in the past. I feel great now!"


    "Oh, as long as it''s useful."


    Su''en responded with a slight smile.


    Of course, he knew what the potion was all about.


    The PTX Berserk Amplification Potion and the Lester VI Generation Blood Cell Enhancer, he was using them himself.


    He bought so many second-hand instruments for Danny, making money was secondary, the first priority was to ensure his own potion needs.


    Now the initial investment has yielded returns, these two body refining potions are the top priority for production.


    Last time, under the pretext of sharing the money from the sale, he casually gave Kay a few.


    "Brother, I won''t say anything else, this potion has really helped me a lot!"


    Kay excitedly said, "If it wasn''t for the fortune we made togetherst time, I wouldn''t have been able to afford such an expensive potion."


    He was very clear that without Su''en, they wouldn''t have been able to intercept that batch of goods.


    After a pause, a hopeful gleam appeared in Kay''s eyes, he sighed, "With such a good body refining potion, I see hope of advancing to a second-tier professional in my lifetime..."


    "..."


    Su''en listened and smiled.


    Actually, professionals like Kay, who are ambitious and courageous, have always been working hard.


    But in reality, his strength is just average among professionals.


    The key difference is still the gap in resources.


    Whether it''s breathing techniques, alchemical imnts, or various martial arts training, they are allcking.


    For closebat professionals, without enough high-quality supplements, the training efficiency will be low, and hidden injuries will umte. It may not matter in the short term, but in the long run, it will leave asting impact.


    This is the most important reason why it''s difficult for outer city professionals to advance, and even more difficult to promote to the second tier.


    After all, body refining potions are a long-term need.


    The two types of potions that Kay is using now, each costing nearly half a million, are not only "controlled potions" that can''t be bought in the inner city, but even if they could be bought, he couldn''t afford to use them.


    At this point, Kay added, "When I feel like I''ve hit a bottleneck, I n to apply to join the guild''s wilderness hunting team and go out of the city to hunt. I might even make a fortune..."


    After a pause, he mysteriously added, "Hey, have you heard? They say they''ve found arge ancient ruin underground, it seems to be quite amazing."


    Su''en knew he was probably talking about the Dawn City ruins, the information of the lower-level gang members was indeed much slower.


    He casually said, "Isn''t that ruin said to be very dangerous?"


    "We have to go even if it''s dangerous!"


    Kay had an indifferent expression, not hiding his admiration as he recounted the legendary stories he heard in the guild, "The boss Angel became strong because he encountered danger while hunting in the wilderness outside the city, and that''s how he sessfully integrated the silver imnt, Thousand Kill Feather Wings..."


    But when he got to this point, his words suddenly stopped.


    Kay seemed to remember something, he turned his head to look at Su''en who was riding alongside him, and deted his mouth in disappointment.


    The other members of the guild would be boiling with passion when they heard the story of Boss Angel, but he knew that Su''en definitely wouldn''t.


    Because he knew, this guy''s imnt must be more than just silver!


    But even though he thought about it, he never asked.


    At this point, seeing that Kay didn''t continue, Su''en also smiled and said, "You''ll have it all in the future."

 Chapter 116: I can think of the best fate

    Chapter 116: I can think of the best fate


    Before long, Su''en and Kay rode their motorcycles to Norton Street.


    It waspletely different from thest time they came here. The customs museum, gambling stalls, taverns, and unique bathhouses... Various gorgeous neon lights illuminated the entire street.


    Su''en and Kay felt a sense of familiarity with this scene.


    "Crimson Fortress," "Elephant Tavern," "Emperor''s Bathhouse," "Musketeer Inn"... The familiar signs were no different from the once prosperous Green Street.


    Kay looked a bit disappointed, feeling nostalgic. As the leader of Green Street, he had deep feelings for this ce.


    Su''en, on the other hand, didn''t care at all. If he had to start patrolling the streets every night at seven again, it wouldn''t take much effort. He could just move here again. And with the arena open, he could harvest souls every night, which was a good thing.


    ........


    Today was the opening ceremony, and Norton Street was bustling with activity.


    The president of the Cross Society, "Arbiter" Chuck, and other officials were all present.


    They were all dressed in suits, looking very formal. Apart from the asional aura of killing intent between their brows, it was hard to tell that they were a group of gang bosses who killed people like cutting grass. They looked more like sessful entrepreneurs.


    Most of the major shareholders in the entertainment industry were wealthy people from the inner city. Today, many big shots from the inner city came to the opening ceremony, and various luxury cars lined the streets. The fat and wealthy gentlemen, the elegantly dresseddies, the graceful and charming socialites... It was like walking on a red carpet, allowing Su''en and the others from the outer city to see what the rich people from the inner city looked like.


    Su''en and Kay, being nobodies, naturally didn''t have the qualifications to show their faces on stage.


    Those who looked good went to the inner area to show off, while those who wore leather jackets, had tattoos, looked ugly, and had a fierce appearance stood on the outskirts to ensure security.


    Su''en, with his bald head and smoky makeup, naturally stayed outside.


    He was quite rxed.


    Kay and the other captains of the Cross Society were squatting on the side, chatting and joking. At this moment, a long luxury white car decorated with angel wings suddenly drove up to the red carpet.


    Someone eximed, "Look, there... a beauty!"


    The experienced old birds perked up their ears upon hearing the word "beauty" and stretched their necks to look in the direction of the red carpet.


    Then, they saw a cold and morous woman in a flowing ck dress step out of the car.


    Su''en nced at her and immediately recognized her as the patron of the Cross Society, Lady Philo.


    Most of the captains of the Cross Society were not high-ranking enough to know who the patron behind the Cross Society was. Even if they had heard the name, they had never seen her before.


    Kay, who was beside Su''en, took a look and his gaze immediately became fixed. He suppressed the restlessness in his heart and calmly exined, "Don''t be surprised. If you disturb Lady Philo, the president will definitely kick your asses."


    Someone eximed in surprise, "Is that the legendary Lady Philo? Kay, have you seen her before?"


    Kay said, "Well, I have indeed had the honor of meeting thatdy in person before. But it''s not worth mentioning..."


    His teasing tone, coupled with his show-off expression, was really asking for a beating.


    "Tsk~"


    The captains all hissed in unison, but it didn''t affect their enthusiasm for looking at beautiful women.


    "My goodness, she''s so damn beautiful..."


    "Oh... another person got out of the car. Kay, do you know who the little beauty next to Lady Philo is?"


    "I don''t know, but I think she must be the daughter of some big family."


    "Could it be Lady Philo''s daughter?"


    "Bullshit! Where did thatdy get such a big daughter?"


    "..."


    The old birds started specting about various gossip.


    The gossip about the love lives of the big shots in the inner city was the best topic for discussion in the outer city after a meal.


    Su''en listened silently on the side because he had already recognized the person following Lady Philo as Rena.


    Although her face was covered with a ck veil, Su''en recognized her beautiful long ck hair at a nce. Wasn''t she that girl Rena?


    Why would the daughter of a top-tier familye to such an asion?


    But seeing Lady Philo and Renaing out of the city to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Su''en thought that the internal turmoil of the Reyes family had probably subsided.


    He didn''t think much about it.


    .......


    The protagonist had arrived, and now it was time for the boring ribbon-cutting ceremony.


    The big bosses from the inner city jointly cut the ribbon and made speeches.


    However, Lady Philo was very low-key. Apart from showing herself when she got out of the car, no one saw her again.


    Su''en felt a bit bored and leaned against amppost, ying with a flipping coin skillfully between his ten fingers, from the palm of his hand to the back of his hand, and then back to the palm of his hand...


    Suddenly, he felt someone''s gaze on him from behind, and the coin in his hand paused for a moment.


    But recognizing the familiar footsteps, he didn''t pay much attention to it.


    The next moment, Su''en felt his arm being enveloped in a softness, and a warm body boldly hugged his shoulder. Even without seeing the person, he had already heard the familiar tone of the big sister, "Hey, Su''en, where have you been all this time? I didn''t see you at the casino. I wanted to invite you to gamble, but you didn''t show up."


    Su''en knew it was Qiantiao as soon as he heard the footsteps and greeted her with a smile, "Big Sister Qiantiao."


    When he turned his head, he saw that Qiantiao was dressed quite formally, probably because of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. She was wearing a Body Fusion blue and white kimono, her hair was tied up high, and her big arms were not exposed. She looked quite gentle.


    Qiantiao asked again, "Where''s Kay?"


    Su''en shrugged, "I don''t know. It seems like he went to watch the excitement with the captains."Qiantiao patted Su''en on the shoulder and said, "I''ve already talked to the president. You and Kay wille to Norton Street from now on. You''re my people now!"


    Su''en didn''t really care, "Oh..."


    Qiantiao looked around in the crowd but couldn''t find Kay. She grabbed Su''en''s shoulder and led him outside, saying, "Let''s go, let''s go soak in the hot springs. I''ll introduce you to some people."


    "Huh? Today is the opening ceremony. Aren''t you going to watch it?" Su''en felt that something was off.


    The boss of Norton Street is just starting his business. Do you really want to go soak in the hot springs?


    Qiantiao had a look of annoyance on her face, "There are too many things to do at the venue today. I''ve left it to the captains."


    "..."


    Su''en thought that Qiantiao was being irresponsible.


    It''s precisely because there are so many things to do for the opening that they need someone like her to manage the venue.


    At this moment, Kay appeared out of nowhere and greeted them from a distance, "Qiantiao!"


    "Here you are." Qiantiao greeted Kay and said, "Let''s go to Akun Bathhouse! I''ll treat you guys to a hot spring!"


    Kay''s eyes lit up when he heard this, "Sounds good!"


    It''s hard to refuse when Qiantiao is treating. Although Su''en wanted to go back and study the animated corpses, he had no choice but to go along.


    .......


    After soaking in the hot springs, they felt refreshed.


    In thete night, Su''en apanied Qiantiao to a newly opened arena.


    The arena was newly opened, and this gambling addict was eager to try her luck.


    Because it was the first day of the opening, there were skilled professional diators participating in the arena battles, and Su''en gained some valuable experience.


    He stayed in Norton Street for the whole night and originally nned to return early the next day.


    But just as he came out of the gambling den in the early morning, Kay found him and said that the leaders had arranged for them to escort a batch of goods to the inner city.


    Later, Su''en learned that it was because of the opening of the new arena, and the captains of the Cross Society were all busy.


    It seemed that only the two of them from Green Street were free, and since the leaders saw that they were free, they arranged for them to do the escorting.


    It wasn''t a particrly special task, just following the convoy to deliver a valuable batch of goods to the inner city.


    The Cross Society had its own expedition team, so the guild''s warehouse would umte a lot of advanced cursed materials and relics collected from outside the city.


    These things were of no use in the outer city and couldn''t be sold for a good price. So every once in a while, they would be sent to the inner city and handed over to the business guild under the patronage of the main sponsor for processing.


    With the sponsor''s pass, they didn''t need to have their identities checked when entering the city. This was a rare opportunity for gang members to enter the inner city.


    The veterans of the Cross Society all liked this task.


    It was a rare opportunity to broaden their horizons.


    Kay also seemed excited.


    ........


    In the afternoon, Su''en and Kay arrived at the warehouse of the Cross Society''s headquarters, the ck Forest Building.


    Kay checked the things loaded on the truck, signed on the inventory list, and prepared to set off.


    A standard escort team, three vehicles.


    One captain with nine people, and two truck drivers.


    Just like the steam gang''s escort team they intercepted a few days ago.


    Because they had studied in detail how to rob a transport team before, Su''en and Kay felt a bit strange and didn''t sit in the front and rear cars.


    Kay sent the driver to the small car and drove the truck himself, walking in the middle of the convoy with Su''en.


    They were afraid that there might be some secret dealings between the Cross Society and the inner city, which would attract some inexplicable interceptions. Before getting on the car, Su''en deliberately observed that this time the truck carrying the goods was not a special armored vehicle, and the goods were normal goods.


    After getting on the car, the two of them smiled at each other.


    But they thought they were being overly cautious. After all, they had several escort missions every year, and it was unlikely that they would encounter interceptions.


    .......


    They set off from the South City and drove for half an hour before approaching the inner city wall, which was several times more magnificent than the outer city wall.


    Su''en recalled some vague memories and had some impressions of the structure of the inner city.


    Seeing the towering city wall in the distance, some images from his memories ovepped.


    Theyout of the inner city was like a cake divided into eight equal parts, which were the 1st to 8th city districts. In the center of the inner city was a ck tower that couldn''t be seen at the top, like a candle inserted into the cake.


    On the foot of the city wall, hundreds of meters high super chimneys were constantly emitting white smoke, which was the super steam boiler that powered the entire city.


    The inner city wall was about two hundred meters high, but the buildings inside were even taller.


    The convoy got closer and closer to the inner city, and the city wall became more and more real in their sight.


    There was white spray paint on the front wall, with a huge number "5" marked on it.


    Below the city wall was the fifth city gate, and behind it was the 5th city district of the inner city.


    Kay was excited and pointed at the skyscrapers taller than the city wall from a distance, introducing and eximing, "Hey, brother, look! That''s the famous ''Sky Garden'' in the inner city! Can you see the colorful ribbons in the sky? Hehe... that''s the legendary rainbow, you can''t see such a spectacle anywhere else."


    "Yeah." Su''en had good eyesight and had already seen it.


    The lights in the inner city were as bright as daylight, giving a very bright feeling.


    It was like adding ayer of bright light filter to those buildings, clean and transparent.


    Even from a distance, he could see the upper levels of the inner city buildings covered in green, and white waterfalls flowing down from the tops of those buildings, with rainbows hanging between the buildings...


    In the rooftop garden with yellow-orange fruits, he could even see ady in white leaning on the railing, enjoying the view as her skirt fluttered in the wind...A high-altitude swimming pool, lush rooftop greenery, and ss buildings as blue as the sea... From the ss corridor, one could see the blurry figures of people walking, chatting, andughing in pairs...


    The architecture of the inner city was beautiful and filled with a sense of technology; the outer city was like a post-apocalyptic wastnd, full of gloom and filth.


    Separated by a wall, it was as if they were two different worlds.


    After his initial excitement, Kay''s tone suddenly became a bit mncholic, "Hey, brother. I won''t lie to you, I''ve never been to the inner city in my life..."


    Su''en smiled, "Neither have I."


    "Haha, this time we can go and broaden our horizons."


    As he spoke, the reflection of the massive city was mirrored in Kay''s clear eyes, revealing his longing for a better life.


    Just being able to visit the inner city was a dream that many people from the outer city could never reach in their lifetime.


    Kay suddenly became a bit mncholic, "I''m an orphan from a tube building, with no parents. Apart from fighting and killing, I don''t know how to do anything else. I heard that the kids in the inner city learn to y instruments and do business from a young age, they go to school to learn knowledge... When they grow up, they can bewyers, dentists, teachers..."


    At this point, Kayughed self-deprecatingly, "Heh..."


    Thinking about it, he continued slowly, "Brother, do you know... I used to fantasize that the best life I could fight for myself was to be lucky enough to advance to the second level, and then be a bodyguard for some big boss in the inner city... Haha, isn''t that pathetic?"


    Su''en listened and nced at him.


    The young gang leader, who could still be called a teenager, suddenly had a sparkle in his eyes, shining brightly.


    "Everyone in the gang says I''m brave, that I''ll definitely make something of myself..."


    Kay had a smile on his face, but as he spoke, he couldn''tugh anymore, "Actually, I''m not afraid to tell you, sometimes I''m very scared. Countless nights, I wake up from nightmares of fighting and killing, covered in cold sweat. I touch my still-beating heart, and it takes a long time to realize that I''m still alive..."


    Su''en listened quietly, ying the role of a silent audience.


    His gaze was fixed on the city, which was gradually deepening.


    .......


    The journey was uneventful.


    Both Su''en and Kay breathed a sigh of relief.


    The truck arrived at the foot of the city wall, like a mouse under an elephant''s foot.


    Because they had a special pass, they were not checked and smoothly drove into the massive steel city gate.


    At this point, there was no trace of mncholy on Kay''s face, and his carefree smile returned.


    As they approached their destination, Kay suddenly thought of something and said to Su''en, "I have a secret to tell you, but you mustn''t tell anyone."


    Su''en raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"


    Kay said mysteriously, "Before we set off, Boss Smoker told me that he would introduce me to a big shot from the inner city, and I might have a chance to enter the inner city early."


    "Boss Smoker?"


    Upon hearing this, Su''en''s brow furrowed, as if some thought shed through his mind.


    "Yeah! Boss Smoker said that once I enter the city, that big shot will send someone to contact me."


    Kay nodded andughed brightly, "I tell you, if I make it big, I''ll cover for you! Hahaha...."


    Su''en looked slightly startled, feeling that something was off, and asked, "You mean... Boss Smoker asked you to keep it a secret?"


    "Yeah."


    Kay said, "He originally told me not to tell anyone, but I think we''re brothers, and you''ll definitely keep the secret for me."


    Why the need for secrecy?


    Introducing a benefactor wasn''t something to be hidden.


    Su''en instinctively felt alert and asked again, "How will that person contact you?"


    Kay, unaware of any problem, replied, "I don''t know. But Boss Smoker said that person will find a way to contact me..."

 Chapter 117: Lost manuscript

    Chapter 117: Lost manuscript


    "Boss, the convoy of the Cross Society has entered the city. They should arrive at the ''White Sail Warehouse'' in ten minutes."


    "Has the list of escorts been confirmed?"


    "Yes, it has been confirmed. There are twelve people in total, three vehicles. They are all elderly members of the Cross Society listed on the roster, and there are no suspicious individuals. The leader is ''de'' Kay, and there is also someone named Su''en on the list, who is quite skilled in marksmanship."


    "Well, he''s just a gunman, at most a first-tier. No need to worry. Stick to the n. Once we confirm that the item is in the cargo, eliminate everyone in the convoy."


    "Yes!"


    "Oh, by the way, go and make contact with that kid named ''Kay''. Give him a peripheral test first. If his abilities are good enough, recruit him."


    "Understood."


    .......


    The convoy of the Cross Society transporting goods slowly entered the inner city through the "Fifth Gate".


    After entering the city walls, it was like entering a steel forest. This was a very three-dimensional city. There were many skyscrapers that were three to five hundred meters high, like towering trees, forming the main body of the city. And relying on these high-rise buildings as the framework, various steel-frame bridges, suspended intercity train tracks, elevated pedestrian streets, and hanging steel-frameyers were densely built... like ayered cake.


    These elevated buildings connected the buildings into one, and roughly divided the entire city into three levels: upper, middle, and lower.


    The architectural styles were clearly distinct.


    The shorter buildings appeared slender, with exposed brick walls,rge blocks of stone, pointed towers that clearly showed Gothic style, pointed arches, andrge windows with colored stained ss, resembling architectural styles from a thousand years ago. The middle level had steel-frame structures, thick pipelines, steam boilers, and a rough industrial style reminiscent of steampunk. As one went higher, it became the futuristic technology style of the cyber world, with even sky gardens...


    The city''s designers increased the number of residents that the inner city could amodate several times within the limited space.


    Su''en had a vague impression of the harvesting memories and knew that the people in the inner city were also divided into different sses.


    The higher one lived, the more prestigious their status.


    The lower level was the civilian area of the inner city.


    The Cross Society''s convoy traveled on the ground, while intercity trains roared overhead like light rails. Along the streets, there were flower stands with colorful flowers. People of all ages, whether young or old, were dressed in vibrant clothes.


    "Wow... so many cars! Are these guys in the inner city all so rich? It seems like everyone can afford luxury cars..."


    Kay had never been to the inner city before. He looked at thepletely different scenery from the outer city and couldn''t help but exim.


    Each of these cars was shiny and had sleek lines. They were iparable to the old goods assembled from scrap parts in the outer city.


    Seeing the cars on the road, Kay suddenly felt that the "cool modified motorcycles" in the gang were like mischievous children covered in mudpared to these cars.


    Su''en rested his chin on his hand, leaning against the car window, looking at the bustling street full of cars, but his gaze seemed unfocused.


    Although the goods had been transported to the inner city, he couldn''t help but feel that something was amiss.


    ......


    The destination for transporting the goods was the "White Sail Warehouse," an inconspicuous warehouse located by the riverside in the 5th district. The ss roof resembled a white sail.


    The space inside wasrge, and the trucks drove directly into the warehouse.


    Kay called for Su''en to get off the car. "Hey, bro, we''re here. We''ve delivered the goods, and the mission isplete."


    Su''en nodded but didn''t rush to get off the car.


    He deliberately observed the people receiving the goods in the warehouse. There were a total of seven people, all employees of the chamber ofmerce under Lady Filov, and they seemed fine.


    Then he looked at theyout of the warehouse. It was spacious, about the size of a football field. But there was no ce to hide except for a few thick spray-painted iron columns supporting the ss roof overhead.


    In that instant, Su''en instinctively thought of a feasible escape route in case of danger.


    Kay had already gone down and greeted the people involved in the handover.


    Then he went to the back of the truck and opened the password-protected door, and the gang members began unloading the cargo ording to the list.


    Su''en observed this and didn''t find anything unusual, so he also got off the car.


    "Jackson, the butler, here is the inventory list of the goods. We already checked it once before we set off, so there shouldn''t be any problems."


    "Sorry, we still have to go through the process."


    "Oh, counting is a time-consuming task. You must be working hard."


    "No, this is exactly why Lady Filov hired us."


    "..."


    When Su''en got off the car, he saw the members of the Cross Society unloading the items from the truck one by one, and the old butler named Jackson was responsible for counting.


    The people from the inner city seemed indifferent and didn''t seem to want much interaction with the Cross Society from the outer city, even with Kay, the leader of the transport team.


    Kay seemed bored.


    Seeing Su''en getting off the car, he walked over. "Su''en, after we deliver the goods, shall we go around the city?"


    Seeing his enthusiasm, Su''en nodded. "Sure."


    But at that moment, a bearded man in a suit walked over from outside the warehouse. He opened his mouth and asked the group of people, "Who is Kay?"


    Kay frowned at the arrogant tone. He didn''t want to pay attention, but it seemed like he thought of something and spoke, "That''s me."


    Without wasting any words, the man said coldly, "Come with me. Someone wants to see you."


    Saying that, he didn''t even look back and left in the direction he came from.


    Kay, instead of doubting, became excited and couldn''t hide it on his face. He gestured to Su''en, "Bro, I''ll be gone for a while. Can you watch over things for me?"


    "Sure."


    Su''en nodded and didn''t say anything.


    He knew that this bearded man was probably the person the smoker arranged for Kay to meet.


    There was nothing more to say.After all, Smokey was Kay''s old captain, and the one who had promoted him in the gang. Su''en often heard Kay express his admiration for Smokey, like a child idolizing his father.


    But...


    What Su''en found strange was, this bearded man came directly to the warehouse to demand someone?


    This was the warehouse of Lady Philo''spany. If Smokey introduced Kay to a financier who was a friend of Lady Philo, why was he being so secretive?


    And, that faint gaze from afar at the warehouse entrance, was it a sentry or something else?


    ......


    Many items had already been unloaded from the truck, withrge sculptures, metal utensils, and other antiques piled up on the ground.


    Then there were smaller items like ancient books, scrolls, and cursed materials.


    Su''en had doubts and quietly watched from the side. Gradually, he noticed something. The old butler with the horseshoe mustache seemed to be examining those books very carefully.


    Even on the list, it only said "one hundred ancient books," without any detailed names.


    There were hundreds, if not thousands, of books in that pile. To look through them all would definitely waste a lot of time.


    But the butler was painstakingly examining each book, as if looking for something.


    This unusual behavior made Su''en suddenly alert.


    What was this old man looking for?


    He wasn''t this meticulous with the other antiques. Was he looking for a specific book?


    In that instant, several keywords shed through Su''en''s mind: goods, books...gang warehouse?


    No!


    Something was wrong!


    Suddenly, he recalled a rted memory through these keywords.


    It was his first day joining the Cross Society, and the warehouse attack he had participated in!


    At that time, they had captured an intruder alive, but he was killed by a traitor within the Cross Society on the way.


    Su''en connected these clues and suddenly frowned, guessing a possibility that made him break out in a cold sweat: "This guy is looking for Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript!"


    ......


    This thought suddenly popped into his mind, and a huge sense of crisis instantly overwhelmed him.


    He had originally thought it was just a simple escort and handover mission, but he didn''t expect it to be a trap!


    Su''en had already learned through various channels that the Cross Society had lost a copy of Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript.


    He had thought that it was just lost, and that such a precious item had nothing to do with him, a low-ranking gang member.


    But now, he was unexpectedly involved.


    He immediately thought: "The Captain Miller who assassinated the prisoner back then was definitely not the traitor, at least...not the mastermind. This means that there is still a ''key figure'' from the original robbery case within the Cross Society that has not been discovered. When President Chuck and the executives suddenly returned to the headquarters, the traitor knew that they could not possibly safely carry the manuscript, so hiding it would be the safest..."


    Moreover, this was not just a guess, but a fact!


    Su''en immediately recalled the key information he had obtained from the soul of the second-order attacker: "They would never think that the manuscript would be hidden there."


    "So that''s what happened..."


    Su''en connected all the clues in his mind, and a huge, far-reaching conspiracy suddenly surfaced.


    Since the manuscript couldn''t be taken away under those circumstances,


    Where would be an unexpected ce to hide the manuscript?


    Naturally, the Cross Society''s warehouse!


    "The manuscript has never left the ck Forest Building, it just moved from the Cross Society''s vault to the ordinary warehouse outside!"


    Connecting all the clues, Su''en immediately concluded: "The traitor also knows very well that even as an executive, he would be suspected if he went to the warehouse again. But he doesn''t need to risk retrieving the manuscript himself, because every once in a while, the Cross Society automatically transports the goods in the ordinary warehouse to the inner city...he just needs to intercept the transport team to find the manuscript hidden among those books!"

 Chapter 118: Suddenly started killing people

    Chapter 118: Suddenly started killing people


    "Damn it! Sandbu, the smoker, is the mole of the Cross Society!"


    Su''en reconstructed the truth of the whole incident in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more the various clues matched.


    If Miller wasn''t the real mole, then the one who ordered him to kill the captive was most likely a cadre.


    Although there were still a few cadres of the Cross Society who hadn''t left the city at the time, no one would suspect the old veteran of the Cross Society''s merits.


    But the secret that Kay had told him earlier immediately confirmed that Sandbu was the mole!


    Su''en was certain that Kay had absolutely no knowledge of it, so... now that he was taken away, is it possible that Sandbu really valued his talent and intended to spare Kay''s life?


    Although he didn''t know what Kay would encounter when he was taken away, it was not something Su''en needed to think about right now.


    He was well aware that once the "Alchemy Manuscript of Isaac" was really found in this batch of goods, it would be the death sentence for the people in this warehouse!


    ......


    Perhaps the other party only wanted the goods and didn''t intend to kill?


    No.


    Su''en didn''t hold any illusions because he had already sensed the intent to kill.


    As he scanned theyout of the warehouse with his gaze, he suddenly felt that the situation was very bad.


    Their position was in the center of the warehouse, and if the enemies outside the warehouse rushed in, they would be caught in a crossfire from all directions.


    Even if they used the carriages as cover, they would still be waiting for death.


    Su''en thought that the other employees of the Chamber of Commerce might not have much of a problem, but the old steward who was searching for the documents was definitely in trouble.


    Su''en originally thought that the vague sense of disgust was the inherent superiority of the people in the inner city looking down on the people in the outer city, but now he realized that it was actually a hidden intent to kill.


    Thinking of this, Su''en slowly leaned back and then pretended to help, slipping into the carriage. Although this carriage was not a specially reinforced one, it could withstand a barrage of bullets to arge extent.


    At this moment, the old steward who was searching through a pile of books suddenly found a thick book with a ck embossed cover and his expression subtly changed as if he had discovered something.


    And just at this moment, the old steward made a seemingly normal gesture, taking off his hat.


    Su''en had been paying close attention to every move of this guy, and when he saw this, his pupils suddenly contracted.


    This guy was giving a secret signal!


    Seeing this, Su''en didn''t wait any longer and took the initiative to ask, "Steward Jackson, have you found what you were looking for?"


    When the old steward heard this, his expression changed drastically, and he looked at Su''en in astonishment.


    And in that instant, the vague sense of disgust in Su''en''s perception suddenly turned into a needle-like "intent to kill".


    Even though Su''en could now control his emotions very well, he couldn''t help but feel furious at being calcted by someone. "You really proved me right!"


    Almost at the moment he sensed the intent to kill, Su''en didn''t give the old steward any chance to make a move. He quickly pulled out his pistol from his waist and shot the old steward''s head, blowing it up on the spot.


    Killed instantly.


    .......


    Su''en suddenly erupted in killing, and whether it was the escorts of the Cross Society or the Chamber of Commerce employees who came with the old steward, they were all stunned.


    Looking at the head that exploded in front of them, everyone thought Su''en had gone mad. They were about to scold him when they saw Su''en throw several smoke bombs that exploded with a bang.


    "Damn it, what are you doing!"


    "Have you gone crazy!"


    "..."


    Angry curses rang out, but suddenly stopped abruptly.


    Because before the smokepletely obscured their vision, at this moment, the warehouse door was suddenly kicked open with great force.


    A group of ck-d men wearing checkered vests, gloves, and newsboy caps entered in an orderly manner, carrying "ck Wheel Submachine Guns" and without any useless words, they opened fire on the convoy in the center of the warehouse!


    Da, da, da...


    More than ten machine guns fired in unison, and the more than ten people standing next to the truck didn''t even have time to react before they were turned into beehives.


    Ten secondster, the drums ran out of bullets, and the sound of changing magazines rang out in the warehouse.


    These ck-d men were obviously well-trained. Seeing the smoke filling the air, they also guessed that the enemy might take advantage of the opportunity to reload. Some of them changed magazines, while others drew their pistols from their waists and cautiously closed in on the smoke-filled truck.


    Deep inside the truck carriage, Su''en, hiding behind a metal sculpture, silently calcted, "Three in the front, five on the nk, eight in the direction of the front of the truck..."


    He heard the footsteps of the enemy clearly and suddenly made his move.


    Gunshots suddenly rang out from the smoke.


    "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"


    Three consecutive rapid gunshots, before they even saw any figures, the three ck-d men who were surrounding the truck carriage from the front were urately hit.


    The group of ck-d men were caught off guard, but they quickly retaliated and unleashed a barrage of gunfire into the smoke.


    And in the next instant, a blurry figure of an eight-armed monster suddenly rushed out of the smoke.The two ck-clothed men who had just gathered around to block the truck''spartment hadn''t seen what it was when they were suddenly pierced through the chest by two spider spears and died on the spot!


    The ck-clothed men instantly reacted and wanted to focus their fire on Su''en. However, Su''en, who was running with his eight-arm spider spear, was quick on his feet and his hands were not idle either, changing colors as well.


    "Malicious Perception" allowed him to urately capture the positions of the enemy gunmen and continuously pull the trigger to kill them.


    Bang, bang, bang...


    Both sides fiercely exchanged fire, and the sound of gunfire echoed in the empty warehouse, creating a dull roar.


    If they were in the outer city, Su''en could easily kill these more than ten gunmen as they posed little threat to him with their ordinary reaction speed and marksmanship.


    However!


    The bullets that were enough to kill ten gang gunmen in the outer city only killed one person. The other bullets either missed or were evaded by those guys, only hitting non-lethal areas...


    "They''re all professionals!"


    Seeing this, Su''en felt that things were not good. He had no intention of fighting and fought while retreating. The eight-arm spider spear vibrated at a high frequency, creating a blur as he moved.


    He didn''t dare to rush out of the warehouse door but instead headed straight for the nearest load-bearing pir. The eight-arm spider spear climbed up the pir, appearing as if it was walking on t ground.


    ........


    Su''en took the initiative and caught the ck-clothed men off guard.


    After he rushed out of thepartment, he revealed his extraordinary spider equipment and precise marksmanship, causing the ck-clothed men to be surprised.


    Weren''t there supposed to be only one professional in the convoy?


    What''s the deal with this spider person?


    And when did such a powerful first-tier professional appear in the outer city?


    Although many doubts arose, the actions of the leader of the ck-clothed men were not slow.


    "Hehe, how could I let you escape!"


    When a contemptuous look shed in his eyes, the leader of the ck-clothed men had already formed the hand seals.


    In the next moment, a deep blue hexagram alchemy array suddenly lit up under his feet. As soon as this array appeared, therge warehouse suddenly felt like a cold wave had descended, and the temperature dropped significantly.


    At this moment, Su''en, who was still desperately avoiding being hit by bullets while climbing the iron pir, asionally counterattacked with a few shots, causing the ck-clothed men to dodge and flee.


    But at this moment, he caught a glimpse of the guy who had activated the hexagram array under his feet, and his heart sank. He thought to himself, "A second-tier professional!"


    Such aplex alchemy array, just by looking at it, he knew it was a second-tier spell.


    It meant that the guy was definitely a second-tier professional!


    Moreover, this second-tier ice spell was not simple. Su''en not only felt the sudden drop in air temperature, but also a sense of death looming over him, making his hair stand on end.


    Without hesitation, Su''en raised his hand and fired two shots at the guy.


    He wanted to interrupt the opponent''s spellcasting.


    "Bang!" "Bang!"


    After the two gunshots, regardless of whether he hit or not, Su''en did not continue shooting. Instead, he turned the barrel of the gun towards the ss roof above his head and fired several shots, creating arge hole next to the load-bearing pir.


    Seeing that the opponent had cast an ice spell, he instinctively thought of a way to deal with it, put away his guns, and quickly formed the alchemy seals with both hands.


    .......


    However, none of the second-tier professionals were ordinary, even in the field of magic, they had enough experience in dealing with gunmen.


    The leader of the ck-clothed men looked at Su''en pointing the gun at him, a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.


    A thought shed through his mind: "The secret technique of double shooting... The outer city gang actually has such a firearms expert. This guy really knows how to surprise people. Hehe, I bet he''s a wanted criminal in the organization..."


    Just as this thought crossed his mind, he watched as sparks flew from the muzzle aimed at him. Without dodging or evading, almost at the same time, the bullets hit his forehead.


    "ng!"


    "ng!"


    With two crisp sounds, the bullet heads bounced off, and a rune gloss shed, sttering a momentary ice flower.


    The ck-clothed man was unharmed. It turned out that it wasn''t real skin, but ayer of frost armor equipment!


    Just as he was hit, the ck-clothed man''s alchemy seals had already finished, and he softly chanted, "Alchemy Art: Extreme Frost Freeze!"


    With this alchemy seal, a frosty path resembling a white snake spread out from the alchemy array under his feet and swiftly rushed towards the weighing steel pir not far away.


    ........


    "Such fast casting speed!"


    Su''en didn''t expect these two shots to be able to harm the ice mage, but he also didn''t expect this guy to withstand the bullets with his head.


    Since he couldn''t stop the opponent from casting the spell, he could only watch as the piercing cold spread to the iron pir he was climbing.Seeing that he was just over ten meters away from reaching the rooftop, he suddenly found that the spider spears clinging to the iron wall were bing increasingly difficult to pull off, as if they had stepped on glue.


    Looking down, he saw that the entire iron pir under his feet had been coated with ayer of frost, which was getting thicker and thicker.


    Almost instantly, the eight spider spears were not just difficult to lift, but werepletely stuck to the iron wall upon contact.


    Seeing that Su''en was about to bepletely frozen and unable to move, the leader of the men in ck below seemed to think he had the situation under control, and shouted, "Take him alive!"


    .......


    The gunfire instantly died down by more than half, but it also gave Su''en a chance to breathe!


    Because at this moment, thest sorcerer''s seal he had been holding in his hand was alsopleted.


    Just as the frost was about to spread from the spider spears to his body, Su''en''s body suddenly erupted with ayer of blue-purple cold me!


    As the cold me emerged, the frost on the eight-armed spider spears was instantly melted. He shot up and reached the rooftop in an instant, then disappeared from the sight of the men in ck.


    "Huh..."


    Seeing this, the leader of the men in ck was taken aback.


    Looking at the cold me, a serious expression appeared on his face, "The unique alchemical secret technique of the Williams family, ''MysteryNo Servant''? How could an outer city gang possibly know it? A firearms expert, spider arm imnts, and even knows No Servant, what is this guy''s background... Could he be from that organization?"


    Thinking of this, he immediately took out hismunicator and shouted, "Attention everyone, issuing a B-level emergency order now. All units search for a fugitive suspect, physical characteristics as follows... The security team checks suspicious individuals in the block, the city guard team strictly verifies the identity of each person leaving the city. The suspect has the strength of a quasi-second order professional, all units must be careful, try to capture him alive!"


    Seeing Su''en escape, a few of the men in ck also chased after him.


    The remaining few, however, were rummaging through the pile of items that had been smashed earlier, seemingly looking for something.


    Someone reported, "Boss, the stuff isn''t here!"


    Hearing this, the face of the man in ck grew even darker.

 Chapter 119: Moon Hotel

    Chapter 119: Moon Hotel


    Su''en leaped onto the roof of the warehouse, and his eight spider arms disyed superior discement abilities that ignored the terrain obstacles.


    Crawling horizontally, moving vertically, jumping...


    The ck-clothed men were more well-trained than expected. As soon as he reached the rooftop, the guards outside noticed him and started shooting wildly.


    Su''en manipted his spider legs to swiftly dash on the warehouse roof, not daring to touch the ground. Instead, he climbed along the pipeline connecting the warehouse to another building.


    Fortunately, with the eight legs able to grip the pipeline and the steel wire traction in his mechanical gloves, he leaped into the opposite building floor. He rushed in and finally shook off the ck-clothed men on the ground.


    Then Su''en continued to run without stopping.


    Fortunately, the buildings in the inner city were very crowded. With his ability to climb walls using spider legs, he quickly reached two blocks away.


    Then, he found a secluded alley and stopped.


    .......


    Su''en put away his disguise and quickly used hemostatic powder to treat the wounds on his legs.


    Although he had tried his best to avoid it, he was shot in the leg when he was stuck to the iron pir while climbing in the warehouse.


    He quickly took off his blood-stained clothes, bandaged the wound, and changed into a set of high-end suits simr to those worn by residents in the inner city. He washed off the smoky makeup on his face, put on a wig and a hat, and pressed the brim of the hat down low. He also sprayed himself with deodorant.


    After doing all this, Su''en quickly stored the changed clothes in his storage ring.


    Then, he looked at the thick book named "Precious New Pearl" in his hand, with a slightlyplicated expression.


    When he escaped just now, he casually put the book into his pocket with the spider spear.


    The book cover was naturally a disguise. Even without reading the content, he knew that it was definitely Isaac''s alchemy manuscript.


    In the ck market, a page of the manuscript could be auctioned for three million Lisuo, and this book had at least five hundred pages.


    However, it was not because he coveted the value of this manuscript.


    It was because whether he took it or not, his situation couldn''t get any worse.


    The other party came with the intention of killing him.


    Moreover, as an outer city gangster who managed to escape from a second-tier professional, if he were the previous ice mage, he would definitely not let himself go.


    More importantly... by killing those ck-clothed men during the breakout, he had already sealed his fate!


    After all, those ck-clothed men were not the ordinary thugs Su''en had expected, but members of the "Umbre Organization"!


    .......


    When the war started earlier, Su''en was very puzzled.


    Although there were many inner city professionals, it was not necessary to send a second-tier professional and a reorganized professional team to intercept an outer city gang.


    After harvesting the memories of the two corpses killed by the spider spear, Su''en finally knew the true identity of these bandits.


    At that moment, Su''en had no illusions.


    The Umbre Organization was the most formidable force in Old Lingdun. He had heard about it when he was in the gang. Others could be killed, but not the people from this organization.


    Kill one, and they would relentlessly pursue until the end.


    Now that he had killed so many, they would definitely chase him to the end.


    Moreover, others didn''t know the identity of the original owner, but the "Umbre Organization," thergest intelligence agency in Old Lingdun, definitely knew.


    Once caught, there was only death.


    Oh, and they would also extract all the secrets before killing.


    .......


    Su''en knew that this escort was not a coincidence. To some extent, he was "involved" because of Kay.


    The cadre who arranged for them to be in charge of this escort was most likely the Smoker.


    That guy wanted to send Kay into the inner city...


    So, did the Smoker want to send Kay to the Umbre Organization?


    This puzzled Su''en as well.


    Since the Smoker was a mole, the intelligence about this escort was most likely leaked by him.


    But how could the Smoker be an undercover agent for the Umbre Organization?


    Su''en felt that there was a problem with this chain of rtionships.


    He had previously spected that the mole in the Cross Society should be someone from an opposing faction of a hostile conglomerate in the inner city, simr to Lady Philov''s "level." It shouldn''t be someone from an official department.


    Now, there were more and more doubts.


    For example, such an important notebook, Chuck, an outer city gangster, definitely couldn''t keep it safe. How did it get leaked?


    Since the Smoker was a member of the Umbre Organization, why didn''t the authorities directly intervene at the beginning?


    Could the Smoker be a double agent?


    Or, within the Cross Society, were there factors that even the Umbre Organization feared?


    Too many things didn''t make sense.


    Perhaps the content of the notebook could provide some answers, but it was obviously not suitable to read it now.


    .......


    The notebook couldn''t be stored in the storage ring either, but fortunately, it was not big. Su''en could stuff it into the inner pocket of his coat.


    After changing his clothes, he didn''t stay in the alley and walked straight out.


    "I definitely can''t leave through the city gate. I need to think of another way..."


    As Su''en walked, he pondered on the countermeasures in his mind.


    His steps were light, showing no signs of impatience. Just like an ordinary resident in the inner city, he leisurely walked on the street, not at all like a fugitive.


    Now, what he needed to do was to escape from the inner city as soon as possible.The Cross Society used to have some channels to smuggle out of the city, but since they found out that the enemy is the Umbre Organization and that Yan Gui is a mole, those channels are no longer trustworthy.


    After excluding several ns to leave the city, he came up with a feasible n.


    "The ''Number 7 Research Institute'' where Danny used to stay is on Queen Street in District 4. The sewer there is connected to the ancient sewer system. This is currently the only safe n to leave the city..."


    Su''en had asked Danny for detailed escape routes and knew the exact location that leads to the outer city sewer.


    But once the n was established, another problem arose.


    To go from District 5 to District 4, he had to cross arge district, which was very risky.


    Su''en thought of Danny''s highly sensitive sense of smell.


    He was certain that even if the Umbre Organization''s intelligence agency didn''t have someone with the same ability, they would definitely have simr tracking methods.


    Now that he had temporarily shaken off the pursuers, the most likely possibility was that they would track him by scent.


    After all, he had been shot and bleeding, and his scent was left on the truck. There was no room for luck.


    While thinking about this, Su''en walked towards a nearby bus stop.


    When he reached the bus stop, he stopped in front of the bus route map for a moment and took note of the general roadyout in District 5.


    Then he hailed a taxi and got in.


    He had to escape as soon as possible before the enemy closed in.


    ........


    Just a few minutes after Su''en got on the car, several men in trench coats hurriedly arrived at the bus stop.


    They were holding a deformed ugly dog.


    The ugly dog sniffed around the bus route map where Su''en had been standing before, then barked towards the east street.


    Seeing this, the man holding the dog picked up amunicator and reported, "Attention all units, the target has boarded a transportation vehicle. From the West Gate Station of Mailin Road, heading west towards District 6."


    Shortly after the report, a car arrived, and the men got in with the dog.


    On the other hand, Su''en, who was riding in the taxi, took the opportunity when the driver wasn''t paying attention to stuff the blood-stained clothes he had changed out of into the gap between the back seats.


    Then, after only two stops, he got off and went to the opposite street.


    He changed to another taxi and headed towards District 4 in the opposite direction.


    He didn''t think that such a small trick could deceive the enemypletely, but he hoped it would buy him some time.


    However, it was clear that this anti-tracking technique could mislead the pursuers but couldn''t stop another inescapable method of the Umbre Organization - roadblocks!


    .......


    Su''en was riding in this taxi, about to leave District 5, when he saw a roadblock checkpoint at an intersection.


    The guys from the Umbre Organization had obviously already considered this and wanted to trap him in District 5.


    This was a one-way street, and now even if Su''en held a gun to the driver''s head and told him to turn around, it would be meaningless.


    He saw the checkpoint, and the people in the checkpoint naturally saw him too.


    Turning around would only expose him faster.


    Seeing the inspection, the taxi driverined, "Oh, why did they suddenly close the road during the day? It''s too early to check for drunk driving... And it''s not the guys from the Public Security Bureau, it seems to be the people from the special department of the municipal government. Could it be to catch fugitives..."


    The driver muttered to himself, suddenly thinking of something. Then he nced at the passenger in the back seat from the corner of his eye. Seeing that he was calm as usual, he didn''t pay much attention.


    Su''en naturally noticed the driver''s gaze on him, but he didn''t say anything or jump out of the car. He calmly sat in the back seat.


    The vehicle drove over and was indeed stopped.


    Several guys in trench coats knocked on the driver''s window, "Sir, please show your identification card."


    The driver took out his identification card and held it in his hand. The card emitted a green light.


    The inspector looked at it,pared it, and handed it back, "Thank you for your cooperation."


    The anti-counterfeiting technology of the inner city identification card was extremely difficult to forge.


    It was useless to use someone else''s card because it was bound to the biological information of the cardholder. It would only emit light when held by the cardholder.


    Su''en naturally couldn''t produce such a thing, and he didn''t have the intention to do so.


    His actions naturally caught the attention of the inspector, and several people surrounded him.


    This situation was about to be exposed.


    But even so, Su''en didn''t draw his gun. Instead, he calmly rolled down the car window and coldly asked the person next to the door, "Who is in charge here?"


    When he spoke, he showed no signs of fear as a fugitive. His expression was resolute and calm. He even deliberately released a bit of the killing intent that he had honed in actualbat.


    This question caught the trench coat man off guard, and his mind was momentarily stunned by the imposing aura. He instinctively responded, "It''s... Captain Mogos."


    Su''en didn''t give him a chance to ask back. He said in a calm but unquestionable tone, "Call him over."


    The man was stunned for a moment, then turned his body and said a few words to the man with a square face who was inspecting another car at the checkpoint.


    Before long, the square-faced man walked over and asked, "Sir, did you call for me?"As he spoke, he was also sizing up Su''en, clearly taken aback by his imposing aura. Instinctively, he felt that this was a high-ranking professional with authority, strength, and a significant position.


    Without giving him much time to think, Su''en uttered a baffling phrase: "The eternally slumbering are not the deceased, even death itself will dissipate in the mysterious eons."


    The driver was utterly confused by these words. However, the square-faced man by the door turned pale upon hearing them, suddenly showing respect and saluting on the spot: "Comrade Colonel!"


    "Hmm."


    Su''en waved his hand, not saying anything unnecessary, and ordered the driver: "Drive!"


    Seeing the man outside the car saluting, the driver was stunned for a moment, realizing that there was a big shot in the car.


    Upon hearing themand to "drive", he unconsciously started the vehicle.


    Although the man in the trench coat felt something was off, before he could react, the car had already left the checkpoint.


    ......


    Su''en sat expressionlessly in the back seat, ncing through the rearview mirror at the people in the checkpoint who didn''t chase after them. Only then did he rx his hand that was touching the gun.


    If his previous trick hadn''t worked, he would have had to draw his gun and start a firefight by now.


    This secret phrase was something he had heard when he encountered the ''Blind Detective'' Bill in the cursed space of the basement at 88 Ginkgo Street.


    He hadn''t been able to use it at the time, but now it came in handy.


    "So this is the exclusive secret phrase of the Umbre Organization''s colonels?"


    Su''en had a moment of realization. The square-faced man had immediately mentioned a position upon hearing it, which was obviously the correct way to use the "secret phrase".


    But it couldn''t be that simple, there must be some follow-up phrases.


    Su''en didn''t know the rest, so he intentionally didn''t give those guys time to react and urged the driver to start the car.


    The deliberately revealed murderous aura was also to make that man instinctively think that he was a high-ranking official within the organization.


    But this method had too many ws. It might have worked on a normal day, but it was bound to cause trouble today.


    Seeing the taxi leaving the sight of the checkpoint, Su''en got out of the car.


    He couldn''t take public transportation anymore.


    ......


    Meanwhile, at the Umbre Organization''s District Five Command Center.


    "Command Center, we have intercepted a suspect in a taxi and found a set of blood-stained clothes. The information was incorrect, the suspect has switched to the opposite direction towards District Four."


    "All units be advised, check every vehicle passing through the rted routes, especially public transportation. The suspect is heading towards District Four, urgently call for the secret files of smuggling channels..."


    "We just received urgent intelligence, the suspect is impersonating an internal cadre of the organization and has used a ss A secret phrase. Everyone, switch to ss B codes and changemunication to the emergency channel."


    "..."


    Messages from agents all over the city converged at themand center, and the massive machinery of the Umbre Organization began to operate, gradually closing in an invisible.


    ......


    Su''en knew that it was no longer safe to take a car, but thinking that he had already entered District Four, he decided to go on foot.


    But walking on the street, he quickly encountered the patrol security team and the city guards in "Frost Giant Armor". Being alone, he was once again asked for his identification.


    Su''en thought about using the same trick again, to deceive them.


    But this time, as soon as he began to utter the "secret phrase", the other party raised their guns.


    After a fierce battle, he barely escaped.


    But his whereabouts were also exposed.


    Su''en knew that the Umbre Organization hadpletely grasped his movements. Being unfamiliar with the ce, it was impossible to go to the vicinity of "Research Institute No.7" like this.


    For anyone, this would almost be a dead end. It was already impressive to have held out this long against the entire city defense system.


    But Su''en still didn''t give up.


    He thought of thest escape method that required a gamble on luck: the Moon Hotel!

 Chapter 120: Should he dance?

    Chapter 120: Should he dance?


    "Hoo...huh..."


    On the corner of a steel-structured high-rise building in District Four, Su''en hung there using his spider arms, gasping heavily.


    The position he was in was as high as forty floors, and the wind was strong.


    Looking down, he could see the security teams in uniforms, the umbre organization in windbreakers, and the fully armed mechanical city guards searching around the building. asionally, people from the bottom of the building looked up, seemingly noticing his traces of climbing the wall.


    Su''en narrowed his eyes slightly and sighed, "The umbre organization''s tracking ability is indeed well-deserved."


    There was a widely circted saying in the outer city''s underworld: "Beware, even the street fruit vendors may be peripheral informants of the umbre organization."


    Just now, Su''en experienced it firsthand.


    As he was walking on the streets two blocks away, he suddenly noticed a fruit vendor staring at him with malicious intent.


    Without hesitation, Su''en shot the guy in the head, and then he saw the military-standard pistol hidden in his fruit stall.


    This triggered the fierce battle that forced him to hang on the outer wall to stay alive.


    After gasping for a few breaths, Su''en finally had the strength to remove the alloy bulletproof te from his chest.


    He looked at his pale muscles that were almost frozen, his gaze slightly solemn.


    He searched through his storage ring and found an "advanced frost healing potion." After injecting it, he gradually felt the sensation of blood cirction returning to the muscle tissues in that area.


    Hisplexion gradually recovered, and the restoration of body temperature also made him feel warmth.


    If it weren''t for the lightweight bulletproof armor he had dismantled from the chest te of the PX-911 mechanical limbs, which blocked most of the frost injuries, the previous round of frost bombardment might have taken half of his life.


    It has to be said that the "Frost Giant Battle Armor" of the city guards is indeed a headache.


    Fortunately, he had obtained several sets from the previous robbery, and Su''en had already done some research. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have had a chance to escape if he didn''t know the weak points of this thing.


    They can fight, resist, and even use high-pressure bombardment to output frost wind cannons to control targets in a wide range.


    With Su''en''s current strength and methods, he might be able to kill one or two, but they wouldn''t give him a chance to fight one-on-one. They would immediately surround him with a well-trained tactical encirclement.


    He could only flee in a sorry state.


    Two minutester, the potent effect of the medicine took effect, and the frost sensation dissipated over arge area. His limbs finally stopped being stiff.


    Su''en tried to move his spider legs, and the sluggish feeling in his nerves had also disappeared for the most part.


    He knew that he couldn''t hide on this outer wall for much longer before he would be discovered.


    He looked up at the "Mid-level City District" that was still seventy to eighty floors high. The lights there were dazzling and exceptionally prosperous.


    This was thest possible escape method he could think of.


    Because the "Moonlight Inn" was located in the business district right above his head.


    Without wasting any time, Su''en used his spider arms to climb up the building.


    ........


    When Su''en first joined the Cross Society, he witnessed the spectacr deathmatch between the "Red Demon" Gelong and the "Shadow Scorpion" Abok in the Colosseum of the Crimson Fortress.


    In the end, Gelong survived, and Abok was killed.


    Abok was an "A-level wanted criminal" who was active in the inner city at that time and was also a notorious thief.


    Leaving aside other things, this guy''s ability to escape was indeed remarkable.


    Today, Su''en also witnessed firsthand the umbre organization''s control over the inner city, which shocked him even more that this guy had been able tomit crimes frequently and still remain atrge for so many years.


    At that time, Su''en also extracted a memory fragment from Abok''s soul: "It''s a pity that the ''forbidden item'' is still in the ''Moonlight Inn'' and hasn''t been taken out. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have been caught."


    Now pushed to the extreme, he thought of this obsession of Abok''s.


    If having that thing could allow such a notorious thief to evade the umbre organization''s pursuit, Su''en believed it could also solve his own predicament.


    However, what worried him was that if that thing was no longer in the inn, then he would truly be in a desperate situation.


    After all, the "Mid-level City District" belonged to the wealthy area of the inner city, where the city''s defense forces were several times stronger, and there were also many high-level professionals.


    This required taking a gamble.


    .......


    The buildings in the inner city were densely packed, and almost all high-rise buildings were connected by various linking structures such as steam pipes, sky bridges, and iron frames.


    This also made it convenient for Su''en.


    He climbed to the rooftop of a building and then used the attached structures to climb onto the outer wall of another building, deliberately avoiding the attention of the crowd. He quickly arrived at themercial district.


    The good news was that the "Moonlight Inn" was a very high-end inn in the inner city, and its pink neon sign hanging on the building could be seen from far away.


    But the bad news was that it was located right in the center of themercial district.


    If Su''en wanted to enter the inn, he only had one choice, which was to walk directly from the street.


    This street called "Dunwich Street" was simr to the upscale venues in his previous life, with various colorful signs hanging on both sides of the street.


    Unlike the streets in the outer city, where only essential goods like rice and flour were sold, there were many luxury shops here, jewelry stores where richdies gathered, high-end tailor shops where gentlemen frequented, luggage shops, cane shops, instrument shops...


    The people on the street all looked wealthy and noble, and their clothes and jewelry gave off a strong visual impact. The scenes in the outer city felt like scenes from a ck-and-white movie, while here, it truly felt like the era of color films.


    While Su''en observed the street with his gaze, he casually nced at a storefront selling men''s canes and saw a cane with a silver lion head, priced at "348,888 lisuo." Then, in a ss disy case of a jewelry store, he looked at a diamond ne that was purely decorative, priced at "1,256,666 lisuo." A silk scarf was priced at "7,777 lisuo," equivalent to three months'' sry of an ordinary worker in the outer city...


    Before Su''en had a chance to take a closer look at the bustling street, his brows suddenly furrowed.


    Because at this moment, as soon as he appeared in the district, several gazes immediately fell upon him.But then, a rxed smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.


    He muttered to himself, "So I was discovered so quickly..."


    This time, Su''en didn''t avoid or draw his gun when he felt the malicious gaze.


    Putting on his suit jacket and tidying up his messy wig from climbing the wall, he calmly walked out without trying to hide his face under the brim of his hat...


    The smile at the corner of his mouth grew bigger and suddenly turned into a bright grin.


    He was as happy as a child.


    Could the situation get any worse?


    No, it couldn''t.


    This was hisst chance.


    Should he dance?


    Of course.


    Su''en was like a dancer on stage, at this moment, all the spotlights were on him.


    He... was the only protagonist.


    Walking to the soothing melody ying in the mall, he made a grand entrance. His steps were light and agile, asionally spinning to avoid others, his clothes swaying gently. He even gave friendly smiles to strangers passing by. He danced like a waltz, proud, elegant, calm, andposed.


    "He" really enjoyed the feeling of dancing in such a desperate situation.


    At this moment, it felt like there was only the stage, the music, and the audience in the world.


    .......


    The undercover agents, whether they were from the Umbre Organization or the City Guard, thought that Su''en hadn''t noticed them yet and slowly surrounded him.


    But after taking a few steps, they clearly saw Su''en raise his hand to adjust his wig, holding a device with a red button.


    Seeing the inconspicuous button, the undercover agents'' faces turned pale, and their encirclement instantly dispersed. They no longer had any intention of forcibly arresting him.


    An urgent report came through themunicator.


    "Withdraw, retreat immediately!"


    "The target has appeared at ''Dunwich Commercial Street''. The suspect is holding an unknown device resembling a ''pressure detonator''. Please advise..."


    "There are arge number of civilians at the scene. Do not use area attack weapons. Do not approach the suspect. Do not cause panic. Start evacuating the crowd from the periphery. Top-level professionals have been notified to handle the situation..."


    "Understood."


    "..."


    At this moment, Su''en''s eyes were focused on nothing else. He walked confidently, looking around.


    Suddenly, a colorful ball rolled to his feet.


    Su''en bent down to pick up the ball and handed it to the blond boy who was chasing after it.


    The boy, wearing a checkered shirt, politely said, "Thank you, sir."


    Su''en touched his forehead and gave a bright smile, "You''re wee."


    The boy''s parents were a few meters away, looking at their polite and adorable son, with smiles of happiness on their faces.


    "Goodbye, uncle."


    "Goodbye, little friend..."


    Su''en smiled.


    What a beautiful world.


    He didn''t feel that picking up the ball had dyed his time. Instead, he suddenly felt joyful.


    Pinching the lighter with the red button, Su''en put his hand back into his pocket and walked towards the Moon Hotel with a swagger.


    He would probably be mistaken for a bomb by those guys, right?


    Su''en thought so.


    But even I believe it, who wouldn''t?


    .......


    Not far from the entrance of the Moon Hotel, there was a boutique jewelry store with shining samples in the disy window.


    This was a shop that young girls liked to visit.


    And just at this moment, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl with ck hair and a blond girl happened to walk out of the store together.


    "Rena, I heard you went to the outer city yesterday? The outer city is dangerous, why would you want to go to such a ce?"


    "Well, just to broaden my horizons."


    "What kind of knowledge can you gain from a ce full of crime, filth, and gue?"


    "Yulia, the outer city isn''t as bad as everyone says. I found that it''s not as terrifying as people make it out to be."


    "How is that possible... My mother said the outer city is a paradise for gangs and criminals. Poverty makes them do crazy and unreasonable things, like kidnapping, child trafficking, and it''s dangerous for girls like us to go there... I will never leave the city in my lifetime."


    "..."


    Upon hearing her best friend say such things, Rena suddenly had a sh of insight in her mind and muttered softly, "Gangs... there are good people among them."


    Yulia argued, "No way!"


    "There are..."


    And just as Rena was about to argue further, she suddenly heard someone on the street call out her name, "Miss Rena!"


    Rena looked up and saw a stranger walking towards her.


    She felt that the voice was familiar but furrowed her brows, as if trying hard to remember.


    Because she had never seen this face before.


    At this moment, the burly bodyguard not far away also noticed her expression and immediately stood in front of her.


    .......


    Su''en didn''t expect to encounter Rena, who was out shopping.


    He didn''t show any fear when the bodyguard suddenly appeared beside Rena. Instead, he waved at her with a smile, as if they were old friends, "Hey, Miss Rena, long time no see."


    Rena had just thought that she didn''t recognize this person, but upon hearing his voice, she suddenly, in those sparkling eyes, showed a look of pleasant surprise and blurted out, "Mr. Su''en!"


    Su''en, who didn''t have smoky makeup on, actually had a very handsome appearance.


    Wearing a well-fitted suit, he exuded elegance andposure with every move. The faint, confident smile on his face made people feel a warm familiarity.


    Looking at Su''en, who suddenly changed his style, Rena hesitated and asked, "Mr. Su''en... why are you here?"


    She originally wanted to ask why Su''en had changed like this, but changed her question, "How did youe here?"


    Yulia, who was beside them, looked at the well-mannered Su''en and was curious about when her best friend had met such a handsome guy. She asked with gossip in her eyes, "Rena, who is this...?"


    Su''en had a strong and resolute temperament that waspletely different from that of a pampered young master, which suddenly made him stand out.


    Rena paused for a moment before introducing, "Mr. Su''en... is my friend."


    Su''en naturally bent down, taking the slender hand of the blonde girl that was extended a secondte, and performed a hand-kissing gesture, "Oh, beautifuldy, the dimples that overflow from the corners of your mouth when you smile are truly captivating..."


    His words were smooth, like a seasoned charmer, something that a nobledy would have encountered many times.


    Yet at this moment, Yulia felt strange. In this man''s eyes, she saw no hint of the detestable light she was ustomed to.


    She withdrew her kissed hand, returning the courtesy with equal elegance, "Thank you for yourpliment."


    Seeing that he was indeed a friend of the youngdy, the second-tier professional bodyguard subtly increased his distance.


    Rena was still curious about why Su''en had suddenlye to the inner city, and asked again, "Mr. Su''en..."


    But before she could finish her sentence, a pair ofrge hands had already draped over her shoulders, like an extremely intimate friend.


    Su''en''s sudden intimate gesture made Rena''s pretty face stiffen, her words instantly evaporating.


    Before she could react, she felt a warm breath by her ear, it was Su''en whispering, "Don''t move, help me out."


    Hearing this, Rena didn''t know why she suddenly felt less nervous.


    It was as if they were back in the dungeon, where this man would alwaysmand her to do things in amanding tone, but each time, it saved her life.


    ......


    Su''en wasn''t here to flirt. Just a second ago, he had noticed that he was being targeted by a high-ranking professional.


    The gaze felt extremely dangerous.


    Su''en knew very well that the other party would definitely not give him time to go to the hotel to find the sealed object.


    They would seize the opportunity to strike.


    So, he needed a presence that would make the other party hesitate to act.


    Originally, he nned to find a rich young master on the street, but he ran into the more suitable Rena.


    In terms of weight, the youngdy of the Reis family was naturally the most suitable.


    ......


    When he took Rena away, Su''en didn''t forget to turn his head and ask her best friend cheerfully, "Beautifuldy, you don''t mind if I upy a little bit of your best friend''s time, do you?"


    Yulia, thinking they were close friends, smiled and said, "Of course~"


    Su''en responded with a friendly smile and led Rena away.


    Only Rena, the person involved, was still in a state of confusion.


    After all, it wasn''t just the monster-filled dungeon where no one was watching. In public, she also felt it was inappropriate for a man to be holding the neck of the youngdy of the Reis family.


    Especially in front of her best friend and bodyguard.


    Could it be that in the outer city, the way friends greet each other is so passionate?


    Her cheeks slightly hot, her mind in a whirl, she took the initiative to ask, "Mr. Su''en, what... do you need my help with?"


    Su''en was straightforward, "I''m being targeted, and the situation is very dangerous."


    "Huh?"


    Rena looked up at the face that still wore a smile, and couldn''t reconcile his casual tone with the urgent situation he described.


    But thinking about how he always spoke in this tone in the dungeon, she understood.


    Thinking about it, she asked softly, "Then... what can I do to help you?"


    Su''en gave a slight smile and said directly, "You''ve been kidnapped by me."


    "???"


    The abruptness of the topic made Rena feel like her brain had short-circuited, losing the ability to think.


    Kidnapped?


    A momentter, it clicked.


    So, being held around the neck meant she was being kidnapped?


    No wonder Mr. Su''en would do such a strange thing.


    She suddenly understood something. But it seemed that she had no realization of being a "hostage", and there was no panic in her heart.


    Instead, because of the skin contact, she smelled a faint bloody scent on Su''en. She guessed that behind Mr. Su''en''s calm demeanor, the situation was already very urgent.


    Rena thought for a moment, then asked weakly, "Then... then... do I need to cooperate with you?"


    "No need, just follow me."


    Su''en said, looking at the very cooperative hostage, he was in a good mood, and added, "Hmm... if possible, you can show a little more nervousness."


    With that, Su''en had already pulled Rena into the "Moon Hotel".


    Only then did Rena btedly respond with an "Oh".


    ......


    Not far away, Rena''s best friend Yulia was dumbfounded.


    Is this what you meant by "upying a little time"?


    Heading straight for the hotel?


    Showing off so tantly in front of a single girl, is that really okay?

 Chapter 121: Shroud

    Chapter 121: Shroud


    In the moment when Su''en embraced Rena''s arm, the killing intent that was aimed at him from behind suddenly weakened.


    As the eldest daughter of the Reyes family, Rena had a lot of influence.


    Even the members of the Umbre Organization would have to consider her safety if they wanted to pursue the culprit.


    Su''en didn''t waste any time and took advantage of the small number of people surrounding them. He had to find the "Sealing Object" as soon as possible.


    Thanks to Rena''s cooperation, the two of them smoothly entered the lobby of the hotel.


    Upon entering, Su''en immediately recalled some scenes in his mind and became certain of where the Sealing Object was hidden.


    Su''en wasn''t sure about the room key for this hotel, so he didn''t n on going directly to the room. It would be troublesome if he couldn''t forcefully open it.


    He went to the front desk and intended to check in normally and get the key.


    He originally thought that he would need to show identification, but unexpectedly, the manager at the front desk warmly greeted them.


    No payment was collected, and no identification was checked.


    The manager had a ttering smile on his face.


    They didn''t ask for a luxurious suite, just a regr room with a double bed in room 505.


    After going upstairs, our "meat ticket" Miss Rena weakly said that this hotel was her family''s property.


    The manager knew her.


    Furthermore, half of the real estate on thismercial street belonged to her family.


    Hmm, Su''en almost forgot that she was a heartless rich woman.


    .......


    On the fifth floor, that gaze that had been focused on him still hadn''t disappeared.


    Su''en ignored it and opened the door to the room.


    The Moon Hotel was a high-end hotel, and its decoration was not inferior to the five-star hotels from his previous life.


    The price of this kind of room was not cheap, and the infamous thief "A-Tong" chose this ce not only for the enjoyment but also for safety. The more luxurious the hotel, the less likely they would check the rooms.


    Behind this hotel was the Reyes family, and the people who came and went were all important figures. There were fewer room checks, and the frequency of people staying was low, making it difficult to discover hidden things.


    Although Rena didn''t mind helping Su''en, she was also puzzled as to why he brought her to a hotel room.


    But before she could ask, as soon as they entered the room, Su''en said, "Close your eyes. Otherwise, you''ll have a lot of troubleter."


    "Oh."


    Although Rena didn''t understand what Su''en was doing, she didn''t ask any further questions and obediently closed her eyes.


    Su''en really didn''t want Rena to see what he was about to do, otherwise, she would be in trouble.


    The more he said, the more he would expose himself.


    As soon as he entered the room, the images in his mind became clear.


    Then, his gaze fell on the corner of the ceiling.


    With the naked eye, he couldn''t see anything, just a white paint.


    He stepped on a stool and reached out to the corner, as if grabbing an invisible strip.


    "Found it! It''s really here!"


    Su''en felt delighted.


    He didn''t know what this Sealing Object was, but he knew it was hidden in that inconspicuous corner.


    Now that he had it in his hands, he used his All-Knowing Eye to immediately see what this transparent thing was.


    "The Shroud of Oz the Ice Man"


    Description: It is the shroud that covers the body of the deceased and the lifeline of the living.


    Curse characteristics: It can seal a corpse on the level of the item itself, preventing it from emitting any aura. Of course, if you are willing to pay the price of your lifespan, you can use it as an "invisibility cloak" that no one can detect your whereabouts or aura. When you get close to the shroud, it will absorb your life tenfold. If you insist on wrapping it around yourself, the necromantic aura will cause your life to wither a thousandfold.


    Exnation: This is a strip of shroud that was stripped from a mysterious ancient corpse at least twenty thousand years ago. It has absorbed very powerful curse characteristics. Can you see it? No, no one can see it.


    When Su''en touched this transparent strip earlier, he felt something strange.


    Now that he saw the exnation, he realized that it was the feeling of his life being drained tenfold.


    And the curse characteristics of this Sealing Object were with him at all times, ready to absorb his life tenfold.


    Wearing it for a day would consume a thousand times more life, equivalent to losing more than three years of lifespan!


    However,pared to being caught and killed on the spot, this price was definitely worth it.


    "No wonder A-Tong believed that he could confidently escape the Umbre Organization''s pursuit with this thing... This thing is simply a life-saving artifact!"


    Su''en felt arge part of the death cloud that had been shrouding his heart disappear when he obtained this thing.


    Gambling with his life, it seemed like he had won again.


    But now was not the time for sentimentality. Su''en picked up the two-meter-long bandage and started wrapping it around his body. Just as he was wondering how to wrap his whole body with such a short strip, the bandage seemed toe alive on its own.


    It was like a transparent little snake greedily sucking the life force of a living person as it slithered around Su''en, circling himyer byyer, tightly binding him.


    At this moment, Su''en could feel that he had been bound like a mummy, tightly and securely.


    He lowered his head and looked at his own hands, which were still visible.


    But when he looked at the mirror in the room, it was very strange. Even though there were two living people in the room, he only saw Rena, who had her eyes closed.


    The ce where Su''en was standing was empty!


    "Completely disappeared..."


    Seeing himself disappear in the mirror, Su''en finally saw a glimmer of hope for escape.


    However, he also discovered a problem.


    He had only disappeared in an optical sense, his body still existed.The ground beneath his feet showed clear footprints.


    Su''en knew that some highly perceptive experts would definitely notice this anomaly, so he didn''t dare to stay in the room any longer.


    Before leaving, he nced at Rena, who was still standing obediently, and said, "Remember, no matter what happens. If someone asks, just insist that I kidnapped you and threatened you with death to force you upstairs."


    Rena obediently nodded, "Okay."


    Su''en thought for a moment and said softly, "Thank you."


    Upon hearing this, Rena didn''t open her eyes, but a faint smile appeared on her pretty face.


    Then, she heard the sound of the door closing.


    For a long time, there was no sound in the room.


    Rena guessed what had happened and cautiously asked, "Mr. Su''en, are you still here?"


    No one responded.


    She asked again, "Can I open my eyes now?"


    Still no response.


    At this moment, Rena still didn''t dare to open her eyes because she remembered Mr. Su''en saying that it would cause trouble.


    After waiting for a while, she suddenly heard a noise outside the window.


    A person jumped in and anxiously asked, "Miss Rena, are you okay?"


    Rena opened her eyes again.


    Mr. Su''en was no longer there.


    Everything that had just happened seemed like a dream.


    .......


    The kidnapping of the youngdy of the Reyes family quickly reached the higher-ups of the Umbre Organization.


    This heinous kidnapping immediately caused a violent upheaval in high society.


    When the top professionals at headquarters rushed to rescue the hostage, they suddenly heard that the situation had already been resolved.


    The hostage had been rescued.


    But the suspect had disappeared.


    The technicians of the Umbre Organization carefully examined Room 505 of the Moon Hotel.


    A middle-aged man with a stern face listened to the report from his subordinates in the room.


    "So... you and the City Defense Department and the Security Team, a total of thirty elite squads, let the suspect escape right under your noses?"


    "Sorry, General. We did see him kidnap the youngdy of the Reyes family into the room. Then... we didn''t rush to take action because we were afraid he would harm the hostage. But when the higher-ranked professionals of the organization arrived, there was only Miss Rena left in the room."


    "Heh..."


    The middle-aged man suppressed his anger.


    Originally, intercepting the Cross Society escort team was just a small task.


    Eliminate all the people, contain the "contaminants," and there would be no ripples at all.


    But unexpectedly, a second-tier professional led a team to intercept a group of small-time thugs from the outer city, and they were counter-killed, and the suspect escaped?


    Then they mobilized so many resources and failed to capture the person.


    Now there was a well-known kidnapping case in the whole city, and the person had escaped again?


    If it weren''t for the fact that the capable subordinates in front of him were brought out by himself and their abilities had been recognized, the middle-aged man would really suspect that the new recruits in the Umbre Organization were all idiots!


    Although it was confirmed that the fugitive had the strength of a quasi-second-tier professional, it also proved that there was a major loophole in the organization''s internal intelligence system.


    Otherwise, how could such a powerful person be just an unknown figure in the Cross Society andpletely nk within the Umbre Organization?


    Thinking of this, the high-ranking member of the Umbre Organization naturally became furious.


    "Do you have any clues about the suspect''s identity? With such a distinctive disguise, don''t tell me you didn''t find anything."


    "We do have clues. Based on the clues, we retrieved the files and found that a few months ago, the Shadow Alley ck market did indeed auction off a previously unrecorded ''golden quality'' spider disguise blueprint. And from the effects, it basically matches..."


    "A few months ago? Heh... Are you saying that the fugitive, who is at least an experienced firearms expert and can use the secret technique ''Mushin,'' only advanced to a formal professional a few months ago? A few months as a novice professional, and he managed to outwit dozens of your reorganized squads?"


    "...."


    The atmosphere was very awkward.


    The employee was scolded throughout.


    But the fact was just like that, these were the clues they found.


    Although they themselves didn''t believe it.


    The middle-aged man knew that getting angry now wouldn''t solve the problem, so he asked again, "Have you figured out why the kidnapper came to abduct the youngdy of the Reyes family? I heard before I came that the two of them seemed to know each other?"


    "Yes. The youngdy of the Reyes family was apanied by her bodyguard and the youngdy of the Cortes family, Yulia. They both confirmed that the two of them knew each other. But Miss Rena couldn''t provide any more information, she just said she was coerced by someone, and we didn''t want to ask too much."


    "What about this room?"


    "There are some unusual marks in the corner of the ceiling. Afterparing the marks, the forensic personnel found that there should have been a transparent object attached there before. We investigated the relevant files and spected that it might be the ''shroud of the Ice Man of Oz,'' which was lost in the Bravo family''s treasure theft case."


    "So, you mean, the stolen goods that you investigated for several years were taken away directly by the suspect, and then he escaped using that sealed item?"


    "Yes..."


    After listening to the report from his subordinates, the middle-aged man looked through the records of the entire arrest process and his angry expression turned into a solemn contemtion."From the very beginning, whether it was using a taxi to mislead the pursuers or using a fake code to break through the blockade, the suspect has shown an extraordinary calmness... His thinking is very clear, and he has shown a very urate purpose throughout the anti-hunt process. He first went to District Four, and after being blocked, he came to the Moon Hotel to retrieve the sealed object... So, his purpose is very clear, he wants to escape!"


    Thinking of this, the middle-aged man''s gaze sharpened.


    "Notify everyone to focus on blocking and investigating District Four. The suspect''s destination is still in District Four, especially check the rivers, sewers, and smuggling channels leading to the outer city..."


    "Yes!"


    After the middle-aged man gave the order, his brows still didn''t rx.


    "Being able to respond so quickly in the warehouse, it can''t be ruled out that he knew in advance that Isaac''s Alchemy Notebook was hidden in this batch of goods. This is strange, Sambu should not have been exposed yet, how did the news leak... Right, has there been any movement from Mrs. Philo and the forces behind her?"


    "Not for the moment."


    "Keep a close eye on them!"


    "Yes!"


    "Also, there''s a high chance you won''t be able to catch that guy. Prepare to intercept and kill him in the outer city. Don''t you have that kid''s bloody clothes? Notify the ''gue Doctor'' Sergei of the Crow Gang to find him. Notify Sambu to intercept and kill, we absolutely cannot let the suspect meet with the high-ranking members of the Cross Society!"


    "Yes!"


    "The most important point, the Duke''s Mansion has issued a death order, the notebook must not be lost! If it falls into the wrong hands and contaminates others, it will have a huge impact on our Dawn City. Remember, anyone whoes into contact with the notebook must bepletely eliminated! If you let someone escape after making such a big fuss, don''t bothering back!"


    "Yes!"

 Chapter 122: Plague doctor

    Chapter 122: gue doctor


    Half a dayter, outside the city.


    Su''en, covered in dirt, rushed out of a sewer in the northern part of the city.


    As soon as he emerged, he copsed on the ground, gasping for breath. Although the air quality in the industrial area of the northern city was so poor that one could inhale dust with every breath, it was still much better than the toxic gas in the sewer!


    After taking a few breaths, the discoloration on his face disappeared. He quickly took out a "potent detoxification potion" and injected it into his neck.


    The ck poison on his face stopped spreading.


    After injecting the detoxification needle, Su''en let out a long sigh of relief.


    "So many terrifying monsters were created by the leaked ''X Serum''... The sewer is almost filled with them!"


    Looking at the dark sewer entrance, he still felt lingering fear.


    The danger in the underground dungeon was even greater than being chased in the inner city.


    If it weren''t for his fast eight-legged running, the millipede with over a thousand legs that could spew fire and poison would have killed him on the spot.


    If this had happened three years ago when Danny escaped, with his over 100 kilograms of flesh, it wouldn''t have been enough to fill the gaps between those terrifying mutant monsters'' teeth.


    But in the end, he was lucky enough to survive.


    ......


    Su''en looked back at the towering walls of the inner city, his gaze filled withplexity.


    Originally, he had nned to follow the escort team to broaden his horizons, but he didn''t expect this trip to the inner city to turn into a day trip to hell''s gate.


    Being chased and blocked from all sides made him feel like he was constantly jumping around at the gates of hell.


    However, although he almost lost his life, he also gained two things.


    Not far behind him, there was a steel wire tied to something invisible.


    That was naturally the shroud of the "Oz Ice Man" that saved his life this time.


    Just spending half a day in the city had already consumed one or two years of his lifespan.


    He survived, and the price was worth it, but he didn''t dare to keep it by his side anymore.


    This thing was indeed a good life-saving treasure, but it couldn''t be put into a storage ring, nor could it be tied to his body at all times. He could only drag it from a distance like this.


    Although the "lifespan" couldn''t be seen on the data panel, as long as this thing was within one meter of him, he noticed some slight changes in certain physical values.


    So he also deduced that the range of influence of this seal was about one meter.


    Su''en thought that if he wanted to carry it with him in the future, he could only tie it to a "living corpse".


    Living corpses didn''t have a lifespan, so they should ignore this curse.


    He even came up with a suitable puppet tactic. When the time came, he would create an "invisible living corpse", which would be a natural-born assassin. If the sickle could also be tied to the "invisible" state, it would be a top-notch killer. Even top professionals might be killed by him.


    ......


    For now, he could only drag the shroud like this.


    Taking advantage of the time to catch his breath, Su''en took out the "Alchemy Manuscript of Isaac" from his arms.


    The previous cover, titled "Precious New Pearl," had already been soaked and ruined in the sewer, revealing the true appearance of the manuscript.


    The cover felt rough, like crocodile skin, and was engraved with a veryplex octagram alchemy array. The identification showed it as an "unrecognized advanced sealing technique."


    Just by looking at the cover, a heavy sense of mystery came over him.


    When he opened it, the pages were even more bizarre. They didn''t feel dry like parchment, but more like "human skin."


    When touched, the pages even trembled lightly, like the sensitive skin of a young girl.


    If Su''en didn''t know what this thing was, he would probably find a ce to hide it because it looked so sinister.


    But with the True Sight identification, this manuscript was not only not sinister, but also very useful.


    However, its curse had some special characteristics.


    [Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript 3]


    Description: A alchemical notebook written on the skin of an unrecognized creature;


    Curse characteristic: Fate is an endless chain of causality, and the development of the world itself follows this principle and causal rtionship. This is a notebook tainted with fate, and it will involve the causality of anyone whoes into contact with it... Whether it is a blessing or a curse, who knows?


    Exnation: Carrying it with you will gain the aura "Sir Isaac''s Blessing," which will make your study of alchemy twice as effective; you will frequently have "enlightenment" and "shes of inspiration" to understand some profound alchemical knowledge;


    The curse characteristic is that the notebook will involve causality.


    Su''en didn''t think this was a big deal at all.


    There are causes and effects, and everything in the world follows this rule.


    Afraid of getting into trouble?


    He had already been passively involved in trouble when he was chosen as part of the escort team.


    Even if he threw away the notebook now, he couldn''t get rid of it.


    Therefore, this curse characteristic had no effect on Su''en at all.


    Moreover, it was clearly stated that whether it was a blessing or a curse, who knows?


    Instead, the positive enhancement aura, "Isaac''s Blessing," made Su''en feel that this manuscript was very useful.


    He was now exposed to more and more alchemical knowledge, and it was bing more and more profound. Many deep-level alchemy required not only time to study, but also intelligence to understand.This notebook would increase his learning efficiency by n-fold, the benefits were absolutely immeasurable.


    Moreover, the notebook wasbeled "3", which meant there were at least two more of them. Unsurprisingly, one of them was likely in the possession of the person who had left words on his retina.


    As for the content, it was encrypted as well, and it wasn''t the time to decipher it.


    After catching his breath for a moment, Su''en put away the notebook.


    Now, he had another important thing to do: run away.


    Escaping from the inner city was just the first step, the crisis was far from over.


    ......


    Although Su''en had been a wanted man before, his low profile didn''t affect his life in the underworld.


    Now, being hunted by the Umbre Organization, the situation waspletely different.


    Moreover, now that he knew that Smoky Sangbu was a mole, there must be more undercover agents in the Cross Society.


    He couldn''t go back to the Cross Society, and even his identity as "Su''en" couldn''t be used in the outer city for the time being.


    He could only leave the city and hide.


    After all, even the most powerful tracking has its geographical and temporal limitations.


    As long as he ran far enough, all tracking methods would be useless.


    Fortunately, arge hunting camp had been built near Dawn City, providing a guarantee for long-term life outside the city.


    Su''en had originally nned to check it out, and now was the perfect time.


    What he needed to do now was to go back to Green Street, pack up his belongings, and run away.


    After all, he had to leave the city, and he had to take with him life-saving items like the sickle and the living dead.


    Su''en had already nned his escape route in his mind, and he was running wildly.


    ......


    Before long, Su''en unlocked a motorcycle on the road in the north of the city and drove towards the south of the city.


    Because he had anticipated that he might have to run away one day, he was well prepared and had mastered several secret channels to leave the city.


    Moreover, the outer city was not like the inner city, he was very familiar with the roads. There were not so many professionals in the outer city, and the pursuers did not have such good mechanical equipment. Even if he was surrounded, the danger level was not high.


    The premise was not to encounter second-order professionals.


    But the outer city was vast and sparsely popted, and the chance of encountering a second-order professional was a thousand times lower than in the inner city.


    Before long, the motorcycle was speeding along, and had already entered the territory of the Cross Society in the south of the city.


    This also meant that the number of enemies would drastically decrease.


    But Su''en was not careless.


    He knew very well that the guys from the Umbre Organization, not having caught him, must have guessed that he was already in the outer city.


    Su''en didn''t know what methods the other party had, but such arge organization would definitely not give up so easily.


    He was very careful all the way, always on guard for someone chasing him.


    The motorcycle was very fast, and at this speed, not to mention that ordinary people couldn''t catch up, even if someone was tracking him, they would be discovered instantly.


    But no matter how careful he was, he was still pursued.


    He had guarded against people, but there were other things.


    While riding, Su''en suddenly noticed a red-eyed crow following his motorcycle.


    After turning a corner, the crow was still following.


    He shot at it casually, and the crow fell to the ground with a caw.


    However, after this shot, Su''en had a very bad premonition.


    In Old Lingdun, crows only liked to gather in the east of the city. Because only the old-school sorcerers of the Crow Gang would feed these ominous scavengers. Crows were their faith and their power.


    Sure enough, his premonition became reality.


    After Su''en killed the first crow, he gradually noticed that more and more crows were following him.


    They were like surveince cameras, their red eyes making people feel uneasy.


    As the number of crows increased, Su''en fired a burst of shots, and the crows exploded into clouds of green blood mist.


    In an instant, he recognized who the user of this ability was, and was surprised: "The ''gue Doctor'' Sergei of the Crow Gang! How could this guy be working for the Umbre Organization?!"


    ......


    Sergei was the younger brother of the Crow Gang''s leader, the ''Crow Godfather'' Gwenbu, a terrifying old-school second-order professional.


    These "old-school" alchemists all mastered some strange abilities, which were weird and very tricky.


    This Sergei was a professional known as the "gue Doctor", proficient in various curses and tracking, killing people invisibly.


    He was the one that even the executives of the Cross Society least liked to see.


    Legend has it that Sergei had a tracking secret technique. As long as his crows swallowed the target''s blood, nails, or hair, his crows would help him find the target.


    Seeing this flock of crows, Su''en had no doubt that he had been discovered.


    At this moment, as he was about to raise his gun while riding the motorcycle, he felt a tickle in his throat, as if something was blocking it, and he retched.


    The next second, with a "vomit" sound.


    He suddenly spat out a feathered ck crow, which cawed and flew away.


    Seeing this, Su''en felt a chill in his heart: "Curse magic!"

 Chapter 123: Seduce and Kill Sergei

    Chapter 123: Seduce and Kill Sergei


    For ordinary people, curse magic is simply the "devil''s technique".


    But for alchemists with a certain amount of knowledge, any technique can be traced back to its origin.


    "Curse magic... is it essentially something simr to a parasitic nature? It must be because I breathed in or had skin contact with the green blood of those crows earlier, that I got infected..."


    Su''en automatically recalled rted knowledge in his mind.


    He also guessed the process of how he got cursed.


    The red-eyed crows from earlier were not only used for surveince, but more importantly, they were the medium for the "gue doctor" Sergei to cast curse magic. Those crows were shot and their green blood sttered everywhere, which was unavoidable. Whether they were shot or not, the crows themselves were the source of the gue.


    Su''en looked at his attribute panel, his brows furrowing.


    At this moment, a negative status prompt appeared: [Raven''s Blood Curse], consuming 1% of vitality per minute, giving birth to green blood ravens.


    Just now, he spat out a live crow, which was a distorted monster born from the curse using its flesh and blood.


    Being cursed was equivalent to having a continuous blood loss status in the game.


    The consumption of 1% vitality per minute did not mean that a person would die when it reached 100%. In fact, when it reached around 30%, a person would fall into a weakened state, and at most 60%, their life would be in danger.


    Hmm, the psychological damage was also quite significant.


    If an ordinary person encountered suddenly spitting out a living creature with feathers in their mouth, not to mention the extent of the damage, they would be scared half to death.


    Su''en now felt strange even swallowing saliva. There seemed to be something foreign in his throat that he couldn''t swallow.


    He thought and injected himself with a recovery potion.


    The momentum of vitality loss eased, but it didn''t cure it.


    If recovery potions were continuously injected, their effectiveness would gradually decrease, and the body would not be able to withstand it.


    Topletely resolve it, he could only find the correct method to lift the curse. Otherwise, he would be sucked to death.


    ........


    At this moment, a red-eyed crow suddenly flew onto the handlebar of the motorcycle and cawed, "Kid, you have been cursed by me. I''ll give you a chance to survive..."


    But before the crow could finish speaking, Su''en seemed to have no interest in listening and shot it, turning it into a mass of green blood mist with feathers flying everywhere.


    Survive?


    I fucking believe you.


    After causing such a bigmotion in the inner city, Su''en had killed more than ten members of the Umbre Organization. He didn''t have any hope of being caught and still staying alive.


    Even if he wanted to survive, it definitely wouldn''t be relying on this guy.


    He could only rely on himself.


    Without thinking, Su''en knew that the crow''s words were either asking him to surrender or trying to buy time...


    Su''en knew very well that this was also Sergei''s method. The crows themselves didn''t have muchbat power, and now with the "curse" being applied, they could only engage in verbal battles.


    But it also revealed one thing, which was that Sergei''s main body was still some distance away from here. Otherwise, there would be no need to use crows to ry messages.


    Sergei was indeed very strong, but no matter how strong he was, he couldn''t kill someone from a distance. How could he take advantage of a few crows?


    Su''en didn''t pay attention to this guy''s intentions.


    Then, another crow flew over and threatened, "You''re looking for death! I now..."


    Before it could finish speaking, it was shot again.


    This actionpletely enraged the flock of crows. At this moment, these hundreds of crows unexpectedly formed a formation and charged towards Su''en''s motorcycle. The damage wasn''t significant, but it disturbed his line of sight and slowed down his riding speed.


    "Heh... as expected, they want to buy time."


    Su''en looked at the increasing number of crows in the sky and decided not to escape. The buildings in the block became the crows'' cover, making it inconvenient to shoot. So he simply drove the motorcycle to an open area.


    Once he arrived at the open area, the flock of crows immediately followed, their imposing manner wanting to peck at Su''en''s eyes and obstruct his vision.


    Su''en squeezed the brakes, and the motorcycle abruptly stopped. Then, he extended his hands into the air, conjuring two puppets without any hesitation, and unleashed a barrage of phosphorus fire into the sky!


    Can''t do anything to you second-tier professionals, can''t do anything to a few dumb birds?


    The mes caught the crows off guard, and hundreds of them were instantly burned to death. Their bodies fell like rain, and the air was filled with the smell of burnt meat.


    The surviving crows flew away in panic, screeching in fear from a distance.


    But Su''en wasn''t polite either, both guns firing.


    As a "firearms expert," he might not be able to kill professionals, but shooting these stupid birds was like shooting one with each bullet, or even shooting several at once.


    With a few shots, the remaining two or three percent of the crows in the sky exploded into blood mist.


    In the blink of an eye, the hundreds of crows scattered and fled, leaving only one crow flying while shouting in anger, "Damn it, kid, I will definitely tear you into pieces..."


    Su''en listened to this threat without any change in his expression. Without aiming, he raised his hand and pulled the trigger in the direction where the sound came from, instantly killing it.


    It''s no wonder that Sergei, the "gue doctor," cursed and cursed. Su''en''s actions just now caused him quite a bit of loss.


    These "green blood crows" were not ordinary crows. To train them to their current state, it required arge amount of money, energy, and time.


    Every death was like plucking a hair from the top of the "Mediterranean" head, one pluck, one heartache.


    And those three crows that could speak were especially precious!


    .......


    After Su''en finished this, he ignored the crows that were hiding far away and rode the motorcycle towards Green Street once again.


    He also knew that his whereabouts were exposed now, and he would be surrounded at any moment.Moreover, there is a second-order professional who is good at tracking, which is the most troublesome.


    "I must find a way to kill Sergei first, otherwise I won''t be able to escape back to Green Street..."


    Su''en rode his bike, a coldness appearing in his eyes.


    To kill a second-order professional, the most reliable method he could think of now was the zombies and scythes in the basement of Green Street.


    However, Sergei, the "gue Doctor," had a very strange ability. It was said that he had a special curse technique that allowed him to use crows to take damage in his ce, making him immune to physical injuries such as knives and guns. There were rumors in the underworld that he could "resurrect" after being killed.


    Su''en didn''t know what that ability was, but since it had been spread, it meant that Sergei definitely had a simr ability and should not be underestimated.


    After all, the scythe caused physical damage. If he couldn''t kill Sergei, Su''en felt that his situation would be very bad.


    "Qiantiao is on Norton Street... No, besides the Smoke Ghost, there must be other moles in the Cross Society."


    Su''en trusted Qiantiao, but he knew that Qiantiao couldn''t protect him.


    Although the Crow Gang was fearless, there was an umbre organization behind them.


    Moreover, if he couldn''t find anyone on Norton Street at the first moment and instead attracted other smoke ghosts or moles, that would be the worst.


    As for the municator," Su''en dared not use it now.


    Themunication range of a regr gang member''smunicator was only a few kilometers, and it received on all channels, so the level of confidentiality was very low.


    Once he spoke, the undercover agents of the umbre organization in the outer city would receive the message first, exposing his approximate location.


    Just shouting "the smoke ghost is a mole" wouldn''t be of much significance.


    First, there was no evidence.


    Second, it would be harmful to his escape route.


    What he might receive then would not be help, but killers.


    And... the only expert he knew seemed to be Mr. Hei.


    Although that elusive top professional was not afraid of the umbre organization, he had no obligation to help.


    "It seems that I can only use that method..."


    With a sh of thought, Su''en frowned and muttered to himself.


    .......


    The crow flock was dispersed, but Su''en knew that his whereabouts must have been exposed.


    He was certain that the "gue Doctor" Sergei must be chasing after him now.


    However, the situation was not too bad.


    That was because the southern city was the territory of the Cross Society, and the Crow Gang couldn''t cross the border on arge scale. Su''en believed that it was very likely that Sergei came alone.


    Su''en thought of a n to kill him.


    Just now, he had frightened the flock of crows, and those crows had learned their lesson and no longer came out to intimidate him. But he had the ability of "Malicious Perception," and although those crows hid well, they couldn''t escape his perception.


    Su''en pretended not to notice and rode his motorcycle not to Green Street, but to Gingko Street a few blocks away.


    After leaving the motorcycle behind, he deliberately circled around and made enough anti-tracking movements before entering the small Western-style building at No. 88.


    After entering the house, Su''en no longer felt anxious.


    He sat on the sofa in the living room and took the time to deal with the wounds on his body.


    Then he checked his ammunition, firearms, and equipment.


    After doing all this, hey back on the sofa to rest. Looking at the ceiling, he muttered to himself, "I hope Mr. Hei doesn''t mind me leading someone into his trap..."


    Yes, this was a n he had thought of a long time ago.


    Su''en had imagined that if he encountered an unbeatable enemy, No. 88 Green Street would be an excellent ambush location.


    Because there was a "T-level Curse Space" in the basement.


    And Su''en knew the way out.


    Although he might encounter the terrifying super-tier zombies after entering,pared to the enemy who was lured in, it was a nightmare.


    .......


    "But this ''Raven Hematopoietic Curse'' is indeed a problem. If I can''t find a way to break it, I might really be sucked to death..."


    Nearly twenty minutes had passed, and even though he had injected the healing potion, Su''en still felt dizzy and weak, a sign of blood loss.


    And at this moment, a familiar foreign object sensation appeared in his throat again. Su''en''s face turned slightly pale, and in an instant, with a "vomit," another crow flew out.


    The "caw caw caw" sound seemed to be mocking his ipetence.


    As soon as he vomited, Su''en instantly felt even weaker, but a trace of coldness shed in his eyes. "Finally, it''s here..."


    Although Su''en had no surprise in his heart when the crow flew out of his mouth, he still reacted as if his whereabouts had been discovered and turned to rush out of the door.


    But obviously, the enemy wouldn''t let him escape so easily.


    Just at this moment, the ss of the second-floor window suddenly shattered, and a group of crows flew in, blocking his way. Among the flock of crows, a middle-aged man withrge ck feather wings and a crow mask on his face flew in.


    "Your talent for flying is indeed fast."


    Seeing the neer, Su''en naturally guessed that this was the real "gue Doctor" Sergei.


    This guy had the rare Beastification talent [B-055-Crowman].


    As soon as the crow flock entered the room, the imposing pressure of a second-order professional immediately made Su''en feel a strong sense of malice.


    Sergei looked at Su''en, who was trapped like a turtle in a jar, sneered, and didn''t rush to attack. He coldly taunted, "Kid, do you think you can escape?"


    In response, two bullets were fired in rapid session.


    Two crows were killed, but Sergei''s main body was unharmed.


    Seeing this, Su''en''s face was full of "panic," without any hesitation, he turned and rushed into the basement.


    Sergei, seeing that Su''en had been discovered, naturally guessed that there might be an ambush or tunnel in the basement. He didn''t rush to chase after him, but controlled the flock of crows to fly down first.Through the shared vision of his crow, he found that it was just an empty, enclosed basement.


    Then, the basement was filled with the sound of gunfire again.


    His crow was shot down by Su''en once more.


    "Damn bastard!"


    Sergei cursed, feeling his pet being killed. His eyes twitched, and his anger surged instantly.


    Knowing that there was no ambush in the basement, he pursued.


    ......


    Sergei cornered Su''en in the basement.


    Originally, he wanted to persuade him to surrender in a victorious posture, but before he could, a strange scene urred.


    The space around Su''en in the basement twisted, and then, without any warning, he disappeared!


    "Teleportation? Or invisibility?"


    Sergei watched as a living person in front of him vanished, his face changing drastically.


    Where Su''en disappeared, a piece of paper slowly fell to the ground.


    Sergei widened his eyes, trying to find Su''en''s figure in the basement, but to no avail.


    "No seals, no alchemy array lighting up, how did he escape?"


    Sergei was full of doubts.


    At this time, he also saw the paper, so he controlled the crow to fetch it.


    Upon reading it, the paper read: "The basement is a cursed space."


    "Cursed space?"


    Sergei instinctively muttered something in his heart, and suddenly found the surroundings twisting and changing.


    He instantly realized something and muttered, "Not good!"

 Chapter 124: A knife

    Chapter 124: A knife


    Su''en tried his best to control his thoughts, not thinking about the fact that the basement was a cursed space.


    He was afraid that if he was sucked in too early, he would encounter the blue-skinned zombie. If he was killed instantly, or had to leave early, the ambush would be meaningless.


    However, after entering, he found the situation was not bad.


    The familiar surroundings were clearly the third floor of the "Havier Hospital" inpatient department.


    It was also empty, with no people or monsters.


    Su''en breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time, he was d that his ambush n had been mostly sessful.


    .......


    After killing someone in this cursed space, it could trap the person''s soul here.


    Then the plot after the person''s death would be repeatedly rewound.


    Now that there was no blue-skinned zombie on the third floor, Su''en guessed that the plot might have been rewound again.


    As long as he didn''t trigger the safe in the director''s office on the second floor, the zombie should note up to the third floor.


    If there was no blue-skinned zombie, Su''en would be very curious whether "Blind Explorer" Bill was still sitting on the second floor. After all, thest time he was "killed", he only stripped away a part of his soul. He might be able to strip away a few more times.


    But he definitely couldn''t go now.


    Then, Su''en began to implement his "n B".


    Without any dy, he formed the warlock seal with both hands, unlocked the imnt, and cold mes rose from his body.


    This time, he not only wanted to leave "gue Doctor" Sergei in this cursed space.


    He also wanted to kill him face to face and find a way to lift the curse.


    Because usually, the person who poisons others would carry the antidote with them.


    .......


    Sure enough, not long after, the space twisted not far away, and Sergei suddenly appeared in the corridor.


    The guy looked around at the changing scenery, his eyes full of confusion, obviously not understanding what had happened. But when he saw Su''en, who was menacing with his eight-armed spider spear not far away, he immediately realized that he had been set up, and his face was full of caution.


    Seeing the maning, Su''en raised a corner of his mouth, and greeted warmly like a host weing a guest, "You''re here, Mr. Sergei."


    But while speaking, he didn''t give the enemy any chance to cast a curse, immediately controlled his emotions, and thought of a scene in his mind: a menacing Spider Queen appeared in the middle of the corridor, facing Sergei at close range!


    As soon as this thought arose, a huge creature suddenly appeared in the corridor. The bloated spider butt, the menacing eight-armed spider spear, the beautiful upper body, this was clearly the "Lord-level" Spider Queen that Su''en had encountered in the dungeon.


    .......


    Yes, the method Su''en thought of was to use the "Terror Manifestation" rule of this space to kill the enemy!


    If he just lured people in, he could indeed kill them.


    But there was a problem: he couldn''t get the enemy''s loot.


    Even if he came in again next time and the enemy was already dead, he would still encounter the enemy''s "Soul Manifestation". At that time, he would not only have to face the enemy, but also the monsters he imagined, which would be more troublesome.


    But now Su''en was afflicted with the "Raven Blood Curse", he had to get Sergei''s storage ring and memory fragments.


    So, this guy had to die here.


    He had to die in front of him.


    And the most difficult part of this ambush n.


    That was the monsters manifested in this space attacked indiscriminately.


    This meant that Su''en had to imagine a target that could kill the enemy, but he could survive from the monster''s hands.


    The enemy that could make him risk luring in must be a second-tier professional.


    A monster that could kill a second-tier could usually easily kill Su''en, a first-tier.


    But... there was an exception.


    That was the mentally strong "Spider Queen"!


    Back in the dungeon, Su''en had seen that monster easily kill a second-tier assassin, which meant that the Spider Queen''s mental control was effective against most second-tier professionals.


    Moreover, the most crucial point was that Su''en spected that there was a hidden rule in this space, that was, the more realistic the details of the "Terror Manifestation" monster, the more controble its abilities. (If you imagine Cthulhu, the most likely oue is amon octopus-headed monster, after all, you don''t know what that level of power means)


    So it''s best to have personally experienced and thoroughly understood the monster''s abilities.


    Coincidentally, he almost knew all the detailed data of the Spider Queen, even the intensity of the mental shock wave was very clear.


    Especially after merging with the eight-armed spider spear, that monster had almost no secrets in Su''en''s eyes.


    It was like ying a game, fighting a new boss could easily lead to a team wipe, but after fighting a few times and finding the pattern, the casualties would be smaller and smaller.


    The Spider Queen was strong, its mental control could affect people even without direct eye contact; moreover, its skin could resist face alchemy bullets.But Su''en was very clear that the gaze of the Spider Queen was like a beam of light, and it could only attack what the eyes could see.


    That''s why the monster Su''en imagined was facing away from him, with its face towards Sergei.


    This narrow corridor was spacious enough for humans, but it was difficult for the bulky Spider Queen to turn around.


    .......


    The moment this monster appeared, Sergei also felt the threat of death and instinctively wanted to resist with magic.


    But the Spider Queen looked at the human in front of her, her eyes filled with a strong red light, and a powerful spiritual force washed over the entire corridor like a tide.


    Even Su''en, who was behind her, felt a moment of confusion.


    And Sergei, who was facing her, was instantly knocked unconscious.


    The Spider Queen was not polite at all. She raised her spear and stabbed it, piercing through the head of that guy.


    A second-tier professional was killed in one encounter.


    When Su''en saw this from a distance, he felt delighted: "Killed him!"


    If he couldn''t control Sergei, he would immediately chant the name of the Grudge Master.


    Now, it seemed that the n was going smoothly.


    But suddenly, Su''en''s gaze focused on Sergei''s body, and no mist appeared. His pupils contracted: "Something''s not right, he''s not dead yet!"


    The spear pierced through Sergei''s skull, but at this moment, the corpse turned into a crow corpse as tall as a person.


    And the back of the corpse tore open like a cicada shedding its skin, and a pale middle-aged man stumbled out from behind the shell.


    "So this is his legendary ability to avoid physical damage?"


    Su''en also understood. This guy seemed to have a crow puppet with a simr effect to the "Stand Puppet".


    Fortunately, he didn''t choose to use a sickle before, otherwise, if he didn''t kill him with one strike, it would have been a disaster.


    At this moment, Sergei, because of his resurrection, temporarily regained consciousness.


    Unfortunately, he was still close to the monster.


    The Spider Queen was not surprised either. Her gaze narrowed, and once again, she unleashed a spiritual shockwave on the human in front of her.


    Then, she took control and stabbed him directly in the chest with her spear.


    Seeing the "mist" floating above the corpse, Su''en finally confirmed that the guy was really dead this time.


    There was nowhere to escape when facing this kind of spiritual monster up close. Even though this "gue Doctor" had countless mysterious and unpredictable spells, he didn''t use any of them and was directly killed twice in a row.


    After Sergei died, the Spider Queen naturally noticed another human behind her.


    Just as the bloated spider body showed signs of turning around, Su''en''s two puppets suddenly entangled and sprayed ck oil and phosphorus fire towards the Queen.


    The mes instantly ignited the spider''s body and the corridor.


    Su''en didn''t continue to attack. The eight-armed spider spear quickly flipped, and he rushed towards the Spider Queen.


    Just as the monster turned 180 degrees, Su''en arrived behind it, and with a pull of the steel wire in his mechanical gloves, he pulled himself away from the burning back of the monster.


    Unlike the previous time in the underground dungeon, he didn''t need to kill this monster at all.


    He just brushed past it and leaped close to it, perfectly avoiding the mental shockwave from the Spider Queen''s direct gaze.


    In mid-air, he instantly retracted his equipment, then rolled andnded, peeled off the storage ring from the corpse, swallowed the mist floating above it, and chanted the sybles in his mouth: "Terumido m. Chekhov."


    The whole process went exactly as nned, as if it had been rehearsed countless times.


    In the next moment, the light and shadows around him changed, and Su''en had already returned to the basement of 88 Green Street.


    ......


    There weren''t many things in Sergei''s storage ring, and Su''en poured everything out.


    There were some strange bottles and jars, most of which looked dangerous and strange materials.


    "Mummy''s Pituitary nd," "gue Rat''s Short Tail," "Decaying Giant''s Tear nd," "Komodo Dragon''s Saliva"...


    Then he used the True Eye to identify them, but he didn''t pay attention to those strange gue materials.


    After searching, he sessfully found a way to lift the "Crow Septic Curse." It was a kind of internal medicine powder.


    After seeing its effects, he didn''t hesitate to take it.


    Before long, the curse mark on the attribute panel disappeared.


    By killing Sergei, a second-tier professional who excelled in curses, and lifting the curse, Su''en''s sense of oppression eased, and he let out a long breath: "Phew... lucky."


    At this moment, he finally had the mind to recall the memories he had harvested.


    "Obtained ''Sergei Mari'' memory fragments *4"


    "You have obtained some information: ''It seems that there is an ancient battlefield in the ruins of Dawn City, and many incredible treasures have been discovered in the city...''""You have mastered some ''Curse Knowledge''"


    "You haveprehended the skill [Curse Art: Strawman]"


    "You have gained some ''Raven Taming Knowledge''"


    "Alchemy Casting Experience +31"


    "Mental Strength +0.8"


    After devouring the grey mist, Su''en found that his mind was filled with new information, mostly about ravens and curse arts.


    Moreover, he had directly mastered a new skill.


    "Strawman? A long-range attack method using the target''s blood, tormenting the target''s mind and body... The further the distance, the weaker the effect..."


    The detailed information of this skill shed through Su''en''s mind.


    This curse art seemed useful, but its usefulness seemed limited.


    It could harm people from a distance, which was a strange attack method. But if the distance was too far, it could only create nightmares and illusions to torment the target''s mind, which was not very useful.


    Hmm... It seemed suitable for some venomous women to torment their love rivals.


    But suddenly, an idea shed through his mind.


    "Eh, if the closer the distance, the greater the damage... If I solidify this curse art into a puppet doll, and if the doll absorbs the enemy''s blood during the fight, wouldn''t the enemy hurt themselves if they attack the doll? This curse art seems pretty good?"


    Su''en only had a beginner''s guide to puppet making in his hand, which exined various basic methods and theories of making puppets, but there were not many design blueprints for finished products.


    However, it contained a sentence with infinite possibilities: "Creativity and imagination are the most precious potentials of a puppet master. A qualified puppet master needs to create runes puppets suitable for themselves."


    Su''en felt that this idea of "Curse Art + Doll" was a good one.


    The idea shed through his mind, thinking that he could try it out in the future.


    After digesting the harvested memories, he picked up the beak mask that he had casually plucked from Sergei''s corpse.


    Upon inspection, it was also a powerful cursed item.


    [gue Doctor''s Beak Mask]


    Quality: Silver


    Description: Is the gue doctor a death god spreading gue, or a doctor saving people?


    Cursed Trait: This gas mask has a cursed trait. Wearing it, you can filter out more than 99% of the toxins in the air; wearing the mask for a long time, you will slowly increase your toxin resistance, and your gue resistance will greatly increase; but asionally, you will be poisoned inexplicably due to the residual old poison in the mask, or catch the gue;


    Exnation: A thousand eight hundred years ago, during a gue outbreak in a city, a kind doctor wore it to deal with the terrifying gue; after his death, the reputation of the gue doctor was passed down.


    The attributes of this mask were very good, almost 100% toxin filtration, which was a lot better than the top gas masks on the market.


    Moreover, wearing it for a long time could slowly increase the body''s toxin resistance. This was also a very good growth attribute, theter the higher the toxin resistance.


    "The item is good, but it''s too recognizable. If I wear this, I''m afraid the whole Old Lingdun will know that I killed Sergei..."


    Su''en''s eyebrows raised slightly, for him, this was a rather useless item.


    He was not a professional doctor, and the asional poisoning cursed trait was very "luck-based". One breath, the toxin might not be filtered, and he might even be infected with ancient old poison.


    He couldn''t guarantee that he could definitely cure the poisoning.


    Moreover, he dared to say that if he wore this mask, the members of the Raven Gang would definitely not let him off.


    ......


    It was a bit of a pity that due to the urgency of time, he didn''t take the official documents and imnts from Sergei''s body.


    But it was not bad.


    Killing was the goal, escaping was the purpose, and the harvest was just incidental.


    Su''en felt quite satisfied.


    He thought that after triggering the cursed space, Mr. ck would appear.


    Su''en wanted to apologize to him.


    But after waiting for a while, he didn''te, and Su''en didn''t stay in the apartment for long.


    In order to kill Sergei, he had wasted a lot of time, and the vanguard of the Umbre Organization in the inner city had probably already reached the south city.


    What he needed to do now was to return to Green Street immediately, pack up his belongings, and leave the city.

 Chapter 125: A knife for the chain smoker

    Chapter 125: A knife for the chain smoker


    After leaving the apartment at No. 88 Gingko Street, Su''en hurriedly walked through various alleys.


    He was very familiar with the neighborhood near Green Street, and quickly took shortcuts to reach the rented house.


    There were no signs of the small mechanism set at the door being touched, so he entered the basement with peace of mind.


    The basement was filled with various instruments and mechanical equipment, which couldn''t be taken away or packed up in time, so they had to be left here temporarily.


    Because he had always been prepared to run away early on, Su''en''s residence was always equipped with things to escape.


    He supplemented several storage rings filled with ammunition and supplies, and went straight to the dissecting table.


    On the dissecting tabley a corpse with healing scars all over its body, covered in runic symbols. Su''en looked at it and muttered, "Old buddy, whether we can escape this time depends on you."


    Without dy, he went to the corner and took out the ck scythe hidden in a secretpartment, and tied it to the hands of the corpse.


    Then he tried to wrap them all up with the "Oz Ice Man''s Shroud", so that everything could be taken away.


    Originally, it was just a trial, and he didn''t expect the shroud to be able to wrap the ck scythe, which was also a sealed object.


    Unexpectedly, after wrapping it, itpletely disappeared from sight.


    The scythe and the body immediately disappeared before his eyes.


    An invisible weaponposed of two sealed objects and a corpse appeared in the world.


    "Now it''s much more convenient..."


    Su''en was pleasantly surprised, and with a slight lift of his fingers, he controlled the corpse to walk out. Although he couldn''t see it, he could clearly sense its position.


    After nearly a month of practice, he had be adept at manipting the corpse urately and smoothly, without any hups, and sessfully rushed the corpse out of the door.


    However, the only imperfection was that although the spiritual threads were thin, there were still some traces.


    He thought that he would need to obtain the "Curse Hair of the Mourning Witch" in the future topletely solve this problem.


    .......


    After all, Su''en used to be the head of a gang active on Green Street, so he was very familiar with everything here, and he could even recognize almost all the vendors and residents.


    No one else knew the location of the rented basement, so his previous caution saved him a lot of trouble now.


    He came to the street, but he hadn''t walked far when he noticed a problem.


    The entire Green Street was surrounded!


    Some unfamiliar faces appeared on the streets and alleys, wearing checkered suits, draped in cold-colored tweed coats, and wearing gloves and newsboy caps... Although ordinary people couldn''t see anything unusual, those skilled in tracking could immediately tell that the gazes of those people were different from those of ordinary residents.


    "The members of the Umbre Organization came so quickly? It seems they have other ways to track and locate me..."


    Although he never held any illusions, Su''en felt a bit troubled now that he was surrounded.


    But the timing was just right.


    He now had the corpse and the scythe.


    Even if there were high-level professionals in the encirclement team, he wouldn''t bepletely at their mercy.


    Thinking of this, Su''en tightened the spiritual threads connecting him and the corpse.


    His expression remained unchanged as he walked down the street like a normal person.


    .......


    Since the enemies had already appeared on Green Street, Su''en didn''t think they couldn''t see through his disguise.


    This was thest moment of tranquility before the battle.


    Sure enough, after walking a few steps, he suddenly found everything in front of him turned pitch ck.


    It was like the lights had been turned off, and he couldn''t see anything.


    "Visual deprivation!"


    Su''en instantly realized what was happening and his heart skipped a beat.


    This was a highly advanced control spell.


    At the same time, he also found that he couldn''t hear any sound.


    "Auditory deprivation!"


    Unable to see or hear, in an instant, it felt like he had fallen into an endless ck hole, and a tremendous sense of terror washed over him.


    What made Su''en even more serious was that even with his high mental power, he was instantly affected, which meant that the person who attacked him was of a higher rank.


    It must be a second-rank professional!


    "Hehe, three second-rank professionals came to capture a small gang member like me. They really think highly of me!"


    Su''en sneered in his heart and immediately sensed something.


    Although his vision and hearing were deprived, he remained calm. The needle-like "malice" burned like a me in the dark night, allowing him to "see" clearly.


    The first wave of hostility came from the direction of the person who cast the control spell.


    "Ten o''clock direction!"


    Su''en coldly hummed in his heart, already prepared for a decisive battle.


    In the moment of sensory deprivation, he used one hand to make a grabbing motion, driving the invisible corpse near him to swing the scythe towards the direction where the malice came from.


    "Whoosh~"


    It was as if he heard a sharp sound of breaking wind.


    Just as the scythe struck, Su''en suddenly found that his eyes could see normally again, and his perception was restored!


    With a nce, he sensed the maliceing from the ten o''clock direction, and saw that the red brick chimney on the rooftop had a smooth cut, and a female corpse cut in halfy beside it.


    "Got him!"


    Su''en''s eyes lit up, and he could already see the mist on the body.


    And obviously, the person who came was not alone!


    There were two more second-rank professionals!


    He had already experienced it in the city before. The Umbre Organization was a well-trained elite group that often used a set of tactics that made the target unable to resist.


    After the control, there must be other means.


    In an instant, even without sensing the malice, Su''en instantly sensed the bone-chilling coldnessing from under his feet.


    That familiar sensation of freezing, it was the second-rank ice mage who attacked the escort team in the "White Alum Warehouse" in the inner city!A high-level sorcerer who can even harm alchemical bullets!


    His body froze stiffly, but when his gaze passed, Su''en immediately controlled the zombie without hesitation and shed it again.


    This time, with visual capture, Su''en urately aimed at the neck of the man in ck.


    His fingers grabbed the void and pulled down forcefully, causing the man in ck who was still casting a spell a hundred meters away to change his expression drastically.


    He was full of astonishment. The target had clearly been deprived of perception, so why could he still counterattack urately?


    Doubts shed through his mind.


    Because he was caught off guard and still casting a spell, the man in ck wanted to avoid it, but it was already toote.


    When he saw Su''en swinging his sword, a ck spatial crack appeared at his Adam''s apple, and death came without warning.


    The smooth cutting sensation passed by, the head fell to the ground, and blood sprayed high like a fountain.


    "Nocturnal ck Scythe of Sophonos? But how can he control it so urately..."


    Before he died, the man in ck had onest thought.


    He recognized that spatial crack.


    But he couldn''t figure out why that sh was so urate...


    No one else would ever think that Su''en was probably the only person in this world who could precisely control the distance and power of the scythe.


    Because of the terrifying curse bacsh, ordinary people would never practice how to control the scythe urately at the cost of their lives.


    But Su''en could.


    Because he had zombies that he could use repeatedly!


    That was why he risked going back to his residence to get the scythe, even if it took more time.


    With the scythe in hand, he truly had the confidence to escape!


    .......


    With just these two shes, he instantly broke the three-personbo that was supposed to be a sure-kill move by killing two second-tier professionals.


    But it''s not over yet!


    In Su''en''s perception, there was still a very strong "killing intent" hidden in a nearby tavern, a threat that a first-tier professional could never pose.


    Just as Su''en was about to make his second sh, the window of the tavern suddenly exploded, and a burst of gunfire rushed out.


    Su''en had already sensed his presence, so how could he not be prepared?


    While controlling the zombie to kill the man in ck with his right hand, his left hand had already pulled out a puppet to block beside him.


    Almost at the same time, the cannonball and the puppet collided.


    With a "boom," the puppet covered in defensive runes was sted to pieces, showing the power of the cannonball.


    Su''en was also shaken and flew out due to the impact, spitting out a mouthful of blood, "Puh~"


    And because the puppet blocked this supposed-to-be fatal attack, he didn''t care about his own injuries. In the process of flying out, he raised his hand and shed in the direction of the cannonball.


    Although the person didn''t see the existence of the "invisible zombie," he heard the sound of the de cutting through the air.


    The instinctive sense of crisis as a high-level professional made him break through the ss and jump out after firing the cannon.


    But even with such a quick reaction, his heavily armored thighs were still chilled, and they were cut off neatly by the sudden spatial crack. His legs remained in the tavern, and his body, gushing with blood, jumped out of the window.


    The spatial crack of the scythe blinked, and with Su''en''s precise shing ability, the spatial crack appeared wherever his gaze fell. How could it be easy for someone to dodge?


    With both legs cut off, the amount of blood loss was enough to cause instant shock, but this guy bit his teeth and pulled the trigger with hisst bit of belief.


    Su''en originally wanted to make another sh topletely solve this trouble, but at this moment, a burst of blood mist suddenly exploded beside him.


    He realized what was happening and quickly dodged.


    Fortunately, the guy with the severed legs was seriously injured, and this shot didn''t have any "locking technique." Su''en rolled on the ground in a sorry state, avoiding this deadly attack.


    Looking again, after the guy with severed legs fired the cannon, hepletely passed out.


    .......


    Su''en didn''t look at the bodies for long, but looked at the blood mist beside him, frowning slightly, "It''s reached the limit..."


    It turned out that he used the scythe too frequently, and the bacsh urred prematurely.


    Three long cuts divided the zombie into several pieces, instantly losing its vital signs.


    The ck scythe also fell out.


    Su''en looked at the "old buddy" who had helped him a lot, feeling a little emotional.


    I don''t know if it was because of theck of time or because the Umbre Organization didn''t think it was necessary to send too many high-level professionals to deal with Su''en.


    Fortunately, it seemed that there were only these three second-tier professionals near Green Street.


    The "old buddy" hadpleted its glorious mission.


    Su''en didn''t look much, he reached out and shot the steel wire from the mechanical glove back, pulling the scythe and bandages back onto his back. He also threw an incendiary bomb on the corpse,pletely destroying the evidence.


    Then he drew out his dual pistols and opened fire at the members of the Umbre Organization across the street.


    .......


    The three most troublesome second-tier professionals were killed in a few encounters, and Su''en''s crisis was instantly relieved by ny percent.


    Ordinary professionals posed limited threats to him.


    Moreover, there weren''t as many people wearing "Frost Giant Battle Armor" in the outer city as in the inner city.


    These people wearing coats and hats were the favorite targets of gunmen!


    Even if they were wearing bulletproof vests, they exposed too many fatal weaknesses...


    Su''en took off his disguise, using the buildings on Green Street to attack and retreat, suppressing the opponents with his dual pistols so that they didn''t dare to show their heads.


    Because this was his territory, he was familiar with every alley here.


    After tearing open a gap in the encirclement, Su''en came to an alley. As long as he climbed over this wall, he could immediately jump out of the encirclement.Just then, he suddenly noticed a thick fog spreading through the streets and alleys.


    Su''en immediately knew who it was.


    But the hostility he sensed was somewhat elusive, so he didn''t rush to act.


    He knew very well that this was the ability of the Smoke Ghost.


    Seeing the smoke, Su''en deliberately lowered his gun barrel, feigning a face of surprise and joy, and excitedly said to the thick smoke, "Boss Smoke Ghost, is that you? Have youe to save me?"


    Upon hearing this, the figure of the Smoke Ghost slowly emerged from the smoke.


    This grim-faced man looked at Su''en, who had caused a hugemotion, a trace ofplexity shed in his eyes, but he said, "Hmm... I''ll take care of this. You find a chance to leave first."


    He never expected that a seemingly insignificant "small fry" by Kay''s side would cause him such trouble!


    With that, the Smoke Ghost, shrouded in thick smoke, slowly walked towards Su''en.


    The thick "malice" became more and more solid.


    "Great!"


    Su''en seemedpletely unguarded, his face filled with the wild joy of a narrow escape, he even put his gun back in its holster.


    But before his smile could fully spread, it suddenly froze. The next moment, he drew the ck scythe from his back and shed it down at the figure in front of him!


    The Smoke Ghost on the other side was instantly dumbfounded.


    PS. The extra updates for this month are done, ah... brothers, desperately seeking subscriptions!!!!!!

 Chapter 126: Do you think I dare to make a second cut?

    Chapter 126: Do you think I dare to make a second cut?


    The smoke ghost always thought he was hiding well.


    After all, the fact that the book "Isaac''s Alchemy Notes" could be hidden in the guild warehouse for so long without being discovered proved that his n to deceive others was sessful.


    But what he couldn''t understand was why, even though the items had already been delivered to the inner city, they were still stolen?


    The higher-ups in the organization had previously questioned him about why he had missed such important information and arranged for a "thunderstorm" to be sent to the escort team. Not only did they take the manuscript, but they also caused such a bigmotion...


    I don''t know anything about it!


    Do you guys not know the strength of the ordinary gang members in the outer city?


    There are only a few members of the Cross Society in Green Street. Who in the guild doesn''t know?


    The only professional in the escort team is Kay. Who knew that he had a "little brother" who was a quasi-second-order expert by his side?


    A firearms expert, a spider alchemical nt with suspected golden quality, and the secret technique "Mushi"...


    If an ordinary professional has one of these, they would definitely be a core member of the Cross Society. Who would have thought that Su''en had not leaked any information about it before?


    The smoke ghost felt very aggrieved when questioned by his superiors.


    Are you sure you don''t investigate whether there are any elite defectors from the special organizations in the inner city, and insteade to question when the outer city has raised such a monster?


    Can a first-order professional like this be cultivated in a resource-poor ce like the outer city?


    And another thing!


    Are you telling me that the umbre organization in the inner city, the mechanical city guards, and the security department experts couldn''t handle a single first-order professional?


    The smoke ghost felt that those guys had lost their basic hunting abilities because their living environment was toofortable.


    No matter how powerful Su''en is, he is still just a first-order professional!


    Even just fifteen minutes ago, when the smoke ghost was notified to join the joint interception, he couldn''t believe that the unknown little gang member named "Su''en" had just killed twenty or thirty people who were trying to capture him in the inner city and escaped?!


    But now, seeing everything in front of him, he believed it.


    Just a minute ago, he heard the report on themunicator that three second-order members of the umbre organization who participated in the interception were killed.


    .......


    The smoke ghost blocked Su''en, his expressionplicated.


    So it was because he had a "forbidden item" in his hand?


    How could the smoke ghost not be familiar with thatrge ck scythe? They used this "forbidden item" to break into the headquarters of the Cross Society.


    Afterward, the scythe was taken away by arade.


    Later, when he didn''t hear any news of hisrade returning to the city, he thought he had died in some corner of the sewer. He didn''t expect... it ended up in this kid''s hands?


    The power of that forbidden item was indeed almost unbeatable, but its cursed nature was also deadly. It was impossible to use it as a regr weapon.


    However, even with the ck scythe that had the forbidden item, if a professional used it to kill three people in a row, they should have exploded and died!


    The smoke ghost was not present during the previous battle, so now he looked at Su''en, who was greeting him with a smile, and thought that he hadn''t been exposed.


    Then, unexpectedly, he was suddenly struck by a sh.


    .......


    "Damn! How could this kid suddenly attack? Could it be that I''ve been exposed?"


    If the smoke ghost assassin''s thoughts could be heard at this moment, it would definitely be this curse word.


    In a state of confusion, another moment of terrifying death made his hair stand on end.


    The ck scythe swung down, and a spatial crack immediately appeared in front of the smoke ghost.


    If this sh hit, it would have diagonally split his entire neck in half.


    But the smoke ghost was, after all, a veteran second-order professional.


    Although Su''en''s movements were seamless and he took the initiative with a surprise attack, the shing motion was too easy to predict. At the moment he started, the smoke ghost instinctively reacted to the crisis and began to dodge with all his might.


    But the ck scythe''s sh was too fast.


    As the scythe swung, the crack appeared.


    With a sharp sound of a de cutting through silk, blood sprayed, and a broken wall fell to the ground with a snap.


    And the smoke ghost''s body disintegrated into thick mist, instantly blending with the surrounding mist.


    "I didn''t kill him..."


    Su''en looked at the broken wall, his pupils slightly contracted.


    With a pull of the eight-armed spider spear, his robe tore, instantly revealing several "Wailing Dolls" and "Sly Smile Dolls" protecting his body.


    He tightly gripped the ck scythe in his hand, staring intently at the mist surrounding him.


    He had expected that he wouldn''t be able to kill the smoke ghost with one sh.


    The reason he was able to sessfully kill the three second-order professionals from the umbre organization earlier was mainly because they didn''t know he had the ck scythe and didn''t notice the "invisible zombie", so they werepletely defenseless.


    But now the smoke ghost had already seen the scythe on him and would instinctively be on guard.


    Moreover, the smoke ghost''s ability was very special.


    Su''en had heard Kay boast about how powerful the old captain smoke ghost, who had brought him out, was, and he had also mentioned in detail how he had witnessed the smoke ghost''s strange abilities in battle.


    Although the smoke ghost believed Su''en''s words and walked out without any defenses, in fact, this old cunning guy had habitual defensive measures.


    The smoke constantly lingering behind him served as cover, with a simr ability to "refract illusions".


    You see a person right in front of you, but their actual specific location is not there.


    It''s like a fish in clear water. If you stab the harpoon ording to its shadow, you will definitely miss.


    This is very practical in battle. Even if the enemy aims at his heart, after firing, they will find that they missed or hit a non-lethal area.The smoke was so thick that it could confuse the perception of any professional.


    So, just now, Su''en only predicted the approximate position of the smoke ghost with that sh.


    Being able to cut off an arm was already a good result. (Don''t ask why he didn''t cut horizontally, a wide horizontal sh would undoubtedly result in a bacsh)


    .......


    With just one blow, the smoke ghost''s arm was severed. In addition to anger, he also felt a strong sense of fear.


    In the moment when Su''en revealed his killing intent, he truly felt the threat of death.


    Looking at the eerie and grotesque runes floating around Su''en, as well as the ck scythe in his hand, the smoke ghost dared not easily show himself in the smoke, for fear of being struck again.


    "How did you get the Night Reaper''s Scythe of Sopnos?"


    A voice echoed from all directions, like an echo in a valley, making it impossible to pinpoint his location.


    Su''en looked at him with a smirk and coldly said, "Why don''t you guess?"


    In his perception, that "malice" also spread out, as if it appeared from all directions.


    The mist could conceal all traces of his existence.


    A very troublesome ability.


    A coldugh came from the smoke, "Hehe... so what if you have it? You just made one sh, but if you try to make a second one, the curse bacsh will immediately take your life!"


    The smoke ghost thought that Su''en didn''t know about the curse of the ck scythe, so he specially reminded him.


    "Oh?"


    Su''en smiled indifferently, showing his white teeth, and sarcastically asked, "Do you dare toe out and try if I can make a second sh?"


    The smoke ghost was right.


    The curse bacsh is directly rted to the user''s physical strength. The body of an ordinary person is much weaker than that of a rune zombie. If two shes are made in session, there is a high probability of instant death.


    But the smoke ghost didn''t know that Su''en had precise control over the power of the spatial rift.


    The previous sh was close enough, and the wound was notrge, so the bacsh would be much smaller than in the underground cave.


    If the damage calction was correct, he estimated that he could make at least four or five shes before triggering an immediate bacsh.


    As soon as these words were spoken, there was no sound from the smoke.


    The smoke ghost didn''t dare to gamble with his own life.


    Moreover, he didn''t need to show himself to kill.


    "Why... Mr. Sambu doesn''t dare to show himself?"


    Su''en continued to provoke with his words.


    Both of them chose to engage in verbal warfare at this time, each with their own purpose.


    Su''en wanted to make the enemy speak, exposing more ws and locking in his position.


    And the cunning smoke ghost, who was afraid to show himself with the ck scythe in his hand, spoke to cover up his "invisible killer move".


    The smoke around them became denser and denser, seemingly only affecting their vision, but actually hiding a deadly threat.


    Su''en looked at the anomalies on the data panel and sneered in his heart. He calmly took out the "gue Doctor''s Crow Mask" he had before and put it on his face.


    Because... there is a special fire poison in this mist that even a gas mask cannot filter!


    Seeing Su''en suddenly take out the gas mask and put it on, the smoke ghost also realized that his methods had been seen through.


    Originally, he had some contempt in his heart, after all, his fire poison was a mixed injury spell of smoke and technique, which ordinary gas masks couldn''t filter.


    But looking at the special crow-shaped mask, the smoke ghost immediately eximed in surprise, "Is this Sergei''s crow mask?"


    Then, he immediately realized something, and a shocked voice came from the smoke, "Did you kill Sergei?"


    "Yeah... Mr. Smoke Ghost, it will be your turn soon."


    Su''en continued to provoke, and through the emotional fluctuations just now, he roughly determined the smoke ghost''s position.


    But as soon as he gripped the ck de, that guy disappeared again.


    Several eerie dolls were also wandering around him. Once they found an opportunity, he would not hesitate to swing his de.


    At this time, Su''en continued to stimte him, saying, "I''m also curious, how did you be a member of the Umbre Organization... Mr. Mole?"


    A contemptuousughter came from the smoke, guessing Su''en''s thoughts, "Hehe... you want to anger me?"


    Now the fog has filled the entire alley, no one wille in, and the sound cannot escape.


    He knew that as long as he didn''t show himself, he would undoubtedly die!


    When smart peoplepete, victory or defeat lies in the details. Now it''s about who can remain calm.


    Su''en looked at the increasingly dense smoke around him and said, "Oh? Do you think that if you don''t show yourself, the fire poison will definitely kill me?"


    The smoke ghost responded contemptuously, "Haven''t you already felt it?"


    "Hehe..."


    A sinister smile gradually appeared in Su''en''s eyes.


    He had indeed felt the damage from the fire poison.


    Looking at his own skin, the burning sensation was intensely piercing his nerves. This was a severe pain that ordinary people could hardly bear.


    This dense white smoke not only burned the heart and lungs, but could also seep into the pores. In just a moment, Su''en felt a scorching sensation on his skin. His skin gradually dried up and heated up, slowly turning into the charred yellow color of burnt tree bark, and then into ayer of burnt ashes.


    Without the smoke ghost taking action, if this continued, he would be burned to death.


    And now more members of the Umbre Organization wereing, he couldn''t afford to dy, he had to force the smoke ghost to make a move!


    Originally, he still had some concerns, but now it seemed that he had no choice. Su''en took out a green syringe, nced at it, and decisively stabbed it into his own neck.In the smoke, the Smoky Phantom saw what was happening and let out a coldugh, "Healing potion? Haha... You underestimate my ''Ash Poison''."


    Su''en tilted his head and injected the potion, a cool sensation immediately rushed to his forehead.


    The smirk on his face was increasingly inscrutable, he mocked with a dismissive tone, "Oh... is that so?"


    Because he could see his own data panel, he had thoroughly tested the healing data of various healing potions.


    He was also very clear that even the best potion in his hand could not offset the continuous stacking of fire burns.


    But as soon as this potion was injected, a miraculous scene urred.


    The skin on Su''en''s body that had just been scorched and dried was slowly healing!


    Moreover, as if the healing amount was overflowing, his whole body was flowing with a majestic life force,pletely offsetting the burning damage of the fire poison.


    "Huh..."


    Upon seeing this, a light exmation came from the smoke.


    Obviously, the Smoky Phantom also found it incredible and asked, "What kind of potion is this?"


    "Do you want to know?"


    Su''en felt that his current state was excellent, he grinned provocatively, "Too bad, I''m not telling you."


    However, after the violent energy healed the injury, it did not stop. Like a breached dam, it initially moistened the soil like a spring, then it was a violent flood, rampaging through his meridians and muscles. It seemed to want to destroy everything and reshape the chaos.


    So this is what the "Mutation Precursor" feels like?


    Su''en felt the sensation of a balloon about to burst, teetering on the brink of life and death.


    But it was also within his expectations. He calmly injected another potion into his neck. The cool sensation poured into his brain, and the feeling of explosion was instantly suppressed.


    Good.


    What Su''en injected was not amon potion, but the [x Serum] and [Mutation Suppression Potion]!


    The serum would transform his body, causing his cell activity to skyrocket several times in a very short time, greatly enhancing his self-healing ability.


    Although it couldn''t reach the level of that "Abhorrent Warrior", it seemed to be enough to resist the fire poison.


    ......


    The serum only had a 75% sess rate, but Su''en couldn''t afford to hesitate at this critical moment.


    Now the Smoky Phantom was obviously stalling for time, if he continued to dy, even if Su''en could kill him, he would not be able to escape the city.


    Moreover, he had another n for injecting the "x Serum".


    He had already used the ck Scythe once, and the bacsh would appear in an hour.


    Although the wound wouldn''t berge, if he wanted to be safe, his best choice would be to find a skilled doctor to save his life, like Danny on Green Street.


    But!


    He was currently being hunted and had to leave the city, so he had no chance to wait for treatment.


    And to kill the Smoky Phantom, he would need at least one more strike!


    By the time the curse of the two scythes bacsh, his situation would be very bad.


    So, he came up with this "fight poison with poison" method.


    The super recovery ability brought by the "x Serum" could allow him to preserve his life to the greatest extent after a sudden wound appeared.


    The serum could not only solve the current fire poison problem but also solve the hidden danger of bacsh.


    A 75% sess rate was enough for him to make a decision.


    Moreover.


    After injecting the potion, Su''en had the confidence to fight back!

 Chapter 127: “§�symbol

    Chapter 127: ¡°¡ì¡±symbol


    Now the fire poison cannot harm Su''en, and the n of the smoke ghost has also failed.


    If he doesn''t show up and attack, he can''t do anything to Su''en.


    And Su''en won''t just sit and wait for death. He controls the eight-arm spider spear and starts running.


    He used to be afraid of being found by the smoke ghost and being killed with one fatal blow. But now, after injecting the "x potion," his body''s resilience, resistance, and recovery ability have be stronger and stronger.


    He is now confident that the smoke ghost cannot kill him with one blow.


    On the contrary, once the opponent can''t help but make a move, it will be the time to determine the oue.


    Although he can''t see the surroundings, Su''en can roughly distinguish that the direction he is heading is south. He rushes straight towards that direction.


    The spider legs have the ability to move without obstacles, climbing walls and stairs without caring about whether there is a way or not. The speed is getting faster and faster.


    However, even so, the cloud of smoke follows closely behind.


    Even though there are many ws in his running, Su''en doesn''t care at all.


    The two of them chase each other from Green Street all the way south.


    Su''en thought that the smoke ghost would not be able to resist attacking him when he saw his ws, after all, if they really went outside theplex terrain of the city, the situation would be even more unfavorable for the pursuers.


    But unexpectedly, when both of them were looking for opportunities to kill each other, something unexpected happened.


    A cloaked figure rushed towards them, blocking their way.


    The person spoke and questioned, "Sanbu, are you from the Umbre Organization?"


    The voice was disguised, and it was impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman.


    ......


    Su''en looked at the person who blocked their way, thinking that it must be a high-ranking member of the Umbre Organization.


    But when he saw the cloak, his expression immediately became subtle.


    The person was wearing a ck cloak with an ancient style, and his face couldn''t be seen clearly.


    It looked a bit like the hidden cloaks in the high-ranking professional circles of the ck market, but both the material and workmanship were visibly several levels higher.


    It was not the ordinary pure ck color. The cloak had beautiful patterns outlined by golden lines, including snakes, eagles, lizards, fire dragons, thorn flowers... these were metaphorical patterns that appeared in alchemy ssics.


    The golden patterns on the cloak looked like decorations, but whenbined, they seemed to form some kind of profound alchemy formation. Upon closer inspection, there was a strong sense of mystery.


    This cloak seemed to belong to those ancient noble families with profound backgrounds.


    What caught Su''en''s attention even more was another factor.


    When the person caught up with them just now, Su''en saw a golden "" symbol on the back of the cloak.


    Su''en had seen this symbol twice before. One was when he first crossed over, in the underground altar of the Storm Manor, one of the five statues was carved with this symbol.


    The other was the eight-pointed star alchemy formation core on the back of the book "Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript 3" he was holding.


    And now, it appeared on this cloak for the third time.


    Su''en spected that this symbol was rted to some kind of S-level talent.


    Because when he awakened the "s-018-All-Seeing Eye," the statue with the "?" symbol shattered; and when he awakened the "s-004-Death Reaper," the statue with the "?" symbol also shattered.


    Usually, obvious markings on clothing represent a certain organization.


    Like the Iron Cross of the Temr.


    This cloaked person should be from a mysterious organization.


    Su''en''s first reaction was that the person was Mr. ck, because he should already know that Su''en had been to the basement of 88 Gingko Street.


    But looking at the imposing manner of this cloaked person, he immediately ruled it out.


    Mr. ck always gave people the feeling of being calm andposed, while this person exuded a strong and domineering aura, as if mes were burning all over him.


    Since he couldn''t sense any "malice," Su''en also stopped and didn''t make any moves.


    The fact that the person caught up with them in just a few leaps showed that his physical strength must be extremely strong.


    Now that he came to question the smoke ghost, the situation didn''t seem like they were enemies.


    ......


    Upon hearing the question from the cloaked person, the smoke ghost asked in a deep voice, "Who are you, sir?"


    The cloaked person didn''t answer at all and asked again, "You just need to answer yes or no."


    The smoke ghost naturally couldn''t lie, especially with Su''en, who knew the truth, by his side. He had to change the topic and said, "What does it have to do with you since you know I am from the Umbre?"


    "That''s it then."


    The tone of the cloaked person was a bit domineering.


    If you don''t admit it, then forget it.


    If I say you are, then you are.


    As he spoke, his aura soared, as if he was about to make a move.


    The smoke ghost found it inexplicable that the imposing manner of the other party made him coldly snort.


    But realizing that the other party''s intentions were not good, he didn''t hide anymore and said directly, "Since you know I am from the Umbre, what is your purpose in stopping me?"


    From the cloaked person''s aura, the smoke ghost could tell that he must be a high-ranking professional. If they really fought now, with his arm already severed, he would definitely be at a disadvantage.


    Moreover, there was also a guy holding a scythe staring at them.


    Once he revealed his identity, he knew that his situation would be very dangerous.


    "What''s my purpose? Naturally, to kill you!"


    But unexpectedly, bringing up the identity of the Umbre Organization not only didn''t improve the smoke ghost''s situation, but also made the cloaked person unleash his full power. With a stomp of his foot, he rushed towards the cloud of smoke!


    ......


    "So strong!"


    Su''en''s pupils contracted.


    Seeing the movement of the cloaked person stomping on the ground and creating a shockwave, he knew that this guy must have extremely strong closebat abilities.


    This was a very advanced rushing body technique. The stomp not only exerted force on the ground, but alsopressed the air into an air burst, using it to propel himself forward.


    However, they started fighting as soon as they met. This person''s temperament is really hot-tempered.


    But even though he knew that the smoke ghost was from the Umbre Organization, he still dared to make a move?


    In the entire Old Lingdun, there were not many people or forces that dared to actively oppose the Umbre Organization.


    Seeing this, a thought suddenly shed through Su''en''s mind.When he was gathering information in the ck market before, people had mentioned that a month ago, the woman who had bombed the West Cityboratory and was wanted, was cornered by the Umbre Organization in North City. Just when they were about to sessfully encircle and kill her, a "third party force" suddenly appeared, breaking the Umbre Organization''s encirclement and allowing the woman to escape again.


    Could this cloaked figure be that "third party force"?


    Although he had guessed this, Su''en had no intention of watching the fight between high-ranking professionals.


    Now that someone was holding off the Smoky Ghost, he didn''t need to risk using his ck scythe for a second strike.


    Just as he was preparing to slip away in the chaos, he didn''t expect...


    The fight came suddenly, and ended even more abruptly!


    Even though Su''en had mentally prepared for the cloaked figure to intercept the Smoky Ghost, he knew the figure must be quite powerful.


    But looking at the scene before him, his eyes were still filled with disbelief!


    ......


    The Smoky Ghost hid in the fog, making it a significant challenge for anyone to kill him.


    Unexpectedly, the cloaked figureunched a major attack as soon as they met!


    When he rushed out, the murderous aura that was like a me suddenly surged, growing higher and higher.


    In that instant, the purple-ck me suddenly condensed into a strange phantom with delicate features, yet exuding a dignified aura. With ming hair and six arms each holding a weapon, it was clearly the image of a Rakshasi from ancient mythology.


    "A mythological talent [a-022-Rakshasi]?"


    Su''en''s gaze faltered, recalling the introduction of this rare talent in the ssics.


    "No, even an A-level talent couldn''t be this strong!"


    He remembered the description of this talent in the ssics, which said it could greatly enhance physical strength, but he had never heard of a talent that could manifest in such a way.


    Moreover, in the entire outer city of Old Lingdun, those with A-level talents were all well-known figures, and he had never heard of anyone awakening this kind of mythological talent.


    Could it be a second awakening of talent like Danny''s?


    Who could this person be?


    Su''en didn''t have time to ponder.


    Because the fight was already over.


    The cloaked figure moved so fast, like a meteor; so powerful, that with a single encounter, the Smoky Ghost hiding in the thick fog was hammered to spit blood and fly out!


    Even though the Smoky Ghost had lost an arm, he was a genuine second-tier professional.


    Defeated in a single encounter?


    The Smoky Ghost, lying on the ground spitting blood, his face as pale as gold paper, obviously recognized who the cloaked figure was, and was terrified: "It''s you! How can you be so strong?!"


    But in the next instant, the cloaked figure didn''t give him a chance to speak, shed, and kicked him in the head again.


    A chilling sound of bone cracking rang out.


    The veteran member of the Cross Society, a long-established second-tier professional, "Smoky Ghost" Sambu Kachinsky, was killed on the spot!


    ......


    Before he had a chance to escape, the fight was over.


    Looking at the explosive crime scene, Su''en tightened his grip on the big ck scythe in his hand, then loosened it again, aplex expression of confusion, shock, and emotion appearing on his face.


    Voice, face, even body shape could be changed by the cloak.


    But the style of doing things had a strong sense of dj vu.


    Thinking back to the Smoky Ghost''s familiar expression before his death, Su''en had a rough guess who this person was.


    He just didn''t expect her to be so incredibly strong...


    What on earth was going on with the Cross Society? It was one thing to have a mole in the Umbre Organization, but how could she be that "third party force"?


    At this time, the cloaked figure looked at Su''en who hadn''t run away, and was staring at her in surprise. She seemed equally incredulous, asking, "Do you recognize me?"


    Hearing her tone, Su''en was even more certain of his guess, and said with aplex expression, "Yes, Sister Qian Tiao..."

 Chapter 128: Leave the city

    Chapter 128: Leave the city


    Su''en had thought before that Qiantiao mighte to save him.


    But he never expected that this gambling addict would be so powerful!


    She was only a second-tier member, just like a smoker, but now she showed a strength thatpletely overwhelmed others of the same level. She killed someone with just one blow!


    And if she really was the "third party" opposing the Umbre Organization, the situation would be even more delicate.


    She was Rena''s aunt, so could there be other reasons behind the recent turmoil in the Rayes family?


    What about the mysterious benefactor behind the Cross Society, Mrs. Filov?


    And Mr. ck?


    A series of questions.


    In an instant, Su''en formed awork of underground forces involving both the inner and outer cities in his mind.


    Qiantiao''s appearance was just the tip of the iceberg, but there were stillrger unknowns and mysteries hidden beneath the surface.


    To counter the ck Tower, one must have corresponding strength, wealth, and manpower.


    This "third party" already possessed all of these.


    Although unknown to outsiders, it couldn''t be denied that this organization was very powerful.


    ...


    Su''en knew that since Qiantiao came wearing this special cloak, it was inconvenient for her to reveal her true identity.


    Perhaps the Cross Society couldn''t afford the cost of opposing the Umbre Organization now and wanted the "third party" to take on that role.


    Qiantiao walked over without taking off her cloak.


    But as soon as she spoke, the sense of mystery disappeared. "Hey, you actually recognized me. I didn''t n to meet you in this way, but you should understand that it would be inconvenient for me toe in my original identity."


    From her tone of voice and content, Su''en was certain that this was the gambling addict.


    As a member of the Cross Society, it was naturally inconvenient for her to kill members of the Umbre Organization.


    Upon hearing Qiantiao''s words, he asked, "Qiantiao, did youe to save me?"


    Qiantiao straightforwardly replied, "Yes. Rena sent me a message in a hurry, saying that you were in danger in the inner city and asked me to think of a solution. Originally, my n was to use my connections in the inner city to help you, but I was intercepted by the Umbre Organization on the way and obtained their battle information. I found out that you actually escaped. So I rushed back, but it took some time."


    Su''en sincerely said, "Thank you, Qiantiao."


    "I told you, you are under my protection. Do you need to be so polite?"


    Qiantiao said indifferently.


    Su''en also knew her personality and didn''t say much polite words.


    After a pause, Qiantiao nced at Su''en and said with a hint of teasing in her tone, "I heard that you even kidnapped Rena. I don''t know why that girl is still helping you."


    Su''en shrugged self-deprecatingly and naturally knew she was joking. He smiled and said, "You know about that?"


    Qiantiao''s tone was a bit strange. "Yes. Not only me, but all the major families in the inner city are making a fuss about it. They thought another ''purge'' was going to happen in the past few months. Many people were scared and inquired about the origin of this kidnapper who dared to kidnap the youngdy of the Rayes family in the inner city in broad daylight."


    "..."


    Su''en raised his eyebrows as he listened.


    The Umbre Organization would definitely not mention that the cause of the incident was their attempt to ambush a transport team of an outer city gang, which resulted in them being counter-killed.


    But he couldn''t hide themotion he caused on the "Dunwich Commercial Street" before. In the end, it would probably be concluded as an ordinary kidnapper.


    Qiantiao didn''t intend to say much. "Let''s go, we''ll talk while walking."


    Su''en asked, "Where are we going?"


    "To send you outside the city."


    Qiantiao exined, "There are powerful trackers in the Umbre Organization. Now that you have caused such a bigmotion, they will spare no effort to hunt you down. It''s not safe for you to stay in Old Lingdun City. Leave the city to avoid trouble. I can''t expose myself right now, otherwise, I might not be able to take care of you if something happens."


    "Oh, then wait for me."


    Su''en said and walked towards the body of the smoker.


    While removing the storage ring and the "official materials" from the body, he also harvested the soul fragments.


    The silver official material, "Haiying''s Rune Pipe," is the professional material of a second-tier "Ashen Warlock"; the second-level silver equipment, "Foodlight Hourss," can give people the ability to distort light and hide in smoke.


    They were both very practical materials for an assassin.


    If it weren''t for the fact that it didn''t suit Su''en''s career n as a Puppeteer, he would have liked the smoker''s ability to produce smoke and conceal himself.


    (Curse Aggregation Principle: After the advancement of a professional, the curse characteristics of the official materials will merge. Usually, a corpse will only yield one high-level official material and equipment.)


    As for the memories he extracted, Su''en guessed that they contained some information about the smoker being a mole in the Umbre Organization.


    The rest was just a bonus of experience.


    ...


    Qiantiao didn''t say anything as she watched Su''en collect the spoils from the smoker''s body.


    Their rtionship wasn''t so distant.


    But at this moment, she also noticed that Su''en hadn''t taken off the crow mask on his face and curiously asked, "Did you kill the ''gue Doctor'' Sergei?"


    "Yes."


    Su''en nodded.Qiantiao felt it was unbelievable and said, "That guy''s ability is quite tricky, he is good at curse magic, and he can even resurrect... Most second-tier professionals can''t do anything to him. I didn''t expect that you could actually defeat him?"


    "Well..."


    Su''en didn''t know how to exin to him, after all, it was Mr. Hei''s trap.


    He saw the cloak on Qiantiao''s body, although he had guessed what it was a long time ago, he still asked, "Qiantiao, do you know Mr. Hei?"


    Hearing this, Qiantiao''s tone was surprised, and she asked back, "Huh... how do you know Mr. Hei?"


    Upon hearing this, Su''en sighed in his heart, "As expected."


    That third party force, Mr. Hei, or the mysterious organizer of the Shadow Lane ck market, had a direct rtionship with him.


    He said straightforwardly, "I used some special means to kill Sergei. But it involves some secrets of Mr. Hei, and I can''t say it. Since you know him, you can just ask Mr. Hei directly."


    "Oh."


    Qiantiao didn''t continue to ask.


    After Su''en finished collecting the spoils of the Smoke Ghost and threw a burning bomb to destroy the body, the two of them walked towards the south city wall.


    With such a powerful expert escorting him, Su''en finally felt relieved from the urgency of being chased for a day.


    ...


    Compared to Qiantiao''s hidden identity, Qiantiao was more curious about the various incredible methods Su''en disyed.


    She looked at Su''en, who had a calm expression, and her tone was quiteplicated, "Even if I didn''te, the Smoke Ghost wouldn''t necessarily be able to kill you, right?"


    "Yeah."


    Su''en didn''t deny it and calmly responded, "But the possibility of me dying is also quite high."


    "Tsk tsk, you really are quite amazing. Although that Smoke Ghost guy has a strong assassination ability, even ordinary second-tier professionals would suffer a lot, but he couldn''t do anything to you. Instead, he lost an arm..."


    As Qiantiao spoke, she seemed to have thought of something, "Huh... could it be that you already knew the Smoke Ghost''s identity in advance?"


    Su''en felt that there was nothing to hide, and Qiantiao would eventually know about the hand note in the escort. He said, "Yes. We were going to escort a batch of goods to the inner city before..."


    He briefly exined a few sentences, exining how he discovered the hand note and deduced that the Smoke Ghost was the mole.


    Qiantiao listened with amazement, "You really have a meticulous mind..."


    At this moment, she looked at therge scythe behind Su''en and asked, "How did you get this scythe?"


    "I picked it up when I went to the underground dungeon for a trial."


    "You used that scythe to cut off the Smoke Ghost''s arm just now?"


    "Yeah."


    "Now it''s a bit troublesome... the curse bacsh of this banned item is very deadly. Wait a moment, I''ll contact a medical team outside the city for you, but time is tight, and they may not make it in time. Hopefully, they can save your life..."


    "Uh... I think it shouldn''t be that bad. I can handle it myself to some extent. If possible, having a doctor to help would be good."


    "Ah? I think you may not be aware of the curse characteristics of that ck scythe."


    "No, I am aware."


    "..."


    Su''en now had spider arms, so sewing needles and the like were no problem at all.


    Moreover, during this short period of time, he had specifically studied surgical emergency techniques and learned how to use the emergency equipment from the ck Tower Academy. As long as it wasn''t a fatal injury like having his brain split in half, there shouldn''t be a big problem.


    He could handle it himself.


    Besides, now he had the super strong recovery ability after the transformation with the "x serum," and he also learned the "Life Conversion Alchemy Array" from Rena. With multiple safeguards, Su''en felt that the possibility of dying a violent death was not high.


    But it would be better to have one or two doctors to help.


    ...


    The two of them soon arrived at the south city wall. They didn''t go through the main gate. Su''en climbed the wall with his spider arms, while Qiantiao leaped over the wall with a few jumps.


    "I have arranged a hunting team from the inner city for you. They will give you a new identity, and you will follow them. There is a great opportunity at the ruins of Dawn City, but it is also very dangerous... You are even more cautious than I expected, I don''t need to say much more."


    As they walked and talked, Qiantiao had already arranged everything for Su''en.


    Originally, it was supposed to be an escape, but it sounded more like following the hunting team for a casual stroll.


    "Yeah. Qiantiao, there''s something I need your help with. I have a basement on Green Street, and there are some things inside. If it''s convenient for you, can you help me clean it up?"


    "Okay."


    "Oh, and there''s one more thing. In the basement of No. 16 Green Street, there is my friend. His name is Danny, and he is a very powerful alchemist. I''m afraid the Umbre Organization will trace it back to him, so please take care of him for me."


    "Okay."


    "Qiantiao, that visible illusion you just showed, is it a second awakening of your talent?"


    "Huh... how do you know about this? This is an area that only top professionals would be involved in. It''s advanced knowledge that even the inner city has sealed off..."


    "..."


    As the two of them chatted, Qiantiao noticed that Su''en''s face had turned into a strange blue color.


    She asked, "Huh... are you poisoned? Why did your skin turn blue?"


    "..."


    Su''en listened helplessly.


    If she had appeared earlier, he wouldn''t have had to take the risk of injecting the "x serum."However, it seemed like a blessing in disguise.


    There were no abnormalities now, it should be a sess.


    Throughout, Qian Tiao never exined the identity of her cloak, and Su''en never asked.


    But when parting, Qian Tiao gave him a profound piece of advice, "Strive to be stronger... Only from a high ce can you see a different scenery."


    "Okay."


    Su''en smiled slightly.


    Although it was just one sentence, Su''en understood the implied meaning, he was not yet qualified to touch those high-end secrets.


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 Chapter 129: Voodoo Doll

    Chapter 129: Voodoo Doll


    The energy in both the inner and outer cities is immense.


    Even though Su''en caused quite amotion in Old Lingdun, she managed to find a good doctor within an hour to help her solve the bacsh from the ck Scythe Curse.


    Because Su''en controlled the strength of her attacks precisely, the wounds from the curse were not severe. With the help of the "Life Conversion Alchemy Array" and the X Serum, she was able to survive without any major issues.


    Next was the n to leave the city.


    Originally, Su''en nned to go alone and find an opportunity to join a wild team to Dawn City. However, Qiantiao''s arrangement seemed more appropriate.


    She arranged a legal identity for Su''en.


    In order to avoid exposing his identity, Qiantiao did not arrange for him to join a hunting team rted to the Cross Society. Instead, she had him join a transportation team in the inner city. Su''en became a casual sniper hired for a hunting guild mission, with a registered medal and a series of certification documents issued by the hunting guild. His identity was well-founded. He reced the original hunter named "Johnny".


    .......


    On this day, arge transportation team was slowly moving through the dark underground passage.


    This was Su''en''s seventh day following the "Thornbird Merchant Guild Transport Team".


    The sound of steam-powered mechanical dogs filled the air in the team. These simple mechanical animals did not havebat capabilities, but they could carry heavy goods and adapt to the rugged mines in the underground. They were the mainstream transportation tools used by hunters to transport heavy objects.


    Currently, arge hunting camp was being built in Dawn City, requiring arge amount of construction materials. This was a good opportunity for merchants to make money, so there were many transportation teams heading underground during this time.


    Since the hunters were going to explore ruins anyway, they also epted the guild''s employment and earned some money for escorting along the way.


    This transportation team hired five small hunting teams and some reputable solo hunters from the hunting guild. Su''en, who took on the identity of "Johnny", was among them.


    There were a total of one to two hundred people in the team, and Su''en blended in without attracting attention.


    In the past few days, they had encountered two small-scale attacks from aberrant monster groups, resulting in a few deaths, but fortunately, there were no major losses.


    And because he was a hired frence hunter, he didn''t have many acquaintances and hung at the back of the team, appearing quite aloof.


    Of course, this was a deliberate image created by Su''en to conceal the abnormalities in his body.


    Due to injecting the "X Potion", his entire skin had turned blue due to the side effects.


    To prevent anyone from noticing, he wore a gas mask throughout the journey, and his hands were covered with expensive synthetic skin gloves, leaving no skin exposed.


    Fortunately, most hunters who explored the underground were fully armed, so this attire didn''t seem out of ce.


    ......


    The transportation team continued to move steadily towards the underground.


    Su''en carried a ck box, which was used to disguise the presence of the scythe by making it look like a sniper rifle case since they hadn''t found a new corpse in the past few days.


    As they walked, a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy happily ran towards the back of the team.


    He waved his gas mask in his hand and greeted Su''en excitedly, "Mr. Johnny, can you help me check what''s wrong with my mask?"


    This boy was named "Tommy" and was the son of the leader of the "Drunkard Hunting Team". Because he loved adventure, his big-hearted father brought him along.


    Two days ago, the transportation team encountered an attack from an aberrant monster. Su''en happened to kill one of the monsters and saved this little guy from almost having his neck bitten off. As a result, he gained the friendship of the Drunkard Team.


    This unreserved little guy would asionally seek advice on marksmanship and mechanical matters besides expressing his gratitude.


    "Mr. Johnny, your parrot mask is so beautiful."


    Tommy looked at Su''en''s mask with envy and pouted, "Compared to yours, mine looks like an ''Ugly Duckling Mask''."


    "Hehe, let me take a look..."


    Su''en took the ugly duckling mask from him without any trouble and carefully examined it.


    Of course, it couldn''tpare.


    The mask Su''en wore on his face was not an ordinary gas mask but a modified "gue Doctor''s Crow Mask".


    Initially, he thought he wouldn''t need it after killing Sergei, but after injecting the X Serum, Su''en found that his cell activity had be extremely strong, and his body could automatically metabolize minor toxins without any effect. He had also tested the curse properties of the mask in the past two days and concluded from observing the attribute panel that his cell activity could withstand the side effects of this mask. With the detoxification potion, he was at least less likely to be poisoned.


    Since he had to wear a gas mask to cover his face anyway, he decided to modify the appearance of the crow mask.


    After all, there was no better gas mask than one with a 99% probability of protection against toxins and the ability to enhance toxin resistance when worn for a long time.But because it was spoils of war, in order to avoid being recognized, Su''en also transformed the originally cool and mysterious crow-mouth mask into a shy "parrot mask".


    Not only did he change the ck main color to the parrot''s yellow-green color, he also added a chicken-rib mechanical device that cleans the goggles like a windshield wiper, and also casually covered the crow''s mouth with a piece of mysterious ck cloth. This is the mainstream punk style on the market. It was a simple mechanical modification, but itpletely changed the appearance and made it look instantly mon".


    However, this chicken-rib modification attracted Tommy''s strong interest.


    Watching Su''en inspecting his own work, Tommy muttered on the side, "Mr. Johnny, I want to make a mechanical goggles that can automatically flip open, so that when I need a wide field of vision, it can stay on my hat. But it always creaks and is stiff even after I oiled it..."


    "Oh?"


    Su''en found that Tommy had a talent for mechanics and hade up with something interesting in just one day.


    He took a quick look and found the root of the problem, saying, "Actually, you''re already doing pretty well. You can slightly move the gears here, and the power transmission of the steel wire will be smoother. The reason it gets stuck is because you designed the device to be tooplicated. The moreplicated the machinery, the more likely it is to malfunction..."


    Tommy followed Su''en closely, listening carefully.


    Before long, Su''en handed the mask back to him.


    The boy had a good understanding, and he seemed topletely understand. He smiled and said, "Oh, thank you, Mr. Johnny. I know how to modify my ''ugly duckling mask'' now!"


    With that, he happily ran off.


    Su''en smiled as he watched him.


    The boring escort mission had some small pleasures after all.


    .......


    After walking for a few more hours, the team stopped.


    "Alright, we can stop here. We''ll set up camp here today!"


    The one shouting was Abagon, a tall and thin old man. His appearance matched his personality, always making people feel harsh. He was the most respected person in this transport team and also a steward of the "Thornbird Trading Company" in the inner city.


    With thismand, excited cheers came from the team.


    Finally, they could rest again.


    The mechanical dogs surrounded the perimeter, protecting the members of the tradingpany inside. Those people from the inner city always looked down on the people from the outer city.


    As for the hunters, they had to set up their own camps.


    Su''en also took out the marching tent from his backpack and set up a sleeping ce for himself in an inconspicuous corner, then crawled inside.


    Finally, it was time to rest, and Su''en felt that this was the mostfortable time of the day.


    He brought the "Invisible Corpse" into the tent and then unwrapped the shroud, revealing the runic corpse and therge ck scythe inside.


    Su''en also took off his gas mask, exposing his eerie blue-skinned face to the air.


    If there were outsiders here, seeing the two blue-skinned monsters in the tent would surely scare them.


    But Su''en was used to it.


    He took out a rune pen and began to redraw the alchemical materials on the dimming runes.


    This was a hunter who died in an attack two days ago. The body was intact, so Su''en collected it to use as materials.


    While he repaired the runes on the living corpse, he also examined the changes in the muscles of the body and muttered to himself, "The amplification effect of the X Serum on the body varies greatly among individuals. Melee professionals should be more suitable for making living corpses. It''s a pity that I didn''t have the chance to bring out the body of the second-tier professional from before. If I had used the body of that kind of professional, it should have been able to withstand more strikes..."


    Although the bacsh was the same, the recovery ability was much worse.


    Even though the living corpse had also been injected with three doses of the "Second Generation X Serum", Su''en found that this female corpse was much worse than the previous male corpse under the same circumstances. In the same situation, there would be a significant difference in the number of bacshes it could withstand.


    But it didn''t matter... they were all consumables anyway.


    ......


    Speaking of the "X Serum", Su''en lowered his head and looked at the bulging and knotted muscles under his blue skin on his arm, his expressionplex.


    They had been on the road for several days, and even though he didn''t have intense training, his muscles were constantly filled with a sense of expansion.


    That was a sign of muscle growth.


    It was even more evident on his data panel. Except for mental power, almost all the physical-rted data had increased by more than double.


    And this growth process was still continuing in a decreasing pattern, and it would probably bepletely digested in the next few months.


    After fully absorbing the serum, Su''en could predict that his physical fitness would be much stronger than that of an ordinary melee professional!


    In addition to the increase in physical data, there was another very obvious enhancement.


    That was the efficiency of his meditation in absorbing "Dark Spiritual Power", which was significantly different from before he injected the serum.


    Before, Su''en could increase his dark spiritual power by one unit after meditating for a night.


    But now, after meditating for a night, he could increase it by three units!Although the dark spiritual power in the cave was indeed denser than that in Old Lingdun, it did not reach three times the density.


    Moreover, it was not just about the density, but also the absorption efficiency and the feeling.


    Su''en felt that his previous meditation was like forcibly infusing his body with dark spiritual power. Now, even if he didn''t actively use the breathing method, the dark spiritual power would automatically prate his pores. His body not only showed no signs of distortion, but also had a pleasant feeling like drawing silk.


    It felt like... a significant increase in the "elemental affinity" mentioned by the spellcasters.


    Su''en also estimated that he should soon be able to meet the minimum attribute requirements for advancing to the second-tier profession.


    Even because of the strengthening of his body and the surge of dark spiritual power, his capacity would also be very high, estimating that he could at least withstand the advancement materials and alchemical imnts of second-tier gold quality and above.


    This also made Su''en look forward to his trip to Dawn City even more.


    If he could find a powerful space cursed object, he wouldn''t have to worry about his body not being able to withstand it and miss the opportunity to fuse with such high-level professional materials.


    ......


    Su''en had almost finished drawing the runes on the zombie, and then wrapped it up again with the shroud.


    At this time, he thought of something and took out a pitch-ck doll from his storage ring.


    This was an experimental product, a solidified "Cursed Doll" of the spellcaster.


    Su''en named it "Voodoo Doll".


    But because this was a new work, there were still too many functions and data that needed to be tested before it could be used in actualbat.


    Su''en thought that this boring escort still had half a month to go, so he collected some blood samples for testing. It just so happened that Mr. Abagon, the steward, fell off the mechanical dog during the previous downhill journey and bled a little.


    Su''en didn''t know what he thought of, and a slight smile of apology appeared on his face, "With a distance of more than a hundred meters, the effect should not be bad... Mr. Abagon, I''m sorry, I can only use you for the test."


    Muttering to himself, he took the collected blood sample and smeared it on the alchemical array on the back of the doll. The gloss shed and disappeared, and the doll seemed to have a spirit in an instant. Ayer of gray mist appeared on the face of the doll, which had no facial features. It was somewhat simr to Mr. Abagon, and it looked a bit terrifying.


    Su''en was very familiar with the "Straw Man" spell in his memory, so there was no reason for him to fail.


    He picked up a rune steel needle and then poked it into the doll''s leg.


    This spell was not the kind of method that could easily kill with one blow. The distance was far, there were not enough blood samples, and if you didn''t stab the heart and head, you could only torture people.


    As soon as this needle was inserted, Su''en''s keen hearing allowed him to hear a scream instantly.


    "Ouch..."


    He didn''t know what Mr. Abagon was doing, but it seemed quite painful to hear him yell.


    "Subtracting the time consumed by the sound propagating in the air, from the moment of stabbing to the target''s scream, there was a dy of about 1.3 seconds. I don''t know if his reaction was slow, or the spell was dyed due to distance..."


    Su''en muttered to himself, and then recorded his experimental data: "September 1st, test target #001, ordinary middle-aged man... blood sample quality e, one hundred and thirty meters, needle stabbing the calf, dy 1.3 seconds scream..."


    After recording the data.


    Su''en thought for a while, picked up the rune steel needle again, and stabbed the same leg of the doll, then listened carefully.


    "Huh... The reaction to this scream is obviously slower, maybe he was prepared for the leg that was stabbed? Try another one?"


    Su''en thought for a while, then changed his leg and stabbed it again.


    In an instant, he heard Mr. Abagon''s scream and cursing, Su''en finally confirmed something, and added a sentence in his notes: "It is basically confirmed that the casting distance and reaction speed are inversely proportional, and the precise values of distance and dy can be tested in the future..."


    Then he stabbed a few more needles, almost no screams were heard, and the blood samples became very light.


    Su''en recorded again: "Casting will consume the target''s biological samples, greatly reducing the curse effect, and the casting distance will be greatly reduced..."


    ......


    Su''en tested the properties of the first version of the "Voodoo Doll" and got some new inspirations.


    He took out a new piece of wood, nning to carve a doll that had improved some of the spellcaster''s attributes.


    But as he was carving, footsteps approached from outside the tent.


    Tommy came to inform him that Mr. Abagon had called all the mercenaries to hold an emergency meeting.

 Chapter 130: Search

    Chapter 130: Search


    Su''en put away the half-carved wooden doll and put on his gas mask again.


    Just as he walked out of the tent, he heard Mr. Abagon rubbing his leg and cursing as he walked out of his luxurious marching tent: "Damn it, this dungeon is not a ce for humans. My old cold legs have rpsed..."


    Su''en listened to this and the corners of his mouth under the mask lifted slightly.


    .......


    This time, the "Thornbird Trading Company" hired a total of five small hunting teams and some scattered hunters. These fifty to sixty fully armed hunters were also the main force for transportation security.


    Su''en found a corner and listened quietly.


    If there was an emergency meeting, it meant that there was a problem somewhere.


    Before long, everyone arrived, and Mr. Abagon got straight to the point.


    "I just received thetest news. In the d24 area, which we will enter in about three days, several transport teams were attacked by mutated monsters and almostpletely wiped out. But we must deliver the supplies to the campsite of the Dawn City Ruins on time. So, I hope you can be prepared, send more people on guard duty during the night, and ensure the safety of the transport teams..."


    It was clear that this manager, who had never been outside the city, was nervous, and he spread his fear to the entire transport team.


    The more hunters headed to the Dawn City Ruins, the more dangerous the journey became. It was like fishing, attracting more and more mutated monsters with the scent of human beings.


    The dungeon was not a human territory; it was always a paradise for monsters.


    Humans were just a kind of delicious food in the eyes of monsters.


    The deeper underground, the stronger and more numerous the monsters.


    With that said, the hunters began to discuss.


    "I heard about it before. It seems that there is arge group of ''Three-eyed Poison Lizards'' active near the d24 area. Several hunting teams have encountered small-scale monster groups and suffered losses..."


    "That kind of mutated monster is quite troublesome. They are fast, move in groups, and a bite can infect people with toxic substances that cause flesh to rot... Do we have enough antidotes prepared?"


    "Not many. Hopefully, we won''t encounter arge-scale monster group, otherwise, we''ll be in trouble."


    "Everyone, prepare in advance. ce the outposts farther away when setting up camp..."


    "Yes, that''s the only way."


    "..."


    The leaders of the five hunting teams gathered together to discuss.


    After all, they all made a living from this, and no one was scared away by the danger.


    .......


    In an inconspicuous corner, Su''en also quietly listened to the battle n arrangements discussed by several team leaders.


    The underground passages wereplex and winding, and there were many routes to the Dawn City.


    The transport team was currently taking this route, which was the closest one discovered by the hunters so far.


    But it was not the artificial secret passage that Su''en knew before.


    They took a detour and passed through some dangerous areas marked on the map.


    However, Su''en didn''t care since he was traveling with the team.


    He didn''t feel any urgency while listening.


    He knew about the "Three-eyed Poison Lizards," which posed a significant threat to non-professionals. But for him, those monsters that could be killed with a regr firearm were not a threat.


    Moreover, with the "Invisible Corpse" as his trump card, even if high-level mutated monsters appeared, he had a way to fight back.


    Even if they really had to run, most mutated monsters wouldn''t be able to outrun him, who had the Eight-Armed Spider Spear.


    After a while, the meeting ended.


    Su''en was about to go back to rest.


    But Benson, the leader of the "Boozehound Hunting Team," came up to him.


    "Johnny, my brother!"


    "What''s up, Captain Benson?"


    "Hehe, that kid Tommy has been causing you trouble these past few days."


    Benson was a big-bearded man with a boozy nose and a hearty personality.


    Although they hadn''t known each other for long, Su''en had a good impression of him. Because of saving Tommy before, this big-bearded man was always very polite to him.


    Su''en smiled, "It''s not really trouble."


    Benson looked helpless like an old father, "Ah... this kid is driving me crazy. I heard that he likes to tinker with those mechanical things. I wanted to send him to the repair shop as an apprentice. It may not be wealthy, but at least he can live afortable life. But he doesn''t want to. He keeps shouting that he wants to be an adventurer, a real mechanic. So, I thought of taking him out to see the world, but we almost had a problem on the way. If it weren''t for you, that kid would have suffered a big loss."


    "Tommy actually has a talent for mechanics..."


    Su''en smiled. He felt that this big-bearded man must have something else to talk to him about.


    Sure enough, after being polite for a while, Benson finally said, "By the way, Johnny, the route ahead may be dangerous. If we really encounter arge-scale attack from mutated monsters, stay closer to our team. We can take care of each other."


    He said it politely and took Su''en''s face into consideration.


    He said it was taking care of each other, but he actually wanted to take care of this lone wolf.After all, in the eyes of ordinary people, gunmen are a profession that needs to be protected by teammates, especially snipers. Once they are approached by monsters, they be weak in closebat.


    Su''en understood. This was to repay the favor of saving Tommy before.


    He didn''t say much, just smiled and nodded, "Hmm, okay, thank you."


    .......


    In this way, the transport team continued to move towards the depths of the dungeon.


    Along the way, they encountered several small-scale attacks from distorted monsters, but because the transport team had enough manpower and firepower, they were able to repel them without any danger.


    Su''en was a sniper and didn''t need to engage in closebat. asionally taking a shot was enough.


    No one cared about thiszy and unsociable guy in the team.


    Su''en''s daily life was also very regr.


    He studied the Voodoo Doll, tinkered with some machinery, meditated to increase his dark spiritual power, and recorded detailed changes in his body data after injecting the "x serum"...


    Then he studied and interpreted Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript.


    When Su''en was ambushed by the Umbre Organization in the "White Sail Warehouse" before, he was puzzled as to why those guys could quietly take things away but chose to kill to cover their tracks.


    Later, in the battle on Green Street, Su''en killed three second-tier professionals from the Umbre Organization. After extracting the memory fragments of the ice mage who ambushed them in the warehouse, he finally understood that the reason the Umbre Organization wanted to cover their tracks was because they considered this manuscript as a "contaminant" and believed that its curse would contaminate anyone who came into contact with the notes, causing great harm.


    Their orders were to eliminate anyone who hade into contact with the notes and retrieve the manuscript.


    Moreover, this was a direct order from the Duke of ck Tower!


    But this made Su''en very puzzled.


    He identified the detailed information of this manuscript and found that it didn''t have any "contaminating properties" at all.


    The only curse mentioned was thating into contact with the manuscript would involve certain "causality" of the manuscript, and it was unknown whether it would bring fortune or disaster. How could this be considered contamination?


    Su''en felt that this was probably a move by the high-level officials of the ck Tower to monopolize the knowledge of super-tier alchemy.


    After all, he also learned from the memory of another second-tier professional that the Umbre Organization knew about the existence of this manuscript. Moreover, they spected that it was one of the five manuscripts left by Sir Isaac, which recorded the "Divine-tier Alchemy".


    After much contemtion, Su''en wanted to find answers in the notes.


    He had been deciphering this manuscript for the past few days.


    Unexpectedly, using his not-so-clever deciphering methods, he managed to trante the contents of the manuscript.


    The result was...


    He found that this notebook was just an ordinary alchemy notebook, at least from what he had seen so far.


    The contents recorded on it were a special alchemical prosthetic.


    The Sir Isaac of that year wanted to use a "Heart Prosthetic" to bear additional dark spiritual power and also give the human body a continuous recovery "blue buff". This would allow alchemists to neverck dark spiritual power in battle and freely unleash more powerful spells without worrying about consuming their mana...


    Moreover, the contents of this notebook were also very user-friendly. It seemed that the half-god alchemist was afraid that future generations would not understand his brilliant ideas, so he gradually exined from the basics, step by step, how to sessfully create that "Heart Prosthetic".


    Su''en understood the first few pages, which recorded the manufacturing blueprint of the "Isaac''s Alchemical Heart (Level 1)". The main material used was the heart of a first-tier distorted monster. Although the runes and refining forms wereplex, they were entry-level knowledge that low-tier professionals could gradually learn and master.


    And miraculously, he could only see theter contents after understanding the previous ones.


    These past two days, he understood the first few pages and then deciphered theter pages, which contained the contents of the "Isaac''s Alchemical Heart (Level 2)".


    Thinking about it, there were still Level 3, Level 4, and Level 5 contents in this notebook...


    It was simply an ordinary notebook.


    This book waspletely a collection of alchemical knowledge, apart from alchemy, it contained even more advanced alchemical knowledge.


    There was nothing that could be considered "contamination" in it.


    The only special thing Su''en felt was the sentence that was suspected of "spheming the gods".


    Sir Isaac wrote this sentence on the first page with a disdainful tone: "So-called divine-tier creatures are nothing more than high-level materials in the face of great alchemy."


    Su''en spected that the final part of this notebook might be about using the so-called divine heart to refine an "Isaac''s Heart"?


    .......


    The transport team continued to walk towards the depths of the dungeon for several days and finally entered a high-risk area. The atmosphere in the team gradually became tense.


    On this day, they chose a rtively safe ce to set up camp as usual and assigned more people to guard at night.


    Su''en also set up his tent and began his daily research.


    But unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, a group of uninvited guests broke into the camp.


    "Someone attacked the camp!"


    "Everyone, prepare for battle!"


    "..."


    The sentry sounded the rm, and suddenly there was amotion outside.Su''en didn''t dare to be careless. He cleaned up the invisible zombie and stepped out of the tent.


    To his surprise, despite themotion, no fight had broken out.


    The intruders were not mutated monsters, but a renowned bounty hunter group from Old Lingdun.


    The members of the wilderness hunting team guarding the camp were angry, but they didn''t dare to fight back.


    Among these rude intruders was a second-tier professional, ''Flower Sword'' Hol, a sub-leader of the "Iron Knight Bounty Hunter Group", an experienced swordsman who excelled in court fencing.


    After all, they had signed a protection contract. The wilderness hunters of the transport team also had the duty to protect the transport. They stood their ground with their weapons, not allowing this group of uninvited guests to break into the core of the camp.


    Although the other party had a second-tier professional, the transport team also had one to two hundred people. If a real fight broke out, it would undoubtedly end in mutual destruction.


    The other party didn''t dare to act rashly either.


    Then Hol negotiated with Abagon, and it seemed that he said something. The manager of the merchant group actually easily agreed to their search in the camp!


    "We are pursuing a very dangerous fugitive. Please cooperate with us for your own safety."


    "Everyone, step out of your tents, open your tents andrge bags, we need to check!"


    "Take off your masks, please show your faces..."


    "..."


    There were ten people from the Iron Knight Group. Judging by their demeanor, besides the second-tier Hol, there were several other formal professionals.


    This was already a strong team configuration.


    Su''en watched this group of people storm into the camp, seemingly looking for a "fugitive".


    Hearing this, he frowned.


    Because he himself was a fugitive.


    Could it be that the Umbre Organization had tracked him here?


    That was his first reaction.


    .......


    These guys drove everyone out of their tents and then checked one by one.


    Su''en was now in blue skin, which couldn''t be exposed to light. Once he took off his mask, he would definitely attract attention.


    But he was also a bit puzzled... The "Iron Knight Group"''s handling method was a bit overbearing, wasn''t it?


    After all, the people in this transport team were all legal wilderness hunters. Bounty hunters were notw enforcement agencies and had no right to search. This was the most important reason why Qian arranged this legal identity for him, to avoid unnecessary trouble.


    And this rude behavior naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of several wilderness hunting team leaders.


    Benson, the team leader, spoke up directly: "Hey, hey, hey, ''Iron Knight Group'', don''t go too far. We are a wilderness hunting team, not some fugitives. We have no obligation to cooperate with your search!"


    With that, the leaders of the other four teams also echoed: "Exactly! On what grounds are you searching us?"


    The wilderness hunters were not cowards, and it seemed that an armed conflict was about to break out.


    The search was obstructed, and Hol''s face turned pale.


    Ordinary bounty hunters wouldn''t dare to kill legal wilderness hunters.


    But he seemed to be carrying some urgent order, didn''t have time to argue, took out a wanted order and a gold badge, directly revealed his identity, and coldly said: "This is the highest level wanted order issued by the ck Tower, I am a specialw enforcement officer of the ''Umbre'' in the outer city. Just half an hour ago, this extremely vicious fugitive assassinated Lord Haus, the chief intelligence officer of Old Lingdun. Anyone who obstructs the pursuit will be treated as an aplice of the fugitive and killed without mercy!"


    Seeing the gold badge that Hol showed, the faces of several wilderness hunting team leaders changed drastically, and they didn''t dare to speak anymore.


    No one dared to provoke the Umbre Organization.


    .......


    On the other hand, Su''en''s expression became somewhat strange.


    Was it really the Umbre Organization''s undercover?


    So a high-ranking official had just been assassinated?


    Looking at the wanted order, he also understood that these people were not here to catch him.


    From a distance, he could clearly see the portrait on the wanted order.


    Wasn''t that the woman who had blown up the experiment?


    That woman had made a bigger fuss than him before, and she definitely couldn''t stay in Old Lingdun. It was expected that she would flee the city.


    But she didn''t keep a low profile after escaping, and caused a bigmotion again?


    Su''en''s eyebrows twitched.


    The legendary "Super Mechanical Warrior" who existed only for battle, was she really so troublesome?


    The fact that Hol was in a hurry to reveal his identity and search the camp meant that they were sure that the woman was nearby at this moment.


    However, what Su''en cared about was not the woman''s situation, but his own.


    Because at this moment, a guy from the "Iron Knight Group" had alreadye to his tent, and then, holding a gun, he ordered: "Hey, you... take off your mask!"


    Hearing this, the gaze hidden under Su''en''s gas mask also cooled down.


    A thought shed through his mind: Should I kill them all...


    ps. These two chapters are transitional chapters, written a bit weirdly... I don''t know where the problem lies.

 Chapter 131: Diviner

    Chapter 131: Diviner


    The underground cave is not the same as the city of Old Lingdun. If he really wants to take action, he has no scruples.


    Su''en can kill them and retreat calmly.


    With thisplex terrain, even if ten times the number of pursuers from Old Lingdun were toe, they might not be able to catch up to him.


    But in doing so, his n to quietly go to Dawn City will be ruined, and his identity as "Johnny" will have to be abandoned.


    But it seems that there is no other choice but to take action now.


    ......


    "Hey... you, take off your mask!"


    Su''en was being urged by the guy from the "Iron Cavalry" on the opposite side to take off his mask.


    After all, it was the time for the camp to rest, and most of the people in the transport team were not wearing gas masks. As the guy passed by, he naturally noticed that Su''en was different.


    Seeing that Su''en didn''t make a move, the guy''s gun also lifted slightly, as if he would shoot immediately if he sensed something wrong.


    The mask definitely cannot be taken off, as it would definitely cause problems.


    Listening to the urging, Su''en didn''t really care about this guy in front of him. Judging from his subtle movements with the gun, Su''en guessed that this guy wasn''t even a professional, so his threat was limited.


    Su''en''s peripheral vision was always focused on the "Flower Sword" Hall in the distance.


    If he were to take action, this person must be eliminated first to ensure that the battle would not have any unexpected incidents.


    However, just as Su''en was about to exert a little force with his fingers, preparing to control the "Invisible Zombie" behind him to strike the second-tier professional with a single blow.


    Suddenly!


    "The Knights" a few others who were searching in the camp discovered something and shouted, "Captain, I found this!"


    This urgent shout attracted the attention of everyone in the camp.


    Su''en also looked over and saw that the person was holding a damaged mechanical arm, which was surprisingly a severed arm of a living person. However, the tattered synthetic skin reflected a metallic luster, and there was no blood at the severed end, but rather some damagedplex high-precision mechanical parts.


    While others looked puzzled, Su''en was familiar with it and thought to himself, "px-911 Mechanical Limb?"


    The reason why he was familiar with it was because there were parts of this mechanical limb that had been disassembled in the puppetry items in his storage ring.


    Seeing this severed arm, Su''en also realized that the woman used a severed arm to attract certain tracking abilities of the enemy.


    Obviously, the "Flower Sword" Hall also realized this, and his face became very ugly.


    Finding the mechanical arm meant that they had been "misled" by the wanted criminal, and continuing to stay in the camp would most likely be a waste of time!


    Even the guy in front of Su''en had no intention of urging him to take off his mask anymore.


    He was not in a hurry to take action either.


    With the top boss being assassinated and Hall facing great pressure, he turned his head to look at the man in the team wearing a ck silk top hat and asked, "Harkins, how long until you can use your divination ability again?"


    Upon hearing this, the man named Harkins showed a difficult expression on his face, "At least another two hours."


    Hall shook his head, "What about now?"


    Harkins originally wanted to say that it was impossible, but looking at the captain''s pale face, he knew he couldn''t refuse, "I''ll try."


    With that, this guy stabbed the silver handle of the staff he was holding into the ground, and then sped his hands in a wizard''s seal. In an instant, a silver hexagram formation appeared under his feet.


    Not far away, Su''en was just wondering what these guys were up to when he suddenly realized something from the starry sky symbol that appeared on top of the hexagram formed by the man in the top hat, "Divination?"


    Although he had not encountered a professional with this extremely rare and mysterious ability in reality, he had read about it in the textbooks at the ck Tower Academy.


    Diviners were truly extremely rare professionals.


    They needed certain specific "mediumship talents" to qualify for this profession.


    In the whole of Old Lingdun, there might not be more than a few qualified diviners.


    However, in the eyes of alchemists, any ability had value.


    Abilities like predicting the future and divining good and bad luck, although considered divine skills, came at a great cost and were truly high-risk professions.


    If the target of divination was within the diviner''s ability range, it was still manageable, such as finding a lost wallet, which would only cost some energy.


    But if the target of divination exceeded one''s own abilities, or if certain taboos were touched upon, the cost could be the loss of life or even unlimited amplification.


    For example, when divining an item, if one identally glimpsed at an indescribable existence, they would instantly die.


    Just as this thought shed through Su''en''s mind, the hexagram formation under the feet of the man in the top hat hadpletely lit up.


    And miraculously, the silver handle staff that he had ced in the center of the formation seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, swaying slowly in a certain direction, as if guiding something.


    The staff kept swaying in one direction, but in the end, it did not fall.


    As if something was still missing.


    But at this point, the diviner Harkins seemed to be struggling. He recited an incantation with his mouth, and his whole body trembled.


    Seeing that the divination had no result, he gritted his teeth and took out a crystal ne.


    As soon as the crystal ne appeared, a faint blue light instantly enveloped the alchemy formation.


    With a "ng," his palm suddenly touched the ground and pointed towards a cave in the southwest.


    The ne also floated up, and the triangr crystal pointed in the same direction like an arrow.However, at the same time, the diviner Hawkins seemed to be hit by an invisible heavy hammer on his soul, and he suddenly spewed out a mouthful of blood, his face turning pale. With this mouthful of blood, he seemed to have aged ten years, and hisplexion visibly deteriorated.


    Hull looked at his subordinate who was spitting blood as if he had expected it, and his face didn''t look good either. "You''ve worked hard."


    "Chase!"


    But before he could say more, he immediately called his subordinates and chased after the direction indicated by the floating crystal ne.


    In the blink of an eye, the Iron Cavalry Squad of more than ten people hurriedly left the camp.


    .......


    Watching them leave, Abagon, the steward, called out to everyone, "Alright, everyone go rest, continue to keep watch, don''t let your guard down!"


    After being disturbed like this, the faces of the members of the transport team didn''t look good.


    But after all, the other party was from the Umbre Organization. Even if they were angry, they had to hold it in. The hunters grumbled a few words and continued to sleep or keep watch.


    Not far away, Su''en looked at those who had left, and the steel wire in his hand loosened. However, his gaze gradually deepened.


    He had originally nned to take action, but he didn''t expect the other party to ignore him and just leave.


    However, he didn''t feel fortunate for being discovered. Instead, he felt a sense of inexplicable crisis.


    "This divination ability is very dangerous..."


    Su''en squinted his eyes, and a curious thought emerged in his mind.


    This was probably what Qiantiao had said before, those special trackers?


    If there were people like that in the Umbre Organization, they would be a great threat to any fugitive.


    Now that the woman was an SS-level fugitive, Su''en believed that he was at least an S-level. If there was a mysterious diviner like that, they would definitely end up fighting sooner orter.


    Moreover, his abilities and scythe had already been exposed. The next time he encountered a siege, it might not be so easy for the attackers to kill him.


    Thinking of this, Su''en pondered, "Diviners are extremely rare professionals. It''s hard to say if there are any in the Umbre Organization... They should all be in Old Lingdun City. There might only be one or two left in the underground now."


    Kill one, one less?


    Su''en raised an eyebrow, and a dangerous yfulness shed in his eyes.


    Since danger had emerged, it would be better to eliminate that danger in its infancy...


    With this thought, he immediately turned it into action. He controlled the undead and quietly approached the back of the tent. Then, avoiding people''s gaze, he untied the spider spear device and climbed up the cave wall to the top, and then followed the direction the Iron Cavalry Squad had left.


    .......


    Although he had only met her once, Su''en had a deep impression of that woman. Calm, rational, decisive.


    In her, he could always find some thoughts that could be mutually understood and resonated with.


    Since that woman chose to hide her severed arm in a transport team she encountered on the way, she must also know that the enemy had divination tracking methods.


    Su''en felt that if he were in that woman''s situation, he would definitely not just run away like that, but would ambush the Iron Cavalry Squad somewhere.


    After all, without killing that diviner, there would be no peace of mind.


    So... Su''en chose to catch up. Killing was a backup n.


    The first n was for that anticipated "ambush drama" that he believed would definitely happen, like catching a yellow sparrow.


    Su''en''s eight-armed spider spear ran quickly on the ceiling and soon caught up with the people of the Iron Cavalry Squad. He deliberately kept a distance, afraid of being discovered. Although he didn''t see anyone, he could hear the sound of their footsteps.


    "The pendulum disy shows the second passage on the left!"


    "We''re almost there, hurry!"


    "..."


    And suddenly, an unexpected event urred.


    As that group of people chased after them, they suddenly triggered an explosive device.


    With a loud bang, a st wave and mes swept over, and the entire cave wall shook violently, with debris falling like rain.


    Immediately after, intense sounds of battle could be heard.


    "They''re fighting?!"


    Su''en was almost knocked off the cave wall by the st wave, but instead of being startled, he showed an expected expression.


    Without dy, he quickly rushed towards the direction where themotion came from.


    In the pitch-ck corridor, there was only a faint light.


    But from time to time, there were shes of metal fire from the collision of swords and swords, apanied by the sharp sound of "ng".


    Su''en''s night vision allowed him to capture the two figures who were in intensebat. The person holding the sword was naturally the "Flower Sword" Hull that he had seen before. This guy swung his fast sword so densely that it was imprable. The elegant style of the court''s rapier technique exuded a sense of elegance, and his figure was light and agile like a dance, showing grace in his evasions. However, there was hidden killing intent in the tip of his sword...


    On the other side was a silver-haired one-armed woman. She also held a long katana and swung it with great force. Upon closer inspection, not only had she lost an arm, but her synthetic skin was also damaged in various ces, as if she had experienced a fierce battle before.


    But even with one arm severed and her physical condition looking bad, she was evenly matched with Hull in the fight, and even had the upper hand.


    Both sides fought fiercely, exchanging blows.


    "Second-tier melee profession really has an extraordinary reaction..."


    Su''en hung on the top of the cave wall, watching from a distance, while secretly observing Hull''s fighting style.The closebat second-tier professional''s nerve reaction speed has reached the level of being able to "split bullets with a knife". Even if Su''en had the ck Scythe in his hand, his own reaction was not fast enough to harm this person if he was not prepared in advance.


    He didn''t rush to take action, just hanging not far from the top of the cave.


    Because he knew that the silver-haired woman who dared to ambush must have the confidence to make a move.


    ......


    The explosion just caught the "Iron Cavalry" off guard, and now there are still six of the more than ten people alive. Captain Hall restrained the silver-haired woman, while these guys were casting spells on the side and shooting cold guns.


    Su''en also deliberately looked, and the diviner Harkins was indeed still alive.


    This kind of "rare professional" must be a key protected target. Obviously, they also guessed that the woman would focus on killing the diviner, and the few people who were alive protected the diviner in the center.


    Su''en originally wanted to find an opportunity to take action and kill Hall to end this battle.


    But suddenly, he noticed something unusual.


    "Are these people deliberately dying time?"


    Su''en also noticed that Hall knew that he couldn''t kill the wanted criminal "Number Neen" at all, so his offensive also converged, bing a prolonged and entangled fight.


    Not seeking to harm the enemy, just seeking to dy.


    "It''s strange..."


    Su''en noticed this and a thought shed through his mind.


    Why dy time?


    Waiting for reinforcements?


    ........


    The battle continued.


    How fierce was "Number Neen"?


    Since she was able to escape multiple times from the Umbre Organization''s encirclement and suppression battles, how could she be held back by a second-tier professional?


    Her purpose for setting up an ambush was very clear, it was to kill the "diviner"!


    Number Neen saw through Hall''s dying tactics and no longer cared about this guy. Suddenly, a burst of propulsion airflow erupted from under her feet, directly rushing towards the diviner.


    Her figure shed past.


    With a sh of her sword, a visible ripple of sword energy whistled by, and the cold light swept past, and two heads had already flown up, with bodies gushing out like a spring.


    The few people guarding the diviner were pale with fright and hurriedly fired their guns to try to stop her from continuing the ughter.


    However, even with alchemical bullets, they only produced sparks on Number Neen, and explosive bullets only pushed her back a few steps...


    Su''en''s thoughts were still spinning in his mind, and he saw the people raising their guns in front of him, but there was no ripple in his heart: "[px-911 Mechanical Limbs] have extremely high physical and magical resistance. Alchemical bullets won''t hit the vital points, so they are useless against her. And... maybe, she doesn''t have any conventional ''vital points'' at all!"


    He had carefully dismantled and analyzed the functions of these mechanical limbs before. Although he couldn''t understand many of the technologies, he spected that this "Number Neen" in front of him might have everything except the brain and nerves reced with machinery or alchemicalponents.


    So for normal people, weaknesses like nasal cavities, ear holes, eye sockets, and various skeletal joints were probablypletely eliminated in her design.


    This is a super mechanical warrior that exists purely forbat and killing!


    But then Su''en had a doubt: "If she is so strong, who was able to cut off her arm before? A third-tier professional?"


    Moreover, being chased by a second-tier team, not fighting back, and having to flee?


    Su''en felt that she might have guessed that there were stronger pursuers behind her, so she didn''t waste time killing these people.


    With this thought, Su''en narrowed his eyes and murmured, "Sure enough, there are stronger reinforcements on their way..."


    .......


    Number Neen''s swift operation of entering the crowd made the "Flower Sword" Hall''s face turn ck.


    This second-tier swordsman also seized the opportunity and stabbed into Number Neen''s damaged limb. But after all, it was machinery, and if it didn''t damage some keyponents, it was practically meaningless.


    Number Neen''s face showed no emotional fluctuations at all, and Su''en seemed to see his own shadow. Only in this absolutely calm state could one be a truly qualified fighting machine.


    In just this moment, Number Neen had already killed all six people, including the diviner.


    At this time, shepletely ignored Hall, who wanted to hold her back, and a burst of propulsion airflow erupted from under her feet as she turned and ran towards the depths of the underground cave.


    "Escaping?"


    Su''en looked and felt that the situation was probably over. If it were him, after killing the diviner, he wouldn''t bother with this second-tier professional who couldn''t be killed for the time being.


    But unexpectedly, Hall chased a few steps and couldn''t catch up, cursing angrily, "Damn it!"


    Then he gritted his teeth and did something unimaginable.


    Su''en watched as this guy ran while taking out a green potion and decisively stabbed it into his own neck.


    Seeing this, Su''en''s eyelids jumped. No matter how he looked at this action, it had a strong sense of deja vu.


    Isn''t this the same as his previous actions when fighting the Smoke Ghost?


    Could it be that this guy also realized that he couldn''t win and wanted to inject the "X Serum" to fight desperately?


    It seems that he received some kind of life-or-death order, and if he doesn''t keep anyone, he probably won''t survive when he returns.


    But...


    Su''en dared to inject the serum because he had the "Aberration Suppression Potion". Why does this guy have the right?


    In the next instant, as Su''en watched, Hall''s body swelled up like the Hulk, and Su''en understood and was greatly surprised: "He wants to hold her back even if it costs his life?"


    In the blink of an eye, this guy had transformed into a Hateful Warrior!Turns out, this wasn''t any pure "X Serum", but a loathing potion.


    Hogan never intended to suppress the mutation, he was merely trying to stall Number 19 with his life.


    Su''en''s eyelid twitched as he watched. How terrifying must the ck Tower''s ability to control people be, that a second-tier professional would self-destruct just like that?


    However, what he cared about more was something else.


    Loathing Warrior?


    It seemed like a pretty good material for a living corpse...

 Chapter 132: Mechanical Warrior and Hateful Warrior

    Chapter 132: Mechanical Warrior and Hateful Warrior


    "How strong is the regenerative ability of a second-tier Abomination Warrior?"


    Su''en looked at Hall, who had turned into an Abomination Warrior after injecting the serum, as if he had seen something incredible. His anticipation soared instantly.


    When he and Kay robbed the Steam Party escort team before, they had killed a first-tier Abomination Warrior. He had deeply experienced how powerful those monsters were. They had surpassed the limits of their tier, with physical attributes several times, or even more than ten times, stronger than professionals of the same tier.


    Seeing this second-tier Abomination, Su''en was not worried about its strength. On the contrary, he was looking forward to it bing even stronger!


    Because for ck Scythe, it was all about one sh.


    What he cared about was whether he could use the Abomination as a living corpse material!


    ......


    The essence of an Abomination Warrior and a living corpse was the same. They both utilized the non-directional distortion enhancement of the "X Serum" to improve their attributes. Theoretically, it could be used as "corpse" material.


    When Su''en was creating living corpses before, he had always thought about making an Abomination Warrior as a living corpse.


    With the exaggerated and extreme self-healing ability of the Abomination, as long as it didn''t hit the vital points, it could heal instantly.


    This meant that if Su''en controlled the Abomination living corpse and shed it five times with ck Scythe, triggering an immediate bacsh, if these five shes didn''t hit the vital points of the Abomination, then... it would immediately be healed by its terrifying self-healing ability!


    Perhaps... he could immediately sh it five more times?


    Five shes followed by five more shes...


    Theoretically, as long as luck wasn''t bad and it didn''t trigger a fatal injury, Su''en could sh the Abomination Warrior N times!


    If Su''en''s hypothesis was correct, ck Scythe would be the truly terrifying weapon in the hands of the Abomination Warrior.


    He hadn''t tried making an Abomination Warrior before because he didn''t have the technology. But now, a finished product appeared before his eyes!


    And it was a second-tier Abomination!


    Thinking of this, Su''en couldn''t contain his anticipation anymore.


    He must bring this Abomination back and give it a try!


    With this in mind, Su''en quickly harvested the spoils from several corpses and chased after the Abomination Warrior.


    ......


    After Hall injected the serum and transformed into an Abomination Warrior, his speed became extremely fast.


    He rushed forward and quickly caught up with Number Neen, who was trying to escape.


    Number Neen looked at the monster, her expression still numb, but a hint of seriousness appeared in her eyes.


    She heard the sound of the Abomination charging from behind and suddenly jumped back, avoiding the collision. Her body arched like a crescent moon in the air, and as shended, she swung her long knife down, shing at the Abomination Warrior''s right shoulder. The de prated two fingers, but in the blink of an eye, the woundpletely healed.


    In the next moment, because of her attack, the Abomination''s reaction was also extremely fast. It turned around and swung its massive arm horizontally, smashing heavily into Number Neen''s waist and abdomen. Her delicate body, which looked like only a quarter of the size of the monster, was sent flying like a cannonball and crashed deeply into the rock wall.


    When Su''en arrived, he happened to witness Number Neen being thrown back.


    He also judged that the speed of this Abomination Warrior was at least twice as fast as the previous Hall, and it was still getting stronger!


    Number Neen was also smashed into the stone wall, and Su''en felt a slight pain in his lower abdomen. If this blow hadnded on him, even though his body was so strong now, he would have undoubtedly lost half of his life.


    But Number Neen seemedpletely unaffected. She sprang out of the pit like a projectile and swung her knife at the approaching Abomination.


    A mechanical warrior against an Abomination Warrior.


    Both sides relied purely on physical attacks, had no sense of pain, and fought in a very violent manner, fist to flesh, de to flesh, fierce and terrifying... It made people''s scalp tingle.


    Just a few shes, and the two of them were like reckless cannons firing at each other, causing the underground chamber to copse everywhere.


    In the distance, Su''en just watched without taking action, hiding his body even more discreetly.


    Originally, this was the best opportunity for a sneak attack with Number Neen restraining the Abomination Warrior.


    Su''en also knew that facing an unintelligent Abomination, one or at most two shes would be enough to deal with it.


    But he didn''t make a move.


    Because... he was already certain that the Umbre Organization''s reinforcements would arrive in a short time!


    Otherwise, Hall''s actions to hold off Number Neen would be meaningless.


    If Su''en believed that he had guessed correctly and the Umbre Organization had reinforcementsing soon, then if he killed the Abomination Warrior now, he would expose himself and the "invisible living corpse."


    This would put him in a very passive situation.


    Even if he managed to escape this time, the next target of the Umbre Organization''s pursuit would change from one to two.


    But even though he knew there were reinforcements, Su''en didn''t immediately withdraw.


    One reason was that he didn''t want to easily give up the readily avable Abomination Warrior''s corpse.


    The other reason was that he felt the situation hadn''t reached the point where he had to retreat.


    From such a distance, it was impossible for arge force to arrive quickly. The most likely possibility was a lone ranger.


    The hostility of the Abomination Warrior was indiscriminate, so even if the enemy reinforcements arrived, it didn''t necessarily mean an immediate victory or defeat. It was highly likely to turn into a three-way melee.


    And Su''en felt that this kind of chaotic situation was more suitable for him to take advantage of the situation.


    With the scythe in his hand, who knows...


    Not only could he obtain the Abomination, but he could also ambush the "reinforcements"!


    If he guessed wrong and there was more than one enemying.


    Then it wouldn''t be a big problem.Neen and Hatred could also buy some time. It was not easy to catch up with Su''en, who could climb walls and drill holes with his eight-armed spider spear in thisplex dungeon. As long as he chose a good hiding spot, it wouldn''t be difficult to retreat.


    So, what he was doing now was to wait patiently for an opportunity.


    ...


    Neen wanted to leave, but he was being held back by Hatred and couldn''t escape at all.


    The battle between one person and one monster had already reached a white-hot stage. One body was made of alloy and couldn''t be destroyed, while the other body could heal and couldn''t be killed. Both sides were consuming their energy.


    Suddenly, Su''en''s eyes narrowed. "They''re here!"


    The sound could travel far in the dungeon passage.


    At this moment, he listened carefully and keenly caught a series of "popping" sounds of air explosionsing from the direction of the cave where they wereing from.


    He guessed that the personing must be a top-tier powerhouse. Su''en didn''t even dare to look in the direction where the sound wasing from, fearing that the other party also had a simr malicious perception ability.


    However, as the sound got closer and closer, Su''en suddenly heard something unusual. It was not just the sound of air explosions caused by running and stomping, but also the sound of "sizzling" from a jet propulsion device.


    "A jet propulsion device? Is the personing also a mech warrior?"


    Su''en was very familiar with this sound because during the battle with Neen, there were air surges in each joint.


    When he analyzed the stolen [PX-911 Mech Body], he also discovered the fuel propulsion device and the air propulsion device that looked like a jet engine. After being charged, these propulsion devices could provide explosive power to the mech warrior.


    Therefore, he was certain that the personing was a "mech warrior."


    ...


    Su''en listened carefully to the movement and indeed, as he expected, the "reinforcements" came alone.


    Seeing this, he didn''t rush to leave.


    After all, knowing that the other party was a mech warrior made the intelligence clearer.


    Unlike those strange magic professionals who could always unleash some unpredictable spells, mech warriors were very strong but had a single attack method, usually only physical attacks.


    And because they didn''t have a physical body, their perception system was also very simple, with only the four senses of "sight, hearing, taste, and touch." They wouldn''t awaken any strange perception abilities.


    In a certain sense, the predictable direction became much clearer.


    When the person arrived, Su''en lowered his breath and crouched in the corner without daring to take a deep breath.


    Although he knew that mech warriors wouldn''t have any "malicious perception" abilities, he deliberately lowered his gaze and relied on his keen hearing to passively capture the movements of the target.


    But what surprised Su''en was that the three-way melee he expected did not happen.


    After the "reinforcements" rushed into the battlefield, it seemed that the Hatred warrior did not attack him, and the situation immediately turned into a two-on-one!


    Listening to the intense impacts of "thud, thud, thud," the battle quickly fell silent.


    "So fast..."


    Su''en guessed that the guy must have some way to control the Hatred warrior or make it not attack him.


    However, even if there was no melee, it was not a problem.


    Because in Su''en''s eyes, "Neen" was just a bait to distract the enemy, no matter how it was done.


    ...


    Su''en heard the end of the battle and cautiously shifted his gaze upward.


    Not being noticed, he breathed a sigh of relief.


    As his gaze gradually moved up, he looked at a young man in ck military uniform standing there. Like a sharp sword, he gave off a sharp and intimidating feeling.


    With one hand pinching Neen''s neck, he lifted her up in the air.


    But because Neen held a great secret, this guy seemed to have no intention of killing her immediately.


    As a mech warrior himself, the man in military uniform naturally understood the structure of mech warriors and didn''t know how to operate them. He quickly and decisively grabbed Neen''s wrist with one hand, and with a sudden twist and pull, he snapped off her other arm with a "crack."


    With both arms broken, Neen hadpletely lost the ability to resist.


    The man in military uniform seemed to be relieved at this point and, in a victorious posture, said calmly, "Neen, the legendary mech warrior, an irreceablebat genius... It''s a pity that the previous generation''s PX811 mech body had so few design ws..."


    Su''en could hear the strong resentment and contempt in his tone.


    It was as if the second best in the world had defeated the best, and that bitterness finally came out.


    The man in military uniform saw that Neen had no reaction to his words at all, and seemed to find it boring, so he didn''t waste any more words and coldly asked, "Tell me, where is it?"


    Neen stared expressionlessly at the man in military uniform in front of her.


    With both arms broken, she had already lost any possibility of turning defeat into victory. No matter how she struggled, it would be in vain.


    But just at this moment, she suddenly moved!


    Because she was being choked, she still had her legs left. She suddenly used a scissor leg lock on the man in military uniform''s arm, tripping him and making him lose his bnce.


    The man in military uniform, being locked, showed a sneer on his face. "Hmph! Foolish choice!"


    But... the next second, he immediately couldn''tugh anymore!


    ...


    From a distance, Su''en, hidden on the rock wall, saw this scene and his eyes narrowed. "Smart choice!"


    He knew very well that Neen''s attack was not intended to cause any harm to the man in military uniform, but to create an opportunity for himself to attack!The auditory capabilities of a super mechanical warrior must be extremely strong. Su''en knew that despite his best efforts to conceal himself, having followed her all this way, she must have noticed something amiss.


    The woman''sbat state was very simr to his own - calm, rational, devoid of any unnecessary emotions.


    For this reason, Su''en put himself in the shoes of Number 19, and he was certain that Number 19 could do the same!


    Having discovered the "peeper", after watching the show for so long, she must have deduced that the "peeper" was not from the Umbre Organization.


    Why was he peeping?


    Naturally, it was to wait for an opportunity to kill and take advantage of the situation!


    Moreover, now that another powerful mechanical warrior had arrived, and he was still watching the show without retreating, it meant that he had the capital to watch the show.


    Su''en felt that if he were Number 19, thinking up to this point, he would definitely create an opportunity for the "peeper" to attack.


    Seeing her make this move, Su''en immediately understood, distracting the invisible zombie, and shing at the military man''s neck!


    ......


    Number 19 had already lost both arms, even with her full strength lock, she had no means to harm the military man.


    But her intention was not to harm!


    With this lock, the military man was thrown off bnce by Number 19. At this moment when he couldn''t leverage, a spatial rift suddenly cut across his neck at an extremely tricky angle.


    With a "swish", an ultimate silky feeling swept across, even the alloy neck was casually cut open with a smooth incision.


    The head with a look of astonishment fell off, and Number 19 and the headless corpse fell to the ground at the same time.


    With the death of the military man, the nearby abhorrent warrior seemed to lose control again, going berserk.


    But just as it was about to charge, another spatial rift appeared, and an ugly head ttered to the ground, blood spurting up like a fountain to a height of eight meters.


    After two consecutive long-distance shes, the zombie newly created by Su''en instantly copsed, and a cloud of blood mist exploded in the air.


    Su''en picked up the fallen scythe and body bag, and walked towards Number 19 and the two corpses.

 Chapter 133: The true identity of the original owner

    Chapter 133: The true identity of the original owner


    Su''en ignored the paralyzed Number 19, who had lost both arms and was sitting on the ground. He quickly walked to the corpse of the abomination warrior and reattached its pumpkin-sized head to the headless body. Then, he took out a surgical needle and thread and quickly sewed it back together.


    With the connection made, the wound on the body''s neck began to heal.


    There was no need for precise stitching techniques, as the body''s strong healing ability automatically reconnected the severed nerves, blood vessels, and other tissues.


    Seeing this, he breathed a sigh of relief.


    The "Undead Research Diary" had detailed experimental records. After being modified by the "X Serum," the human body had extremely high cellr activity. Normally, even after death, the body''s cells and nerves would remain active for a long period of time. It was only when the biological energy was depleted and there was no longer a supply of energy from the circtory system that the body wouldpletely die.


    In simple terms, the body was notpletely dead yet.


    But if the body was left to coolpletely and then brought back, even if it was stitched back together, it could no longer be used.


    Creating an undead required aplete body, not two pieces stitched together.


    Seeing the body healing itself, Su''en rxed.


    He began to gather his spoils.


    The "Flower Sword" Hall had turned into an abomination, and its soul had already dissipated. Su''en only gained a small amount of experience from it.


    But this soldier in military uniform was a great harvest.


    "Obtained 5 fragments of ''Mol Costa''s Memories''"


    "You have gained some information: ''Glory is my life, I am the most loyal subordinate of Duke...''"


    "You have learned thebat skill [Becklow Army Body One-Hit Kill Technique]..."


    "You have gained a lot ofbat weapon usage experience..."


    "You have mastered a lot ofbat skills,bat experience +751"


    "Spiritual power +0.1"


    Mechanical warriors had almost no spiritual power, so the increase was the same as an ordinary person. However, the increase inbat experience was extremely exaggerated.


    These killing machines created in secret by the ck Tower were filled with variousbat knowledge.


    Harvesting over 700 experience points caused Su''en''sbat experience to skyrocket, almost reaching the level of a bat expert."


    In addition tobat skills, this guy''s mind was filled with fanatic "loyalty."


    Su''en thought of another urate description for brainwashing - "Thought Steel Seal."


    Thinking that the ck Tower probably imprinted absolute loyalty on thesebat machines before they left the factory, just like they could erase memories, they could definitely add some loyalty suggestions to the subconscious.


    However, speaking of which, what was the deal with this defector, Number 19?


    .......


    After killing the mechanical warrior, Su''en naturally took all the spoils.


    Just as he was about to put the body of the soldier in the storage ring, Number 19, who had been watching him clean up the battlefield without saying a word, spoke up.


    She calmly said, "If you are willing, I would like to pay a price to buy this mechanical limb. Of course, I will also pay you a reward for helping me out of this predicament."


    Su''en looked up at her and didn''t bother with any useless words. He said directly, "I want to hear your background first before deciding if we have the basis for trust to make a deal."


    He didn''t have a bad impression of Number 19.


    But it wasn''t a good impression either.


    If someone was considered "not bad" by Su''en, it was already a high evaluation.


    Last time they identally met at the "ck Knight," she didn''t make a move, and now Su''en didn''t make a move either.


    Although Su''en didn''t tremble when killing, he didn''t take pleasure in it either.


    But if he didn''t have absolute certainty, he would never let his situation get out of control.


    It would be best if they could just pass by each other likest time.


    Number 19 seemed to have something to say, and Su''en also felt that she recognized him wearing the gas mask. "I think we can find another ce to talk," she said.


    Su''en nodded and asked, "Can you still walk?"


    "I can."


    Number 19 responded expressionlessly.


    With both arms severed and wounds on her legs, she struggled against the wall before standing up.


    She looked very weak.


    She looked at Su''en, who was collecting the abomination''s body, and asked, "Are you nning to take the abomination''s body with you? The storage ring on my severed arm is an ancient alchemical artifact with a superrge storage space of five cubic meters. You can have it if you need it."


    Five cubic meters?


    Su''en didn''t say much. He picked up the severed arm, took off the storage ring, put it on his own hand, and then stuffed the severed arm into the storage ring, legitimately reaping his spoils.


    However, he didn''t put the body in it.


    Because... the body was already showing faint breathing and irregr heartbeat.


    This was the phenomenon of "feigning death," but for Su''en, it was a good sign.


    In a sense, it was already a semi-finished "undead."


    The body showed signs of revival, and Su''en''s spection was halfwayplete.


    Now, he needed to immediately draw runes on it and see if he could activate the body''s circtory system and maintain its vital signs. Otherwise, it would truly die.


    It was inconvenient to stay at the battlefield, and time was of the essence. He directly tied the body with steel wire and controlled it to walk towards the depths of the underground cave.


    .......


    The two walked for a while in the dark underground cave. Su''en set up some warning devices along the way before stopping in a secluded corner.


    He didn''t avoid Number 19''s presence and took out the materials for drawing runes, starting to draw runes on the abomination''s body.Number Neen had been quiet throughout the journey, like a mechanical device that had run out of battery, stumbling along the way. Now it had stopped and leaned against a corner.


    While drawing runes, Su''en asked, "What should I call you?"


    His ability to multitask allowed him to draw runes and converse at the same time with ease.


    Number Neen replied expressionlessly, "Number Neen."


    Su''en asked, "Is there a story behind this name?"


    Number Neen answered sinctly, "It was my code in theb."


    Thinking of theb, Su''en casually asked, "Do you know Eve Banks?"


    Upon hearing this, Number Neen finally showed a hint of emotion, and asked in surprise, "Dr. Banks? You know him?"


    "No, that''s not important."


    Su''en didn''t dwell on this topic and instead asked, "I want to know, does your escape from theb have anything to do with the Banks couple?"


    Number Neen seemed to have guessed why Su''en asked this question. She nced at him and revealed a shocking secret, "You''re right, I was acting on their orders. The explosion at the ''Research Lab Seven'' not only destroyed the suppressant research project but also covered up some arrangements they made. It gave me the opportunity topletely destroy that project."


    "Oh."


    Su''en''s expression didn''t change much, as he had already guessed most of it.


    Now that Number Neen had admitted it, everything was clear.


    Danny''s parents knew that merely blowing up theb wouldn''tpletely destroy the higher-ups of the ck Tower''s desire to continue researching the "X Serum". So they left a backup n, allowing Number Neen to steal the source of the "X Serum".


    But Su''en didn''t ask her what exactly she stole.


    Whatever Number Neen risked her life to steal, she would never give it to anyone else, even if it meant her death.


    That topic ended there.


    It was just a casual question to break the ice.


    ......


    Having gotten the answer, Su''en also cleared up some of his doubts.


    He didn''t waste any more words and went straight to the point, "Let''s talk about the deal. How can I trust you? And what are you willing to pay for that mechanical limb?"


    Number Neen had a calm look in her eyes, as if she had seen through life and death. She simply exined, "There are still some things in the ''X Serum Project'' that need to be destroyed... So, I can''t die yet."


    Su''en didn''t respond.


    Obviously, he didn''t think this was enough to move him.


    Number Neen then revealed her bargaining chip, "I have a batch of spoils of war obtained from hunting Umbre Organization members, worth several hundred million. If you''re not interested in those, I have a lot of top-secret information about the ck Tower..."


    "Hmm..."


    Su''en didn''t agree or refuse.


    In terms of value, these things were almost enough.


    The technology of those mechanical limbs was too advanced, and they weren''t of much use to Su''en, nor could they be put on the market. It would be better to exchange them for something useful.


    Besides, he still had a set.


    However, he was more curious about another issue.


    Why did Number Neen know the original owner?


    At this point, Su''en knew that Number Neen had recognized him, guessing that the mechanical warrior had some ability to identify voices.


    He asked, "I know you must have recognized me, after all, we met once at the ck Knight Club. But I''ve lost some memories, so I want to know, did we know each other before that?"


    Upon hearing this question, Number Neen didn''t seem surprised.


    She said calmly, "Yes. Because I personally sent you out of the ck Tower."


    Su''en asked curiously, "What was my identity in the Inner City before?"


    At this point, Number Neen said calmly, "No! You''re not from Old Lingdun."


    She paused, then uttered a few unexpected words, "You''re from outside the Tower."


    "..."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en was taken aback.


    He never expected to hear these words.


    Outside the Tower?

 Chapter 134: Black Tower Confidential

    Chapter 134: ck Tower Confidential


    "Outside the tower?"


    Su''en listened to these words and only then realized what Number 19 had said.


    No, everyone told me that there is only one city in the underground world, Old Lingdun. So what does she mean by "outside the tower"?


    As a transmigrator, Su''en''s thoughts had not yet formed any fixed impressions, but he instantly thought of something.


    No wonder she was asking around and collecting countless fragments of memories. No one had ever heard of the "Reiga Di Family" in Old Lingdun.


    So, they were not originally from here, but were brought from outside?


    .......


    "If you want to ask about your missing memories, I''m sorry, I don''t know."


    Number 9 continued, "I am just one of the people responsible for escorting the ''exiles'' from outside the ck Tower and exiling them from the inner city. It just happened that I was the one who escorted you when you were sent down."


    Those?


    Su''en keenly caught this quantifier and furrowed his brows slightly, asking, "Are you saying that there is more than just me who came from outside the ck Tower?"


    "Yes. You are just one of them."


    Number 19 confirmed, "This is the highest secret of the ck Tower."


    She continued, "The ck Tower connects to the upper levels. Besides Duke Raphael and a few high-ranking individuals, no one knows what exactly is above the ck Tower. I don''t know either. But there are definitely other humans living there. Because every once in a while, a group of strangers is sent down from the ck Tower. They have their memories erased and are left to fend for themselves in the outer city..."


    At this point, Number 19 exined another of Su''en''s doubts, saying, "This is also why I didn''t act in the ck Jazz Clubst time. Because I knew you came from outside the tower, so you couldn''t possibly have any connection with the Umbre Organization."


    "..."


    Hearing this, Su''en fell into contemtion.


    As ifpleting the most important piece of the puzzle, he suddenly felt enlightened.


    Many of the questions that had troubled him before suddenly made sense because of these words.


    He muttered to himself, "I said, in such a world, there shouldn''t be only one underground city. So... the ck Tower is a passage to the upper levels?"


    The people in Old Lingdun had no concept of the "surface," Su''en felt that even if it wasn''t the surface, it must be a much broader world.


    Exile, escort, memory erasure...


    These keywords connected in Su''en''s mind, giving him the feeling that Old Lingdun was like... an underground prison?


    The criminals from outside the tower were exiled here to fend for themselves.


    This situation was familiar to Su''en from some plotlines in his past life... like the convicts exiled to Sydney in the British Empire that the sun never sets on in the 19th century?


    When Su''en thought of this, he didn''t feel surprised, but rather inexplicably excited.


    This world was truly bing more and more fascinating...


    He had thought that after being transmigrated for so long, he had already uncovered the veil of this mysterious world.


    But he didn''t expect that he had only uncovered a small part of the veil.


    Su''en finally understood the identity of the original host.


    Although... he was still puzzled about the Reiga Di Family.


    But he knew the general situation of this world.


    No wonder the ck Tower had absolute control over Old Lingdun, no wonder they wanted to block advanced alchemy knowledge, no wonder Duke Raphael enjoyed everything...


    Would a prison warden allow prisoners to have powerful strength?


    He remembered the words Qiantiao had said to him when he left Old Lingdun, "Be strong enough to see the scenery from a high ce."


    So it was a double entendre.


    A high ce?


    It not only referred to the realm of advanced professions but also the upper levels of the ck Tower!


    Even, he guessed the meaning behind the existence of Mr. ck''s "third-party force."


    With this thought, Su''en didn''t feel a sense of despair as a "prisoner," but instead, a strong desire to be stronger welled up in his heart.


    Tsk tsk, turns out the world is so big...


    Endless unknowns appeared before Su''en''s eyes, and a strong desire for exploration shed in his eyes.


    ........


    "I think you should understand now."


    Number 19 looked at Su''en''s paused brush and said, "There is one more piece of information I can tell you. Once you hear it, you won''t have so many concerns."


    "Oh?"


    Su''en put on an attentive expression.


    He also knew that the woman in front of him could think of what he had thought of.


    From the beginning, the bargaining chips and everything else were secondary.


    Trust was the most important.


    Su''en didn''t want topletely expose his safety to someone who could potentially threaten him, even if Number 19 hadn''t shown any malice at the moment.


    Now that she had severed her arms and seemed to have exhausted her energy, but if she were to receive her arms back, Su''en would be in a vulnerable position.


    Number 19 pondered for a moment and said something that caught Su''en''s attention, "You should be familiar with the ''Rakshasa Woman,'' right?"


    Su''en looked up at her but didn''t respond.


    The Rakshasa Woman should be referring to Qiantiao.


    Number 19 didn''t wait for Su''en''s answer because she was confident in her judgment. She continued, "Because I used to be a high-ranking member of the ck Tower''s secret organization, I am familiar with almost all of their intelligence systems. The Umbre Organization is a vast system, and it is impossible to change it in a short period of time. That''s why I intercepted a lot of confidential information during this period, including information about you..."


    Su''en''s brush didn''t stop, but his gaze became curious.


    After a pause, she directly revealed the information, saying, "I know that you are now called Su''en and that you are a member of the ''Steel Cross Society.'' You caused amotion in the inner city and were chased out. I also know that you have the ''Night Reaper of Sopnos'' and the ''Shroud of the Ice Man Oz'' in your hands. You also killed three second-tier professionals in the outer city... and then you were intercepted by the Umbre Organization''s insider in the Cross Society, ''Smoke Ghost'' Sangbu, and the ''Rakshasa Woman'' saved you..."


    "..."Upon hearing this, Su''en''s eyebrows slightly lifted. So, Number Neen knew everything.


    However, recalling how she was previously surrounded by the Umbre Organization, and how a "third party force" had participated in her rescue, he wondered if Number Neen was also part of that organization.


    "You guessed right."


    Number Neen seemed to have noticed that Su''en had already guessed her hidden identity and admitted it decisively.


    She said, "The Rakshasa woman took such a big risk to save you, I think your rtionship with her must be more than simple. They helped me out in the city before, and then I had some contact with Mr. ck and decided to join that organization. So, I don''t think we are enemies, in fact, to some extent, we should be allies."


    She paused, looking at Su''en, her tone finally not so cold, "Otherwise, I wouldn''t have told you so much."


    Death was not enough to make a warrior like herpromise.


    Upon hearing this, Su''en thought that if Number Neen really was part of Mr. ck''s organization, then she could indeed be considered a "friend, not a foe".


    Number Neen didn''t beat around the bush, she directly stated her needs, "I still have some unfinished business, there are a few people I haven''t killed yet, so I can''t die now, that''s why I want to buy that mechanical limb."


    She paused, then added, "Also, my arm is broken now, I need someone to help me connect the mechanical limb. If you don''t mind, I would like to ask you for this favor."


    Listening to her, Su''en confirmed again, "You joined Mr. ck''s organization?"


    Number Neen: "Yes. If you need some necessary proof, there is a token of the organization in my storage ring. You should recognize it when you see it."


    Su''en looked at the storage ring on his hand. He had put it on as a trophy of war without checking what was inside.


    Upon looking, he saw a golden cloak with a "" symbol in the corner.


    Although the pattern was slightly different, the craftsmanship, material, and overall feel were exactly the same as the one from Qian Tiao.


    Su''en made his decision: "Alright."

 Chapter 135: The mechanical body of the 19th

    Chapter 135: The mechanical body of the 19th


    Su''en agreed to the transaction with Number 19.


    But because he couldn''t dy the work of drawing runes on the undead, he didn''t stop.


    Number 19 also watched quietly on the side.


    The two of them were silent for a while.


    Before long, they finished their work.


    Because he was already skilled, Su''en didn''t take much time to draw the runes on the abomination warrior''s body.


    To his delight, after the runes were drawn, the vital signs of the corpse stabilized.


    This meant that he had sessfully created an "abomination undead"!


    He tested it with a sharp dagger, and the muscles were incredibly resilient. After stabbing it forcefully, the exaggerated regenerative ability was just like when it was alive, instantly healing the wound.


    Seeing this, Su''en let out a long breath.


    He really struck gold on this little outing.


    When Chekhov wrote "Undead Research Diary," he was researching how to revive humans normally, so he probably didn''t expect that a "hateful warrior" with a certain special distortion could also be made into an undead.


    With this "abomination undead," the Reaper became a super killing weapon in Su''en''s hands.


    .......


    After Su''en finished working on the undead, a three-meter-tall corpse paired with a two-meter-long ck scythe was a perfect match, exuding a sinister aura!


    Because Number 19 already knew about the two forbidden items in her possession, she didn''t deliberately avoid them and wrapped the corpse and scythe together with a shroud.


    Although Number 19 did know the information and had witnessed the killing of the enemy who was also a mechanical warrior with this corpse and scythe, she still showed a hint of surprise when she saw the massive abomination corpse and the ck scythe suddenly disappear from her sight.


    It was hard to imagine who could withstand this "invisible killer" if caught off guard.


    Number 19 said with aplicated expression, "The internal intelligence of the Umbre Organization said that you have mastered a method of using the [Nocturnal ck Scythe of Sopnos] without fear of bacsh. So, this is how..."


    Su''en didn''t exin much because it wouldn''t be meaningful for others to know without the research knowledge from the "Undead Research Diary."


    Now that his own affairs were settled, he could start discussing the transaction.


    He took out the mechanical corpse of the soldier and asked, "How do you want to rece your mechanical limbs? I''m not very proficient in mechanical knowledge, but I can be considered an intermediate-level mechanic..."


    "That''s enough."


    When Number 19 heard that Su''en was an intermediate-level mechanic, she was pleasantly surprised.


    She said, "If it''s just instation, you don''t need advanced mechanical knowledge. However, this ''power-type mechanical limb'' doesn''t quite match my design framework, and it''s a new generation of machinery, so some essories need to be modified to make it barely usable... I have the materials in my storage ring, and the severed arm also needs to be disassembled to rece some parts..."


    Su''en also felt that the soldier''s mechanical skeleton was one sizerger than Number 19''s, and the difference was significant. He curiously asked, "Power-type? Are there different types of limbs for mechanical warriors?"


    Number 19 briefly exined, "Yes. There are ''PZ power-type'' and ''PX skill-type'' two models, which focus on differentbat styles."


    Just by hearing the names, Su''en roughly understood the difference between the two models. He suddenly remembered the small-sized limbs in his storage ring, but they seemed different from Number 19''s. He asked, "Is it the [PX-911 Mechanical Limb] that you need?"


    Number 19 shook her head, "No, although the PX series are all skill-type. Mine is the old version of [PX-811], so some parts need to be reced."


    "Oh..."


    Su''en thought for a moment and said, "Can you install the [PX-911 Mechanical Limb]?"


    "???"


    Number 19 was confused by what he said and didn''t understand the meaning.


    Su''en took out some parts of the [PX-911] and said, "What I mean is... I identally obtained a [PX-911 Mechanical Limb] before, but I can''t use it. I disassembled it, and it should still be intact. If you need this model, I think we can exchange for it."


    Seeing the parts that Su''en took out, Number 19 was also stunned for a moment, feeling a sense of surprise and disbelief, "911 is thetest model of mechanical limbs developed this year... You actually got one?"


    Su''en briefly mentioned, "Yes. On the day you blew up the West City Laboratory, I identally intercepted a transport vehicle and found this mechanical limb. If you need it, we can include it in the transaction."


    "Okay."


    Although Number 19''s expression remained the same, her tone of voice clearly showed emotional fluctuations. "If it''s this one, it''s naturally better."


    Su''en also didn''t mind, thinking that the soldier''s corpse with a head was more suitable for research. He asked, "How should I help you rece the limb now?"


    Number 19y t on the ground and said, "First, help me with one of the mechanical arms, so I can also assist."


    Su''en asked, "Should I remove the alloy te armor on the chest first?"


    Number 19 nodded, "Yes."


    .......


    Although Number 19 was a mechanical warrior, except for the visible mechanical parts at the shoulder joints where the arms were severed, there was no difference from a real person in other ces. The synthetic skin was delicate, and even pores and blood vessels could be seen.


    Of course, in some ces where there were minor damages, there were traces of scattered metallic luster.


    Su''en had already disassembled and studied the mechanical limbs in detail before, so he was not unfamiliar with the tools and directly started working.


    "Do you mind if I cut your clothes to remove the alloy te armor?"


    "No. You can go ahead."


    Both of them spoke calmly, without any unnecessary emotional fluctuations.


    Number 19 was wearing a ck gothic-style one-piece ultra-short skirt, withrgece hollows on the chest. Even when lying down, it still had a proud undtion.Because it is a mechanical body, her body proportions arepletely built ording to the golden ratio, whether it is the waist-to-hip ratio or the leg-to-body ratio, it looks very perfect. Especially the hip line, it makes people feel that the pair of white legs wearing ck high-heeled boots are particrly slender and three-dimensional.


    Su''en''s face showed no surprise as he calmly cut open the ck dress.


    "Snip, snip" The sound of scissors cutting through the fabric was particrly clear in this dim dungeon.


    When cutting the clothes, Su''en''s fingers identally touched the synthetic skin of No. 19, tight and bouncy, just like real human skin.


    This was his first time encountering such advanced material.


    As a novice alchemist, he naturally had some curiosity about this material. The skin was liketex, but tough enough, and it felt smooth between his fingers.


    Looking closely, there were obviously many alchemical techniques and ck technology that he couldn''t understand.


    From the chest, to the abdomen, and then to the skirt.


    Until this broken mechanical body waspletely exposed in the air...


    Then came thece underwear.


    One second before cutting, Su''en thought that the body under her clothes should only have a rough shape, without any details. But afterpletely cutting the clothes, it turned out to be exactly the same as a real person.


    Even without the damaged parts, this well-proportioned body could almost be said to be a wless work of art.


    No. 19 seemed to have guessed Su''en''s doubts and didn''t avoid them at all. With a calm tone, she exined, "There''s nothing strange about it. Synthetic limbs were originally invented to meet some special needs of men. And in order to avoid easy exposure during missions, the appearance of our mechanical soldiers is not much different from normal humans."


    "Oh."


    Su''en raised an eyebrow as he listened.


    Suddenly, he understood some of the runic marks on the skin and asked, "Can this synthetic skin also provide optical invisibility?"


    No. 19 didn''t avoid the question either and responded, "Yes. It is made of light-absorbing material, with high magic resistance and toughness. Optical invisibility is just one of its functions."


    "Oh."


    Su''en curiously asked a few more questions but didn''t say much.


    He touched the mechanical joints under the synthetic skin with his hands and began to dismantle the alloy tes with his hands.


    "Can the synthetic skin be destroyed?"


    "Yes."


    Su''en asked and started to work.


    There was no abnormal emotional fluctuation in his eyes even though she was naked, just like when he was dismantling the mechanical limbs in the basement.


    Both of them were very calm.


    No. 19 looked at his skilled technique and sighed, "Your technique is very proficient. I thought you would need my help."


    Su''en said, "I have studied it before when I dismantled it. I roughly remember..."


    "What energy source do mechanical soldiers consume?"


    "Cursed crystals. If it''s intensebat, it requires high-quality crystals."


    "Do you have any food requirements in daily life?"


    "The brain needs necessary glucose for energy, so I usually supply some nutrient fluids."


    "How are the nerves connected to the machinery? Is it technology or special alchemical prosthetics?"


    "Both. But even the ck Tower hasn''t mastered the technology of connecting nerves to machinery. Later, some special substances were extracted from the ''X Serum'', which made the ''Super Soldier Project'' possible. However,rge-scale modifications still cause strong rejection from the human body towards mechanical limbs. That''s why there aren''t many super soldiers. I was the only one who survived among the first batch of test subjects, probably less than a 0.3% chance..."


    "Oh. Are the people you killed all rted to the ''X Serum Project''? Before I came here, I heard that you killed an intelligence officer named House..."


    "Yes. Illegal poption collection, that was House..."


    ..."


    While operating, Su''en chatted with No. 19.


    He was very curious about the structure of the mechanical soldiers, and now that he had analyzed aplete one, he asked all the questions he had.


    He also asked about the details of her crimes and some insider secrets of the ck Tower.


    Time flew by as they chatted.


    Originally, it was just recing two arms, but now they had changed the entire set of new mechanical limbs, including the legs and body.


    In no time, Su''en reced No. 19 with two new arms, and she could also help with some mechanical parts on her own. The two of them cooperated tacitly, and in less than two hours, they had reced most of the limbs.


    There were still some delicate parts and damaged synthetic skin that needed time to be dealt with. No. 19 said she could handle it herself.


    Su''en took off the synthetic skin from the military man''s body and gave it to her as well.


    .......


    Perhaps it was because they had been chatting for a long time, or maybe it was because they had be more familiar with each other.


    No. 19 stood up again, and her face was no longer the cold expression of a robot when they first met. Her words and actions were friendly.


    She tried to move her new px911 mechanical limbs and found it not awkward at all. Although her arms were stillpletely exposed metal skeletal limbs, she seemed to feel good.


    She was satisfied.


    "Thank you."


    "No need to be polite. It was our agreed-upon deal."


    "Let me give you another piece of information. When you go to Dawn City, pay more attention. There are also many members of the Umbre Organization there. I intercepted a secret intelligence before, and the ''Dawn City Ruins'' were discovered because a big shot from outside the tower went to search for some legendary altar and identally found it. The news was intentionally spread by the high-level of the ck Tower. Apart from developing the ruins, Duke Raphael seems to be looking for something in there... Soon, there will be arge-scale hunt for lies in the inner city, and more high-level professionals wille..."


    "A big shot from outside the tower?""Um, there''s no more information. All we know is that it came from the Duke''s mansion, seems to be a young master."


    "..."


    Upon hearing this news, Su''en suddenly understood who was hunting the "original owner".


    The two didn''t say much more.


    Before parting, Number Neen thought for a moment and added.


    "I owe you a favor this time. If we meet again, I''ll repay you."


    "Um."


    Watching her disappear into the depths of the cave, Su''en also turned and left.


    PS. Thanks to the bug-catching buddies, you''ve helped the rookie author a lot, thank you very much.

 Chapter 136: Wilderness town

    Chapter 136: Wilderness town


    When Su''en returned to the transport team''s camp, it was still early morning and the camp was not yet packed up.


    The night watchman was smoking boredly around the camp, and there were flickering lights in the darkness.


    He quietly sneaked back into the tent from the top of the rock wall, and no one noticed.


    After being busy for most of the night, Su''en now had some free time and began to count the spoils of the night.


    The "Iron Knight Order" was a peripheral member of the umbre organization after all, and their equipment was pretty good. They could sell it for a good price.


    But what Su''en cared most about was the storage ring of the fortune teller.


    Inside, there were some strange divination materials and the crystal ne he used for divination before.


    Upon identification, it turned out to be an ancient cursed item.


    [Sereya''s Crystal Pendant]


    Description: A crystal ne engraved with the words "To my beloved Sereya".


    Curse characteristics: When faced with difficult choices, it can help you make decisions; the exchange cost is equivalent lifespan based on the level of the divination object.


    Exnation: Although the refining technique is not too sophisticated, it is an alchemical ne full of love. Wearing it can greatly reduce the chance of being detected by divination below the second level. It can also be used as a material for bing a "Pendulum Diviner".


    Su''en felt that the name "Sereya" sounded familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere. But because it was also amon female name, he didn''t think too much about it.


    In terms of effectiveness, this was a very practical ne.


    Su''en had been worried about being detected by fortune tellers before, and the "anti-detection" attribute of this pendant happened to solve this problem.


    He could also ept the curse characteristics, as it only affected lifespan when using divination.


    Su''en was not a fortune teller by profession, although he had learned some divination skills, he didn''t think he would forcefully divine like the previous owner, causing himself to cough up blood and lose lifespan.


    It was good enough to have passive attributes when wearing it.


    The item was good, so Su''en wrapped the pendant around his wrist to conceal it, muttering to himself, "Indeed, robbing professionals urately is the ''shortcut'' to obtaining profession-exclusive items."


    After counting the spoils, Su''eny down on his sleeping bag, carefully recalling what had happened that night.


    Now that he had figured out the origin of the original owner, Su''en felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.


    He also understood the reason behind the bounty in the ck market. It must have been done by the original owner''s hostile forces outside the tower.


    Even if he was exiled to this underground world, they still wanted to exterminate him.


    But this was also good, at least the enemy was not a major family in the inner city.


    All Su''en had to face was a useless wanted order.


    No one recognized him before, and now that he had injected the "x serum", who could associate his blue-skinned, muscr self with the appearance of the original owner, a delicate noble boy?


    .......


    Before long, the assembly order sounded in the camp.


    The transport team began their new day of escorting.


    They had heard that there would be monster attacks in the d24 area, so everyone in the team was on edge. But after a few days of travel, their journey went surprisingly smoothly.


    d24, d25... as they continued on, they only encountered a few small-scale aberrant monster attacks, but there was no dangerous battle.


    Along the way, they saw many traces of battles, but the bodies had been cleared. It seemed that a powerful team hade before and cleared the way.


    Without any battles, the hunters in the team enjoyed their leisure.


    Finally, after several days, they arrived at the ruins of Dawn City.


    ......


    Returning to Dawn City, the "birthce" he had just crossed over from, Su''en felt quite emotional.


    In the past, it was like a burial ground, lifeless.


    But now, with "Storm Manor" as the center, there were various buildings being constructed all over the ce.


    From a distance, the camp was brightly lit, and the tall steam boilers emitted white smoke. These boilers provided a continuous energy supply to therge workshops in the camp, elerating construction...


    In the manor, there were two sets ofrge mechanical devicesposed of various tanks and pipelines, like a chemical nt. They were the "air filtration device" and the "drinking water treatment device". These were the most important devices to ensure that the hunters could survive in the underground world with rampant dark energy.


    It was more like a war town than a camp.


    The hunters had built a mega-sized hunting camp that could amodate over a hundred thousand people using stones and steel frames. Caravans were constantly bringing various building materials from Old Lingdun City. In the near future, this ce would be a bustling small city...


    However, when Su''en saw Storm Manor, his gaze became distant.


    Returning to the familiar ce, he remembered Pestoya.


    The little ghost girl who had given him the materials to advance as a "Puppeteer".


    "Storm Manor has been upied, which means the cursed space has been broken..."


    Su''en frowned slightly as he thought of the petite girl who suited his taste, even though she wasn''t human.


    Oh, almost forgot.


    It seemed that she had also given him a brooch, buried somewhere.


    ......


    Arriving at the ruins under d33 area, the concentration of dark energy was several times higher than in Old Lingdun City.


    For humans, this was a dangerous area where staying for too long could easily cause physical deformities.


    But for Su''en, it had no effect at all.


    Instead, he feltfortable all over in this environment.After the amplification of the "x serum," Su''en''s body felt veryfortable with this high concentration of dark spiritual power. He didn''t even need to meditate anymore, as the increase in his dark spiritual power was almost the same as when he used to meditate.


    Moreover, there were no signs of distortion due to absorbing this dark attribute energy too quickly.


    This concentration was only on the hillside, and there was still a "particrly dense area" in the ruins city in the far distance, where ck mist filled the air.


    It could be predicted that in this environment, Su''en''s dark spiritual power would skyrocket. Perhaps within the next month or two, his dark spiritual power might reach the threshold of a second-order professional.


    If he found suitable advanced materials by then, he might even sessfully break through to the second order.


    ...


    "Alright, our hiring contract ends here. Thank you all for your dedicated escort. ording to the contract, there was no loss of goods, so an additional ten percent of the escort fee will be paid..."


    "Oh, praise generous Mr. Abagon!"


    "Our guild will return to the city in ten days. If any friends are interested in continuing to take on escort missions from our guild, you can sign up at our guild office in the camp..."


    "..."


    Upon reaching their destination, Su''en and the other hunters'' mission waspleted.


    Abagon distributed the remaining hiring payment to everyone and went to make the delivery.


    Since there was no fierce battle and no additionalbat allowance, Su''en only received the basicmission, but it was nearly a hundred thousand lisuo.


    High risk brought high returns.


    After receiving the money, everyone dispersed.


    Su''en looked into the distance at the nearby camp but didn''t rush over.


    The abhorrent warrior was his lifesaving tool and naturally had to be carried with him.


    However, its three-meter-tall body was too conspicuous. Even with the shroud of a burial cloth, it would be easily discovered in crowded ces.


    Moreover, because the undead had vital signs, they couldn''t be put into a storage ring, which was the most troublesome part.


    Su''en thought that when considering his second-order advancement direction, he must prioritize awakening materials for "space abilities."


    Otherwise, if he controlled too many puppets in the future, he would probably have to walk around with a long string of them like walking ducks.


    After some consideration, Su''en bought a steam dog from a returning merchant caravan and disguised the undead as cargo carried by the mechanical dog, making it less noticeable.


    ...


    Su''en led the mechanical dog towards the hunting camp.


    At this moment, there was already a long line at the entrance of the camp.


    Beforeing, Su''en thought that the camp in the Dawn Ruins would be a scattered camp full of tents. He didn''t expect that in such a short time, it had already grown into a walled town.


    There were heavy machine guns and cannons on the city walls, and some fully armed guys were setting up checkpoints at the gate.


    He thought it was an identity check, but it turned out to be collecting an entrance fee.


    Su''en calmly assessed the guardyout at the city gate and instinctively estimated whether he could escape unscathed if a real conflict broke out.


    Then, he silently lined up at the back of the queue.


    He listened attentively to the conversations of the people in front, and also understood the general situation in the city.


    The high entrance fee also made the neers to the hunters'' campin.


    "Damn it, staying in this camp for one night actually costs three thousand lisuo for the entrance fee? I only earned a hundred thousand from the escort, and it will all be spent in a month?"


    "A month? You''re thinking too optimistically! I heard from a guy who went in before that everything in this camp is expensive. The ordinary-looking women in Old Lingdun City cost three to five hundred, but here it''s five thousand. Even drinking water is ten times the price of Old Lingdun! And food, medicine, and ammunition supplies are all several times more expensive..."


    "So expensive? Aren''t we risking our lives to hunt in the wilderness just to earn money for these unscrupulous merchants?"


    "It''s not that expensive, actually. We''re all here to hunt in the wilderness, who is here to settle down? At most, we''ll resupply and rest in the city for a few days. Besides, those big consortiums spent a huge amount of money to build the city and brought in so many facilities. Naturally, they have to recover the costs..."


    "Damn it, I haven''t even started making money yet, and I have to spend this unjust money..."


    "If you don''t want to pay, you can camp outside the city. It''s just that the attacks from the anomalies near the ruins are frequent, and there are also raiders and thieves. You might end up losing your life while sleeping..."


    "There are actually ways to avoid paying the entrance fee."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Join one of the five major consortiums'' hunting teams. As long as you obey their orders and participate in some collective hunting missions, it''s fine."


    "Join the hunting team of the five major consortiums?"


    "Yes."


    "You''ll get a sry when you join. Then, the treasures discovered during the hunt will be sold to them first, and there aren''t many other restrictions. I asked, and the prices are reasonable."


    "..."


    After listening for a few sentences, Su''en roughly understood the situation in the camp.


    Several major consortiums in the inner city built the camp and then implemented this entrance fee.


    If you didn''t want to pay, you had to join their hunting teams and follow their orders to carry out some specific exploration tasks.


    Su''en had no intention of joining these consortiums'' hunting groups.


    After all, he wasn''t risking his life to make money from hunting.


    He was well aware that those consortiums probably wanted "cannon fodder" to explore the cursed space.


    After all, no one knew the danger level of the "cursed space" in advance, and it required someone''s life to explore it.


    It would be a pity if a high-level professional died inside. It would be better to send some cannon fodder to explore and roughly understand the level of danger.


    Before long, it was Su''en''s turn in the queue.


    He paid the money, received a colored badge to hang in a conspicuous ce, and smoothly entered the city........


    Su''en had no intention of setting up a tent outside the city. A scavenger who couldn''t even afford the entrance fee probably didn''t have anything valuable. He wanted to check out the scavenger market in the city first, hoping to find the materials he needed. If he couldn''t, he would go to the Scavenger Guild to gather some information, rather than blindly plunging into the dangerous ruins.


    There were no ordinary residents in the scavenger camp, nor any superfluous buildings.


    Weapon shops, firearm shops, machinery shops, medicine shops...


    Upon entering the city, both sides of the street were filled with various supply shops.


    The signs all bore the names of the major businesses in the inner city.


    After a few steps, he could see the familiar red and green lights of the city.


    Opportunistic merchants had opened bars and entertainment venues in the camp as soon as possible.


    Perhaps to avoid the hassle of exining, signs with prices were hung at the entrances.


    "Courtesans from 3500"


    "Rye beer from 400/bottle"


    Despite the prices being ten times those in Old Lingdun, business seemed to be booming.


    As Su''en passed by, he saw scavengers arm in arm,ughing and joking as they walked in.


    It was no easy feat to bring such a group of delicate and weak courtesans to the underground, so the high prices were somewhat justified.


    The uncertainty of life put a lot of mental pressure on the scavengers, they needed to vent. Food and drink businesses, therefore, had a bigger market here. Besides, scavengers who managed toe out of the ruins alive always had money in their pockets.


    Su''en walked on.


    He had seen the camp''syout at the city gate earlier and knew that there was a street to the east specifically designed for scavengers to sell their goods.


    Leading his mechanical dog, he walked two streets and heard the bustling noise of a market in that direction.


    "Freshly emerged silver-grade material from yesterday''s ruins, ''Owl''s Eye''..."


    "Come,e, newly unearthed ancient alchemy scrolls, limited quantity..."


    "Ancient weapons, a two-handed sword that cuts through iron like mud, alchemy crossbow, dwarf shield..."


    "Freshly produced cursed materials, ck iron, silver grade, beautiful prices..."


    "..."


    Hearing these voices, Su''en became interested.


    The names of many rare materials appeared in the merchants'' mouths.


    In Old Lingdun, it was impossible to see silver materials being hawked at a stall anywhere.


    Even in the ck market of Shadow Alley, silver materials were a rare hotmodity.


    But here, they were being sold by scavengers asmon goods.


    This was the advantage of a primary source of goods.


    Because there were no shops, ancient items worth hundreds of thousands were casually ced on a ragged cloth on the ground for sale.


    There were many peopleing and going on the street.


    There were well-dressed opportunistic merchants, and more scavengers dressed as adventurers.


    Most of the cursed items left over from ancient times were rare goods. Even ck iron materials were much better than those refined in this era.


    Here, scavengers who wanted to advance their professions could find truly high-quality materials.


    As soon as Su''en entered the market district, the first stall caught his attention.

 Chapter 137: Lloyd the Magician

    Chapter 137: Lloyd the Magician


    The vendors at this stall were two hunters with red fox emblems on their clothes.


    Su''en recognized this emblem. It was the emblem of the "Fire Fox Squad," arge hunting squad in Old Lingdun.


    They had various sheepskin scrolls and ancient books on their stall.


    Some were well-preserved and looked like they came from the cursed space.


    Some were tattered and iplete, probably ancient relics.


    It looked like they had found an ancient library.


    As Su''en stopped to look, one of them picked up a scroll and greeted him, "Hey, brother, want to buy an alchemy scroll? This scroll records the rare thunder alchemy spell, ''Five Thunder Strikes,'' which was once sold for 300,000 at the Old Lingdun Auction. I''m selling it for only 240,000 here. We are the ''Fire Fox Hunting Squad,'' and our reputation is absolutely reliable. If you don''t trust us, you can go to the Chamber of Commerce for appraisal..."


    Most of the scrolls werebeled with spell names. Although they couldn''t be opened, Su''en used his All-Knowing Eye to identify them and confirmed that these things were indeed good stuff.


    However, the spell scrolls were not what he wanted.


    He looked around and asked, "Do you have any ancient books that record knowledge rted to the mind or puppeteers?"


    "These two types of books are quite niche..."


    Without thinking, the person seemed to have thought of something, "Wait... it seems like we do."


    He searched in his storage ring and took out a thick book, saying, "Is this it?"


    Su''en looked at it and saw that the cover of the book was written in ancient Nidnguage, "Introduction to the Mind" by Joseph Disher.


    He asked, "Can I flip through a few pages?"


    "Of course."


    The person didn''t mind and handed him the book, saying, "This thing seems to be super-tier knowledge, so we didn''t put it out."


    Super-tier knowledge was useless to ordinary people in Old Lingdun City, and no one would buy it even if it was disyed.


    Only the wealthy in the inner city would buy some as antique decorations.


    Su''en looked through a few pages. It introduced some theories about mental power, but it wasn''t a cultivation secret technique.


    But he was still nning to buy it and take a look. Perhaps he could find some useful knowledge. He asked, "How much is this?"


    The person truthfully said, "We just brought this out from the ruinsst night. If no one buys it, we n to sell it to the majormercial firm in the inner city. They send people to purchase once every afternoon, and it can probably be sold for 70,000 to 80,000. Just give me the same price."


    Alchemy knowledge was expensive, even first-tier knowledge would definitely cost more than this.


    But if it wasn''t super-tier knowledge, it would be worthless.


    "Alright, I''ll buy it."


    The price was fair, and Su''en nodded, "Anything else?"


    The person took out a few more books and said, "I don''t have any books rted to puppetry, but I have a fragment of an arcane-level alchemy technique and some super-tier knowledge. If you''re interested, you can take a look..."


    Su''en looked at them and bought a few more books.


    But he didn''t buy any spell scrolls. Those things were expensive, and it would require a lot of effort to study them, which didn''t match his profession.


    .......


    The first stall yielded some useful things, and Su''en felt that he might find some good things in this market.


    He continued walking forward, stopping at the stalls that interested him.


    The stalls mostly had alchemy materials and materials for job advancements...


    On the stalls of thoserge hunting squads, there were even piles of them, and it was unknown how many monsters they had killed.


    However, Su''en had already advanced to a professional and had no need for first-tier materials.


    But after a few rounds, he filtered out most of the shops.


    Moreover, he even saw second-tier job advancement materials and blueprint designs at somerge stalls.


    But most of them were materials for mainstream melee, assassin, and mage professions, and they were expensive and not suitable.


    Su''en wanted to find second-tier job advancement materials rted to "space abilities," but he didn''t want to use them. Such things would never appear on stalls.


    Even if they did, they would immediately be bought at a high price by opportunistic merchants wandering the streets.


    Su''en strolled through half of the street and unexpectedly found a pleasant surprise!


    At an inconspicuous stall, he saw that the stall owner had packed up some silver threads in a box, and there were more than twenty of them.


    Upon identification, they turned out to be the "Cursed Hair of the Mourning Witch" that he had been looking for!


    It was a surprise that was both expected and unexpected.


    He had spected before that since the hair came from ruins, others might have encountered some as well, but he didn''t expect to actuallye across it.


    Su''en quickly walked over and asked, "Brother, how much are you selling these threads for?"


    The stall owner looked at the customer and enthusiastically introduced, "Oh, sir, you have a good eye. These threads are amazing. They are very tough, and after injecting dark spirit power, they be transparent and can be elementalized..."


    Although these threads were amazing, they were not in high demand by many professions, so they were not easy to sell.


    This statement attracted some passersby who seemed interested in these threads that could be elementalized.


    Su''en was well aware of the characteristics of these hairs and didn''t want to attract too much attention. Before the stall owner finished introducing them, he said, "Give me a price, and if it''s suitable, I''ll buy them."


    The stall owner''s eyes flickered with shrewdness as he casually shouted, "11,000 per thread. You know, it took a lot of effort to get these..."


    It was clear that he was testing the waters.


    "If I''m not mistaken, you probably picked up these threads from a certain corpse, right?"


    Su''en said this to make the other person realize that he knew what he was talking about.


    This kind of material belonged to the "new materials," and almost no one in Old Lingdun had seen it before.


    For those who needed it, 11,000 per thread was actually quite cheap.


    But for those who didn''t need it, it was useless even if it was given for free.


    After all, puppeteers were a rare profession, and there were very few people who needed it.


    Although he thought the hair was worth the price, Su''en didn''t want to be taken advantage of.


    Su''en didn''t waste any words and straightforwardly said, "I''ll buy all of them for a fixed price of 100,000."


    The person thought for a moment and seemed to think that this customer wasn''t easy to fool, so he decisively agreed, "Deal!"


    Su''en paid the money, put the hair into his storage ring, and inexplicably felt relieved.And at this moment, the stall owner introduced some other things on his stall again, "Look, I also have some materials here..."


    "Do you still have this silk thread?"


    "No, this is all I have."


    "..."


    Su''en nced at it, not interested in the materials, but asked directly, "I want to know the information about the origin of this silk thread. If you know, I am willing to pay a suitable price."


    In the wilderness, everything has a price.


    Including information.


    The stall owner, upon hearing this, was not surprised. Information about the source of materials was also one of the "goods" he sold at his stall.


    He quoted directly, "30,000. I guarantee to give you the specific location where this silk thread was found."


    "10,000!"


    Su''en was more direct.


    He took out a thick stack of green banknotes and said, "If it''s not detailed enough, I will refuse to pay."


    "Deal!"


    The stall owner immediately took out a pen and paper and drew a sketch, "On the outskirts of the ruins, there is a monastery three hundred meters northeast of the red brick tower..."


    Listening to this, Su''en had a rough impression of the address in his mind.


    He needed these "Cursed Hair of the Weeping Witch," the more the better.


    This would give his puppet control a qualitative leap.


    If possible, he even wanted to find the monster that produced this material.


    Now that he had the ck Scythe, he had the idea of trying even high-level aberrant monsters.


    ...


    This was originally a normal transaction.


    But unexpectedly, when the merchant was still telling Su''en the address, several people suddenly approached.


    "I heard that you have another special silk thread for sale?"


    With this opening, the arrogant tone of the person revealed their superior status.


    Su''en didn''t need to look to know that this person was probably from the inner city.


    With a nce, he slightly turned his head.


    The person who came was a middle-aged man with a mustache.


    Su''en''s gaze was instantly attracted to the man''s hands holding a cane. His fingers were slender, and the meridians on the back of his hand were clear. This usually meant that the ten fingers were dexterous, like a pianist or a typist.


    If he was a Transcendent professional... or a Puppet Master!


    Because Su''en''s own hands were like this.


    When the merchant heard someone asking, and after looking at the person''s attire, his tone suddenly became polite, "Respected sir, what do you need?"


    The middle-aged man with a mustache stated his purpose again, "I heard that you are selling a special silk thread, and I am interested in buying it."


    "Well..."


    Hearing this, the stall owner nced at Su''en and showed a hint of difficulty.


    Su''en guessed the guy''s intention and didn''t n to make itplicated. He handed the money to the stall owner and said indifferently, "This is the money, give me the receipt."


    "Oh..."


    The stall owner was a bit at a loss.


    The middle-aged man apparently also saw something from the stall owner''s expression and asked, "Are you saying that the silk thread has been sold?"


    The stall owner answered with a forced smile, "Yes. I just sold it to this gentleman."


    The mustached man nced at Su''en''s adventurer attire and didn''t bother to look again.


    It seemed that he felt that his identity would be demeaned by talking to amoner.


    At this moment, the young man who looked like an apprentice beside him noticed the situation and stopped Su''en who was about to leave, "Sir, please wait."


    Su''en paused for a moment when he heard the polite tone, "Hmm?"


    The young man said, "The silk thread you just bought is very important to us. Can you please give it up?"


    "Sorry, I have no intention of selling the materials."


    Su''en decisively refused.


    Before he even spoke, he had guessed the other party''s intention.


    However, he would definitely not sell this hair.


    Because it was not just a few materials, it was also rted to whether he could control the "Hateful Undead" normally!


    A few months ago, he obtained three strands of "Cursed Hair of the Weeping Witch" in the ck market, but because the quantity was too small, it was not enough to control the puppet. They had been left unused.


    Now, with these more than ten strands, it was enough for him to control a puppet within a small range.


    When he entered the city before, he felt that the Hateful Undead was too eye-catching, and if he used steel wire to control it, it would be easily noticed.


    Now with these hair, it perfectly solved this problem.


    He didn''t even need to hide the existence of the Hateful Undead like before. He could cover the undead with a cloak, and when controlling it, he could infuse the hair with dark spiritual power. This special silk thread that could be elementalized wouldpletely disappear without a trace.


    He could carry it with him at any time, without any traces of control, and no one would suspect him.


    Therefore, he would never give up this material that he had obtained.


    ...


    Upon hearing Su''en''s refusal, the young man''s face suddenly became less pleasant.


    He had never received such treatment before, considering his identity and status.


    He felt that he had been ignored and humiliated by amoner from the outer city.


    A shadow shed through the young man''s eyes, but he endured it and calmly said, "I am Danze Oliver. This is my teacher, ''Puppet Master'' Lloyd Rodney. The silk thread material is only useful for Puppet Masters. If you can give it up, we will pay you extra..."


    The Oliver family,


    A first-ss financial consortium in the inner city.


    Their strength was simr to several branches of the Reyes family, which ounted for one-seventh of the power.


    They were also one of the "Five Major Financial Consortia" that built camps.


    By bringing up their identity, they naturally wanted to make people retreat.


    And Su''en had some impression of the identity mentioned by the young man.


    Lloyd Rodney, the famous "Magician" and a veteran second-tier professional, was one of the few Puppet Master instructors in the entire Old Lingdun.


    But what about people from the inner city?


    Others might still have to consider it, but...


    What did it have to do with him, a wanted criminal?


    The reason why Su''en responded was because the other party had been polite enough before.


    But now, he could see the arrogance of these guys, clearly trying to overpower him.


    "Sorry, I really have no intention of selling the materials."


    He didn''t say anything more and turned around and left directly.


    ...Watching Su''en show no respect, the young man named Danze''s face turned red in an instant.


    But the man had already left, not giving him a chance to retaliate.


    Danze could only turn his head and re at the stall owner, angrily asking, "How much did he pay?"


    The stall owner swallowed nervously under his gaze, "One... one hundred thousand."


    Danze angrily said, "We''ll give you a million, sell the silk thread to me!"


    "This..."


    The stall owner looked distressed, instantly feeling like he had sold at a loss.


    Although he knew the rules of the market, he also wanted to take the money. He quickly turned his head to call out to Su''en, who had already left, loudly saying, "Sir, could you..."


    Su''en didn''t look back, coldly saying, "No!"


    "You..."


    The stall owner was in the wrong, so he couldn''t say anything.


    Seeing Su''en''s attitude, the young man named Danze was even more furious, cursing, "Damn guy!"


    But the man with the goatee shook his head, calling out to the young man, "Since the material has been sold, let''s go. The silk thread was perfect puppet material. If there was enough, it could even be considered as the main material for refining the ''Thousand Silk'' imnt. What a pity..."


    Listening to this, Danze felt even worse.


    After a pause, the goatee man looked at the stall owner again, "By the way, where did you get the silk thread material? We''ll also buy the information."


    The group retraced their steps.


    As they walked, the young man''s anger didn''t subside, but instead surged.


    He said to the middle-aged man beside him, "Teacher, I think that guy just now might not recognize the ''Cursed Hair of the Weeping Witch''. After all, it''s not very useful for ordinary professionals. I was probably too reckless, revealing its origin. He heard that I''m from the Oliver family and deliberately wanted to raise the price."


    After a pause, he felt like he had grasped something and suddenly realized, "I''ll go find him now. I can definitely buy it if I raise the price. That silk thread, even if it costs a million, it''s worth it!"


    "No, he should be very clear about the effect of that hair."


    The goatee man shook his head.


    Su''en didn''t give his disciple face, nor did he give him, the teacher, face.


    A cold glint shed in his eyes, "Since you''ve revealed your family, he''s not afraid of offending people and refuses to give up the material. He must be a puppet master. Hehe... There are only a few inheritances of puppet masters in Old Lingdun. I''d like to see where he gets his confidence from!"


    After a pause, the middle-aged man''s eyes shifted, pondering, "However, I think he might be a wanted criminal..."


    Otherwise, such a disrespectful guy wouldn''t dare to disrespect the Oliver family, nor would he dare to disrespect him, Lloyd Rodney!


    "Yes, I also think you''re right, teacher!"


    Hearing this, the young man''s eyes lit up, immediately understanding.


    He gave a look to his bodyguard behind him.


    The bodyguard immediately understood and quietly left the group.


    ......


    Su''en was walking on the street when he suddenly sensed something. His brows furrowed and he muttered to himself, "I''m being followed..."


    He had the ability to sense malice. Any malicious gaze would be immediately detected.


    Obviously, it was the people from the Oliver family just now.


    Did they have bad intentions?


    Hehe...


    A cold smile appeared at the corner of Su''en''s mouth.


    But the camp was crowded and not suitable for action.


    Su''en thought for a moment. He didn''t want to cause a scene here, so he turned into a secluded corner.


    The person following him was probably a professional bodyguard, not very good at tailing.


    Since Su''en had detected him in advance, and the camp buildings wereplex and chaotic, it was easy to lose the target.


    Before long, Su''en changed his clothes and mask, and once again walked boldly onto the street.


    At this time, he was no longer apanied by a mechanical dog and goods, but by a burly man in a cloak.


    Although this kind ofrge physique was eye-catching, such exaggerated closebat professionals and heavy mechanical warriors could asionally be seen on the street.


    Having changed the witch''s hair, the control threadpletely disappeared in the air.


    With breathing and heartbeat, others couldn''t detect the abnormality of the hateful living corpse.


    In this way, Su''en led the living corpse towards the direction of the "Hunter''s Guild".


    If there was a ce where he could find out about "Psychic Secret Techniques" and advanced spatial ability materials, it must be the Hunter''s Guild.


    There, they had the mostplete information about the ruins, as well as the hunter teams that had mastered the information.

 Chapter 138: Mr. Johnny is very strong

    Chapter 138: Mr. Johnny is very strong


    "The Hunter''s Guild" is the liveliest ce in the Dawn Camp.


    And, it is located in the dpidated vi of the Storm Manor.


    Su''en, the controller, hated the undead and walked up the hill, arriving at the garden of the manor in no time.


    The surroundings were familiar, and he remembered that it was under the crooked-necked tree where he killed Bald Ivan. Now, it was an anti-aircraft gun and machine gun position.


    The vi hall had turned into a hunting hall, crowded with all kinds of hunters carrying guns and swords.


    In the center of the hall, there was a huge bright screen, disying various mission information densely.


    Recruitment, intelligence purchase, and the sale of various advanced materials and cursed items.


    The hunters stopped in front of the big screen, searching for the information they needed.


    "Recruitment: ''Iron Boots Hunter Group'' is recruiting 30 members for the hunting group, doctors preferred, led by second-tier professionals, exploring the A-level cursed space in the west city tomorrow..."


    "Recruitment: Exploration mission of C~A-level cursed space outside the east city, led by high-ranking professionals from the Oliver family, unlimited number of people, daily sry of 20,000 lisuo, additionalbat allowance..."


    "Intelligence purchase: In need of second-tier Thunder Elemental Warlock rted advanced materials/information, payment of 300,000 to 5 million lisuo depending on the value of the information, go to the Notary Office."


    "Item consignment: Advanced materials for second-tier assassin [Dark Magic Dagger], appraisal can awaken stealth ability, price negotiable..."


    "..."


    Su''en had good eyesight and didn''t squeeze into the crowd. He nced at the words on the screen and saw someone else seeking second-tier materials.


    That was also his purpose foring here.


    The Dawn Ruins were vast, and he couldn''t possibly find the information he wanted on his own.


    Without dy, he went directly to the guild, paid the money, and posted a looping message.


    "Intelligence purchase: Shocking, 5 million!!! In need of second-tier awakened ''Spatial Ability'' rted materials/information, payment of 2 to 5 million lisuo depending on the value of the information, go to the Notary Office. Can also join the group for exploration, a first-tier veteran, a skilled firearms master, won''t hold back..."


    This eye-catching method was something he learned from various disreputable self-media in his previous life, known as "clickbait."


    No matter what the situation, start with something shocking.


    With this offer of 5 million, he instantly stood out from the dense information.


    As for the secret mental power technique, he didn''t post it.


    Mr. ck said it was ssified as "forbidden knowledge" by the ck Tower. Su''en felt that if he made a big fuss about it, it might attract some ill-intentioned people.


    .......


    After posting the intelligence purchase information, Su''en stood at the entrance of the hall for a moment, wanting to see if there was any information that interested him.


    Just at this moment, a probing voice suddenly called out from behind.


    "Mr. Johnny, is that you?"


    Su''en turned his head and saw a young face staring at him with wide eyes.


    Who else could it be if not Tommy?


    However, what surprised Su''en even more was that he was actually recognized?


    Just now, in order to shake off the person who was following him, he even changed his appearance. How did Tommy recognize him?


    Su''en smiled and didn''t deny it, curious, he asked, "How did you recognize me?"


    Tommy looked at Su''en and immediately smiled with joy on his young face, saying excitedly, "I didn''t recognize you. But I had a feeling that it should be Mr. Johnny."


    "A feeling?"


    Su''en was even more surprised to hear this.


    He vaguely felt that Tommy seemed to have some special talent, so he asked, "Is it some kind of special ability that you awakened?"


    Tommy nodded, then shook his head, sounding uncertain, "I don''t know either..."


    He frowned and thought for a moment, saying, "When I was almost bitten to death by the distorted monster during the escort, my head was buzzing with fear... Fortunately, Mr. Johnny saved me. And then, I found that I seemed to have some special abilities. Just now, I felt that your figure was very familiar, so I called out your name..."


    "I see..."


    Listening to his description, Su''en could basically confirm that Tommy had awakened some kind of special talent.


    However, when he thought back, he couldn''t find any corresponding talent.


    This kind of inexplicable "feeling" ability seemed a bit rare, like some kind of visual talent?


    But because talents couldn''t be seen, they could only be inferred through some manifestations.


    And, before fully awakening, it was even uncertain what it was.


    For example, even if your talent is [B-002-Red Demon], when you first awaken your talent, it may only manifest as increased strength, easily confused with [D-082-Strongman].


    Without developing and controlling that strength, there would be no chance to transform into the "Red Demon," and it was possible that such a rare talent would be buried for a lifetime.


    For ordinary people who didn''t n to be advanced professionals, this situation was normal.


    When Su''en saw Qian Tiao revealing her two-stage awakened talent [Rakshasa Woman], he had also curiously asked about some knowledge about talents.


    He was now certain that talents had growth potential and could be broken through for a second time.Although it is uncertain what factors affect "growth", ording to the experience summarized from thousands of cases, talent awakening is almost always rted tobat.


    Only by experiencing the despair between life and death can one have a great realization.


    This is also exactly what Tommy described.


    ......


    Su''en frowned and thought for a while, but couldn''t figure out what Tommy''s talent should be, so he asked, "What about your dad? Does he know that you have awakened your talent?"


    "I told him."


    Tommy said, pouting and saying with a grievance, "He said I was just daydreaming."


    "My dad also said..."


    Pausing for a moment, he imitated Benson''s tone, with a rough voice, "The talents I awakened are all about strength. You must have awakened strength too. Being strong enough to lift and resist is the most practical ability! Don''t daydream..."


    "Hehe."


    Su''en listened and couldn''t help butugh. This statement really matched Benson''s careless personality.


    For ordinary people, great strength is indeed one of the most tangible abilities.


    Those fancy and rare abilities are like winning the lottery, they belong to others.


    He asked again, "What about your dad?"


    Tommy pointed to the crowded hall and said, "He met an acquaintance and went to take a mission."


    "Oh."


    Just as the two were talking, Benson appeared out of nowhere.


    Seeing his son talking to a stranger, a cautious expression appeared on his bearded face.


    But Tommy greeted him excitedly, "Dad, I met Mr. Johnny."


    Benson nced at Su''en and felt surprised, "Johnny, brother?"


    He was puzzled. They hadn''t seen each other for long, why did he change clothes?


    Su''en nodded, "Yes, Captain Benson."


    "Why are you still wearing a gas mask in the city? I almost didn''t recognize you..."


    Benson muttered, but didn''t think much of it. There were quite a few hunters dressed like this.


    Recognizing Su''en, he seemed to remember something and suddenly became excited, "Brother, are you interested in a hunting mission? It''s a hunting mission in the Red Brick Tower District of East City. I have an old acquaintance who leads a team there. He is a second-tier and very powerful. The reward is good and the danger level is low..."


    There are often joint exploration situations in hunting, especially when encounteringrge dangerous relics.


    Usually, it would be teams of familiar acquaintances.


    "East City?"


    Su''en became interested when he heard this.


    The reward and everything else were secondary. He recognized the name "Red Brick Tower District" and it sounded familiar.


    Just thinking about it, isn''t that the ce where the vendor mentioned finding the "Cursed Hair of the Weeping Witch"?


    Seeing Su''en''s interest, Benson asked again, "Brother, I guess you haven''t found a team yet, right? How about joining our ''Drunkard Team''? We can take care of each other."


    Su''en knew that this uncle probably thought he still owed him a favor from the previous escort, so he nned to continue "taking care" of him.


    He was nning to go to that area anyway, and having a team would provide more security, so he agreed, "Okay."


    Benson smiled when Su''en agreed and said, "Let''s go, I''ll register for you. I''ll also introduce you to my friend."


    At this moment, he also noticed the cloak giant standing quietly not far away from Su''en and curiously asked, "Who is that...?"


    Su''en casually said, "That''s a partner I used to know. I just happened to meet him at the camp. If it''s convenient, let''s register together."


    Seeing the size of the abhorrent undead, Benson naturally guessed that it had formidable strength and thought it made sense to have a sniper as a partner.


    Heughed, "Haha, of course it''s convenient! All the major teams are recruiting people to explore relics. They are afraid of not having enough people, not too many."


    ......


    After speaking, Su''en followed Benson and left the hall, turning into a room next to the banquet hall.


    Su''en looked at the brightly lit corridor, his gaze gradually deepening.


    Back then, he had encountered a bloody banquet here...


    While walking, Benson continued to introduce, "Let me tell you, the reward for this mission is very good. Even if there is no gain, you can earn 5,000 lis per day. The key is that the people are reliable. My friend is an experienced veteran hunter who has cooperated many times. He definitely won''t have any problems... And, we have a cooperative contract, we are independent of each other, and we don''t have to obey their orders. We have the right to choose when faced with danger."


    5,000 lis even without any gains?


    Su''en found it familiar as he listened. Just as he was about to figure it out, he saw Benson leading him into a room with a sign that read "Oliver Family Hunting Team".


    He muttered to himself, "Can''t be that coincidental..."


    The Oliver family, wasn''t that the family of the young man who wanted to forcefully buy his hair when he was selling the hair?


    And there was also a "Magician" named Lloyd Rodney...


    As soon as he thought of the destination, Su''en instantly understood.


    It seemed that they had also bought the information from that vendor and nned to send a hunting team to investigate.Thinking back to the previous tracking, Su''en''s eyes narrowed slightly, "What a coincidence."


    Upon entering the room, Benson began to boast, "This is my brother Johnny, a very skilled sniper, an experienced veteran wastnd hunter. That''s his friend, a very formidable hand-to-handbat expert, a sniper observer..."


    Then he introduced Su''en to the registrar, who seemed to be a professional, "This is my old friend Rolly, the famous captain of the ''Battle de Squad''..."


    Rolly looked at Su''en and the hateful living corpse, saying, "Hmm, take out your ID for registration."


    Su''en took out Johnny''s wastnd hunting certificate, and the living corpse made up an excuse about losing a document to get by.


    The other party was obviously in a hurry to recruit people, and since it was a rmendation from an acquaintance, they didn''t make a fuss.


    Before long, the contract was signed. Su''en was now under the "Drunken Ghost Squad", and would join therge team organized by the Oliver family to the ruins tomorrow morning.


    ......


    Afterpleting the hiring procedures, Su''en didn''t stay long at the Wastnd Hunting Guild.


    After bidding farewell to Benson and his son, he led the living corpse to the camp to find a ce to stay.


    Watching Su''en leave, Benson also breathed a sigh of relief.


    He hooked Tommy''s shoulder, saying, "Let''s go, son!"


    As he walked, he continued to boast about his ability to get things done, "Phew... I managed to find a reliable hiring mission for Brother Johnny. After all, a lone ranger, especially a gunman, it''s not easy to find a team, and it''s easy to run into ck teams..."


    Tommy, watching Su''en''s retreating figure, seemed to think of something and muttered, "I think, Mr. Johnny is very capable... Even without your introduction, dad, he would definitely be able to find a good team."


    Benson didn''t understand the meaning of Tommy''s words, raising an eyebrow, "Hmm, Brother Johnny''s marksmanship is indeed not bad..."


    But it was just not bad.


    He had seen it during the previous escort mission, that marksmanship...pared to his team''s gunman Paul, it was a fifty-fifty chance.

 Chapter 139: The legendary Shabina

    Chapter 139: The legendary Shabina


    Su''en walked out of the Hunter''s Hall and walked around the camp.


    Considering the time, it was still early in the afternoon, so it was too early to rest.


    He thought that he should learn more about the relics, so he decided to go to the tavern again.


    The tavern was not only the most important "information exchange center" besides the Hunter''s Hall, but also Su''en believed that the hunters who could afford the ten times more expensive drinks in Old Lingdun were mostly the ones who sessfully came out of the relics. They would definitely have a lot of valuable firsthand information.


    Su''en looked around and chose thergest tavern with the most people, conveniently named "ck Jazz".


    This was a chain brand that was famous both inside and outside the city of Old Lingdun. The main financial backer behind it was the "rk family", one of the five major consortiums that built the camp, and also the financial backer behind the Steam Party.


    Even though it was still daytime, the tavern was packed with all kinds of drunken customers.


    They were all hunters who hade out of the relics and earned money to spend.


    Su''en found a inconspicuous spot in the corner and sat down.


    A bottle of Old Lingdun''s 40, here it was 400 lisuo for a bottle of ck wheat beer, and they sold it by the dozen.


    He also called a decent-looking hostess, who only apanied him for drinks, with a minimum tip of 3000.


    Don''t underestimate these hostesses, they were the ones who had the most information in the tavern. Although they didn''t go hunting, they stayed in the tavern all day. They apanied many different customers and had a lot of unexpected information.


    ...


    Su''en drank his wine sip by sip, listening to the customers chatting.


    "Have you heard? The ''Firebird Hunting Team'' that went out a few days ago came backst night with a super big harvest. It is said that those managers from the major business associations who came to collect the goods broke the team leader''s door..."


    "How is that possible? It is said that the members of the Firebird Team had extremely good luck. They identally entered the central city area and not only did they not get wiped out, but they also luckily found a ''forbidden-level'' cursed item... The money they received is enough to live afortable life for the rest of their lives."


    "Why don''t we have such luck in our team..."


    "Captain Bass, don''t even think about it. The central city area has many high-risk cursed spaces, and there are also those endless distorted monsters. The situation is still unclear now, even top professionals dare not guarantee that they cane back alive..."


    "That''s right. I heard that the ''Iron Crocodile Team'' mistakenly explored an ''S-level'' cursed space yesterday and suffered heavy losses..."


    "There are also two ''T-level'' cursed spaces appearing in the West City. The five major families have arranged ve teams to explore, but they were all wiped out... But the estimated profits are also amazing. It is probably only a matter of time before high-level professionals are sent to explore..."


    "..."


    Su''en drank his wine while being a quiet listener.


    Now, hunting in the Dawn City ruins is almost always either a sudden fortune or aplete wipeout.


    If you can open up a new area ande out alive, the profits are almost always good.


    Su''en also heard a lot of useful information from these customers.


    Which areas are more dangerous, how many ''T-level'' and ''S-level'' cursed spaces there are...


    Where there are top-level distorted monsters...


    Where the hunting teams went and never came back, the "nightmare areas"...


    Listening to these fragmented pieces of information, Su''en automatically pieced together a map in his mind, and he also had a general impression of the entire outer ring of the Dawn Ruins.


    ...


    Su''en sat in the tavern for a few hours and had heard enough information.


    Just as he was about to leave and find a ce to rest and prepare for tomorrow''s hunting, his gaze suddenly turned towards the stairs on the second floor.


    The second floor of the tavern was the VIP area, not just anyone could go up there. It was specifically for entertaining the people from the inner city.


    The iron staircase made a nging sound as a few people walked down.


    The tavern instantly became quiet, and the sound of footsteps on the stairs was particrly clear.


    A pair of slender legs stepped on a pair of high heels, followed by a white silk long skirt that split open to the root of the legs. From this angle, the beautiful legs were fully disyed. After a few more steps down the stairs, a head of fiery red wavy hair and a graceful figure came into view.


    And then, that enchanting and beautiful face came into sight.


    As soon as this woman in the white fox fur long dress appeared, the noisy tavern seemed to have been paused, and suddenly fell silent.


    The group of men held their wine sses in their hands and froze, their gazes burning.


    Her fair skin was radiant, giving the illusion that she had a built-in high-definition beauty filter. Looking at her, everything around her seemed to fade. Especially the slight arc of her mouth, which brought out all kinds of charm between her eyebrows.


    Clearly, she was a gangster''s wife, but her every move revealed the elegance and luxury of an upper-ss socialite.


    This woman''s temperament was alluring and extraordinary.


    "So, you''re here too..."Su''en squinted at the woman.


    He naturally recognized this woman, who had a notorious reputation in the outer city''s underworld, as Shabina, the wife of the Steam Party''s leader, "Butcher" Banner.


    She was the woman who had left a deep impression on him since the first day he crossed over.


    "Tsk tsk... I have to say, those peaches are indeed quite big."


    Su''en nced at her and muttered to himself.


    Her chest was a towering, proud, and imposing sight, exuding a heavy sense of oppression.


    He was also curious about what kind of woman she was in the eyes of others in the tavern, to be so infatuated. He let go of some normal emotions and looked at his attribute panel, where the word "slight fascination" instantly appeared.


    It wasn''t really a negative status.


    It was purely "being attracted by appearance."


    She was a stunning beauty who could ignite desire with just one nce.


    "Her charm attribute is quite high... Is it an innate seductive talent or some other ability?"


    As his emotions settled, the trace of infatuation in Su''en''s eyes disappeared instantly.


    In that instant, the woman nced at the tavern.


    With just that casual nce, the sound of everyone in the tavern swallowing their saliva could be heard.


    Su''en keenly caught that gaze, and his spiritual power on his own panel fluctuated slightly. He once again had a different view of this woman and thought to himself, "It seems that this woman is not just a character who relies on her beauty to climb up the ranks, as the legends say..."


    After leaving the tavern, the woman was apanied by a slightly excited young man.


    Su''en recognized him as another acquaintance, the young master of the Oliver family he had encountered in the market before, Danze Oliver.


    "Young Master Danze, let''s stop here for today''s drinks. I''ll wait for your good news."


    "No problem!"


    "..."


    Perhaps they had just discussed something upstairs, and the two of them whispered to each other as they walked out of the tavern.


    Once those people had walked far away, the men in the tavern, who had been dumbfounded, seemed toe back to life.


    The tavern returned to its noisy and bustling state.


    "Damn, if I could sleep with a woman like that, I''d be willing to shorten my lifespan by ten years..."


    "Shh~ Keep your voice down. You dare to have thoughts about ''Butcher'' Banner''s woman? Are you tired of living? Although I have to admit, I think the same way, hahaha..."


    "..."


    Su''en listened to these whispers and chuckled lightly.


    He didn''t stay long and left the tavern.


    .......


    Early the next morning, thousands of fully equipped hunters had already gathered at the camp''s entrance.


    Looking at the gs, there were hundreds of hunting teams, big and small.


    The agreed meeting time was seven o''clock, and Su''en arrived ten minutes early.


    When he arrived, he saw that the members of the "Drunkard Hunting Team" were also present.


    The team was well-equipped, following the standard configuration of a small team: heavy armored soldiers, doctors, gunmen, sorcerers, and demolitions experts...


    As the team leader, Benson was urging the members to do a final check of their equipment.


    Seeing Su''en approaching, he greeted him warmly, "Brother Johnny!"


    Su''en nodded in response.


    He saw Tommy fully armed and appearing in the team, and asked in surprise, "Captain Benson, why did you bring Tommy to the ruins?"


    Benson''s eyes flickered with affection, but also helplessness, and he said, "Yeah, this kid insisted oning."


    Tommy, who was beside him, patted the gun at his waist andined, "Dad, I''m not a kid anymore!"


    Benson shrugged indifferently, turned his head, and smiled at Su''en, "When I was his age, I was already out hunting. Since he chose this path, he will eventually have to grow up..."


    Hearing this, Su''en didn''t say much.


    Hunters have their own destinies.


    At exactly seven o''clock, the team set off.


    The Oliver family''s hunting team had organized more than ten small hunting teams to act together, with over a hundred people in total.


    They had a second-tier professional leading the way, the captain of the "Warde Team," Bloom.


    The Oliver family, as a major conglomerate, had the most urate information and maps of the ruins. They had already nned their route in advance.


    To avoid danger while crossing the city, the team would follow the outskirts of the city in a circle and then enter through the ruins of the eastern city wall, heading directly to explore the "Red Brick Tower District."


    Su''en knew that Danze Oliver, the young master, was eager to find the hair strand, which coincided with his own goal, making things easier.


    .......


    The outermost area of the Dawn City ruins had already been cleared, and there was no danger along the way.


    The hunters were progressing smoothly, with a rxed atmosphere and asional chatting.


    The undead controlled by Su''en followed behind the "Drunkard Team" like they were being transported, appearing somewhat isted.


    However, Tommy had been sticking by his side, pestering him for advice on gunmanship and machinery.


    With over a hundred people, there was always something new to talk about during their chats.While chatting with Tommy, Su''en also listened to the gossip of other hunters.


    Unexpectedly, he heard something about himself.


    "Speaking of which, have you guys heard that there is a new ruthless person in Old Lingdun City, a new top ten S-ss wanted criminal..."


    "Oh, there''s a new face in the top ten of the wanted list? Where did hee from?"


    "I heard that he is a very powerful firearms expert from the Cross Society, called ''Su''en''. It is said that he killed three second-tier professionals from the inner city and became famous in one battle."


    "This is an exaggeration... Even a firearms master may not be able to kill three second-tier professionals, let alone an expert."


    "The battle on Green Street was fierce, and many people have heard about it. Moreover, I also heard a rumor from my nephew that before this ''Su''en'' joined the gang, he was actually a bodyguard and driver who defected from a wealthy family in the inner city because he had an affair with a beautiful mistress of a nobleman. That''s why he was hunted down..."


    "..."


    Listening to the stories from those people, Su''en originally wanted to gather some useful information.


    But the more he listened, the more something felt off.


    Familiar form, familiar plot, isn''t this exactly the same as the Red Devil back then?


    In the end, the topic of these rough men quickly shifted from the new rookie on the wanted list to which night club had the most beautiful women...


    On the other hand, Tommy listened with great interest. This kind of legendary story was his favorite at his age.


    After listening to those people discussing "S-rank Su''en", he suddenly thought of something and turned to Su''en curiously, "Mr. Johnny, who do you think is more powerful, you or that S-rank?"


    Su''en smiled, "Me? I''m far behind..."


    Tommy said seriously, "But... I feel that you are very powerful. At least you should be much stronger than my arrogant old man."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en asked curiously, "Is it your ''feeling'' ability again?"


    "Yes."


    Tommy thought for a moment and pointed to the person in front of him, "Right now, I feel a light from everyone, the firelight on my old man is like a candle, while others are like matches, and Mr. Johnny, you are like a... big fireball."


    Light?


    Did he see the soul, spiritual power, or dark spiritual power?


    Su''en felt that Tommy might have awakened a very powerful talent.


    He thought for a moment and said, "Tommy, you must never tell anyone about this ability in the future. Otherwise, it may bring big trouble to you and your father."


    Tommy was smart, and he naturally understood what Su''en meant. He patted his chest and said, "I know! But because it''s Mr. Johnny, I said it. Because... I feel that you are a good person, better than anyone else."


    Listening to this, Su''en smiled again.


    .......


    The hunting team walked along the outskirts of the city for half a day, repelling several small-scale attacks from distorted monsters, and finally arrived at the designated entrance area of the city.


    Dawn City had no city walls, and one could enter the city center by finding any road.


    The city was full of ruins, a scene of devastation after a great war.


    After stepping into this building ruins, the leader of the Warde Squad, Captain Bloom, shouted, "Everyone, be careful. We are now entering a dangerous area. Check your equipment and be on guard against monsters from the sky, underground, or anywhere!"


    Everyone responded in unison, "Yes!"


    The hunters, who had fought a months-long battle with distorted monsters in the streets and alleys of Dawn City, not only did not reduce the number of monsters in the city, but they increased instead.


    No one knew where these monsters came from, but no matter how they were killed, they couldn''t bepletely eradicated.


    Moreover, after entering the city, a mist gradually spread in the air, greatly limiting visibility. The mist would also move with the wind, and when it became dense, the visibility would not exceed ten meters.


    The atmosphere in the hunting team suddenly became tense.


    As they went deeper, they encountered several distorted humans feasting on some corpses...


    The hunters quickly shot and killed those monsters who were once their colleagues.


    ........


    Then, not long after entering the mist, the expectedrge-scale attack came.


    The breath of living people was like a lighthouse in the dark night, attracting nearby monsters.


    As they walked, Su''en suddenly moved his ears slightly and quietly ced his hands on the pistol at his waist.


    After a second, someone finally shouted a warning, "Be careful, there are monsters in the sky!"


    Before the words had even fallen, strange screeches came from the mist. The sound came from all directions, and the number was astonishing.


    In the next moment, everyone looked up and saw a group of giant bats with wingspans of two to three meters suddenly flying out of the mist!


    The pping of their flesh wings created a whistling sound.


    Bang, bang, bang, bang...


    Gunshots rang out, and everyone fired their pistols into the mist in a frenzy.


    But there were too many monsters, and shadows continued to fly out from the mist.


    The situation suddenly became critical.Benson and his scavenger team were mostly experienced veterans. They quickly formed a defensive formation when they encountered trouble.


    Because Tommy was in the team, everyone gathered around him as the core, and Su''en also benefited from this. He didn''t have many opportunities to take action, asionally firing a few shots to take down a threatening bat, then firing randomly, as if he was participating...


    Fortunately, because they were prepared in advance and had enough firepower, the scavenger team quickly repelled those strange bats.


    However, even so, the scavenger team still suffered casualties.


    "Damn it, we''re two men short, taken by those bats!"


    "Our team also lost one..."


    "Everyone be careful, the bat''s blood has corrosive toxins..."


    "..."


    They had just entered the ruins and the team had already suffered losses, which immediately made the atmosphere heavy.


    However, the Drunkard team was surprisingly intact, with almost no losses.


    The situation was chaotic before, and no one noticed Su''en''s excellent marksmanship. Tommy, who was next to him, noticed something and asked quietly, "Mr. Johnny, the bat''s eyes are so small and they''re flying around. How did you hit it?"


    "Just lucky. Practice more and you can do it too..."


    Su''en casually replied with a smile, not expecting this little guy to be so observant.


    ......


    "Let''s go, keep moving!"


    The scavenger team didn''t suffer much loss. They cleaned up the battlefield and continued to go deeper.


    As they passed by the pile of corpses, Su''en nced at the bat bodies on the ground, a thoughtful look in his eyes.


    Abyss Bloodthirsty Giant Bat


    Exnation: Prefers darkness, bloodthirsty; a mutated monster that has lived in a rich dark spiritual environment for a long time, it hasbat power exceeding the limit of its species;


    Looking at the information identified from this monster, Su''en somehow thought of the mutated monsters in the sewers of Old Lingdun.

 Chapter 140: The Legend of the Clock Tower Monster

    Chapter 140: The Legend of the Clock Tower Monster


    The ruins of Dawn City are as dangerous as the legends say.


    After the first wave of attacks by a swarm of giant bats, the hunting team encountered several more waves of monster attacks, resulting in casualties.


    Among them, there was a wave of monsters that even Su''en found slightly troublesome.


    It was a humanoid monster with four limbs and sharp ws, and its brain was outside its body. It would burst out from the mist like lightning, kill people, and then disappear back into the mist. Its speed was so fast that even ordinary gunmen didn''t have a chance to pull the trigger before it vanished.


    The identification information showed that it was a monster called "Blinker," which was a mutated assassin.


    Mutation is the result of the body being unable to withstand the dark energy and undergoing changes.


    The dark spiritual power in this ruin is more than ten times that of Old Lingdun, and the degree of mutation of the monsters is much higher than in other ces.


    Therefore, even though it was a first-tier monster, some of its attributes were several times stronger than ordinary first-tier professionals, such as speed!


    Fortunately, there was a second-tier professional in the team.


    After several deaths, the leader of the "Warde Squad," Bloom, personally chased into the mist and killed the monster, finally resolving the crisis.


    However, the good news was that the monsters in the ruins were very strong, and the chance of producing cursed materials was extremely high.


    Even the "Drunkard Squad," which followed behind the main force, also obtained a lot of materials.


    Moreover, for Su''en, the extremely high concentration of dark spiritual power in this ruin made his breathing stronger!


    .......


    The journey that should have taken three or four hours ended up taking half a day.


    In the afternoon, they finally arrived at the "Red Brick Tower District" marked on the map.


    The buildings in Dawn City were a mix of various styles. This was a cross street, with a dpidated red brick tower on the east side that looked like an ancient bell tower. It had a pointed top, flying buttresses, and some broken stained ss, clearly Gothic in style.


    The monastery where the witch''s hair was found was on the west side, also in ruins, but with a round Romanesque dome. The main building was white, but the main hall and corridors had copsed on arge scale...


    Su''en used the Eye of Omniscience to take a look, and it showed "A Dpidated Monastery."


    There were no special prompts.


    From the known information, there must be a "Wailing Witch" hunting humans nearby.


    Someone had found a corpse in this area before, and they had taken the hair from the corpse while still alive. This indicated that the witch might be a wandering monster or a curse space triggered by special conditions.


    Su''en didn''t dare to be careless and didn''t approach the monastery.


    Then he looked down at his hand, made an awkward finger gesture, looked around, and then lowered his head to repeat the gesture twice. His furrowed brows rxed, confirming something in his heart, and he muttered, "Not a dream..."


    He hadn''t forgotten that the ability the "Wailing Witch" was good at was killing people in dreams.


    And even if Su''en wanted to approach the monastery, he couldn''t.


    Because the second-tier leader of the "Warde Squad" had already started sending teams to investigate the situation inside the monastery.


    They were a hunting team sponsored by the Oliver family, and their purpose was to find clues about the "Wailing Witch" for Danze Junior. The dpidated monastery had be a key target for exploration.


    But Su''en thought it was fine.


    Having someone else scout ahead for him would at least help him figure out what kind of existence the witch was.


    .......


    Upon reaching the vicinity of the designated destination, each hunting team began their search tasks.


    As a member of the Joint Hunting Contract Team, the "Drunkard Squad" was free to act upon arrival at the destination.


    Benson greeted his team members and also called out to Su''en, "Let''s go, Johnny, let''s search those buildings over there."


    They couldn''t go to the monastery, but there were still many buildings around.


    Although other hunters had already been here, no one could guarantee that the treasures had beenpletely looted.


    Hunting was simr to gold panning; it required enough patience and luck to find gold in the gravel pile.


    And because this city was suddenly destroyed, the ruins preserved many everyday items from the residents of the city a thousand years ago.


    Perhaps there were undiscovered cers, jewelry boxes in copsed rubble, and hidden stashes underground...


    As long as they searched patiently, they would always find something.


    With that, Benson led his team members to unload their backpacks and tents, and they began their treasure hunt with light equipment.


    The fog density on the streets was very low now, allowing them to see far without encountering any monsters.


    Everyone dispersed and relied on their experience to search for treasures.


    Tommy was excited to be hunting in such a dangerous ce for the first time. But instead of following Benson, he turned to Su''en and asked, "Mr. Johnny, can I go with you?"


    Su''en was curious, "Why?"


    Tommy''s eyes flickered with intelligence, "Because I feel safer with you!"


    Su''en smiled. This kid was quite clever. "Sure,e with me."


    Hearing his agreement, Tommy smiled happily and shouted to Benson, who had already crossed the street, "Dad, I''m going with Mr. Johnny!"


    Benson didn''t mind and waved his hand, "Alright!"Su''en was not very interested in hunting for treasures in the wilderness. He didn''t need money at the moment, so he didn''t put much effort into it.


    Moreover, because he knew that the "Crying Witch" often appeared nearby, his gaze was always focused on these ruins, trying to see if there was anything wrong.


    Before long, the hunting team made a discovery.


    Suddenly, a heartyughter rang out.


    "Hahaha... I found a treasure chest!"


    The one who spoke was Bernard, a mage in Benson''s team who was skilled in "treasure hunting magic".


    That rare supportive magic had nobat power, but it was perfect for finding buried metals. It was like a personal metal detector that could be used while walking.


    Benson alsoughed and said, "Not bad."


    A small box of ancient silver coins could probably be sold for a hundred or eighty thousand.


    Starting off on a good note, the members of the Drunkard''s Group became even more excited.


    Su''en and Tommy also found a building to explore and went inside.


    .......


    This street had already been looted by previous hunters. If they wanted to find treasures, they had to dig deep into the ruins or search in more hidden ces.


    If they didn''t know the special magic of "treasure hunting", it would require a lot of effort.


    Su''en was already azy person, and with Tommy, a novice, the two "amateur-level" hunters wandered aimlessly in the ruins.


    He didn''t have any hope of finding any treasures, but he discovered that Tommy''s treasure hunting ability was surprisingly good!


    The two of them arrived at a pile of copsed rocks, and Tommy seemed to sense something. He suddenly stopped and pointed to the ground, saying, "Mr. Johnny, I feel like there''s something beneath you."


    Su''en asked, "What is it?"


    Tommy furrowed his brows, as if he was trying hard to sense something, and said, "I don''t know, I just have a feeling..."


    "Alright, let''s dig and see."


    Listening to this description, Su''en became even more curious about what kind of talent this guy had awakened.


    A prophet? But it didn''t seem like it.


    Thinking that there was nothing to lose, the two of them started digging.


    With the assistance of their mechanical arms, they dug very quickly.


    When they threw away the broken bricks and stones, they actually found an alchemy staff embedded with a blue gemstone.


    There should have been a corpse next to the staff, but time had already decayed it into a puddle of yellow-brown stains.


    Tommy excitedly shouted, "Wow... Mr. Johnny, we really found a treasure!"


    Su''en appraised it and although the runic effects of the staff had dissipated due to the passage of time, the material alone was valuable. He said, "The gemstone embedded in this staff is a ''Shattered Star Gem''. With such arge piece, its auction price would not be less than eight hundred thousand."


    When Tommy heard the price, his eyes lit up, "Wow... we found eight hundred thousand just like that?!"


    Su''en also found it unbelievable, "Yes."


    At this moment, he suddenly noticed something and swiftly drew his gun, pulling the trigger towards a ck figure crawling on the ceiling behind him.


    Bang! The sound of a gunshot rang out.


    A monster fell to the ground.


    Tommy hadn''t reacted yet and watched as a distorted lizard that had been crawling on the ceiling fell from above.


    ......


    Gunshots asionally rang out as the hunters killed scattered distorted creatures hiding in the buildings. But theck ofrge-scale battles indicated that there weren''t many monsters and they weren''t much of a threat.


    However, this made Su''en even more cautious.


    In the Dawn City where distorted creatures roamed in groups, this situation was abnormal.


    Su''en and Tommy wandered around the ruins, and before long, they arrived at the copsed red brick tower.


    This ce had already been searched many times, so there probably wasn''t anything valuable left.


    But at this moment, Tommy noticed something and pointed to the copsed building, saying, "Mr. Johnny, why do I feel like there''s something strange about that clock tower?"


    Hearing this, Su''en also became interested. If Tommy said he had a "feeling," there was most likely a problem.


    It was a square clock tower, and erosion over the years had reduced it to only a seven to eight-meter base. When Su''en estimated its intact state, it was probably at least a hundred meters tall.


    In addition to the broken bricks and stones on the ground, there were also some shattered and rusted oversized clock parts.


    For example, a giant bell that looked like it weighed more than ten tons.


    Although it was made of metal, no one could take it away, nor was there any need to. This thing was worthless.


    Su''en focused his gaze on the copsed ruins, examining them one by one, but he didn''t find anything unusual.


    With a hint of doubt, he turned his head and asked, "Tommy, where do you think there''s a problem?"


    Tommy thought for a moment and said, "That bell."


    "..."


    Su''en furrowed his brows as he listened, and once again stared at the ten-ton bell, trying to discover something.


    From top to bottom, inside and out, he didn''t miss a single detail.


    He even deliberately looked at the rust patterns.


    However, after looking at it for a few minutes, he still didn''t find any clues.


    Could it be that there was a need for a certain special condition to see its peculiarities?


    Su''en thought of the cursed space at 88 Gingko Street that required one to think about it in order for it to exist.Or... did Tommy perceive it wrong?


    .......


    While the two of them were circling around the bell, Su''en didn''t notice that a ten-person team from the "Warde Squad" that was heading to the monastery for investigation suddenly disappeared into thin air.


    A few secondster, the huge bell that Su''en had previously seen as nothing out of the ordinary suddenly revealed different information.


    [The Legend of the Clock Tower Monster]


    Exnation: A cursed space with a special trigger method. It only appears when the weeping witch appears. Ring the bell, and the space will engulf anyone within 100 meters who hears the bell. Normally, this is a curse space with a danger level of A, but for you, it is a level D. Enter the clock tower, fulfill the monster''s wish, and you can leave. Special reminder: Do not let it sense your disgust, otherwise it will be enraged.


    "It really is a special trigger!"


    Su''en looked at the information, his thoughts racing.


    But ording to the intelligence analysis, this was not the cursed space of the weeping witch that he had predicted.


    Instead, it was apanion space that only appeared when a witch appeared???


    Su''en furrowed his brows as he looked at it. Being a level D meant that there was almost no danger.


    Before he could think too much, in that instant, Su''en also heard the sound of heavy objects falling nearby.


    Tommy, who was beside him, eximed, "Mr. Johnny, look! There are so many corpses here!"


    Su''en''s gaze followed and saw that not far away, ten bodies appeared out of thin air!


    "Hmm..."


    Su''en''s gaze sharpened, immediately realizing something.


    The fact that the bodies appeared out of thin air meant that they were expelled from the cursed space.


    He looked at his own hand again and made a strange gesture.


    Not finding anything abnormal, he breathed a sigh of relief. "It''s not a dream..."


    Using his all-knowing eyes to survey the surroundings, there was nothing unusual.


    All ten bodies had the emblem of the Warde Squad, a blood-colored warde. And these faces were somewhat familiar, they were the members of the "Seventh Team" of the Warde Squad. Su''en remembered that this seemed to be the Seventh Team of the Warde Squad.


    The bodies looked peaceful, but there were several crystal-clear threads piercing through them.


    "The weeping witch!"


    Su''en immediately understood.


    No wonder the cursed space of the [Clock Tower Monster''s Legend] appeared, its trigger condition was the appearance of a witch!


    Having discovered this, Su''en suddenly looked towards the direction of the monastery. "It''s not just monsters, which means there is another cursed space there with a special trigger!"


    At this moment, Tommy also noticed the silver hair. He curiously pulled out one from the body and asked, "Mr. Johnny, what is this?"


    Su''en naturally recognized this thing.


    However, there were nearly thirty strands of hair on these ten bodies, which was more than all the strands Su''en had in his handsbined.


    Only now did he understand how these strands of hair were obtained.


    However, this thing was not easy to obtain.


    Just as Tommy was pulling out the strands of hair from the body, a nearby team also saw something and quickly walked over. The captain leading the team coldly stopped Tommy from continuing to pull out the hair, "Kid, that thing is not something you can touch!"


    Hearing this tone, Tommy was frightened and stood there at a loss.


    But as Su''en listened, his eyes suddenly turned cold.


    .......


    Originally, Su''en didn''t expect to obtain these strands of hair through normal means.


    After all, these ten fresh bodies were all members of the Warde Squad. They wouldn''t let outsiders take what they risked their lives to explore.


    But...


    What was this "malice" that felt like a thorn in his back?


    Su''en looked up at the team. He didn''t remember wrongly, they were the Second Team of the Warde Squad, and the explosive-haired captain who spoke was named "Bomb Man" Collins.


    Tommy, who was beside him, was a bit puzzled and asked, "Captain Collins, what do you mean?"


    Collins naturally recognized Su''en and Tommy as members of the "Drunkard Squad," but looking at the bodies, he seemed very irritable. "I said... don''t touch these damn threads!"


    Tommy''s face turned red from being scolded and argued, "We didn''t say we wanted to take them..."


    At this moment, Collinspletely lost his patience and red at Tommy and Su''en, "Get lost!"


    That adult had given a strict order. They must find the "weeping witch" this time, or a sufficient number of strands of hair.


    Otherwise, even if everyone in their squad died here, they couldn''t go back!


    Right now... it was still not enough!


    Which meant that there would definitely be more people who would continue to die!


    Su''en, who had remained silent, had already determined something. His expression under the mask suddenly became yful as he greeted Tommy beside him, "Let''s go, Tommy."


    After turning around, the expression under his mask suddenly became sinister. "Malice has turned into murderous intent... it seems like my guess was right."They imed to be working together, but in reality, the "de Squad" with their second-order professionals didn''t need to bring along a group of "disobedient" independent yers, considering theirbat power and equipment.


    The most reasonable exnation was that these guys had ill intentions from the start, rather than considering any personal feelings.


    Otherwise, they would have warned everyone about the presence of the "Weeping Witch" here.


    They probably thought that the more teams they had, the more people there would be to trigger the traps.


    After all, exploring apletely unknown cursed space meant risking their lives.


    Just like the ten corpses in front of them.


    Judging from the situation, Benson, the squad leader, also fell victim to the "familiar faces". (They weren''t sure if the witch was here before, and other ces in the ruins might not be safer than here, so there was no point in warning Benson.)


    However, even though he had guessed some of the signs, Su''en still followed them.


    Firstly, he thought he had toe and see for himself, no matter who he was with.


    Secondly, if they really had malicious intentions, Su''en thought it would be a good opportunity to gain some experience and loot.


    With the Hateful Zombies and the ck Scythe in hand, the "de Squad" was not enough to make him feel threatened.


    Now that the bodies had appeared out of nowhere, it meant that they had figured out how to trigger the "Weeping Witch''s Cursed Space"...


    Their malicious intentions had clearly turned into murderous ones.


    ......


    However, killing people out of the blue didn''t seem right.


    They had the advantage in numbers, and Su''en might not gain much from a direct confrontation.


    Even though he had guessed the truth, the "sense of malice" was still hard to exin.


    When the fight really started, the independent teams might be confused about who to support.


    Unless absolutely necessary, Su''en didn''t want to antagonize these independent scavengers who were unaware of the situation.


    But he also didn''t n to wait until someone pointed a gun at his head to fight back.


    So, he thought of another way.


    Ignoring the bodies, he walked straight to the giant bell, took out a metal object, and struck the bell hard.


    "Dong..."


    If it wasn''t convenient to kill here.


    Then he would change the location.


    Moreover, Su''en thought he might have caught some important clues about the "Weeping Witch", and he had to check out this cursed space first.

 Chapter 141: Wait a moment, Im going to kill two people

    Chapter 141: Wait a moment, I''m going to kill two people


    "Dong..."


    The sound of the bell echoed like ripples on the water, spreading in the mist-filled air.


    After the heavy bell rang, Su''en suddenly heard a long and increasingly clear sound of bells, "dong," "dong," "dong."


    The two different sounds of bells ovepped, as if gradually ovepping with another time and space.


    Su''en felt his surroundings flicker before his eyes, and the scenery around him began to change rapidly.


    He was already familiar with this situation and knew that he had been sucked into the cursed space.


    .......


    It was a cold night.


    As the scenery changed, Su''en found himself standing at a crossroads in the shape of an "X."


    He quickly looked around at the surroundings.


    On the left side of the crossroads was a towering red brick bell tower, reaching a height of one hundred meters, with lights shining on the top of the tower.


    The sound of "dong dong" still echoed in his ears.


    He looked up at the clock on the bell tower, and the ck hands on the white dial pointed exactly to twelve o''clock.


    It was the midnight bell.


    One hundred meters to the right was a magnificent white monastery.


    The street at midnight was deste and quiet, with a thin ck mist pervading the entire street.


    The ground was wet cobblestones, not spacious. There were obvious narrow lines on the thinyer of snow, as if they were traces left by carriage wheels.


    There were retro-style hexagonal gasmps on both sides of the street, and ck iron flower fences surrounded roadside flower beds.


    In front, there were rows of houses with red roofs, and the dim yellow light flickered on the frosted ss. It was the light of the fire burning in the firece, adding a touch of warmth to this cold winter night.


    Snowing?


    "Will it snow in the City of Dawn after a thousand years..."


    Su''en looked at the intact buildings around him, which turned out to be the scenery of the City of Dawn a thousand years ago.


    At this moment, a ck carriage swiftly passed by on the road. The bell on the neck of the chestnut horse "ding-a-ling" made a clear sound, and the horse''s hooves stepped on the stone road, making a "nk nk" sound...


    Through the window of the carriage, one could still see an old gentleman in a well-dressed suit sitting inside.


    The carriage passed by, stirring up a flurry of snowkes, and the cold wind blew into the cor of Su''en''s coat.


    It made him shiver involuntarily.


    There were figures, lights, and chimneys emitting white smoke.


    There was an atmosphere of fireworks, as if in the real world.


    This feeling was very strange.


    It was as if he had traveled through history, and the painting of history was vividly disyed before his eyes.


    "Mr. Johnny? Where are we?"


    Beside him, a young boy in thin clothes tentatively called out. He was holding a basket of matches in his hand.


    A match-selling boy?


    Su''en didn''t recognize Tommy, but he could tell from his tone and casually responded, "Cursed space."


    He looked at Tommy''s attire and guessed something, then asked, "What am I wearing now?"


    Tommy replied, "Police uniform."


    Su''en looked at his own outfit as a hunter and suddenly realized.


    He focused his attention on the additional badge on his chest.


    [Badge of the Dawn City Police]


    Intimidation +3


    Exnation: An alchemical essory, proof of identity as a police officer in the City of Dawn; with it, you are a police officer withw enforcement authority. But be careful, it will attract the attention of killers.


    "I am a police officer? A cursed space in role-ying mode? Interesting..."


    Su''en looked at the easily misunderstood prompt with indifference, raising an eyebrow.


    He then looked down at his own hands.


    There was now an additional leather file folder in his hand.


    Opening it, he found a case record.


    [Police Testimony File for the Clock Tower Street Murder Case]


    Case number: MST-07 Serial Killer Case


    Case status: Unsolved


    Chief: Fraule Scott


    Witness/Assistant: Officer Johnny


    The file record is as follows: This morning, a male body was found in the alley at 44 Clock Tower Street, with his face and internal organs eaten; this is the seventh murder case in this neighborhood, and the modus operandi is identical to the previous six cases; someone witnessed a cloaked figure wandering near the crossroads of ''Red Tower Street'' at midnight; suspected distortion event, handle with caution, apply for support from the City Guard Special Organization if necessary...


    "Is this a cursed space with a plot background? Do I have to find the killer?"


    Su''en quickly scanned the file, reading it line by line.


    However, the content of this file is very misleading.


    He had already seen through the name of this cursed space, "Legend of the Clock Tower Monster," through the All-Knowing Eye, and guessed that the killer was most likely in the red brick bell tower on his left.


    Moreover, the way to get out was not to catch the killer.


    It was to fulfill a wish.


    But since the All-Knowing Eye judged it as a "D-level" difficulty space, Su''en was not in a hurry.


    Besides, he had his gun, storage ring, and the scythe of the undead.


    There was more than one way to solve the puzzle.


    But speaking of which, this scene is really realistic.Looking at the vibrant ancient street scene around him, he lost interest in the murderer.


    It''s the bustling Dawn City from a thousand years ago that really piques his curiosity!


    .......


    Entering the cursed space for the first time, Tommy seemed a bit nervous on the side. "Mr. Johnny... where are we going now? Are we going to find the source of this cursed space?"


    "Yes. But no rush."


    Su''en nodded and looked at two suspicious figures not far away. He said, "Wait here, I''m going to kill two people."


    Kill?


    Tommy was stunned by his words.


    His tone was as calm as if he were saying he was going to buy a few oranges.


    Before he could ask any more questions, Su''en had already walked over.


    He took out his badge and said to the two men in ck trench coats with pipes in their mouths, "Hello, please show me your identification."


    The two men were a bit confused, as if they hadn''t fully reacted to their new identities yet. "We are detectives, we want to investigate..."


    But before they could finish their sentence, Su''en asked, "Members of the Warde Squad?"


    "How did you..."


    Before the man could finish his sentence, Su''en pulled out his gun expressionlessly and shot two holes in their foreheads.


    The bodies fell to the ground, and Su''en harvested some experience points. He solemnly took off the storage rings from the bodies.


    He muttered to himself, "Ten in total, eight more to go."


    After killing the two men, Su''en turned his head and looked at Tommy, who was still stunned. He beckoned and said, "Let''s go."


    Tommy quickly ran over and asked, "Mr. Johnny, why did you kill them?"


    He was also clever enough to guess something. "Those two were members of the Warde Squad, right?"


    Su''en asked, "You recognized them?"


    Tommy nodded. "Yes."


    Su''en didn''t exin much. "You''ll know soon."


    Tommy asked, "Ah... where are we going now?"


    Su''en replied, "Let''s go see what the Dawn City from a thousand years ago was like."


    Go out?


    It would be a waste of opportunity to leave such an interesting ce like this.


    Eliminating the Warde Squad was just a side n.


    The most important thing was that he was already 100% sure that thispanion space was rted to the "Wailing Witch," so he still needed to find some key clues in the space to understand the events.


    .......


    Su''en led Kay walking on the street. Instead of going to the clock tower or the monastery, he went directly to a brightly lit red-roofed house at the intersection.


    Knock, knock, knock!


    He knocked on the door and looked at the namete next to the door, then shouted inside, "Sorry for disturbing you sote, Mr. Smith. I''m Officer Johnny, and I have something to ask you."


    He quickly adapted to the role he was ying.


    A female voice responded from inside, "Oh, Officer Johnny. Please wait a moment."


    He heard some rustling sounds, as if someone was getting dressed.


    After half a minute, the door opened, and a golden-haireddy in a Victorian-style puffy skirt opened the door.


    She looked at Su''en as if she recognized him. "Officer Johnny, please have a seat inside."


    Su''en didn''t hesitate and walked in.


    The interior of the house was elegantly decorated, with crystal chandeliers and mahogany furniture. Delicate ceramic dishes and silver trays were ced on the table. The firece was burning fiercely, and there was a deer head specimen and a hunting rifle on the wall.


    This was a wealthy household.


    Su''en entered the house and quickly looked around. "Sorry for disturbing your rest, Mrs. Smith."


    The blonde woman muttered, "Oh, it''s such heavy snow, and you still have to go on patrol, Officer Johnny. You must be working so hard. Has there been another murder? Oh my, it''s so scary. There''s bad news every day recently."


    After a pause, she asked, "Coffee or tea?"


    "Tea, thank you."


    Su''en casually replied, fully assuming the role of a police officer, and asked, "Mrs. Smith, have you noticed anything unusual in the neighborhood recently?"


    Mrs. Smith was tinkering with a teapot on the firece and poured a cup of tea for Su''en. She said, "When the midnight bell rangst night, I seemed to hear a very painful screaming from the direction of the clock tower..."


    When she bent down, Su''en saw therge white gullies through her cor and the steel corset around her waist.


    "Oh."


    Su''en didn''t sit on the sofa, but went to the decorative bookshelf next to it and took out a thick, gold-embossed book.


    He flipped through it, but there were no writings on the pages.


    The other books were simr, except for the book "Complete Alchemy Basics," where he saw some fragments of ancient Nuidnguage.


    Su''en wasn''t surprised by this. He continued to flip through the book while continuing to ask questions.


    "Have you heard any news about Sir Isaac recently?"


    "No, not at all..."


    "Do your family have any ns to install mechanical prosthetics?"


    "..."


    "Do you know a tall ck tower?"


    "..."


    "Do you have any knowledge of alchemy?""Sorry, I''m not a sorcerer. Those books were bought by my husband, the mayor. But he hasn''te back for three days..."


    "Are there any alchemists nearby?"


    "The old nun in the white monastery across the street seems to be a powerful sorcerer..."


    "Mr. Smith won''t being back tonight?"


    "Oh, Officer Johnny, you''re so direct. Maybe you should be more tactful..."


    "..."


    "I want to ask about the monastery across the street. Have you noticed anything unusual?"


    "There''s nothing unusual there except for a few nuns and pigeons cooing all day."


    "Do you have any special impressions of those nuns?"


    "I only remember a girl named Alice, she''s very beautiful. She often ys the flute alone in the attic of the monastery. Oh, it''s a sad tune that brings tears to your eyes..."


    "..."


    After asking a few more questions, Su''en knew that he probably wouldn''t get any more information.


    Mechanical and rigid answers.


    This cursed space was a fragment of memory from the "cursed source", where the street scene could be restored, but a group of living souls could not.


    These people were like NPCs in a game, capable of simple responses but notplex emotions.


    Questions that went beyond their understanding or were unrted to the mission would be selectively "unheard".


    (This is a low-level space. The higher-level cursed spaces would be closer to the real world.)


    .......


    Su''en didn''t stay in the house for long, but he said to Tommy, "You stay in the house, no matter what happens, don''te out."


    Tommy was a little puzzled, "Why?"


    Su''en said, "The monsteres out to kill at midnight, but all seven victims in the files died on the street, so the house should be rtively safe. Stay with Mrs. Smith and remember not toe out at any time."


    Tommy said, "Oh. Officer Johnny, what about you?"


    Su''en replied, "I''m going to find some clues."


    After a pause, he turned to the blondedy and said, "Mrs. Smith, can you please take care of him? I''ll be back soon."


    Mrs. Smith responded, "Of course, Officer Johnny."


    Su''en knew that this cursed space was "D-level" for him, but for others, it was a high casualty "A-level".


    Roaming around with Tommy might be dangerous.


    And Su''en had some spections.


    Since they both had their own "roles" when entering this cursed space.


    It was not impossible that both of their "roles" died on the street.


    Otherwise, the badge on his chest wouldn''t remind him of a "special attraction to the killer" and wouldn''t be so "real".


    The rules of the cursed space followed the flow of the plot and were very simple. Everything was constructed from the killer''s memory.


    Things existed, but they wouldn''t exceed the killer''s understanding.


    It was like the killer hadn''t read the books on the bookshelves, so they were nk. Only the book they had read had text.


    Only when the killer had the concept of "the badge is an alchemical item" would it be identified as such.


    This was a space that became very simple as long as it was carefully sorted.


    By investigating some information, it would be discovered that all the clues pointed to two ces, the Red Tower Clock Tower and the White Monastery.


    But the difficultyy in the fact that this was the focus of the background story, but not the focus of the solution.


    ......


    Su''en walked out of the door and stepped on the wet cobblestone street again.


    Snowkes fell from the sky andnded on his shoulders and hat, asionally forming a thinyer.


    Su''en brushed off the snowkes on his shoulders and strolled down the street.


    The cold wind made his thoughts particrly clear.


    Then he visited a few more ces and collected several ancient books with scattered information.


    He asked a few questions, and the situation was simr.


    These NPCs would only say a lot when the nun named "Alice" was mentioned.


    There was also an olddy living in a house with a window attic facing the clock tower, who said she had seen a strange person on the tower...


    These were all crucial pieces of information.


    The police officer who investigated back then must have found this information too.


    The original process was for the "yers" to collect this information and then be directed to the red brick clock tower to find the monster.


    But Su''en wasn''t in a hurry to go.


    Different choices would lead to different oues.


    Just like ying those open-ended plot games, Su''en could directly kill the monster in the clock tower or fulfill itsst wish without understanding the game''s background and stillplete the game.


    But the plot would end.


    He would lose the meaning ofing to this cursed space.


    So, Su''en chose the second option.


    He walked down the street, intending to go to the monastery and see how the weeping witch was formed.


    Now that it was confirmed that this was not the "weeping witch''s space", the monastery wouldn''t be too dangerous.


    It was just an ordinary scene.


    But it would fill in an important background for the story.


    .......Walking along, his thoughts whirling, Su''en unexpectedly came across a few lostmbs.


    In a tavern, he saw a group of men dressed as detectives, arguing about something.


    Although their appearances had changed, Su''en was able to discern their origins from their conversation.


    "Damn it! What''s the answer to that question? Soro answered ''ugly'', Martin answered ''not ugly'', both were killed, and Jick was killed for not answering! I suspect that cloaked monster just wants to kill for fun..."


    "Stopining, let''s think of other ways. We''re safe in the room for now, but are we going to be trapped in this cursed space forever? I just heard some news from the bartender, there''s a weirdo near the clock tower..."


    "..."


    This group was also trying to figure out a solution. It seemed that three people who were not present had already been killed by the "murderer".


    Su''en walked in, without saying a word, he drew his gun and started shooting.


    Gunfire echoed through the tavern.


    Although the tavern was destroyed by the enemy''s retaliatory explosion, all five men, including the team leader, the ''Bomb Maniac'' Collins, were killed.


    Su''en put away his explosion-proof puppet, as if he had just done something trivial.


    He walked out of the tavern and continued towards the monastery with the white walls.


    In a city of alchemists who don''t believe in gods, why would there be a monastery?


    That was what Su''en was most curious about.


    And what was the rtionship between the nun named Aili and the weirdo in the clock tower?

 Chapter 142: Big spenders

    Chapter 142: Big spenders


    It was a snowy night.


    Snowkes fell on the roof of the white monastery, making the building look bloated.


    As a police officer, Su''en had no trouble knocking on the door of the monastery.


    There was thick snow in the courtyard, and pigeons were sleeping high up.


    A brown-haired nun received him.


    "Officer Johnny, what can I do for you?"


    "There has been a murder on the street, and I''m afraid the killer has hidden in the monastery. Can I go in and take a look?"


    "Of course."


    The brown-haired nun led Su''en into the monastery.


    There were no statues in the main hall, but instead, there was a totem of the alchemist''s faith, the "Tail-Biting Serpent."


    Su''en wanted to extract some useful alchemical knowledge from these nuns, but it was clear that he didn''t seed.


    "Can I know how many nuns are in the monastery now?"


    "Six."


    "I need to ask a few more people some questions."


    "..."


    "By the way, where is Sister Alice?"


    "Sorry, she is doing her weekly tasks and maintaining the seal in the basement."


    "The seal?"


    "..."


    The conversation was cut off halfway.


    At least Su''en knew that these nuns were here to maintain the seal.


    ......


    After a while, Su''en walked out of the monastery.


    Although he didn''t see Alice, he heard a sad love story.


    The missing piece of the story was finallypleted.


    As he walked out onto the street, he heard the sound of footsteps crushing the snow behind him.


    Someone was following him.


    But the gaze of that person didn''t show any malice for the time being.


    Su''en calmly turned around and saw a person wearing a ck cloak from head to toe.


    The cloaked figure spoke, "Do you think I''m ugly?"


    The hoarse voice sounded like it came from a throat that had been scalded by molten iron.


    Then he lifted his head, revealing a distorted and monstrous face.


    Su''en had already guessed who "it" was, but his expression remained unchanged as he calmly said, "Appearance has never been the key to measuring beauty or ugliness. In my eyes, kindness has nothing to do with one''s appearance."


    The prompt given by the All-Knowing Eye was already obvious.


    Answering "ugly" or "not ugly" was not the answer,


    Not answering was also not the answer.


    Emotion was the correct answer.


    Feelings of disgust would stimte "it."


    That''s why, for Su''en, the difficulty of this cursed space was "D-level."


    Su''en could control his emotions very well.


    After a pause, he looked at the cloaked figure in front of him and sighed, "Mr. Brook, I have heard your story, and I''m sorry..."


    Upon hearing this, the cloaked figure fell into silence.


    After a long time, he spoke in a hoarse voice, "Sir, can you pleasee and see me in the bell tower? I''m going to die tonight, and I have a request to ask of you..."


    Without hesitation, Su''en agreed, "Okay."


    The result identified by the cloaked figure in front of him was [Abbas, the Flesh Mountain Incarnation, on the verge ofplete distortion].


    Su''en knew he was not the bell tower monster.


    After Su''en agreed, the cloaked figure seemed relieved and disappeared into the snowy night.


    Su''en didn''t pay any attention to the cloaked figure.


    He went straight to the red brick bell tower, which he knew was the key to solving the puzzle.


    There was a thick iron door at the bottom of the bell tower, which was now open.


    Su''en walked in without hesitation.


    There was no elevator, so he climbed the stairs step by step.


    Gradually, strange patterns appeared on the surrounding walls, like autumn ivy climbing all over the walls, bing denser as he went up.


    Later, he discovered that they were densely packed living blood vessels.


    As he continued to climb, there were moving human organs on the walls, intestines, pale yellowyers of fat...


    Even the steps under his feet turned into flesh with slippery mucous membranes, stepping on them felt wet and slippery.


    The air was filled with the special smell of fresh organ tissues.


    Su''en felt like he had entered the body of a giant monster. When he was about to reach the top, he saw a giant beating heart.


    This was the true difficulty of breaking the curse in this space.


    A normal person entering this bell tower would probably first react by throwing a grenade to destroy everything.


    Stimting the "it" upstairs would have serious consequences.


    Su''en looked at the information identified and showed no change in his expression as he climbed up the fleshy staircase step by step.


    Finally, he reached the top of the bell tower and saw a distorted monster''s face growing on the wall.


    This was a grotesque creaturepletely fused with the bell tower.


    Bell Tower Monster?


    No,


    More urately, it should be called the Bell Tower Beast.


    A voice came from the hollow below the two eyeballs in front of him, looking like a mouth, "Sorry, did I scare you?"Su''en learned the story from the nun''s mouth and shook his head, saying, "No, Mr. Brook. You are a respected and brave warrior."


    "Yes, I have no regrets about joining the war."


    There was a hint of pride in his voice. "If there is time, I will talk to you about that battle. But I don''t have time now..."


    Pausing for a moment, he continued, "Although I did not die in battle, I was infected with distortion during the fight with the abyssal monster... Seven days ago, I came back here with thest trace of my determination, wanting to see her onest time. But unfortunately, my will cannot stop the distortion of my body anymore. The demon is devouring my sanity. I don''t want her to see me as a monster now... so I hid here in this clock tower."


    Listening to his words, Su''en looked in the direction of his two eyes and saw the white monastery through the gaps in the clock dial.


    In the final moments of his life, he silently watched his beloved girl from here.


    The voice continued, "If possible, could you please help me fulfill myst wish and bring my memento to my beloved Alice? Tell her that I can no longer keep our appointment, and she should not wait for me anymore..."


    "Okay."


    Su''en agreed and took the harmonica that emerged from a meat tentacle, taking a look at it.


    [Brook''s Harmonica]


    Description: Can you help me deliver it to my beloved girl?


    Curse attribute: Love for a lifetime, it can be considered a curse.


    Exnation: Engraved with the names Alice and Brook; blowing it can soothe Alice''s soul.


    With hisst will supporting him, the face on the wall slowly closed its eyes.


    The beating sound of the giant heart gradually ceased, and the clock tower returned to silence. Only the sound of the clock hands ticking could be heard.


    The life of the distorted monster was so tenacious, but Brook willingly gave up his own life.


    With this, the entire plot of the curse space waspleted.


    Looking at the distorted monster, identified as the Abyssal Abbas Meat Mountain (Second Order Silver-level Eerie), dying, Su''en breathed a sigh of relief.


    He also knew that this was the correct way to break through the "D-level difficulty."


    A direct attack would be "A-level."


    With such arge volume, even with the ck Reaper, it would not be able to cause effective damage.


    Even if the entire tower were to copse, it would not necessarily kill Brook. Instead, it wouldpletely enrage him and turn him into a terrifying monster.


    ording to the original plot, Brook should not have entrusted this harmonica until his death, forming this obsession, hoping that someone would return this "token" to Miss Alice.


    Su''en felt that he probably knew who the "weeping witch" was.


    The twopanion curse spaces were like this distant clock tower and monastery.


    .......


    As the signs of life disappeared from the meat mountain, a glowing piece of flesh gradually condensed.


    [Abbas''s Flesh]


    Exnation: Second Order Silver-level material, can be refined into a professional advancement material, greatly enhancing physical strength.


    Second Order Silver-level materials were already extremely rare.


    Su''en put away the material and knew that the curse space was about to copse.


    However... the story was quite good.


    No curse item was obtained?


    Su''en didn''t think too much about it. The surroundings suddenly changed.


    Then, he found himself back in the ruins of Dawn City, with Tommy looking at him in surprise, holding a ck whistle in his hand.


    Looking at Su''en, Tommy eximed, "Mr. Johnny!"


    Su''en guessed what had happened and asked, "Did you meet the cloaked person?"


    Tommy replied, "Yes... he suddenly walked into the room and asked me if I thought he was ugly. I felt his pain and chatted with him for a while. Then he gave me a whistle. After that... I don''t know how, but I came out."


    "..."


    Su''en felt that sometimes, breaking the curse space depended on strength, and sometimes, it really depended on appearance.


    No wonder he thought there was no curse item in the space, it turned out to be with Tommy.


    [Whistle of the Dead]


    Quality: Gold


    Description: Do you want to talk to a demon?


    Curse attribute: By using the power of the demon, you will be tempted by the demon.


    Exnation: Material for the mysterious ''Necromancer'' profession; the conditions for the profession require a specific medium for spiritualmunication.


    Su''en didn''t know what talent Tommy had awakened, but this curse item was a good thing.


    An ancient relic of "gold quality," definitely a rare profession.


    Although he had never heard of a "Necromancer," it was definitely not simple.


    Tommy asked while holding the whistle, "Mr. Johnny, what is this whistle and why did the cloaked person give it to me? I feel like it suits me..."


    "A rare golden employment material. Put it away."


    Su''en didn''t say much, because at this time, on the ruins of the monastery in front of them, an expected scene was unfolding.


    ...


    Intense arguing could be heard.


    "We signed an equal exploration contract. Why does your Oliver family think we should help you explore the cursed space?"


    "Damn it, de Battalion! You are viting the Hunting Agreement!"


    "They never intended to let us leave alive..."


    "..."


    Not far from the monastery, dozens of members from the de Battalion, armed with guns, drove the three independent hunting teams, including the "Drunkard Gang," into the monastery. It seemed like they were forcibly making them explore the cursed space.


    And at this moment, they also noticed Su''en and the others who appeared out of thin air.


    In an instant, everyone''s gaze turned towards them, and the barrels of guns and cannons were also pointed at them.


    Tommy, who was standing aside, saw his father among them and angrily rushed forward, shouting, "Let go of my dad!"


    The situation in front of him was exactly as Su''en had expected.


    The de Battalion finally tore off their disguise, and dozens of malicious gazes made people''s scalps tingle.


    In a critical situation, Su''en snorted coldly in his heart, hooked the silk thread in his hand with one hand, and instinctively wanted to control the hatred and behead the second-ranked captain of the de Battalion, and then guerri snipe the others.


    But the next second, he nced at his own hand and instinctively stopped.


    Then, a look of confusion appeared on his face.


    He lowered his head again and looked at his hand, trying to make that awkward finger movement, but he found a problem.


    He looked at the surrounding environment and then looked at his hand.


    Only then did he realize something. "Huh... so it''s a dream. When did I fall for it? Was it the moment I came out just now?"


    The "Sorrowful Witch" mainly used dream killing as her method.


    Su''en had never been careless from the beginning.


    He determined the scene in front of him through a special conditioned reflex. It was a dream he created himself.


    ...


    Normally, people who are dreaming are not aware that they are in a dream.


    But it is possible to be aware of being in a dream through some training techniques.


    Su''en had done this kind of training before in order to control his dangerous personality that would harm others in his dreams.


    It was the finger movement he did when looking at his hand. He repeatedly suggested to himself before falling asleep, "When I am in a dream, I will look at my fingers and realize that I am dreaming."


    (Note: Lucid dreaming, simr to Tang Wang''s technique, has been modified. Don''t take it too seriously.)


    Through this long-term training,


    it had be a conditioned reflex.


    Now, although everything in front of him was incredibly real, Su''en was certain that he was in a dream.


    ...


    In front of him, the members of the de Battalion had already caught Tommy and were closing in on him.


    Su''en smiled and said, "Hehe..."


    The self in the dream would definitely be alive.


    So they might shoot, but he would definitely not die.


    Facing countless gun barrels around him, he did not resist. A hint of madness appeared in the corner of his eye.


    After confirming that he was in a dream, everything became meaningless.


    He took out a gun and pressed it against his own chin, then pulled the trigger without hesitation.


    Very skilled, obviously not the first time.


    ...


    Everything went ck in front of him.


    As if waking up from a nightmare.


    Su''en looked around at his surroundings.


    It was a crossroads in a snowstorm.


    "Mr. Johnny? Where are we?"


    Beside him, a young boy wearing thin clothes tentatively called out. He was holding a basket of matches in his hand.


    A match-selling boy?


    This familiar scene seemed to be happening again.


    But due to theck of memory in the dream, he only felt that the scene was familiar, as if it had happened before, but he didn''t realize anything.


    "A thousand years ago, the Dawn City..."


    Su''en muttered to himself, wanting to respond to Tommy with "Cursed Space."


    But suddenly, he instinctively looked at his own hand, then looked around, and his gaze instantly became serious, as if he had stimted some conditioned reflex and realized something. "A dream?"


    Tommy beside him froze.


    He watched Su''en pull out a gun and press it against his temple, and hurriedly eximed, trying to stop him, "Mr. Johnny, what are you doing!"


    Before the words could fall, Su''en, with a smile on his lips, pulled the trigger without hesitation.


    The more you talk, the deeper you fall into the dream, the harder it is to extricate yourself.


    Another gunshot rang out.


    Everything went ck in front of him.


    As if waking up from a nightmare.


    ...


    This time, the scene changed.


    It was a broken monastery, surrounded by dense fog, and only the scene inside the monastery was real.


    In the grand hall of the monastery, a silver-haired nun over five meters tall was attacking several humans with her extendable hair.


    Among the seven people, five were second-tier professionals, and the other two were crowd control sorcerers.


    Four of the five second-tier professionals were familiar faces: the "Trickster" Lloyd, the executive of the Crow Gang "Blood Crow" Langferro, the leader of the Battle de Group Bloom, the executive of the Steam Party "Mechanical Tyrannosaurus" Toyinbi, and an unknown robed sorcerer.


    The other two first-tier professionals were also very rare crowd controllers. One used a "Thorn Wrap" spell to control the tall nun''s legs, showing a special talent for controlling nts. The other emitted a "Slow Ray" that slowed the nun''s movements, another special ability.


    The seven of them surrounded the "Wailing Witch", with the "Trickster" Lloyd constantly shouting orders.


    "Send another group of people into the witch''s dream to stimte her into the second state. Kill her then, and we can get the ''Infinite Hair''!"


    "Hurry, control her! Her hair length is limited now, injure her severely first!!!"


    "Don''t hit her head, we need to ensure the skull is intact for material collection!"


    "..."


    Under the cooperation of the seven, the tall nun was already covered in wounds.


    The next second, for some unknown reason, the surrounding fog gradually turned red.


    The nun, originally with snow-white skin, suddenly turned red all over.


    "Has the witch entered the second-tier berserk state?"


    Su''en was taken aback by the scene before him.


    He had learned about the "Wailing Witch''s" abilities in detail from Mr. ck, and immediately realized what these people were doing when he saw this scene.


    .......


    "Such a big scene, am I dreaming?"


    Looking at the unreal scene before him, Su''en didn''t believe his own eyes, and this thought instinctively popped into his mind.


    He looked down at his hand, only to find... it was the real world?!


    Realizing this, his memory suddenly seemed to reconnect.


    Su''en instantly remembered his experiences in the "Bell Tower Monster" space and the memories ofmitting suicide twice to escape the dream.


    Looking at his surroundings again, his Eye of True Sight identified the result.


    White Monastery


    Exnation: A special triggered cursed space. If you can''t distinguish between dream and reality, the danger level will be "T-level". Kill the witch, and you can leave.


    "This is the real world!"


    Su''en was surprised.


    This time, he didn''t pull out his gun tomit suicide.


    But he also guessed: "I must have been pulled into this space as soon as I left the ''Bell Tower Monster'' space. Did I trigger some kind ofrge-scale spatial involvement? What did these guys do?"


    He guessed that these guys had used some special cursed item, which caused the "Wailing Witch''s Cursed Space" to cover all the nearby blocks.


    That''s why he fell into the witch''s dream as soon as he came out of the other space.


    "How long have I been in the cursed space? When did these guyse?"


    Su''en was filled with doubts.


    But he knew that he didn''t have time to think about it now.


    Recognizing the origins of these people, Su''en instantly understood that this was the Wild Hunt Team of the Oliver family!


    They came with five second-tier professionals just to collect hair materials?


    Big spenders...


    The power of the top financial group in the inner city was indeed not to be underestimated.


    They not only wanted to kill the monster for materials, but now they also wanted to deliberately stimte this "Wailing Witch" to go berserk and collect higher-grade materials?


    The previously identified Gold Level monster, after the second form, would definitely be a Lord Level!


    Want to get "Infinite Hair"?


    Su''en quickly connected the information he had just captured with what he was seeing, understanding something. His eyes suddenly became malicious: "Tsk tsk... Big spenders indeed!"

 Chapter 143: Puppeteers Secret Art · Puppet Theater

    Chapter 143: Puppeteer''s Secret Art ¡¤ Puppet Theater


    "Not enough, send in another twenty ves!"


    "Very well, the witch''s frenzy isplete!"


    "Prepare to kill..."


    "..."


    Su''en heard clearly that the Oliver family wanted to make the "Sorrowful Witch" go berserk by sending in a group of ves.


    When a witch is in a dream-killing state, they also need to be distracted. By sending in more people at once, overloading the witch, she is forced to enter a second stage of frenzy in order to kill more people.


    Unfortunately, Su''en was supposed to be the "fertilizer" to induce the witch''s frenzy.


    But now, he woke up.


    He also knew very well that if the Oliver family killed the witch and broke the curse space, how would they handle these living witnesses?


    Previously, there was only Bloom, the leader of the "Sharp de Squad," a second-tier professional. Su''en had confidence in both fighting and escaping.


    But now there were five second-tier professionals right in front of him, as well as two first-tier troublesome control warlocks. Under normal circumstances, if they were discovered, these people would surround him and Su''en wouldn''t even have a chance to escape.


    Moreover, besides these seven, there must be more enemies in the curse space.


    Although Su''en seemed unharmed for the time being, the situation was already very critical.


    But it wasn''t all bad news.


    The good news was that Su''en was currently outside the monastery in the mist, and the people who were trying to kill the witch had not yet realized that he had woken up.


    In the dense fog around him, he could faintly see some figures standing there dumbly. These were all "fertilizer." In the split second that he nced over, several figures disappeared, probably killed in the dream and then expelled from the curse space.


    Seeing this, Su''en instantly knew what he had to do.


    ...


    The silver-haired nun, who was originally over five meters tall, was already oppressive enough. Now that she had entered a frenzy state, her body was emitting billowing blood, making it impossible for people to look directly at her.


    Her silver hair fluttered in the wind, like sharp des. With a light and airy sweep, her hair easily cut through the original stone pirs of the monastery.


    The scattered hair turned into needles, piercing the hard floor like raindrops;


    When gathered together, it became a weapon that could strike heavily.


    And because she had entered a frenzy state, the silver hair was no longer limited in quantity or length. For a while, the entire monastery seemed to be woven into a cage by the silver hair, trapping the seven people inside.


    Seeing this, Su''en narrowed his eyes slightly.


    He knew that this was also the purpose of these people, to stimte the witch to enter the second tier and obtain this silver hair that could infinitely extend.


    But he knew that it was not yet time to make a move.


    The monster was unharmed, and the seven people in the field were obviously notpletely restrained.


    After all, they came prepared, and even in the face of a lord-level anomaly, they were not at a disadvantage.


    The "Mechanical Tyrannosaurus" Toynby of the Steam Party, who had transformed into a humanoid tyrannosaurus, entangled arge amount of hair with his heavily armed mechanical limbs;


    Bloom, the leader of the Sharp de Squad, swung his wind-element dual swords like a windmill, shing with the "Sharp Spears" formed by the silver hair, causing sparks to fly.


    And the executive of the Crow Gang, Langfero, was even more sinister with his curse magic. The green hexagram under his feet emitted a bright light, and he held a crow with feathers in his hand, biting off the crow''s head and making a bone-cracking chewing sound. After this sound rang out, the witch trembled all over, as if her own bones were being gnawed on...


    Even Su''en, who was not far away, felt his scalp tingle when he heard this terrifying sound.


    However, the most exaggerated one was Lloyd, the "Magician" who was the main attacker.


    Su''en was seeing a puppeteer''s battle for the first time.


    ...


    Seeing that the witch hadpletely entered the second stage of frenzy, Lloyd shouted, "Get ready, I''ll control it, you guys attack ording to the n!"


    As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly formed a set of warlock seals with his hands, his gaze like a torch. "Evolutionary Armor  Unleash!"


    As the evolutionary armor was unleashed, the body of this puppet master immediately underwent a transformation.


    The feeling he gave was that he suddenly lost all vitality, as if he was no longer a living person, but a puppet.


    Even more bizarrely, the exposed skin on his body burst open. It was as if the skin of a ck yarn doll had been cut open, and the ck thread and fluff inside were exposed to the air.


    And when he finished thest seal with his hand, the "threads" inside the doll''s body suddenly swelled up like crazy...


    After Lloyd released the evolutionary armor, he hardly paused and formed seals again, chanting in his mouth.


    What he disyed was his famous secret technique - [Puppeteer''s Secret Art  Puppet Theater].A set of thirty-six mysterious magician seals made people dizzy. As soon as he finished arranging the magician seals, a huge blue hexagram alchemy array covering the entire monastery suddenly lit up in the sky. After the light appeared, a huge cross-shaped shadow slowly condensed into a solid form from the alchemy array.


    At the same time, it seemed to be in response to the ck threads on his body. Countless ck threads also descended from the sky, extending in the wind...


    As these ck threads fell, the puppets that had been arranged around Lloyd in the monastery stood up with a "crackling" sound.


    In an instant, it seemed like the entire monastery had be arge puppet theater, with everything connected by the ck threads.


    A pair of hidden hands behind the scenes controlled everything.


    Moreover, the purpose of the ck threads was not just to control the puppets, but also to "control"!


    The ck threads falling from the cross in the sky continued to invade, gradually engulfing the silver world like a ck tide.


    Although the number was not as many as the silver hair of the witch, the momentum was equally strong.


    The puppets controlled by the ck threads rushed towards the witch, but in an instant, they were firmly controlled by the silver threads, wrapped into a ball.


    But this was exactly what Lloyd wanted.


    The two types of threads intertwined and the ck threads gradually entangledpletely with the silver hair, like a tangled mess, bing tighter and tighter.


    More than ten puppets, like more than ten nails, firmly pinned the witch in ce, making it more and more difficult for her to move.


    Even if the silver hair could avoid the ck threads by elementalization, the witch could not retreat. She could only be entangled more and more. Once she gave up defense, her body would immediately be entwined by these ck threads.


    The threads of both sides were entangled together, like a group of entwined snakes, making people''s scalp tingle.


    Lloyd''s control objective was gradually being achieved.


    .......


    "These ck threads are actually ''Tismoxing Iron Wire Worms''?"


    Su''en identified the ck threads and found that they were not inanimate objects, but living creatures!


    This was a kind of iron-eating parasitic worm discovered and named by an ancient alchemist named "Tismoxing". It had an extraordinary tensile body that could stretch up to a hundred meters. It was exceptionally tough because it fed on metal, making it difficult to be harmed by swords and knives.


    Just these two characteristics alone made it an excellent thread material for puppet masters.


    Seeing this scene, Su''en suddenly felt that his perspective was too narrow...


    He originally thought that the threads used by puppet masters were all inanimate objects, but it turned out that they could be manipted like this.


    This "magician" actually used his own body as a host and raised so many living parasitic worms...


    But watching this scene, Su''en also became interested and muttered to himself, "Controlling with threads, it turns out that puppet masters can use threads like this. But on the other hand, that guy can actually produce so many threads at the same time. Is it because of his secret technique or his equipment..."


    This was much more advanced than Su''en''s mechanical gloves. No matter how exquisite the design of the mechanical gloves was, they could only pull out a dozen steel wires at most at the same time.


    But this "magician" Lloyd was covered in ck threads from head to toe, and the quantity was not even in the same league.


    However, the quantity was enough. After all, the iron wire worms were still bound by the "physical threads". Being entangled and cut off like this was a disadvantage.


    But what if it was the witch''s hair that could transform between substance and non-substance?


    Thinking of this, Su''en suddenly became excited.


    He finally understood why Oliver, the young master of the Oliver family, was so interested in this witch...


    .......


    The hair and the ck threads intertwined, and the tall blood-stained nun waspletely controlled on the spot.


    The ck and silver threads pulled against each other, and the buildings they passed by were all cut into pieces.


    Facing the already Lord-level anomaly, the "magician" Lloyd was obviously struggling in the direct confrontation. After a moment of stalemate, he spewed out a mouthful of blood.


    But at the same time, he also shouted, "Attack!"


    Upon hearing this, the other second-tier professionals also began to form seals, seemingly preparing to unleash a powerful move...


    However, they did not expect that almost at the same time, when Su''en heard these words, he also took action.


    His scattered gaze suddenly focused, sharp as a knife.


    At the critical moment when the few of them were about to attack and kill the witch, Su''en raised his gun without hesitation, aiming at the head of the blue-robed female magician who was casting the "Slow Light" spell.


    But how keen were the perceptions of second-tier professionals?


    Among the five second-tier professionals present, except for the "Mechanical Tyrannosaurus" Toinbi, who was slightly slower in reaction, the other four instantly sensed something abnormal.


    Seeing someone raising a gun from the mist outside the monastery, the four of them simultaneously had a thought in their minds: "Someone isunching a surprise attack!"


    Although they were shocked that someone had awakened from the dream, they also instantly responded.


    Just as Su''en raised his gun, the leader of the de Battalion, Bloom, stomped his foot fiercely, his figure moved several meters horizontally, instantly blocking in front of the blue-robed female magician.How could they not know that this was a critical moment in the witch hunt, where no mistakes could be tolerated? If the "Slow Light" spell was terminated and the witch regained her normal speed, their situation would be extremely dangerous!


    Seeing that the attacker was armed with a musket, Blum breathed a sigh of relief.


    If it was just a musket, he was confident that he could deflect it with his sword. With him standing in front, no matter how precise the shot, it wouldn''t harm anyone!


    "Tsk tsk... Closebat professionals indeed have quick reactions."


    Seeing this, Su''en, who seemed to have anticipated it, smirked and fired without hesitation.


    At the same time as he pulled the trigger with his right hand, his left hand fiercely wed at the air, controlling the invisible zombie beside him to sh down!


    "Bang!"


    The unique explosion of the alchemical bullet echoed throughout the entire monastery.


    mes spurted from the muzzle, and the noise of the bullet firing masked the sound of the scythe cutting through the air.


    Blum also keenly caught Su''en''s "little movement" with his left hand.


    But even so, he didn''t choose to dodge, but to block.


    Because he knew that if he dodged, the mage behind him would definitely be shot.


    Besides, it was just a gunman, even if he was a "Master of Firearms", this shot wouldn''t kill him.


    As long as he could withstand this shot, once the others reacted, it would be the gunman''s end!


    However, he didn''t realize that he was facing Su''en, the "S-ss Wanted Criminal" on the bounty list of Old Lingdun City, nor did he know that Su''en had the powerful weapon, "The ck Scythe of Hypnos"!


    Blum could block the alchemical bullet, but he was not qualified to block the spatial rift.


    The moment the gun was fired, the sound of the bullet cutting through the air attracted everyone''s attention, but they didn''t notice that a dark spatial rift quietly appeared on Blum''s forehead the next second.


    Even though he used his weapon to protect his head, the scythe ruthlessly cut through his famous double-edged sword.


    The spatial rift didn''t stop there, it cut off half of Blum''s head before disappearing.


    Just at this moment, a bullet passed through the crack in the head that had been split in half...


    The blue-robed female mage, who was continuously casting spells with both hands and had no time to react, looked in astonishment as the man''s head in front of her was suddenly split in half, and then... a bullet grewrger andrger in her field of vision, hitting her eye socket precisely, and the world plunged into darkness.


    "Bang~"


    With a sound of explosion, the blue-robed mage''s head burst into a cloud of blood, and she fell to the ground with a thud.

 Chapter 144: Alices Tears

    Chapter 144: Alice''s Tears


    "Done!"


    Su''en looked at the two people in front of him who had been taken care of, and his brow slightly rxed.


    Killing two people was within his expectations.


    Before taking action, he had guessed that the action of raising his hand and holding a gun was too obvious and couldn''t deceive high-level professionals.


    The other party couldn''t just watch him kill the control mage, so there must be someoneing to rescue.


    The scythe that swung at the same time as the gun was the real hidden killing move, just to kill the control mage and also take down a second-level professional who came to rescue.


    Now it seems to be effective.


    .......


    Su''en was very self-aware.


    After all, he was alone, even if he was strong, he was only first-level.


    Even with a scythe in hand, it would be difficult to kill again if the enemy became vignt after being discovered.


    Second-level professionals wouldn''t just stand there and let him kill.


    Therefore, Su''en still needed a helper.


    How to snatch the enemy''s boss and kill enemies several times stronger than oneself when there are few people?


    The best way is naturally to assassinate the enemy''s control mage and make the monsters go berserk.


    That''s why he chose to kill the blue-robed mage first.


    Just like now, without the "Slow Light" covering the mourning witch, a piercing scream of relief came from her throat. In an instant, the attack speed of her hair maniption visibly increased by fifty percent!


    Before, several second-level professionals in the field could easily deal with the encirclement of her hair, but now they were instantly beaten into a sorry state.


    They were too busy dealing with the hair and couldn''t spare any hands to deal with Su''en, the assant.


    Looking at the shocked and murderous gazes that were directed at him, Su''en waspletely fearless. He didn''t stop his actions and once again used his fingers to control the invisible zombie beside him, shing towards another target not far away.


    Seeing this, the "Magician" Lloyd''s face changed drastically, obviously realizing something. He urgently shouted, "Stop him!"


    The silver-ck threads intertwined like two tug-of-war yers, and he used the threads to control the witch, but at the same time, he couldn''t move himself.


    Lloyd knew very well that he was the key to controlling her. If he had a problem, this raging witch wouldpletely break free from her restraints, and they would undoubtedly fail, or even be in a desperate situation!


    However, how could the several second-level professionals in the field not guess that this was the movement caused by the famous sealing item, the "Night ck Scythe of Supnos"?


    Since they knew, who would dare to use their body to block it?


    Moreover, even if they wanted to block it, they couldn''t!


    In the next instant, another spatial crack appeared and uratelynded on Lloyd''s neck.


    Silently, his head fell.


    Su''en thought that this strike would definitely kill the immobile puppet master, but he didn''t expect that even though the head fell, he didn''t see any "ashes".


    "Huh... not dead?!"


    Su''en''s pupils suddenly contracted, and his instinctive crisis response made him quickly hide behind the invisible zombie.


    In the next instant, he heard the sound of breaking wind, and several poison needles sprayed out from the severed head, hitting the invisible zombie in front of him and falling to the ground.


    Looking again, Lloyd''s headless corpse robe tore open, and a one-meter-tall ugly dwarf emerged.


    "So this is Lloyd''s true form?"


    Su''en didn''t expect that the famous puppet master would actually be an unremarkable ugly-faced dwarf.


    .......


    Although the witch was strange and not very intelligent, she also knew that the person controlling her was the biggest threat!


    Lloyd avoided Su''en''s killing move, but he couldn''t avoid the silver hair that was everywhere in the monastery.


    After the beheading, the spell was interrupted.


    Now he was forced to give up his puppet body and also lost control over most of the ck threads.


    Without the restraint of the ck threads, the witch''s silver hair broke free, and a piercing scream echoed throughout the cursed space.


    In an instant, the sky was densely covered with silver hair, like a tide crazily spreading, quickly enveloping the monastery in a silver cocoon.


    The "Infinite Hair" that they had been trying to make the witch go berserk to obtain had now be a death sentence.


    And as soon as the dwarfnded, a bundle of silver hair, like a spear, stabbed towards him. With a "ng" sound, it pierced a fist-sized hole in the stone floor.


    The puppet master''s physical agility couldn''tpare to other professionals. Although the dwarf tried his best to dodge, it was like being cut by a de, and his thigh was pierced, causing blood to flow all over the ground...


    Moreover, what was even more despairing was that more than ten spears of silver hair condensed in the air in an instant, and they came piercing down with a "whoosh" sound.


    Lloyd''s face turned pale.


    In this moment of crisis, the "Mechanical Tyrannosaurus" Toinby, who was closest to the dwarf, acted faster than his eyes. The steam boiler that had been charging up to attack the witch''s main body suddenly changed direction and shot out, destroying the silver spears, saving the dwarf''s life.


    The sky was filled with silver hair, like a pouring rain that couldn''t be avoided.


    The other second-level professionals were also too busy to take care of themselves and were more or less injured...And the sorcerer who used the "Thorny Entanglement" first-tier spell desperately avoided several attacks, but still had a desperate look on his face as he was stabbed full of holes...


    The stalemate in the battle was instantly broken, and the situation was irretrievable.


    Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the dwarf shouted angrily with a ck face, "Retreat! Let''s leave the cursed space first!"


    The four second-tier professionals gathered together, destroyed a piece of silver hair above their heads, and tore apart a scroll before they werepletely trapped.


    As the scroll shattered, a magic portal appeared out of thin air in front of them, and they rushed out without hesitation.


    .......


    "I thought I could kill a few more..."


    Su''en looked at the guys who escaped through the portal and felt a little regretful.


    The members of the Oliver family were obviously well-prepared, being able to prevent falling into the dream and having a means of escape.


    But they could escape, while Su''en could not.


    Not to mention that the magic portal disappeared in an instant, even if it didn''t, he couldn''t follow them out to "die".


    A sharp scream sounded, and the "nourishment" in the mist was also cleared out.


    In the vast cursed space, Su''en was the only one left.


    Now that there was no one to attract the firepower, the tall blood nun''s target was only him.


    "I hope my deduction is correct..."


    He exhaled a breath of impure air.


    Su''en took off his gas mask and brought the "Brook''s Harmonica" to his mouth.


    Although he hadn''t learned to y the harmonica in his previous life, this instrument was not too difficult. He had already mastered it well from the fragments of souls he had collected.


    Without much thought, he yed a slow folk song, which he had heard the NPCs hum in the "Legend of the Bell Tower Monster" space.


    The melody was melodious and echoed throughout the monastery.


    The silver hair around him also seemed to understand the mncholy in the melody, suddenly bing soft, like the water grass in a clear littleke, floating with the wind...


    ncing at the scene in front of him, Su''en continued to y the tune calmly, with a steady rhythm.


    In the distance, the tall blood nun, more than five meters high, also calmed down and stood there nkly.


    She seemed to recall something, and tears slowly overflowed from the corners of her eyes.


    Su''en continued to y the song, and the surroundings rapidly changed.


    As if time was flowing backward, the broken walls and ruins around him quickly restored to their original state, bing the majestic white monastery.


    Snowkes began to fall from the sky, and pigeons flew again on the dome...


    In a sh, the surroundings seemed to return to a thousand years ago.


    A young nun often stood alone on the attic, ying the song that carried her longing, waiting for her beloved to return safely from the battlefield.


    They had promised to meet again on that snowy winter day.


    .......


    After a while, the song ended.


    "I was entrusted by Mr. Brook to bring this harmonica back to you."


    Su''en stopped and didn''t know if the now eerie Alice could understand. He looked at the witch, who had already calmed down, and handed her the harmonica.


    He continued, "He asked me to tell you that he can''t keep the appointment and told you not to wait for him."


    The silver hair gently epted the harmonica engraved with "Brook & Alice" and handed it to the young nun in front of her.


    A smile gradually appeared on her face, as if she saw a beautiful scene, and she whispered, "You finally came to see me..."


    In a sh, a handsome man in military uniform appeared in the courtyard of the monastery. He smiled and held the hand of the beloved girl, gently saying, "Yes, I''m back."


    They had vowed to love each other and spend their entire lives together.


    Brook''s short life had already vanished on the bell tower a thousand years ago;


    And Alice...


    Waiting for this news,


    She had waited for a thousand years.


    Su''en quietly watched the scene in front of him.


    He knew that he was probably the only witness to the tragic love story from a thousand years ago.


    A young girl had waited her whole life for a promise.


    And now, the young nun put the harmonica to her lips, gently blew, and yed the familiar tune.


    The melodious melody resounded, and a crystal tear slowly fell from her eye.


    .......


    The nun in front of him hadpletely lost her "malice," and the steel wire in Su''en''s hand loosened.


    Now that he had fulfilled Brook''s request and resolved a life-threatening crisis with this harmonica token, he hadn''t forgotten that the person in front of him was still a lord-level anomaly who could make second-tier professionals suffer on the spot.


    Su''en didn''t have the ability to create a portal like those guys before.


    If he wanted to leave, he could only kill this source of curse.


    But now, it seemed unnecessary.


    As the tear fell, he also saw that the "Lord Anomaly" in front of him suddenly lost his momentum. From being sharp and intimidating in the previous moment, he became increasingly calm.


    And upon identification, the shining tear on the ground turned out to be a cursed item.


    "Alice''s Tear"Exnation: An energy essence that has condensed the full magical power of the Weeping Witch, a very precious curse material; it contains a vast amount of magical and spiritual power, as well as the mostplete spiritual matrix of this type of witch.


    "All the magic power condensed?"


    Upon reading these words, Su''en suddenly realized something.


    Looking again at the nun, her aura was getting weaker and weaker.


    It seemed that she had found her answer, and that obsession was finally relieved. She was about topletely dissipate in the world.


    Su''en no longer felt any hostility. Thinking about it, he didn''t deliver the final blow.


    As for the witch''s hair needed, it was all over the monastery.


    If a body was needed, it would be avable soon.


    The harmonica melody in his ear was getting sadder and weaker.


    Su''en silently began to collect the spoils and blood in the courtyard while listening to the song.


    He had killed a second-tier professional, the leader of the de Group, Bloom, and gained somebat experience.


    As for the rare magic system sorcerer, he was actually a graduate of the Inner City ck Tower Academy from two sessions ago.


    It had to be said, the soul fragments of these inner city masters were of really high quality.


    Su''en harvested arge amount of casting experience and alchemy knowledge.


    There was also a decapitated "Alchemical Puppet", naturally left by the "Trickster" Lloyd.


    The dwarf had fled in panic, not even having time to strip the storage ring from the puppet.


    Then, the sound of the harmonica abruptly stopped.


    Su''en turned his head.


    He saw the nun lying on the ground.


    "It''s quite nice..."


    He said to the corpse, then walked over and calmly cut off the glowing head of the witch.


    "Obtained ''Memory Fragment of Witch Alice'' *2"


    "You have received a piece of information: ''It seems like a very long time has passed, finally he hase, I''m so happy...''"


    "You haveprehended the [Intermediate Silk Control Technique]..."


    "Spiritual Power +7.5"


    The cursed space began to copse.


    Su''en undid his nt armor, and cold mes erupted all over his body.


    He hadn''t forgotten that outside the cursed space, there were people waiting for him to walk into their trap.

 Chapter 145: A group of guys waiting to kill Suen

    Chapter 145: A group of guys waiting to kill Su''en


    Curse Space.


    Danze Oliver, surrounded by a group of bodyguards, had a rxed smile on his face.


    Having spent such a great cost and hired so many experts, he naturally had high hopes for the "Curse Hair of the Mourning Witch".


    Not to mention the experts from the Oliver family, the Crow Gang, which was sponsored by their family, had also managed to invite a powerful member of the Steam Party, "Mechanical Tyrannosaurus" Toynbee.


    Of course, all of this was thanks to the beautiful and elegant woman by his side.


    Danze looked at the graceful and stunning beauty beside him, feeling great and said with a smile, "Hahaha... If this matter seeds, I must thank Lady Sabina for her help."


    After all, this was a ruin deep underground, not in the city of Old Lingdun.


    For his Oliver family to gather so many ve hunters in the camp in such a short time, the three major gangs were of no use. After all, the ve hunters were all from outside the city.


    Unexpectedly, when he casually asked, this beautiful woman from the Steam Party readily agreed to help.


    Upon hearing this, Sabina smiled and said coquettishly, "Young Master Danze, you tter me. It was just a small favor."


    "I must express my gratitude."


    Danze smiled and nced at the towering presence on her chest that was impossible to ignore.


    As the legitimate young master of the Oliver family, what kind of beauties had he not seen?


    But it was this gang leader''s wife who stirred up his long-lost desire. He knew that he couldn''t touch a woman supported by a rival family, but it only aroused his possessiveness.


    Seemingly within reach, yet elusive, and with a hint of dangerous conspiracy...


    Danze knew it well, but he enjoyed this feeling.


    Conquering a woman like her would bring him a greater sense of aplishment.


    A cunning glint shed in Sabina''s eyes, seemingly unconcerned about revealing her alluring figure in front of others. She lightly opened her red lips and said, "Young Master Danze, with the Mourning Witch''s hair, you should be able to advance to the second stage, right?"


    "Yes. The materials for advancement and the blueprint for the prosthetic have long been prepared."


    Danze nodded confidently, "Originally, I was just following the family''s caravan to explore the ruins and strengthen my physical endurance in the dense dark spiritual environment. I didn''t expect toe across one of the rare silk threads that is most suitable for a puppeteer, the ''Mourning Witch''s Hair''. It''s a pleasant surprise..."


    He didn''t hide his joy in his tone. He even imagined himself with the "Infinite Hair" prosthetic, which would surely attract everyone''s attention in the field of puppetry in Old Lingdun.


    With that, Danze didn''t forget to say politely, "Thank you again for your assistance, Lady Sabina."


    Sabina''s lips curled into a seductive smile, "Then I congratte you in advance."


    "When I sessfully advance, the Oliver family will hold a celebration banquet. Lady Sabina, please grace us with your presence..."


    Danze had already started inviting guests to the celebration banquet.


    But unexpectedly, something extremely sudden happened.


    Before he could finish his words, a hexagram magic portal suddenly appeared on the sealing barrier in front of him.


    "Could it be that the witch has been killed?"


    Danze looked at the magic portal and was about to be delighted, but the next moment, his expression froze.


    Because he saw several figures escaping in a sorry state.


    .......


    Due to the sudden rampage of the Mourning Witch, the four surviving second-stage individuals had varying degrees of injuries.


    Seeing the ugly dwarf with a leg injury, Danze''s face changed drastically, and he quickly went up to ask, "Teacher! How did you get injured like this?"


    He had never seen anyone force his teacher into such a sorry state. After all, that alchemical puppet was an ancient relic that the family had paid a great price to obtain. Who could force him to abandon the puppet and escape?


    Could it be that something unexpected happened during the ambush?


    How is that possible...


    They were all familiar with the witch''s attack methods. How could there be any surprises?


    The same question appeared on the faces of everyone present.


    Upon hearing the inquiry, "Magician" Lloyd became furious and angrily questioned, "Damn it! How did that wanted criminal appear in the Curse Space with the witch? Didn''t you notice when you brought people in?!"


    It was the first time he had revealed his dwarf identity to outsiders, and he felt the strange gazes around him, which further fueled his anger.


    "Ah...?"


    Danze waspletely confused by this nonsensical question and asked in confusion, "Teacher, what wanted criminal are you talking about?"


    Lloyd was furious, "Hmph, we were just one step away from killing that second-stage witch, but we were ambushed!"


    Upon hearing this, Danze was shocked and angry, "Teacher, you were ambushed?!"


    Lloyd was so angry that his teeth itched, "Someone brought that ''S wanted criminal, Su''en, into the Curse Space. And then that guy used the ''Night ck Scythe of Supnos'' to kill Bloom and Pol, ultimately ruining our n to kill the witch. Even I almost died in there!"


    Was there really a problem with the ambush?


    Danze''s eyes trembled, his face full of disbelief, "How is that possible... They were just ordinary ves."


    As soon as he said this, everyone immediately understood.


    Several streets near the monastery had already been sealed off, and the people who could enter must have been the ve group they sent in.


    Since they recognized the ''Night ck Scythe of Supnos'', these people immediately guessed that it was Su''en, who had been causing a stir in Old Lingdun recently.


    But... how could a wanted criminal like that be brought into the space?Just as everyone was puzzled about how the attacker managed to infiltrate the cursed space, a captain from the de Squad suddenly remembered something.


    He spoke up, "Well, if it''s the person wearing the parrot mask... I have some impression, there was such a guy in the ''Drunken Squad'' before."


    Danze Junior frowned upon hearing this, "Drunken Squad?"


    The captain continued, "A small group of unaffiliated individuals, all of whom have been sent into the cursed space. However, they disappeared suddenly before you arrived, Young Master Danze."


    "Why didn''t you say so earlier!"


    "We thought they were sucked into the witch''s cursed space and had already died..."


    "Drag him away, execute him!"


    "No, Young Master Danze..."


    "..."


    Although the captain''s words rified the situation for everyone, he not only didn''t receive any reward, but was directly executed by the furious Danze Junior.


    Such a big incident had urred, if their leader hadn''t already died in the space, even a second-order master would have been executed on the spot!


    You were supposed to bring a ve squad to scout for mines, but you brought an S-ss wanted criminal with ulterior motives?


    And you almost wiped out the hunting team!


    .......


    The person was killed, and some of the anger was vented.


    However, at this point, it was meaningless to think about the question of "why he appeared in the space".


    And it seems that the losses are not too great.


    Only two professionals and a group of ves died, the witch''s space is still here, the main force is still here, for the Oliver family, it''s not a big problem.


    Danze asked, "Teacher, what should we do now?"


    "We can''t enter the witch''s space for now, without a field control mage, the casualties would be great if we rush in. If we want to get the hair, we''ll have to wait for the family to send another group of masters."


    Lloyd also sighed slightly, pondered for a moment, and said, "What we need to worry about now... is the wanted criminal''s next move."


    Hearing his teacher say this, Danze was somewhat puzzled, "Teacher, the wanted criminal hasn''te out yet, he must have died in the cursed space. After all, it''s very difficult to kill a second-stage witch with physical damage alone, even with that forbidden scythe, how many times can he swing it?"


    "We can''t be careless."


    Lloyd shook his head, as if he had thought of something, he frowned and said, "There was information before that the guy had mastered a way to possibly avoid the bacsh of the scythe''s curse, it seems to be true now... otherwise, he would have died when he killed three high-ranking members of the Umbre Organization outside Old Lingdun."


    After a pause, he continued to analyze, "Since Su''en was able to wake up in the witch''s dream-making ability, he must havee prepared. And if he dared to take action, he must have been sure of his survival."


    Hearing this, Danze also frowned.


    Lloyd: "And when that guy attacked before, I clearly caught that he was controlling the puppet''s movements. I guess he used the ''Shroud of Oz''s Ice Man'' to make an invisible puppet."


    Hearing this, Danze frowned in confusion, immediately said, "Invisible puppet? But teacher, I have seen the scythe forbidden object with my own eyes, even if a puppet uses it, the curse bacsh will definitely trace back to the source..."


    Lloyd was also puzzled, "I don''t know. Maybe it''s some kind of special living puppet. That guy''s puppet control technique is not bad, he should be a rare puppet profession, and he might even have some ancient special puppet refining methods..."


    Danze''s face darkened.


    If he could really avoid the curse bacsh, how terrifying would that forbidden scythe be?


    And the fact is, Su''en has already killed at least four second-order professionals with this scythe.


    Thinking of this, everyone couldn''t help but feel a chill down their necks.


    At this time, Lloyd seemed to think of something, and said in a serious tone, a sentence that made Danze Junior''s back chill, "Maybe that Su''en is targeting you, Young Master Danze... This point, we must be careful."


    Danze was startled and puzzled, "I have no grudge with that wanted criminal, why would he target me?"


    A shadow passed through Lloyd''s eyes, "No... we''ve met before."


    Danze was puzzled, "Huh?"


    Lloyd continued, "Remember in the market before, someone bought those witch mages before you? Just now, that Su''en controlled the zombies without leaving any traces, obviously using a kind of transparent thread. Apart from this, I can''t think of any other thread that could meet this situation!"


    Danze eximed, "It''s that guy?! Damn it, if I had known, I would have killed him at the camp!"


    He had previously sent bodyguards to follow, wanting to retrieve the hair. Was it this action that provoked the other party?


    "Don''t be careless, get ready, that guy might have other ways to escape from the cursed space."


    Before Lloyd''s words fell, suddenly someone shouted, "No good, the witch''s cursed space is copsing!"


    At the same time, an eight-legged shadow shot out quickly.


    "It''s him!"


    Lloyd''s pupils contracted sharply, and he shouted, "Kill that guy!"

 Chapter 146: Gun King" Geiger

    Chapter 146: Gun King" Geiger


    "It''s him, kill that guy!"


    Upon hearing the loud shout from a distance, Su''en didn''t hesitate and swiftly ran with his eight spider legs.


    As the legitimate heir of the Oliver family, Danze, was present, it was natural for him to be apanied by skilled experts.


    With just a nce, Su''en saw at least four or five second-tier professionals, in addition to the four who had escaped earlier.


    Seeing the enchanting white fox-fur woman, he finally understood why there were members of the Steam Party in the team that had previously hunted witches.


    "The Oliver family actually coborated with the Steam Party supported by theirpetitors?"


    A moment of doubt shed through Su''en''s mind, but his speed of escape did not slow down.


    Not only were there this group of second-tier professionals, but there were also over a hundred elite hunting teams from the Oliver family.


    The intense gazes filled with killing intent made him feel like a roastedmb on a stove, being turned and roasted.


    ...


    The moment Su''en appeared, several rockets with long mes trailing behind them were already flying towards him.


    "Boom~"


    "Boom~"


    "Boom~"


    The shells fell around him, exploding continuously.


    The sound of debris hitting his body was crackling.


    Fortunately, Su''en had sharp senses and was able to predict the direction of the rockets in advance.


    It was also fortunate that his eight-arm spider spear was agile, allowing him to easily climb over ruins and leap over ditches. He narrowly avoided the first round of rockets.


    The bad news was that enemies were everywhere he looked.


    The good news was that the ruins were spacious, and the superior mobility of the eight-arm spider spear was fully utilized.


    After dodging this round of rockets, a dense rain of gunfire erupted behind him.


    But at this moment, Su''en had already found an opportunity and rushed into the back of a building.


    Then...


    With a loud bang, a fireball fell from the sky, instantly ttening the building.


    "A second-tier mage has made a move..."


    Pushed back by the scorching wave of mes, Su''en stumbled, but luckily his legs were stable enough to prevent him from falling.


    However, he didn''t dare to look back and took advantage of the momentum to increase his speed by another three points.


    He could clearly feel that behind him, he was being locked onto by six or seven particrly chilling "killing intents".


    There was no need to think, those were the second-tier professionals from the enemy.


    With his eight-arm spider spear, ordinary professionals couldn''t catch up to him at all.


    As long as he avoided the first round of firepower, the over one hundred Oliver family hunters in the Dawn City ruins were not a threat at all.


    From beginning to end, the troubles he faced were only from those few second-tier professionals who could fight and run.


    For example...


    The group of lingering ck crows above his head!


    ...


    Su''en didn''t dare to run towards the outskirts of the ruins.


    He was well aware that if he ran outside the ruins, although the environment would be safe, those second-tier professionals would definitely chase him relentlessly. Moreover, it was highly likely that he would be surrounded and hunted by various hunting teams mobilized by the Oliver family, making it impossible to escape.


    He could only run deeper into the ruins, where the chances of encountering people would be lower.


    The ruins were dangerous for him, just as they were for those second-tier professionals.


    Only by utilizing the environment and the mysteriousness of the ruins to dy the pursuers could he have a chance to escape.


    Fortunately, he had collected a lot of information at the tavern yesterday, and Su''en had a rough understanding of some dangerous areas in the East City. He didn''t dare to forcefully break through those "death zones" and chose a direction, rushing towards the center of the ruins.


    Su''en looked at the crows pping their wings above his head and knew that it was the work of Langfero, the "Blood Crow".


    If these crows weren''t killed, he wouldn''t be able to escape.


    Without any further thought, he raised his gun and fired a burst of shots.


    Bang bang bang, the sound of gunfire rang out.


    Seven or eight crows fell in response, exploding into ck blood mist in the air.


    "Using this trick again..."


    Su''en nced at the blood mist and muttered to himself.


    The techniques of these crow sorcerers were extremely sinister. He still vividly remembered the scene of vomiting crows from his encounter with Sergei, the "gue Doctor". Now, he had learned his lesson and wore a gas mask and quickly avoided the areas where the crow blood fell.


    This wasn''t Old Lingdun, there weren''t endless crows here.


    After the price was paid, he raised his hand and fired another burst of shots, leaving only a few crows flying away.


    Su''en originally wanted to kill all these crows in one go, but at this moment, he suddenly felt a sense of alertness.


    "I''ve been targeted!"


    Su''en sensed something and his expression changed slightly.


    Instinctively, he moved to the side, trying to avoid the killing intent.


    But this evasive action not only didn''t allow him to dodge the bullet, but instead "caught" the bullet.


    "Crack~"


    A burst of blood sttered from his forearm, creating a hole that was directly shot through.


    If it weren''t for the fact that his body had been injected with the "X Serum" and had be extremely resilient, and his arm guard had reduced the power of the bullet, this shot would have blown apart his entire forearm!


    "How did it hit?!"


    With his right hand broken, Su''en felt not only shock but also confusion.


    He clearly dodged, so how did he get shot?


    But before he could think further, that familiar sense of danger struck again.


    "I''ve been targeted by that marksman again!"Su''en''s heart trembled, instinctively wanting to dodge.


    This time, a mysterious scene yed out again!


    He judged the direction of the hostile gaze behind him and roughly estimated the trajectory, instinctively avoiding the original path he was supposed to take.


    But even so, a bullet still hit his back.


    The shooter didn''t follow his original route at all, as if he had predicted in advance where Su''en would dodge to.


    The enemy predicted his prediction!


    "''Gun King'' Gage?!"


    Su''en saw this ability and immediately guessed who the person behind the gun was.


    ncing back, he immediately saw the guy holding the rifle, and his face instantly matched the person in his memory. He muttered to himself, "No wonder I was hit by two consecutive shots, it''s not surprising that it''s this guy..."


    That guy was none other than Gage Kiliman, the "Gun Master" with a notorious reputation in Old Lingdun City, one of the top-tier professionals in the gunner profession, known as the "Gun King"!


    Gage''s awakened talent was the highlypatible [b-098-Sixth Sense] for gunners. The old-fashioned rifle in his hand was also famous for its deadly uracy, known as the "Lucky 777" sniper rifle. Legend has it that this gun has killed not only hundreds of professionals, but also countless ordinary people!


    His talent was not considered strong, and it didn''t have any enhancement effect on his body.


    But for almost any gunner, it was almost like a coveted "godly skill".


    The [Sixth Sense] was not some profound divination ability, it was just a kind of instinctive feeling. It allowed him to predict the target''s next move, avoid the harm he was about to suffer, and had no side effects!


    Not to say it was always urate, but it hit the mark eight or nine times out of ten.


    It was this ability that made Gage the "Gun King" in the eyes of all gunner professionals in Old Lingdun.


    Less than ten seconds separated the two shots.


    The angles were tricky.


    The first shot hit his arm, and the second shot hit his back.


    However, because Su''en had the alloy te from the [pz911 Mechanical Limb] on his back, the second shot didn''t cause any harm to him.


    In the distance, Gage, who witnessed this scene, was slightly surprised. "Huh... this bulletproof material is quite special. It didn''t even prate my specially enhanced ''armor-piercing bullet''."


    He bit a bullet in his mouth, loaded it again, aimed at the eight-legged figure running ahead, and a mocking smile appeared on his face. "No first-tier professional has ever survived three shots under my gun. It seems like you need four shots, huh..."


    ...


    At the same time Gage aimed, that looming deadly crisis struck Su''en''s heart again.


    "A gun master who can urately predict, it''s really troublesome..."


    Su''en narrowed his eyes and frowned.


    He knew that he probably couldn''t dodge the next shot.


    But since he was facing the "Gun King", he didn''t feelpletely helpless.


    This time, Su''en didn''t choose to simply shift and dodge. Instead, while dodging, he summoned four pitch-ck dolls to protect various vital parts of his body.


    "Crack!"


    Once again, he heard the sound of a gunshot.


    That guy hit Su''en''s lower back again.


    And this time, the bullet was a "st Alchemy Bullet".


    At the moment the bullet exploded, Su''en felt as if his back had been struck by an elephant, and he was sent flying.


    As someone who was also proficient in firearms, a "Gun Expert", Su''en instantly guessed the purpose of Gage using the explosive bullet.


    Because he was cautious enough to be sniped, even while escaping, Su''en always kept his head hidden in the blind spot of the gunner''s line of sight.


    Now that guy''s second shot had tested the alloy te, he knew that hitting other parts wouldn''t be fatal, only a shot to the head. He thought that this shot would make Su''en lose bnce and expose his head, resulting in a headshot.


    But...


    Since he had guessed that he would definitely be hit, how could Su''en not be prepared?


    With this shot, although he stumbled, it wasn''t a big problem. The eight-armed spider spear stabilized his body and didn''t expose his vulnerable head under Gage''s gun.


    But the enemy wasn''t so lucky.


    This time, the bullet didn''t directly hit Su''en''s body, but hit one of the pitch-ck dolls first.


    In the instant the doll exploded, a cry of extreme pain came from one of the seven pursuers not far away.


    "Ah!"


    The second-tier robe-wearing sorcerer who was previously surrounded and killed in the [White Monastery] cursed space screamed in agony, as if enduring some intense mental pain.


    In the moment when the second-tier sorcerer was in pain, Su''en''s gaze sharpened.


    "Now is the time!"


    With a cold snort in his heart, he controlled the undead to raise his hand and sh down.


    The sorcerer was still in extreme mental pain and hadn''t recovered, nor did he have any defenses. A spatial rift appeared on his head.


    Another extremely smooth cut, his skull flew off, and his head was split into two crimson halves.


    Instant death on the spot!


    In the distance, the several second-tier pursuers were all stunned.


    It was clearly the "sSu''en" who was shot, so why was it their person who got killed?Now they knew that Su''en held the forbidden object, "Hypnos''s Night Scythe" in his hand, and they were extremely cautious. So why were they still killed?


    The scream from just now was still vivid in their minds. Su''en was shot, but one of their own was suddenly hit. Was it some kind of sinister spell?


    That "Blood Raven" Langfero was all too familiar with this curse spell, and it scared the soul out of him. He immediately realized something and shouted, "It''s a curse spell! Be careful, don''t hit the puppet on him!"


    He was afraid that if he spoke a secondter, someone would hit the ck doll on Su''en''s body, and someone would surely die again.


    Moreover, he guessed that one of them must be a cursed doll bound by his own blood.


    Langfero knew that the spell couldn''t kill him, but paired with that ck scythe, one controlling from a distance, the other killing from a distance, it was simply "unsolvable"!


    It didn''t give anyone any chance to react, and no one could save the victim.


    If this bo" fell on him, Langfero felt that he would undoubtedly die!


    Looking at the corpse beside him with its skull chopped open, this Raven Gang executive couldn''t help but slow down.


    Because he knew, the further away, the less the "voodoo" curse would affect.


    ......


    Correct.


    This ck doll was the "Voodoo Doll" that Su''en had just made!


    Previously in the cursed space, although the four second-order professionals had all escaped alive, they were all injured and left enough blood in the monastery for Su''en to make a curse spell.


    Now it seemed, the effect was very good.


    Beforeing to the ruins, he had tested the precise range of the "Voodoo Doll" in the transport team.


    Although the second-order professionals would be greatly affected by the curse spell, Su''en didn''t n to use this spell to hurt people.


    As long as he had a slight chance, the ck scythe would follow!


    Seeing that his attack was effective, Su''en pulled out eight or nine ck dolls, like flying kites, trailing behind him, protecting his body tightly.


    Although only three of them were useful, he guessed that the pursuers wouldn''t dare to gamble.


    Once hit, someone would surely die.


    The tactic worked, and Su''en thought about blowing up the "Voodoo Doll", and the other three would hardly escape death.


    But he didn''t do that.


    Because he wasn''t sure how many more strikes the hateful zombie could make.


    Including the two strikes in the cursed space before, this was already the third strike.


    If there was another strike, it would trigger an immediate bacsh, and the hateful zombie would die on the spot.


    Without the deterrence of the ck scythe, it would be Su''en''s own death.


    The effect of this string of dolls seemed not bad now.


    Even that "Gun King" Geiger, who never missed a shot, had stopped firing, not daring to shoot again.


    That was enough.


    The further the distance, the less threatening the gunman would be...

 Chapter 147: Im not dead, it should be you who dies

    Chapter 147: I''m not dead, it should be you who dies


    Su''en fled alone, with six people chasing closely behind him.


    But seeing that he was about to escape into the extremely dangerous Dawn Ruins, those pursuers also became somewhat panicked.


    Now, seven second-tier professionals were chasing after a first-tier professional. Not only had one of them been killed, but if the target were to escape as well, how could they face going back?


    The curse space shattered, and everyone understood that the "Sorrowful Witch" had definitely been killed by Su''en, and the material for the hairpin must have been taken as well.


    They had worked so hard to create an opportunity, and even provoked the witch to be a second-tier lord. But in the end, they had given it all away for nothing?


    Wouldn''t that Oliver family member, Danze Junior, just let it go?


    And at this unfortunate moment, themunication device transmitted the furious roar of Danze Junior: "Damn it! That guy took the witch''s head, you must kill him and bring back my material!"


    The tone of the order brooked no doubt.


    Hearing this, the expressions on the faces of the pursuers were not good.


    Except for the Steam Party cadre "Mechanical Tyrannosaurus" Toynbee, the other five were all Oliver family bodyguards or henchmen. They were highly skilled professionals paid by the consortium, which meant that they had no qualifications to refuse Danze Junior''s orders.


    Upon hearing themand from themunication device, the second-tier professionals looked at each other and frowned.


    Lloyd, the "Magician," had an especially gloomy expression on his face.


    Only he knew how much Danze coveted the witch''s hairpin.


    Although he was Danze''s puppetry teacher, how could he not understand the capricious nature of Danze Junior?


    It was one thing if the attacker escaped, but if the material was lost, this young master would definitely fly into a rage.


    His own reputation as a teacher would be tarnished.


    This old man hesitated for only a moment before urgently shouting, "Chase! That guy has already used the ck Scythe to make three strikes, at most there''s one more strike left. The curse bacsh will immediately erupt. His invisible puppet will definitely die as well. By then, he won''t be a threat anymore... Otherwise, there''s no need for us to go back either!"


    The implication of his words was also very clear. Whoever took thest strike would be unlucky.


    "Alright!"


    The others looked at each other and could only grit their teeth and charge forward.


    As long as they hadn''t defected from the Oliver family''s consciousness, this order had to be carried out!


    ...


    "Huh... they''reing again?"


    Su''en furrowed his brows.


    Just now, he had used the Voodoo Doll to assassinate a second-tier professional, and those guys had quieted down for a while. But now, that feeling of being targeted had returned.


    Su''en turned his head and looked at the several second-tier professionals who were suddenly elerating, and he also guessed what was happening. "Did they receive a death order from that young master?"


    Thinking of this, he also felt that things were not good.


    Those guys had no way out, and neither did Su''en himself.


    Looking ahead, without any hesitation, he directly plunged into the deeper part of the ruins where the mist was denser.


    Although the "Gun King" Gage was powerful, after all, gunmen were not good at chasing and pursuing.


    In this mist-filled Dawn Ruins with itsplex buildings, as long as the distance was far enough, the threat from the gunman would be smaller and smaller.


    However, the enemy seemed to have guessed this as well.


    Those guys seemed to know that if they continued to chase, even if they caught up to Su''en, their situation would be very dangerous once they entered the depths of the ruins. At this moment, they were preparing to determine the oue in one fell swoop!


    Gunshots rang out once again.


    "Bang!"


    The sound of the gunshot was slower than the bullet.


    Even before hearing the sound, Su''en clearly felt his body being hit and stumbled.


    And coincidentally, after the Voodoo Doll was hit, the blood-bonded Lloyd''s body, who controlled two puppets, froze for a moment.


    Although the other several threats were getting closer and closer, Su''en decided to kill this guy first!


    He didn''t hesitate at all, and with a wave of his hand, the invisible puppet''s hand holding the ck Scythe swung down towards the dwarf.


    But this time, it wasn''t as smooth as before.


    When he swung the scythe, the several second-tier professionals used their abilities one after another, and their speed instantly increased several times, rushing towards him without any regard for their own safety.


    It was a resolute move to kill Su''en in one fell swoop.


    ...


    The Eight-Armed Spider Spear was fast, but that didn''t mean that second-tier professionals couldn''t have a burst of speed in close quarters to catch up.


    They hadn''t disyed it before because they each had their own ns and wanted the other to trigger the trap.


    After all, Su''en had the ck Scythe in his hands.


    But now, they guessed that Su''en only had one chance to strike with the scythe.


    And after seeing Lloyd being hit, the remaining few breathed a sigh of relief.


    It''s better to have a dead friend than a living enemy.


    In the end, it wasn''t themselves who were the unlucky ones.


    Since this strike had been made, the melee professional with discement and sudden eleration abilities no longer had any reservations and burst forward with all their strength.


    Toynbee, the "Mechanical Tyrannosaurus," reacted the fastest.


    The modified jet propulsion device had already umted enough pressure, and now it was released all at once.


    With a "pshh" sound, white steam gushed out like a rocketunch.


    He was like an elerated projectile, crossing several hundred meters in an instant.


    Even if Su''en made several sudden stops and changes in direction, this guy also released the pressure and stopped suddenly, then used several bursts of jet propulsion for a long-distance charge, catching up to him in an instant. Then, in mid-air, a mechanical arm flew out like a w, "click" sound, and shot out...


    Su''en was controlling the invisible puppet to swing the ck Scythe and kill the dwarf in the distance, but he had to do his best to dodge the mechanical w.


    It was this dodge that caused the direction of the scythe''s swing to deviate slightly. It didn''t cut the dwarf''s neck, only severing his legs with one strike.


    And Su''en didn''t have time to follow up with another strike because at this moment, the threat was approaching again.


    In addition to the mechanical arm, the Oliver family bodyguard in a suit was right behind it.


    That guy gathered his strength and leaped, his trouser legs bursting open, turning into exaggerated muscles like a bullfrog''s legs, leaping a hundred meters...


    "Bang!"As Su''en sheathed his de, the bullfrog-legged bodyguard in a suit charged at him, barreling straight into his chest.


    The speed of a second-order closebat professional?


    Su''en had no time to react.


    He saw the man''s movement, but his body couldn''t respond in time. In the face of danger, he could only use his spider legs to pull a ck doll in front of his chest for protection.


    With that collision, there was a "crack" sound, and the puppet shattered.


    Su''en was hit so hard that his eyes bulged out, and a mouthful of old blood spurted out.


    There was another "thud", and a massive force spread out from the point of impact.


    It felt like being hit in the chest by a charging rhino, giving him the illusion that his soul was still in ce while his body was thrown away.


    A momentter, his soul finally caught up and returned to his body.


    Only then did Su''en feel the dizzy sensation of his blood flowing backward into his limbs.


    In mid-air, just as he became aware of his body, he suddenly crashed heavily into a building. After smashing through two thick walls, he finally stopped.


    Then, another mouthful of turbid blood sprayed all over the ground.


    If it weren''t for the alloy breastte on his chest, he would have died on the spot from that collision.


    However, someone else was suffering even more!


    The moment the ck doll shattered, the mechanical warrior, Toyinbi, who was about toe to help from ten meters away, let out a painful scream, clutching his head and almost fainting.


    The voodoo doll, which used this guy''s blood as a medium, exploded at such a close distance, the pain was unimaginable.


    It was because of this tactic that Su''en wasn''t sandwiched between the two and killed on the spot.


    ......


    Su''en felt as if his internal organs had been disced, and he was so weak that he couldn''t muster any strength.


    In this critical moment, he didn''t have time to catch his breath. His eyes suddenly hardened, and his emotions unleashed a crazed look in his eyes.


    In the next instant, the pain on his face disappeared, and his severely injured body seemed to no longer feel any pain.


    He forced himself to stand up, his four spider arms revealing sharp spears positioned at his chest, while the other four quickly pulled out several strange puppets to protect him.


    After making this defensive move, Su''en''s hands reached out into the void, trying to grab the distant ck scythe for a desperate fight!


    But unexpectedly, he instantly felt a difference in the force on the silk thread.


    It wasn''t shattered flesh, but aplete living corpse.


    Su''en instantly understood something, and a surprise joy filled his heart: "Huh?"


    Even though he controlled the precise power of each sh, he had made four shes in a short time, reaching the limit of bacsh.


    Especially thest sh, which was too far away, was equivalent to two previous shes.


    The curse bacsh of the ck scythe was immediately triggered!


    Although the corpse was wrapped in a shroud and Su''en couldn''t see where the wound appeared on the body, he could clearly feel the "blood explosion" of the living corpse through the vibration of the silk thread at the moment of the sh.


    Su''en had thought he would have to fight desperately with his own body and the scythe again, but at this moment...


    He was surprised to find that the hateful living corpse hadn''t died!


    ......


    "The bacsh didn''t hit the fatal part of the hateful living corpse?!"


    Su''en immediately understood what had happened.


    The wound didn''t appear on the neck or the heart, any other ce for the hateful one was not a fatal injury.


    Its terrifying recovery ability would heal the wound in a very short time.


    This meant... the BUFF was refreshed.


    The hateful living corpse had survived a round of curse bacsh, and could be shed four or five more times!


    Thinking of this, Su''en''s eyes shone brightly.


    Although he was spitting blood in a sorry state, a crazy smile spread across his face.


    On the other hand, the bullfrog-legged bodyguard had no intention of giving Su''en a chance to live. After ramming him into the building ruins, he kicked off the ground and charged again.


    The sound of the wind "whooshing" came, the speed was so fast that it left no time for reaction.


    But because Su''en was prepared, the bodyguard saw the poisonous spear standing on his chest and obviously realized the danger.


    He didn''t dare to hit the spear, but stopped precisely in front of the spider spear, then used the momentum to stand on one leg and performed a spinning kick.


    The absolute power crushed two of the strange puppets with one kick. Then, the kick, like an iron whip, hit Su''en''s side heavily without losing any momentum.


    "Bang~"


    A muffled sound with a bone-cracking echo.


    Su''en was hit hard again, and his body was kicked out like a sandbag, crashing into a thick wall.


    A mouthful of turbid blood spurted out from his mouth and nose, almost vomiting out his heart and lungs.


    However, the bodyguard obviously hadn''t seen the rune puppets before, and he was affected by the wailing of the "Wailing Doll" when he was in close contact with Su''en, causing him to be momentarily dazed.


    It was this moment of daze that gave Su''en time to catch his breath.


    Without hesitation, he injected himself with a stimnt to prevent himself from fainting due to the unbearable pain.


    While injecting the drug, the eight spider spears behind him had already controlled the hateful living corpse outside the ruins to swing the ck scythe again!


    Su''en looked at the momentarily dazed bodyguard, grinned, and showed his blood-stained teeth: "Hehe..."


    I''m not dead, it''s your turn to die.

 Chapter 148: Lion sings

    Chapter 148: Lion sings


    If it were steel wires, they would have broken countless times in such a battle.


    Unfortunately, Su''en now has enough witch hair in his hands.


    Infused with dark spirit power and transformed into an elemental state, these transparent threads cannot be detected by others. Even if there are obstacles, there is a gravitational force between the threads that is strong enough to control the puppet''s movements, like a ma.


    With just a flick of his finger, a spatial crack instantly appeared on the bodyguard''s neck.


    The guy seemed to be waking up from a daze, but the sudden life-threatening crisis made him instantly pale. Before he could react, the ck spatial crack silently severed his neck.


    With a "thud," the head fell to the ground.


    Su''en watched this scene with a smirk on his face.


    However, he didn''t dare to be careless. He used his ten fingers to pull and manipte the abominable undead outside once again.


    Because at this moment, the curse spell "Mechanical Tyrannosaurus" by the curse master Toinbi had also regained consciousness.


    .......


    Enduring the intense pain in his head, Toinbi rushed into the broken building.


    Coincidentally, he witnessed the scene of the bodyguard''s head falling to the ground.


    Then, this guy looked at Su''en''s finger movement again, and a look of horror appeared in his eyes.


    He had seen this movement several times before, and each time, a high-level expert was inexplicably killed.


    Toinbi originally nned to capture the "helpless" Su''en, but seeing this, he was scared to the point of trembling.


    Watching the moment when the headless body turned into a human fountain, his instinctive reaction made him quickly release the pressure valve in the steam boiler. Instead of rushing in, he flew out with a jet of air.


    Fortunately, Toinbi reacted quickly enough. While the jet device carried his body out, a one-foot-long spatial crack appeared in the spot where he had just stood.


    Originally, the crack was supposed to cut through his chest, but because his body flew out, he survived.


    A mechanical leg fell smoothly to the ground with a "ng."


    Although the mechanical prosthesis wouldn''t feel pain when broken, it still had the power to fight.


    But where would Toinbi dare to rush into the ruins again?


    During the process of flying backward, he looked at Su''en, who had a numb expression and was flicking his finger again, and his face turned pale with fear.


    He had no intention of confronting Su''en head-on and quickly hid his body behind a building.


    But even so, a hair-raising spatial crack brushed past him.


    Fortunately, he had chosen to avoid and escape in time. Otherwise, these two consecutive tricky strikes would have definitely taken his life!


    While feeling fortunate, Toinbi couldn''t help but curse angrily, "Who the fuck said this guy could only make one strike at most!"


    Now, seeing Su''en kill Danze Junior''s bodyguard with one strike and then sh at him twice, it seemed like he could make even more strikes?


    "Doesn''t this guy experience any curse bacsh when using that seal?"


    While cursing, Toinbi also made sure to hide his body more securely, restraining his breath and sound, afraid of being seen by Su''en and attacked again.


    .......


    "Did I manage to dodge it? Huh... my body is at its limit."


    Su''en gasped heavily, but he didn''t chase after the guy who flew away.


    After enduring the pain of his shattered sternum and shing three times in a row, he was almost at his limit.


    After a pause of one or two seconds, he felt his blood cirction, which had been disrupted by the impact, return to normal, and he regained his strength.


    "The reaction speed of a second-tier professional is really fast..."


    Su''en muttered as he looked at the headless body on the ground.


    He didn''t waste any time and took off the bodyguard''s storage ring, harvested the soul, and didn''t forget to throw a burning bomb to burn his own blood that he had spat out.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t have time to deal with the ones outside.


    Su''en could already hear the sound of someone chasing after him, so he continued to control the eight-armed spider spear and flee deeper into the ruins.


    "There are seven second-tier pursuers, two dead, two with broken legs, and three left..."


    As Su''en ran, he also had the idea of finding a suitable terrain to kill the remaining few.


    But he realized that he didn''t have the confidence.


    First, his body was severely injured and couldn''t withstand high-intensity battles;


    Second, although he had dealt with the melee professionals who posed the greatest threat, he wasn''t confident enough to kill the "Gun King" Gage, who had the talent of "Sixth Sense," with the ck scythe.


    Moreover, he had already shed three times with the ck scythe, and Su''en couldn''t guarantee that the next bacsh wouldn''t be able to withstand the abominable undead.


    Now he had basically escaped from the pursuers, so there was no need to take the risk of ambushing them.


    Because he had been chased in a panic before, Su''en felt that he had already entered a dangerous area in the Dawn Ruins.


    He hadn''t run far when the sound of the pursuers gradually disappeared behind him, and his speed also slowed down.


    The mist in the air became thicker and thicker, and then he saw a low and dpidated city wall.


    Su''en suddenly realized that he had already entered the ck area of the "Central Ring" in the hunting map - the "Dawn City."


    The fog around him had reduced visibility to an extremely low level, so he didn''t dare to venture further or look back. He happened to see a building that looked like a bunker and rushed into it.


    .......


    After a while, the mist in the air became denser, almost to the point where one couldn''t see their own fingers.


    Su''en didn''t dare to leave the bunker.


    Among the hunters, there is a widely circted experience that the areas with dense fog are where high-level aberrant monsters are most active.


    Fortunately, it seemed that the pursuers didn''t follow him here.Su''en listened attentively for a while, but didn''t hear any pursuers. Instead, he heard strange noisesing from the thick fog, as if some kind of animal was gnawing on bones.


    Su''en breathed a sigh of relief.


    He carefully observed the hiding ce.


    The bunker was not big, about ten square meters in size.


    It looked like a fortress from wartime.


    The walls were unusually strong and thick, almost a meter thick. When he entered earlier, he noticed many irregr marks on the outer wall, as if they were left byrge distorted creatures.


    The entrance and venttion openings were also small, enough to block the distorted creatures from entering.


    The dust was thick, and everything in the bunker had decayed over time.


    Su''en didn''t see any excrement from the distorted monsters, which also relieved him.


    He felt that it was safe enough here and decided not to go out for the time being.


    He nned to hide until the mist dissipated and then assess the situation.


    He used a scent-eliminating potion to remove his own scent.


    He took out a bulletproof te and a mechanical exoskeleton, and made a simple and sturdy one-way door at the entrance before finally being able to rest.


    Unexpectedly, he found something good when he sat down and felt something ufortable on his buttocks. He dug through the dust and found a valuable ancient "Fire Longsword" that wasparable to famous swords on the market.


    In ruins, things that can be preserved over time are usually valuable. This weapon would be worth over a million if sold on the market.


    Unfortunately, besides some broken porcin, he didn''t find anything else valuable after searching.


    Su''en leaned against the wall of the bunker and gently pressed his chest wound.


    A sharp pain came, the feeling of fractured ribs.


    It was fortunate that he had spider spears as legs. Otherwise, a normal person would be unable to walk with such serious injuries and could only wait for death.


    However, the situation was improving.


    Even without taking any healing potions, Su''en clearly felt that the pain was subsiding.


    His injuries were rapidly healing, not worsening.


    The "X Serum" gave him a super high self-healing ability, and at this moment, it was ying a huge role. The super strong cell activity was rapidly repairing his heavily injured body, as if patching up holes.


    ...


    "Phew..."


    He let out a long breath.


    Su''en finally regained consciousness.


    His injuries healed automatically, without him needing to do anything.


    Now that he had a moment to rest, he began to examine his previous gains.


    The biggest gain was naturally the materials obtained from the "White Monastery".


    Su''en didn''t expect that this trip wouldpletely solve the problem of "Silk Thread".


    The guys from the Oliver family had stimted the witch into the second stage of the Lord state, which directly produced a very rare "Dark Gold Material".


    "The Head of the Weeping Witch"


    Exnation: Dark Gold Cursed Material; It is not just a head, but also aplex curse source with aplete structure and innate magic patterns; as long as there is enough energy, it can produce an unlimited amount of witch hair.


    Not only hair, but also the source of hair production was obtained in one go.


    With these hairs, Su''en felt like a true puppeteer.


    Of course, there was also the concentrated magic power of the Weeping Witch''s entire body, "Alice''s Tears". Su''en hadn''t thought of how to use this material yet, which was identified by the All-Knowing Eye as "very rare".


    There were also several storage rings and equipment obtained from killing people.


    He killed two first-stage control warlocks and a second-stage swordmaster, Bloom.


    The equipment and materials of the two warlocks were good. The one who controlled thorns dropped the materials needed to be a Silver professional, "Thorn Warlock". The slow light warlock''s abilities came from talent, and the equipment and materials were normal magic-based ones, but they were damaged...


    Although Bloom''s second-stage equipment and materials were ck iron, they were valuable. The agility-based ck iron equipment, "Wind Lizard''s Magic Skin", and the required equipment for advancement, "Dagger of the Wind Spirit".


    The bodyguard''s storage ring didn''t have anything special.


    Packing them up, they would probably sell for a good price.


    But what Su''en was most interested in was the decapitated alchemy puppet left by the "Magician" Lloyd and the storage ring.


    Now that he had time, he took out the alchemy puppet that looked exactly like a real person and carefully studied it.


    Upon appraisal, it was indeed an ancient relic from a thousand years ago.


    The puppet''s skin was simr to the synthetic skin Su''en had seen on No. 19 before, but there were obvious differences in both material and craftsmanship.


    The puppet was hollow, with a ce just right for a dwarf to control, and someplex controlponents inside.


    Su''en tried it out and felt that he could make a synthetic puppet in the future.


    ...


    Then, a pleasant surprise came!


    Among the pile of books in the storage ring, Su''en found arge number of exclusive books for puppeteers.


    Moreover, he found a very important-looking golden box. When he opened it, he found a blueprint for a second-stage golden alchemy equipment - "Thousand Threads: Roaring Lion''s Chaotic Song"!


    Looking at the description of the blueprint''s effect, it was exactly the same ability as the one Lloyd had disyed, where threads burst out from his body. When used, it was like the mane of a lion, wild and unruly...


    The blueprint for the golden alchemy equipment was almost considered a forbidden item by the top financial conglomerates in the inner city.


    Su''en felt that relying on his own luck, he might not be able to find a golden blueprint for puppeteers in his lifetime.


    "Now I''m really rich..."Looking at these spoils of war, Su''en suddenly felt that the near-death chase he had just experienced was worth it.


    He guessed that both the "Skull of the Weeping Witch" and these blueprints were probably advanced items prepared for Danze Oliver.


    Now, they were in his hands.


    Tsk tsk...


    Indeed, hunting down professionals of the same ss was the best way to find professional materials.


    If there was a better shortcut, it would be hunting down professionals of the same ss in the inner city.


    Moreover, there were some exclusive puppeteer books that couldn''t be bought on the market, such as "Puppet Control Techniques 1 and 2", "Three-Line Technique", "Silk Thread Control Techniques"...


    Su''en imed to be a "Trick Puppeteer", but in reality, he was a half-baked one, only knowing a bit about making trick puppets, andpletely ignorant of other professional skills.


    His professional level was even far inferior to his secondary profession, "Gunslinger".


    All puppet control was learned through his own exploration, without any instruction or soul fragments to peel off.


    But now it was different.


    With these books, he didn''t need to ze his own trail, these books were the smooth road...


    If he could fully digest the content of these puppeteer books, Su''en felt that his puppet control would advance several levels, and he would truly be considered a beginner.


    "It''s a pity that the gnome''s famous puppet secret technique ''Puppet Theater'' wasn''t in the storage ring..."


    Su''en muttered to himself.


    He thought that next time he met, he would definitely ask the puppet master.


    ......


    While counting his spoils, Su''en kept an eye on the outside.


    He thought the Olivers would catch up, but after waiting for an hour or two, they still hadn''t arrived.


    There wasn''t even a sound of a crow flying in the sky.


    He guessed it might have something to do with the thick fog outside.


    Instead of feeling relieved, he became more cautious.


    If the Olivers didn''t dare toe, it meant that there was definitely a great danger in the fog.


    Luckily, he had this small fortress.


    Su''en didn''t n to go out either.


    Then, as he waited, a small ident urred.


    Su''en saw crow feathers growing on his body...


    Looking at his panel, there was an additional "Curse TechniqueCrow Feather Parasite".


    Su''en frowned, guessing that his blood left behind had been cursed by the "Blood Crow" Langfero.


    He started to pluck the feathers.


    Without the "X Serum", he would probably die.


    But now... apart from being disgusting, this level of curse was of little use.


    So Su''en stayed in the fortress, the fog outside getting thicker. Then, as the fog reached its peak, he found that the dark energy in the air became violent...

 Chapter 149: Suddenly became handsome and compelling

    Chapter 149: Suddenly became handsome andpelling


    "The concentration of dark spiritual power is at least ten times stronger than before..."


    Su''en looked at the attribute panel, his expression somewhatplicated, neither feeling good nor feeling bad.


    No wonder those pursuers didn''t dare to chase after him.


    After the dense mist, the dark spiritual power gushed out like a spring, permeating everywhere. This was not something an ordinary person could bear, nor was it a high distortion concentration that could be filtered by a gas mask.


    The normal concentration of dark spiritual power was like the cold wind of winter, a cool breeze entering the body with each breath, slightly chilly. But the current concentration was like ice des, cutting the throat with each breath.


    However...


    Su''en knew that this value was "dangerous," but his body honestly felt a thread-likefort.


    Since the mist filled the air, he had already noticed the change in dark spiritual power and had been carefully observing the data on his body, fearing any idents.


    But he found that there were no signs of distortion at all.


    Even now, when the dark spiritual power had reached such a terrifying level, he still didn''t feel ufortable.


    On the contrary... with each breath, his own dark spiritual power value increased.


    His body was crazily absorbing the special energy in the air, and this energy was also transforming his body.


    Because there were no reference examples, Su''en could only judge based on his own feelings: as the data increased without any distortion, this should be a good thing.


    He knew that this abnormality in his body was definitely rted to the increase in dark spiritual power tolerance caused by the "X Serum."


    .......


    Not to mention that the mist outside had be so dense that it was impossible to see or walk normally.


    Since there were no signs of distortion, Su''en was not in a hurry to leave the bunker.


    And... it seemed like he couldn''t leave either.


    Although he couldn''t see, Su''en could hear many disturbing soundsing from all directions after the dense fog spread.


    Sounds like the heavy footsteps of a veryrge monster, thud, thud, thud...


    Sounds like the crunching of chewing with skin and bones, crack, crack, crack...


    Sounds like the miserable screams of some distorted monsters being bitten to death...


    As Su''en listened to these terrifying sounds bing more and more numerous, he sealed off all the venttion ducts, not daring to leak any breath.


    He knew that he seemed to have encountered a phenomenon simr to a "beast tide," arge-scale activity of distorted monsters...


    However, Su''en''s mentality was still good.


    Since he couldn''t leave, he would calmly recuperate here.


    He had enough food and water stored in his storage ring, and the bunker was sturdy enough, so he didn''t have to worry about safety for the time being.


    The mist in the ruins was flowing, so this abnormal activity should be temporary.


    Even if small monsters discovered him and rushed into the bunker, he believed that he could protect himself from the loathing undead and ck reapers.


    At least, in the current situation, it was much better than being chased and blocked by the Oliver family.


    Su''en prepared some food for himself and then sat cross-legged, meditating.


    This meditationsted for a night.


    Although there was no distinction between day and night in the ruins, it was obvious that the monsters were more active during the "nighttime."


    When dawn came, the mist showed no signs of dissipating.


    But Su''en felt pretty good.


    Over the course of the night, his body''s powerful healing ability had already recovered most of his injuries. Although there was still a slight tingling sensation when pressing on his chest, the recovery efficiency was already very satisfactory.


    And after meditating for a night, Su''en felt refreshed.


    On the data panel, the upper limit of his dark spiritual power visibly soared.


    After advancing to a professional, meditating for a night in Old Lingdun would usually increase his dark spiritual power value by 7 to 8 units. But in this Dawn City ruins, Su''en had skyrocketed by more than 100 units overnight!


    Moreover, there were no signs of distortion caused by the rapid absorption of dark spiritual power or any other negative effects.


    Although Su''en knew that the "X Serum" would enhance the body''s tolerance to dark spiritual power, he was still quite surprised by this effect.


    Last night, he meditated cautiously. If he absorbed without any scruples, the value might have increased several times more.


    At this rate of cultivation, in about a month, his dark spiritual power value would reach the limit his body could bear. That would be a value several times more exaggerated than the dark spiritual power requirement for ordinary professionals to advance to the second stage.


    From this perspective, this "mist tide" was not only harmless to him but also an excellent aid for cultivation.


    Su''en also spected that the "unrecognized creature" that extracted the serum might live in this highly concentrated dark spiritual power environment, and its bloodline was very suitable for survival in this environment. Su''en injected the serum and now obtained some of the peculiar characteristics of this bloodline...


    And because his dark spiritual power value had increased significantly, Su''en also discovered a good phenomenon, which was that the blue color of his skin was rapidly fading.


    Because of the All-Knowing Eye, he could urately discern the changes in his skin color data.


    Although there was almost no visible change to the naked eye after just one night, the data indicated that the rate of fading was several times faster than yesterday.


    The raging dark spiritual power surged in, catalyzing the absorption of the serum and greatly shortening the absorption process.


    Originally, it was estimated that it would take at least four to six months to digest the serum, but now it seemed unnecessary.


    .......


    The second day, the third day, the fourth day...


    The mist showed no signs of dissipating,


    And the monsters outside became more and more active.And so, Su''en passively stayed in this narrow bunker and didn''t go out.


    During this period, he encountered several distorted monsters passing by, including small groups of distorted monsters and several times terrifyingrge distorted monsters.


    Fortunately, the small distorted monsters couldn''t destroy the sturdy bunker and left after a few attempts.


    As for those giant monsters, although they discovered him, they didn''t pay any attention to him. It was probably like humans seeing a mouse in a small hole on the roadside, not interested enough to even plug the gap with their teeth.


    asionally, there would be one or tworge monsters that smelled something and curiously scratched with their ws. However, the bunker was strong enough, and they all safely passed by without incident.


    And so, without realizing it, a month passed.


    Su''en''s body also underwent earth-shattering changes.


    .......


    On this day, inside the bunker.


    Su''en was meditating.


    Since the gas mask was useless, he didn''t wear it anymore.


    However, that face was no longer the appearance of a blue-skinned bald weirdo from a month ago. His skin color returned to normal, and he grew a thick head of hair, even his eyebrows grew out.


    Without the dark punk-style smoky makeup, this angr face suddenly became handsome andpelling.


    This was not Su''en''s illusion, but the intuitive data on the attribute panel.


    "My charm value has increased to 12?"


    When Su''en discovered that the fixed value of charm had changed, he was also surprised.


    Then, in this month, as hepletely digested the "x serum," his charm value increased from 9 to the current 12.


    From his observation, this data would hardly change with the enhancement of strength. Unless it was someone like Sabina from the Steam Party he encountered before, who had the talent for charm, the normal value for a person would not exceed 10.


    The only exnation was that the serum not only made the body stronger but also had the special ability to optimize human appearance.


    He spected that perhaps the indescribable creature that extracted the "x serum" was naturally good-looking?


    Su''en didn''t pay much attention to it, as it wasn''t a bad thing.


    Moreover, the change in appearance suited him.


    At least now, he didn''t have to continue shaving his head and go for the dark punk style.


    The previous disguise was to conceal his appearance and avoid being recognized by bounty hunters.


    Now, the wanted poster with his bald image was posted everywhere, so it was inappropriate to maintain the bald punk image.


    And now that his hair had grown out, it was perfect.


    Moreover, his appearance almostpletely disregarded the wanted poster of the original owner. Because Su''en believed that no one would associate his current appearance with the original owner, "Fick Regadi."


    Not to mention the earth-shattering change in temperament, the 3 points of charm were disyed on his face, making it seem like he had changed his face.


    Moreover, even the body dimensions such as shoulder width, waist circumference, and hip circumference... werepletely different from a month ago.


    Afterpletely digesting the "x serum," Su''en''s strength skyrocketed, his bones became tougher, and all of it increased two to three times. However, his body''s muscle dimensions did not turn into a burly man but became more slender and symmetrical.


    But he felt that it was just right.


    Muscles with toorge dimensions would hinder flexibility for both a puppeteer and a gunman.


    And the most exaggerated thing was Su''en''s current dark spirit power!


    From the previous upper limit of 2214 points a month ago, it had now soared to 23332, nearly ten times higher.


    This was already an extremely exaggerated number.


    To advance to the second rank as an ordinary practitioner, a minimum of around 7000 points of dark spirit power was needed, which would be enough to sessfully fuse ck iron materials for advancement. Even some high-demand silver materials would only require around 10000 points. (Rank advancement condition: Materialpatibility + current rank dark spirit power reaching a certain value)


    But now, Su''en had reached an astonishing more than twice that amount.


    Even when he used the Hagrid Breathing Technique to meditate, he felt that there was still a small increase in space.


    Although Su''en didn''t know what was special about such arge amount of dark spirit power, he guessed that it had a direct rtionship with advancing to higher ranks. The more solid the foundation of dark spirit power at a low rank, the easier it would be to advance to higher ranks, and the higher the upper limit.


    Another immediately visible benefit was that he temporarily didn''tck mana much.


    Just by controlling the first-rank Eight-Armed Spider Spear, he could now maintain the state of exoskeleton for a long time.


    Using the Witch''s Hair to control puppets, the distance he could control them had also increased...


    .......


    This month passed, and the mist around gradually dissipated.


    Estimating that in a few more days, this wave of "mist tide" would probablye to an end.


    The food and fresh water prepared in the storage ring were almost consumed.


    The "x serum" had also been absorbed.


    Su''en felt that it was time to leave the ruins.


    After all, this ruin was not a good ce.


    Su''en thought that even if therge army of Oliver''s family that was hunting him continued to wait, they probably wouldn''t stay in the ruins for a month.


    Moreover, even if he appeared in front of those bounty hunters, most likely no one would recognize him with his handsome andpelling face as the "S-rank wanted criminal Su''en" with the previous smoky bald appearance.


    ......


    On this day.


    The mist had almost returned to normal levels, and there were no more sounds ofrge distorted monsters around the bunker.Su''en opened the venttion duct and carefully observed the scene. In the distance, he could see several two-headed, humanoid goat monsters leisurely feeding on the foggy walls of Old Lingdun - the "Fallen Goatmen".


    Eating grass?


    No, they were gnawing on the bones of their prey.


    "Crack"...


    "Crack"...


    The sound was enough to send chills down one''s spine.


    Su''en had been observing them for nearly two days now.


    There were about fifty-six of these upright goat monsters. They appeared docile, but in reality, they were ferocious. They were fast, capable of jumping and bounding, and their sharp teeth and jaws could easily crush stones.


    Especially the leader of the goat monsters, who was asrge as a bull, had strength not inferior to a second-tier melee professional. The group could easily killrge prey when they surrounded it. They were not to be underestimated.


    Su''en had a ck scythe in his hand, and his strength had surged, so he wasn''t afraid of these creatures.


    But he didn''t want to start a fight as soon as he left the bunker.


    After all, this was the central ring of Dawn City, and the mutated monsters in the vicinity were not just them.


    After observing for a while, the group of monsters showed no signs of leaving.


    Su''en figured he might have to wait another day.


    Once they finished eating the food they had caught yesterday, they would probably leave.


    ......


    After observing for a while,


    Su''en closed the venttion window and prepared some food for himself.


    He broke the ck bread into pieces, added some of his homemade "instant noodle seasoning packet", and chewed it down.


    However, this was just an asional act to satisfy his taste buds and fill his stomach.


    The main source of nutrition was still the direct injection of nutrient solution.


    Digesting the "X serum" to enhance his physical body over the past month required a lot of energy, and he relied on these nutrient solutions to get through the day.


    Su''en had a simple meal.


    Then he took out the puppetry books and started reading.


    During this time, he had carefully read through the puppetry books from his spoils of war, and had made up for hisck of puppet maniption skills.


    He also learned that there were so many tricks and shortcuts to puppet maniption...


    ying with puppets and being a professional puppeteer were twopletely different things.


    As he was reading, he looked at the golden blueprint of the "Thousand Threads - Lion''s Song" in the pile of books.


    He had been coveting this thing for a month now.


    He not only had the blueprint, but also the main material, the "Skull of the Weeping Witch", and even the refining materials were all found in his previous spoils of war.


    But Su''en, who had studied the blueprint no less than ten times, was still helpless.


    He was facing the same problem as when he got the blueprint for the "Eight-Armed Spider Spear".


    Although he had been learning and progressing during this time, and his level of refining equipment was not low,


    But this second-tier golden blueprint plus dark gold materials, without master-level skills, he didn''t dare to touch it.


    He really didn''t have the confidence, and he didn''t dare to waste the materials by trying recklessly.


    So he thought of "Mr. ck".


    Unfortunately... that mysterious person was probably in the ck market of Old Lingdun at the moment.


    Su''en didn''t dwell on the blueprint issue and continued to read the books attentively.


    But as he was reading, his ears suddenly perked up, and he eximed in surprise, "The fog has cleared, how could there be another ''big guy''?"


    Then, like an earthquake, the ground began to tremble.


    He was used to this situation. Every time arge monster passed by, there would be this kind of noise. The bunker was like a speaker lying on the ground, making the sound particrly clear.


    But... this time it sounded a bit different.


    "Is it a fight betweenrge monsters?"


    Su''en immediately noticed the "boom", "boom" of the urgent tremors, which didn''t sound like a monster walking, but like a fight?


    And it wasn''t the small noise of hunting, but the noise of a fierce battle between equals!


    Fights betweenrge monsters were very dangerous. These monsters could spit wind, spray fire, pour water... The ancient buildings in the city were so badly damaged because of these big monsters.


    Thinking of this, Su''en didn''t dare to take it lightly and opened the venttion window to look out.


    A huge mutated monster came into view.


    But what surprised Su''en more was the "opponent" fighting the monster!


    He originally thought it was two monsters fighting, but when he looked...


    The monster that was constantly wailing was actually being attacked by several humans?!


    Upon closer inspection, Su''en''s gaze froze, and he was filled with disbelief: "Is someone actually daring to take on such a high-level monster?"

 Chapter 150: Seals

    Chapter 150: Seals


    Su''en cautiously looked out through the venttion hole and immediately saw the gigantic humanoid monster that was over thirty meters tall.


    It looked like an ancient soldier, wearing a round-brimmed bronze helmet on its head. Its shoulders and legs were covered in the same bronze-colored metal armor, and its robe had long since decayed, revealing dark brown corpse-like skin...


    The most eye-catching thing was the hexagonal bronzemp it held in its hand.


    Themp had an ancient and simple design, with mysterious carvings on its body. The dark yellow ssmpshade had been smoked ck, and the flickering dim yellow light could be seen, forming a halo of nearly ten meters around the bronzemp...


    It was this faint halo that gave off an extremely terrifying feeling, as if being touched by the light would cause one to bepletely annihted.


    "A Dominator-level Aberration?"


    As Su''en looked at the monster, his pupils suddenly contracted.


    The All-Knowing Eye identified this monster as a Dominator-level Aberration, one level higher than a Lord-level!


    [Tomb Lantern Bearer of Dawn City]


    Exnation: A distorted monster formed from the resentment of ancient soldiers, a Dominator-level zombie species with superior strength, skilled in fire maniption, extremely dangerous;


    (Note: In the protagonist''s current knowledge, any entity above the third rank is considered ''superior rank'')


    This was the strongest Aberration Su''en had ever seen!


    The oppressive feeling it gave off was like that of a mountain, causing one''s soul to tremble.


    It was so powerful that Su''en felt that even the Lord-level Mourning Witch would be instantly annihted in front of it.


    Even with the ck Reaper in hand, Su''en felt that he had no chance of winning.


    Upon seeing it, his first thought was definitely to escape.


    Because, not only did he have a sealing item, but the bronzemp that the monster held in its hand was also one!


    [Furnace Lamp of Vogang]


    Quality: Legendary


    Description: Those who y with fire will eventually burn themselves;


    Curse Attribute: It can create extraordinary alchemical objects and possesses mes that can burn everything; using thismp can activate the ''Urken Lava Fire'' that can incinerate any item whose level ofw is lower than themp itself, but the mes are indiscriminate and will also burn the user;


    Exnation: A bronzemp imitating a divine artifact forged by ancient alchemists, it possesses extremely powerful sealing abilities; within themp is imprisoned a strand of ''Urken Lava Fire'', capable of forging high-quality alchemical objects; it can be used as an advanced material for fire-based alchemists;


    Su''en looked at this ancientmp, feeling even more shocked than when he first saw the ck Reaper.


    At least the damage from the ck Reaper was controble, and the curse bacsh could also be roughly predicted...


    But thismp was simply an indiscriminate attack.


    As Su''en looked at it, he could only see four words - mutual destruction.


    However, judging from the functions identified by the hexagonal bronzemp, it should mainly be used as an auxiliary sealing item for forging; or perhaps for battles for alchemists with extremely powerful fire control abilities?


    ......


    It was only when the All-Knowing Eye identified thisbination of a Dominator-level monster and a sealing item that Su''en realized that this thing was not something a human could contend with.


    So, he was surprised that someone dared to attract its attention.


    A hunter?


    Obviously not.


    No matter how powerful the hunting team was, even if there were several top-tier hunting teams with third-rank professionals present, Su''en believed that this monster could easily wipe them out.


    But in the misty shadows before him, three to five figures wearing ck cloaks were constantly provoking the monster.


    They seemed to have clear divisions ofbor, with some luring the monster out of the inner ring of the city wall, some interfering, and some taking action...


    In just a moment, the monster had already chased after those people and arrived near the city wall of the inner ring.


    At this moment, probably reaching the nned ambush location, one of the ck-robed figures took action!


    He suddenly formed hand seals with both hands at a rapid pace, creating a series ofplex hand seal patterns that even Su''en found dazzling. Suddenly, aplex triple imprint lit up under his feet, with a tail-biting snake on the inneryer, a pentagram on the middleyer, and a septagram on the outeryer...


    "Septagram Alchemy Formation?"


    Su''en looked at the brown alchemy formation under the man''s feet, and his gaze slightly narrowed.


    Under normal circumstances, forms below the third rank were pentagrams or hexagram formations; the septagram was only said to appear in some advanced alchemical knowledge.


    Now this guy made a move and used such a technique?


    After the ck-robed man''s robe fluttered without wind, and the septagram formation lit up under his feet, his aura also grew stronger and stronger.


    He had just been like an ant, but in an instant, his aura was already on par with that Dominator Aberration.


    Su''en looked at the pattern of the alchemy formation and guessed something: "Superior rank Earth-based form?"The alchemy array under the ck-robed figure''s feet rapidly converted energy, and the surrounding earth elements were visibly transformed into yellow-brown spiritual lights, quickly converging. In the blink of an eye, a magnified seven-pointed star alchemy array appeared under the feet of the "Graveyard Lantern Bearer of Dawn City". In an instant, the light shone brightly, and the alchemy array changed the solidification state of the earth elements, causing the once hard ground to suddenly be muddy.


    In another blink of an eye, it had turned into a dark swamp.


    The monster''s body was too bulky to avoid it, and its legs sank into the swamp in an instant, even bending at the knees.


    And it wasn''t over yet!


    After the ck-robed figure disyed the identified super-grade earth alchemy spell, "Art of the Great Swamp", his hands once again changed into the gestures of a sorcerer, and the brown seven-pointed star array under his feet suddenly became brighter and seamlessly transformed into anotherpletely different andplex gold spell.


    As the spell changed, the marshy swamp also rapidly solidified...


    ......


    In the distance, Su''en watched this amazing operation and couldn''t help but be amazed in his heart: "Aposite spell that converts earth elements into gold elements? Even third-tier sorcerers may not be able to master the seamless conversion between two different third-tier spells, but this guy directly performed the conversion between two ''super-grade spells''? How strong is he?"


    Seeing this, he didn''t know how to describe his own state of mind.


    Although Su''en had never seen a third-tier professional take action, he had obtained some information from various books and memories he had collected, so he had a rough idea.


    "Multiple element conversion" is one of the top casting techniques in the field of alchemists specializing in elemental magic.


    The more seamless the conversion, the stronger the understanding and control of elemental spells needed.


    A normal third-tier professional who can proficiently master the seamless conversion between two different third-tier elemental spells is already considered a top expert.


    But this cloaked figure in front of him, consecutively disying these two "super-grade spells", seemed to be very calm?


    With just a change in spell, the rich earth elements in the marsh pit suddenly transformed into gold elements. The brown mud turned into a golden solid in the blink of an eye, like golden metal.


    With this change, the giant soldier monster''s feet couldn''t move anymore and was immediately immobilized.


    .......


    "This spell''s understanding is simply incredible. There are actually such experts hidden in Old Lingdun City..."


    Su''en felt that he had underestimated the top professionals in Old Lingdun.


    Before, he thought that the third-tier professional like Chuck, the leader of the Cross Society, was already the top powerhouse in Old Lingdun.


    But now, at least this cloaked figure in front of him was stronger than Chuck.


    When he identified the information about the dominator-level aberrant monster earlier, Su''en thought these people were "overestimating themselves" and misjudged the monster''s rank.


    But now, looking at this cloaked figure using two super-grade control spells, he finally understood that these people were not misjudging, but rather came prepared, seemingly confident in taking down this monster and the sealed item in its hands!


    However, even though its feet were fixed in ce by metal, the giant soldier dominator still had not lost its fighting power.


    Its hand holding thentern did not move, but its other hand, wielding a rusty greatsword, swung towards the cloaked figure casting the spell.


    In the face of absolute strength, any technique seemed pale and powerless.


    When this sword fell, Su''en felt that it could easily split a ten-story building in half.


    Moreover, it was not just a pure physical attack. The de of the greatsword was visibly covered with ayer of raging wind elemental sword qi.


    Under the swing of the over twenty-meter-long greatsword, it didn''t seem fast, but it was actually as fast as the wind, and there was no way to avoid it.


    Therge area of wind elemental sword qi covered the cloaked figure, pressing on his robe and rendering him immobile.


    Even before this sword fell on his head, the ground around him had already been crushedyer byyer by the terrifying sword qi, extremely horrifying.


    Even the underground bunker where Su''en was hiding hundreds of meters away seemed like it was about to copse, with dense cracks appearing overhead and sand and stones falling like rain.


    Su''en watched with a twitching eyelid. The bunker, which had remained intact despite being visited by the aberrant monster countless times, was actually about to be crushed by a strand of sword qi?


    Just how terrifying was this sword?


    Before he could hesitate whether to run out now, Su''en suddenly saw another ck-robed figure holding a short knife in his hand fearlessly meet the swing of the giant sword.


    At almost the same time, the gestures of the cloaked figure casting the spell changed again, and the golden seven-pointed star array under his feet turned into a blue wind elemental array!


    Su''en''s gaze burned: "Again? Conversion between three elements?"


    With the wind elemental alchemy array, it seemed that it was not meant to forcefully block the attack, but rather to channel and drain it, directly guiding the devastating straight sword qi on the giant sword into a swirling tornado.


    As the sword qi turned into a tornado, the ground crackedyer byyer as if plowed by an iron plow.


    But the two people at the core of the alchemy array werepletely unaffected!"ng!"


    The sharp sound of metal collision echoed through the ruins.


    The ck-robed figure holding a short knife disyed astonishing strength, using his slender body to firmly block the consecutive strikes of the giant''s sword.


    At the moment of contact between the de and the sword, a shockwave erupted from the center, forming a visible wave of air that blew up sand and stones.


    Even inside the bunker hundreds of meters away, Su''en was destabilized by the shockwave that poured in through the venttion shaft. He eximed in awe, "So this is a top-tier expert..."


    This attack made him feel that a third-tier expert had arrived, capable of inflicting heavy damage even if not killed. However, it was easily resolved by the cooperation of the two cloaked figures.


    ......


    "He used advanced wind elemental control again. This sorcerer must be proficient in at least three types of spells..."


    Su''en watched, his eyes trembling, unable to find words to describe this ck-robed sorcerer.


    The textbook-like maneuvers, whether it was the sorcerer''s seal or the skill of casting and condensing elements, were wless.


    Su''en found it hard to imagine what kind of identity this ck-robed person had that allowed him to be proficient in at least three types of spells.


    He even suspected that this guy might be like him, awakened with some kind of talent to harvest the abilities of others.


    Otherwise, how could it be so exaggerated?


    In normal circumstances, alchemists specializing in elemental magic would only focus on one type of element.


    After all, human energy is limited, and only by specializing can one be stronger and venture into higher realms.


    Therefore, most of the famous second-tier experts in Old Lingdun City were sorcerers specializing in a certain element, such as the mainstream earth, wind, water, and fire...


    There were very few who specialized in two elements.


    Because specializing in more than one element required sorcerers to invest double the time and energy of others.


    But if it was more than two types, it was usually called a "useless all-element sorcerer" unless they were an exceptional genius.


    And to cast advanced spells, it meant that the sorcerer must be "proficient" in that particr type of spell.


    ......


    However, Su''en already found it incredible that this cloaked figure was proficient in three types of advanced spells.


    But the reality proved that it wasn''t over yet.


    Now, the seven-pointed star formation under the cloaked sorcerer''s feet lit up again.


    The light changed from blue, representing the wind element, to green, representing the wood element.


    Although this transformation had a few seconds of pause, it seemed a bit difficult...


    But four consecutive elemental transformations were already at an "unimaginable" level.


    Watching one advanced spell after another, Su''en remained calm and muttered, "He has transformed four elements. How many types of elemental spells is this guy proficient in..."


    Then, he watched as the cloaked figure threw a green bean into the alchemy array.


    A green light shed in the alchemy array, and a green vine suddenly sprouted from the ground, growing rapidly in the wind. The power of the raging wood element caused the vine to swell rapidly. From a small sapling, it quickly grew thicker, from the thickness of an arm to the thickness of a water barrel, and then to the thickness of several people hugging it...


    Then the main trunk of the vine began to branch out, spreading and thickening, and then branching out and thickening again...


    In the blink of an eye, it swelled a thousand times, and the vine turned into a lush and towering giant vine.


    During the growth of the vine, it climbed up the giant''s limbs like a coiled snake, tightly entwining and restraining the giant soldier.


    The monster tried to struggle, but the vine became thicker and tighter.


    In just a moment, Su''en identified four advanced alchemical spells: [Earth Element: Great Marsh Art], [Metal Element: Transmutation], [Wind Element: Wind Tornado Art], and [Wood Element: Secret Art: Heavenly Vine]...


    However, once the monster was under control, it was naturally killed.


    The monster probably intended to unleash the "mes of the Void" with the hexagonal ancientmp in its hand, but before the mes could burst out of themp, a pale blue thirty-six-faced seal barrier suddenly appeared on thentern.


    Then, with a sh of sword light, a smooth cut appeared on the arm holding themp.


    The monster''s forearm was severed and fell to the ground.


    With the ancientmp taken away, the monster posed no threat.


    What followed was an unsurprising kill...


    ........


    Su''en counted, there were a total of five ck-clothed individuals.


    Only three of them took action.


    After witnessing the ferocity of the ck-robed sorcerer''s methods, he knew that this battle was already decided.


    They hade prepared, familiar with everything about this monster, its attack methods, and the seals...


    Their tactical n was wless.


    Before it could unleash its ultimate move, the giant soldier''s body had already died in the entanglement of the vine.


    However, watching the spectacle had befortable.


    Su''en also knew that those people had noticed him.


    Experts of this level, being observed for so long, would naturally not fail to notice.


    However, Su''en remained calm.


    Because he had guessed the identity of these cloaked individuals.


    He could imagine that only two forces in Old Lingdun could assemble such a luxurious hunting lineup.Either it was the ck Tower,


    Or that mysterious "third party force".


    Clearly, these people were not from the ck Tower.


    Firstly, those from the ck Tower had no need to hide...


    Secondly, among the five people, Su''en recognized two of them.


    Previously, he had a strong sense of familiarity with the ck-robed sorcerer who could cast high-level magic with a wave of his hand. This "omniscient and omnipotent" feeling immediately reminded him of someone he knew - Mr. ck.


    And the one who could physically withstand the giant sword, her body didn''t seem normal at all, with "hiss" "hiss" mechanical propulsion jet sounds apanying her movements. If he wasn''t mistaken, she was the super mechanical warrior - Number Neen.


    Su''en watched them appear before his eyes, his expression quiteplex.


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 Chapter 151: Commission

    Chapter 151: Commission


    "At least a quadruple-elemental mage, Mr. Hei is indeed incredibly strong..."


    Su''en looked at the ck-robed man who had just finished casting his spell and now appeared no different from an ordinary person. He sighed with mixed emotions.


    Although Su''en had guessed it the first time they met, he still found it unbelievable that this former vice dean of the ck Tower Academy was so powerful.


    But on second thought, being shocked was not the main issue.


    Su''en knew that he had been discovered and felt that he should now think about how to act so as not to be mistaken for a petty thief by these big shots who came to the ruins to trade and be killed on the spot.


    And now that the battle with the dominant Graveyard Lantern Holder was over, the ck-robed men were free. One of the two who hadn''t made a move seemed to have noticed something and turned his head to look at the dungeon.


    Their gazes met at the venttion opening.


    Su''en couldn''t see the face hidden by the cloak, but in that moment of eye contact, he vaguely felt a hint of a smirk in the cloak person''s eyes.


    It was the kind of yful smile a cat would have when it found a mouse.


    But fortunately, it wasn''t a "killing intent".


    And in that instant of eye contact, the cloak person suddenly raised his arm under the cloak and made a throwing motion like a flying card.


    Before Su''en could react, the golden card flew out of his hand, spinning through the air and urately shot into the venttion opening like a bullet.


    "ng~"


    A sharp sound.


    The card embedded itself in the wall and then exploded into a burst of white smoke.


    Before the smoke had cleared, an incredible scene urred.


    The cloak person who had thrown the card from hundreds of meters away suddenly appeared in the dungeon.


    Su''en stared at this teleporting figure and made no suspicious movements. Without waiting for the other person to do anything, he decisively spoke, "I am Mr. Hei''s friend."


    .......


    As it turned out, people naturally grouped together.


    Mr. Hei himself was a true gentleman, and the people in his organization were not bloodthirsty.


    After Su''en mentioned Mr. Hei''s name, the cloak person with the card ability made a soft sound of surprise and then nced at him. But he didn''t say much, and his figure immediately turned into a burst of white smoke and returned to hundreds of meters away.


    He came suddenly and left suddenly.


    Then that person probably said something, and the five cloak people all turned their gaze towards the dungeon.


    But it was just a nce, and they weren''t interested.


    They were busy dealing with the strange soldier corpses and the very dangerous hexagonal coppermp. They didn''t seem to have time to pay attention to this "lost hunter" who appeared here for no reason.


    Su''en felt that there was no point in continuing to hide, so he opened the self-made mechanical door and finally walked out of the dungeon for the first time in a month.


    At this time, the ck-robed man who had been casting his spell put down what he was doing and walked towards him.


    As he walked, he lifted the cloak covering his head, revealing a gentle middle-aged face. He was naturally the mysterious Mr. Hei.


    Looking at Su''en with his long hair, Mr. Hei''s gaze showed a hint of confusion, probably not recognizing him as anyone he knew.


    But he seemed to have noticed something and looked at the position behind Su''en, revealing a sudden realization.


    That was exactly where the invisible undead stood.


    He didn''t miss the subtle movement.


    An invisible object?


    It was no secret who had the "Oz Ice Man''s Shroud" now.


    He instantly recognized who this person iming to be his "friend" was.


    Mr. Hei smiled and took the initiative to greet him, "Su''en, long time no see."


    Su''en also greeted him and nodded, "Mr. Hei, long time no see."


    ......


    Mr. Hei always gave people a very approachable feeling.


    Before Su''en could speak, he jokingly said, "I''ve been hearing a lot about youtely. You''ve caused quite a stir in Old Lingdun and the Dawn Camp."


    Pausing for a moment, he continued, "Now not only the authorities, but also the ck market, the Oliver family, the Crow Gang, and the Steam Party have all added a hefty bounty for you, waiting to im your head..."


    Su''en chuckled.


    He wasn''t surprised to hear this news.


    He had seized the opportunity of the Danze Junior and killed several second-tier professionals, so it was only natural to be wanted.


    As Mr. Hei spoke, he nced at Su''en with his long hair again and teased, "But now it seems that Su''en doesn''t need to worry about the wanted order anymore."Su''en shrugged and humbly said, "I apologize for any inconvenience."


    After the pleasantries, Mr. Hei got to the point and asked, "By the way, how did you end up here? This is the central area of Dawn City, and there are many powerful aberrant creatures and anomalies nearby, especially since the ''Mist Tide'' just ended..."


    The implication was clear:rge hunting teams led by top-tier professionals were only cautiously active in the central area now, so how could a first-tier professional like him end up here?


    And at this particr time.


    "It''s a long story. I was being chased before..."


    Su''en briefly mentioned the process of being hunted by the Oliver family.


    He then pointed helplessly to the bunker behind him and said, "Then, I hid in that bunker for a month."


    "You''ve been here for a month?"


    Mr. Hei''s calm eyes finally showed a hint of surprise and curiosity.


    It wasn''t something that could be easily survived just by hiding.


    The dangers were everywhere during the "Mist Tide," not to mention the various monsters from the abyss. The violent dark spiritual power alone was something that normal people couldn''t bear.


    A flicker of doubt shed in Mr. Hei''s eyes, as if he had thought of something but didn''t say it out loud. However, a meaningful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.


    "Yeah... that''s about it."


    Su''en didn''t think that the "X Serum" was a secret that couldn''t be mentioned. Mr. Hei probably knew about it too, so there was no harm in saying it.


    But since he didn''t ask, Su''en didn''t take the initiative to mention it either.


    ...


    While the two were talking, the other four ck-robed figures had already cleaned up the bizarre corpse of the tyrant and tidied up the battlefield.


    They didn''t even say a word to each other, just exchanged nces for a moment before leaving separately.


    It was as if they were a group of frencers who disbanded on the spot afterpleting a mission.


    Three of them left, but one stayed behind. It was Number 19.


    Number 19 was a mechanical warrior with many advanced mechanical modifications, such as iris recognition, voice recognition, and skeletal contour recognition. She had collected Su''en''s data before and now recognized him with just a nce.


    She walked over, nodded as a greeting, and that was considered a friendly gesture.


    Su''en didn''t mind. It was already a good treatment to receive a greeting from the cold mechanical warrior.


    Since the battlefield had been dealt with, it was natural not to stay for long.


    Mr. Hei called Su''en and said, "Themotion caused by hunting the anomalies just now might attract some troublesome guys. Let''s go, we''ll talk as we walk."


    "Okay."


    Mr. Hei didn''t inquire about Su''en''s secrets, and Su''en tacitly didn''t ask why they were here or why they were hunting the bizarre tyrant just now.


    He also didn''t attempt to inquire about the secrets of this mysterious "third-party organization."


    Of course, without asking, both sides had already guessed some of it.


    ...


    The three of them walked eastward, towards the direction of the ruins.


    With Mr. Hei and Number 19 as super bodyguards, Su''en no longer needed to be as cautious as when he was alone before.


    He had been thinking that now that he had second-tier blueprints and materials, he needed a master cksmith. It was a coincidence that he met Mr. Hei.


    Just as he was about to ask for help, Mr. Hei seemed to have figured something out and spoke first, "When I first met you, Su''en, you were still a quasi-professional running around for first-tier equipment. I didn''t expect that in just a few months, you would advance to the second tier."


    Hearing this, Su''en asked in surprise, "Mr. Hei, did you figure out that I was about to advance?"


    "Yes."


    Mr. Hei naturally read the hidden meaning behind Su''en''s words.


    It wasn''t that he figured it out, but how did he figure it out?


    He directly exined, "The amount of dark spiritual power you breathe out is extraordinary. This level is not something that any first-tier professional can achieve. In fact, many second-tier professionals can''t reach this level."


    "I see..."


    Su''en felt somewhat incredulous and thought that it might be due to some special perception ability.


    Considering that Mr. Hei could casually cast spells beyond his tier, he no longer found it strange. He followed the topic and made his request, "Um... Mr. Hei, I have a favor to ask. I need your help."


    "Are you preparing to forge second-tier equipment?"


    Mr. Hei smiled.


    "Yes."


    Su''en was already used to Mr. Hei''s irvoyant actions and nodded.


    While taking out the blueprints, he said, "I happened to find suitable blueprints and materials for myself, but ordinary cksmiths can''t handle this kind of equipment, so I have to trouble you..."Mr. Hei nced at the blueprint that Su''en handed over and said with a strange expression, "Isn''t this the famous costume of the ''Magician'' Lloyd? Did you kill that guy?"


    The blueprint held by the tycoon would naturally not be sold, the only exnation was that it was obtained through murder and robbery.


    "No."


    Su''en shook his head and added, "I destroyed his alchemical puppet and cut off his two legs. That''s how I managed to get the blueprint."


    Mr. Hei obviously didn''t know this information, so when he heard Su''en''s words, he showed a curious expression.


    Then he asked Su''en, "Did you find suitable materials? Lloyd''s fame isrgely rted to the ''Tismox Iron Wireworm'' he found. Only special silk threads can unleash the full power of this costume..."


    "Yes."


    Su''en nodded and took out a silver-haired head.


    Mr. Hei guessed that Su''en had prepared the materials, but when he saw him suddenly take out a human head, this knowledgeable schr''s gaze also slightly faltered.


    After taking a closer look, he recognized what it was and asked with a questioning tone, "The ''Head of the Mourning Witch''? And... it''s the second stage ''Infinite Silk''?"


    "Yes."


    Su''en nodded and secretly admired Mr. Hei''s extensive knowledge, as he was able to recognize the origin of the material at a nce.


    If an ordinary appraiser saw this, probably not many would recognize it.


    Mr. Hei asked, "This is an extremely rare material, how did you get it?"


    Su''en looked at Mr. Hei''s curiosity about the origin of this head and exined further, "Before, I followed a team to explore ruins, and coincidentally ran into Oliver''s family''s expedition. Then I got involved in the cursed space... So, that''s how things happened."


    A month ago, in the fierce battle on Zhonglou Street, seven second-tier professionals were chasing after a first-tier professional. Two were killed, two had their legs broken, and Oliver''s family probably didn''t have the face to talk about this achievement.


    There was no need to exin too much, Mr. Hei, being the person he was, naturally guessed the cause and effect of the matter.


    Listening to this "bizarre" story, Mr. Hei couldn''t help but show a very strange expression. "Hehe... I see why Oliver''s family is so desperate to hunt you down, it turns out to be like this."


    Even Number Neen, who had been silent all along, looked at Su''en with a strange look when he heard about that fierce battle: You, a first-tier professional, killed arge-scale expedition team?


    Mr. Hei didn''t ask any further and put away the materials, saying, "Now that I have obtained the ''Furnace Lamp of Vogelgan'', the production of the costume will be quick. At most three to five days, you will have the finished product."


    Pausing for a moment, he continued, "By the way, have you found suitable advanced materials?"


    "No."


    Su''en shook his head and coincidentally asked, "I want to find advanced materials rted to ''Spatial Abilities'', but it doesn''t seem easy to find."


    "Hmm, spatial abilities do fit."


    Mr. Hei nodded when he heard this, but also had a regretful expression, "I don''t have any clues about such materials either. However, Dawn City will soon experience a wave of expeditions, and many ancient relics will appear. Although advanced spatial materials are scarce, it doesn''t mean they don''t exist. The Adventurer''s Guild is a good ce for gathering information, you can try your luck there, and I can also keep an eye out for you..."


    "Okay."


    Su''en nodded, he had the same idea.


    The informationmission has been hanging in the Adventurer''s Guild for a month, and he didn''t know if anyone had heard the news.


    "As for the costume, I''ll leave it to you."


    He didn''t forget the rules of themission and asked, "So, may I ask what the fee is?"


    Last time, it was a favor, but not this time.


    A master-level craftsman''s services were not cheap.


    Mr. Hei smiled, and it seemed that he had originally not nned to charge a fee.


    But suddenly, he remembered something and changed his words, "However, there is actually something you can help me with."


    Help?


    Su''en was puzzled.


    A master of this level, is there something he needs help with?


    But he still said, "Please tell me."


    Mr. Hei said, "You are going to the expedition camp now, right?"


    "Yes."


    Mr. Hei exchanged a nce with Number Neen beside him, seemingly asking her something, and received her approval.


    Only then did he say, "If possible, I hope you can help bring Miss Number Neen into the camp."


    "???"Mr. ck exined, "As you know, she used to be a super mechanical warrior, excellent inbat, butcking in life skills. I think she would cause less trouble if she were with you. Of course, just infiltrate the camp."


    Number Neen, who was standing by, seemedpletely unbothered by Mr. ck''s assessment of her.


    As a war machine designed specifically for ughter, she indeedcked many of the emotions and smoothness of a normal human being.


    Although she didn''t trust others, having an acquaintance didn''t seem too bad.


    ......


    Infiltrate the camp?


    Just like that?


    Su''en felt that this mission" was a spur-of-the-moment idea from Mr. ck.


    Upon hearing about infiltrating the camp, his first reaction was: This woman is going to stir up trouble again!


    No, it should be said that this time it was their "third-party organization" that was up to something.


    However, Su''en had no curiosity about it.


    If Mr. ck would tell him, he would naturally tell him; if he didn''t, it meant that this matter was definitely the kind of thing that would cause trouble if known.


    He thought about it and it didn''t seem difficult to do, so he agreed: "Okay!"


    If it was just about sneaking someone into the camp, thismission was simply D-level difficulty.


    Before, Su''en was thinking that his identity as "Johnny" had been exposed, and his hateful zombie body was too conspicuous, whether he was invisible or not, he couldn''t bring it into the camp anymore.


    The Oliver family would definitely pay special attention torge weapons like the ck scythe that couldn''t be stored in a storage ring, even if it was disguised, it would be noticed.


    If he didn''t bring the zombie and the scythe, he wasn''t too confident that he could get out unscathed in case something happened.


    Now that he had Number Neen, a superpower, with him, it was just right.


    The two wanted criminals could look out for each other.


    Not to mention... the mysterious organization behind her.


    Apart from the two in front of him, the three who had left before, this was a force that could definitely take down the camp.


    Which also meant that they had five top experts near the ruins, in case something irresistible happened, these experts would most likely take action.

 Chapter 152: Another big move

    Chapter 152: Another big move


    Mr. Hei probably also felt that his mission" was a bit vague.


    Although Su''en didn''t ask, he exined a bit more: "You should know by now that I have formed a loose organization with some like-minded friends. You should also have guessed the purpose of its existence. But because of this, the identities of some of our members are sensitive and it is not convenient to expose them too early. Otherwise, it will alert the higher-ups of the ck Tower... So, unless absolutely necessary, Miss Neen willplete this mission independently."


    "Mm."


    Su''en nodded as he listened, understanding his meaning.


    Mr. Hei and the forces behind him must have a way to arrange for Neen to enter the city.


    But this time, they were nning to make a big move.


    Once exposed, they would definitely be traced back to the source.


    The members of the Umbre Organization were not ordinary people. The intelligence organization that imed to be able to infiltrate anywhere would definitely investigate the channel through which Neen entered the camp by following the slightest clue.


    Even if the arrangement was well done, there would definitely be clues left behind, which would lead to a lot of trouble.


    The more people involved, the more exposed they would be.


    On the contrary, it wouldn''t be a big problem to follow Su''en inside.


    After all, although Su''en was now an S-ss wanted criminal, besides the information from the two incidents, there was almost nothing else!


    Even within the Cross Society, they couldn''t find any information.


    .......


    With two top experts escorting them, Su''en didn''t need to worry about safety at all.


    The three of them moved quickly and soon arrived at the edge of the ruins city area.


    They had already seen frequent appearances of hunters here, so Mr. Hei didn''t want to show himself in front of people and took his leave.


    Only Su''en and Neen were left.


    The two of them avoided the crowd and didn''t rush to the camp. Instead, they chose a high ground in the distance to observe.


    Just a month of absence, Su''en found that the Dawn Camp hadpletely changed.


    The city walls had been built to nearly thirty meters high, and the camp area had doubled in size.


    A month ago, the highest building in the camp was only two stories high, but now there were already five or six-story steel structures. The buildings were crowded and chaotic, but they already had the atmosphere of a war town.


    The dense steam pipelines were crisscrossed, emitting white smoke. Various mechanical artillery positions turned the city walls into a hedgehog. There were even city defense patrol teams wearing "Frost Giant Battle Armor" on the walls!


    Not only did the number of buildings increase, but the number of hunters and merchant caravansing and going was several times that of a month ago.


    Looking out, the line of hunters queuing at the city gate to enter the city had already stretched for nearly a kilometer.


    Neen carefully observed the heavily guarded camp, her gaze bing serious, as if she was also reminding Su''en: "The ''Phoenix Dynamic Micro-Touch Warning System''monly used in the inner cityboratory is installed on the city walls. If someone climbs up, it will immediately trigger an rm."


    She thought for a moment and continued, "The range of instation for those highly sensitiveponents will be extensive and not easy to detect. Even if you directly jump over, there is a high probability of triggering it."


    Listening to her serious analysis of the possibility of climbing over the wall, Su''en''s tone became strange as he said, "You don''t want to climb over, do you?"


    "How else are we going to get in?"


    Neen thought Su''en was asking her seriously and replied with a puzzled tone.


    Speaking of which, she pointed to the queue of people entering the city and said, "Our wanted posters are posted at the city gate. Of course, they might not notice you like this. But if I want to go over, even if I disguise myself, there is a high probability of being discovered."


    "..."


    Su''en didn''t know what to say as he listened to her serious tone and attitude.


    Indeed, Mr. Hei was right. This super mechanical warrior Miss Neencked some "worldly sophistication".


    He didn''t say much and asked a question.


    "Do you have a wig and disguised clothes with you?"


    "Yes."


    "That''s good."


    Su''en felt that he probably couldn''t exin his n clearly to Neen, so he directly said, "Let''s go, let''s change our clothes and enter the city!"


    ......


    Although Neen was still puzzled, she followed Su''en to a secluded ce and changed her clothes.


    Su''en took off his hunter outfit of a coat and leather pants and put on a luxurious white suit with exquisite fabric. He wore a top hat on his head. Coupled with his handsome and imposing noble appearance, he looked like a rich young master, extremely good-looking.


    After changing his clothes, Su''en looked at Neen who was about to change into a pair of leather boots and a short skirt, frowned, and shook his head. "No, not this one, that one."


    As he said that, he pointed to a set of whitece ruffled skirt with leg-of-mutton sleeves, a steel-framed skirt with a noble appearance.


    Neen looked puzzled. "With this kind of skirt, wouldn''t it be inconvenient forbat if it''s discovered?"


    "No need forbat..."


    Su''en didn''t know how to exin, so he just said the effect he wanted, "We will be a newlywed coupleter, and you will be a youngdy from a fallen noble family. That court dress is more suitable for your identity. The wide-brimmed hat and wig can cover your face, and the puffy skirt can conceal your figure..."


    Not only was her face well-known to bounty hunters, her perfectly proportioned figure was also highly recognizable.


    If she went out wearing those tight-fittingbat suits, even with her face covered, bounty hunters would still be able to recognize her!


    So, these seemingly bulky noble dresses were the most suitable.


    "..."


    Neen listened to Su''en''s words, her beautiful face slightly wrinkled.


    Even if she felt that there were many ws in this n, she didn''t say much and chose to execute it.Probably because she is a cyborg, she doesn''t have many worldly thoughts. And since time is of the essence, she didn''t avoid Su''en and directly took off her previous clothes, intending to change into the dress. Since the off-shoulder low-cut dress couldn''t be worn with a sports vest, she took that off as well, exposing her delicate and fair synthetic skin to the air.


    Since the other party didn''t mind, Su''en also openly enjoyed the view.


    It must be said that Number 19''s figure was impable.


    Originally, this scene would probably be very ambiguous to others.


    But for these two, it was as indifferent as ever.


    After a short while, they changed their clothes.


    Number 19 took a few steps and felt that the dress was restricting her movement. She furrowed her brows slightly and asked, "Is this okay?"


    Su''en looked her up and down and was very satisfied. "Not bad, this looks good."


    Apart from her sharp gaze, her appearance was no different from that of a normal rich youngdy.


    This court petticoat, beloved by nobledies, was designed to intentionallypress the waist and abdomen, making the proportions of the chest and hips "squeeze" to an exaggerated degree.


    Number 19 already had a curvaceous figure, and wearing this dress made her figure look less natural, as if it was "squeezed out."


    Coincidentally, it also perfectly concealed her impressive figure.


    Number 19 didn''t say much and turned to look at Su''en. "Is your forged identification ready?"


    "Yes."


    Forgery of identification was an important way for the underworld to make money.


    Although Su''en had never used this ability before, he was proficient in this skill.


    There were ready-made identification materials among the spoils of war, and he just needed to modify some name details.


    He waved his hand and said, "Let''s go, let''s enter the city."


    .......


    "Hold me closer, more intimately. Yes, press your face against my neck..."


    "Even if someone is looking at you, don''t respond, be arrogant..."


    "..."


    Su''en and the disguised Number 19 walked hand in hand, heading directly to the camp.


    They didn''t go through the main gate but instead headed towards the side gate dedicated to the Chamber of Commerce. There were several hundred people from various merchant caravans and thousands of steam dogs carrying goods, all queuing up for inspection.


    The armed city guards meticulously inspected eachrge cargo.


    It was impossible for anyone to hide, whether they were spies or members of the ck Sickle.


    Because people wereing and going, no one paid attention to the two extra people in the Chamber of Commerce pile.


    Su''en walked past while holding Number 19''s slender waist and pointed and gestured among the piles of goods for a while. Then, without queuing, they directly cut in line and went to the city gate.


    He naturally handed over his identification documents and greeted the chubby duty captain with familiarity. "Hey, Captain Mom, long time no see."


    As he spoke, heined, "My caravan is still behind, but I don''t want to waste time waiting here. Let theme in by themselvester..."


    "???"


    The duty captain, Captain Mom, was stunned. Obviously, he was racking his brains trying to remember who this "acquaintance" who greeted him was.


    But before he could speak, a heavy bag of money was already stuffed into his hand, along with the identification documents that shed before his eyes.


    Su''en didn''t give him a chance to ask questions at all. He threw the documents onto the pile of documents waiting to be inspected and directly led Number 19 to cut in line and enter the city gate. He even turned back and said warmly, "Captain Mom, let me treat you to a drink next time."


    The subordinates looked at Su''en and their captain, thinking that they seemed familiar, so they didn''t dare to stop them.


    And so, this group of people let the two of them enter the city in a daze.


    .......


    Number 19 intimately held onto Su''en''s arm, as if they were a newlywed couple deeply in love.


    She was a cyborg, and although she didn''t have great acting skills, she didn''t show any signs of nervousness either, so no one could detect any ws.


    However, she didn''t expect that they would be able to enter the city so easily like this.


    They had been walking for a long time, but no one had caught up to them.


    Number 19 found it unbelievable.


    She was very curious and asked in a low voice, "Do you know that city guard?"


    Did they enter the city like this because they knew the city guard?


    But that couldn''t be right...


    He was also a wanted criminal, so the city guard couldn''t possibly let him in.


    Su''en shrugged casually. "No, I don''t know him."


    Number 19 was puzzled. "Then how do you know his name?"


    Su''en exined simply, "I can read lips. When I was observing from the hignds earlier, I noticed that his subordinates called him by that name."


    Number 19 listened carefully, pondering over it. There was still a hint of confusion in her eyes as she asked, "But... that guy actually let us in just because you called him by his name?"


    Su''en smiled meaningfully. "Didn''t you see that he even took my money?"


    Number 19 still couldn''t understand. "Money? Those guys would risk their lives to let unidentified people into the city for a little money? Are they that desperate?!"


    She thought for a moment and realized another "w." She asked, "I also looked at the identification documents you forged. Although I couldn''t tell if they were real or fake without careful examination, we don''t have a merchant caravan at all. If they find out during the inspection, won''t they immediately suspect us?"


    "Suspect? Of course, they would."


    Su''en''s tone was very certain as he continued, "That fat captain extorts money from every small merchant caravan. This is definitely not legitimate ie. If it bes a big deal, it won''t be good for him."


    He paused and added, "And if they really start to suspect, they might not recognize me, but they might suspect you. If they had guessed your identity, they would be even more cautious."


    "???"


    Number 19 really couldn''t understand.Did they think that by guessing his identity as an "SS fugitive", they would avoid causing trouble?


    Su''en found it a bit tedious to exin, so he simply retorted, "But what would happen if a guard post in the inner city let a special fugitive in, ording to the city defense team''s regtions?"


    Number Neen replied with certainty, "The whole team would be executed by firing squad!"


    "Well, there you have it."


    Su''en shrugged, "We''re already in. The fact of their dereliction of duty is established. Even if they realize itter ande after us, it would inevitably lead to a major battle with immeasurable losses. Whether they catch us or not, they can''t escape the me. On the other hand, if they keep quiet, who would know that they let the fugitive in during their shift? If they confess, they''ll be held ountable; if they keep it a secret, they can avoid responsibility. What do you think a normal person would choose?"


    The city guard''s regtions were indeed strict, but human nature could be exploited.


    This super mechanical warriordy had plenty ofbat experience, but shecked some experience outside of the rules.


    "But what if they had stopped us just now and questioned us..."


    "Although I''m sure there was no ''what if''. Even if there was, our credentials would withstand scrutiny. The ''Golden Camel Commerce Guild'' is a small guild that actually exists in the inner city. Even if they really wanted to make things difficult, there are many excuses we could use to deal with it..."


    "..."


    As they walked, Su''en exined things to Number Neen.


    Soon, they blended into the bustling main street without any trouble.


    ......


    Now that they were in the city, both of them had their own things to do.


    The city was crowded, and they didn''t stand out.


    Without patrols, the risk of exposure was not high.


    What Number Neen had to do was dangerous, and Su''en didn''t n to get involved, nor did he ask too many questions.


    They nned to part ways here.


    He looked at the most luxurious hotel not far away and said, "I''ll be staying at the Rose Hotel, registered under the name Nichs. Then I''ll open another empty room directly above mine under a different name. If you run into trouble, you cane there."


    Number Neen nodded, "Okay."


    Having entered the city in such an unimaginable way and without any danger, she now truly trusted some of Su''en''s abilities.


    Before parting, she remembered something and said, "By the way, there''s something else you need to be careful about."


    Su''en: "Hmm?"


    Number Neen: "I previously assassinated Umbre Organization''s chief intelligence officer in the outer city, Major General Haus, and obtained some top-secret information. But after analyzing it, I also found a problem. Above Haus, the Umbre Organization actually has a never-exposed major general level intelligence officer, codenamed ''Sleepwalker''. He should also be at the ruins this time. There''s not much clue, the only certainty is that ''he'' can ess a lot of secret information. I suspect he has close ties with all the major forces in this camp, and his identity and status should not be simple. Be careful."


    "Hmm."


    Su''en listened and showed a thoughtful expression.


    In the Umbre Organization, the higher the rank, the greater the ability and strength.


    Having such a lurking major general level intelligence officer indeed required extra caution.


    The two didn''t say much, they just walked in the crowd and eventually went their separate ways.


    Su''en took the opportunity to change into a wastnd hunter''s outfit and checked into the Rose Hotel.


    Then he put on a half-face gas mask and went to the "Wastnd Hunter''s Guild".


    He wanted to ask if there was any feedback on the information he hadmissioned...

 Chapter 153: 1911 Hotel

    Chapter 153: 1911 Hotel


    As Su''en walked towards the "Wilderness Hunting Guild", he noticed that there were indeed some special gazes mixed in with the crowd in the city, probably from members of the Umbre Organization.


    Their sharp gazes swept through the crowd, paying special attention to those who were hiding their identities or carryingrge boxes as wilderness hunters.


    Su''en didn''t intend to cover his face with a half-face mask, but rather to hide his unruly handsomeness, making him look more like a wilderness hunter.


    When those gazes swept past and didn''t match the image of a wanted criminal, no one paid any attention to him.


    Before long, Su''en arrived at the hall of the Wilderness Hunting Guild.


    It was much livelier here than a month ago, with crowds of hunters filling the guild''s mission hall, epting and distributing tasks, filling the entire Storm Manor.


    Fortunately, Su''en had been cautious and did not use Johnny''s identity to submit themission.


    This also saved him a lot of trouble.


    After checking, the mission management office received more than ten messages in total, all iming to have information about "space materials."


    Apart from five messages that couldn''t reach the person, probably because they had left or died;


    Seven or eight messages were unreliable, and a few were obviously fishing for information. There wasn''t much useful information.


    After filtering, Su''en saw a rtively reliable message, which came from a somewhat famous professional information merchant named "Red Nose" Fox.


    Five days ago, this guy left a message saying that in a cursed space newly discovered in the West City, a wilderness hunting team had found a strange creature with spatial abilities. The appraiser determined that the strangeness was at least a second-order silver rank, with a high probability of producing advanced space materials.


    Su''en also carefully looked at the address and general information description on the message, and preliminarily judged that the information had some degree of truth.


    As for whether it was exactly what he wanted, it was uncertain.


    But he nned to go and meet the information merchant first.


    After paying themission, Su''en left the Wilderness Hunting Guild.


    .......


    In Old Lingdun, information merchants were a lucrative gray profession, and there were many in the ck market.


    Their sources of information wereplex, including taverns, brothels, gambling dens, gangs, and friends of women... Some were responsible for collecting information, while others were responsible for summarizing it. They were even "rats" in the informationworks of major forces, asionally leaking information. Whoever paid the most money would be sold the information.


    Of course, this circle was full of mixed fish and dragons, and these people were usually double-faced spies. Buying information could easily result in being sold information.


    Su''en returned to the city and went to the "ck Gentleman" tavern again.


    This was where "Red Nose" Fox had left his contact information.


    There would probably be a bigmotion on the 19th, and Su''en thought it would be best to obtain the necessary information as soon as possible and leave the camp.


    Only after reaching the second rank did he feel that he had the ability to calmly protect himself from the pursuit of the Umbre Organization and bounty hunters.


    Su''en entered the tavern and went straight to the bar, casually tossing a silver coin and asking the bartender, "Hey, have you seen ''Red Nose''?"


    The bartender took the tip and said, "Mr. Fox usuallyes here to drink around seven in the afternoon. Take a seat, maybe you''ll meet him soon."


    Su''en looked at the time and realized there was still about an hour left, so he decided to stay and try his luck. He raised his hand and ordered, "Give me a pint of ck rye."


    The tavern was noisy all day long, much busier than a month ago. Although it had been renovated and expanded by two floors, it was still packed.


    Not finding a private room, Su''en could only sit at the bar.


    Looking around, there were also many more scantily d barmaids, but the demand seemed to exceed the supply.


    Su''en originally wanted to find a barmaid to inquire about recent events in the camp, but the mama-san unexpectedly said there were no vacancies.


    But luck was on his side. After waiting for less than half an hour, a green-haired man with a red nose and cunning eyes walked into the ck Gentleman tavern.


    The bartender seemed to remind Su''en and greeted him, "Mr. Fox, you''re here."


    Su''en looked at the shrewd gaze of that guy and knew that he was "Red Nose" Fox. He was familiar with the rules of the street and greeted him without hesitation, "Hey, Red Nose~"


    Upon hearing this, Fox was pleasantly surprised.


    Being able to call him by his nickname meant that the customer had a lot of background.


    Su''en got straight to the point and said, "I want to buy some information."


    Fox walked over, calmly nced at Su''en, and smiled, "Sure, sure..."


    Su''en said directly, "I want to know about the ''space materials'' in your possession."


    As soon as Fox heard this, his small eyes immediately lit up as if he had discovered something interesting. He lightly eximed, "Oh, I remember now! You''re the one who posted the ''shocking five million'' reward, right?"


    This guy didn''t mention the business first and said again, "Hey, my friend, that trick of yours really works. I''ve been trying it for a few days, and my business has indeed improved a lot. But recently, there are too many people imitating it, and they''re always using the ''shocking'' phrase. Now I don''t even know which information is really valuable."


    "..."


    Su''en smiled and didn''t dwell on this topic. He asked, "Is that cursed space you mentioned still there? Or can you provide information about the whereabouts of advanced materials?"


    "It''s still there. The cursed space is currently being developed, and the materials haven''t been obtained yet. However..."


    Fox''s eyes flickered, and he said directly, "I see that you posted a reward iming to provide a maximum of five million for the information. The information I have is worth one million."After a pause, he boasted, "Although the price is a bit high, I can guarantee that I, ''Red Nose'' Fox, have the most detailed information about the entire Dawn Camp."


    These information dealers are all experienced, and they always start with a high price.


    Just like the vendors in the antique market, they always negotiate for a higher price.


    Su''en didn''t pay much attention to it and said calmly, "Based on the information you left in the Hunting Association, it''s currently worth only three thousand. If you can provide more detailed and useful information, I will consider adding a bit more."


    As he spoke, he took out three thousand in cash.


    "Hehe..."


    One million became three thousand, but Fox didn''t mind.


    He took the money with a smile, knowing that Su''en was knowledgeable, and said directly, "Seven days ago, the members of the ''Buck Hunting Team'' discovered arge cursed space near the ck Lake in the Eastern District of the ruins, close to the Central Ring. After exploring, they found a strange being that is at least a second-order silver. It is an ancient ''magician'' with the ability to produce various items out of thin air. We specte that it is definitely a professional spatial ability..."


    Then, the information stopped abruptly.


    He took three thousand yuan and only provided information worth three thousand.


    Su''en became interested, "Is the cursed space still there?"


    "It is."


    Fox nodded, his eyes flickering, and said, "No one has heard of anyone killing that strange being. Moreover, I can guarantee that even if arge hunting team goes there, it is impossible to deal with that cursed space in a short period of time."


    When Su''en heard that even arge hunting team couldn''t handle it, he asked, "Is it an S-level space?"


    Fox shook his head and skillfully piqued Su''en''s interest, "No. It is apound cursed space, and it is currently difficult to determine its level. Based on the information we know, the danger level is probably B. The second floor is somewhat special, but it should be A+; the third floor is currently unknown, as no one hase out alive. It is temporarily ssified as T-level. And, I can give you a free piece of information, that cursed space is very special, and the rewards will be astonishing."


    A pound cursed space" usually refers to a superrge cursed space with localized difficulty levels. It often produces various cursed objects, and even sealed objects of super-tier curses.


    Su''en became more and more interested and asked, "What if I need detailed information about that cursed space?"


    A shrewd look shed in Fox''s eyes as he held up three fingers and said, "Thirty thousand for the address and basic information; one hundred thousand for detailed information."


    Su''en expressionlessly took out a wad of money and ced it on the bar, but didn''t fully hand it over, saying, "This is one hundred thousand. I hope the information I receive is worth this price."


    "Don''t worry, I, ''Red Nose,'' have been in the information business for a long time. I have professional ethics."


    Fox looked at the money, squinted his eyes, and smiled like a fox.


    He immediately took out pen and paper, drew a map while saying, "That cursed space is called the ''1911 Hotel,'' an ancient luxury hotel. There is a time difference between the space and reality, approximately 20:1. The condition to exit is simple, just stay in the space for a full 24 hours, and you will see the exit. The general situation is... at midnight, the hotel will be contaminated by ghost fog, and all the tenants in the hotel will turn into ''strange beings.'' There are ny-nine rooms on the first floor, and most of them have been explored. The rooms are all first-order ck iron, with a few silver-level strange beings. The hunting teams that have explored it have gained a lot..."


    As Su''en listened, his expression remained unchanged, but his mind was racing.


    Fox continued, "The number of rooms on the second floor is unknown, but no more than ten have been explored, and the danger level is very high. The ''magician'' I mentioned earlier lives in room 2013 on the second floor... No one has survived on the third floor, so there is no information."


    After a while, Su''en finished listening to the information.


    He now had a rough idea of the ''1911 Hotel'' cursed space.


    It was probably an ancient hotel, and at midnight, it would be contaminated by a special polluted energy, turning everyone into monsters.


    Each tenant in every room would be contaminated and turned into a "strange being."


    And ording to the information, the hunting teams had been exploring there for seven days and gained a lot.


    But they hadn''t even fully explored the first floor...


    Which meant... there was a great risk!


    Fox finished speaking and drew a sketch, promising, "I guarantee that this is the most detailed information about the ''1911 Hotel.''"


    "Okay."


    Su''en felt that this was probably enough. This information was indeed worth the price.


    With this information, he could save a lot of trouble.


    Moreover, based on the description, he became more certain that the ancient "magician strange being" in that space could produce the materials he needed.


    .......


    Su''en obtained the information about the cursed space, but he didn''t rush to leave the tavern.


    He sat at the bar, drinking and constantly thinking.


    He had finally obtained information about the "space materials," and he naturally had to find a way to obtain them.


    It was not realistic to wait for others to bring out these rare advanced materials and then buy them with money. So he definitely had to personally visit that cursed space, the ''1911 Hotel.''


    But the ''1911 Hotel'' cursed space seemed to have many confusing aspects.


    Why were there only bosses and no small monsters in the cursed space?


    What was the powerful "ghost fog" that could directly turn hotel tenants into strange beings of a certain level?


    Why would the Wilderness Hunting Group, who discovered this cursed space, be willing to share it with other hunters? Is it like the situation with the "White Monastery"st time, where they needed people to sacrifice to the abyss?


    One question after another arose.


    However, there was also a piece of rtively good news.


    This space operated on "survival mode". If you could survive for "twenty-four hours", you could leave.


    There was no need topletely clear the game or kill any final boss.


    From the known information, if Su''en stayed on the first floor, the "1911 Hotel" wouldn''t pose much risk to him.


    Of course, he would have to avoid the rooms where the "ghost species" had been found.


    But the materials he needed were on the second floor of the hotel, which was currently ssified as an "A+ level" area, with high levels of unknown dangers.


    The strength of that "mysterious magician" was unclear, and many things were uncertain.


    Even if he brought the living dead with him, he wasn''t very confident.


    With these thoughts, Su''en fell into deep contemtion.


    ......


    As night fell, the business in the bar became increasingly lively.


    The ck Jazz Bar was packed with hundreds, if not thousands, of people.


    Su''en sat there, sipping his drink in boredom, while keeping his ears pricked for the various conversations in the bar.


    After fully absorbing the "X serum", his hearing had be even more acute.


    In the bar, the heavy metal rock music and the chatter intermingled, creating a thunderous and noisy atmosphere. However, in his ears, he could clearly distinguish the mixed sounds, like different colored threads. As long as he focused his attention on a certain thread, he could distinguish that voice from the noise and hear it clearly.


    Even the whispers spoken in hushed tones.


    "Oh, boss, we can''t do that here, only hand stuff, nothing else..."


    "Huh~ Seven thousand, double satisfaction."


    "..."


    Automatically filtering out some useless information, Su''en focused his attention on the relic information exchanged among the hunters.


    "Have you heard? The ''Two-Headed Snake Hunting Group'' went to the North City the day before yesterday and harvested a batch of valuable gems and alchemical ancient books..."


    "A few days ago, a branch of the ''Iron Boots Group'' went to the Central Ring, but I heard they suffered heavy losses..."


    "..."


    As Su''en listened, he heard his own name.


    "Hey, brothers, the young master of the Oliver family is looking all over for that ''wanted criminal Su''en'', any news? That bounty is too tempting..."


    "I got news that Su''en should be in the ruins. After all, you know,st month''s ''Fog Tide'' caused heavy casualties to the hunting teams in the East City. The Oliver family and various hunting groups have blocked the periphery of the ruins. If he didn''t escape, he''s definitely dead..."


    "Ah, what a pity. But after that Fog Tide, many strange and bizarre monsters appeared in the East City..."


    "..."


    As Su''en listened, he summarized this information, and then roughly understood the progress of the hunters'' exploration over the past month.


    As for the Central Ring, the exploration caused high casualties and progressed slowly.


    ......


    Su''en sat there alone, drinking his wine, his ears capturing all sorts of information.


    But as he listened, he suddenly heard a familiar voiceing from the second floor of the bar.


    It was a somewhat immature roar.


    "Old witch, if you dare, kill me!"

 Chapter 154: Mind-altering alchemy

    Chapter 154: Mind-altering alchemy


    Su''en immediately felt familiar when he heard it: "Tommy?"


    Then, a voice came from upstairs again.


    "Even if you kill me, I won''t join your Steam Party!"


    "Hey hey hey... I already told you that your father''s death has nothing to do with us. If it weren''t for thedy saving your ass, you wouldn''t be here making a fuss. Don''t be ungrateful!"


    "Hmph, you''re all aplices! I won''t join you!"


    "Shut up, you brat. Believe it or not, I''ll beat you up."


    "I''m not afraid of you!"


    "..."


    Then, there was a muffled sound, probably because his mouth was covered.


    This time, Su''en heard it clearly and confirmed that it was Tommy.


    "He''s not dead yet..."


    Thinking of this, Su''en''s eyebrows slightly raised.


    Last time at the White Monastery, he was too busy to take care of himself and thought that Tommy had died in the Witch''s Dream or during the settlement with the Oliver family.


    Didn''t expect him to still be alive.


    That''s fortunate.


    Old witch?


    Could it be the mafia boss Sabina?


    .......


    Just as Su''en was discerning this, the tavern suddenly quieted down.


    The restless music continued, but the noise gradually disappeared.


    Everyone''s gaze was once again attracted to the charming woman on the stairs.


    Naturally, it was Mrs. Sabina.


    This enchanting woman was dressed in a very cool ck veil dress today. The semi-transparent light veil split skirt revealed her beautiful legs, perfectly outlining her alluring figure.


    The fabric of the clothes was high-quality, like alchemical products. It was called a dress, but it looked more like wisps of ck smoke lingering on her snow-white body, perfectly concealing her privacy.


    This woman was not stingy in showing off her exquisite figure in front of others. She dared to wear and reveal, wherever she went, she would definitely be the focus of men''s attention.


    Alluring yet just right, not making people feel wanton, but full of charm.


    Su''en looked over, and this woman was nevercking men around her.


    This time, she was apanied by several well-dressed middle-aged gentlemen who seemed to be from the five major families of the camp.


    As the group descended, there was also a professional with a mechanical prosthetic limb modification following them, surprisingly the Steam Party cadre "Mechanical Tyrannosaurus" Toynbee. This guy was chasing Su''en in the ruinsst time and had his leg cut off. Now he had a new mechanical prosthetic limb, which had an obvious color difference.


    And beside him, there was a half-sized boy with his mouth taped shut, his face full of anger.


    Looking closely, it wasn''t Tommy, then who was it?


    .......


    Su''en raised his eyebrows and guessed that the Steam Party people probably also discovered Tommy''s unique talent, so they kept him.


    "Old witch? Tsk tsk... Tommy has a sharp tongue."


    Su''en looked at Tommy, whose mouth was taped shut, and was not surprised.


    Although he was in a somewhat embarrassing situation being locked up, his life was not in danger.


    Those guys from the Steam Party didn''t seem to want to kill him. Otherwise, they would have already silenced him and gouged out his eyes for offending the mafia boss.


    But on second thought, if they weren''t enemies, it would be a good choice for Tommy to join the Steam Party.


    In the Outer City, the Steam Party was one of the few organizations that could provide arge number of machinery and transcendent knowledge.


    When this group of people came down, the tavern quieted down for a moment.


    Almost all the greedy gazes of the men fell on Sabina, and Su''en didn''t behave differently. He felt that he shouldn''t be discovered while blending in with the crowd. After all, there were people in front, back, left, and right, and he only took a nce through the gaps between people.


    But unexpectedly, when Sabina and her group walked down, Tommy, who was still struggling, seemed to suddenly notice something. When his gaze swept over the crowd in the tavern, he suddenly looked over.


    In that instant, Su''en immediately realized that he had been discovered?


    But fortunately, it seemed that Tommy also knew that Su''en was a wanted criminal. After a moment of surprise in his gaze, he immediately realized something and quickly averted his eyes.


    No one knew that it was just a slight fluctuation of interest, but when Sabina, who was walking at the front, seemed to sense something, a barely noticeable color shed in her crystalline eyes.


    .......


    Watching Sabina and her group leave the tavern, Su''en also stayed a little longer before leaving through the back door of the tavern.


    There were stacks of empty bottles in the alley behind the tavern, and a few couples were intimately entangled here.


    Su''en pretended to be a customer getting some fresh air and deliberately lingered at the back door for a while.


    Although he believed that even if Tommy recognized him, he wouldn''t expose him to others, he still felt a sense of unease.


    That feeling of being locked on by some means.


    But after carefully sensing it, he didn''t find any tracking gazes, and there were no special prompts on his panel.


    After observing for a while, he didn''t notice anything unusual.


    Su''en slipped into the alley and deliberately made a few turns, taking some anti-tracking measures, before returning to the main street.


    He didn''t go back to the Rose Inn, but instead found another cheap hunter''s inn with a lot of people and mixed smells, and rented a single room.


    The sound instion here was not good, and you could hear clear snoring and conversations from the corridor and next door.


    But it happened to cover up many traces.


    It was already midnight, and Su''en nned to wait here until dawn before leaving the camp.


    Excluding all possibilities of being tracked, he felt that he might have been overthinking.


    Then, he sat cross-legged on the bed and began to meditate.


    Like this, about half an hour passed.


    Suddenly, Su''en felt that the surroundings seemed to have suddenly quieted down, and he faintly heard a charming female voice whispering in his ear, as if she had cast some kind of spell.


    After hearing this murmuring sound from the depths of his consciousness, Su''en, who was meditating, suddenly lost consciousness.


    There were no other sounds from outside the corridor, as if the space had distorted and be unreal.


    In the next moment, with a click, the door was opened from the outside.


    A red-haired woman gracefully walked into the room.She nced at the cheap hotel room, her eyebrows furrowed, seemingly disgusted by the dirty environment.


    The person who came was none other than Sabina, whom she had met at the tavern before.


    At this moment, her face was even more charming, but her aura waspletely different. She was no longer a delicate woman, but a seductive demon exuding a dangerous aura.


    If there were others present, they would probably be shocked. This usually delicate gangster''s wife was actually using a second-tier mental spell!


    She walked up to Su''en, who waspletely unaware, and a hint of yfulness appeared in her eyes as she muttered to herself, "Let me see what secrets you have in your mind."


    Sabina formed the hand seals of a sorcerer with both hands, and her beautiful face suddenly became eerie. Her pupils turned crimson.


    In an instant, she gathered the sorcerer''s hand seals and softly chanted, "Mind Alchemy  Daydreaming!"


    Just as the alchemy array lit up, her eyes burst with a red light, as if trying to probe the secrets in Su''en''s mind.


    But as soon as the spell was cast and the mental connection was established, a wave of intense negative emotions flooded into Sabina''s mind, violently assaulting her sanity.


    Like being electrocuted, Sabina''s face changed drastically, and she quickly interrupted the spell.


    "How can he have such strong mental power?!"


    Instead of glimpsing any secrets, she was frightened. Sabina eximed in her heart, "What kind of monster is hiding inside this guy''s body?!"


    In that instant, she saw not a person, but a terrifying monster made of emotions.


    She peered at him, and it stared back at her!


    It was an absolutely terrifying emotion that could instantly drive a normal person insane...


    But just as Sabina was lost in thought, the man in front of her suddenly opened his eyes wide, his eyes bloodshot.


    She inwardly sensed danger, but it was toote to react!


    After a sinister smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, hisrge iron-like hands swiftly grabbed her slender neck.


    Without giving her any chance to react, a tremendous force pressed the delicate beauty against the wall, followed by a heavy punch to her chest!


    A muffled sound of flesh being struck by an iron hammer.


    This punch hit her chest solidly, causing Sabina to involuntarily spew out a mouthful of crimson blood.


    Before the force of the impact dissipated, it passed through her chest and back, causing the partition wall behind her to copse, and the two of them crashed into the adjacent room.


    The bloodshot Su''en straddled Sabina''s delicate body, and a faint blue me surged out of his fists like raindrops, fiercely bombarding the soft body beneath him.


    Caught off guard, Sabina couldn''t react in time, her heart filled with disbelief, "Isn''t he just a first-tier puppeteer... How is he so fast?!"


    "Thud!"


    "Thud!"


    "Thud!"


    "..."


    The muffled sound of fists hitting flesh echoed throughout the entire hotel.


    The shadows of fists were continuous, so fast that it seemed like the sound of a torrential rain, merging into one.


    Mental professionals were powerful, but silently taking someone''s life was extremely dangerous once they were in close proximity!


    She never expected that her tried and true Mind Alchemy would be defeated today.


    In a critical moment, Sabina bit her tongue and sprayed another mouthful of hot blood onto the man''s face in front of her.


    In an instant, a cool sensation washed over his mental power.


    The blood-red in Su''en''s eyes suddenly faded, and his sanity seemed to return to his body.


    But when he looked at Sabina beneath him, he immediately understood what had happened. However, instead of stopping his attack, he swiftly drew the pistol from his waist and pressed it against her forehead, decisively pulling the trigger.


    But in this moment of stagnation, Sabina finally got a chance to catch her breath. The dark spiritual power surging within her quickly condensed, and she finally managed to cast her spell.


    However, mental techniques had limited effects, and she had no intention of entangling further.


    "Bang!"


    At the moment the gunshot sounded, the delicate body beneath Su''en exploded into a burst of scattered pink petals, disappearingpletely in an instant.


    "She escaped?"


    Su''en looked at Sabina''s body, which had turned into petals and disappeared, his eyes filled with seriousness.


    The appearance of his alter ego did not mean that he had lost consciousness; it was just that his rationality was no longer in control, reced by those dangerous emotions.


    He was well aware of everything that had just happened.


    The woman had used a mental spell to control him, then got beaten up, and used a "sobering spell" to restore him.


    At this moment, the tenant in the room, who had been expressionless, also regained consciousness. He looked at the shattered walls and the sudden appearance of another person in the room, his face full of confusion. It was as if he had just woken up from a drunken stupor and had no idea what had just happened.


    ...Su''en didn''t dare to linger in the inn. By the time the other tenants were just waking up from their dreams, he had already swiftly left the inn.


    As he walked, he was reying the recent battle in his mind.


    "Talent B-005-Subus... Sabina is actually a high-level psychic professional! With her mind-altering alchemy that can invade people''s consciousness, no secret can be hidden from her. She must have known about Tommy''s ability, hypnotized him just now, and then discovered me?"


    All the clues connected, and Su''en deduced the reason why this woman hade to him.


    At this moment, he suddenly thought of something, and his face slightly changed: "Could it be that she is the ''Sleepwalker'', the major general level intelligence officer in the Umbre Organization?"


    Thinking back to the woman''s ability to y both sides among the major powers, Su''en felt that this guess might be true.


    He didn''t know before that this woman was a rare psychic professional, but now it all matched the description given by Number Neen!


    The boss of the Steam Party''s woman is actually a high-level professional and a high-ranking intelligence officer of the Umbre Organization?


    Ha... With this psychic maniption ability, this woman must have yed many people into the palm of her hand.


    "But how did that woman track me down before?"


    Unable to figure this out, Su''en didn''t want to stay in the city any longer. Without waiting for the city guards to react, he went straight to the city wall of the camp.


    He had originally nned to leave at dawn, but it seemed that he couldn''t stay in the camp now.


    He had observed during the day that there was an early warning system here, but the defense was weak.


    Once his armor was removed, he used his Octopus Spear to climb up the wall.


    In an instant, the rm sounded loudly.


    However, he was trying to escape now, and he wasn''t afraid of being discovered.


    After climbing over the wall, he exchanged a few shots with the city wall guards, and then easily escaped.


    With his current physical condition, even a second-order professional would find it difficult to catch him...

 Chapter 155: She stole a very strange thing

    Chapter 155: She stole a very strange thing


    Su''en controlled the eight spider spears and ran wildly, his speed was extremely fast.


    The terrain next to this underground cave was much better for the spider spears than the ruins in the city.


    Climbing up the cliff, Su''en quickly reached the top of the cave where he had hidden during the day, and obtained the invisible undead and ck scythe hanging in mid-air.


    With the powerful weapon in his hand, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    Now Su''en was not in a hurry to run anymore.


    He waited in ce for a while, setting up an ambush trap. He originally wanted to see if there were any pursuersing, so he could gain some experience.


    Although his strength was not strong at the moment, with the ck scythe and spider legs, he could fight and escape. Facing one or two second-tier professionals was basically a piece of cake, and even if arge group came to besiege him, he could retreat into theplex underground cave.


    However, after waiting for a long time without hearing any movement from the pursuers, he gave up.


    Su''en thought to himself that maybe Sabina didn''t actually summon the city guards.


    After all, in the eyes of others, she was just a delicate and weak woman. It wouldn''t make sense for her to personallyunch a night attack on a wanted criminal in the middle of the night.


    It was still early in the morning, and Su''en had no intention of running around. After all, he had some small agreements with Number 19. He used a silk thread to hang himself on the cliff and nned to wait until dawn to go to the East City.


    With some free time, Su''en recalled the previous battle.


    He had to admit that he couldn''t underestimate other professionals, especially those in the Umbre Organization who gathered various strange and special abilities.


    There might be someone who could counter his abilities.


    Sabina today was an example.


    Spiritual professionals were already rare, and a second-tier professional like her with the talent of "Subus" was truly hard to guard against.


    Not to mention second-tier professionals, even third-tier professionals without defensive spiritual control methods might not be able to do anything to her.


    If it weren''t for Su''en''s extraordinary spiritual power, even with the ck scythe in hand, he probably wouldn''t have had a chance to make a move against such an enemy.


    He even suspected that since this woman had such means and scheming, the leader of the Steam Party, "Butcher" Banner, might not be the one in real power. This scheming woman might be the one holding the real power.


    Thinking about the fact that she was the intelligence officer of the Umbre Organization and had a suffocating intelligencework that almost covered the entire outer city of Old Lingdun, it was clear how much control the ck Tower had over Old Lingdun.


    ......


    "That woman must have cultivated a spiritual secret technique..."


    Although he didn''t seem to have suffered any losses in the previous confrontation, Su''en still had lingering fears.


    In the instant when Sabina invaded his consciousness, they both felt each other''s spiritual strength clearly.


    From the perspective of quantity, the woman''s spiritual power might not be stronger than his, but in the moment of casting the spell, Su''en was hit.


    It felt like his own spiritual power was like a pile of sand, while Sabina''s was like a carefully constructed fortress, capable of both offense and defense.


    Tonight, Su''en had experienced the power of spiritual techniques and felt that he urgently needed to cultivate spiritual secret techniques.


    He still remembered back at Storm Manor when Pestoya easily controlled him and Ivan with spiritual threads.


    He felt that he had yed the "Puppeteer of Illusions" like a puppeteer of marites, and the way he opened it was definitely wrong...


    Otherwise, having such a huge spiritual power would not be abat strength, but a burden.


    Su''en also keenly felt that the more soul fragments he harvested, the more obvious the hidden danger of oppressive emotions became. It made him feel an impulse to go crazy and indulge...


    Lost in his thoughts, Su''en hung on the cliff, asionally using a telescope to observe the distant camp, wanting to see if there were any signs ofrge-scale mobilization.


    Looking at the brightly lit camp, he suddenly thought of Number 19.


    "I wonder if she seeded in what she nned to do..."


    Su''en wasn''t too worried.


    After all, this was not the heavily guarded Old Lingdun. He could easily leave the city, so Number 19 should be able to as well.


    Although he didn''t ask before, he was indeed curious about what kind of mission could make the mysterious "third party organization" concerned.


    Was it to assassinate a special target?


    Or to steal something?


    Number 19 was decisive in character, once she determined the target, she would immediately take action...


    Maybe it was tonight?


    It was quite a coincidence.


    Just as Su''en was thinking about this, suddenly, an unexpected event urred!


    "Boom!"


    Gunshots suddenly rang out.


    The sound traveled from afar, shaking Su''en''s figure hanging on the cliff.


    "Huh...something happened?!"


    Su''en immediately became alert and picked up the telescope to look in the direction of the camp.


    From his high vantage point, he suddenly saw that the camp was suddenly in chaos, with gunshots ringing out.And from the direction of the gunfire and mes, it was clear that the firepower wasing from the Storm Manor on the hillside, and it was rapidly approaching the city walls.


    It was as if someone was being chased and blocked, and then ran towards the city walls.


    Su''en looked at the mes and immediately guessed that it was Number 19.


    Only that notorious wanted criminal could cause such chaos in the camp.


    But it wasn''t over yet!


    Just when Su''en thought that Number 19 could escape from the camp, a low rumbling sound like an air raid rm suddenly came.


    "Level 1bat readiness?"


    Su''en knew exactly what this rumbling represented.


    It meant that the camp was facing a "special-grade monster siege event" where life and death were at stake, and this rm would only be sounded in such situations.


    With the rm sounding, it meant that all the hunters in the city had to participate in the city defense mission.


    Looking at the situation now, were they nning to block Number 19 in the entire city?


    Sure enough, as the rm sounded, the whole city seemed to boil, and even from a distance, one could hear people shouting at the top of their lungs.


    "Someone, quickly catch the wanted criminal!"


    "Brothers, it''s time to get rich..."


    "Capture her and get a one billion reward!"


    "..."


    With this shout, the entire city joined in the pursuit and blockade.


    Perhaps because there were other wanted criminals hiding in the camp, gunshots were heard everywhere in the city.


    However, just after the rm sounded, Su''en saw that the "target" that seemed to be Number 19 was blocked and suddenly turned around, heading towards another side of the city wall.


    And then, she was blocked again.


    Houses copsed one after another, and the battle was intense.


    "Has she been blocked by a top-tier powerhouse?"


    Su''en wondered as he watched.


    He didn''t think that Number 19 would be at a disadvantage.


    After all, the mechanical warrior had an alloy body that was impervious to knives and guns, and it had a super-strong propulsion and eleration system. Even if she faced a hail of bullets, no one could stop her.


    Besides, she wasn''t alone.


    .......


    Sure enough.


    After the battle didn''t stalemate for long, a small mushroom cloud suddenly exploded on the street where the copsed houses were.


    It seemed like some kind ofrge-scale weapon was used.


    And then, the chase began again.


    This time, Su''en saw through the telescope a figure leaping lightly from the city wall, and it was none other than Number 19 in ck leather.


    And right after that, he saw another person chasing closely behind, jumping off the city wall.


    "The vice president of the Hunter Guild, Tier 3 powerhouse ''Stormsword King'' Nero Redgrave?"


    Su''en''s pupils slightly contracted as he looked at the red-bearded pursuer wielding arge sword.


    No wonder he was so fierce, with a sword aura that extended tens of meters. So it was him.


    However, seeing this, Su''en felt that Number 19 was not in danger.


    Melee professionals indeed ran fast, but swordsmen had no advantage against super mechanical warriors, and they would actually be at a disadvantage.


    And then, Su''en noticed therge ck box that Number 19 was holding in her hands, and he understood what she was going to do.


    "So she''s going to steal something?"


    He muttered to himself, also curious about what exactly Number 19 had stolen.


    If she couldn''t put it in her storage space and had to carry it in her hands, it meant that it was definitely a super-grade item.


    A sealed item?


    Su''en raised an eyebrow.


    Something that even the powerful organization that could "stock up" in ruins wanted to seize, it definitely wasn''t just an ordinary sealed item.


    .......


    Su''en watched the show from the cliff, his heart calm.


    Once they left the camp, the oue was already determined.


    But just at this moment, Su''en suddenly saw Number 19, who was running frantically, shoot a signal re into the sky, and then run towards his direction.


    "Is she asking me for assistance?"


    Su''en instantly understood what was happening.


    This was the escape n they had discussed before. In case of a special situation, if both sides happened to have someone outside the city, they would assist each other.


    Seeing this signal, he didn''t hesitate, and he released his imnted device, controlling the undead to climb down the cliff.


    There were only a few top-tier professionals, and their methods were highly recognizable. No matter how well they hid, once they made a move, their identities would easily be exposed. That was also why Mr. ck said that they wouldn''t intervene unless absolutely necessary.


    And Su''en had the ck Scythe in his hands, which happened to have the ability to help.


    This favor he was doing had almost no risk.


    Su''en descended from the cliff and went straight to the predetermined ambush location.


    In the blink of an eye, the person being chased and the pursuer also arrived.


    Su''en seized the opportunity and decisively controlled the undead to swing the ck Scythe down.Unfortunately, although the spatial rift was silent, the faint sound of the undead swinging their scythes alerted Nero, the "Sword King of Wind and Thunder".


    Nero noticed something was amiss and swiftly moved away from his previous position, narrowly avoiding Su''en''s predicted attack route.


    However, his pursuit of Su''en slowed down upon realizing that someone hadunched a surprise attack.


    Knowing that it was the scythe, he naturally guessed who the attacker was, and a serious expression appeared on his face.


    He looked around, worried that there might be other ambushers.


    Su''en was not surprised to see that the opponent could avoid the spatial rift.


    Previously, when Number 19 fired the signal re, Nero naturally guessed that she was calling for reinforcements.


    It would be strange if he didn''t take precautions.


    Top-tier professionals were not so easily killed.


    .......


    At this moment, Number 19 also noticed Su''en and headed straight towards him.


    Then, with a powerful swing, she threw the ck box in her hand towards him.


    With nothing in her hand, herbat power instantly soared, and she immediately turned around to sh head-on with Nero, the "Sword King of Wind and Thunder".


    For a moment, sword energy filled the air, and sand and stones flew everywhere.


    Su''en caught the box and knew what she meant.


    He looked down and saw the identification: [Engraved with a Super-grade Sealing Rune Secret Box].


    However, even though it was sealed in this box, he seemed to sense a strange aura emanating from it. Holding it felt like holding a block of ice, not only chilling to the bone, but even causing his soul to tremble.


    "What exactly is in this box? It feels so eerie..."


    Su''en muttered to himself.


    But after looking at the attribute panel and seeing no effects, he didn''t pay much attention to it.


    He didn''t care about the situation on the battlefield, nor did he ask where to take the things he obtained. He turned around and left.


    The Eight-Armed Spider Spear spun rapidly as he quickly left the battlefield and entered a nearby corridor.


    When tomorrow''s newses out, it will probably say that the two of them, important wanted criminals, teamed up to steal a treasure...


    Thispletely absolved the "third party" of any involvement.


    After all, when you owe too much, it doesn''t matter if there''s one more crime on Su''en''s wanted list, or even an extra "s".


    Helping Mr. ck with a small favor would bring even greater benefits.


    .......


    Number 19 held back Nero, the "Sword King of Wind and Thunder," allowing Su''en to escape smoothly.


    He knew that he didn''t need to ask where to go; someone would definitelye to pick him up soon.


    Sure enough, not long after he started running, a cloaked figure appeared in the pitch-ck corridor.


    Su''en didn''t let his guard down and instinctively controlled his silk thread.


    As he watched the figure remove the cloak, he rxed.


    Mr. ck, as always, was polite: "Su''en, my friend, I''ve troubled you."


    Su''en casually handed the sealed secret box to him and smiled indifferently, "Just helping out."


    He didn''t bother to be curious about what was inside, but instead remembered something and casually said, "By the way, Mr. ck, I just received some information that might be useful to you."


    Mr. ck listened attentively, "Oh?"


    "Number 19 told me before that the Umbre Organization has a senior intelligence officer codenamed ''Dreamwalker''..."


    Su''en didn''t go into too much detail and didn''t mention the battle process. He simply said, "And I unexpectedly discovered that Sabina from the Steam Party is a Tier 2 psychic professional, and her talent is [Subus]. I suspect she might be that intelligence officer."


    "It''s her... no wonder."


    Mr. ck''s surprise was evident on his face, and then he suddenly realized.


    Without going into too much detail, just these two points were enough for him to deduce a lot of information.


    Su''en knew that Mr. ck wouldn''t ask for more details, so he didn''t continue.


    Now, he naturally wanted to bring up the topic of psychic secret techniques.


    There was no need to hide anything from Mr. ck, so he directly said, "Mr. ck, I have seen Sabina''s psychic abilities before. I wanted to ask if you have any information rted to psychic secret techniques."


    Mr. ck naturally knew that Su''en was looking for psychic secret techniques.


    After all, he was the one who brought it up.


    Upon hearing this, he said directly, "Not before. But recently, I received some information that there is indeed a ce in the ruins where a psychic secret technique that is very suitable for Puppet Masters can be found."


    Su''en became interested, "Oh?"


    After a pause, Mr. ck frowned and shook his head, "However, the situation is a bitplicated. Well... at least wait until you reach Tier 2 before discussing it."


    It sounded like he had to go get it himself?


    But since Mr. ck said so, Su''en didn''t ask any further, "Okay."At this moment, Mr. ck seemed to have thought of something and said, "By the way, do you have any information on spatial materials? I received a message saying that a ''Magician''s Trickery'' has appeared in a cursed space in the East City. It probably has the materials you need."


    Su''en: "The 1911 Restaurant?"


    Hearing his response, Mr. ck knew that Su''en was aware of the information. He said, "Yes. I''ve been staying in the ruins for a few days and just gathered the information today. I originally wanted to find an opportunity to tell you, but it seems you already know."


    Upon hearing that Mr. ck knew about the cursed space, Su''en simply asked another question, "Sir, do you know what''s going on with that space? I didn''t get much information. But it sounds like, that space is not simple."


    "That space is indeed not simple. But... if you''re going, it shouldn''t be a problem."


    Mr. ck seemed to have thought of something, a smile appearing in his eyes.


    After a pause, he took out a golden card and handed it over, saying, "This is for you, as a thank you for your help tonight. When you go to that space, keep it on you, it might help you solve some troubles."


    "Thank you."


    This gentleman always had an attitude of not wanting to take advantage of others, which Su''en found very pleasant to deal with.


    Since it was a gift, he naturally epted it without hesitation.


    He initially thought it was some kind of amulet, but the identification showed: "Card with a Spatial Mark".


    Su''en''s first reaction was that it was the card of the mysterious person he had encountered in the ruins who could teleport using cards.


    Could it be that the cloaked figure was going?


    If that was the case, the cursed space would be much safer.


    However, he always felt that Mr. ck had some other intentions in giving him this card.


    But he didn''t think too much about it.


    Not to mention that he didn''t feel any malice, if Mr. ck really wanted to harm him, he wouldn''t need to go through such trouble.


    Besides, there was nothing on him worth coveting.


    Two cursed items with significant characteristics?


    How could someone who could go to the ruins for suppliesck these things?

 Chapter 156: Twisted light gate

    Chapter 156: Twisted light gate


    Su''en disappeared without a trace when the five major families and the City Guard''s troops arrived to surround her.


    There was amotion in the Dawn Camp all night.


    Those guys were probably trying to find the aplices of the wanted criminal, but they ultimately found nothing.


    As a participant in the crime, Su''en was even more at ease.


    He found a secluded cliff to rest for the night.


    Camping on the rock wall was not bad, except that asionally some strange-looking insects would crawl up to "say hello".


    No one slept soundly. Early in the morning, Su''en squatted not far from the Dawn Camp, on the road leading to the ruins.


    He and a group of penniless wanderers who couldn''t afford to stay in the city were waiting for therge group of hunters toe and pick them up for the expedition.


    Before long, the troops began to leave the city one after another.


    Listening to the hunting teams heading towards the East City, Su''en casually joined a team that was heading in the same direction as his destination and set off.


    Following the team, he could inquire about some news fromst night.


    Going on the expedition, it was also good for fabricating a "background".


    .......


    In the eastern part of the city, near the Central Ring, there was a huge ckke.


    There were ruins of buildings by theke, which was where the "1911 Hotel" was discovered.


    Beforeing here, Su''en thought that there wouldn''t be too many people here.


    But when he arrived, there were about two thousand people.


    These guys had already set up a small camp here with stones and mechanical equipment.


    Looking at the gs on the tents in the camp and the numerous hunting teams, there were dozens of them.


    Naturally, the responsible ones were the direct hunting teams of the five major families.


    Su''en didn''t rush to enter the camp like the other hunters to inquire about the news of this cursed space. Instead, he looked at the camp''s defense situation.


    He wasn''t thinking about how to get in, but instinctively thinking about how to escape aftering out of the cursed space.


    He still had the card that Mr. ck gave him in his pocket, which made Su''en feel like the danger of the instance had decreased a lot.


    But... he had a feeling that something was going to happen.


    Looking around, he didn''t find the guy who looked like the cloaked person he saw before.


    Su''en didn''t pay much attention and entered the camp.


    In addition to the armed hunters, there were also information merchants who looked like "scalpers" selling information in the camp.


    These guys brought their business directly to the front line of hunting, without having to enter the ruins themselves. They only needed to buy thetest information from the hunters who came out and then consolidate and sell it to make a profit.


    Most of the people who came here to hunt were hunters with some strength.


    No one would be stingy to buy some information to increase their chances of survival.


    The information merchants were doing well.


    While Su''en was wandering around the camp, a middle-aged man with a small beard approached him, "Hey, brother, want to buy some information? Thetest information, guaranteed to be worth it..."


    "How much?"


    "Fifty thousand."


    "Forget it then."


    "Ten thousand?"


    "No money."


    "Tsk, poor guy..."


    Su''en wasn''t in a hurry to spend money, but instead listened carefully to eavesdrop on the surroundings.


    It''s better to listen to multiple sources than just one.


    After inquiring, the information was simr to what he bought from "Red Nose" Fox before, but there was some new information as well.


    Basically, it said that the "ownership" of this cursed space belonged to the five major families, but they couldn''t handle it themselves, so it was open to all hunting teams. After entering, they mustplete a designated exploration task assigned by the families. If theypleted it, the rewards would belong to the individuals, and there would be additional rewards. If they didn''tplete it, they would have to pay a hefty "entrance fee" when they came out.


    Most of the ny-nine rooms on the first floor of the hotel space were explored in this way.


    These conditions didn''t sound too bad.


    Risk in exchange for reward.


    As for what the five major families wanted, in their words, they only wanted the high-level items on the second floor of the space and the final "Cursed Source".


    ......


    The twisted light gate of the cursed space appeared twice a day, with about a hundred people entering each time.


    The casualty rate varied, sometimes high and sometimes low.


    Sometimes they would be wiped out for no reason,


    Sometimes most of the people would survive,


    Overall, the death rate was about sixty percent.


    This was still within an eptable range.


    Also, because there were exploration tasks arranged in advance, the people in the camp roughly estimated the "high-risk rooms" on the first floor that couldn''t be explored based on the casualty rate.


    As for the information Su''en wanted to know about the second floor, it was still scarce.


    In summary, most of the first floor consisted of first-tier anomalies (ck iron and silver);


    As for the second floor, it was said that the anomalies all started at the silver level, and there were also an unknown number of second-tier anomalies.


    Su''en also understood that the higher the floor, the higher thebat power of the guests transformed into monsters, and the better the materials produced.


    .....The death rate of this instance is not low. Although there are one or two thousand people in the camp, not many dare to go in.


    Just right, there are two groups every day, which can almost fill up a hundred people.


    Su''en signed up for the next round of exploration in the cursed space and received a mission to explore room 1088.


    Then he sat in the waiting area and listened to the temporary captain exin some precautions for this time.


    "After entering, no one is allowed to hunt down the guests in the hotel in advance! Otherwise, after midnight, these dead will definitely turn into ''phantom species'', which will harm yourself and others!"


    "Remember, rooms 1021, 1055, and 1071 are not allowed to be opened, and you are not allowed to disturb the guests in these three rooms!"


    "You can search for clues, but don''t offend the guests or do anything strange. Otherwise, if you are caught by the hotel security, you will be locked up and undoubtedly die! Last time, there was a guy who got carried away and harassed a noblewoman. He enjoyed it himself, but he also prevented the noblewoman, who was originally a second-floor guest, from going upstairs at midnight. She directly turned into a second-order anomaly on the first floor and almost wiped out that team..."


    "Before the ghost mist appears, we have plenty of time to search for clues. But remember, don''t trigger some difficult plot points casually. The fewer idents, the greater our chances of survival in the end."


    "..."


    Su''en listened silently, which was not far from his spection.


    Although the plot in each cursed space they entered was the same, the oue was different because of human intervention.


    For example, when the midnight ghost mist descends, there is a big difference between guests in rooms and guests not in rooms.


    Although they will all be anomalies, the difference inbat power may be the gap between ck iron and silver anomalies.


    There is also a big difference between being dead and alive. The dead will be "phantom species" and the living will be "zombie species"...


    .......


    While Su''en and the others were listening to the temporary captain''s exnation, the camp suddenly became noisy.


    "Look! The exit of the cursed space has appeared!"


    "It''s the ''Falcon Squad''..."


    "Hmm... quite a few people survived this time. It seems like they had a good harvest."


    "..."


    Not far from the camp, a several-meter-high elliptical distorted portal suddenly appeared.


    Like a ck hole, it sucked in the surrounding light.


    This is the usual way the cursed space appears.


    In just a moment of noise, some hunters with more or less injuries walked out of the pitch-ck portal one after another.


    However, although these survivors looked a bit disheveled, they all had relieved smiles on their faces.


    Coming out alive means that the harvest has now turned into "real gold and silver".


    At the moment these people came out, professional merchants had already stationed themselves at the entrance of the space,peting to make offers to buy the treasures they brought out.


    "Thirteen pieces of ck iron, five pieces of silver cursed materials..."


    "Oh, it''s actually a rare ancient job material..."


    "Oh my god, Belok, where did you find so many alchemy books? This batch alone can be sold for at least seven million!"


    "Wow~ high-purity gemstones, these are good materials for enchantment. One piece is worth three hundred thousand. Brother, you''ve made a fortune. This bag is worth..."


    "..."


    The merchants were counting the hunters'' harvest.


    Each offer stimted the excitement of the hunters outside.


    Not to mention that these hunters might have hidden good treasures that they didn''t bring out, just the current harvest alone was worth millions per person.


    For the majority of ordinary hunters, this was already a fortune worth risking their lives for.


    Su''en also squeezed into the crowd to watch, but his gaze fell on the distorted portal.


    With the All-Knowing Eye, he identified the result.


    [1911 Hotel]


    Exnation: Arge-scalepound cursed space, sealing a fragment of the super-tier creature "***". The guests have been contaminated by corpse energy, and at midnight, they willpletely transform into anomalies. Surviving in the space for twenty-four hours will cause the space exit to appear again; death in the space will impact and destroy the seal, current progress of breaking the seal: 1157/3000;


    Su''en saw the information about this cursed space and remained calm.


    Even though he saw that the "source of contamination" was a fragment of an unrecognized super-tier creature, he didn''t feel surprised at all.


    Without this super-tier existence, it would be impossible for an entire hotel full of people to transform into boss-level monsters.


    When he saw thest sentence, he muttered to himself, "As expected, it''s this kind of nature..."


    This cursed space, which produces good results, is definitely not a good intention of the five major families.


    Su''en had only suspected before, but now, looking at this information, it was solid evidence.They seemed to have discovered another way to break through this space.


    That is, instead of exploring, they directly used human lives to fill the gap.


    Perhaps because the area being developed recently was gettingrger andrger, and the ve group was not enough, these guys thought of attracting scattered groups in this way.


    "I was wondering why the death rate remained high, so that''s why..."


    In the same instance, logically, the more times it was cleared, the lower the casualty rate would be. But here, the death rate always remained around 60%, which was quite strange.


    But it wasn''t all about total annihtion, they left some people alive to spread the news and attract more people.


    No matter how you look at it, it seemed fishy.


    Upon seeing this, Su''en lost interest in the treasures produced by the ruins. He focused on each person who came out, especially those who were uninjured or didn''t seem too excited.


    Soon, he discovered something.


    ......


    After the twisted light gate appeared, it disappeared again.


    By evening, the entrance appeared again.


    And there were just over a hundred people in the camp, lined up waiting to enter.


    Su''en was going anyway, so he led the undead to line up in the middle of the queue.


    He scanned the team entering this time again, but still didn''t find the person who might be the "Card Cloak Man".


    "Did I get it wrong?"


    Su''en didn''t think much about it and followed the team into the space.


    After he entered, he didn''t know that a small incident had urred outside.


    The number of people entering the space was not constant, it was about a hundred people.


    But in reality, the stronger the people who entered, the fewer the number.


    Originally, over a hundred people were prepared, but as they entered, the light gate suddenly disappeared.


    This abnormal scene left everyone puzzled.


    "Eh... why did the light gate disappear after only so many people entered this time?"


    "It seems like only over sixty, right?"


    "That''s not right... Even when there was a second-tier professional leading the team, over ny people entered. Why are there so few this time?"


    "Did the space have a problem?"


    "..."


    The news quickly reached the ears of the managers of this small camp.


    However, this did not attract their attention.


    All kinds of strange things could happen in the ruins, and they thought this fluctuation in the number of people was probably normal.


    The leaders of the five major families'' hunting groups were troubled by other things.


    In the tent, several leaders were gathered together, discussing something with worried expressions.


    "The higher-ups have given a death order to break through this sealed space as soon as possible. But from the looks of it, at least one or two thousand people need to be sacrificed before this space can be broken."


    "I heard that there was a big mess at the main campst night. The mysterious item brought back by the ''Blood Axe Group'' was stolen, which angered the higher-ups of the ck Tower..."


    "Ah, it''s useless to talk about those things. Spread the news and try to attract more hunters..."


    "But no matter how much we spread the news, only about two hundred people can enter per day. We can''t always kill people inside, can we? If the death rate is too high, it won''t attract scattered groups after one or two times..."


    "..."


    ......


    On the other hand, Su''en and his group had already entered the cursed space.


    This was the street scene of Dawn City a thousand years ago.


    The hunters appeared on the street, and in front of them was a luxurious building with a sign that read "1911 Restaurant".


    The temporary team leader also noticed the abnormal number of people, slightly puzzled, but didn''t think much of it.


    "The number of people this time is a bit small, everyone be careful. Remember the precautions I told you before, alright, disperse..."


    "Yes."


    Everyone dispersed.


    Seeing that the number of peopleing in was significantly reduced, Su''en guessed something and thought to himself: "So he really came in..."


    However, he didn''t rush to enter the restaurant to search for treasures like the others, but found the source of the faint "malice" and followed it.

 Chapter 157: Four corpses, four alchemical objects

    Chapter 157: Four corpses, four alchemical objects


    The cursed space is cut off from the outside world, so if you want to control the death rate, the hunting teams of the five major families must send people in.


    Su''en suspected this possibility and has been keeping an eye on certain suspicious individuals in the team.


    He didn''t want to be someone else''s "fertilizer" while looking for materials.


    He had noticed a faint "malice" in the team before, and after observing for a while, he naturally discovered the man wearing a deer hunting hat.


    The reason why the malice was sometimes present and sometimes absent was because it was directed towards everyone in the team, not just Su''en.


    ......


    More than sixty hunters entered the restaurant one after another, and Su''en followed that guy inside.


    There was no one on the streets outside, but the restaurant was bustling.


    It was an exceptionally luxurious ancient restaurant, with exquisite candlestick-style ssical crystal chandeliers, artistic female body murals, and warm-toned decor that gave off a heavy sense of luxury as soon as you entered.


    In addition to the hunters, there were also some staff members in the lobby, such as the cute receptionist, doorman, and serious-faced security guards in ck trench coats... but these people were all shrouded in a faint ck aura, a sign of contamination.


    Su''en followed the guy with the deer hunting hat and walked straight in.


    The guy seemed to be familiar with theyout of the restaurant and had a clear purpose. As soon as he entered, he headed towards the guest room area, asionally looking back to be vignt of anyone following him.


    Such anti-tracking methods were almost useless for Su''en now.


    He quietly followed, his extremely high nerve reaction speed allowing him to easily anticipate the other person''s movements and avoid them in advance.


    After walking for a while, Su''en saw that the guy stopped in front of room "1021" and pretended to be a smoking guest, waiting there for a while.


    "Huh... Isn''t this room 1021 one of the few rooms that should never be touched? What is this guy doing?"


    Su''en looked slightly curious.


    He didn''t expect the guy to go straight to this room.


    ording to the information he had obtained before, this room should never be opened. Once opened, it could trigger a terrifying wipeout plot, seemingly involving some terrifying "ghost species."


    Is this the key to controlling the death rate?


    Or is it intentionally misleading information leaked by someone?


    Su''en just watched coldly without stopping him.


    He knew that this guy definitely didn''te here to seek death. Since he was doing this, even if there was real danger as rumored, he probably knew some way to survive.


    Moreover, Su''en had previously spected that the background plot of this cursed space in the "1911 Hotel" was likely rted to room 1021.


    Otherwise, why would there be a few special rooms that mysteriously appeared on the same floor with the same level of contamination?


    It was called the "Survival Mode," but in reality, it was also the "Plot Decryption Mode." There was more than one way to clear the cursed space.


    But from the information he had obtained so far, all the information was about how to kill monsters, and there was almost no information about the background plot.


    The hunters were also after wealth, so they probably didn''t want to "meddle" and trigger any high-risk plots. No one would interfere.


    But Su''en was different. He needed something on the second floor.


    The current information about that ce was almost nk, and he needed to collect more useful information.


    Now, watching this sneaky guy with malicious intent enter room 1021, Su''en felt that he must go and take a look.


    And in that moment, he saw the guy with the deer hunting hat take advantage of the waiter''s disappearance and pull out lock-picking tools, fiddling with the door lock.


    ......


    The guy looked around while working on picking the lock.


    "Click, click, click..."


    The lock cylinder made a faint metallic sound as the tool probed for the correct position.


    Su''en leaned against the corner of the corridor and attached a silencer to his gun, calmly and unhurriedly.


    He didn''t even look, but he could clearly distinguish the progress of this guy''s lock-picking from the sound.


    The technique was pretty good, but due to nervousness, he made a few mistakes.


    Then, after waiting for nearly a minute, Su''en heard a "click" sound.


    Listening to the faint sound of the door opening, Su''en suddenly rushed out from the corner.


    He moved extremely fast and appeared in front of the room door in a few strides.


    In the instant before the person could close the door, Su''en grabbed hold of it.


    The man, who was already nervous, was startled when someone grabbed the door.


    Before he could react, a gun was pressed against his head.


    Su''en pushed the guy into the room and casually closed the door.


    "Tell me, what are you doing here?"


    "What... what do you mean..."


    The man''s voice trembled as the gun was pointed at his head.


    Su''enzily looked at the pale-faced guy, not paying attention to him at first, but instead nced around the room.


    The room was very tidy and didn''t look like someone had been living in it.


    However, at first nce, Su''en saw a pair of feet with livor mortis on the white bed.


    "A corpse?"


    Su''en wasn''t surprised.If, as the rumors say, ghosts appear in this room after midnight, then it would make sense for the tenants here to die.


    But looking at the corpse, it seems like it has been dead for a while.


    Because there was a screen blocking the view, Su''en didn''t see the whole picture. He took two steps and wanted to move closer.


    At this moment, the guy opposite him seemed to sense that Su''en''s attention was not on the gun, and he charged forward, wanting to snatch the gun and counterattack.


    Then...


    Su''en easily dodged and the butt of the gun smashed into the man''s head.


    Then, without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.


    "biu~"


    "biu~"


    The special gun with a silencer made a sound.


    Two shots urately shattered the kneecaps, and the man in front of him fell to his knees.


    "Ah..."


    A scream.


    Just as he was about to cry out in pain, Su''en''s gun was pointed at his head, and he coldly said, "If you don''t want your head blown off, shut up."


    The man endured the intense pain, sweat pouring down his forehead, and said, "We''re all scavengers, what... what do you mean?"


    Su''en calmly said, "Tell me, what were you doing in this room, and all the information you know."


    The man wanted to argue and hide his intentions, but listening to that indifferent voice, he had no doubt that as long as he didn''t satisfy the other party with his words, he would be killed immediately.


    He endured the pain and threatened fiercely, "If you kill me, you''re dead too!"


    Su''en ignored his threat because at this moment, he had already seen the body on the bed.


    It was a male corpse with a blood-stained sack over his face.


    With the All-Knowing Eye, information immediately appeared.


    [Faceless Man]


    Exnation: A special resentful corpse containing powerful fire attribute energy; one of the sacrificial materials required for an evil ritual; if the body is damaged or moved out of the room, the practitioner will immediately detect it.


    Upon further examination, the sack on the body''s face turned out to be an alchemical item.


    [Cursed Sack]


    Exnation: Who recognizes you with a sack over your face? This is a sack tainted with special corpse energy, when worn on the head, it is immune to attacks from specific vengeful spirits; it is both a weapon and a restraint against vengeful spirits.


    Evil ritual?


    These words were particrly eye-catching.


    As Su''en read this, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he suddenly realized that things were not so simple.


    His thoughts immediately raced in his mind, and he suddenly guessed the purpose of the forbidden rooms on the first floor.


    Seeing that Su''en seemed a bit dazed, the man with broken legs thought his threat had worked. He sneered and said, "Now that room 1021 is open, you''re dead! If you''re smart, you..."


    But before he could finish his sentence, Su''en interrupted him and said expressionlessly, "Are you trying to say that at midnight, this corpse will turn into a ''ghost seed'' and kill anyone who enters? And if you wear the sack on the corpse''s head, it won''t attack you?"


    As soon as these words were spoken, the man''s confidence vanished, his face went from white to ck, and he pointed at Su''en in disbelief, as if he had seen something even more terrifying than a distorted monster.


    "You... you... you..."


    He roared in his heart, why would someone else know this secret!


    Dragging his broken legs, the man kept retreating, finally leaning against the wall with nowhere to go.


    Su''en nced at him, then pulled the trigger.


    "biu~"


    "biu~"


    Two shots again, breaking the man''s arms.


    Su''en had lost patience with wasting time on this kind of person. "Now that the door is open, is there a way to prevent the corpse from turning into a ghost seed?"


    With his limbs broken, this man had been scared silly by Su''en''s cruel methods.


    His greatest reliance had been exposed, and he knew he had no bargaining capital left. Trembling, he said, "I... I don''t know."


    Su''en asked onest time, "Tell me any information you think will let you live."


    "I... I am a member of the rk family''s exclusive scavenger team..."


    Before the man could finish speaking, a bullet blew off his head.


    Asserting his identity had be oppressive, and there was nothing worth listening to.


    Su''en had no interest in wasting any more time on this kind of person.


    He walked over, took off the sack from the corpse''s head on the bed, and put it away.


    There were still over four hours until midnight, and he didn''t have much time left.


    The body couldn''t be moved or damaged, and Su''en didn''t care. He walked out.


    .......


    To confirm his suspicions, Su''en went directly to the "Room 1055" that was strictly forbidden to open ording to the intelligence.


    This room also had a "Do Not Disturb" sign hanging on the door.


    Su''en''s lock-picking skills were much better than the previous guy''s, and he opened the door in less than twenty seconds.


    Then he walked in and saw the hanging corpse, hanging from the ceiling with its feet off the ground, and a sudden realization dawned on him.


    [Hanged Corpse]


    Exnation: A sacrificial material for a certain evil ritual, a wind attribute resentful corpse; if the body is damaged or moved out of the room, the practitioner will immediately detect it.


    The rope hanging the body was also an alchemical item with cursed properties.


    Its function was simr, both to avoid harm from specific evil spirits and to restrain them.Then, Su''en made another trip to "Room 1071", where he found a drowned female corpse in the bathtub and picked up a strand of wet hair.


    He had gathered corpses of water, wind, and fire attributes.


    The previous scavenger team had identified problems with these three rooms, saving Su''en a lot of trouble.


    However, there were still ten rooms, 1090-1099, that had not been explored.


    Thinking it wouldn''t take much time, Su''en decided to check them out before midnight.


    There were three rooms with "Do Not Disturb" signs. Su''en listened at the doors. If there was noise, it meant there were living people inside, so he didn''t need to open them.


    For the rooms without any noise, he would pick the locks and take a look.


    Then, on the bed in "Room 1099", he found an earth-attribute Big Head Grudge Baby corpse and an alchemical item, the Grudge Baby''s Swaddling Clothes.


    Looking at the four almost identical special corpse materials, Su''en had a rough understanding of the "hidden plot" on the first floor.


    Someone had set up an evil ritual and left four corpses in four rooms... perhaps there were more?


    But there were many rooms in the hotel, just the first floor had ny-nine. Searching room by room would definitely not be enough time.


    He thought he should go to the front desk to see who had checked into these rooms, perhaps he could find more clues.


    As for the "magician" he was looking for, there was no rush.


    ording to the intelligence, the magician would not appear until an hourter and would perform in the hotel banquet hall. It wouldn''t be toote to go then.


    ......


    The previous scavengers had risked their lives to test that the previous three rooms were "forbidden rooms".


    Now that Su''en had opened four rooms, it meant that about four ghost species would appear.


    But he didn''t feel much of a crisis.


    After all, having opened a "forbidden room", it was destined that this wave of scavengers would be wiped out.


    Su''en thought that if he could investigate clearly, there might be a chance of survival.


    Moreover...


    Ghost species were indeed powerful, but they were not truly invincible.


    Their usual methods were mental attacks, and they were usually immune to physical damage, so for most scavengers who used physical attacks with guns and knives, they were invincible.


    But in reality... it wasn''t that exaggerated.


    The so-called "ghost species" could not escape the category of energy.


    They could be hurt by magic, or some other magical means.


    For example, the cold me of No Servant.


    As for the mental attacks of the ghost species, they were also graded.


    Ordinary first-order ghost species couldn''t control a healthy human unless they were scared to a very low san value.


    Want to scare Su''en?


    It didn''t seem very realistic.


    Want to control forcibly?


    It probably required a high-ranking ghost species.


    From the information currently known about this space, such an existence would not appear on the first floor of the hotel.


    Things weren''t too bad.


    Besides, that card master had alsoe in, so there was someone to back him up in case of trouble.


    ......


    Without a room key card, Su''en had no right to go to the second floor guarded by guards.


    He thought about it and went to the hotel''s registration front desk.


    Just like thest time in the "Clock Tower Space", there were many ancient people restored in the hotel.


    Guests, waiters, doormen, guards... there were thousands of "living people".


    These NPCs didn''t have much wisdom, they were like programmed robots, only doing certain fixed actions, reacting to certain fixed dialogues.


    They wouldn''t think that these scavengers who suddenly appeared were outsiders.


    As long as you didn''t disturb their normalcy, they would choose to "ignore".


    This time, more than sixty scavengers hade in.


    Obviously, some people thought of getting some useful information from these hotel staff, such as... which room was upied by a rich businessman, a jeweler.


    A direct theft would yield a lot of rewards.


    But obviously, not everyone could check the registration records.


    When Su''en arrived, a few scavengers had just been rebuffed at the front desk and left cursing.


    "Don''t waste your time, those silly front deskdies won''t reveal a word."


    "Yeah, ask a few more times, damn it, they''ll call the guards. If we get caught, it''ll be really bad..."


    "But speaking of which, the girls at the front desk are really good-looking. If it wasn''t for the fact that we can''t force them, I''d really like to try these ancient people..."


    "..."


    Waiting for the few people to leave, Su''en then walked over.


    He didn''t beat around the bush, and directly asked, "Beautifuldy, can you do me a favor?"


    Sure enough, even if they were NPCs, they would react when someoneplimented their beauty.


    The blonde girl changed her previous indifference towards the scavengers, her pretty face was filled with a smile, "Sir, please speak."


    Knowing that conventional methods wouldn''t work, Su''en took out a badge and said mysteriously, "I''m Officer Johnny, this is my badge. I''m here to secretly investigate an important fugitive, so... I''d like to see the room records."

 Chapter 158: By performing magic with magic

    Chapter 158: By performing magic with magic


    This police badge was naturally obtained in the clock tower spacest time.


    Because it was ced in the storage ring, it was brought out directly.


    Su''en originally wanted to give it a try, but he didn''t expect this police badge to be quite useful.


    The blondedy covered her mouth with one hand and suddenly became respectful, calling out softly, "Oh, Officer Johnny, please wait."


    Then, Su''en conveniently saw the registration records.


    After flipping through them, he sessfully found the check-in records for four rooms: 1021, 1055, 1071, and 1099.


    They were all registered under the same person, Teg Gallson.


    It looked like a pseudonym.


    However, the somewhat good news was that only four rooms were registered under this name on the first floor.


    And the two female attendants also described the appearance of the registered man.


    Su''en roughly nced at the half of the rooms on the second floor that were the same as the first floor.


    Then, Su''en looked at the name of the magician who registered for room 2113, Robert Bell.


    Then, he looked at the third floor, which only had ten luxury suites.


    Because he spected that the third floor would be the "source of the curse" of this cursed space, he paid careful attention, especially to the check-in dates.


    There was only one room that was checked in on the same day as the four rooms.


    Su''en looked at the name of the tenant of that room and asked, "Do you remember Miss Gloya Garry in room 3001?"


    This question triggered a special conversation.


    The blonde girl seemed to remember something and responded, "Oh, she was an old nun. It happened to be my shift that day, so I remember it well. Because the guests on the third floor are all VIPs, the doorman would help them with their luggage. And that old nun brought a big suitcase... The doorman offered to help her with her luggage, but she didn''t allow it and carried it up herself."


    An old nun?


    A big suitcase?


    When Su''en heard these two key words, he suddenly thought of something.


    In Dawn City, nuns were a very rare profession. As far as Su''en knew, there was only one discovered monastery ruins.


    Coincidentally, he personally experienced one, which was the "White Monastery" where the Weeping Witch was located.


    And before entering the space, Su''en had already identified that the "curse source" of this 1911 Hotel was a "superior-level biological limb".


    So when he heard this information, he immediately guessed, "It seems that the pollution source should be in that suitcase. In that case, the seal ced on the White Monastery back then was sealing this..."


    Su''en had already figured out some of the ins and outs of the matter by this point.


    He felt that he probably knew who the old nun was.


    .......


    Su''en chatted with the two registration attendants at the front desk for a while and roughly extracted all the information they could provide.


    Calcting the time, he nned to go to the banquet hall to watch the magician''s performance.


    Everything else was not important, obtaining advanced materials was the top priority.


    Unfortunately, as soon as he left the front desk, he was blocked by two hunters at the corner of the corridor.


    One of them, a guy with a modified mechanical arm, nced at Su''en and said with a smirk, "Hey, buddy, you''ve been chatting with those two front desk girls for so long, you must have gathered a lot of information, right?"


    Su''en had actually noticed that the two had been observing him before and guessed their intentions, so he didn''t give them a good face. "So what?"


    They were from the "Scorpion Squad," and the squad leader was the temporary captain who came in this time. He was a somewhat famous veteran. Among the sixty-plus people who came in this time, this squad ounted for half, so they had absolute authority.


    The man looked at Su''en''s uncooperative expression and reminded with a smile, "Wow, buddy, you''re quite impressive. I''ve never heard of anyone being able to extract information from those two front desk girls. What did you say to them?"


    The other person also showed off the pistol at his waist and smirked, "Share the information with us. Since we''re exploring the space together, it''s fate. Let''s make a fortune together."


    Their intentions were already very clear.


    They wanted to forcefully obtain the information.


    This kind of situation wasmon in the wilderness. Hunters were characters who risked their lives to make money, and not many of them were good-natured.


    Embezzlement, smuggling, coercion...


    Ordinary lone hunters could only suffer in silence.


    Su''en knew that he was being treated as an easy target, so he didn''t even raise his eyebrows when he saw the guns they revealed.


    He didn''t bother with them.


    Killing someone here would definitely attract the attention of the hotel security, and getting into trouble would greatly affect his subsequent ns.


    He nced at the two and simply walked away.


    The two men were stunned for a moment when they saw Su''en''s attitude, then caught up with him angrily, shouting, "Hey, are you deaf? Didn''t you hear me talking?!"


    While listening to the other party pulling out their guns, Su''en calmly asked, "Do you dare to shoot?"


    At the same time, he noticed that the security guards'' attention had already been drawn over, and the killing intent in their eyes disappeared.


    He sneered and ignored the two guys who were just bluffing, and walked away directly.


    .......


    Scorpion Squad?


    If they really want to, I don''t mind sending them off early...


    Su''en didn''t waste time entangling with these two insignificant characters and went straight to the hotel''s banquet hall.


    It was dinner time now, and almost all the tenants in the hotel were dining here.


    This was the best time to observe the situation of the guests in each room.


    But the banquet hall had security guards, and you needed to show your room key card and meal ticket to enter.


    When Su''en arrived, there were already seven or eight hunters squatting there. They asionally approached and tried to extract some information from the passing guests.


    But obviously, the results were minimal.


    These NPCs directly ignored those "strange" behaviors that were beyond their understanding.


    Su''en walked straight past them, showing the room key card and meal ticket he had just obtained from the front desk attendant, and walked in.


    This action naturally made several hunters at the door very puzzled.


    "Huh... Wasn''t that guy just a hunter with us?"


    "He doesn''t have ck aura on him, so he must be a hunter."


    "It''s strange, how did he get the room key card?"


    "..."The hunters were not unable to infiltrate the banquet hall, but they all used shady methods. Some assassins climbed walls and sneaked in, some disguised themselves as maids and infiltrated, and some attracted the attention of the guards and sneaked in...


    But none of them entered so openly.


    Seeing Su''en''s actions, the hunters were naturally amazed.


    At this time, the two members of the "Scorpion Squad" that he had encountered at the front desk had also escaped from the guards and happened to witness this scene.


    Seeing Su''en enter, the mechanical-arm man''s face turned pale and he cursed angrily, "Damn it, that guy must have obtained some important information at the front desk. Wood, you stay here and inform the boss!"


    ......


    The banquet hall was lively, with about one or two hundred people dining.


    The lights were dazzling, illuminating the restaurant with an orange glow.


    Well-dressed gentlemen in suits anddies in low-cut dresses were elegantly dining.


    The tables were filled with various delicious-looking foods and fruits.


    On the stage not far away, geishas were performing passionate and hot dances.


    Su''en found a seat where he could see the stage directly and nced at the dining guests. He didn''t see the nun or the man described as "Tiger Gerson" who had booked four rooms.


    Just as he sat down, a petite and cute waitress in a ck maid outfit with a professional smile walked over and said, "Sir, would you like to order?"


    Su''en nced at the delicious food on the neighboring table and gestured, "Bring me a portion of that."


    As he spoke, he handed her a coin as a tip.


    The waitress smiled and bowed deeply, "Alright, sir. Please wait a moment."


    By midnight, these waitresses would transform into monstrous creatures with sharp teeth and ws. They were called "Bloody Maids" in the intelligence, known for chasing and biting people.


    Su''en didn''t pay much attention and shifted his gaze elsewhere.


    The singing was pleasant and captivating.


    The performers on the stage were dancers from the "Swan Dance Troupe," and their registration records were at the front desk.


    Originally, Su''en came to the banquet hall mainly to wait for the magician to perform.


    Because he was afraid of missing some special NPCs, his left eye was constantly emitting a gleam, in a state of continuous release of the All-Knowing Eye.


    But unexpectedly, he gained something else.


    At this moment, as he looked at the enchanting and charming lead singer on the stage, his eyes suddenly changed.


    When he appraised the other NPCs in the restaurant, all their names disyed were Contaminated Ancient Human Remnant Manifestation.


    But the lead singer performing on the stage actually had a name disyed: Contaminated Dance Diva Barbara Remnant Manifestation!


    Su''en looked at the woman on the stage who was disying her charm, and suddenly felt a familiar sensation.


    She was so stunning that it seemed like a filter had been applied to her visual impact, clearly showing her high charm value.


    This made Su''en immediately think of the mafia boss Sabina, and a thought popped into his mind: "Could she also be a woman with the ''Charm Demon'' talent? Is she an ancient alchemist?"


    Obviously, having a name meant that she was different from others.


    And there was no information about this Barbara from the outside world.


    Because she was a second-floor guest.


    Su''en recalled the registration records he had checked earlier. She was staying in room 2115, right next to the magician in room 2113.


    The performance on the stage continued.


    As Su''en looked at the fair and beautiful singer, instead of thinking of anything seductive, his first reaction was, "If this woman distorts into a monster, it would be quite troublesome..."


    He thought of Sabina''s psychic attacks and frowned.


    If she turned into a monster, herbat power would definitely be off the charts.


    But...


    Why would an alchemist go to a dance troupe?


    Ande to think of it, that "magician" Edward also seemed to be here to perform?


    Su''en thought of something and a pensive look appeared in his eyes.


    ......


    Before Su''en could think too much, a waiter pushed a food cart over and started serving the dishes.


    Although it was a cursed space, the things were real.


    Colorful fruits, golden-brown roasted chicken, fine wine, and various exquisite dishes...


    A thousand years ago, these delicacies were a luxury.


    Su''en took a bite of a fruit, which was sweet and juicy.


    In Old Lingdun, fruits were luxury items, especially those that had never been seen before.


    But before he could take a few more bites, the dance troupe finished their performance.


    Then, several boxes were brought up.


    It was time for the magic show.


    A handsome man in a tailcoat and a top hat walked onto the stage and bowed deeply to the audience in a gentlemanly manner.


    Su''en looked at him and squinted his eyes slightly because this guy was also appraised with a name: Contaminated Magician Edward Remnant Manifestation.


    After the apuse, Edward began his performance.


    He first conjured a cane out of thin air, twirled it a few times, and then squeezed it, causing it to explode into ribbons and disappear...


    Then he took off his hat and pulled out live rabbits, doves...


    After that, he performed a teleportation through space.


    There were two cabs on the stage, about a foot off the ground and covered with ck cloth. He entered one of them and pulled the ck curtain closed.


    The next second, the ck curtain of the cab several meters away was pulled open, and he walked out with a smile...


    These were all seemingly ordinary magic tricks,


    But Su''en watched with shining eyes, and waves surged in his heart.


    He thought of a saying.


    Some people, under the guise of performing magic, are actually casting spells.


    He was certain that this guy named Edward wasn''t just performing magic just now, but actually cast a spatial spell!


    With the All-Knowing Eye, the illusionary magic had almost no effect.


    If it was a prop, it would be immediately appraised.


    For example, if the hat had a hiddenpartment, it would be appraised as Hat with Hidden Compartment. But now, it was simply disyed as a normal Top Hat!


    And the two cabs used for the teleportation didn''t disy Cabs with Mechanisms, but simply Normal Cabs!


    This guy just now went from one cab to another, not using any twin substitutes or secret doors...The magician had truly teleported!


    Upon seeing this, Su''en immediately confirmed that this Edward was a professional who had mastered spatial abilities.


    Retrieving objects from a distance...


    Spatial discement...


    The abilities demonstrated by this magician perfectly matched all of Su''en''s expectations for his second-tier career nning.


    "This magician is incredibly agile, he must have a high level of ''skill'' enhancement. Coupled with the ability to teleport, he is excellent in both self-defense and attack. If he can produce advanced materials, I suspect he would be highlypatible with my ''Puppeteer'' profession!"


    Su''en watched the performance on stage, his eyes slightly trembling.


    However, while he was hopeful, he suddenly showed a hint of difficulty, muttering to himself, "He has the ability to teleport, I''m afraid even the ck Scythe can''t kill him..."


    ......


    Su''en''s previous n was to kill this magician and take his professional materials before midnight, that is, before the pollution urred, once he confirmed that the magician possessed the spatial abilities he needed.


    Otherwise, there might be unexpected changes after the mutation.


    But now, having seen some of the professional techniques Edward demonstrated in his performance, Su''en immediately realized that even without the mutation, he was not confident he could kill this magician!


    There were no signs of a seal or an alchemy array lighting up, which meant that this guy had mastered spatial abilities.


    Even if he tried to ambush him with an invisible zombie, Su''en felt that he might not seed and instead get beaten up.


    Being killed by an NPC meant real death!


    However, spatial materials were hard toe by.


    Having finally encountered a cursed space that could produce them, Su''en was still hoping that this special NPC would drop spatial professional materials. He couldn''t just give up.


    But he couldn''t beat him by force, so he had to think of other ways.


    "This is a bit troublesome..."


    Su''en couldn''t wait until midnight.


    Because he found it hard to imagine how tricky this ability user would be after turning into a monster.


    Was the second floor an "A+" difficulty?


    No!


    If these two mutated, the rating would at least be "S-ss", or even higher!


    Thinking of this, Su''en quickly stood up and headed directly towards the backstage.


    Because he had thought of a breakthrough.


    A performance team hiding two powerful alchemists was clearly the hidden "main plot" in the background story of this cursed space!


    If he couldn''t kill them directly, what about a "plot kill"?

 Chapter 159: See the symbol "§" again

    Chapter 159: See the symbol "¡ì" again


    ording to the original plot, the "contamination" will only ur at midnight, and everyone in the 1911 Hotel will be strange.


    The scavengerse in to collect materials, just to act after midnight, because ordinary people will transform into strange beings, and then curse materials will appear.


    But Su''en couldn''t wait until that time.


    If the magician really transforms, Su''en feels even less confident in killing him.


    Moreover, all four "forbidden rooms" on the first floor have been opened, and he feels that there may be other changes in the contamination event tonight.


    To solve the problem, he needs to act early.


    ......


    Su''en walked towards the stage and then entered the backstage through the staff channel.


    He nned to intercept the magician when he came off the stage because he heard from the intelligence that no one had seen the magician after he came off the stage.


    Su''en thought that he might use his spatial ability to teleport away, so he could only guard him in the backstage.


    After the stage, there was the dressing room, which was slightly narrow.


    The "Swan Ballet Troupe" dancers were changing clothes here.


    There were staff members guarding the entrance. Su''en took off his hat, revealed his face, and showed his police badge. He was not stopped and walked in.


    The dancers were used to changing clothes temporarily during performances and didn''t mind not having separate dressing rooms. When Su''en walked in, he saw the young girls in tight and graceful costumes changing in the narrow dressing room.


    When the girls saw a strange man walking in, they were startled at first, covering their exposed bodies. But when they saw Su''en''s handsome face, the dancers instantly calmed down. No one screamed orughed, but instead whispered and giggled. Some of them were bold enough to smile flirtatiously at him.


    "Hey handsome, who are you looking for?"


    "I''m looking for Mr. Edward."


    "Oh, what a pity. I thought you were here to invite our leader, Barbara, to dinner..."


    "..."


    Su''en smiled politely at these beautiful girls as he walked past them.


    He wanted to walk to the backstage exit and wait for the magician so that he wouldn''t disappear from his sight.


    After walking past, he saw a small dressing room next to the dressing room, separated by a curtain. Miss Barbara, the lead singer, was changing clothes and removing makeup inside.


    The lighting was bright, and arge makeup mirror reflected her enchanting face.


    Su''en saw the enchanting woman with her red lips in the mirror, and the woman saw him too.


    "What''s the matter, handsome? Are you lost?"


    Her voice was soft and seductive, making people''s bones feel weak.


    Su''en looked at the woman turning around, and his gaze was involuntarily attracted to her rose-colored bright red lips.


    It was as if those red lips had endless magic, making it impossible to look away.


    This was a mental suggestion with a bit of psychic power, which made people let down their guard.


    Su''en narrowed his eyes slightly and guessed that this woman was probably a professional with the talent of a "Subus".


    He was afraid that this woman would use some kind of hypnosis, so he directly showed his police badge. "I want to wait for Mr. Edward. I have something to consult him about."


    Barbara looked at the police badge, her eyebrows curved, and her tone became even more sticky. "Oh? A police officer... What can I do for you if you''re looking for Mr. Edward?"


    Su''en didn''t sense any malice, nor did he let his guard down. He said calmly, "Some official business."


    Although Su''en thought that this woman probably knew the magician, he still wanted to wait andmunicate with Edward.


    Upon hearing this, Barbara smiled charmingly and pointed to the chair beside her, saying, "Handsome police officer,e and sit? Mr. Edward will take a while to finish his performance..."


    Su''en nced at her and didn''t want to get too close to this psychic professional. He declined the alluring invitation, "I have official business to attend to. I won''t sit."


    Because Barbara was changing clothes, she was also dressed quite revealingly. As she spoke, Su''en''s peripheral vision unintentionally swept across her deep cleavage.


    By the way, do women with the talent of a Subus have such a captivating figure?


    Barbara covered her mouth and chuckled, also catching that gaze. But she didn''t mind, instead, she smiled yfully and proudly disyed her attractive figure, teasing, "Handsome police officer, what are you looking at?"


    "..."


    Su''en remained unchanged.


    He felt that this was probably a professional habit of a Subus.


    Just as these few words were spoken, the stairs in the backstage suddenly made a sound.


    A man in a tailcoat came down, and it was Edward the magician.


    The ambiguous atmosphere instantly dissipated, and Barbara said to Edward, "Mr. Edward, this police officer says he has something to discuss with you."


    When Edward heard "police officer," it seemed to trigger something, and he finally looked at Su''en, whom he had originally nned to ignore.


    Su''en directly showed his police badge and said, "I am Officer Johnny from the Clock Tower District. I have been ordered to investigate something. Please cooperate, Mr. Edward."


    Edward seemed to have thought of something and asked, "Clock Tower District?"


    Su''en received a response and immediately knew that he had guessed correctly: these two alchemists hidden in the crowd hade for the old nun.


    Edward nced at Su''en for a moment and continued to ask, "Officer, what are you here to investigate? And how can I cooperate?"


    Su''en didn''t sense any malice, which meant that the four bodies in the four rooms were probably unrted to these two in front of him.


    Now, he was even more confident in how to use this plot.


    He said directly, "Have you heard of the ''White Convent''?"


    Upon hearing this, Edward''s expression froze, and he frowned, "Oh, of course, I remember. It''s a convent in the Clock Tower District of the East City. But... Officer Johnny, can you be more specific about why you''re looking for me? Does it have something to do with this convent?"These people look like living beings, but in fact, they are advanced NPCs that only react to certain specific plots.


    Su''en needs to trigger the plot, so he says directly, "A senior nun took something very dangerous from the monastery, which may contaminate others. And I have investigated and found clues that she came to this hotel. But in the process, I discovered some other things, so I need Mr. Edward''s cooperation..."


    Having said that, Edward didn''t continue pretending to be unaware and smiled, "Officer Johnny, your investigative ability is truly astonishing."


    As he spoke, he took out his identification.


    This action surprised Su''en.


    He originally wanted to ask Edward to assist in the investigation and guide him to see the four bodies, and then find an opportunity to provoke a conflict between him and the evil practitioner, and then find another chance...


    But unexpectedly, this guy directly took out a badge from his pocket, and the symbol on it was a golden coiled snake with a "" symbol.


    Taking out the badge was meant to show his identity.


    But, what''s with this symbol again?


    The other party thought he was a Dawn City patrol officer, so he should recognize this badge.


    But he didn''t.


    Su''en didn''t show any expression of doubt, but instead remained silent, waiting for the other party to introduce himself.


    Sure enough, Edward politely exined, "This incident has exceeded the scope of the police station''s handling. Therefore, it is now under the jurisdiction of our Special Operations Department. Leave the matter here to us."


    Pausing for a moment, he added, "Praise your dedication, Officer Johnny."


    So that''s how it is?


    After hearing this exnation, Su''en immediately understood.


    This Edward and Barbara are both official personnel from Dawn City who handle abnormal events!


    .......


    After speaking, Edward seemed like he was about to leave.


    But...


    The reason why this hotel has be a cursed space means that a thousand years ago, they failed to stop this incident.


    The midnight contamination incident is a reenactment of the tragedy from back then.


    If Su''en were to leave here, things would definitely return to their original trajectory.


    Although Su''en has the alchemical items he obtained from the four bodies, there is a high probability that he can survive until midnight.


    But he still needs spatial materials!


    So he definitely won''t let Edward leave like this.


    Moreover, since Room 1021 was opened, it was destined that this hunting team might be wiped out.


    Now that they have the official personnel from Dawn City, perhaps they can solve the problem on the first floor in advance?


    In an instant, Su''en''s thoughts raced in his mind, quickly weighing the pros and cons of the identification matter.


    Will changing the plot too drastically cause certain butterfly effects?


    He didn''t know what would happen in the end if he changed the plot like this, but...


    But upon careful consideration, it seems that this is the most likely choice to achieve his goal.


    And recalling Mr. ck''s tone of speechst night, they have enough understanding of this cursed space.


    It means that there is someone hiding in the team who has the ability to deal with various emergencies.


    Thinking of this, Su''en no longer hesitated and said directly, "Um... Mr. Edward, since you are handling this matter, I am relieved. However, I have obtained some information here, I don''t know if you are aware of it..."


    Hearing this, Edward turned his head and nced at him, "Oh?"


    Su''en said, "I previously investigated the check-in records and found that there was another guy named ''Tage Galsen'' who checked in at the same time as Sister Elizabeth. He booked four rooms and ced four strange bodies in them. They are the Faceless Man, Hanged Corpse, Drowned Woman, and Big-Headed Resentful Infant... It seems like they are conducting some kind of evil ritual."


    Upon hearing this, Edward and Barbara''s faces changed drastically, obviously they knew what these four bodies meant!


    Edward said, "Four Sinful Spirits'' Fallen Sacrificial Formation! Damn it, she wants to open the ''Sealed Object'' in this hotel!"


    Su''en confirmed that they didn''t know about the bodies.


    Edward''s expression suddenly became serious, and he muttered to himself, "I hope we can stop it in time..."


    Su''en looked at the word "contaminated" on their heads and felt it necessary to remind them, so he said, "Have you considered that you may have already been contaminated?"


    Upon hearing this, the two of them exchanged a nce, their eyes filled with seriousness.


    The enchanting expression on Barbara''s face disappeared, and she suddenly formed a warlock seal, as if she was casting some kind of spiritual spell.


    After a few breaths, she looked at Edward with an unpleasant expression and said heavily, "Someone of higher-levelws has blinded our perception. If nothing unexpected happens... Officer Johnny''s words are correct, we, and even everyone in this hotel, have already been contaminated."


    "..."


    Edward fell into silence.


    However, there was a more determined look on his face.


    He looked at Su''en and said, "Officer Johnny, this matter is of great importance, and we may need your help."


    Su''en looked at him with a puzzled look, knowing that he might have changed the main plot.


    Edward resolutely said, "If we are really contaminated, please make sure to kill us before you discover our abnormalities!"


    As he spoke, he nced at the position not far behind Su''en, where the invisible zombies were standing.


    Sure enough, this spatial ability user had already discovered the presence of the invisible zombies.


    Upon hearing this request, Su''en showed a difficult expression, hesitated for a moment, and then agreed, "Alright!"


    He never expected that after racking his brains to figure out how to obtain the materials, the other party would mention it voluntarily.


    In the situation tonight, they are one hundred percent going to be abnormal.


    With their cooperation, he doesn''t need to ambush them at all, and the difficulty of killing them instantly decreases by a hundred times.


    But...


    Does this mean I have to be ready to move with them at any moment?


    At this point, Edward spoke again, "This information is crucial, but I need to gather mypanions. Those four corpses must be destroyed first."


    .......


    Su''en followed Edward out of the dressing room.


    They were going to contact his colleagues in the hotel.


    In order not to alert the enemy, they agreed to take action five minutester, first to clear the bodies in the four rooms.


    Su''en knew that touching those corpses would immediately alert the caster of the evil ritual.


    The battle might break out ahead of schedule.


    But things seemed fine for now, at least nothing in the hotel had been distorted yet.


    Edward and his team would investigate this matter, naturally, they had some strength.


    Su''en didn''t think the oue would be one-sided.


    Leaving the banquet hall, Su''en originally nned to find a ce to prepare for battle.


    Unexpectedly, he was blocked.


    The leader of the "Sand Scorpion" group, Gallup, leading more than a dozen of his group members, had been waiting in the corridor.

 Chapter 160: Creating black holes with hands

    Chapter 160: Creating ck holes with hands


    The members of the Scorpion Squad watched Edward and Barbarae out and followed Su''en''s lead to approach them for information.


    "Hey, Mr. Edward..."


    "Oh, beautiful Miss Barbara..."


    "..."


    No matter what opening line they used, as long as it didn''t trigger any keywords, the two key NPCspletely ignored these "outsiders" and left directly.


    The other hunters were left disappointed and turned their attention to Su''en, who came outter.


    "Hey, you!"


    Gallop''s face darkened as he stopped Su''en.


    Without beating around the bush, he bluntly asked, "What did you say to those two guys just now?"


    ...


    Su''en had long noticed that the Scorpion Squad was watching his every move, from entering the banquet hall to entering the backstage... until now.


    Seeing these guys with obvious ill intentions, he furrowed his brows.


    Exining any further would be a waste of time.


    Su''en had no intention of paying attention to this group of people and ignored Gallop''s words. However, when he tried to leave, he was blocked by members of the Scorpion Squad, each with a gun or knife in hand.


    Only then did he coldly ask, "What do you want?"


    Gallop asked again, "What did you say to those two ancient people just now?"


    Su''en''s brows furrowed at the intimidating aura and he retorted, "Do I have an obligation to exin to you?"


    After all, he was the leader of a prestigious hunting squad, and Gallop naturally couldn''t openly demand information.


    He said firmly, "I already told you when I came in, don''t trigger any special plot. Did you ignore my words?"


    At this moment, one of theckeys stepped forward, pretending to be reasonable, and said, "Captain Gallop is right! Those two ancient people are guests on the second floor. If they don''t go up by midnight, we''re all dead. So, you must give us an exnation!"


    The demand for an exnation was false, but the request for information was true.


    Since the discovery of this cursed space, one or two thousand people had entered. Anyone with discerning eyes could tell that the "Magician" and the "Songstress" were not ordinary, but no one had ever heard of anyone being able to extract useful information from them.


    The hunters were also well aware that the first floor was just an appetizer, and the real treasures were on the second or third floor with the VIPs.


    Discovering some alchemical knowledge or alchemical items at random would definitely be an opportunity to get rich overnight.


    Now that someone had stumbled upon a "trick", how could they not be envious?


    Seeing Su''en''s attitude of wanting to "monopolize" everything, Gallop threatened again, "You better make it clear. Otherwise, if anyone triggers any dangerous plot, I don''t mind taking them out first."


    ...


    Su''en originally didn''t mind exining a few words.


    It wasn''t that Su''en wanted to kill them, but rather the five major family hunting squads outside.


    From the moment the 1021 room opened, it was destined that the hunting squad entering the cursed space this time would be wiped out. If you don''t trigger the plot, you will definitely die, but if you do trigger it, you might have a chance to survive...


    However, the malice around him was like needles.


    This guy really had murderous intent.


    Su''en''s face no longer showed any expression, and he calmly asked, "Do you want to kill me?"


    Gallop snorted coldly, and it was self-evident: you know it.


    However, no one expected that Su''en, like a reckless youth,pletely didn''t understand the situation.


    He just casually said, "Oh."


    Oh?


    Seeing that Su''en waspletely disrespectful, Gallop''s face turned iron blue.


    Theckeys of the Scorpion Squad were also unhappy, like cats whose tails had been stepped on, they exploded on the spot.


    "Kid, our captain is talking to you nicely, and you dare to ignore him? Do you really think we won''t touch you now that we have security guards?!"


    "Captain Gallop, don''t waste your breath on this kind of person. I say, if he doesn''t give us a satisfactory exnation, let''s just tie him up and throw him in the wine cer to die."


    "..."


    The hunting squad no longer concealed their intentions, and their questioning turned into a tant threat to their lives.


    Without the hotel security guards, someone would have died long ago.


    But it wouldn''t be Su''en, it would be them.


    Blocked again, Su''en became a little impatient with their entanglement.


    He was no longer polite and said, "Get lost."


    The Scorpion Squad''s ruffians didn''t develop their arrogance in just one or two days. They were used to being overbearing, so how could they tolerate such arrogance?


    As soon as Su''en spoke, someone immediately jumped out and said, "Kid, who the hell do you think you are? How dare you talk to me like that?"


    At this point, Su''en no longer concealed his killing intent and a hint of mockery appeared at the corner of his mouth.


    He tilted his head and looked at the group of people, "My name... If you know it, you''ll die. Are you sure you want to know?"


    When Gallop heard this, his heart trembled inexplicably.


    He realized that he might have encountered a tough opponent.


    Why would someone be so arrogant if they didn''t have a background?


    But, this was the cursed space!


    Heh... If there really was a background, offending them would make it even more impossible for them to leave alive!


    Gallop''s eyes grew colder.


    Although the members of the Scorpion Squad were intimidated by this aura, it was impossible for more than a dozen people to back down just like that.


    The deputy captain raised his head arrogantly and sneered, "Hahaha... Am I scared? Come on, tell me, what''s your fucking name? I''ll die if I hear it!"


    This time, Su''en didn''t waste any words and calmly said, "Oh... My name is Su''en."


    With that, he didn''t look back and left directly from the crowd.


    This time, no one dared to stop him.


    ...


    He said... his name is Su''en?


    This name seemed to have a magical power.


    Everyone''s hearts were filled with confusion.


    This name seemed familiar, but they couldn''t recall it in an instant.


    No, it should be said that no one dared to think about it.


    The group of people looked at each other, seeing the doubt and the inexplicable unease in each other''s eyes.


    After a while, someone finally voiced the possibility that almost everyone had thought of, trembling as they said, "It seems... the recently notorious S-rank wanted criminal... is called... Su''en."As soon as he spoke, it seemed as if the whole world fell silent.


    Their gazes turned towards the departing figure, finally understanding where his confidence came from.


    They suddenly realized that his previous words were not a threat, but the truth.


    In this world, it was a grave offense to reveal the face of a bandit or announce the name of a wanted criminal.


    If he really was the "S-Rank Wanted Criminal," would he let these people who knew his identity live?


    In that instant, they all heard the sound of swallowing saliva.


    Even the leader of the Scorpion Squad, Gallop, had a pale face.


    Even though the man had his back turned to them, Gallop didn''t dare to draw his gun.


    A ruthless character who made it onto the S-Rank Wanted List had the strength to kill second-tier professionals. Could they, a small hunting squad, provoke him?


    Although they regretted it, it was toote.


    Gallop''s face turned dark.


    "Boss, what if he really is ''Su''en''?"


    "So what if he''s a wanted criminal? Do you think I''ll kneel and beg for mercy? Fuck that! We''ll take him down before midnight. I don''t believe he has three heads and six arms with all this weird shit going on! Let''s not hunt anymore, let''s make some money today!"


    "Yes, he didn''t dare to make a move because he''s also wary of the guards. We can even find an opportunity to provoke a conflict and let the guards arrest him. By then, even if he is the wanted criminal, we can use the rules of space to kill him!"


    "..."


    As soon as he said that, the others also agreed.


    .......


    The Scorpion Squad didn''t have the courage to shoot on the spot.


    Su''en also didn''t bother with them.


    He walked over and met Edward and Barbara who had juste downstairs.


    They had juste down from the second floor and brought along a newpanion, an olddy in a ck robe with tattoos all over her face.


    Edward introduced Su''en to theirpanion, "This is Mrs. Aqiman, she is an Exorcist and is skilled in dealing with dark arts. We have anotherpanion who wille downter."


    "Okay."


    Su''en didn''t say much and led the three of them to the door of room 1021.


    He used lockpicking techniques to open the door.


    Edward and the others went in first, and then they saw the corpse on the bed.


    The olddy with tattoos on her face also had a solemn expression and said, "This is indeed the corpse of the ''Faceless Man.'' Destroying the corpse will immediately alert the spellcaster."


    Edward sighed, "The people in the hotel should have already been contaminated, there''s no need to evacuate. Let''s prepare for battle."


    Barbara didn''t say anything, but at this moment, she had alreadypleted her Subus transformation. Her pupils turned red and a tail grew out. A strange pink mist enveloped her entire body.


    Su''en didn''t get close, but stood far away, hiding his body behind the invisible zombie.


    Just as they were about to destroy the corpse, a man with a crew cut suddenly arrived.


    Edward and the others recognized him and greeted him, "Rosco, you''re here."


    But as soon as this person entered, Su''en''s pupils suddenly contracted.


    He looked at the man''s unusuallyrge earlobes and immediately thought of the description given by the receptionist.


    Terrifyingly, Su''en eximed in his heart, "This guy is the one who booked these four rooms... Teg Galsen!"


    Identifying him, the name above this guy''s head was also "Rosco the Enchanted Beast Tamer."


    .......


    Enchanted?


    This guy set up these four corpses!


    It turned out that it wasn''t just the old nun, there was also a mole in Edward''s team.


    Su''en could even guess that a thousand years ago, these people failed to handle this incident, most likely because of this guy.


    However, even though he discovered this, Su''en''s face showed no signs of surprise.


    Since the person had arrived, there was no need to say anything. They would definitely fight.


    Three against one, the advantage was still on their side.


    He didn''t dare to reveal the truth, for fear of being targeted by the "Enchanted Rosco." Instead, he silently took out the Puppet and activated the Warlock Seal, quietly removing his disguise...


    Edward and the others looked at Su''en''s Spider Spear nting Equipment, slightly raising their eyebrows, but they didn''t say anything.


    At this moment, the olddy had already taken out some red crystals and alchemical powder, intending to destroy the corpse.


    Suddenly, the crew-cut man made a move!


    Without any warning, he extended his hands and in the blink of an eye, they turned into two spotted venomous snakes. Opening their mouths, they bit towards the necks of the magician in front of him and the olddy in the ck robe.


    Edward sensed the danger and his figure suddenly shed, appearing several meters away.


    But the olddy in the ck robe couldn''t dodge in time and was bitten on the neck by the venomous snake.


    "Rosco, what are you doing!"


    "Be careful, he''s already contaminated!"


    "..."


    Several urgent shouts.


    Rosco''s face was expressionless, and ck energy surged all over his body. An alchemical array lit up under his feet, and in the next second, thousands of spotted venomous snakes suddenly flooded into the entrance of room 1021!


    Each venomous snake had bloody mouths and venomous fangs, rushing towards the people in the room.


    What was even more eerie was that under the corpse of the "Faceless Man" on the bed, a gray alchemical array suddenly lit up.


    The corpse... stood up straight!


    Su''en''s scalp tingled as he silently took out the sack he had previously taken from the corpse and put it over his head.


    Through the gaps in the sack, he watched everything in the room.


    There was no need for him to fight.


    .......


    The crew-cut man suddenly turned against them, catching Edward and the others off guard.


    But that didn''t mean the three of them had no power to fight back.


    The ck-robed olddy was bitten on the neck by the venomous snake, and her face instantly turned ck, a sign of death.


    However, at this moment, she also took out a ck cloth doll and sprayed a mouthful of ck blood onto it.


    Upon closer inspection, her face instantly regained a healthy color.


    As they watched the tide of venomous snakes rushing in, Edward''s hands rapidly changed the Warlock Seal, and a ck hexagram array lit up under his feet.


    Then, a miraculous scene urred.


    Su''en looked at the space in the palms of Edward''s hands, which suddenly twisted.In the blink of an eye, it was as if the "canvas" of space had been forcibly torn apart, turning into two increasinglyrge ck whirlpools. The tide-like venomous snakes surged in, but before they could wreak havoc, they were suddenly swallowed by a powerful suction force into the two ck whirlpools in the palms, disappearing to an unknown destination.


    Su''en watched this battle scene from the side, his heart filled with shock: "Creating ck holes with hands? Is this... is this spatial ability so outrageous?!"


    He was also grateful that he had not nned to directly ambush this magician before.


    This move hadpletely dumbfounded Su''en, who had never seen such spatial abilities.


    ......


    On the other hand, the battle in the room was still ongoing.


    Barbara had transformed into a subus, her body exploding into a cloud of pink mist. When she reappeared, she was already enveloping the bald man.


    But the next moment, a delicate shout came: "Roscoe has beenpletely corrupted, I can''t control him!"


    Before the words fell, the bald man''s skin suddenly began to swell, and huge tumors bulged out from his body, tearing his clothes... He was about to turn into a monstrous creature.


    "Kill him!"


    Edward made a decisive decision, shouting sharply.


    He closed the ck hole in his palm, sped his hands together in a gesture of squeezing space, and the space around the bald man seemed to solidify, his body suddenly stiffening there.


    A cold light shed in the pink mist, and before the monstrous creature that the bald man had turned into could go berserk, a huge head rolled to the ground.


    The old woman in ck breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the corpse in the room, she said: "The four resentful corpses have been resurrected. Killing one alone, they will resurrect indefinitely. We must kill all four at the same time, or kill the caster to break the curse!"


    Edward also shouted: "Hurry to the third floor! The old nun must have been heavily corrupted! Fortunately, we knew the n in advance, let''s kill her before she is fully demonized!"


    The change happened too quickly, and the group had no time to hesitate.


    Without saying another word, Edward and the others rushed out.


    The battle came suddenly and ended just as suddenly.


    From the appearance of the bald man to now, in just a few moments, there were no more snakes in room 1021, and no more people...


    All that was left was a decapitated corpse on the ground, and a stiff corpse of the "Faceless Man" on the bed.


    Oh, and Su''en, with a sack over his head, in the corner.


    ......


    Outside, gunshots had already sounded, and the NPCs in the hotel seemed to have started to mutate.


    Su''en looked at the two corpses in the room, muttering to himself: "The plot seems to have gone awry..."


    The person who booked the room was Edward''s teammate, which he hadn''t expected.


    But... it didn''t seem to make much difference.


    They had to fight anyway.


    The only difference was that the "Ghost Fog" that was supposed to erupt at midnight hade two hours early.


    He didn''t know whether this was good or bad.


    Su''en wanted to leave the room, but at that moment, he saw the "Faceless Man''s Corpse" suddenly bloom. Then, from the petals, a pistil grew, and several meters long, tumor-filled, flesh-colored tentacles swayed out...


    Those seven or eight tentacles, like snake tongues, probed around in the air, seemingly searching for living beings by scent.


    Su''en didn''t move, the information he identified was exactly the same as what the old woman in ck had just said.


    "Demonized Faceless Man''s Corpse"


    Exnation: A bizarre second-order silver zombie species; a special evil ritual material, if the caster is not killed to interrupt the ritual, or if the four resentful corpses are not killed at the same time, the bizarre will resurrect indefinitely in the formation.


    Although it''s a zombie species, it can''t be killed.


    Su''en looked at the formation that lit up in the room, and guessed that this room was the "respawn point" of the bizarre.


    At this time, the tentacles seemed to have detected the presence of a living person in the room. The slime-dripping tentacles groped towards where Su''en was standing, getting closer and closer...


    But fortunately, the "sack" worked.


    Just a foot away, the tentacles seemed to sense a scent that repulsed them and retracted.


    The "Faceless Man''s Corpse" ignored Su''en and left the room.


    ......


    "Phew..."


    Su''en let out a sigh of relief.


    A glow had already appeared on the decapitated corpse in the room.


    He walked over and picked up the golden job material "Beastmaster''s Whip".


    It''s a pity it''s not a magician''s material...


    Su''en frowned slightly.


    As the previous information suggested, the bizarre here easily produces high-level materials.


    But this also means that if he wants to guard Edward''s corpse, he has to go upstairs.


    Su''en thought about it, took out the "Hangman''s Noose" and put it on his arm, then hung the bag containing the "Wet Hair" around his waist, and used the "Resentful Infant''s Swaddling Cloth" as a cloak...


    After doing all this, he controlled the living corpse to leave the room.

 Chapter 161: The painting style has been twisted again

    Chapter 161: The painting style has been twisted again


    ps. I stayed uptest night to write this, and I feel like there are some problems with the sentences. I will update and revise themter. Please read without words for a better reading experience.


    When Su''en came out of room 1021, the restaurant was already in chaos.


    A ck-gray mist spread down from the stairs on the second floor, as if adding ayer of underworld filter to this brightly lit luxury restaurant, presenting a gray and cold color.


    The identification showed that it was a special "corpse gas".


    Because the NPCs in the restaurant had already been contaminated during these three days, as soon as they touched this gray mist, they began to distort. Their bodies were like being irradiated, growing disgusting tumors and strange tentacles... They transformed from humans into distorted monsters with fangs and ws.


    For a while, the entire restaurant was filled with zombies, and the sounds of roaring and screaming were endless... It was like a purgatory on earth.


    Su''en had learned from the previous intelligence that this "ghost mist" was a gas that had a high chance of causing mutations even for hunters.


    So this was the reason why the hunters would onlye out exactly twenty-four hourster, even though they could have stayed longer.


    But Su''en discovered that this "ghost mist" was a purer dark attribute energy than dark spiritual power. It could also increase the upper limit of dark spiritual power through the breathing method.


    He tried to take a few breaths and found...


    His dark spiritual power, which had already been slowly increasing, continued to rise.


    Moreover, his body had a higher affinity for this "ghost mist", and breathing it in was very pleasant. With each breath, the efficiency of consuming dark spiritual power for recovery would increase. The amount of recovery was almost the same as the amount consumed by removing the equipment and using [Wu Shi], and there was no sign of mutation...


    It meant that in this environment, Su''en could almost maintain the state of removing the equipment.


    This was also good news.


    .......


    There was intense fighting noiseing from upstairs, indicating that Edward and the other two "magicians" had shed with the old nun.


    But Su''en didn''t rush upstairs.


    Both sides were currently in a strong state, so the battle upstairs must be extremely dangerous.


    If he joined in, he might be identally injured.


    ording to the thousand-year-old storyline, Edward and the others should have been wiped out.


    But now... it was hard to say.


    Judging from their abilities just now, all three of them were very strong. As long as they didn''t transform, they definitely had the power to fight.


    The noise from upstairs was also going back and forth, indicating that the battle was intense.


    So, he would wait.


    When both sides were heavily injured, it would be the best time to intervene.


    Su''en walked to the corridor and decided to first check the situation on the first floor.


    The situation today was different from when the previous hunting team entered.


    When the previous hunting team entered, by midnight, they only had to face the "wild monsters" that were on duty in the hotel, such as the room attendants and security guards. To hunt other monsters, they had to open each room one by one. If they didn''t open the door, the monsters wouldn''te out on their own.


    But today, because the "ghost mist" erupted early, most of the guests were gathered in the banquet hall on the first floor.


    This also led to a concentration of mutated monsters and chaos.


    But this wasn''t all bad news.


    The good news was that because the mutation erupted early, although there were many of these monsters, they weren''t strong.


    Su''en easily killed a "mutated waiter" in the corridor and found that it was not a "strange" level monster, at most it was an elite monster.


    This was quite different from the previous intelligence that said the lowest level on the first floor was the "ck iron strange".


    And there was another piece of good news for Su''en.


    Originally, the higher the floor, the stronger the mutated monsters would be.


    But now, most of the guests had gathered on the first floor, so there would be fewer high-level monsters on the second and third floors.


    If he had to go upter, it would be much less dangerous for him.


    ......


    The Faceless Corpse left a wet trail of mucus in the corridor.


    Su''en followed the trail and happened to see it using its long tentacles to grab a panicked hunter, then the tentacles drilled into the person''s mouth and nose, and in an instant, the person was sucked dry.


    The hunters also noticed this head-blooming monster, but ordinary bullets couldn''t cause much damage to this second-level silver strange. Even cannons, apart from leaving some minor injuries, had little effect.


    Because it was wearing a hood, the strange didn''t pay any attention to Su''en.


    Su''en knew he couldn''t kill it, so he didn''t waste time trying.


    Room 1055 and room 1022 were not far apart.


    As Su''en walked down the corridor, he saw a translucent shadow with a long tongue floating over. The identification showed that it was the hanging corpse in room 1055 that had turned into a ghostly creature.


    Because Su''en had the Hanging Noose, this ghostly creature selectively ignored him and they passed each other.


    Without this second-level strange threat, Su''en felt that there wasn''t much deadly danger on the first floor either.


    Thinking this, he went straight to the banquet hall.


    There, chaos reigned as monsters danced and gunfire filled the air.


    The cute maids had turned into "bloody maids", the long-legged dancers had be "lustful female demons", and thedies and youngdies had all turned into various grotesque zombies...


    The hunters were engaged in fierce battles with the monsters.


    "What the hell is going on! It''s not even midnight yet, why did these ancient people mutate..."


    "It''s probably that wanted criminal Su''en causing trouble. Damn it, if we had known earlier, we should have killed him!"


    "These mutated monsters don''t seem to be that powerful..."


    "Haha, we''re going to make a fortune this time..."


    "..."


    When Su''en walked over, he saw the hunters divided into two groups, hunting down the monsters.


    One group consisted of individuals, and the other group was the members of the "Scorpion Squad".


    Most of these monsters were zombies, and the majority of them hadn''t reached the level of being strange. Although there were many of them, concentrated gunfire could easily mow them down.


    But the good times didn''tst long. Four special second-level silver strange entered the scene, and the situation instantly became one-sided.In addition to the previously seen "Faceless Corpse" and "Hanging Corpse," two more have appeared.


    The "Big Headed Resentful Infant" has turned into arge-headed zombie, with a basketball-sized terrifying eyeball upying most of its head. It possesses immense strength and can also burrow underground.


    The "Drowned Female Corpse" has turned into a ghost with a blue glow all over its body, floating along and leaving a puddle of water on the ground.


    These four second-tier anomalies have made the hunters'' counterattack instantly feeble.


    Dealing with the two zombie types is manageable. Although they are resistant to gunfire and move slowly, they can still be avoided by utilizing the terrain.


    However, the two ghosts are more troublesome. Theypletely ignore physical damage, can pass through walls, float, and cannot be escaped...


    "Ah... those are ghosts!"


    "Don''t be afraid, there are many of us. The ghosts can''t control all of us!"


    "Don''t fucking run around! The more scared you are, the more they will focus on you!"


    "..."


    The hunters have experience dealing with ghosts, but in the end, not everyone can control their inner fear.


    Being scared by themselves, their mental state bes disordered, and their sanity drops to a very low value. They will immediately be controlled by the ghosts'' mental attacks. The atmosphere of fear will also spread, and the agonizing screams ofpanions dying will strongly stimte the nerves of others, infecting one after another...


    When Su''en arrived, he saw two ghosts floating among the crowd.


    Wherever they went, bodies fell like cut wheat.


    For ordinary people who are not proficient in spiritual power, their methods are almost unsolvable.


    The target chosen by the "Hanging Corpse" seems to induce a choking illusion of hanging, causing them to instinctively try to remove the noose with their hands. In reality, they are strangling themselves, and the stronger the feeling of suffocation, the more they struggle to strangle themselves to death...


    The attack method of the "Drowned Female Corpse" is simr. It induces a feeling of drowning and suffocation, causing people to suffocate themselves to death. But judging from the water stains on the bodies, it should also have the ability to manipte water elements...


    Both ghosts arepletely immune to physical attacks, which is why ordinary hunters fear them.


    Originally, spellcasters could still fight against them, but there are basically no money-burning professionals in the independent team, so ghosts basically mean "certain death."


    .......


    Su''en watched from a distance and roughly understood the abilities of the four second-tier anomalies.


    Because of the "Four-piece Anomaly Defense Set" on his body, the four special monsters ignored him, and he didn''t bother with them either.


    But the other distorted monsters were sensitive to the living aura on Su''en and rushed towards him.


    Su''en didn''t hold back either and unleashed a barrage of bullets from his dual pistols.


    Based on his experience ying games in his previous life, it''s best to clear out the small monsters before dealing with the boss.


    He wanted to quickly clear out the monsters on the first floor to prevent any unexpected situations when going upstairs. For example, as time passed, the monsters would be stronger, or the old nun upstairs had some special means to summon small monsters to go upstairs...


    So, he struck first.


    If regr bullets don''t work, then he''ll use alchemical bullets.


    After Su''en''s strength increased, the people he killed became stronger, and the spoils of war became richer. He had more alchemical bullets than he needed, with a quantity of over a thousand.


    For a "firearms expert," ammunition is their confidence.


    The distorted monsters rushed towards him like sharks smelling blood, but he found a corner with three walls and stood there. With an ammunition box hanging, he started harvesting without expression...


    Knowing that tonight would be a fierce battle, Su''en didn''t hesitate to use ammunition.


    "Bang", "bang", "bang", "bang"...


    The rapid-fire of the submachine gun resounded, asionally apanied by the special explosion of alchemical bullets, "bang", "bang".


    Although the sound of gunfire was overwhelming, the rhythm was not chaotic.


    The suppressive fire of the "Green Ghost," the precise sniping of the "Thunder Snake," allowed Su''en''s actions to match the firepower of an entire reorganized team of hunters.


    Headshots, joint-breaking shots, piercing through defenses...


    Absolute calmness made Su''en''s marksmanship precise and deadly.


    In fact, because of the gap between marksmanship and alchemical bullets, he killed more monsters alone than thebined total of dozens of independent hunters.


    After all, ordinary hunters who risk their lives in the wilderness would never carry alchemical bullets with an average price of 10,000 each.


    A single burst would cost hundreds of thousands, which most hunters couldn''t afford.


    This is the difference in equipment,


    and also the crushing difference in skills.


    Gradually, the pile of distorted monster corpses in front of Su''en grew higher...


    The ordinary hunters in the distance drooled as they watched.


    Just Su''en''s perfect marksmanship shocked everyone.


    Especially those from the "Scorpion Squad," their faces turned pale.


    They realized how ignorant they were before, thinking they could kill this "S-rank wanted criminal" and im the bounty?


    If this round of bullets didn''t hit the distorted monsters but hit them instead, the result would probably be the same.


    Moreover, Su''en''s methods were not just marksmanship.


    .......


    Most of the NPCs in the restaurant are ordinary people from a thousand years ago. They are not considered strong even after being distorted because they have not beenpletely "corrupted."


    The troublesome ones are the original professionals among the guards and guests.


    After they became distorted, they were at least Silver-tier anomalies.


    In this first-floor lobby, there are at least three to four hundred peoplebined between the guests and the hotel staff, and there are bound to be some professionals among them.


    When the ghost mist erupted, they all emerged.


    The fast-climbing Spider Woman, the Skull Crusher Doctor who likes to hit people''s heads, the Flesh Mountain Monster that can''t be killed even with alchemical bullets, the chameleon-like invisible monster...


    These anomalies mixed in with the pile of monsters are the biggest threat to Su''en.


    But there are many "people" around Su''en as well.


    Various eerie dolls stood in rows beside him.


    The "Sinister Smiling Doll," the "Wailing Doll," the "Explosion-proof Doll," the "Lead Sinking Doll," the "Oil Swallowing Doll," the "Phosphorus Fire Doll," the "Voodoo Doll"...


    He now had arge amount of witch hair strands, which greatly increased the number and efficiency of his puppet control.


    The fine hairs of the Octo-Spider Lance could easily control the threads, even if Su''en was continuously firing with both hands, it would not affect the operation of the puppets at all.


    These puppets could also ensure that the asional fish that slipped through the under the cover of firepower would be blocked outside the safe range.


    Even if there were one or two very tricky second-order anomalies, the invisible zombies behind Su''en would cut the monster''s head in half before they could get close.


    With long-range and close-range means, it was difficult for the mutated monsters to get close.


    .......


    His dark energy was sufficient, and he had plenty of bullets...


    Originally, at this pace, Su''en thought that in a short while, all the monsters on the first floor, except for those four, could probably be cleaned up.


    But while he was fighting, an ident happened.


    Just when Su''en was killing smoothly,


    The "Big Head Grudge Baby" exploded without warning, turning into pieces of meat all over the floor...


    He hadn''t understood what had happened when the light and shadow of the "Drowned Female Corpse" also dispersed.


    The two anomalies seemed to have suffered some invisible attack and suddenly died.


    "Huh..."


    Su''en was still firing, but when he saw this scene out of the corner of his eye, he let out a sound of surprise.


    He was sure that the sudden death of the two second-order anomalies was not his doing, and those hunters definitely couldn''t do it.


    They just died inexplicably.


    "Could it be Edward and the others upstairs who did it?"


    Su''en suddenly realized something, but he couldn''t figure out how this method of killing monsters through the air worked.


    But he didn''t think too much about it.


    Because at this time, his gaze fell on the ce where the "Drowned Female Corpse" copsed.


    There... a "gray fog" had appeared!


    Zombie species rarely produce gray fog fragments, but ghost species, being spiritual entities, have a high probability of producing gray fog.


    Because he was too far away, Su''en had no chance to collect the gray fog.


    And in this brief moment, the light and shadow fragments and flesh and blood fragments from the two anomaly corpses seemed to be absorbed by the space and disappeared without a trace.


    Looking back, a perfectly intact "Drowned Female Corpse" floated out of the door of room 1055 in the distant corridor.


    And soon, a big-headed monster,ughing weirdly, hopped into the banquet hall to continue hunting...


    They really could resurrect indefinitely.


    .......


    However...


    Seeing this, a bold idea suddenly popped into Su''en''s mind.


    These four corpses could indeed resurrect indefinitely, but what would happen if their soul fragments were stripped away?


    Su''en suddenly realized that he had found a way to restrain these four mutated monsters, no, even possibly kill them!


    With this thought, he no longer chose to squat in the corner, but ran to a position near the two ghost species, waiting to try something.


    Before long, the "Hanged Corpse" inexplicably died again, dispersing.


    The "gray fog" appeared again.


    Seizing the opportunity, Su''en rushed up without waiting for the gray fog to disappear, and then swallowed the gray fog.


    "Obtained ''Demonic Hanged Corpse'' soul fragment*2"


    "You haveprehended ''Spiritual Illusion TechniqueSuffocation Technique (Iplete)''..."


    "Spiritual Power +0.6"


    When Su''en digested this gray fog, his eyes lit up.


    It really worked!

 Chapter 162: Hair shearing has left four sheep completely bald

    Chapter 162: Hair shearing has left four sheeppletely bald


    In the field of alchemy, everything can be exchanged through equivalent exchange.


    This is probably also the principle behind the infinite resurrection of those four special and eerie beings.


    But can souls be exchanged through equivalent exchange in the alchemy array?


    It is said that the alchemists of the god era were able to do it...


    But that''s just a "legend".


    Now, it is simply impossible!


    Although Su''en didn''t know what level of array this "Four Eerie Fallen Sacrificial Array" set up in the restaurant was, it was definitely not the legendary "god level".


    The soul has been devoured, so it is impossible to resurrect an identical ghost species with this array!


    Sure enough, just after Su''en devoured the mist, the "hanged corpse" floated out again.


    But this time, the light on it was noticeably dimmer.


    The appraisal showed that the word "weakened" also appeared!


    .......


    "It''s really like this!"


    Su''en looked delighted, it was exactly as he had guessed.


    The array resurrected the eerie beings, but couldn''t restore their souls.


    If he could kill them a few more times, he even felt that he might directly devour these ghost species...


    And just at this moment, themotion from the battle upstairs suddenly intensified, as if the two sides of the battle had discovered something abnormal and triggered a new round of fierce fighting.


    Then, the "drowned female corpse" also dispersed for the second time.


    This time, Su''en saw it clearly.


    Before the eerie beings dispersed, it seemed like they were attacked by something fatal from a distance, causing them to die.


    Without dy, he skillfully ran over and devoured the mist.


    "Obtained 2 soul fragments of ''Enchanted Drowned Female Corpse''"


    "You haveprehended ''Spirit Illusion Technique: Drowning Technique (Iplete)''..."


    "Spirit Power +0.7"


    Then came the second harvest...


    The third harvest...


    The fourth harvest...


    These four second-tier silver eerie beings downstairs would asionally explode, constantly resurrecting and constantly being harvested.


    This repeated cycle.


    Su''en didn''t know what was happening upstairs, but it didn''t stop him from happily harvesting soul fragments.


    These second-tier eerie beings provided him with...


    Su''en repeatedly took advantage of the two ghost species, gaining less and less spiritual power and fragments each time, but every time he harvested, the two ghost species became dimmer after resurrection.


    Even the two zombie species, in extremely rare cases, had exploded with "mist" a few times because of repeated deaths.


    The intelligence of the zombie species was not high to begin with, and after their souls were stripped away, the impact was significant!


    Even though their physical bodies had fully recovered, the entire eerie aura of the species was gone...


    .......


    Finally.


    The style of the battle gradually deviated because of Su''en''s talent, the "Reaper of Death".


    The infinite resurrection bug of the "Four Eerie Fallen Sacrificial Array" that was originally unbreakable was slowly being cracked by an unconventional method.


    Su''en spected that the copse of the "Four Eerie Corpses" must be directly rted to the battle upstairs.


    The weaker the monsters, the more advantageous it would be for Aihua and the others.


    With this in mind, he was in no hurry to go upstairs and join the battle.


    He stayed in the banquet hall, repeatedly harvesting soul fragments from the four second-tier eerie beings.


    Infinite resurrection, repeated stripping...


    And because he was stripping from the same target, each time he obtained something different.


    Unconsciously, Su''en had actually stripped aplete set of "Illusion Technique: Drowning Technique" and "Illusion Technique: Suffocation Technique" from the two ghost species, reaching a level of "mastery"!


    And he had also stripped some misceneous abilities rted to the four elements of earth, wind, water, and fire...


    But with so many stripping attempts, even a strong body couldn''t handle it.


    Su''en was pleased to have mastered some new skills,


    However, although the four distorted monsters were still constantly resurrecting, the style of the battle hadpletely changed.


    When they first appeared, they were extremely fierce, as if they could wipe out everyone on the first floor with just one of them.


    All four of them together were unstoppable.


    If Su''en hadn''t obtained the "Four Eerie Set" in advance, dealing with just one of them would have been a headache.


    But now...


    The two ghost species had be idiots, their eyes vacant, without any ferocity...


    The two zombie species had be foolish children, attacking instinctively, relying solely on their remaining instincts...


    The word "severely weakened" in the appraisal was particrly striking.


    The two ghost species had their memories rted to creating illusions stripped away by Su''en, so how could they still use spiritual illusions?


    The instinct to prey of the two zombie species had been stripped away, and their already low intelligence could no longer control their bodies to move normally...


    The current "Four Eerie Corpses" probably couldn''t even kill an ordinary monster hunter.


    .......


    And the culprit, Su''en, had not stopped his wool-gathering behavior at this moment.


    Where else could he find monsters that could be killed repeatedly?


    One stripping at a time, he could gather all the skill fragments in ten attempts.


    Su''en had already killed almost all the other distorted monsters in the banquet hall. He was now guarding a few surviving members of the Scorpion Squad, using them as bait to attract the four monsters.


    Then, he would wait for these four almost-zombies to lose theirbat power, and harvest them again.


    In this way, the style of the battle changed from intense fighting to leisurely fishing.


    The evil ritual arrays in the four rooms were still operating as usual, but the "main materials" had been damaged to a considerable extent, and it was unknown how effective they were now...


    Su''en listened to themotion from the battle upstairs and thought that after harvesting a few more waves, and gathering a few moreplete elemental skills, he should be ready to go upstairs.


    However, just at this moment.


    Suddenly, a figure jumped down from the second floor and appeared in the hall in a few shes.


    The person who came was Barbara.


    .......


    Barbara was covered in injuries, as if she had experienced a fierce battle.She had originally nned toe down and assess the situation, prepared to face countless bizarre creatures in a fierce battle. However, seeing the scene before her, the ancient sorceress was stunned on the spot.


    The banquet hall was littered with corpses, blood flowed like a river, and various bizarre creatures were piled up like mountains. Severed limbs and scattered entrails were everywhere...


    There were hardly any living people left, but the bizarre creatures were also gone.


    In the hall, the "Four Resentful Corpses" seemed to be wandering aimlessly like fools.


    Seeing here down, they showed no signs of attack.


    Looking at Su''en, who was waiting among the four bizarre creatures, Barbara showed a bewildered expression.


    In her limited understanding, such a scene should not have urred.


    Seeing Barbara suddenlye downstairs, Su''en thought something had gone wrong with the battle upstairs, so he curiously asked, "Eh, Miss Barbara, why did youe down?"


    "..."


    Barbara couldn''t figure out what had happened, so she could only ask, "Officer Johnny, what exactly happened? Did you kill all these mutated monsters?"


    Su''en looked at her, relieved that she hadn''t beenpletely "corrupted".


    He shrugged and said, "I watched them die over and over again, then I used a little trick, and they ended up like this. By the way, what happened upstairs? Why did these bizarre creatures suddenly die?"


    Barbara then exined, "Sister Elizabeth has been demonized. She used a spell to transfer damage to these ''Four Resentful Corpses''..."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en finally understood.


    So, every time these four bizarre creatures died, it was because Howard and the others upstairs had killed the old nun once?


    But because the damage was transferred to these four bizarre creatures, the old nun essentially gained an "immortal body", which put Howard and his team in a tough battle.


    This was originally an unsolvable situation.


    The four specially refined corpses could be resurrected in the formation of the "Four Fallen Spirit Sacrifice" after death.


    And the "Sealed Object" provided a constant supply of energy.


    They would resurrect indefinitely.


    Without killing the spellcaster, the four corpses could not die.


    But the clever part about Sister Elizabeth, the spellcaster, was that she transferred her own damage to the four corpses.


    This created a vicious cycle.


    At least within this hotel, no one could kill her!


    But...


    This vicious cycle was disrupted by Su''en, who broke the deadlock in an unexpected way.


    The cycle was still there, but a keyponent of the cycle had been almostpletely depleted.


    The Four Resentful Corpses were getting weaker and weaker, naturally affecting the battle upstairs.


    The damage that the bizarre creatures could bear was getting lower and lower, and the old nun was getting more and more injured.


    Originally, this would have been good news for Edward and his team,


    But they couldn''t figure out who in the hotel could break the "Four Fallen Spirit Sacrifice" formation.


    They even suspected it might be a trick by the old nun...


    So, Barbara came down to check the situation.


    ......


    Seeing the situation now,


    Barbara also breathed a sigh of relief.


    She looked at Su''en and said in a strange tone, "I didn''t expect Officer Johnny to be such a powerful sorcerer..."


    Su''en didn''t exin much, but asked about the situation upstairs.


    Hearing that it was a stalemate, he immediately stated, "If you kill the old nun a few more times, I might be able topletely solve this sacrificial formation."


    Seeing the scene before her, Barbara also breathed a sigh of relief.


    But the battle was not over yet, she didn''t dy any longer, "Okay! I''ll leave the downstairs to you, Officer Johnny!"


    Su''en nodded, noticing that the ck aura around her was very dense, he reminded, "Miss Barbara, you don''t seem to be in good condition."


    Barbara showed a determined look on her face, "Yes, I know."


    Without looking back, she rushed back upstairs.


    ......


    Knowing the situation upstairs, Su''en was not in a hurry to go up.


    The previous information said that if the "Ghost Fog" urred at midnight, the hunters wouldn''t notice the battle upstairs.


    This meant that Edward and his team would be "corrupted" and demonized unconsciously.


    Now that they knew their situation, it seemed that even if they were to die together, they wouldn''t let themselves be demonized.


    Perhaps, by the time Su''en went up, he wouldn''t need to lift a finger, he could just collect the materials.


    Su''en thought it would be safer to solve the sacrificial formation downstairs first.


    From beginning to end, the old nun was the ultimate boss.

 Chapter 163: Bonjour

    Chapter 163: Bonjour


    After Barbara went up, as expected, the frequency of the four strange deaths increased.


    Su''en harvested again and again, and the formation was on the verge of copse.


    But the closer he got to victory, the more cautious he became.


    It wasmon for the boss to use a powerful move before dying.


    The four strange puppets werepletely harmless, but Su''en didn''t feel any joy. Instead, a sense of unease grew stronger in his heart.


    He looked at the increasingly dense ghost mist in the restaurant and suddenly felt something was wrong.


    Since there were already other enemies in the cursed space, there was no need to hide. Su''en thought for a moment and took off the "Oz Ice Man''s Shroud" wrapped around the abomination corpse, then wrapped it around himself.


    Although it would consume some lifespan, he felt that this was the safest way.


    However, it turned out that Su''en''s caution indeed saved him from a major crisis.


    Just after harvesting the soul fragments, the ghost species, "Hanged Corpse," failed to gather enough souls to sessfully condense, and the sacrificial formationpletely copsed.


    Almost at the same time, a piercing scream suddenly came from the end of the corridor.


    It sounded like nails scratching a ckboard, causing goosebumps all over.


    In an instant, a two-meter-tall strange nun rushed down from the second-floor staircase, full of killing intent!


    Its speed was extremely fast, as if it teleported.


    Su''en had just seen the strange nun with a green face at the staircase a hundred meters away, but in the blink of an eye, she had already appeared in front of him.


    Now, the only one standing in therge banquet hall was the abomination corpse.


    The target of the old nun was clear, she wanted to kill the "culprit" who destroyed her formation.


    With a p, the abomination corpse, over three meters tall, was directly sent flying. After the sound of bones cracking and muscle tissue breaking, its huge body flew out and crashed into the ruins, breaking a load-bearing pir and shattering a wall.


    "What power is this!"


    Su''en quickly lowered his gaze and didn''t dare to look at the terrifying monster just a few meters away.


    He didn''t even dare to determine its level.


    With such terrifying power, the abomination corpse could hear the sound of bones cracking. Su''en felt that his body probably wouldn''t be able to withstand even a single blow.


    Moreover, its almost teleportation-like speed couldn''t be avoided.


    ...


    Fortunately, the shroud was a "sealing object" that isted all energy fluctuations.


    Su''en, who was standing against the load-bearing pir, narrowly escaped disaster.


    But the strange nun seemed to know that someone was nearby. Although she couldn''t see, she reached out her hand and kept groping in the air...


    Su''en watched as the strange nun got closer and closer. Even if he was calm, he couldn''t help but break out in a cold sweat from the oppressive feeling that made his soul tremble. This nun hadpletely be a demon. This was not a normal aura at all, but the aura of a "super-tier creature."


    Su''en''s eyes became serious, and his mind quickly thought about how to deal with the current crisis.


    His most powerful move was the ck Scythe.


    But with the nun''s speed, it was impossible for him to have the opportunity to swing his knife.


    He didn''t even dare to provoke the abomination corpse to test if it was still alive.


    Just at this moment, there was movement at the staircase.


    Su''en looked over and saw two disheveled figuresing down.


    One had arge hole in his abdomen, and the other had a severed arm.


    Only two of them?


    The one with the hole in his abdomen was Edward, the "Magician." The wound seemed to have been hollowed out by a w, but it was temporarily held together by a ck spatial power, preventing the blood from flowing out.


    Barbara had a severed arm and her face was pale, looking extremely weak...


    Su''en''s heart sank as he looked at their injuries.


    Could these two heavily injured individuals defeat the strange nun?


    "The boss has indeed gone berserk..."


    Su''en didn''t dare to determine, but he could roughly guess.


    If it hadn''t gone berserk, the battle wouldn''t have suddenly ended after being deadlocked for so long.


    At this moment, the noise made by Edward and the othersing down immediately attracted the attention of the strange nun.


    It didn''t search for Su''en anymore and rushed over in a rage, seemingly teleporting with each step.


    A resolute expression shed across Barbara''s face, and a strong pink aura surged from her body as she met the nun head-on!


    "Whoosh!"


    The old nun reached out and pierced Barbara''s chest, causing ck blood to spurt out.


    But at the same time, Edward behind her was rapidly changing his hand gestures for his magic, and a mysterious octagram formation lit up under his feet.


    His face turned pale, as if he had used some forbidden technique to the point of overloading.


    In that split second that Barbara fought for, his condensation spell had already taken shape. He pped his hands together and solemnly shouted, "Spatial Secret Art: Midnight Seal!"


    With this spell, it was as if all the lights suddenly went out, and the entire corridor became pitch ck.


    And the space near the position where the strange nun stood turned into a viscous asphalt-like substance.


    The space turned into ck fluid and slowly adhered andpressed onto the tall strange nun''s body,pletely restricting its almost teleportation-like speed in ce.


    Edward controlled the nun, but couldn''t help but spurt out a mouthful of blood.


    It was probably because the overloaded spell caused him to lose control of his injuries, and the wound on his abdomen suddenly burst with blood.


    Edward wanted to condense the mage seal again and use a killer move, but it seemed very difficult...


    "A good opportunity!"


    Su''en, not far away, saw this and a coldness shed in his eyes.


    He didn''t care about exposing himself and decisively reached out with a cross-shaped void, pulling forcefully.


    The abhorrent zombie still had a faint breath, which meant that it was not dead yet!


    Su''en didn''t care about the condition of the zombie, he pulled the ck scythe and swung it towards the neck of the sinister nun.


    Now that the sinister nun was under control, this was the only chance!


    The ck scythe swung down, and a spatial crack appeared instantly at the end of the corridor, on the neck of the sinister nun.


    "Bang!" A head fell to the ground.


    No matter how tough the sinister nun''s body was, it was cut in two in front of the spatial crack.


    Su''en breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this.


    Edward felt relieved as well.


    Barbara also rxed and slowly closed her eyes.


    .......


    Since they had started, there was no room for any luck.


    Because he didn''t see the gray mist, Su''en didn''t dare to be careless and rushed up, directly pulling out the Oil Swallower and Phosphorus Fire Dolls to burn and scorch the body of the sinister nun.


    And because he was close enough, he also harvested the gray mist on Barbara''s body.


    "You obtained 3 fragments of ''Contaminated Barbara''s Memories''."


    "You have stripped off a fragment of obsession and obtained the ''Advanced Subus Contract''..."


    "You have gained some memories, Mental Magic Proficiency +11..."


    "Mental Power +4.1"


    Su''en didn''t have time to digest what memories he had just stripped off, and an unexpected event happened as expected.


    Just then, the temperature around them suddenly dropped significantly.


    Edward, who was sitting on the ground, turned pale, as if he sensed something, and muttered in despair and unwillingness, "Did I fail again..."


    As soon as Su''en heard this, almost reflexively, he took out the golden card from his pocket and shot it out.


    At this time, the "ghost mist" around them became denser and denser.


    The ck energy gradually gathered on the body of the sinister nun on the ground, extinguishing the mes.


    This headless corpse slowly stood up again.


    At almost the same time, an indescribable will seemed to descend on the body.


    That momentum grew stronger and stronger.


    Just a nce made Su''en feel as if there was a mountain pressing on his forehead. It was a kind of terrifying horror that wanted to bury him in the dust, something that couldn''t be looked at directly or described!


    But this pressure onlysted for an instant, and the overwhelming pressure suddenly dissipated.


    Su''en was overwhelmed, as if he heard someone whisper, "Finally, it''s out..."


    He didn''t know how long had passed,


    Su''en''s gaze focused again, as if he saw a dim yellow light shining from the endless abyss of darkness.


    It was not dazzling enough, flickering as if it could go out at any moment.


    But it dispelled the darkness, step by step, bing brighter and brighter.


    More and more real.


    There was nothing else in Su''en''s field of vision.


    He just watched as a person in a golden cloak, holding a quaint hexagonal coppermp, slowly walked out from the end of the darkness.


    The coppermp dispelled the darkness and sucked in the strands of ck smoke.


    The surroundings returned to the original appearance of the hotel corridor.


    The person in the golden cloak took out a box, condensed a ball of me glove with one hand, reached out, and seemed to pull out something ck from the body of the sinister nun, quickly stuffing it into the box.


    "Click" The box closed, and that terrifying feeling that made people''s souls tremble disappearedpletely.


    .......


    Su''en saw the person clearly and breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, "He really came..."


    The golden patterned cloak was naturally the symbol of Mr. ck''s organization.


    The appearance of the coppermp was also very familiar, it was the "Furnace Lamp of Vogang".


    It turned out that they took the coppermp for this moment.


    What surprised Su''en was that not only did he recognize the person in the cloak, but even Edward, the "magician" on the opposite side, seemed to recognize the person or the cloak at the moment of his death.


    A fanaticism representing honor and loyalty appeared on his face, then he struggled to stand up, and actually knelt down on one knee towards the person in the cloak, performing a knight''s salute with one hand protecting his chest!


    The person in the cloak nced at him, nodded, and seemed to approve of his actions.


    Edward''s life dissipated.


    Now, Su''en couldn''t understand.


    An NPC from a thousand years ago showed such a great courtesy to a modern person?


    What... special meaning does the cloak have?


    But there was no malice, they were friends, not enemies.


    Su''en didn''t think too much about it.


    In fact, when Mr. ck gave him this card yesterday, he guessed that today''s spatial exploration would probably end up like this.


    That powerful organization must havee for the "Curse Source" of this cursed space.


    This big boss must be killed.


    Without this factor, Su''en wouldn''t have dared to act so boldly.


    Although it looked dangerous, all the "idents" were actually expected.With a sigh of relief, Su''en finally rxed.


    The cloaked figure nced at Su''en, pausing for a moment, seemingly surprised that he could achieve this much.


    His tone was devoid of any emotional fluctuation, only offering a kind reminder, "The space will copse in a quarter of an hour, be careful. There might be trouble when you leave."


    "Alright, thank you."


    Su''en didn''t say much.


    The cloaked figure didn''t say much either, carrying his box and heading up the stairs.


    ......


    Watching the figure leave, Su''en casually harvested the grey mist from Edward''s body.


    Obtained ''Contaminated Edward'' Memory Fragment*2


    You have mastered some ''Spatial Magic Techniques''...


    You have mastered some Magic Techniques...


    Mental Power +1.6


    He didn''t go upstairs or anywhere else.


    He just watched with anticipation as a light slowly gathered on his corpse.


    Materials were being produced, but they might not necessarily be the advanced materials he wanted, they could also be imnts...


    These few minutes felt incredibly long.


    However, his anticipation eventually came true.


    A glowing hat appeared on Edward''s corpse.


    Magician''s Top Hat


    Quality: Gold


    Description: Who knows what might be hidden inside a magician''s hat, perhaps a whole world?


    Cursed Feature: You can pull out something from within a certain range from the hat, but a random item of equivalent energy will be sucked into your body;


    Exnation: Can be used as a material for job advancement, significantly enhancing skills, agility, medium resilience, super high perception attributes, and understanding of spatial abilities after advancement; Fusion requires a high containment value, it is rmended that a dark spirit power value of 18000+ has a higher sess rate;


    Evaluation: Compatibility 96%; This is a very rare high-quality spatial material;


    "Phew... It finally came out."


    Su''en looked at the identified attributes, his eyes trembling.


    Looking at the attribute introduction, skills, agility, perception... and spatial abilities.


    This advancement material was a perfect match for him, just as he had expected!


    Moreover, the surprises didn''t stop there.


    Not only did Edward''s corpse produce materials,


    A strange puppet also condensed on the body of the headless witch.


    Thanatos'' Death Substitute Puppet


    Quality: Legendary


    Description: A life borrowed from the Grim Reaper, dare you use it?


    Cursed Feature: After a blood sacrifice, the puppet will take a fatal attack for the host; But after resurrection, you will hear whispers from the unknown in the next month, that is the voice of the devil''s temptation; You may learn some high-level demon secrets from it, but there is a high chance of causing mental disorder.


    Exnation: A replica artifact, used to exchange souls with the Grim Reaper for a chance to be reborn;


    "Legendary" quality, another treasure of the forbidden level.


    Seeing these two items, a smile gradually appeared on Su''en''s face.


    This trip to the space was worth it.

 Chapter 164: Second-tier professional

    Chapter 164: Second-tier professional


    "Another sealed item, The Substitute Puppet of Tanatos..."


    Su''en held the eerie ck puppet, looking at the information about the puppet that had been identified, and a hint of contemtion appeared in his eyes.


    It looked somewhat like a downgraded version of the death transfer technique that the old nun had used before...


    Could it exempt from transferring a fatal injury once?


    Thinking about it, he dripped some blood on it.


    It seemed like the wooden material absorbed the blood, and then emitted a faint dark light.


    The identification showed that the contract was sessful.


    Su''en felt as if he had signed a contract with some kind of existence in the depths of theherworld.


    Although the curse bacsh after resurrection, which had a high probability of causing mental disorder, seemed quite severe,pared to losing his life, he could ept this level of bacsh.


    And Su''en always felt that "mental disorder" might not be such a big deal for him.


    "Mr. ck''s friends all seem very easy to get along with..."


    Su''en muttered to himself as he looked at the puppet.


    Naturally, he knew that this thing could be considered a freebie.


    If you really thought about it, the materials produced by the headless nun were actually spoils of the cloaked figure.


    Without that person entering, Su''en would never have dared to provoke the ultimate boss in this curse space, which was currently considered a "T-level" difficulty. At most, he would have just wandered around the first and second floors.


    This was the gift left by Him.


    But Su''en didn''t think he had gained much advantage.


    Without any surprises, this incident in the curse space would probably be attributed to him, "S-ss wanted criminal Su''en."


    But that was just as well.


    Su''en felt that this kind of fair trade rtionship was the most reasonable.


    .......


    The sealed item couldn''t be ced in the storage ring, so Su''en could only hang the puppet on himself.


    He looked at the loathsome living corpse''s injuries.


    It had taken a punch to the chest, creating a bloody hole and breaking a few bones...


    But it didn''t die, and it was rapidly recovering.


    He was increasingly looking forward to advancing to the second stage andprehending true spatial abilities.


    By then, he wouldn''t need to keep the scythe, living corpse, or puppet by his side at all times.


    He was also very much looking forward to the magical spatial techniques that "Magician" Edward had disyed before...


    This time,ing to this 1911 Hotel, everything was just right. Not only did he find advanced materials, but the dark spiritual power was also overflowing.


    He didn''t know where the "curse source" came from, but Su''en had been absorbing the ghostly mist without showing any signs of distortion.


    And in just a few hours, his dark spiritual power had increased by several hundred points, and it was almost impossible to increase it any further.


    This time, he could advance at any moment.


    .......


    The "curse source" was sealed, and this space gradually began to copse.


    Without the appearance of a light gate, the scene of the luxurious hotel from a thousand years ago gradually dissipated before his eyes...


    There were probably some valuable spoils of war, but there was no time to search for them. They would turn into energy and return to nature.


    At the same time,


    In the temporary camp outside the curse space, the hunters from the five major families were still busy.


    Several leaders of the hunting teams from the five major families had already made a decision to increase the "casualty rate" recently in order to break the seal ahead of time.


    The next group of people entering the space were lining up to register, and the independent hunters who were unaware of the situation were listening to the temporary team leader exin the precautions for the ruins.


    There was a time difference between the curse space and the outside world. It hadn''t been long since thest group of people entered, so normally, it would be some time before the light gate appeared at the exit.


    But just then, an anomaly urred.


    Not far from the camp, on the site of the 1911 hotel ruins, a mirage-like flickering shadow suddenly appeared. It looked like a bustling hotel interior, but it was filled with corpses, creating a scene of carnage.


    Naturally, this anomaly attracted the attention of everyone in the camp.


    "Quick, look over there, what is that?!"


    "Huh... isn''t that the interior scene of the curse space?"


    "Why are there so many bodies? What happened? Those are the members of the Scorpion Squad who went in before. I know some of them."


    "No, this is a sign that the curse space is about to copse!"


    "..."


    The hunters were shocked and looked at the dissipation of the hotel shadow, understanding what was happening.


    Hearing themotion in the camp, several hunting team leaders quickly emerged from their tents.


    Looking at the anomaly before them, they were all speechless.


    "How could the curse space suddenly copse?!"


    "Could it be that someone has obtained the ''curse source''? That''s impossible... the curse source of this space should be on the third floor, and the difficulty of just the second floor that was already explored is already A+. The strength of that small team just now couldn''tpare. And besides, didn''t we already arrange for someone to release the eerie thing in room 1021? They should have been wiped out..."


    "..."


    At this moment, someone remembered the abnormal number of people who entered the space before.


    A hundred people had entered, but only sixty-something hade out."Bad news, a high-level professional has infiltrated the hunting team! Someone is going after that thing!"


    "We must stop him, otherwise if the ''Curse Source'' is lost, the ck Tower will me us, and we''re done for!"


    "..."


    At this, several major team leaders immediately woke up, all of them looking pale.


    .......


    The copse of the cursed space came quickly.


    When the outside world turned into an illusion, in less than a minute, the "Mirage" suddenly burst into specks of light and disappeared before everyone''s eyes.


    At this time, several second-tier hunting team leaders were holding weapons, waiting in formation, ready to pounce on anyone who came out alive.


    Even without the reminder from the cloaked figure, Su''en naturally guessed that he would be ambushed when he came out.


    The copse of the space, there were only one or two reasons, which could not be exined. Either fight or flee...


    He secretly rejoiced that he had already observed the evacuation route when he entered the ruins earlier.


    For Su''en, the copse of the cursed space was like the end of a movie. The light and shadow dissipated, and then he saw a group of fierce-looking men in front of him, and the gunfire began...


    However, their target was not Su''en, but a group of cloaked figures scattered in various directions.


    Crackling, the sound of gunfire rang out, and various control spells were cast on this group of cloaked figures.


    But soon, they realized that something was wrong.


    Those cloaked figures exploded under the concentrated fire, but instead of flesh and blood, it was flying wood chips.


    Taking a closer look, under the tattered cloaks were all wooden puppets.


    "No good, these are all puppets!"


    "Be careful, get out of the way, the giant is holding the ''Night Scythe of Xiu Puno''!"


    "That person is the ''S-ss wanted criminal Su''en''! Damn it, we must catch him!"


    "He also has the ''Shroud of Oz the Ice Man'', watch out for invisible targets!"


    "..."


    The camp was in an uproar.


    Meanwhile, the real Su''en had quietly climbed over the camp''s wall when the first round of gunfire rang out.


    Wrapped in the shroud, with puppets attracting the firepower, he easily escaped.


    As for the loathsome undead, it took some gunfire, but as long as it wasn''t turned into minced meat, it was no problem.


    With the ck scythe in its hand, a single swing would force several second-tier professionals to avoid its edge, and no one dared to confront it head-on.


    More than ten puppets diverted the enemy''s firepower into more than ten parts. When they realized what was happening, Su''en, with his eight-armed spider spear, went into a frenzy. The threads were long enough, and with a strong pull, the undead and the scythe also fled the camp like a wisp of smoke.


    Even with the puppets, Su''en''s speed far exceeded that of the vast majority of first-tier professionals.


    The several second-tier team leaders chased after him with great momentum, but the scythe killed one, and the others immediately became obedient.


    Orders were important, but life was more important.


    None of these old birds dared to stick their necks out, and they all chased after him in the crowd.


    In this way, Su''en sneaked into the ruins and easily shook off the group of professionals.


    .......


    Su''en did not return to the camp at Stormwind Manor.


    With advanced materials just in hand, he was in the perfect state to advance to the second tier.


    He nned to find a secluded ce on the outskirts of the ruins to advance directly to the second tier in order to avoid being besieged and disturbed. He ran around the outer city of the ruins for a small circle, took some anti-tracking measures, and finally found a fortress that looked exactly the same as the one he had stayed in before.


    After resting for a moment, Su''en sealed off the entrance to the fortress and cleared a space.


    He began to draw a hexagram formation.


    The auxiliary materials needed to set up the second-tier formation had long been prepared, and the process of drawing the double-ring hexagram formation was already proficient.


    Red copper powder mixed with mithril as a base, outlining a perfect outer circle; the inner hexagram pattern was drawn with a mixture of refined borax and sunflower oil ground in proportion, with two drops of wind wolf tears, gathering the four basic elements of earth, wind, water, and fire; the formation was ced with red crystals inscribed with runes, which was already a very advanced material; of course, there was no shortage of alchemical core mercury and the curse crystal as the energy source...


    With everything in ce, Su''en took out the ''Magician''s Top Hat''.


    He stood in the center of the hexagram formation and began to chant the universal alchemy spell: "Following thew of equivalent exchange of all things, praising the glory of the original Creator, using alchemy to witness the miracle of creation..."


    For the second-tier professional advancement, Su''en felt no excitement or ripples in his heart.


    As the light of the alchemy formation gradually brightened, the top hat gradually merged into the formation. In the golden hexagram formation, there was also a ck light representing the "space attribute".


    After the hat melted, a mysterious power began to merge into Su''en''s body.The fusion of spatial power was a magical experience, making Su''en feel as if he was soaring through the stars, beholding the endless expanse of the void world...


    It made him feel as though he had previously been nothing more than a doodle on the "canvas" of space.


    But at this moment, he felt as if he had detached from the "canvas," touching the world beyond the painting.


    That world was still blurry, and he couldn''t see it clearly yet.


    But he truly felt it.


    .......


    Half an hourter, the dazzling light of the hexagram gradually faded.


    The preliminary fusion of the materials wasplete.


    Su''en sat cross-legged, beginning to meditate and absorb the special power that had merged into his body.


    Advancing to the second tier was different from the first; the greater the energy fused, the more time it took to digest the materials.


    The Magician''s Top Hat was an extremely potent golden material.


    Even if Su''en seeded in the fusion,pleting the digestion process would take a long time.


    It was like food in the stomach; you must digest it to convert it into nutrients that nourish the body, otherwise, it would be a waste.


    Time flew by, and half a month passed.


    Su''en had been meditating and digesting the nutrients from the advanced materials, hardly ever leaving the bunker.


    Fortunately, without the disturbance of aberrant monsters and hunting parties, the digestion went smoothly.


    One day, when he finally felt that the forcibly infused energy and the murmurs by his ear hadpletely vanished, Su''en realized he had sessfully stepped into the realm of a second-tier professional.


    The data on the panel was the most direct indicator; the explosive growth he had been experiencing every day had settled down, and the increase had be gradual and almost imperceptible.


    "Phew... No wonder there''s such a big gap between first-tier professionals and second-tier ones. Not to mention the awakened abilities, just the data alone shows a multiple-fold increase. The physical strength is simply not on the same level..."


    Su''en opened his eyes from meditation, exhaling a long breath of turbid air. His eyes sparkled with excitement, "But on the other hand, the boost from rare golden advancement materials is indeed exaggerated."


    Looking at his data panel again, it had undergone earth-shattering changes.


    There was an increase in almost all attributes.


    Strength and resilience, the melee attributes, had a slight increase,


    But attributes like "Agility," "Skill," and "Perception" for the sorcerer ss had seen a tremendous increase.


    "Perception" went from 13 to 24;


    "Agility" from 36 to 95;


    "Skill" had the most exaggerated increase, from the initial 51 points, it shot up to a three-digit number of 145.


    The changes in the data were intuitive but also quite stark.


    Yet the feeling was truly profound.


    Agility was not just about running fast; it was also about changes in nerve response and muscle reaction.


    At this moment, Su''en could finally understand what kind of physical quality was needed to "slice a bullet" in action. Now, he felt that his nerve reaction speed and the precision and control of his body had reached that level.


    What once seemed like a "miraculous skill" to a rookie, he now truly possessed that ability.


    As soon as a bullet was fired, his nerves and muscles couldpletely predict the bullet''s trajectory and easily avoid it.


    Within a certain distance, the speed of a bullet leaving the gun was no match for his perception and reaction!


    And the nearly threefold increase in skill was even more exaggerated.


    Su''en made a grasping motion with his fingers in the air, manipting a runic puppet single-handedly.


    Previously, his control was limited to simple actions like running, shing, and straightforward punches and kicks...


    Thus, in regrbat, he relied more on the puppet''s runic abilities rather than their physical capabilities.


    The reason for this was insufficient skill.


    With the desire but not the power, he couldn''t achieve that "intricate level" of control.


    But now, under Su''en''s finger maniption, the puppet performed a series ofplex movements, jumping, rolling, scratching, holding a gun, pulling the trigger, throwing darts...


    It could even execute a whole set of vigorous grappling and boxing moves with precise control...


    It looked almost indistinguishable from a real person.


    Moreover, with increased skill, Su''en finally understood why he had seen Mr. ck and the "Magician" Edward cast spells so effortlessly inbat.


    Before advancing, it took him about a second to unravel the eight sorcerer seals of the Spider Lance Armor.


    Now, snapping those first-tier seals was almost instantaneous.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t form seals; it was eight seals in a sh.


    The ultra-high skill allowed him to control his body to a terrifying degree.


    Of course...


    What was most anticipated was that mysterious "spatial ability."

 Chapter 165: Black Hole Doll

    Chapter 165: ck Hole Doll


    Su''en put down the puppet and gently reached out into the void in front of him.


    It was no longer the feeling of touching air,


    as if the space he grabbed had turned into a thin film that could be easily torn.


    He gathered dark spiritual power in his palm, and a dark void appeared in front of him.


    Then he reached his hand into it.


    Miraculously, a hand slowly reached out a meter away.


    He was well aware that his hand had not separated from his arm, but there was a meter of space in between.


    "Hmm, so this is what it feels like to control space..."


    Su''en couldn''t hide his excitement when he saw this. He instantly changed his hands into sixteen different mage seals, and a "ck hole" the same height as him appeared in front of him.


    He stood up and walked straight into it.


    Then, with one step, his front foot had already stepped several meters away, and his whole body appeared several meters away.


    This was true "space teleportation,"


    not just a discement that the eye couldn''t catch due to speed.


    After savoring the feeling just now, Su''en couldn''t help but smile.


    Although the operation was very awkward, this was his first experience of "teleportation."


    It wasn''t entering a time and space tunnel, just the space "canvas" being folded, and he just took a step from one coordinate in space to another.


    But at the same time, he also found some shorings in this attempt.


    After pondering for a moment, Su''en muttered to himself, "The distance of space teleportation is directly rted to the infusion of dark spiritual power. To achieve precise control of thending point and instant mage seal teleportation, a lot of proficiency needs to be improved..."


    "But where should I go to learn those space mage seals and skills..."


    Su''en frowned, feeling a bit of a headache.


    If it weren''t for the fact that he had previously extracted some techniques from Edward''s fragments, just fumbling with the simplest space discement ability would have cost him a lot of time.


    Moreover, what he really coveted was the kind of "hand-rubbing ck hole" spell!


    "Huh..."


    Thinking of this, Su''en''s professional illness as a puppeteer struck again, and he suddenly had an inspiration, "I can''t currently do theplex mage spells like ''hand-rubbing ck hole'' in my original form, but if I make a space puppet and then create a suction device, wouldn''t it achieve almost the same effect?"


    He now had the ability to control space, so making a real space tool was not a problem.


    For example, a space puppet?


    It wasn''t a second-rate space like an ordinary ring, but a "folded space" that could truly hold living corpses and scythes!


    Just like a magician''s hat, it could hold anything that a normal space could carry at any time.


    With this idea in mind, the first thing that came to his mind was a little dwarf holding a purple gourd.


    "Why not make a puppet version of the Seven Dwarfs with runic magic?"


    Suddenly, an idea came to Su''en''s mind.


    ......


    Su''en now had the ability to control space, and making a storage ring was as easy as blowing bubbles.


    But what he needed now was not a storage ring, but a "folded space" that could hold living corpses and sealed objects.


    The second-rate space of an ordinary storage ring was like a bubble in water, easily burst by pressure.


    But "folded space" was like a bubble floating on the water''s surface, not restricted by water pressure; as long as the ability was sufficient, it could expand almost infinitely.


    Several dayster.


    Su''en finally seeded in creating a space carrier and stored the scythe and living corpse inside.


    But the loathsome living corpse needed to breathe air, so he had to create an opening on the space carrier.


    For convenience, Su''en also thought of a hat, and in the end, he made a magician''s "top hat."


    Because he felt that using Edward''s method of concealing magic was an appropriate means. It allowed him to practice spellcasting at any time without being easily noticed.


    But he wasn''t in a hurry to go out; instead, he continued to work on his new idea.


    He wanted to create the envisioned "ck Hole Doll."


    One day.


    The underground fortress was filled with all kinds of puppet parts, alchemical objects, and runic materials.


    This temporary hiding ce had be a puppet workshop.


    Su''en was busy working on a puppet arm.


    In fact, many designs of machinery and puppets were simr.


    His current level of mechanical skills was barely considered proficient, and he was able to use them skillfully on puppets. He designed the puppet arm to be a trigger-based mechanical design, so that when the trigger was pulled, the arm would unfold and take on the shape of a fan de. Upon closer inspection, the six unfolded fan des formed aplete hexagram formation...


    As he worked, he muttered to himself.


    "The hollow arms of this puppet are engraved with ''whirlwind runes,'' which, when activated, can generate suction. When encountering elemental spells, they can be directly absorbed..."


    "Then I''ll also engrave ''reverse whirlwind runes'' in the mouth, so that it can expel what it has absorbed. Or maybe I''ll add a pressure storage device?"


    "As for the energy source of the runes, I can directly use the cursed crystal as a ''battery''..."


    "..."


    "Done!"


    Before long, Su''en assembled the puppet and created the first version of the "ck Hole Doll."


    He manipted the puppet with threads and tried to move it, feeling satisfied with the result.


    ......


    "Next, it''s time to witness a miracle..."


    Su''en looked at his new creation, quite satisfied.


    Then he took out a "Phosphorus Fire Doll" and nned to test the effectiveness of the "ck Hole Doll" by spraying it.


    Using both hands to manipte the threads, Su''en made the two puppets, like diators in the arena, fight each other.


    One was covered in glowing red runes all over its body, spewing phosphorus fire;


    the other unfolded its arms into a fan shape, with blue wind runes surging, and a vortex suction force instantly formed...


    The initial test showed that everything was normal.The small fire sprayed directly into the space inside the puppet''s belly.


    However, as the amount of firepower increased, problems arose.


    The "ck Hole Doll" absorbed the mes, and its body suddenly showed signs of high-temperature roasting cracks. Moreover, the suction power of its arms was not enough to absorb the gradually increasing mes.


    With a "ng," the puppet couldn''t bear the burden and burst apart.


    Su''en frowned as he looked at the puppet fragments on the ground, pondering with his chin in his hand.


    "The suction power ispletely insufficient... If encountering high-level spells, this amount of absorption is simply not enough. A single ''Second Order Cyclone Rune'' cannot satisfy full coverage of absorption from all directions. Moreover, the mes will burn the space, requiring high material strength for the puppet."


    Thinking, he carefully recorded a segment of experimental notes in his notebook: "December 13th, the first experimental test of the ck Hole Doll, failed. The limbs shattered when exposed to the phosphorus fire... Analyzing the reasons, the material strength is insufficient, with the following defects..."


    However, one failed experiment did not shake Su''en''s confidence.


    The fact that the small fire could be absorbed at least proved that his idea was feasible.


    He quickly thought of an improvement n.


    "As for the strength of the puppet, it''s not easy to find materials of a higher level. However, the alchemical puppet left behind by the ''Magician'' Lloyd should be sufficient in quality, as it is a finished product. With some modifications, it should meet the requirements. But as for the runes, that''s a bit troublesome..."


    "For greater suction power... I can try to modify the puppet''s arms into a moreplex spiral structure with a mechanical jet propulsion device. But the runes are the key;posite runes can generate greater attraction, and abination of wind and thunder elements should work well. It would be best to create an ''energy recovery system'' to directly convert the absorbed energy into the puppet''s power..."


    As Su''en thought about this, he furrowed his brow.


    He suddenly realized that his knowledge base could not support his creativity.


    He was not yet proficient in runes, especially in the field of high-level runes such as the Second and Third Orders. He had not gained much experience in this area before.


    He knew some, but he was far from being able to createbinations of runes.


    But if he couldn''t do it himself, he could ask for help.


    "It looks like I''ll have to consult Mr. Hei next time. He is proficient in various types of runes and should be able to help me solve this problem. The ''Thousand Threads'' imnt should have beenpleted long ago..."


    Thinking of this, Su''en''s tightly furrowed brow suddenly rxed.


    He began to pack up the tools and materials in the bunker.


    He was finally ready to go out.


    After digesting the materials, his rank was now stable.


    The key was that he had also mastered his spatial abilities, which gave him the qualifications to go "roaming."


    It had been over half a month since he had received any news from the outside world, but he knew that there might be an extra "s" added to his wanted poster.


    Those who wanted to im the bounty on his head would probably line up from Dawn City to Old Lingdun.


    He didn''t have the qualifications to roam before.


    But now...


    Su''en felt that he was almost ready.


    Although he was only a quasi-Second Order, he hadn''t even learned the skills of reproduction and advancement.


    But ordinary Second Order professionals posed little threat to him.


    High skill, high agility, high perception...


    In a direct confrontation, Su''en''s data could crush over ny percent of professionals of the same rank, even those veteran Second Order professionals.


    Even when facing Third Order professionals, although he couldn''t win, with his scythe and spatial teleportation abilities, he had some chance of escaping...


    ...


    After packing up, Su''en formed the Warlock''s seal with a pinch of his hands.


    Like opening a door, he lifted his hand, and a spatial door appeared in front of him.


    Stepping through, he found himself outside the bunker.


    "Space Teleportation" required arge amount of dark spirit power, and the farther the distance, the consumption almost doubled.


    The frequency of casting also increased consumption.


    But Su''en needed to practice the proficiency of spatial control, so he didn''t hesitate to use dark spirit power.


    Moreover, he had a huge advantage.


    His dark spirit power was much more abundant than that of an ordinary Second Order professional.


    The "x Blood Serum" had modified his body''s tolerance to dark spirit power.


    This meant that not only at the First Order, but at every rank in the future, he would have a higher tolerance for dark spirit power than ordinary people, and his body could store and absorb more dark energy.


    Su''en felt that this "high mana cost" skill of space teleportation would be even stronger in his hands in the future.


    After a few steps, he teleported a few meters.


    He walked a little further, then teleported a few meters again.


    As long as the dark spirit power in his body remained at a safe level, he would continue to practice.


    He wanted to test the precise consumption of various teleportation scenarios...


    In order to calcte every detail precisely in future battles.


    If someone saw him, they would definitely be startled to see him flickering in the faint mist, like a ghost...


    ...


    After a short time, Su''en avoided some hunting parties and returned to the Dawn City camp.


    However, he didn''t rush in, but hung upside down on a rock wall, overlooking everything in the city from a high vantage point.


    The city had beenpletely transformedpared to half a month ago.


    The buildings and steam chimneys towered high, far surpassing the city walls. The huntersing and going were densely packed, and the bustling streets were filled with people, and the noise could be heard from far away...


    It was a scene of prosperity and liveliness.


    Although he was far away, Su''en could still see everything clearly.


    There were thirty-five guards at the city gate, and the defense on the east side of the city wall was rtively weak. He could even clearly see the number "bs-2213" painted in white on the mechanical armor of the city guard whose gaze was focused at the moment...


    Previously, it would have been impossible to see this clearly from this distance with the naked eye.


    ```Su''en''s eyes reflected the bustling traffic of the city as he murmured, "My vision has greatly improved, along with night vision and the ability to distinguish high-frequency targets. Indeed, after advancing, the innate ability of the ''Omniscient Eye'' has also leveled up."


    The innate abilities of Transcendents can be stronger with development and career progression.


    He had noticed something unusual about his eyes on the way to the camp.


    On the way back, he had encountered a mutated lightning sculpture.


    The diving speed of this flying monster was faster than a bullet. To the average person, watching it hunt prey, especially in poor lighting, would seem like a glitch, a sh covering a hundred meters...


    This is what''smonly referred to as "physical teleportation."


    It''s because the eye''s capture of light changes faster than the neural response time, missing a segment of the visual capture, making it appear as if it teleported.


    But Su''en found that his current vision could clearly capture the silhouette of the lightning sculpture.


    This had a significant impact onbat.


    For example.


    Previously, he dodged bullets by predicting the direction of the gun barrel.


    But now, he could clearly track the entire trajectory of the bullet, not just the moments of firing and hitting.


    This was extremely useful inbat, especially against those closebat professionals who could "physically teleport."


    Su''en''s current vision could even capture every detail of a fast-moving target''s actions as if in slow motion. Seeing the actions clearly allowed him to predict and react in advance.


    He could fight, he could flee.


    However...


    While the ''Omniscient Eye'' ability had been enhanced, the ''Death Reaper'' seemed to have remained unchanged.


    At this thought, he suddenly remembered what Qian Tiao had told him about the second awakening of innate abilities.


    Using the words of that gambling-addicteddy, that was the real qualitative change.


    Thinking of this, he felt some anticipation. What would these two "S-ss" innate abilities be like after their second awakening?


    But he didn''t dwell on it, as the second awakening was something that couldn''t be forced.


    If one often skirted the edge of life and death, the probability would be higher.


    Su''en felt that normal people probably wouldn''t want to awaken any abilities in that way.


    Before long, after scouting out an escape route in case of trouble, he headed towards the camp.


    .......


    Although Su''en wouldn''t mutate in a high dark spirit force environment, he still needed to return to the city to purchase some supplies. He also had to contact Mr. Hei to collect his ''Thousand Threads'' alchemical imnt and ask some questions.


    Moreover, now that Su''en had advanced to the second tier, there were two needs yet to be met: one was the secret method of mental power, and the other was the forms for various spatial spells.


    The ruins of Dawn City were vast, and it was impossible for him alone to find what he needed.


    The Hunter''s Guild was a good ce for that.


    Su''en nned to visit the Hunter''s Market in the city to see if there were any bargains to be had.


    If not, he would post a bounty for information on "spatial spells."


    The Hunter''s Guild might just provide the information he needed.


    Perhaps, the omnipotent hunters had encountered that ''Magician'' Howard in some other cursed space, or through other channels, obtained some spatial spells.


    But before that, Su''en had another matter to attend to.


    He nned to have a "heart-to-heart" talk with the gangsterdy, Sabina.


    When it came to information, who knew more than the intelligence officer of the Umbre Organization?


    Before, he wasn''t sure he could win a fight against her, let alone escape, but now...


    It was time to avenge that night''s ambush.


    Moreover, Su''en also nned to test whether the ''High-Level Subus Master Contract'' he obtained in the cursed space would work on that woman...

 Chapter 166: Night break into the bathroom

    Chapter 166: Night break into the bathroom


    Su''en walked towards the Dawn City camp.


    One person was too conspicuous, so he blended in with the caravan.


    The development of Old Lingdun City was in full swing, and more and more caravans and pioneers came to the ruins.


    The narrow path in the underground a few months ago has now be a cement road, with a constant flow of peopleing and going.


    It seemed to Su''en that these caravans were of much higher quality than a month ago. Many professionals who were not short of money were also mixed in the crowd.


    Listening in on the conversation in the crowd, Su''en discovered that these people were actually the bodyguards of the major families and tycoons, seemingly here to take the lead.


    The Reis family, the Leonard family, the Rockefeller family, DuPont, Morgan...


    The people in the caravan were talking, and it seemed that the top tycoons in the inner city had sent people to participate.


    "Is the inner city also participating in the development?"


    Pioneering was originally an opportunity for the poor people in the outer city to earn a living at the cost of their lives. People from the inner city would hardly participate, at least not their direct descendants.


    But now, things were different.


    Su''en thought of what Mr. ck had said before, that there would be a hunting frenzy recently. It was said that the high-level figures in the ck Tower seemed to be nning to fully develop the central and core areas of Dawn City, and had ordered the major families in the inner city to send experts over.


    After listening for a while, Su''en got some fragmented information.


    He also had some thoughts in his mind.


    ......


    From a distance, Su''en saw several wanted posters posted at the city gate.


    The top two, of course, were Number Neen and himself, Su''en.


    As he had expected, because of the frequent "major crimes" recently, he had finally be one of the only two "SS-level wanted criminals" in Old Lingdun.


    The official reward amount had reached five million and a pile of other things, and the Oliver family had also added a substantial reward...


    However, he looked at it and realized that the situation didn''t seem too bad.


    The wanted posters still showed his previous bald punk face.


    But because it was an "SS wanted poster," the information on it was very detailed.


    Some major features were described in detail, such as being skilled in using dual guns, a puppet master, apanied by a blue-skinned giant, and having two banned items, the "Night Reaper of Supnos" and the "Shroud of the Ice Man"...


    The bounty experts even analyzed the models of the dual guns, down to the names "Blue Ghost" and "Thunder Snake."


    Not only his height, shoulder width, weight, shoe size... but also his aversion to the undead.


    It could be said that everything Su''en had previously exposed had been meticulously recorded on the wanted poster.


    If he still had his previous bald image, no matter how he disguised himself, he would be discovered by the bounty hunters when entering the city, let alone carrying the obvious burden of the aversion to the undead and the Reaper.


    For ordinary wanted criminals, there was really nowhere to escape from this level of wanted poster.


    But there was one thing that made Su''en slightly puzzled.


    He found that his current long-haired appearance was not on the wanted poster.


    But Su''en didn''t harbor any illusions.


    Although he had worn a mask that night, Sabina had only seen half of his face.


    But he always felt that Sabina wouldn''t let go of such good information.


    ......


    Caravans of all sizes lined up at the camp gate to enter the city.


    Because there were too many people, there was a long line at the city gate.


    Su''en felt that it was probably because of thest time he and Number Neen had caused amotion in the city, and the city''s defenses and guards had clearly been strengthened a lot.


    The number of inspection outposts had doubled, and there were also armed inspection teams with white helmets, seemingly to prevent the outposts from taking bribes...


    Everyone had to take off their hats and masks for inspection, and therge goods of each caravan had to be opened.


    It was obvious that some "inclothes" were mixed in the queue, their eyes wandering around the crowd, looking for suspicious individuals.


    Su''en had already observed the positions of these outposts and knew that he would only have a chance to get close to the city wall by following the caravan.


    It took a long time to enter the city, but it didn''t stop people from being in a hurry.


    Several makeshift sheds had been built outside the city wall as temporary toilets.


    Su''en pretended to be in a hurry and went to a corner behind the toilet, out of sight of the crowd.


    He had already observed that this was the closest cover to the city wall.


    The city wall was about ten meters thick, and he would need to teleport about ten meters behind the wall to avoid being discovered by the guards.


    Su''en was not yet able to teleport over long distances, so this distance was just right.


    He was already very skilled in the technique of spatial teleportation, so he found the right direction and made a warlock''s seal, and a dark portal appeared.


    Stepping through, he looked around, and he had already appeared in the city.


    ......


    "A little bit of a small error, not bad..."


    Su''en looked at thending spot and smiled lightly.He straightened his suit, lowered the brim of his top hat, and headed towards the city streets.


    The ck Baron''s Tavern was the territory of the Steam Party, and Sabina, as the gang''s big sister, naturally frequented the ce.


    This time, Su''en didn''t dare to go directly to the ck Baron''s, for fear of encountering something from beyond the domain and being recognized early.


    So he chose a small tavern a few shops away, found a position by the window where he could see the ck Baron''s, and ordered a drink. He listened to the hunters in the tavern talk nonsense, and got a general idea of what had happened recently.


    In addition to those hunting reports, he also heard the name "S wanted criminal Su''en" many times, but mostly with a ttering tone.


    Listening to it made him, the protagonist, asionally unable to help but smile.


    At the table next to him, there was a big-bearded man boasting about his encounter with "Su''en."


    "Hey, let me tell you, I also met ''S wanted Su''en'' at the 1911 Hotelst time. That battle was amazing, hundreds of people surrounded and killed him, and even a few leaders ofrge hunting parties failed to catch him and were killed in return..."


    "I heard that Su''en is actually a third-tier professional. The bounty guild guys deliberately downy it, just afraid that no one dares to provide them with information..."


    "That''s right! Even with that banned item in hand, how could a first-tier professional kill from Old Lingdun to Dawn City? Do they really think all those people in the inner city are useless?"


    "That person is really something. I heard he came from the slums, andter fought his way out in the gang, and that''s how he is now..."


    "Huh, howe I heard that he used to be a bodyguard in the inner city..."


    Various rumors and gossip came out of the mouths of the drinkers, and Su''en, the protagonist, couldn''t help but wonder if the "protagonist" in the story was himself.


    For ordinary hunters struggling to survive in the lower levels, the bounty on wanted criminals was too far away, and it was just a story to listen to after dinner.


    In a hard life, there must always be some fun. Suddenly, there was someone who could make the big tycoons suffer, and they were happy to see it.


    Su''en, on the other hand, was a "legendary figure" in their eyes.


    ......


    Su''en waited in the tavern for nearly three hours.


    Finally, near midnight, he saw the person he had been waiting for.


    At the entrance of the ck Baron''s Tavern, a fox-fur woman finally appeared.


    Even from a distance, one could see the morous woman, as if she were under a spotlight on stage, chatting andughing among a group of men. Naturally, she was the charming big sister of the gang.


    She seemed to have made a deal with some of the big shots from the inner city and left the tavern.


    The tipsy old gentlemen, supported by the scantily d tavern girls, smiled and bid her farewell, heading to the upscale hotel next door.


    Sabina led a group of Steam Party cadres and henchmen towards another hotel.


    It looked like they were nning to rest.


    Tommy was also in the group, and it seemed that in the past month, he had been trained by the methods of the big sister of the gang, losing his temper, not being gagged, and not speaking, keeping a straight face the whole time.


    Spiritual professionals have a strong sense of perception, and Su''en didn''t dare to look directly at them. His dted pupils took in everything.


    As the group of people entered the three-story building, he didn''t rush out.


    After a moment, he saw the lights in a room on the third floor of the hotel suddenlye on, and then he left the tavern.


    Su''en walked down the street, passing by the entrance of a building called the "Starry Inn" without stopping. He listened for a moment and was able to roughly identify the distribution of the personnel. The Steam Party''s henchmen were ying cards and bragging in the lobby on the first floor.


    Su''en avoided the gaze of others and turned into a small alley behind the hotel.


    It looked like the defenses werex, and he could climb the wall to get upstairs.


    But Su''en looked at the inconspicuous warning devices on the wall and thought to himself, "Huh, it''s no wonder they''re in the intelligence business, they''re careful enough..."


    Since realizing his spatial abilities, he had added the concept of space to his perception system, and even with his eyes closed, he could clearly discern the structure of buildings within a certain range.


    For example, the room on the third floor with the light on, he could clearly distinguish the partition, the bed, the cab...


    This way, he wouldn''t teleport over and end up in the wall.


    ......


    Since he had decided to take action, Su''en didn''t hesitate.


    With a pinch of the warlock seal, the eight-armed spider spear was revealed, and a void ck hole appeared out of thin air. He stepped into it.


    When he took another step, he was already in the room on the third floor.


    The room was spacious, and the dim warm-colored lights illuminated the luxurious interior of the room, with a faint mist in the air.


    There was no one on the bed, and a white fox fur and a silk dress were hanging on the coat rack. There were also scattered whitece underwear on the bed, and a pair of high heels by the door...Su''en saw these things and immediately confirmed that he had not judged wrong.


    This was Sabina''s room!


    He heard the sound of water in the bathroom and without any hesitation, he rushed straight towards the bathroom.


    The person in the bathroom also reacted extremely quickly. It seemed that she heard the faint sound of someone entering the room, and suddenly there was a "ssh" sound, like the sound of water pouring out.


    Unfortunately, Su''en, who was prepared, was even faster!


    With the agility of his eight-armed spider spear, he moved at an astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in the bathroom.


    Su''en didn''t give the enemy any chance to react. As soon as he entered the bathroom, he punched her in the stomach, interrupting her attempt to grab a gold bracelet from the washstand.


    At this moment, the Sabina in front of him had already transformed into a subus, with eerie red light emanating from her eyes.


    After taking a heavy blow from the cold me, her dark spiritual power stagnated.


    As a high-level professional, even though she was ambushed, she still had some resistance.


    But Sabina chose to retreat decisively. The enemy who had entered the room without making a sound gave her an extremely deadly sense of threat!


    After this punch, her body suddenly exploded into a cloud of pink mist, which was her innate subus ability, just like the day she escaped.


    Unfortunately, Su''en had already anticipated this.


    After the punch shattered her delicate body, he narrowed his eyes, pped his hands rapidly, and the warlock''s seal was instantly formed. The surrounding space seemed to solidify.


    As soon as the pink mist dissipated and she tried to escape, she reappeared just a meter away.


    Like a sh hitting a wall, she was momentarily stunned.


    Sabina looked at herself still in the bathroom, a hint of surprise on her pretty face.


    But this time, she was not given a chance to escape. Arge iron mp had already lurked around her neck.


    In that instant, Sabina''s face changed drastically, and she eximed in her heart, "Space Lock!"


    She found that when her neck was pinched by that hand, her whole body seemed to be stuck in a quagmire, not only unable to cast spells to escape, but even struggling was restricted.


    The other party obviously knew her abilities and came prepared, which restrained her means of escape.


    Space control was a very rare ability.


    The first thing that came to her mind was to search for what kind of enemy would have such an ability.


    But without her having to think, looking at the eight-armed spider spear in front of her, Sabina already knew who the person was.


    ......


    Su''en didn''t give Sabina any chance to resist. In the moment he controlled her, the two dark and flowing "poisonous thorns" of the spider spear had already pierced within a centimeter of her eyes. If she made any movement, the spear would prate her eye sockets and pierce her brain.


    And it wasn''t over yet!


    In order to restrict her movements, several other spears pulled out countless silver threads, enveloping her entire body in arge. The threads cut into her flesh, making it impossible for her to even form hand seals, let alone move her fingers.


    Space restriction + threads + spears...


    Completely defenseless, Sabina was controlled by Su''en in a very embarrassing position against the bathroom wall.


    The whole process was done in one go, and Su''en didn''t say a word. He took out a sharp dagger and directly cut a wound on her arm.


    This dagger, forged with "Amande metal" and dismantled from the "PZ911 mechanical limb," had an extremely strong anti-magic effect.


    With just one cut, it pierced through theyer of jelly-like defense barrier on Sabina''s skin, causing blood to flow.


    Seeing the blood, Su''en took out a parchment that had been prepared in advance to draw aplex covenant seal, and then dripped the blood onto it.


    The parchment absorbed the blood, and a spiritual light emanated from it.


    Seeing this strange action, Sabina''s face finally changed.


    She realized that things were not looking good.


    However, she was ultimately a top-level intelligence officer in the Umbre organization, and her mentality and strength were top-notch. She showed a sh of surprise but quickly regained herposure.


    She suddenly stopped struggling, and didn''t feel the least bit ashamed of her current naked state. Instead, she stretched out her body openly, as if she wanted the man in front of her to see everything clearly.


    Her red pupils emitted a strange light, and a wave of spiritual power quietly emanated.


    A unique fragrance that made hormones surge filled the air...


    Unfortunately, the two spears in front of her blocked most of her vision, making her unable to move.


    With a nce, she also saw a pair of almost numb eyes, faintly tinged with red,pletely unaffected by desire.


    Sabina was very familiar with this gaze.


    This was a sign that the guy in front of her was about to release the monster from the depths of his heart.


    Back then, she had almost suffered a great loss at the hands of this red-eyed monster.


    Seeing Su''en preparing to inject a potion into his neck, Sabina''s heart sank.


    An advanced calming potion?At this moment, she realized that the other party had a masterful understanding of the subus''s abilities, having calcted every move to perfection.

 Chapter 167: Okay. But... can I put on some clothes first?

    Chapter 167: Okay. But... can I put on some clothes first?


    Su''en didn''t expect Sabina to be bathing, but it was a good thing, which saved him a lot of trouble.


    She had no clothes or equipment on her, which also reduced a lot of unexpected situations.


    After all, just a nce at the nearby sink, there was a piece of jewelry identified as the "Golden Bracelet of Nito Cress," which was a very tricky spiritual curse item.


    If he hadn''t acted quickly, if this woman had gotten it, today''s situation might have turned into a disaster.


    ......


    At this moment, Sabina was captured, and her face instantly returned to calm. She took the initiative to speak: "Sir, I think there might be a misunderstanding between us."


    Her voice seemed to have a kind of magic, soft and gentle, sounding like a harmless and delicate woman.


    She pretended not to recognize him and waited for Su''en to respond.


    Unfortunately, Su''en had already harvested Barbara''s memories and was very familiar with the methods of the subus.


    The subus had four methods of enchantment in actualbat: voice, gaze, scent, and body.


    How could he not know what this woman was nning?


    If she said too much, she would be hypnotized without realizing it.


    "Shut up!"


    Su''en shouted without any emotional fluctuations.


    Sabina looked at his attitude and knew that the other party also knew about her "Enchanting Voice" ability.


    She suddenly softened her body, looking as if she hadpletely given up resistance, "Okay. But... can I put on some clothes first?"


    She cleverly added another sentence, giving no reason for anyone to act.


    Did she really want to put on clothes?


    No.


    In fact, this was a reminder to Su''en that she waspletely naked in front of him.


    The subus''s figure was so proud?


    Sabina, who was already dressed, was a charming and peerless beauty, but how could she not captivate people when she was naked?


    The bathtub next to her was still emitting steam, and the faint fragrance of rose petals filled the entire bathroom.


    Just out of the bathtub, she was naked, and a few petals still clung to her fair skin. Her skin was so smooth that it seemed as if even the glistening water droplets couldn''t stay, and they slid down her fragrant shoulders and beautiful legs...


    It seemed that she was nervous and scared, and her breathing revealed a hint of urgency, but upon closer listening, it sounded more like a seductive sound.


    Her chest also rose and fell violently due to her rapid breathing, and her fair and plump skin trembled along with it...


    This was definitely a body that could make any man''s blood boil.


    Not only was it a visual shock, but her body also exuded a special enchanting scent that would elerate a person''s blood flow.


    Coupled with her coy and shy appearance, it constantly stimted people''s sensory desires.


    As long as she was given a chance, she could fight back!


    Unfortunately, Su''en''s face was still wearing a parrot anti-toxin mask, which was not an ordinary mask, but a "gue Doctor''s Beak Mask" that filtered 99% of toxins.


    The aphrodisiac toxin was also a toxin.


    It was directly filtered out.


    ......


    Su''en had already anticipated everything and would not give this woman any chance to turn the tables.


    He didn''t look away, unaffected at all, and said coldly, "Now, recite with me."


    In addition to needing a contract formation, the "Advanced Subus Contract" also required the subus to actively recite an ancient demonic oath.


    This was the most troublesome part.


    After a pause, he directly recited a difficult oath: "&*%%..."


    When Sabina heard this, a hint of seriousness shed in her eyes.


    She had just watched Su''en use a piece of parchment to absorb her blood, and then wanted her to recite something with him, naturally guessing that this was some kind of ancient ritual.


    Although she didn''t know what he was up to, Sabina naturally wouldn''t be so foolish as to do as he asked.


    She realized that this was a very dangerous ritual.


    Sabina wanted to struggle and find an opportunity, and said, "We can make a deal! I can give you everything you want..."


    But before she could finish speaking, Su''en suddenly picked up the dagger in his hand and stabbed it into her corbone.


    Blood spurted out, the dagger pierced her shoulder, and she was pinned to the wall.


    Su''en said coldly, "Recite with me. I don''t have the patience to talk to you again."


    He was just here to try. If the contract couldn''t be sessful, he would kill this woman directly.


    Dealing with this cunning and shrewd woman, or a high-ranking official of the Umbre Organization?


    Su''en wasn''t so arrogant as to think he could handle it.


    Sabina naturally heard the numbness in Su''en''s tone and her crystal eyes turned cold.


    She knew human nature too well. The man in front of her was as cold as a stone, giving her no chance to take advantage.


    She knew that if she refused, this guy would definitely kill her mercilessly.


    But she also absolutely wouldn''t agree, so she raised her head and let out a cold snort.


    ......


    Su''en had known that this would be the situation.


    He had no mercy for his enemies.


    It was originally just a test. If it seeded, that would be great. If not, it would be a harvest of experience.


    At this moment, he took out a vial of potion and injected it into Sabina''s vein, saying emotionlessly, "This is the ''Interrogation Potion.'' As an intelligence officer of the Umbre Organization, you should know what this is. I know you must have received professional training, and your will won''t make you yield easily. But I will keep increasing the dosage until you are hypnotized, or until you die from an overdose."


    Looking at the potion, Sabina showed no emotion. She had already resigned herself to facing death.


    Instead, she was more concerned about something else: "Do you know my identity?"


    "What do you think?"Su''en sneered with a retort, his attention never straying from his panel. At the slightest sign of an anomaly, he was ready to kill.


    After administering one injection, he took out another vial, preparing for a second dose.


    At that moment, Sabina seemed to guess his intentions and asked, "Is this a Subus Bonding Contract?"


    Su''en didn''t bother to hide it: "Of course. You either be my servant, or... you die."


    "..."


    Knowing she had no choice, Sabina''s gaze became contemtive upon hearing the nature of the contract.


    Suddenly, she shouted, stopping Su''en from injecting the second vial, "Wait!"


    Su''en nced at her, "Oh? Changed your mind?"


    Sabina clearly understood what signing the contract entailed. Her expression eased, as if she had resigned herself to captivity, "Promise me one thing. I''ll cooperate with you."


    Su''en paused his action, "Let''s hear it."


    As a psychic professional, Sabina''s will was undoubtedly strong.


    An overdose of the potion could leave her a fool, if not dead.


    Even if the contract was sessful, it would be meaningless without her intellect.


    If she was willing to cooperate, that was for the best.


    Sabina said, "When you''re able, help me kill someone."


    Her tone sounded like she was making a final wish.


    Su''en was intrigued, "Who?"


    Sabina: "Severus Gerald."


    Su''en found the name unfamiliar, "Who''s that?"


    Sabina: "The leader of the Umbre Organization."


    Without hesitation, Su''en agreed, "Fine. If I be capable, I''ll kill him for you."


    It wasn''t an outrageous request; the leader of the Umbre Organization was already an enemy.


    If he became powerful enough, he would have to be eliminated.


    With that, they reached a verbal agreement.


    Su''en was surprised at how smoothly things went; he had thought she would rather die than submit. He asked, "Can you tell me why, upon hearing it was a ''Subus Bonding Contract,'' you suddenly changed your mind?"


    Sabina replied calmly, "It''s just a change of allegiance, nothing more. Since mythological times, subi have always been vassals to some powerful beings. If this contract is as legendary as they say, it could be greatly beneficial to me. The stronger my master, the stronger I be."


    She paused, then added meaningfully, "Besides, my loyalty to the Umbre Organization isn''t as strong as you think."


    Su''en listened, slightly surprised, but said no more.


    ...


    With Sabina''s active cooperation, the contract was established smoothly.


    As she recited the demonic oath, Su''en felt a mysterious connection form between thema master-servant bond that allowed him to control her life and death at will.


    Soon after, a contract marker appeared on his panel, "Contracted Subus: Sabina M. Sakarias."


    "It actually worked..."


    Su''en looked at the now harmless Sabina and released her.


    He had onlye to try; he hadn''t expected to actually seed.


    He knew that once the contract wasplete, she wouldn''t act against him.


    But curious about the contract''s power, he decided to test it.


    At the thought of punishment, Sabina''s face turned pale as if she were in agony, and she copsed to her knees, looking up at Su''en with pitiful eyes, devoid of anger or resentment.


    Su''en knew her life hung on his whim.


    He didn''t continue with the punishment.


    Freed from her constraints, Sabina quickly epted her new role.


    It was as if Su''en''s mark had been seared into the depths of her soul.


    Certain thoughts no longer seemed repulsive to her.


    The tense and deadly atmosphere shifted dramatically.


    Sabina looked up at the man before her with eyes filled with loyalty and obedience.


    Her demeanor carried a hint of ttery and abasement, "You are my master now. What would you have your servant do for you?"


    Surprised by her sudden change in attitude, Su''en was curious about the power of the contract and asked, "Do you feel any different?"


    Sabina seemed to remember everything, her consciousness intact, "Nothing''s different. I''ve heard of this contract from the elders in my family. Aside from you being my master and my obedience to yourmands, it doesn''t affect me otherwise."

 Chapter 168: Demoness, I require your aid in my cultivation

    Chapter 168: Demoness, I require your aid in my cultivation


    Su''en felt very satisfied.


    He walked out of the bathroom and went into the room.


    "You take care of the wound yourself, I have some questions to ask you."


    "Yes, master."


    Sabina responded and followed him out.


    As for the wound on her shoulder, after a pink mist enveloped it, the external wound quickly healed visibly to the naked eye.


    Su''en didn''t hear any movement to treat the wound, so he turned to look at her healed wound and asked, "Is this also your innate ability?"


    Sabina nodded and obediently replied, "Yes, master."


    Su''en always felt strange hearing the title "master" and said, "You can call me ''Sir''."


    Sabina, with apletely obedient servant-like appearance, would not refuse, "Oh, okay, sir."


    There was a very soft-lookingrge bed in the room.


    Su''en felt that the atmosphere was not so oppressive, so hey down on the bed.


    Sabina, on the other hand, stood obediently like a qualified maid.


    But she also looked at her naked body, turned her crystal eyes, and asked, "Sir, can I put on clothes?"


    Su''en didn''t mind, "As you wish."


    "Oh, then I won''t wear them."


    Listening to this, a mischievous smile crossed Sabina''s face, and she added, "Otherwise, it will be inconvenient for youter."


    Su''en looked at her, "Inconvenient for me?"


    Thinking about it, he understood.


    This was the professional disease of a subus.


    Every smile and frown would arouse desire in people.


    ......


    At this time, Su''en looked at the swaying triangr tail behind her and curiously asked, "Does your tail have attack capabilities?"


    "Yes, it can easily pierce a person''s body."


    Sabina blinked and responded, then turned to the side, revealing her perfect curved buttocks to Su''en, and teasingly said, "But usually, it''s soft. Sir, do you want to touch it?"


    If an ordinary person had a subus servant like this, their life expectancy would probably not be long.


    Su''en also began to slowly adapt to this "master" identity.


    Thinking that this was not an interrogation, there was no need for a question and answer session, and a maid couldn''t just stand there, so hezily turned over andy on the bed, asking, "Can you give a massage?"


    "I can!"


    Sabina heard this and immediately responded with a happy expression.


    She had not dared to overstep before, but now that she had received permission, she dared to approach.


    She walked to the side of the bed and asked in a docile tone, "Sir, can Ie up?"


    "Come up."


    Su''en nced at her.


    Just now, his nerves were tense, ready to kill, and his eyes were full of skeletons.


    Now, he rxed and looked at her with an appreciative gaze. This gangster''s wife had an amazing figure. She looked slightly plump, but her slender waist was full and easy to hold, with clear vest lines, showing no trace of excess fat.


    That plumpness was all in the right ces.


    Hmm... her chest was really big.


    He didn''t know why the towering figure in front of her chest had a kind of reverse gravity, as if it was also a subus''s innate ability?


    Especially after the transformation, her fair skin was like warm jade, with ayer of translucent and delicate fluorescence. Upon closer inspection, every detail was clear, and even the dark blue blood vessels were clearly visible.


    His gaze swept from top to bottom, and everything was clear at a nce.


    There was a slight pause.


    But just this one look, Sabina didn''t feel shy at all. Instead, she seemed to sense something, and a sly look shed in her beautiful eyes as she coquettishly said, "So... sir, my hair is not dyed, you know~"


    "..."


    Listening to this nonsensical talk, Su''en naturally felt that this woman had seen through his thoughts.


    He found it interesting and his lips curved slightly.


    He had thought that Sabina''s waterfall-like fiery red long hair, shiny and smooth, didn''t look real, thinking it was a wig or dyed after birth.


    Now, after scanning her unrestrained body, hmm... it should be natural.


    ......


    "Sir, you can take off your coat first, so the massage will be morefortable."


    "Shall I help you take off your gun? I''m afraid it might go off identally..."


    "This is my private room. Without my permission, no one dares to disturb. It''s very safe."


    "You don''t have to do it, I''ll do it for you..."


    "..."


    Skin touched skin, body temperature mingled.


    The touch was warm and moist.


    Su''en didn''t know if it was a subus''s innate ability or a skill learnedter, but Sabina''s massage technique was veryfortable.


    Su''eny on the bed, feeling that the soft and tender touch of her slender fingerspletely rxed his tense muscles.


    Su''en buried his head in the pillow, not only enjoying it, but also asking, "Tell me the information I''m interested in."


    He hadn''t forgotten that the woman behind him was a mid-level intelligence officer of the Umbre organization, and the information from her mouth was the truly valuable thing.


    When he asked, he intended to get some secrets of the Umbre organization, but unexpectedly, Sabinapletely missed the point.


    She said, "Oh... Banner is purely a mechanical reconstruction."


    Hearing this, Su''en turned his head slightly strangely, looked at her, and asked, "Why did you suddenly mention this?"


    I want the information I''m interested in. Why are you telling me that "Butcher" Banner is a mechanical body?


    Sabina said with a charming smile, "I think... the master must be interested in this information. After all, in the eyes of outsiders, I am Banner''s woman. But now, I am the master''s servant..."


    She continued, "In fact, that guy did it to show off. Banner has obtained the top mechanical reconstruction technology from the inner city and haspletely transformed himself into a mechanical body. To cover up, he pretended to be a good woman..."Su''en suddenly understood something when he heard this.


    He asked, "How strong is Bana?"


    Sabina replied, "Very strong. His talent is [a-043-metal devourer], naturally suitable for mechanical modification. His mechanical limbs are not inferior to the super mechanical warriors in the inner city, and in some aspects, even more suitable forbat. And, he''s almost impossible to kill. Not to mention the outer city, he ranks among the top professionals in the entire Old Lingdun. If you encounter him, you must be extremely careful. At least, it''s not easy to kill him with the ''Night Reaper of Supnos''..."


    Su''en listened with a hint of surprise.


    If Sabina said so, then Bana must be really strong.


    Su''en asked, "Does Bana know that you are a member of the Umbre organization?"


    Sabina replied, "He knows, we both have our own reasons."


    Su''en asked, "Why do you want to kill the leader of the Umbre organization, Severus Gerald? Isn''t he your superior?"


    Sabina exined, "My subus talent is hereditary, almost all the women in our family have this talent. The Umbre organization has always been recruiting various rare talents, my mother, sister, all died at their hands..."


    With a master-ve contract, Sabina would not lie to him.


    Su''en finally understood what she meant by saying that she did not have the loyalty to the Umbre organization as he had imagined.


    But at the same time, he was curious, "Since they know you have a grudge, why would the Umbre organization leave such a big hidden danger within the system?"


    Sabina replied, "No, they think I will be ''absolutely loyal''. In fact, the ck Tower has another means of controlling people. Have you heard of the mental power secret technique?"


    Su''en asked, "The secret technique ssified as ''forbidden'' by the ck Tower?"


    Sabina nodded, "Yes! This secret technique is ssified as ''forbidden'' because the high-level of the ck Tower wants to monopolize advanced alchemy knowledge. Another important reason is that this secret technique affects the rule of the lord."


    After a pause, she continued, "Duke Raphael has a special sealing object that can alter a person''s cognition. Almost all senior officials and leaders in the inner city will swear allegiance to that sealing object when they take office. It''s actually a ''mind imprint'' of absolute loyalty to the lord."


    "..."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en thought of the super mechanical warrior he had killed before.


    From that guy''s mind, he had stripped away fanatical loyalty.


    Now, hearing that the ck Tower has this means, it was not surprising.


    At this time, Sabina continued, "Because of my subus talent, I have a special growth bonus for mental power. And by chance, I obtained an ancient subus-exclusive mental cultivation secret technique. Then... I discovered some cognition that had been altered by that sealing object."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en understood.


    But then he asked, "Can that secret technique of yours make you vite the master-ve contract?"


    Sabina replied, "No~ This is an ancient high-level contract passed down. I won''t vite it as long as I haven''t reached the level of creating this contract rule. And, once a subus acknowledges a master, they will never betray their master~"


    Su''en was not very surprised to hear this, it was simr to what he knew.


    Now with Sabina, he didn''t need to go to the hall for a lot of information, he could just ask directly.


    "Why haven''t you put my current appearance on the wanted list?"


    "Because I don''t have absolute loyalty to the Umbre organization. I''m still working for them, just waiting for an opportunity. I know that you have a close rtionship with the ''Mirror Organization'', I didn''te to arrest you before, I wanted to use you to learn some information about the ''Mirror''."


    "Mirror?"


    Su''en heard this term for the first time, a little puzzled.


    Sabina said, "Yes. Don''t you know the ''Rakshasa Woman''? She is a member of that organization."


    Su''en finally knew that the organization ck was referring to was called "Mirror".


    "How much do you know about that organization?"


    "I don''t know much, the intelligence of the ''Mirror'' is personally handled by Duke Raphael. I only know that they have a direct rtionship with the forces behind the ck market... but I haven''t even figured out how many members they have specifically."


    "..."


    They chatted for almost half an hour.


    Through Sabina, Su''en unraveled many of his doubts.


    ......


    And as they continued, Sabina suddenly spoke again.


    "Sir, are you going to turn over? The back is done, I need to massage the front."


    As she spoke, she raised her perky buttocks and knelt obediently at the edge of the bed, giving Su''en space to turn over.Su''en naturally rolled over, and the view before him was crystal clear, every detail visible, the snowy peaks within arm''s reach...


    A seductive fragrance wafted into his nostrils.


    At this moment, gazing at the enchanting beauty before him, bereft of any covering, a ssic line from his past life suddenly popped into his head: "Demoness, I require your aid in my cultivation. Should you disturb my inner peace, I shall spare you..."


    Sabina''s eyes brimmed with the allure of spring, without a hint of shyness.


    "Sir, may Ie up?"


    To be continued...


    Special note: The following content is a paid .avi chapter, please subscribe at Qidian.

 Chapter 169.1 – This wave is not losing

    Chapter 169.1 ¨C This wave is not losing


    With Su''en''s permission, Sabina finally sat down and began to massage.


    As a subus servant, Sabina had a deep-seated reverence for her master from the depths of her soul. She dared not be too presumptuous, carefully massaging and rxing Su''en''s shoulder and neck muscles.


    "Sir, your muscle lines are so beautiful~"


    Sabina''s fingertips touched Su''en''s body contours, marveling, "I can''t believe that you work as a mysterious puppeteer. Such muscle strength is rare even among closebat professionals."


    Because she had to massage his shoulders and neck, lying on top of her master''s body would be impolite, so she had to arch her back and stick out her waist to reach further. This also made her body bend into a bow, with arge expanse of skin exposed to the air, rubbing against each other.


    Su''eny back on the bed, the angle was just right.


    He could see clearly with just a nce.


    He didn''t hesitate to reach out and try.


    Hmm... the touch was very good.


    There was even an unexpectedly soft and bone-prating sensation.


    Sabina''s subus talent gave her incredibly tight skin, to a degree that ordinary humans could not achieve.


    She was called a "young woman," but she was like a young girl.


    In terms of pleasure, this was definitely a wonderful figure that could be thoroughly enjoyed.


    There was a charm called natural allure,


    That was probably what it meant.


    The legendary "subus" was indeed extraordinary.


    Suddenly, a warmrge hand reached up, and Sabina not only wasn''t startled, but instead straightened her body to make it easier for him.


    Seeing that the hand wasn''t too presumptuous, she looked at Su''en with a coquettish nce and said, "Sir, you are the master, you can do whatever you want~"


    Su''en smiled.


    He reached out and tried.


    Hmm...


    Full and untouchable.


    Sabina''s figure had always been a hot topic in the outer city underworld, a longsting and sensational topic. When the Cross Society and the Steam Party were at war, Su''en extracted soul fragments from the bodies of the fallen from the Steam Party, and eight out of ten of those that touched a woman''s memory had the shadow of this underworld big sister.


    But others could only think about it.


    The methods of the "Butcher" Bana were extremely ruthless and cruel. Even the cadres who dared to covet the beauty of this big sister didn''t hesitate to chop them up and feed them to the dogs.


    Su''en had also aplished a feat that others had thought about but didn''t dare to try.


    After ying for a while, his interest didn''t wane, and he became more and more fond of it.


    He was busy with his hands, but he didn''t forget that he still had some questions, "You said before that by signing a contract with me, you would also benefit?"


    This was something Su''en didn''t know.


    "Yes, sir."


    Sabina responded with a gentle face, "It is said that the subus from ancient times is a abyssal race, and they usually choose a powerful demon king as their master. The stronger the demon king''s strength, the stronger the servant will benefit. And the abilities I inherited also have some rted cultivation secrets. But I don''t know if it''s true... after all, I only have the talent of subus bloodline, not pure subus."


    After a pause, she looked at Su''en, with an unmistakable hint of ambiguity in her eyes, and leaned in, saying, "So, master, you shoulde often, this servant also wants to know if those cultivation secrets are really useful..."


    Su''en understood what those "cultivation secrets" were after hearing this. He smiled slightly, and his hand slipped down from her waist, resting on her round and perky bottom, patting it.


    Others only thought that this underworld big sister''s figure was indescribably wonderful, but they didn''t know that the touch of her round and perky bottom was also an extreme enjoyment.


    Do you know the difference between a young woman and a youngdy?


    If you pat the head of thetter, she will ask in confusion: Why did you hit me?


    If you pat the former, she will immediately understand what you want and obediently crouch down with a coquettish look.


    Sabina, the underworld big sister, was naturally thetter.


    "Oh, sir, did the belt buckle poke you? Let me help you take it off..."


    "Oh, your inner thigh muscles are very tense, can I help you rx them?"


    ..."


    Su''en didn''t say much.


    Not only did Sabina have extraordinary talent, but her seductive methods were also just right.


    All of this, only Su''en could deeply appreciate.


    The scene was alluring, and the seductive atmosphere became increasingly intense.


    Sabina was busy, and a thinyer of sweat appeared on her forehead.


    Su''en was lying there, quite leisurely.


    He suddenly thought of something and asked, "By the way, I also n to find a mental power secret method to practice. Do you have a suitable one?"


    Upon hearing this, Sabina raised her buried pretty face, looked at him, shook her head and said, "I''m sorry, sir. I only have a subus''s exclusive cultivation secret method, but it''s not suitable for male cultivation. Mental secret methods are forbidden by the ck Tower and are very rare. Most of the ones discovered are just fragments. And once discovered, they are immediately registered and reported. Even if there were any before, they have been sent to the ck Tower..."


    "Hmm."


    Su''en listened to her exnation and expressed his understanding.


    Mental power secret methods were different from breathing methods.


    Almost anyone could practice breathing methods, with only differences in the efficiency of breathing.


    But after practicing mental secret methods, it would change some "mental aspects" of a person.


    If Su''en were to forcibly practice Sabina''s subus secret method, it would probably work. But in the future, puppeteers might not be suitable, and the work of killing with a flying needle might be more suitable.


    Seeing Su''en frown, Sabina, as a servant, felt a slight sense of panic, and exined, "Both spatial secret methods and mental secret methods are very rare, but many inner city professionals wille recently, and the development progress of the central and core areas of Dawn City will be very fast. At that time, some might be discovered. I will pay more attention for the master..."


    "Hmm."


    Su''en nodded.With Sabina as his maid, it was as if he had half of the Umbre Organization''s intelligencework in his grasp.


    Coupled with some information from Mr. ck, if he still couldn''t find what he wanted, other means would be quite difficult.


    Su''en pondered for a moment, then said, "Right, I want to get my hands on some puppetry secrets. Do you know if ''The Trickster'' Lloyd has been in town recently?"


    Sabina guessed what he was after in an instant, "Sir, are you looking for his Puppetry Odeum, ''Marite Theater''?"


    Su''en nodded, "Mhm."


    Sabina blinked and asked, "That guy had his homunculus puppet cut down by the masterst time and hasn''t left his house since, staying put inside the Oliver family''s headquarters. Sir, do you need me to take care of him for you..."


    Su''en shook his head, "No, I want to kill him with my own hands."


    What he needed was not just the secrets, but also the ability to kill and extract experience.


    Hearing this, Sabina''s beautiful eyes flickered, seemingly having an idea, and she added, "In that case, this ve might have a suggestion... Perhaps, it could even procure a fine Spatial Seal for the master..."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en''s expression immediately brightened.


    Those who dealt in intelligence really had a firm grasp on human nature.


    After all, skill extraction had a certain randomness, and Su''en couldn''t guarantee he would get exactly what he wanted.


    But if Sabina''s n seeded, not only could Su''en kill Lloyd, but he might also obtain theplete ''Puppetry Odeum: Marite Theater''.


    ...


    "Sir, you needn''t worry, the room is protected by a special istion array, no one outside will hear any noise. You can do whatever you like..."


    "Master, are you satisfied with this ve''s service? Whatever you desire, I can provide~"


    "..."


    Before long, desire was thick in the air.


    The room was filled with a faint pink mist, asionally punctuated by soft, bone-melting moans.


    With a seductive pose, Sabina asked for the third time, "Sir, may Ie up?"


    PS. This is an extra short chapter. My schedule is a mess, the regr update should be at 18:00, perhaps eventer.

 Chapter 169.2 – This wave is really not losing

    Chapter 169.2 ¨C This wave is really not losing


    Su''en stayed in Sabina''s room untilte at night, and before dawn, he teleported away.


    After this night attack, he couldn''t help but sigh. If it weren''t for his good self-control, this kind of turmoil would have visibly affected his attribute panel.


    The taste of the subus is not something that ordinary people can endure.


    Sabina has two forms, one is the hot and charming subus, and the other is the arrogant and domineering gangster''s wife...


    The feelings and sensations of the two arepletely different experiences.


    She can be gentle like ady, with the charm of a wealthy woman, and also has the dominance of an arrogant queen...


    Sabina can always subtly switch between various roles.


    She knows what Su''en needs, and she bes what he needs.


    She always knows how to tease people just right.


    For ordinary people, having such a subus maid would be a blessing.


    It''s also fortunate that after the "X Serum" transformation, his body is much stronger than before.


    Su''en feels that his body is... okay.


    But this wave of events was not in vain.


    After all, he not only joined the Umbre Organization, but also gained half of the organization''s intelligencework.


    .......


    The next morning, Sabina woke up from a light sleep.


    She uncovered the nket, and her beautiful body waspletely exposed to the air.


    Without wearing pajamas, Sabina walked barefoot on the soft carpet to the full-length mirror in the room, looking at her enchanting body in the mirror, her eyes bing even more gentle.


    For some reason, she felt that afterst night''s turmoil, not only was she not tired, but herplexion was rosy, and her figure seemed more plump.


    Thinking of something, she smiled gently and murmured, "I''m really looking forward to the master getting stronger~"


    The reason she chose to acknowledge Su''en as her master was partly out of necessity.


    But there was an even more important reason, she felt that Su''en had unlimited potential.


    At present, Su''en is the most stunning young person she has ever seen. With the strength of a first-tier professional, he has caused chaos in Old Lingdun, which is unique.


    In terms of character, means, strength, or other aspects, he is an excellent candidate.


    At least in her eyes, none of the so-called geniuses in the inner city canpare.


    Will the master be a powerful "demon king"?


    Sabina looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.


    She felt that having a master was quite nice.


    In ancient times, the abilities and beauty of subi destined them to be ythings for other powerful groups. Subi without a demon king to attach to have always had a difficult fate, it''s destiny.


    Just like the experiences of other members of the family.


    Sabina didn''t linger for long, she put on a finely woven red dress that perfectly outlined her wonderful figure. She also personally tidied up the traces on the bed before leaving.


    As she walked downstairs, the members of the steam gang all stood up to greet her.


    "Madam!"


    "Madam!"


    "..."


    These cadres and henchmen were not only here to protect the gangster''s wife, but also on behalf of the Baron, to block some unwee suitors for her.


    Sabina resumed her arrogant gangster''s wife appearance and nodded to the gang members, "Good morning, everyone."


    As she passed by Tommy, she suddenly became interested and reached out to pinch his face, pulling his skin long.


    Tommy looked unhappy and struggled to break free, angrily saying, "Old witch, what are you doing!"


    Sabina wasn''t angry, she tapped his head and a faintly smiling arc appeared at the corner of her mouth, saying, "Practice your abilities well, pay more attention in your daily life, don''t let people sneak in without you knowing."


    With that, she left.


    The gang members followed her out.


    The younger brothers also noticed that the gangster''s wife seemed a little different today, and they whispered behind her with some doubt.


    "The madam seems to be in a very good mood today..."


    "Yeah, it seems that the negotiations with the Oliver family went smoothlyst night."


    "Oh..."


    .......


    Early in the morning, Su''en went to the Hunter''s Guild.


    It was still early, and the Storm Manor was full of hunters who hade to receive and post tasks.


    The number of tasks had skyrocketed recently, with the total amount being more than ten times that of a month ago.


    The task disy screen in the guild hall was moved from indoors to the outdoor courtyard. Two extrarge screens were added, and the scrolling task information was overwhelming.


    Su''en stood in front of the guild''s task screen for almost an hour before scanning the messages.


    But he didn''t find the information he was looking for.


    It seemed that neither spatial spells nor mental secret arts were being posted.


    But he also noticed that there were many high-reward missions to explore the central area of the ruins, led by the vanguard teams formed by the big financial and family groups in the inner city. They had a lot of money, good equipment, and were led by real experts.


    Not only were there second-tier professionals, but he even saw information about third-tier professionals leading the teams.


    This was a situation that was impossible to see on a regr basis.


    Su''en looked on with amazement, "It looks like the Duke Raphael''s precious daughter ising. But what exactly is in the ruins that is so valuable, and why does it require the urgent development by the ck Tower..."


    The top professionals in the inner city are almost all important figures, they are not short of money, and they don''t need to risk their lives to hunt.


    But now they havee to Dawn City, which means that the pressure from the ck Tower is not small.


    If it were beforest night, Su''en would probably still be very puzzled.


    But now that he has Sabina''s intelligence, he also knows why.


    He didn''t look much longer and left his own coded message in the advertisement column.


    This was the contact method agreed upon with Mr. ck.


    After leaving the Hunter''s Guild, Su''en swaggered to various taverns and bought some information from the information merchants.


    But he didn''t find the information he was looking for.


    He knew that these things couldn''t be rushed.


    There is arge amount of new information about the ruins every day, and asking around will eventually yield results.


    Besides, there''s no need to rush now.


    Before, he was wary of the Umbre Organization''s spies lurking everywhere, but now with Sabina as his maid, he doesn''t need to worry.His face is not in the wanted system, so he is safe wherever he goes.


    He can wait for the news slowly.


    Moreover, even if something unexpected happens and he is locked by some special means, Sabina will be the first to receive the news and notify him.


    After all, when encountering an SS-level wanted criminal, only senior intelligence officers in the Umbre organization are qualified to order the arrest.


    .......


    However.


    Su''en didn''t expect that as soon as the secret message was sent out, he received a reply from Mr. ck in the afternoon.


    He didn''t expect Mr. ck to be lurking in the camp as well.


    ......


    Windmill Tavern.


    A table in the corner by the window.


    Su''en didn''t wait long there before an impably dressed old gentleman walked towards him.


    Mr. ck took a seat and greeted him, "Su''en, long time no see."


    Seeing this sensitive figure, who is also a wanted criminal, appearing in the city so openly, Su''en was greatly surprised, "Mr. ck, aren''t you worried about being discovered by someone?"


    Mr. ck exined with a smile, "I just happened to find an interesting alchemical item. The appearance others see of me is not what you see."


    "Oh."


    Su''en suddenly realized.


    Mr. ck nced at Su''en, and in his eyes full of wisdom, it seemed as if he saw through everything, and said, "It seems that Su''en has sessfully advanced to the second level. Congrattions..."


    Without further ado, he took out a storage ring, "The alchemical equipment you wanted has been refined for a while."


    After a pause, he said with a meaningful tone, "The skull of that witch of yours is a rare material, and it took me a lot of effort to refine it. However, the distortion tolerance value required for this equipment is not low..."


    Mr. ck said this not because he thought Su''en couldn''t integrate this high-quality equipment.


    In his impression, the young man in front of him had extraordinary rationality and calmness, so he would naturally not do anything without certainty.


    This statement was more of admiration and emotion.


    "Hehe..."


    Su''en smiled vaguely and passed over it.


    Looking at the storage ring on the table, he was already looking forward to it.


    He looked at Mr. ck and also returned the courtesy, "I''ve troubled you."


    Mr. ck smiled indifferently, thought of something, and said, "I also heard about the disturbance you caused at the 1911 Hotel before. The leader originally wanted to personally deal with the strangeness on the third floor, but unexpectedly, before he appeared, you were almost about to break the situation..."


    "Ah? Is that person the leader of your organization?"


    Su''en was slightly surprised to hear that the cloaked figure from before was actually the leader of the "Mirror Organization."


    From Mr. ck''s tone when mentioning the leader, it was obvious that the other party had the strength and character worthy of respect.


    Su''en was even more curious about who that cloaked figure really was.


    "Heh..."


    Mr. ck smiled and seemed to have no intention of responding to the question.


    ......


    The two chatted and had a few drinks.


    At this time, Su''en asked again, "Mr. ck, what is the purpose of your visit to the camp this time?"


    "There is indeed something."


    Mr. ck didn''t hide it and said directly, "A big shot from the ck Tower ising. I came to check the situation and make some necessary arrangements."


    Su''en guessed and asked, "Princess Theresa of the Duke''s Mansion?"


    As soon as he said this, Mr. ck''s face showed a hint of surprise, "Oh... you know about this intelligence?"


    "Well... it''s a long story."


    Su''en felt it necessary to exin the situation of Canosa.


    In case she is taken out by these big shots at some point, it would be a big loss.


    Although Su''en is not considered a member of the "Mirror Organization," he is seen as one by the outside world.


    In a sense, Sabina is also considered an ally.


    However, he was also curious. The intelligence head of the Umbre organization spected the news, but from Mr. ck''s tone, he actually confirmed that the youngdy from the Duke''s Mansion wasing?


    Su''en organized some words and said, "I identally obtained an ancient contract in the ruins..."


    He exined lightly and roughly rified the situation.


    As Mr. ck listened, a strange expression that had never appeared on his always calm face gradually emerged.


    After listening, he looked at Su''en and smiled meaningfully, "Every time Imunicate with Su''en, I always get unexpected gains..."


    Naturally, Su''en knew that Mr. ck had noticed hisck of vitality, and he didn''t mind the teasing tone in his words.


    The two had dealt with each other many times and were quite familiar, so they didn''t need to be too formal when speaking.


    Now that the equipment is in hand, he didn''t forget what Mr. ck said before, and asked, "By the way, Mr. ck, you mentionedst time that when I reach the second level, you have some news about spiritual secret techniques to tell me?"


    Mr. ck nced at him and asked instead, "Your profession is ''Puppeteer,'' right?"


    "Yes."


    Su''en nodded in acknowledgment. Although this profession is rare, it''s not surprising that Mr. ck, a knowledgeable person, knows about it.


    Mr. ck continued, "I have learned about this very powerful profession from some special channels. I also know that the founder of the ''Puppeteer'' was once a famous figure in the city of Dawn... So, the founder must have a spiritual secret technique that is particrly suitable for this profession."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en suddenly realized and asked, "Are you saying that you know the clue to the ''founder'' of this profession?"


    If it is indeed the founder of this profession, the spiritual secret technique must be the most suitable.


    Mr. ck nodded and said, "At least from the intelligence I know, there are traces of that existence in a cursed space in the ruins. But unfortunately, the danger level of that space is currently ''T-level'' ording to the current intelligence."


    "T-level?"


    Su''en frowned slightly as he listened.


    If even Mr. ck says it''s "T-level," the level of danger in that space can be imagined.


    However, since no one has survived, how does Mr. ck know?


    But now that there are clues to the exclusive spiritual secret technique, what else does he want?


    Su''en naturally doesn''t want to give up.He felt that the old gentleman might have other sources of intelligence, but he didn''t ask directly. Instead, he beat around the bush and asked, "Mr. Hei, do you think I have a chance of obtaining that psychic secret technique?"


    "It''s hard to say..."


    Mr. Hei shook his head, guessing Su''en''s thoughts, and then said with a smile, "Let''s talk about this when the time is a bit more ripe in the future."


    Hearing that Mr. Hei didn''tpletely deny it, Su''en also joked, "Could it be that when the youngdy from the Duke''s mansion arrives, there will be a turning point?"


    Mr. Hei raised his eyebrows nomittally and said, "You''re very smart. But this matter is somewhatplicated, and many things are unclear. It''s too early to discuss it now."


    "Mm."


    Since the conversation had reached this point, Su''en didn''t dwell on the topic any longer.


    But now that he had encountered a "know-it-all," he naturally wouldn''t let the opportunity slip by so easily.


    Thinking of his "ck Hole Doll," Su''en said, "Mr. Hei, are you in a hurry to leave? If not, I have some knowledge about runes that I''d like to consult you on."


    Mr. Hei was never stingy when it came to imparting knowledge about alchemy. Hearing Su''en''s sincere request, he said, "I did have a little matter to attend to. But it''s not urgent right this moment."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en didn''t hold back and directly said, "I''ve now mastered spatial abilities... So I have an idea, which is to create a rune puppet that can absorb elemental spells. But I''ve encountered some problems..."


    He described the issues he was facing one by one.


    As soon as it came to professional knowledge, Mr. Hei''s expression became very serious.


    Sure enough, the learned man knew immediately where the problemy upon hearing it.


    He listened to Su''en''s design, nodding in approval from time to time.


    After listening, Mr. Hei didn''t forget topliment, "Your idea is indeed good. However, your knowledge of runes is a bit too scattered. Youck a solid framework of knowledge, which will make it difficult to delve into higher realms in the future..."


    Su''en didn''t mind being "educated" and said, "I''m working hard to learn. But the knowledge of runes is profound and vast, and there''s still a long way to go to master it..."


    Considering that Su''en came from an unconventional background, it was already impressive that he had reached this level.


    Mr. Hei''s words were more out of appreciation for talent.


    He didn''t say much more and directly said, "The direction of your idea is problematic. Combining wind and lightning elements indeed increases the suction strength. But to carry high-level runes, the material requirements for the puppet will be very high, especially forposite runes. You also need to consider thepatibility and conflict of different elemental types. Moreover, if you want to create a puppet that can absorb most elemental spells, it''s best to use third-tier runes. I think you can trybining the third-tier ''Storm Rune'' with ''Little Thunder Sea''..."


    "..."


    Su''en listened intently.


    As he listened, he realized that Mr. Hei''s research on puppetry was also so profound.


    However...


    Although the old dean''s method of teaching was very scientific, starting from the basics and gradually going deeper, he went from materials and structure to discussing third-tier runes, which only top professionals would touch upon. Su''en gradually started to feel a bit lost.


    His knowledge of runes was basically piecemeal,pletely fragmented, and it had only improved a bit after cramming textbooks recently.


    But now, although he could understand some of it, he couldn''t connect it all together.


    Fortunately, Mr. Hei also took this into ount. After exining the principles for a while, it was as if he had opened his own floodgates of inspiration. It seemed that just talking was no longer satisfying, so he waved his hand grandly and said to Su''en, "Come, let''s find a workshop and do some practical work."


    "Great!"


    Su''en readily agreed.

 Chapter 170: Dispose of stolen goods

    Chapter 170: Dispose of stolen goods


    Mr. Hei has a very rigorous attitude towards academic research.


    Su''en asked the question, thought of a solution, and immediately put it into action.


    The two didn''t stay in the tavern for long, they went to the street and found a workshop for renting equipment for hunters to forge and went straight in.


    They stayed there for a day and a night.


    Originally, Su''en just wanted to get some advice and then improve on his own.


    Unexpectedly, Mr. Hei was also very interested in this puppet, and gave him a vivid practical course on rune and puppet making.


    The two stayed in the workshop, and their inspiration kept bursting, colliding with many brilliant sparks in design.


    What was originally just asking for advice turned into a practical course for the development of a new puppet.


    Su''en once again witnessed the old gentleman''s extensive knowledge, he seemed to know everything...


    As long as Su''en could think of, Mr. Hei could almost always provide corresponding opinions and solutions.


    Third-order runes, third-order enchantments, and Mr. Hei''s unique alchemical refining techniques, ancient alchemical ck technology, and various top-notch technologies were all piled onto the puppet...


    In the end, the two of them used the alchemical puppet as material to create a truly finished product, the "ck Hole Doll".


    The final product far exceeded Su''en''s expectations.


    Whether it was the concept, materials, functions, or anything else, it reached the level of a top-tier puppet.


    ......


    Su''en benefited greatly from this day and night of learning.


    If he had nothing else to do, he really wanted to study with Mr. Hei for a while.


    However, it was clear that this key member of the "Mirror Organization" had more important things to do at the camp.


    It was not easy to dy helping Su''en make puppets for a day.


    Although Mr. Hei did not pursue a career rted to spatial spells, it did not prevent him from having a wealth of theoretical knowledge about spatial spells. Su''en also obtained some "spatial spell" forms and magic scrolls from his collection.


    However, it would still be a long road to turn the spell scrolls into skills that he could master.


    ......


    After Mr. Hei left, Su''en continued to stay in the workshop for a few days.


    Compared to other professionals of the same level, puppeteers had a major advantage, which was that they could usually use puppets forbat that were of a higher level than themselves.


    This "ck Hole Doll" alone, with its ability to absorb third-order elemental spells, was enough to make the vast majority of third-order elemental spellcasters feel defeated.


    Although he still couldn''t win, Su''en felt that the possibility of being instantly killed by area-of-effect spells was very low when facing them head-on.


    And now that he had sessfully integrated the new alchemical prosthetic "Thousand Threads  Great Lion''s Chaotic Song", the puppet''s control ability allowed it to take off directly from the ground.


    After removing the prosthetic, it was the same situation as when "Magician" Lloyd was covered in threads, allowing him to control the number of threads, no longer limited to the degree that his fingers could control, but increasing by a hundredfold or a thousandfold.


    And Su''en had an advantage that other puppeteers did not have, which was the Eight-Armed Spider Spear prosthetic!


    After the fusion of the cursed properties, the Eight-Armed Spider Spear also improved by a level.


    The original spear already had thousands of fibers, which were now very useful. The fibers were like fingers, making it very precise and easy to control the threads.


    It could be said that as long as Su''en could control multiple threads at once, he would have an absolute advantage in controlling the threads.


    ......


    On this day, at midnight, Su''en teleported to Sabina''s room once again.


    The gang boss was not surprised at all by the unexpected intrusion into her room, as if she was weing a guest.


    After a deep discussion of the action n, it was close to dawn when Su''en teleported out again.


    The next day at noon.


    Su''en contacted a spective merchant, "Iron Lame" Maggie Tan.


    This guy was a reputable merchant in the ck market of Old Lingdun.


    After having his leg broken by a colleague in his early years, he got a mechanical leg and got his nickname from it.


    He had nobat power, but he had a very widework.


    He often had ess to goods that others couldn''t get, and dared to ept stolen goods that others didn''t dare to take.


    When Su''en was shopping in the ck market before, he had dealt with this guy a few times.


    But now Su''en also learned from Sabina that this guy was actually a covert member of the Umbre Organization.


    No, to be precise, he was a multi-faceted information merchant.


    As long as the price was right, he dared to sell any information.


    ......


    At the ck Baron''s tavern.


    Su''en deliberately disguised himself, pasting a bald head with a biosynthetic scalp, then wearing a wig and a Zolo mask to cover his face.


    He lowered the brim of his hat, drank his wine, and when the time was right, he saw a man with a mechanical leg walk in.


    Su''en greeted him and then said to the bartender, "Another ss of wine."


    Maggie Tan walked over, poured himself a ss of wine without being polite, and then said, "I heard from my buddy that you have goods to sell?"


    As he spoke, he also took a look at Su''en.


    This kind of cunning ck market merchant could see through the not-so-clever disguises.


    Su''en calmly said, "I have a batch of goods that can''t see the light of day and need to be sold. Let''s see if you can handle it."


    This was the ng used in the ck market for selling stolen goods.


    Upon hearing this, Maggie Tan was a little unhappy, feeling that he was being underestimated, and said, "Brother, I don''t care about anything else, as long as you have good goods, even if they''re worth a billion or eight billion, I can take them immediately."


    Su''en said, "This batch of goods is worth about seven or eight billion. And I want cash."


    As he spoke, he took out a storage ring with some samples inside.


    This was the rule in the ck market, called "sampling".


    It lets the buyer know that you really have good goods.


    Maggie Tan was a little contemptuous when he heard Su''en say seven or eight billion, after all, that kind ofrge-scale business was impossible to appear in the hands of a lone hunter.


    But when he took the storage ring and looked inside, his gaze immediately fixed on it.


    The samples were not just ordinary items, just a few simple pieces.


    There were materials for the "Beast Tamer''s Whip" made of gold, the alchemical material "Abbas''s Flesh" made of silver, and several second-order advanced materials and alchemical prosthetics.But it was these few things that made the ck market merchant stare for a moment, thinking that he was under an illusion.


    He tried to take out one, only to find that it was real!


    These ck market merchants were all experienced "appraisers" and could tell at a nce whether something was good or not.


    "This..."


    Maggie Tan looked at the golden and silver materials, thinking that he was looking at the product catalog of arge auction!


    Looking at the man in front of him, who was drinking calmly, he immediately realized that this was a business deal worth seven or eight billion.


    The contempt in his eyes disappeared, and he immediately showed great joy. He directly waved his hand to the bartender, "Open a VIP room upstairs, I have business to discuss with this boss."


    Changing to a private room was also in line with Su''en''s intentions, but he also said indifferently, "ording to the rules, I want to see the cash."


    Maggie Tan also knew that the man in front of him was knowledgeable, so he naturally didn''t hesitate, "No problem!"


    As he spoke, he discreetly nced at Su''en again, then beckoned to the steward beside him and gave a few instructions.


    ......


    Each has their own way.


    Maggie Tan, also known as "Iron Lame," despite being a ck market merchant, was able to ess the exclusive VIP room of the ck Jazz, which others could not. He led his men straight up.


    The two of them went to the private room and ordered good wine.


    Maggie Tan poured the wine and warmly toasted Su''en, saying, "Brother, wait a moment, the cash will be here in ten minutes at most. You can rest assured that everything will be done ording to the rules, and you won''t be at a loss, brother."


    Su''en didn''t mind and clinked sses with him.


    The two chatted for a while, and at this point, Maggie Tan also tentatively said, "Brother, let me get to the bottom of this. Is that batch of goods really worth seven or eight billion?"


    "Just a little more, not less."


    Su''en''s tone remained calm, "It''s just that this batch of goods is a bit hot, so I n to sell it to you at a discount."


    "Don''t worry, I can handle even the hottest goods!"


    Maggie Tan was not worried at all, but rather delighted.


    The hotter the goods, the higher the profit.


    He vowed and patted his chest, "Brother, you came to me, and you must have heard of my reputation as ''Iron Lame.'' I won''t say anything else, but I have a lot of money, good reputation, and many channels..."


    Su''en didn''t say much more. He took out the box he had brought with him and opened it to reveal a box full of storage rings.


    There were probably one or two hundred of them.


    "..."


    Looking at this, Maggie Tan''s gaze became somewhat strange.


    Naturally, he also noticed some details.


    The Chamber of Commerce sometimes uses arge number of storage rings for shipments. However, in those cases, the storage rings are usually brand new or of simr quality.


    The storage rings in front of him, on the other hand, were shiny and showed signs of being used for a long time.


    Usually, the storage rings of hunters are used for a lifetime and will not be released unless they die.


    In other words...


    Are these one or two hundred storage rings in front of him all pulled from corpses?


    Did this guy kill hundreds of people?


    Or did he happen toe across arge hunting team that had been wiped out and picked them up?


    But since it was said to be hot goods, it definitely wasn''t picked up...


    Seeing this, Maggie Tan''s expression suddenly became somewhat subtle, and he looked at Su''en again, feeling a little uneasy.


    Suddenly, he felt a bit reckless to be in the same room with such a person of unknown origin.


    Although he had received stolen goods countless times before and had dealt with all kinds of thieves and wanted criminals...


    For some reason, this time, he felt inexplicably nervous.


    ......


    ording to the rules, the goods cannot be inspected until the money arrives.


    Maggie Tan was an old hand at this, and even though he had doubts in his mind, he didn''t show it at all. He kept urging Su''en to drink.


    While drinking, he also kept observing in secret. When he discovered that the man in front of him was wearing a wig, his mental activity became even more exciting.


    Su''en naturally also noticed that this guy had been staring at him the whole time, but he pretended not to know.


    After all, he hade this time to let people guess his identity.


    Before long, several burly men in ck suits arrived.


    They entered the room and took out iron boxes from the storage rings. When they opened them, they were filled with "Curse Crystals."


    This type of energy source was also a hard currency, worth ten thousand lisos per piece, more convenient than cash.


    After verifying the funds, Maggie Tan said, "Brother, you''ve seen the money, can I inspect the goods now?"


    With these burly men in the room, this guy''s confidence was obviously much stronger.


    Su''en shrugged, saying, "Feel free."


    His gaze never left the several obvious first-tier professionals who were clearly not a threat.


    There were a lot of storage rings, and Maggie Tan and his two assistants began to inspect and count them one by one.


    While inspecting, they also recorded the value of the goods in a notebook.


    At first, there was nothing particrly unusual, and the three of them were counting as usual.


    But when Ken was counting, one of the assistants suddenly turned pale, and he didn''t know what he had seen. It was as if he had been electrocuted, and he actually dropped the storage ring he was holding to the ground.


    This abnormal movement instantly made the atmosphere in the room tense.


    Several burly men had already quietly put their hands on their chests and loosened their gun holsters.


    They did ck market business and had seen all sorts of weird things.


    Could it be that there was a bomb in the storage ring?


    Maggie Tan''s first reaction was that it was a case of the pot calling the kettle ck, but when he nced at Su''en, who was still calm, he felt that he had judged wrongly.


    He reprimanded the steward beside him, "Don''t you understand the rules for receiving goods?! Can you afford topensate the customer if you break their things?!"


    This was also a coded message, a hint for the assistant to say what was inside.


    If it was a bomb, there was a code for a bomb, but it couldn''t be said directly.


    Just in case it led to a confrontation.


    However, the assistant was obviously confused and didn''t know how to describe what he had seen. He spoke hesitantly, "No, boss, it''s not... it''s not..."


    As he spoke, he held the trembling storage ring in his hands, looking as if he wanted to cry but had no tears."Hmph! Useless trash!"


    Maggie Tan muttered under his breath, knowing that things might take a turn for the worse.


    These were all his long-time associates, and it was impossible for them to make such a mistake.


    But he took a look anyway.


    Huh...aren''t these just normal goods?


    Firearms, alchemical imnts, mechanicalponents, potions, alchemical materials...


    Huh...why does this badge look so familiar?


    This little umbre...


    Damn it!


    Isn''t this the insignia of the Umbre Organization''s leader?


    In that instant, a myriad of thoughts raced through Maggie Tan''s mind.


    As an undercover agent for the Umbre Organization, how could he not recognize this badge?


    Where there''s a person, there''s a badge!


    Now that the badge is here, it means that the person in front of him killed a member of the Umbre Organization?


    What if it was just found?


    Maggie Tan instantly dismissed this ridiculous notion.


    A quick nce at the 100 or 200 storage rings in the box, were they all just found?


    The experienced ck market merchant''s mind was suddenly unsettled.


    In an instant, he felt a chill down his spine.


    The several bodyguards in the room offered him no sense of security.


    Although all forms ofbat were prohibited in the camp, what wouldn''t these madmen who dared to kill Umbre Organization members do?


    In Maggie Tan''s mind, he was already automatically searching for the images of wanted criminals with an S-rank or higher.


    ......


    "What''s wrong, Mr. Maggie Tan, is there a problem with this merchandise?"


    Su''en looked at him without any change in expression, smiled, and said, "Of course, I told you in advance that the goods are a bit hot. You said it wouldn''t be a problem, right?"


    The storage rings in the box were in disarray, and Su''en himself didn''t know what these people saw.


    But it was nothing more than those things.


    It was the things Su''en had killed before, some of the military equipment stripped from the besieging personnel in the inner city of Old Lingdun; the spoils obtained from killing three second-tier Umbre Organization members and a bunch of first-tier professionals in the outer city; the time when he killed several members of the Oliver family during the witch''s hair incident...


    Oh, and even the time when he collected the spoils from the students Jack, the two assistant instructors Daniel and Rosa, and the second-tier assassin during the trial in the underground chamber.


    Previously, for fear of exposing his identity and the situation being revealed, many spoils of war dared not show up on the market.


    Now that they had all be "SS wanted criminals," those charges of murder were just a drop in the bucket...


    Might as well pack and sell them.


    ......


    A problem?


    It''s more than just a problem!


    You, this batch of goods is just a bit hot?


    Damn it, this batch of goods is basically a red-hot iron ball, no one in the ck market dares to take it!


    Listening to Su''en''s casual words, Maggie Tan felt as if he was being threatened.


    Now that the words were out, would he dare to say no to this merchandise?


    After all, he was a member of the Umbre Organization, and although Maggie Tan had already cursed in his heart, he still smiled and said, "No problem! I, Maggie Tan, dare to take even the hottest goods!"


    He was just an intelligence worker, and fighting was the job ofbat personnel.


    What he needed to do now was not to provoke the person in front of him and to save his own life.


    Seeing his attitude, Su''en nodded in satisfaction. "Well, I''ve always said that Mr. Maggie Tan has a good reputation. Now that I see it, you really haven''t disappointed me."


    After a pause, he added, "Next time I have business, I''lle to you."


    "Of course~"


    Listening to these words, Maggie Tan smiled on the outside but cried on the inside.


    Brother, don''te looking for me...


    I dare not make this money!


    Then, the ck market boss began to inspect the goods again.


    As he looked at each storage ring, he broke out in a cold sweat.


    Those military equipment, it was obvious where they came from...


    Those second-tier materials, it was obvious which famous expert was killed and stripped of them...


    Maggie Tan didn''t bother to look closely. With just a nce at one storage ring, he roughly knew that the normal selling price of this batch of goods definitely exceeded a billion.


    A price of seven or eight billion was also reasonable.


    .......


    Su''en took in the expressions of the others.


    The others in the room might not have noticed anything yet, but he knew that Maggie Tan had probably guessed his identity.


    But that was just as well.


    With this little incident, the efficiency of the inventory suddenly increased.


    Originally, it would have taken several hours to inventory, but now it was done in a few minutes.


    Maggie Tan pretended to be calm and said, "I''ve finished inventorying this batch of goods, and it''s really good. What price do you n to sell it for, sir?"


    He was afraid that Su''en was here to take advantage of him, and he didn''t dare to press for a lower price as usual, asking cautiously.


    Su''en quoted a price without expression. "Eight billion."


    Maggie Tan was actually pleased to hear the price and didn''t even haggle. "Deal!"


    As he spoke, he signaled for a few bodyguards to take off the storage rings in their hands and said, "In one storage ring, there''s a curse crystal worth one billion. Thest two boxes contain cash."


    Su''en took a quick nce and saw that they were all "curse crystals" andrge amounts of cash.


    He didn''t bother to count and just smiled, saying, "Mr. Maggie Tan is indeed generous!"


    They shook hands, and the deal was done.


    Su''en took the storage rings and was ready to leave.


    Maggie Tan watched him leave and was about to breathe a sigh of relief.


    At this moment, Su''en, who had reached the door, suddenly turned around and said, "By the way, I heard that Mr. Maggie Tan has a wide range of connections and can get anything. I have a business deal that I don''t know if you''re interested in."


    Maggie Tan didn''t dare to say he wasn''t interested and asked, "Please, sir, go on."


    Su''en said, "I want some puppet-rted secrets, preferably at the level of secret techniques. I don''t know if you have any connections? Of course, if you can get the ''Puppet Secret Technique: Puppet Theater'' of that ''Magician'' Lloyd, it would be even better. The price is negotiable."


    Maggie Tan didn''t dare not toply and said, "I can try."


    "Good, I''ll contact youter."Su''en didn''t say much, just smiled and left the private room.

 Chapter 171: The deceased

    Chapter 171: The deceased


    After Su''en left, Maggie Tan in the VIP room felt relieved.


    Sitting on the sofa, he took a few deep breaths and felt the cold sweat soaking his back.


    The several bodyguards and two stewards who had been doing business with him for many years had never seen their boss like this before, and they had no idea what had happened. Even the steward who had noticed the unusual goods before only thought there was something strange in the goods.


    Now that the outsider had left, they immediately asked.


    "Boss, yourplexion doesn''t look good. Is there a problem with this batch of goods?"


    "Why don''t you negotiate the price? I think that kid is hiding something. The source of the goods must be suspicious. If we negotiate, we might be able to make more profit..."


    "..."


    Hearing the inquiries from the old acquaintances, Maggie Tan''s expression became veryplicated.


    Only he knew the danger he had just experienced during the transaction.


    Fortunately, the other party did note with the intention of double-crossing them. Otherwise, if it was the wanted criminal he suspected, they wouldn''t have been able to leave alive today.


    After pondering for a while, he sighed and said, "It''s not just a problem. The person we just traded with is..."


    But before he could finish speaking, he stopped himself.


    Maggie Tan had a hunch that this matter absolutely could not be made public.


    One of the stewards, puzzled, asked, "Boss, do you know that person?"


    Maggie Tan pondered for a moment, shook his head, and said, "Forget it, you don''t need to worry about this."


    The others nodded at their boss''s words and began to count the goods.


    With the crisis over, Maggie Tan felt that his mind had be more agile.


    He thought about the conversation just now and pondered repeatedly, "If someone wants to buy the Puppetry Master''s Book, it''s probably that person. However, the young master of the Oliver family is offering a reward..."


    Wanted criminals also have a supply and demand for stolen goods, and the ck market is their best channel.


    This is also the main reason why ck market bosses make huge profits in this line of work, often obtaining stolen goods at low prices and selling them at high prices.


    Usually, legitimate businessmen would not sell out wanted criminals.


    But it depends on the situation.


    If the reward is too high, Maggie Tan wouldn''t mind selling the information.


    Now, the reward for the "SS wanted criminal Su''en" has skyrocketed, and the private reward added by the young Danze of the Oliver family is even higher than the profit from this batch of goods...


    Thinking of this, Maggie Tan''s heart was immediately moved, and he said to the group of associates, "Don''t sell this batch of goods for now. Wait for me toe back!"


    With that, he took out several storage rings from the box as "evidence" and immediately left.


    ......


    After Su''en left the tavern, he quickly removed his disguise and appeared on the street again.


    He watched Maggie Tan, the "Iron Lame," leave in a hurry, and he didn''t need to guess where that guy was going.


    Su''en didn''t pay attention to that guy. The bait had been cast, and the goal had been achieved.


    Even if he guessed that it was a trap, he had to take the bait.


    In just a few days, the secret of the Puppetry Master''s Book would probably be in his hands.


    He thought that this time, he not only wanted the professional secrets but also wanted to y a big game for real!


    After all...


    The information on the wanted order still listed him, Su''en, as a first-tier professional.


    But in fact, he was no longer the same as the original wanted criminal who could be chased by a few second-tier professionals and panic.


    This time, he would probably catch a few big fish.


    ......


    On the main street,


    Su''en, dressed in an expensive white suit, holding a cane, and wearing a hat, looked like a wealthy young man strolling out for a walk.


    He now increasingly felt the overflow of having Sabina as his maid.


    With the intelligence in his hands, he almost knew everything in the camp, giving him the confidence to do anything.


    This gave him too much convenience.


    After leaving the ck Jazz Tavern, Su''en went to the Hunter''s Guild again, scanned the new tasks and intelligence posted on the light screen.


    Not finding what he was looking for,


    he then went to the market.


    The scale of the Hunter''s Market in the Dawn Camp had increased several times, with the number of stalls more than ten times the original.


    But due to the limited area of the camp, the market was still only nned for one street.


    However, this did not limit the hunters.


    They added steel outer supports to the small buildings on both sides of the street, and then built various uneven steel partitions. With iron stairs connecting them, the market was transformed from a t area into a three-dimensional block, increasing the area several times.


    Su''en strolled through the market, naturally looking for any opportunities to find what he needed.


    After all, the ruins produced arge number of ancient relics, and there were countless good things in the goods.


    Because Su''en had already advanced to the second tier, he had no need for professional materials.


    Third-tier materials were also unlikely to appear on the stalls.


    Therefore, he could skip most of the stalls, and his pace was quite fast.


    Su''en often stopped at the stalls selling ancient books and scrolls to browse.


    The likelihood of finding something valuable was greater at the book stalls than at the material stalls.


    Because most alchemical ancient books were encrypted and written in ancient Nidnguage, tranting them required a lot of effort.


    Ordinary hunting groups basically had no trantion ability, making it easier to mix in "good things."


    Su''en had no problem reading them and could roughly tell what the content was with a nce.


    Even if there was encrypted information, he could roughly determine its origin.


    The moreplex the encryption method, the more important the content of the book.So for Su''en, the more iprehensible things were to others, the better.


    But even in the ancient times when alchemy was flourishing, the ssics that recorded alchemical knowledge were rare items. Most of the books on the hunter''s stall were literary biographies and the like.


    Looking around more, he asionally found some good things.


    This time, Su''en found a book called "Illustrated Exnation of Second-order Runes" on the stall.


    He happened to need to brush up on his knowledge of runes, so he spent a few thousand dors and bought it.


    As for those various iprehensible spell scrolls, although they were rare, he didn''t touch them.


    Now he had several scrolls of space magic given to him by Mr. ck, and he estimated that it would take a year or two to study them all. Being greedy for more would be of no use.


    He walked along, browsing through hundreds of stalls.


    He picked up a few ancient books and found some cheap materials suitable for making puppets, which could be considered a rich harvest.


    As he walked, Su''en''s gaze was suddenly drawn to a stall surrounded by many people.


    There were many cursed materials on the stall, as well as some alchemical nts and equipment that looked like they were obtained by killing people.


    The stall owner was a cold and ruthless man dressed as an assassin. Although his eyes were covered by a hood, one could still see the indifference and rotten skin at the corners of his mouth.


    When someone asked for a price, he would reply with a low, hoarse voice that sounded like sandpaper rubbing.


    If someone tried to haggle, he would ignore them.


    Originally, Su''en had no interest in the materials on the stall, but when he saw that face, he felt a little familiar and walked over.


    Looking closely, his pupils slightly contracted, "Kay?"


    .......


    There were many things on the stall, suitable for all professions, and the prices were fair, so there were quite a few buyers.


    But some people were also interested in the strange-tempered stall owner and whispered to each other.


    "Which group does this stall belong to? There are a lot of good things here. It''s just that the stall owner seems to have a bad temper and doesn''t seem to be afraid of not being able to sell his goods..."


    "Heh heh, this stall owner is not from the hunting group, but a lone wolf."


    "A lone wolf? How is that possible? With so many materials, don''t tell me he got them all by himself?!"


    "If you know who he is, you probably wouldn''t think it''s impossible."


    "Does this guy have a big background?"


    "Didn''t you see the mechanical arm he''s selling on the stall? Heh heh, the ''One-eyed'' Max''s mechanical spray gun, don''t you think..."


    "He''s the ''Hyena'' who ughtered more than forty people from the ''Steel Cannon Hunting Group'' three days ago?"


    "..."


    Listening to the whispers of these people, Su''en''s face also showed a hint of surprise.


    Kay was the first friend he had met in this world.


    The two of them had gone through several life-and-death experiences together, and they could be considered close friends.


    Unfortunately...


    There was an ident during that escort mission.


    If he guessed correctly, Kay''s current identity should be a member of the inner city''s Umbre Organization.


    Otherwise, he wouldn''t still be alive.


    But why would he appear here?


    Kay flipped a coin on his finger, let it fall between his fingers, and then flicked it up with his thumb, making a pleasant metallic sound. He caught it in his hand and repeated the action.


    Su''en watched this agile finger movement and his gaze slightly sharpened.


    This was something he had taught Kay.


    It was the secret code of the people on Green Street: if there was danger and it wasn''t convenient to speak out, they would make this gesture to alert their teammates.


    Seeing this gesture, Su''en felt a familiar yet unfamiliar term sh through his mind.


    Green Street?


    Although it hadn''t been long, it seemed like a very distant term.


    Green Street was destroyed in the conflict between the guilds, and the Cross Society squad no longer existed. Even the former members, except for him and Kay, had changed several times.


    In the end, only the two of them were left.


    This secret code was known only to the two of them.


    ......


    "I remember ''One-eyed'' Max is a second-order professional, right?"


    "Yes, that''s why this news is so sensational! In the hunting operation three days ago, this guy made a big harvest and even found a valuable ancient treasure. When a captain of the ''Steel Cannon Hunting Group'' saw him alone, he wanted to get his attention. But the guy didn''t waste any words and just killed the captain with one blow. Then ''One-eyed'' Max wanted to take revenge with his group. But that guy didn''t back down, and didn''t care that Max was a second-order professional. He single-handedly took on the whole team. In the end, I don''t know how, but the ''Steel Cannon Group'' backed off and wanted to retreat..."


    "Isn''t that too unbelievable... one person made a second-order professional-led medium-sized hunting group back off?"


    "You think that''s the end? The real unbelievable partester!"


    "Oh?"


    "The ''Steel Cannon Group'' backed off, but that guy didn''t n to let it go. With an attitude of not giving up, he dragged his injuries and chased down dozens of people from the ''Steel Cannon Group''. It''s said that he ambushed them in the mist of the ruins and sessfully killed Max! In the end, the ''Steel Cannon Group'' only had a few small fries left to escape from the ruins..."


    "Damn, he''s really a monster."


    "I''ve heard of him too. This guy is notorious for being fierce in battle, both in killing monsters and people. He''s as cold-blooded as a monster. It feels like he treats every battle as hisst, and he charges in to bite when he encounters an enemy, often ending up injured. But because of his fearless fighting spirit, his harvest is always extremely rich. Now, anyone who knows him says he''s like a ''Hyena'', whoever provokes him, whether it''s a tiger or a lion, he''ll fight to the death and won''t give up. Few people dare to provoke him..."


    "..."


    Listening to the deeds of others, Su''en''s brow furrowed slightly.He wasn''t sure what had happened to Kay, but the cold-blooded assassin before him was starkly different from the cheerful gang lieutenant he once knew, who always wore a bright smile.


    Su''en nced around and, without approaching to greet him, turned and left.


    ...


    An old friend not being dead was good news, after all.


    In the evening, Su''en spent a long time in Sabina''s room, where he learned some news from her.


    Kay was part of the Umbre Organization''s inner city structure, not under Sabina''smand, so there wasn''t much intelligence on him.


    But Kay''s appearance here was directly rted to Su''en.


    In the pursuit of an "SS-ss fugitive," the Umbre Organization would mobilize all resources, monitoring all social rtions of the target. His sudden appearance at dawn had only one purpose: to lure Su''en into the trap.


    After all, among the social connections Su''en could trace, Kay was the most crucial acquaintance.


    In the following days, Su''en didn''t rush to contact the ck market merchant.


    After all, he needed to give the enemy some preparation time to catch a bigger fish.


    His daily routine became very regr.


    He would visit the Wild Hunt Guild early in the morning, then stroll around the market district to browse for goods.


    At noon, he would stay in the inn to practice spatial magic and puppetry.


    In the evenings, he asionally spent a few hours with Sabina, listening to thetest movements of the Oliver family.


    ...


    That night, at ten o''clock, the noisy ck Jazz Tavern was bustling.


    "Iron Cripple" Maggie Tan was negotiating a deal in the tavern.


    Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder.


    Turning around, he saw a man with his face hidden by arge trench coat.


    Su''en spoke directly, "Mr. Maggie Tan, any news about the goods I requested?"


    Hearing this, Maggie Tan immediately realized who the visitor was.


    A flicker of nervousness passed through his eyes, but his expression remained calm, "Yes. I''ve found a channel to acquire a puppeteer''s tome, even the unique art ''Puppet Theater'' from Master Lloyd. But it won''te cheap. To get your hands on it, you''ll need at least this much... and wait another two days."


    Su''en nced at the five fingers Maggie Tan held up,pletely indifferent to the price.


    He wasn''t surprised at all that the man said it would take time.


    After all... setting up an ambush takes time too.


    He handed over a bag ofrge-denomination cash and agreed on the spot, "Good, this is the deposit. Four days from now, at two in the afternoon, we''ll trade at the ''White Broken Wall'' on the outskirts of the southern city ruins."


    "About that..."


    Maggie Tan''s gaze fell on the money bag on the table, and he was about to say something when he looked up to find that Su''en had already disappeared into the crowded tavern.


    At that moment, several sneaky figures lurking in the tavern began to converge.


    After searching around, they found no trace of Su''en.


    "He''s really on high alert..."


    "It''s only natural for an SS-ss fugitive to be so cautious."


    "Did we confirm the trade location?"


    "Yes."


    "Let''s set it up then. This time, we can''t let that guy get away."

 Chapter 172: Double kill

    Chapter 172: Double kill


    The outskirts of the southern city of Dawn Ruins have a "white broken wall", which is a must-pass route for hunters to go hunting in the southern city, and it is also andmark building.


    The view there is open, not too far from the camp, and behind it is the ruins.


    It is suitable as a trading address, as it is able to fight and walk.


    Su''en was sure that the people of the Oliver family would be afraid of alerting the enemy and would not dare to ambush in advance.


    But he came early for most of the day and observed from a distance.


    Everything is going ording to his script.


    .......


    The agreed trading time is two o''clock in the afternoon.


    Su''en did not show up early, but waited for the traders to appear before walking out of the ruins.


    Three people came from the other side.


    "Iron Lame" Maggie Tan was probably afraid of death and did note in person, but sent a steward and two bodyguards.


    It seems that they are not aware of the situation.


    The two sides met.


    The steward of the goat beard followed the trading procedure and went straight to the point, asking, "Did you bring the money?"


    Su''en took out the money bag prepared in advance and said, "I want to see the goods."


    The two sides exchanged things.


    With a nce from the Appraisal Eye, the thing was real, the detailed exnation of the art of the "Puppet Theater".


    Su''en was somewhat pleased to receive the secret book, but it was also expected.


    If the thing was fake, time would not be dyed.


    The guys from the Oliver family probably thought that even if they gave him something real, he would not be able to leave alive.


    .......


    The steward was still counting the money bag, and the speed at which they counted the money was slightly slow.


    They probably received some orders to dy the time.


    He pretended not to know and waited patiently.


    Because, he was also waiting for the encirclement of the high-level professionals who were going to kill him!


    At this time, the steward did not know who he was facing, and thinking of dying a little time, he casually found a topic.


    He looked at the crow''s beak mask on Su''en''s face and found it somewhat familiar, and said with a smile, "Oh... your gas mask is quite unique, it looks like a high-level alchemical item?"


    Su''en said directly, "Of course, it''s the ancient cursed item of the ''gue Doctor'' Sergei from the Raven Gang."


    Before, he needed to disguise himself, so he modified it into a parrot mask.


    Now, with so many debts, he didn''t care about being chased by the Raven Gang.


    The steward, who had not realized the seriousness of the situation, raised his eyebrows and smiled, "A replica? Tsk tsk... no wonder it looks so familiar. But speaking of which, the workmanship is really good, even if it''s a replica, it''s a master-level work. It must have cost a lot of money, right?"


    Upon hearing this, a sly smile appeared at the corner of Su''en''s mouth, "No, it''s not a replica. I killed that guy, and this is the spoils of war."


    "..."


    As soon as these words came out, the steward was stunned for a moment.


    His gaze unconsciously observed the details of the crow''s beak mask, and he felt that something was wrong.


    Thinking of the boss''s instructions to dy the time, he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, but he forced a dry smile and said, "Heh... hehe. You really have a sense of humor, sir..."


    "Do you think I''m joking?"


    Su''en sneered.


    Seeing that the time was almost up, and the encirclement was probably closing in, he no longer paid attention to the three people in front of him.


    Because at this moment, he suddenly felt a killing intent targeting him.


    "Heh heh, it took so long to expose yourself, do you know that I have the ability to sense malice..."


    Su''en raised his eyebrows calmly.


    He also judged that the one aiming at him was a firearms master.


    In such a short time, aiming and shooting, an ordinary sniper couldn''t do it.


    Even in this nce, he clearly saw the guy who was shooting from a small hill a kilometer away, it was the "Gun King" Gage who had previously shot through his arm.


    But this time, Su''en was not the least bit flustered.


    Does the "B-098-Sixth Sense" always hit?


    For ordinary professionals, and even the vast majority of second-tier professionals, it is indeed "always hit".


    But here, there is actually a cause-and-effect rtionship that has not been rified.


    Gage sniped the target, actually using his ability to predict the target''s prediction, and then pulled the trigger.


    Prediction first, then shooting.


    But if the target dodges after he shoots, he can also avoid this "sixth sense".


    No one does this, because the bullet from a sniper riflees out of the barrel very fast, and ordinary professionals can''t wait to dodge until the bulletes out of the barrel, that''s equivalent to "waiting to die".


    The previous Su''en couldn''t do it either.


    But he can now.


    Feeling the sense of being targeted by a killing intent, he did not make any preemptive evasive actions.The enhanced all-knowing eye allowed him to clearly capture the movement of the opponent pulling the trigger.


    Then, in the instant when the muzzle spewed out mes, a bullet inscribed with runes also shot out.


    At this moment, Su''en''s eyes seemed to slow down everything by a hundred times.


    The white smoke of burning gunpowder solidified at the muzzle, forming a white cotton-like flower cluster; the firelight also formed a diamond-shaped beam of light, slowly dimming...


    He could even clearly see the bullet leaving the chamber, creating ripples of shockwaves in the air. The recoil caused Gage''s entire body to tremble.


    The bullet, too fast for the naked eye to catch, gradually left the chamber and pierced through the air...


    Su''en urately judged that the bullet''s trajectory was aimed at his forehead, then he slightly tilted his head.


    At such a distance, his ultra-high nerve reaction speed was enough to easily dodge it.


    The bullet whizzed past, creating a gust of wind in its wake.


    "Bang!"


    After the bullet passed, there was a dyed gunshot that sounded like thunder.


    In this slow-motion-like action, it seemed like a long time had passed, but in reality, it was just an instant.


    No one saw what had happened.


    It seemed as if Su''en had casually tilted his head and avoided the fate of being shot in the head.


    Gage, who was shooting not far away,


    saw this and


    his face changed drastically.


    .......


    This shot, like amand shot that opened the siege.


    "Swish~"


    "Swish~"


    "Swish~"


    A burst of signal res exploded in the sky.


    Upon closer inspection, after the signal res burned, they fell asyers of silver powder.


    Like snowfall, it quickly covered the ground.


    "Revealing powder..."


    Su''en squinted at the silver powder in the sky, a faint smile appearing under his mask.


    The Oliver family was well-prepared to deal with him.


    With this sky full of revealing powder, there was no way for Su''en to hide any invisible objects nearby.


    As a result, even if there were loathsome undead creatures, once they were revealed, their shing movements could be captured, and they wouldn''t appear out of nowhere to kill people as they did before.


    For those second-tier professionals, being able to see the movements was enough to predict them.


    This "revealing powder" directly reduced the threat of the ck Sickle by more than half.


    However,


    Su''en was not surprised by this tactic at all.


    Because, through Sabina''s sources of information, he was well aware of the ns of these guys to surround and capture him.


    "So, next is a full-on charge by all members?"


    Su''en''s eyes narrowed, and he swiftly fired three shots, directly killing the three people in front of him.


    His nerve reaction speed was now so fast that even if the other party reached for their gun first, there was no threat.


    Then, with a swift hand movement, he conjured eight ferocious spider spears behind him.


    Pulling out a sealing scroll, he quickly unfolded it in the air, revealing ten hexagram space sealing patterns drawn on the scroll.


    Before the scroll could hit the ground, Su''en quickly sped his hands together and lightly shouted, "SealRelease!"


    The scroll burst open, and more than ten puppets appeared around him, emitting eerie creaking sounds as their wooden joints moved.


    Using the sealing technique from the spatial scroll was much faster than taking them out one by one from the spatial ring!


    After doing all this, Su''en ran towards the direction of the ruins.


    It looked like he was fleeing, but in reality, he wanted to break through the enemy''s encirclement and kill them one by one!


    "Ten second-tier professionals, tsk tsk, the Oliver family really went all out this time..."


    As he retreated, Su''en''s eyes took in the entire battle situation.


    But what surprised him was that Gage didn''t continue shooting?


    Turning back to take a closer look, Su''en saw that the sniper''s position was actually under attack?


    A cloaked figure with ghostly agility was entangled in a fight with Gage.


    Su''en guessed who the cloaked figure was, and his brow furrowed.


    However, there was no time for any other unnecessary actions at this moment.


    .......


    The other party had already formted a detailed n to surround and capture him, and had guessed that Su''en would definitely "flee" towards the ruins.


    At the moment when the signal res exploded in the sky, a second-tier earth mage had already cast arge-scale "quicksand spell", covering the route that Su''en had to take to escape to the ruins.


    When Su''en stepped on it, the solid ground beneath his feet had already turned into soft mud.


    In another moment or two, this mud would turn into quicksand.


    By then, even the eight-armed spider spears would sink deep into the sand.


    This was clearly another tactical move against his escape.


    Unfortunately...


    Those guys underestimated Su''en''s current speed.


    His agility allowed him to control the eight spears to step precisely on the hard gravel, and then, before the groundpletely turned into sand, he leaped out of the quicksand pit that covered a hundred meters.


    The two enemies worked in pairs, coordinating and covering for each other.Su''en was in front of him, except for the earth mage, there was also a female mage with mes burning all over her body.


    Second-tier professionals are not unknown.


    The earth mage is the head of therge hunting team under the Oliver family, "Sand Demon" Horus.


    This female mage is none other than the former spell instructor of the ck Tower Academy, now a specially employed and highly paid special offering of the Oliver family, "Sunfire Woman" Virginia Eddie!


    A hand of fire spells, hot as the sun.


    They looked at Su''en rushing out, not surprised, and the killer moves followed.


    Virginia''s eyes were like torches, and the mage''s seal in her hand pinched, and the red six-pointed star under her feet shone brightly, and the mes all over her body turned from red to gold. She murmured softly, "Elemental Secret Art - Golden Scale Fire Python!"


    With a wave of the mage''s seal, she pointed forward with both hands, and a golden fire python shed out like lightning from her fingers.


    When it appeared, it was only the thickness of a forearm, but it grew longer in the wind, and in the blink of an eye, it became a fierce python about ten meters long and as thick as a barrel. The fire python was covered in golden scales, as if it were not made of elemental matter, but of pure gold, with an unstoppable force.


    Where the fire python passed, the ground was charred.


    Even though Su''en was still a hundred meters away from the fire python, he could clearly feel the burning heat that reached deep into his lungs.


    The surging power of the fire element was like a tsunami, as if it would burn everything to ashes.


    It was worthy of being a former spell instructor at the ck Tower Academy, and this move was an impable second-tier secret spell.


    This spell was fast and had a wide range, and any second-tier professional who came would have to avoid its edge.


    Moreover, the spell condensed was not ordinary mes.


    Virginia had fused with a special alchemical prosthetic that could cause elemental mutations in her body - the Elemental Heart Core of the Golden me Crow.


    It was this mutated golden me that had an extraordinary elemental pration, creating high temperatures that could even quickly melt steel!


    ......


    A particrly tricky aspect of area-of-effect spells was that they were almost impossible to block with physical means.


    Even if you could use a shield or something to block part of it, the ubiquitous fire element could still cover the target in a 360-degree all-epassing burn!


    Seeing the fire pythoning at him, Su''en''s eyes reflected the mes.


    Instead of dodging, he raised his hand and conjured an alchemical puppet.


    The alchemical puppet stood in front of him, and with a click, its arms suddenly split open into a trumpet shape.


    Just as the fire python was only a few meters away, the blue-purple dual-colorposite heptagram array on the puppet''s arms suddenly lit up.


    Thebined power of wind and thunder created a huge vortex of wind that turned into a ck hole that swallowed everything.


    The ten-meter-long golden python had just rushed up and had not had time to show its ferocity before it plunged into the ck hole vortex. The collision was extremely fast, and the golden light disappeared in a sh, and the light around it suddenly dimmed.


    This was none other than thetest version of the "ck Hole Puppet" that Mr. Hei had helped make!


    .......


    Seeing her spell that was sure to seed being swallowed by a puppet, Virginia''s face changed drastically.


    She looked at Su''en, who was charging at her, and immediately realized the danger. mes surged out of her body, overflowing several meters, and she waspletely enveloped in a thick shield of mes.


    At almost the same time as the absorption, the alchemical puppet that had absorbed the fire python suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a mouthful of golden mes.


    Looking again, the shrunken three-part fire python was aimed not at the female mage, but at the earth mage, "Sand Demon" Horus!


    At such a close distance, there was simply no way to avoid it.


    Horus had long since sensed the danger and had already used alchemy when he saw the fire python. The color of his skin instantly lost its blood color and turned into a rocky, earthy yellow.


    The fire python surged past, and the figure waspletely engulfed in the sea of mes...


    However, when the mes went out in an instant, the figure covered in what looked like a diamond armor slowly opened its eyes.


    This move had absolutely no effect on "Sand Demon" Horus.


    Su''en looked calm, and murmured to himself, "Silver nting Armor - Scorpion Armor, ah, the defense is indeed extremely strong..."


    He was not surprised at all.


    Because before he came, he had already obtained detailed information about these ten people.


    Prosthetics, abilities, talents...


    He knew it all!


    Su''en''s speed did not diminish, and in the blink of an eye, he was a hundred meters away.


    He did not give the enemy a chance to cast a second spell, and with a wave of his hand, several puppets had already flown past the two people in front of him.


    The female mage was surrounded by mes, and any puppet that came near her would be burned to ashes, but... Su''en had a "PZ-911 Mechanical Limb" in his hand!


    It had been difficult to control before, but now it waspletely unobstructed.The dagger made of Amandium on the mechanical limb was designed to prate all kinds of elemental shields!


    Moreover, the fully elementalized witch''s hair was not afraid of burning at all.


    The mechanical puppet had no fear of mes and pounced with a leap.


    No need for any fancy moves, it was like a street thug in a brawl, stabbing her belly with the dagger dozens of times...


    Amidst the mes, two figures entangled in a sorry state.


    One can only imagine the fate of a fire sorcerer with a frail body when someone gets close.


    Virginia''s professional advancement was towards elemental mutation; she had almost given up on defense for the sake of maximizing damage.


    Originally, with the ''Sand Demon'' Horus''s strong defense, there was no problem in self-preservation, let alone killing.


    But how could Su''en give him a chance to be rescued?


    Su''en had more than just two hands; his eight spidernces could run, jump, and control puppets!


    While Virginia and the mechanical puppet were engaged in closebat, several strange puppets had already firmly clung to Horus''s legs.


    This earth sorcerer had condensed rich earth elements under his feet early on for the fight.


    Now that the puppets clung to him, they immediately began to voraciously absorb the earth elements, instantly weighing a thousand pounds.


    These were the "Lead Sinker Dolls"!


    With these thousand-pound dolls clinging to him, Horus was so hindered that he could hardly move.


    Naturally, Su''en did not expect the two control-type dolls to harm this guy protected by rock armor.


    He raised his hand and drew the "Thunder Serpent"; the moment the gun was aimed, he fired four shots in session.


    Four streaks of lightning burst from the barrel, like a single line...


    Horus, unable to move, had already prepared his defense, confident that even a peer in his profession would not be able to break through his earth elemental armor in a short time.


    What more a musket?


    But hearing the nearly straight line of four gunshots, his face changed drastically, suddenly realizing something: "Firearms Mystique: Multiple Ovepping Shots!"


    How could there be four shes of fire?!


    Horus''s face changed drastically in an instant, his eyes showing disbelief.


    He had heard of this mystique of firearms, the signature gun technique of the firearms master ''Blind Probe'' Bill, capable of easily prating armor.


    However, this mystique ced an enormous strain on the shooter''s body, and even that firearms master could only perform the triple shot. That was already the limit for a gunman.


    Even a triple shot might break his elemental armor, but it wouldn''t be fatal...


    But what was this "Quadruple Shot"?


    ...


    Reality didn''t give Horus time to wonder; four armor-piercing bullets hit him in the forehead in session.


    The first impact of the armor-piercing bullet shattered a thinyer, but the condensed earth elements rippled like water waves.


    The second impact caused tiny cracks in the elemental armor, with the ripples growingrger.


    The third impact broke through the elemental armor, but after prating it, the force was exhausted.


    The fourth, the bullet shot straight through the skull, a headshot.


    Blood exploded before his eyes, and "Grey Mist" immediately emerged from the corpse.


    The ''Sand Demon'' Horus died on the spot.


    Not far away, ''Sunme Lady'' Virginia, who was grappling with the mechanical puppet, was also stabbed dozens of times, her fire elemental shield flickered and dissipated, her life already extinguished.


    In a single encounter, Su''en had already in two second-tier professionals.

 Chapter 173: Secret Technique: Caged Bird

    Chapter 173: Secret Technique: Caged Bird


    After the update, the reading experience will be better in twenty minutes.


    Su''en also knew what the "Sand Demon" Horus was surprised about.


    "Double Ovep" is not just as simple as pulling the trigger four times in a row. This firearm secret not only requires very high firearm skills and proficiency, but also requires extremely high reflex speed, strength, and endurance of the shooter''s muscles.


    Su''en''s own firearm skills may not be as good as the "Blind Detective" Bill, but in terms of physical strength, there is no gunner in the entire Old Lingdun who can reach his current level.


    He is notcking in skills, his firearm proficiency is high enough, and his body is strong enough.


    So he could barely fire four shots.


    But even so, after using the "Fourfold Ovep," Su''en also felt a burning pain in the flexor muscles of his forearm, as if a few muscle fibers had broken.


    It''s worth it to be able to take down this tough guy in seconds.


    And it''s no big deal, with super strong cell activity, those minor injuries are healing rapidly.


    ......


    After killing two second-tier professionals with one shot, "Grey Mist" immediately appeared on the two bodies.


    Su''en took it in.


    "Obtained ''Horus Walk'' memory fragments *3"


    "You have gained a small amount of ''pharmacology knowledge''"


    "You have mastered arge amount of ''wilderness survivalbat experience''"


    "You have mastered arge amount of ''earth alchemy form fragments'', alchemy casting experience +25"


    "Spirit power +0.8"


    The memory of a professional wilderness hunting team leader, harvesting arge amount of wilderness knowledge, is not bad.


    And the female sorceress gave Su''en a little surprise.


    When he stripped the two assistants from the ck Tower Academy, Su''en had a feeling of taking off from the ground. Now, after stripping a formal teacher, arge number of solid theoretical and practical memory fragments poured into his mind, filling in too many holes in his "skill tree."


    "Obtained ''Virginia Eddie'' memory fragments *5"


    "You have gained a piece of information: ''Danze Young Master is really not restrained at all, actually making a move in front of so many people... It seems like he has a special fondness for mature women...''"


    "You have gained arge amount of prehensive alchemy knowledge''"


    "You have mastered some ''intermediate enchantment knowledge''"


    "You have proficiently mastered ''second-tier rune drawing skills''"


    "You have mastered arge amount of ''fire element form fragments''"


    "You have mastered the fire element spell [Fire Vine Entanglement], alchemy casting experience +41"


    "Spirit power +0.9"


    Comfortable.


    The spiritual power of a sorcerer is usually higher, and the soul strength is higher, so the quality of the stripped fragments is moreplete.


    After digesting those memory fragments, Su''en instantly felt a sense of relief in his pores, and his face was radiant: "The memory fragments of the ck Tower Academy''s magic instructor are really of extremely high quality!"


    He had been studying alchemical theory knowledge all along.


    Runes, spell forms, every aspect of alchemy requires a lot of time.


    Now that he has advanced to the second tier, he needs to master second-tier knowledge, which raises the difficulty level.


    Su''en always feels like he doesn''t have enough time.


    Because he can always control his focus, his learning efficiency is not low. But in order to master intermediate and advanced rune knowledge, it would take at least ten or eight years, and he wouldn''t dare to say he''s proficient.


    But no matter how much he studies, can he learn as fast as the stripped soul fragments?


    If you don''t count the repeated knowledge, the knowledge stripped from the body of "Virginia Eddie" is enough to save Su''en several years of study time.


    From this perspective, having many enemies doesn''t seem to be all bad.


    .......


    Su''en killed an enemy with one shot, and immediately tore a hole in the encirclement.


    He didn''t stop, after swallowing the mist, he started running with the two bodies.


    As for why he took the bodies...


    Naturally, he had to harvest the storage rings, and wait for the materials for transformation and promotion to aggregate.


    The things on the bodies of second-tier professionals are valuable.


    Besides...


    He felt that if he didn''t give the people behind him the illusion of "we can catch up," the other party wouldn''t chase so hard.


    .......


    For anyone else, thebination tactic of "Flowing Sand Art" + "Golden Scale Fire Python" would be a skin-shedding experience even if they didn''t die.


    But now, Su''en has perfectly dealt with it and sessfully counter-killed.


    Seeing the situation, the experts sent by the Oliver family were all horrified.


    How could they not have arrived first? Two experienced old second-tier professionals, they couldn''t even stop the enemy for a moment, and were killed with one shot?!


    Didn''t they say that the kid had no means to threaten second-tier professionals other than the ck scythe of the banishing item?!


    But what''s the deal with the puppet that can absorb second-tier secret spells?


    They knew that the wanted criminal was a firearms expert, but what''s the deal with the "Fourfold Ovep"?


    How could a firearms master not achieve the secret technique of the gun, and he, a firearms expert, used this gun technique to break through the defense-enhanced "Sand Demon" Horus? Who would believe it?


    Everyone just realized that there seemed to be a big gap between this and the intelligence they had received.


    Of course, they knew from the beginning that there was something fishy about this.


    A wanted criminal took the initiative to show up in the city, exposed his identity by selling so many things, and even named the "Puppet Theater," which was clearly a provocation to the Oliver family.


    But even if they knew it was a bait, they had to bite.


    The young master of the Oliver family is now furious, and if he doesn''t kill this "Su''en" who robbed him of his opportunity, he will definitely not let it go.


    Moreover, even if there is something fishy, they have brought ten second-tier professionals, what can the other side do?


    This lineup is already a "foolproof" encirclement lineup.


    Otherwise, why would they invite those top professionals to besiege a first-tier wanted criminal?


    The faces of the remaining eight experts turned ck after two same-tier teammates were killed in front of them.But they didn''t dare to stay, and continued to chase in the direction Su''en was running.


    Because themand had alreadye through themunicator.


    "n B, continue the pursuit!"


    Holding the Oliver family''s token meant they had to fight for them.


    ......


    Su''en ran all the way, and the signal res and disy powder in the sky exploded all the way.


    The "disy powder" was like rain, covering the ground.


    Just the consumption of these special signal res was not a small amount.


    Su''en naturally knew that the reason the eight people behind him were pursuing relentlessly was because there were dozens of teams disguised as hunting teams still active in the vicinity of the ruins, waiting to ambush him.


    Because he also had amunicator on his ear with the same frequency channel.


    He was well aware of the enemy''s movements and ambush ns.


    It would take some time for the ambush team to gather.


    Su''en wouldn''t be foolish enough to wait until the other partypletely surrounded him before taking action. After stripping the spoils from the two bodies, he threw the bodies away. Although his speed increased by three points, this was already deliberately letting up, otherwise he would have to control the eight-armed spear to run at full speed, and no one in the ruins could catch up with him.


    As he ran, he nced back at the eight second-tier masters behind him.


    He decided to take out a few more.


    To reduce the threat for the uing battle.


    .......


    This time, the other party''s ambush n had considered almost everything.


    The people chasing him had a perfect professional mix, including closebat, magic, crowd control, and tracking... all different professions were represented.


    But probably because he had just killed two people, the eight people behind him didn''t act rashly, hanging back without getting too close.


    Oh, to be precise, seven were running, and one was flying in the sky.


    Su''en looked up and nced at the big bat.


    This guy had a pair of bat-wing prosthetics and was a well-known bounty hunter, "Darkwing Killer" Deke Wellman, specializing in long-range sonic attacks. He had a very high agility attribute and was not weak in closebat. But defense was his weak point.


    This guy probably thought Su''en couldn''t do anything to him, flying in the sky all the way and spewing sonic attacks all the way. It was like a range bombardment, blowing holes everywhere around Su''en.


    If Su''en''s own agility attribute wasn''t low, just these "sonic cannons" would be enough to give him a hard time.


    But the other party hade prepared, and Su''en was not without preparation.


    He had carefully analyzed the information on the pursuers and knew who among them was the best to kill.


    This Deke was one of the priority targets for killing.


    It looked like Su''en was fleeing in a sorry state, but in reality, everything was still within his expectations.


    Just then, Su''en saw the opportunity and suddenly took out a bunch of mechanical spiders from the storage ring.


    The mechanical spidersnded and scurried around, fanning out in a semicircle.


    Even in thisplex terrain of the ruins, they were not restricted and could climb walls and flip stones, moving very quickly.


    The pursuers behind him didn''t know what Su''en was up to, but seeing his "abnormal" behavior, no one dared to approach directly. They all showed their defensive measures and hesitated in their movements when the mechanical spiders ran towards them, all showing their defensive measures and hesitating in their movements.


    "Boom~"


    "Boom~"


    "Boom~"


    "..."


    A series of explosions rang out, and dozens of mechanical spiders burst open.


    The thick smoke quickly obscured arge area of the field of view.


    Those people thought Su''en was trying to escape by disrupting their vision, and there was an urgent shout in themunicator: "He''s trying to escape, Wellman, you go after him!"


    The other seven were all in the smoke, and only Deke in the sky had an unrestricted view, so the task of pursuit naturally fell to him.


    "Alright!"


    Before the words had even fallen,


    A big bat burst out of the thick fog.


    And at this moment, he had no idea that Su''en had taken advantage of the explosion just now to release the secondary imnt.


    [The Tears of the Wailing Witch] will render the userpletely transparent after being infused with dark spiritual power.


    If someone could sense energy fluctuations, they would definitely be able to "see" Su''en at this moment, as he was covered in transparent tentacles that floated all over his body. Those tentacles continued to extend towards the sky, increasing in number...


    Bats could fly,


    But its special structure allowed Wellman to be agile enough to easily dodge bullet shots.


    But it couldn''t fly very high.


    This guy had been chasing Su''en all the way, and suddenly felt a strange sensation around his body, feeling a little palpitation.


    But being alert was one thing, he couldn''t just stop chasing, right?


    Neither the sonic waves nor his vision revealed anything unusual, so he didn''t think much of it.


    But as he flew, Wellman suddenly saw the "Su''en" hanging below him make a grabbing motion in the air.


    A sense of crisis suddenly descended on him.


    Wellman was on guard against Su''en controlling the puppets around him to attack, and suddenly felt that something was wrong, his expression changing drastically.


    Because at this moment, he found that countless silver threads had suddenly condensed around his body.


    He immediately realized what was happening and eximed in rm, "The [Thousand Threads] imnt... damn it! Wasn''t this kid supposed to be a first-tier professional? He''s actually a second-tier professional!"


    The Su''en on the ground''s pupils suddenly contracted, not giving him a chance to fly away.


    His hands deftly manipted the threads, and with the help of a few spears, he suddenly grabbed them and lightly eximed, "Secret Technique: Caged Bird!"


    Then, the silver threads in his hands suddenly went taut!


    .......


    Puppeteers not only used puppets to fight, but the threads were also a deadly weapon. Especially when fused with the [Thousand Threads] imnt, a puppeteer could control countless threads!


    This control technique of [Caged Bird] was the unique technique he had found in the storage ring of the "Magician" Lloyd.


    Using arge amount of thread, he controlled the target.Originally, this was a technique that could only be performed in his "Puppet Theater," but now Su''en had the elementalized witch''s hair, which made this spell even more deadly and invisible!


    Wilman waspletely surrounded by silver hair, with nowhere to escape.


    Even if his bat wings were agile and he wanted to fly away, it was in vain!


    For at that moment, the threads around him had already tightened, trapping him as snugly as a cocoon.


    With his bat wings restricted and unable to take flight, his throat was slit by countless threads, and though he tried to use sonic waves, not a single sound could escape his throat.


    No matter how exquisite your martial skills or how agile your movements, once trapped, you can forget about moving.


    What does it matter if you can break a hundred strands of hair?


    There are still a thousand, ten thousand more!


    Su''en''s "Thousand Threads" alchemical augmentation, its main material is the "Infinite Hair"!


    Witch mages also possess the powerful ability of "intermittency"; even if broken, it can be reconnected!


    It was the moment these threads took control of the enemy that Su''en on the ground surged with cold mes, pulling the threads with great force, and his body shot up. At the same time, several sharp spider spears revealed their poisonous tips, thrusting forward in anticipation.


    One falling, one springing up, the two figures were like mas drawn to each other, "whoosh" colliding in an instant.


    After advancing to the second tier, thews of magic were elevated, and Su''en''s "No Servant" cold mes could easily prate the defenses of second-tier assassin professionals!


    With that collision, several sharp spider spears easily pierced through Wilman, who was trapped like a mummy.


    "Sss!"


    "Sss!"


    "Sss!"


    "Sss!"


    Four sounds of fabric being pierced rang out.


    Throat, heart, both kidneys, four spider spears passed right through, and blood spurted out like arrows.


    A momentter, a grey mist emerged.


    "Obtained ''Dek Wilman''s'' memory fragment*2"


    "You have learned ''Introduction to Toxic Potions''"


    "You have gained some ''Sonic Wave Attack Techniques''"


    "You have acquired a small amount of ''Intermediate Rune Knowledge'', alchemy casting experience +11"


    "Mental strength +0.4"


    Su''en didn''t bother to digest those memory fragments too much. Afternding, he retracted the threads and continued to run forward, dragging a "mummy" behind him.


    .......


    Not far away, those seven second-tier professionals had just rushed out of the smoke, just in time to witness the scene of the spider spears piercing through the body.


    The seven of them werepletely stunned.


    They thought the spider bomb explosions and rising smoke were some kind of lethal tactic, but it turned out to be just ordinary smoke.


    But it was their caution that dyed them these few crucial moments.


    By the time their vision cleared, they saw anotherrade killed...


    How did he do it?


    Wasn''t Wilman able to fly? How was he tied up and killed?


    They didn''t see the dense, invisible threads in the sky, only the "mummy" of their fallenrade hanging behind "Su''en," as if it were a silent mockery...


    "Keep chasing, watch out not to get separated, that guy''s methods are very strange!"


    "Damn it, the intelligence was wrong, Su''en must have advanced to the second tier by now! The ck Scythe hasn''t appeared yet, he''s very likely gone after it, everyone be careful."


    "Has the encircling troop over there gotten into position? Good... we can''t let him escape, drive him that way. Julian, we''ll cover you, get ready to cast..."

 Chapter 174: Puppetry Technique: Hundred Deceptive Night Walk

    Chapter 174: Puppetry Technique: Hundred Deceptive Night Walk


    Su''en listened to the tactics beingid out through themunicator, a hint of amusement flickering across his face.


    Julian?


    That name, of course, belonged to the "Dream Thief" Julian Williams.


    A mysterious practitioner skilled in mental illusions, his abilities were somewhat simr to those of the Weeping Witch, capable of inducing hypnosis and killing in dreams.


    She was also one of the elders of the "Mystical Studies Association" in Old Lingdun.


    ...


    Hearing this name through themunicator, Su''en knew what those people behind him were nning.


    He nced back and saw that among the seven pursuers, two guards had positioned themselves beside a purple-robed female sorceress.


    Because casting the dream-making spell required full concentration and left no room for dodging attacks, this move was probably also out of fear that Su''en would suddenly produce a ck scythe, allowing hispanions to save her in time.


    Su''en widened the gap between them.


    But he knew that he couldn''t avoid the spell; distancing himself was just to prevent being pursued when it was time to kill in the dream.


    Second-tier professionals all had one or two strange cursed items in their possession.


    Especially the experts nurtured by great financial conglomerates like the Oliver family, they were never short of good stuff.


    Su''en''s intelligence had informed him that the "Dream Thief" Julian had a special cursed item that was highlypatible with her abilities, the "Angus''s Dream Refraction Mirror."


    An item that could cast mental spells from a distance through its reflection.


    Just as the female sorceress took out the mirror, Su''en threw a bunch of mechanical spiders onto the ground.


    Unlike the previous smoke spiders, these had special markings.


    After this small action, he looked again and saw that not far from him, the outline of an ancient mirror had already been projected.


    ...


    He was hit without any sign.


    The surroundings remained unchanged, still within the ruins.


    Anyone else might not have realized they had fallen into an illusion.


    Su''en looked down at the movement of his fingers and a sneer appeared in his eyes: "So I''m dreaming, huh..."


    The sorcerer''s methods of the Mystical branch were unpredictable, especially that mirror capable of casting mental spells from afar, which was impossible to avoid. If it were anyone else, just Julian alone would have been a great disadvantage.


    Su''en didn''t show any abnormalities and continued running in the dream.


    At that moment.


    The robed sorceress behind him caught up.


    A mental practitioner not adept at pursuit suddenly seemed to teleport, catching up in shes.


    Because this was her dream, she could have everything.


    Since Su''en knew this was a dream created by the enemy.


    He didn''t attempt to fight the woman.


    Julian was the creator of this dream; she was the master of it, invincible here.


    Normally, the script would have Su''en unknowingly trapped in the dream, then starting to fight back.


    But soon, he would find in horror that guns couldn''t kill, spears couldn''t pierce... no method worked.


    While the opponent could slowly torture him to death.


    It was a bug; in the opponent''s dream, you simply couldn''t kill her,


    But it was easy for her to kill you.


    Although there was a time difference in the dream, Su''en didn''t n to waste time with the "Dream Thief" Julian.


    If physical means couldn''t harm her, then mental tactics would be used.


    The spell "Dreamspace" was almost certain to hit.


    But that didn''t mean the spell had no weaknesses.


    Generally speaking, with any spell, one could only focus on either "range" or "spell strength."


    Maintaining such a wide-ranging dream spell meant it was impossible to use any powerful single-target mental attacks.


    You''re proficient in mental spells?


    Coincidentally, so am I.


    Although Su''en was barely a novice in the basic theory of mental spell cultivation, he had bizarrely mastered several high-level sorcerer spells, such as "Illusion: Drowning" and "Illusion: Suffocation."


    These were skills he had scrounged from the "1911 Hotel," and his proficiency had even reached the "Master Level" of second-tier spells.


    Plus, his own mental strength was not weak. Although he couldn''t scientifically control it, he had arge capacity.


    It was the moment Julian caught up, their eyes met, and they shed with "visual illusions."


    "Ah..."


    Julian screamed in agony.


    Although Su''en also felt a bit dizzy, he was fortunate not to be at a disadvantage.


    ...


    It was during this brief sh that an explosion sounded right by Su''en''s ear.


    Looking again, the dream had been shattered, and not far away, Julian, as if heavily injured, plummeted to the ground.


    Boom...


    After all, it was a pursuit, and those behind him had to follow Su''en''s path if they wanted to catch up.


    This time''s spider bombs were not some alchemical mist but high-explosive bombs.


    Although he didn''t expect to kill these second-tier professionals, it was enough to pose a threat to them.


    As dozens of spiders exploded, a wall of fire also formed in the distance, blocking the line of sight between the two parties.


    Su''en pulled from his hat, and an invisible puppet immediately appeared beside him.


    Then, without hesitation, he shed three times towards the mes of the explosion.


    Although the fire obscured the enemy''s vision for a moment, as well as his own, the strike was not entirely a guess.


    Su''en knew the location of the spider bombs and the range of the explosion.


    So under normal circumstances, if you find a bomb on the left, which way would you dodge?


    Naturally, to the right!


    The explosion came first, followed by the sh, leaving no time for reaction.


    He predicted where the enemy would appear after dodging the explosion, and those three shes sealed off arge area behind the mes. Anyone appearing there would surely be hit by the de.


    Moreover, the figure he aimed at was dragging along a mentally stricken Julian!


    Crows still cawed in the sky,


    The executive "Blood Crow" Langfero from the Crow Gang noticed Su''en''s movements, and a shout came through themunicator: "Watch out for the ck scythe!"Unfortunately, it was already toote.


    As the voice fell, three spatial rifts had precisely appeared behind the mes.


    Although one of the three spatial rifts missed, the two that hit their mark sliced through the unconscious Julian and sheared off the leg of the melee professional who tried to save her, causing blood to spurt out like a fountain.


    Even without seeing the "Grey Mist" appear, these three strikes had effectively eliminated two second-tier professionals from the pursuit team.


    ...


    Su''en nced back but did not continue to strike.


    With both of them severely injured, they posed no threat; there was no need to waste the opportunity for the undead to strike.


    The abhorrent undead had appeared, and there was no need to retract the strikes, for in that instant, its body was covered in revealing powder, and its towering figure was outlined by the silver dust.


    Seeing the undead emerge, the remaining five felt not fear but relief.


    "How did Su''en avoid the illusion?!"


    "Damn it, he must have some cursed object that wards off psychic attacks! Forget the wounded for now, keep pursuing. His ck scythe has appeared; he''s out of tricks!"


    "Now that his puppet is visible, be careful, avoid his shes and fire gun, and he''s no threat!"


    "Prepare to execute n C! Hold him off on your end, reinforcements are almost here..."


    "..."


    Listening to the messages in themunicator, a yful look appeared in Su''en''s eyes.


    After such a long chase, the reinforcements were finally closing in.


    Not counting ''Gun King'' Geiger, ten second-tier pursuers, three dead, two severely wounded, and five remaining.


    But the ''Trickster'' Lloyd he was waiting for had yet to show up.


    Su''en knew that the man was busy directing the forces surrounding the ruins.


    Now, with the ck scythe by his side, the remaining few dared not approach.


    But what they didn''t expect was that even with the addition of such a bulky invisible puppet, Su''en''s speed had not slowed in the slightest.


    And then, as they pursued, they were surprised to find that Su''en had led them in a big circle and hade back.


    "No good! He''s going back to kill Julian and the others!"


    "Seeking death! If he kept running, we might not have caught him, but now he''s asking for it. Notify the encircling troops to converge on us! Prepare the spatial seal!"


    "..."


    Indeed.


    Su''en had circled back.


    He was still concerned about those two severely injured second-tier professionals.


    One with a broken leg, the other unconscious, they were easy pickings, a waste to let go.


    As Su''en approached, he saw the one with the broken leg treating his wound.


    Not too famous, but a professional bodyguard from the Oliver family, apparently named Johnson.


    Even for a second-tier professional, a wound like a severed leg could cause enough blood loss in an instant to weaken him, especially during intense activity with high blood pressure.


    Now... that man, seeing Su''en return, had eyes filled with terror.


    Although he had heard the news ten seconds earlier, with his leg broken, he had no chance to escape.


    Su''en ran over and blew away the unconscious ''Dream Thief'' Julian with a shot, reaping a wave.


    Then Johnson, who had intended to feign weakness andunch a sneak attack, didn''t expect Su''en''s melee skills to be just as strong.


    Although Su''en rarely engaged in hand-to-handbat, having stripped so many people of theirbat memories, his fighting skills had reached the level of a "Combat Expert." With the body modified by "X Serum," if it came to a direct fight, Johnson might not necessarily win against him.


    Moreover, his enhanced hearing and vision made it impossible for him to be ambushed by someone with a broken leg and severe injuries.


    The ambush failed, and after a brief struggle, Su''en stabbed the man to death with a few thrusts.


    However, due to the dy, the five pursuers had caught up.


    Su''en was not in a hurry to leave, stripping the souls and collecting the storage rings of the two men.


    Because, by then, it was toote to escape.


    The enemy''s encirclement was closing in.


    Looking towards the distant buildings, a group of about a hundred well-equipped troops appeared on the opposite side. The streets near the ruins suddenly surged with dense purple light, like beams from a projector, casting several purple screens.


    Then, a huge hexagram formation lit up in the sky, and the purple screens closed in, forming a deep purple "big box" hundreds of meters high and wide, enveloping arge area nearby.


    Su''en, seeing himself trapped, was not surprised in the least. He raised an eyebrow, looked at the purple screens, and chuckled, "Tsk tsk... a spatial lockdown barrier, huh."


    Now, with his mastery of spatial abilities, he could clearly feel the strength of this barrier.


    It was strong, impervious to gunfire.


    Even a third-tier powerhouse might not be able to break it.


    He had already heard the enemy''s battle n; this spatial barrier could only be opened from the outside. Moreover, a strict order had been given that it would not be opened until Danze Junior arrived with the main force.


    It meant that only one side could survive in this space.


    Of course, this was exactly what he wanted.


    No one could escape; it was time for a showdown.


    Oh, no!


    It was the enemy who couldn''t escape; it had no effect on Su''en.


    This kind of spatial barrier was like a ss cover, not a reinforcement of space.


    If Su''en wanted to leave, he could just open a spatial door.


    Of course, he stayed because he didn''t n to leave.


    Having finally gathered the fish together, why not cast a?


    ...


    Su''en was like a turtle in a jar, and the people from the Oliver family were no longer in a hurry, slowly closing in.


    Of course, what they feared most was Su''en''s desperate counterattack.


    After all, with the ck scythe in hand, if he were tosh out in desperation, no one dared to take it lightly.


    A siege that was almost certain to seed, no one expected such heavy losses.


    Ten second-tier experts participated in the hunt, and now only five were alive.


    The faces of the remaining people were all very grim.At that moment, not far away, a dwarf with a sullen face appeared. It was none other than the master of puppetry, the "Magician" Lloyd.


    If anyone hated Su''en the most, aside from Danze Junior, whose opportunity had been stolen, it would be him.


    A respected master who turned out to be an ugly dwarfpletely shattered the image of his esteemed status.


    Su''en mentioned to Sabina that ever since this guy''s alchemical puppet was destroyed, he hadn''t shown his face in public, probably too ashamed to meet anyone.


    In the brief moment he showed himself, the sorcerer''s seal in his hand had already solidified.


    Once his bio-armor was released, ck threads began to emerge from his body...


    In the sky, the hexagram formation slowly lit up, and a massive cross suddenly materialized.


    Su''en had seen this routine before and was naturally familiar with it.


    He also knew that using a barrier to limit space was not only to prevent his escape but also to maximize Lloyd''s abilities.


    Just like the time they ambushed the "Wailing Witch," within a certain range, Lloyd''s [Arcanum: Puppet Theater] was almost unsolvable.


    Su''en squinted at the cross in the sky and muttered to himself, "I''m quite envious of that arcanum..."


    The biggest purpose of today''s borate setup was to target this very man.


    ......


    Perhaps feeling confident in his victory, Lloyd didn''t rush to act and began to persuade, "Boy, give up resisting, and perhaps I might spare your life!"


    "Ha ha ha..."


    Su''en cracked a smile upon hearing this.


    The words were not false.


    If possible, they indeed wanted to capture him alive.


    After all, there were too many secrets on him, and young master Danze was very curious.


    For instance, how Su''en could use the ck Scythe without side effects...


    If he really died, that might remain an eternal mystery.


    Being stared at maliciously by over a hundred people felt like a sharp spear piercing Su''en''s head, causing him pain.


    The enemy numbered over a hundred, and he dared not underestimate them.


    Just a nce over, and there were thirty to forty professionals who had released their bio-armor.


    Even the non-professionals were equipped with sophisticated mechanical gear.


    Clearly, this was the Oliver family''s elite team.


    Not to mention the spellcasters, mechanical sorcerers, and mystic sorcerers, just over a hundred muskets and cannons firing in unison would be enough to bring Su''en to his knees on the spot.


    Why call so many people?


    Of course, it was to act as cannon fodder!


    There was only one ck Scythe, capable of striking only once at a time, and with the curse bacsh, it was impossible to use the ck Scythe to kill over a hundred people, right?


    In the interval between strikes, the attacks of over a hundred people would be enough to overwhelm him.


    Seeing that Su''en had no intention of surrendering, Lloyd coldly said, "Boy, I''ll give you onest chance. Surrender within three breaths, or else you will be shown no mercy!"


    He spoke as if persuading, but his vignce did not rx in the slightest.


    Because the SS-ranked fugitive before him was too calm.


    The mind of a professional who could advance to the second tier was never simple.


    From the very beginning, they suspected there was something fishy.


    Su''en had the chance to escape but returned for the spoils of two corpses and then got trapped?


    Although Lloyd felt this was somewhat rted to their "foolproof" n, something still seemed off.


    If he were really that "greedy," he would never have survived until now.


    The most likely possibility was that "Su''en" had some life-saving trick up his sleeve.


    But... with the situation as it was, what could he possibly do?


    ......


    With over a hundred eyes watching, even if Su''en could fly, his wings would be shot off on the spot!


    Cornered in the barrier, he seemed to have no way out.


    But in the next instant, he pped his hands together, and the spell for spatial teleportation was executed with practiced ease.


    Seeing his movement, a shout came from the other side, "Not good! Act now!"


    Then came the sound of triggers being pulled in unison.


    But it was already toote.


    Su''en''s foot had already stepped into the spatial gate, and as the guns fired, the bullets...


    Just when the Oliver family thought Su''en had escaped.


    Suddenly, they saw a figure appear on the small building behind them.


    On closer inspection, who else could it be but Su''en?


    "You have a lot of people, huh? Heh..."


    Su''en grinned at them and muttered to himself, "Good thing I''m not alone either."


    As he spoke, he pulled out three scrolls sealed with spatial spells.


    The scrolls unfurled in the wind, and nearly a hundred puppet dolls appeared, their wooden joints clicking mockingly as they faced the Oliver family''s hundred-plus members.


    Su''en''s eyes narrowed, and with a gesture of grasping at the void, he shouted, "Try my own creation of puppetry... ''Secret Technique: Night Parade of a Hundred Puppets''!"


    ps. My schedule has been erratictely, updates will probably be around 6 PM. In the future, I''ll try to do it by 12 PM.

 Chapter 175: Wild slaughter

    Chapter 175: Wild ughter


    The method of unsealing the spatial scroll allowed Su''en to summon arge number of rune puppets in a short time. Before the enemy could turn their gun barrels, he had already called forth a hundred puppets.


    By the time the enemy noticed themotion and turned around, he had already pulled the strings, triggering the puppets'' mechanisms.


    The puppets stood in two rows, eighty "Oil Gobblers" in front, and twenty "Phosphor Dolls" behind.


    It was in the moment that the strings were pulled that the jaws of the two types of puppets suddenly opened wide, one spewing ck oil, the other emitting a pale blue phosphor fire.


    Watching the astonished expressions of the Oliver family, a fierce light shed in Su''en''s eyes as he whispered softly, "Try my physical fire magic..."


    Brutally simple.


    In an instant, twenty "Red-faced Puppets" spouted a beam of fire from their mouths. Phosphor fire met oil, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into twenty rampaging fire dragons, striking towards the crowd.


    Twenty spread to eighty, and in a moment, there were eighty fire dragons.


    The improved "Oil Gobblers" had a powerful jet force, their ck tubes like high-pressure water guns, spraying ck fire oil dozens to hundreds of meters away.


    This spraying distance was almost no threat to most professionals. Just by keeping their distance, they could easily avoid it.


    But within the space limited by the sealing barrier, there was simply nowhere to hide!


    And because the puppets were controble, they sprayed wildly as they twisted their heads.


    The blue phosphor fire, unextinguished by water and growing with the wind, left flowing mes wherever the fire dragons passed. In no time, several blocks within the sealed area were aze with raging fire.


    Aside from a few sorcerers who could control fire, almost no one could withstand it head-on.


    With this round of eighty fire dragons spraying in unison, the enemy''s formation was immediately scattered.


    Over a hundred people fled in all directions, each beginning to shoot with their guns.


    .......


    "Take him down!"


    At themand, gunfire erupted.


    Su''en was not afraid at all, as a hundred puppets in front of him blocked all possible angles of gunfire. He controlled the rune puppets to fly chaotically, creating a scene of demons dancing wildly.


    These members of the encircling team were indeed the elite of the Oliver family. After a moment of panic, they also found cover and began to counterattack. These guys had sophisticated firearms and superb shooting skills. Even though the puppets flew agilely through the sky, with hundreds of gun barrels aiming, they were hit with a crackling sound.


    Although the dolls were fortified with sturdy runes and enchantments, the wooden material of the lower-tier dolls could not withstand too many concentrated bullet impacts, especially since there were people with man-portable cannons and mechanical ws attacking among the crowd. Almost every hit resulted in an explosion.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "..."


    After a round of strafing, the ck-faced "Oil Gobblers" at the forefront kept exploding.


    However, it was not just a simple explosion.


    Likepressed gas cylinders being burst, the sky exploded with bursts of mes.


    Phosphor fire sttered everywhere.


    Watching the exploding puppets, Su''en did not feel sorry at all; instead, he revealed a smile that suited his intentions.


    These were not the small-capacity puppets of before, but space puppets modified by him using spatial magic.


    With each explosion, the space sealed within the puppets also burst. Like exploding oil drums, "boom" after "boom," ck phosphor oil sttered all over the sky.


    Phosphor fire sttered and stuck, impossible to extinguish. In no time, painful wails of agony could be heard everywhere.


    "Ah... hurry... help me take off my bulletproof vest!"


    "Damn it, my mechanical arm is burning red, someone help me take off this mechanical skeleton!"


    "..."


    Whether it was textiles or machinery, once contaminated with phosphor oil, they could only wait for the oil to burn out. Not everyone was a fire mage capable of dealing with this sticky burning oil; a little contamination meant burns.


    And the threat was not just that.


    "Oil Gobblers" that were blown up seemed to have lost their ability to spray directionally, appearing much less threatening.


    But the explosion was more direct than using a spray tube, and the burning area spread rapidly, reaching an extent that was simply unstoppable.


    Within this few hundred meters of restricted space, phosphor fire was everywhere.


    At first, the people of the Oliver family did not notice anything unusual, but as more shattered puppets appeared and the inextinguishable phosphor fire spread, someone realized the problem and shouted, "Careful, these mes are toxic! Put on your gas masks!"


    .......


    Toxic gas?


    No, it was not just that.


    Phosphor fire indeed produces deadly toxic gas when it burns, but that was not the main reason Su''en used so much fire oil.


    In fact, Su''en did not expect it to burn or poison anyone to death.


    Instead, it was to create thick smoke to obscure vision and to rapidly consume the oxygen in the space!


    The burning of fire oil also required a huge amount of oxygen.


    Outdoors, it might not be noticeable, but in a closed space, these tens of tons of fire oil would consume all the oxygen in the air in an extremely short moment.


    This was the tactic Su''en thought of when he first heard from Sabina that the Oliver family was preparing to use "Spatial Lockdown" against him.


    A closed space was not only suitable for "Puppet Theater," but it was also an extremely advantageous home ground for his "Phosphor Dolls."


    Although this was a world filled with alchemy, and ancient alchemists had long been able to prepare and separate oxygen from the air,boratory research and civilian use were two different things.In the minds of the vast majority, the concept of oxygen as a separate entity simply does not exist.


    Filter-type gas masks can handle most toxins, but they can''t solve the problem of oxygen deficiency. (Forget about sodium peroxide and the like in regr gas masks).


    Soon, people began to experience difficulty breathing.


    "Ah, I think I''ve been poisoned!"


    "Someone save me..."


    "..."


    The cries of agony continued, growing fainter and fainter.


    The rapidly decreasing oxygen content in the air made them gasp greedily for breath.


    Then they found it increasingly difficult to breathe, instinctively wanting to remove their gas masks for a few breaths.


    But then they realized that what they inhaled was poison again.


    Their faces turned ashen in an instant, and they fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth.


    The Oliver family''s hundred-plus elite members copsed en masse in the blink of an eye, like wheat being harvested.


    Even professionals quickly began to show signs of hypoxia.


    Some spellcasters who understood the situation shouted, "Stop shooting, don''t attack those oil-spewing puppets anymore! Cast a spell to rece the air, or we''ll all die here!"


    .......


    The gunfire ceased abruptly.


    Su''en listened to the exchanges of those around him and calmly took out apressed air tank, connecting it to his mask.


    Ordinary scavengers might not understand why they were having trouble breathing, probably thinking it was poisoning. But after all, this was the elite group of the Oliver family, mixed with alchemists from the inner city academies.


    It was not surprising that they could see through it.


    Using the principle of equivalent exchange to cast a spell and rece the other toxic gases with fresh air was indeed the correct response...


    But would Su''en give them that chance?


    Watching someone cast any wind-based spell, he raised his hand and fired several shots to kill.


    Those who weren''t killed were certainly elite spellcasters, too busy recing the air to deal with Su''en.


    With this move, he instantly nullified the enemy''s numerical advantage by ny percent!


    Since the enemy had stopped shooting, Su''en had no intention of letting them off. With a flick of his wrist and a light shout, "Explode!"


    The dozens of intact "Oil-Swallowing Dolls" burst apart in an instant, sttering oil everywhere.


    Now... the fire became unstoppable.


    Moreover, the burning of phosphorus oil produced arge amount of high-temperature ck smoke!


    As the oxygen in the sealed space dwindled, the phosphorus oil burned ipletely, creating more and more dense smoke particles. The high-temperature smoke interfered with all optical detection methods, rendering even the best night vision devices useless.


    This was a physical visual barrier even more effective than a smoke grenade.


    The high-temperature smoke couldn''t disperse in the sealed space, and the purple light barrier acted like a ss cover, enclosing several streets within it.


    Visibility dropped lower and lower,


    One hundred meters...


    Fifty meters...


    Ten meters...


    In the blink of an eye, the ck fog enveloped most of the space, and in some areas, you couldn''t even see your hand in front of your face.


    Now that no one could see,


    It was all about perception!


    Su''en did this because among second-tier professionals, his perception ability was absolutely superior.


    Not to mention that after the evolution of his All-Seeing Eye ability, he could still see farther than others in the dense smoke. Combined with his super-sensitive auditory perception and malice detection abilities, he could easily pinpoint the enemy''s location.


    Now, the enemy''s numerical advantage waspletely gone.


    Without a clear target, even the best marksmanship and equipment were useless.


    After doing all this, taking advantage of the chaos in the enemy''s ranks, Su''en extinguished the light source on his body and stopped shooting.


    Ignoring the fire-spewing puppets, he once again used spatial teleportation and appeared in the midst of a group of people dozens of meters away.


    Due to the extremely low visibility, the professionals from the Oliver family had not yet realized that an extra person had suddenly joined their ranks.


    .......


    Themander of the Oliver team clearly had a wealth ofbat experience. Upon realizing that their vision was obscured by ck smoke, he immediately guessed Su''en''s intention.


    "Be careful of enemy sneak attacks!"


    "Form trios, back to back!"


    "Don''t shoot recklessly!"


    At hismand, the surviving professionals formed trios, back to back, covering each other.


    This posture indeed made it difficult tounch a sneak attack.


    However, Su''en had no intention of taking action himself.


    With the unrolling of a scroll, another dozen puppet dolls appeared out of thin air.


    This time, they weren''t fire-spewing puppets, but "Nightmare Dolls."


    These were abination of the previous "Wailing Dolls" and "Giggling Dolls." After mastering the technique of dual rune inscription, Su''en created these new puppets that were very troublesome, possessing both auditory and visual hallucinogenic functions.


    "ng~"


    "ng~"


    "ng~"


    As soon as the puppets appeared, their limbs split open, revealing pitch-ck, poisoned, sharp daggers.


    With amand from Su''en''s Octopus Spear, the dozen puppets flew towards the crowd.


    The "Nightmare Dolls''" psychic wails, although still not very wide-ranging, required a proximity of one to two meters to affect the minds of professionals.


    But... the terror was in their numbers!


    The mixture of strangeughter was like ten thousand aunts babbling in one''s ear, instantly driving one to the brink of mental copse.


    Moreover, the puppets, fearless of life and death, would not be deterred by knives or guns.


    After the Witch''s Hair waspletely elementalized, the control was utterly untraceable.


    A dozen puppets were like a dozen Su''ens.


    They plunged into the crowd, and the sound of their eerieughter instantly blurred the minds of those around.Then, in the moment of distraction, there was a chaotic stabbing spree.


    Screams and gunshots filled the darkness.


    Su''en, like a specter, mercilessly reaped the lives of those still breathing professionals.


    A wild ughter!


    In the brief encounter, Oliver''s hundred-plus men hadn''t even had the chance to act violently before the poison gas killed the majority, and the strange puppets stabbed to death the rest, leaving almost none alive.


    What was originally a space barrier meant to trap their prey had be the very death knell for these pursuers.


    ........


    "Ah..."


    Wails and screams were incessant.


    The Oliver family''s second-tier professionals had plenty of life-saving tricks, and although they could temporarily protect themselves, they were powerless to stop Su''en''s killing spree.


    The thick smoke obscured everyone''s vision.


    With over a dozen disturbances, they couldn''t discern where the real "Su''en" was.


    A rash move might just result in a spatial rift suddenly appearing and severing their heads.


    Moreover, everyone now knew that Su''en was a second-tier professional, so no one dared to underestimate him.


    Not to mention the ck scythe in hand, even in a direct confrontation, they were all second-tier professionalswhy would anyone necessarily be weaker than you?


    And at this moment, they also came to a stark realization.


    Were they here to hunt down the "SS wanted criminal Su''en"?


    No!


    Looking at it now...


    From the beginning to the end,


    it was Su''en who was luring the snakes out of their holes.


    Realizing this, the few surviving second-tiers were drenched in cold sweat.


    The fivepanions who had died during the pursuit were not mere coincidences, but all within Su''en''s calctions.


    Although they didn''t understand why Su''en was so intent on killing.


    The fact was, if they didn''t figure out a way, they were likely to bepletely annihted.


    And now, embarrassingly, what they thought was a space barrier trapping Su''en, turned out to only control them!


    They had never anticipated that Su''en would awaken such a rare spatial ability.


    At this time, a soft and cautious voice came through themunicator.


    "Damn, we need to find a way to pinpoint Su''en''s location and take him out, otherwise, we''re afraid we won''tst until the barrier opens... Mr. Lloyd, what should we do now?"


    Before an answer could be given, someone in themunicator suddenly said faintly, "Hey... haven''t you noticed that our entire n from start to finish has been in Su''en''s grasp?"


    "You mean..."


    "..."


    The conversation was cut off halfway, and themunicator fell silent.


    Everyone understoodtheirmunication channel had been intercepted.


    ........


    Su''en, listening to the silence in themunicator, knew that his eavesdropping had finally been discovered, and chuckled to himself, "Only now they realize..."


    But it didn''t matter.


    The n was going smoother than expected.


    At this point, those guys couldn''t possibly turn the tables.


    Now, the only uncertainty for Su''en was whether he could kill all the second-tiers in this space before the enemy''s main forces arrived.


    Of course, the enemies were all well-known veteran second-tier professionals, and naturally, they wouldn''t be captured without a fight.


    Su''en nced at the threads drifting down from above and narrowed his eyes slightly, "The puppet show begins, huh..."

 Chapter 176: It seems like a big harvest

    Chapter 176: It seems like a big harvest


    "The Puppeteer" Lloyd, who could be called the "Master of Puppets," naturally had real skills.


    His mastery of puppetry was such that there might be one or two people in the whole of Old Lingdun who could match him, but definitely none who could be said to be stronger.


    ck smoke enveloped the entire sealed space, and just when everyone was at a loss, the ck lines on the huge cross in the sky suddenly burst forth, spreading wildly.


    Countless ck lines touched anything they could coil around, immediately binding them up.


    At this time, someone shouted in the smoke: "Don''t panic, this is Mr. Lloyd''s puppetry trick, everyone, do not resist!"


    The ck lines, like thin snakes, probed everywhere, binding people and objects they encountered. Even the corpses on the ground were animated like marites.


    The number of ck lines was immense, covering almost the entire space, leaving no ce to hide.


    It was as if a hidden hand was manipting the huge cross in the sky, turning the vast sealed space into a giant puppet theater.


    Puppets on strings wandered all around.


    .......


    "An almost inescapable puppetry secret technique, truly living up to its reputation..."


    Su''en watched, his brows slightly furrowed.


    His own puppets were also entangled in the ck lines around him.


    He tried to control a puppet, which struggled for a moment, then immediately triggered a chain reaction. Countless ck lines surged over, directly grinding the puppet into pieces. Moreover, thismotion caused the nearby "puppets" under control to swarm over as well.


    Seeing the ck lines covering the entire space, Su''en knew it was time to get serious.


    The previous battles could be won with tricks, but now it was time topete in strength.


    This was Lloyd''s "theater," where the ck lines restricted everyone''s ability to move and hide in the space.


    There was no choice but to face it head-on.


    Seeing the ck lines about to cover him, if he were bound, he wouldn''t even be able to escape with spatial teleportation.


    Even the abhorred zombies were the same.


    Su''en had no intention of running away. He narrowed his eyes at the ck lines and murmured, "Good... let''s see how the methods of a traditional puppet master fare!"


    With that thought, his gaze suddenly became sharp as a de.


    The next instant, he no longer concealed his aura, unleashing the second-order prosthesis, and his silvery threads surged wildly, rushing towards the cross in the sky.


    ck lines against silver threads!


    Thousand ThreadsagainstThousand Threads!


    Su''en possessed "Infinite Hair," and although his technique was somewhatcking, he was not afraid of "The Puppeteer" Lloyd.


    It was at this moment.


    The ck lines found a "resistant" target and instantly converged.


    Countless silver hairs and ck lines tangled together, bing a chaotic mess in a very short time.


    Just like the scene in the White Monastery!


    Both sides were once again locked in a struggle.


    At this moment, Lloyd''s voice came through themunicator again: "We''ve pinpointed his location, 45 degrees to the southwest of the space!"


    This notification was naturally intended to expose Su''en''s position to the other five second-order individuals, hoping to rey the tactic of besieging the witch as before.


    Su''en snorted in his heart, fearless.


    Now that he was trapped on the spot, he pulled out another spatial scroll, and upon unsealing it, another twenty or thirty puppets appeared out of thin air.


    He wasn''t just controlling threads with his hands; he also had eight spider spears!


    The spider spears manipted dozens of puppets, shielding him tightly.


    .......


    Su''en was restricted by the threads, and as soon as his position was exposed, the "puppet army" controlled by the ck lines also converged towards his location.


    Originally, after Lloyd''s Puppet Theater was deployed, it was a very spectacr battle scene.


    Whether it was melee, magic, assassin, mechanic... any other profession, in this "theater," they were all his marites.


    Even if one had means to resist the ck lines, they would still have to face the siege of countless ck lines and the "puppet" army.


    Puppets could not be killed; even if limbs were severed, they could still kill...


    In the end, those trapped in the theater could only be worn down to death.


    However, if both were puppet masters, especially both fused with Thousand Threads alchemical prosthesis.


    The fight became very uninteresting.


    Su''en never thought he could win over this Master of Puppets in puppetry.


    In this confrontation, he directly gave up the puppetry tactic. Then, he released countless silver hairs, simply and brutally entangling the opponent''s "puppets."


    Su''en''s witch hair was infinite, but Lloyd''s Tesmox iron threadworms were limited!


    With this entanglement, both sides could stop ying with puppets and just focus on the struggle.


    In terms of puppet control, Su''en was far inferior to the Master of Puppets.


    But when it came to wrestling, he was not to be underestimated.


    Moreover, after Su''en took control of all the ck lines from the cross above, he could then divide his attention to control his own puppets.


    He also felt that since he was "controlled," it was time for the enemy to make a move.


    .......


    Sure enough, as soon as they tangled, Lloyd''s loud shout came from the darkness: "Damn it, he really fused with ''Infinite Hair,'' act quickly! This kid is tricky; I can''t hold on for long!"


    There was still a glimmer of hope before.


    Thinking that even if Su''en got the witch''s head, it would be useless.


    After all, the dark gold quality "Infinite Hair" had extremely strong curse properties, and to refine it into a prosthesis required a very high tolerance value.


    Even Danze Junior, the young master of the inner city''s topyer, had to downgrade to fuse with it. He could only choose some inferior ingredients to refine, lowering the containment value of the finished prosthesis, and forcibly refining the dark gold main material into a golden prosthesis product, to ensure that the body would not deform after fusion.


    But now, after a try,


    The toughness, strength, and tension of this hair... were all astonishingly exaggerated.


    Lloyd immediately realized that this was definitely not a downgraded prosthesis!


    Golden level?


    No, it was definitely dark gold level!


    If anyone knew what Lloyd was thinking at this moment, they would think Su''en was a monster.


    Danze Oliver was the young master of the inner city''s topyer, with the best breathing techniques and cultivation resources. He had to downgrade to fuse with the alchemical prosthesis, so how could a wanted criminal from the outer city seed in fusion?


    Only a puppet master could truly appreciate the power of this "Infinite Hair."


    If he wasn''t killed today, he would truly be a terror once he grew up!


    ......


    In the thick smoke, originally blind to sight.


    This loud shout sounded like Lloyd had carelessly exposed his position due to anxiety.


    Both sides were wrestling, and Su''en couldn''t move his position, so Lloyd couldn''t move either.


    Exposing his position was the best opportunity for a killing blow.


    Just swinging the scythe seemed like it would easily kill the dwarf master.


    But Su''en wasn''t fooled; instead, his expression turned stern, and he focused his attention on his surroundings.


    How could he not know that the guy had a very special alchemical item that perfectly countered Supernos''s Night Scythe?


    The Oliver family''s search for items to counter the ck scythe''s curse could fool others, but not the Umbre Organization. What they thought was a surefire sneaky tactic was already known to Su''en through Sabina.


    This loud shout was simply to "attract firepower"!


    "Tsk tsk, old schemer..."


    If Su''en really swung his scythe in that direction, not only would he fail to kill the dwarf, but he would also be attacked by the other second-order individuals during the moment he struck.


    Thinking of this, a mocking smile crossed his eyes. He pretended not to notice and controlled the abhorred zombie to raise the ck scythe, as if he was about to sh in the direction of the sound.


    Now that the zombie was covered in revealing powder, its movements couldn''t be hidden.


    It was at this moment of action that the enemy reacted extremely quickly.


    Su''en suddenly felt a needle-like murderous intenting from behind, thinking to himself, "Here ites!"


    The malice approached at a high speed, almost instantly appearing behind Su''en.


    At this time, the person arrived, and only then did his ears btedly hear a series of explosive sounds of footsteps treading on air, "pop," "pop," "pop"...


    If this sh was really aimed forward, even if Su''en reacted quickly, he wouldn''t have time to defend.


    He would definitely be attacked from behind.


    However, to the surprise of the attacker, Su''en''s sh was just a feint. As soon as it was raised, it suddenly changed direction and shed behind him.


    With this speed, it had to be the "Viper" Bright Jars, a second-order professional assassin who was very good at stealth and assassination.


    The timing of this sh was just right to hit Bright.


    .......


    Seeing the ck scythe suddenly turn its de, Bright was also stunned.


    He hadn''t even managed to strike, and the scythe had already shed at his forehead. The momentum of his rush left him no room to turn back, and he instinctively blocked with his dagger in front of him.


    Normally, even if a melee professional was discovered during a sneak attack, they could still block and retreat unharmed.


    Unfortunately, the ck scythe was an exception.


    With one sh, it smoothly cut through.


    The famed dagger was cut into two pieces, and then a hand''s width of a blood gash was smoothly cut across his neck, with blood spurting wildly from the wound.


    Bright didn''t even have a chance to react, and his bodypletely lost its vitality.


    Su''en silently counted to himself, "Four shes have been made, and one more will trigger the curse bacsh."


    After killing the assassin, he didn''t let his guard down.


    Because at the same time as he acted, "malice" also came from three other directions.


    In front of him, he heard a sharp "hiss."


    This was clearly the sound of a steam boiler venting violently.


    Even without seeing, he knew that a mechanical warrior was charging at him!


    The steam boiler''s energy storage made a lot of noise, and the friction sound of the mechanical arm''s joints couldn''t be hidden from a master, so this guy had been hiding and didn''t dare to make a sound. Only after storing energy could he rush forward, so he was half a beat slower than the assassin.


    Moreover, not only from the front, but Su''en also felt intense elemental fluctuations from both sides. In the thick ck smoke, red and purple glows shed.


    In the blink of an eye, a scorching chain of fire and a lightning bolt were upon him.


    At this moment, Su''en''s eyes were devoid of any other emotion, only an almost numb calm.


    His brain was like a high-speed machine, controlling his body to make the most appropriate response.


    With a control of the spider spear, the ck Hole Puppet spread its arms into a horn shape, a ck vortex appeared, and as soon as the fire chain and lightning touched him, they were rapidly sucked in.


    The puppet opened its mouth again, and the magic of thunder and fire was spat out onto the face of the mechanical warrior who was charging at him.


    At this moment, the advantage of having many hands was immediately apparent.


    While manipting the puppets, Su''en''s right hand quickly drew his gun and continuously pulled the trigger towards the left.


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    Three special booms of alchemical bullets exploded in the eardrums.


    To the left was the thunder mage Rafael-Jemha, and to the right was the fire mage Nidam David.


    In such a situation, it was obviously too difficult to shoot a "Fourfold Shot," but using a "Threefold Shot" to hit the fragile thunder sorcerer was still no problem.


    Su''en couldn''t see the positions of the two, but he judged their directions from the sounds of their spells.


    Three shots fired, and a muffled groan was heard, clearly someone was hit.


    Su''en didn''t bother with them, with the ck Hole Doll around, the sorcerer''s abilities were reduced by seventy percent.


    Moreover, he didn''t have time to bother.


    Because at this time, the mechanical warrior in front had already rushed to his face!


    "Iron Tiger" Rein Lute, a retired junior lieutenant of the Old Lingdun city defense, now the captain of the Oliver family''s guard.


    This guy had a high degree of mechanical modification and high-tech content. Mechanical armor covered his entire body, with advanced magic resistance runes and enchanted ting. The two weakened spells did almost no harm to him, not hindering his charge at all.


    Su''en didn''t expect the two spells to stop the mechanical warrior in front of him, but the ck scythe had just been swung and couldn''t be retracted in time.


    At this moment, his ability to "multitask" was pushed to the extreme.


    As his right hand fired the gun, his left hand also suddenly pulled, and countless threads in front of him converged into a dense giant.


    Another heavy explosion-proof puppet was pulled in front of him.


    Just a brief momentter, the mechanical warrior Rein, relying on the powerful thrust of the jet propulsion device, brutally broke into the. His mechanical body paused slightly, then broke countless threads and rushed out of the. Using the inertia to gather strength, he mmed a punch forward, sting the explosion-proof puppet into pieces.


    After two interceptions, his strength was exhausted by seventy percent.


    But even so, he still reached Su''en.


    Rein knew he only had one chance to punch, the steam boiler couldn''t store too much energy, and he punched Su''en in the chest with another fierce blow.


    He was very confident that although this punch was not strong enough, it was enough to kill any ordinary second-order non-melee professional on the spot!


    Even if he clearly felt the presence of an alloy shield on his chest!


    "Pfft~"


    Hit in the chest, Su''en''s figure swayed.


    He couldn''t hold back the burning sensation in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood.


    However, at this moment, a smile appeared on his bloodied lips.


    The damage was still within expectations.


    It had to be said that in terms of defense, speed, and strength, the mechanical warrior indeed had advantages that other professionals couldn''tpare with.


    But in terms of reaction to sudden stops and changes in direction, theg was also obvious.


    He didn''t die from this strike,


    The one who died was the opponent.


    The toughness of Su''en''s body was such that a punch like this was not enough to kill him.


    He didn''t make any superfluous movements, a flick of the spider spear, and the abhorred zombie beside him had already swung the scythe around.


    The appearance of the spatial rift, unreasonably, cut a smooth trace on Rein''s indestructible mechanical armor.


    "Swish~"


    Blood spurted wildly, and Rein Lute''s head was directly chopped off.


    Another one dead.


    And at this time, the abhorred zombie also made the fifth sh, triggering the curse bacsh immediately.


    ......


    Even through the body bag, he could feel the state of blood bursting.


    Su''en took a couple of breaths and looked around, but found that the abhorred zombie hadn''t turned into a pile of corpses.


    It was a small pleasant surprise.


    This meant that the abhorred had once again survived the five-sh bacsh, and the wounds were healing quickly.


    Su''en squinted at the direction of Lloyd in the ck smoke, with a hint of mockery in his smile: "Tsk tsk... it seems, luck is still on my side."


    Six second-order professionals in the space, now two more of the most threatening melee professionals were killed.


    The fate of thunder mage Rafael Jemha, who was shot, was unknown.


    There were still "The Puppeteer" Lloyd, fire mage Nidam, and the cadre of the Crow Gang "Blood Crow" Langfero left...


    Of course, even if the abhorred died, it wouldn''t be a big problem.


    Su''en''s storage space still had two ordinary zombies as backups.


    Previously, due to theck of storage space, it was inconvenient to carry zombies, so he didn''t bother with them.


    But now...


    He wasn''t short of zombies.


    Moreover, even without using the scythe, the threat of the remaining few magic professionals was not that great anymore.


    Today, it seems like a big harvest...

 Chapter 177: Less Struggle for Ten Years

    Chapter 177: Less Struggle for Ten Years


    ps. I''m in a bit of a rush, so I''ll update first and make correctionster. Sorry about that, the reading experience will be better in twenty minutes.


    This round of attack was probably also thest joint effort of the experts from the Oliver family.


    Su''en shed two second-tier melee fighters and severely wounded a spellcaster.


    The few who were still alive didn''t make a sound anymore.


    Without the restraint of melee professionals, the ranged spellcasters didn''t dare to show their faces. If they cast spells again, the spatial rifts created by the ck Scythe would definitely be faster than their casting speed.


    Having taken a heavy punch to the chest and with his blood still churning, Su''en didn''t rush to make any big moves.


    He casually harvested the Ash Mist fragments from the corpses of "Iron Tiger" Rein Lute and "Viper" Bright Gals beside him, gaining arge amount of melee experience.


    It must be said, the quality of the souls of the inner city professionals was indeed very high.


    Rein was originally a professional from the inner city military academy. With this harvest, Su''en directly gained a wealth of military-grade mechanical knowledge and various military insights.


    In terms of mechanical knowledge alone, this was the highest quality harvest he had ever had.


    ...


    Half of the six second-tier enemies in the space were gone, and the most critical moment had passed.


    As his churning blood settled, Su''en calmly took out two more undead corpses and reced the ck Scythe.


    That "Magician" Lloyd indeed had a treasure that could resist the ck Scythe''s attack, but using it was not without cost.


    Two ordinary undead plus an abomination could normally strike ten consecutive blows.


    That was enough to kill him.


    Su''en smiled lightly in his heart, slightly flexing his fingers, and controlled the undead to sh towards the location from where the sound hade.


    His ability to "determine position by sound" had already pinpointed Lloyd''s exact location.


    But the target was small, so the arc of this sh was very wide, to ensure a hit.


    As the sh came down, the undead wielding the de triggered an immediate bacsh, suddenly bursting into two pieces.


    However, Su''en didn''t care.


    Because at that moment, he heard a faint noise, like the sound of ss beads shattering.


    Su''en smiled lightly, knowing he had hit his mark.


    At the same time, he had also pinpointed Lloyd''s exact coordinates!


    "Now it''s simple..."


    He calmly switched the ck Scythe to another undead and swung the de again, another sh down.


    In the smoke, another "clink" of a faint shattering sound came.


    Then another sh, and another sound.


    Su''en thought he would have to sh five times, as the information he had was that the glove could hold five "Curse Source Crystals."


    But after the third sh, as he was about to swing the fourth, the mindset of that dwarf master copsed.


    Three shes and still three more to go...


    Endless.


    Being fixed in ce as a target, anyone''s mindset would probably copse.


    Su''en watched as the cross in the sky suddenly dispersed, and the ck line he was wrestling with also lost its strength at the same time.


    "Ah..."


    A painful scream came from the thick smoke.


    Su''en knew that the spell had copsed, and Lloyd had suffered a bacsh.


    With the copse of the Puppet Theater, Su''en was no longer restricted and let out a breath of relief.


    Thest threat was gone, and he felt a great relief.


    He collected his hair and controlled the puppet to rush towards the direction of the sound.


    Upon closer inspection, in front of a broken building guarded by more than a dozen heavy-armored knight puppets, Lloyd was already lying there, spitting blood, on the brink of death.


    Seeing that he still had a breath, Su''en raised his gun and pulled the trigger without any courtesy, sending him on his way.


    "Bang!"


    The gunshot sounded, and Lloyd fell dead in response, and the more than a dozen ck knights also instantly copsed into pieces of various sizes.


    These more than a dozen heavy-armored knights were also the famous puppet legion of this puppet masterTwelve Heavy Armored Knights.


    They were treasures excavated from ancient ruins as well.


    Forged from a special alloy, they were light, easy to control, and sturdily crafted puppets. Much better quality than the intermediate explosion-proof dolls Su''en was currently making.


    Unfortunately, against the space rifts that ignored obstacles, they had no chance to be used.


    Looking at the Ash Mist emerging from the corpse, Su''en then walked through the debris.


    With a wave of his hand, he devoured the fragments.


    A flood of memories instantly surged into his mind.


    You have obtained ''Lloyd Rodney''s'' memory fragments*5


    You have gained a piece of information: ''There is an ancient relic in the Oliver family''s treasury, which is a perfect match for my puppetry lineage...


    You have gained some ''puppet-making experience''


    You have obtained Secret ArtPuppet Theater (Iplete)


    You have mastered the control thread technique Secret TechniqueHundred Finger Dance


    You have gained arge amount of ''puppetry experience''


    Mental Strength +0.7


    After a moment of rest.


    A growing joy began to emerge in Su''en''s eyes.


    This fishing ambush wasrgely for this guy.


    And the harvest was richer than expected!


    ...


    Su''en quickly digested those memory fragments in his mind, his eyes unable to hide his joy.


    He muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear, "I didn''t expect to actually strip away Puppet Theater..."


    Instantly, his mind was filled with detailed controls of that secret technique, as well as Lloyd''s years ofbat experience.


    This made Su''en feel an instant sense of fulfillment.


    Directly stripping away such a "finished skill" with a high proficiency saved him at least several years of hard cultivation.


    Looking at the "iplete" mark, he didn''t care much.


    Although he didn''t know which part was missing, he had aplete scroll of the technique''s detailed exnation in his hand.


    When he returned, he could slowlypare and immediatelyplete it.


    And the surprises were not just stripping away Puppet Theater.


    That Hundred Finger Dance technique was also a skill that all puppet masters dream of!


    Lloyd''s ability to control so many threads was directly rted to this control thread technique he had honed through thousands of trials. It wasn''t that he had a hundred fingers, but because his thread control skills were so refined that his ten fingers moved as if a hundred were dancing.


    This was a truly "master-level" thread control technique.


    Normal puppet masters would have to practice hard for several years, even more than a decade... and that also depended on their learning talent.


    Su''en achieved it in one step.


    It couldn''t be anything but a great surprise.


    He gained two scarce puppetry techniques and a bunch of puppetry fragments and crafting skills...


    Su''en felt that this was the real big win.


    Stripping away Lloyd''s fragments, his own proficiency in the field of puppetry surged dramatically.


    Not to say he reached "master level," but at least "expert."


    This was the gain of less struggle for ten years!


    And finally, there was a piece of obsession in the memory fragments...


    "A curse object that fits puppetry well?"


    Su''en looked at the information, his eyes narrowing slightly.


    What could be the treasure that even the puppet master Lloyd coveted?


    But in the Oliver family''s treasury, even if he coveted it, it seemed impossible to obtain...


    Suddenly, looking at the slowly gathering prosthesis on the corpse, an idea popped into Su''en''s mind.


    Perhaps... there was still a chance?


    ...


    Su''en pulled off several storage rings from Lloyd''s hand.


    He nced at them, and arge amount of puppet materials and finished products were all good things he could use.


    It had to be said, as Danze Junior''s teacher, this guy really had a lot of good stuff.


    Last time he harvested a bunch from killing his alchemical golem, and now he had so much more...


    Tsk tsk.


    Su''en didn''t look closely at the items in the storage rings. At this time, he also took off a glove from the other hand of the dwarf.


    The glove seemed to be woven from silver threads, very soft to the touch, with five gems embedded on the back of the hand.


    Three of them were already shattered, and two were intact.


    This guy was able to withstand three spatial shes from the ck Scythe without exploding, all thanks to this glove.


    Upon identification, Su''en felt like he had struck it big again.


    Kronos''s Space Glove


    Description: An ancient alchemist, bored, transformed a spoils of war space magical device into a crude alchemical product, just so his rival couldn''t teleport away during a duel.


    Details: The glove solidifies the super-tier spell ''Titan''s Grasp'' (duration 8/15), consuming energy to cast the spell, solidifying space in the target area and imprisoning any space fluctuations within that area not higher than the spell''s ownw level; of course, it can also consume energy to passively resist a space rift near the wearer; minimum energy consumption 1 unit of Curse Source Crystal per use;


    Evaluation: This is a very chicken-rib alchemical item, consuming ten times the energy to cast a not very practical spell; but in reality, it is a space magical device, space affinity +30%, space spell power amplification 7-16%;


    Su''en looked at the detailed exnation of the glove and felt a mix ofughter and tears, "Wasn''t this supposed to be a ''sealing item''?"


    Obviously, it wasn''t.


    The glove was borrowed by Danze Junior from the rk family.


    It seems that even the rk family, as the owner of the item, didn''t fully understand its use.


    However, after seeing the detailed exnation of the glove, Su''en''s expression became a bit strange.


    They borrowed this thing, which indeed was very restraining to his abilities.


    But it shouldn''t be used like this.


    If they had found a professional with space abilities to actively cast "Titan''s Grasp" and solidify the space around Su''en, he wouldn''t even be able to teleport, and he would be finished on the spot.


    But they only understood a passive ability and used it to resist the ck Scythe''s attack.


    Probably because they thought the cost of experimentation was too great, and the ability was too chicken-rib?


    Su''en raised an eyebrow, guessing why the rk family didn''t fully understand the use of this glove.


    After all, it really is a... very chicken-rib ability!


    Su''en looked at the three shattered gems on the glove, not knowing what to say.


    These gems were not small in origin.


    They were called "Curse Source Crystals."


    The same kind as the hard currency Curse Crystals.


    Ordinary Curse Crystal = 10,000 riso;


    Top-grade Crystal  100,000;


    Curse Source Crystal, valued at 10,000,000, and that''s the theoretical price!


    These top-tier gems, said to only produce one or two from a vein, were priceless on the market.


    Even the financial tycoons of the inner city didn''t have many, and they were extremely scarce strategic resources that money couldn''t buy!


    But it was such a huge consumption, and the spell cast couldn''t control people, nor did it have any damage... it just solidified space, preventing the target from casting space spells to escape.


    Even the information Sabina got thought it was a "sealing item."


    Su''en had just shed three times to prevent a long night of dreams.


    One billion per sh, it seemed a bit painful...


    However, Su''en never dwelled on the unchangeable past.


    There were still two intact ones.


    Just the gems alone were worth two hundred million.


    This was the most valuable trophy so far.


    He tried on the glove on his left hand and found that it didn''t affect his finger dexterity at all, nor did it interfere with his thread control.


    Moreover, regardless of whether the "Titan''s Grasp" skill was chicken-rib, Su''en valued the other properties of the glove more.


    He himself already possessed space abilities, and once he put on the glove, the "space affinity +30%" boost property was immediately felt.


    He reached out and grabbed in front of him, and space immediately twisted into ripples, much easier than before.


    "Very nice..."


    Su''en suddenly became quite fond of it.


    With this glove on, his ability to control space visibly surged by several degrees.


    This space magical device, in the hands of a space ability user, could truly show its power.


    This time, it was really a "loophole."


    ...


    The rich spoils of war brought Su''en continuous surprises.


    But he didn''t look any further.


    There were still a few survivors in this space, and he couldn''t be careless.


    Although they probably wouldn''t show up again.


    Originally, Su''en''s n was to leave here after killing the "Magician" Lloyd.


    After all, the barrier was now full of thick smoke, and it was impossible for Su''en to find those few survivors in a short time.


    The longer he dyed, the more reinforcements would arrive outside.


    But now, he had a new idea: "Try the new spell?"


    Thinking of this, Su''en suddenly became interested, his hands forming thirty-six mysterious sorcerer''s seals.


    The next second, a blue six-pointed star array that almost covered the entire sealed space lit up in the sky, and a huge cross phantom slowly condensed from the alchemical array into reality.


    Yes,


    He was casting Puppet Secret ArtPuppet Theater!


    Although he didn''t know what was missing from this sorcerer, the basic functions were unaffected.


    It was at the moment this spell was condensed that countless silver hairs floated out of the sky.


    Su''en formed the sorcerer''s seal, feeling connected to the cross in the sky, as if it was an extension of his own body.


    That magical feeling, the threads extending out, felt like his perception was slowly spreading in all directions. It wasn''t that his mental power could focus on every thread, but like a spider web, whenever a thread touched something, it would immediately send back information.


    For example, the two simplest pieces of information: inanimate, animate.


    Su''en had infinite hair, and he paid special attention to one direction. He quickly found the one he had shot earlier, Raphael Jemha.


    Sure enough, he wasn''t dead, and that guy was hiding in a corner and didn''te out.


    Once the thread went there, there was immediately a movement, like someone touching the hair on his body, and Su''en immediately sensed it!


    "Hehe... caught one!"


    Su''en felt the prey in the struggling and controlled more threads to surge in that direction.


    Probably because of the severe injury, it quickly became motionless.


    Not far away, Su''en walked over and saw the purple-robed sorcerer who had been strangled in the pile of threads.


    The "Ash Mist" had already emerged, and after harvesting a bunch, he gained a lot of rune, casting, and alchemy knowledge experience.


    At this moment, Su''en truly appreciated the power of Puppet Theater.


    In this space, the enemy can''t hit you, but you can easily kill anyone.


    Within the range of this theater, the caster can control everything!


    ...


    The silver hair spread endlessly, and soon found several more survivors from the siege team. Su''en didn''t need to go there himself, and they were strangled one by one.


    There were still two second-tier professionals hiding in the space. It was during the spread of the silver hair that they hadn''t realized what was happening.


    But as the threads wrapped around them, panicked voices came through themunicator.


    "Damn it, Lloyd, what are you doing!"


    "Nidam, be careful, these threads aren''t Lloyd''s, they''re Su''en''s!"


    "How is that possible, how could he know Puppet Theater?"


    "..."


    Anyone would probably be puzzled.


    How could a wanted criminal suddenly know the unique secret art of Lloyd''s lineage?


    But puzzled or not, they still had to fight.


    The prey in the struggled more and more fiercely...


    Suddenly, themunicator transmitted the angry curses of "Blood Raven" Langfero again: "That kid might have some fast learning skill talent, or a cursed item! Damn it, our operation n has beenpletely exposed, there''s a mole around Danze Junior!"


    Su''en listened without any change in expression.


    It didn''t matter if they guessed it, at this point, they couldn''t turn the tables anymore.


    Although they were second-tier professionals with strong methods, the two were trapped by threads and still struggling to fight back, but their positions werepletely exposed, and they were sealed in a limited area.


    Su''en didn''t have time to waste with them, he raised his hand and the ck Scythe shed over.


    On the other side, because the hair had already caught someone''s foot, he pulled out his fire gun and fired three precise shots.


    Both sides fell silent at the same time.


    Su''en walked over, first stripping the soul of the fire mage Nidam.


    Then...


    Upon closer inspection, the "Blood Raven" Langfero''s corpse actually harvested the soul of a first-tier professional named "Roz."


    Su''en let out a light sigh, then realized something.


    He chuckled, "These guys from the Crow Gang really have some strange life-saving abilities..."


    The attire was Langfero''s, and so was the storage ring.


    There was no heartbeat or breathing nearby, this feigned death was wless.


    If it were someone else, they might have been fooled.


    But the soul fragments couldn''t be faked.


    This corpse was just a scapegoat.


    Su''en looked at the more than a dozen corpses nearby, unable to tell where the guy was hiding.


    But he didn''t want to waste time.


    Without warning, he pulled out Blue Demon and chose to... shoot each corpse!


    "Pop!"


    "Pop!"


    "Pop!"


    "..."


    Just as he was about to shoot each corpse again, one of the corpses suddenly came to life.


    Langfero realized his feigned death had been discovered and "whooshed" up.


    He wanted to escape, but how could Su''en leave this guy alive?


    At such a close distance, Thunder Snake was drawn, and three more shots were fired, hitting the back of the heart.


    The body crashed down, and Langfero''s face still held an incredulous expression.


    With this, all six second-tier professionals in the space were killed.

 Chapter 178: Doraemon: Su

    Chapter 178: Doraemon: Su


    In the vast cursed space, the phosphorescent mes continued to burn.


    The high temperature and dense smoke had reached the point where one couldn''t see their own fingers in front of them.


    Fortunately, thanks to the all-epassing silk threads of the "Puppet Theater," Su''en was able to precisely locate the hundred-plus corpses.


    This search yielded countless spoils of war.


    Hundreds of storage rings, alchemical prosthetics, professional materials...


    Equipment, firearms and ammunition, steam machinery...


    If it weren''t for Su''en''s own storage space, he wouldn''t have been able to take much of it with him.


    Of course, in addition to the spoils, Su''en also harvested over a hundred soul fragments.


    It must be said, the quality of the soul fragments from Oliver''s elite team was much higher than those from the outer city.


    During the battle between the Cross Society and the Steam Party, Su''en harvested the fragments of several hundred people. The quantity was substantial, but in terms of quality, they were far inferior to this hundred-man elite team.


    In the outer city gangs, most were brutes who barely recognized a fewmon characters. They possessed plenty of strange knowledge and practical skills, but almost no alchemical knowledge.


    Whereas nearly everyone in this hundred-man team was from the inner city.


    Not to mention the few second-tier professionals, even the dozens of first-tier professionals, and even the ordinary team members were literate, many having studied in the academy system.


    After this harvest, Su''en felt that the gaps in his foundational knowledge were instantly filled.


    Mechanics, runes, various techniques, tracking skills, wilderness experience, monsterpendium...


    Bomb mastery, swordsmanship, rope binding, jailbreak techniques, cooking, flirting...


    These elite team members each had their own areas of expertise,


    With this harvest, Su''en felt like he had amassed a vast amount of knowledge in various fields.


    Of course, the cost of harvesting so many soul fragments in such a short time was not small.


    Su''en hadn''t dared to carefully digest the excess information and just crammed it into his mind.


    Even so, it was like being drunk, his head heavy and foggy.


    After digesting some, he continued to harvest...


    He also discovered a pattern: after his mental strength value increased, the efficiency of absorption was much higher, and the heavy feeling became weaker and weaker.


    .......


    Su''en was constantly calcting the time.


    For an ordinary professional to travel from the camp to this location at full speed, it would take about half an hour. If they had to amodate the speed of a puppeteer with a weak physique like Danze Junior, it would probably take an hour.


    So Su''en wasn''t in a hurry and stayed in the sealed space for about half an hour.


    After harvesting the spoils of war and having enough time to gather the bodies, he set them on fire to destroy the evidence.


    After doing all this, he found a direction near the sealing barrier, opened a spatial gate, and stepped through.


    The scenery changed all around him, from a smoke-filled environment to a low, dpidated building.


    Su''en looked around; it was roughly the position he had estimated before being sealed, a location he had observed in advance.


    The spatial gate was concealed by the dpidated building, perfectly avoiding the line of sight of others.


    When he emerged, there were already many people piled up outside the barrier, from all four directions.


    The Oliver family had deployed dozens of teams in the southern ruins of the city to ensure Su''en''s capture, ensuring nothing went wrong.


    The barrier couldn''t be opened, nor could they see inside.


    Thesete pursuers, bored from waiting, were gathered around the barrier, whispering to each other about the operation.


    "Hey, do you think Mr. Lloyd and his team caught that wanted criminal?"


    "Isn''t that obvious? Once the barrier is sealed, not even a fly can escape."


    "Pity, I was a bit too far away and missed out on that easy bonus. Danze Junior said there would be a reward for participating in the encirclement, and a hefty one for capturing that guy..."


    "Yeah, the third team got lucky. Hey, do you think that ''SS-ranked fugitive Su''en'' really has three heads and six arms? I heard that this time, there were no less than five second-tier professionals involved in the hunt..."


    "Who knows. An SS-ranked fugitive definitely has some tricks up his sleeve. But it seems there were not only five second-tier, but maybe seven or eight?"


    "We''ll let you in on a secret, but don''t spread it around. The reason Danze Junior is so frantic is rted to thest monastery hunt. It''s said that the young master suffered a big lossst time, got his materials stolen, and even had a few second-tier professionals killed by Su''en..."


    "Cut it out, that''s an exaggeration, right? Su''en is just relying on having two ''Sealed Items.'' Give them to me, and I could do it too..."


    "..."


    Su''en casually listened to a few sentences from inside the dpidated building, didn''t step out, and roughly figured out the enemy''s position.


    There were quite a few enemies outside, but without any second-tier professionals, they posed almost no threat.


    More and more teams were returning, and he had no intention of staying here any longer.


    Just as he was about to teleport away, he suddenly heard gunshots.


    Then, there was no movement from those outside.


    "They haven''t caught him yet, huh? That guy sure can jump around."


    "I heard that guy alone wiped out the fifteenth team to the north. If it weren''t for the patrol team discovering him, he almost managed to break the barrier."


    "Let''s all be careful. The patrol team is responsible for the pursuit; we just need to guard the barrier."


    "But speaking of which, Su''en''s aplice is really loyal, to daree alone in this situation to face death..."


    "..."


    Su''en frowned upon hearing this.


    My aplice?


    His eyes shifted, and he immediately thought of something.


    During the ambush at the trading location, he remembered someone blocking the follow-up shots from the "Gun King" Geiger.


    Su''en immediately guessed who it was.


    .......


    The sound of gunfire moved towards the depths of the northern ruins.


    Su''en didn''t dy, formed the sorcerer''s seal with his hands, teleported several times, and escaped the surveince of those people.


    He followed the direction from which the gunshots hade and saw an elite ten-man squad supporting two injured members, cautiously heading back towards the barrier.


    Su''en originally wanted to go up and "ask for directions," but suddenly, his ears twitched, and he noticed something.


    Looking again, a figure burst out from the mist in the distance, clearly a hooded assassin flickering in and out of visibility.


    The person was incredibly fast, moving like a ghost, flickering in and out.


    The entire body was pressed low, as if to stick to the ground. Even more eerie was that his feet seemed not to be stepping on the ground, but on the air.


    "Eh... Air-stepping?"


    Su''en recognized this technique from his memory.


    He had seen it once before, used by the Thousand Strands Smoke Ghost.


    It was a very high-end secret technique, requiring extreme coordination of the body and explosive muscle strength. Only a few second-tier melee professionals knew it.


    If it weren''t for his improved eyesight, it would be teleportation-level speed.


    Su''en raised an eyebrow as the person, like a ghost, darted through the crowd.


    The figure passed, and only then did a series of explosions sound in the air, "pop" "pop" "pop"...


    Then, a burst of gunfire, "tap" "tap" "tap"...


    Bullets sparked everywhere on the ruins, but the hooded assassin had already vanished.


    In the crowd, a scream rang out as a soldier''s neck was slit open, blood gushing out. The cut was cunningly ced in a gap not covered by mechanical bones, killing him instantly.


    "Damn it! Damn it!"


    The team leader was livid with rage but helpless.


    Su''en recognized the cloaked figure and murmured, "It''s really Kay..."


    Saying this, he didn''t dy and teleported into the midst of the group.


    Before they could understand what happened, eight spider spears pierced through, and the bodies fell in unison.


    Su''en knew Kay was nearby and called out into the thick fog, "Captain, long time no see."


    Hearing this, the hooded man,


    Although his face was not clear, his scrutinizing gaze was obviously shocked.


    An elite squad, wiped out in a single encounter?


    Looking at the familiar dark golden eight-armed spider spear, Kay recognized the person as Su''en.


    Su''en cleaned up the spoils from the bodies, threw an incendiary grenade to burn the evidence, and then said to Kay indifferently, "Let''s go, we''ll talk somewhere else."


    Saying that, he nced at Kay and led the way deeper into the ruins.


    The hooded assassin hesitated on the spot for a moment.


    He looked at that figure and decided to follow.


    .......


    Su''en walked ahead,


    Kay followed at a distance, not saying a word.


    Two friends who once had a life-and-death bond were caught in an awkward atmosphere.


    Su''en raised an eyebrow.


    He had a strange feeling.


    Kay was still alive, but his soul seemed to have died.


    Finally, after walking for a while, Su''en found a ce that was not easy to be surrounded and stopped.


    Not that he didn''t want to go further, but he noticed that Kay had a gunshot wound.


    Su''en found a stone stump to sit on and then tossed over a potent healing potion.


    Kay caught it instinctively, looked at it, and seemed hesitant.


    He also found a stone to sit on, holding the potion in his hand without moving, seemingly indifferent to his own wound.


    The atmosphere not only didn''t ease but became even more awkward.


    Thinking it over, Su''en broke the silence and said, "Thanks for just now."


    Whether it was blocking the shots from "Gun King" Geiger oring to the barrier, he was risking his life to save someone.


    Even alone, he tried his best to save someone.


    Su''en knew that this was still the same Captain Kay.


    Kay''s gaze was evasive; he didn''t look at Su''en but stared at the contours of the buildings deep in the ruins, bing more profound.


    After a long silence, he uttered three words: "I''m sorry."


    Su''en heard deep self-me in his tone but shook his head, "Captain, I''ve never med you, you don''t need to be so hard on yourself."


    Although Su''en didn''t know what had happened to Kay, he knew that after the transport incident, it must have been tough for him.


    The Smoke Ghost, whom he trusted like a father, turned out to be a traitor to the Cross Society, and a chance he thought would lead to great sess ended up killing his most trusted brother.


    Kay shook his head and said, "I''ve been clinging to life just to say ''I''m sorry'' to you."


    But having said that, he seemed relieved and finally turned to look directly at Su''en, then took off his hood and smiled at Su''en, "Brother, I''m happy to see you''re still alive, and I''m d you''ve be so strong..."


    The smile was sincere, and his eyes twinkled with relief.


    At that moment, there was finally a sign of life in him, but his words sounded more like a farewell, the smile fading, and thest bit of attachment to the world gone.


    Finally, Su''en understood why he wasn''t in a hurry to tend to his own injuries.


    The half-face covered in grotesque tumors and the lifeless state of mind made it seem as if he was looking at a corpse that had walked out of the grave.


    "I must have scared you, huh?"


    Kayughed self-deprecatingly.


    Clearly, he knew he wouldn''t live long.


    He didn''t want to say more, stood up, and said, "Alright, I''ve said what I needed to. Seeing you alive, I have no regrets."


    Kay put on his hood, tossed the potion back to Su''en, and chuckled, "I won''t live for a few more days anyway, so there''s no point in wasting such a good potion."


    "..."


    Su''en looked at the potion in his hand, his gazeplex.


    Kay grinned, finally showing that signature radiant smile, "In the next life, I''ll still be your brother."


    But it seemed he hadn''t smiled in a long time, and the expression felt foreign to him.


    The smile hadn''t fully formed before it was withdrawn.


    After a pause, he looked uncertainly at Su''en and added, "I hope you won''t mind."


    Seeing Kay about to leave, Su''en thought of something, shook his head, and called out, "Captain, wait!"


    Kay turned back with a puzzled look.


    Su''en didn''t waste words and tossed him two potions.


    Looking at the potions in his hand, Kay frowned, even more puzzled.


    Su''en didn''t wait for him to ask and directly said, "The blue one is a ''Mutation Suppression Potion,'' which should solve your problem after injection. The green one, you should recognize, it''s the ''X Serum'' we robbed together from the Steam Party convoy.""???"


    Kay looked at the two vials, his gaze growingplex.


    Doubt, amazement, bewilderment... but most of all, disbelief!


    Could mutations be reversed?


    But when he saw that green vial, it seemed to trigger memories of that robbery they had pulled off, and a hint of reminiscence crossed his face.


    Thinking back, if it weren''t for Su''en''s formidable strength, they would have been in big trouble that time.


    And now, it felt like that happened a very long time ago...


    Kay''s eyes suddenly deepened.


    Su''en didn''t give him much time to think and went on to exin in detail: "The ''X Serum'' has a 75% chance of significantly enhancing your physical strength after injection, and a 25% chance of death. But from what I''ve seen, your body has a high tolerance for mutations, so the sess rate of the injection should be quite high. You can choose to inject the ''X Serum'' first, then the [Suppression Inhibitor]. Of course, there''s a minor side effect; it will turn your skin blue for a long period of time."


    Usually, once a mutation urs, humans would lose their will and turn into monsters in a very short time.


    But Kay''s condition was quite special.


    Su''en had seen it once in the Bell Tower Freaks'' space.


    He was sustained solely by his willpower, not fully mutated.


    But it was a dead end sooner orter.


    .......


    To be honest, Kay owned half of those "X Serum" vials.


    Now that Su''en was confident, it was only natural for him to give one to Kay.


    Hearing this series of unbelievable statements, Kay''s expression became very rich.


    In his current situation, death was certain for anyone, yet Su''en was talking about saving him?


    Doubt?


    No, he had none.


    It was just that... he felt veryplicated.


    Kay looked at Su''en, then at the vial in his hand, as if he was back in the days when he was still with the Cross Society.


    In those desperate times, Su''en always managed to bring him hope for life in an unbelievable way.


    Kay thought of something and smiled.


    But then he let out a bitterugh.


    The light that had just sparked in his eyes suddenly extinguished.


    He shook his head, not dwelling on the vial, but said, "I''m now a peripheral member of the Umbre Organization. They kept me alive to find clues about you through me. I''ve been clinging to life just to see you and say ''I''m sorry.'' Now... I have no regrets. Even if I could live, I wouldn''t continue to work for them."


    The life that Smoke Ghost had arranged for him,


    was not what he wanted.


    Su''en: "Then defect."


    "It''s not that simple..."


    Kay''s tone was heavy, as if he was shackled by an invisible chain.


    He shook his head and exined, "To control some special peripheral members, the Umbre Organization makes them take a slow-acting poison. They must receive an antidote every month, or they won''t live long. I won''t go back anymore..."


    Su''en looked at Kay, his tone slightly odd, "If it''s the antidote for the Umbre Organization''s ''Grom Parasitic Toxin''... I think I happen to have it."


    "???"


    Kay listened as Su''en directly named the toxin, and the corner of his eye twitched involuntarily.


    He felt an absurd yet real... sense of familiarity!


    This guy, it seemed like he knew everything, nothing could stump him!

 Chapter 179: The secret meeting in the tavern

    Chapter 179: The secret meeting in the tavern


    Su''en had previously inquired Sabina for information and knew that the Umbre Organization possessed a special poison to control certain members who were lesspliant.


    Indeed, no one outside the organization could neutralize that poison.


    Even within the Umbre Organization, obtaining the antidote required high-level clearance.


    Fortunately, Sabina had such clearance.


    And more fortuitously, Su''en had a good rtionship with this high-ranking officer of the Umbre Organization.


    Su''en lent the antidote to Kay, and the two sat down and started chatting.


    Kay, who had been prepared for death, was shocked beyond words as he watched his fatal problems being easily resolved.


    But after the shock, he quickly became indifferent.


    That familiar feeling returned...


    After the escort mission went awry, Kay quickly guessed the truth.


    He thought Su''en was a goner.


    But unexpectedly, not only did Su''en survive, but themotion he caused grew bigger and bigger. From a wanted criminal, he became an S-ss heavy-duty fugitive, and now an SS ultra-dangerous fugitive...


    Every time the Umbre Organization issued a new arrest order, Kay knew that Su''en had grown stronger.


    ......


    As they talked, the conversation turned to today''s encirclement.


    "The gunshot wound on you, was it ''Gun King'' Gage who shot you?"


    "Yeah. That guy''s ''Sixth Sense'' ability is tricky. Even when I got close, I couldn''t kill him."


    "..."


    Kay expressionlessly fiddled with the tweezers in the bloody hole, extracting a bullet lodged in the bone. His practiced movements suggested he was very adept at treating his own injuries.


    He didn''t use any anesthetic, but there was never a hint of pain on his face, as if the bullets hadn''t hit his own body.


    While operating, he managed to say distractedly, "I''ve heard that the Oliver family gathered at least a dozen second-tier professionals to hunt you down. You need to be more careful from now on..."


    He still didn''t know the whole story and thought Su''en had been identally caught.


    So, as soon as he got the news, he rushed over to "rescue" without considering the consequences.


    What he didn''t say was that, regardless of the oue, he couldn''t return to the "Umbre" after taking action.


    Kay thought Su''en had used some special method to escape the barrier and reminded him.


    Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Su''en responded lightly, "Oh, it''s fine. I''ve already killed all those people."


    Hearing this, Kay''s gaze froze for a moment.


    He thought he had heard wrong.


    But seeing Su''en''s expression, he soon smiled.


    He realized that even if he hadn''te, it would have been the same.


    He didn''t say more.


    His old friend was as strong as ever.


    So strong that it seemed... always so "outrageous".


    Kay himself had stopped caring about such things.


    Second talent awakening, special inheritances, strength... he hade to view them all lightly.


    Being able to kill was enough.


    But the fact was, not caring didn''t mean he wasn''t strong.


    Now, Kay could ambush and assassinate some professionals and counter second-tier professionals, which already made him a top-tier expert among first-tier professionals.


    Butpared to Su''en, he was still far behind.


    However, this was also quite good.


    A glimmer of hope, like the dawn breaking, shone in Kay''s eyes.


    .......


    The current Kay was no longer the cheerful person he used to be; he had be very steady.


    He gave off the impression of a de with its edge fully concealed.


    Except when talking about the days they spent together in the Cross Society, a smile would appear on his face.


    Most of the time, he was silent.


    However, the major turning point in life was not all bad for Kay.


    His ghostly movements were actually the result of a second awakening of his talent after countless life-and-death battles.


    Moreover, because he had a fatalistic attitude, he was fearless in his adventures.


    He survived and also found his own opportunity in the ruins. The "Void Step" was an ancient inheritance of the "Phantom Assassin" profession he obtained in a cursed space.


    .......


    Su''en had experience digesting "X Serum" and knew that the ruins were the best environment for processing the potion.


    Now that Kay had no more life-threatening concerns and had reached the threshold for advancement, he nned to stay in the ruins for a while.


    Su''en took out the spoils of war from killing ''Viper'' Bright Jars.


    The old second-tier assassin''s gear and advancement materials were highlypatible with Kay, and the storage ring was full of assassin''s professional items, which he stuffed to Kay, who initially wanted to refuse.


    After giving some advice on using the potion, the two parted ways.


    Kay was no longer the ordinary gang leader he used to be; he had be strong enough.


    Su''en also had his own things to do.


    .......


    While Su''en and Kay were exchanging their experiences.


    Danze Junior, along with the Oliver family''srge force, hurried over with great fanfare.


    Seeing the tight seal surrounded by nearly a thousand people, Danze Junior was in high spirits.


    He was about to see his revenge fulfilled, and the "Infinite Hair" material would be retrieved, releasing the pent-up anger in his chest.


    "Bring someone to open the barrier!"


    "Yes, young master!"


    At themand, the purple light screen began to slowly dissipate.


    The Oliver family members all had expectant expressions on their faces, imagining the sight of the "SS fugitive Su''en" being captured with a bloody face or his body being hung up...


    But unexpectedly, as soon as the barrier opened, a plume of ck smoke erupted like a volcanic eruption.


    "Be careful! Protect the young master!"


    The suddenmotion startled everyone like an explosion.


    The bodyguards quickly shielded Danze.


    Everyone thought it was a bomb explosion and scattered to the ground.


    But after a while, when no other movements were seen, they turned back to look at the sealed streets.


    The thick smoke quickly dispersed, revealing the charred and ruined streets.


    Huh... Where are the people?


    Phosphorus oil could burn bones clean, and Su''en had added an elerant to ensure there was enough oxygen.


    By the time they arrived, not to mention people, even the corpses had turned to ashes.


    The sudden opening of the barrier caused the air pressure to burst, scattering even the ashes...


    The Oliver family members were dumbfounded.


    They stared wide-eyed, trying to find something in the ashes.


    Some rubbed their eyes, unable to believe what they saw.


    Over a hundred people vanished into thin air, leaving only char?


    Gradually, an unbelievable guess emerged in their minds: could it be... an ident?


    Clearly, that was the case.


    Although no one was seen, there were obvious signs of battle on the sealed streets.


    Stunned for a moment, Danze roared, "Damn it! What the hell is going on!"


    For a time, the thousand-strong team was silent, no one daring to respond.


    The fire burned, and they all guessed the truth but dared not speak it.


    In the team, only one person''s eyes sparkled with a smile that others failed to notice.


    This was none other than Sabina, who hade to "watch the excitement."


    She hade in case something went wrong, to see if she could save someone.


    Now it seemed she had worried too much.


    Although she knew Su''en had mastered spatial abilities and the spatial barrier couldn''t restrain him, it still felt incredible.


    After all, he was being hunted by more than a dozen second-tier professionals and so many elite teams.


    She had only given Su''en information and was not clear about the battle n.


    She originally thought... Su''en just wanted to lure and kill a few targets, then teleport away.


    Now it seemed he had killed everyone?


    Looking at the scene before her, the stunning gangsterdy was incredulous, but mostly delighted.


    She looked at the ckened streets and murmured, "Master is really amazing..."


    .......


    A major encirclement operation ended in almost a farcical manner.


    The news that the Oliver family had captured "SS fugitive Su''en" had spread throughout the camp before Danze Junior set off. Everyone was waiting to hear the good news.


    Now, an almost "supernatural" message came back.


    The spatial barrier was sealed, and no one knew what happened.


    But the fact was, the fugitive was not caught, and the Oliver family''s high-level fighters were wiped out.


    When the news reached the Dawn Camp, there was an uproar.


    Over a dozen second-tier professionals were wiped out, many of them well-known veterans, and the news couldn''t be hidden.


    Even thest incident at the monastery was exposed.


    Everyone realized that the fugitive had the ability to easily kill second-tier professionals.


    The wanted poster described someone who onlymitted crimes with banned items?


    Go to hell with that intelligence!


    Those who previously thought that a "walking bounty" had been caught and missed a great opportunity, the bounty hunters, were all relieved they hadn''t encountered that god of death.


    For a time, the entire camp was abuzz with the bizarre story.


    .......


    As for Su''en, the instigator, he had already appeared in the ck Knight Tavern, leisurely drinking.


    This was a ce frequented by members of the Umbre Organization and the Steam Party.


    But because of Sabina''s presence, it became the safest ce.


    Because he had dyed catching up with Kay in the ruins, by the time he returned it was nearly evening, and the news of the encirclement battle had already spread wildly in the camp''s taverns.


    The tavern was packed with drinkers.


    On normal days, they exchanged information about hunting in the wilderness, various gossips...


    But today, everyone was only talking about that bizarre encirclement battle.


    Hunters gathered news from various channels in the tavern.


    "Let me tell you, thetest information... some detectives went to inspect the scene and found some silver hair and battle traces, confirming it wasn''t any supernatural method or any self-destructive banned item. That Su''en really had a big battle with the hunting team in the sealed space..."


    "Impossible. No matter how powerful Su''en is, he couldn''t have killed over a dozen high-level professionals alone, right? This rumor is too unreliable..."


    "Rumor? Heh, now the list of eleven veteran professionals who died has been released. See if there''s a single survivor?"


    "I''ve been saying that Su''en is a third-tier professional, and you didn''t believe me? Do you believe it now? My goodness, over a dozen high-level professionals, hundreds of people, not a single survivor..."


    "I heard that Su''en also knows ''Hyena.'' Didn''t ''Gun King'' Gage also participate in the encirclement? I heard that to help Su''en escape, Hyena fought with Gage..."


    "Heh, you probably don''t know, Hyena is also outrageously strong. Not only did Gage fail to kill him, but he also got stabbed twice..."


    "Gage was lucky he was held back. If he had gone, he would probably have been buried with them..."


    "Don''t say, Su''en and that Hyena really have the same explosive temper, and a heavy killing intent. Whoever provokes them, it''s relentless. Now the Oliver family is going to hurt..."


    "Hiss~ Untouchable, untouchable. From now on, no one mention earning Su''en''s bounty to me! Even if I find that guy, I''ll walk around him..."


    "..."


    Su''en listened with interest on the side.


    Indeed, there were some capable people among the professionals who analyzed the situation after inspecting the scene.


    Fortunately, after listening for a while, it was all unimportant information.


    No one knew the key information about his abilities.


    After all, those who had seen it were dead.


    .......


    The tavern was exceptionally lively tonight.


    And as he drank, the entire tavern suddenly quieted down.


    Without looking, Su''en knew that Sabina had arrived.


    Every time she appeared, it was like this.


    He had a kind of spiritual connection with this subus servant, and he could sense her as soon as she was within a certain distance.


    Sabina naturally noticed Su''en sitting in the corner and nced over.


    It seemed like a casual nce, but the charm that flowed from her brows was naturally directed at Su''en, her master.With just a nce, Sabina showed no signs of deviation from her usual demeanor, gracefully ascending the stairs.


    The tavern resumed its boisterous noise.


    After a few more drinks, Su''en checked the time and made his way to the restroom.


    Avoiding the gazes of others, he teleported and appeared on the third floor of the tavern.


    This was the supreme VIP floor.


    Tonight, the ck Jazz Tavern was particrly lively, even the rooms on the third floor were packed with people.


    Scantily d women walked back and forth in the corridor, but Su''en didn''t step out; he waited in a restroom stall.


    Soon, the faint sound of high heels clicked.


    Su''en unlocked the door, and a woman with a graceful figure darted in.


    Sabina quickly locked the door behind her, rubbed the alchemical ring on her hand, and casually set up a one-way sound barrier.


    She looked at Su''en and revealed a charming smile, "Sir, you were looking for me~"


    As she spoke, her fiery body pressed against him without reservation, like a maid eager to please her master.


    Before Su''en could speak, Sabina blinked and praised, "Wow~ Sir, you were quite impressive today."


    Su''en smiled faintly, not saying much, and directly asked, "How''s the news today?"


    He hade, naturally, to get firsthand information from Sabina and confirm his arrangements for the future.


    If necessary, he might temporarily leave the camp to hide out in the ruins.


    Sabina replied, "They haven''t found any useful clues. Danze Junior is fuming right now. But because you killed everyone, Sir, some clever people are starting to suspect there''s an internal problem."


    She spoke softly, her supple body clinging to him. Her silk pencil skirt slipped down due to her movements, exposing her fair and delicate skin...


    Sabina showed no intention of adjusting her dress, not minding the exposure in front of this man.


    "Hmm..."


    Su''en pondered, not particrly surprised.


    Although he had enjoyed the killings, burning most of the evidence, some risks couldn''t be erased.


    Like the pre-prepared oil or certain details during the chase.


    Those with discerning eyes could naturally see that Su''en must have had some information.


    Thinking, he asked, "Will this cause trouble for you?"


    Hearing that Su''en''s first concern was her situation, Sabina''s smile grew more enchanting, "No. I used psychic hypnosis to get the information; those who leaked it don''t even know themselves. Even if they suspect, they won''t suspect me."


    As she spoke, she took Su''en''s hand and wrapped it around her slender waist, cing his hands on her perky behind.


    Perhaps because they had grown familiar over time, Sabina had figured out her master''s temperament.


    Although he always kept a straight face, he was quite reasonable.


    asionally, she could be a bit more presumptuous~


    Like, initiating a flirtation.


    "Hmm. You''ve done well."


    Su''en was ustomed to his maid''s constant flirtations and naturally enjoyed Sabina''s enthusiasm.


    Even though he was familiar with the firm touch of the beauty before him, the sensation was still bone-meltingly pleasurable.


    A subus''s allure isn''t feigned; it''s etched into their very bones.


    It''s a kind of ultimate charm that never tires.


    ......


    Hearing that the information matched his expectations, Su''en breathed a sigh of relief.


    At that moment, he thought of something and took out a storage ring, adding, "By the way, find a chance to hang this prosthetic on the Oliver family''s auction house."


    Naturally, the storage ring contained the Thousand Threads prosthetic stripped from the corpse of "Magician" Lloyd.


    Su''en''s other n upon returning was to "return" this item to Danze.


    Not to mention the witch''s hair, the main material used in the prosthetic, ''Tismor Lucky Iron Fment Worm'', was one of the few threads known to be most suitable for puppeteers.


    Knowing that it was unlikely to obtain the witch''s hair, if a finished Thousand Threads appeared on the market, Danze Junior would surely not miss it.


    Su''en naturally wanted to give Danze a boost, allowing him to advance earlier.


    After all, he had extracted information from Lloyd''s soul fragments that the Oliver family''s treasury contained an item very suitable for puppeteers.


    Thinking that once Danze Junior advanced to the second tier, he would likely carry that treasure with him.


    You can''t shear a sheep too often; you have to wait for it to grow out.


    "Alright, Sir."


    Sabina took the storage ring, nced at it, and immediately guessed what Su''en was nning, though she didn''t understand why he would do it.


    But she didn''t ask why; the master''s orders were naturally to bepleted.


    ......


    After Su''en finished giving instructions on the important matters, he thought for a moment and then said, "I won''t be showing up for a while, so be careful on your own."


    Sabina blinked, "Sir... won''t you being over at night anymore?"


    The wistfulness in her voice was the kind that could stir a heated restlessness in one''s belly.


    "Hmm."


    Su''en knew that her question wasn''t really a question, but rather an expression of something else.


    At that moment, he remembered something and took out an ancient mirror, saying, "By the way, I''ve acquired a cursed item this time that''s highlypatible with your abilities..."


    As he spoke, he took out the Angus''s Dream Refraction Mirror obtained from ying "Dream Thief" J.


    Such a cursed item capable of remotely releasing psychic power was indeed a rare treasure.


    Sabina took the mirror, seemingly unconcerned about the item''s effects.


    She was like a kitten rewarded with dried fish, her eyes instantly revealing great joy, "Oh~ Master, is this a gift for me~"


    She clung even closer, clearly showing her heartfelt surprise.


    As soon as she finished speaking, a warm embrace enveloped him, his hands touching softness and smoothness everywhere.


    Su''en didn''t speak, just smiled and patted her head.


    Coincidentally, at that moment, there was amotion from the next stall. It sounded like a patron and ady had hurriedly entered the same stall, then "ng" shut the door, followed by the sounds of rapid breathing and rustling clothes.


    The third-floor rooms each had a private restroom, and it was rare for patrons toe here. The neighboring inn was close by, but where the wine flowed, this secluded ce always attracted restless people...


    Su''en and Sabina, both with sharp senses, could hear themotion next door clearly.


    Listening to the noise from next door, the atmosphere suddenly became charged with intimacy.


    At this moment, Sabina''s dress straps hadpletely slipped down, her clothes half-undone, her ample bosom almost spilling out.


    She didn''t mind the full exposure, wrapping her arms around Su''en''s neck, her allure on full disy, "Sir, are you in a hurry?"

 Chapter 180: Wasteland Hunting Craze

    Chapter 180: Wastnd Hunting Craze


    The Oliver family suffered heavy losses this time, and Danze Junior was furious.


    The five major financial groups of the camp joined forces, determined to capture the rampant "SS wanted criminal Su''en," with the search efforts growing more intense wave after wave.


    For the following period, Su''en would change hotels every two or three days, to make himself look more like an ordinary wastnd hunter and not be targeted by the keen intelligence officers due to staying in one ce too long.


    Even so, there were several instances of door-knocking room checks.


    But no problems arose.


    Among the vast memories harvested by Su''en, there were countless identities that could withstand scrutiny and had verifiable backgrounds.


    He even forged various identity documents to match his fake identities, and the inspectors never spotted any ws.


    Although he frequently moved residences, Su''en was actually staying inside hotels most of the time without going out much.


    He didn''t go to the wastnd hunters'' guild, the market, or the taverns...


    Thest battle had yielded too much knowledge, and he needed a lot of time to digest what he had acquired.


    Finally, after half a month ofmotion, various other wanted criminals were caught, but not him.


    The noise eventually died down.


    .......


    On this day, in room 301 of the Rose Hotel.


    The small room was filled with various books and tools.


    Since Su''en had mostly reced sleep with meditation, he used the bed as a bookshelf, piling it with scrolls and research materials.


    Mr. ck had once sent him a set of introductory books from the ck Tower Academy, which he had previously made slow progress with. Without guidance, those arcane pieces of knowledge took a lot of time toprehend and understand.


    But after thest battle, having harvested the fragments of over a hundred elite inner city dwellers, those basic pieces of knowledge had almostpletely filled the gaps in Su''en''s low-level alchemy knowledge.


    However, memories tend to fade, especially those harvested ones that weren''t very profound.


    Not wanting to waste this precious knowledge, Su''en had taken out the books several times over the past half month to cross-reference and read through them, deepening the impression and truly imprinting the knowledge in his mind.


    Not just various pieces of knowledge.


    After harvesting the memories of the puppet master Lloyd, Su''en''s own level of crafting trick puppets had also skyrocketed.


    Looking back, aside from the "ck Hole Doll" Mr. ck helped make, all the trick puppets he had crafted himself were too crude.


    Thest battle also brought him a lot of inspiration.


    Now, Su''en nned to create a new batch of advanced trick puppets suitable forbat.


    ......


    In the not-so-spacious room, a blue light cross floated in the sky, covering the entire room.


    From the cross, strands of silver thread hung down, suspending seven or eight flesh-colored puppets that dangled without touching the ground. There were also some unfinished hands and feet, carving tools floating around, creating a very eerie scene.


    After carefullyparing with the scrolls, Su''en also found the missing parts in his memory of the "Puppet Theater."


    That''s why he spent some time every day practicing the proficiency of this puppetry secret technique.


    Although it was a room for one, there were often a group of "dancers."


    .......


    At this moment, Su''en was fully focused on installing a third head on a trick puppet.


    At the same time, he was using his eight spider arms to control the carving knife, carving shapes and inscribing rune grooves on four or five of those wooden pieces that had not yet taken shape...


    He alone was simultaneously working on the production of seven or eight dolls.


    Busy,


    Yet orderly.


    Su''en was wearing a coarse work outfit, his face already stained with various paints like a rainbow.


    Just then,


    There was a crisp "click" sound.


    Su''en''s brow furrowed slightly.


    He had just tried the thread, and as soon as the magic pattern was activated, the head of the newly made three-headed doll suddenly fell off, rolling far away on the floor.


    Su''en didn''t look at the rolling wooden head. The thread hanging from the cross had already wrapped around it and brought it back to the workbench.


    It was as if all the threads in the room were his "hands."


    "Another failure..."


    Holding the broken part of the puppet, Su''en frowned and studied it, muttering to himself, "It seems that three heads are already the limit. Any more heads would affect the stability of the structure and cause conflicts between the runes and enchantments..."


    He analyzed the cause and recorded it in detail in the notebook beside him.


    Perhaps a bit weary, Su''en didn''t continue with his puppet research after this failure.


    The cross on the ceiling disappeared, and all the threads in the room vanished without a trace.


    The eight-armed spider also put down the work in its hands, busy collecting various materials and semi-finished products.


    "Phew..."


    Su''en slowly exhaled a deep breath and stood up to stretch his limbs.


    He looked at the seven or eight finished trick puppets against the wall and smiled with satisfaction, talking to himself, "I''ve almost mastered themonly used second-order runes, and the sess rate of the trick puppets is steadily improving. All the ''Nightmare Dolls'' are inscribed with second-order runes, and in the future, ordinary trick puppets will also have a strong impact on high-ranking professionals..."


    Suddenly, he thought of something, and a light smile appeared in his eyes, "Tsk tsk, if I use these advanced dolls to perform ''Hundred Tricks Night Walk,'' I''m afraid there aren''t many second-order professionals who can handle it..."


    The current trick puppets, both in strength and effectiveness, were iparable to those from half a month ago.


    If he were to unleash a hundred puppets at once, Su''en felt that even if he faced the pursuers from before, he would have the power to fight.


    This was a puppet army that truly threatened high-ranking professionals.


    However, there was also a problem that remained unsolved.


    He thought of something and frowned again, murmuring, "The limit of multitasking has been reached. This is a big problem..."


    .......


    Su''en now had no shortage of trick puppets or means of control, and the witch''s hair could perfectly solve the problem of thread entanglement.


    Even after mastering "Puppet Theater," the number and efficiency of puppet control had greatly improved.


    But that problem still remained unsolved.


    He found that not only he, but all puppeteers faced this dilemma, even Lloyd, who was called a "puppet master."


    That is the problem of the "actual" number of puppets one can control.


    Su''en was now very proficient in the technique of "multitasking," almost reaching his current limit of divided attention.


    Now he could control seven or eight puppets as flexibly and variably as real people, achieving 100% control;


    But if the number of puppets increased to more than ten, thepletion of actions would be about 70%;


    Exceeding twenty, thepletion of actions would drop below 40%;


    And controlling a hundred at the same time, he could only perform simple actions, such as changing direction, spewing fire...


    The previous "Hundred Tricks Night Walk" was not strictly a finished technique,


    More urately, it was the direction of Su''en''s future career nning.


    If he used it now, it would mostly be considered a bluff based on quantity.


    Even using "Puppet Theater," which seemed to allow precise control of countless puppets, the actual number that could be precisely controlled was still bound by this "limit of divided attention."


    Su''en knew where the root of the problemy.


    Because of the data panel, he had long noticed the pattern. That is, as the value of mental power increased, this "limit of divided attention" also slowly increased.


    But it wasn''t entirely proportional.


    Su''en guessed that both the amount of mental power and its efficiency would affect this "limit of divided attention."


    To solve this problem, he felt an urgent need for a secret method of mental power cultivation.


    Moreover, harvesting over a hundred peoplest time was exhrating, but he also clearly felt that if he continued to absorb without control, he would not be far from mental breakdown.


    .......


    Su''en didn''t continue to stay in his hotel room but tidied up a bit and nned to go out to gather some information.


    After more than half a month, themotion he had caused had mostly subsided.


    Recently, there was a new topic in the camp.


    That is, the "Wastnd Hunting Craze" had arrived!


    A month-old news had only reached the underground in thest few days.


    It was said that the ck Tower had issued an order, demanding that the major families of the inner city send elite teams to hunt in the wastnd.


    And it wasn''t just elite teams.


    To prevent those big families from secretly defying the order, the Duke directly issued amand, requiring those prominent families to send their first-in-line heirs to the Dawn Relics in person.


    This move had an obvious effect.


    To protect the safety of those precious young masters and misses in the families, the old masters anddies had to send their strongest security teams over.


    It was this single order that mobilized arge number of high-ranking professionals from the inner city toe hunting in the wastnd, second-order, even third-order!


    Disobey?


    The next day, the family would be gone.


    In Old Lingdun, where the lordship system prevailed, the Duke''s mansion held unquestionable authority.


    So during this time, the poption of the Dawn Camp exploded.


    Those young masters and misses dressed in luxurious clothes, along with their well-equipped personal guards, arrived one after another. There were also maids, butlers, servants, tens of thousands of people, directly overcrowding the entire wastnd hunting camp.


    .......


    With the camp so lively, Su''en couldn''t stay put and naturally nned to go have a look.


    As soon as he stepped out of his room, he saw a freckled noble miss scolding her butler in the hallway.


    Beside her, there was a group of more than ten heavily armed bodyguards.


    "This damned ce, the amodation is so poor, I can''t even rent a suite with a bathtub? Without a bathtub, how am I supposed to bathe every day? Albert, the butler, can you spend a little more money and find me a decent suite?"


    "Oh, Miss Sophia, it''s not a matter of money. The environment in the camp is just like this, even if you can''t find a suite with a bathtub. If it weren''t for the fact that the owner of this Rose Hotel is a friend of the master, we wouldn''t even have this room..."


    "Really? Kunna''s room from the Edward family is even smaller than this?"


    "Absolutely true! And the day before yesterday, the young master of the Leonard family missed the arrangement at the ''cksmith Hotel'' and has been camping for two nights. Now he wants to go back, but that room is already full. Oh, you probably wouldn''t like the environment of the ''cksmith Hotel,'' because it''s really too bad, ten times worse than here... at least ten times! Miss, why don''t you settle in first, and I''ll go see if I can find something better..."


    "Hmph..."


    The haughty freckled miss heard that her peers from families of the same status had even worse living conditions than hers, and her resistance faded a bit.


    At that moment, she happened to see Su''en, dressed as a wastnd hunter,ing out of his room.


    Her arrogant neck immediately raised like a rooster, showing a look of disdain, "I can''t believe I have to stay in a cheap hotel with filthy wastnd hunters, oh, God, just kill me..."


    Afterining, she plunged into her room, then mmed the door shut with a "bang," showing her dissatisfaction.


    The butler also saw Su''en and suddenly lit up as if he had found a treasure, hurriedly approaching and asking, "Sir, may I be so bold as to ask if you could give up your room for us? As you can see, we have too many people in ourpany, and amodation... Of course, aspensation for your generosity, I will pay ten times the room rate..."


    His tone was polite, but Su''en''s brow raised slightly when he heard it.


    No wonder he had hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign, yet the staff still knocked on the door to announce a temporary price increase, almost ten times higher than half a month ago.


    So this was how the room prices were being driven up.


    But he had no intention of transferring the room, replying, "Sorry, I also have quite a few people in my room."


    With that, he didn''t pay much attention to these people and went straight downstairs.


    .......


    Having not gone out for two days, the streets of the camp were crowded with people.


    When Su''en came out, the streets were full of young masters and misses, each with a butler and a group of guards as standard.


    The young masters and misses from top-tier families like the Reiss had received some news early and arranged for people toe and set up camp, so there were no problems with amodation.


    For the young masters from slightly lesser families, the problems were much bigger.Luxury hotels were already fully booked, so they had no choice but to opt for the cheap lodgings once frequented by wilderness hunters. Even rooms with private bathrooms, like the one Su''en had stayed in before, were hard toe by.


    This predicament was a real headache for the delicate young masters and misses, who could be seen everywhere with their butler-like attendants inquiring at inns, only to emerge with faces full of disappointment.


    As Su''en walked along, he happened upon one such group.


    The chubby young master in the group looked somewhat familiar, prompting Su''en to take a closer look.


    "Master Charlie, oh, how fortunate... I''ve managed to book a luxury suite for you! It was Mrs. Melinda of the Ackerman family who made room for you..."


    "Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Franz, lodging is the least of our worries. Have you made contact with a wilderness hunting team? We need one with real pioneering experience! You don''t seriously think the Duke sent us to the ruins just to find amodations, do you?"


    "Master Charlie... this... I''ve been to the Wilderness Hunters Guild, and all the major teams on record have already been hired. I''ve only managed to hire two heavy-duty hunting teams..."


    "Good heavens, Franz, what are you still doing here? Go squat at the city gate, and as soon as a hunting team returns, sign an employment contract immediately! No matter the cost, within five days, I want to hear that you''ve hired at least three teams led by second-tier professionals!"


    "Yes, young master..."


    The old butler, scolded into submission, handed over the key and slunk off towards the city gate.


    The chubby young master looked at the key in his hand, his face full of worry, and sighed as he entered the inn.


    Su''en watched the big fellow, initially only feeling a sense of familiarity, but now, recognizing his style of doing things.


    Wasn''t this the same little chubby Charlie who had tried to bribe him back in the caverns?


    "Heh..."


    Seeing this guy''s strong desire to survive, Su''en chuckled to himself.


    However, the guy''s concerns weren''t unfounded; Su''en agreed that the Duke''s estate had sent them here for reasons far beyond a leisurely spring outing.


    Seeing this acquaintance, Su''en''s eyebrows raised, and suddenly, an image of a girl with ck hair popped into his mind.


    If every major family''s primary heir had toe, then... was Rena also on her way?


    Without giving it much thought, Su''en decided to head over to the Wilderness Hunters Guild for a look around.

 Chapter 181: Leader of the umbrella

    Chapter 181: Leader of the umbre


    Firste, first served.


    Su''en made his way to the Wilderness Hunters Guild.


    Perhaps because he was a solo hunter, no one greeted him, but for the others, any team was approached by some butler-looking individuals inquiring continuously.


    Upon arriving at Storm Manor, the scene was even livelier.


    The previous screens mostly disyed private tasks or small-scale recruitments.


    Now, the screens were filled with "Legion Recruitment" notices.


    The inner city tycoons, with their deep pockets, spent a fortune to pin their messages at the top in bold, dazzling the eyes.


    Entry fees, settlement fees, paid rest... The conditions offered by the major families were better than the next, all vying to recruit experienced and capable wilderness hunters and teams.


    It was just like a job fair held by major corporations.


    On ordinary days, those inner city folks looked down on themoners who risked their lives hunting in the wilderness, but now they became the "talent" eagerly sought after by the tycoons.


    Although the equipment andbat power of the wilderness hunters might not match the elite teams of the inner city, their hunting experience was solid. Especially in the perilous Dawn Relics, experience meant survival rate.


    Su''en couldn''t squeeze in, so he just watched from a distance.


    The ranking of the pinned information on the screen was basically the ranking of the inner city families'' strength.


    The wealthier they were, the higher they were ced.


    The Reyes family upied seven slots, with all seven branches that had split off earlier present, the main house ranked first.


    Then there were the likes of Oliver, rk, Rockefeller... twenty to thirty top-tier tycoons.


    Behind them were slightly smaller fonts for the second and third-tier tycoons... several hundred entries.


    The messages were more or less the same, with all the major tycoons recruiting various wilderness hunting teams, those with strength and experience.


    Anyone with discernment could see that the Duke''s mansion had a clear purpose in issuing this universal hunting task, and it certainly wasn''t for these big tycoons to just go through the motions.


    Bringing so many inner city experts, they were definitely going to hunt.


    When the time came, if there were mandatory assignments, the young masters and misses of the tycoon families might even be forced to "explore the relics."


    Risking one''s own life and direct family members for an adventure was clearly not worth it, better to recruit some hunters.


    Although it would cost some money, in the face of danger, the losses would be smaller, and the survival rate higher.


    ...


    Su''en''s eyes flickered rapidly as he scanned the information on the screen ten lines at a time.


    He analyzed the recent trends in hunting lies.


    Clearly, the pace of wilderness opening was elerating.


    In the central area of the relics, there were already third-tier powerhouses leading teams...


    But the resistance they encountered seemed significant too, not to mention that some of therge hunting teams that had been at the forefront had disappeared from the list.


    Such a situation meant that they either earned enough to return or were wiped out.


    Then, as he watched, Su''en actually saw a coded message in the advertisement column.


    "Is Mr. ck looking for me?"


    Su''en noted that the message was posted a day ago.


    Without using any other contact method, it didn''t seem too urgent.


    Su''en deciphered the content, which only listed one address: White Elephant Gambling Den.


    "Huh... Meeting at a gambling den doesn''t seem like Mr. ck''s style..."


    That kind of old gentleman would definitely not go to certain ces, like brothels and casinos.


    He thought he had decoded it incorrectly and looked again, but it was still that address.


    Could it be a code mix-up?


    No, that''s not right, this wasn''t a universal code, but a prearranged cipher.


    Su''en didn''t understand but decided to check it out anyway.


    Every day in the Dawn Camp, "nouveau riche" were made, so ces like gambling dens, natural gold sinks, were never in short supply.


    Su''en had no interest in gambling, and since there was no arena here, he had never visited.


    He didn''t know why gambling dens liked to be underground, but the owner of "White Elephant Gambling Hall" had dug ten meters into the ground to create arge underground casino.


    When Su''en arrived, the ce was bustling with noise.


    The not-so-spacious gambling den was crammed with nearly a thousand people.


    In the semi-enclosed space, smoke curled, and the air was filled with the strange smell of sweat, cigarette smoke, and hallucinogenic potions.


    It was no different from the gambling dens on Green Street, with slot machines, pachinko machines, roulette... various machines filled every corner of the gambling den.


    The machines were upied by gamblers, the clinking of coins, the "ng" of pulling levers, all sorts of noisy sounds merged into one''s ears.


    In the central area, there were also poker tables...


    And, of course, the scantily d gambling den girls.


    Su''en exchanged some chips at the front desk surrounded by irons, pretending to be a gambler as he blended into the crowd.


    He didn''t act like he was looking for someone; those who didn''t look like gamblers were the least wee in the gambling den.


    He watched as a gambler just left his seat, so he sat down at a slot machine with interest, inserted some chips, and casually pulled the lever.


    "ng~"


    The reels spun and then stopped on several fruit symbols.


    Su''en had spent quite some time on Green Street and was a mechanic himself, so he was familiar with the construction of these machines.


    These programmed machines seemed random, but there were certain tricks to them.


    After a few bets, he even made a small profit.


    But he wasn''t here to gamble.


    Under normal circumstances, Mr. ck, with his ability to appear and disappear unpredictably, should have noticed him by now ande to meet him.


    But unexpectedly, he had won arge pile of chips, and no one hade.


    Su''en felt puzzled; perhaps the message had expired?


    Thinking it over, he still got up from the slot machine and decided to wander around the gambling den.


    In the hall, there were several ckjack and dice tables, crowded with arge number of gamblers.


    "Nine points, nine points, nine points..."


    "Haha, twenty points, I''m sure to win!"


    "..."


    The gamblers were shouting hoarsely for the good cards they wanted.


    Su''en wandered around casually, not seeing any familiar faces, but he did catch some exceptionally well-behaved fellows.


    "People from the Umbre Organization, huh? Seems like they''re not low-ranking..."


    He bet discreetly, forming some spections in his mind.


    He had learned a lot about the Umbre Organization''s internal codes and recognition methods from Sabina.


    Observing those Umbre Organization professionals, Su''en didn''t think they were there to catch him. If there was an operation, Sabina would have warned him.


    "Could it be because these people are watching, Mr. ck hasn''t shown up?"


    Su''en thought so.


    However, it wasn''t long before he was immediately proven wrong.


    Because he saw a familiar face.


    ...


    Next to the basement hall, there were several smaller halls, which were VIP rooms for big clients to gamble. Although the doors weren''t closed, screens blocked the view of the gambling tables, and one needed a certain amount of chips to enter.


    Su''en didn''t see anyone at first, but he was drawn over by a familiar voice.


    "All in!"


    "Call!"


    "Four Aces! Haha, your full house is nothingpared to this!"


    "..."


    Su''en recognized that voice all too well.


    He muttered to himself with a strange expression, "Sister Qian?"


    It turned out that it wasn''t a code left by Mr. ck, but that gambling addict miss.


    At this moment, Su''en''s confusion was immediately rified.


    No wonder they chose to meet at a gambling den...


    No wonder he had waited so long without anyone showing up...


    It turned out she was enjoying her gambling, waiting for him to find her.


    Su''en was both amused and exasperated as he made his way over, tossing a chip to the doorman with the ease of a seasoned gambler.


    Even without showing enough chips, he smoothly entered.


    Behind the screen, the gambling table was ying Texas Hold''em, with seven gamblers in total.


    When Su''en arrived, he saw the gambling addict joyfully raking in the chips on the table.


    Judging by the amount, it was at least several million.


    Such high-stakes games did not allow spectators, and as Su''en approached, the girl pulled back a seat for him, inviting him to sit down.


    Su''en sat down naturally, then slipped a chip as a tip to the girl and said, "Change three million in chips for me."


    The blonde girl smiled sweetly, "Of course, sir."


    Suddenly, with an additional person, the others at the table nced at Su''en, but no one spoke, fiddling with their chips.


    Only that thick-skinned gambling addict seemed to still be immersed in the joy of winning money, apparently not recognizing Su''en, who had changed and now had a "charm value of 12."


    Su''en knew Qian liked this kind of excitement and didn''t n to spoil her fun by apanying her.


    He was nning to gamble a few hands, but just as he sat down and nced at the back of a middle-aged man, Su''en immediately realized that the situation might not be good.


    "It can''t really be that guy, can it..."


    Su''en kept hisposure, but his mind was already considering strategies for dealing with a potential conflict.


    With anyone else, he probably wouldn''t be so concerned, but it just had to be this person.


    If it really was who he thought, then it would be very tricky.


    At that moment, the room girl came over with a tray.


    She leaned over to ce the chips on the table, smiling at Su''en, "Sir, your chips have arrived..."


    Su''en turned his head towards the girl and gave her a yboy smile, "Thank you."


    While speaking, he handed her another chip, slipping it into her low-cut neckline. The action seemed frivolous, but his gaze inadvertently swept over the third person on his left, the middle-aged man with sses.


    Top experts all have extraordinary perception, and any change in emotion when you look at them can be easily captured.


    After seeing the man''s face clearly, Su''en was d he had been cautious, his heart sinking, "It really is him! He''s not here for me, could it be for Qian..."


    The girl giggled, throwing a seductive nce at Su''en before leaving the table.


    ...


    The other yers at the table didn''t seem to mind waiting for half a minute.


    The dealer shuffled the cards, and a new round began.


    Su''en actedpletely normal, asionally observing the other yers at the table, which was a normal gambler''s scrutiny of opponents.


    Although a "troublemaker" had appeared at the table, he wasn''t panicked at all.


    After observing for a while, Su''en realized that the man wasn''t there for him.


    He didn''t deliberately warn the gambling addict across from him.


    Qian might seem careless, but herbat instincts were incredibly sharp.


    Su''en knew she had recognized him.


    And very likely, she had also noticed something was off.


    Things seemed to be gettingplicated.


    Su''en felt that they were probably caught in an "idental incident."


    The game continued,


    Su''en had harvested various misceneous abilities, and his card skills were not bad.


    After a few rounds, the three million quickly turned into four.


    That''s the temptation of Texas Hold''em, "all-in" can make one quickly rich, but also empty one''s chips at any moment.


    Today, Qian''s luck didn''t seem bad either, with nearly ten million chips piled up in front of her.


    Those who gambled this big were not simple.


    In a few rounds, Su''en had roughly identified the identities of the yers at the table.


    Apart from a few who were obviously rich inner city businessmen, the most suspicious were the middle-aged man with sses and a gold-haired man in suspenders and a white shirt.


    Despite his fancy clothes, he couldn''t hide his street thug demeanor.


    He might pass outside, but not at a table of this caliber.


    The guy seemed to be unlucky, not getting good cards and losing all his previous chips in a few rounds, even adding five million.


    But this round, Su''en noticed a problem.


    The middle-aged man with sses seemed to be targeting the gold-haired man specifically.


    After the blind bets, the pot had already umted several hundred thousand chips.


    The dealer dealt the cards, and the threemunity cards were the Spade Jack, Spade Three, and Spade Ace...


    Three spades, it was obvious someone would y for a flush.


    The chance of bluffing was very small.


    After casually following a round, Su''en, Qian, and the others folded.


    Only two yers were left, the middle-aged man with sses and the gold-haired young man.


    Gold-haired man: "One hundred thousand."


    Su''en nced at the gold-haired young man and knew from the slight furrow of his brow that he probably wasn''t ying for a flush. The guy''s card skills weren''t great, and when he got decent cards, he would unconsciously make this micro-expression.


    The man with sses, however, was veryposed, calmly raising the bet: "Five hundred thousand."


    The gold-haired man hesitated for a moment, "Call."


    Su''en guessed that the gold-haired man probably had a two-pair hand, which is why he knew the opponent was ying for a flush but couldn''t bear to fold.He must have been betting on a "Full House" with "AAABB."


    Just then, the dealer dealt a Diamond 4.


    The wrinkles at the corner of the blond young man''s eyes tightened, clearly indicating the card was of no use to him.


    At this moment, the middle-aged man with sses became aggressive, raising the bet: "One million."


    His tone was steady, betraying no emotion, suggesting a flush.


    This put the blond young man in a difficult position.


    He had already invested nearly a million in this round; folding now would mean a loss.


    But to see the fifth card, he would need to put in at least another million.


    He looked at the man across from him and said discontentedly, "Hey, hey, hey, uncle, are you trying to scare me?"


    The middle-aged man with sses responded indifferently, "See the cards, raise the bet."


    "..."


    With that, a look of frustration shed in the eyes of the blond man.


    Then, the wrinkles at the corner of his eyes suddenly rxed, and he pushed forward nearly three million in chips, "All in!"


    ...


    First provoke, then go all in...


    A bit of cunning, but not exactly a masterful trick.


    Su''en watched this unfold, ncing sideways, thinking: "This is getting interesting. But what''s this guy counting on to win? Cheating?"


    At that moment, he suddenly realized something and focused his attention on the gold coin the man was fiddling with.


    Although the blond man had been ying with the coin, the change in his demeanor matched the rhythm of the coin perfectly...


    He took a closer look.


    Tabard''s Lucky Coin


    Description: You''ve gained? No, you''ve lost everything.


    Cursed Trait: Using the cursed power within the coin can bring you good luck; however, after using this good fortune, the person closest to you will suffer misfortune; moreover, the user will be increasingly dependent, and without it, their luck will worsen;


    Details: This is a cursed ancient coin; once, during the mythological era, a god created this coin of misfortune to punish a gambling descendant;


    Seeing this, Su''en''s pupils narrowed slightly, and he chuckled to himself: "He really is cheating... tsk tsk, if this guy knew who he was up against, he''d probably regret his actions."


    Cheating with sleight of hand is naturally out of the question in this gambling den, as there are experts around.


    But cheating with a cursed object, that''s something you can''t guard against.


    The middle-aged man with sses remained calm: "I''ll call."


    Then, the dealer revealed thest card, a "Club J."


    Since it was an all-in, there was no final round of betting, and both parties showed their hands.


    The middle-aged man had a Spade K and a Spade 9, indeed a flush.


    The blond man excitedly threw down his hole cards, a J and a 3, which,bined with themunity cards, made a "Full House" with JJJ33.


    He seemed very pleased, ready to rake in the chips in front of him, "Haha, I didn''t expect my luck to be this good... to actually hit a Full House."


    The middle-aged man lost money but didn''t seem to care at all; a smile suddenly appeared on his sickly face: "Yes, quite lucky, nco..."


    "You..."


    His name being revealed, the blond man''s face changed drastically.


    He didn''t even attempt to argue, and without any hesitation, he quickly pressed a pocket watch at his chest.


    In that instant, it seemed as if time slowed down for him, everything around him moving in slow motion.


    He swiftly rose from his seat, attempting to flee the gambling den.


    ...


    "An A-ss... oh, no, a newly promoted S-ss fugitive, nco?"


    Su''en finally knew who this person was.


    This guy had beenmitting crimes frequently, assassinating a young master from an inner city tycoon''s family and a wealthy merchant, and then made it onto the S-list.


    And in that instant, in Su''en''s field of vision, he suddenly felt the blond young man''s speed surge, as if he were a ghost about to vanish.


    This speed was beyond what even a second-tier full agility assassin could achieve.


    Su''en wasn''t amazed by the speed, but by the silver pocket watch the man had just taken out.


    Watkins'' Pocket Watch


    Quality: Gold


    Description: The consequences of disrupting the order of time are severe, do you want to try?


    Cursed Trait: Pressing the pocket watch, the user can gain 2 to 5 times eleration of their own time; but if you don''t master thews of time, using it will randomly shorten your life, perhaps by a second, or perhaps by a hundred years;


    Details: A proud creation of an ancient alchemist named ''Whit Watkins,'' it was originally a family heirloom meant for his descendants;


    Su''en thought to himself, "This guy''s got quite a few treasures..."


    Those who make it onto the S-list naturally have some tricks up their sleeves.


    However...


    It''s a pity.


    If the pursuer were someone else, with this ability to elerate time, nco might have actually gotten away.


    But... he''s up against someone who doesn''t stand a chance of living.


    Because the man with sses is none other than the leader of the Umbre OrganizationSeverus Gerald!

 Chapter 182: Lets go to your place and squeeze in together tonight

    Chapter 182: Let''s go to your ce and squeeze in together tonight


    "Lucky Star" nco suddenly erupted in violence.


    Before anyone could react, he had already darted several meters away.


    The bespectacled man maintained his unhurried middle-aged demeanor, as if he had done nothing at all.


    Yet beneath this calm,


    Suddenly!


    A streak of silver shed by,


    nco''s chest suddenly spurted a jet of blood, his expression frozen in ce.


    Su''en, with his keen eyesight, naturally saw that the "silver light" was a slender scalpel, his pupils contracting sharply at the sight.


    And what was more shocking was yet toe!


    As the bullet-like silver streak passed, the middle-aged man, who had just seemed like a consumptive, his eyes suddenly sharpened. His figure blurred, and in a blink, he had teleported several meters away.


    The middle-aged man used his hand as a de, piercing forward violently, and in an extremely bloody manner, he pierced through nco''s chest with his bare hands!


    "Shh" Blood sprayed everywhere, and the entire gambling den was immediately filled with a thick scent of blood.


    Su''en took in the whole scene, immediately bing alert: "As expected, he''s absurdly strong..."


    The middle-aged man was sttered with bright red hot blood.


    On his face, on his suit, everywhere was sprayed.


    But this guy didn''t seem to mind getting dirty with blood; on the contrary, he wore an expression of enjoyment, greedily breathing in the warm scent of blood.


    Everything happened too fast, in the eyes of ordinary people, it was like a sh of lightning, two shadows colliding.


    But in Su''en''s eyes, it was crystal clear.


    He caught the fleeting look of savage excitement on the middle-aged man''s face when he killed, and found it eerily familiar.


    This guy, his mind seems a bit off too.


    ...


    In a single encounter, the S-ss wanted criminal nco was killed.


    Now the scene froze, and everyone inside the gambling den was stunned.


    Violent conflicts had urred in the gambling den before, and people had died.


    There had been stabbings and shootings, beheadings and dismemberments, even guts spilling out...


    But no one had ever seen someone pierce through another''s chest with their bare hands.


    The bespectacled man stood like a javelin, his murderous aura visibly condensing into substance, a faint red glow faintly emerging around his body...


    The visual impact of this violent method was extremely strong, scaring the gambling den girls pale.


    After a moment of shock, screams echoed throughout the gambling den.


    In an instant, a team of Umbre Organization''s inclothes personnel rushed in, pulling out their badges, and reassured everyone: "Umbre is apprehending a wanted criminal, no need to panic!"


    The man who looked like the team leader, a square-faced man, nced at the frozen scene, his eyes twitching involuntarily.


    He walked over, showing a troubled expression, and said: "Sir, you shouldn''t have killed him."


    The bespectacled man then let go of the body, speaking in an indifferent tone: "Hmm... sorry. I suddenly felt like killing."


    Saying this, he put down the body and leisurely removed his sses from the bridge of his nose, then took out a white handkerchief from his pocket, gently wiping the blood off the lenses.


    This seemingly ordinary action made the square-faced man inexplicably anxious, his eyelids twitching: "Sir, I will report this incident truthfully."


    "Hmm."


    The bespectacled man seemed unconcerned, turned, and walked out, "I''ll leave this to you."


    "..."


    The square-faced man wanted to say something more but didn''t know how to start.


    At this moment, a team member conducted a simple examination of the body and reported: "Boss, confirmed, it''s the fugitive ''nco Quirk''!"


    As he spoke, the middle-aged man had already walked out slowly.


    ...


    Su''en listened to the conversation of the few people, quickly analyzing the intelligence in his mind.


    Obviously, the captain of this Umbre Organization didn''t recognize that the bespectacled man was their leader.


    But that''s not surprising.


    Because the legendary leader of the Umbre Organization, "Coroner" Severus Gerald, is very mysterious, and very few people in Old Lingdun have ever seen him.


    Su''en also got some information about his appearance from Sabina.


    But not much.


    He only knew that this guy''s usual identity seemed to be a coroner who liked dissecting corpses, very low-key, very mysterious.


    Su''en had also heard about his hobby of killing.


    But no one knew the details.


    It''s spected to be rted to his Transcendent profession, or perhaps his talent...


    Even though Sabina is a general in the Umbre Organization, her understanding of this mysterious leader''s abilities is very limited.


    She only knows he''s strong.


    Absurdly strong!


    Su''en watched the middle-aged man''s retreating figure, letting out a sigh of relief.


    At the same time, he was very solemn.


    "Such fast speed..."


    He recalled the move just now in his mind, even if it were him facing it, although he wouldn''t be killed in one encounter, the chances of escaping and saving his life were not great.


    Su''en dared not assess everything about this guy, withdrawing his gaze.


    As long as he wasn''ting for him, that was fine.


    ...


    The Umbre Organization''s people took away the body, and the gambling den returned to its noisy state.


    But like a bonfire doused with cold water, even though it could still burn, the atmosphere was no longer as intense as before.


    At least, at the table in their small hall, several big bosses from the inner city were so frightened that they turned pale and lost the mood to gamble, leaving one after another.


    With no one organizing games, the gambling-addicteddy also felt disappointed and began to count her chips. While packing up, she muttered: "I thought I was finally lucky tonight, hoping to win back what I lost yesterday... Ah! Forget it, I''m not gambling anymore, seeing blood affects the luck..."


    Su''en listened to her muttering, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. He walked over, took a chair, and sat beside her, teasing her with the persona of a profligate young master: "Hey, beauty, care for a drink together?"


    Sabina naturally recognized Su''en early on, but she couldn''t act too familiar.


    She sized up Su''en, a glint of interest in her eyes, and teased: "Yo~ handsome, are you asking me out?"


    Su''en smiled: "May I have the honor?"


    Sabina didn''t hesitate, her expression like that of a mature woman smitten by a handsome man, readily agreeing, "Sure!"


    ...


    The two exchanged their chips and left the gambling den.


    Today, Sabina was dressed conservatively, not revealing her tattooed arms or carrying a knife, looking like a gentle housewife.


    But as soon as they hit the streets, Sabina showed her true colors. She casually draped her arm over Su''en''s shoulder, acting like a big sister: "Hey hey hey... I say, kid, you look pretty good with hair..."


    As she spoke, she unceremoniously pinched Su''en''s face and ruffled his hair, seemingly checking if it was real.


    After confirming, Sabina squinted her eyes with a teasing tone, "I must say... this skin of yours is really a favorite among thedies and misses."


    "..."


    Listening to the first half, Su''en thought Sabina wasplimenting him, but the second half felt off.


    He couldn''t help but feel that the gentle sinking sensation on his arm felt different than before.


    He remembered there was serious business to attend to and directly asked: "By the way, Sabina, was it you who posted the information about the Hunter''s Guild?"


    Sabina looked as if she had just remembered the important matter, "Oh, I almost forgot, I came to borrow something from you."


    "..."


    Su''en looked at the bloodshot in her eyes, probing: "You haven''t been gambling in the den for a day and a night, have you?"


    The message was posted yesterday, and she was still in the gambling den today; it seemed he might have guessed right.


    Sure enough.


    The gambling-addicteddy didn''t shy away from admitting it, nodding directly: "Yeah."


    She seemed to recall some unpleasant experience, pouting: "I lost some money yesterday, so I gambled a bit longer. Just when my luck was warming up today and I was winning some back, that incident happened..."


    "..."


    Hearing the whole story, Su''en''s expression became somewhat strange.


    He had wondered why it was such a coincidence that they bumped into each other, and just then, the Umbre Organization''s operation to capture a fugitive happened.


    It turns out it wasn''t a coincidence, but Sabina had deliberately sought it out.


    Using her mystical gambling techniques, she found a "jinx" to bet against, and her luck was good; otherwise, she would have lost everything long ago.


    The wanted criminal "Lucky Star" nco had been using the [Tabard''s Lucky Coin], suffering increasingly severe curse bacsh. Without the coin, his luck would get worse, so it was normal for her to win against him.


    Unexpectedly, while gambling, the leader of the Umbre Organization arrived.


    And then the scene Su''en had just witnessed unfolded.


    After she rattled off her story, Su''en asked again: "Sabina, do you know the background of that guy just now?"


    Sabina raised an eyebrow: "He must be a high-ranking member of the Umbre Organization, very strong, at least a ''T0 level'' senior general. I noticed him when he came in three hours ago. But thinking he wasn''ting for me, I didn''t bother with him. However, speaking of which... that guy''s gambling skills are indeed not bad."


    "Oh."


    Su''en, hearing her casual tone, knew she had a sense of measure and continued: "I''ve got some information, that person might be the leader of the Umbre Organization, ''Coroner'' Severus Gerald."


    "Turns out it''s him, no wonder."


    Sabina frowned slightly upon hearing this.


    Thinking about it, it didn''t seem surprising, and she muttered: "Probably because that little princess from the Duke''s mansion ising, and he''s here to pave the way."


    Seeing Sabina''s nonchnt attitude, Su''en didn''t say much more and asked: "By the way, Sabina, what did you want to borrow from me?"


    Sabina looked at the crowd on the street, not saying directly, "This isn''t the ce to talk. Let''s go somewhere else to discuss."


    Su''en pointed to a street lit with neon lights in the distance, "A bar?"


    Sabina waved her hand: "Forget it, I''m not drinking. I''ve been gambling for two days and a night, I''m not in good shape."


    Su''en: "Where to then?"


    Sabina, looking at the inner city people searching for amodations on the street, suddenly remembered something and asked: "By the way, have you found a ce to stay in the camp?"


    Su''en honestly replied: "Yes. I''m currently staying at the Rose Hotel."


    Sabina waved her hand grandly, "That''s perfect, I haven''t found a ce to stay. I''ll squeeze in with you tonight."


    Su''en felt something was off, but he was used to this straightforward gambling-addicteddy and agreed: "Oh."


    ...


    And so, Su''en led Sabina to the Rose Hotel.


    Now, a room was hard toe by, especially one with a private bathroom.


    Sabina brightened up as soon as she entered the room with a bathroom: "Wow~! You actually managed to book a room with a bathroom? Geez, even the big tycoons from the inner city are struggling to get such a room now..."


    Su''en: "I''ve always been in the camp, and the rooms were tight the other day, so I didn''t cancel..."


    The room had a soundproof barrier, so they weren''t afraid of being overheard.


    But to his surprise, before he could finish speaking, the gambling-addicteddy walked straight into the bathroom, then tore off the belt of her kimono, not caring at all that there was a man in the room, and began to undress.


    As she undressed, she muttered: "Ah, finally I can take a bath... After traveling for more than ten days without soaking in a hot spring, I was almost suffocated..."


    Saying that, the kimono was thrown out, "Please hang it up for me~"


    Su''en looked at thepletely bare back and shook his head with a wry smile.


    Back when they were at the Cross Society, Sabina had invited Su''en to join her for mixed bathing several times, and they didn''t feel awkward about it.


    They were used to living together and didn''t find it embarrassing.


    He teased her casually.


    "Hey hey hey, Sabina, can''t you spare me a little?"


    "Cut it out~ It''s not like you haven''t seen it before."


    "..."


    This boss really didn''t consider him an outsider, seemingly having no qualms about the difference between men and women.


    Listening,


    Su''en smiled and didn''t look any further.


    He turned around, taking the clothes to the coat rack in the room.


    Soon, the sound of water trickled from the bathroom.


    Su''en hung Sabina''s cheongsam on the coat rack and asked: "Sabina, how did you end up at the relic site?"Hearing this, Qian Tiao''s voice mingled with the sound of the shower, echoing from the bathroom, "The Duke''s mansion has issued a universal call to hunt in the wastnds, and all the major and minor powers have received the notice. Even the gangs in the outer city have been assigned tasks. It''s not just our Cross Society; the Crow Gang and the Steam Party have also sent people..."


    "Oh~"


    The room was small, devoid of a sofa. Su''en tidied up his belongings on the bed and plopped down on it.


    From this angle, looking up, he caught sight of an enchanting scene.


    The hotel was decorated in a minimalist style, and the bathroom was not separated by solid walls but by semi-transparent frosted ss.


    Though the ss made it hard to see clearly, one could still make out the hazy silhouette through the mist.


    Once the water hit, the wetness made it easier to discern the figure.


    With Su''en''s keen eyesight, he could see everything crystal clear.


    A slender figure, exquisitely shaped.


    As Qian Tiao turned to rinse herself, he could even make out a small detail of her proud and erect form.


    Su''en wasn''t intentionally trying to take advantage of the gambling-addicteddy; it was just this casual nce that inadvertently brought Sabina to mind.


    In fact, upon closerparison, Qian Tiao''s figure was not much inferior to Sabina''s. Both had slightly voluptuous figures, each with their own charm.


    Sabina was seductive, while Qian Tiao exuded a valiant air.


    Even as a closebat professional, Qian Tiao''s muscles were fuller, like her hips, legs, and waist, slender yet with a sense of symmetrical fullness.


    It''s just that she was known on the streets for her ferocity, not her beauty, so few spoke of it.


    And then, perhaps because he had looked a few seconds too long, a grumble came from the bathroom, "Hey, hey, hey... can you rein in your gaze a bit? Looking for a beating?"


    After all, she was a top-notch expert with keen perception.


    Su''en then realized his impoliteness and restrained his gaze.


    Since the two were well-acquainted, he mimicked the teasing tone she had once used on him and chuckled, "Hey, not bad~"


    His tone carried no lewd thoughts, just genuine appreciation.


    Seemingly unsure how to respond, the bathroom fell silent for a moment before Qian Tiao''s faint voice came through, "You really are asking for a beating..."


    Su''enughed, "Hahaha..."


    But jokes aside, there were serious matters to discuss.


    Su''en asked again, "By the way, Sister Qian Tiao, you mentioned earlier that you wanted to borrow something from me?"


    "Mhm."


    Qian Tiao responded.


    After a pause, she continued, "We''re going to intercept someone. Just in case, we might need your ck Scythe."


    Hearing this, a lightbulb went off in Su''en''s head, and he asked, "Are you going after that youngdy from the Duke''s mansion?"


    "Eh... how did you guess?"


    At that moment, Qian Tiao''s voice came from the bathroom, "More or less, but it''s a bitplicated, too much to exin in a few words..."

 Chapter 183: The Secret of the Dungeon

    Chapter 183: The Secret of the Dungeon


    Qian was bathing.


    Su''eny on the bed with nothing to do, so he took out an alchemical tome and began to flip through it.


    Now, he spent almost all his free time digesting knowledge.


    This was a habit he had developed even before he crossed over to this world; reading always stabilized his emotions.


    Before long, the sound of water from the bathroom abruptly ceased.


    Qian emerged wearing a loose bathrobe, naturally leaving nothing underneath. A nce upward revealed the deep V of her chest, a swath of pale skin. It must be said that closebat professionals indeed had impressive physiques.


    "Huff~"


    She walked over to the dressing mirror, letting out a long, contented sigh, "Finally feeling rxed..."


    Her soft, aqua hair was unbound, making her look less fierce and more approachable.


    Qian pulled a towel from the rack and, tilting her head, began to dry her damp hair. With each lift of her hand, the wide sleeves and neckline gaped open, revealing generous glimpses of skin.


    However, the two people in the room remainedposed.


    Su''en nced at his book, only sparing her a brief look before refocusing.


    The shower had masked their conversation with its noise, but now that it was quiet, Qian continued the earlier topic, "Hey, Su''en, I heard you have a puppet that''s immune to the ''Night Scythe of Hypnos''? Mr. ck''s n is to take your puppet along if possible."


    "Mm, it''s a type of reanimated corpse."


    This information was already on the wanted posters, so there was nothing against lending it out.


    Moreover, after Su''en had used the abomination so many times, Mr. ck, being the schr he was, had likely already guessed the origin of the reanimated corpse.


    As he spoke, something else urred to him, "But controlling that corpse is a bit tricky. If you''re not a puppeteer, it would be quite difficult. And to precisely control the scythe''s shes requires a lot of practice..."


    Although Su''en believed Mr. ck and his group were strong, he doubted they could efficiently use a sent they were unfamiliar with.


    Hearing this, Qian nced over from the mirror.


    She met Su''en''s inquiring gaze and added, "Mr. ck said you might be interested in seeing it for yourself. So... actually, I''m here to borrow you."


    .......


    "Borrow me???"


    Upon hearing this, an instinctive voice within Su''en responded.


    No, I''m not interested!


    Although he didn''t know why Mr. ck and his group wanted to intercept the young princess of the ducal mansion, that battle would surely be extremely dangerous. Even the leader of the Umbre Organization hade secretly to scout ahead, which suggested that the princess was likely surrounded by top-notch experts.


    Moreover, the ck Tower was a very special ce.


    Even the top financial tycoons of the Inner City had their limits, no matter how strong they were.


    But now that Su''en knew the ck Tower was a gateway to the upper world, he understood that the ducal mansion''s resources were unfathomably deep, far beyond his imagination.


    Otherwise, with the strength of Mr. ck''s group, which family in the Inner City couldn''t they bulldoze through?


    Their caution and secrecy were undoubtedly due to their wariness of the ck Tower.


    This battle would surely be a fierce sh between top professionals.


    Su''en was well aware of his own limitations.


    As a neer to the second tier, although he had some tricks up his sleeve, he wasn''t someone who could show off in such a situation.


    The battle between top professionals could be overwhelming even from the sidelines.


    Lending the scythe was one thing...


    Lending himself...


    Wait, what did Mr. ck say?


    A thought shed through Su''en''s mind, but he didn''t rush to express his stance.


    He looked at Qian, puzzled, "Mr. ck said?"


    "Mm. Although I think you probably wouldn''t want to go, Mr. ck said that once you hear our n, you would want to..."


    Qian nced at him.


    After a pause, she revealed something that would shock anyone, "After all, this time we''re aiming to take down a true transcendent powerhouse. ording to ancient terms, that person would be... a fifth-tier professional!"


    ......


    "Fifth-tier?!"


    Upon hearing this, Su''en was first stunned, then he realized the significance of her words.


    This was indeed unexpected.


    The strongest known expert in Old Lingdun was at the third tier, like the bosses of the three major gangs in the Outer City, the chairmen and vice-chairmen of the major guilds, the top experts of the Inner City... all were third-tier.


    What was the situation with the fifth tier?


    ording to the tomes unearthed from the ruins, ancient alchemists were certainly not limited to the third tier.


    After all, Sir Isaac of the Dawn Ruins, a thousand years ago, was hailed as a "demi-god."


    Hearing Qian''s words, Su''en was first surprised, but his actual first thought was: how many alchemical fragments could be harvested from a fifth-tier professional?


    This piqued his immediate interest!


    It wasn''t just about the volume of knowledge, but the depth of understanding at the level ofws.


    It also meant... a broader perspective!


    "The quadratic equation" is difficult for elementary school students, but for middle and high school students, isn''t it just an introductory problem?


    This principle applies in the field of alchemy as well.


    Without crossing certain tier thresholds, many transcendent pieces of knowledge are iprehensible.


    Su''en was deeply aware of this.


    When he was at the first tier, learning second-tier rune knowledge was extremely difficult, hard to understand, hard toprehend. But after advancing, many of the previous difficulties became almost instantly understandable, and the learning difficulty was reduced by several times!


    One could imagine, if the soul of a fifth-tier professional were stripped away and their knowledge ofws trulyprehended, how would Su''en''s learning progress be?


    Not to mention whether he could harvestplete knowledge fragments, Su''en felt that just the "perspective" alone would make understanding and learning other second-tier and third-tier alchemical knowledge a breeze, wouldn''t it?


    Transcendent knowledge was monopolized by the ck Tower, something that couldn''t be obtained even by harvesting dozens of third-tier professionals!


    If it were a group of third-tier enemies, he really wouldn''t want to go.


    After all, it would be strange if the young princess didn''t have a dozen or so third-tier protectors by her side.


    If Mr. ck couldn''t cover for them and Su''en really faced one, he wasn''t sure he could survive an encounter with a third-tier professional.


    But now, hearing this,


    It turned out,


    They weren''t after the young princess, but a fifth-tier guardian?


    ......


    "How strong must Mr. ck and his group be..."


    Upon hearing Qian reveal their n, Su''en instantly felt he had underestimated the strength of the "Mirror Organization."


    But as much as he was impressed, he was indeed very interested in this n!


    If Mr. ck and his group dared to make a move, they must be confident in their ability to seed!


    "It looks like you''ve decided to go."


    Qian caught the change in Su''en''s expression andmented lightly.


    Su''en nodded, "Mm."


    "Good that you''ve decided."


    Hearing this, Qian didn''t say much more.


    At this moment, she had finished drying her hair and nced at Su''en sprawled across the bed,ining, "Hey, hey, hey~ Su''en, could you move over a bit? You''re taking up the whole bed, can you leave some space for me?"


    Su''en''s thoughts had already drifted, his mind filled with the potential gains from harvesting a fifth-tier professional''s fragments.


    Hearing her, he nced at the disheveled Qian.


    This big shot seemed to really n on squeezing in with him.


    If the gambling widow didn''t mind, he naturally had no objections either.


    "Oh."


    Su''en responded and shifted over, making room on half the bed. Then, just as he moved, he suddenly felt a chilling de aura whisk past.


    "Whoosh," the sound was light, like a sharp knife slicing through the air.


    Looking again, therge bed was neatly split in two.


    The de was so swift that even the sheets and nkets on the bed remained undistorted, cleanly cut in half, leaving a wide gap in the middle.


    "..."


    Su''en looked on, his lips curling into a wry smile.


    He had clearly seen Qian draw her de, but he didn''t dodge. Obviously, the big shot was just intimidating him, probably as payback for the teasing during her bath earlier.


    Fortunately, the mattress was supported by numerous individual springs, so even cut in half, it didn''t copse.


    "Alright, time to sleep."


    Qian, seeing that Su''en wasn''t scared, pouted, finding it dull.


    She didn''t consider herself an outsider at all and happilyy down on the other half of the bed.


    Crossing her legs, her pale thighs were exposed.


    .......


    Since he was going to join the battle, Su''en naturally had to inquire about more details.


    He turned his head towards the other half of the bed and asked, "Sister Qian, when are we likely to depart?"


    "I don''t know, waiting for notification."


    Qian respondedzily without even opening her eyes, "The n is for Mr. ck and the others to handle; I''m just responsible for the fighting."


    She seemedpletely unconcerned with the details of the n, leaving the scheming and plotting to the likes of Mr. ck, the wise.


    The two shared a room without any awkwardness in the atmosphere.


    Thinking of their mission to surround and kill a fifth-tier professional, Su''en was indeed curious about many things, such as their strength.


    Qian didn''t consider herself an outsider, and neither did Su''en. He directly asked, "Sister Qian, what tier are you at now?"


    After a moment''s hesitation, Qian slowly uttered three words, "Hard to say."


    Su''en: "Hard to say?"


    Qian suddenly opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling in thought, not intending to hide anything from Su''en, "I broke through to the third tier half a year ago. But due to a second awakening of my talent and some special inheritance, mybat power is much stronger than that of an average third-tier. If I have to say... I''m barely at the fourth tier."


    "Oh."


    Listening, Su''en''s expression showed a hint of surprise.


    The conversation tonight had indeed refreshed his understanding of this world.


    Su''en was still pondering what the fourth tier entailed when Qian spoke up again, "Aren''t you curious why we''re targeting that fifth-tier guardmander?"


    Su''en had thought it might touch on some secret and hadn''t wanted to pry.


    But now that she brought it up, he asked, "Why?"


    Qian exined, "To advance to the fourth tier, one needs a special item[Sun God Stone]. Such a special energy crystal won''t form in the underground world without sunlight. Those transcendent professionals from outside the tower might carry it, and it can also umte from their corpses. If we want to break through the ck Tower''s blockade, we must have enough power. Right now, we''re far from it."


    Her tone was calm.


    But Su''en could hear a hint of heaviness.


    Perhaps because he nned to join the battle, he felt that Qian''s attitude towards him had clearly changed.


    Maybe as allies?


    Previously, they hadughed it off, but now she chose to reveal some top secrets to Su''en, secrets that only a few knew.


    She asked again, "Do you want to hear some secrets that could cause trouble?"


    Su''en sensed the seriousness in her voice and after a moment, replied, "Yes."


    Qian looked at the ceiling, her gaze drifting as she began to speak.


    "Remember when you left Old Lingdun, I told you to get stronger?"


    "Mm, I remember."


    "Actually, it was because I didn''t want you to bear that pressure too soon... just like when I first encountered the truth, it was truly despairing."


    "..."


    "When you realize the world you live in is a giant prison, everything you pursue seems utterly meaningless. The ck Tower has the power to make people despair. No matter how hard you try, you can only ever struggle to survive in a dark dungeon. What''s the point of such a life? Until I met ''Mirror''..."


    At this point, the gambling widow suddenly turned towards him.


    Propping her head with her hand, she looked at Su''en and smiled, "You''ve done well, I''ve always heard about you, and I know you''ve been getting stronger."


    "..."


    Su''en listened quietly.


    He had never seen Qian so serious before.


    Even though she was smiling.


    Qian continued to speak.


    "Do you know how Old Lingdun came to be?"


    She answered her own question.


    "About a hundred years ago, someone found the ck Tower using an ancient map. That person was Raphael I. The current Duke Raphael''s grandfather. Back then, Old Lingdun was just ruins, devoid of humans. Then, they filled it with arge number of war ves and prisoners from the outside world... The ves had their memories of the outside world erased, and then they began to clear thend and multiply in the underground world, establishing a new order...""In reality, there''s no fundamental difference between the tycoons of the inner city and themoners of the outer city. At the end of the day, everyone is just a ''miner'' under the Duke Raphael, generation after generation mining treasures from this ancient ruin that dates back a thousand years."


    "Those inner city tycoons think the wealth is in their hands? Hah... Unable to escape this cage, everything they have belongs to the ck Tower."


    "..."


    This news was indeed heavy to hear.


    But Su''en, as a transmigrator, didn''t find it too hard to ept.


    Ever since he learned from Number Neen that his predecessor was brought in from outside the ck Tower, he had guessed the existence of a surface world.


    Hearing this, he asked, "Can''t the truth of this matter be revealed?"


    With so many people in Old Lingdun, if they were to revolt, it would be a formidable force.


    Hearing this, Qiantiao shook her head.


    "Fifty years ago, there was a rebellion. That time, the rebels even breached the ck Tower. Then, despair began. Without any warning, a group of super-ss experts descended from the upper levels, effortlessly ughtering the leading top-tier professionals... The rebel army stood no chance and was quickly wiped out. In the end, the turmoil resulted in the massacre of hundreds of thousands. Everyone connected to the rebellion was executed for ''treason.''"


    So it had been tried before...


    Hearing this, Su''en could already picture the scene.


    A group of yers around levels twenty to thirty storming the tower, then a bunch of level fifty to sixty bosses appearing.


    With a swish of their des, the group was annihted.


    It seemed this topic touched on some unpleasant memories for Qiantiao, her brows slightly furrowed as she continued, "Some old folks in Old Lingdun city might still remember this, but no one dares to speak of it. If even a word of this topic reaches the ears of the Umbre Organization, it would mean the annihtion of their entire n."


    "If everyone in Old Lingdun knew the truth, the only consequence would be that the ck Tower would send top-tier experts to purge the entire ''prison.'' Then they would send in another batch of people... To them, the lives of miners are worthless."


    "So, you understand now why we have to do what we do, right?"


    ......


    After listening to Qiantiao''s story, Su''en also fell into deep thought.


    For ordinary people, this was truly despairing.


    Advancing to the fourth tier required the Sun God Stone, which could only be produced on the surface, meaning that the people in the caverns could only reach up to the third tier at most.


    If there were fifth tiers, it was possible there were also sixth, seventh, and eighth tiers.


    Su''en hadpletely lost any concept of what those levels of professionals could be like.


    Thinking about it, was it like the difference between ants and elephants?


    Ants inrge numbers might be able to kill an elephant.


    But in the world above the ck Tower, there were countless elephants, and perhaps even dinosaurs?


    No wonder Mr. Hei and the others were nning to intercept that fifth-tier leader.


    The lessons from the rebellion fifty years ago had taught them that numbers were useless; it was the top-tier experts who were the key to victory.


    If Qiantiao and the others could advance to the fourth tier, perhaps they would have a chance to break their shackles.

 Chapter 184: Fifth-tier professional

    Chapter 184: Fifth-tier professional


    After discussing the secrets of the ck Tower, the conversation turned back to the current mission.


    Qian Tiao seemed a bit tired as well, closing her eyes and saying, "Su''en, be careful when the timees. Although Mr. ck''s ns have never gone awry, I can only guarantee my own survival in such a level ofbat. It''s highly likely I won''t be able to look after you. Be careful not to die."


    "Mhm."


    Su''en listened and smiled.


    Not to mention anything else, this gambling-addicteddy had always taken good care of him.


    His mind was still digesting the shocking information he had heard tonight when suddenly he thought of something else.


    Since the topic hade up, Su''en didn''t hesitate to ask directly, "By the way, Sister Qian Tiao, does the '''' symbol on your cloak have any special meaning?"


    As he spoke, he traced the shape of the symbol with two S-like curves in the air with his finger.


    If it were Mr. ck, Su''en wouldn''t have asked, even if he was curious.


    But with Qian Tiao, it was different.


    If it couldn''t be disclosed, she would directly say "I can''t tell you."


    If it could be disclosed, it meant that the information wasn''t too secretive.


    Upon this inquiry, Qian Tiao responded, "That symbol represents a talentS-003-Fate Controller. It''s the talent that Sir Isaac awakened. A thousand years ago, it was also the emblem of a special organization in Dawn City. You must have guessed it; our organization does indeed have some connections with Dawn City, but..."


    She suddenly stopped there, changing the subject, "As for the rest, you can ask the leader when the timees."


    "I see..."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en thought to himself that it was indeed as he had suspected.


    Back in the cursed space of the 1911 Hotel, when he saw ''The Magician'' Edward giving a half-kneeling knightly salute to the cloaked figure, he had guessed that Mr. ck''s "Mirror Organization" had some involvement with the special operations group of Dawn City back then.


    And the symbol representing a talent didn''t surprise him either.


    When he saw one of the five statues at Storm Manor with this symbol, Su''en had guessed it was some kind of S-rank talent.


    But what was somewhat unexpected was that Sir Isaac, hailed as a "demi-god," was the one who had awakened this strangely named talent.


    Fate Controller?


    Ranked even higher than his own Death Harvester, what kind of special abilities could it possess...


    Su''en was curious.


    But the "Mirror Organization" using this symbol to indicate their identity clearly had some special significance.


    Qian Tiao didn''t borate, and he didn''t press further.


    At this point, Qian Tiao seemed to remember something and suddenly smiled, "I heard you did wellst time at the 1911 Hotel. The leader even mentioned you to me specifically~"


    Upon hearing this, Su''en chuckled.


    .......


    The "Mirror Organization''s" hidden identity was Qian Tiao''s biggest secret, and she hadid it all out tonight, truly treating Su''en as one of their own.


    As the two chatted, the conversation flowed freely.


    From the secrets of the ck Tower to alchemy, they even touched on some personal topics.


    They talked until midnight, and their rtionship grew significantly closer.


    ......


    The next morning, Su''en woke up on time from his meditation due to his biological clock.


    Qian Tiao in the bed next to him was still sound asleep.


    This gambling-addicteddy really let her guard down around Su''en, her sleeping posture... was very unrestrained. Underneath her loose nightgown was just a simple pair of white underpants, which were clearly visible when lifted.


    Su''en smiled, pulled the nket over her, and didn''t wake her up, burying his head in his daily work.


    Flipping through alchemy books, crafting puppets, studying mechanical gadgets...


    He still needed to prepare for that ambush.


    Although he wasn''t the main force, he had to think about how to escape in case of an emergency.


    Su''en had spent most of his recent time like this, not feeling anything wrong with staying in his room.


    Busy and fulfilling, time flew by quickly.


    It wasn''t until the afternoon that Sister Qian Tiao finally showed signs of turning over.


    Seemingly having caught up on sleep after staying up for two days and a night,


    She got out of bed with sleepy eyes, rubbed them, andined, "Ah... I was wondering why I kept hearing sounds like a mouse gnawing on something in my dream. Turns out it was you, kid, tinkering with these broken pieces of wood early in the morning..."


    "It''s already afternoon, Sister Qian Tiao..."


    Su''en thought she was talking to him and turned his head to look.


    But he realized that this gambling-addicteddy had no intention of looking at him; she floated past him as if sleepwalking.


    Probably ustomed to taking a bath in the morning, Qian Tiao directly took off her bathrobe, threw it on the bed, and went to the bathroom naked.


    Su''en watched, touched his forehead, and returned his gaze to his puppet.


    Then, he heard the sound of the shower.


    .......


    Before long, the sound of water stopped.


    Su''en heard someone walking out of the bathroom but didn''t turn around, continuing to focus on crafting his puppet with the spider spear.


    This gambling-addicteddy seemed refreshed after the shower and started dressing in the room with abandon.


    She looked at Su''en controlling eight spider limbs to make puppets simultaneously and became curious, saying, "Yo~ Your method isn''t bad. One person can do the work of seven or eight..."


    "I am a puppeteer, after all."


    Su''en replied.


    He nced up and saw Qian Tiao wrapping her chest in the dressing mirror.


    He only nced for a moment before looking away, teasingly saying, "Sister Qian Tiao, don''t always wrap it up. From a medical standpoint, it''s not good for development."


    "Tch~"


    Qian Tiao hummed indifferently, picked up a half-finished Nightmare Doll from the table, and examined it, saying, "Your rune craftsmanship is quite good. Being able to draw second-tier runes so proficiently, you''d be considered a first-ss rune enchanter in Old Lingdun."


    "I''m still far from it..."


    Su''en casually responded.


    It wasn''t false modesty; his level was indeed far from Mr. ck''s standard.


    The two were very close, their skin touching, and he could clearly feel Qian Tiao''s body temperature.


    Although this gambling-addicteddy didn''t use perfume, Su''en also smelled a faint fragrance.


    Hmm... the scent of soapberry shampoo.


    Qian Tiao only looked for a while, seemingly uninterested in the puppet, and put it down.


    She went to the dressing mirror, tied her lush green hair with a red cord, and instantly looked spirited.


    Qian Tiao didn''t wear makeup or dress up, so she was very efficient when going out.


    She put on her kimono sleeves, covering the tattoos on her back and arms, then waved at Su''en, "Let''s go~ Su''en, time to head out."


    "Oh."


    Su''en thought there was an operation, so he packed up and followed her out.


    Unexpectedly,


    Qian Tiao took him straight to the gambling den,


    And gambled big again.


    Indeed, when a gambler has money in their pocket, they think about gambling.


    Fortunately, the more than nine hundred thousand Qian Tiao had left fromst night was lost in no time, and she calmed down.


    In the following days,


    The two of them honestly stayed in the hotel room.


    Su''en didn''t feel any different with another person around; his life was still very regr, doing what he needed to do.


    Even often, when it came to knowledge in the top professional fields, he could ask Qian Tiao.


    But this gambling-addicteddy was quite bored without gambling, alwaysining, "I''m not happy anymore," or just sleeping in.


    Hmm... and she was bing less and less like an outsider sharing a room.


    ......


    Six dayster, Mr. ck''s message arrived.


    Finally, the entourage of Princess Theresa from the Duke''s mansion set off.


    Su''en and Qian Tiao left the camp and headed to the predetermined ambush site.


    It''s worth mentioning that the Duke''s entourage did not take the three familiar routes used by the merchant caravans but chose a secret passage.


    It was the same secret passage Su''en had used when he crossed over.


    Su''en thought he was the only one who knew about this secret passage, but unexpectedly, not only did the people from the Duke''s mansion know about it, but Mr. ck and his people also knew it inside out.


    The map was very detailed.


    Su''en had the eight-armed spider spear, and Qian Tiao was a top-tier professional, so their speed was very fast.


    In just over half a day, they had already arrived at the ambush site.


    It was a spacious stone cavern.


    The area wasrge enough, with several passages for quick evacuation.


    .......


    Su''en looked around and immediately found a suitable ce to hide and ambush.


    Qian Tiao pointed to the vast cavern and said, "Alright, you stay here, find a ce to hide, and be careful not to be discovered. We will lead the people overter, and everything will proceed ording to n."


    This gambling-addicteddy was wearing a suit of battle armor today, and her face showed an unprecedented seriousness when she spoke.


    Before setting off, Su''en had felt her umting sword energy.


    Her aura had also be increasingly dangerous.


    Even though she was deliberately concealing it, standing next to her, Su''en felt as if he was next to a sharp de, his heart slightly trembling.


    The n was already well memorized, and there was nothing else to exin, so Su''en nodded, "Mhm."


    "Take care of yourself."


    Qian Tiao warned him, said no more, and disappeared into the depths of the cave.


    The first ambush site was not here; this stone cavern was just the killing ground.


    Su''en looked at the cavern, then unfastened his armor and controlled the eight-armed spider spear to climb the rock wall.


    He used silk threads to hang himself upside down on the rock wall, and the invisible zombie also hid nearby.


    There were no traps here.


    The n was simple and crude; someone would attack Princess Theresa''s entourage, but the actual target was a guard.


    Lead the person here, then kill them.


    As Mr. ck said, the simpler the n, the less likely it is to be seen through.


    The moreplex the trap, the more likely there are to be slip-ups.


    .......


    After hanging on the web, Su''en was like a spider patiently waiting for its prey, making no further noise.


    During this time, he even saw two groups of three assassins rushing past.


    He knew these were the professional assassins from the princess''s entourage, sent to check the safety of the road, eliminate traps, and ensure the safety of the team.


    Su''en didn''t dare to be careless, releasing his perception and listening intently to the movements in the cavern.


    Finally, after almost a whole day of waiting, there was a sound of earth-shattering noise from the depths of the cavern.


    "They''reing!"


    Hearing themotion, Su''en instantly became alert.


    The sound of battle from inside the cavern was initially imperceptible, but soon it became as loud as thunder, making one''s scalp tingle.


    "Shh~ That''s a bit too exaggerated."


    Su''en took a sharp breath.


    Although he was prepared, feeling the violent elemental fluctuations in the air, he also felt a twinge of fear.


    Without having seen the battle firsthand, the mere noise was enough to make his hair stand on end, let alone the terror of the fight itself.


    ording to Qian Tiao, ordinary third-tier professionals wouldn''t even have a chance to escape under that "target"!


    He took a slow breath and then reduced his presence to the lowest possible level.


    He calmed his emotions, and his eyes were left with nothing but a numb coldness.


    .......


    Just a few breaths after the battle noise came, several figures darted out.


    Before they arrived, Su''en, hearing the rushing sound of the mechanical propulsion devices, immediately guessed that the neers were the super mechanical warriorsNumber 19!


    Su''en didn''t dare to look directly, his gaze diffused, and he saw that beside Number 19, there was also a burly red giant.


    "The talent of the second stage awakening, Red Demon?"


    Su''en recognized the talent of the man immediately.


    But this Red Demon was much stronger than the ''Red Demon'' Gn he had seen at the Cross Society!


    Not only was this man''s skin fiery red and his muscles bulging, but his entire body was also covered in ayer of moltenva armor, with mes spilling out a foot around him. The whole person gave off the impression of ava giant walking out of a volcano''s mouth, seemingly impervious to gunfire and possessing super strong defense.


    Su''en even thought that "Fourfold Shot" might not


    Moreover, beside these two, there was another person, a cloaked figure.


    At this moment, a six-armed demoness with ming hair was floating behind her, and even though her face was covered by the cloak, Su''en knew it was Qian Tiao.


    At this moment, Qian Tiao revealed her six-ded, six-armed state that she had never shown in public before, and her aura had reached its peak.


    Yet, even with three top-tier powerhouses joining forces, they were being chased in a sorry state!Whether it was the two-stage "Red Demon" or Number 19, there was hardly an enemy that couldst a single exchange.


    With a single touch, they were sent flying backward, crashing into a pile of broken stones.


    The sound of cannon fire echoed through the cave, marking the moments when the three of them were repeatedly thrown about.


    Only by working together, covering for each other, did they barely avoid being killed!


    Behind them, a rolling tide of golden light surged forward.


    Su''en dared not look directly at the "target," but the mere presence of that golden light was like a mountain copsing, instilling an instinctual fear of great terror in anyone who witnessed it.


    If it weren''t for Su''en''s ability to control his emotions, an ordinary second-tier professional would have been scared into revealing themselves in an instant.


    "What a domineering aura, is this the might of a fifth-tier powerhouse..." Su''en murmured to himself.


    In the blink of an eye, the group had already reached the inside of the stone cavern.


    The target had arrived at the ambush site when suddenly a purple light barrier appeared around the space.


    "A spatial barrier?"


    Su''en found it very familiar.


    What surprised him even more was that at that moment, two cloaked figures emerged from the darkness nearby.


    Yes, they came out of the darkness!


    He had no idea what method they used, but they simply stepped out from the shadow of a rock. It was like a portal, yet there was no sensation of spatial fluctuation.


    Su''en had been hiding for a day and had not noticed that within a few dozen meters, two people had been concealed!


    One of them immediately cast a high-level spell, "Thorn Entanglement."


    Judging by the proficiency of the caster, it was likely Mr. ck!


    The other cloaked figure materialized from the shadows, his body turning into a purple ghostly light, and then his trace was no longer visiblean unmistakable sign of a top-tier assassin!


    ...


    Su''en looked at the shadows on the ground and got a rough idea; the golden light seemed to be a two-meter-tall gilded giant.


    Mr. ck''s "Thorn Entanglement" took root and sprouted at the feet of the golden target, trapping him tightly in an instant.


    But it only held for a moment before the gilded giant tore apart the entangling thorns with a single pull.


    He looked around at the cursed space and said in a deep voice, "So it turns out your target is me..."


    With that, his pride as a fifth-tier professional made him look down on the people before him, and he snorted coldly, "I didn''t expect that after a few years without cleaning, the rats in the gutter have grown so fat..."


    PS. Brothers, those who can support by subscribing, please do so, thank you~

 Chapter 185: Elemental Theft

    Chapter 185: Elemental Theft


    ps. Update first, then revise. No text to see, for a better reading experience.


    The golden-painted giant realized that Mr. Hei and his team were nning to ambush him. Far from being rmed, he instead revealed a mocking sneer.


    After all, the gap in rank cannot be bridged by mere schemes and plots.


    With spatial lockdown in the cave, Mr. Hei and his fourpanions no longer needed to conceal their presence.


    The five of them didn''t waste any words, revealing all their hidden tactics.


    In an instant, their momentum drastically changed, and under theirbined assault, they seemed to be able to contend with the golden-painted giant.


    "Attack!"


    In the presence of such a powerhouse, they couldn''t afford the slightest carelessnessa minor mistake could lead to a fatal crisis.


    The first to strike was the previously vanished assassin.


    Although Su''en couldn''t see him, he could clearly hear the crackling of dense thunder elements in the air.


    Upon closer inspection, he saw the golden-painted giant''s body surge with lightning, as if a lightning-fast figure was darting around him. In just a moment, several purple thunder chains as thick as arms appeared.


    The thunder chains,posed of elemental constructs, had no physical form. As soon as they materialized, they bound the golden-painted giant on the spot.


    The giant pulled hard at the chains, and the lightning exploded, but he found that the chains could stretch and couldn''t be broken by sheer force alone.


    His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he had guessed something, and he eximed in surprise and doubt, "Elemental thunder chains? Tsk tsk... you rats have indeed found some nice treasures..."


    But with a cold snort, he showed no concern, "Pity, how much of the power of such high-grade cursed items can you utilize? It would have been better to keep them hidden. Since you''re so eager to seek death, I''ll grant your wish!"


    ......


    The thunder chains restricted the golden-painted giant''s movements, but they couldn''tpletely immobilize him.


    As he spoke, his arms'' veins bulged, and he forcefully dragged the chains to form a seal. As soon as the warlock''s seal waspleted, the golden elements around him surged, and scales like those of a pangolin condensed on his skin, covering his entire body. His aura soared to new heights.


    At this moment, even with the thunder chains wrapped around him, his speed was as fast as before!


    The golden-painted giant stomped his foot and charged towards Mr. Hei and his fourpanions.


    Su''en didn''t dare to look directly at the target and didn''t know what exactly happened.


    But just the oppressive feeling of that golden light made him feel as if a golden torrent was rushing over, unstoppable and powerful.


    In the blink of an eye, apanied by a "dong" sound like the tolling of a bell, the entire sealed space echoed with the sound.


    A red, molten giant collided with the golden-painted giant.


    The shockwave was like a tsunami hitting the shore, causing the entire space to tremble violently.


    The top-tier professionals were unharmed, but there was still a small fry here.


    At the moment of collision, Su''en felt as if his head was next to a cannon, his mind shook, and it seemed as if his soul was about to leave his body. Unconsciously, a trickle of blood flowed from his ears, and the aftershocks continued to pierce through his eardrums...


    Su''en''s eyes were grave, "Phew~ This level of battle is indeed not something a second-tier professional can get involved in..."


    If it weren''t for blocking some of the pain perception, this aftershock would have really cost him dearly.


    Forcing his scattered thoughts back together, he still hung upside down on the wall, like a stone, without any movement.


    .......


    The aftermath of their contact was so astonishing, what about thebatants themselves?


    The Red Demon caught a punch from the golden-painted giant but also spat out a mouthful of ck blood.


    A direct hit from a fifth-tier powerhouse is not so easy to catch!


    But the Red Demon didn''t let go. His arms twisted like vines, locking the golden arm in a grappling technique. His body suddenly burst into mes, and he transformed into a magma giant, slowly pulling the scale-covered golden arm into his body.


    For a moment, the scorching heat seemed to melt the golden scales.


    The Red Demon''s talent was an extreme amplification of strength, and after the second awakening, he possessed the power to move mountains. Yet even so, it was extremely difficult to shake the golden giant.


    Seeing this, the golden-painted giant only sneered.


    Perhaps feeling confident of victory, he yed with his prey, unhurriedly saying, "Fire Art of Melting Gold? A good idea indeed. But you have no idea how vast the gap in rank is. The difference in the grade of spells cannot bepensated for by a bit of cleverness..."


    As he spoke, a seven-pointed star alchemical formation suddenly lit up under the giant''s feet, and with a light shout, "Flesh Alchemy - Diamond Body!"


    As soon as the spell was cast, the scales on the giant''s body stood on end like a porcupine, and looking at them was blindingly sharp.


    What was even more shocking was that as soon as his fifth-tier spell was activated, the bright golden light made the seven-pointed star formation under the Red Demon''s feet suddenly dim. It was as if in an instant, the fire elements around were absorbed by the fifth-tier formation.


    "So this is the fifth tier..."


    Su''en watched this phenomenon and immediately thought of the records in the alchemical books: "Rank suppression! Elemental plundering!"


    An alchemist''s spells utilize the elemental forces around them in an equivalent exchange.


    But the elemental energy in the same area is limited, and how much can be converted and controlled depends on the strength of the alchemist.


    If two alchemists cast spells at the same time, the higher-tier spell/alchemist can plunder more elemental energy, even forcibly assimting the lower-tier alchemist''s spell to their own needs.


    This is the disparity in rank!


    With this move, the Red Demon''s scorching heat was instantly doused with cold water, and he could no longer trouble the golden-painted giant.


    He had just absorbed the fist into his body, and with the scales standing on end, not only did it fail to melt the arm, but it felt like thousands of needles exploding inside him, causing severe damage.


    "Spurt~"


    Another mouthful of magma-like ck blood spurted out, scorching the ground and emitting a wisp of green smoke.


    The Red Demon, awakened with a second-tier talent and facing a direct confrontation, was severely injured with one strike.


    But it was not in vain!


    The time he bought allowed Mr. Hei and the others to seize the opportunity to strike.


    .......


    As the golden and red figures touched, Su''en suddenly noticed a seven-pointed star emblem light up under Mr. Hei''s feet, and upon closer inspection, the sequence of his seals was actually the spell for unlocking alchemical imnts.


    "A fourth-tier alchemical imnt? So Mr. Hei has already advanced to the fourth tier..."


    Su''en was surprised as he had never seen Mr. Hei''s alchemical imnt before.


    The warlock''s seal waspleted in an instant, and the space within the seal suddenly changed, turning into a library filled with bookshelves. On the mahogany bookshelves were densely packed gold-embossed books.


    Strangely enough, although the books had clear text, upon closer inspection, they became blurry.


    Moreover, what was even more shocking was that the ceiling of the library turned into a vast starry sky.


    At a nce, the stars were dazzling and the depths were endless, the more one looked, the more mesmerizing it became. It seemed to draw one''s gaze in, making it impossible to look away.


    Su''en, now very sensitive to psychic power, immediately guessed something upon seeing Mr. Hei''s imnt: "Does this imnt include a psychic spell? Is this the dangerous psychic secret technique that Mr. Hei said he was practicing?"


    "What a strange imnt, it''s actually a library..."


    While Su''en was contemting, he suddenly felt very odd.


    He also realized that this might be rted to Mr. Hei''s profession as a "Schr."


    Moreover, Mr. Hei was clearly considering that there was still a second-tier professional here, afraid that he would be affected by the battle''s aftermath, so he ced a bookshelf in front of Su''en.


    But that wasn''t all!


    As soon as Mr. Hei''s imnt was unlocked, his hands didn''t stop forming seals.


    He seemed to merge with the library, and countless seven-pointed star magic circles lit up on numerous books.


    In the center of the library, the golden-painted giant, who was about to pursue and finish off the Red Demon with a few more punches, saw the surroundings change and his brow furrowed. For the first time, a serious expression appeared as he muttered to himself, "He has already advanced to the fourth tier and fused with an imnt like ''House of All Things.'' No wonder he had the confidence to take action."


    While muttering, he suddenly pulled out his arm, no longer caring about the Red Demon who seemed to be severely injured.


    Instead, he charged towards Mr. Hei.


    He wanted to kill this person he perceived as the greatest threat first!


    .......


    A professional who could advance to the fifth tier was naturally not foolish.


    Previously lured here, the golden-painted giant had guessed that it might be a trap.


    But he didn''t care.


    He also wanted to see where the "rats''"panions were, to catch them all in one go!


    No matter how fat a rat is, it''s still a rat!


    The strongest in the underground world were only third-tier professionals. Even with an ambush, he didn''t feel threatened!


    But now, seeing Mr. Hei, who had advanced to the fourth tier, the golden-painted giant felt threatened for the first time.


    The opponent dared to seal the space and take action, knowing he was a fifth-tier professional, so he must be confident.


    Now that the library had appeared, he faintly realized that an invisible was closing in, feelingpletely exposed as if... hiscency had also been calcted.


    Although the golden-painted giant still felt that the people in front of him were rats that could be killed easily, looking at Mr. Hei calmly forming seals, his instincts told him...


    This man must be killed first!


    .......


    Su''en had seen Mr. Hei take action before. Back in the ruins, he had watched Mr. Hei seamlessly switch between four-element spells, which was astonishing.


    But the aura of Mr. Hei now waspletely different!


    With theplex and profound warlock''s seal in his hands, the golden books in the library also shone with golden light, revealing that he was casting a fourth-tier gold spell.


    Theplexity of the spell patterns that lit up on the seven-pointed stars made Su''en feel the same pressure he felt when he saw the runes on the blue-skinned zombie in the basement of Green Street 88.


    This spell was clearly moreplex.


    Before he could think further, the two had already shed.


    How fast was the golden-painted giant?


    With a stomp, his figure shot out like a cannonball, covering a hundred meters in a rush. The astonishing speed contrasted sharply with his hulking giant''s body.


    But it seemed as if everything was calcted.


    As the golden-painted giant charged, Mr. Hei''s final warlock''s seal was also ready. He pped his hands as if triggering some specialw, and the golden elements in the space suddenly stalled, merging with the vast library.


    A second ago, the golden-painted giant saw Mr. Hei using a gold spell and had a trace of disdain in his eyes.


    Using a gold spell against a fifth-tier gold alchemist, what a foolish choice?


    However, as he was about to scoff, he suddenly noticed an abnormal flow of elements around him. His face changed instantly, and he eximed in his heart, "This is not an ordinary arcane spell... he... he actually knows ''Elemental Theft''!"


    Mr. Hei paid no attention to the fist that was almost upon him, his hand seals changed: "Merge!"


    At that moment, a bizarre scene urred.


    The golden paint that solidified on the golden-painted giant like armor melted away like candle wax, pooling on the ground.


    Just now, to quickly kill the others, this fellow had condensed arge amount of gold elements in the sealed space.


    This left no elements for others to use!


    But now, the dense gold elements filling the space not only failed to aid the golden-painted giant but also turned into a quagmire due to the state of the elements being altered by somew.


    This caused the golden-painted giant to slow down as he ran, as if he were trapped in a swamp, his speed decreasing more and more, seemingly about to be ensnared!


    ......


    Under normal circumstances, a fifth-tier spell against a fourth-tier spell would be a one-sided defeat without any suspense.


    The gap in rank cannot be bridged by the grade of the spell, whether it''s amon spell or an arcane one... it''s impossible.


    But Mr. Hei, the alchemist, didn''t choose to sh head-on; he chose "theft"!


    He stole the gold elements condensed by the golden-painted giant, directly changing the state of the elements, giving the impression of "using the enemy''s strength against them."


    With perhaps less than a tenth of the effort, he moved the enemy''s full strength.


    "What a clever tactic!"Su''en, although unable toprehend the mysteries of this spell, could guess the principle behind Mr. Hei''s technique based on his current understanding of alchemy.


    To unravel a spell with finesse means you must have a thorough understanding of it.


    This implies that Mr. Hei, although not a fifth-order mage, must have a profound understanding of fifth-order spells!


    At this thought, Su''en couldn''t help but feel emotional: "Just how much knowledge does Mr. Hei have in his mind..."

 Chapter 186: The horror of mind reading

    Chapter 186: The horror of mind reading


    The reality of the battle had passed in a sh.


    Mr. Hei''s move directly created an opportunity for the others to strike.


    Number Neen pulled out a pair of mechanical gauntlets thicker than her own thighs and strapped them onto her arms.


    Just now, in order to retreat, she dared not wear these heavy gauntlets that affected agility, but now, trapped inbat, she had no reservations.


    Looking at the ancient design, it was surprisingly not a product of modern technology, but rather resembled an artifact of ancient alchemy.


    With a buildup of power, blue energy runes immediately lit up. On those pair of fists, ripples that seemed to twist space itself visibly condensed...


    At this time, Qian Tiao also switched to wielding two long swords, one red and one ck.


    Dark spiritual power infused, one de shimmered with a strange red glow, the other as ck as ink, with ck qi billowing.


    Even more terrifying was the sword aura she umted, which made onlookers feel a piercing sharpness. It seemed Qian Tiao had also used some secret technique, her aura rising higher and higher, vaguely ovepping with the fiery, upright shadow of a Rakshasa woman behind her...


    The vanishing assassin had also quietly appeared behind the giant, thrusting a dark green poisoned dagger fiercely towards his back.


    The gold elements on the giant''s body shifted from solid to liquid, greatly reducing his defense.


    It was this thrust he was aware of, and although his movements were restricted, his reaction was not slow. His fist, wrapped in dense gold elements, swung back fiercely. The assassin couldn''t avoid it in time and was hit in the waist by the punch, spewing a mouthful of dark blood in mid-air.


    Su''en watched with a slight chill in his gaze. This punch, ifnded on the highly defensive Red Demon, might not be fatal, but for an assassin with such fragile defenses...


    The thought of crisis in his heart hadn''t fully formed when suddenly, the body of the assassin in his view dispersed into a mass of lightning and vanished.


    "Elemental Talent [A-039-Lightning]!"


    Su''en, looking at the lightning filling his vision, finally confirmed the man''s talent.


    Moreover, this was another professional who had undergone a second-stage awakening.


    A normal [Lightning] talent meant an extremely strong affinity with lightning elements, a natural-born lightning sorcerer. But here in the Mirror Organization, it was a closebat assassin. Once his body dispersed, he immediately shed most of the punch''s force.


    And just as the assassin dispersed, Qian Tiao''s swords also arrived.


    Because the metal giant had calcted his punch well, aiming for a one-hit kill and then retreating to defend. But unexpectedly, his punch caused the person to disperse, and without shedding the force, his center of gravity shifted as well.


    This slight mistake, in the eyes of top experts, was a huge opening.


    Qian Tiao''s red and ck swords sliced across his neck, emitting a "sizzle" of metal being cut.


    At the same time, Number Neen''s charged punch also hit the side of the gold-painted giant, sting him away!


    A "thud" of metal shing and sparks flying.


    The gold-armored giant fell like a meteor, and the entire library shook with him.


    "Is he dead?"


    Su''en, hiding in the distance, watched the three-person encirclement and inhaled sharply.


    Any one of the moves from those three could have instantly killed him.


    Theirbined attack was unavoidable.


    And...


    Upon closer inspection, the weapons in the hands of the three were all ancient weapons with strange effects!


    The assassin''s dagger seemed to be coated with some deadly poison. Although the dagger didn''t fully prate, breaking through the defense meant it was mostly sessful.


    Number Neen''s mechanical gauntlet, charged with a punch that could shatter an armored tank, meant the giant was definitely not having an easy time.


    And Qian Tiao''s thunderous swords directly carved two finger-deep gashes on the neck of the gold-painted giant.


    But...


    It seemed like the wound was also metallic, with no blood visible?


    The next instant, Su''en''s pupils contracted as he looked at where the gold-painted giant hadnded.


    "No, he''s not dead!"


    Without seeing the mist rise, he knew that man hadn''t been killed!


    .......


    "Hehe..."


    A sneer sounded as the gold-painted giant slowly stood up, his wounds visibly healing.


    Sword cuts, stab wounds, punch marks... the metal on his body seemed to have a memory, quickly returning to its original state.


    Although he had suffered some injuries this time, he felt he had gauged the strength of the people before him.


    The slight apprehension he had before dissipated; a full-force strike of that level couldn''t kill him.


    The gold-painted giant stood up, not only were his wounds healed, but the golden scales on his body reconvened, and a misty aura like fine sharp gold qi emerged.


    He looked at Mr. Hei and the others, no longer in a hurry to act, and mocked, "Second-stage talent awakening, ancient cursed items, extraordinary inheritance... I must admit, you''ve really surprised me. Heh... those fools from ''Umbre'' really are useless, not realizing that the rats in the gutter already have the ability to bite."


    Su''en, listening from a distance, frowned slightly.


    Although he was a transmigrator, hearing the term "rats" still felt a bit harsh. The people of Old Lingdun were indeed not seen as human in the eyes of the ck Tower.


    However, these words seemed to be deliberately provoking Mr. Hei and the others?


    And more importantly, the mockery was secondary.


    Qian Tiao and the others had exhausted their methods just now and couldn''t inflict effective damage on the gold-painted giant.


    Su''en also felt that the current battle situation seemed very unfavorable.


    But the gap in rank, the refinement of dark spiritual power and elements, were not on the same level.


    For a "wooden knife" to cut into "stone" was already a testament to the assassin''s skill, but the difference in density and material was insurmountable!


    The ck Scythe could likely ignore the golden armor''s defense and y, but Su''en felt he had no chance ofnding a hit.


    With the reaction speed of a fifth-rank expert, Su''en felt that as soon as he made a move with the scythe, he would be detected and avoided. Then the ck Scythe, as a hidden weapon, would lose all its significance.


    Fortunately, upon looking, Mr. Hei was as calm as ever.


    Su''en patiently continued to wait for an opportunity to act.


    .......


    The gold-painted giant hadn''t died, and Mr. Hei seemed not at all surprised, as he continued to form seals without stopping.


    He seemed to have seen through the "sharp gold qi" on the giant''s body and even took the time to remind Qian Tiao and the others while still forming seals, "This guy practices the fifth-rank muscle alchemy technique[Vajra]. Don''t attack recklessly; physical damage will be reflected back equally. This technique can''t cover the whole body during movement; the bigger the action, the bigger the opening. Find the opening!"


    Hearing his technique''s "weakness" exposed, the gold-armored strongman frowned.


    The solemnity that had just dissipated from his face reappeared. The other three posed no threat, but looking at this cloaked figure, he instinctively felt wary, as if all his secrets were being peered into.


    The earlier "Elemental Theft" had already put him at a slight disadvantage, and now his fifth-rank technique had been seen through at a nce?


    He must be killed first!


    The gold-painted giant''s thoughts surged, and with a fierce stomp, he transformed into a golden light and charged forward.


    "Boom!"


    A loud noise as the golden light collided directly with Mr. Hei.


    However, it wasn''t the real person he hit, but a withered wooden stump.


    Mr. Hei''s true body had already quietly shifted a hundred meters away.


    The gold-painted giant didn''t care at all; the seal on the space indeed restricted his movements, but it also restricted everyone else in the space!


    After just smashing the wooden stump, he abruptly stopped and changed direction, charging towards the figure that appeared on the left.


    Knowing the enemy''s technique, Qian Tiao and the others didn''t dare to attack, and could only watch as the gold-armored giant charged around the space.


    "Boom!"


    The second wooden stump was smashed.


    "Boom!"


    The third wooden stump was smashed.


    With each passing moment, Mr. Hei''s dodges seemed more and more forced.


    .......


    "What kind of technique is Mr. Hei casting that it''s taking so long..."


    Su''en watched the battle unfold, and seeing that Qian Tiao and the others were still gathering strength with no intention of helping, he guessed that Mr. Hei was probably condensing some very powerful technique.


    The gold-painted giant seemed to have guessed as well, his attacks bing more and more fierce.


    Unfortunately, it was toote!


    Mr. Hei''s technique was finally cast.


    In this sealed space, something strange happened.


    Looking up again, the previously dazzling new stars on the library''s starry floor suddenly shone, eerily turning into a multitude of eyes. Countless cold gazes watched everyone in the space, as if scrutinized by deities.


    Looking again, the cloaked Mr. Hei''s aura suddenly became ethereal, giving Su''en a strange feeling, as if any secret was transparent in those wise eyes.


    "Has Mr. Hei''s [Mind Reading] been activated?"


    Su''en guessed something, but since the technique wasn''t aimed at him, he didn''t feel much.


    However, the gold-painted giant in the field noticed something and his face changed drastically.


    He charged again, but this time his punch didn''t hit a wooden stump, but was easily dodged by Mr. Hei.


    Another punch, dodged again...


    And another punch...


    And another...


    None hit the mark!


    Mr. Hei seemed topletely anticipate his every move, always avoiding with precision.


    He was like a matador, easily dodging the deadly horns despite being far less strong than the bull.


    Su''en watched this miraculous scene, speechless with shock: "Is this... really a C-rank talent?"


    Mr. Hei had turned what wasmonly considered a mediocre ability [Mind Reading] into something new.


    He was leading a fifth-rank expert around in circles.


    Despite all his abilities, punching at the air, he couldn''t even touch the hem of Mr. Hei''s cloak?


    This was no longer prediction, butplete knowledge of what the opponent was going to do.


    From the moment the opponent''s thoughts arose, he was already defending.


    This terrifying mind reading was unsolvable.


    Even if the enemy reacted quickly and realized they needed to change tactics, as soon as the thought arose, Mr. Hei "read" it as well.


    Change, and miss.


    Don''t change, and still miss.


    As if...


    One''s left hand trying to hit the right hand, not wanting to be hit,


    Mr. Hei had predicted the enemy''s every move!


    .......


    However, Su''en also noticed that Mr. Hei seemed to be better at developing control abilities, with offensive methods clearly being his weak point.


    He could barely dodge the attacks of this fifth-rank closebat professional, making it difficult to harm him.


    But Mr. Hei was not alone!


    And at that moment, the eyes in the sky seemed to have seen through something, and Mr. Hei shouted sharply, "His technique''s opening is on the back side of his left thigh!"


    Before the words fell, Qian Tiao and the others, who had been ready to charge, seized the opportunity and rushed forward.


    The three coordinated, and while the gold-painted giant avoided two of them, he was stabbed in the back of his left thigh by the lightning assassin.


    "Swish!"


    This time, the poisoned dagger prated much more easily than thest, creating a bloody hole with ease.


    The rest of the giant''s muscles were as if forged from pure gold, but this spot on his leg had only a hardyer of skin, and the dagger pierced through, spurting blood.


    "Defense broken!"


    Su''en, watching from a distance, his eyes shed.


    Seeing blood meant that the giant''s defense was not as invincible as it seemed.


    He could be killed!


    The situation suddenly turned.


    The gold-painted giant finally showed a look of horror.


    That feeling of being calcted at every step made him feel like he was punching cotton.


    He quickly gathered elements to cover his wound. But the dagger''s potent poison invaded his meridians, causing him to stagger and nearly fall.


    And right after that, Mr. Hei''s relentless voice rang out again, "The opening is on the right side, the ninth rib!"


    Hearing this, the gold-painted giant instinctively shrank his arms to defend his lower ribs.


    Being told of his weakness, he no longer dared to attack recklessly as before, but this hesitation allowed Qian Tiao and the others to let loose even more.


    "The opening is on the right arm!"


    "The opening is in the lower abdomen!"


    "The opening is..."


    Mr. Hei repeatedly called out the openings, and the gold-painted giant was repeatedly rmed, not even daring to attack, only able to defend in ce.


    ........


    Through Mr. Hei''s "exnation," Su''en understood the principle of the fifth-rank technique [Vajra].


    If this guy didn''t move, he was basically an iron turtle, unshakable.But as soon as he teleported, the gold element couldn''t cover his entire body in time, exposing his ws.


    The subsequent battle was devoid of suspense.


    Mr. Hei had the enemy''s intentions firmly in his grasp, predicting every move and clearly "calling the shots."


    Qian Tiao found the fight increasingly easy, leaving wound after wound on the enemy''s body.


    Just when it seemed there was hope to finish off the enemy, that golden giant started to y dirty, realizing he was at a disadvantage, he just stood his ground.


    He opted for a full-on stationary assault.


    His attitude was clear: "You can''t kill me, so I''ll just stand here and wait for reinforcements, let''s see who can oust whom."


    Moreover, this guy pulled out a cursed golden orb, and with a squeeze, his body was further covered in heavy armor.


    Now, Qian Tiao and his team were truly at a loss on how to handle him.


    Seeing this, Su''en finally understood the role Mr. Hei had called him for.


    The golden giant gave up on teleporting, and Mr. Hei and his team didn''t hold back, wrapping him withyer uponyer of thunder chains, enveloping him with all sorts offortable spells.


    If you move, you get cut.


    If you don''t, you get bound tighter and tighter.


    Finally, after the guy gave up struggling, he was firmly trapped in ce.


    Mr. Hei even specifically pointed out the position.


    Su''en controlled the living corpse and swung his de down.


    A massive head thudded to the ground.


    No matter how invincible your defense, if you can''t surpass thew of the ck scythe, you''ll be cleaved in two.


    Su''en''s eyes lit up as he watched the "mist" rising from the nearby corpse.

 Chapter 187: World

    Chapter 187: World


    The fifth-order gilded giant''s head fell, and as the grey mist emerged, Su''en was certain he was dead.


    The battle seemed perilous, with the second-stage Red Demon severely injured, and the others from the Thousand Stripes also bearing significant wounds.


    But, in fact, it was not so.


    Seeing Mr. ck''sposed demeanor, Su''en knew that everything was probably under his control.


    Su''en had observed the entire battle,


    And now, upon reflection,


    He noticed some issues.


    He guessed that Mr. ck must have encountered fifth-order professionals before, or at least was clear about the power of a fifth-order.


    That''s why his calctions were so precise.


    Otherwise, they wouldn''t havee with only five people to ambush an unknown fifth-order powerhouse.


    It was as if everything was just right, not revealing more of the "Mirror Organization''s" strength than necessary, just enough to kill the target.


    Moreover, Su''en felt that even without the ck Scythe, Mr. ck probably had other methods to kill the guy.


    After all, these top experts should notck sealing artifacts.


    Su''en had personally seen them with a Vulcan''s Furnace Lamp in their possession.


    The Dawn Relic was a treasure trove, buried with too many ancient high-order alchemical products.


    The "Mirror Organization" surely had plenty of good stuff.


    Like the weapons used by the Thousand Stripes in battle, they were clearly not ordinary.


    Thoughts raced through his mind, connecting the "coincidences" together.


    Su''en felt like he understood something.


    Ever since he learned that the "" symbol of the Mirror Organization was the mark of Sir Isaac from Dawn City, he also guessed that this organization''s understanding of the ancient history buried in the dust far surpassed the ck Tower.


    He vaguely felt that Mr. ck probably knew about his talent through some channels.


    After all, his talent originated from the altar in the Storm Manor.


    ...


    The grey mist was right in front of him, but Su''en was not in a hurry and walked over slowly.


    It was like visiting an elder''s home; even if the food was tempting, you couldn''t help yourself without the host''s invitation.


    After sessfully killing the enemy, the cloaked figures quickly cleared the scene and removed the sealing barrier.


    They nodded to Mr. ck, not even uttering an extra word, just likest time, and dispersed.


    Only Mr. ck and Su''en remained.


    Mr. ck removed his cloak, revealing his signature genial smile.


    As expected, he looked at Su''en and got straight to the point: "I heard from the teacher that you should need this corpse..."


    Teacher?


    This title...


    Upon hearing this, Su''en felt slightly strange.


    Butmunicating with a Mind Reader like Mr. ck, there was no need for beating around the bush. With the conversation at this point, he knew Mr. ck must be aware of his talent.


    Su''en smiled nomittally and walked over.


    Devouring the grey mist was the most urgent matter; other questions could wait.


    With this separation, like a floodgate opening, a torrent of memory fragments violently surged into his mind.


    You have obtained ''Grot Lester''s'' memory fragments*8


    You have gained a piece of intelligence: ''The situation in the Empire is getting worse, and the pirates of the North Sea have been increasingly rampant. Last month, the merchant fleet''s steam airship was attacked, probably by a squad leader under the ''King of the North Sea''. Oh, those damned people...''


    You have gained a piece of information: ''Miss Theresa is getting more and more beautiful, but it seems she has been ignoring young master Ewentely. The Duke probably intends to arrange a marriage with the Rega family to increase his influence in the Empire...''


    You haveprehended a vast amount of flesh and blood alchemy knowledge, understanding Diamond


    You have acquired ''Muscle Overload Micro-Control Techniques'',prehending the movement technique Extreme Step


    You have mastered arge amount of ''1~5th order alchemy knowledge''


    You have grasped the iplete fifth-order metalws


    You have acquired some fragmented memories: the Duke''s maritime territory, the ck Tower mines on the reef, the Luyin Empire, the Mechanical Sect...


    You have acquired arge amount ofbat fragment information,bat experience +424


    Spiritual power +4.3


    This was Su''en''s first time separating such "high-intensity" soul fragments.


    He hadn''t had time to digest the detailed content of the knowledge.


    Suddenly, like the aftereffects of drinking, his head felt heavy, and he felt drowsy.


    It wasn''t just the quantity of knowledge, but also the quality!


    This directly elevated his understanding of thews by several levels, and the impact was not as "gentle" as absorbing the soul fragments of first or second-order professionals.


    One was like a river flowing into the sea, the other like a sh flood into a river;


    It was like jumping directly from the Stone Age to the Steam Age, just witnessing the huge impact of the difference in the levels ofws between the ranks was enough to make one dizzy.


    ...


    He didn''t know how long he was in a daze, digesting the vast memory fragments, making Su''en feel as if a long time had passed.


    When his gaze refocused, there seemed to be a new spark of wisdom in his eyes.


    "Indeed, too strong soul fragments can impact the main consciousness..."


    Su''en felt fortunate that he could perfectly separate some other emotions, ensuring the rity of the main consciousness. If an ordinary person had this Death Harvester talent, they would not be able to absorb much before merging their own consciousness with the harvested consciousness, bing a "mental fusion monster."


    This S-rank talent was strong, but not so easy to control.


    It''s like watching a movie,


    You can consider yourself an audience, gathering information;


    But you can''t immerse yourself as the protagonist, bing a character in the story.


    Looking at it this way,


    His condition, awakening this talent, seemed very "fitting."


    As for the gains,


    Too many.


    Su''en couldn''t sort them out for a while.


    He gained countlessbat techniques, twoplete skills.


    The most precious was the understanding of thews.


    With the perspective of a high school student, even if one is a "science cker," looking back at elementary school knowledge suddenly feels effortless.


    First, second, and third-order alchemy knowledge seemed to be integrated; even if it wasn''t "metallic," it was universally applicable;


    As for fourth and fifth-order knowledge, there were also some iplete fragments. Although not enough to form a system, at least it was like seeing the North Star in the vast sea, at least knowing the general direction for the future.


    After digesting the content of the memory fragments, Su''en''s eyes trembled slightly, and he murmured in shock: "The Endless Sea, the Twilight Ruins, the Ancient God Sites, the ne Fragments... So the world outside is so vast, and besides humans, there are other races..."


    This world was more fascinating than he had ever imagined.


    ...


    Mr. ck had already cleaned up the materials on the corpse.


    Seeing Su''en''s gaze clear, he smiled warmly: "Su''en, how do you feel?"


    Su''en replied honestly: "A bit dizzy."


    Mr. ck wasn''t surprised and said: "Your spiritual power is about to lose control. If you don''t find a suitable mental secret technique to practice and control that spiritual power, the situation will be very grim."


    "Understood."


    Su''en nodded, aware of the problem.


    But he also asked: "Mr. ck, you just mentioned your teacher?"


    By now, he was certain that Mr. ck indeed knew his talent was Death Harvester.


    But he was very curious, who in Old Lingdun could be a teacher to the "all-knowing and all-powerful" Mr. ck?


    "Indeed."


    Mentioning "teacher," Mr. ck''s face was filled with respect. He pondered for a moment before saying: "Well... you can call him ''Mr. Mirror,'' the leader of our organization."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en realized that''s where the "Mirror Organization" got its name.


    He immediately thought of his previous spection.


    He felt that Mr. ck had seen fifth-order professionals; could it be this "Mr. Mirror" he mentioned?


    Mr. ck didn''t say more, beckoning Su''en: "Let''s go, we can talk while walking. Someone wille soon."


    "Alright."


    Hearing this, Su''en followed Mr. ck into the dark depths of the dungeon.


    Because of the spatial barrier, the previous battle did not leave too many traces in this cavern.


    The two


    Mr. ck looked at Su''en and smiled, "I was curious about your talent, Su''en, but couldn''t figure it out. It was only after the teacher told me that I knew you had awakened that rare talent."


    Su''en chuckled in response.


    He asked curiously: "Can your teacher discern people''s talents?"


    "You don''t have to be surprised. After all, the teacher is learned and has an understanding of the history of Dawn City that others can''t imagine."


    Mr. ck seemed to recall something, hesitating slightly: "The teacher''s abilities are very special... but it''splicated to exin."


    He didn''t intend to borate and instead said: "If you''re really curious, you can ask the teacher yourself next time. I think the teacher would be happy to enlighten you..."


    Very special abilities?


    Su''en pondered for a moment.


    It seemed that Mr. ck didn''t want to discuss the secrets of that "teacher" behind his back, so he didn''t continue to ask, but he couldn''t help but recall the cloaked person he saw at the 1911 Hotel.


    He didn''t even know if that person was male or female, and he probably wouldn''t recognize them next time.


    But from Mr. ck''s tone, it seemed he had seen them somewhere else before?


    ...


    The two talked as they walked.


    Su''en also learned that Mr. ck had invited him over at the behest of the leader.


    As usual, he offered a gift, an equivalent exchange, and also asked him for a favor.


    Su''en looked at Mr. ck handing over a golden card and a sealed wooden box, not too surprised, "So... you want me to go into a cursed space and deliver something?"


    Mr. ck corrected Su''en''s words with a smile: "No, not me. It''s the teacher''s intention."


    Su''en grew more curious.


    Although he knew Mr. ck had no reason to send him to his death, something felt off.


    Mr. ck didn''t wait for Su''en to guess and directly revealed the significance of these items: "The sealed wooden box contains something number neen brought out from the ck Towerboratory. Don''t open it outside, or you''ll be detected. After entering the space, find ady named ''Sereya'' and give her the item."


    Taking a breath, he continued: "Did I not mention the founder of your ''Puppeteer'' professionst time? Lady Sereya was the greatest forging grandmaster and puppeteer in Dawn City a thousand years ago. With this card as a token, it will be easier tomunicate."


    Hearing this, Su''en looked at Mr. ck with an increasingly strange expression: "Mr. ck, may I ask... why did your teacher choose me?"


    If possible, he definitely wanted to get his hands on the Puppeteer''s mental power secret technique.


    But no matter how he looked at it, Mr. ck seemed to have arranged everything for him.


    With tokens and all.


    It all felt like a "mouse trap with bait," didn''t it?


    Mr. ck didn''t hide anything and directly said: "Because that Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript is in your hands."


    Su''en: "???"


    What does the notebook being in my hands have to do with anything?


    At that moment, Mr. ck said: "Fate is an endless chain of causality, and the world itself develops following this principle and causal rtionships. That is a notebook tainted by fate. If it doesn''t belong to you, it wouldn''t be in your hands."


    "..."


    Su''en found this very familiar; wasn''t that the original text written in the notebook?


    Although he knew this world had some strange and mysterious forces,


    But this...


    It didn''t seem very reliable.


    He just happened to get the notebook, and now it seemed to have no use at all.


    And looking at the situation, Mr. ck definitely knew the contents of the notebook.


    So now, if I give the notebook to you, doesn''t it belong to you?


    At this time, Mr. ck seemed to see through Su''en''s inner mockery and said with a meaningful smile, "You should know, the talent of Sir Isaac, who was known as the ''Demi-God,'' was Fate Controller."


    After a pause, he looked at the still confused Su''en and joked for once: "So, you don''t need to ask me why, because I don''t know either. Hahaha..."Hearing this, Su''en couldn''t help butugh and cry.


    Mr. ck continued, "I''ve heard from the teacher that Sir Isaac''s manuscript contains the ultimate secret of alchemy. However, the manuscript touches upon a strand of thew of fate, one of the supremews of the world, which no one can clearly define. Therefore, all we can do is watch and wait. But for now, it seems most fitting in your hands..."


    "..."


    Su''en felt like he was listening to loneliness.


    At first nce, the words seemed to make sense. But upon further reflection, it seemed like nothing had been said at all.


    But since even Mr. ck didn''t know, the topic was closed.


    Skipping over the topic of the notes, Mr. ck moved on to the mission at hand, saying, "You must have guessed something, but don''t speak of it. Certain supreme beings possess indescribable powers. Merely mentioning Their existence will alert Them."


    "Mm."


    Su''en nodded.


    The manuscript recorded a method for crafting an alchemical augmentation called "Isaac''s Heart," and considering the item number neen brought out, along with the need to find a master cksmith, the purpose was self-evident.


    Legend has it that the names of deities must not be spoken aloud.


    He didn''t ask further about this matter.


    .......


    As the two walked, Su''en asked about some "mission" details, and Mr. ck answered them all in detail.


    His rtionship with the Mirror Organization was getting closer, and now their conversations were less formal.


    Su''en directly asked the most crucial question.


    "Mr. ck, is that cursed space dangerous?"


    "The teacher says it is, but not fatally so. And if it''s you... it might even be safer than if we went."


    "Is it because I have the manuscript?"


    "That''s one of the reasons."


    "..."


    Hearing there was no fatal danger, Su''en put aside his worries.


    The more he understood about this world, the more he felt Mr. ck was trustworthy.


    Moreover, he could sense from Mr. ck''s words that the "teacher" had an extraordinary understanding of the Dawn Relics.


    Otherwise, others wouldn''t even know what lies at the core of the relics; they only knew there was a cursed space and a remnant named "Lady Sereya."


    Besides, Su''en was not one to shy away from risks.


    Having obtained a fifth-tier soul shard, the reward was already enough to risk one''s life.


    This transcendent knowledge was of great significance for Su''en''s future, especially since he was currently a "prisoner"!


    Moreover, the space contained the exclusive mental secret techniques of the "Puppeteer Founder," which he naturally intended to visit.


    The two walked through the caverns without any pursuers catching up.


    Mr. ck was not in a hurry to leave,


    And Su''en took this rare opportunity to ask some of his questions.


    What he was most curious about was Mr. ck''s omniscience and omnipotence, so he asked, "Mr. ck, howe you seem to know everything? Could it be that your awakened ''Mind Reader'' ability can also be used for learning knowledge?"


    Mr. ck smiled, probably having anticipated Su''en''s curiosity about this question, and exined, "The ''Schr'' profession I hold is very special. It cultivates the w of wisdom.'' My awakened abilities are also chosen around the needs of my profession. The first-tier ability is ''eidetic memory,'' second-tier is ''brain domain development,'' third-tier ''universal understanding,'' fourth-tier ''glimpse of truth''... Of course, the most important are the ''teacher''s'' guidance and some special opportunities. My talent is not the best, but I am diligent."


    "Mr. ck, what is brain domain development?"


    "ording to ancient texts, human brain potential is actually limitless. But for some reasons, it''s been restricted, and the usage rate is very low, so ancient sorcerers thought about developing the extent of brain domain usage... but it''s also very dangerous."


    "..."


    Listening to Mr. ck''s exnation, Su''en suddenly understood.


    But clearly, Mr. ck was being modest.


    Without cheating, to be this powerful,


    His talent was not the best... as if!


    Hearing about Mr. ck''s career nning, Su''en suddenly had some thoughts about his own third-tier advancement.


    Manipting puppets... brain domain development?


    Thepatibility seemed quite good.


    ording to Mr. ck''s description, this ability was a bit like upgrading aputer''s processor, allowing the brain to process more information efficiently.


    "Brain domain development" was a concept that also existed in his previous life, but it was still theoretical.


    In the ancient world of this universe, it was possible to achieve this through some transcendent materials.


    Su''en felt that this world hid too many secrets...


    But the materials for brain domain development were not easier to find than spatial materials.


    They were rare and hard toe by.


    Su''en felt that this could only be a future n.


    The two talked for a long time.


    Now, Mr. ck probably considered Su''en an ally and no longer spoke in riddles.


    He asked, and almost always received an answer.


    And all the answers were forting!


    From this conversation, Su''en gained a lot.


    And at that moment, he thought of another question he was very curious about, "Also... Mr. ck, I''ve noticed that members of your organization can awaken their talents a second time. Is there a shortcut to talent awakening?"


    It could be said that, except for Kay, all the people Su''en had seen awaken their talents a second time were from the Mirror Organization.


    This made him wonder if Mr. ck and his colleagues had some special method for awakening talents.


    The answer was no.


    Instead, the recruitment threshold for their organization was "second-tier awakening."


    As Mr. ck put it, without a "second-tier awakening," except for some with special abilities, there was almost no capacity for transcending one''s rank in battle.


    They could only be "targets for observation."


    Like the previous encounter with the fifth-tier professional, an ordinary third-tier facing them would likely die in a single encounter!


    Not very useful for storming the tower.


    Mr. ck: "Second-tier talent awakening can only be realized through life-and-death experiences; there are no shortcuts. Everything in the world is equal, including talents. The lower the grade, the easier it is to awaken; the higher it is, the more difficult. The difficulty of a second awakening for a C-grade talent is far less than for a B-grade... Those with A-grade talents who have awakened a second time have all gone through great trials and possess supreme talents..."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en thought,


    What about S-grade?


    And two S-grades?

 Chapter 188: Princess Theresa

    Chapter 188: Princess Theresa


    Interlude chapter, feel free to skip if you dislike it.


    When Su''en returned to the camp, the news of Miss Theresa''s team being attacked had already spread.


    Although no one knew what had happened, the guard presence at the city gate had clearly increased. One could even see second-tier professionals guarding the gate in person, scrutinizing those entering the city for any suspicious individuals.


    However, this had no effect on Su''en.


    Due to the influx of inner city people to the Wild Hunt campsite recently, the entry fee had skyrocketed, and the inns had been fully booked for a long time. Ordinary hunters couldn''t afford to stay in the city, so many set up tents near the camp walls.


    This was convenient for Su''en.


    He simply found a spot near the wall, out of sight, and teleported into the city.


    The patrols inside the city were also exceptionally strict.


    He returned to the Rose Inn, and not long after settling in, there was a knock on the door for a routine inspection.


    Thanks to his nearly perfect forged identity, he easily slipped through the scrutiny.


    Su''en didn''t wander around and instead stayed in the inn to meditate and assimte the fifth-tier knowledge he had stripped away today.


    ...


    After harvesting the memories, Su''en learned that the people of the surface world did not absorb dark spirit force to advance, but normal spirit force instead.


    He also learned that there were many factions of ancient alchemists. The mainstream ones were called "Light Alchemists," but there were also different systems like "Dark Alchemists," "Necromancers," "Shadow Alchemists," "Toxic Alchemists," and so on.


    Aside from Light Alchemists, the others were niche factions.


    This underground city belonged to the "Dark Alchemists" lineage.


    In the following days, Su''en was almostpletely immersed in digesting knowledge and sensing the transcendentws that were beyond his current tier.


    It was a delightful and magical experience, as if he was gaining a vast amount of knowledge every second.


    Su''en devoured the knowledge like a whale, eating his fill in one go.


    After digestion, he finally understood what those so-called "Transcendent tier barriers" were.


    Indeed, the view from above was truly different.


    The peaks that once seemed insurmountable were just slightly shorter hills that could be taken in at a nce.


    ...


    On this day.


    Su''en was in his room at the inn.


    Threads suspended books all around the room, while his eight-armed spider spear, along with his hands, rapidly flipped through these airborne tomes.


    These were the textbooks from the ck Tower Academy that Mr. ck had given him.


    Although he had read them countless times, there were still many parts he couldn''t understand.


    Now, Su''en read ten lines at a nce, quickly flipping through the books to find those previously marked, difficult-to-understand sections.


    Especially those parts that required his own previous alchemy knowledge and understanding, which now seemed almost instantlyprehensible.


    After a while,


    Having scanned through the books and removed nearly nine out of ten tags, Su''en let out a long breath, "Phew... I used to think the knowledge of the ck Tower Academy was astonishing. But the high-tier professionals of the outside world, they truly broaden one''s horizons..."


    Even in the surface world, fifth-tier professionals were considered experts.


    That "Grot Lester" as the captain of Duke Raphael''s guard, was also a graduate of the "Luyin Empire War Academy."


    His knowledge was incredibly vast.


    Closing the books, Su''en''s face was radiant, and he murmured to himself, "I''ve almost thoroughly mastered the first and second-tier alchemy knowledge. Now I just need a bit more proficiency, and I can directly start on third-tier runes and enchantments. My rune puppets can be enhanced again..."


    He now deeply appreciated the saying, "Knowledge is truly an invaluable treasure."


    And he also profoundly realized why the [Death Harvester] talent was rated as an S-tier talent for its defiance of the heavens.


    Before, harvesting peers of the same tier didn''t seem like much. But now, after leaping three major tiers and harvesting, he had gained a massive boost.


    The significance of acquiring knowledge was absolutely iparable to obtaining a few sealed items!


    After the third tier, every advancement on the Transcendent path had a threshold; it wasn''t just about reaching the dark spirit force standard or finding materials to advance. One also needed toprehend the correspondingws, which was the greatest shackle that killed countless alchemists.


    ...


    After digesting the knowledge in his mind, Su''en suddenly thought of something and began to form a sorcerer''s seal with his hands.


    The seven-pointed star seal slowly lit up, but Su''en seemed to sense something, furrowing his brow. The sorcerer''s seal changed again, losing one point and bing a six-pointed star.


    The spell sessfully condensed, and upon closer inspection, his skin suddenly turned as if cast from pure gold, visibly exuding an indestructible metallic texture.


    This was naturally the execution of the Flesh Alchemy spell[Vajra].


    The original [Vajra] was a fifth-tier spell, soplex that perhaps a fourth-tier might barely be able to use it, while third-tier and second-tier professionals couldn''t understand it at all.


    Yet, Su''en could fullyprehend it.


    But this differed slightly from the dazzling golden sheen of the fifth-tier professional''s spell; Su''en''s golden sheen also carried a faint trace of ck.


    The spell driven by dark spirit force had slight differences.


    However, theplete spell consumed a tremendous amount of energy, and Su''en, whether in terms of body or dark spirit force, couldn''t sustain it.


    Because he thoroughly understood the spell, he also casually downgraded it.


    The essence of the spell was to condense gold elements intoyers of highly refined substances on the body''s surface, like ovepping gold leaf.


    With feweryers, the defensive power would decrease, but after all, Su''en didn''t need a defense that could withstand fifth-tier attacks.


    Downgrading was sufficient.


    Su''en felt his body.


    He took out a dagger and poked at it, clearly feeling the sensation of scraping metal, as the sharp dagger couldn''t leave a single scratch on his skin.


    Without much thought, he drew his firearm and shot at his palm.


    "Bang!"


    The gunshot echoed in the room.


    With a soundproof barrier, there was no fear of disturbing the neighbors.


    Su''en looked at the deformed bullet in his hand, his gaze indifferent.


    Then, he switched to an alchemy bullet.


    Another shot.


    This time, the alchemy bullet made a slight dent on the skin, but it quickly recovered.


    After firing two shots to test, Su''en had already roughly gauged the spell''s defense, pondering, "Both physical and magical defenses are high, it should at least withstand attacks from third-tier professionals for a short time. But the consumption is also great. Moreover, the muscles have solidified, which obviously affects agility..."


    That fifth-tier "Grot Lester" was so formidable not only because of the spell but also because of his profession and alchemical imnts.


    For Su''en, a puppeteer, to achieve this level with Flesh Alchemy was already satisfying.


    At least it gave him the ability to protect himself in front of third-tier professionals.


    And from this stripping, Su''en also acquired anotherplete skill [Extreme Air Step].


    A skillful movement technique that required high strength, agility, and finesse.


    This was highlypatible with him.


    It was an advanced version of Kay''s ghostly movement technique.


    To put it simply, it was like "stepping on air."


    Su''en had tried it a few days ago when he returned, and he could briefly leap into the air, which felt very good.


    Within a short distance, it was several times faster than the discement of the eight-armed spider spear.


    Agility and finesse were just passive attributes. Before, his own body''s attributes were very high, almost meeting the minimum requirements for this skill.


    But he couldn''t use it.


    Because the "muscle overload micro-control technique" was the key.


    It required countless repetitions to grasp that subtle control.


    It''s like learning to ride a bicycle; it seems like having legs is enough, but finding that bnce point is necessary to master the skill.


    One stripping allowed Su''en to easily master this advanced movement technique that countless melee professionals couldn''t grasp even after ten years of hard practice.


    One defense, one escape, his life-saving methods greatly increased.


    ...


    As evening approached, Su''en was in his room tinkering with his new puppet, when suddenly, amotion came from outside the window.


    "Quick, go look, Princess Theresa''s team has arrived outside the camp!"


    "Wow! I heard that even the big shots in the inner city rarely get to see the little princess, and I didn''t expect her toe hunting. This is a rare opportunity, let''s go take a look..."


    "Sheesh, what a grand entourage. The guards from the duke''s house seem so strong..."


    "..."


    Whether it was because therge troop was slow or because they had encountered an ambush and slowed down, the youngdy from the duke''s house arrived at the camp a few dayste.


    Su''en listened to the noise outside, leaned against the window, and looked in the direction of the sound.


    He had chosen this room precisely because it had a wide view, allowing him to see the camp gate and main street from inside the room.


    Su''en looked over.


    The young duchess''s entourage wasrge, with roughly hundreds of people.


    They surrounded a carriage-like special steam mechanical lotive.


    In the team, some carried gs embroidered with the harp and lion pattern representing the Raphael noble family. The guards in uniform dark cyan uniforms, wearing cross helmets and wielding swords in heavy armor, were at the front, and there were dozens of maids and servants, as well as butlers, tutors, cooks...


    "So many strong people..."


    Su''en squinted and observed.


    This standard configuration for high nobility travel made it easy for him to distinguish the main from the secondary.


    Apart from the youngdy Theresa''s personal maid, the closer to the lotive, the stronger they were.


    Because of some stripped fragment memories, Su''en felt some faces were familiar, yet he couldn''t recognize them.


    A fifth-tier guard captain had died, and there were clearly other fifth-tiers in the team. That white-faced man in military uniform, who kept his hat brim low, was obviously one of them.


    And around him, those dozen or so robed sorcerers constantly surrounded by thick elemental fluctuations, which others might not understand, but Su''en knew that this was the characteristic defensive measure of fourth-tier sorcerers, the "Elemental Barrier."


    Clearly, this was just the visible guard force; who knows what else was hidden.


    This team was incredibly strong.


    ...


    The Dawn Camp was originally a war town that existed for hunting, and it didn''t have very spacious streets.


    The team drove in from the city gate and then stopped in front of the narrow streets.


    The knights knelt on one knee, and the maids opened the lotive door. An old nanny extended her hand to lead out a veiled young girl. She wore a wide-brimmed hat with a pink bow, a floral skirt, and simple leather boots. She wasn''t dressed extravagantly, but as soon as she appeared, a noble aura hit everyone, as if a ssh of color had appeared in a ck and white scene, attracting everyone''s attention.


    Su''en nced over, retracted his gaze, and decided not to look.


    It was troublesome to pay too much attention to the youngdies of ducal houses.


    Just then, there was a knock on his door.


    Opening it, to his surprise, it was Qiantiao, whom he hadn''t seen for days.


    Su''en greeted her, "Sister Qiantiao."


    "Mm-hmm."


    Qiantiao responded weakly, looking as if she had gambled for days and nights, entered the room, andined, "Ah, finally back..."


    With that, she went straight into the bathroom, stripped off her dirty clothes, and threw them out, "Please hang these up for me."


    "..."


    Su''en watched her bare back, his eyebrows raised helplessly. This gambling-addicteddy was bing less and less reserved. She used to cover up a bit, but now she didn''t even bother with a chest guard.


    The sound of water trickled in the bathroom,


    Su''en was focused on making his puppet in the room.


    Before long, Qiantiao came out of the shower.


    She was drying her hair with a towel and said, "Are you free tonight?"


    Su''en continued to tinker with his puppet, "Nothing much."


    Qiantiao asked, "Then change into some clothes and apany me to a party?"


    "A party?"


    Su''en looked up at her, sensing something different in her tone.


    Qiantiao replied, "Yes. That youngdy from the duke''s house has arrived, and naturally, the major families of the inner city want to hold a wee party. Also, there will be a lottery for hunting assignments at the party, and Rena is not in a good situation... Well, and also, you disguise yourself with a new identity, and help me fend off some trouble at the time..."


    "..."


    With that exnation, Su''en finally understood.


    Although Qiantiao was an executive of the Cross Society, she was also the second youngdy of the inner city''s Evelyn family. Few people in the outer city knew of her identity, but the major families of the inneryer were well aware.The gambling-addicted young woman also found those high-society social gatherings tiresome, yet she couldn''t neglect her family''s expectations.


    She could ignore other parties, but the one weing the duke''s daughter was an exception; every notable family and person had to attend. No one dared to disregard the duke''s authority.


    Listening to her, Su''en realized he was expected to be her... escort?


    He didn''t mind doing her this small favor, but it was the first time he''d heard her speak of her family matters, and he was somewhat curious.


    As they talked, he watched in astonishment as the gambling-addicted young woman pulled a set of cyan-ck court gowns from her storage ring.


    "Eh..."


    Su''en''s eyes widened in surprise.


    In his memory, aside from kimonos and battle armor, he had never seen her wear any other style of clothing.


    Oh, there were pajamas, and the times she wore nothing at all.


    But...


    A high-societydy''s elegant dress???


    She noticed his peculiar gaze and said irritably, "Hey... Su''en, what''s with that look? You think I want to wear this?"


    At a high-society party, walking in wearing a mboyant kimono heavy with societal connotations would probably attract more attention than Princess Theresa herself.


    Su''en smiled, "Ah... I think it looks quite nice."


    She ignored him, dried her hair, and began to dress in front of the mirror,ining as she put on the skirt, "Such a hassle to wear..."


    Su''en refrained from staring at her as she changed.


    But after a short wait, hearing no more movement, he nced over and his eyes lit up.


    Indeed, the gambling-addicted young woman with her hair elegantly up and dressed in a courtly gown looked surprisingly good!

 Chapter 189: Renas predicament

    Chapter 189: Rena''s predicament


    Su''en was seeing the gambling-addicteddy dressed up for the first time.


    Her long dress was made of dark aqua brocade with golden patterns, outlining her graceful figure with stunning curves. Layers of light gauze adorned her, like a gentle breeze swirling around, and with the faint heroic spirit between her brows, Su''en couldn''t help but take a second nce.


    Elegant and luxurious, exquisitely charming.


    The mirror in front of the gang leader reflected a woman transformed by her attire, instantly bing ady of high society.


    But Qian Tiao seemed ufortable in a dress, looking disdainfully at her reflection in the mirror, mumbling something indistinct.


    At that moment, she seemed to notice Su''en''s gaze, turned around, and asked, "Su''en, do you find anything odd about this?"


    Su''en smiled and simply replied, "Pretty."


    Hearing this, Qian Tiao pouted, "Don''t just stand there, hurry up and change. The banquet starts at nine, but we need to get there early to wait for the little princess."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en put away the puppet in his hand and stood up.


    With the Octopus Spear retracted, he didn''t bother changing clothes; with a shake of his body, his work attire suddenly transformed into a white suit, as if by magic.


    Qian Tiao, witnessing his instant change of clothes, figured out his trick and raised an eyebrow, "Yo... using spatial abilities just to change clothes?"


    Su''en chuckled, "Just a little trick I''ve been working on, a magical costume change."


    With that, he shook his feet, and shiny leather boots appeared on them.


    sping his hands together and pulling, a silver-handled cane appeared in his right hand.


    Feeling like something was missing, he adorned his left hand with a boutonniere and magically produced a top hat to ce on his head.


    After all this, he looked at the gambling-addicteddy and said, "Let''s go, we can leave now."


    Qian Tiao sized up Su''en from head to toe, a hint of teasing in her eyes, "Tsk, not a bad look for you~"


    Su''en shrugged with a smile and walked over, opening his arms. Qian Tiao naturally took his arm.


    Suddenly, she noticed something, "Wait."


    Su''en stopped and watched as Qian Tiao wrapped her arms around him, then straightened his cor and smoothed out the wrinkles.


    "There, that''s better~"


    Qian Tiao seemed pleased, a smile appearing on her pretty face.


    .......


    Before Princess Theresa''s arrival at the camp, the major families of the inner city had already received news of the banquet.


    Unicorn Inn, a property of the Reiss family.


    As the only daughter of the Reiss family''s main branch, Rena naturally came to the underground.


    In the penthouse suite, a maid was applying makeup to her.


    The old butler, with a grave expression, was reporting thetest situation: "Miss, things aren''t looking good. We''ve received word from the family that several branches are getting restless again. They''ve advised us to be careful, as they may act against you. And just this morning, therge hunting groups we had contracts with, ''Red Dragon'', ''Iron Eagle'', ''Holy Knight''... their leaders came to us in unison, refusing our employment."


    Rena''s brows furrowed with concern at the stream of bad news, "But haven''t we already signed employment contracts?"


    "Yes."


    The butler spoke gravely, "But they''ve paid a hefty penalty fee and torn up the contracts. I''m negotiating with the Hunters'' Guild, but to little effect... I''ve heard that the second and third branches have joined forces with the five major families of the camp to pay this penalty fee. Moreover, they''ve spread the word that they will suppress any hunting group that cooperates with us. So far, no other hunting group dares to contact us... Therefore, besides the personnel Miss brought from the family and the ''Cross Society'' hunting group, we don''t have many people we can rely on. It''s confirmed that all the major families of the inner city must participate in the hunt, which puts us at a disadvantage... The risk of this hunt is great, and I''m worried that these people are trying to iste and weaken the family''s power, then pressure the master, or even have bigger schemes..."


    Rena listened, her expression growing more solemn.


    After a pause, the butler continued, "Also, the rk family sent a message saying they could help us out of this predicament, probably to meet with you... But since you said not to meet, I refused. However, if possible, at this banquet, Miss could try to reach out to a few allies, some families that have been friendly with us in the past, who I think would be willing to help for the sake of the master..."


    Rena: "Okay. I understand."


    .......


    Su''en and Qian Tiao walked leisurely.


    Qian Tiao''sdylike dress, though truly pretty, was not to her liking.


    Su''en, with his arm around her waist, the two appeared affectionate.


    It wasn''t for show; the gambling-addicteddy really was ufortable in a dress.


    "This damn dress, I can''t even walk properly! Su''en, hold me closer, these high heels are so awkward..."


    As they walked, Su''en listened to Qian Tiao''sints about the dress more than once.


    Fortunately, the walk wasn''t too far.


    Along the way, they encountered many elegantly dressed youngdies and gentlemen, all seemingly heading to the banquet.


    Seeing Su''en and Qian Tiao, a striking pair, they couldn''t help but cast envious nces.


    The two chatted as they walked.


    Qian Tiao briefed Su''en, "Your identity now is ''Zolo''. This identity is registered with the Bounty Hunters'' Guild, a bounty hunter with some fame, but no one has seen your face... Later, you might meet some people from my family, and they''ll ask you a lot of questions... So, you understand?"


    "Uh-huh. I get it."


    Su''en listened, his lips curling into a bright smile.


    The identity arranged by Qian Tiao was naturally wless, as she put it, "The best disguise is a recement."


    This was better than any fake identity Su''en could have forged himself.


    As for the rest of her words, though Qian Tiao was vague, Su''en understood.


    Qian Tiao, a single woman of a certain age in the underworld, still couldn''t escape convention. When meeting family members, she needed a shield.


    "So, Qian Tiao, did you join the Cross Society to escape marriage?"


    "What else? Of course, that''s one reason. The rest, you should have guessed."


    "Qian Tiao, the word on the street is you don''t like men, is that true?"


    "Tch~ False! Not only do I not like men, but I also don''t like women; I only love knives!"


    "..."


    The two were already close, and these topics were discussed without reservation.


    As they walked, they suddenly saw a familiar face.


    A youngdy in an evening gown, surrounded by guards, emerged from an inn painted white with a "Unicorn" sign.


    With her beautiful straight ck hair, who else could it be but Rena?


    She seemed a bit distracted and noticed Su''en and Qian Tiao passing by.


    Qian Tiao greeted her, "Rena~"


    Rena, recognizing Qian Tiao after a moment''s hesitation, brightened up and hurried over, "Ah... Aunt Qian Tiao~"


    Qian Tiao walked over and ruffled her hair, "What''s on your mind, girl, looking so worried?"


    Hearing this, Rena tried to smile, but her face couldn''t hide her concern.


    She didn''t have much to hide from her family elders and said directly, "The butler just told me that the hunting groups we had contracts with have all broken them..."


    "Oh, that''s a small matter."


    Qian Tiao waved it off nonchntly after hearing this.


    She then introduced Su''en, "This is my friend ''Zolo'', a very capable bounty hunter. He''ll be helping out with the hunt this time."


    Rena nced at Su''en, who was arm-in-arm with her aunt, her curiosity evident.


    She remembered that her aunt had never been so intimate with a man before?


    But she didn''t dwell on it, curtsied gracefully, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Zolo. Please take care of me."


    Su''en nodded, "Sure."


    The two became a group, heading up the slope.


    ......


    The banquet was held at Storm Manor.


    To wee Princess Theresa, even the Hunters'' Guild had relocated.


    The major families of the camp pooled all their resources to renovate the thousand-year-old manor, turning it into a brand-new, luxurious estate.


    After presenting their invitations, the guards stayed at the manor''s entrance.


    Su''en, Qian Tiao, and Rena entered the manor.


    Unlike the previous dpidated and noisy scene, Storm Manor was nowpletely transformed.


    The garden was lush and vibrant, with brilliantly blooming flowers, and even the withered trees sprouted leafy branches. The greenery was meticulously groomed by gardeners, giving a refreshing feeling upon entering.


    This garden was likely the work of wood mages, using a great deal of resources to cultivate.


    Inside the building, it was even more splendid.


    But Su''en felt something odd; in this mansion, he always had the feeling of being in that cursed space he had seen before.


    Especially... theyout of the manor, anyone with knowledge of architecture would recognize it.


    The ce that should have been the banquet hall was still the banquet hall.


    The location of this banquet was exactly where the "Bloody Banquet" had taken ce.


    The banquet hall was brightly lit, with soothing music echoing through the hall, and elegantly dresseddies and gentlemen were chatting andughing with wine sses in hand.


    When Su''en and hispanions entered, they naturally attracted the attention of those present.


    But what was slightly awkward was that they were immediately ignored, not even receiving the most basic nod of acknowledgment.


    These were the young masters and mistresses of the major families of the inner city, who all knew each other and were even quite close.


    Qian Tiao hadn''t mingled in the upper social circles for a long time, and she didn''t care about these people, so it was normal for them to ignore her.


    But it was strange for someone like Rena, a top-tier heiress, to be treated this way.


    When the Reiss family was united, she was the center of attention wherever she went.


    But now, these people saw her and not only did no onee to greet her, but they also seemed to avoid her, their gazes evasive.


    Rena didn''t mind, but she was somewhat worried, whispering, "The butler said the situation in Old London isn''t good either. Father even had me bring almost all of our high-ranking guards, I wonder if there will be any problems..."


    Qian Tiao, unconcerned, replied, "Don''t worry... those guys won''t seed so easily."


    Rena: "Okay."


    Su''en nced around, identifying some people based on his memory.


    Standing next to Rena, even Su''en, an outsider, felt some inexplicable "malice." He raised his eyelids slightly, his lips forming a smile that was not quite a smile, "Rena''s got quite a few enemies..."


    It seemed that the uing hunt would be filled with enemies at every turn.


    However, Su''en didn''t take this malice to heart.


    With Qian Tiao around, the Reiss family''s situation wouldn''t copse, at least Rena wouldn''t die so easily.


    At worst, with Su''en''s current strength, unless a third-tier professional came along, there was really no threat to him.


    Having many enemies... in some ways, wasn''t necessarily a bad thing.


    .......


    "Tsk, Rena is in big trouble this time. I heard they can''t even hire a decent hunting group now, and with just the people they brought from the inner city, they won''tst long..."


    "Now that the major families of the inner city have united to iste them, no one dares to help them..."


    "I heard that Miss Sophia from the Reiss second branch and young master Danze from the Oliver family have been getting closetely, and they''re even nning to get engaged. Once they join forces, the inner city''sndscape is going to change..."


    "..."


    Su''en listened for a while and quickly understood.


    The Reiss family was indeed once a top-tier financial powerhouse, but after splitting into seven, their influence greatly diminished.


    Moreover, former allies had be enemies.


    The seven split families were naturally at odds with the main house, even enemies.


    And having offended everyone to death, those families that had kicked them when they were down naturally wanted to finish them off to avoid future troubles and to share in the spoils.After all, Rena had brought many direct-line experts this time, and she was the sole heir. A total annihtion in the ruins would undoubtedly directly affect the situation in the inner city.


    Internal strife and external threats, the situation was indeed worrisome.


    The trio paid no attention to the whispers of others and found a corner to talk.


    Without disturbances, there was also no need to deal with those so-called high society social interactions.


    With Qiantiao as her elder backing her, Rena''s worries were somewhat alleviated.


    However, as they chatted, Qiantiao''s "trouble" also arrived.


    Severaldies of high society came over with their sons, who wore expressions of displeasure.


    The middle-aged woman with arge emerald ne around her neck called out to Qiantiao, "Oh, Odilia, long time no see, what are you doing here~"


    This time, it wasn''t just the young masters and misses who came; many mothers worried about their precious sons and daughters being wronged also followed.


    Qiantiao looked at the neers, her brow clearly furrowing, but she still had to greet them, "Aunt Cami, long time no see."


    Su''en listened to the exchange between the two, ncing at Qiantiao out of the corner of his eye, his curiosity piqued.


    So this gambling-addicteddy''s full name was "Odilia Evelyn."


    And that morous, still-charming blonde woman was Qiantiao''s stepmother?


    That little boy with a defiant face was her half-brother by name?


    Then there were various rtives of the Evelyn family, aunts and uncles, and their children.


    What followed was a series of greetings.


    The high society was full of cumbersome formalities: greetings, returning salutations, introducing the younger generation, more greetings, more salutations, and various inquiries about each family''s elders, reminiscing about the elders'' rtionships...


    And then, the marriage urging began.


    "Odilia, you''re not getting any younger, stop mingling with themoners in the outer city. I heard you''re even involved with the gangs? Oh, heavens, if that gets out, people will say our Evelyn family has fallen..."


    "You don''t know, just yesterday I was chatting with Mrs. Albertini, and they mentioned you. They all say our Evelyn family has an old maid who can''t get married..."


    "Odilia, you''re not young anymore. Dr. Enzo from the Smith family is a fine young man; their family owns eight hospitals in District Five..."


    "..."


    It wasn''t just Qiantiao; Su''en felt overwhelmed just listening.


    Since arriving in this world, all he had encountered was fighting and killing.


    So there were still ordinary people...


    Listening to thisrge-scale marriage urging scene, which was no different from his previous life, Su''en finally understood why Qiantiao had brought him along.


    Qiantiao directly interrupted the increasingly unreliable introductions and pulled Su''en to stand up, "Oh, I almost forgot to introduce, this is Mr. ''Zolo.'' My friend."


    Su''en also took off his hat and performed a greeting, "Zolo Cerna, it''s an honor to meet all you beautifuldies."

 Chapter 190: Exchange

    Chapter 190: Exchange


    Listening to Su''en''s self-introduction, the women all swept their appraising gazes over him in unison.


    In fact, they had already noticed the man of extraordinary temperament by Qianjiao''s side.


    But because he seemed young, they hadn''t given it much thought.


    Now, hearing Qianjiao''s special introduction as "my friend," they all switched to the kind of look an elder would give to a prospective son-inw.


    One of the women asked, "The Serna family? Oh, the Serna Biological Company in District One?"


    Su''en naturally had to y his role as a tool, shaking his head: "No, not that one."


    Serna wasn''t a big name in the inner city, at least not among themonly known major families, and despite racking their brains, the women couldn''t figure out Su''en''s origins.


    Qianjiao''s aunt then tentatively asked, "What profession does Mr. Zolo engage in?"


    Su''en replied, "I''m a bounty hunter."


    Another woman, still not giving up, asked, "The inner city''s Order of Bounty Knights?"


    Su''en had heard of it; it was an organization the inner city nobles yed with. He corrected, "No, a bounty hunter from the outer city."


    With that statement, the atmosphere immediately cooled.


    Thedies'' gazes on their faces instantly became odd, although their cultivation prevented them from showing any strangeness.


    But the children beside them couldn''t help it; hearing Su''en''s profession, several of the youngsters cast looks of disgust and disdain.


    Outer city bounty hunters were seen as even more lowly than bodyguards in the eyes of the inner city''s high society, those who licked blood from the knife''s edge, who normally wouldn''t appear in their field of vision.


    It wasn''t out of malice, but rather the deep-rooted perception of outer city people in their upbringing made them think Qianjiao had found a little ruffian.


    Mrs. Cami turned to Qianjiao and asked, "By the way, Otilia, have you known Mr. Zolo for a long time?"


    "Yes. We''re living together now."


    Qianjiao seemed to want just this effect, intimately linking arms with Su''en, her smile brimming.


    Hearing they were "living together," the expressions of the noblewomen grew even uglier.


    They didn''t make a scene on the spot, and Mrs. Cami could only pull Qianjiao aside: "Oh, Otilia,e here for a moment, I have something to tell you."


    ...


    Qianjiao probably didn''t want to go.


    But she was still sternly pulled away by thedies for a talking-to.


    With the people gone, Su''en was happy to have some peace.


    His keen hearing picked up everything clearly.


    The noblewomen didn''t seem to want to hide it, perhaps intentionally wanting him to hear, talking as they walked.


    "Oh, Otilia, you actually found an outer city bounty hunter? My goodness, I can assure you, the family will never allow you to be with such a person."


    "You''re being too reckless! If this gets out now, our Evelyn family will definitely be theughingstock of the upper circles..."


    "Also, don''t get involved in the Reiss family''s affairs this time. Although I know that''s your sister''s bloodline. But I was warned before I came this time... Besides, it''s the Reiss family''s internal matter, it''s not good for us outsiders to interfere... Even if our Evelyn family loses everything, we can''t change the situation..."


    "..."


    Su''en listened and felt a headacheing on.


    Every other sentence was about "family honor" and "family interests"...


    No wonder Qianjiao didn''t want to go back.


    With her temperament, if it weren''t for rtives, anyone else nagging like this would probably have already drawn a de.


    One sh to silence a busybody, two to silence a pair.


    And the world would be at peace.


    ...


    Qianjiao was probably going to be tied up for a while, leaving Su''en and another person behind.


    After all, "Zolo" and Rena weren''t familiar, and they didn''t have much to say.


    The atmosphere was slightly awkward.


    And both were the kind of people not very wee at the party, with nowhere else to go.


    Rena thought she should find a topic and asked, "Mr. Zolo is a bounty hunter?"


    Su''en nodded: "Yes."


    Rena asked again, "Have you heard of Mr. Su''en?"


    Su''en didn''t know why she suddenly brought up himself and said, "SS-ss wanted criminal Su''en?"


    Rena nodded, "Yes."


    Then, the two fell silent again.


    Su''en curiously asked, "Miss Rena, why do you ask this?"


    Rena thought for a moment, her tone hesitant: "Well... although Mr. Su''en hasmitted crimes, he''s not a vicious person. He saved me before... My aunt has high standards, she says you''re a very capable bounty hunter, so you must be very good... If Mr. Zolo encounters that Su''en, could you please show mercy... What I mean is, can you not harm him, maybe there''s some misunderstanding, he deserves a fair trial..."


    Her tone was contradictory.


    Even somewhat incoherent.


    Clearly, in her mind, "all wanted criminals are criminals," but this shed with her own perception.


    She thought Su''en was a good person, but she didn''t deny the fact that he hadmitted crimes.


    "..."


    Su''en listened and couldn''t help but smile wryly.


    Was she actually pleading for him?


    The information Rena had was probably all from the wanted posters.


    The official wanted posters described him with words like "vicious" and "irredeemable."


    And she was actually speaking up for him?


    Although... her heart was in the right ce.


    The current "SS-ss wanted Su''en" was an existence that most bounty hunters would avoid.


    Let him off the hook?


    If it were another bounty hunter, it''s not clear who would be letting whom off.


    He agreed anyway: "Okay."


    Rena, hearing this, politely smiled: "Thank you."


    ...


    Two people who weren''t very familiar didn''t have much to talk about.


    The topic was over.


    But it wasn''t long before a beautiful blonde girl quietly approached.


    Su''en had seen this blonde girl before.


    At the Moon Inn in front of the inner city during thatmotion, she seemed to be called Yulia, Rena''s best friend.


    As Yulia passed by, she didn''t even nce at Rena, and said urgently, "Rena, I''ve heard about your situation, sorry I can''t help you, my father sent someone to warn me, the family won''t let me get involved in your Seventh House affairs. I wanted to find you some help, but those mercenaries and wild hunt groups, as soon as they hear it''s you, no matter how much they''re offered, they refuse to cooperate. I only have a few personal guards who follow my orders, tomorrow I''ll have theme to you, you canmand them..."


    She said, looking at Rena with an apologetic face, "Sorry, I can''t talk to you more. Otherwise, it will be very troublesome."


    Rena watched her best friend hurry away, a trace of destion crossing her face: "Thank you."


    Su''en listened from the side.


    Being able to lend a hand at this point really counted as having loyalty.


    ...


    Su''en was attending this kind of high society party for the first time, probably to witness the warmth and coldness of high society tonight.


    It wasn''t long after Yulia left that a handsome brown-haired young man came over.


    Su''en remembered him; this guy was one of the five major families of the camp, the rk family''s young master, Eli rk.


    A friend of Danze Junior from the Oliver family.


    One of the masterminds behind the Reiss family''s current predicament.


    Eli, the young master, came over with a wine ss in hand, a light smile on his face, and greeted Rena, "Miss Rena, long time no see."


    Rena didn''t seem to want to deal with this ill-intentioned guy, but out of etiquette, she nodded.


    Eli, the young master: "Miss Rena, oh... I''m sorry to hear you''ve recently encountered some trouble. If you think we''re friends, you can tell me..."


    Rena had no intention of wasting words with someone with ill intentions and interrupted him, "Sorry, not necessary."


    "It seems you''re not in a good mood..."


    Eli, hearing this, shed a look of expected amusement, but then said, "Now that Princess Theresa has arrived, I''ve got word that in three days at thetest, you, me... everyone will have to go into the ruins for a wild hunt. I hear Miss Rena hasn''t recruited a hunting team yet?"


    He paused, his eyes mocking as he looked over Rena''s delicate doll-like face, "Actually, we could exchange some ideas, maybee up with a solution. If you don''t mind, after the party, I''d like to invite Miss Rena for a drink, I wonder..."


    His tone sounded like a question, but it was actually very aggressive.


    Rena''s face already showed anger, and she didn''t give this hypocritical young master any face, saying coldly, "Sorry, I don''t have time."


    Su''en, standing by, also raised an eyebrow.


    That''s the trouble with so-called high society.


    You know it''s you who did it, you can''t tear your face off, you have no evidence, you can''t fight, there''s too much to consider.


    Unlike in the gang, where everyone is barefoot, I don''t bother with you, you dare to provoke, I dare to kill.


    Eli shrugged, the gloom in his eyes shing away, suddenly no longer hiding it, and sneered, "Heh, I gave you a chance, you don''t want it, I won''t force it. I just hope Miss Rena you don''te to me on your knees begging..."


    If he could get the daughter of the Reiss family''s main house, he could gain more than by destroying it.


    Too bad... this woman doesn''t know what''s good for her!


    And not far away, Danze Junior and the other young masters and misses were pointing andughing.


    Seemingly making bets.


    Eli, the young master, lost and was humiliated.


    ...


    Rena, hearing that, blushed with anger.


    Her upbringing in manners and cultivation prevented her from returning the venomous words, so she just turned her head away, no longer paying attention.


    It was a negotiation that was going to end in failure, and it looked like it was going to end badly.


    But Su''en didn''t expect that as a bystander eating melons, he would also be affected.


    Perhaps because he was rebuffed by Rena, Eli also had some anger.


    He looked at Su''en and asked coldly, "This friend looks unfamiliar, eh? Which family''s young master are you?"


    The threatening tone was unmistakable.


    I don''t allow anyone to help the Reiss main house, and you dare to go against the wind?


    "..."


    Hearing this, Su''en didn''t even look up,pletely ignoring him.


    You high society people have to consider social etiquette, I''m just a gangster.


    Being ignored by Rena was one thing, after all, they were on the same level. Now being ignored by Su''en, Eli, the young master, felt a great insult.


    He looked at the two people who were alone, made up his mind about something, and said sarcastically, "Yo... Miss Rena, is this the help you found?"


    Rena seemed not to want to involve Su''en and quickly turned back to say something, "It has nothing to do with Mr. Zolo, he is..."


    But at that moment, Su''en directly interrupted her, bursting out his name: "I''m Zolo."


    Might as well be enemies if we''re going to be enemies.


    Let the hatred max out.


    Eli, hearing this, thought for a moment, not recalling anyone with that name: "Yo, it seems you don''t know me?"


    He figured if he didn''t recognize him, then he definitely wasn''t from the inner city''s top families, so there was nothing to worry about.


    Even if he was wrong, he had to lie down now!


    He didn''t know that he had provoked someone more ferocious than the top financial magnates.


    "I don''t know you."


    Su''en nced at him with contempt and added, "So, you have something to say?"


    That effectively killed the conversation.


    If they don''t know you, there''s no point in showing off.


    Eli, the young master, had a face like he had swallowed a dead rat, his face twitching, and he didn''t know how to respond.


    After a long struggle, he finally squeezed out a few words with a fierce look, "Zolo, is it? Heh, you''re something. Just don''t fall into my hands..."


    Su''en felt the tangible murderous intent and nced at him.


    But he didn''t care.


    No one dared to make a move at this party.


    ...


    Eli, the young master, left in a huff, and Rena turned back to Su''en, full of apologies, "Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Enzo."


    Su''en shook his head and smiled, "It''s nothing."


    Rena thought Su''en really didn''t know that Eli, the young master, and exined anxiously, "No, that was the young master of the rk family... it''s troublesome to provoke him..."


    Su''en shook his head indifferently, "I know."


    "Ah?"


    Rena was a bit puzzled, knowing and still... offending?Not even the bounty hunters from the outer city dare to provoke him, let alone those from the inner city.


    She wanted to say more, but just then, the entire banquet hall fell silent.


    Everyone looked up to see a young girl in avish princess gown, surrounded by a group of guards, making her entrance into the banquet.


    Naturally, she was the protagonist of the evening, Princess Theresa of the Duke''s estate.


    They had met briefly in the afternoon when Princess Theresa was wearing a full-face veil.


    Now, although still veiled, the sheer fabric only covered half of her face, allowing a glimpse of her exquisitely beautiful features.


    In an instant, the gazes of the inner city''s young masters anddies were captivated by her.


    Su''en, however, was not overly astonished. He had already peeled away the memory fragment of Princess Theresa''s appearance from a previous fifth-order memory.


    But seeing the memory and the person herself were two different things.


    "This one''s charm is quite high..."


    For some reason, Su''en always felt that there was something eerily familiar about Theresa.


    It wasn''t just her face, but a certain sense of familiarity, as if... he recognized a unique aura about her, or something of the sort...


    And when he saw the butterfly brooch pinned to the chest of the girl in the princess gown, his pupils suddenly constricted.


    It was identical to a brooch he had once buried in a certain cavern!

 Chapter 191: A thousand threads do not make a thousand

    Chapter 191: A thousand threads do not make a thousand


    ps. First draft, silent reading after twenty minutes.


    Upon seeing the ck butterfly brooch on Princess Theresa''s chest, Su''en''s gaze faltered.


    He immediately realized that things might be moreplicated than he had anticipated.


    The more he thought about it, the more he felt a chilling sensation.


    On his first day after crossing over, he had encountered a ghostly young girl named "Pestoya" in this very manor, in this very banquet hall.


    That young girl had given him a butterfly brooch just like this one.


    Su''en had once used the All-Seeing Eye to detect "???" information within the brooch and, to be safe, had hidden it in a corner of the catbs.


    Looking back, he still felt that his decision to hide the brooch was absolutely necessary.


    This was a world of mysterious powers.


    Every time the All-Seeing Eye identified "???" information, it involved something extremely high-end.


    Although Su''en didn''t know what it specifically was, it was likely some indescribable entity.


    Moreover, Su''en was no longer the naive neer he was on his first day after crossing over.


    He now knew that the people in the cursed space, no matter how real, were either remnants or illusions.


    Typically, even ghostly entities were NPCs with less intelligence.


    But after experiencing so many cursed spaces and encountering numerous monsters, Su''en realized that "Pestoya" he had met was on apletely different level of intelligence.


    Emotions, dialogue, logical thinking...


    "Pestoya" was just like a real person!


    This made Su''en even more certain that the level of the cursed space in the "Storm Manor" was unimaginably high.


    Or very special.


    After all, Pestoya had another identity; she was Sir Isaac''s own daughter!


    Now that Su''en had learned some of the background of Dawn City, he felt even more certain that this strange story must involve some secrets from a thousand years ago.


    So the appearance of that brooch here...


    Was even more bizarre!


    .......


    The moment he saw Princess Theresa, Su''en quickly averted his gaze and subtly shifted his position to avoid being noticed by her.


    Seeing the brooch, he reflexively thought of two possibilities.


    1. The brooch he had buried was discovered and dug up by someone, and it was just an ordinary cursed object;


    2. There was a big problem with the brooch;


    Su''en''s way of thinking always leaned towards the worst-case scenario.


    He chose option 2.


    And now, the likelihood that there was a problem with the brooch seemed very high.


    He had been suspecting what it was in the Dawn Relic that could attract the princess of the grand ducal family to risking in person.


    Now it seemed that either she had discovered some secret from the brooch, like a treasure map.


    But even if it was a treasure map, there was no need for her toe personally.


    After all, the entire underground world was her family''s mine; sending someone would suffice.


    Or there was some reason she had toe.


    And urgently so.


    Whichever it was, Su''en felt it was best not to get involved.


    Observing the aloof aura of Theresa, he also vaguely understood what that familiar feeling was all about.


    ......


    When Theresa made her appearance, all eyes were focused on her.


    Even within the inner city, very few of the great tycoons had seen the princess.


    After all, which mining magnate''s daughter would regrly delve into her own mines?


    Most people present would think Theresa''s aloofness was the demeanor of a high noble.


    But who could imagine that the ducal mansion in the inner city might just be for show?


    The asional descent into the mines for inspection by the princess was taken as a grace by these people.


    After entering the banquet hall, Theresa didn''t say a word.


    But it was this attitude of indifference that excited the inner city crowd below.


    Ah... this was true nobility.


    Each one generouslyvished their praise, sounding like whispers, but their voices seemed to wish for theirpliments to reach the princess''s ears.


    "Oh, Princess Theresa is so beautiful, like an angel..."


    "To see the princess with my own eyes today, even if it meant going to my death instead ofing to this relic, I would not hesitate..."


    "Yes. If she would allow me to kiss her toes, it would be the honor of my lifetime..."


    "Ah! My Valen family will always be the most loyal servant of the Duke and Princess Theresa..."


    "..."


    Su''en listened and felt something odd in his heart.


    Attending such an upper-ss social gathering for the first time, this culture of ttering the lord made him somewhat ufortable.


    However, fortunately, it seemed that Theresa had no intention of dining and drinking here. As soon as she arrived, she went straight to the main topic.


    Herdy-in-waiting announced: "The purpose of summoning everyone to the Dawn Relic by Her Highness the Princess is already clear. This mission requires everyone to explore the relic and find certain things..."


    She rattled off a bunch.


    Listening to thedy-in-waiting, Su''en quickly analyzed some key information in his mind.


    Pioneering, finding things.


    It meant that Theresa wasn''t sure where the "things" were and needed to pioneer the entire relic.


    Then there were tasks and rewards.


    Listening to thedy-in-waiting, it seemed that whichever family found what the princess wanted would be favored by the ducal mansion and be the number one family in the inner city.


    ......


    "All major families must arrive at the core urban area of the relic on time and ording to the route..."


    Before long, thedy-in-waiting finished speaking.


    She waved her hand and called out, "Draw lots!"


    As her words fell, a group of servants carrying tters came forward.


    The heads of the major families stepped forward to draw lots, dividing the relic into more than thirty routes like cutting a cake, and whichever route was drawn was theirs.


    Coincidentally, when the young girl Rena went to draw, she got number sixteen.


    Number fifteen was the Oliver family, and number seventeen was the rk family...


    Meaning that on the way to the hunt, they would be nked by enemies.


    Compared to Rena''s troubled face, Su''en chuckled to himself upon seeing this: "These guys still have some tricks up their sleeves, managing to tamper with the drawing of lots..."


    But it was just as well.


    He was still thinking about the treasure in Danze Junior''s hands.


    This hunting expedition would be fraught with danger, and it was highly likely that the young master would bring it along.


    After the drawing of lots, Princess Theresa left the scene.


    Su''en also inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.


    Only then did the feeling that had been causing a dull pain in his brow disappear.


    Although he had only seen a familiar butterfly brooch, he still felt an inexplicable palpitation.


    .......


    After the princess left, everyone thought the formal banquet would follow.


    But unexpectedly, at that moment, a group of maids carrying silver-covered tters walked in, starting to serve the "main course."


    As the main course was served, a strong smell of blood immediately swept through the entire banquet hall.


    Everyone looked at each other, thinking it was some kind of fresh "sashimi."


    Princess Theresa had already left, and the people at the party were no longer so restrained.


    Someone curiously lifted the cover of a tter to take a look.


    All eyes were focused on it.


    But to their shock, they found a simply marinated bloody head!


    Not all inner city young masters and misses had seen bloodshed, and at this sight, they turned pale with fright, instantly eximing. But since it was the temporary residence of Miss Theresa, they all covered their mouths, and no one dared to scream out loud.


    Someone recognized the origin of the head, tremblingly said: "This... isn''t this the youngest son of Mr. Marino of the ''Tessali family''?"


    Upon opening the other tters, they saw that the Tessali family was all ounted for.


    From old to young, the heads of more than twenty direct members of the family were all present.


    A banquet of heads...


    This terrifying scene stunned everyone.


    Looking at the table full of heads, these inner city young masters and misses immediately understood something.


    This was a warning to scare the monkeys.


    But they didn''t understand why the "Tessali family" was suddenly exterminated.


    "Why... why is this..."


    "Yes, weren''t Mr. Tessali and his family actively responding to the hunt? They also sent quite a few people this time..."


    "Could it be a mistake, or is there another reason?"


    "..."


    There are no secrets in the upper-ss social circles.


    At this time, a woman stood up and revealed the truth of the matter.


    "Ah... I probably know what''s going on. Mrs. Tessali was always reluctant to let her son join the hunt, and then, hoping for luck, she temporarily reced him with the son of a bodyguard''s family as a stand-in. She even advised me to do the same..."


    As she spoke, thedy did not forget to express her own stance: "I warned them not to y tricks, and now look what happened. They should have just followed the Duke''s orders properly, but they had to make it like this."


    With that, everyone understood.


    What they thought was a wless n was all under the control of the ck Tower.


    This also made those young masters and misses who had originally nned to y tricks during the hunt feel a chill on their necks.


    Princess Theresa''s tough attitude shattered any illusions they had.


    For a moment, the grand banquet hall was silent.


    But...


    These people had worked hard even if they had no merits.


    As subjects of Duke Raphael, those who could stand here were at least prominent figures in the inner city.


    To warn them with such a brutal and tyrannical method?


    It didn''t seem like a crime worthy of death, yet the ducal mansion showed no mercy, erasing an entire major family just like that?


    The crowd hadplex expressions, filled with worry, anger, confusion, indignation...


    Yet no one dared to speak out.


    But the more top-tier families in the inner city knew the terror of the ck Tower.


    Especially those who had heard bits and pieces about the "rebellion" fifty years ago from their elders, they dared not speak.


    .......


    Su''en watched from a distance, and his shock was no less than that of the others.


    However, it wasn''t the bloody banquet of heads that shocked him, but the method, which felt eerily familiar to him!


    The same banquet hall, the same bloody methods...


    It was as if Su''en recalled the scene from the past, thinking to himself: "Why does Theresa''s method feel like Pestoya''s... Could it be a coincidence?"


    For a moment, rted clues in his mind connected.


    He vaguely felt that he might have guessed part of the truth of the matter.


    But some aspects contradicted each other, and something didn''t seem quite right.


    For example, the most critical question: why would Sir Isaac have burned his daughter to death?


    Suddenly, a spection emerged in his mind that he found hard to believe: "Or perhaps... the Pestoya I met wasn''t Sir Isaac''s daughter at all? If not, then who was she?"


    The only certainty now was that there was definitely something wrong with the butterfly brooch.


    .......


    As Su''en''s thoughts were still drifting, at that moment, Pestoya approached from somewhere.


    The only necessary part of the party had ended, and there was no need for them to stay.


    She called out to Su''en and the other: "Let''s go, we''re heading back too."


    Saying so, Pestoya naturally took Su''en''s arm.


    The three of them headed down the road.


    "We drew number fifteen, and we''ll be leaving the day after tomorrow at thetest. But we haven''t recruited a hunting team or mercenaries yet..."


    "It''s not a big problem. The people from the Cross Society will be at your disposal when the timees. And Mr. Zolo will also go with you; he''s very capable. If you have any problems, just ask him..."


    "..."


    Su''en listened to the two women''s conversation on the side, unable to interject.


    Walking along, he became curious about something: had this gambling-addicted woman gotten used to wearing thisdylike dress? He hadn''t heard herin.


    Before long, they arrived at the "Unicorn Hotel."Su''en had intended to return to the Rose Hotel for a good rest, but Rena had also invited him along.


    He couldn''t refuse and followed her upstairs.


    The hotel was luxurious, with exquisite decor.


    There were two suites on the top floor, and since Miss Rena was staying in one, no one else was arranged to stay there.


    The suite was several timesrger than the hotel room Su''en had stayed in before,plete with a bathtub.


    It seemed that Qian Tiao was quite happy, as the two women took up one room.


    Su''en went to the other.


    .......


    The bed in the room was veryfortable, soft to sit on.


    Thinking that he would be hunting in the wilderness soon and probably wouldn''t be able to bathe for a long time, Su''en also took a quick shower.


    It turned out that inspiration and thought are most active while bathing.


    With bubbles on his head, as the hot water cascaded over him, it was like weak currents of electricity stimting his thoughts, making his senses even clearer.


    On the way back, he had been thinking about the "butterfly brooch."


    He still hadn''t figured it out and decided not to dwell on it.


    His thoughts shifted to Rena next door.


    "Rena''s situation is really quite dire. From what she said, it seems like several branches of the family and a few of the Oliver families in the inner city are nning to thoroughly deal with the main branch this time. But her father has such arge share of the business in the inner city, he must have more tricks up his sleeve..."


    Su''en pondered.


    Maybe it was the ck Tower targeting the main branch of the Reiss family?


    He knew that Qian Tiao was a member of the "Mirror Organization" and suspected that the Reiss family was definitely rted to "Mirror."


    But if that were the case, it should be the Umbre Organization making the move.


    Or perhaps, it was simply because the Duke''s Mansion didn''t want to see toorge a conglomerate emerge, so they took action?


    So, was themotion within the great Oliver family tacitly permitted?


    Su''en''s thoughts raced.


    .......


    The room was soundproofed well, and he couldn''t hear any noise from next door.


    But listening to the faint sound of water flowing within the walls, Su''en guessed that someone next door was taking a bath.


    Probably Qian Tiao.


    Su''en thought.


    With a bathtub, that gambling-addicteddy would probably enjoy a good soak.


    But suddenly, a sh of insight struck him.


    "Eh! Something''s not right. Qian Tiao has been acting a bit strange since we left the manor..."


    Su''en suddenly thought of something, frowning.


    If it had been back in Old Lingdun, he might not have noticed anything.


    But having spent so much time with Qian Tiao recently, he was all too familiar with her temperament.


    When they left the manor, although they were holding hands and appeared affectionate, Su''en had distinctly noticed something subtly different.


    At this moment, with a sh of insight, he finally realized what had been missing all along.


    The soft touch was gone!


    They were very familiar with each other, and Qian Tiao had no reservations around Su''en. On a normal day, her carefree nature would have her clinging to him.


    But just now, she had maintained a very rational distance.


    "Was that ''Qian Tiao'' just now not the real Qian Tiao?"


    Su''en thought of a possibility that terrified him.


    Yet he was also puzzled.


    "No, that can''t be right! The aura, the figure, they were exactly the same. Even the best disguise couldn''t achieve that level."


    He was confident that his perception was sharp enough that he couldn''t have been holding a fake Qian Tiao without noticing.


    And he felt that the gambling-addicteddy''s strength had reached the fourth tier; she couldn''t have been silently reced by someone else.


    But then a thought shed through his mind.


    Thinking of the bizarre appearance of the "butterfly brooch,"


    Or perhaps some special ability-sealing item...


    It might not be impossible to create a convincing fake!


    "A special talent, or perhaps a profession skilled in disguise?"


    With this thought, Su''en was no longer calm.


    The more he thought about it, the more suspicious the "Qian Tiao" from before seemed.


    It was a detail that others wouldn''t notice!


    ........


    Once this year started, things became increasingly uncontroble.


    If things were as he suspected, the problem was huge!


    Who would impersonate Qian Tiao?


    It must be that the ck Tower had discovered some clue and confirmed her identity.


    They came fishing for her!


    It wasn''t just targeting one person, but targeting the "Mirror Organization"!


    But as soon as this thought urred, Su''en considered too many strange possibilities...


    What if he was overthinking it?


    To rify his suspicions, Su''en decided to personally verify the situation.

 Chapter 192: Alibi

    Chapter 192: Alibi


    Su''en donned his clothes and stepped out of his room.


    The moment he appeared in the corridor, he sensed a gaze observing him.


    No hostility, just caution.


    "Quite strong, must be Rena''s shadow guard..."


    Su''en perceived his surroundings and, apart from that gaze, there was no one else.


    He didn''t show any signs of abnormality and walked straight to the next door, knocking on it.


    Knock! Knock! Knock!


    "Who is it?"


    "Miss Rena, it''s me, Zolo."


    Soon after, the door opened.


    Rena, dressed in a homely gown, greeted him with a smile: "Mr. Zolo. Are you looking for my aunt? She''s taking a bath."


    "Yes. I just remembered something urgent I need to discuss with her..."


    Su''en nodded gently at Rena, but his gaze swept into the room, pausing before he added, "May Ie in and wait for her?"


    Although Rena felt it was somewhat impolite to let a strange man into her room at night, hearing it was "urgent," she consented: "Pleasee in."


    After closing the door, the watchful gaze from outside disappeared.


    ......


    Su''en entered but did not wait on the sofa.


    Listening to the sound of water from the bathroom, he looked over and called out, "Aunt Qiantiao, when will you be done? I need to talk to you."


    Whether it was just coincidence or not, the sound of water stopped abruptly as Su''en entered.


    At that moment, "Qiantiao," wearing a bathrobe, emerged from the bathroom.


    She looked at Su''enzily and asked, "What''s up, kid Su''en?"


    Her demeanor showed no signs of abnormality.


    Su''en, observing hernguid expression, even began to doubt his own suspicions.


    However, upon seeing the tightly wrapped chest under the bathrobe, he felt something was off again.


    A gambling-addicted woman wouldn''t be so guarded against him.


    Especially the way the belt was tied... it was not Qiantiao''s usual style!


    "Um... indeed, there''s something..."


    As Su''en spoke, his hand did not hesitate, and he suddenly drew his gun.


    He aimed the muzzle at "Qiantiao''s" head, ready to blow her brains out at the slightest movement, "Who are you?"


    As he spoke, his left hand reached into the void, and an invisible reaper with a scythe appeared beside him.


    Su''en had expected this "Qiantiao" to argue, but instead, she just looked at him indifferently and raised an eyebrow: "Oh... caught on, have you?"


    Rena, witnessing Su''en suddenly raising his gun, was about to say something when she suddenly lost consciousness and copsed onto the soft carpet.


    Su''en caught this out of the corner of his eye and was shocked.


    He was horrified to realize that he hadn''t seen how the woman opposite him had made her move!


    A sense of fatal danger overwhelmed him, and he didn''t even think to pull the trigger.


    It was as if she had suddenly be wless, and even with a scythe and a gun in hand, any attack would fail.


    He had felt this once before.


    It was when Mr. ck and his group were ambushing a fifth-tier.


    Only when facing those top professionals did he feel such suppression.


    This woman...


    Very strong!


    Extremely strong!


    "Qiantiao" remainedposed, ignoring the threat of the scythe and the gun, and walked straight to the sofa, casually inviting Su''en to sit: "Sit."


    From beginning to end, there was no sense of hostility.


    Suddenly, Su''en''s mind cleared of certain thoughts, his tense nerves rxed, and he put away his gun and the reaper.


    He looked at the woman on the sofa, sighed slightly, and ventured, "Mr. Mirror?"


    Even if she wasn''t, the person before him was definitely a member of the Mirror organization.


    "Qiantiao" looked at Su''en and smiled nomittally, "How did you guess?"


    Su''en, hearing her tone, had aplex look in his eyes.


    He had never imagined that the one impersonating Qiantiao would be the leader of the Mirror organization.


    Mr. Mirror...


    Mirror?


    So, her ability was to mimic reflections?


    Although he didn''t know whether Mr. Mirror''s true form was male or female, judging by her demeanor, as long as she wasn''t a cross-dresser in daily life, she was likely a woman.


    Su''en: "I noticed some differences between you and Qiantiao..."


    "I see..."


    Mr. Mirror heard this exnation and a meaningful smile appeared on her lips.


    Su''en then asked, "What brings you here?"


    He used a respectful tone, as he was almost certain that Mr. Mirror was not young.


    After all, she was the teacher whom Mr. ck referred to with respect!


    He was also curious about why Mr. Mirror was here and where the real Qiantiao had gone.


    Mr. Mirror spoke directly, "The leader of the Umbre organization, ''Coroner'' Severus Gerald, hase personally. His cognitive abilities have awakened, making him very skilled at solving cases. Due to some clues, Qiantiao and the Reyes family are now under suspicion. So, we need to deal with this trouble tonight."


    "Qiantiao is under suspicion?"


    Concise and clear, Su''en immediately understood.


    He thought of the bespectacled middle-aged man from the casino murder and his expression grew solemn.


    Although it was just suspicion, for the Reyes family, it was an absolute disaster.


    With such a major incident and the death of a fifth-tier professional, a mere "suspicion" was enough to annihte a n, considering the ck Tower''s attitude towards the major families of the inner city.


    Moreover, if Qiantiao was truly exposed, it would mean he would be exposed as well.


    If it weren''t for the fact that this big shot was sitting in front of him so calmly, Su''en knew that upon hearing this news, he would already be nning his escape.


    Mr. Mirror picked up the tea on the table and took a sip: "You''ll know soon. It''s not too troublesome."


    .......


    Hearing Mr. Mirror''s tone, Su''en breathed a sigh of relief.


    But at that moment, something unexpected happened!


    He suddenly felt a ring on his finger heating up, and his face changed drastically.


    This was a special signal he had with Sabina; ordinary information would be transmitted through other channels, but if this alchemical ring heated up, it meant an emergency.


    Su''en nced at Mr. Mirror, who was calmly sipping tea, and spoke rapidly, "I''ve received a message from an inside source, the Umbre organization ising for me!"


    Upon hearing this, Mr. Mirror continued to sip her tea leisurely, as if she had known all along, and said lightly, "Hmm. We''ve been followed since we left the manor."


    Su''en thought to himself that it was indeed so, and said nothing more.


    At that moment, Rena, who had copsed on the floor, slowly opened her eyes. She seemed to havepletely forgotten what happened before she fainted and looked around in confusion, "What... what happened to me?"


    Su''en, quick to react, dashed over and helped her up very gentlemanly, "You''ve probably been overworking yourselftely, you just fainted..."


    Then the young Miss Rena really believed she had just fainted, "Oh, I have indeed been getting very little sleep."


    She murmured with a frown, stood up, and didn''t think much of it, politely replying, "Thank you. I''ve embarrassed myself in front of you."


    Su''en nodded in response.


    After a pause, Rena looked at Su''en and asked, "By the way, Mr. Zolo, I remember you came to see my aunt because you had something urgent, right?"


    Hearing this, Su''en felt slightly awkward: "This..."


    The atmosphere in the room, with three people, suddenly became a bit strange.


    He had initially suspected the "fake Qiantiao" and wanted to confront her.


    Now the situation had reversed, and although he was sure she was a fake, she was almost as good as the real one.


    Moreover, not knowing who this "fake Qiantiao" was would have been one thing,


    but now that he knew she was the leader of the Umbre organization, he dared not act rashly.


    Unexpectedly, "Qiantiao" patted the spot next to her, "Zolo,e sit here. Help me dry my hair..."


    Hearing this, Su''en walked over and quickly got into character.


    His mentality was excellent; if the big shot called, he would sit.


    He plopped down next to "Qiantiao," and the two of them were as intimate as ever.


    After all, it seemed like trouble was brewing tonight.


    Being closer to the big shot was safer.


    He guessed that the big shot was creating an alibi for Aunt Qiantiao.


    .......


    Su''en casually made up an excuse to gloss over the earlier incident.


    The three chatted intermittently, and before long, there was a sudden, urgent knock on the door.


    "Miss, something terrible has happened!"


    Rena immediately went to open the door.


    At that moment, an elderly butler-like figure was holding a box, speaking urgently, "Someone just delivered Miss Yulia''s head."


    "What?!"


    Rena''s face turned pale at the news.


    She looked at the blood-stained box in the butler''s hands, trembling, "This... she..."


    "This old butler is a third-tier professional, the Reyes family indeed has some depth."


    Su''en''s eyes narrowed slightly as he observed the imposing old butler, guessing that this must be the expert who had been secretly protecting Rena outside her room.


    Yulia... seemed to be the blonde girl who wanted to help Rena at the party?


    Unexpectedly, she had been killed.


    The butler continued, "Earlier, I heard fighting noises from the ''Blue Moon Inn.'' Yulia''s guards didn''tst long; the attackers must have third-tier professionals! It''s likely the Oliver family''s doing. They''re probably targeting you, Miss. I think we must leave the camp immediately..."


    Before he could finish, the butler seemed to have noticed something, "Someone''sing!"


    With a shout, the man vanished from the spot.


    Immediately after, a roar from the old butler came from outside the inn: "Hmph! This is Reyes family property, who are you people!"


    .......


    Su''en also heard themotion outside; it seemed there were quite a few visitors.


    Delivering a head was naturally intended to provoke "Qiantiao" into retaliating and revealing herself.


    With a third-tier master arriving, she couldn''t hide.


    Su''en now understood why Mr. Mirror hade here tonight.


    Apart from protecting Rena, it was more important to use this third-tier elder to buy some time.


    Su''en and the others quickly descended the stairs, only to see the old butler confronting people from the Umbre organization.


    The leader was the bespectacled middle-aged man.


    Naturally, he was the leader of the Umbre organization, ''Coroner'' Severus Gerald!


    The man was currently covered in blood on his xen suit, with a hint of a sickly enjoyment on his face, as if he had just relished a bloody feast.


    In Su''en''s eyes, he saw a trace of uncontroble violence.


    He nced at the group of trench-coated figures in the shadows and noticed several fourth-tier professionals!


    "Qiantiao" made her appearance and was not polite in revealing her alchemical armor,


    With a nk, as if by reflex, the opposition tensed up.


    The bespectacled middle-aged man''s face changed as if he had put on a mask, and a terrifyingly creepy ck and white Joker Mask appeared!


    With the mask on, ''Coroner'' Severus''s demeanor changed drastically, and the violence was instantly suppressed.


    He became cold and inhuman.


    "This Joker mask seems to be a powerful cursed item..."


    Su''en didn''t dare to appraise it, but he also drew his gun, ying the role of the bounty hunter Zolo.


    Although he didn''t look at his side, he was curious how "Mr. Mirror" could perfectly mimic Qiantiao''s alchemical armor?


    Moreover, her aura didn''t seem excessively strong, roughly at the level of a second-tier.


    Both sides didn''t bother with words and immediately started fighting.


    .......


    The Umbre organization did not reveal their identity, probably thinking that if there was a mix-up, they could pass off the incident as a robbery gone wrong.


    After all, it was just a suspicion.


    Moreover, the Umbre organization was not the ck Tower; for thisw enforcement department to attack a top inner-city family, they still needed some usible reason.


    Rena''s guards were not weak; besides the third-tier elder, there were also two second-tiers in the inn.


    Facing the trench-coated figures, they didn''t fall behind for a while.


    Because... none of those fourth-tiers made a move!


    "Are they just suspecting and probing..."


    Su''en muttered to himself.


    His character was a gunman, so he didn''t need to engage in closebat. He just stayed by Rena''s side, taking potshots.Within the battle group, a third-tier butler was entangled by a "forensic" wearing a clown mask named Severus.


    On the battlefield, Qian Tiao was the one receiving special attention.


    Fortunately, her skill with the de was not bad, wielding her four arms so tightly that not a single blow could prate, at least for a moment...


    Su''en''s peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the scene, and he couldn''t help but marvel again. This "Qian Tiao" was indeed indistinguishable from the real one.


    Her swordsmanship was identical to the real Qian Tiao!


    But outnumbered, "Qian Tiao" was at a disadvantage against the focused assault of several second-tier professionals.


    The people from the Umbre Organization were already suspicious, and now seeing Qian Tiao''s all-out effort, which seemed to be at a second-tier level, they couldn''t help but feel puzzled.


    In this situation, there was no need to disguise one''s strength.


    They were about to intensify their probing,


    But unexpectedly, at that moment, a hugemotion erupted from Storm Manor.


    "Boom boom boom~"


    "Boom boom boom~"


    "..."


    The violent fluctuations of magic were so exaggerated that they couldn''t have been produced by a third-tier professional...


    It was clear that someone hadunched a sneak attack on Princess Theresa''s residence!


    From a distance, they could see several cloaked figures charging and attacking fiercely, and behind one of them, the phantom shadow of the "Rakshasa Woman" was strikingly visible!


    "Not good! It''s a trap!"


    Hearing themotion, the members of the Umbre Organization, as well as the hidden fourth-tier professionals, all changed color.


    How could they not understand that the enemy had taken advantage of the weak defenses to assassinate the princess?


    Without a second thought for the current battlefield, they vanished in an instant.

 Chapter 193: Goodbye Pestoya

    Chapter 193: Goodbye Pestoya


    The battle in front of the Unicorn Inn had abruptlye to an end.


    The fight that erupted from Storm Manor had set the underworld aze, throwing the entire camp into instant chaos.


    The sh of high-tier spells caused a series of terrifying tremors near the manor, as if mountains were copsing and the earth was splitting apart.


    From a distance, one could see the residence of Princess Theresa suddenly conjure the phantom images of four golden-armored knights, each towering twenty to thirty meters high.


    It was as if someone was fiercely battling these knightly apparitions, the nging sounds of their weapons echoing throughout the camp.


    Shockwaves surged one after another, like waves crashing against the entire camp.


    With the golden knight phantoms guarding the manor, the attackers'' methods were not weak either.


    The fourth-tier fire spell "Meteor Incineration" gathered meteors within the septagram in the sky, raining down like droplets...


    The wide-ranging fourth-tier lightning spell "City-Destroying Thundercloud" crackled with lightning, as thunder dragons rampaged down...


    The third-tier arcane spell "Earth Rend" shook the ground, creating deep, bottomless fissures around the manor...


    Upon seeing this disy of multi-elemental high-tier spells, Su''en knew that it was Mr. ck who had made his move.


    This "Schr" had truly mastered the alchemical arts of various elements. Even though he wasn''t a fifth-tier, his area-of-effect spells were even more troublesome than those of a fifth-tier.


    How many in the camp had ever seen high-tier spells?


    Witnessing this apocalypticmotion, everyone was horrified.


    For a moment, near Storm Manor, ice, frost, lightning, fire... various elemental spells collided like festival fireworks, exploding across the sky.


    But as dangerous as it was, it was time to show valor.


    "There''s an assassin attacking Princess Theresa, let''s go support her!"


    "We can''t let the viin escape!"


    "..."


    The mor and shouts were incessant, as everyone excitedly prepared to lead their troops to the rescue.


    The major families in the camp, along with their own forces, rushed towards Storm Manor in a frenzied surge, thousands of people flocking to the scene.


    And just as the crowd surged forward, someone amidst them suddenly activated a septagram, and before the others could react, another high-tier spell was unleashed, forcing several fourth-tier guards who were trying to seal off the manor to dodge in panic. Although it wasn''t necessarily fatal, it made them realize that there were still assassins mixed in with the group.


    Then, a thunderous shout!


    "Everyone is forbidden from approaching the manor, or they will be killed without mercy!"


    But thismand not only failed to stabilize the situation, it made things even more chaotic.


    While the higher-ups were unable, the people from the lower districts continued to pour in, eager to show off in front of the princess.


    The camp was filled with various scavenger groups, mercenaries, family guards, city guards, security teams... Dozens of groups, unfamiliar with each other, soon began to fight amongst themselves as someone fired a shot.


    "Damn it! Who''sunching rockets..."


    "Motherfucker, stop shooting randomly. We''re mercenaries from the David family!"


    "We''re targeting you, I just saw that rocket, you''re part of the assassin''s group!"


    "Go to hell, you''re the ones from the assassin''s group."


    Some fanned the mes, some fired shots, and those who tried to mediate inevitably got hit.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Pop! Pop! Pop!


    The sound of gunfire was chaotic.


    Suddenly, someone shouted.


    "Not good! The assassins are breaking out!"


    "..."


    The chaotic situation provided the "assassins" with an opportunity to attack and retreat.


    The battle started quickly and ended just as swiftly.


    A few cloaked figures caused somemotion in the manor, seemingly achieving their goal, and without any hesitation, they fled towards the outskirts of the city.


    Perhaps they were cautious after having lured and killed a fifth-tier professionalst time.


    The high-tier guards in the manor dared not pursue too far, fearing a repeat of the old trick or a diversion.


    The lower-tier professionals couldn''t stop them, and the cloaked assassins faced little resistance as they broke through the encirclement, leaped over the city walls, and disappeared beyond the city gates.


    .......


    In front of the Unicorn Inn.


    Several guards had died, and "Qiantiao" had also sustained some injuries.


    Su''en watched the "Rakshasa women" sessfully escape into the distance and let out a slight sigh of relief.


    Now, Qiantiao and the Rakshasa women hadpletely severed their ties.


    Although it seemed coincidental, it didn''t matter anymore.


    As long as Qiantiao wasn''t a "Rakshasa woman," just a gangster, no matter what, the level of danger had dropped countless notches.


    Even such ordinary gang records would no longer enter the sight of high-level officials like the leaders of the Umbre Organization.


    The Umbre Organization would probably quiet down for a while.


    On the other hand, Rena stood there in a daze.


    This youngdy, who had never experienced major setbacks, witnessed her best friend''s head being delivered to her tonight. She witnessed an unprovoked attack. The intense emotions of powerlessness and being at the mercy of others washed over her like a tide, eroding some of her beliefs. In her originally bright and sparkling ck eyes, there was also a trembling light that was difficult to describe...


    The old butler had been injured in the fight with the "coroner" Servis, with a patch of bright red blood on his shirt.


    He tidied himself up, covered it with his coat, walked over, and seeing his youngdy in a state of shock, he sighed softly, "Miss, you should go upstairs and rest. Leave everything here to me. We''ll leave the city tomorrow morning."


    The attack was by people from the Umbre Organization, they had realized.


    So, they could only swallow this loss, no matter how bitter.


    Even though the Reyes family was once a top financial tycoon in the inner city, they couldn''t afford to provoke that organization.


    Rena was somewhat dazed as she returned to her room and just sat on the bed in a stupor.


    "Qiantiao" nced at her, then turned to Su''en and said, "Let her be alone for a while, this might be good for her."


    Su''en nodded, "Hmm."


    The cruelty of this world was far greater than what Rena had seen.


    The y had to continue, and Mr. Mirror and Su''en entered another room.


    .......


    The door closed, and a soundproofing array was set up.


    Although Su''en knew that Mr. Mirror and his group wouldn''t have made a move without aprehensive n, he was still curious and asked, "Mr. Mirror, won''t exposing so many people''s movements alert the ck Tower?"


    "It won''t have much impact."


    Mr. Mirror''s expression was calm, as if everything was within the n, "After this relic event, the preparations will be almostplete."


    As she spoke, a miraculous scene unfolded before Su''en''s eyes.


    "Qiantiao," who only had the strength of a second-tier, was also not lightly injured, with many wounds on her body.


    But in the moment she entered the room, Su''en suddenly saw her wounds visibly healing!


    Without using any potions, just relying on her exaggerated self-healing ability, she was instantly as good as new.


    Su''en was somewhat surprised: Had Mr. Mirror also modified her bloodline, or was it some kind of special self-healing ability?


    This healing efficiency was almost on par with that of an "Abomination."


    It was much stronger than his own.


    But considering that she was likely a fourth-tier, or even higher, expert, it was normal for her to have some iprehensible methods.


    Instead, Su''en was more concerned about Mr. Mirror''s words that "the preparations are almostplete."


    It sounded like the big shots were ready to strike at the ck Tower?


    But Mr. Mirror didn''t seem to want to continue on this topic. She looked at Su''en and reminded him, "Although tonight''s trouble has been muddled through, that ''coroner'' Servis''s methods are not so simple. The Umbre Organization will definitelye to probe. Be careful in the future."


    After a pause, she continued, "I will be with the team for the next few days, but once we reach the relic, I have other matters to attend to. At that time, you take care of the team, don''t let them be wiped out. Especially take care of Rena for me."


    Su''en nodded, "Hmm."


    Rena had helped him several times, and within his capabilities, Su''en naturally would also think of saving her life.


    His expression unchanged, but upon hearing this, a slightly strange thought popped into his mind.


    Mr. Mirror actually took such good care of Rena, could it be... there was some special rtionship?


    Like, an illegitimate daughter?


    Although Su''en didn''t ask, Mr. Mirror seemed to guess his thoughts.


    She nced at Su''en, her expression somewhat helpless, and added, "The Reyes family was built up by my own hands. Rena''s mother died for me. That girl has good talent and learning, justcking in experience. I n to train her to be the heir of the Reyes family."


    "Oh..."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en suddenly understood.


    But with this revtion, his thoughts became even more active.


    Built up by her own hands?


    That was quite a significant piece of information.


    The Reyes family had been a well-known family for decades, and if she had built it up, how old was Mr. Mirror?


    Su''en thought of the previous healing anomaly, and indeed, high cellr activity could make a person appear young, but... was she actually an elderly woman?


    However, just as this thought crossed Su''en''s mind, he clearly saw "Qiantiao" touch her forehead and shake her head, looking at him strangely and somewhat helplessly.


    "I... never mind..."


    She seemed to want to say more but didn''t seem inclined to exin further.


    Perhaps because she was disguised as Qiantiao, Su''en felt that "Mr. Mirror" seemed quite approachable and not as cold and distant as one might expect.


    Thinking that Mr. ck''s teacher was right in front of him, Su''en naturally asked directly if he had any questions, "Mr. Mirror, I saw a mask appear on the face of that Umbre Organization leader earlier, it seemed to be a curse item rted to mental power?"


    "Qiantiao" ced her knife on the table and began to tidy up her battle-torn clothes, nodding as she said, "Yes. Over the years, the ck Tower has also unearthed quite a few good things. That is the ''Tri-Color Mask of the Usurper,'' a very nice ancient curse item. Servis had some deviations in his professional cultivation, his mental power became aberrant, and that mask is used to suppress his uncontroble split personality..."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en realized it was as he suspected.


    And listening to its function, it seemed quite suitable for his own "symptoms"?


    He asked directly, "Mr. Mirror, could I use that mask?"


    "Qiantiao" looked at him and said, "I''ve heard from Emilich about your situation, and indeed, the mask would be useful for you. But it''s a temporary solution, not a cure. The essence of the mask''s effect is suppression, just like how you suppress it with your will, it will eventually backfire."


    (Emilich, Mr. ck''s real name)


    Su''en originally thought the item''s effect was a bit redundant, but then he suddenly heard "Qiantiao" seem to think of something, and she changed the subject, "However, if you can master a top-tier mental secret technique, it would be a very suitable advancement material for your ''Puppeteer'' lineage, helping you break through the limit of ''Multitasking.'' Normally, the ''Tri-Color Mask of the Usurper'' is an advancement material that only a fourth-tier mental professional can withstand. But in your case... you''re a bit special, you should be able to handle it at the third tier."


    "Advancement material?"


    Upon hearing this, Su''en immediately perked up.


    He knew she was probably referring to his "special" trait, likely meaning the extraordinary mental power due to the "Reaper of Death" talent.


    If she said it was suitable, then it was definitely a material with a very highpatibility.


    Moreover, she directly pointed out the effect after advancement, which could break through the limit of "Multitasking"?!


    "Qiantiao" looked at Su''en, her eyebrows curved, and asked, "Do you want to kill him?"


    Su''en nodded, "Hmm."


    Not to mention the curse material, when he and Sabina had signed the master-servant contract, they had agreed that once he had the strength, he would help her kill that man.


    "It won''t be easy to kill that guy."


    "Qiantiao" teased, not saying much else, and then said, "Just a reminder. Remember, if you encounter him in the future and see the mask is ''red-faced,'' be very careful. If you see the mask turn ''ck-faced,'' he will have abat power not inferior to a fourth-tier..."


    "Hmm."


    Su''en didn''t expect to be able to kill that ''coroner'' Servis in a short time.


    But now, wasn''t there strong support at hand?


    And now that he had a target, his thoughts revolved around achieving that goal.


    In an instant, he came up with some ideas.


    A n quietly took shape.


    "Qiantiao" smiled, not responding further.Upon encountering this individual, Su''en straightforwardly inquired about another matter that piqued his curiosity, "Mr. Mirror, are you aware of the existence of the underground altar at Storm Manor? Mr. ck mentioned before that you could help me unravel my confusion, including that symbol representing ''Fate''..."


    "Qian Tiao," true to what Mr. ck had initially said, seemed quite willing to rify his doubts, exining, "The underground altar of Storm Manor is a relic left from the previous prehistoric civilization, the ''Dawn Era'' of the Akavia period. The identities of those five statues are the elders of the most mysterious alchemical organization of that era, the ''Rosicrucian Order,'' true god-tier alchemists. That was the most authentic, closest to our time, and most glorious era of alchemy. When Sir Isaac named this city, he wished to see alchemy return to its splendor during the Dawn Era..."


    As she spoke, she seemed to think that since she had already said so much, she might as well add a few more words: "This is a prehistoric civilization that is almost unrecorded in the current historical materials of Old Lingdun. Legend has it that the alchemists of the Dawn Era battled across various fragmented nes, and top sorcerers could even hunt deities, creating a powerful alchemical civilization..."


    "I see..."


    After listening to her, Su''en''s eyes trembled lightly, profoundly shaken.


    Alright, this big shot really does know everything.


    And through her words, it was evident that her understanding of Dawn City reached an incredible depth.


    She not only knew about the altar but also its origins.


    This world is not only fascinating now, but its history, once buried in dust, is equally captivating.


    .......


    Although Mr. Mirror wasn''t Qian Tiao, she seemed to share the same fondness for bathing and soaking as that gambling-addicteddy.


    The previous battle had left her stained with blood, which caused her brows to furrow tightly.


    As she spoke, she also undid her robe, not looking at Su''en, and said, "Alright, I''m going to take a bath. We''ll talkter."


    Su''en naturally understood and averted his gaze.


    The gambling-addicteddy wouldn''t mind his presence, but this big shot still cared about such things.


    Soon, the sound of water trickling from the bathroom could be heard.


    The noise outside the window never ceased, and the pursuit of the assassin continued untilte into the night.


    After bathing, "Qian Tiao"y on the bed to rest.


    Su''en sat cross-legged on the sofa nearby, meditating.


    It was probably around two or three in the morning when suddenly, "Qian Tiao," who appeared to be sound asleep, noticed something and eximed softly, "Someone''sing!"


    Upon hearing this, Su''en immediately understood her meaning.


    Zolo was Qian Tiao''s malepanion, and they had to y their roles thoroughly.


    Anyone looking at the two of them in the room in their current state would immediately sense something was amiss.


    Su''en quickly changed into pajamas and jumped into bed, while "Qian Tiao" also cozily snuggled into his embrace.


    As the big shot indicated, he didn''t show any odd behavior and held her as he should. At this moment, "Qian Tiao" was wearing a thin nightgown, the touch was genuine. Arge expanse of skin contact allowed both to clearly feel each other''s temperature.


    However, there were no romantic thoughts.


    Although the touch of her tight skin was identical to that of the gambling-addicteddy, thinking that Mr. Mirror was probably of a significant age, Su''en always felt something was off.


    Su''en didn''t sense any movement from the approaching person, which meant the visitor must be a master of the third order or higher.


    He guessed it was probably the Umbre Organizationing back to check?


    "Qian Tiao''s" persona was that of a second-order professional, and she shouldn''t have been able to detect the other party.


    However, things didn''t go as Su''en had expected.


    Because soon after, Su''en, who had his eyes closed pretending to sleep, heard someone calling him by his ear.


    "Mr. Su''en, long time no see..."


    Despite hearing no sound, no one entering through the window, and no footsteps, the call seemed to be right next to his ear.


    "Hehe... I know you''re not asleep..."


    Su''en thought he was hallucinating and lifted his eyelids slightly, only to see a face emitting a pale blue glow immediately before his eyes!


    Just ten centimeters away, a semi-transparent little girl was face-to-face with him, her big watery eyes filled with a mischievous smile.


    If Su''en weren''t soposed, a normal person witnessing this scene in the dead of night would likely be scared out of their wits.


    .......


    "Pestoya?"


    Su''en tentatively asked.


    The little girl in front of him, dressed in a princess gown and looking adorable, was someone he remembered well, the "Ghost Species" he had encountered on his first day after crossing over!


    He nced at "Qian Tiao" beside him, who seemed to be breathing evenly, apparently deep in sleep.


    Unsure whether she was truly asleep or pretending, Su''en knew that today''s events were likely to get messy...


    Pestoya looked at Su''en, recognizing him, and her little face lit up with joy. She floated in mid-air, twirling around, "Oh my, I thought you had forgotten about me~"


    Listening to her yful voice, Su''en remembered their first meeting.


    Although this ghost species girl could be a bit unruly at times, the two shared a kind of instant "resonance."


    He smiled, "How could I forget?"


    Saying so, Su''en got out of bed, tucked "Qian Tiao" in properly, and then asked, "Pestoya, howe you''re here?"


    If he hadn''t seen that "butterfly brooch," he would have been quite happy to catch up with the ghost species girl he once found quite to his taste.


    But now, her appearance hereplicated matters.


    "I don''t know... I just felt you were nearby and came to see you~"


    Pestoya tilted her head, thinking, as if she had lost a part of her memory.


    But she didn''t seem to mind; she had forgotten many things over the past thousand years.


    But seeing an old friend, she was genuinely happy, "I didn''t expect it to be Mr. Su''en."


    Su''en walked over to the coffee table in the suite and poured himself a cup.


    Although he wasn''t sure if ghost species could drink tea, he also poured a cup for Pestoya, who was sitting beside him.


    While pouring the tea, Su''en joked, "I''ve be so handsome, how did you recognize me?"


    Pestoya sniffed the tea cup and even took a sip, saying, "Of course I can recognize you. I know your soul~"


    With a yful wink, she added, "But your soul has be much stronger than before, I almost didn''t recognize you~"


    It was like a reunion of old friends, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.


    The two chatted casually.


    Su''en subtly probed a few questions and discovered that Pestoya didn''t remember what had happened after he left.


    It was as if she had woken up and felt his presence nearby, which brought her here.


    But... the curse space of Storm Manor had clearly disappeared before.


    And the ghost species from the curse space had actuallye outside?


    But he was certain that this girl was the same one he had seen before.


    After chatting about a few light topics, Su''en directly asked, "Pestoya, where are you living now?"


    "I live in the manor~"


    Pestoya said, floating up for a bear hug, giving Su''en an enthusiastic embrace, "I thought I''d never see Mr. Su''en again. I''m really so happy~"


    Her physical state was strange; although she was a spirit, she could be corporeal when she wanted to touch something.


    "I''m happy too."


    Su''en smiled.


    Listening to her cheerful tone, he could feel her genuine happiness.


    After all, he was the first "friend" this girl had interacted with in a thousand years.


    The two chatted for quite a while.


    Su''en''s previously acquired flirting skills also came in handy.


    Jokes and memes came naturally, and even the little girl enjoyed them.


    Pestoya was amused toughter, and the room was filled with her bell-like giggles.


    Su''en truly believed she had juste to reminisce.


    But there were two issues he deliberately avoided mentioning.


    One was the question she had entrusted him to ask.


    The other was the matter of the brooch.


    Unexpectedly, at this moment, Pestoya, floating in front of Su''en, suddenly remembered something and asked, "Eh... Mr. Su''en, why don''t I see you wearing the butterfly brooch I gave you?"


    Su''en''s heart skipped a beat upon hearing this.


    The girl seemed very sensitive to emotions, and before Su''en could think of an excuse, her face suddenly darkened, "You... don''t like the gift I gave you?"


    Her eyes brimmed with tears, a look of hurt on her face, "But... that was my favorite, my most precious thing."


    As she spoke, her eyes gradually turned red.


    Then, it wasn''t the red of being upset, but a sinister, fierce crimson.


    Pestoya looked at Su''en, tears falling uncontrobly from her eyes, each drop of pale blue tear light dissipating before it hit the ground.


    With a sobbing voice, an overwhelming sadness erupted, "Mr. Su''en, I don''t know why, but I feel so sad right now..."


    Even though I gave you my most precious gift, you lost it.


    It''s like watching my mom and dad burn me alive back then.


    They were the parents I loved the most in my life...


    It''s the pain of losing the most precious thing in my heart...


    A heart-wrenching pain.


    Su''en, seeing this, knew she was showing signs of a violent transformation.


    The first time they met, she had ughtered Ivan "The Ironhead" and his gang in such a state.


    He wanted to exin, but indeed, he couldn''t produce the brooch.


    But after all, he had no ill intentions towards this little girl.


    He felt Pestoya''s indescribable emotions, loneliness, and sadness...


    He sighed, reached out to pat her head, and said truthfully, "I like the gift you gave me. But I''m sorry, it seems I''ve lost it..."


    These words seemed to soothe the upset Pestoya, the red glow in her eyes dimmed a bit, but it still didn''t fade away.


    Su''en then gently rubbed her face with both hands and solemnly said, "But I will definitely find it."


    Although she was a thousand-year-old ghost species, her heart was still that of a ten-year-old girl.


    She was easy to console.


    Hearing this, the red glow in the little girl''s eyes finally stopped.


    Emotions can''t lie, and Pestoya could tell that Su''en


    But she still looked at Su''en with a pitiful face, mournfully saying, "Mr. Su''en, if you don''t find my brooch, I''ll eat you up!"


    Her tone was so pitiful, so very pitiful.


    Saying so, Pestoya also bared her little fangs and bit down on Su''en''s hand that was patting her head.


    A firm bite.


    "..."


    Su''en didn''t mind, he smiled and didn''t retract his hand.


    However, he was curious; his skin, which ordinary bullets could hardly prate, actually hurt from the bite?


    After biting, she seemed to have vented her anger.


    Pestoya lifted her head, but at that moment, her gaze was drawn to a ne on Su''en''s hand, "Eh... Mr. Su''en, howe you have this ne?"


    Saying so, she waved her hand, and the crystal pendant fell into her grasp.


    Su''en nced at it.


    The clues in his mind connected like lightning.


    This was the [Sereya''s Crystal Pendant] he had obtained from ying an Umbre Organization fortune-teller on his way to the ruins.


    He had been wearing it because the alchemical item had a property that evaded divination.


    He had always found the name of this ne familiar.


    Now, hearing Pestoya''s tone, he immediately confirmed something.


    "Sereya" was amon female name,


    But coincidentally,


    This ne had a significant background.


    The person Mr. Mirror had sent him to meet in a certain cursed space, the founder of the Puppeteer, was also named "Sereya."


    And more coincidentally, Su''en''s own Puppeteer initiation materials were obtained from Pestoya herself.


    Some special professions are passed down in session.


    The source of the coincidence was that Su''en had also seen this name in the family portrait in the library of Storm Manor when he first crossed over.


    She was the mother of the girl before him, Sereya Isaac. (She took her husband''s surname)


    .......


    Pestoya''s recently calmed emotions suddenly became violently turbulent, "You... saw her... my mother?"


    Afraid that she would remember something and be traumatized again, Su''en directly said, "Didn''t you entrust me to ask them a question? I''ve learned some clues, and I was nning to help you inquire."


    Pestoya fell silent.


    After a while, she squeaked, "Oh."


    Su''en felt the conflict in her heart.Filled with love, yet there was a despair akin to a vengeful obsession.


    The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.


    Seeing the object, Pestoya was reminded of someone and lost the interest to stay any longer.


    She said to Su''en, "Mr. Su''en, I''m tired. I''m going to sleep now. I''lle to see you next time."


    "Okay. See you next time."


    Su''en nodded and waved at her.


    He watched her leave through the window with a somber expression, slowly fading away until she was gone.


    Su''en ultimately didn''t mention to her that the brooch was in Theresa''s possession.


    He felt that this matter was a bitplicated.


    The Pestoya before him seemed to have lost some memories.


    Intuition told Su''en that it was best not to trigger any other peculiar plotlines until things were clearer.


    .......


    After Pestoya left, "Qiantiao" on the bed suddenly opened her eyes.


    Su''en didn''t see the glint that shed through her profound eyes.


    Now that Pestoya was gone, Su''en sat on the sofa with a furrowed brow.


    Many doubts in his mind were connected, but without the key information, none could be unraveled.


    He felt it necessary to report the situation to the boss, so he turned to look at "Qiantiao" on the bed and coughed lightly, "Cough! Cough!"


    An immediate response followed.


    Without turning around, "Qiantiao" said, "Go to sleep. It''s nothing."


    Clearly, she had been awake all along.


    "But..."


    Su''en thought she was unaware of the situation and wanted to say more.


    At that moment, "Qiantiao" interrupted directly, "Can''t say."


    "..."


    Hearing these three words, Su''en''s gaze sharpened slightly.


    Can''t say?


    Does that mean...


    Pestoya is indeed involved with that indescribable entity?

 Chapter 194: Open up wasteland

    Chapter 194: Open up wastnd


    After all, tonight''smotion was so great that many people would want to rify the situation.


    Pestoya''s nocturnal visit was a minor episode, and the rest of the night was anything but quiet, with several uninvited guests arriving one after another at the Unicorn Inn.


    There were second-order and third-order assassins, all adept in stealth.


    I figured it was probably the Umbre Organization, or perhaps spies from those forces wishing Rena harm.


    To avoid giving anything away and to avoid the hassle of constant harassment, Su''en simply shared a bed with Mr. Mirror for the night.


    It wasn''t presumptuous; both parties were very calm.


    With such a master at his side, Su''en didn''t have to worry about his own safety and actually had a rare good night''s sleep.


    ...


    The next morning, the inn was awakened early by the stern chiding of the old butler, Anthony.


    "Everyone, get your gear ready, we depart at seven sharp!"


    Su''en got out of bed and also put together an adventurer''s outfit for himself,plete with a trench coat and a cowboy hat.


    "Thousand Stripes" was still washing up, so he went downstairs and sifted through a pile of letters at the front desk to find thetest briefings and messages.


    These were simple newspapers produced by information brokers, printed overnight, all about thetest intelligence on the camp.


    They were pricey, but sold well.


    Su''en nced at the newspaper, which mentionedst night''s attack at length.


    However, it was very rough, with no details about the identity of the assassins beyond "mysterious person."


    He also saw the hidden message left by Sabina, and had a rough idea of the Umbre Organization''s next moves.


    The people from the Umbre Organization were indeed still monitoring, but they had lowered the file level, reducing the threat significantly.


    While Su''en was reading the newspaper at the front desk.


    A few people came down the stairs, and turning his head, he saw Rena leading her personal maidservant down.


    After one night, the youngdy''s face no longer bore sadness but was filled with seriousness. She was dressed in liquid leather, not the standard model from the ck Tower Academy, but a higher-grade alchemical product with special modifications. She was equipped with a pistol, dagger, mechanical vest, and tactical belt, along with a gas mask...


    What was more remarkable was the mechanical case on her back, painted with a red cross, which was military-grade individual medical equipment.


    It seemed that the youngdy was prepared to fight personally.


    Su''en nced at her, his eyebrows slightly raised, naturally noticing certain changes in her.


    As if overnight, her immaturity had faded, reced by a touch of maturity.


    Rena saw Su''en and nodded, a form of greeting.


    ...


    Unlike the hunting parties of other families, which could number in the thousands, the Reiss family had only four or five hundred people.


    Aside from the hundred or so family guards brought by Rena, there were only a few medium-sized hunting parties from the Cross Society.


    The group met outside the camp in the tent area, immediately drawing whispers and points from all around.


    "Shh, if I remember correctly, that''s Anthony, the Reiss family''s butler. I didn''t expect the old man to have advanced to third-order."


    "I sawst night''s battle, he''s indeed strong. Too bad, with so few people, I''m afraid they won''t make it to the center of the city area before they''re wiped out..."


    "Did you hear the Unicorn Inn was attacked by assassinsst night?"


    "Assassins? Those weren''t ordinary assassins, I heard..."


    "So it was sanctioned by the ck Tower, no wonder the other branches of the Reiss family are so active. Looks like there''s going to be a change of power..."


    "..."


    The news of Rena''s best friend Yulia''s family being wiped out had also spread throughout the camp, and no one dared to approach the Reiss family''s main house team anymore.


    Rena remained expressionless amidst the idle chatter.


    The team didn''t linger and set off directly along Route 16, heading northeast to the Dawn Ruins.


    ...


    With a third-order professional leading the way, Su''en''s team moved quickly.


    The monsters in the outer ring of the ruins couldn''t stop the team''s progress. Moreover, since most of the outer ring had already been explored, there wasn''t much reason to linger.


    After a few small-scale battles, by noon, they had already reached a section of the broken city wall.


    This was thendmark for entering the middle ring of the ruins.


    The team crossed the wall and continued to move deeper inside.


    As the team ventured further, the frequency of monster attacks increased.


    Before long, they arrived in arge area of unexplored building ruins and stopped.


    The difference in monster strength between the middle and outer rings, separated only by a low, crumbling wall, was significant.


    The outer ring was mostly popted by first-order and lower aberrant and abyssal creatures, while the middle ring saw the appearance of second-order, third-order, and even super-order special monsters.


    Beyond the middle ring was the "forbidden zone" for small and medium-sized hunting parties.


    Almost any encounter with a group of social monsters could wipe out a medium-sized hunting party led by a second-order professional.


    The fog in the air grew thicker, and the atmosphere became increasingly tense.


    This was a true "high casualty area," and no one dared to be careless.


    Commands from the team leader came one after another over themunicator.


    "Everyone, stay sharp! Watch for any movement. After entering the middle ring, don''t talk loudly, don''t fire at will..."


    "Team three, nine o''clock direction, team two, three o''clock direction... Assassins, spread out and scout, watch for monsters and suspicious followers."


    "Everyone, start searching this area ording to the n!"


    "..."


    The team spread out in a lotus formation around Miss Rena.


    The Cross Society''s hunting parties were funded by the Reiss family, and the members were essentially "bondedborers" who had signed contracts. They were responsible for the most dangerous task of clearing the way ahead.


    Su''en and "Thousand Stripes" didn''t do anything special, just followed the path-clearing team and started their hunt.


    Here, there was little difference between the head and tail of the team; monsters could attack anyone at any time.


    The building ruins in the middle ring area were denser, with structures as tall as ten-story buildings around them.


    In addition to residential buildings, there wererge structures like opera houses, city halls, and bathhouses.


    Like a lush primeval forest, theserge buildings were also the favorite haunts of monsters.


    And not just on the ground.


    Such a vast city also had aplex sewer system, far more intricate than Old London.


    Su''en''s current auditory perception allowed him to clearly sense the scurrying soundsing from those sewer entrances due to their arrival. In those dark caverns, it was as if pairs of eyes were peering at them, these unwee visitors.


    This was the territory of aberrant creatures.


    ...


    The fog in the ruins was thick, with no lights and low visibility.


    Large-scale res couldn''t be used carelessly, so the team members had to rely on the limited vision provided by alchemical night vision devices, cautiously feeling their way through.


    Princess Theresa''s mission required each family to carefully explore their respective routes to find something they still didn''t know what it was.


    Therefore, the team needed to carefully inspect each building, check for suspicious targets, and break every cursed space.


    The exploration was slow.


    After the tasks were distributed,


    Su''en followed "Thousand Stripes," leading a team from the Cross Society to explore a residential building.


    The team members were all unfamiliar faces, apparently all "neers" recruited by the gangter on.


    Separated from the main team, the team members spoke without so much restraint.


    "Boss Thousand Stripes, why do we have so few people in our group this time? I see other families'' hunting parties have at least a few thousand people... I heard that our patron is in crisis?"


    "Sister Thousand Stripes, there was such a bigmotion in the cityst night... What happened? I heard the princess''s residence was attacked?"


    "They say that the princess from the Duke''s mansion is Old London''s ''Number One Beauty,'' is that true?"


    "Heh heh, this time those noble lords from the inner city have toe hunting with us, right? Our lives are cheap if we die, but they''ll be at a big loss..."


    "..."


    The bottom-tier hunters viewed their lives cheaply, having already prepared to face death by choosing this line of work.


    Their attitude was rather optimistic.


    Especially seeing the inner city people hunting with them, they seemed to take a heartless pleasure in their misfortune.


    They didn''t know the rtionship between Thousand Stripes and Rena, so they spoke without concern.


    The group chatted and joked all the way.


    The atmosphere was much more cheerful than the gloomy elite guards from the inner city not far away.


    Still alive,


    Chat about women,


    Earn money,


    Gossip...


    That''s enough.


    The happiness of the bottom-tier hunters was that simple.


    The monsters in the ruins were dense, and the dpidated building they were exploring was home to a group of creatures identified as [Abyssal Blood Sentinels].


    The "squeak squeak squeak" sound was incessant, and Su''en had already noticed these creatures that looked like hairless white monkeys with human faces andrge mouths.


    They could use stones as projectile weapons, with a forceparable to bullets.


    Fortunately, their defense was weak, and ordinary bullets could kill them.


    With Su''en and "Thousand Stripes" in the team, they didn''t encounter any risks.


    They cleared their way through, and the loot was good.


    "Ha ha... these monkeys actually dropped cursed materials. The drop rate for materials from the monsters in the middle ring city wall is so high. The patron said the materials are ours to keep, we''re going to make a fortune this time."


    "Let''s see if we can make it out alive first..."


    "But speaking of which, the standardized firearms from the inner city are stable, they don''t jam. Our patron is really good, the equipment each of us got must be worth hundreds of thousands..."


    "Yeah, I heard that the hunting parties of the Steam Party and the Crow Gang have much worse conditions than ours. They don''t even get equipment, they have to buy their own bullets..."


    "With this equipment, even if a second-order monsteres, I dare to confront it!"


    "..."


    Not sensing any troublesome monsters in the building, to speed up the exploration, the team split up.


    The team leaders took groups of ten and headed to different floors.


    Su''en and "Thousand Stripes" found a corner to sit leisurely, ready to provide support in case of an emergency.


    Reports came through themunicator from time to time.


    "Reporting to themander, a small-scale monster attack was found in the opera house, and it has been cleared."


    "High-order aberrant creatures found in the red brick building, requesting high-orderbat support!"


    "Commander, a ''cursed space'' was found in the broken building at ten o''clock. Preliminary judgment is ''C-level space'', please advise."


    "..."


    Gunfire erupted densely in this part of the ruins, and the clearing was proceeding methodically.


    ...


    In terms of individual strength, Rena''s team was actually not inferior to any hunting party.


    Even among the best.


    With a third-order professional and more than a dozen second-orders.


    The hundred or so direct guards Rena brought from the family were mostly well-trained formal professionals. They had the best firearms and mechanical armor avable on the market, and theirbat power was strong.


    But this team also had a fatal w.


    That was the small number of people and low margin for error.


    When encountering wild beasts, numbers were the guarantee of survival.


    And when encountering high-risk cursed spaces, that was truly fatal.


    Because Princess Theresa had issued a death order.


    No matter what, once a cursed space was discovered, it had to be explored and broken.


    It meant that if a team led by a first-order professional went into an unknown level cursed space and didn''te out, then they had to send in a second-order;


    If they were wiped out again, send in a third-order...


    Until they kept sending people in to explore.


    But in reality, most cursed spaces could be probed multiple times to find a solution.


    If there were enough people, using ve groups to probe could also gather a lot of information.


    Like the [1911 Hotel] Su''en encounteredst time, theoretically it was "T-level," but if a few hundred people died, some methods of breaking it could always be determined.


    So, numbers were crucial.


    And Rena''s team didn''t have this opportunity to make mistakes.


    There were only a few hundred people in total.


    The loss of each team meant that their overall chance of survival decreased by one.


    In the end, high-order professionals had to personally probe the spaces.


    And the density of cursed spaces in the middle ring area was much higher than in the outer ring, with several cursed spaces discovered in the ruins they were currently in.The deadliest part was...


    Even knowing the danger, there was no chance for deceit or trickery!


    Because the team was apanied by three white-helmeted "supervisory troops," who were from the inner city''s military. Their task was to oversee the wilderness hunting teams, reporting the battle situation and progress at any time.


    Once they died, or if the wilderness hunting team refused to execute orders, experts from the ck Tower woulde over.


    ...


    It looked like it was only a dozen or so kilometers from the central ring to the core of the inner city, but the progress of pioneering was very slow.


    For the whole day, the team Su''en was in only managed to clean up a few blocks nearby.


    The first day''s battle was fierce, with more than thirty people dead and many injured.


    The team did not continue to advance but chose to camp in a sturdy building and light a fire.


    It''s worth mentioning that Miss Rena had been busy since the battle began, always active on the battlefield.


    She shed the delicate and arrogant air of a rich youngdy, personally joining the medical team and appearing wherever medical support was needed on the battlefield, treating the wounded with her own hands.


    Rena''s medical skills were quite good, more professional than most of the wilderness hunting team''s medics.


    Even now, while resting at the camp, she was busy in the wounded''s tent.


    Because ady of her status was personally involved and busy on the front lines, the wounded were not only withoutints but were excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood.


    "Oh, Miss Rena, my life... it''s not worth such an expensive potion..."


    "My God, Miss Rena actually stitched up my wound herself..."


    "To serve Miss Rena is the honor of my lifetime..."


    "..."


    The view of gratitude and resentment among ordinary wilderness hunters was very simple.


    If you treat them well, they are willing to give their lives for you.


    Normally, after a fierce battle, the wounded would greatly affect the morale within their team.


    But because of Rena''s dedicated treatment, not only did it not disperse morale, it actually brought them closer together.


    In the current situation, only by uniting as a team was there a greater chance of survival.


    In the nearby tent area, everyone saw everything that was happening.


    ...


    In the individual tent, Su''en and Mr. Mirror were having a simple meal.


    Mr. Mirror, looking at the busy Rena, remarked, "This girl has finallye to her senses..."


    "She really has changed a lot."


    Su''en nodded, taking a bite of the bread in his hand.


    Then, he asked, "Mr. Mirror, are you nning to leave?"


    He remembered that this person had said before that they would leave upon entering the ruins.


    "Yes. In the next couple of days, I will find an opportunity to leave. There are very important matters to deal with."


    Mr. Mirror seemed to think of something and said, "When that timees, be careful yourself. Those supervisory troops have been watching you. And there are a few with ill intentions around Rena, it seems they have been bought off."


    Su''en was not surprised and replied, "Yes, I''ve noticed too. I received information before that the Umbre Organization''s people still haven''t given up their suspicions."


    He was aware that throughout the day''s battle, there were always a few gazes on him.


    It seemed they wanted to detect any clues from his fighting style, to confirm whether he was "Su''en" or if there were other connections.


    Mr. Mirror asked, "Can you handle it?"


    Su''en replied indifferently, "No problem."


    "That''s good."


    Mr. Mirror did not say much more; she had a good opinion of Su''en''s abilities.


    Thinking of something, she added, "Oh, one more thing. The deeper you go into the ruins, the more powerful the monsters be. When the timees, be careful to avoid these areas..."


    Su''en listened carefully,mitting it to memory.


    After Mr. Mirror finished speaking, he asked the question he had been curious about for a long time, "Mr. Mirror, where do all these monsters in the ruinse from?"


    The monsters of the Dawn Ruins had been killed in suchrge numbers, yet they kepting endlessly, which was a bit againstmon sense.


    Logically, the monsters in an area should satisfy an ecological chain.


    After killing some, the numbers should be scarce for a long time.


    But in the ruins, there were always new, unseen monsters appearing, and their numbers were nevercking.


    Mr. Mirror thought for a moment, her tone bing somewhat serious, "Theye from the cracks in the nes."


    Su''en heard a new term and was slightly surprised, "Cracks in the nes?"


    "Yes."


    Mr. Mirror said this, and seeming to think of something, her eyes showed a heavy expression.


    She nced at Su''en and continued, "Beneath this city of Dawn, there is actually a space channel that connects to a different ne. In ancient texts, that ne is called the ''Abyss.'' It''s something that existed in thest era, and it''s said that the alchemists of the Akavia civilization used this channel to wage war on other nes. Unfortunately, such a powerful civilization also disappeared, and no one knows what happened... When Sir Isaac established the city of Dawn here, on one hand, it was to explore the true secrets of that civilization''s interrupted era, to pursue the ultimate in alchemy; on the other hand, it was to guard this ne''s crack, to kill those otherworldly creatures that mistakenly enter our ne from the Abyss..."


    After a while,


    Su''en also understood.


    During the "Dawn Era," the once powerful Akavia civilization that could wage war across various nes suddenly disappeared from history.


    And the people of that civilization left behind a sealed space channel underground.


    But due to the passage of time, some cracks appeared in the seal.


    Some Abyssal monsters slipped through.


    And the "dark spirit force" actually overflowed from another ne.


    Su''en was also curious whether those powerful alchemists who could hunt gods were destroyed or migrated to other nes...


    ...


    In the ruins, especially in the central ring area, don''t expect to get a peaceful night''s sleep.


    The previous battle attracted monsters from far away, and the sound of gunfire continued intermittently all night.


    Not just their group, but almost the entire Dawn Ruins were like this.


    Su''en and Mr. Mirror talked for most of the night.


    This mysterious big shot didn''t seem to avoid discussing some ancient secrets with Su''en.


    She seemed like a witness to that period of history, knowing a lot of information that others simply couldn''t know from historical records or other channels.


    ...


    The next morning, the team broke camp and continued towards the core city area of the ruins.


    Another day of fierce fighting, and although many ancient relics were harvested, the casualties became more and more serious.


    Even, because of exploring an A-level cursed space, a second-tier professional died.


    The central ring city area of Dawn City was a dangerous ce that even Mr. Mirror mentioned with a furrowed brow.


    Let alone this kind of carpet-style wilderness hunting operation.


    It was almost no different from sending oneself to death.


    However, the good news was that there were dozens of teams throughout the city "sending themselves to death" at the same time.


    Like a tightening, it also dispersed the monsters in the ruins, reducing the pressure on individual teams significantly, and somerge monsters were driven to the center of the ruins by themotion from all directions.


    Mr. Mirror originally nned to find a reasonable excuse to disappear from the team, but "Thousand Stripes," with the persona of a second-tier professional, was not easy toe by.


    And coincidentally, on the second night of camping, the team encountered a "Nightmare Ghost Fog."


    This drifting ck fog was very sinister; once someone entered, they would disappear, like a head-eating monster.


    In fact, its essence was a kind of "moving cursed space."


    Whether one coulde out alive after entering was one thing; even if they dide out, they would appear in another ce due to the space moving.


    The ghost fog approached, and Mr. Mirror detected the anomaly in advance, and Su''en also felt the abnormal spatial energy fluctuations in the fog.


    Conveniently, this was also a reasonable excuse.


    Then the "Thousand Stripes" led the duty team, coincidentally, into the ghost fog that looked no different from ordinary fog, and the entire team disappeared without a trace.


    An hourter, the entire camp was in chaos.


    To avoid the fog, they moved overnight, hastily retreating to the previous night''s campsite.


    ...


    "Thousand Stripes" disappeared, with an unknown fate, and Miss Rena was heartbroken but became even more resilient.


    However, the wilderness hunting had to continue.


    This hunt was doomed to end in tragedy from the start.


    Rena was also mentally prepared.


    After entering the central ring of the ruins, the dark spirit force in the air had be so dense that everyone''s filter masks were hardly ever taken off.


    Mr. Zolo becamepletely isted.


    In the team, he only had "Thousand Stripes" as an acquaintance, and now he was gone, appearing very solitary all day.


    Su''en knew that in addition to those three supervisory troops, there were other experts in the team watching him.


    Therefore, he needed topletely separate the identities of Zolo and Su''en.


    Two dayster, a special report was sent to the Umbre Organization''s higher-ups: "Zolo Serna, confirmed as a closebat second-tier professional, proficient inbat skills, weak psychic fluctuations,bat style leans towards the ranger profession... Highly unlikely to be the SS wanted criminal Su''en, rmendation to downgrade file level to C!"


    And almost at the same time as this "Zolo" was still active in the Reiss family''s wilderness hunting team, the Oliver family''s hunting team was attacked.


    A Crow Gang executive was killed, three second-tier


    The assassin was a secretive person wearing a crow mask, adept at controlling invisible zombies and ck scythes.


    It was none other than the SS wanted criminal Su''en!


    ...


    On this day, the team finally reached Su''en''s destination for this trip, the superrge cursed space[The Central Prison of Dawn City].


    P.S. Still struggling with the text, only one chapter.

 Chapter 195: Desperate

    Chapter 195: Desperate


    The hunting team from the Reiss main house was short on people, and their progress was slow.


    It took ten days to finally reach the Central Prison of Dawn City.


    From a distance, it was a peculiar pentagonal structure, partially copsed. From its shape, it looked like a gigantic pentagram formation.


    "Commander, a cursed space has been discovered in the ruins over there, with a veryrge coverage area, rated S+, energy fluctuations S+, space stability..."


    "Judging by the architecture, it should be a prison, preliminarily identified as argeposite cursed space, requesting assistance from high-level professionals for reconnaissance..."


    "It has been ascertained that the space entrance is temporarily inessible, requiring special conditions to open..."


    "..."


    Due to days of fierce fighting, the original team of four to five hundred people had lost more than half, leaving only fifty to sixty wounded survivors. The vanguard of the Cross Society was almostpletely wiped out, and the elite troops brought by Rena also suffered heavy losses. Of the more than ten second-order professionals in the team, only six remained.


    Even the three members of the supervisory team who never participated in battles had died one after another, and the military from the inner city had sent new recements.


    Withoutpleting the mission, no one could retreat.


    Looking at the swirling vortex of dark energy above the prison ruins in the distance, everyone''s face was etched with despair.


    They had never seen such arge space entrance before.


    The only piece of good news was that within a certain range of the cursed space, there were usually no distorted creatures or abyssal monsters lurking.


    Before long, an elder d in runic light armor led a scouting team back.


    The old man was naturally the only third-order professional butler in the team, Anthony.


    Due to the shortage of manpower, second and third-order professionals had to personally lead teams to explore dangerous routes to reduce casualties.


    Anthony discussed the reconnaissance situation with the supervisory team,


    Those guys then reported the intelligence to their superiors using militarymunicators as usual.


    The team set up camp on the spot.


    .......


    Since there were not many survivors left, the team members chose a sturdy building that was easy to defend and used mechanical arms and armor to construct a circr encampment.


    Upon hearing the order to set up camp, everyone began to take out their marching tents from their backpacks and started to build.


    Anthony found Rena, who was setting up her own tent.


    Her personal maid had died in the battle three days ago, and now the youngdy no longer required anyone to serve her, taking care of all her affairs by herself.


    Anthony reported with a heavy tone: "Miss, the entrance to the cursed space is temporarily inessible, it seems to require special triggering conditions to enter. Majorie''s team is currently trying to decipher it..."


    "I understand."


    Rena listened, her expression calm, and her hands continued to set up the tent without pausing at the news.


    Anthony watched the changes in his young mistress with a trace of relief in his eyes, but he immediately expressed his concern: "Miss... it''s preliminarily identified as a ''T-level'' space. This time, I''m afraid we won''t make it through."


    "Mhm."


    Rena paused for a moment upon hearing this.


    But it seemed she was already mentally prepared, her tone resolute and indifferent: "If it really is T-level, probing in batches is meaningless. Once we find the way in, I will personally participate in the exploration."


    Anthony looked at her with aplex expression, "Yes, Miss."


    They were all too aware that no one could defy or escape the orders of the Duke''s mansion.


    If they did not continue the exploration, even if they tried to escape, they would surely not survive and would definitely bring disaster upon the entire Oliver family in Old Lingdun.


    Rena had been prepared for the annihtion of the entire army since the start of the expedition.


    This moment was bound toe sooner orter.


    Rena did not forget tofort the loyal old butler, "Grandpa Anthony, perhaps the situation isn''t as bad as it seems."


    "Ah..."


    Anthony sighed softly, said no more, and turned to leave.


    At that moment, Rena seemed to think of something and nced at the corner where a solitary figure was pitching a tent, the always aloof Mr. Zolo.


    Thinking it over, she walked over and greeted him: "Mr. Zolo."


    "Mr. Zolo" responded: "What is it, Miss Rena?"


    His face was covered by a crude full-face gas mask with mechanical modifications, making it impossible to see clearly, and his voice sounded hoarse through the filter canister.


    "Thank you for taking care of me along the way."


    Rena bowed to Zolo, well aware that he had taken great care of her throughout the journey.


    Otherwise, during the battle with the third-order Three-Headed Humanoid Python a few days ago, she would have been either dead or severely injured. At that time, Butler Anthony was restrained by the monster, and her personal guards had all perished. If it weren''t for Mr. Zolo, she would have been burned to death by the monster''s corrosive poison gas.


    Sure enough, her aunt said he was very powerful, and he truly was.


    After bowing, Rena continued: "Mr. Zolo, what I want to tell you is, after we figure out how to enter the cursed space, I will lead all the members in. You are not a contracted member of our family, and there''s no need for you to join us..."


    "No, you don''t need to be so polite."


    Zolo shook his head, his tone seemingly not as heavy as Rena''s, "After all, Sister Qian entrusted me to take good care of you."


    "You''ve done well enough, thank you very much."


    Rena thanked him sincerely again, then revealed the harsh truth, "But you don''t have to die with me."


    Hearing this, Zolo shook his head, seemingly amused, "No, what I mean is... even if I wanted to leave, I couldn''t."


    He paused, then added meaningfully: "Besides, I never nned to leave."


    "???"


    Rena was puzzled upon hearing this.


    Just as she was about to say something more, themunicator suddenly transmitted an urgent report.


    "Miss, we have arge group of people rapidly approaching us from the left... Judging by the gs, they''re from the rk family!"


    "Miss, another group has arrived from the right, they''re from the Oliver family!"


    With that, the entire camp immediately tensed up.


    .......


    The Dawn Ruins were vast, but dozens of teams were also clearing the area at the same time, so in reality, the distance between each team was not far.


    Rena''s team was assigned number sixteen, with the Oliver family at fifteen and the rk family at seventeen.


    Although obscured by fog and ruins, making it impossible to see figures, the sounds of gunfire and battle indicated that the teams were actually not far apart. It was like a divided cake; the closer to the core city area, the closer the teams were to each other.


    In fact, a few days earlier, Rena''s team had already noticed the movements of the teams on both sides.


    Those families had enough manpower to divide into several waves to clear the area, making rapid progress.


    The hunting teams were at the forefront, with the young masters anddies'' main teams following behind.


    And just minutes ago, within the Oliver family''s team a few kilometers away from Rena''s team.


    Danze Junior was leisurely enjoying his afternoon coffee in the tent.


    Compared to the brutal frontline battles, although they had also suffered some minor monster attacks, it was inconsequential.


    After all, they had the vice president of the Hunter''s Guild, the renowned third-order professional Nero Redgrave.


    Since thest time he was ambushed by Su''en, Danze had not dared to stray too far from this third-order professional.


    He and the bearded swordsman sipped coffee while ying chess on a ck and white checkerboard, chatting.


    "Mr. Nero, what do you think of that SS-ranked fugitive Su''en''s strength?"


    "Hard to say..."


    "Hard to say?"


    "I observed carefully during that ambush. The true strength Su''en disyed was only that of an average second-order level. But his Eight-Armed Spider Lance has an outstanding discement ability in the ruins, even I would find it difficult to catch him..."


    "Just good at running, that''s all."


    "It''s not that simple. Now that we''ve confirmed that guy is associated with that reactionary organization, we can''t underestimate him. Besides, did you notice that he hasn''t shown his second-order advancement ability yet?"


    "The advancement choices for a puppeteer are limited. That guy is young, yet his puppet control skills are so proficient, he most likely chose to advance in the ''puppet control skills'' direction. After all, you know, puppet control requires a lot of time and effort to practice..."


    "Mhm, that makes sense."


    "In my opinion, that SS-ranked fugitive Su''en seems to be relying on the scythe of a banned item to wreak havoc. That guy is indeed lucky to have obtained a secret technique for refining living corpses that can avoid the curse bacsh of banned items. However, now that I have firmly stabilized my second-order realm and have this Stanitz''s Chessboard, if Su''enes again, I guarantee he won''t return."


    "Although I think Danze Junior should be a bit more cautious. But with this cursed item,bined with Puppet Theater, facing a second-order professional, you indeed have no reason to lose..."


    Hearing this, Danze''s face showed a smug smile.


    As they were talking, a subordinate came to report.


    "Young Master, we''ve received orders from the ck Tower to send people to assist the Reiss main house team in opening arge cursed space..."


    Both men looked surprised.


    Danze turned, "Mr. Nero, are you interested in taking a look?"


    "Of course."


    Nero narrowed his eyes slightly and added: "Since we''ve offended the Reiss main house, we must eradicate thempletely. Now that the ck Tower has sanctioned your actions, that Miss Rena and old Anthony must not be allowed to leave the ruins alive. Otherwise, there won''t be such a good opportunity next time. Carnegie Reiss is very capable; he survived such a splitst time, and if we can''tpletely break them down this time, a weakened tiger is still a big trouble..."


    Danzeughed, "I think so too."


    .......


    Rena had long known that the rk family''s vanguard team on the left had far surpassed their own team in progress and had been keeping a close watch.


    Now these guys suddenly changed their route, obviously with ill intentions.


    Sure enough, before long, a group of several hundred hunters emerged from the distant fog.


    Judging by the family crests engraved on their equipment, they were clearly the elite team of the rk family.


    The young man leading the rk family, d in brand-new hunting gear, was naturally the eldest son, Eli rk.


    This eldest son looked at Rena''s few dozen survivors with a tone full of mockery: "Yo, Miss Rena, it seems your situation isn''t looking too good, huh?"


    The visitors clearly had bad intentions, and Butler Anthony had already protected Rena, eyeing the three personal bodyguards beside Eli with pupils slightly constricting, saying: "Miss, be careful, those are the Ice, Thunder, and Earth elders from the Old Lingdun Mystical Studies Association, very strong elemental sorcerers with powerful cursed items. Together, even I am not confident of gaining the upper hand quickly."


    An archer with a blue longbow, a woman in a robe with a thunder-patterned staff, and a punk with green hair.


    All three exuded an extraordinary aura, and the weapons in their hands were no ordinary items.


    Rena nced at them and turned to look coldly at the approaching group, responding: "What are you here for?"


    Eli led his team swaggering over,zily saying: "Received a notification from the higher-ups at the ck Tower, saying you might not be able to handle this cursed space, so I brought people over to take a look for you."


    He didn''t need toe personally, but now that he heard it was Rena''s team, this Eli naturally wanted to kick them while they were down.


    Rena''s brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and she nced at the three white-helmeted supervisors not far away, seemingly inquiring.


    The ck-faced supervisory team leader responded indifferently: "The order from above is only to supervise your clearing. We won''t intervene in your family affairs, nor will we manage them."


    After speaking, the three supervisors deliberately distanced themselves, seemingly indicating their stance: you fight, just don''t hurt us.


    Rena had no expectations for these people to mediate, and upon hearing this, she shouted sharply: "All men, on mymand, anyone who approaches the camp, shoot to kill!"


    At hermand, both sides almost simultaneously raised their guns.


    "Click" "Click" the sound of guns being cocked filled the air.


    With nearly a tenfold difference in numbers, the rk family had an absolute advantage.


    Eli seemedpletely unfazed by the guns pointed at him, signaling his men to lower their weapons.


    After all, in this situation, even if the other side fired first, they had no chance of winning.He looked at Rena and continued to provoke, "Yo~ Miss Rena seems to be in a bad mood..."


    As if it had been arranged, the moment the rk family arrived, Danze Junior of the Oliver family also emerged with his team.


    Danze Junior, watching the two tense groups, took delight in their misfortune, "Tsk tsk... seems like I''ve arrived at an awkward time?"


    Beside him, there was a heavily made-up young girl who bore a resemnce to Rena.


    It was none other than Betty Reiss of the Reiss family, Danze Junior''s fiance.


    She yed a significant role in the downfall of the main house.


    She looked at Rena and gloated, "Sister Rena, long time no see."


    ........


    The two groups together nearly amounted to a thousand people, all enemies.


    In this situation, it seemed unlikely that Rena and herpanions would be able to enter the cursed space; they might be annihted right outside.


    Anthony, the old butler, stepped forward and pressed, "Miss Rena, shall we talk now?"


    Rena, facing the enemies who had closed in to fifty meters, showed no fear and pulled the trigger.


    "Bang!"


    The gunshot rang out.


    The bullet hit the ground at Anthony''s feet, sending up a puff of white smoke.


    Rena, holding the gun, said calmly, "Come any closer, and the next bullet will be in your head."


    Apparently anticipating the bullet''s trajectory, Anthony''s bodyguards didn''t even flinch.


    Although Anthony himself jumped in fright, the sneer on his face deepened. He turned to Rena''s guards and said something intriguing, "You don''t want to live, but don''t you care about your subordinates?"


    His words seemed to be a signal.


    At that moment, a second-rank captain named Pruitt Keith suddenly led a dozen subordinates to distance themselves.


    Seeing this, the old butler Anthony bellowed, "Pruitt, what are you doing!"


    Pruitt looked at Rena and said, "I''m sorry, Miss Rena. I''ve given a lot to the Reiss family, but I don''t want to die here..."


    Clearly, these people had been bought off.


    There was no need for them to continue their undercover roles.


    Whether it was the cursed space ahead or the predicament here, staying with the Reiss main house seemed like certain death.


    As they said this, they held their guns at the ready and walked out of the fortified camp.


    Rena''s team was already small, and with the loss of a dozen more, a gap in the camp''s defenses immediately appeared.


    The most critical blow was to morale; with these people gone, the remaining eyes were filled with anger and despair.


    The old butler Anthony wanted to kill the traitors, but with enemies all around, he dared not act rashly.


    Rena remained silent, her situation worsening, but her demeanor unchanged.


    Her gun-holding hand was still steady.


    At this time, Anthony, not far away, with even more scorn in his eyes, asked again, "Now, Miss Rena, have you changed your mind?"


    The Reiss main house''s situation had be desperate.


    Rena didn''t turn to look but said indifferently to the remaining guards, "If anyone else wants to leave now, I won''t me you."


    She knew very well that they were targeted for the destruction of the Reiss main house.


    Surrender? It would serve no purpose other than humiliation.


    After a pause, she spoke with resolve, "But if you stay, be prepared to fight to the death with me!"


    Hearing this, the morale that had been dampened by the betrayal of their officers suddenly surged.


    The guards rallied around Rena, ready to fight to the death.


    "Miss, we won''t leave!"


    "We swear to live and die with the family!"


    "Yes! We swear to live and die with the family! Fight to the end!"


    "..."


    The crowd was fervent, and the spirit of the few dozen people was like a zing fire, holding its own against the nearly thousand enemies surrounding them.


    And the old butler Anthony seemed to have unleashed some secret technique, suddenly growing horns on his head, his bones cracking, and his body swelling into a nearly two-meter-tall muscr humanoid goat.


    Looking at this group, the experts from the Oliver and rk families frowned, even the third-rank professional Nero looked solemn.


    He watched the old goat whose aura had suddenly exploded and muttered to himself, "Anthony, the champion of the Old London fighting tournament twenty years ago... tsk tsk, it''s been a long time since I''ve seen this form."


    A third-rank professional fighting for their life is no joke.

 Chapter 196: Who is Zolo?

    Chapter 196: Who is Zolo?


    Young Master Eli looked at Rena''s fierce resistance and dared not advance any further.


    They had thought that faced with such a dire situation, a pampered youngdy from a prestigious family would surely capitte.


    But she had no intention of negotiating and chose to fight to the death instead.


    "Hmph! A woman who doesn''t appreciate kindness, don''t me me for not being polite!" Eli sneered, just as he was about to retreat.


    Unexpectedly, at that moment, an anachronistic voice suddenly emerged.


    "Um... Young Master Eli, I heard there''s some bad blood between us?"


    All eyes shifted, focusing on the masked man leaning against a stone pir in Rena''s camp.


    Although he stood with Rena''s group, he seemed out of ce.


    Rena, looking at Zolo who had suddenly spoken, felt a twinge of guilt and confusion. "Mr. Zolo, you..."


    Before she could finish, Zolo interrupted her with an indifferent tone, as if muttering to himself, "After all, I promised Sister Qian and that person to try my best to keep you alive. Naturally, I must fulfill my duty."


    That person?


    Rena''s mind flickered with confusion.


    But reality left no room for detailed questioning.


    ...


    Because of the gas mask, Eli did not recognize him and questioned, "Who are you?"


    The masked man responded calmly, "I am Zolo. Young Master Eli seems to have a short memory?"


    "Heh, it''s you."


    Something clicked for Eli, and he squinted at the masked man, chuckling, "What, you want to beg for mercy now?"


    "No."


    Zolo shook his head with a smile, "I was thinking of borrowing something from Young Master Eli."


    Eli scoffed, "Oh? What do you want to borrow?"


    Zolo spoke in a joking tone, "Your head for a moment."


    "Hehe..."


    Eliughed as if he had heard a joke,pletely unconcerned, full of scorn, "Just you?"


    I''ve got hundreds of men with me, even that third-tier old man wouldn''t dare to speak up, and you think you can take me down in a second?


    "Mhm."


    Listening to the obviously mocking question, Zolo actually nodded seriously.


    As he spoke, he toyed with the dagger in his hand, flicking his wrist to produce a beautiful flourish of the de. His tone remained casual, but the killing intent in his eyes began to solidify as he added, "I also wanted to say, you shouldn''t stand so close. At this distance, with just these few people, they can''t protect your life..."


    Before he finished speaking, the killing intent suddenly burst forth.


    The three elders beside Eli were the first to sense something, their expressions changing dramatically as they shouted, "Young Master, be careful!"


    Zolo''s words were still echoing in everyone''s ears when they heard a "bang" and the sound of shattering stone.


    Upon closer inspection, the stone pir Zolo had been leaning on, as if struck by some invisible colossal force, suddenly cracked with countless spiderweb-like fissures.


    "Crack," "crack," "crack"...


    After a series of fine, dense sounds, the force spread, and the entire pir could no longer withstand it, shattering into pieces and exploding.


    Everyone watched in disbelief as the nearly one-meter-diameter load-bearing pir inexplicably disintegrated.


    The explosion sounded in an instant, and only then did the shockwave ripple out from the spot where Zolo had previously braced his feet.


    After a momentary dy, a "pop" sounded in the air, piercing eardrums.


    Looking again, the figure of "Zolo" in front of them had dissipated.


    It was a visual illusion,


    The man had already vanished from the spot.


    ...


    The previously calm "Zolo" suddenly erupted into action.


    The lower-tier professionals hadn''t even grasped what had happened, but the two third-tier professionals present had already caught Zolo''s movement in advance.


    Both third-tiers changed color at the same time.


    Anthony, now transformed into a demonic sheep, was shocked, "Mr. Zolo is so strong?!"


    Only he, also a melee professional, could tell just from the cracking anomaly of the pir how terrifying this instant movement technique was.


    He never imagined that a bounty hunter, who had always seemed so unremarkable, possessed such physical prowess.


    And Nero, the "Thunder Sword King," immediately recognized the air-stepping technique and was horrified, "Air Step!"


    This was a secret technique even he had not mastered, and he was astonished to see "Zolo" pull off such a move.


    The subtle skill required to step on air seemed light, but it required supreme talent to master!


    Nero then understood why "Zolo" had said those words earlier. With the ability to charge forward, within fifty meters, those second-tier guards, no matter how strong, couldn''t protect Young Master Eli''s life!


    "Not good!"


    Nero''s heart raced with urgency. He naturally couldn''t just watch Eli get killed right before his eyes.


    Almost the moment he realized Zolo''s sudden move, he swung his sword, sending out a sharp sword qi that surged forward tens of meters in an instant.


    But...


    As another third-tier professional on the field, how could he let Nero have his way?


    Anthony also snorted coldly, his figure turning into a streak of light, perfectly blocking the sword qi.


    Transformed into a demonic sheep, he no longer bore the old demeanor from before; his body was now filled with explosive power.


    With this touch, Anthony''s hands, covered in white fur, wrapped around a whirlwind, and he actually blocked the sword qi with his bare hands!


    The two third-tiers reacted and shed extremely quickly, almostpleting their exchange in the instant the pir copsed.


    Nero''s sword qi was fruitless, and at that moment, the figure of "Zolo," who had disappeared, reappeared, already dozens of meters away.


    Young Master Eli also realized that something terrible was happening. The great terror of facing death changed hisplexion, and he wanted to shout for help in his heart.


    But his throat couldn''t make a sound in time.


    He instinctively wanted to dodge, but his body couldn''t keep up with his mind''s reaction, and he could only watch helplessly as the figure shed before him.


    The pitch-ck poisoned dagger quietly reached for his neck.


    As the crisis loomed, the three disaster elders of ice, lightning, and earth around Eli also reacted.


    But how could their spells be faster than a melee professional who used "Air Step" to advance?


    Among them, the bald, muscr man of the earth element, who had strong defensive capabilities and was the only melee professional, was the first to sh forward, positioning his body in front of Young Master Eli. At the same time, his skin glowed with an earthy light, clearly intending to withstand the blow.


    If "Zolo" charged straight ahead, he would run right into him.


    ...


    But would Zolo do as they wished?


    The "Air Step" was not only fast but also excelled in its ability to stop abruptly and change direction!


    Before anyone could react, another ripple burst in the air.


    "Zolo" stepped on the air again, stopping abruptly and changing direction, tracing a "Z" shaped lightning path in the air, perfectly avoiding the bald man''s block.


    Young Master Eli caught a glimpse of a figure in the corner of his eye, but before the image could be processed from his retina to his brain, he suddenly felt a chill at his waist.


    The sharp poisoned dagger precisely cut through a weak seam in the protective suit, cunningly slicing open a gash.


    In an instant, the wound was exposed to the air, quickly turning ck, and a foul-smelling pus gushed out.


    Before Young Master Eli could say anything, his vision darkened, and he slumped down, his breath as thin as a thread!


    ...


    With a single encounter, "Zolo" had severely wounded Young Master Eli, who was protected by numerous experts, stunning everyone present.


    As the person fell, the "pop, pop, pop" sounds of stepping on air echoed in everyone''s ears.


    Time seemed to pause for a moment, and only then did people recover from their shock.


    "Quick, detoxify the young master!"


    "Damn it, stop him!"


    "Protect the young master!"


    "..."


    The scene descended into chaos.


    Not far away, Nero, the "Thunder Sword King," saw this scene and was even more shocked, "Wasn''t the intel that he was a ranger? This looks like a professional assassin? And with a three-stage Air Step, such an exaggerated burst of speed, how strong must this guy''s body be? When did such a powerful expert appear among second-tier professionals?"


    With the "Air Step," even he felt a certain threat.


    Clearly, Nero''s first reaction was that there was something wrong with "Zolo"!


    How could such a strong person be just a somewhat famous bounty hunter?


    "Could it be a hidden handid by Carnegie Reyes?"


    Nero''s eyes darted around, and in an instant, his mind raced with many unanswered questions.


    But reality didn''t give him the chance to ponder.


    Because at that moment, the battle had already begun.


    Zolo''s assassination of Young Master Eli ignited the fuse of a powder keg.


    Gunfire erupted chaotically.


    And after "Zolo" had severely wounded Young Master Eli, his figure didn''t pause, charging directly into the ranks of the rk family''s troops.


    His speed left the second-tier professionals unable to react, let alone the ordinary guards?


    Due to the hasty arrival and relying on their numerical advantage, this group had not formed any defensive formation.


    Now that the incident had urred suddenly, "Zolo" was like a bullet, easily piercing through the enemy''s defense. His figure flitted about like a ghost, and wherever his sharp dagger passed, it inevitably left a cunning trail of blood through the gaps in armor and bulletproof vests.


    "Don''t shoot randomly, be careful of friendly fire!"


    "Use area control spells!"


    "Mech suits, block him!"


    "Use guns! Use guns!"


    "..."


    The enemy was in disarray.


    Because of "Zolo''s" presence, which attracted most of the rk family''s firepower, Rena''s side felt much less pressure.


    Although the Reyes family had fewer people, their equipment was extremely sophisticated, and they also took advantage of the terrain and defensive positions. A few heavily armored mechanical warriors blocked the front, and a barrage of firepower covered them, holding their ground for the time being.


    However, if the battle dragged on, it would eventually be a dead end.


    And even though "Zolo" was formidable, he was only one person.


    There were also second-tier experts among the enemies.


    Earlier, he had taken advantage of the surprise attack, and they hadn''t reacted in time.


    Now that he had killed someone, although he was mixed in with the crowd, his speed had slowed down.


    Two second-tier assassins entangled him.


    Daggers shed, sparking shes of fire.


    Although "Zolo" still had the upper hand for the moment, with the enemy''s overwhelming numbers, once he was entangled, he would also face a dead end.


    And the area spells of those magic casters were also forming...


    "Zolo" was clearly aware of this and didn''t give his enemies the chance to encircle him.


    After charging in, injuring dozens of people, he immediately ran towards the outskirts of the encirclement, looking as if he wanted to break through and escape.


    If he really disappeared into the mist, with his speed, no matter how many people there were, catching up would be impossible!


    ...


    Not far away, Rena and her people watched as Mr. Zolo reached the edge of the battlefield and breathed a sigh of relief.


    Under the current circumstances, escaping one by one was the best they could hope for.


    But just then, something unexpected happened.


    Normal speed was hard to match for a professional assassin who could use Air Step, but there were certain special alchemical items.


    "Don''t let him escape!"


    Seeing Zolo intent on fleeing, a figure among the enemy suddenly increased in speed by several times, reaching an unbelievable pace.


    Taking advantage of "Zolo" still being mired in the crowd, the figure suddenly surged forward to intercept him, moving even faster than the Air Step!


    It was this moment, the difference in speed, that brought the two into contact.


    The man''s fist mmed into "Zolo''s" head, and even though he tried his best to twist his body to dissipate the force, he was still hit in the face by the punch, his body halted, and he was sent flying backward.


    Zolo was sent flying, but without much surprise, he muttered to himself, "Tsk tsk... able to elerate time, must be that ''Watkins'' Pocket Watch'' the guy mentioned. As expected, still far from him. If he were here, he could probably kill all these guys..."


    A punch to the face sent the gas mask flying.


    Afternding, "Zolo''s" demeanor changed drastically from before, showing no intention of fighting to the death,


    He actually raised his hands without any heroic spirit,


    He... made a gesture of surrender?


    At that moment, seeing that the target was not resisting, someone suddenly shouted, "Take him alive!"


    With thatmand, the lethal methods also suddenly ceased.


    Everyone then saw clearly that beneath the mask was a strange face with blue skin.


    From a distance, Rena and Anthony, who had once seen "Zolo," were greatly surprised.They were astonished to find that this blue-skinned individual was not the handsome and imposing gentleman she had seen before!


    .......


    This blue-skinned "Zolo" was naturally not Su''en.


    Instead, it was Kay, who had merged with the X serum and advanced to a second-tier assassin.


    Kay, surrounded by the crowd, raised his hands in surrender.


    He showed no intention of behaving like a captive, his face adorned with a radiant smile, and he muttered, "Just as I thought, that guy said you wouldn''t dare kill me once you saw the ''X serum.''"


    Hearing this, a middle-aged man with a grim expression stepped forward.


    He scrutinized Kay''s blue skin and then looked at Kay, who waspletely lucid, clearly recognizing the effects of the "X serum."


    He was also immensely shocked.


    Where did they get their "X serum"?


    Could someone actually inject it and not be deformed?


    This was also the reason he had ordered to take a prisoner just moments ago.


    They were people from the Umbre Organization, naturally unconcerned with any family infighting.


    The middle-aged man ignored the ongoing fierce battle among the three major families and shot Kay in the leg,


    He was very cautious, probably also to prevent Kay from using that kind of speed to escape again.


    After injuring him, he then asked in a deep voice, "Who is the person you''re talking about?"


    Kay took a bullet in his left thigh, stumbled, and nearly fell.


    However, his face showed no sign of pain, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly: "You''ll find out soon enough."


    The middle-aged man''s expression changed slightly as he guessed something: "Are you stalling for time?"


    "Yeah... you just realized?"


    Kay looked at the curse space portal that was suddenly glowing with dark light not far away and grinned: "Tsk tsk... the timing is just perfect."


    Before the people in front of him could react, they suddenly found that the scenery around them had changed dramatically.


    Only then did everyone realize that due to some special condition, they had been swept into the cursed space!

 Chapter 197: Central Prison

    Chapter 197: Central Prison


    The prison from a thousand years ago wasn''t much different from the one in Old Lingdun.


    A gloomy and enclosed underground space, cramped cells, cold runic iron bars, and walls built withrge chunks of bluestone like bread, with a dim gasmp every few meters.


    The air was slightly damp, carrying the rotten stench of a sewer.


    Perhaps to dispel the damp and foul smell, there were zing fire pits in the corridor outside the bars, where the firewood crackled as it burned.


    The sound of gunfire was incessant to the ear.


    The prison seemed quiterge, with the sound of gunfireing from afar.


    ........


    The dark spiritual energy inside the prison was extremely dense, so thick that it seemed to warp people at any moment.


    Kay ignored the gunfire outside, greedily taking in a few breaths.


    The rich dark spiritual energy made him feel veryfortable.


    Although his thigh had been shot through, it didn''t hinder him from suddenly pulling out a dagger and effortlessly shing the throats of two elite members of the rk family in the same cell.


    Coincidentally, in the cell opposite him were Rena and Anthony, the old butler.


    Seeing the changing scene, the old butler firmly held Rena''s hand, finally rxing.


    Suddenly pulled into the cursed space amidst fierce battle, both of them had a look of shock and bewilderment in their eyes.


    However, they naturally also saw Kay, who had just killed someone in the opposite cell.


    Although they didn''t know who this blue-skinned stranger was, they knew he was a friend, not a foe.


    Through the iron bars, Anthony asked, "Young man, what exactly is going on here? Where is Mr. Zolo?"


    Kay was treating the gunshot wound on his leg, the "X serum" providing him with superhuman healing abilities, visibly mending his torn flesh.


    Hearing the question, he looked up at the two, his tone slightly odd, "Zolo? Hmm... he should be arriving soon."


    Saying this, Kay looked at the old butler who seemed to be testing the strength of the iron bars and stopped him, "Oh, right. He told us to stay in the cell and not go out, or we might run into trouble. The jailers outside... they can''t be killed..."


    Hearing this, Anthony pondered for a moment, visibly startled, and quickly asked, "Was it Mr. Zolo who activated the cursed space just now?"


    Kay had no intention of hiding anything and casually replied, "Yes."


    Upon hearing this,


    Rena and Anthony were both shocked.


    They had thought it was an ident, thinking it was too coincidental that they were swept into the cursed space during the heat of battle.


    Was it actually man-made?


    And wasn''t this a "T-level" space? Listening to the tone of the strange man before them, it seemed that Mr. Zolo knew some "secrets" that others did not.


    At this moment, Rena, looking at Kay treating his wound, said, "Sir, the through-and-through wound on your leg carries elemental damage, which will prevent the wound from healing. I have a targeted healing potion here. If you need it..."


    Before she could finish, Kay unceremoniously shed a brilliant smile, "Thank you."


    Rena tossed the potion over, nodding, "I should be thanking you... By the way, sir, how may I address you?"


    She was well aware that the man before her was very strong; if he hadn''t stayed behind, they wouldn''t have been involved at all.


    His injury was because of her.


    As Kay poured the potion on his wound, he introduced himself, "Miss Rena, you can call me Kay."


    He paused, then shook his head dismissively, "You don''t need to thank me. ''Zolo'' asked me toe in his stead and to protect Miss Rena."


    Saying this, he revealed a light smile on his face, ncing at Rena, "If you want to thank someone, thank himter."


    "Oh... we should all be grateful."


    Rena felt a bit puzzled upon hearing this.


    Even that Mr. Zolo didn''t have much of a rtionship with her.


    If it was because of her aunt, it seemed a bit far-fetched.


    Mr. Zolo seemed too kind to her?


    Rena thought for a moment and said, "I''m sorry for involving you in such a troublesome incident."


    Kay just smiled nomittally.


    .......


    As the youngdy spoke, Anthony, the butler, naturally wouldn''t presume to interrupt, instead listening silently on the side.


    He was also secretly guessing Kay''s identity.


    Suddenly, something came to mind, and Anthony, testing the waters, asked, "Mr. Kay, if I may be so bold, are you the one who injured Gage before?"


    As a butler, Anthony naturally handled all the family''s intelligence.


    He knew far more than Rena did.


    In fact, when he saw Kay''s sudden outburst, he had an inkling.


    Such a formidable professional couldn''t be a nobody.


    And there weren''t many professionals in Old Lingdun who could perform the "Step of Void."


    Then, he thought of the recent intelligence about the mysterious lone ranger with the nickname "Hyena," the one who had ughtered the "Steel Cannon Hunting Group" and nearly killed "Gun King" Gage with a ghost-like technique.


    Although the intelligence suggested that the "Hyena" was only a first-order professional, which was a bit below the man before him, there seemed to be no one else who would dare to oppose the inner city''s major families.


    Kay nced at the old butler, seemingly pondering for a moment, then simply uttered one word: "Yes."


    With that, Anthony''s pupils shrank slightly, his heart churning with shock.


    The "Hyena" himself wasn''t a big problem; the intelligence also indicated he was a lone ranger with no significant background.


    But he was involved in a huge trouble,


    That was the "SS wanted criminal Su''en"!


    Rumor had it that the two had an extraordinary rtionship.


    Moreover, there was now news that "Su''en" was also involved with a reactionary organization, entangled in troubles too vast to fathom.


    That was the kind of trouble that any major family would die from if they got involved!


    .........


    Rena, still not understanding, looked at the old butler with a puzzled expression, who seemed to have a different tone.


    Anthony didn''t know how to exin, his expressionplex for a moment before he murmured to himself, "So it''s your excellency..."


    He looked at Kay, then thought of something else.


    If he could guess his identity, so could others.


    He directly voiced his concern, "Thank you for your righteous intervention, sir. However, this might cause trouble now. The Oliver and rk families have close ties with the military in the inner city, and there might be people from the umbre organization among their troops. If they get out alive, it could cause a lot of trouble..."


    "Get out alive?"


    Kay shook his head, interrupting his worries, and stated directly, "No. If that guy intends to do this, they won''t be able to get out alive."


    "???"


    Anthony thought Kay was unaware of the prowess of top professionals; after all, there were only a few third-order professionals in the whole of Old Lingdun.


    His concern did not diminish but grew stronger as he exined, "But... the elites from the two families are very strong. ''Sword King of Wind and Thunder'' Nero is extremely powerful, even I am not sure I can defeat him. And the Three Cmities Elders, if they join forces, no second-order professional can stand against them..."


    Kay shrugged, his expression suggesting agreement, and said casually, "Mr. Anthony, I quite agree with you."


    Anthony was even more puzzled.


    But after a pause, Kay''s tone suddenly changed, his eyes deepening, and he slowly said, "Although I also think it''s impossible. But when that guy says he''ll do something, he always makes it happen."


    Upon hearing this, Anthony''s brow furrowed.


    Too many unexpected events had urred today, making him feel somewhat unreal.


    He suddenly thought, could it be... they n to use this cursed space?


    But this is a "T-level" space, a dead end for enemies, and isn''t it the same for them?


    .......


    Meanwhile, the sound of gunfire in the corridor outside was getting denser.


    The prison was not only filled with their group of outsiders but also NPC jailers and prisoners.


    It sounded like arge group of people was fighting the jailers, apparently trying to violently break out of prison and escape.


    Almost all cursed spaces have amon method of resolution, which is to fight one''s way through.


    Hearing the increasingmotion outside, Kay remained calm, but Rena and Anthony, the butler, were quite puzzled.


    Rena asked, "Mr. Kay, should we go out now?"


    Kay shook his head, "No. Those jailers outside aren''t strong, but that guy said, don''t kill them, killing them will bring big trouble."


    Hearing this, Rena thought for a moment and asked, "Does Mr. Zolo... know the information about this cursed space?"


    Kay spread his hands, "Don''t look at me. I don''t know much more than you do."


    But before they could talk further, Anthony suddenly looked alert and warned, "Someone''sing."


    After waiting a moment, Rena and Kay could distinguish footsteps approaching their corner cell amidst the gunfire.


    The footsteps were steady, without a hint of haste.


    As they got closer, they heard a conversation from outside.


    It seemed to be a dialogue between NPCs in this space.


    "Jailer Chief! There''s been arge-scale prisoner riot in areas one and two, please instruct!"


    "Hmm, hold your positions. There will be a shock troop to handle that. I need to interrogate a few prisoners."


    "Yes!"


    "..."


    As soon as the voice fell, a man wearing a dark blue prison uniform with a ferocious iron mask approached.


    Judging by the epaulettes on his shoulder, he was the jailer chief who had just spoken.


    The masked man came to Kay''s cell, jingling a bunch of keys, and as he unlocked the door, he said, "Sorry for the dy, had to deal with some things."


    Kay recognized the visitor as Su''en at a nce, and although not too surprised, he was still curious, "How did you be the jailer chief?"


    "It saves a lot of trouble with this identity."


    Su''en exined nonchntly.


    He opened Kay''s cell, then turned to unlock the opposite iron door.


    Because he hadn''t removed his mask, Rena didn''t recognize him and tentatively asked, "Mr. Zolo?"


    Su''en seemed to ponder for a moment, deliberately not revealing his identity, and chuckled, "Yes, Miss Rena."


    But Anthony, the butler, scrutinized the mysterious masked man, his eyes showing gravity.


    Why was everyone else a prisoner, and he was an NPC?


    .......


    Su''en led the three out of the prison.


    Only then did Kay and the others see several armed jailers in the corners of the prison corridor, who didn''t seem very intelligent.


    With Su''en, the "jailer chief," leading them, they walked past without anyone stopping them, which surprised Kay and the others.


    The dark corridors were cramped, giving a sense of oppression everywhere.


    After walking for a while and seeing no one around, Su''en finally exined, "These first-level jailers aren''t strong, but killing them would be troublesome. The jailers on the lower levels are very strong, and once they act, none of the escapees will survive. Especially those who have killed jailers."


    Hearing this, Kay and the others finally understood.


    Instinctively, Anthony asked, "Mr. Zolo, how strong are the jailers below? How many levels does this prison have?"


    He felt that as the strongestbatant present, it was necessary to understand the enemy''s strength and the basic information about this space.


    Su''en pondered for a moment before responding with two words: "Very strong."


    Thinking for a while, he exined in a way they could understand, "This prison has five levels. ording to ancient ssifications, prisoners below the third order are held on the first level where we are now. The prisoners on the second level, as recorded, are all ''beyond order'' beings. Although much of their energy has dissipated over time, there are beings beyond the third order on the second level. I don''t know about the third and fourth levels. But I do know there''s an unbeatable presence on the fifth level. And this prison is special; its exit is on the fifth level. So whoever wants to get out has to go underground."


    Listening to this series of exnations, Kay and the others behind him were all astonished.


    There were descriptions of "beyond order" and unbeatable beings...


    Rena asked, "So... is this really a T-level space?"


    Su''en nodded nonchntly, "Yes."


    "..."


    Anthony''s face twitched, his eyes filled with doubt.If someone could read minds, at this moment they would surely hear him thinking: Your Excellency must have some misconceptions about the "T-level space"?


    T-level signifies no survivors.


    The content you described does fit this rating.


    But your tone is so casual... as if discussing a "D-level" space!


    Moreover, what surprised them even more was, since it''s a "T-level," where did this guy get his information?


    Kay seemed to know something but didn''t ask.


    For some reason, Rena felt a strange sense of familiarity when she saw what was happening before her.


    There had been someone like this in the past, always numbly calm at any critical moment.


    Even in desperate situations, they could instill an indescribable sense of trust.


    Thinking of something, she directly asked, "Mr. Zolo seems quite familiar with this space?"


    Su''en replied indifferently, "Hmm, I''ve been here a few times before."


    Been here...


    A few times?


    If someone imed they hade out alive from a "T-level" space, anyone would think they were bragging.


    Not only have you been here, but you''ve also been here "a few times"?


    Hearing this quantifier, the gazes of Kay and the others simultaneously turned very peculiar.


    .......


    Su''en knew that his experiences, if spoken aloud, would seem unbelievable to others.


    He had previously thought of using the "false identity" tactic, wanting Kay to take Zolo''s ce to create an alibi.


    And during the time he freed up, he wasn''t idle either.


    He went to the Oliver family and killed a few people, showing his face;


    Then he came early to the cursed space to scout.


    Su''en had the items given by Mr. Mirror; he could have directly entered, found the prison "Lady Sereya."


    With those tokens, getting out safely wouldn''t be a big problem.


    But he always felt that, since this was a T-level space, it would be a waste to juste here for business.


    And with the All-Seeing Eye, he naturally could see all the information about this cursed space.


    Central Prison of Dawn City


    Details: A superrge cursed space, T-level; once the central prison of Dawn City, it held countless extremely vicious criminals; to stay alive, one must stay in their cell and not wander; otherwise, the jailers will kill all the escapees; without the pardon of that warden, you will never be able to leave the space; requires a specific spell to open; once the space is opened, it will draw in all life forms within a three-kilometer radius.


    The moment Su''en saw the space''s feature of "drawing in all life forms within a three-kilometer radius," an idea popped into his head: a death trap!


    This was a cursed space that could be called unsolvable.


    Those who enter can only stay in their cells, and breaking out would result in being killed as an "escapee."


    But staying in the cell, one can do nothing.


    Either die trapped or be killed.


    So, there''s actually only one way out, and that''s to break out and push through.


    But in reality... it''s impossible!


    After chatting with Mr. Mirror before, Su''en also knew that as time passed, the difficulty of the cursed space would decrease due to energy dissipation and the loss of certainws, and the NPCs inside would weaken.


    Over this past millennium, the remnants of fifth and sixth-order sorcerers in the space probably only had the strength of second or third-order, or even lower.


    This was also why the cursed space NPCs Su''en had encountered before were not of high order.


    But this ce was very close to that "space channel," with dense dark energy, preserving the cursed space well. After all, it was a city that once had "demi-god" level beings, and this Dawn Central Prison held many super-powerful beings.


    When Su''en previously scouted, he had seen NPCs above third-order just on the second floor of the prison.


    On the third and fourth floors, he estimated, there were at least fourth-order, maybe even fifth-order existences...


    So, pushing through was simply impossible!


    Moreover, if he didn''t do something, by the time Rena and the others arrived, their team would also be doomed.


    Isn''t this the perfect opportunity to solve many problems?


    After meeting and conversing with "Lady Sereya," he became even more certain of his n; he wanted to use the space to deal with those troubles.


    And the young master of the Oliver and rk families didn''t disappoint, hearing that Rena was about to be annihted, he indeed came personally to "kick someone while they''re down."


    Then the previous scene unfolded.


    .......


    As they walked, suddenly, Anthony was the first to notice something, his expression grave, "Someone''sing. They''re probably targeting the youngdy."


    Su''en''s tone remained calm, "Hmm... perfect."


    PS. The second chapter isn''t finished yet, will postter.

 Chapter 198: Madman

    Chapter 198: Madman


    The Oliver and rk families had brought their elite forces, and with their superior equipment, they quickly ughtered the jailer NPCs on the first floor, leaving them in disarray.


    Once the main force had gathered, they began searching for a way to break the curse that enveloped the space.


    The first floor of the prison wasid out in a circr pattern, and the two families together had nearly a thousand people.


    Even if they tried to avoid it, they would easily run into each other.


    Su''en had originally nned to take his people to the next floor to settle down before dealing with these guys.


    Now it seemed they were going to be intercepted ahead of time.


    Before they even saw anyone, the old butler Anthony noticed something amiss and stepped in front of the group, saying gravely, "Mr. Zolo, I''ll hold them off. Please take the youngdy and leave first!"


    Su''en shook his head and said, "There''s a very powerful guy hidden among them. Even you, Mr. Anthony, can''t win against him."


    At these words, Anthony asked in confusion, "Are you talking about ''Storm Sword King'' Nero Redgrave? If it''s him, even if I can''t win, I have a chance to hold him off for a while."


    "No, that person... is much more powerful than Nero."


    Su''en didn''t borate further but instead revealed his n, "The entrance is where I mentioned earlier. When you get the chance, break out. There are monsters below, so don''t wander off. With the ''Writ of Bail'' I gave you, you should be captured by the jailers on the second floor. Don''t resist, just wait for me in the cell."


    Upon hearing this, Rena realized that Su''en was nning to stay behind alone.


    She shook her head, her face set with determination, "Mr. Zolo, we can help you!"


    The youngdy hadpletely shed her naivety; she no longer felt at peace with others sacrificing themselves for her.


    She knew that at this moment, only by working together could they possibly have a chance to survive.


    Su''en nced at her and said, "If you stay here, you will die."


    Rena''s tone remained unwavering, "Mr. Zolo, I''ve been ready to die for a long time..."


    Before she could finish, Su''en interrupted her, "No, what I mean is... staying here, you might be killed by me."


    With that, the atmosphere suddenly shifted from serious to strange.


    All three of them tensed up.


    What did he mean by that?


    Su''en didn''t exin further, only turning to Kay and saying, "Kay, remember, when you see my eyes turn red, no matter what, take everyone and leave."


    He knew that only his old friend would believe him unconditionally.


    As he spoke, Su''en removed the mask from his face, revealing his handsome features. However, the faint smirk in his eyes added a touch of devilish charm.


    "Are you sure?"


    Kay frowned upon hearing this.


    After a pause, he added, "I think there''s something off about your state."


    He hadn''t noticed it with the mask on, but now that they had walked a bit, he realized that there was something very strange about Su''en''s aura.


    It was as if a murderous intent that couldn''t be suppressed was being released indiscriminately, and even walking beside him, one could feel a chilling sensation.


    "Yes."


    As Su''en spoke, his throat seemed to betray his excitement, emitting a low growl like that of a wild beast, "Hehehe... My body has never been so thrilled. Just thinking about killing them all, my blood is boiling..."


    That feeling was as if the monster beneath the human skin was about to break free.


    "You..."


    In that instant, Anthony clearly felt the change in Su''en''s emotions.


    Even as a third-tier professional, he felt a chill down his spine.


    He frowned and asked, "Mr. Zolo, are you sure you''re alright? Your mental state is very strange..."


    He sensed carefully and realized that the strange aura around Su''en was not just mental power; his dark spiritual power was surging out like waves.


    This waspletely different from the calm andposed "Mr. Zolo" they knew before!


    Hearing this, Su''en reined in his emotions, and his expression suddenly returned to normal, as gentle as before.


    He said, "No, I''m very clear-headed right now, it''s just that my body is excited. I''m brewing a very dangerous secret technique, so I can''t quite control my aura right now... Sorry for scaring you."


    Hearing this, Kay didn''t say anything more.


    He believed in Su''en.


    If this guy said he was confident, then he definitely was.


    Although Anthony and Rena still had their doubts, they didn''t say anything else.


    Because at that moment, the people from the two big families had already surrounded them.


    .......


    Danze Junior and another young master, Eli, were inexplicably trapped in the cursed space, filled with panic.


    They had onlye to watch the farce of the Reiss family''s main house, hoping to profit from their misfortune.


    Even if it was a hunt in the wastnds, it was their subordinates who went, not them personally.


    But they never expected...


    That things would turn out like this.


    Beforeing, they had heard that this was a suspected "T-level" cursed space, extremely dangerous.


    Now trapped within, how could they not be afraid?


    Moreover, a casual investigation revealed that the jailer NPCs on the first floor were easy to handle, but the second floor was much more problematic.


    The teams sent to scout didn''t return at all!


    The elite squads led by second-tier professionals disappeared without a trace, directly annihted below.


    One could imagine that even if this space wasn''t "T-level," it was at least "S+".


    Even with third-tier professionals, the chances of survival were not high.


    Now, looking at Su''en and his group, they didn''t immediately take action.


    From the abnormal behavior of that blue-skinned creature earlier, even a fool could tell that the opening of this space was rted to these people.


    Moreover, if they weren''t nning on a mutual destruction, then the other party likely knew the way out.


    Upon meeting, Eli immediately asked with a cold face, "Rena, did you drag us in here? Damn it, do you realize what you''re doing?!"


    Rena frowned upon hearing this because she herself didn''t understand what had happened.


    She nced at "Mr. Zolo" not far from her and saw that the expressionless gentleman did not make a statement.


    Facing the enemy, she had no reason to speak, so she kept silent with a dark face.


    From a distance, Danze Junior, seeing that Rena didn''t speak, didn''t dare to provoke her further, fearing that she might have a "mutual destruction" n.


    It was easy to kill these few people now, but after that, how would they get out?


    He could only try to persuade her with kind words, "Miss Rena, I think there''s some misunderstanding here. We can talk it out, everything is negotiable."


    And the heavily made-up youngdy beside him had already turned pale with fear, "Oh, my God... Rena, I''m your sister! I just came to have a look, why did you drag me into this? Tell me, how do we get out of this damned cursed space..."


    They yed good cop, bad cop, and the sympathy card, which was headache-inducing to listen to.


    Su''en narrowed his eyes and suddenly realized what these people had been babbling about for so long.


    Although he hadn''t sensed anyone approaching, his threads had detected a "stealthy" individual heading towards Rena.


    Probably fearing exposure, the person wasn''t moving quickly.


    It seemed they nned to capture the youngdy first.


    And those guys on the other side were still babbling to buy time.


    .......


    Having spotted the enemy, Su''en sneered and said, "Mr. Anthony, can you hold off that Nero for meter? I''m about to make a move."


    "I can."


    Anthony agreed, but looking at the hundreds of enemies opposite, he frowned, "But there are too many enemies, I can''t guarantee how long I can hold them off."


    "No, you just need to hold off that one."


    Su''en''s murderous aura grew stronger, "The rest... I''ll kill!"


    Anthony frowned upon hearing this.


    He looked at the enemy, outnumbering them by a hundredfold, and immediately felt it was absurd.


    In this surrounded situation, if he said it was a fight to the death, he could understand.


    But this guy actually said he was going to kill?


    He himself, a third-tier professional, wouldn''t dare to say such a thing, so where did he get the confidence?


    Then he saw that crazed look, and suddenly realized why he had felt something was off.


    No matter how you looked at it, the Zolo in front of him seemed like... a madman.


    Aplete madman!


    A flicker of worry crossed Anthony''s mind. Was it really right to trust this man?


    But at that moment, before he could think further, Zolo suddenly stretched out his hand and chanted softly, "Caged Sparrow!"


    With a sinister smile on his face, he pulled with his hand,


    Suddenly,


    Threads in the air solidified, and a transparent figure was yanked out.


    It was a second-tier assassin wearing a special alchemical cloak.


    To be able to elude the perception of a third-tier professional, one could imagine how skilled this assassin''s stealth techniques were.


    Anthony guessed the identity of the neer and felt a chill, "The ''de of Nightfall,'' Ibn Jariad!"


    A top-tier assassin ranked fifth on the Old Lingdun professional hit list, someone who had once assassinated alone and severely wounded a third-tier professional. The cloak he wore was the infamous assassin''s divine gear, the "Assassin''s Cloak of Invisibility."


    But the assassin that even he hadn''t detected was discovered by "Zolo"?


    At that moment, Anthony finally understood the strange energy fluctuations he had sensed before; it was these invisible hairs.


    But this...


    Wasn''t this a puppeteer''s technique?


    How did Zolo know this technique?


    And... it was the highly recognizable "Witch''s Hair"!


    Could it be...


    Thoughts raced through Anthony''s mind.


    Reality didn''t wait for him to think further.


    And in the blink of an eye, a fierce cold me burst from Zolo''s body, and the dark golden octopus spears on his back suddenly unfolded.


    "ng!"


    "ng!"


    "ng!"


    "..."


    A series of sharp sounds.


    The ck poison stingers at the tips of the octopus spears shot out, and the trapped assassin had no time to react. The octopus spears directly targeted the assassin''s vital points: eyes, neck, waist, groin...


    Assassins, in order to be agile, would not wear full-body heavy armor.


    But this Ibn Jariad, in addition to vital point armor, also had ayer of bio-skin with strong defense. Normally, even if a second-tier professional failed in an assassination, this rune skin would be enough to save his life.


    Moreover, his skills were top-notch!


    "This guy reacts so fast!"


    Trapped, Ibn saw the iing spears and sensed trouble.


    Only a top-tier assassin could appreciate how swift the octopus spears were, requiring an extremely high level of skill.


    But his reaction was also extremely fast. He twisted his body, using a bizarre counter-joint technique, "crack" "crack," quickly dislocating some joints.


    Although this would cost him some mobility, the twisted body allowed him to move a bit within the threads, avoiding most of the vital points.


    Just hold on for a moment, and his teammates would act, giving him a chance to break free from these threads!


    However, what Ibn didn''t expect was that even though the octopus spears with cold mes didn''t hit the vital points, they easily pierced through the rune skin.


    It was a piercing that felt like aplete overpowering ofws.


    Su''en''s current understanding of second-tierws was beyond theprehension of others. Now, with the  cold mes enhancing it, the pration and defense-breaking ability was not something ordinary second-tier professionals could withstand!


    After several stabs, Ibn could no longer move, and a few more spears finished him off.


    His neck was pierced, and blood spurted out.


    The assassin didn''t even have time to wait for hispanions to rescue him before he was pierced by the octopus spears and killed on the spot.


    .......


    "This...!!!"


    Anthony, watching from the side, changed color. He was about to act when the assassin was already killed.


    Not detecting the assassin was one thing.


    What surprised him more was the signature technique of controlling threads and the octopus spears.


    In the whole of Old Lingdun, only one person had this technique.


    That was... the SS wanted criminal Su''en.


    This Mr. Zolo was actually Su''en!


    How could it be?


    Beside him, Rena''s eyes were full of shock and confusion.


    But at this moment, she finally understood where that familiar feeling came from.


    Although Kay knew Su''en was strong now, watching him act also made his pupils shrink, and he was horrified, "He''s be this strong?"


    This "de of Nightfall," Ibn, was a big name in the industry. This veteran assassin was stronger than him in many ways, and now he was killed in a single encounter?


    .......As Su''en made his move, the reaction of the people opposite was extremely quick.


    The moment the spider spear pierced the assassin, an ice arrow cunningly appeared just a meter away from Su''en.


    The blue ice arrow moved in a bizarre manner, seemingly steady to the eye, but it wasn''t uniform in speed. After being fired, it elerated in three bursts, each faster than thest. After three explosive elerations, it was even faster than a sniper bullet!


    Had Su''en not killed that Ibn with a single strike just now, this arrow would have been enough to pose a serious threat to him. Even if it wasn''t fatal, he would have had to turn back to dodge.


    Unfortunately, the kill was too quick, and the arrow hardly posed any threat to Su''en.


    His eyes clearly captured the trajectory of the arrow as it was released.


    Though the arrow was fast, it wasn''t faster than his perception.


    Su''en was also well aware of the methods of the mysterious "Ice Cmity Elder" from the secret society, Iori Landis.


    After using the spider spear to kill the assassin, he slightly tilted his head and watched as the ice arrow, carrying a chill, grazed past his face, muttering to himself, "Tsk tsk... [Kaione''s Frost Bow], huh!"


    The ice arrow missed its target and hit a wall several meters away.


    In an instant, a fierce cold burst forth, and the temperature around plummeted significantly.


    With a "boom," the terrifying cold exploded, instantly turning the entire wall into an ice barrier.


    It even extinguished the braziers in the corridor in an instant.


    Had this arrow hit a person, it would have likely frozen them into an ice pop instantly.


    ...


    As the attack wasunched, Anthony, who had transformed into a demonic sheep butler, charged forward.


    Now that he knew Zolo''s identity, he also knew that Su''en had the ck Scythe!


    With him to distract and the ck Scythe in hand, they might be able to kill "Wind Thunder Sword King" Nero.


    Once they killed this most troublesome Tier 3 professional among the enemies, the situation would instantly improve!


    "That''s Su''en!"


    "Damn it, watch out for his ck Scythe!"


    "Be careful of invisible targets!"


    "...."


    Recognizing that the attacker was Su''en, everyone from the two great families was shocked.


    Especially the high-tier professionals, who were constantly watching Su''en''s every move, fearing the sudden appearance of the ck Scythe.


    "Hmph! I''ve been waiting for you!"


    Danze Junior naturally knew that he couldn''t let Su''en use the ck Scythe.


    He confidently took out a chessboard, pinched the sorcerer''s seal, and a hexagram array appeared.


    A huge ck and white checkered chessboard suddenly materialized.


    A beam of light enveloped Su''en from afar.


    Forcibly pulling him into the chessboard.


    Su''en had killed a man and didn''t immediately make a move, just waiting for this guy.


    He looked around at the changing scenery, not surprised in the least.


    "Tsk tsk... finally here, huh?"

 Chapter 199: Insoluble

    Chapter 199: Insoluble


    The scenery shifted around Su''en, and when he focused his eyes once more, he found himself in a ck and white checkered space.


    Not a trace of surprise crossed his face.


    He reached out to test the space and was still able to ripple it.


    This meant that from the start, this chessboard space imposed no restrictions on those who possessed <em>"spatial abilities."</em>


    Hmm...


    In other words, it was utterly useless against him, Su''en.


    However, items couldn''t be retrieved from lesser spatial storage devices like space rings.


    For others facing this situation, aside from what they carried, they could only engage in closebat with the individual before them.


    No wonder Danze Junior had taken out several finely crafted alchemical golems for protection well in advance.


    But this didn''t limit Su''en''s folding space.


    Though he didn''t need to retrieve anything to kill this guy.


    Just as well.


    After casting the bait for so long, this fellow finally came with the treasure in tow.


    <em>Stanitz''s Chessboard</em>


    <em>Description: Chess should be a fair one-on-one duel.</em>


    <em>Trait: Using this chessboard forces a one-on-one duel within a restricted space with a selected living target until one party dies or voluntarily disengages; it''s not a cursed item, but after contracting with the chessboard, the lingering thoughts of that old lich will haunt your dreams,pelling you to y chess. If you can''t win, then you''ll keep himpany indefinitely.</em>


    <em>Details: This is a soul container for an ancient alchemist named ''Mikhail Tokst'', who turned himself into a lich using ck magic and necromancy; an artifact from the Dawn Era, so ancient that the lich''s soul is fragmented, with much of its curse properties lost. Perhaps its value lies not only in the chessboard itself. That old lich, who constantly mutters about being the king of the ''Tarkolu Empire'', might reveal secrets of the Dawn Era if you converse with him.</em>


    "Forced spatial restriction... What a fine item."


    Su''en nced at the information identified, which was almost as he expected.


    No wonder that ''Magician'' Lloyd couldn''t stop thinking about it; this chessboard was indeed perfect for puppeteers.


    The value of a treasure lies not in its power, but in how well it synergizes with one''s professional abilities.


    At first nce, the chessboard has no offensive capabilities, but it can trap a target within this confined space, leaving no escape.


    With an ability like <em>Puppet Theater</em>, which covers a wide range, it''s indeed a formidable tool against peers within the same rank.


    And because it''s one-on-one, life forms like zombies can''t be brought in.


    This item indeed restricts Su''en.


    No wonder Danze Junior was so confident, opting for a one-on-one duel.


    ***


    Danze Junior had waited for this day for a long time.


    Ever since that encounter at the Dawn Camp''s street market with "Su''en," where he lost a few strands of hair, his once smooth-sailing life had been met with constant setbacks.


    During the battle at the White Monastery, this guy stole his opportunity, killed his guards, and tarnished his family''s reputation;ter, during an ambush, he killed his teacher and ten second-tier experts, causing heavy losses to the Oliver family; and just a few days ago, he even dared to provoke them...


    After repeated frustrations, Danze harbored a deep resentment. He felt he couldn''t swallow this grudge unless he killed Su''en with his own hands.


    He looked at Su''en before him, his sorcerer''s seals changing rapidly in his hands, and spoke with hatred, "You think you''re worthy of opposing me?"


    Just an outer city lowlife relying on a forbidden item to show off.


    Hmph, now without your scythe, let''s see how you die!


    "..."


    Listening to these juvenile lines, Su''en slightly raised his eyelids.


    He was very familiar with those sorcerer''s sealsit was the start of <em>Puppet Theater</em>.


    The proficiency was not bad, clearly taught by a master.


    Probably these pampered young masters felt the need to say a few words to showcase their superiority as top-tier heirs.


    If it were anywhere else, Su''en might have been interested in bantering with the young master.


    But right now, with the heated battle outside, he had no intention of wasting time here. He too began forming sorcerer''s seals with his hands.


    At this gesture, Danze''s gaze froze.


    How could he not recognize this gesture?


    "He... How does he know <em>Puppet Theater</em>?"


    Although Danze knew Su''en had the detailed scroll of this puppeteer''s secret technique, how could one master such a skill without years of hard practice?


    And such a control-based skill, without personal instruction, how could it be mastered so quickly?


    Danze was not only shocked that Su''en used the same technique as him but also that the speed of Su''en''s seals was even faster!


    How is that possible?


    Danze was horrified.


    <em>Puppet Theater</em> consisted of thirty-six sorcerer''s seals.


    He had the advantage, but his seals were only half-formed.


    Yet Su''en''s hand seals caught up in the blink of an eye!


    Sorcerer''s seals are not just about changing a few hand gestures; the moreplex the seals, the more intricate the energy maniption required.


    It must be fast and urate, or else it would be all for naught.


    But this guy was even more proficient than him?


    Danze felt like he was seeing his teacher''s shadow in Su''en''s movements.


    For a moment, he even suspected that they were taught by the same master.


    But reality didn''t give him the chance to ponder.


    Almost simultaneously, the final seal was formed.


    Both sides conjured their spells at the same time, and two blue hexagram arrays lit up in the sky: <em>"Puppeteer''s Secret Technique  Puppet Theater!"</em>


    As the arrays appeared, two giant crosses slowly emerged in the air.


    When the same spell appears in a limited space, <em>"energy plundering"</em> urs, where the stronger side easily crushes the other.


    Both crosses appeared at the same time, but one began to slowly disintegrate.


    "I... I''m actually losing to him?!"


    Danze Junior''s face paled, and even though he desperately fed cursed crystals into the hexagram array beneath his feet to replenish energy, he couldn''t stop his spell from copsing.


    The overwhelming momentum was indicative of a crushing disparity in rank.


    This meant that, whether on the level ofws or understanding of the spell, there was a crushing gap between the two!


    Is he a third-tier?


    How is that possible...


    Danze''s face turned ashen.


    ***


    Su''en paid no attention to Danze Junior''s shock.


    As the cross formed in the sky, countless threads cascaded down like rain.


    Danze Junior tried to entangle Su''en with his own threads and golems, but whether it was threads, spells, or anything else, the gap between them was too vast.


    When thread met thread, there was no contest; they copsed upon contact.


    Danze could only defend passively, using the threads of his own armor to protect himself.


    Su''en didn''t give him any chance, reaching into the void with ten fingers, controlling the threads to tightly wrap the man into a cocoon.


    Seeing that he was about to be controlled to death, Danze Junior hastily released the chessboard''s space, letting out a miserable scream: <em>"Save me!"</em>


    Kill him?


    No, Su''en didn''t n to do so.


    As long as Danze Junior was alive, the Oliver family''s guards would keeping to the rescue.


    This was much more convenient than chasing them down one by one to kill.


    Su''en watched the chessboard''s scenery copse around him, licked his lips, and the ferocity in his eyes grew stronger: "Now... it''s just the beginning."


    ***


    Originally, when Rena and the butler Anthony learned that Mr. Zolo was the SS-ranked fugitive Su''en, they were shocked but also somewhat hopeful.


    The strength Su''en disyed when he killed <em>''de of Night''</em> Ibn Jariad in a single encounter was already very impressive. With the forbidden scythe, they even felt they had a chance to turn the tables.


    But unexpectedly, in their first encounter, Danze suddenly produced a chessboard treasure and teleported the man away?


    Without a doubt, Danze Junior must have had some assurance to counter Su''en, which is why he did so.


    This realization sent a chill down the spines of Kay and the others.


    <em>"Mr. Kay, take thedy and run! I''ll hold them off!"</em>


    <em>"Alright!"</em>


    "..."


    In such an urgent situation, there was no time for hesitation.


    The old butler was prepared to die, roaring as he transformed into a massive ck-furred demon sheep, standing between them and the barrage of gunfire. Even alchemical bullets ricocheted off his body with a <em>''ng''</em>.


    However, the high-tier professionals from the two families were not weak, and a group of them quickly surrounded them.


    With a third-tier <em>''Sword King of Wind and Thunder''</em> Nero in front and the mysterious association''s Elder of Cmities behind, along with over twenty second-tier professionals and nearly a thousand elites...


    In an instant, a deluge of spells rained down like a torrential downpour.


    Even with the demon sheep''s body and runic armor capable of withstanding cannon fire, the old butler was still bloodied by the concentrated attack.


    Holding onto the thought of dying them for as long as possible, hoping to draw most of the fire to give Kay and Rena a chance to escape, he didn''t expect to have to fight desperately when suddenly he heard a scream echoing through the prison.


    <em>"Save me!"</em>


    That desperate, despairing cry sounded like it came from Danze Junior?


    Looking again, Danze, wrapped in ck threads andpletely encased in silver threads into a cocoon, was being crushed with immense force, like a python''s embrace, spewing blood from his mouth.


    His scream seemed to pause the intense battle.


    Both sides of the conflict were stunned for a moment.


    What happened?


    The battle ended in just a few breaths?


    The <em>Puppet Theater</em> spell in the sky hadn''t dissipated yet, and looking at that cross, <em>''Sword King of Wind and Thunder''</em> Nero''s face darkened as he immediately understood.


    He was well aware of the effect of <em>Stanitz''s Chessboard</em>, and Danze had lost within that restricted space?


    At the same time, he was shocked and horrified: "How... How does this Su''en know this spell?!"


    Before anyone could ponder further, Su''en, who reappeared, suddenly took out several scrolls and spread them in the air, shouting: <em>"Release!"</em>


    The scrolls exploded, scattering fragments everywhere.


    Looking again, in the dim prison corridor, over a hundred red-faced rune dolls appeared out of thin air. They wore sinister smiles on their faces, and their lower jaws trembled, emitting a low-frequency, eerieughter that sent shivers down the spine.


    Some with one head, others with two...


    Two arms, four arms, six arms...


    Like kites, over a hundred bizarre puppets floated in the air, staring straight at the enemies surrounding them.


    Su''en''s eyes began to show a red glint.


    Even those with weaker perception could feel his presence like a burning me. The special fluctuations of his mental power spilled from his body, radiating ripples that made onlookers slightly dazed.


    Su''en bared his white teeth in a mad, excited grin.


    From his throat came a low growl like that of a wild beast: <em>"Secret Technique  Night Parade of a Hundred Puppets!"</em>


    ***


    Seeing Su''en control a hundred puppets at once, everyone was stunned.


    The people from the Oliver and rk families realized how naive their previous thoughts were.


    The SS-ranked fugitive Su''en in the reports and the one before them were not on the same level ofbat prowess.


    Not only had Danze Junior underestimated his opponent, but almost everyone had thought Su''en was just a lucky fugitive who had a way to avoid the bacsh of the ck scythe and had repeatedly escaped by chance.


    But reality pped them hard, waking them up immediately.


    Not to mention the capabilities of the hundred puppets, just the eerie pressure emanating from Su''en was undeniably genuine.


    It was a feeling that made those second-tier professionals'' scalps tingle.


    Who else within the same rank could make them feel as if they were about to be killed with just one look?


    Just the feeling alone told them that this man''s true strength was terrifying!


    Even the sole third-tier professional<em> ''Sword King of Wind and Thunder''</em> Nero looked very grave upon seeing Su''en.


    "Such strong mental power, no wonder he can control so many puppets..."


    Seeing this, the veteran third-tier''s eyes were filled with solemnity, "Could his professional ability be <em>''spatial ability''</em> ?"


    He didn''t believe that these hundred-plus puppets were just for show.


    Each of the hundred puppets was covered in intricate blue light runes, not ordinary low-tier ones...


    Intuition told Nero that he should kill that man, but with Anthony desperately holding him back, he couldn''t free his hands.


    ***


    Su''en''s entrance as a puppeteer turned him into a one-man army, significantly closing the gap in numbers that was initially one-sided.


    Although there was still a difference in numbers, the puppet army''s momentum was not inferior to the two families''.


    As soon as the puppets appeared, Su''en didn''t give the enemy any time to react, simultaneously controlling them with eight spider spears.


    It was nearly impossible to control a hundred puppets with precision at the same time, but now, things were different.


    He gradually released those suppressed emotions, and his thoughts seemed to expand, revealing a new world before his eyes.


    Joy, anger, sorrow, thought, grief, fear, shock...


    Those suppressed emotions were like different "Su''ens," helping him to multitask and control the puppets.


    When it came to killing, "they" were all very interested.


    Like fireworks exploding, bursting into a dazzling array of colors.


    His senses became sharper, as if pulling threads, he felt a trance-like, ethereal sensation...


    The unrestrained emotions brought extreme pleasure to his body.


    Su''en licked his lips, growing more addicted to this state that brought him extreme excitement and joy, "Hehe, such a delightful state..."


    With a flick of his fingers, the hundred puppets surged wildly into the crowd.


    <em>"CLICK," "CLICK," "CLICK"...</em>


    The friction of the wooden joints of the puppets was chilling to hear.


    Watching those terrifying red-faced puppets fly towards them, the people from the two families panicked, raising their guns in unison, and gunfire erupted.


    <em>"BANG!"</em>


    <em>"BANG!"</em>


    <em>"BANG!"</em>


    "..."


    The two families had their share of sharpshooters, and many puppets were hit.


    But in an instant, they realized that ordinary bullets were useless against these puppets.


    Bullets hit the puppets with a crackling sound, but these seemingly wooden puppets became indestructible due to the enhancement of high-tier runes.


    These puppets were no longer the crude creations Su''en had made before.


    Since stripping the soul fragment from that fifth-tier professional, Su''en''s understanding of second and third-tier runes and enchantments had leaped beyond most of the "rune masters" in Old London.


    All the dolls were enchanted and runed with second-tier knowledge, and some even utilized third-tier knowledge.


    In the field of alchemy, the tier of the rune signifies its power. Second and third-tier runes mean second and third-tier attack and defense capabilities.


    Even if hit by alchemical bullets, asionally piercing through a puppet, what of it?


    The most formidable aspect of a puppeteer is that as long as the controller lives, all battles are meaningless.


    Even if reduced to limbs and fragments, puppets can still kill!


    With a tug of the threads, the first volley of gunfire failed to stop them, and these fearless puppets, like hungry tigers pouncing on sheep, plunged directly into the crowd.


    The daggers of the puppets were inscribed with third-tier runes like <em>Armor-Piercing</em>, <em>Sharpness</em>, <em>Demon-Breaking</em>... How could they be easily defended against?


    First-tier professionals, except for those heavily armored, were almost always left with a gaping wound with a single strike.


    In the first encounter, as the puppets swept into the crowd, screams of agony filled the air.


    And that was just the beginning of the horror of the puppets getting close!


    The most troublesome aspect of the rune puppetsy in their mental power runes.


    <em>Nightmare Dolls</em> could cause visual and auditory hallucinations, leading to confusion. Once within a ten-meter range, the effect intensified.


    If the dolls got too close, even second-tier professionals would suffer greatly.


    Caught off guard, they could be stabbed to death by the puppets while in a dazed state.


    With the arrival of Su''en''s puppet army, the enemies were caught off guard.


    Soon, the people from the two families realized the problem.


    Commanders screamed into theirmunicators.


    "Don''t look at the puppets'' faces; there''s a visual illusion!"


    "Don''t listen to..."


    "Keep your distance..."


    But, Knowing is one thing,


    What can they do about it?


    Most professionals rely on vision and hearing to track targets. If they don''t look at the puppets and shut off their hearing, how can they fight?


    That''s the trouble with rune puppets.


    For a moment, this group experienced the terror of being dominated by rune puppets.


    Those who had seen this technique before were dead.


    Those who had seen rune puppets were almost all dead.


    Now, those who have seen them are about to die again.


    ***


    The strength of <em>Puppet Theater</em> lies in the fact that within a certain range, this technique is virtually unsolvable!


    Where Su''en stood, within hundreds of square meters, he had absolute control.


    The puppets moved as nimbly as real people, attacking in swarms, leaving no match wherever they went.


    However, puppeteers do have weaknesses.


    Control distance is a big issue.


    The people from the two families were being ughtered by the puppet army with almost no ability to fight back, and the experiencedmanders issued orders to retreat quickly.


    Su''en watched those guys run off, the puppets unable to catch up.


    He didn''t waste the energy.


    He directly pulled the tightly bound Danze Junior in front of him, loosening the binding threads slightly to reveal his head.


    Then, Su''en stabbed the guy in the buttocks with a knife.


    Danze Junior cooperated with a painful cry: <em>"Ah... Save me!"</em>


    The scream echoed in the prison corridors, lingering for a long time.

 Chapter 200: Impossible

    Chapter 200: Impossible<hr>


    With Danze Junior as a human shield, the two major families naturally hesitated to kill Su''en, fearing the consequences.


    They dared not unleashrge-scale spells, nor fire their guns recklessly.


    Su''en''s keen perception and swift reflexes left no chance for a sniper''s bullet.


    The previous instant kill of <em>"de of Night"</em> Ibn Jariad served as a warning, deterring any assassins from getting too close.


    In the <em>"Puppet Theater,"</em> it was impossible to silently approach Su''en, who was surrounded by invisible threads.


    Especially with an array of ready-to-strike odd puppets by his side, including <em>"ck Hole Doll,"</em><em>"Nightmare Doll,"</em> and Lloyd''s famous puppet <em>"Twelve Armored Knights."</em>


    With the puppet fortress sealed tight, killing him without special means was nearly impossible.


    Not to mention the invisible zombies and the ck Scythe lurking somewhere, creatures even third-tier professionals feared.


    ***


    The crowd could only vent their frustration on the puppets, but ordinary people couldn''t even defeat them.


    The puppets, unafraid of pain or death, would simply break apart.


    Destroying one often meant the death of several people.


    Over a hundred puppets could mean hundreds of casualties...


    Suddenly, the tide of battle shifted.


    The side with more people was forced into a retreat, not daring to approach the domain of the Puppet Theater, confronting it from a distance.


    The sound of gunfire gradually faded.


    Su''en paid no attention to those people. The prison wasrge, and it was impossible to chase after so many scattered individuals.


    However, Danze Junior in his hands suffered.


    With no oneing to die, the hostage was stabbed again.


    Danze Junior''s screams of pain and fear of death stripped him of his nobleposure. With a crying voice, he screamed desperately, <em>"Someonee save me!"</em>


    He was truly frightened,


    Feeling the despair thates before death like never before.


    He had never felt such terrifying murderous intent from someone.


    Getting close to Su''en, the palpable murderous intent was like needles, chilling his soul.


    Those surging negative emotions, like an inting balloon, invisible yet distinctly felt...


    Danze had no doubt that if those emotions burst forth, this demon would stab him to death instantly.


    The most terrifying thing was not knowing when that explosion woulde.


    Danze Junior wailed continuously,


    The gunfire suddenly stopped,


    And the battle between the two third-tier fighters paused as well.


    Nero, the Sword King of Wind and Thunder, although seemingly stronger than Anthony, had no confidence in defeating the old butler determined to fight to the death.


    Instead, he was more wary of the ck Scythe that could appear at any moment, deliberately keeping his distance.


    Anthony didn''t dare to pursue, not wanting to stray too far from Rena.


    Seeing the increasingly intense red glow in Su''en''s eyes, Kay and the others knew what they had to do. During this ceasefire, the trio quietly moved towards the passage to the second level.


    Worried as they were, they knew they couldn''t help with Su''en in his current state.


    Themander of the Oliver family stepped forward and said solemnly, "Put down young master Danze, we can talk about any conditions you have."


    "Talk?"


    Su''en''s eyes brimmed with cold amusement as he shook his head, "Tsk, tsk... No, I just want to kill you all."


    With that, he stabbed Danze again.


    The de cut an artery, blood gushing out.


    Without immediate aid, Danze was doomed.


    This was also to force the Oliver family toe forward and rescue him.


    ***


    While the battle raged on one side, in a corner of the prison, a middle-aged man with sses leaned against the wall, silently observing the situation.


    Although dressed in Oliver familybat gear, his face showed no intention of intervening amidst the carnage.


    Instead, the thick scent of blood brought a pleased and enjoyable expression to his face.


    Only when his gaze fell on Su''en did a hint of liveliness appear in his eyes.


    ***


    Su''en had no intention of negotiating, and neither did the Oliver family.


    They were only looking for an opportunity tounch a surprise attack.


    In their eyes, Su''en was a man who must be killed.


    At that moment, a sh of lightning suddenly sparked among the enemy crowd.


    Spells require time to gather energy, the higher the level, the longer it takes. But this lightning burst forth abruptly, as if time had elerated several times over, instantlypleting the <em>"Chain Lightning Cloud"</em> spell.


    This second-tier lightning spell wasn''t highly lethal, but it had one effect: paralyzing enemies within its range.


    It was perfect for a rescue.


    Su''en''s eyes caught the surge of purple lightning, guessing that the caster was the mysterious association elder <em>"Speaker of Thunder"</em> Den Menard. The spell''s speed indicated the use of the special time-cursed item <em>"Watkins'' Pocket Watch."</em>


    Unsurprised, he murmured, "So that thing was in his hands..."


    How fast is lightning?


    In the blink of an eye, the explosive electricity was upon him.


    Along with the puppets surrounding Su''en, even Danze Junior was shocked, leaving no chance to use the <em>"ck Hole Doll"</em> to absorb the lightning.


    <em>"Zzzz~"</em>


    <em>"Zzzz~"</em>


    The lightning shed by and disappeared.


    The injured Danze Junior foamed at the mouth, while Su''en stood paralyzed, seemingly affected by the spell.


    Almost simultaneously with the lightning, several second-tier professionals from the Oliver family charged without hesitation.


    They feared Su''en''s recovery and Anthony''s intervention.


    <em>"BOOM!"</em>


    A loud alchemical bullet explosion.


    The sniper''s bullet was faster, striking Su''en''s head before the professionals could reach him.


    Unexpectedly, there was no gory scene of a head exploding.


    <em>"ng!"</em>


    The bullet hit the head, making a clear metallic sound.


    Upon closer inspection, Su''en''s scalp was broken, revealing ayer of dark golden skin.


    Seeing this, the leading professionals'' faces changed drastically, realizing, "Wrong, it''s synthetic skin!"


    They hadn''t expected Su''en to have anotheryer of synthetic skin over his face, hiding the abnormality of his true skin. Only upon closer inspection did they notice the rich gold element.


    Sensing trouble, it was toote to react.


    Due to their rapid charge, they were now within the range of the <em>"Puppet Theater."</em>


    As their sense of danger rose, they saw Su''en tilt his head towards them with a wicked smile, as if he had anticipated this.


    Regaining their senses, the air suddenly thickened.


    The invisible witch''s hair solidified, trapping them as if in a waterfall, surrounded by silver strands.


    Su''en pulled with one hand and whispered, <em>"Secret Thread Control Technique: Floral Waterfall Burial!"</em>


    The witch''s hair twisted and intertwined in a special way, leveraging and transmitting multiple times the torsional force. Countless threads wove into a, the more the prey struggled within the hair waterfall, the tighter it bound.


    The leading professionals, mostly light-armored, found themselves in the same predicament as the in <em>"de of Night"</em> Ibn.


    Su''en, having controlled them, didn''t give them a chance to escape, his eight-armed spear <em>"Whooshing"</em> and piercing their vital spots.


    The second-tier professionals couldn''t react in time and died on the spot.


    After harvesting a wave of soul fragments,


    To the surprise of those watching from afar, Su''en didn''t stay within the coverage of the "Puppet Theater." Instead, he made an iprehensible move.


    Like a brute warrior, he charged towards the direction of the lightning surge!


    ***


    Although it was unclear why Su''en wasn''t paralyzed and managed to kill the second-tier officers who tried to rescue, the two major families opened fire as they saw him approaching.


    The next moment, a scene of despair unfolded before them.


    Su''en faced the hail of bullets without flinching.


    Bullets struck him, making <em>"Ptter-Patter"</em> sounds.


    Even against a single soldier''s cannon, he could easily dodge by tilting his head.


    And once the synthetic skin waspletely broken, a golden, gleaming bronze body was revealed!


    Upon closer inspection, the barrage of bullets caused him no harm.


    Seeing this, everyone was struck with disbelief.


    A puppeteer, charging into gunfire and ammunition like an invincible warrior?


    Who the hell would believe that?!


    And to their astonishment, Su''en''s speed was revealed.


    As he surged forward, a <em>"POP"</em> sounded, and the air exploded.


    To most onlookers, Su''en''s figure suddenly dispersed.


    How familiar was this scene?


    Danze Junior, among the crowd, was terrified, the familiar feeling returning...


    Outside the cursed space, wasn''t it this same ghostly movement that almost killed him?


    ***


    "Air-Stepping! No... it''s not just ordinary Air-Stepping!"


    From afar, "Sword King of Wind and Thunder" Nero finally changed color.


    Before, he was only wary of the ck Scythe in Su''en''s hand; puppets and threads posed limited threats to a third-tier professional like him.


    But now, seeing Su''en in golden paint, using Air-Stepping,


    He realized the danger.


    "Is this a third-tier Gold Element Condensation Flesh Alchemy?"


    Nero understood,


    Just the ability to withstand alchemical bullets made Su''en invincible.


    Even if he personally took action, it would be difficult to kill him.


    Thus, it meant that without a third-tier professional present, Su''en, with his control over a hundred puppets and the ck Scythe, could indeed kill everyone here!


    <em>"What kind of monster is this?!"</em>


    Nero''s heart couldn''t be described as merely shocked; it was a tumultuous upheaval.


    Only a third-tier professional could appreciate how rare and valuable the Flesh Alchemy technique of imperviousness to des and guns was, requiring a deep understanding of thews to master such a top-tier spell!


    Air-Stepping, Flesh Alchemy, and a puppeteer...


    He suddenly realized that even without Anthony, he had no confidence in killing the SS-ranked fugitive Su''en.


    ***


    And the shock in the hearts of Kay and the others, ready to move to the second level, was no less than that of the others.


    Kay''s eyes trembled fiercely: "He''s actually this strong..."


    It was a chilling strength, charging into the enemy ranks as an invincible force.


    Anthony''s face twitched violently, feeling that his status as the "ceiling of professionals" at the third tier paled inparison to the golden-painted young man.


    And Rena was speechless, as if returning to the time in the underground cavern: when he said he could, he definitely could.


    Seeing this, they finally understood what Su''en had said before.


    When he said he would kill them all, he was serious!


    ***


    Although Su''en''s profession and augmentations weren''t geared towards physical enhancement, his Air-Stepping speed was still too fast for anyone to react.


    With such speed, he naturally dodged over ny percent of the attacks.


    The rest, striking the third-tierw-condensed <em>"Vajra"</em> body, were of no consequence.


    His target was precise, aiming for the "Speaker of Thunder" Den who had just cast the lightning spell.


    The female spellcaster holding the staff and silver pocket watch had no time to react before Su''en was upon her. With momentum, the eight-armed spear thrust forward, and at the speed of a spellcaster''s flesh, there was no escape.


    At the critical moment, with no other choice, she pressed the stopwatch in her hand, and the surroundings slowed down.


    The lethal spear was easily dodged.


    Just as she thought to flee further, her face bizarrely wrinkled, and her hair rapidly turned white. In the blink of an eye, her body shriveled like a deted balloon, aging fifty years and bing a white-haired crone.


    This was clearly the curse bacsh of <em>"Watkins'' Pocket Watch"!</em>


    Su''en easily pierced her chest with his spear, stripping the soul fragment, and then took the pocket watch in his hand.


    "Thest piece is in my hands..."


    Su''en muttered to himself, then reached out and seemed to grasp something invisible in the air.


    He hooked his finger, and the stopwatch floated mid-air, then <em>"Click,"</em> it was pressed.


    This subtle action made Nero, who had been watching Su''en from a distance, change color drastically. He kicked off the ground without hesitation, trying to leave his previous position.


    "Heh heh... Zombies can indeed be used."


    Su''en felt something, his smile growing wider.


    This was why he had been holding back, waiting to get the watch, which would give him the power to y a third-tier professional!


    <em>"Sleeping Scythe of Night" + "Oz''s Mummy Wrap" + "Watkins'' Pocket Watch" = an unstoppable killing machine!</em>


    The pocket watch could elerate time by 2~5 times for an individual, making the zombie''s movements very fast.


    Although there was an element of luck, if the speed reached 4 times or more, Su''en was confident that even a third-tier professional would struggle to react!


    And zombies don''t fear the bacsh of shortened lifespan.


    With this cut at a speed of 3.7 times, even though Nero reacted to the extreme, the de still appeared on his right shin.


    Su''en had anticipated the man''s evasion; the body could move, but the feet would be thest to do so.


    This cut severed the leg of the third-tier swordsman.


    The spatial rift passed lightly, and blood spurted out a momentter, leaving a severed foot behind.


    Nero, unsteady from the loss of his foot, stumbled and fell. As a third-tier powerhouse, even with a severed leg, his reaction was astonishing. In the moment of his fall, he pushed off with one leg and shot out, escaping Su''en''s sight.


    Though he didn''t die, this third-tier swordsman was effectively finished after losing his leg.


    Su''en sneered and ignored the enemies fleeing around him, charging towards the severed foot.


    This third-tier had to be killed first!


    ***


    Seeing Su''en''s invisible zombie finally reveal itself, the people from the two major families should have breathed a sigh of relief.


    After all, they had prepared many battle ns, all aimed at the ck Scythe.


    For example, swarm tactics, control tactics, revealing powder...


    The scythe could only strike once at a time, and many second-tier professionals could avoid it with caution.


    With so many people charging together, they would always find an opportunity.


    After all, the intelligence said that Su''en was just a slightly faster ordinary second-tier.


    But now...


    Was that golden-painted figure, using "Air-Stepping" to advance, just an ordinary second-tier?


    And with the pocket watch in the hands of the zombie, a third-tier had a leg cut off, who could stop it?


    Moreover, who the hell brought that pocket watch?!


    Now that a monster has been created, who can solve it?


    Naturally, the items were brought by members of several umbre organizations.


    They also realized that things had gotten out of hand, beyond their control.


    But they felt wronged in their hearts,


    They had no idea they would encounter SS-ranked fugitive Su''en here!


    ***


    Su''en charged forward, passing by as if avoiding the gue, with no one daring to provoke him.


    With the ck Scythe, a formidable weapon in hand, whoever stood in the way would die.


    And those below the second tier didn''t even have the qualifications to block.


    Su''en quickly reached the severed foot, picked up the bleeding limb, and took out a pitch-ck "Voodoo Doll," smearing it with blood.


    Then he pped it hard, and the doll shattered.


    Not far away, in a cell where "Sword King of Wind and Thunder" Nero had nned to hide and ambush Su''en, a muffled groan was heard.


    Su''en''s ears twitched, pinpointing the exact location, and he shed with his hand.


    A spatial rift swept by, and simultaneously, a faint sound of silk tearing echoed.


    With a <em>"POP"</em> in the air, Su''en appeared in front of the cell.


    However, at the same time, a fierce sword qi shot out, cutting the newly arrived figure in half.


    Nero looked at the puppet on the ground and let out a bitterugh.


    So strong, yet so cautious, even in directbat, it would be very difficult for him...


    With his waist and intestines severed, he no longer had the strength to fight.


    Failing to ambush sessfully, he had no more chances.


    Su''en ended the life of this well-known veteran powerhouse, the vice-chairman of the Hunter''s Guild.


    Entering the cell and devouring the gray mist, the red glow in his eyes became like a breached dam, uncontroble.


    He stepped out of the cell and returned to the previous passage.


    The people from the two major families had gathered together, seemingly ready for a decisive battle.


    Su''en didn''t rush to act but greeted the empty prison, "Mr. Gerard, if you don''t take action, I''m going to kill them all, you know?"


    This puzzled the onlookers, but after three seconds of silence, a response came, "Just kill them. After all, even if I intervened, these wastes wouldn''t survive."


    At that moment, a middle-aged man with sses emerged from the darkness.

 Chapter 201: Hormonal Rampage

    Chapter 201: Hormonal Rampage<hr>


    The bespectacled middle-aged man emerged from the gloomy prison, step by unhurried step.


    He removed his half-face gas mask, revealing the ordinary visage of a pale, somewhat sickly middle-aged man.


    Yet, this seemingly unremarkable manmanded an undeniable presence as he walked out.


    His demeanor was too calm, as if nothing could faze him, a stark contrast to the battlefield around him.


    The man was none other than the leader of the Umbre Organization, the <em>"Forensic Expert"</em> Severus Gerald.


    His name was known to few.


    Even within the upper echelons of the Umbre Organization, few had truly seen his face.


    As he emerged, the members of the two great Oliver families immediately became alert.


    This man bore an unsettling resemnce to the SS-ss fugitive Su''en. Their gazes held a chilling indifference, as if they were looking at corpses rather than living beings.


    Moreover, listening to their conversation, it seemed they knew each other?


    <em>Trash?</em>


    The tone was unmistakably arrogant, clearly not that of an "ally."


    And this man''s sudden appearance at the rear of the group forced the two families to be on guard.


    ***


    Geraldpletely ignored the guns pointed at him.


    He continued walking forward, removing his coat to reveal a proper dress shirt underneath, rolling up his sleeves as if preparing for a fight, unconcerned by the onlookers. His eyes were fixed solely on Su''en.


    As he rolled up his sleeves, Gerald asked, "I''m curious, how did you know I would be here?"


    His tone was t, as if exchanging pleasantries with an old friend.


    "Just a guess."


    Su''en squinted at the middle-aged man in the distance, the only one who could sense the surging intent to kill beneath that calm expression.


    But the red gleam in his own eyes showed no fear, instead, a fervent eagerness for battle, "I figured if I were you, I''d follow the Reiss main house here too... after all, it''s the most logical clue. Didn''t you guess I would show up?"


    "Yes."


    Gerald smiled indifferently, "Knowing I woulde, it seems you have a reliable source of information."


    He had long recognized that they were cut from the same cloth, a single nce was enough.


    "What do you think?"


    Su''en returned the gaze with a sly smile.


    Such a man could not be easily deceived; the slightest clue could reveal much.


    Gerald seemed to guess something, pushing up the sses that had slipped down his nose.


    Yet he said no more, simply smiling faintly, "Since you''ve shown yourself, you must be confident you can kill me. But that''s not enough. I''m also curious, what other tricks do you have?"


    "No certainty. But I''d like to try."


    Like the calm before a storm, Su''en''s sinister grin seemed to betray a loss of reason, yet his words were eerilyposed, "Whether it''s killing Mr. Gerald or, by some chance, being killed by you, Mr. Gerald, the thought is exhrating..."


    Their discussion of life and death was eerily calm, as if they were discussing the fate of someone else.


    Gerald''s face rarely showed a hint of mutual respect, "Your remarkable abilities indeed impress, spatial powers, puppeteer skills, understanding ofws beyond your tier... Any one of these would mark you as a genius. Old London is full of talent, but among those I''ve seen, nonepare to you."


    After a pause, he added, "Pity, if we weren''t enemies, we could have had a good chat."


    Su''en shed a grin, "Yes, a pity indeed."


    With those words, the tension between them escted further.


    ***


    The two conversed as if no one else was present, leaving the onlookers baffled.


    The eerie atmosphere deterred anyone from interrupting.


    They tried to glean something from the exchange between the two men.


    The situation for the two families was strange; blocked by Su''en at the front, and now another had appeared at the back.


    Both men seemed to exude an invisible force, pressing the crowd of hundreds to retreat step by step.


    Gerald paid no heed to the families, but since he had emerged from the crowd, he naturally had to approach the main group to leave.


    The still-living young master of the Ailey family had been cornered.


    Themander, sensing something amiss with Gerald''s approach, had no choice but to confront him, asking, "Who are you, exactly?"


    The delicate bnce was disrupted, and Gerald nced at him, his gaze suddenly sharpening like a tiger disturbed during its meal.


    The killing intent that had been focused solely on Su''en now turned towards themander.


    In an instant, as if needles pricked his eyes, themander felt as though he saw endless mountains of corpses and seas of blood in Gerald''s gaze.


    Gerald''s aura erupted, and a pale blue me simr to Su''en''s enveloped him  he was also a <em>"No Servant"!</em>


    With a flick of his fingers, his nails transformed into scalpel-sharp des.


    No one saw what happened next, only a sh of the de, and themander, d in heavy knight''s armor, fell to his knees, armor pieces falling off, drenched in sweat as if pulled from water, still breathing but with a vacant gaze, as if his soul had been extracted.


    Without a word, Gerald had attacked, showing no mercy.


    The families reacted in kind.


    Gunfire erupted.


    But then, something strange happened.


    Gerald moved like a drunkard, his image blurring as if there were multiple afterimages, making it impossible to pinpoint his exact location.


    In the blink of an eye, his phantoms were everywhere.


    His ghostly movements left a trail of bloodshed.


    Wherever he passed, bodies fell like mown grass.


    The wounds on the bodies were precise, like surgical incisions on vital arteries, blood spurting out. Even the heavily armored mechanical warriors couldn''t survive a single encounter.


    Whether first or second tier.


    Anyone who blocked his path perished.


    Gerald left a swath of death in his wake.


    The young master Ailey was petrified, cornered and awaiting death


    But to everyone''s surprise, Gerald did not intend to kill everyone.


    Not that he couldn''t, it just seemed too troublesome.


    If no one stood in his way, he spared them.


    He ignored the families and stopped not far from Su''en.


    Standing with his back to the crowd, no one dared to fire.


    Gerald pped his hands, and a red alchemical circle lit up beneath him, muttering something.


    In the next instant, the life force from the corpses behind him was drawn into the circle.


    As the ritual began, Gerald greedily absorbed the blood essence, his face showing pleasure. His body involuntarily tensed, his muscles bulging impressively.


    He looked just like Su''en not far away.


    Both men''s eyes reflected a deep, sick madness, their red glows intensifying.


    At that moment, as if a threshold had been reached, Gerald''s face suddenly disyed a ck and white clown mask.


    On closer inspection, the mask shifted to red and ck.


    ***


    "Ha ha ha ha ha..."


    A low growl came from Su''en''s throat.


    It was augh, yet also a roar. He tilted his head, eyeing Gerald with the red clown mask, licking his lips, "Red-faced clown, underestimated... I heard Mr. Gerald has an even stronger ck-faced state?"


    Gerald replied, "I hope you get the chance to see it."


    He didn''t rush to act, as if waiting for something.


    Red eyes met red eyes, two madmen, sharing an unspoken understanding.


    After this final exchange, Su''en slowly closed his eyes.


    The light before him narrowed to a slit, and thest shred of reason dissipated into darkness.


    Suddenly, blood streamed from his seven orifices, his hands spread as if to embrace the entire world.


    For the first time, he fully released the restraints in his heart, letting his suppressed emotions spiral out of control...


    The beast within leapt from its cage.


    Su''en''s eyes snapped open, a deep crimson.


    In an instant, a wave of invisible psychic force exploded from him.


    He looked around as if surveying a new world, a wicked smile on his face, "So this is what it feels like..."


    As his words fell, a <em>"BOOM"</em> of air burst forth.


    A visible ripple of air shot out from beneath his feet, and after a second''s dy, the cobblestone ground cracked like a spiderweb.


    This stomp was much more powerful than before; Su''en''s foot seemed to stomp on the very fabric of space, making everyone feel the air ripple around them.


    This step was several times faster than before!


    The release of emotions was not just a psychic change but also a hysterical state, causing a violent secretion of hormones.


    This would unlock the safety valves of muscle fibers, allowing muscles to exert many times, even tens of times more strength!


    Who among the third-tier professionals could im to be ten times stronger than Su''en, enhanced by the X serum?


    His body could now withstand much greater bursts of power than an ordinary person.


    This was a terrifying speed that even third-tier professionals could not match.


    In the blink of an eye, Su''en, engulfed in cold mes, charged at Gerald, his golden fist like a cannonball mming into the middle-aged man''s abdomen.


    Caught off guard, Gerald was sent flying, crashing into the Oliver family crowd. The impact sent several people flying, spitting blood, and creating a huge dent in the wall.


    The shocking speed stunned everyone on the battlefield.


    Everyone thought the battle was decided,


    But unexpectedly, Gerald stood up from the broken bricks as if nothing had happened.


    He instinctively went to push up his sses, only to remember the mask on his face, and muttered to himself, "Interesting... I thought I was the only one who knew this technique, but you know it too."


    Gerald dusted himself off, his hands forming a sorcerer''s seal: <em>"Flesh Alchemy: Hormonal Rampage!"</em>


    Something changed, and his aura surged dramatically.


    In the next moment, his figure dissolved on the spot.


    Almost simultaneously, a piercing metallic tearing sound echoed throughout the prison.


    After the transformation, Gerald''s speed was even faster than Su''en''s,


    So fast that the second-tier professionals present couldn''t catch a glimpse!


    His de-like nails glided over the golden skin, sparks flying, a continuous <em>"sizzle"</em> sound.


    Gerald, like a wisp of breeze, flickered around Su''en, front, back, left, right...


    His deadly de ws sparked against Su''en''s body.


    The <em>"Vajra"</em> was a flesh alchemy technique solidified from gold elements, nearly impossible to break through with sufficient dark spiritual power for a third-tier professional.


    Gerald, capable of easily wounding second-tier professionals with his ws wrapped in <em>"No Servant"</em> cold mes, could only inflict superficial wounds on Su''en.


    But suddenly, Su''en felt something was wrong with his condition.


    Limb confusion?


    Hormonal disarray?


    Gerald''s attacks were not merely physical damage.


    The <em>"Forensic Expert"</em> had a deep understanding of human anatomy, nerve control, and certain hormone secretions.


    The bioelectricity created by the de entering the skin immediately disrupted Su''en''s brain control over his limbs. The brain intended to move the left hand, but the right hand moved; it wanted to move fingers, but toes twitched instead...


    And fighting this man, one''s hormones were involuntarily affected, with negative emotions like fear artificially induced...


    A normal person facing him would be weakened as if afflicted with a <em>"feeble state,"</em> already at a disadvantage without fighting.


    Red-eyed Su''en, though bereft of reason, still had his fighting instincts.


    His emotions now seemed as if multiple minds were calcting the battle, oveing the "limb confusion" in an instant. As for emotions... both were using them, and masked Gerald was not necessarily crazier than Su''en.


    With no advantage in speed and unable to inflict damage in closebat.


    Su''en formed the sorcerer''s seal with both hands, once again conjuring the <em>"Puppet Theater."</em>


    Silver threads wrapped around space, dozens of puppets attacking simultaneously.


    This time, the <em>"Puppet Theater,"</em> deemed unsolvable at the same tier, showed its limitations in a tier-crossing battle.


    A single thread could be easily cut by the de-like nails, and when bundled, he could dodge with his ghostly movements...


    Gerald was like a fish swimming agilely through seaweed, the witch''s hair causing him little trouble.


    The main force of the attack was still the puppets.


    Su''en multitasked, controlling dozens of puppets to attack simultaneously, as if one person had dozens of hands and feet.


    But the <em>"Nightmare Dolls,"</em> which could affect the minds of second-tier professionals, were useless against the Umbre Organization''s leader. And his armor-stripping technique didn''t even need to shatter the dolls to dismantle them into parts.


    Soon, the battlefield resembled a horrific ughterhouse, with puppet limbs and torsos scattered in the air...


    But the dismembered limbs still attacked Gerald relentlessly.


    Both faces bore a numbness as if they were impervious to pain,


    And in the central prison, where dark spiritual power was rich, Su''en could sustain the fight for a long time!


    Moreover, with the super recovery power brought by the <em>"X serum,"</em> it was impossible for him to be defeated in a short time.


    The two engaged in a fierce battle.


    ***


    The onlookers were stunned by the duel.


    A bizarre one-on-one fight had turned into a sh of titans.


    The families then realized that this unassuming bespectacled middle-aged man was a third-tier professional, and an exceptionally strong one at that!


    Looking at Su''en, they also understood just how formidable this SS-ss fugitive was, even without using the ck Scythe.


    "This..."


    "What speed! Even Chairman Nero might not match them..."


    "Both have used it, especially Su''en, he might not live much longer..."


    "Let''s go! Whoever wins, it''s bad for us!"


    "Right, let''s figure out how to break this cursed space and get out."


    "..."


    The remnants of the two families chose not to watch but to flee.


    Meanwhile, Kay and the others at the second-floor passage saw the red-eyed Su''en and, despite their concerns about the battle, entered the second level of the prison without hesitation.

 Chapter 202: Black Clown

    Chapter 202: ck Clown<hr>


    What''s a battle between madmen like?


    <em>It''s all about recklessness!</em>


    Charge headfirst for hundreds of rounds.


    Bothbatants were fighting in an overloaded state brought on by extreme hormonal surges, their speed and strength surpassing what most ordinary third-tier fighters could only dream of.


    It must be said, Gerald was the type who would take a skill to its absolute limit.


    As a <em>"Forensic Expert,"</em> his understanding of human anatomy was as familiar as the back of his hand.


    He knew not just the functions of limbs, muscles, meridians, nerves, and more...


    He could even use these functions inbat.


    Beyond techniques that caused <em>"limb chaos"</em> and <em>"hormonal disarray,"</em> he could precisely slice key points in the meridians with des formed from his nails, blocking the flow of vital energy in the body.


    This effect was somewhat simr to the concept of "acupoint sealing" from Su''en''s previous life.


    Alchemists performing nearly all their spells required the flow of dark spiritual energy within their bodies. With one strike from Gerald, a spell would normally be interrupted immediately, and in severe cases, it could even cause bacsh.


    This technical style of fighting often allowed one to exert tenfold the power with just a fraction of the effort.


    Fortunately for Su''en, his <em>"Vajra"</em> was at the third tier, containing remnants of fourth and fifth-tier elementalws of gold, making him nearly impervious to des and spears.


    Otherwise, any other third-tier professional, even if they knew the Vajra technique, would be easily pierced by Gerald''s surgical de, breaking their technique in an instant.


    This leader of the Umbre Organization was one of the strongest professionals Su''en had encountered, aside from those from the Mirror Organization. At least, he was several times more troublesome than the previously deceased "Wind Thunder Sword King," Nero Redgrave.


    But as strong as the enemy was, Su''en was no less formidable.


    With <em>"Vajra"</em> at the ready, he was already in an invincible position.


    Within the <em>"Puppet Theater,"</em> the dense web of threads was like his own body hair, allowing him to clearly sense Gerald''s position inside. Any slight misstep from the opponent could trap him.


    At this moment, Su''en was surrounded by hundreds of puppet limbs with sharp des.


    These high-level runes and enchanted daggers stabbed chaotically around Su''en''s body like a torrential downpour.


    Although Gerald''s methods of killing were fierce and unique, his professional role was still that of an assassin. Strong in attack and burst, but weak in defense, and he had to fight at close range.


    Even with agile movements, the range of the daggers meant he was bound to be pierced to some extent.


    ***


    The shadow of the green wind whirled around the dark golden figure, and the noise of their battle rose wave after wave.


    Just then, a "DONG" sounded like the tolling of a bell.


    Su''en was struck by Gerald''s aerial sh, a vicious leg kick smashing into his shoulder.


    He sank his energy down, a tremendous force traveling from his shoulder into his leg, turning the hard ground beneath his feet into dust. The force didn''t stop until his feet were buried a foot deep into the ground.


    Su''en''sbat skills had reached "Master" level, and his ability to dissipate force had be instinctual.


    It was very difficult to beat him in terms of technique.


    And in the instant he was struck, Su''en pulled on the threads in the void, sending dozens of des plunging down. Gerald dodged dozens of strikes but was still hit by a few.


    He retreated rapidly, pulling back dozens of meters.


    Both fighters simultaneously ceased their attacks.


    Gerald nced at the wound on his right arm and exhaled a breath of turbid air.


    The high secretion of hormones could elerate wound healing, but the recovery rate couldn''t keep up with fresh injuries.


    Red-eyed Su''en felt this intense battle was exhrating. With a bloodied grin, he wasn''t in a hurry to make a move. His abnormal state caused him to let out a crow-like, strangeugh, "Mr. Gerald, your red-faced clown state can''t kill me..."


    "Indeed."


    Gerald shrugged nonchntly, rolling up the sleeves that hade undone during the fight.


    His nails were sharp like des, rolled up meticulously.


    Having fought to this point, he had figured out what Su''en was nning.


    He turned and asked, "Are you nning to use psychic power to break through the brain domain?"


    Red-eyed Su''en twisted his stiff neck from the kick, the cracking sound audible, and responded, "Yes."


    He had learned of this ancient method from <em>"Lady Sereya"</em> in the fifthyer of the prison.


    Some <em>"exceptionally gifted"</em> ancient sorcerers, before learning the secrets of psychic power, could try to use the release of violent psychic energy to shock the brain domain''s development.


    This would give them one more chance to <em>"advance psychically"</em> than others.


    Otherwise, once psychic power was restrainedter on, the precious gift would be wasted.


    Su''en belonged to the rare "exceptionally gifted" category, with strong initial psychic power but not yet insane.


    Hearing this, Gerald revealed an expected calmness and asked withposure, <em>"Can you use the spatial rules to kill me?"</em>


    He had already figured out his opponent''s strength. That ck scythe was not a fatal threat to him.


    If the opponent was confident, then there was only one possibility.


    Su''en didn''t hide it, <em>"Yes."</em>


    "Oh."


    Upon hearing this, Gerald''s emotions remained unchanged.


    From the moment he was drawn into the cursed space, he had guessed that he would die today.


    At the end of his life, the leader of the Umbre Organization was neither afraid nor sad, and suddenly asked calmly, "How much longer can you hold on?"


    To others, this question might seem baffling.


    But the two of them understood each other''s intentions as soon as they spoke.


    Su''en said, "At most four minutes."


    The overdrive of hormone secretion was not without cost.


    In the midst of the intensity, muscle fibers were tearing, and the burden on the organs and bones was tremendous. Ordinary people using this method ofbat would have died long ago.


    Su''en relied on the super cell activity from the "X Serum" modification to avoid dropping dead on the spot.


    He didn''t think a normal human body could withstand such an exaggerated overload.


    Su''en himself was like this, and so must Gerald be.


    Even if he couldn''t win, the oue had been determined from the beginning.


    It also meant that within four minutes, one of them must die.


    "Hmm... then as you wish."


    Gerald seemed to have made a decision, adding, "You''re the second person to see my ''ck Clown.'' I hope you won''t be killed by me. Otherwise, it would be a pity."


    The two red-eyed patients started chatting as if they were not mortal enemies but old friends engaging in pleasant conversation.


    They also realized that it wasn''t that they couldn''tmunicate in their frenzied state.


    Rather, it was that others couldn''tmunicate with them.


    Hearing this, Su''en''s face twisted into a maniacal smile, his eyes brimming with the desire to fight.


    He licked his lips, "Tsk tsk, what an honor..."


    ***


    Gerald didn''t say much more, nor did he bother to straighten his shirt. Instead, he tore it apart with one swift motion.


    The sound of silk ripping filled the air.


    The middle-aged man revealed his strong upper body, wrapped in bandages.


    The bandages burst apart instantly, but what was shocking was the centipede-like suture marks on his back. The pattern of the sutures was a hexagram!


    The flesh sewn together was a different color from the rest of his body.


    Dark and oozing a faint ck mist, it looked like a piece of dead flesh stitched onto living tissue!


    Su''en, with his all-seeing eye, recognized the origin of that flesh and muttered, "So it''s using the flesh of a different creature to bear the burden of this overdrivebat... I see..."


    This was not an augmentation device, but simply another piece of flesh sewn onto his own body.


    However, looking at the inmed and swollen wound, it seemed the human body was rejecting the ck flesh.


    Yet, Gerald forcibly stitched it to his body using alchemical arrays.


    What a mad act...


    "Just a little experiment. Be careful."


    Gerald responded lightly, pped his hands, and uttered, <em>"Flesh Alchemy: Release!"</em>


    As the alchemist''s seal was undone, a bizarre scene unfolded.


    The hexagram suture mark shed, and the "dead flesh" on his back came to life, writhing. The ck pigment spread rapidly across his body. His muscles seemed to awaken, pulsating under the skin like countless wriggling snakes.


    Even the cold me of Gerald''s <em>Void Servant</em> changed from deep blue to bright purple. The temperature remained the same, but the sight sent shivers down one''s spine.


    And his clown mask turned pitch ck in an instant. The crescent-shaped smile was chilling to the bone.


    The strongest <em>"ck Clown"</em> state... had emerged!


    With this state activated, Gerald seemed to be under a heavy burden,


    With a "gurgle," He bent over and spat out a mouthful of turbid blood.


    His chest heaved violently.


    The muscles'' overdrive generated a lot of heat, evaporating the body''s moisture and creating a visible mist from his mouth and nose, his breathing sounding like that of a wild beast.


    <em>"Huff..."</em>


    <em>"Huff..."</em>


    "..."


    Gerald hunched over, looking up at Su''en.


    In that moment, the ck Clown''s eyes lost all reason, bing a monster driven solely by the urge to kill!


    And in that instant of eye contact, the ck Clown raised a hooked w, and under the prison''s dim lights, the cold de w drew five streaks of afterimages in the void. It was as if one could hear the sharp sound of ws tearing through the air, a <em>"ng"</em> in an instant.


    What was even more surprising was that with this w, he threw out the purple mes he had been condensing in his hand!


    Su''en''s pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively twisted his body to dodge.


    The purple me didn''t touch him, but it exploded into a burst of purple fire just a foot away.


    Even though he was also enveloped in cold me, the st made his soul shudder, and he felt slightly dazed.


    When he looked again, the ck Clown''s figure had already dissipated on the spot.


    Even though Su''en''s eyes caught the iing figure, his body couldn''t react in time.


    It was too fast, The guy was now twice as fast as before!


    A shadow swept by, and Su''en could only watch as another w with a sharp gleam appeared in the air.


    All he heard was the grating sound of metal scraping.


    He was wed in the chest, and before he could react, he was wed again in the lower back...


    After one w came another, Gerald''s figure had bepletely ghostlike.


    <em>ng! ng! ng! ng!</em>


    In that instant of reaction, Su''en was struck four times!


    And unlike the previous skin-breaking "scraping" attacks, this time, each w left a gash an inch deep in his pure skin, with bright red blood visible in some areas.


    Just as Su''en was about to wrap himselfpletely in threads, those ws appeared out of nowhere, mming heavily into his chest.


    With a thunderous sound like a heavy object hitting the ground, That seemingly light p exploded with the force of a thunderbolt.


    A visible ripple burst from his chest, and the shockwave sent Su''en flying out of the <em>Puppet Theater.</em>


    He flew a hundred meters, crashing through a solid wall and falling into a prison cell.


    Su''en couldn''t help but spit out a mouthful of blood!


    ***


    In his "ck Clown" state, Gerald''sbat power had increased several times over.


    Just this encounter had already left Su''en injured.


    But red-eyed Su''en wasn''t shocked; instead, he grinned fiercely, overjoyed in his heart: <em>"Hahaha... so strong! So strong! So strong!"</em>


    The stronger the enemy, the more excited his spirit became, and the stronger the development of his brain domain.


    His current feeling was extremely peculiar. Once, his consciousness was like an isted ind in a vast sea, surrounded by fog.


    He was trapped on the ind, unable to escape.


    Now, unbound and drifting with the waves, he saw a whole new world.


    In this moment, as the opponent fought desperately, Su''en also fought with all his might without hesitation!


    The emotional stimtion led to a rapid and crazy secretion, reaching a potentially fatal level.


    Without going all out, how could he know where his potential limit was?


    Fully unleashing his body''s potential would give him near fourth-tier strength for a brief time in this world.


    Gerald was using the same method, using the "alien creature flesh" to bear the current pressure.


    But it was just an increase in physical strength; in terms ofws, he was still at the third tier.


    But Su''en was different; he truly understood parts of the fourth and even fifth-tierws!


    Moreover, Gerald was fighting under pressure,


    While Su''en was releasing pressure,


    The more he released, The stronger he became!


    "If it''s twice as strong, then let''s go for twice more!"


    Su''en shot up from the rubble, his face ferocious.


    He clenched his fist, and his muscles visibly swelled. His body, too, became steaming hot due to the overdrive of energy.


    Hormone secretion and potential reached their limits, and his muscles began to tear on arge scale...


    In this state, his body was on the verge of copse.


    But...


    Death?


    No, that was never a reason for him to back down.


    At this moment, the feeling of controlling power delighted Su''en. He greedily breathed in the air, feeling as if the world had slowed down, and his body finally caught up with his reactions.


    And just then, the ck Clown charged at him with a speed that was a blur, but Su''en faced him head-on without fear!


    A w to the chest, A punch to the shoulder, Both struck each other almost simultaneously.


    Both figures flew backward, tumbling onto the floor.


    Su''en''s chest had a gaping wound, and he heard the <em>"Slit"</em> of tissue being pierced.


    But at the same time, a clear sound of bone breaking was heard.


    His punch had turned Gerald''s right shoulder into a mess of sttered flesh, and his entire arm was torn off and flew away!


    Both suffered severe injuries.


    However, the next moment, the armless Gerald stood up.


    Su''en wanted to react, but found his body had reached its limit and suddenly <em>"crashed."</em>


    No, to be precise, he still wanted to fight, but he was stopped by an external force.


    His consciousness cleared for an instant,


    He knew,


    It was "Lady Sereya" who had been observing the fight that intervened.


    "Still didn''t win, huh..."


    Su''en gasped for air and slowly closed his eyes.


    But in a daze, he seemed to instinctively peel away something.


    <em>You have obtained 7 memory fragments of ''Severus Gerald''</em>


    <em>You have acquired a piece of information: ''The Duke suspects that Miss Teresa has been invaded by an evil entity, we should pay more attention... A secret team has arrived from outside the tower, probably from the Rega Earth family. Although they bypassed the Umbre, I still discovered their traces, they must be here for the youngdy''s situation...''</em>


    <em>You have acquired an obsession: ''The flesh of an alchemist is ultimately too weak, and the mechanical body is too clumsy, why can''t there be a perfect life form? Can alchemy create a perfect life form...''</em>


    <em>You have gained a vast amount of ''biological anatomy knowledge''</em>


    <em>You haveprehended the secret technique of flesh alchemy Hormonal Rampage</em>


    <em>You have mastered some necromantic spells</em>


    <em>You have acquired some skill fragments of Void Servant</em>


    <em>You have gained a vast amount of ''knowledge on stitching alien creature limbs'', increasing your recognition of biological corpses by +99</em>


    <em>Combat experience +155</em>


    <em>Psychic power +4.8</em>


    "So it was her who intervened..."


    As his consciousness faded, Su''en had onest thought.


    His entire world of consciousness suddenly plunged into darkness.

 Chapter 203: Teacher

    Chapter 203: Teacher<hr>


    "You''re awake?"


    Su''en opened his eyes to a soft female voice.


    He was in an alchemy workshop with high ceilings, probably seven or eight meters tall.


    The room was decorated in a rich ssical style, with a golden noble elegance and the mysterious aura unique to an alchemist''s workspace.


    Various ssical magicmps hung in the airround, square, diamond-shaped... lighting up the room brightly.


    One wall of the room was lined with bookshelves, densely packed with alchemical tomes.


    Inside those ss jars filled with pale yellow liquid were various biological materialseyeballs, brains, organs... Strange biological materials that mostly didn''t seem to be human tissue.


    The alchemy workbench was cluttered with all sorts of bottles, jars, and materials.


    Neatly arranged on the shelves were test tubes containing potions of various colors. In a beaker heated by purple mes, a thick green liquid bubbled and boiled, while a faint medicinal fragrance wafted through the air.


    A woman in a white pce dress was busily concocting a potion.


    Most striking of all were the eight crystal-clear spidernces on her back.


    Unlike the dark gold spidernces on Su''en''s body, her spidernces exuded a sense of returning to the essence, not at all ferocious. But upon closer inspection, one would see mysterious runes flowing with an unfathomable luster that was hard to look at directly.


    The spidernces, like her arms, moved flexibly and precisely, picking various potion test tubes from the shelves, and without precise measurement, she would casually drop a few drops, add a couple of spoonfuls of powder, a few solid pieces...


    Just by watching her concoction skills, Su''en knew she was making a high-level potion.


    In his current knowledge, a process that used eight materials to react simultaneously was something even the "master" alchemists of Old Lingdun couldn''t achieve.


    Su''en had been to this <em>"Dawn City Central Prison"</em> eight times before, but this was his first time entering this room.


    However, the elegantdy with the eight spidernces was not a stranger to him.


    She was naturally the target of Su''en''s mission, the founder of the Puppeteer profession, Sir Isaac''s wife, Pestoya''s mother, Lady Sereya.


    ***


    "Good day, Lady Sereya."


    Su''en replied.


    He was awake, but found that apart from his eyeballs, he couldn''t move.


    His body had lost all sensation.


    His mind quickly recalled the previous battle, and he understood that most of his muscles and bodily tissues had disintegrated.


    ncing at the alchemical runes on the floor where hey, the identification showed it was a sixth-order Life Alchemy Array.


    Lady Sereya seemed to have timed it just right, as thest ingredient was added to the beaker, and a miraculous reaction urred. The thick green liquid gradually became clear, turning into a qualified potion.


    She walked over to where Su''eny and poured the potion into the alchemy array.


    Suddenly, a surge of green light flourished.


    Su''en immediately felt a powerful vitality burrowing into his body.


    Like a withered tree regaining life, the broken muscle fibers and failing organs were recovering at an exaggerated rate.


    As Sereya poured the potion, she said, "Your brain development is not bad, about a 5% increase. That''s quite remarkable."


    After a pause, she added, "You have good talent. Indeed suitable for the ''Puppeteer'' profession."


    Hearing this, Su''en felt relieved and said, "All thanks to your teaching of the secret techniques, madam..."


    This growth was within expectations.


    The average person''s brain development is between 2% and 8%. In Su''en''s previous life, even top scientists mostly used only about 12%.


    This figure could grow slightly through certain acquired exercises and learning, but generally, one''s lifetime improvement would not exceed 2%.


    Su''en was now about 16%. It might not seem much, but on some levels, it''s the difference between scoring 59 and 60 on a test.


    That knowledgeable Mr. ck, who specifically sought advanced materials, was only around 18%.


    "Hmm. This secret technique does seem like my own work. After all, apart from me, no one else should know it..."


    Sereya always had a gentle and wise look on her face.


    Like looking at Mr. ck, it was the confidence of erudition, as if there were no secrets in the world she couldn''t unravel.


    She nced at Su''en, "Now, you can tell me what that letter you gave me earlier was all about. And your intentions."


    Su''en spoke directly, "Are you aware that the Central Prison has be a <em>''Cursed Space''?</em> My name is Su''en, I came in a thousand yearster..."


    As he spoke, he sinctly exined his purpose.


    Before entering the Cursed Space, he had taken a moment to hand thedy a letter he had written to "herself."


    He had obtained it during a previous visit, after exchanging information and gaining trust.


    The n was to try the secret technique Lady Sereya had personally told him about, which could increase brain development.


    He wouldn''t dare try it anywhere else; without someone to control the limit,pletely unleashing the suppressed emotions in his mind would undoubtedly lead to his death.


    ***


    Lady Sereya was highly intelligent.


    If it were any other Cursed Space, Su''en''s words would have been selectively ignored by the NPCs.


    It''s like someone time-traveling to you, holding a note in your handwriting, telling you it''s from a parallel universe you, and you should believe me.


    For a normal person, it would be hard to ept.


    But Lady Sereya''s remnant was easily able to think it through and ept reality.


    Just like the previous times.


    She murmured to herself, "So I''m already dead..."


    Hearing this, Su''en felt a strange sensation, as if the person before him was truly alive.


    For an NPC to recognize that they are dead, and that they are a Cursed Space NPC, is simply impossible.


    Su''en had thought she was a special existence like Pestoya.


    But she said she wasn''t.


    She was still a remnant NPC of the Cursed Space.


    As before, Su''en asked again, "Can you recognize that you''re dead?"


    He wanted to hear if he could get a different answer.


    Lady Sereya didn''t show any abnormal emotions upon realizing her own death, "It''s not hard to understand. When you''re alive and you foresee this inevitable death in your fate, many things be clear. Your arrival means that disaster has urred."


    Su''en listened and fell into contemtion.


    The same words, he had heard three times now.


    But he still couldn''t quite understand.


    Sereya easily believed Su''en and smiled, getting straight to the point, "You''re here today for a reason, aren''t you? Like, to give me a token? Need me to concoct something?"


    "Yes, that''s right."


    As he spoke these few words, Su''en found that he could move his body again.


    He opened his storage space and took out the golden card and the sealed casket.


    Seeing this ability, Sereya raised an eyebrow, "Spatial ability? Indeed quite suitable for a Puppeteer. But your understanding of thews is too shallow; against high-tier professionals, your space can easily be targeted byw-based methods."


    "..."


    Hearing this, Su''en looked slightly awkward.


    He thought to himself that this wasn''t Dawn City from a thousand years ago, where demigods existed.


    Now, in Old Lingdun, the strongest professionals on the surface were only third-tier, at the level of a prison guard.


    So far, Su''en hadn''t encountered the "high-tier" she mentioned.


    Sereya took out the golden card and seemed to read the contents using some special encryption method, her eyes bingplex.


    As if reminiscing, seeing the card brought a touch of tenderness and wistfulness to her gaze.


    After pondering for a while, she murmured to herself, "So that''s how it is..."


    Saying this, Sereya formed a spell gesture and eximed, <em>"Unseal!"</em>


    The runes inscribed on the casket suddenly lit up, andyers of golden sealing arrays shone. They wrapped around the casket tightly like chains. As the unsealing spell was activated, theyers began to dissipate.


    ***


    Su''en had brought out this casket several times before.


    But it had never been opened.


    Sereya said that once it was opened, the Cursed Space would cease to exist.


    With both families betrayed and murdered, and that "Coroner" Severus Gerald dead, Su''en''s brain development wasplete, and now it was time for the final step.


    He had previously identified the runes on the casket as "superior," knowing they were at least sixth-order or above.


    Now, seeing them in action, they certainly were.


    But upon closer inspection, they were not quite the same.


    The runes he knew were two-dimensional, while the runes that lit up on the casket were three-dimensional structures.


    Seeing that Sereya was rxed, he didn''t hesitate to interrupt.


    He asked directly, "Madam, what are these runes? They seem different from ordinary runes."


    Sereya casually exined, "These are ''Runic'' symbols, also known as Alchemical Runes. They''re equivalent to the ''arcane'' in spellcraft. Created by alchemists during the mythic era, they were perfected by countless alchemists into a vast body of knowledge. It''s not just a system but a way of thinking. It abandons the rigid rune patterns, delving into the variations and extensions of runes. Extremelyplex, the difficulty of study multiplies. But once mastered, the power is several times that of the same tier, and there are unexpected effects..."


    Su''en understood.


    The difference between advanced math and a regr textbook.


    They''re questions of the same grade, but the difficulty is iparable.


    The key isn''t the runes themselves, but the direction of divergent thinking.


    Su''en listened with a bit of envy, "Madam, are there any requirements to learn Runic symbols?"


    Such powerful runes, and he had harvested so many fragments, yet he had never even heard of them.


    <em>If he truly mastered them, third-tier Runic symbols could potentially match the power of ordinary fourth-tier ones, which would be immensely useful!</em>


    <em>Puppets, weapons, armor... third-tier with the effect of fourth-tier, wouldn''t that power be sky-high?</em>


    <em>This truly epitomized the meaning of "knowledge is power."</em>


    Sereya seemed to guess what he was thinking and smiled gently, "Normally, only highly talented professionals can ess this advanced rune knowledge. On the third shelf, there are a few introductory volumes. If you''re interested, you can take a look. With your high level of brain development, you''ll understand that level of knowledge more easily than others."


    Su''en''s heart leaped with joy upon hearing this.


    "Learning talent," in a sense, equated to brain development.


    As they spoke, Sereya suddenly remembered something else, "Speaking of which, these runes are somewhat rted to your <em>''All-Seeing Eye''</em> talent."


    Su''en paused, surprised: "R<em>ted to mine talent?"</em>


    Sereya asked, "Are you wondering why, after awakening the ''All-Seeing Eye,'' you can understand items you didn''t know before? Where does the necessary knowledgee from?"


    Su''en didn''t think his dual talent could be hidden from her.


    And indeed, this was something he wondered about.


    This wasn''t a game world, but a real onewhere did the "database"e from?


    Before he could ponder further, Sereya exined, "''Runic'' in ancient Gnidnguage means secret or mystery, representing ''the secrets of the cosmos.'' The ''All-Seeing Eye'' had another name in the mythic era, ''Akashic Record.'' You might find this term unfamiliar, but in the alchemical academic world, it''s a well-known name, ''Prima Materia.'' It''s the substance that created everything in the universe at the beginning. It contains all the secrets of the world, past, present, future... and so on."


    Su''en''s brows furrowed as he listened.


    He suddenly realized he might be hearing some high-end knowledge.


    If it had been before, he would have thought he couldn''t understand.


    But now, after brain development, he felt as if he had touched upon something.


    Sereya looked at Su''en and said, "Have you encountered something you can''t understand? For example, the contents of this box?"


    As she spoke, she took out the contents of the rune casket<em>a heart in a ss jar.</em>


    A ck and gold heart that was still beating!


    Su''en wasn''t surprised to see this; after all, he had suspected it.


    To extract <em>"X Serum,"</em> it had to be a biological limb or some kind of organ.


    Though he hadn''t expected the heart to still be alive.


    He identified it, and as expected, it read: Heart of *** from the Abyss.


    He asked, "Why is that?"


    Sereya said, "The ''All-Seeing Eye'' can see through all the secrets of the world. You can''t see it now because your talent awakening is still too superficial; some things you can''t see, others you see but don''t understand. Secondly... it''s because it''s protecting you."


    She paused for a moment, then pointed to the heart in the ss jar, "Do you know whose heart this is?"


    Su''en had a guess and ventured, "From a legendary <em>''god-tier''</em> being?"


    "Hmm."


    Sereya nodded, confirming his guess, "This is the heart of a god-tier being. The information of a ''deity'' is not just a few words but contains indescribablews for humans. Thews of gods are not something lower beings can covet. Your All-Seeing Eye saw that level ofw directly, but because your cognitive level is too low, it protected you. If it forcibly poured that high-level cognition into your brain, your mind would copse immediately."


    She revealed a wise smile and added, "If I say this heart belongs to a ''Fallen Angel,'' take another look?"


    Su''en looked again, and indeed, the identification now showed the words "Heart of a Fallen Angel."


    Sereya''s words "defined" that iprehensiblew, presenting it in a way he could understand.


    At the same time, Su''en was shocked.


    Angels?


    Beings with wings from the myths?


    No wonder "X Serum" injections made people more attractive; the genes came from angels.


    Su''en thought of something and asked, "Madam, is the source of talent awakening bloodlines?"


    "Yes, but not entirely. There''s a legend circting in the market that humans are descendants of the gods, and bloodline inheritance is the passing down of a part of the gods''w power, like the elemental talents of earth, wind, water, fire... But in reality, that''s an inurate statement."


    Sereya slightly arched her brow, correcting the notion, "Bloodlines are just one carrier. For example, your ''Reaper of Death'' talent, its carrier is the soul. In fact, the essence of talent is the ''Prima Materia'' of the universe, and even gods are just beneficiaries..."


    "..."


    Sure enough, she knew he had dual talents.


    Since the topic hade up, Su''en simply asked all his questions, "What''s the difference between S-tier talents and other talents?"


    Sereya responded, "S-tier talents represent the supremews of the universe. Your <em>''Reaper of Death''</em> represents the ''Law of Death,'' your <em>''All-Seeing Eye''</em> represents the ''Law of Wisdom''... Legend has it that for us alchemists to be gods, understanding thesews is a necessary path."


    Her tone became very serious as she spoke, "The essence of alchemy is to understand and decipher the truth of this world. We alchemists are all on the journey to pursue this truth. From the structure of matter to the understanding ofws, from simple toplex. Only when you have mastered it can you truly create alchemy of equivalent exchange at will. Therefore, an alchemist must be erudite. You already have the qualifications to be a top alchemist, to peer into the ultimate secrets of this world..."


    As she spoke, Sereya suddenly said, "Although I''m already dead, I would like to take you as my disciple."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en, enduring the pain throughout his body, rose to his feet without any expression.


    He bowed deeply in respect, And solemnly said, "Teacher."

 Chapter 204: Why did you burn her to death?

    Chapter 204: Why did you burn her to death?<hr>


    "Teacher."


    Su''en bowed respectfully to the great alchemist from a thousand years ago.


    "Mm."


    Sereya nodded with a gentle smile.


    Looking at Su''en, her eyes filled with satisfaction, "Though time has slipped by, our meeting was destined. Regrettably, I don''t have much time to teach you, so... as your teacher, let me give you a wee gift."


    Saying this, Sereya took out a ss bottle containing the <em>[Fallen Angel''s Heart]</em>, pinched a seal with one hand, and softly chanted, <em>"Seal Release!"</em>


    The runes on the ss bottle lit up.


    In that instant, Su''en felt that the ancient bottle didn''t contain a beating heart, but rather a primordial beast.


    The aura that leaked out was oppressive like a mountain.


    Dominant, holy, chillingly evil, like a flood of dark spiritual power...


    It made one feel an involuntary sense of worship, a profound humility.


    It was the pressure of a lower being looking up at a higher life form.


    That aura was like gazing at the stars, endlessly profound, yet unreachable.


    "This is the breath of a god..."


    Su''en was astounded, as if a storm surged in his heart.


    Once, "god" was just a simple word in his understanding.


    Indescribable, ineffable, but ultimately too insubstantial.


    Nothing like this tangible sensation.


    For the first time, Su''en felt the presence of a god.


    Sereya''s gaze was misty as she looked at the heart in the jar and said, "This is part of thew of a divine being. I''m not asking you to understand it, but to know how vast the world is. Only from a high vantage can one see further. A truly great alchemist needs extensive knowledge and a broader vision."


    Su''en nodded earnestly, his eyes shing with insight.


    In that moment, he deeply understood the meaning of her words.


    A frog in a well can never grasp the vastness of the world.


    But now, he had glimpsed the vast world beyond the well''s edge.


    Continuing, Sereya said, "Isaac once said that we live in the worst of times, but also the best of times, because we stand on the shoulders of giants. Although today''s alchemical civilization is not as glorious as it was during the Dawn Epoch, the knowledge has been passed down. The sages of history have left us too much precious knowledge, which is the real ''treasure.'' But this precious knowledge is buried in the dust of history, waiting for us to unearth, innovate, and continue to explore..."


    Her teaching method was straightforward and forceful, but the impact on Su''en''s heart was unparalleled.


    Yet his gaze was unwavering.


    The more fascinating the world, the more he looked forward to it.


    Su''en calmed the turmoil in his heart and bowed respectfully, "Thank you for your guidance, Teacher."


    "You''re doing well."


    Sereya looked at Su''en''s performance under the divine pressure and nodded with satisfaction, "If there was time, I would have you build a solid foundation and gradually expose you to the truth of this world. The world as seen by an alchemist is far more fascinating than that of ordinary people..."


    She changed the subject, "But clearly, there isn''t. So, the gift for my disciple must naturally be the best."


    Hearing this, Su''en''s anticipation grew.


    At that moment, Sereya took out the golden card from before and flicked it lightly with her hand.


    The card shattered, and an ancient hexagonal coppermp appeared before them.


    Su''en recognized it immediatelyit was the<em> [Volgan''s Furnace Lamp]!</em>


    "With this alchemical item, things will be much easier..."


    Sereya muttered to herself with a smile.


    Then, she ced the ss bottle on the ground and rapidly formed an intricate set of sorcerer''s seals with her hands.


    Not just her hands, but the eight-armed spidernce behind her seemed to be manipting somew. Centered around her, the air slowly gathered fire elemental motes like fireflies, more and more, until they formed a ring of firestorm...


    Looking again, a fiery nine-pointed star alchemy array suddenly appeared on the floor of the room.


    Su''en''s eyes trembled as he observed the mysterious patterns of the array.


    The grade of this technique was so high that he couldn''tprehend it at all.


    With the final sorcerer''s seal pinched, Sereya softly chanted, <em>"Alchemy ArtFurnace World!"</em>


    As her words fell, the nine-pointed star array on the floor seemed to melt through the floor, and a wave of heat swept through the room.


    Looking again, Su''en saw a world of magma and fire seas, as if through this small array mouth, connected to a furnace world.


    The hexagonal coppermp fell into it, the lid opened, releasing a trapped me demon, and a surge of violent fire elemental power pped upwards.


    The terrifying elemental pressure, even through the array, made Su''en''s scalp tingle, as if a mere touch would incinerate him.


    However, before he could fully experience this sensation, the nine-pointed star suddenly disappeared.


    The hexagonal coppermp and the heart were locked in that furnace world.


    ***


    After inserting the <em>[Fallen Angel''s Heart]</em> and the coppermp into the alchemy array, Sereya also breathed a sigh of relief.


    Like a housewife who had just put a turkey in the oven, she suddenly found herself idle.


    She looked at Su''en and asked, "By the way, did you bring your notes?"


    Su''en knew what she was referring to and took out the <em>[Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript III]</em> from his space.


    Sereya held the notes like a housewife with a recipe book, casually flipping through them, and muttered to herself, "Hmm... there''s still a slight deviation. Isaac made the ultimate design manuscript even more perfect..."


    As she spoke, she manipted the spidernce to take out some materials from the cab, like adding seasoning to a pot, casually opened a crack in the ground, and threw the materials in.


    Then she pped her hands, looking like her work was done.


    "Now it''s perfect. Crafting the <em>[Isaac''s Alchemy Heart]</em> will take some time; we''ll have to wait..."


    She looked at Su''en and suddenly thought of something else, "Do you want to know how this heart came to be?"


    Su''en naturally guessed something, "Teacher, did you hunt a god from the abyss?"


    Sereya was amiable, not too stern or serious as a teacher, and easy tomunicate with.


    "Not me. I''m not strong enough to battle a god. It was Isaac''s doing."


    She spoke casually, with a sense of drama.


    A deity, defeated in a realm without gods?


    But Su''en was also curious. Isaac was known as a "demi-god," presumably not of divine rank, yet he had actually killed a god.


    How did he manage that?


    Before he could wonder further, Sereya seemed to guess his confusion and simply said, "Moreover, although alchemists are physically weak, we have one advantage: we can use external objects and alchemy to exert power far beyond our physical rank. Plus, the [Master of Fate] is a very strong talent, and Isaac developed it to an impressive degree... Hisbat power is not inferior to ordinary deities."


    Su''en knew he couldn''t understand that level of power and asked about something he was more curious about, "Teacher, was that god killed? Then why is this heart still beating, is it some special ability of a divine rank?"


    "No, It''s not dead."


    Sereya shook her head, "A divine rank being can''t be killed as long as their divine fire isn''t extinguished. Isaac originally wanted to kill It, but due to some special reasons... Of course, the most important is, he wanted to use this rare divine material for some experiments. Like this <em>[Isaac''s Alchemy Heart] </em>."


    Su''en guessed something and directly said, "Teacher... you''re giving this to me as a gift? But, this is Mr. Mirror''s material. And..."


    His face showed some difficulty.


    After all, the heart was stolen from theb by Number Neen, the hexagonal coppermp was hard-earned by Mr. Mirror and his team, along with these other things...


    Although Su''en coveted the divine rank material-crafted item, he also felt it was inappropriate.


    "Mr. Mirror?"


    Sereya heard the name and obviously guessed something, her face showing a tender smile, murmuring to herself, "She actually chose such a name for herself."


    After a pause, she said with certainty, "No. If I give it to you, she won''t mind."


    "..."


    Hearing this, Su''en immediately confirmed his previous guess.


    Mr. Mirror was the "old monster" of Dawn City who had lived for over a thousand years.


    And from Sereya''s tone, it was clear they knew each other.


    Since she was the teacher, Su''en didn''t need to be so formal and directly asked, "Teacher, do you know Mr. Mirror?"


    "Didn''t she tell you?"


    Sereya neither confirmed nor denied, her eyes revealing a lightugh as if thinking of something.


    After pondering for a moment, she didn''t intend to rify for Su''en, only saying, "Alchemy is already quite dull, let''s leave some small pleasures for life. When you see her, you''ll probably be quite surprised."


    "..."


    Su''en shrugged.


    He didn''t inquire further.


    As she said, the secret of Mr. Mirror''s identity was a little pleasure in life.


    Seeing the notes, he thought of something and said, "By the way, Teacher. Mr. Mirror mentioned that there''s a big secret about alchemy hidden in the notes?"


    Now that the manuscript''s author''s wife was here, instead of guessing wildly, it was better to ask directly.


    "Yes."


    Sereya nodded, revealing a piece of ancient history that was a secret to Su''en.


    "Isaac studied the documents left from the Dawn Epoch and developed an ''epic'' set of alchemical imnts. He wanted alchemists to possess some divine rank abilities before reaching divine rank. Hence, he needed some divine materials."


    She paused, then continued, "However, as far as I remember, he only finished the draft."


    Su''en listened quietly, knowing there was more toe.


    "Of course, the alchemy manuscript is just the content of the notes. Its secret goes beyond that. I heard Isaac once said he wanted to hide the secret he discovered in the notes."


    Sereya''s face showed a sly smile, continuing, "A secret we once discovered, pointing to the ultimate secret of alchemy. If you find all five notes, you can see the secret we left behind."


    Like a treasure hunt game.


    They hid the secret in the notes.


    Waiting for someone to gather them and find that secret.


    Su''en''s interest was piqued, "The ultimate secret?"


    Sereya said, "The reason why the Akavia civilization of the Dawn Epoch was so glorious is said to be because the five divine rank elders of the ''Rosicrucian Society,'' the creators of the civilization and the five statues you saw in the basement of the Storm Manor, had seen the origin of the alchemical lineage left from the mythological erathe <em>[Emerald Codex]</em>, and were inspired by it. Hence, they created such a powerful alchemical civilization."


    Su''en heard a new term, "Emerald Codex?"


    "Mm. In ancient texts, it''s also called the Emerald Tablet, the Green Jade... It''s said to be the origin of alchemy, an item that records the ultimate secret of alchemy."


    Sereya nodded, but then her brows furrowed, questioning herself, "Strange, why can''t I remember what that secret is exactly, I only remember it''s rted to the <em>[Emerald Codex]</em>..."


    Like missing a piece from a memory puzzle, clearlycking some rted memories.


    After a pause, she seemed to realize something, her expression showing understanding, "ording to what you said, I''m just a remnant. So my memories must also be missing some parts. There are some things I can''t exin to youpletely..."


    "Oh."


    Su''en listened without much disturbance in his heart; the secrets of that level were still too early for him to touch.


    What ultimate secret of alchemy, And the other four notes whose whereabouts were unknown, All seemed somewhat unrealistic to him.


    Now he was still "in the mines."


    Estimating that after reaching the fifth or sixth rank, when he would be considered a master on the surface... perhaps then he would be qualified to touch upon them.


    ***


    While chatting, Su''en suddenly remembered themission from before.


    "By the way, Teacher. There''s something I feel I need to tell you."


    "What is it?"


    "I met a ghostly little girl at Storm Manor who said her name was <em>''Pestoya.'' </em>"


    Considering the previous circumstances, Su''en wasn''t sure she was definitely this woman''s daughter, so he chose his words very carefully.


    Sereya''s eyes immediately showed guilt and affection upon hearing this.


    She asked eagerly, "You''ve seen her... Is she alright?"


    "Mm. I''ve seen her twice."


    Su''en nodded, "I don''t know if her current state can be called good or bad. She has be a strange ''ghost''."


    He paused, then added, "Pestoya asked me to ask you a question."


    Before Su''en could speak, Sereya said, <em>"Ask me why I burned her?"</em>


    Her expression was calm, but it seemed she remembered something, her eyes already brimming with tears.

 Chapter 205: A scheme that had been planned for a thousand years

    Chapter 205: A scheme that had been nned for a thousand years<hr>


    Su''en was also troubled by this question.


    Why would Isaac and his wife choose to burn their most cherished little daughter to death?


    When Sereya heard Su''en ask this question, she wasn''t the least bit surprised.


    "It''s been a thousand years; she must be very sad."


    She sighed softly and said, "Because... only resentment can prevent her soul from dissipating."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en had a sudden realization.


    One of the prerequisites for forming ghosts or vengeful spirits is that there must be some kind of strong obsession.


    As soon as he heard the beginning, he guessed why Isaac and his wife did this a thousand years ago.


    They wanted to preserve Pestoya''s soul.


    But... why?


    Sereya''s emotions became veryplex, a mix of tenderness, love, guilt, sighs, and hope, all reflected in her sparkling eyes.


    She revealed the secret buried in the dust of history, "That fallen angel of divine rank was defeated back then, but Isaac paid a great price. Arge number of abyssal creatures invaded, and our Dawn City suffered heavy losses. The fallen angel even tried topletely destroy this spatial seal, allowing a massive invasion from the abyss... At first, we didn''t think we could kill it. To prevent it from wreaking havoc after recovery, we chose to disassemble its divine bodylimbs, torso, head, heart, wings... and sealed them separately in various locations around Dawn City. That way, its divine power couldn''t converge in one ce, greatly reducing the threat."


    Listening to this, Su''en finally understood where the <em>[Heart of the Fallen Angel]</em> he obtained came from.


    So, what was sealed in the White Monastery was also a piece of the divine body...


    At this point, Sereya continued, "On the surface, gods are gods because they understand thews of higher nes. But for us alchemists, we need to see through the appearance to grasp the essence of things. Laws are intangible and elusive, but the body of a god is very real. And having guarded this spatial passage for many years, we''ve also discovered that abyssal creatures have very strong physiques, and we''ve deduced some patterns, so..."


    By now, Su''en finally knew what Sir Isaac intended to do when he captured a divine-rank creature.


    They "sliced and studied" this divine-rank creature.


    Alchemists are the scientists of this world, including in the fields of biology, mechanics, as well as mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering... and so on.


    A thousand years ago, the group of great alchemists led by Isaac were the top scientists in these fields. Their research in biological science had reached a level that even Su''en, a transmigrator, found inconceivable.


    Perhaps because Su''en was her disciple, Sereya was very detailed, "Although we obtained some knowledge describing the divine body from ancient texts, this was our first time truly encountering a living one... We studied the blood and other bodily tissues of this fallen angel and discovered on a microscopic level the divine gene chain, which is much higher than humans; it has forty strands. And Isaac, as the strongest alchemist of the time, only had thirty-five. Ordinary non-professionals have only twenty-three..."


    Hearing this, Su''en didn''t know how to describe his feelings.


    It turned out that ancient alchemists a thousand years ago had already researched gics to such a thorough extent.


    He didn''t know if it was because Old London was a mining pit that led to some aberrant development, or if the outside world hadn''t reached the level of a thousand years ago. But among the knowledge he hade across, there was not a single mention of "gene chains."


    However, Sereya didn''t continue on the research topic but returned to the previous discussion, "But during this research process, some idents urred. Although we sealed the body of the fallen angel, we didn''t expect that its soul would escape during a research ident. Then, it possessed Pestoya''s body..."


    Hearing this, it was as if the final piece of the puzzle had been ced.


    All the clues in Su''en''s mind automatically connected, and he immediately understood the truth behind Pestoya''s burning.


    At this point, Sereya paused, seemingly recalling a memory she was reluctant to revisit.


    After pondering for a moment, she continued, "That fallen angel was cunning, knowing that no matter where its soul fled, it would be annihted. So, it chose Pestoya. By the time we discovered it, it had already entangledpletely with Pestoya''s soul. If we killed it, we would definitely kill Pestoya. But if we didn''t deal with it in time, it would bring catastrophic disaster to our ne..."


    She didn''t continue, but Su''en understood.


    So, they chose to burn Pestoya.


    Hearing the story up to this point, Su''en also vaguely understood what the secret previously marked as "???" on the butterfly brooch was.


    It was most likely the soul of that fallen angel!


    Su''en knew that things were probably not that simple.


    If it was about destruction, they would never leave the soul behind.


    Sereya said, "I''ve lost some memories and don''t know what happened afterward. But your appearance means that Isaac''s n seeded."


    Su''en listened quietly, knowing that someone like Isaac, who had mastered [Fate], wouldn''t have such simple methods.


    He asked, "Teacher, did you preserve Pestoya''s soul to resurrect her?"


    Sereya replied, "Yes. There''s no parent in the world who would want to watch their child be burned alive, but to ensure she had enough resentment, we didn''t tell her the truth. We set up some measures in Storm Manor to preserve her soul. Butpared to a deity, a human soul is too weak. The fallen angel could easily erase Pestoya''s soul. So, this n wouldst at least a thousand years. Only when Pestoya''s soul was strong enough and the two could no longer be separated... could we act."


    As she spoke, her face showed the fierceness of a mother harming her child''s enemy, "Hmph, so-called gods, to survive, only resort to such despicable tricks."


    Su''en now fully understood the whole course of events.


    It was far from being as simple as it seemed.


    It was a grand scheme.


    <em>A scheme that had been nned for a thousand years!</em>


    At the same time, a thought crossed his mind.


    No wonder the title page of <em>[Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript]</em> had that slightly emotional phrase: Gods are but higher-grade materials.


    There was this level of hatred involved.


    And... contempt!


    A master of fate''s contempt for divine-rank powerhouses!


    ***


    Relieved by this exnation, Su''en could at least give Pestoya an answer next time they met.


    Otherwise, always deceiving the girl without fulfilling promises would weigh on his conscience.


    Su''en then asked, "Teacher, is everything Mr. Mirror is doing for that god''s soul?"


    Thinking this way, the purpose of Mr. Mirror, who had lived for a thousand years, became clear.


    Sereya said, "Yes, but not just that. Her survival is for the deity within Pestoya''s soul and also for the legacy of Dawn City. After all, your appearance means that disaster has already urred, and Dawn City must have been destroyed."


    Su''en had always been curious about what caused the destruction of Dawn City and Old London.


    He directly asked, "Teacher, what exactly was that disaster?"


    "My memory is iplete."


    Sereya shook her head, indicating she didn''t know either, "I don''t have Isaac''s talent for fate and can''t deduce what will happen in the future. But it''s likely that there was a problem with the abyssal seal. ording to what you''ve said, the ne hasn''t fallen, so Isaac must have prevented the disaster from worsening. After all, the purpose of building the ''ck Tower'' was as ast resort when things got out of control..."


    The ck Tower had that effect?


    Su''en pondered as he listened.


    Suddenly, he thought of the powerful being capable of hunting deities and asked, "What about... my grandmaster?"


    "Him?"


    When talking about her husband, Sereya''s face showed a tender smile, and she said, "Isaac once said that thews of this ne are wed, and to break through to divine rank, one must go to a ne with more perfectws. I think he probably went to the ''Abyss''..."


    She paused, her eyes filled with love, and continued, "He''s always had a dream, to travel through various nes like the great alchemists of the Dawn Era, to probe into the ultimate mysteries of alchemy..."


    ***


    Now that Su''en understood the truth of the past, most of his doubts were resolved.


    The atmosphere of their conversation became very rxed.


    At this moment, Su''en looked at the books on the shelves in the room and asked, "Teacher, may I take these books with me?"


    He had long coveted these things; this alchemical knowledge was the true priceless treasure.


    But he had not dared to touch anything.


    The plot in the cursed space seemed to be an infinite loop.


    But in reality, if something was taken away, some energy would be lost.


    A few books might not have a big impact, but they could also cause a "butterfly effect," changing the entire plot of the cursed space.


    Su''en had previously encircled and ambushed two major families and the ''Coroner'' Severus Gerald, and to prevent the plot from deviating, he didn''t take away anything more than necessary.


    Now he had no such concerns.


    Sereya readily agreed, "Of course, I don''t have time to teach you. These books, you''ll have to study on your own."


    Saying this, she pointed to the bookshelf, "The first two rows are the basics of alchemy, the third row is knowledge of runes, and at the very top... oh, right! Almost forgot, taking you as a disciple, I should also pass on the heritage of my ''Puppeteer'' lineage..."


    She remembered something, and the eight-armed spider spear took down several notebooks from the top.


    Flipping through, it turned out to be manuscripts on puppet alchemy.


    The books in the cursed space must be read and remembered by the main character of resentment to appear.


    Su''en had been somewhat worried that the content would be missing, but upon picking up a book, it was filled with dense text.


    Although it was a manuscript, the handwriting was very beautiful, like print, and even the draft design sketches had the feel of perfect works of art.


    Sereya''s face showed the affection of a teacher looking at her disciple, and her tone was somewhat mncholic, "As a teacher, I haven''t had much time to instruct you. Once that heart is refined sessfully, the energy of this cursed space will be exhausted, and I will disappear."


    Su''en listened intently, his expression slightly changed.


    Sereya flipped to thest few pages of the notes and introduced, "This <em>[Alchemy Golem Notebook]</em> is the summary of my life''s research into puppetry. It''s also the design concept of the most perfect puppet in my heart. I wanted to create an alchemical creature with invincible defense that could also possess some intelligence..."


    Su''en looked at the design named [Gargoyle], his eyes slightlyplex.


    The founder of the Puppeteers actually wanted to create an "alchemical creature" that didn''t need strings for control and had its own consciousness!


    However, the technical level of this thing was too advanced; Su''en couldn''t understand it yet.


    What excited him more was his learning efficiency.


    Before, he always needed to suppress other emotions in his heart.


    It was like watching a ser match while worrying about tomorrow''s exam questions.


    Having be ustomed to it, he didn''t notice anything different.


    Only after letting go did he realize how great that pressure was.


    Now, with those negative emotionspletely released and his mental faculties constrained by secret techniques, he no longer needed to be distracted, as if the whole world had be clearer.


    A burden lifted.


    At this moment, Su''en also experienced the benefits of a 5% increase in brain domain development.


    Truly reading ten lines at a nce.


    It wasn''t about reading fast, but that the content that entered his eyes could be processed quickly by the brain, simultaneously.


    It was like upgrading the processor of aputer, with both the reaction speed and the amount of information processed increased exponentially.


    And no longer needing to read line by line as before.


    However,


    Even though his brain could process more information,


    Looking at these high-end alchemy knowledge, Su''en still felt his scalp tingle.


    He could foresee that these few notebooks would be the content of his research and study for many years toe.


    Seeing Su''en''s slightly furrowed brow, Sereya smiled and said, "The purpose of giving you these books is not for you to walk my path exactly as it was. A true Puppeteer is not about how many puppets they can make, but about truly understanding why they do it. This is also the essence of alchemy."


    She continued, "Study Isaac''s manuscript carefully. The content that progresses from simple toplex is not just to teach you how to refine [Isaac''s Alchemical Heart] and other alchemical prosthetics. It''s about a way of thinking that sees through appearances to grasp the essence. Only by fully understanding the structure of all things can you truly understand the supremew of alchemy, ''equivalent exchange,'' and go further on your future path. Only then will you have the chance to touch the truly top..."


    ***


    "I''ve told you a lot, some of which Isaac told me, the concepts that truly lead to divine rank. Although I''m still understanding them, I also pass them on to you, my disciple..."


    Perhaps because she felt there wasn''t much time left, Sereya spoke a lot.


    But there was little about technology; instead, she imparted to Su''en many top-level concepts only visible from the perspective of top alchemists.


    Su''en also discovered his own misconceptions, or rather, had entered some wrong paths.


    He used to care about how many spells, how many kinds of puppets, how many skills he mastered, and how much hisbat power would increase...


    But that was just the surface, diverse but not refined.


    In the realm of low-rank professionals, it might be very strong, but in the realm of high-rank sorcerers, "understanding" is the real difference between the true masters and the ordinary.


    Just as Sereya had previously seen him use spatial abilities and said it was easily broken by high-rank sorcerers.


    That''s what she meant.


    In the eyes of sorcerers at her level, the essence of "equivalent exchange" is the understanding of the world''s myriad things.


    Everything else is just stepping stones to understanding this principle.


    Indeed, as Sereya had said before, an alchemist must be learned.


    Su''en suddenly understood the realm of Mr. ck.


    It''s nearly impossible for ordinary people to master multiple elemental spells simultaneously.


    But if one truly understands, that''s the real "diverse and refined."


    Sereya''s words were enlightening for Su''en, leaving him deeply moved for a long time.


    Like a ship sailing in the dark sea at night, someone had lit a lighthouse for him, and the path ahead was no longer a darkness that needed to be groped for.


    This would save him from taking too many detours and entering many wrong paths.


    Heading towards "understanding of all things" and "equivalent exchange," he could reach a very high level.


    A godly level.

 Chapter 206: Isaacs Alchemy Heart

    Chapter 206: Isaac''s Alchemy Heart<hr>


    Su''en packed every book from the shelf into his storage space, just like ants moving house.


    Sereya''s erudition made the text in these tomes exceptionally clear.


    Both cherished this rare master-disciple time.


    Sereya taught with dedication,


    And Su''en asked questions as they came to mind.


    He noticed the spider spear on Sereya''s body and asked, "Teacher, what tier is your spider spear symbiotic armor?"


    His own spider spear was worlds apart from Sereya''s, despite both being the same type.


    Sereya smiled, "First tier."


    She understood what Su''en was pondering and added, "When I fused my spider spear symbiotic armor, the blueprint was much cruder than your current golden blueprint."


    "Teacher, then your..."


    Su''en''s eyes grew more puzzled.


    Why was there such a big difference between first-tier symbiotic armors?


    "Are you asking why my spider spear looks so formidable?"


    Sereya saw Su''en nod and exined with a smile, "The original purpose of Master Nics mel''s creation of alchemical symbiotic armor in the ancient era was to give alchemists somebat ability and topensate for certain deficiencies in human physiology by grafting limbs from other species. But the significance of alchemical symbiotic armor isn''t limited to this; it also represents an alchemist''s understanding of the life alchemy of other species. Symbiotic armor is essentially the creature an alchemist understands best. Many people only know how to use it, but don''t understand it, which is a misconception. Do you know why the ultimate question of alchemy, ''creating life,'' is so difficult? Because an organism is the mostplex existence known to the world so far, it''s about understanding the hierarchy of life. Symbiotic armor is also a shortcut for us to understand organisms..."


    Sereya''s exnation was detailed, and Su''en understood.


    He had thought symbiotic armor was just equipment with level restrictions, like his spider spear, which was useful at the first and second tiers but would be "outdated" at the third and fourth.


    But that wasn''t the case.


    Everyone''s symbiotic armor is "growth-oriented equipment," bing stronger and more perfect as the alchemist''s understanding of the creature''s limbs and the curse characteristics merge.


    The prerequisite is to learn and understand everything about these biological limbs.


    Theoretically, as long as one fully understands, one can have everything through the principle of equivalent exchange.


    That''s the wonder of alchemy.


    Like his "spatial ability," he currently only knew some basics and was far from truly understanding the spatialws.


    Once he truly understood, this ability would gradually be stronger.


    This was the difference between true masters, ording to Sereya.


    ***


    Creating the [Isaac Alchemy Heart] would take about a whole day.


    Master and disciple spent the entire day chatting in the alchemyb.


    Su''en also noticed that as time passed, the scenery in the room began to distort, like the tape in a cassette, with light and shadow warping.


    He knew this was a sign that the space was about to copse.


    The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat mncholic.


    Su''en felt a heartfelt respect for this teacher he had known for only a day.


    It was a respect from the level of knowledge, cognition, and spirit.


    This was a master-disciple fate that had missed a thousand years.


    Sereya, however, appeared calm, epting the fact that she had died and this parting.


    Her face carried a warm smile as she looked at Su''en and said, "You know, you''re my only official disciple."


    Hearing this, Su''en respectfully bowed.


    It was time to say goodbye.


    Sereya seemed to remember something, took off a ring from her hand, and quickly wrote a string of text on it with her finger before handing it to Su''en, saying, "Let me give you one more little gift."


    <em>[Sereya''s Blessing]</em>


    <em>Focus +21</em>


    <em>Insight +2</em>


    <em>Luck +1</em>


    <em>Description: A ring filled with blessings, engraved with "To my disciple Su''en";</em>


    <em>Details: A seventh-tier alchemical product, with the [Concentration] effect, it allows the wearer to study, cast spells, and work more focused and efficiently;</em>


    Although not a cursed item, its high tier makes up for it.


    Like a first-tier golden equipmentpared to an eighth-tiermon equipment, the attributes are worlds apart.


    All very practical attributes, greatly aiding his future studies.


    Su''en looked at the golden ring with aplex gaze and put it on his right index finger, "Thank you, teacher."


    "No need to be so formal. After all, you are my disciple. Oh, right..."


    Sereya looked at Su''en, probably thinking of her daughter, and took off another ring, simrly crafted for a while.


    Handing it to Su''en, she said, "If you see Pestoyater, give this to her. As a mother, I really owe her..."


    Su''en nodded solemnly, <em>"Mhm."</em>


    Just then, the ground trembled slightly, and the space began to copse.


    The nine-pointed star alchemical formation suddenly appeared under Sereya''s feet again. She looked at it, formed the alchemist''s seal with both hands, and shouted softly: <em>"Release!"</em>


    At that moment, a red light shed, and two items floated above the alchemical formation.


    One was a hexagonal ancientmp, naturally the <em>[Volgan''s Furnace Lamp].</em>


    The other was a heart wrapped in heavy runes.


    Different from the previously throbbing living heart, after refinement, the heart had lost its vitality and turned into a metallic luster, like a mechanical heart.


    However, the alchemical heart now had many intricate and mysterious alchemicalponents, making it obviously extraordinary.


    <em>[Isaac''s Alchemy Heart]</em>


    <em>Quality: Epic.</em>


    <em>Details: An alchemical symbiotic armor crafted from the heart of a divine creature; a great creation that will go down in history; provides an endless supply of dark spirit energy; minimum fifth-tier containment value S+ rating, dark spirit energy greater than 3 million, fusion mutation probability less than 10%; non-fallen angel bloodline professionals, 100% mutation after fusion; after fusion, dark spirit energy recovery efficiency massively increased, overall body resilience massively improved, fallen angel bloodline purity significantly enhanced...</em>


    (Author: Don''t get hung up on why ''Epic'' is higher than ''Legendary'', that''s just how it''s set in this book)


    When Su''en saw the details of this item, he knew it was no ordinary thing.


    The two sealed items in his hand were still "Legendary," but this heart was "Epic."


    Moreover, the tier was secondary.


    The most crucial thing was that after fusion, Su''en would have the legendary "infinite mana bar"!


    The heart of a god has specialw abilities, forming its own domain. It can naturally breathe in a world, converting all energy into dark energy.


    Moreover, it can also enhance the purity of the "X Serum" bloodline, and the body''s attributes will surge significantly.


    Sereya held the heart in her hand and said, "This heart symbiotic armor requires a high tolerance for curses, at least you need to be fifth-tier before you can possibly fuse it. Puppeteers in theter stages, the more puppets they control, will definitely need more dark spirit energy, this symbiotic armor has a very highpatibility with you. The rest, you have the [All-Seeing Eye], you don''t need me to say more..."


    "Mhm."


    Su''en listened with a slight frown.


    The item was good, but the fusion conditions were too exaggerated.


    His current dark spirit energy value was less than 30,000, and fusion required almost a hundredfold increase. This was after his bloodline transformation, a normal person... 100% mutation.


    Time was pressing, and Sereya didn''t ramble on. With one hand forming the alchemist''s seal and the other holding the heart, she suddenly pped it towards Su''en''s chest, shouting softly, <em>"Godyer SealForbid!"</em>


    Su''en didn''t have time to react and suddenly felt as if his chest skin was scorched for a moment.


    Looking down, his shirt was burned with a hole, and a nine-pointed star mark appeared on his chest skin.


    After doing all this, Sereya exined, "But the energy leaking from this thing is too violent for your current tier, even if it''s in the storage space, it will cause mutations. I''ve sealed it in your body, and from now on, you''ll have a source of dark spirit energy to draw from for your cultivation. Listen carefully to the method of unsealing..."


    Su''en listened, amazed.


    Sereya''s methods as a top alchemist were indeed incredible.


    He also tried it out and quickly got the hang of it. That [Isaac Alchemy Heart], the seal was like a "faucet."


    Turn it on, and dark spirit energy flows out.


    Draw as much as you want, as much as you need.


    This solved a big problem in Su''en''s cultivation.


    He had been thinking that only in this Dawn Relic, where dark spirit energy was abundant and absorption efficiency was at least dozens of times that of Old Lingdun, could he consider cultivating until he could no longer ascend.


    But then, he faced a big problem.


    This underground world was just a "mine," and to break through to higher tiers, he always had to go to the surface.


    He also wanted to experience that broader world.


    And in the future, when he went to the surface, "dark spirit energy" would be very scarce, and cultivation would be a big problem.


    Using cursed crystals or energy conversion arrays was possible, but that method of cultivation waspletely burning money.


    Su''en didn''t think he had the financial resources to support it.


    Now, this [Isaac Alchemy Heart] perfectly solved this problem.


    It must be said, Sereya as a teacher, thought very thoroughly.


    Su''en also suddenly understood why Mr. Mirror and the others were fighting for other divine limbs.


    Apart from limiting that fallen angel from obtaining its full power, it was probably for this purpose.


    .......


    The space was copsing, and Sereya''s body began to disintegrate. She gave herst few words of advice.


    "There''s not enough time. I won''t say much else. In the other notebooks, there are several alchemical symbiotic armors researched by Isaac. If you can find them in the future, they might give you a lot of help on your path..."


    "I don''t know where the end of death is, maybe it''s the underworld of myths and legends, or maybe it''splete dissipation. But I vaguely feel that if one day youprehend the w of death,'' we might have a chance to meet again... Grow strong, my disciple."


    "But with the heart on you, once you go out, that fallen angel will sense it. It will definitelye for you. Be careful, no one knows what will happen..."


    "..."


    Su''en listened carefully, nodding from time to time.


    Sereya''s figure had already started to disintegrate from the feet up, "Alright, time''s up..."


    Su''en bowed, "Farewell, teacher."


    Sereya showed a loving smile, and before shepletely disappeared, she said onest thing, "<em>If you can, please take care of Pestoya for me. She''s been alone in the cursed space for a thousand years, her temper might be a bit quirky, be patient with her...</em>"


    "Yes, teacher."


    Su''en responded, and when he looked up again, Sereya''s final smiling face had disintegrated before his eyes.


    ***


    The surroundings changed, the bright alchemy workshop turned into the dark, dpidated ruins.


    The five-pointed star central prison ruins were right in front of him, Su''en''s gaze was misty.


    He touched his chest, where the seal was still hot.


    Everything seemed so real, yet disappeared before his eyes.


    The thousand-year master-disciple fate had just begun, and now it was over.


    Sereya''s words still echoed in his ears, and Su''en''s thoughts drifted.


    At that moment, Kay not far away saw him and called out, "Su''en, are you alright?"


    Besides Kay, only Rena and the old butler Anthony were alive.


    "Mhm, I''m fine."


    Su''en naturally knew they could survive, so he wasn''t surprised.


    In that cursed space, it would have been easy for Sereya to kill anyone.


    As for the Oliver and rk families, nearly a thousand people were buried in the space.


    Sereya''s threads that spread throughout the prison made it convenient to take anything, and naturally, the spoils of war all fell into Su''en''s pocket.


    The elite troops of the two great families, equipment, symbiotic armors, supplies, employment materials...


    Incalcble value.


    It wasn''t in vain that he had entered and exited the prison eight times to n this ambush.


    Of course, Su''en felt that the greatest gain was meeting his teacher Sereya.


    Kay was used to it.


    Su''en always managed to do things that surprised people.


    Even in situations that seemed certain death.


    But surviving this time waspletely unexpected for Rena and Anthony.


    Before, whether it was the siege of several great families or that "T-level" cursed space, it was an unsolvable death trap for them.


    Unexpectedly, the situation turned around.


    The ones who survived were them!


    And all because of the man in front of them who seemed elegant and amiable.


    Rena looked at Su''en, who had changed greatly, with some disbelief, and obediently called out, "Mr. Su''en."


    Su''en smiled at her and formally greeted her as "Su''en," "Mhm. Long time no see, Miss Rena."


    "Thank you for saving me again."


    Rena understood that her survival was entirely due to the man in front of her.


    Su''en just smiled nomittally.


    After the ordeal, the pressure that had been suffocating her was gone, and the persistent worry on Rena''s pretty face also disappeared. She blinked and couldn''t help but ask curiously, "Mr. Su''en, how... could you be Zolo?"


    "Now''s not the time to talk,"


    Su''en shook his head gently, not exining further.


    His gaze was fixed on the depths of the ruins, and he said seriously, "You must leave the ruins immediately. In a little while, there might be a big change in the ruins... It''s best to stay far away."


    "Mhm."


    Rena''s expression turned solemn at his tone.


    She always had an inexplicable trust in Su''en''s words, and although she had many questions, she didn''t ask further and nodded.


    Kay, hearing this, asked, "Su''en, what about you?"


    Su''en: "I still have things to do, it would be very dangerous for you to be with me."


    Kay, now aware of Su''en''s true strength, naturally knew that this kind of "monster" didn''t need his concern and just said, "Mhm, then take care of yourself."


    Rena also added, "Mr. Su''en, please take good care of yourself."


    ***


    Although the old butler Anthony had been silent, when he left, he looked back for a moment, his eyes full ofplexity, and thought to himself, "What an extraordinary being..."


    He had heard of the notorious SS fugitive Su''en but had never seen him.


    He never imagined that he had been in the team before.


    The blue-skinned young man who had pretended to be "Zolo," called "Kay," had already impressed him.


    But Su''en was even more astonishing to an unimaginable extent.


    Looking at the young man with a gentle smile, no one would believe hisbat power was so shocking.


    Even Anthony, a genuine third-tier, felt a chill down his spine.


    If he were an enemy... he would probably have been killed too.


    Images shed through Anthony''s mind.


    He had witnessed Su''en''s puppet army withstand the elite troops of the two great families, kill the "Wind Thunder Sword King" Nero, and survive a battle with a man who was clearly a top expert...


    No, maybe he had already killed him.


    And yet, he always felt that Su''en gave off an unfathomable feeling.


    But none of that mattered anymore.


    The enemies were wiped out,


    They had survived.


    Anthony finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    The conspiracy of the great families to kill the Reiss main house hadpletely failed, and even the Oliver and rk families would be severely weakened.


    And he and the youngdy Rena surviving was already the best oue.


    The trio quickly retreated, their figures disappearing into the thick fog of the ruins.

 Chapter 207: Do you want a cloak?

    Chapter 207: Do you want a cloak?<hr>


    After Kay and hispanions left, Su''en didn''t linger at the ruins of the Central Prison.


    ording to Sereya, the "Isaac Alchemy Heart" was now on him, and the fallen angel could sense it and woulde looking for him at any moment. Only with Mr. Mirror by his side could the danger be minimized.


    He signaled Mr. Mirror and then headed in the opposite direction of the trio, towards a rtively safe spot deep within the ruins.


    It was a sturdy tower building.


    Su''en leaped inside. The view here was wide open, with breezy, broken windows on all sides, allowing him to spot any approaching danger promptly.


    But shortly after he settled down, a mysterious figure whose face couldn''t be seen appeared out of thin air before him. It was like a beam from a projector; as soon as the light shone in, the person arrived.


    Seeing the golden-embroidered cloak, Su''en knew it was someone from the Mirror organization.


    Hmm... Considering this method even weirder than teleportation, it was likely Mr. Mirror himself.


    By now, Su''en had somewhat figured out some of Mr. Mirror''s abilities. She seemed capable of imitating anyone''s appearance and powers.


    This was obviously a very rare talent.


    Most of the knowledge system in Old London was excavated from ruins, with gaps and fragments. The introductions to talents were also iplete, with some missing pieces.


    Especially for S-ss talents, there were almost no records or descriptions.


    Su''en didn''t know what Mr. Mirror''s talent was before, only that it seemed rarer than A-ss.


    But just now, in the cursed space, he had acquired a volume called <em>"The Complete Compendium of Human Talent Awakening"</em> and, out of curiosity, flipped through the first few pages. He saw a talent<em>S-011-Mirror Guardian.</em>


    It was a talent that could mimic "almost" any ability, as long as one could understand it.


    Obviously, Mr. Mirror possessed this kind of talent.


    ***


    The cloaked figure saw Su''en and asked, "Have you seen her?"


    Hearing the tone of the voice, although indistinguishable between male and female, Su''en knew it was Mr. Mirror and responded, "Yes."


    The cloaked figure listened and let out an almost imperceptible sigh of mncholy.


    Su''en had a rough idea of what she was mncholic about.


    One of the causes of the cursed space was the fall of ancient powerhouses, where their powerful regrets and residual energies formed special spaces.


    The existence of the<em> Dawn Central Prison</em> cursed space, in a sense, was actually Sereya''s "grave."


    She must have died when Dawn City was destroyed.


    With the dissipation of the cursed space, it also meant that no trace of Sereya could be found in the world anymore.


    Su''en watched with an unchanged expression, but something strange stirred in his heart.


    He had already confirmed that this Mr. Mirror truly knew Sereya from a thousand years ago.


    That meant, the person before him was a real "old monster" who had lived for a thousand years.


    Under normal circumstances, ordinary humans could extend their lifespan through career advancements or some special methods, but two to three hundred years was usually the limit.


    He had never heard of anyone living for a thousand years.


    Thinking back to Mr. Mirror''s exaggerated healing ability when she was injured, Su''en wondered: Could it be that she''s not human?


    Now Su''en knew that this world''s intelligent life was not limited to humans; just on the surface, there were dwarves, goblins, orcs, elves, half-orcs, trolls, sea tribes, dragons...


    And various strange mythological races, special species from other nes...


    Oh, and fallen angels whose nature was unknown.


    But Mr. Mirror was definitely not an ordinary human.


    ***


    The cloaked Mr. Mirror, more mysterious than her previous form of a thousand strands, had a chilly aura.


    It was unclear if it was due to her innate aura or her personality.


    She nced at Su''en, seemingly guessing his confusion but didn''t exin, only asking, "You know what''s going on?"


    Su''en nodded, "Yes."


    Knowing that Theresa would definitelye looking for him, and wanting to understand the enemy''s strength to be prepared, he asked, "What exactly is her strength now?"


    Mr. Mirror: "Hard to say."


    Su''en: "Hard to say?"


    Mr. Mirror exined, "We''ve already found the other body parts in advance, but she''s got a small part. She''s probably recovered to the level of a fourth-order. However, her understanding of thews at that level is definitely notparable to that of an ordinary human fourth-order."


    Su''en understood.


    It was like how he was only at the standard of a second-order professional, but his understanding of thews had already reached beyond the third-order, withbat power far exceeding his peers.


    Mr. Mirror pointed at the sky, indicating she didn''t want to borate further, "Let''s not talk about this, the problem shouldn''t be too big."


    With that, she didn''t seem to have any intention of leaving and sat down cross-legged not far from Su''en.


    Neither of them explicitly referred to the fallen angel.


    Gods have sensitive perceptions and can listen to some whispers about them.


    Su''en understood the gesture.


    With this big shot by his side, he wasn''t too worried.


    Sir Isaac, who had been scheming for a thousand years, naturally had other means.


    At this moment, Su''en suddenly remembered the information he had stripped from the soul of "Forensic" Severus Gerald.


    He felt it necessary to speak up, "Mr. Mirror, I''ve learned some other information. Duke Raphael has begun to suspect Theresa of ''demonic invasion.'' Apart from the people in the duke''s mansion, there seems to be an exorcism team that hase from outside."


    "An exorcism team?"


    Mr. Mirror pondered for a moment, seemingly considering something.


    That team had avoided the Umbre organization, obviouslying in secret, and the Mirror organization hadn''t received any news.


    "Hmm... indeed, we need to be cautious."


    She thought for a while, took out an alchemical ring that looked like amunicator, and gave a few instructions.


    Su''en was curious about the ring-shapedmunicator.


    Probably because they were familiar with each other and he knew she wouldn''t mind, he appraised it.


    <em>Daggers Goblin Communicator</em>


    <em>Description: An alchemical product from the mythological goblin era, a true antique; canmunicate over great distances ignoring certain spatial barriers. ''Daggers Splitting Worms'' are a peculiar species that existed during the mythological era. The mother worm can sense the location of its offspring and urately transmit signals to each other; these worms were widely used for secret intelligence transmission in the goblin civilization of the mythological era;</em>


    "Nice piece."


    Su''en admired it silently.


    This was far more advanced than anymunicator he had encountered.


    Themunication that ignored spatial barriers felt a bit like an "encrypted satellite phone."


    And it didn''t require a signal tower.


    It seemed to be a proprietarymunicator of the Mirror organization.


    Mr. Mirror naturally saw Su''en''s examining gaze. After transmitting the message, she magically produced another identical ring and tossed it to him.


    Su''en looked at themunication ring in his hand, slightly surprised, and asked, "Mr. Mirror, for me?"


    "Yes, for easier contact."


    Mr. Mirror nodded and added, "There aren''t many of these. If you lose one, there''s one less, so be careful not to lose it."


    "Oh."


    Su''en put the ring on his finger, suddenly feeling a strange sensation.


    With a proprietarymunicator, was he now a member of the "Mirror organization"?


    But why didn''t they give me one of those cool cloaks?


    And wasn''t the entry threshold a second awakening of talent?


    Before he could ponder further, Mr. Mirror directly asked, "Want a cloak?"


    Her tone was casual,


    But the question,


    Clearly, was asking Su''en if he wanted to join.


    Before he could answer, Mr. Mirror continued, "''Mirror'' is a very loose organization, with no particr responsibilities or obligations. Everyone is currently working towards themon goal of leaving the tower, which is why weplete certain tasks. In the future, it will be like the ''Rosicrucian'' of thest era, a purely high-end alchemical academic exchange circle..."


    She rified the purpose of the organization in a few sentences.


    Su''en didn''t hesitate and immediately said, "I want it."


    That golden-embroidered cloak was a good item.


    Of course, the most important thing was that he was now very close to several big shots in the Mirror organization, Thousand Strands, Number Neen, Mr. Mirror, Mr. ck...


    Even if he wasn''t, in the eyes of others, he was.


    Hearing the response, Mr. Mirror casually tossed him a golden cloak.


    Although it was also golden-embroidered, with symbols of snakes, eagles, lizards, fire dragons, thorny flowers...mon in alchemy, it had distinct details from the cloaks Su''en had seen before, with some "exclusive" marks, like a scythe representing the Reaper?


    Was this prepared in advance?


    Su''en took the cloak.


    With just a simple exchange, he joined the current number one reactionary organization in Old London.


    Both of them were calm.


    At that moment, Su''en remembered something else and took out the <em>Furnace Lamp of Volgan</em>, returning it to its owner, "Um... Mr. Mirror, this is the coppermp I took in earlier..."


    But the heart had already been refined into the <em>Isaac Alchemy Heart</em> and was sealed, so he couldn''t take it out even if he wanted to.


    He intended to exin, "That heart..."


    But unexpectedly, Mr. Mirror didn''t seem to care at all and shook her head to interrupt him.


    She saw the ring on Su''en''s hand, a fleeting light in her eyes, and simply said, "I know."


    Hearing this, Su''en didn''t say more.


    Indeed, as Sereya said, she gave the <em>Isaac Alchemy Heart</em> to Su''en, and Mr. Mirror wouldn''t mind.


    After the exchange, they stopped talking.


    They meditated cross-legged, waiting for Theresa toe knocking.


    ***


    Previously in the cursed space, Su''en was constantly listening to Sereya''s teachings and didn''t have time to think about his gains.


    Now he had the mindset to properly check his loot.


    This meditation immediately felt different from before.


    Multiple thoughts could run simultaneously in his mind, yet the pathways were clear  what kind of experience was this?


    Su''en used to maintain a certain level of consciousness even when sleeping to suppress other emotions in his brain.


    Now that the negative emotions werepletely released, stimting brain development.


    The current Su''en could clearly feel his brain working at a faster pace, and the whole world seemed clearer.


    Naturally, it was the effect of the mental power secret technique.


    Even in ancient times, mental power secret techniques were high-end secrets.


    Like breathing techniques, they varied in quality and effectiveness.


    Mental power secret techniques also differed. Su''en had experienced Sabina''s mental power; a subus''s mental power lies in seduction, soft and enticing, able to stir up primal desires; Mr. ck''s mental power was "sharp," like needle pricks, able to probe into the secrets of one''s heart...


    There were also aggressive mental secret techniques, very domineering.


    Different mental secret techniques resulted in different types of mental powers.


    Su''en learned the exclusive secret technique of Sereya''s puppeteer lineage, an epic secret technique passed down from thest era<em>Starry Sky Contemtion Technique.</em>


    The mental power generated by this secret technique was scattered but focused on "quantity."


    Like the stars in the sky, twinkling and numerous.


    Perfect for controlling puppets.


    Previously, Su''en''s mental power was like loose sand.


    His "reason" was like a small sandcastle built on a beach, with very little usable power, and the excess mental power was a burden.


    But now, with this secret technique, Su''en could clearly feel the difference.


    During meditation, he could clearly feel the mental power in his brain coalescing into shape, forming a "willow tree."


    All the mental power was utilized, forming the trunk.


    And the mental power tendrils could spread out like willow branches...


    For a puppeteer profession, this was more than suitable.


    As long as his mental power was strong enough in the future, these "willow" mental power tendrils would increase infinitely and extend without limit...


    Moreover, Su''en could not only increase his mental power through contemtion.


    He could also grow it by harvesting residual souls from corpses with <em>Reaper of Death.</em>


    This secret technique had a very highpatibility with his talent!


    ***


    Having learned the mental power secret technique, Su''en hadpletely resolved the burden in his mind and the hidden danger of dying from mental power bacsh.


    Now he could still control negative emotions, but not by "blocking" them, but by "guiding" them.


    The extra mental power fluctuations created by negative emotions directly became nourishment for the mental secret technique.


    In the future, he could truly sleep well.


    And with the disappearance of negative emotions, it might seem that Su''en lost a desperate measure.


    But not really.


    Negative emotions could control the excessive secretion of hormones in the body.


    Like before in the cursed space, when Su''enpletely released his emotions, breaking through the safe threshold of his body, he even had thebat power of a third-order, or even fourth-order.


    Now that the violent negative emotions were gone,


    Because Su''en had mastered another method, "Forensic" Gerald''s unique alchemy <em>Hormonal Rampage!</em>


    After digesting his memories, Su''en found that this guy was not only the leader of the Umbre organization but also a true biological genius.


    His research in human anatomy and physiology had reached a very high level, especially in the study of corpses, unparalleled in Old London.


    Su''en''s previous method of using hormones was barbaric, opening the valve, roughly estimating the intensity, and then leaving it to fate.


    But Gerald had precise control!


    He could control his own pore breathing, control the precise secretion of his hormones, and achieve a betterbat power boost than Su''en''s method.


    The "White Red ck" jokers were the three stages of hormonal rampage he researched.


    The first stage was body excitement, the second stage was doubledbat power, and the third stage was dangerous.


    This method was much more scientific than Su''en''s barbaric approach.


    ***


    Thinking of this, Su''en suddenly had a strong curiosity and interest.


    He wanted to know how Gerald managed to rify such aplex system as human hormone secretion and mastered it.


    After all, having listened to Sereya''s teachings, he now understood that an alchemist should not only know how to use but also understand why.


    With that thought,


    He started rummaging through a pile of notes from his storage space.


    Researchers usually have the habit of recording their research diaries.


    Gerald was no exception.


    Su''en found his years of research results in his storage ring.


    Dozens of densely packed research diaries, all numbered.


    Su''en opened the first one, number 001.


    Neat lines of research notes caught his eye.


    "I like studying corpses, they aremunicative to me..."


    "I''ve discovered that people secrete different hormones under different emotions. Fear, joy, excitement, sorrow... Some hormones clearly enhancebat power. I need to rify the connection..."


    "People secrete hormones chaotically at the brink of death. I tried choosing live targets, torturing them, recording data, until death..."


    "Experiment #771, the hormone secreted by fear..."


    "Experiment #1222, I''ve finally mastered a method to absorb hormones from other corpses. I''ve named this technique <em>Blood Qi Extraction</em>. External qi and blood can supplement the body''s own insufficient hormone production..."


    "Since hormones are controlled by sensory emotions, then controlling emotions, could that continue to control secretion..."


    "The human body is too fragile,..."


    "..."


    Not just reading ten lines at a nce,


    But with a continuous "rustle" of flipping pages, clear and pleasant.


    So fast that each page only lingered for a second or two.


    But it wasn''t chaotic; there was even a slight rhythmic sense.


    Whole pages of notes were almost just nced at and flipped past.


    Even for content that needed understanding, his mind could process it quickly. Even if there were calctions that required time, it didn''t affect his reading speed.


    His brain would allocate a portion of focus to concentrate, while other thoughts continued to absorb new content.


    This was the marvelous benefit of a 5% increase in brain development and the release of mental pressure...


    With the double learning aura from <em>Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript</em> and <em>Sereya''s Instructions</em>, Su''en''s learning efficiency had reached an unimaginable level for ordinary people.


    Su''en waspletely immersed in this wonderful and novel sensation,


    Reading, learning, mastering, contemting...


    He absorbed knowledge like a whale swallowing prey.


    Hearing the sound of the pages, even Mr. Mirror, who was meditating, couldn''t help but nce over.


    She looked at Su''en for a moment, then slowly closed her eyes again.

 Chapter 208: Shadow Demon

    Chapter 208: Shadow Demon<hr>


    Duke Raphael''s domain lies on the western edge of the Luyin Empire, and it takes about half a month to reach by steam ferry.


    It is one of the most prosperous territories of the Empire.


    Further west, after several days of sailing across the vast ocean, there lies an unmarked spot on the map known as "ck Castle Reef."


    Atop the reef stands a castle with a towering lighthouse.


    But within the castle walls, there are no ordinary residents, only a secret personal guard of Duke Raphael.


    This is a purely military fortress.


    Little known to the outside world.


    Recently, the conflict between the Luyin Empire and the Mafa Mechanical Empire on the eastern coast has intensified, prompting many lords to call upon their military forces to join the battle.


    The withdrawal of troops by the nobility has also presented an opportunity for pirates.


    The fleet of Oleg J. Popov, a notorious pirate lord known as the "King of the Northern Seas," has been active near the territory of Duke Raphael, preying upon passing merchant ships.


    ck Castle Reef was also discovered by a small pirate scouting party.


    Such military strongholds are usually the least desirable targets for pirates.


    High casualties and little treasure to plunder.


    However, the unusual activity at the reef caught the attention of a prominent pirate.


    That was Tim Ashley, a captain under the "King of the Northern Seas," a formidable pirate with a bounty of 160 million Lis, and a fifth-tier professional known as the "Shadow Demon."


    After several days of patient observation, this pirate noticed that the military force on the reef was "over-equipped," far exceeding the needs of a typical military stronghold.


    Finally, he decided to take the risk and explore the ind.


    One day, a steam warship entered the military dock of ck Castle Reef.


    After severalyers of strict inspections, a few people from the ship were allowed to enter the castle.


    They headed straight for the lighthouse within the castle, descended underground, and entered a ck tower, making their way deep into the earth.


    Unbeknownst to them, hidden within a shadow was a great pirate.


    "The ''Super Mechanical Warriors'' that the Duke has been secretly researching shone brilliantly on the battlefield, even those from the Mechanical Sect of the Mafa Empire suffered a great loss."


    "Yes, those cumbersome mechanical armors are no match for the mechanical warriors. When ites to mechanical limb modification technology, our territory is truly top-notch."


    "After the great victory at the Battle of Norman Sea, the Empire will surely see the Duke in a new light. Even Her Majesty the Empress is likely to reward him significantly."


    "Of course, our Duke might even be conferred the title of ''First-ss Duke'' this time."


    "Hey~ I''ve heard that the women of Old London are quite something. They spend years underground, their skin pale and smooth, a different vorpared to those sunburnt women above ground. Shall we take a stroll in the cityter? Heh heh, themander said that the so-called nobledies and misses of the city, their demeanor is no less than the high nobility outside. If we fancy anyone, we can pick and choose at will, y however we like."


    "Don''t joke, I''m actually quite tempted."


    "Let''s get the important stuff done first. The Duke sent us with all these materials, hoping to deploy thetest batch of mechanical warriors to the battlefield. Let''s head to the research institute first."


    ***


    Before long, the group arrived in the city of Old London.


    Leaving the Duke''s mansion, they went straight to the mechanical research institute.


    Because this ce is underground, it requires lighting, and shadows lurk everywhere.


    The group waspletely unaware that after leaving the tower, one of their shadows connected with the shadow in the corner, then eerily "detached" from the person and merged into the darkness of the corner, quickly moving away from the Duke''s mansion.


    After distancing themselves from the guards of the ck tower, in an alleyway of Old London, the wandering shadow suddenly twisted and became three-dimensional, materializing into a man dressed as an assassin with triangr eyes.


    This man was none other than the great pirate, Tim Ashley.


    His talent was <em>[B-021 Shadow Mimic] </em>, which allowed him to hide his body within any shadow.


    This underground world, filled with shadows, provided too much convenience for his abilities.


    "Phew, that was a close call. Lucky for me, the boss gave me that treasure; otherwise, it wouldn''t have been easy to infiltrate with all those checkpoints."


    Tim muttered to himself, breathing a sigh of relief.


    After all, if a pirate were caught, they would be sent straight to the gallows.


    But in an instant, his gaze brightened as he looked at the bustling inner city of Old London before him.


    One could tell whether there was "oil and water" just by looking at the buildings on the street and the attire of the pedestrians.


    Peter Pan''s tip: "oil and water" Refers to benefits/profits


    My goodness, what kind of mine is this?


    It''s a bustling metropolis!


    The people here are dressed sovishly, not only a hundred times better than us poor pirates, but also not inferior to those wealthy territories.


    And, listening to those guys, this is also Duke Raphael''s secret research base!


    Super Mechanical Warriors?


    The "full mechanical limb modification" technology that even the fanatical mechanics of the Mafa Empire couldn''t breach has been sessfully developed here?


    And the ancient ruins of a thousand years, the legendary Dawn City?


    My god, does that ''demi-god'' great alchemist truly exist?


    And with so many people, wouldn''t selling them off be pure gold and silver?


    Isn''t this the ideal ce for plundering?


    "Phew, so this is the secret to Duke Raphael''s wealth. There have always been rumors that the Raphael family had a ''mine'' full of endless treasures, and this is what it was all about!"


    Tim was thrilled, not expecting that his risky venture would turn out to be such a huge surprise.


    The key is, wealth coupled with weakness, is the original sin!


    "The highest rank among the mine ves in this city is only third-tier, hahaha, I''m going to strike it rich. I need to gather the intelligence quickly and send it out so the boss can send a fleet over!"


    The great pirate thought of something, his face lit up with joy, and his figure once again merged into the darkness.


    ***


    Meanwhile, underground.


    In a tower near the core area of the city, close to the Dawn Ruins.


    Su''en and Mr. Mirror were still patiently meditating and waiting.


    Because he had stripped away some of the memory fragments of the "Forensic" Gerald, Su''en didn''t find it too difficult to understand the contents of the research diary.


    He quickly flipped through the notes in the notebook.


    But these were just research notes, and the human body is one of the mostplex organisms, so there was still a long way to go to thoroughly understand it.


    Su''en read through it once, but he would need a lot of time in the future to digest it.


    Even Gerald himself oftenmented in his notes that he had only touched the "surface" of biological alchemy, leaving behind one research topic after another.


    Su''en closed thest notebook, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and thought to himself, "The field of biological alchemy is indeedplex."


    He also finally understood that saying, the more knowledge one has, the more questions arise.


    After reading the notes, Su''en finally understood why Gerald had to wear that <em>[Three-Colored Mask of the Life Usurper].</em>


    The guy had once found a humanoid ancient creature that had been dead for at least tens of thousands of years, and then discovered living flesh within the corpse.


    After experimenting and researching, Gerald found that the flesh could merge with human flesh, giving the test subject super vitality and the ability to withstand a third-tier state of [Hormonal Rampage].


    Then, using ancient alchemy, he solved the not-so-strong reaction of alien species rejection and sewed that piece of flesh onto his own body.


    But he didn''t realize that this thing would not only affect the flesh, but over time, it would also affect the mind.


    And then, his mind became distorted.


    As the leader of the Umbre Organization, he naturally had no shortage of suitable cursed objects.


    He found this mask that could suppress the distortion of mental power.


    <em>[Three-Colored Mask of the Life Usurper]</em>


    <em>Description: Once the mask is worn, nobody will love you.</em>


    <em>Cursed Trait: Wearing the mask maintains absolute sanity, suppresses other abnormal mental fluctuations, and resists mental attacks of up to fifth-tier; if mental power does not exceed 500, you will be affected by the cursed trait, and once the mask is worn, it cannot be removed; it will also cause you to be mentally fragmented, eventually turning into a mad monster; it can absorb negative emotions from others, enhancing the cursed trait.</em>


    <em>Detailed Exnation: An ancient life usurper created this mask to suppress himself after suffering bacsh during divination, frequently hearing whispers from demons. To avoid going insane, he crafted this mask; but the mask absorbed too much negative emotion and became an item with a strong cursed trait; it can be used as a material for professional advancement, with mental power reaching 300, dark spirit power not less than 12W, and a fusion aberration probability not exceeding 5%; fusion leads to the understanding of ''Divided Mind Technique.'' This is not mental fragmentation, you can think of it as ''multi-tasking with multiple hearts'';</em>


    Su''en also discovered that as his knowledge increased, the detailed exnations he identified for items became more detailed.


    The essence of using cursed materials for advancement is to allow the alchemist to use these "external" means toprehend abilities that they currently cannot understand through normal channels.


    This "multi-tasking with multiple hearts" ability is indeed highlypatible with the Puppeteer.


    In the realm of the mind, this ability is probably as rare as spatial abilities.


    With one heart and multiple uses, Su''en could precisely control more than ten puppets;


    But with multiple hearts and multiple uses, the number of puppets he could control would multiply.


    This ability would also increase with the growth of mental power.


    Truly an ideal material for advancement.


    However, the conditions for advancement are also very strict.


    It''s no wonder that others need to be at least fourth-tier to meet the fusion requirements.


    That 12W dark spirit power requirement, Su''en estimated that he could barely reach it when he was at the peak of the third-tier. But this is also based on the premise that his body has been modified with "X Serum," making his tolerance much higher than others at each tier. Normally, a fourth-tier professional could possibly have a dark spirit power of tens of thousands.


    Then there''s mental power.


    Now that he has absorbed so many mental fragments, his mental power value on the panel is only 192, far from the 300 needed for fusion.


    Fortunately, now he has <em>[Stargazing Visualization Technique]</em>, which also provides mental power growth through meditation.


    But even with this top-tier mental power secret technique, it would probably take a year and a half to reach that level.


    Hmm. There''s also the <em>[Reaper of Death]</em> talent.


    If there are enough enemies, it should also cut down a lot of time.


    Su''en was still sorting through the spoils of war from the two major families'' elite groups, identifying and categorizing them, keeping some useful materials and equipment for himself, and then packing up the rest to sellter.


    Just then, Mr. Mirror suddenly opened her eyes and said, "He''s here!"


    Su''en also tensed up, "Should I go now?"


    Mr. Mirror nodded, "Yes."


    With that, she pinched a sorcerer''s seal with both hands, and a glow emerged from Su''en''s body.


    ***


    In the next moment, Su''en found himself instantly teleported outside the tower.


    "What a magical technique."


    Su''en looked at the fading glow on his body, nced back at the tower, and shrugged.


    It would have been a death sentence for him, a second-tier nobody, to meet that fallen angel.


    Not to mention the fighting power of the angel, the guards of the Duke''s mansion around Him were definitely not something Su''en could handle.


    But with Mr. Mirror''s technique, Su''en was not worried at all.


    To avoid being mistaken for an unknown assassin and killed by the stealth guards around Princess Theresa, he didn''t wear a mask and walked directly into the depths of the mist.


    Now, Su''en had roughly figured out the ins and outs of the situation.


    The brooch he found at Storm Manor was made of special material capable of carrying souls.


    Su''en was now certain that the hidden information he couldn''t identify was a fragment of the fallen angel''s soul hidden in the brooch.


    Looking back, it was the right choice to bury it cautiously in the ground.


    Otherwise, he might have be an unwitting "tool" manipted by that god without realizing it.


    But for some reason, that butterfly brooch, through some channel, ended up in the hands of Princess Theresa of the Duke''s mansion.


    Then, probably bewitched by the soul of the fallen angel, this Theresa became very enthusiastic about the development of the Dawn City ruins.


    She even came in person.


    It''s called hunting for relics, but in reality, it''s mobilizing the entire power of Old London to find the sealed body parts of that god.


    Unfortunately, Mr. Mirror and the others have almost intercepted it.


    Walking along, Su''en''s thoughts were racing.


    Before long, he "expectedly" found a little girl floating in the mist.


    Recognizing the well-behaved appearance, it was none other than Pestoya, the little ghost he had met not long ago.


    Seeing Su''en, she greeted him warmly, "Hi, Mr. Su''en, we meet again."


    Su''en also smiled, already knowing why she was here, but still asked deliberately, "Pestoya, what are you doing here?"


    Pestoya tilted her head, thinking as if waking from sleepwalking, "Ah? I don''t know, I sensed you nearby, so I came to find you."


    The fallen angel knew all the truths, but Pestoya had no idea that her soul harbored another "god''s" soul.


    Su''en didn''t continue to ask about it.


    He reached out his hand to her, signaling Pestoya to take it.


    Pestoya didn''t mind and happily reached out to grab his hand.


    At that moment, as if she noticed something, she floated in front of Su''en, sniffing close to him, "Oh, you have a very nice smell on you~"


    "What smell?"


    Su''en knew it was the scent of <em>[Isaac''s Alchemical Heart]</em>, which the fallen angel was after, but he pretended to be ignorant.


    After all, ording to the normal script, he was supposed to be unaware of everything.


    Unaware of the existence of the fallen angel, unaware of any divine body, and unaware of any millennia-old schemes, he should only treat Pestoya as a ghostly "good friend."


    The fallen angel was cunning, having been defeated by Sir Isaac and his body dismembered and sealed.


    Although it was just a lowly human, He would not underestimate such an enemy.


    He also suspected that there was another conspiracy behind that "burning at the stake."


    Although a thousand years had passed and the once prosperous Dawn City had be ruins, the enemy was nowhere to be found.


    But before rifying, He would definitely not give up Pestoya, this "amulet."


    Su''en got straight to the point, holding Pestoya''s hand, and said, "Last time you entrusted me with something, right? I''ve seen Lady Sereya."


    "Ah?"


    Hearing this, Pestoya''s eyes filled withplex emotions, nervousness, resentment, and anticipation.


    Su''en took out the ring that Sereya had given him and gestured, "Give me your hand."


    Without giving the ghost miss any time to think, Su''en took her soft little hand and put the ring on her index finger.


    The ring seemed unremarkable.


    The fallen angel still thought Su''en was unaware of His existence and continued to pretend.


    And our ghost miss truly had no defenses.


    As Su''en put on the ring, he calmly said, "I asked your question, and Lady Sereya asked me to give you a message. She said"


    At this point, Pestoya looked forward with anticipation,pletely forgetting to pull her hand back.


    After a pause, Su''en looked at her and slowly uttered three words, "She loves you."


    Pestoya was stunned, her big, sparkling eyes full of confusion.


    She never expected to hear such words.


    A thousand years of resentment,


    With no outlet,


    Suddenly turned into endless grievances.


    But before Pestoya could think further,


    At that moment, the ring in her hand suddenly emitted a scorching glow.


    Pestoya didn''t feel anything unusual, but the presence hidden deep within her soul let out a screech like a startled cat.


    At the same time, about one or two kilometers away, Theresa''s team suddenly erupted withmotion.


    An indescribable and terrifying will descended upon the entire ruins!

 Chapter 209: Gods must not be gazed upon

    Chapter 209: Gods must not be gazed upon<hr>


    Su''en knew that another team was secretlying to exorcise Princess Theresa, so naturally, Mr. Mirror wouldn''t ignore this intelligence.


    After all, the means of a god are not something ordinary humans can fathom. Even with the divine fire sealed, who knows what iprehensible abilities He might possess.


    So, instead of stepping on andmine himself, it was better to let the enemy test the waters and weaken their strength in the process.


    Those folks at the Duke''s mansion still thought Princess Theresa was merely a case of "demonic possession."


    ***


    While Su''en was conversing with Pestoya, as soon as he put on the ring Sereya sent, he heard a piercing scream in the distance.


    It seemed that some entity was trying to force Pestoya to remove the ring, but Pestoya''s face was contorted with struggle, as if she was resisting with all her will.


    This was something her mother had given her.


    Moreover, the ring seemed to be irremovable.


    Before she could struggle further, Pestoya''s figure vanished.


    It appeared she had returned to the host body of Princess Theresa.


    Su''en listened to themotion from afar and looked in that direction.


    After a moment''s thought, he quickly followed.


    With Mr. Mirror''s mirage technique, he didn''t have to worry about his safety for the time being.


    He wanted to see the battle situation, and also to try his luck.


    After all, there were many fourth-tier and even a fifth-tier guard around Princess Theresa.


    What if he could scavenge a few bodies and strip some soul fragments?


    Su''en''s mental strength was now formidable, and he was highly sensitive to fluctuations in mental power.


    Feeling that spine-chilling pressure descend, he knew that the deity had shown His face.


    The "exorcism team" from the Duke''s mansion seemed quite capable, having forced the fallen angel''s soul to reveal itself.


    Su''en didn''t know what Mr. Mirror had done before, but it seemed that he had sessfully instigated a fight on the other side.


    He cautiously approached, staying about a kilometer away, and found a sturdy cover to hide behind.


    Su''en didn''t forget Mr. Mirror''s admonition; he closed his right eye and watched the battle with only his left eye, which possessed the "Eye of Omniscience."


    He now also knew that this gift had a filtering protective function, preventing him from seeing things he shouldn''t.


    Mortals should not gaze directly upon a god.


    This was the warning left to posterity by Isaac after his great battle with the fallen angel.


    ***


    It was clear that the exorcism group from the Duke''s mansion hade prepared.


    When Su''en arrived, he saw hundreds of people surrounding Theresa, looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy.


    But the only ones who could get within a hundred meters of Princess Theresa were about twenty people, all third-tier experts or above.


    The leader, an old man with a white robe and a red beard, was holding a cross that radiated blinding silver light, clearly an exorcist.


    Su''en nced at the heptagram under the man''s feet and realized that this fellow was also a fifth-tier professional.


    Upon closer inspection, the old man''s "Exorcist Cross of the Pdin" turned out to be a sealed artifact-level treasure.


    The silver light of the cross shone on Princess Theresa, emitting wisps of ck vapor.


    Like light dispelling darkness, ordinary people didn''t feel anything from the silver light, but the princess''s face contorted in pain, as if enduring great suffering, and she let out a piercing scream.


    Even more terrifying was the ck vapor steaming off her body under the holy light, as if she were being scorched.


    Theresa seemed to be enduring the burning of the holy light, trembling all over, and screamed in agony, "Foolish humans! You are desecrating a great deity!"


    When the cross was shoved in her face, the fallen angel knew she couldn''t hide anymore and didn''t conceal herself.


    But hearing this, the people from the Duke''s mansion remained unmoved.


    The red-bearded exorcist even spat a mouthful of old blood onto the cross, and the intensity of the holy light surged dramatically.


    No one took "Theresa''s" words seriously; evil spirits were not umon in this world.


    Those spiritual entities formed for various special reasons often boast themselves as gods to bewitch people''s hearts, and exorcists had long grown ustomed to such ims.


    In reality, they were just more advanced spiritual entities.


    They thought the situation with their princess was probably just that.


    But Su''en knew that these guys were in for big trouble.


    After all, this was once a genuine deity of divine rank!


    ***


    The people from the Duke''s mansion had dyed for so long just to wait for this sealed cross, to ensure a foolproof operation.


    Indeed, the artifact was very effective, capable of driving away abnormal spirits within the human body.


    After all, the fallen angel, having lost the divine fire and body, was no longer of divine rank.


    The holy attribute of the cross was particrly harmful to dark creatures.


    It didn''t take long for the ck vapor on Theresa to slowly condense into a shadow of an evil spirit.


    But what no one expected was that the "evil spirit" shadow was not just humanoid; it had a pair of pitch-ck wings spanning several meters on its back.


    As soon as these wings appeared, an evil yet majestic aura descended abruptly.


    Looking at the figure, it was exactly like the fallen angels from the myths.


    The bystanders, not understanding, were all shocked.


    From a distance, Su''en muttered to himself, "So this is the fallen angel..."


    The red-bearded exorcist had plenty of experience in exorcism and shouted, "This is the evil spirit''s illusion, guard your minds, don''t be deceived by it!"


    His six disciples also coordinated tacitly, forming a hexagram position, and the ropes binding "Theresa" were taut, giving Her no chance to break free.


    At that moment, the old man holding the cross stomped his foot, and the heptagram array beneath him shone brightly, and a divine gate of light suddenly appeared behind him, clearly preparing a powerful move.


    At the same time, he took out a crystal vial and sshed the water towards "Theresa."


    The holy water sshed onto the shadow of the fallen angel, hissing like sulfuric acid, and smoke billowed.


    The situation looked like they were nning to directly transcend this "evil spirit."


    "Ah... despicable humans, you have sessfully angered me!"


    "Theresa''s" voice became terrifyingly horrific, filled with not only rage but also an overwhelming intent to kill.


    If it were an ordinary evil spirit, it should have been burned or driven away by now.


    Unfortunately, this was a true god.


    Her understanding of thews was not something these people couldprehend.


    Caught off guard by a sneak attack and trapped by the holy artifact, She couldn''t escape, but now, She had recovered!


    Just as the soul was about to be driven out of Theresa''s body, She made a move that baffled everyone.


    Suddenly, a ball of ck fire rose from Her right wrist, and the silver rope binding the wrist turned pitch ck. The ckness spread rapidly from the wrist towards the two exorcists pulling the ropes.


    "Not good, it''s elemental theft!"


    Seeing this, the red-bearded exorcist''s face changed dramatically, "Damn, how could it forcibly reverse the holy power of the <em>Binding Spirit Ropes</em>?!"


    From a distance, Su''en wasn''t too surprised.


    He had seen this "elemental theft" once before when Mr. ck and his group surrounded and killed a fifth-tier professional.


    Mr. ck used this technique to dissolve a fifth-tier spell with fourth-tier strength.


    To use this technique, one needed an extremely deep understanding of thews.


    The stabilizing runes contained in the alchemical item <em>Binding Spirit Ropes</em> were of sixth-tier, and to reverse the holy power they produced into dark power required at least a seventh or eighth-tier understanding.


    Others couldn''t, but this Deity could!


    The red-bearded exorcist wanted to do something else, but by then, it was toote!


    "Theresa" suddenly broke free of Her right hand, and without hesitation, plunged it into Her own chest, causing blood to spurt out.


    Suicide?


    From a distance, Su''en was also a bit puzzled by this action, which seemed somewhat iprehensible.


    At that moment, everyone was visibly stunned.


    They were there to save someone, and now the evil spirit had controlled their princess tomit suicide; what was going on?


    And what was even more horrifying was yet toe!


    "Theresa" directly pulled out Her own heart and, without hesitation, crushed it.


    With a "bang," it was like bursting a bag of sma, and blood sprayed everywhere.


    Now, the originally noble and elegant princess had turned into a terrifying blood figure.


    Exorcism?


    Keep exorcising!


    Her soul was still present, and Theresa couldn''t die yet.


    Once driven away, without a heart, Theresa would undoubtedly die.


    At this point, everyone understood why the evil spirit had done this.


    ***


    From a distance, Su''en marveled at the tactic: "Can gods really live without a heart?"


    His mind immediately recalled some research reports he had seen in "forensic" Gerald''s notes.


    The guy had also researched this topic: if vital organs like the heart were shattered, how to survive.


    The solution in the notes was to create blood cirction with external forces without the need for the heart''s pumping ability.


    But that was still at the experimental theory stage; he hadn''t expected to see a living example right before his eyes.


    Su''en carefully observed the changes in the body of "Theresa," who had a bloody hole in her chest.


    Having harvested Gerald''s memories, Su''en now had a deep understanding of human anatomy.


    Seeing the faint pulsations in the body, he immediately guessed, "It seems to be using muscle contractions and dark spiritual power to create an alternative circtory system... Hiss~ Gerald''s hypothesis seems to be feasible after all."


    Su''en, as a bystander, watched with ease, but the people from the Duke''s mansion were instantly dumbfounded, their faces pale with fear.


    They had never imagined things would turn out this way; an almost foolproof "exorcism" operation had caused severe damage to the princess?


    If she died, the Duke would never let these guards off the hook.


    But at this point, they had no choice but to fight to the death!


    They might not be able to save the princess, but at the very least, they had to kill that "evil spirit."


    The man in military uniform with a pale face decisively ordered, "Take action, capture her first!"


    Unfortunately, "Theresa" breaking Her own heart was not just to make the exorcist wary.


    Arge amount of blood gushed out and quickly condensed into a red de in Her hands.


    The de was entirely formed of red light, with crimson lightning flickering, as if She was holding a bolt of lightning.


    The fallen angel wasn''t using alchemy, nor did any alchemical array appear.


    But Su''en keenly noticed some white strands appearing in Her hair and guessed, "It seems to be using some kind of life-sacrificing secret technique."


    Princess Theresa''s body was said to be only second-tier, still too weak.


    ***


    In the blink of an eye, a fierce battle erupted between the two sides.


    Su''en had also learned about the conditions of the abyssal ne from his conversations with his teacher Sereya.


    It was a ne with an extremely harsh living environment.


    The harsh conditions in this cavern were just a microcosm of that ce.


    Those who survived in the abyss were the best among their kind.


    This fallen angel from the abyss was naturally no exception.


    Just by watching, Su''en, a "martial arts master," couldn''t find any fault with "Theresa''s"bat level.


    Not only was Herbat experience impable, but the red lightning dagger in Her hand was also bizarre. Upon contact, the lightning exploded, and ordinary weapons and mechanical equipment were easily sliced through like cutting through mud. Even if blocked, the crimson lightning would transform into lightning elements, catching the opponent off guard.


    First and second-tier professionals were killed with a single sh, third-tiers couldst a few moves, and only fourth-tier professionals with "elemental barriers" could barely survive under the lightning de when working together.


    The people from the Duke''s mansion had initially thought about capturing the "evil spirit," but this battle made them realize they were too naive.


    Vaguely, everyone began to sense that the evil spirit''s im of being a deity might not be so far-fetched...


    But the battle had already begun, and they had no way out.


    As private soldiers of the Raphael Duke''s mansion, the lives of all of thembined were not worth as much as Miss Theresa.


    They had no choice but to fight to the death!


    How terrifying was the battle of high-tier professionals?


    For a time, various high-tier spells bombarded the ruins like a dense bombing run, with shockwaves from the battle rising wave after wave.


    The ancient buildings that had stood for a thousand years were reduced to dust, limbs and body parts flew everywhere, and blood literally flowed like rivers...


    "Thisbat power is truly outrageous..."


    From a distance, Su''en watched with a heavy gaze.


    Even using a life-shortening secret technique, "Theresa" was only just managing a fourth-tier professional''s level, as Mr. Mirror had predicted.


    But watching Her withstand two fifth-tiers, along with more than a dozen fourth-tiers and dozens of second and third-tiers in battle...


    Who would believe this was just fourth-tier?


    The equipment of the people from the Duke''s mansion was not poor; they were the elite of the elite, several levels stronger than the likes of the Oliver and rk families.


    Various ancient relics, alchemical items, cursed objects, scrolls... were thrown out as if money was no object.


    It was as if Su''en could hear the sound of money being thrown...


    He was amazed by what he saw.


    Indeed, in this world dominated by nobility, as the wealthiest few, the foundation of the Raphael Duke''s mansion was terrifying!


    But even with money paving the way, the casualties of the Duke''s mansion''s party continued to increase.


    Bodies littered the ground, and clusters of "grey mist" seemed to beckon to Su''en, making him extremely envious.


    These were the personal guards of the Duke''s mansion, and those selected were one in ten thousand.


    The quality of their souls could be imagined, right?


    If he could harvest this knowledge, he estimated he could save at least another ten or eight years of knowledge umtion...


    But as much as he coveted, he dared not make the slightest move.


    The core of the battlefield had be a meat grinder, and third-tier professionals had no assurance of survival, let alone second-tiers who would be in mortal danger in an instant.


    Although Su''en was a bit stronger than the average second-tier, he wasn''t arrogant enough to think he could make a ssh.


    "There are still two fifth-tiers, so many fourth-tiers..."


    He muttered to himself,forting himself that the soul fragments of those third-tier professionals and above were the real treasures.


    He also prayed that when Mr. Mirror and the others arrived, those grey mist fragments would not havepletely dissipated.


    ***


    Although the battle was one-sided, with several fourth-tiers being in.


    Gradually, Su''en also noticed something unusual.


    The lifespan of a human body is limited, which means that "Theresa''s" secret technique must have a time limit and could not be used multiple times.


    And this point was directly reflected in the battle.


    As the fight went on, "Theresa''s" hair turnedpletely silver.


    The people from the Duke''s mansion obviously also noticed this.


    The more they pressed, the faster Theresa would die.


    If Princess Theresa exhausted her lifespan and died, the battle would be meaningless.


    But they couldn''t capture her alive.


    To fight or not to fight...


    It was this indecision that gave "Theresa" the opportunity to kill several more people. Even two fifth-tiers were injured to varying degrees under that unpredictable lightning dagger.


    It seemed to be a situation where both sides would suffer.


    It was just a matter of whether "Theresa" would run out of life first or if the Duke''s mansion''s side would be wiped out first.


    ***


    But no one noticed that when "Theresa" killed people, it was almost always at certain special nodes, and the positions of the bodies seemed to fit some kind of formation.


    As time passed, the blood of those who died in battle was quietly absorbed by the ground.


    From a distance, Su''en, with his Eye of Omniscience, took in everything before him.


    Soon, he also noticed the unusual flow of blood in the air and identified it as a forbidden spell in the process of condensing, thinking, "Is She initiating some kind of forbidden technique?"


    It wasn''t described as "transcending tiers," but as "forbidden," which meant... divine magic?


    Discovering this, Su''en wasn''t surprised at all.


    As a deity of divine rank, it was natural to have some tricks up Her sleeve.


    Moreover, he also felt that "Theresa" must have guessed something.


    If She was entangled by these people and forced to respond, what followed would be even worse.


    The fallen angel wasn''t wary of these people.


    No!


    From the beginning to the end, She was wary of Sir Isaac, who had defeated Her a thousand years ago!


    Although Mr. Mirror and the others hadn''t shown themselves yet, some clues had already indicated that a conspiracy against Her was closing in.


    If it were Su''en himself, he would have been alert long ago.


    ***


    Su''en guessed that "Theresa" needed a sacrifice to activate that divine magic.


    Sure enough, at that moment, the sky hundreds of meters high suddenly became turbulent.


    The thick fog in the ruins gathered into a vortex of dark clouds in the sky.


    The vortex grewrger andrger, and the center condensed into a ck hole several tens of meters in diameter.


    It was this abnormal movement that made the Duke''s mansion''s guards, who were engaged in a fierce battle on the ground, stop and nce at the sky.


    Themotion was too exaggerated, not something that any fifth or sixth-tier alchemy spell could cause.


    They were stillpletely unaware of what kind of existence they were facing.


    The ck hole slowly cracked open a gap, allowing a glimpse of a pupil emitting a strange, ghostly light, which was a gigantic eye!


    The moment this giant eye opened, a sense of awe that made people want to worship surged from the bottom of everyone''s heart...


    As if a deity was gazing upon the mortal realm,


    Everything,


    Became insignificant.


    Those who saw the giant eye all knelt down.


    Even the two fifth-tier professionals knelt down instantly, powerless to resist.


    Their faces showed only devotion and fervor.


    Upon looking again, these people simultaneously drew their des andmitted suicide on the spot!


    Their blood and energypletely merged with the ground.


    The Duke''s mansion''s party, just by one nce, were all killed.


    At this time, after absorbing the power of the formation, a pair of solid pitch-ck wings slowly condensed behind Theresa, with an aura so high that it was unbearable to look at directly.


    "The power of lower beings is really weak..."


    The whisper from the abyss echoed in the ears, as if it had some kind of magic.


    Su''en felt that strange sensation, and his left eye immediately identified the <em>???</em> and automatically blocked the forbidden power that would make him lose his mind.


    He He instantly understood, "Gods must not be gazed upon... So this is why!"


    Su''en knew he had been discovered.


    At that moment, "Theresa" suddenly looked his way.


    Just one nce, and Su''en instantly died on the spot.


    However, there was no burst of blood.


    Like a shattered mirror, his body dissolved into specks of light.


    Yet, seeing this, "Theresa," who had just been self-satisfied, suddenly changed expression!


    Clearly, She recognized the origin of this "mirage ability"!


    ***


    And just as the giant eye formed in the sky, in a distant tower.


    Although Mr. Mirror was not present on the battlefield, he too sensed that awe-inspiring power and knew exactly what it was.


    After all, he was the only person in this realm who had seen a true "god"!


    He murmured to himself, "The power of faith... finally resorting to this move, huh. Having used up thest bit of faith power without the divine fire, it seems She''s preparing to flee back to the abyss."


    With that thought, his figure vanished from the tower.

 Chapter 210: Mr. Jings rank

    Chapter 210: Mr. Jing''s rank<hr>


    "What terrifying power... is this the power of a god..."


    Just one nce, and Su''en felt an indescribable shock coursing through his body, causing his mirrored self to shatter into pieces.


    But before he could even reflect on it, while his body had not yetpletely disintegrated, he saw "Theresa" react even faster. Without paying any attention to Su''en, her ck wings, once a symbol of the angelic status of gods, pped violently as she sped towards the center of the ruins.


    <em>She actually... fled!</em>


    This was a stark contrast to the domineering presence she had just a moment ago; now, she was escaping with absolute decisiveness!


    A moment after the mirror shattered, Su''en, who was meditating in a distant tower, suddenly opened his eyes.


    Looking around, Mr. Mirror had already vanished without a trace.


    "It seems this fallen angel also knows Mr. Mirror..."


    Su''en muttered to himself.


    The situation just now made it clear that "Theresa" recognized the mirror ability and was scared off by it.


    After all, an S-ss talent is extremely rare, and one might not encounter a second one in their lifetime.


    What''s more unfortunate is that it happened right here in the Dawn Relics, a ce that once nearly caused her, a dignified deity, to fall.


    Without even thinking, one would definitely assume it was an "old acquaintance."


    Su''en grew even more curious about what rank Mr. Mirror truly held, to scare off a god?


    Although it was only a remnant soul, judging by thebat power she had just disyed, even a sixth-order professional might not have been able to scare her into such a desperate flight.


    Or perhaps... it was the terrifying experience of being outwitted to death by Sir Isaac a thousand years ago?


    ***


    Su''en didn''t dwell on it, as he was more concerned about something else.


    He looked up at the sky nearby, where the giant eye that the fallen angel had conjured was also beginning to dissipate due to her escape.


    The feeling that had been making his eyelids twitch also suddenly vanished.


    Su''en hadn''t forgotten about the corpses strewn all over the ground.


    Mr. Mirror must have gone after "Theresa." He couldn''t get involved in a battle of that level.


    Nor was there any need to.


    Within the Mirror organization, Mr. Mirror wasn''t the only one. Herck of instructions meant she was confident in handling it.


    But looting corpses was something Su''en was more than happy to do.


    The Duke''s men had been annihted, and the battle just now likely took care of the nearby monsters, or at least scared them off.


    The danger should be minimal now.


    Without hesitation, Su''en unfolded his Octo-Spider Lance and quickly ran towards the site of the previous battle.


    After all, soul fragments on corpses would dissipate over time.


    Su''en was fast and arrived while the "grey mist" still looked clear.


    Out of caution, he used his All-Seeing Eye to scan the area for any other dangers before approaching the corpses.


    The first to harvest, naturally, were the memory fragments of the two fifth-order individuals.


    The closest was the corpse of the red-bearded exorcist.


    <em>''Obtained 6 memory fragments of "Matick Doyle"''</em>


    <em>''You have acquired a wealth of "Exorcism Knowledge,"prehending the skill [Thirteen Methods of Banishing Evil Spirits]''</em>


    <em>''You have obtained an alchemy recipe [The Preparation Method of the Sun Exorcism Holy Water]''</em>


    <em>''You have gained some knowledge of mysticism''</em>


    <em>''You have acquired a wealth of "1st to 5th Order Alchemy Knowledge"''</em>


    <em>''You haveprehended an iplete fifth-order holy system principle''</em>


    <em>''Spellcasting experience +175''</em>


    <em>''Mental strength +8.4''</em>


    ***


    Typically, the knowledge reserves of magic-based professionals are many times greater than those of melee-based ones.


    And the exorcist profession belongs to the "mystic" branch within the magic-based category.


    These individuals delve deeply into obscure and esoteric knowledge.


    Su''en eagerly harvested the grey mist.


    Although it seemed slightly less than expected, the knowledge filled gaps in his understanding of mysticism and broadened his horizons...


    Just right.


    He vividly remembered thest time he absorbed a fifth-order professional, the state of confusionsted for quite a while.


    But now, as a flood of knowledge entered his mind, it was quickly assimted, and everything was crystal clear!


    It was like the difference between swallowing food whole and chewing it thoroughly; the nutrients absorbed by the body arepletely different.


    Su''en immediately noticed this difference.


    With the same amount of memory fragments, the efficiency of assimtion was now at least 10 to 20 percent higher.


    Even the most fragmented pieces remained in his memory and were not forgotten.


    "The secret mental strength techniques and brain domain development can also improve the efficiency of harvesting, which is good news..."


    A thought shed through Su''en''s mind, and he was delighted.


    It was like getting a 10 to 20 percent experience bonus when killing monsters in a game.


    The benefits might not be obvious in the short term, but it was a substantial improvement that could affect thete game.


    Moreover, since all negative emotions werepletely cleared, Su''en now had enough energy to suppress those foreign memories in the short term without worrying about impacting his core consciousness.


    After the development of his brain domain, his memory andprehension abilities also improved significantly, which visibly enhanced the ability of his talent <em>[Death Harvester]!</em>


    ***


    Su''en didn''t dwell on the content of the harvested memories.


    The Octo-Spider Lance was also in operation, stripping the corpses of their storage rings and equipment almost simultaneously as he harvested the soul fragments, stuffing everything into his storage space.


    He also casually collected the sealed item-level <em>[Exorcist Cross of the Pdin]</em> from the corpse''s hand.


    A quick nce revealed that it was powerful but a specialized piece of equipment for spirits, not of much use on a daily basis.


    Then, he quickly moved to another fifth-order professional''s corpse, the pale-faced man in military uniform who had been following Theresa around, a court guard wielding a rapier.


    But this harvest surprised Su''en.


    <em>''Obtained 2 memory fragments of "Rasati Kale"''</em>


    <em>''You have acquired a small number of alchemy knowledge fragments''</em>


    <em>''You have gained a small amount ofbat experience''</em>


    <em>''Mental strength +0.3''</em>


    ***


    "Is this really a fifth-order?"


    Su''en looked at the few fragments he had harvested, his gaze freezing as he wondered if he had mistaken the corpse.


    The amount of fragments was even less than that of a second-order.


    And the rate of ipleteness was outrageous.


    But strangely enough... there were indeed some fragmented fourth and fifth-order knowledge.


    This confirmed that it was indeed the corpse of a fifth-order professional!


    Unable to understand what had happened, Su''en harvested a few more corpses nearby that he remembered were fourth-order professionals.


    The result was the same.


    But soon, he noticed a pattern.


    The souls of melee-based professionals had almostpletely dissipated, or only a tiny, extremely fragmented piece remained.


    While the souls of magic-based professionals, who naturally had stronger mental strength, left a bit more, but not much.


    "Did that fallen angel''s divine art extract even their soul power?"


    Su''en frowned, roughly understanding the reason.


    It was also fortunate that he arrived quickly, or he wouldn''t have even gotten a sip of the soup.


    As for the rtively intact preservation of the red-bearded exorcist''s soul, it was probably because mystic sorcerers all practiced some form of mental defense. Even in death, their souls were better preserved than others.


    However, Su''en''s attitude was good; he was satisfied with what he earned.


    The total amount of soul fragments harvested was almost 70 to 80 percent of thest fifth-order, and it was precious mystic knowledge, invaluable.


    Of course, the spoils of war were not limited to soul fragments.


    The equipment and storage rings on the corpses were also a big haul.


    These were the personal guards of Duke Raphael!


    It was also fortunate that the divine art of the fallen angel helped greatly, otherwise these few hundred elites could have directly breached the defenses of Old London.


    There would have been no chance for Su''en to loot the corpses.


    ***


    A hundred years of "mining," those treasures gathered from the lower levels, like a pyramid, eventually almost all converged in the Duke''s mansion.


    The equipment on these ducal guards'' corpses were all carefully selected fine items.


    Weapons, armor, robes, leather armor, boots, alchemical essories...


    The vast majority were "silver quality" or above, high-quality equipment.


    Even the team leaders had "gold equipment" and a few pieces of "dark gold equipment."


    Each one was a top-notch rarity seldom seen in the auction houses of Old London.


    Su''en collected them all; these were not just his spoils of war.


    If anything, the lion''s share belonged to Mr. Mirror.


    Without her n, the Duke''s forces would not have been annihted here.


    Besides these pieces of equipment, Su''en also found a number of heat-emitting gems in the storage rings of the two fifth-order and those fourth-order individuals, resembling burning coals.


    Upon identification:


    <em>Sun God Stone</em>


    <em>Description: A special gemstone containing rich light energy;</em>


    Su''en now knew that this was one of the essential materials for alchemists to advance to the fourth order.


    These personal guards of the Duke''s mansion were mostly "Light Sorcerers" from outside, unable to withstand the dense dark spirit power of the underground, so they needed to carry these stones to prevent the dark energy from corrupting and mutating them.


    On normal days, the people of the Duke''s mansion hardly ever left the inner city of Old London. To obtain so many <em>Sun God Stones</em> at once was a rare "harvest."


    This was an opportunity not to be missed.


    The quantity was not small, definitely more than thest time they ambushed a fifth-order.


    Su''en was only second-order, far from advancing to the third order, so he had no immediate use for these stones.


    But other members of the Mirror organization might need them, like Qiantiao.


    Moreover, based on the snippets of information from Mr. Mirror''s head, it seemed they already had a n to break out of the ck Tower.


    With these stones, the sess rate was likely to be even higher.


    If they really got out, these stones, which could only be considered high-level materials outside, would no longer be scarce.


    ***


    Seeing these stones, Su''en was also looking forward to it; if Qiantiao and the others all advanced to the fourth order, how strong would they be?


    But he was also a bit puzzled; where were the other members of the Mirror organization?


    Could it be that they went to surround "Theresa"?


    Just as these thoughts emerged, suddenly, anomalies arose all around!


    Dense dark spirit power formed a mist within the ruins, and at that moment, as if stirred by an invisible force, it converged in one direction, forming two tornado-like spirals in the sky above the center of the ruins, like "dragons sucking water."


    The mist was sucked away and dissipated, clearing the view instantly.


    Seeing this phenomenon, Su''en immediately realized what it was, his pupils shrinking: "An ''Elemental Domain'' possibly controlled by a sixth-order or higher professional?"


    From the memories he had harvested, he knew that such natural phenomena were a type of spell.


    There are two major thresholds in a professional''s advancement: <em>one is from third to fourth order, requiring mastery of "Elemental Barrier"; the other is from sixth to seventh order, the "Elemental Domain."</em>


    Legend has it that those who master the Elemental Domain can absorb the elements within several miles for their own use.


    This is a method at the level ofws that only top alchemists can master.


    But...


    Such beings, even on the surface, are among the very few at the pinnacle of the pyramid.


    Why would they appear here?


    Su''en thought he might be mistaken, but as his gaze shifted, he saw at the core of the gathering mist, two figures in the sky facing off against each other!


    Both figures had wings!


    Su''en looked over.


    One was "Theresa," whom he had seen before, with a pair of pitch-ck wings.


    The other, cloaked in a golden silk cape, had a pair of huge bat-like wings behind her!


    "A vampire?"


    Seeing those flesh wings, Su''en immediately thought of a legendary abyssal undead creature.


    That was the long-lived vampire, capable of surviving countless ages through slumber.


    A nce at the cape, and who else could it be but Mr. Mirror?


    In that moment,


    It was as if everything became clear.


    No wonder Mr. Mirror could live for a thousand years; she was of vampire lineage!


    However, Su''en had already guessed that Mr. Mirror was not a "normal human," and seeing her bat wings didn''t surprise him too much.


    After all, Su''en himself had a special body with a portion of fallen angel bloodline after being modified by the "X Serum."


    What shocked him more was Mr. Mirror''s strength!


    That "Theresa" could use the Elemental Domain, which didn''t surprise Su''en too much. After all, she was a genuine god-tier soul, and although her physical body wascking, it wasn''t strange that she could perform the spell with a lower configuration.


    Just like the fifth-order [Diamond], Su''en could also use it at the second order.


    But Mr. Mirror, how could she?


    Amidst his shock, Su''en''s mind was immediately filled with doubts and contradictions: "Mr. Mirror shouldn''t be seventh-order, but why does she have a seventh-order ''Elemental Domain''? Could it be her mirror imitation ability? No, that can''t be right; she shouldn''t be able to imitate abilities she doesn''t understand..."


    Now that Su''en had stripped the memories of those from the surface, he wasn''tpletely ignorant of the outside world.


    He vaguely knew that the ck Tower was on an ind called "ck Reef."


    There, a secret guard of Duke Raphael was stationed, roughly one to two thousand strong, with the strongest being a sixth-order grandmander. Although the overall military strength was formidable, if Mr. Mirror truly had the strength above sixth order, she shouldn''t be stuck here, slowly developing.


    ***


    Mr. Mirror was a mystery to everyone.


    She had never shown her face.


    Even within the Umbre organization, information about Mr. Mirror was limited to just this "code name."


    To be precise, no one had ever seen her take action, knew her true strength, or what kind of methods she had.


    Because even when she did take action, due to her mirror ability, she used others'' abilities. Bystanders didn''t even know she was "Mr. Mirror."


    She could have countless disguised identities.


    What she truly looked like was pointless to pursue.


    Su''en had also been curious about what order Mr. Mirror was as a professional?


    Although there were no conditions to advance to the fourth order in this underground world, Mr. Mirror was different.


    Now seeing her in this vampire state, Su''en was even more convinced of his guess: Mr. Mirror was truly an ancient relic from a thousand years ago!


    Su''en had previously spected that since Mr. Mirror and her group dared to attack a fifth-order professional, her own strength must be beyond fifth order, perhaps even higher.


    But without breaking through the ck Tower, her rank wouldn''t be excessively high.


    Now suddenly bing seventh-order,


    Su''en felt very conflicted.


    <em>Huh?</em>


    <em>Suddenly!</em>


    At this moment, a sh of insight crossed Su''en''s mind.


    Since it was almost certain that Mr. Mirror was an "ancient," could she be a close associate of Sir Isaac?


    With this thought, Su''en''s mind suddenly connected some clues that fit together.


    He vaguely guessed Mr. Mirror''s identity from a thousand years ago!


    If it was indeed her, it would be understandable for her to have strength above the sixth order.


    But reality and strength seemed to conflict.


    With true seventh-order strength, under absolute suppression, wouldn''t this "Theresa" be annihted?


    Or perhaps, there were other reasons limiting her strength?


    ***


    Without waiting for Su''en to think further, the two in the sky began to battle fiercely.


    The two winged figures wielded identical crimson lightning, and where they shed, the wind and clouds surged, thunder roared, and lightning shed in the sky. Streaks of red lightning tore through the heavens, illuminating half of the ruins like an apocalyptic scene.


    No matter what technique "Theresa" used, Mr. Mirrorpletely replicated it with her mirror imitation ability, giving her no chance to counter with elemental theft.


    You can throw lightning, so can I...


    You stab me with lightning, I''ll stab you with one too...


    You can fly, so can I...


    The two entangled, giving her no chance to escape.


    Su''en watched for a while and confirmed his guess.


    His realm was far from theirs, but his vision was notcking; he could tell that neither was holding back: "Indeed... Mr. Mirror only shows the strength of around fifth order, but why does she have a seventh-order Elemental Domain?"


    Themotion was exaggerated, but still not to the level of the legendary seventh-order''s earth-shattering power.


    "Theresa''s" physical body was only second-order, and being able to exert about fourth-orderbat power was already the limit of what her body could handle.


    And Mr. Mirror, being able to fight her on equal footing, naturally wouldn''t exceed that by much.


    But oddly enough, both usedws and understandings far beyond their ranks.


    Fifth order, sixth order, seventh order...


    Even higher!


    Then, the battle took a direction that Su''en couldn''tprehend.


    Laws shing, domains colliding...


    The two, gathering a vast amount of dark spirit power from all directions, had auras as high as primordial beasts, a level of battle that professionals below fifth order couldn''t possibly join.


    And that overwhelming pressure, even with the All-Seeing Eye, made Su''en''s eyelids twitch uncontrobly.


    The crimson light in the sky made his scalp tingle.


    Just as he was enjoying the spectacle, a stray lightning bolt that sshed out during their sh suddenly exploded from the sky, "boom," and struck the ground just tens of meters away from Su''en, carving out a crack hundreds of meters long...


    Two women casually wielding lightning with their bare hands...


    Hiss~


    Su''en inhaled sharply, gathered his spoils, and quickly ran a few kilometers towards the outskirts of the ruins, choosing a safer ce to watch the battle.


    Such a high-level battle was rare to see; understanding even a fraction of it was a gain.

 Chapter 211: The enchantresss innate abilities

    Chapter 211: The enchantress''s innate abilities<hr>Others may not understand why this sudden war erupted.


    But Su''en knew.


    A thousand years ago, Sir Isaac and his wife always had the ability to annihte the soul of the Fallen Angel.


    But they let it live until now, not for anything else, but for the resurrection of Pestoya.


    The Fallen Angel clearly guessed this point.


    Therefore, Pestoya, this life-saving trump card, was something it would never give up.


    Two winged silhouettes continued to battle fiercely in the sky, fighting from the outskirts to the very center of the city...


    Su''en''s all-seeing eyes possessed an ultra-long vision, allowing him to gaze over from a great distance.


    Previously shrouded in mist, he thought there might be some special structure in the city center. But due to the battle, the fog that obscured the view was also drained away.


    To his shock, the core urban area turned out to be a gigantic pit with a diameter of one or two kilometers, bottomless!


    It was like a spring, with the mist from the ruins and those aberrant and abyssal creatures continuously pouring out from that great pit.


    "Is that the passage to the abyssal ne?"


    Su''en spected as he watched.


    Looking at the traces on the edge of the pit, the irregr, pockmarked marks were clearly caused by external forces.


    It was probably the disaster a year ago that destroyed Dawn City, causing the city center to copse into such a huge hole.


    Su''en looked at "Theresa," who clearly did not wish to fight, and guessed the deity''s purpose: "Does she want to escape into the abyss?"


    ***


    Mr. Mirror entangled "Theresa," gradually forcing her into the center of the sky above.


    After all, her true form was only second-tier, and the high-intensity battle gave her no chance to breathe. The secret technique that consumed her lifespan also gradually became strenuous. The youngdy from the ducal mansion not only turned her hair white but her body also began to rapidly deteriorate, no longer able to control such terrifyingw powers.


    Finally, her arm holding the lightning suddenly copsed, and the skin on other parts of her body also cracked, disintegrating like fluff.


    "Theresa" knew her body had reached its limit, suddenly herplexion changed, and her body inted rapidly like an overblown balloon. Visible to the naked eye, streams of red lightning surged within her, and the red glow became clearer through the cracks in her skin...


    "Is she going to self-destruct?"


    From a distance, Su''en watched with trepidation and quickly pulled several puppets to shield himself.


    Although he was already far enough away, he was ready to flee at any moment.


    Seeing this, even Mr. Mirror had to p his wings and fly away, quickly distancing himself to safety.


    <em>"Boom!"</em>


    In the next instant, Theresa''s body exploded, and red lightning serpents surged through the sky.


    It was this explosion that seemed to break some critical point, and suddenly the ground shook violently, with a loud noise like a volcanic eruption, and shockwaves echoed throughout the sky above the ruins.


    At the same time, the ground trembled fiercely, and a surge of ink-like ck mist gushed out from the abyssal entrance, shooting straight up to the top of the kilometer-high cavern.


    Vaguely, amidst the dense fog, it seemed as if arge number of abyssal creatures emerged from the pit.


    "The mist tide has erupted again..."


    Su''en narrowed his eyes slightly.


    He had experienced a "mist tide" before and was naturally familiar with it.


    This kind of anomaly urs from time to time in the ruins. He used to be unclear about the cause, but now he knew it was the seal cracking and leaking arge amount of abyssal dark energy, randomly "spewing" out some abyssal creatures.


    This time, the amount of the surge was particrly astonishing.


    Su''en looked at the shadows of the abyssal creatures tens of meters tall in the mist and knew he couldn''t just stand by and watch, so he quickly retreated.


    He also guessed that the Fallen Angel probably wanted to use these creatures to break free.


    But was it possible?


    This was a battle that might have surprises, but the oue was destined.


    How could the demigod who had mastered Fate and nned for a thousand years let it escape?


    ***


    Su''en retreated towards the outskirts of the ruins, his vision gradually obscured by the thick fog.


    Sure enough, at the same time as the explosion, a Fallen Angel soul glowing with ck fluorescence shed by, taking advantage of Mr. Mirror''s avoidance to plunge headlong into the deep pit.


    Unfortunately, it waspletely unaware that during the battle, six mysterious figures in golden-embroidered cloaks had quietly appeared at six directions around the pit, each with a rune-etched casket in front of them.


    They were waiting for its soul to leave its body!


    As the explosion sounded, the six simultaneously formed seals and chanted softly, <em>"Release!"</em>


    Almost at the same time, six beams of rune chains appeared, extending rapidly and indefinitely.


    They moved as fast as lightning, tracking the Fallen Angel''s soul no matter how it fled, flexibly changing direction and ultimately locking it up tightly.


    The rune chains bound the target, and the six together ended their spells, making the rune chains snap taut.


    Like fishing, they pulled it out of the dark abyss.


    In the sky, there were no sound waves, but Su''en, who was retreating, heard a clear roar in his ears: <em>"Kill me, and she will die too!"</em>


    This high and mighty deity once again felt the oppressive sensation of death approaching, just like a thousand years ago.


    "She" naturally referred to Pestoya.


    A thousand years ago, the Fallen Angel survived until now by using this amulet.


    It now wanted to use the same method to continue living.


    Unfortunately.


    Mr. Mirror didn''t give it any chance, pulling out a silver mirror.


    He tossed it into the air, and the mirror split into eight thousand reflections, filling the sky with mirror images.


    Mr. Mirrorpleted thest mage seal in his hand and chanted softly, <em>"Sealing Technique  Eight Thousand Mirrors!"</em>


    The bright white light, like eight thousand moons in the sky, focused beams of light on the Fallen Angel bound by the rune chains.


    For a moment, it did not yield to the divine pressure.


    At that instant, the Fallen Angel finally understood something and roared, "You want to pave her way with my divine soul origin? Hahaha... Even if I die, you won''t seed!"


    Unfortunately, Sir Isaac had anticipated this a thousand years ago.


    Just as the Fallen Angel was preparing to self-destruct its soul, a phantom suddenly appeared next to its soul, bing more and more solid.


    She stretched out her arms, embracing the entire world. In an instant, the ferocious expression of the Fallen Angel turned into that of an obedient little girl. Those confused eyes gradually became clear.


    For the first time, Pestoya''s soul suppressed the will of the Fallen Angel and took control.


    She looked at the familiar figure in front of her, her face streaked with tears, reaching out to touch.


    Sereya smiled faintly but had already dissipated.


    ***


    "Teacher..."


    Su''en looked up at the loving white-d phantom in the depths of the fog and sighed softly in his heart.


    Back in the cursed space, Sereya gave him two rings, one of which was <em>Sereya''s Blessing</em> for him.


    The other was <em>Sereya''s Protection</em> for Pestoya, which had a function to protect Pestoya''s soul from disintegrating.


    Until now, Su''en had fully understood this thousand-year n.


    Waited a thousand years, was it to kill the soul of the Fallen Angel?


    No, not just that.


    Isaac and his wife also left a gift for their daughter,


    The divine soul origin of an abyssal deity!


    With this, Pestoya''s path to the highest ranks was almost assured, with nine out of ten obstacles removed.


    Even without much hard cultivation, her future Transcendent rank would be frighteningly high.


    At this time, Su''en''s finger, wearing themunication ring exclusive to the Mirror organization, suddenly transmitted a voice, "The mist tide has erupted, everyone, evacuate the ruins quickly!"


    Hearing this stern warning, Su''en''s eight-armed spider spear spun even faster, and he ran far away in a puff of smoke.


    After all, having experienced a "mist tide" firsthand, he knew there were extremely terrifying abyssal creatures inside. And this time''s eruption was much more exaggerated than thest.


    He nced casually and saw several gigantic creatures.


    A <em>Deep Abyss Volcano Turtle</em> with a volcano on its back, spewingva as it walked...


    A <em>Nine-Headed Heartstealer Demon  Oduer</em> stitched together like nine eels...


    A creature with numerous muscr vines, a <em>Cassantan Tree Person</em>...


    Named creatures usually meant they were not low in intelligence and were all "lord monsters."


    There were also countless smaller creatures, bloodthirsty giant bats, illusionary poison beasts, copper ghost pythons, blue-tailed two-headed lizards... swarming in groups.


    Not only were there creatures below the third tier, but there were also fourth, fifth, and sixth tiers...


    These abyssal creatures, brought out by the mist tide, were like a tsunami of fish, dense and overwhelming.


    Individually, one might not be a big problem, but with such a staggering number, no hunting group could withstand them.


    Even Mr. Mirror and hispanions had to avoid their sharp edges.


    The ck mist erupted from the pit, quickly spreading to the outskirts of the ruins like locusts passing through, leaving behind screams and gunfire.


    Su''en, with his eight legs and spatial discement ability, ran fast and felt no sense of crisis.


    But soon, the crisis came.


    Originally thinking that the ruins had been mostly cleared and nothing would hinder him.


    Unexpectedly, with the "mist tide," the entire cavern boiled over, and those abyssal and aberrant creatures hidden in the deep recesses also ran out.


    The hunting teams had only cleared the surface creatures before, but the ruins'' intricate sewer system still hid various monster groups.


    As Su''en''s eight-armed spider spear dashed, the ground suddenly began to roll.


    Countless giant earthworm-like pink tendrils wrapped in wet, corrosive slime sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain, emerging from the ground. It was like entering a pink seaweed area, a sea of tentacles as far as the eye could see, entangling and dragging any living creature that passed by into the depths of the earth.


    Su''en looked at the tentacle monster that covered several blocks and felt a chill down his spine.


    He also didn''t know how enormous the creature buried underground was.


    Fortunately, he had teleportation, and as soon as those tentacles smelled the scent of living beings and began to surround him, he teleported away.


    Identifying those tentacles, they turned out to belong to a fifth-tier "Overlord-level" abyssal creature <em>Abbas''s Flesh Mountain!</em>


    The source of the contamination that caused Brooke to mutate in the <em>Bell Tower Freak</em> cursed space.


    This thing was so huge, its entire body was soft flesh, almost all weak points, but also no weak points. Even with a ck scythe, there was no way to strike.


    Su''en dared not provoke it and, after several consecutive teleports, quickly fled.


    ***


    This "mist tide" was not the kind that only spread locally within the ruins before. The ck air mixed with countless creatures was like a hundred-meter-high tsunami, spreading from the center of the ruins outward.


    Su''en left the ruins where monsters were emerging everywhere, and only then did the hair-raising sense of crisis dissipate.


    The monsters were indeed fast, but almost none ran faster than his eight legs.


    Before long, the outline of the hunting camp appeared in his vision.


    There were still many nonbatants in the camp, such as professional merchants, nobledies, and maidservants.


    They had also noticed the anomaly in the ruins.


    Those with keen eyes had already fled, while others were still watching, now only despair in their eyes. The camp, which originally looked like an "iron hedgehog," appeared as flimsy as a thin sheet of paper in front of this ck tsunami.


    Su''en didn''t enter the city but headed straight for the cave leading back to Old Lingdun.


    Before long, the mist engulfed the entire camp. Although he couldn''t see, he could hear the sound of gunfire.


    Su''en had sensitive hearing, and he noticed that the gunfire in the camp dissipated very quickly.


    Looking at the situation, the hunting camp waspletely destroyed.


    And the Dawn Ruins would be a "forbidden zone" for a long time toe.


    However, the good news was that those monsters that had just emerged from the abyss seemed to have a high demand for the concentration of "mist," and they would not actively rush out of the mist-covered area. Just like fish won''t leave the water.


    And after the mist entered the crisscrossing caves, its spread slowed down, and the harassing monsters did not catch up.


    Su''en also let out a long sigh of relief.


    He happened to encounter a group of hundreds of refugees and put away his eight-armed spider spear, following therge group leisurely.


    Along the way, they encountered arge number of fleeing personnel.


    Finally, after a whole day of fleeing, those nobledies and lords could no longer move, and they met a merchant caravan camp that had set off back to the city half a day earlier, so they did not continue.


    Thousands of people gathered together, finally feeling a bit safe.


    Everyone began to light fires and set up camp.


    Su''en also mingled in the camp, setting up a tent for himself.


    Before long, campfires lit up the entire camp, the firelight shining brightly, and the smell of food wafting through the air.


    But the camp was filled with wailing.


    The hunters were used to life and death, but those from high society had never suffered such hardships, and each of themined endlessly.


    After a whole day of fleeing, even with guards supporting and carrying them, they were all exhausted.


    "s, I hope the Duke won''t me us for the unsessful hunt. This is not desertion in the face of battle."


    "How can he me us? Even the camp was destroyed. I''ve always heard about the ''mist tide'' in the ruins, but I didn''t expect it to be so terrifying this time..."


    "I reckon the ''mist tide'' won''t dissipate in a short time. The excavation of the Dawn City ruins..."


    "I heard that Princess Theresa also went to the ruins. I don''t know if she encountered any danger..."


    "With so many experts in the ducal mansion, we don''t need to worry about them. We should think about how to exin when we return to the city. This time, all the major families have suffered heavy losses. Old Lingdun is probably going to be greatly weakened..."


    "..."


    The mist tide came suddenly, and no one knew what happened in the center of the ruins.


    These noble lords anddies gathered together, discussing the follow-up after returning to the city.


    From a distance, Su''en silently listened.


    He also saw the woman chatting with a bunch of rich people, her shiny red hair particrly eye-catching in the firelight. After all, as a major general of the Umbre organization, even in fleeing, her face showedposure.


    Sabina naturally also noticed Su''en.


    The subus master-servant contract allowed them to sense each other within a certain distance, and even with Su''en wearing a mask, she recognized him at a nce, throwing him a meaningful wink and a flirtatious smile.


    Perhaps because she was too tired from fleeing, the noise soon quieted down, and people gradually returned to their tents to rest.


    ***


    Su''en returned to his tent.


    He meditated in the tent.


    About half an hourter, he heard a series of soft footsteps approaching from afar.


    Su''en sensed who it was and did not react.


    At that moment, he saw a cloaked figure sneakily lift the tent and crawl in.


    Lifting the cloak, it was none other than the alluring red-haired woman, Sabina.


    This big sister of the gang usually had underlings following her at all times, but this time the Steam Party''s experts who came were all apanying their patrons on the hunt, and almost all died in the ruins. There was also a first-tier squad leader and more than a dozen ordinary gang members.


    But Sabina was proficient in mental secret arts. If she wanted toe out, those people wouldn''t notice at all, so she boldly took the initiative toe over.


    Upon entering the tent, she casually set up a soundproof barrier.


    Because it was a single-person tent, the space was very narrow, and another person made it feel crowded.


    Sabina didn''t stand on ceremony, removed her cloak, and clung to him.


    Under the cloak, she wore a very thin, sexy low-cut silk dress, seemingly dressed up beforeing. This touch was warm and smooth, withrge patches of silky skin in the palm.


    Probably because she had be familiar over time, Sabina had thoroughly understood her master''s temperament and became increasingly "bold."


    She did not hesitate to disy her stunning figure, hugging Su''en, but also clearly understood her ce, coquettishly saying in a servant-like tone, "Oh, sir~ I was worried about you encountering danger before... It''s so good to see you."


    As she spoke, whether it was idental or intentional, the straps of her long dress suddenly slipped down.


    A pair of proud peaks were immediately exposed to the air, standing tall.


    Sabina didn''t mind at all, blinked, and asked softly, "Sir, you''ve been walking all day. Would you like a massage?"


    "Mm."


    Su''en smiled and nodded, lying t on the sleeping bag.


    A pair of hands caressed up from her thighs, from tender and smooth to firm, then climbing to the peak, grasping a handful.


    Sabina''s eyes were seductive, and she didn''t mind. In fact, to make it easier for Su''en to reach, she even lowered her body further.


    Her slender hands slowly rxed Su''en''s muscles.


    For a time, a faint pink fragrance filled the tent.


    The tent had a soundproof barrier, so outsiders couldn''t hear the sultry sounds.


    Because people asionally entered the camp, the faint movements in the tent were also imperceptible.


    ***


    After a while.


    Inside the tent.


    Sabina was drenched in fragrant sweat, her skin glowing with a special pink halo unique to subi. And on her face, there was a special radiance of vitality.


    Suddenly, she sensed something, a flicker of unusual emotion in her eyes, and she said with full charm, "Oh~ Master, I feel like you''ve suddenly be so strong~"


    "Heh..."


    Su''en, lying on his back, listened to Sabina''s words and chuckled.


    He thought it was just a flirtatious remark.


    But unexpectedly, the flirtation was real, and so were her words.


    "I''m serious~"


    Sabina blinked, knowing he misunderstood, and chided with augh, "I feel like your strength has increased a lotpared to before."


    "???"


    Su''en, hearing the tone was not joking, was slightly puzzled.


    This trip to the ruins had harvested so many abilities andprehended a lot of high-tierw knowledge. He had finally mastered mental secret arts, and his strength had indeed surged a great deal.


    But he hadn''t said anything, so how did she know?


    Sabina: "Didn''t I tell youst time... We subi have some innate secret arts, and when you, Master, be stronger, I can benefit as well. Just now, I suddenly felt a realm that hadn''t budged in a long time has broken through."


    Su''en listened with some curiosity, also recalling that Sabina had mentioned such a secret cultivation method before.


    Sabina thought carefully, relishing the sensation, and confirmed, "It''s so magical... I feel like I suddenly understand some third-tierw powers. Huh, strange, Master, have you broken through to the third tier?"


    After a pause, she looked at Su''en, a hint of suggestiveness shing in her sparkling eyes, and added, "I''m not sure... but I feel that the enlightenment came from you."


    "..."


    Hearing this, Su''en finally understood.


    Having harvested the souls of several high-tier professionals, he indeed had insights into third-tierws, even fragments of fourth and fifth tiers.


    Third-tier professionals need to grasp some aspects ofws, which are about perception and understanding, hard to describe. Even if spoken out loud, others might not be able to act on it; they have to prehend" it themselves.


    Therefore, the third tier is a significant threshold.


    Otherwise, the third tiers in Old Lingdun wouldn''t be called the "ceiling" of professionals, so rare.


    But now, Sabina has personally experienced it? Through this secret cultivation method?


    Looking at it this way...


    The subus''s innate ability and his Death Harvester have some simrities!


    Su''en was very clear that he hadn''t lost any knowledge,


    And like "sharing" that understanding, through the subus''s secret cultivation method, Sabina suddenly understood.


    "Heh..."


    Thinking this, Su''en chuckled.


    Sabina understood his smile, blinked with surprise, and said, "Ah, Master, have you really reached the third tier?"


    Su''en shook his head, "No, I haven''t advanced to the third tier. But your enlightenment indeed came from me."


    "Really?"


    Hearing this, Sabina''s eyes sparkled with curiosity.


    It wasn''t doubt, but joy.


    But she was also smart, not prying into Su''en''s secrets, only suggestively saying, "Master, can Ie to see you often from now on?"


    The fate of a subus, indeed, is to rely on a powerful demon lord.


    "..."


    Su''en didn''t speak, just patted her head as if rewarding a well-behaved maid.


    Sabina understood and showed a coquettishly grateful smile, "Thank you, Master."


    After another tender moment,


    Su''en remembered something and said, "By the way, there''s something you might want to know. Severus Gerald is dead. Also, the entire team of Princess Theresa has been wiped out."


    Hearing this, Sabina''s face instantly became a kaleidoscope of colors, "You... You killed Severus Gerald?!"


    She clearly remembered that the only condition for signing the master-servant contract was to eliminate the leader of the Umbre organization.


    She hadn''t expected it to happen so soon,


    <em>He... had actually done it?</em>


    And Princess Theresa was dead too?


    How could it be!

 Chapter 212: Return to the city

    Chapter 212: Return to the city<hr>


    "Sir, you..."


    Sabina listened to Su''en''s words, her face filled with disbelief.


    The information she heard was so oundish that she didn''t even know how to begin to respond.


    Although she didn''t know just how strong the "forensic" Severus Gerald was, the information she had gathered indicated that his abilities were very peculiar, and he was definitely one of the top powerhouses in Old London, with strength far surpassing that of an ordinary third-tier powerhouse.


    But now, he was killed?


    Who could have killed him?


    Could it be that someone from the Mirror organization helped?


    For a moment, her mind was flooded with countless doubts.


    Although Su''en did not exin the details, he had made a pact with Sabina when they signed the master-servant contract, so he said, "Gerald indeed died by my hand."


    Although Sabina would not question her "master," hearing this made her heart tremble...


    He... he killed him with his own hands?


    Just how strong must her master be?


    Thinking back to the insights she had during her secret cultivation, she suddenly understood something else.


    Her master was far more mysterious and stronger than she had realized.


    He was not at the level of an ordinary second-tier professional!


    The shock in her eyes shed by, and Sabina''s expression returned to normal.


    She clearly knew her ce and wouldn''t ask questions that she shouldn''t.


    From the moment the master-servant contract was signed, she knew that her future was bound to be tied to this "Great Demon King."


    The stronger the master, the more promising her future.


    As thoughts raced through her mind, Sabina suddenly felt a sense of relief and murmured to herself, "He''s been killed..."


    The heavy grudges of the past, gone like smoke in the wind.


    Suddenly, she felt as if there was only this master in front of her in the world.


    ***


    The tent glowed with a faint light.


    Sabina''s graceful figure was fully exposed to the air, her skin so pale and smooth that it shone like jade under the dim light, a vision of lustrous beauty.


    The two were chatting while their actions continued unabated.


    The flickering light cast dancing shadows of Sabina''s figure on the tent.


    But because the topic of conversation was somewhat serious, the rhythm of Sabina''s waist movement also became gentle and soothing, her fiery red wavy hair glistening, some strands covering her chest, others draped over her fragrant shoulders...


    Su''en could clearly feel her body temperature rising.


    In the small single-person tent, one could clearly hear the faint sound of breathing.


    This charming mafiady always disyed the perfect amount of allure, no matter the atmosphere.


    Su''en also enjoyed thisfortable and rxing time, as this subus maid always brought him the ultimate pleasure.


    He continued, "With Gerald dead and Theresa''s forces wiped out, there might be a big move from the ck Tower. Be careful on your own."


    Without saying much more, Sabina, the senior intelligence chief, naturally knew how to keep herself safe.


    With such a big incident this time, and the daughter of a duke dying here, it was no surprise that Old London would face a major purge.


    But it wasn''t a big problem.


    Because he guessed that Mr. Mirror and his people already had a n to "storm the tower."


    With so many shocking pieces of news, Sabina calmed downpletely.


    She responded with a "Hmm~"


    It sounded like an acknowledgment, but the coquettish tone was more like praise for a pleasurable experience.


    She knew some of the intelligence from the ducal mansion.


    But since her authority was mostly in the outer city, she couldn''t ess the detailed intelligence. She guessed that only a few top officials in the Umbre organization, led by Gerald, knew the specific details of Princess Theresa''s underground hunting expedition.


    Although she believed that no one in Old London should have been able to kill Princess Theresa and her party.


    But if the master said they were killed, then they were definitely killed.


    She didn''t ask further.


    Now that the people were dead, what she wanted to consider was making some arrangements in advance, finding a way to avoid being implicated.


    At that moment, Su''en thought of something and said, "There''s one more thing... I want to ask you about your ns for the future."


    Although his tone was still indifferent, Sabina could hear the seriousness in his words and blinked at him.


    Su''en didn''t beat around the bush and said, "Do you know that there''s a vast world above the ck Tower..."


    ***


    Su''en briefly revealed the biggest secret of Old London.


    This underground was a ce of exile; they were all miners for Duke Raphael.


    The outside world was vast, and Su''en was definitely going to take a look.


    He felt it necessary to inform Sabina: "So, I want to ask you, what are your thoughts for the future?"


    Without any hesitation, Sabina responded, "Sir, I am your servant. Naturally, wherever you go, I will follow."


    Actually, as a major in the Umbre organization, Sabina also knew some fragmented intelligence and had some guesses.


    The failed rebellion fifty years ago, and the many subsequent silencing operations, all had confidential files within the Umbre organization.


    She had guessed some of the truth.


    But since it was a taboo topic, no one dared to think too deeply about it.


    Now that she knew this "fact" from Su''en''s mouth, Sabina realized that this underground world was probably going to undergo a huge change.


    Her own fate would also take a significant turn.


    However, she was even clearer about one thing: there would never be a shortage of women by a strong man''s side.


    The followers of the capable are also strong.


    This was an ancient proverb circting in Old London.


    To be valued, one must have value.


    After a pause, Sabina seemed a bit tired and changed her position,zily pressing her upper body against Su''en''s chest.


    The gentle touch, the pressure, the distortion.


    Her beautiful eyes rippled as she continued, "Sir, I am skilled in intelligence work. I can be your ears and eyes. Just give me a little time, and no matter where, I can build you an intelligencework. The moreplex the power structure, the easier it is. If possible, I think the capital of the Luyin Empire that you mentioned would be the most suitable ce..."


    Listening to her, Su''en''s expression became thoughtful.


    He had no doubt about Sabina''s abilities. Hearing her simple description, it seemed she had already nned her future direction. As always, Su''en didn''t need to worry.


    Although she was a servant, Sabina''s abilities were to his liking, and her execution was strong. Su''en felt she was very handy to use.


    But if she were just a maid to warm his bed, she would be dispensable. Su''en wouldn''t be able to carry a vase around in the future.


    Now that she spoke like this, it was just right.


    Although Su''en didn''t know what he would encounter in the future.


    As a transmigrator, he was very clear about the importance of valuing intelligence.


    No matter what he was going to do in the future, intelligence was indispensable.


    Su''en nodded, approving of this idea: "Hmm."


    Sabina read the "satisfaction" in Su''en''s eyes and smiled, "Ah, sir, there seem to be many strong people outside. I also need to work hard in my cultivation..."


    Su''en smiled, the talent of a subus in cultivation... indeed not bad.


    ***


    Sabina was, after all, the big sister of the Steam Party. She could sneak out, but she couldn''t stay too long.


    After a couple of hours of activity, a cloaked figure quietly slipped out of the single-person tent.


    Most people in the camp were exhausted, and snoring sounds were everywhere.


    No one paid attention to the figure that disappeared into the darkness.


    Sabina''s massage skills were impable, and Su''en felt refreshed.


    He had nned to continue meditating, but without warning, a glowing little head suddenly popped out of the canvas tent.


    This scene was truly eerie.


    Completely silent, even with Su''en''s current perception being so sensitive that he could detect the sound of an insect''s wings within a certain range, or feel someone''s gaze...


    Yet, at such a close distance, he had no perception at all.


    "Mr. Su''en, are you done with your business?"


    Waiting for that silveryugh to ring in his ear, Su''en suddenly opened his eyes, instinctively startled.


    At a nce, he recognized the quirky little face and realized who it was, and the wariness in his heart dissipated.


    "Pestoya, what brings you here?"


    Su''en twitched the corner of his eye, feeling slightly awkward. Being in a ghostly state, indeed, made it convenient to go anywhere.


    However, if she hade a few minutes earlier, Sabina might not have left yet, and she would have barged in...


    Pestoya blinked, and seeing no one else in the tent, she moved her body in as well, saying, "I sensed you were here earlier and wanted toe find you. But Ophelia said you were busy with something and told me toeter..."


    Su''en: "..."


    Ophelia?


    It really was Mr. Mirror...


    Hearing this name, he immediately knew who this ghostly miss was referring to.


    But at the same time, he felt even more peculiar.


    It seemed there was no privacy in front of the big shot who was a suspected seventh-tier professional.


    It felt as if the recent tussle with Sabina had been broadcast live for someone to watch.


    Pestoya spoke, seemingly feeling that she had waited for a long time, and her tone was slightly grievous as sheined, "Why did your conversation take so long..."


    She hade eagerly to talk to him, only to find him busy.


    Su''en didn''t dare to dwell on this topic.


    In terms of seniority, this was either his senior sister or junior sister.


    He instead asked, "Pestoya, did youe to see me for something?"


    "Oh."


    Pestoya seemed to remember something and said, "I came to say thank you~ Thank you for the ring you sent me."


    Saying that, she showed off the ring on her hand like a treasured possession.


    The tent was narrow, but fortunately, this ghostly girl wasn''t tall. She floated in front of Su''en.


    She seemed interested in everything in the tent, asionally touching the tentmp and looking at the books piled to one side.


    Su''en said, "You don''t have to thank me. That was something the teacher entrusted me to give you."


    As he spoke, he also spread his hand and showed the ring on his hand.


    It seemed that Mr. Mirror''s n was very sessful, and Pestoya seemed to have fully recovered.


    Pestoya touched the ring and said, "Oh~ Did mom take you as a disciple?"


    "Yep."


    Su''en nodded.


    The heart knot resolved, Pestoya seemed very cheerful, always wearing a happy smile on her little face.


    She said, batting her crystal-clearrge eyes, "Are you my junior brother now?"


    Su''en wasn''t too serious and smiled, "Hmm... more like a senior brother. After all, the teacher said to take care of you."


    Pestoya pulled down her lower eyelids with her index fingers, making a tongue-sticking-out face, and said unwillingly, "No way, you''re clearly a thousand years younger than me. You should call me senior sister!"


    "Hehe..."


    Su''en smiled and shrugged, not minding.


    Without a doubt, this ghostly miss''s future rank would be frighteningly high.


    It was very likely that he would be under her protection, so calling her senior sister was fine, and he wouldn''t be at a loss.


    The two chatted for a bit more, and then Pestoya suddenly took out a butterfly brooch, "Here~ I''m also giving you something. Don''t lose it again this time."


    After all, Su''en was the only friend she had made during her thousand years of gloomy imprisonment.


    In her heart, he held an extraordinary special ce.


    "Oh."


    Su''en looked at the brooch, feeling somewhat embarrassed.


    He was supposed to find it himself, but then Theresa''s body self-destructed, and the matter was dropped.


    Unexpectedly, it ended up in this girl''s hands again.


    After appraising it, there was no longer any iprehensible information; it was just an ordinary brooch.


    He epted it.


    Su''en also noticed that Pestoya seemed a bit tired, and after a few words, she seemed to have sleepiness creeping up on her, barely able to keep her eyelids up.


    "I''ve been trying so hard to hold on, I wanted to talk to you, but you''ve been dyed for so long..."


    With a faintint, she couldn''t hold on any longer and said, "Alright, no more talking, I''m going to sleep. This time I might sleep for a very long time. When I wake up, I''lle find you to y."


    "Okay."


    Su''en guessed it was probably about digesting what the Fallen Angel had left behind.


    Pestoya waved, "See you next time, Mr. Su''en."


    "Yep, see you next time."


    Su''en said, and habitually stroked the head of the ghostly miss.


    Pestoya didn''t mind, showing her little tiger teeth and smiling brightly at Su''en.


    Then, her figure becamepletely transparent and disappeared.


    Su''en looked at the empty tent, his eyebrows raised.


    Thinking that Mr. Mirror was nearby, he contacted him with themunicator and walked out.


    After all, he still had the spoils of war from before, as well as many Sun God Stones...


    ***


    Due to the fog tide outbreak in the Dawn City ruins, the monsters in the entire cavern were very active.


    The fleeing group, after a brief rest of a few hours, was harassed by monsters again and continued on their way.


    In the following days, they encountered some small-scale monster attacks, but there were no major problems.


    Su''en followed the group, and life became very regr.


    He had obtained arge amount of alchemical materials and the "Puppeteer" profession''s books in the Dawn Important Prison''s cursed space, and he needed a lot of time to study them.


    Now, after developing his brain, he didn''t need to suppress negative emotions and could focus all his attention on learning. Su''en finally felt the joy of learning.


    There was a sense of achievement, and the brain was willing to ept new knowledge, unlike before when he couldn''t understand anything after looking at it for a long time, which was discouraging.


    Theplexity of high-tier alchemy knowledge increased exponentially, especially after the third tier, with dense data and theoretical knowledge that could be overwhelming.


    But Su''en found it fascinating.


    With the double learning aura from Sereya''s Blessing and Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript, reading was like divine assistance.


    He could now maintain a clear mind for a long time and often had moments of "enlightenment," with extremely high learning efficiency.


    After harvesting the soul shards of rk and Oliver, two elite groups, he had a very solid grasp of knowledge below the third tier.


    With this foundation, he could quickly get started with fourth-tier knowledge.


    He was also learning "Runic Script," nning to make a batch of new puppet dolls...


    He also nned to try enchanting the witch''s hair with runes, giving the threads the sharpness and toughness of a de...


    The runes on the zombies could also be upgraded, using higher-level runes to make the bodies stronger and more agile...


    Every moment was precious. Su''en was voraciously learning, and his knowledge reserves were visibly soaring.


    On the other hand.


    Sabina''s "cultivation" was also diligent.


    After setting up camp, a mysterious cloaked person would always sneak into Su''en''s tent.


    She might bete, but she never missed a session.


    It also added some fun to Su''en''s somewhat monotonous study life.


    Moreover, to everyone''s amazement, Sabina, after days of hard work, actually managed to break through the long-standing bottleneck of the third tier!


    ***


    The fleeing group grewrger andrger, expanding from the initial thousands to tens of thousands, stretching for dozens of kilometers.


    The Dawn Ruins had beenpletely destroyed, and the fog-filled underground had be a paradise for monsters. This grand national hunting expedition hade to an end.


    No one dared to venture into the depths of the fog-shrouded cavern anymore. The fog might persist for many years.


    Many secrets were also buried underground.


    One day, the fleeing group finally reached Old London.


    On the walls of Old London.


    A pale-faced youth, surrounded by a group of burly men in suits, scrutinized the people entering the city.


    Beside the youth, a maid carefully drew a few drops of blood from his finger with a fine needle and handed it to the ck-faced old man in an expensive robe.


    The old man smeared the blood on the crystal ball in front of him and chanted. He was clearly performing a very sophisticated "Bloodline Divination."


    The Regalith family had not only sent a team to exorcise for Princess Theresa.


    But also these few people.


    At this moment, a butler-looking man in a tailcoat hurriedly walked up the city wall and reported to the pale-faced youth, "Master Evan, we just received urate news. The ruins have been engulfed by the fog tide, and Princess Theresa''s team has gone missing. The exorcist master, Master Matik, brought by the family has also lost contact. It seems likely that an ident has urred. We don''t know if it''s because of the fog tide or that evil spirit..."


    "Forget it, none of that matters anymore."


    Hearing this, the pale-faced youth''s expression was not good, and he said, "Have you confirmed it? Is Feick really that wanted criminal Su''en?"


    The butler continued, "It''s confirmed! Both the inner and outer cities have been divined, and he''s not in the city. The divination shows he''s still alive, so the only possibility is that he went hunting with the hunting group. He should be returning with them this time..."


    The pale-faced youth listened and frowned even more, "This coup failed, the Bonaparte regime was restored, the empress ascended to the throne, and the main family will definitely regain control. We absolutely cannot let that guy live to get out..."


    The butler listened silently, nodding from time to time.


    At this moment, the divination ended.


    The pale-faced youth looked over and asked, "Master Card, how did the divination go?"


    The ck-faced robe sorcerer shook his head, "I''ve tried three different divination methods, but the results of this assassination attempt are still very vague. I suspect that Feick may have a high-tier cursed object interfering. The only thing I can confirm is that if he appears within a three-kilometer range, I can pinpoint his location..."


    The pale-faced youth thought of something and nodded, "Thank you for your hard work, Master Card."


    After a pause, he spoke with a hint of disdain, "It must be that <em>[Hypnos''s Night Scythe]</em>. I heard that guy used that scythe to kill quite a few second-tier professionals, making quite a name for himself in Old London."


    The robe sorcerer shook his head slightly, "Master Evan, my divination has never encountered such a situation. It''s probably not just because of that scythe. I think we should not take it lightly."


    The pale-faced youth remained unconvinced, "Heh... no matter how strong, he''s at most a third-tier, right? Commander Milo, to ensure sess, once we find that guy, please take him down with one strike!"


    Upon hearing this, a ripple of light and shadow stirred beside the pale-faced youth, and a cold response came through, "Yes, young master!"


    The scene was set for a confrontation, with the pieces moving into ce. The walls of Old London stood silent, bearing witness to the schemes and the anticipation of a hunt that was about to unfold.

 Chapter 213: Mr. Mirror, save me!

    Chapter 213: Mr. Mirror, save me!<hr>


    Su''en waspletely engrossed in the study of alchemical knowledge.


    He mingled with the refugees and, before he knew it, found himself back in Old Lingdun.


    Theplete annihtion of Princess Theresa''s wilderness hunting party had caused a stir, and with the Duke''s residence demanding ountability, many in the power structures of Old Lingdun, especially the intelligence-gathering Umbre Organization, would face death. With such a major incident and no intelligence in their hands, they were already condemned.


    Sabina, the head of the intelligence officers in the outer city, was barely involved in this mission and thus not deeply implicated.


    However, she needed to make preparations to distance herself from the incident as much as possible, so she took the lead and returned to the city.


    Su''en didn''t need to worry about his maid, Sabina; her methods were far more formidable than her appearance suggested.


    ***


    From a distance, the sight of Old Lingdun''s towering city walls brought relief to everyone.


    The city was a dazzling array of lights, illuminating the pitch-ck underworld.


    The glow dispelled the gloom, and the lights provided a strong sense of security.


    The ecstatic joy of surviving disaster was evident on everyone''s faces.


    "Phew... finally back alive."


    "Yeah, it''s like we''ve snatched our lives back from the jaws of death. I''m nevering back to this cursed dungeon, even if it kills me..."


    "Hahaha... we''ve made enough from this wilderness hunt, we don''t have to leave the city for the rest of our lives. Jack, deputy leader, let''s take our brothers to the pleasure houses on Norton Street in the south city and soak it up for a month!"


    The outer city wilderness hunters were ustomed to their trade; survival meant a big profit.


    Now that they had made money, they excitedly hurried towards the city.


    But there was both joy and sorrow.


    The lords anddies of the inner city''s high society were downcast.


    They didn''tck money and had no need to risk their lives hunting in the wilderness; they would never have ventured into the dangerous dungeons if not for the Duke''s orders.


    They were now close to the city, with wide roads ahead.


    Various luxurious steam carriages waited by the roadside, belonging to the weing parties of the major families from the inner city.


    It was somewhat reminiscent of the airport pick-up scenes from Su''en''s previous life.


    Servants and butlers held up their family''s signs, and even the well-dressed lords anddies were present in person, each eagerly awaiting the return of their own.


    Those who saw their people rejoiced, while those who did not grew increasingly desperate.


    Many had gone to hunt in the underground wilderness, but it was estimated that less than twenty percent had returned.


    "Has anyone seen our Firefox Commerce''s people?"


    "Sir, have you seen the Turner family''s party?"


    "Damn it! Captain Bob, why are only a few of you back, where is the miss? Damn it, what''s the use of you living if the miss hasn''t returned? Take them to the gallows!"


    "Oh, Mr. Sandru, have you seen my little Ondo?"


    "Sorry, Mrs. Leonard. Before the fog tide erupted, I heard that Master Ondo''s team was still in the ruins, probably didn''t make it in time..."


    "Doctor! Doctor! Mrs. Leonard has fainted!"


    Bad news kepting, and the scene was filled with wails.


    ***


    Dressed as a wilderness hunter, Su''en blended into the crowd, undisturbed, and made his way towards Old Lingdun.


    For some reason, he felt a strange sensation today, as if someone was thinking of him from the shadows.


    Having read so many alchemical texts and learned much about mysticism, Su''en knew this was not a good sign.


    After practicing secret methods to strengthen his spirit, his mind had be more steadfast, meaning that inexplicable sensations, hallucinations, and misperceptions should diminish.


    Moreover, he would possess a<em> "passive perception"</em> ability, usually alerting him to mystical spells.


    If such feelings arose, it meant something bad was indeed happening.


    For instance, being the target of divination or a curse!


    And this feeling became more frequent the closer he got to Old Lingdun.


    Su''en frowned, muttering to himself, "Strange... Theresa''s team was annihted by the Fallen Angel, so divination shouldn''t fall on me. The Oliver and rk families were wiped out, so I have no enemies left. With Sabina handling the Umbre Organization, even if there were issues, she would have informed me in advance... Who in Old Lingdun could possibly be thinking of me?"


    He quickly ran through potential enemies in his mind.


    After eliminating the unlikely, a sudden thought struck him: "Could it be trouble rted to the original host''s identity?"


    Su''en hadn''t forgotten that since his transmigration, he had been constantly wanted.


    The enemies of the original host not only exiled him to this ck Tower but also sought to eradicate himpletely.


    Upon further thought, if it was divination, he would have sensed it, which meant the other party''s spiritual power wasn''t much higher than his own.


    Probably around the fourth tier?


    If it really was a fourth-tier professional diviner, it could only be someone from the surface.


    After all, if the original host''s family was indeed the dominant "Rega Earth Family" from the fragmented memories Su''en had pieced together, the problem seemed quite serious.


    "Or... could it just be a misperception?"


    Su''en couldn''t be sure whether the feeling was real or just his imagination, but he couldn''t let it stop him from entering the city.


    After all, this was Old Lingdun.


    Even if trouble arose, he was no longer alone; the people from the "Mirror Organization" were all in the city.


    If a fourth or fifth-tier enemy came, it wouldn''t be a threat but rather a delivery of materials.


    Despite this, Su''en remained cautious, constantly extending his perception to guard against being targeted.


    ***


    As Su''en blended into the crowd and approached the walls of Old Lingdun, suddenly, the diviner named Kad on the city wall noticed a sh of light in his crystal ball, revealing an image.


    He hurriedly spoke to the pale-faced youth lounging nearby, "Master Ewen, the target has appeared!"


    Hearing this, Ewen jolted, leaping to his feet and asking urgently, "Where?"


    Kad pointed in a direction, speaking rapidly, "Eleven o''clock, the man in brown leather armor wearing a bulging gas mask!"


    Ewen also spotted the target, his eyes filled with surprise, having waited for days. Hemanded, "Chase him! Captain Milo, he must not escape again!"


    "Yes, young master."


    A response came.


    At that moment, ripples spread through the air as if something had vanished from beside them.


    Just as they noticed, the diviner Kad let out a soft exmation, "Ah... such strong perception! It must be an ability rted to hostile perception. That eight-armed spider spear, that''s the <em>''SS wanted criminal Su''en''</em>."


    Finally, the person was found, and the task arranged by the family was about to bepleted. Ewen rxed slightly.


    He watched the fleeing figure and chuckled, "Hehe, it seems my cousin has been doing quite well underground. Having his memory erased, he still managed to cause such a stir."


    After a pause, he snorted disdainfully through his nose, "But what if he''s been discovered? Since Captain Milo has him in his sights, at this distance, there''s no way he can escape."


    "Hmm."


    Kad nodded in agreement.


    A fifth-tier professional assassin taking action to hunt down a second-tier target was undoubtedly a sure kill.


    Even if the target had that scythe, the <em>Night''s ck Scythe of Supnos</em>, death was certain!


    ***


    Although Su''en was unaware that he had long been awaited, the few hostile gazes that fell on him from the city wall did not escape his perception.


    Being able to pinpoint him in the crowd without a second thought, Su''en knew there was trouble.


    It seemed his previous spection was about toe true; those seeking the original host''s trouble had arrived!


    He decisively unleashed his eight-armed spider spear and fled into the caverns outside the crowd.


    Despite the enemy being two to three kilometers away, Su''en knew he couldn''t take this lightly.


    As he ran, he sent out a distress signal through hismunication ring.


    Because Su''en had already realized the enemy was very strong!


    Even with strong stealth capabilities and high-speed movement, one would inevitably leave some traces.


    His All-Seeing Eye was particrly sensitive to high-speed targets, naturally capturing the ripples spreading in the air.


    Clearly, a stealthy pursuer was on his tail!


    "This speed, could it be... a fifth-tier assassin?"


    Su''en caught a glimpse of the exaggerated speed and knew he couldn''t escape.


    He didn''t intend to flee.


    Without understanding why the original host was being hunted, even if he made it to the surface, troubles would continue to arise.


    Su''en knew that Mr. Mirror should be in the city, but it would take some time for him to arrive.


    He needed to hold on and not be killed on the spot.


    A second-tier facing a fifth-tier had no chance of victory.


    Su''en wasn''t so arrogant as to think he could face such a high-level expert head-on. He sped his hands together and chanted,<em> "Flesh Alchemy: Hormonal Frenzy!"</em>


    As the spell activated, hormones surged in his body, muscles stimted and swelling with explosive power, his speed increasing dramatically.


    At the same time, another spellpleted, and his skin suddenly shone with a dark golden metallic luster, the gold elements thickening.


    This state was clearly his strongest defensive spell, <em>Vajra</em>!


    Having done all this, Su''en didn''t feel any relief; instead, the sense of impending doom made the hairs on his back stand on end.


    It was as if the scythe of death was already touching his neck, half his life hanging by a thread...


    Su''en''s feet tapped the air, creating continuous<em> "pop" </em>sounds, but even so,pared to a professional assassin specialized in agility and strength, he was still far behind.


    Before long, Su''en darted into an uninhabited cavern.


    The cavern had aplexwork of passages, twisting and turning. With the eight-armed spider spear and spatial teleportation, he could almost ignore obstacles, and if not for shaking off the enemy, at least he could catch his breath.


    But Su''en found that the enemy was getting closer and closer.


    Not only was the eight-armed spider spear adept at obstacle discement, but professional assassins were also skilled at it.


    Climbing walls, burrowing holes, descending pits, swamp traps... none of these could hinder the pursuit of the fifth-tier assassin behind him.


    If it were a third-tier enemy, or even a fourth-tier not specialized in speed, Su''en might have already escaped.


    But facing this opponent, there was no chance of escape.


    "Canine talents? Scent tracking?"


    Su''en caught a glimpse of those faint green eyes; the speed was so fast, and he was still being pursued. Realizing the assassin must have a special tracking talent, no matter how he circled, the assassin followed the same path, confirming the scent tracking ability.


    However, discovering this was meaningless.


    The pressing chase left no room for Su''en to devise any countermeasures.


    The absolute difference in tier couldn''t bepensated for by strategy.


    Seeing that escape was impossible, Su''en chose a rtively spacious cavern and suddenly stopped.


    He sped his hands together, and a hexagram formation lit up in the sky, a massive cross quickly taking shape. Countless silver threads poured down, and with a pull of a scroll, nearly a hundred puppets were already guarding his side.


    ***


    The assassin, seeing Su''en stop, also halted a hundred meters away.


    He squinted, carefully surveying the environment.


    An assassin''s vignce was stronger than most other professionals, and intuition told him to be cautious.


    The previous divinations by Master Kad had yielded no results, indicating that the assassination would not be so simple.


    Moreover, during the chase, he had noticed that this "Mr. Fick" disyed abilities not typical of a second-tier professional.


    It couldn''t be said to be strong...


    In fact, it could be described as bizarrely strong!


    Even on the surface, he had killed countless professionals, but he had never seen a second-tier with such absurd methods.


    Was this the same person from the intelligence reports, merely a puppeteer relying on forbidden items tomit violence?


    Which damn second-tier puppeteer could outrun a third-tier professional assassin!


    He actually mastered the closebat discement secret Step on Air, can you believe it?


    And the bizarre situation of a hundred puppets arrayed before him, if it wasn''t a bluff, would make one mistakenly think they were facing a high-tier grand puppet master!


    Most importantly, thatposure in the face of danger...


    A second-tier facing a fifth-tier, the pressure of tier alone would make most professionals tremble, yet this man not only showed no fear in his eyes but also an unsettling calm.


    Milo suspected that this man had not had his memory erased at all!


    He sized up the web of silver threads and searched for any invisible targets, probing, "Hehe... Mr. Fick, not running anymore?"


    At this distance, there was no rush to act.


    Killing was just a thought away.


    Hearing this address, Su''en knew the other party was indeed after the original host. He kept his expression unchanged and deliberately asked, "Who are you, and why are you after me?"


    After all, he didn''t know how long it would take for Mr. Mirror to arrive, so he might as well stall for time.


    But how astonishing was an assassin''s intuition?


    Just this brief exchange made Milo vaguely realize: <em>he was buying time, waiting for reinforcements!</em>


    Thinking of the previous divination results, he felt something was amiss.


    His gaze shifted subtly, and he continued, "I didn''t expect you to be so strong. Young Master Ewen really underestimated you. If it weren''t for me personallying, others really wouldn''t be able to catch you..."


    Assassins were professionals who would do anything to achieve their goals, cunning and never underestimating their opponents.


    Although he was facing a second-tier professional, he didn''t let his guard down.


    Even as he spoke, his figure had already dissipated before their eyes.


    In the blink of an eye, he covered dozens of meters, a speed that left no time for reaction!


    Faster than Severus Gerald in his ''ck Joker'' state!


    ***


    Su''en''s eyes caught the sign of his movement, and the ck-glowing dagger was already before him, eximing in his heart, "Speed burst alchemy imnt!"


    Although he had seen fifth-tier professionals take action before, it was always from the sidelines.


    This time, he finally experienced the overwhelming pressure of a fifth-tier powerhouse.


    The pressure of being three whole tiers apart made him feel a sense of futility, as if any effort was in vain.


    At this moment, he felt the rity of his soul as death approached.


    Su''en''s All-Seeing Eye saw the enemy''s advance, but his body couldn''t keep up.


    He wanted to dodge, to use the puppets as a shield, but it was toote.


    Milo appeared in front of Su''en like teleportation, coldly raising his dagger.


    With a <em>"swish,"</em> the de slid past, easily severing the neck of "Su''en" amidst the puppets, a head rolling to the ground.


    However, there was no blood.


    Upon closer inspection, it was a wooden head.


    In fact, Milo had noticed the texture was off as soon as he struck.


    He narrowed his eyes, "Puppet trickery? You were prepared all along..."


    Milo sneered inwardly.


    Although he had dodged the de, the oue wouldn''t change!


    Almost simultaneously with the puppet being struck, a few meters away, a "trick doll" suddenly reached into the void and yanked, <em>"Silk Control Secret Art: Cocoon!"</em>


    Su''en didn''t expect his attack to harm the opponent; his goal was to control him first.


    With a tug, countless transparent threads suddenly converged and appeared, crisscrossing and weaving into a series ofs,yer uponyer, rapidly forming a "cocoon" that enveloped the assassin!


    Su''en had anticipated the enemy''s sneak attack and used a puppet trick to escape, giving him a moment to act.


    As the cocoon formed, a nearby invisible zombie swung down the ck scythe, aiming to cut the "cocoon" in half with a wide swing.


    However, even with the <em>Watkins'' Pocket Watch</em> doubling his speed, the moment the spatial rift appeared, the ck dagger inside the cocoon shed through theyers, and the shadow shed out.


    Su''en''s silver hair was extremely tough, but the sharpness of the fifth-tierw condensed on the dagger cut through the tightly woven like slicing through mud, failing to control the enemy at all.


    The assassin broke free and reappeared dozens of meters away.


    This time, he had pinpointed Su''en''s true location!


    Seeing the ck scythe miss the assassin, Su''en changed tactics, and a hundred Nightmare Dolls simultaneously vibrated their jaws, emitting a "gaga gaga" eerieughter.


    The creepyughter echoed in the cavern, inescapable.


    Some of these trick dolls were inscribed with third-tier runes, significantly increasing the power of the visual and auditory illusions.


    A hundred trick dolls acting at once, stacking mental illusions, might not control a high-tier professional, but affecting them for a moment was possible.


    Su''en chose this cavern with good acoustics for this very moment.


    Unexpectedly, this well-calcted move had no effect on the enemy at all!


    Upon closer inspection, Milo''s pupils emitted a green glow, and his ears had closed up.


    Such a level of visual and auditory illusions had no effect on him.


    Moreover, even with his hearing and part of his vision blocked, his movements remained agile.


    As Su''en manipted the trick dolls to attack, the dagger once again appeared at his heart.


    Milo was confident in this strike!


    However, the de bizarrely missed again.


    <em>"Huh..."</em> Milo was surprised, watching the figure he had hit suddenly dissipate.


    It wasn''t speed; it was spatial discement!


    "He''s even proficient in spatial spells?"


    A moment of gravity shed through Milo''s mind.


    But as an experienced old-school assassin, hisbat experience was vast.


    Although surprised, his hands didn''t slow down.


    Just as the de missed, he had already locked onto Su''en''s position again.


    ***


    This was the spatial instant-cast spell Su''en had obtained from Mr. ck  <em>Blink</em>.


    He had just mastered it two days ago, and now it was being put to use.


    But this life-saving spell could only disce him over a very short distance. The few meters of Blink were nothing to a fifth-tier assassin''s agility.


    Watching the ck-glowing dagger slice towards him again, Su''en desperately dodged, but the de still grazed his abdomen, cutting through the dark golden skin.


    Like a de through leather, the cut left a two-finger-deep wound, and a jet of blood sprayed out.


    It was a close brush with death.


    At that moment, Su''en truly felt the terror of life hanging by a thread.


    He quickly blinked again.


    But what shocked Milo even more was his reaction to the cut: <em>"Vajra? A third-tierw?!"</em>


    During the chase, he had thought he was overestimating "Mr. Fick," but it turned out he had underestimated him.


    The strike he had just delivered was imbued with a fifth-tier windw. Normally, it would have sliced through a second-tier like cutting through butter.


    Even if it hit the waist, the sharpness of the de should have bisected a second-tier professional instantly!


    But what did he see?


    He had assumed the golden glow on Su''en''s skin was a simr spell, but it turned out to be the real Vajra.


    A high-tier flesh alchemy spell that only fourth or even fifth-tier physical professionals could master proficiently.


    And what shocked him the most was the undeniable presence of aplete third-tier goldw in the Vajra!


    A second-tier professional knew Vajra and had even mastered aplete third-tierw?


    "This kid is tricky! I must kill him quickly!"


    Milo sensed something was wrong.


    All the bizarre signs indicated that there was something very unusual about this man.


    No matter how talented a person was, they couldn''t possess these abilities.


    So... there must be a powerful figure behind him!


    How could there be a powerhouse in this cavern capable of nurturing such a "monster"?


    The thought was terrifying, and he broke into a cold sweat.


    With that thought, his de became even sharper.


    ***


    The enemy''s offensive became more fierce.


    On the other hand, Su''en was in a dire state.


    He was barely managing, and his body was covered in cuts. If not for his robust physique, some of the trickier wounds could have been fatal.


    Surviving so many rounds in the hands of a fifth-tier professional assassin was no small feat.


    Such a record, not just for a second-tier professional but even for a third-tier, would be a source of pride.


    Now, having exhausted all his methods just to stay alive, the enemy had figured out all his abilities.


    Life and death hung by a thread.


    If the fight continued, Su''en knew he was doomed.


    Finally, Su''en, caring not for his dignity, shouted at the top of his lungs, <em>"Mr. Mirror, save me!"</em>

 Chapter 214: Some world background

    Chapter 214: Some world background<hr>


    Su''en had witnessed Mr. Mirror''s capabilities and knew she possessed a bizarre discement technique that rivaled spatial teleportation.


    It was like the projection of light and shadow from a mirror; once reflected, she was there.


    He didn''t know the extent of her discement range, buting from Old Lingdun, it certainly wouldn''t take long.


    Su''en was almost certain Mr. Mirror had arrived.


    He even suspected she had been there for a while, watching the fight from the sidelines.


    But since it was just spection, he felt uneasy.


    What if she hadn''te?


    The enemy''s killing intent was palpable, forcing Su''en to fight with all his might...


    But to bait the fish, someone had to be there to reel it in.


    ***


    With Su''en''s shout, Milo was frightened, thinking there must be reinforcements.


    He wanted to kill Su''en quickly toplete his mission.


    But the neer was more terrifying than he had anticipated.


    Following that shout, the air around him suddenly became sticky, trapping him like he was in a quagmire, sinking deeper into despair.


    This technique, capable of suppressing even a fifth-tier strength-based assassin, was terrifyingly high in rank.


    What kind of professional could lurk in the depths of the earth?!


    The thought shed through his mind.


    Without hesitation, Milo turned to flee.


    But, how could he possibly escape?


    Since Su''en had lured him to this deserted cavern, the goal was to ensure the battle went unnoticed.


    Mr. Mirror could act without restraint.


    Previously, Mr. Mirror couldn''t act recklessly for fear of exposing herself.


    Not because she feared the ck Tower finding out, but rather the Fallen Angel bing aware.


    Now that the threat of Pestoya had been thoroughly resolved, there were no more concerns.


    As long as the kill was clean, there wouldn''t be a problem.


    Watching his enemy flee, Su''en also breathed a sigh of relief. His wounds were severe, flesh turned inside out, and in some ces, white bone was visible  it was quite horrific.


    But as long as he wasn''t dead on the spot, it wasn''t a big issue.


    He used the Warlock''s seal, and the green Hexagram of the Life Alchemy technique lit up. He threw down dozens of curse crystals, and both the poison and wounds began to heal rapidly.


    This "money-saving" emergency technique was something Su''en had mastered particrly well.


    Since Mr. Mirror had personally intervened, there was no suspense in the subsequent battle.


    After waiting a while and hearing the noise diminish, Su''en followed the trail.


    He wasn''t there to join the fight but to collect the corpse.


    Sure enough, by the time he arrived, he saw that the assassin had already be a corpse. The wounds on the body were horrific, with shards like broken ss embedded everywhere, as if he had been torn apart.


    When Su''en arrived, he saw Mr. Mirror in a cloak and greeted her, "Mr. Mirror."


    Mr. Mirror nced at him and nodded, "Hmm."


    Before knowing Mr. Mirror''s identity, Su''en always felt a sense of awe towards this top-tier professional who had lived for a thousand years.


    But after hearing from Pestoya that her name was "Ophelia," and confirming her identity, the respect remained, but the mystique was gone.


    After all, by seniority, he should call her... Sister!


    If he wasn''t mistaken, Mr. Mirror''s real name was "Ophelia Fei Isaac." She was Sir Isaac''s eldest daughter, Pestoya''s biological sister!


    Su''en remembered the first day he crossed over, in the cursed space of Storm Manor, he saw a family portrait in the study with that name on it.


    Later, Pestoya invited him to the "Bloody Banquet." At that time, three important people to her were turned into dolls on the dining table. Besides Sir Isaac and Sereya, there was also a youngdy  <em>it was her.</em>


    Su''en hadn''t thought about it before, just didn''t expect she had truly lived for a thousand years.


    Since Su''en was taken as a disciple by Sereya, his seniority was suddenly elevated, making him a peer of Mr. Mirror.


    Their rtionship was also very close.


    Shouting that way was probably like calling for a parent when he couldn''t win a fight, nothing to be embarrassed about.


    ***


    Mr. Mirror left the corpse, naturally waiting for Su''en to harvest the memory.


    Su''en didn''t hesitate and went straight over to devour the grey mist.


    <em>"You have obtained ''Milo Jars'' memory fragments*7''"</em>


    <em>"You have gained a piece of information: ''I didn''t expect the new policy to fail... Killing this Fick, for the survival of the Rega Land family, the n council won''t hold us ountable...''"</em>


    <em>"You haveprehended a vast amount of assassination knowledge."</em>


    <em>"You have acquired ''Aerial Kick Technique'', and understood the movement skill [Levitating Chain Kicks]"</em>


    <em>"You have mastered arge amount of ''1~5 tier Alchemy knowledge''"</em>


    <em>"You have grasped an iplete fifth-tier wind element principle, mastering the elemental condensation technique [Secret Art: Wind Element sh]"</em>


    <em>"You have gained arge amount of assassinbat experience,bat experience +411"</em>


    <em>"Spiritual power +4.6"</em>


    Any professional capable of advancing to the fifth tier is a person of extraordinary talent.


    This guy''s soul fragments certainly didn''t disappoint.


    As expected, he harvested many assassin abilities, but those assassin skills required physical attributes to support them. Although Su''en could use them, the power was far from that of a professional assassin, somewhat superfluous.


    However, the assassin skills were secondary; the most important gain was those high-tier iplete wind element principles!


    "Wind Element sh?"


    Su''en digested the memory and immediately understood the potency of this alchemy technique.


    This wasn''t a skill just anyone could learn; it was a subtle understanding of elemental maniption.


    Simr to the Step of Emptiness, it couldn''t be learned by study alone; it required a lot of time to prehend."


    It was a skill that professionals below the third tier could not possess.


    If [Diamond Body] was about addingyers of gold element barriers to the body, then [Wind Element sh] was like adding a "sharp" temporary enchantment to the body, or a weapon.


    The assassin could easily cut through Su''en''s threads because of the dagger''s sharpness, but more importantly, because of this elemental "cutting" attribute.


    This was a very useful and powerful high-tier technique.


    Perfect for cutting through tough defenses, ideal for slicing and breaking through!


    "If I conduct it through the threads to the puppet, the puppet''s physical damage capability would be greatly enhanced..."


    Su''en had already thought of the practicalbat application of this techniquebined with his puppets.


    Relying solely on the sharpness of a de was bing insufficient in high-tier professional battles.


    Any enemy with a few protective techniques would make it difficult to break through their defenses.


    But the defense-breaking effect of the same-tier<em> [Wind Element sh]</em> was at least several times higher than that of <em>[Sharpness Runes]!</em>


    Combined, they perfectlypensated for the puppets''ck of breaking power.


    Gaining knowledge was one part, by stripping the "Assassin Commander" of the Rega Land family,


    Su''en finally understood the identity of the original owner.


    ***


    After stripping some memory fragments before, and now stripping some more, he had roughly pieced together the map of the surface world.


    The surface world had two major empires, one was the ind nation "Royal Dynasty of Luyin," and the other was the "Mafa Mechanical Empire" on the eastern maind.


    The two empires faced each other across the sea, separated by the Luyin Strait.


    Besides these, there were various small kingdoms, duchies, and independent territories.


    But most were affiliated with the two major empires.


    Beyond these, the northern frigidnds had vast ice fields known as the "Barbaric Lands," with arctic trolls, orcs, giants, and barbarians active.


    That region was synonymous with chaos, primitiveness, and savagery.


    "The King of the Northern Sea," Oleg, and his group of Viking pirates came from the northern ice fields.


    Of course, this was just what the two empires and their nearby known territories were aware of, and Su''en''s stripped memories were limited to the areas where humans were active.


    This world had too many unknowns.


    To the south of Mafa, there was the "Demonic Beast Mountain Range," an endless mountainous area. There lived various demonic beasts, and legends spoke of centaurs, mountain dwarves, and half-elves... these ancient intelligent races.


    Further, to the west of the Royal Dynasty of Luyin, in the vast ocean, no one knew where the end of the sea was. It was a paradise for oceanic races and various sea monsters. Ancient adventurers'' logs and traveling bards'' songs told of inds where dragons dwelled, inds with beautiful serpent women, and inds with sealed evil gods... and so on.


    Deep in the seay endless treasures covered by the dust of history, sunken ships filled with gold and silver, treasures from ancient wars, and pirate kings'' loot...


    Or perhaps in some cave onnd, there might be hidden treasures left by ancient civilizations...


    The rich historical heritage added a thickyer of the unknown and mystery to this world.


    Like a thick tome, flipping through one page reveals another even more fascinating page beneath.


    Page by page, one might eventually reach the splendid era of the gods'' creation.


    ***


    The Su''en''s body original owner''s Rega Land family had a rather special status.


    It was a territory that existed under the Royal Dynasty of Luyin, yet different from other territories.


    Strictly speaking, they were exiled royalty, the former royal family of the Mafa Empire.


    Over a hundred years ago, when a mythological dwarven relic was discovered, a technological revolution erupted. Steam machinery and various mechanical technologies sprouted like bamboo after rain.


    A portion of alchemists began to be obsessed with researching various machines.


    The new school of "Mechanical Alchemists" was born.


    They delved into mechanical alchemy, inventing various mechanical equipment. The power of machinery gradually influenced life, and mechanical alchemists used their knowledge to create mech battleships, steam airships, mechanical gear, and various powerful firearms. Even untrainedmoners could have thebat power of professionals with mechanical gear...


    But technological revolutions usually mean conflict with some ancient orders.


    Machines reced manpower, abolished very, and gave rights to themon people...


    The mechanical revolution made the nobles feel their rights were threatened.


    The reason nobles were noble was fundamentally because they had the superiority of enving their own kind.


    Initially, those powerful mechanical alchemists founded the "Mechanical Sect."


    As time went on, this organization''s influence among themon people grew.


    The nobles felt a sense of crisis that the order was about to copse.


    So, the Mafa Emperor at the time, "Rega Land the Eleventh," began to suppress the Mechanical Sect, trying to nip mechanical alchemy in the bud.


    Then... the ending was tragic.


    The mechanical alchemists overthrew the decaying old Mafa Empire, establishing the new Mafa Mechanical Empire.


    And as the royal family, the "Rega Land family" began their exile.


    Eventually, with the support of their old rival, the Royal Dynasty of Luyin, they took a southern ind as their territory, until now.


    And now, the two major empires of the surface world, and the structure of Old Lingdun, were also roughly the same, divided into two factions of alchemists.


    The old school and the new school.


    ***


    "Always thinking of restoring the country, it''s such a cliche...."


    Su''en digested the memory and finally understood why the original owner was being hunted.


    Because they were royalty a hundred years ago, the Rega Land family still took pride in this and even regarded themselves as an ancient family with a status equivalent to the royal families of the two major empires.


    Always thinking of restoring the country, they contacted various forces...


    And because the Mafa Mechanical Empire was growing stronger, the Royal Dynasty of Luyin also had some internal divisions.


    They faced the same situation as the old Mafa Empire; the mechanical revolution would shake the rulers'' power and change the existing social order.


    The key was the defeat in war.


    This war that hadsted a hundred years, from the beginning with the Royal Dynasty of Luyin''s one-sided advantage, to a stalemate in the middle, and now gradually weakening...


    Among peers, the old school alchemists indeed had an absolute advantage inbat power.


    Especially in the circle of top-tier professionals, mechanical warriors would fall further behind.


    But training a third-tier professional takes many years and requires one in a million talent and countless resources;


    To make a third-tier equivalentbat mech, mass production probably only takes a day.


    One can predict the future decline of the Royal Dynasty of Luyin.


    So, a part of the empire also wanted to reform.


    Then came various party struggles.


    The current family head, the original owner''s father, Kelson Rega Land, was a staunch royalist. After all, they were once royalty and naturally wanted to maintain the existing noble order.


    About a year ago, the revolution seeded, the new party came to power, and Emperor Bonaparte IX of Luyin was forced to abdicate, dying of depression not long after.


    Kelson happened to be in the capital and was implicated, detained, awaiting trial.


    His offspring were either exiled or imprisoned, and the original owner was one of the unlucky ones.


    The Rega Land family is now flourishing, with even more members than a hundred years ago.


    Those with this surname in the "Aon Territory" probably number in the tens of thousands.


    With the main family weakened, the branch families grew stronger.


    Thinking the family head was doomed, the branches of the Rega Land family began to act up, vying for power.


    To eliminate future troubles, they nned to kill off all the main family''s offspring.


    Hence, the original owner was exiled and had a bounty on his head.


    But unexpectedly, a few monthster, the plot twisted.


    The Empress returned with a strong hand, suppressing various factions with an iron fist, and the revolution failed, restoring the Bonaparte dynasty.


    And now, the original owner''s father was about to return to the territory...


    It seems the branches had no intention of letting the original family head return alive.


    ***


    As a transmigrator, Su''en had no interest in family infighting.


    He didn''t n to be a "royal descendant."


    But seeing the situation, the other party nned to eradicate them.


    However, it wasn''t a big problem; the surface world was endlessly vast, and avoiding the Rega Land family was easy enough.


    A myriad of thoughts shed through his mind, but only moments passed in reality.


    Mr. Mirror quietly watched Su''en digest the soul fragments.


    Clearly, she had also realized that Su''en had guessed her identity.


    Although her face was unclear, she seemed a bit... resigned.


    Su''en looked at the big shot who hade to save him and sincerely thanked her, "Thank you, Mr. Mirror."


    Mr. Mirror shook her head, seemingly unconcerned, "Not bad."


    Su''en knew she was referring to the previous battle.


    Being able to rescue him so timely meant she had arrived early and had been watching.


    Her purpose was self-evident; naturally, she wanted him to face a fifth-tier enemy himself and feel that pressure.


    Su''en also felt he had handled it quite well; after all, being able to hold on for so long against a fifth-tier as a second-tier was enough to make anyone proud.


    But unexpectedly, after a pause, Mr. Mirror said something profound, "Without experiencing death, you can never understand thews of death, nor can youprehend some things on the ''spirit'' and ''will'' level... Without nurturing spirit and will, it''s like a person without bones, no matter how skilled, the achievement is limited. That''s something no one can exin clearly, not even a [Death Harvester] can harvest it, you can onlyprehend it yourself."


    Hearing this, Su''en knew Mr. Mirror was guiding him towards some high-level cultivation secrets.


    After a brief thought, those words seemed to imprint on his heart, and he immediately had an epiphany.


    He said seriously, "I''ve learned a lot, Mr. Mirror."


    Hearing this, Mr. Mirror shook her head slightly and took the initiative to say, "You should have guessed my identity. When there are no outsiders, you can call me... Sister."


    It was already a peer rtionship, and calling her "Mr." was naturally inappropriate.


    Especially since she was his mother''s disciple.


    Su''en listened and nodded, "Alright, Sister."


    Mr. Mirror didn''t intend to stay long and added, "We need some external information. Emmerich is handling those people on the city wall, so you don''t need to worry about that."


    She paused, looked at Su''en, and added, "And... be careful yourself."


    Su''en nodded.


    With another look, the cloaked figure of Mr. Mirror had already dissipated before his eyes.


    ***


    Su''en looked at the corpse on the ground, silently storing it in his spatial storage.


    He didn''t linger and immediately left the battlefield.


    Although Mr. Mirror''s words were cryptic, the message was clear: <em>A person''s mindset can change in afortable environment, without them realizing it.</em>


    He also immediately understood.


    It''s instinct.


    Su''en was awakened by that sentence.


    When he first crossed over, survival was a problem, and he had to remain vignt at all times.


    Now, having met all these powerful allies, subconsciously, there was a sense of reliance on fort" in his heart.


    If he were alone, or if he was sure Mr. Mirror might not help, he would never have entered the city with doubts.


    Because he was certain Mr. Mirror would help.


    That''s why he thought of taking the opportunity to hunt and harvest a fifth-tier professional...


    Indeed, he was a bit reckless.


    This Sister, though seemingly indifferent, was quite attentive.

 Chapter 215: Mechanical puppet, hair, bubble bath

    Chapter 215: Mechanical puppet, hair, bubble bath<hr>


    Having eliminated several members of the Rega family, Su''en finally rid himself of the nagging feeling of being watched.


    He returned to the main road, blending into the crowd of refugees making their way back, walking unhurriedly towards Old London.


    Gazing at the towering city walls, Su''en couldn''t help but feel a twinge of mncholy.


    Initially, when he was hunted down with nowhere to turn, he had fled the city in a sorry state to seek refuge in the wilderness.


    Now, returning to this once-mysterious metropolis, its veil had beenpletely lifted.


    The ck Tower, the mines, very, exile...


    These were the "truths" that a small-time gangster like him could never have imagined.


    Indeed, the view from the top was different...


    After entering the city, Su''en didn''t wander aimlessly.


    He headed to the Southern Cross Society''s territory and returned to Green Street.


    This was where he felt most at home, a ce offort.


    Fortunately, his current face wasn''t on record with the Umbre Organization, so he could wander the streets without attracting attention.


    The city was as bustling as ever, with factory steam boilers puffing white smoke and people bustling about.


    The disaster at the Dawn Relic must have imed many lives in the inner city. But for themoners of the outer city, the big shots of the inner city were from a different world.


    They continued to eat, drink, and live as if nothing had changed.


    Even a major incident couldn''t stop them from earning their monthly sry of two thousand Lis.


    Su''en found a hotel near Green Street and settled into a routine life.


    He always felt pressed for time, needing to meditate, study, craft, research, and practice...


    Although he was now a second-tier practitioner, he was considered a top-tier expert in Old London. Even against third-tier opponents, he had a fighting chance.


    But this level was far from sufficient in the surface world.


    ording to Mr. Mirror, once Qiantiao and the others advanced to the fourth tier, they would storm the tower.


    Time was of the essence, and Su''en needed to quickly enhance his own strength.


    ***


    Days passed in the blink of an eye.


    Su''en stayed in his hotel room without leaving.


    During this time, Sabina visited once, bringing a trove of top-secret information.


    Princess Theresa''s death had been confirmed, the inner city was in turmoil, and many had perished.


    Nearly half of the Umbre Organization''s upper echelons had been wiped out.


    Sabina, having made some preparations in advance, not only avoided being implicated but was also promoted due to her advancement to a third-tier professional and a rise in military rank. With the inner city official Peacock''s support, she was promoted to the inner city, joining the small circle at the very top of the Umbre Organization.


    This provided Su''en with even more top-secret intelligence.


    On the other hand, after the news from the relic returned, the head family of the Reiss n changed their steady approach drastically. The family head, Carnegie Reiss, began to frantically sell off family assets andpany shares, amassing arge amount of cash.


    Others didn''t know why, thinking that the Reiss head family''s hunting team had been wiped out and was on the brink of copse.


    But Su''en knew they were preparing to leave for the outside of the tower.


    The Reiss family was supported by Mr. Mirror from the start, and naturally, they would leave together this time.


    ***


    On this day, in room 303 of the Musketeer Hotel.


    The room was densely packed with various materials and mechanical parts, with countless threads hanging in the air.


    Su''en was tinkering with a mechanical puppet equipped with a "PZ-911 Mechanical Limb," the "Iron Man Mark IV."


    Without the conditions of a preciseboratory,cking air cirction and filtration systems, the room was filled with a rust-like vtile toxic gas. Su''en, wearing a beak-shaped gas mask, was installing a mechanical arm with a miniature steam boiler.


    The mechanical arm was spray-painted with the words "BH Type Steam Hammer" in white.


    This was a trophy from the raid on the Duke''s estate.


    Even in the surface world, it was a top-tier mechanical arm.


    Once equipped with this steam hammer, the mechanical puppet could deliver a punch with the force of a third-tier flesh series professional, easily prating armored vehicle ting.


    While busy with the task at hand, Su''en''s controlling spider spears also retrieved a piece of heather stem soaked in grease from a nearby sk. After weighing, cutting, and calcting the dosage, he tossed it into a crucible burning on a nearby table, returning the excess to the sk to prevent oxidation. After stirring, another spider spear adjusted the fierce mes, and the orange-yellow metallic liquid in the crucible began to boil violently...


    His multitasking skills were increasingly refined, and his brain could process more tasks simultaneously.


    He alone was as efficient as ten other people.


    Su''en timed it perfectly, pouring the freshly smelted solution from the crucible and, with a specially made rune pen dipped in the golden liquid, began inscribing runes on the mechanical puppet...


    Having harvested the memory fragments of over a thousand elites at the Dawn Relic, his rune-crafting skills had reached "Master Level," and he was now adept at crafting third-tier runes.


    But he remained cautious,yering the runes more and more intricately.


    Once the runes were outlined, a miraculous scene unfolded under his pen. The runes glowed golden,ing to life and rotating in a special pattern.


    These were no ordinary runes but a wind variant from the "Runic Alphabet" - the <em>Super Load-Bearing Rune</em>.


    Runic Alphabet required divergent thinking. To tinker with the desired runes, one needed a plethora of experiments and brilliant inspiration.


    However, as Sir Isaac said, this was the best of times.


    Standing on the shoulders of giants afforded Su''en many conveniences. Those ancient alchemistspiled their research into volumes. Among the books he had brought from the Dawn Central Prison''s cursed space were many finished rune blueprints. There was no need for him to delve into research; he could use them directly.


    ***


    Before long, the partial rune inscription wasplete, and Su''en let out a long sigh of relief.


    Inscribing runes of the same tier as the Runic Alphabet was several times more difficult than ordinary runes, and the slightest mistake could ruin everything.


    He looked at his work with a hint of anticipation.


    With a gesture of his hand, the mechanical puppet slowly stood up. The boiler activated, and the runes on its body lit up simultaneously. The dense wind element gathered around the puppet, lifting its several hundred kilograms.


    "The calctions were correct; the load-bearing rune reduced the puppet''s weight by ny percent, barely achieving agility. The energy consumption is also within an eptable range..."


    Su''en tested the mechanical puppet''s movements, flexing its joints. It was fairly agile, and his brows gradually rxed.


    He meticulously recorded the data from this experiment in his notebook, then mused to himself, "The mechanical puppet hasn''t been equipped with heavy armor yet. Its offensive capability is about right, but to reachbat level, it needs to be significantly heavier, and third-tier runes won''t achieve the current effect. Plus, ordinary refined steel can''t be inscribed with suchplex runes; it must be high-grade magical materials. The cost aside, materials are a big problem..."


    Thinking this, Su''en scribbled something else in his notebook.


    This was, after all, an experiment.


    Now, the results proved that his line of thinking was entirely correct.


    With technology, runes, and some special materials, it was entirely possible to create a mechanically flexible puppet.


    The shorings of machinery were quite apparent: <em>clumsiness, slow reactions, low sensitivity...</em>


    But the advantages were also obvious: <em>strength, defense, cost...</em>


    And in certainbat scenarios, they had an undeniable magical effect, such as sieges, trench warfare, mass battles,rge-scale mechanical wars!


    As a transmigrator, Su''en was not averse to mechanical technology because technology was constantly innovating and developing. Its potential, like alchemy, was limitless.


    Alchemy plus machinery could definitely spark magic.


    "If only I could get my hands on the research materials for the ''Super Mechanical Warrior.'' It''s a pity those are the Duke''s top secrets, and even Sabina can''t ess them..."


    Su''en muttered to himself, recognizing his shorings.


    At that thought, another idea popped into his head: "The mechanical technology of the Luyin Empire is still behind; Mafa is the holynd for mechanical alchemists. I must visit if I get the chance."


    ***


    After testing the mechanical puppet, Su''en began to tinker with his rune puppets and threads.


    Having stripped the soul fragment from a fifth-tier assassin a few days ago and mastered <em>Wind Element Cutting</em>, Su''en had been researching and found that this ability was highlypatible with his profession.


    He originally intended to transfer this cutting ability to the puppet to enhance its armor-piercing attributes. But after some experimentation, he found that applying it directly to the threads was also highly effective!


    Under normal circumstances, a witch''s hair, no matter how tough, couldn''t withstand the condensation of wind elements beyond the second tier. It would be like throwing soft meat into a meat grinder, shredded to pieces.


    But if toughness wascking, it could bepensated with toughness runes.


    Engraving runes on hair strands was a high-level skill.


    Fortunately, Su''en was skilled in runes, and this experiment actually seeded, albeit with low efficiency. With the help of eight spider spears and his hands, he could only engrave about twenty to thirty meters of hair in a whole day.


    Wearing a magnifying monoclemonly used by mechanics, Su''en carefully inscribed the hair strands under the magnified view. After busying himself for most of the day, a strand of hair with a special silver glow was in his hands. Infusing it with wind elements, the hair suddenly became sharp, visibly keen to the naked eye.


    <em>"Phew~"</em>


    Thepletion was satisfactory, and Su''en exhaled lightly.


    With a slight movement of his fingers, the hair strand floated down gently in the air.


    And when itnded on the wooden table leg, without any force, it effortlessly sliced through.


    Looking at the effect, Su''en''s eyes narrowed slightly.


    The flowing wind elements were like a high-frequency cutting machine, seemingly imperceptible but the sharpest thing Su''en had seen below the third tier.


    Although the hair strand was still fragile, it had reached the pinnacle of sharpness. This special hair strand, condensed with third-tier windws, could easily cut through steel armor and the defenses of third-tier professionals.


    Used well, it could slice through professionals below the third tier like cutting through vegetables.


    With this invention, Su''en had added a new ace to his arsenal.


    Su''en had no ns to go out, intending to make a few more meters of rune hair.


    But unexpectedly, hismunicator rang, and it was the gambling-addicteddy inviting him for a drink.


    "Qiantiao has advanced to the fourth tier?"


    Hearing the message from themunicator, Su''en guessed what it meant.


    They hadn''t seen each other since thest relic expedition.


    But thinking of the many <em>Sunstones</em> they had acquired, she must have gone into seclusion to break through.


    With that in mind, Su''en didn''t continue to stay in the hotel but packed up his materials and headed out.


    ***


    Kay lived in a basement not far from Su''en''s hotel.


    His routine was simr to Su''en''s, staying in the basement and training like a madman every day.


    Qiantiao had also invited him, but with his skin still blue and no face to show, he didn''t join them.


    So Su''en rode his motorcycle alone to Norton Street.


    When Green Street''s entertainment venues were destroyed, the gambling dens, taverns, and pleasure baths all moved here.


    A few months had passed, and the ce was even more bustling.


    This was Qiantiao''s territory.


    Her public identity was still that of a Cross Society executive.


    Parking his motorcycle by the roadside, a few punk-styled thugs squatted on the curb, eyeing Su''en, the stranger.


    Su''en found it familiar; this was his old job on Green Street.


    He dutifully paid the watching fee to the Cross Society''s gang members and casually asked, "Hey, brother, have you seen Qiantiao?"


    The mohawked leader with a lip ring was taken aback. Anyone who could ask in such a tone was clearly from the underworld, so he replied, "Qiantiao is at the Grand Lisboa Casino..."


    "Thanks~"


    Hearing this, Su''en couldn''t help but smile wryly.


    Sure enough, it was right not to go to the agreed tavern.


    That gambling-addicteddy, with money in her pocket, couldn''t walk past a gambling den.


    He headed straight for the casino, lit with purple-red lights in the distance.


    Along the way, various pimps approached him.


    "Sir, want a girl? Top-ss goods just sent out from the inner city, real nobledies~"


    "Brother, drink? Our Blue Moon Tavern has the best girls, the best booze."


    "How about some hallucinogens? Certified alchemist''s product, guaranteed quality..."


    "..."


    The environment was noisy, with debauchery on one side and extortion, beatings, murders, and corpses in the dark alleys nearby.


    Su''en''s face always bore a rxed smile; this was the outer city, the environment he was familiar with.


    After entering the gambling den and exchanging some chips, led by scantily ddies, he easily found Qiantiao gambling in the VIP room.


    She was still in her battle kimono, showing off her intimidating tattooed arms.


    "Seven! Seven! Seven! Oh, damn..."


    Seeing Su''en arrive, she was still earnestly shuffling cards.


    Su''en thought that after advancing to the fourth tier, Qiantiao would be aloof. After all, in Old London, a fourth-tier was considered an extraordinary expert. But in reality, she hadn''t changed at all, still as carefree as ever.


    Losing the game, she saw Su''en and gestured to the seat next to her, warmly calling out, "Come, here~"


    Su''en walked over, and Qiantiao, as usual, wrapped her arm around his shoulder, "What should we bet on next?"


    During their stay at the hunting camp''s hotel, they had shared a room for a few days, and this gambling-addicteddy no longer treated him as a stranger.


    Su''en saw her enjoying the gamble and didn''t say much, just sat beside her and joined her.


    In the end, the nned drink didn''t happen, and they gambled for a few hours in the gambling den.


    Qiantiao lost all her chips.


    Only then did she reluctantly let Su''en pull her out of the gambling den.


    ***


    When they left the gambling den, it was already midnight.


    But on Norton Street, it was the busiest time.


    As soon as Qiantiao stepped out, she was stillmenting the previous game, muttering, "Ah, if I had known you wereing, I should have left then. I was winning at that time."


    She sounded like a seasoned gambler.


    Win and don''t leave, lose and regret.


    Listening, Su''en smiled, "Qiantiao, why did you call me out?"


    "To drink."


    Qiantiao thought about it, then pouted and changed her mind, "Forget it, I lost money, I''m not in the mood to drink."


    After a pause, she added, "Come on, I''ll treat you to a bath."


    "..."


    Su''en didn''t mind either.


    Drinking or bathing, both were fine.


    With that decided, they went to get their vehicles.


    Walking along, Su''en casually asked, "Qiantiao, why do you like gambling so much?"


    This was something he had always been puzzled about.


    Logically, high-tier professionals had much stronger willpower than ordinary people.


    And for an expert like Qiantiao, winning or losing a few million shouldn''t have much impact on her, nor should it be so attractive.


    But she seemed to enjoy it endlessly.


    Qiantiao casually replied, "Because I like it."


    She countered, "Don''t you find gambling pleasurable?"


    Su''en looked uninterested, "Not really."


    Theoretically, gambling does bring immense pleasure, with dopamine secretion during wins possibly dozens of times higher than during sex. This is also why gambling addiction is so powerful.


    Her statement wasn''t wrong.


    But that''s for ordinary people,


    Not for a high-tier professional.


    Qiantiao nced at him, with a look of disdain as if he had missed out on one of life''s great pleasures. She didn''t dwell on the topic and asked, "Where are the car keys?"


    After a pause, she added, "I just pawned my car to the gambling den..."


    Qiantiao didn''t consider Su''en a stranger, and she didn''t feel embarrassed to say this.


    "..."


    Su''en''s eye twitched, and he tossed the keys to her.


    Qiantiao, the big sister of the underworld, wouldn''t sit in the back seat. Su''en didn''t mind; it wasn''t the first time anyway.


    Qiantiao''s personality made her popr in the gang, without the airs of an executive, and the gang members were familiar with her. Seeing her with a young man in the back seat, the Cross Society''s gang members teased her.


    "Whoa~ Qiantiao, you''ve changed your taste?"


    "Hahaha... It''s my first time seeing a man in Qiantiao''s back seat."


    "Tsk tsk... Kid, good luck, we''re rooting for you~"


    "..."


    Amidst theughter and teasing from the big guys, Qiantiao didn''t mind, flipping a friendly international gesture and cursing with a smile, "Get lost~ Watch the ce properly!"


    ***


    The engine roared, and the motorcycle sped off.


    Su''en no longer felt uneasy as before, naturally wrapping his arms around Qiantiao''s smooth waist.


    "Take a spin?"


    "Sure."


    They didn''t go straight to the bathhouse but took a ride around the streets and alleys of the southern city.


    Since it waste at night, away from the entertainment district, there were few people in other areas.


    The roar of the motorcycle seemed to be the only sound in the silent night.


    The speed wasn''t too fast, and Qiantiao looked content.


    Sitting in the back seat, Su''en was somewhat bored and asked, "Qiantiao, have you advanced to the fourth tier?"


    Qiantiao''s voice, mixed with the wind, poured into his ears, "Yeah."


    Her casual tone left Su''en with no follow-up.


    He had thought that Qiantiao inviting him out for a drink was to celebrate her advancement.


    It seemed that this gambling-addicteddy didn''t care at all.


    After a while of silence, the atmosphere turned slightly cold.


    Qiantiao probably felt it too and suddenly brought up the previous topic, "Didn''t you just ask me why I like gambling?"


    Su''en perked up at her tone, "Hmm?"


    After a moment of contemtion, Qiantiao finally said, "Rakshasa women are destined to be lonely stars, born for ughter. Without finding other joys, life is very dull..."


    "..."


    Hearing this, Su''en finally understood.


    It seemed certain talents dide with special drawbacks.


    For example, cat women instinctively fear canines, fire elementals dislike water...


    And this <em>A-022-Rakshasa Woman</em> talent, strong as it was, even had this "lonely star" stiption?


    ***


    Before long, the motorcycle pulled up in front of "A''Kun''s Bathhouse."


    Su''en had been here several times and knew his way around. After cleaning up, he didn''t need any guidance. As Qiantiao''s guest, the attendants didn''t ask too many questions.


    He went straight to the mixed bathing "Three Springs Pool."


    During his previous visits, the pool usually had a few of Qiantiao''s trusted heavyweights.


    But this time, there were no other guests.


    However, there was an unexpected person in the pool.


    "Mrs. Filo?"


    This was the person Su''en had met once before, a mysterious benefactor of the Cross Society, the legendary Mrs. Filo.


    Su''en looked at her with a slightly puzzled expression.

 Chapter 216: Pirates are coming

    Chapter 216: Pirates areing<hr>


    Su''en had encountered Lady Filo twice before.


    Once during the selection of the ck Tower Academy''s guide, and another time from a distance at the grand opening on Norton Street.


    Both times, he felt that this woman was aloof and sensual, like a queen perched high above, both cold and desiring.


    Her identity was also shrouded in mystery.


    Previously, Su''en thought he would never cross paths with such a woman.


    But now, seeing her, his gaze was slightly odd.


    Because he spected that Mr. Mirror must have another identity in reality...


    Closely rted to the Reyes family, closely rted to the Qiantiao, possessing great power in the Inner City...


    All signs indicated that this "Lady Filo" was Mr. Mirror''s disguised identity.


    It was just a moment of eye contact, and Su''en was even more certain of his guess.


    After all, the attire for soaking in the hot springs was thin, and if a strange man had barged in, this "Lady Filo" would surely have a look of caution and doubt.


    But now, her eyes were utterly calm.


    Testing the waters, Su''en called out, "Senior sister?"


    "Lady Filo" nced at him, seemingly unsurprised that he could guess her identity, her expression a bitnguid as she nodded, "Mhm."


    Hearing this response, Su''en''s face lit up instantly.


    It really was her!


    He hadn''t dared to look closely before, but now, with aparative gaze, he noticed her features bore some resemnce to the family portrait he had seen at the Storm Manor.


    However, the photo showed a pure girl of eighteen or neen, while now she was full of charm.


    With this acknowledgment, Su''en instantly felt the cold and distant aura around her dissipate.


    Among acquaintances, there was no room for aloofness.


    Mr. Mirror watched Su''en''s scrutinizing and curious eyes, a hint of helplessness crossing her brow. Shey back at the edge of the pool, revealing her fair and delicate neck. She seemed to enjoy the feeling of the hot spring nourishing her skin, eyes closed, a look of contentment on her face.


    Since it was an acquaintance, the odd feeling in Su''en''s heart also faded, and he approached the edge of the pool and got into the water.


    ***


    Beside the hot spring pool, flowers vied for beauty, surrounded by greenery, with a misty blue smoke lingering above the water surface.


    The pool water was clear to the bottom, and the spring water flowed from bamboo tubes, making a pleasant <em>"ding-dong, ding-dong"</em> sound.


    The attire for soaking in the hot springs was a thin linen robe, which, once wet, left nothing to the imagination.


    Su''en nced over.


    Hmm... his senior sister had both an excellent figure and temperament.


    It wasn''t that he had other thoughts, just curiosity.


    The legend says that high-ranking vampires are immortal and eternally youthful, is that true? Or was it just a mirror image?


    Mr. Mirror''s personality was simr to her mother Sereya''s, easy-going and gentle. Su''en respected his senior sister but didn''t feel too distant.


    Curiosity rose in his heart, and he directly asked, "Senior sister, is this your true appearance?"


    There was no need to hide anything from her own junior brother.


    Mr. Mirror was naturally aware of that scrutinizing gaze and guessed what Su''en was thinking, simply responding with a "Mhm."


    Wow... it felt like discovering a little surprise.


    Su''en had thought his thousand-year-old senior sister, who always wore a cloak, was an old woman, but it turned out she truly possessed eternal youth.


    Just one look, and the legendary vampire bloodline seemed a bit against the heavens.


    Living long and looking good...


    In the vast pool, there were only two people, and it would be awkward not to chat.


    Driven by curiosity, Su''en simply asked, "Senior sister, is your vampire bloodline acquired through transformation?"


    Since she was Sir Isaac''s eldest daughter, she was presumably human.


    Of course, I can''t rule out the possibility that she has vampire blood.


    "Mhm."


    Mr. Mirror responded, then added, "My father once hunted a deep abyss vampire lord and extracted the power of his bloodline. This bloodline is highlypatible with human blood, with a very low mutation rate. Later, due to some events... I underwent bloodline transformation."


    This plot twist wasn''t unexpected for Su''en.


    But because of "some events"?


    It sounded like there was more to it than just Pestoya''s issue.


    He caught a moment of hesitation in her words and asked, "Senior sister, does calling yourself ''Lady Filo'' have any special meaning?"


    She had always called herself "Lady," and if there truly was a marriage, Su''en was curious about who could match his senior sister, who was suspected to be a professional of rank seven or above.


    If it were an elder, asking such a question would seem impolite.


    But a senior sister... gossiping a bit seemed okay.


    "..."


    Hearing this roundabout question, Mr. Mirror finally opened her eyes.


    She nced at Su''en, a trace of helplessness in her brow.


    She knew that if she didn''t exin, her little junior brother would make wild guesses. Since there was nothing she couldn''t say, she simply quelled his curiosity and said lightly, "I was once engaged. But before we could marry, he died in a battle defending a spatial passage."


    Upon hearing this, Su''en immediately realized he had touched on a painful past and quickly apologized, "Sorry."


    Mr. Mirror shook her head, her expression very calm.


    A thousand years had passed, and many things had been put into perspective.


    She probably guessed what else Su''en was curious about, so she simply revealed it all, "Also, the vampire bloodline isn''t as against the heavens as you think. This bloodline indeed has a longer lifespan than humans, but it''s not immortal. For most of the past thousand years, I''ve been in hibernation, only waking up in thest century. Moreover, there''s a price for a longer lifespan through hibernation. The long years can also weaken the body, and I''ve only recently recovered to the strength of a fifth or sixth rank..."


    "Oh..."


    Su''en understood why she had shown weaker strength but higherwprehension during her fight with the Fallen Angel.


    It was due to post-hibernation effects.


    But... excluding the hibernation time, she had still lived for over a hundred years?


    Su''en still felt that the vampire bloodline was quite good, and issues like fear of light or slower cultivation efficiencypared to humans... were no longer problems.


    ***


    As the two were chatting, Qiantiao, who had also cleaned herself up, walked over from the corridor.


    Su''en knew she was close to "Lady Filo," and now that Filo was Mr. Mirror, everything matched up.


    Qiantiao clearly also knew the rtionship between the two and smiled, "Yo, what are you two siblings chatting about?"


    As she spoke, she took off the bath towel she was wearing and got into the water.


    The water temperature was veryfortable, and Su''eny backzily, cing a damp towel on his forehead, replying, "We''re discussing some issues about the vampire bloodline."


    Qiantiao, nowpletely uninhibited around Su''en, sat down next to him after getting into the water.


    The linen robe for soaking was very thin, and once wet, the touch was extremely real.


    But no one minded.


    The three of themfortably enjoyed the soothing hot springs and chatted idly.


    Listening to the conversation between the two, Su''en also learned that their meeting wasn''t prearranged but a coincidence.


    He remembered that Qiantiao had mentioned before that "Lady Filo" also had a habit of soaking in hot springs. Perhaps because vampires are a cold-blooded species, they like the feeling of warmth?


    As they soaked, Mr. Mirror suddenly spoke up, getting down to business, "The situation outside has been roughly confirmed. The forces stationed outside the tower are a personal guard of Duke Raphael. The strongest is a sixth-rank leader, and there are many elite fourth and fifth ranks. Now that we have obtained the body of that Fallen Angel, I should be able to recover enough strength to suppress a sixth-rank in about half a month. By then, breaking out should be more secure..."


    At this point, she looked at Qiantiao and asked, "By the way, Qiantiao, what''s the situation with your Evelyn family?"


    "I can leave at any time, as I have no attachments. I asked my family, and they have no intention of getting involved."Qiantiao respondedzily, her tone carrying a hint of speechlessness, "Those n elders enjoy their current lives. They fear losing their present rights and wealth, saying that even if they leave, life won''t be better than it is now, and they told me not to cause more trouble... Compared to freedom, those Old Fellows chose afortable life. Let them stay here if they want."


    Su''en didn''t join the conversation, but he guessed the thoughts of the Evelyn family elders.


    Duke Raphael almost let his "mine" run wild, and those top families in Old Lingdun''s Inner City, except for not being able to go to the surface, in terms of quality of life and status, really weren''t worse than those nobles on the surface.


    In any era, the upper echelons of society are the least fond of change.


    But pigs in a pen, no matter how fat and strong, are ultimately raised by others.


    Those people aren''t blind; they just don''t want to give up thefortable life they''ve already secured.


    This is also the mindset of most top families in the Inner City.


    Mr. Mirror didn''t say much more.


    Even with her presence, "storming the tower" still had unpredictable risks, let alone that they could only choose to take a small group of people to leave first.


    After all, Old Lingdun City was Duke Raphael''s "mine," and if a riot broke out, the Duke''s mansion would immediately send reinforcements.


    Not to mention whether thebined forces of Old Lingdun could resist the power of a duke, even if they could, behind Duke Raphael stood the powerful Luyin Empire.


    Some chose freedom, othersfort.


    ***


    With Mr. Mirror present, the chances of sessfully storming the tower...


    The three chatted and began to talk about the outside world.


    Su''en also shared some intelligence he had gathered.


    Then, they discussed their ns after getting out.


    Qiantiao, born in this dark underground city, her face brimming with anticipation more intense than when gambling, suddenly asked, "Filo, what do you n to do after you get out?"


    Mr. Mirror had been to the outside world and saw everything very lightly. She said, "I''m not interested in meddling in the disputes between the two empires. I might go to ''Cynodia County'' north of the Luyin Strait. I heard that ce is currently a disputed territory with no sovereign. If possible, I n to establish a neutral force for alchemists to exchange alchemy, like my father established Dawn City, to pass on the torch of dawn..."


    "..."


    Listening, Qiantiao pursed her lips, clearly uninterested in such grand ns.


    She turned her head to look at Su''en next to her and asked, "Su''en kid, what do you n to do after you get out?"


    Su''en thought for a moment and said, "I n to travel around to broaden my horizons. If possible, I will look for the alchemy manuscripts left by my master."


    Actually, the safest n was to follow Mr. Mirror.


    Once her strength fully recovered, she would be among the top experts on the surface. There was also Pestoya, who was in slumber, a solid golden thigh to rely on.


    But Mr. Mirror had only pointed out to him that under her protection, he would never experience some things that only true powerhouses couldprehend. To go further on the path of the Transcendent, one must have their own insights and trials.


    And that was one reason.


    The second was that Su''en also wanted to see this mysterious and exciting world for himself.


    Upon hearing this, Qiantiao''s eyes sparkled with excitement, and she suggested, "How about we be pirates together? We can specifically rob these decadent nobles, uh... and we can also go rob other pirates!"


    As she spoke, she seemed to already envision an exciting future life, getting closer and detailing, "There''s an endless sea on the surface, with many treasures under the sea. We can go treasure hunting, explore new sea routes, hunt dragons, and find ancient ruins..."


    In the underground world, the sea is a very unfamiliar term.


    That boundless and mysterious ocean indeed holds unparalleled allure for anyone.


    Su''en felt his arm sink into a soft touch and smiled, "Sure."


    Pirates and gangsters seemed not too different.


    One onnd, one on the sea.


    Both doing shady work that can''t see the light.


    Treasure hunting stories are always timeless topics. Once Qiantiao brought up this topic, she immediately started imagining all the details.


    Su''en shared somemon knowledge with her, like... to be pirates, they first needed a ship that could withstand the wind and waves.


    Mr. Mirror, sitting nearby, listened to the two plotting to be pirates, a gentle smile on her face.


    But the good times didn''tst long.


    Just as the three were leisurely chatting in the hot springs.


    <em>Suddenly!</em> A loud disturbance came from the direction of the Inner City.


    All three changed their expressions.


    ***


    Mr. Mirror frowned, "Something''s happened in the Inner City, the noise ising from the direction of the ck Tower!"


    Hearing this, Qiantiao was also puzzled, "Could it be that someone is attacking the ck Tower?"


    Su''en also found it strange.


    The ck Tower was garrisoned by the Duke''s personal guard, a force with professional ranks of four and five.


    The only one in Old Lingdun with the strength to storm the tower was the Mirror Organization.


    Anyone else who tried would die.


    No matter how many people, it was useless.


    And the disturbance in the distance grew more intense, with the sound of gunfire rising wave after wave. It seemed that somerge-scale lethal weapons were used, and even from such a distance, the three could see the mushroom cloud rising over the Inner City.


    Clearly, the battle was very fierce.


    Mr. Mirror sensed something and shook her head, "No, it seems like someone is breaking out from the ck Tower, and the Inner City''s guards are resisting."


    Qiantiao waspletely confused, "People from the outside?"


    Su''en thought of the stripped memories and guessed it was an internal conflict within the Duke''s mansion, or perhaps the war between the two empires had spread to the ck Tower located in the ck Reef?


    Before they could specte further, the advantage of having an intelligence insider was revealed.


    Su''en immediately received a message from Sabina, "Sir, a group of very strong people have broken out from the ck Tower, they''re carrying the skull and crossbones g, they seem to be pirates! They''ve defeated the ck Tower''s guards, and the Inner City''s city guards have also copsed at the touch. Now those people are rampaging and looting in the city, the mechanical warriors at the research institute are resisting, but they probably won''tst long. Among those people, there are very powerful Transcendent professionals..."


    Su''en shared the intelligence in front of the two, and both Mr. Mirror and Qiantiao''s expressions became very serious.


    So it was people from the outside?


    And the ones storming the tower were pirates?


    The Inner City''s city guards were mechanized and not weak.


    If they copsed at the touch, it meant the pirates had an overwhelming advantage.


    Mr. Mirror analyzed, "Being able to break through the ck Tower means that there''s at least a sixth-rank professional among those people..."


    Su''en caught the detail in the intelligence and immediately thought of something, "The ''skull and crossbones g''... should be the pirate g of the ''King of the North Sea'' Oleg''s fleet. That pirate group is very strong, even the Luyin Empire can''t handle them. There are many fifth and sixth-rank high-level professionals in the pirate group, and Oleg himself... is said to be an eighth-rank professional."


    Mr. Mirror''s brow furrowed upon hearing this.


    At this moment, Qiantiao thought for a moment and said, "Someone storming the towering down isn''t necessarily bad for us. The ''King of the North Sea'' and his pirates, no matter how strong, are unlikely to fight a positional battle. Most likely, they''re just here to loot."


    Su''en also felt this made sense.


    The ck Tower being breached was definitely an earth-shattering event for Old Lingdun!


    This sudden change caught them off guard and immediately disrupted their original ns.


    Mr. Mirror nodded, "Alright, I''ll go check out the situation. Qiantiao, you gather the organization''s people; we might have to move up our action. Wait for my message."


    Qiantiao: "Okay!"


    As they spoke, there was a ssh of water, and when they looked again, the water rippled, and Mr. Mirror had already disappeared without a trace.


    Qiantiao looked at the continuous ze in the distant Inner City, a hint of fighting spirit shing in her eyes. The Rakshasa woman was not afraid of battle. She rose unhurriedly, called out to Su''en, "Let''s go, it''s time to get ready."


    With that, she got out of the water, dried off her body with a bath towel, changed into her battle kimono, and then donned a gold-embroidered cloak.


    Once the cloak was draped over her, a sense of mystery enveloped her.


    Su''en had a trick for changing clothes; after getting out of the water, he shook his limbs, and a suit suitable for battle was on his body.


    For the first time, he donned the gold-embroidered cloak representing the identity of a member of the Mirror Organization, following Qiantiao as they leaped over the wall.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 217 : To Rush or Not to Rush

    The fighting within the inner city grew louder, and the mes of battle spread quickly throughout the city.


    The sts from destructive heavy weaponry caused shockwaves, one after another, sending up mushrooms clouds. Towering buildings copsed thunderously in the fierce explosions, their booming sounds incessant like thunderstorms, setting fire to half the sky.


    The flourishing inner city was suddenly plunged into chaos.


    It was midnight when the pirates attacked, and the residents were in their dreams when the violent noises abruptly woke them.


    Having scouted out the information beforehand, the pirates knew that the wealthiest people lived in the uppermost district of the city. Leading the charge were dozens of squadron captains with thousands of ferociously poor pirates who stormed into the mansions of great families to start looting.


    The private guards of these families, usually second and third-tier professionals with excellent equipment, were considered a top defense force in Old Lington City¡ªthey thought they could handle any robber...


    But in front of this group of fifth-tier professional pirate squadron captains, they were like paper, utterly incapable of resisting.


    The pirates were like a pack of wolves that had pounced into a flock of sheep without any power to resist.


    "Brothers, let''s move fast, the boss said to loot for two days first! Women, treasure, whoever snatches them gets to keep them!"


    "Hahaha... The chance to strike it rich hase!"


    "These city women are damn delicate, a hundred times better than those coarse-skinned wives on the ship who could almost be used as sandpaper! Oh boy, I guess this is what those high nobilitydies from the empire are like..."


    "Gaga... Brothers, charge!"


    "..."


    Just as Su Lun and the others deduced, the pirates didn''t have the capacity to hold the territory; they were only there to loot.


    It would take three days for Duke Rafael''s reinforcements to arrive, meaning that in these few days, the pirates could freely kill, burn, and loot.


    The nightmare hade for the residents of Old Lington.


    ...


    In the seventh district of the inner city, atop the tallest building in Old Lington, there was a luxurious mansion with a white stone sculpture fountain and a garden of colorful tulips.


    A lively banquet was taking ce there.


    It used to be a property of the Reyes family, but due to Family Head Carnegie Reyes frantically selling off properties, this mansion, which represented the symbol of the first financial consortium in the inner city, had also been sold.


    Now, it had be the headquarters of the Anderson group, their formerpetitors.


    After the catbs affair, the powers of the inner city were reshuffled, and the Anderson family had subtly be the foremost financial consortium of Old Lington.


    Today, the Anderson family head was hosting a grand banquet for guests, including rk, Oliver, David, Smith... heads of major families, along with their wives and daughters, gathered altogether, clinking their sses in celebration, extremely lively.


    They were celebrating their victory after years of struggle.


    The Reyes family had sold various vital assets and was now ousted, never to rise again.


    From then on, the inner city was under their control.


    But the unexpected happened very suddenly.


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    "Bang..."


    The intense noises from the heart of the ck tower stunned the high society individuals wearing luxurious gowns at the banquet hall.


    Someone was attacking the Duke''s residence?


    The inner city was vast, and the news of pirates quickly spread to all the major families.


    "My lord, madam, it''s terrible! A band of robbers has charged out from the Duke''s residence, they are ying everyone they see."


    "Where''s the guard? Quick, alert the guards!"


    "Lord Burt, this is grim! A bunch of robbers are heading toward our district, they have super-rank professionals among them, extremely strong... The city guards simply couldn''t hold them back, they were scattered instantly..."


    "It''s terrible, the thieves have already stormed the building, Guard Captain Mark has been killed, the guards can''t hold them back!"


    "..."


    Bad news came one after another, the turn of events was overwhelming.


    Just a few minutes ago, upon hearing the noise, these big shots of the inner city were still able to maintain their elegance andposure.


    Although they didn''t know what the so-called "robbers" were, having been used to the rule of the Duke''s residence, they thought the formidable city guard would defeat the robbers.


    After all, in their view, the ck tower guards possessed the power to annihte everything.


    But unexpectedly, each message was bad news.


    The bandits were like a relentless torrent.


    After the Duke''s residence was breached, the city guards couldn''t stop them at all, and the gang of robbers shockingly made their way to the building at an utterly unanticipated speed.


    Only then did these lords anddies realize and start to frantically flee.


    But it was toote.


    Shortly after the news arrived, a few pirates who had removed their winged suitsnded on the rooftop, blocking everyone''s path.


    The banquet had invited the president of the Wilderness Hunters Guild, a third-tier professional "Magician" Meg Owen,


    a powerhouse at the pinnacle of Old Lington City.


    He looked at the uninvited guests and shouted forcefully, "Who are you?"


    Unexpectedly, before his voice fell, a head dropped to the ground.


    A third-tier powerhouse, dead in an instant!


    The pirate squadron captain, wrapped in a red headscarf, had killed Meg, wiped his bloodied dagger, and sneered disdainfully.


    In that brief moment, his subordinates by his side had already killed all the first and second-tier guards.


    The group of old masters anddies were huddled together in the banquet hall, trembling uncontrobly.


    The pirate leader with a red bandana had a greedy smile on his face and did not continue to kill.


    He swaggered into the banquet hall, grabbed a handful of meat from the tableden with sumptuous food and fruit, and stuffed it into his mouth, making the juices flow, "Tsk tsk, you guys sure know how to enjoy yourselves..."


    He followed it up with a gulp of red wine, visibly relishing it.


    At that moment, his gazended on a well-dresseddy not far from the dining table, and he walked over with lecherous eyes.


    Thedy in the blue low-cut long dress was backed into a corner, her face pale with fear, with no way to retreat.


    The pirate with the red bandana seized her, and in front of hundreds of people in the banquet hall, his rough hands forcefully groped her chest. He seemed to really enjoy the unusual smoothness, grinning with his smoke-stained yellow teeth, "Hey, these melons are damn smooth..."


    The woman shrieked in fright, trying to break free, but the pirate in the red bandana easily ripped her long dress.


    With a "rip," the long dress tore apart.


    Thedy''s entire upper body was then exposed to the air.


    Gone was her elegance, reced by sheer panic.


    Seeing thedy hurriedly covering her chest, the pirates nearby burst into loudughter.


    Watching this disgrace of the noblewoman, a man in a suit stood up.


    "You..."


    But before he could say more, a line of blood appeared on his neck, and his head tumbled to the ground.


    A fountain of blood performed before the eyes of the banquet hall; over a hundred people, like quails frightened into submission, shrank their necks, and no one dared to speak again.


    The group of pirates, with their absolute power, showed the top elites of Old Lington what "weakness is the original sin" meant.


    "Anyone else want to talk?"


    The pirate with the red bandana scanned around, "If no one wants to speak, then listen to what I have to say!"@@novelbin@@


    He smirked coldly and shouted loudly, "I am the Pirate Squadron Captain of the Fourth Fleet under Lord Oleg. I am now giving you a chance to live. Pay up for your lives..."


    The pirates, experienced in robbery and ransom, were very adept at this.


    They knew well that controlling these "Big Shots" was far more efficient than searching for treasures themselves.


    The banquet hall was everywhere stained with blood, and the human fountains on the ground were still twitching. The terrified masters anddies had already been scared out of their wits, none daring not cooperate...


    This scene was replicated in other parts of the inner city.


    The residences of the major financial consortia were the first ces the pirates visited.


    ...


    The pirates were looting throughout the city.


    Meanwhile,


    in the secretboratory in the First District of Old Lington.


    This ce served as the secret base for the research of mechanical warriors, an area even the higher-ups of the Umbre organization were not permitted to ess.


    After the ck Tower was breached by pirates, the city''s guard could hardly resist, and the only ce still putting up a decent resistance was this mechanical research institute.


    Using the thick mechanical doors of the factory and its mechanical warriors, the people inside continued to fervently resist.


    A group of pirates was furiously attacking but couldn''t breach the entrance for a long time.


    "Damn it, attacking thisb wastes so much of my time! The seventh squad just messaged that they''ve looted so much treasure that their storage rings are full, and the women are copsing from exhaustion... When the generales and breaks open these damn mechanical doors, I''m going to stuff the head of whoever ordered the doors closed up his asshole!"


    "Captain, Duke Rafael''s ''Super Mechanical Warriors'' made a huge impact in the war. The blueprints have skyrocketed in price on the ck market; the major lords have been bidding sky-high for them. This is the most valuable thing; I heard it could be traded for a Duke title in the Mafa Empire..."


    "Haha, right. No wonder Duke Rafael is as rich as a nation; he had such a goldmine... We''re going to make a fortune now! Has the general arrived yet?"


    "He''ll be here soon."


    "..."


    The research institute had mechanical doors, and the buildings were mostly underground.


    Once the doors were closed, they are difficult to breach with cannon fire.


    Unfortunately, among the pirates were sixth-tier professionals.


    These mechanical doors, indestructible to third and fourth-tier professionals, could notst long under the assaults of a sixth-tier professional.


    Before long, a nearly two-meter tall bald woman arrived at the entrance of the facility.


    "General!"


    "General!"


    "..."


    A group of pirates greeted her.


    This person was none other than the Vice-Captain of the Fourth Fleet under the King of the North Sea, with a bounty of 8 billion and 810 million rys, known as Sr me General dys Ormedo. A sixth-tier professional, she had awakened a very rare talent [A-036-Volcano Woman], a fire element variant talent believed to have originated from a mythological era where a female demon controlledva.


    Upon her arrival, without wasting a word, she sped her hands in the sorcerer''s seals, and suddenly, a great flurry of fire erupted.


    On a closer look, her entire body had turned into a magma state, and every step she took left pits burned into the ground, hissing with blue smoke from the dripping magma.


    She ced her hands on the mechanical door and uttered softly, "Alchemical Art: Volcano!"


    A crimson seven-pointed star formation lit up, and suddenly, her arms erupted like a volcano, spewing scorching magma.


    Lumps of magma fell on the nearly one-meter-thick alloy doors, visibly beginning to melt...


    The group of pirates watching the door gradually break open gleamed with excited ferocity.


    ....


    Themotion in the inner city was loud, but in contrast, the outer city remained unaffected.


    The streets were filled with onlookers who pointed andmented on the mes of battle within the inner city.


    The group of pirates seemed to know their stuff.


    The outer city was mostly old, low houses, post-war Syrian-style slums, and numerous factories spewing thick white smoke, which hardly seemed worth plundering.


    Not a single pirate visited the outer city.


    The pirates appeared to have nned ahead, quickly seizing several city gates in the inner city after breaking through the ck Tower, blocking the escape of the inner city''s inhabitants, entrapping thempletely.


    In two days'' time, they had thoroughly looted the area.


    ...


    After the message to assemble was sent out, the ck market in the northern city''s Shadow Alley.


    Su Lunter found out that the ck market was actually the main base of Mr. Jing''s organization in Old Lington City.


    And the once seemingly mysterious organizer was Mr. Jing.


    In a secret basement deep underground, when Su Lun and Qian Tiao arrived, three individuals wearing gold-patterned cloaks were already there.


    Though the cloaks of Mr. Jing''s organization appeared simr, Su Lun now understood that one could distinguish each member''s identity through the gold patterns on their cloaks.


    Among the three present, the one with a "mechanical gear" pattern was number neen, the "fist" symbol belonged to the two-section Red Demon Kai, and the one with a "book" pattern was Mr. Hei.


    When the two arrived, everyone nodded at each other but did not speak.


    As Su Lun was a new member, the three of them gave him an extra look.


    But viewing the "ck scythe" pattern on his cloak, everyone seemed to guess Su Lun''s identity.


    Within a few minutes, a few more arrived.


    Not counting Mr. Jing, there were only eight people in the organization.


    Except for one wearing a cloak with a "rotten flower" symbol, Su Lun had seen them all.


    The atmosphere was very solemn.


    Just the presence of these few people together created an oppressive aura that instantly enveloped Su Lun.


    Even without any movement, the aura these people emitted was so strong it made breathing feel constricted.


    Su Lun knew that apart from him and number neen, the other six were all fourth-tier professionals who had awakened their second innate talents.


    Those who could awaken a second talent were undoubtedly individuals who had experienced profound life-and-death realizations, naturally exuding a fierce aura.


    These were people with tigers in their hearts.


    As Mr. Jing had said, professionals capable of awakening a second talent were exceedingly rare even a thousand years ago.


    Usually, it indicated...


    They had the potential to advance to the seventh tier and truly explore the top realms of Alchemy!


    ....


    No one spoke.


    The pirate attack hade very suddenly, and the intelligence within Mr. Jing''s organization was extremely limited.


    Over themunicator, Sabina continued to report the situation inside the inner city.


    The Umbre organization possessed arge intelligence system in the inner city and had a clear grasp of the pirates'' movements.


    Apart from a few secretboratories'' hidden forces, the city had almost not organized any effective counterattacks.


    "Biological Research Institute Number Seven encountered severalrge abominable creatures entangled with the pirates, but with a fifth-tier professional intervening, they won''t hold out for long..."


    "Mechanical Research Institute Number One had many mechanical warriors join the battle, temporarily holding off that group of pirates. However, a very strong professional among the pirates, utilizingva powers, is about to breach the institute..."


    "Those pirates are extremely brutal, killing anyone they see, the residents of the inner city are suffering heavy casualties, especially in the upper city''s affluent districts and the major financial conglomerates'' residences..."


    "..."


    Su Lun shared the real-time intelligence, listening to the reports, the atmosphere in the room grew even heavier.


    ....


    Soon after, a sh of light passed by, and a figure emerged in the room.


    This eerie manner of appearance seemed to have be routine for the group, and no one was surprised.


    The person was naturally Mr. Jing.


    "Boss!"


    Everyone spoke up to signal their recognition.


    In the presence of the powerful, they all showed great respect.


    Mr. Jing nodded his head, not bothering with pleasantries, and said directly, "I''ve more or less investigated the situation. The good news is that ''King of the North Sea,'' Lord Oleg, did note. It''s his Fourth Fleet that came. These pirates wiped out the guards stationed at ck Reef and destroyed the defenses and traps along their path, clearing a lot of trouble for us..."


    Upon hearing this, a collective sigh of relief was breathed by everyone.


    Lord Oleg was rumored to be a tier-eight professional, one of the top powerhouses in the terrestrial world.


    Mr. Jing''s strength had not fully recovered yet, and if that guy had shown up, there would have virtually been no room to maneuver.


    Noting was indeed good news.


    And with the pirates clearing the way, it meant much less hassle in storming the tower.


    However, with good news, that also meant there was bad news.


    Indeed, after pausing for a moment, Mr. Jing continued, "But the bad news is that the fourth fleet contains two sixth-tier professionals, namely ''Sr me General'' dys Ormedo, and the King of the North Sea''s youngest son ''Frost Giant'' Gaal Popov. Both of theirbat strengths are formidable, and their innate abilities are quite tricky. With my current strength, I can handle one of them with some confidence, but two would be problematic. Among these pirates, there are also over a dozen fifth-tier squadron captains and fourth-tier deputy captains... If we storm the tower now, the risk would be substantial. So, I want to ask for everyone''s opinions."


    With this remark, everyone fell into deep thought.


    Previously, storming the tower involved facing a trusted aide of Duke Rafael, which they had nned for many years and understood most of the arrangements, so the problem was not too significant.


    But now, the situation had suddenly changed.


    They were facing an entire fleet from the ''King of the North Sea''.


    The sixth-tier professionals who even Mr. Jing found troublesome were definitely not simple.


    After all, the ''mine pit'' had limited developmental space, and even though they were powerful and had great growth talents, they had only recently advanced to the fourth tier.


    Even if the second-tier talents and some special cursed items couldpensate for somebat power, barely reaching the fifth tier, there was still a world of difference from the sixth tier.


    ....


    Hearing Mr. Jing asking for opinions, Red Demon Kyle thought of something and was the first to speak, "Based on the current intelligence, from Duke Rafael''s territory to the ck Tower here, the warships would take at most two to three days if they travel at full speed. So these pirates will probably not stay, and are eighty percent likely to retreat in two days. Waiting for that moment to leave, without guards or pirates, would be the safest n..."


    Upon saying this,


    everyone fell silent,


    feeling something was off but couldn''t quite figure out what exactly was wrong.


    If it were that simple, Mr. Jing obviously wouldn''t have brought it up for discussion.


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun slightly furrowed his brows.


    Kyle''s analysis actually had no fault.


    But due tocking some essential understanding of the surface world, he had overlooked some factors.


    Having gathered some fragments of memory from outside, Su Lun was probably the person here, besides Mr. Jing, who understood the external situation the best.


    Thinking it over, he felt it necessary to share some intelligence he thought of and thus spoke up, "I think waiting for the pirates to leave before storming the tower is not a good choice."


    Upon saying this, everyone turned their attention to him.


    Su Lun continued, "After all, once we leave ck Coral Reef, we''ll need a sea vessel capable of withstanding wind and waves. If we wait for the pirates to leave, I believe they definitely won''t leave us a intact sea vessel."


    Realizing he had overlooked some aspects, Kyle then suddenly understood and muttered to himself, "Oh right...there''s also the sea."


    After a pause, he looked at Su Lun again and asked, "Do we absolutely need a ship, or can we swim across? If we need a ship, how big should it be? Can we build one ourselves?"


    "Swimming...probably won''t work. The intelligence shows there are many terrifying sea beasts below...the safest would be to travel on arge sea vessel."


    Su Lun''s face twitched slightly, then added, "ck Coral Reef is in a stormy area, with very strong wind and waves nearby, and the weather changes unpredictably. A small boat simply wouldn''t safely carry us across the sea tond."


    People from the underground world had never seen the sea, nor had much concept of it.


    They didn''t even know what a standard sea vessel was, nor understood the impact of weather, waves, and storms on sailing...


    They probably thought the ocean was just arger undergroundke.


    But after hearing Su Lun''s brief analysis, everyone gradually understood a bit more.


    Seeing that Mr. Jing remained silent and didn''t object, they naturally epted this exnation.


    And didn''t ask further.


    Now was not the time to discuss this in detail.


    Hearing this, Mr. Hei pondered for a moment, then agreed with Su Lun''s viewpoint, saying, "Hmm...I also agree with attacking now. Otherwise, after this pirate attack, Old Lington''s coordinates will be exposed in the surface world. The Duke''s Manor will definitely send heavy troops to guard it, and the defense of the ck Tower will be stronger in the future. The wealth of Old Lington is invaluable, and it''s very likely that the Luying Empire''s royal family might also get involved. Missing this opportunity, any future attempt to break out will not be easier than now. Moreover, the fact that Princess Teresa''s team was annihted has probably already alerted the Duke''s Manor. If it were not for the war between the two great empires drawing their attention, Duke Rafael might personallye to investigate. If we dy further, there might be some unforeseeable changes..."


    Hearing this, everyone also understood why Mr. Jing mentioned that storming the tower was very risky and did not suggest the option of not doing it now.


    It seemed like they had a choice, but in reality, they had no choice.


    In the underground, Mr. Jing also couldn''t fully recover to her peak strength, she still needed to go to the outside world to find some advanced materials.


    Attacking now would be very risky.


    But if they didn''t attack now, unforeseen problems would be even more numerous in the future.


    They might be trapped here forever.


    Upon hearing this, everyone understood and expressed their agreement.


    Card said, "I also think that attacking now is the best opportunity."


    Thousands said, "Agreed!"


    Lei said, "Agreed!"


    ....


    The Organization of Mr. Jing was a very loose organization, and members had the right to make their own choices.


    They were gathered together for the same goal.


    All having experienced significant life and death realizations, their decisions were not difficult.


    After a few simple statements made things clear, all members voted in favor.


    Mr. Jing actually meant the same.


    After all, it was just one choice.


    Whether to participate.


    To storm the tower, one must be prepared to face death.


    After the voting, Mr. Jing didn''t say much more, saying, "Since everyone agrees to act now, everyone go prepare. Two hourster, meet at the secret passage, ready to storm the tower!"


    Everyone said, "Yes!"

 Chapter 218 : The World on the Ground

    The pirates had all poured into the city in a frenzied plunder, and at the entrance to the ck tower of the Duke''s Mansion, only a small squad of pirates was left to keep guard.


    The firelight exploding throughout the city looked to them like festival fireworks, heralding the start of a wild feast.


    To this group of pirates, the prosperous Old Lington City was nothing more than a dazzling gold mine.


    The guards were just a bunch of "greenhorns," an easy conquest.


    A few pirates, bored with their duty, had gathered for a game of poker, ying with pirate cards.


    As they yed, they grumbledints under their breath.


    "Pah¡ªdamn it! All the other crews are living it up in the city, while we''re stuck here guarding this damned tower."


    "Exactly. I heard the strongest professionals in these underground cities are only third-tier, our captain could squash them with ease, it''s a giveaway. Unlike out there, in such a big city territory, you can easily find professionals of the sixth or seventh tier... I don''t see what''s so important to guard. Besides, with the boss Gaal on the ship outside, who could possibly escape?"


    "Just my luck to draw the short straw before! Forget it, let''s drop it. At least we''ll get our share of the loot just by standing guard, so let''s just hang around."


    "Captain, money is one thing, but I heard from nk just now, the women in this underground city are slick and tender, not a bit worse than those noble youngdies outside. In those high-rise buildings, you can just grab a handful..."


    "Don''t worry. When we leave, we''ll definitely bring a batch of ''fine goods'' onto the ship. Then you can y all you want back on board."


    "Heh heh, these fine goods will be taken to ''Pirate City'', guaranteed to do great business..."


    "..."


    The pirates grew more animated when the conversation turned to women, and they cast aside any thought of patrolling and staying alert.


    ...


    Old Lington had aplex sewage system, and in the ck market beneath Shadow Alley, there was a secret passage leading directly to the city center''s inner areas.


    Even though the eight city gates of the inner city were controlled by pirates, Mr. Jing led Su Lun and others smoothly into the inner city through the tunnels.


    The Reyis family from the city and other forces nurtured by Mr. Jing had also received the message and had been waiting in a secret underground warehouse.


    While the pirates were busy looting the upper-ss district, the lower levels remained rtively safe.


    By the time Su Lun and his group arrived, the warehouse had already gathered three to four hundred people.


    Along with other members brought by the Jing organization, there were nearly five hundred people in total.


    Su Lun brought Kai and Pharmacist Danny, along with Sabina and a few of her trusted followers. He also saw the head of the Cross Society, the "Arbitrator" Chak, along with a few core members. Even someone as strong as Chak was merely a reserve member of the Jing organization.


    No one spoke, and the atmosphere was extremely heavy before the battle.


    After Mr. Jing''s arrival, everyone left the warehouse without dy.


    Old Lington was, after all, a big city, with dense, vertical buildings.


    A ten-thousand-strong horde of pirates spread into it would seem quite scattered.


    Moreover, the pirates were still busy with their looting and didn''t pay attention to a group sneaking through the dark alleys in the lower levels.


    This group knew Old Lington far better than the invading pirates, and so, before long, they had arrived near the Duke''s Mansion.


    The Duke''s Mansion was located at the base of the ck tower; to highlight its status and maintain secrecy, there weren''t many other buildings nearby.


    Most of the troops hid in distant buildings, while eight people in gold-patterned cloaks quietly approached the ck tower''s moat, hiding next to the bridge towers, covered by the wall.


    These cloaks were a high-grade alchemical product capable of blocking perception and aura, so the pirates didn''t notice anyone approaching.


    At this moment, the air shimmered with a ripple, and another assassin in stealth appeared, reporting to Mr. Jing, "Leader, there are a total of fifteen pirates guarding the tower. One fourth-tier, and four third-tier..."


    The defense was not too strong.


    Mr. Jing nodded and spoke, "The situation now is that most of those pirates are likely looting the inner city. There are about a thousand men guarding the ships outside, a few fifth-tier crews, and that sixth-tier ''Frost Giant'' Gaal Popov. It''s going to be a tough fight once we''re out. Let''s move quickly and try to seize a ship and set out to sea before the pirates in Old Lington City realize what''s happened."


    Everyone listened quietly and nodded in agreement, "Mhm."


    "Prepare to move."


    Mr. Jing''s tone turned severe, "We must swiftly eliminate these pirates before they can signal others; that will buy us more time to get away."


    Everyone responded, "Yes!"


    As the words fell, eight out of the nine cloaked figures disappeared in an instant.


    For a fourth-tier professional, the distance of over a hundred meters was but a blink of an eye.


    And the only one who remained was, of course... the second-tier Su Lun.


    Su Lun looked at the big shots disappearing beside him, a hint of awkwardness in the corner of his eye. Although a half-step behind, he followed and charged up as well.


    After all, he wasn''t here just to faff about.


    ....


    The pirates guarding the tower were ying cards carelessly, not expecting anyone toe back and assault the tower.


    But, after all, there were fifth-tier professionals.


    Just as Mr. Jing and his group broke out in a sudden charge, that fourth-tier deputy captain reacted.


    Watching the flood-like murderous aura bearing down, he immediately realized something was terribly wrong, and stood up abruptly. The word "Not good" that was about to escape his lips, when suddenly he found that the air around his body had solidified.


    "Not good!"


    Feeling the imminent danger of death, the deputy captain''s face drastically changed.


    He reacted quickly, instinctively trying to break away from the spot. But as he looked down, he discovered a purple lightning chain quietly locked around his ankle, a numbness sweeping through his body in an instant.


    With Mr. Jing personally taking control, how could he have a chance to escape?


    The fourth-tier deputy captain was instantly killed; the other pirateckeys were quickly ughted by Mr. Jing''s organization.


    They didn''t even have a chance to send a signal.


    As soon as themunicator was activated, the main force from the distant buildings immediately swarmed over.


    Su Lun walked over, his face full of anticipation as he devoured the Soul Shards floating above the bodies of a dozen pirates.


    ''You''ve obtained "Severino Connally''s" memory fragment*4''


    ''You have gained the information: "We''re gonna strike it rich this time, after this heist, I''m gonna live it up..."''


    ''You haveprehended the iplete 1-4 tier water-rted rules''


    ''You have learned the skill [Diving Mastery]''


    ''You have mastered [Elementary Sailing]''


    ''Combat experience +122''


    ''Spiritual power +4.3''


    But right after devouring the fragments of that fourth-tier deputy captain, Su Lun felt a little disappointed.


    Apart from the very iplete water-rted rules, which were a pleasant surprise,


    The value of the other information was very limited.


    Diving, sailing...


    Skills that even an ordinary sailor from the outside could extract, totally unfit for the "output" of a fourth-tier professional.


    In this guy''s head, apart from women and pleasure, alchemy knowledge was negligible.


    Su Lun shook his head momentarily, and then he got over it.


    After all, stripping Soul Shards was like a "lottery," with no guarantee of extracting something useful every time.


    The previous extractions were from a duke''s guard captain, a genuine product of the Ru Ying Royal War Academy with incredible knowledge reserves. But the one in front of him was just a pirate, not much different from the gangs of Old Spiriton Outer City, with much less dense knowledge, so the extracting effects were worlds apart.


    A thought shed through Su Lun''s mind, and he didn''t dwell on it, casually devouring the "mist" from the corpses of the other pirates.


    Gleaning skills like [Rapid Cannonball Loading Techniques], [Sailing Ship Handling Skills], [Ocean Currents and Wind Direction Recognition]... pretty much exclusive pirate expertise.


    However, it seemed that they might juste in handy immediately, which Su Lun found quite eptable.


    ...


    After killing the pirates guarding the tower, the group rushed into the duke''s mansion, then into the towering ck tower.


    Since the pirates had already destroyed the traps and bans within the tower, their ingress went very smoothly.


    Apart from Mr. Jing, it was everyone''s first time entering the interior of the ck tower.


    The ck tower was merely a passageway to andmark, nothing special. Inside, like the rifling of a gun barrel, there were rings of stone steps on the walls, with no elevator, only stairs to climb. The vertical height seemed to be about three to four kilometers.


    Luckily, nearly all were professionals, so climbing was swift.


    Members of Mr. Jing''s organization led the way, the only ones entitled to be at the forefront.


    On the way, they encountered a group of pirates transporting loot, quickly dealt with them, and left behind the corpses.


    Su Lun couldn''t keep up with the speed and didn''t feel he had the qualifications to sh with those fourth- or fifth-order pirates, so he followed therger troop at the back.


    As he walked up the stairs, he noticed that the texture was extremely hard and, out of curiosity, appraised it; to his surprise, the material of the walls even had a name¡ªit was called "Asgard Stone."


    He casually tried to scratch it with a pointed knife but found that he couldn''t leave any mark on the stone.


    Then, he tried with the ck scythe.@@novelbin@@


    To his astonishment, the spatial rift, which nothing could withstand, was ineffective this time!


    This was the first time that Su Lun had encountered a material that even the ck scythe couldn''t cut through.


    Now, he was even more curious about what this ck stone was.


    While Su Lun was curiously trying things out, Mr. Jing came up to him.


    He had stayed at the back of the team to cover their retreat, setting up some magical formations and restrictions at the ce they came up.


    Seeing Su Lun''s curiosity about the stones, he offered an exnation, "Actually, the ck Tower has been around since the Dawn Era and didn''t originally stand here. This ck stone isn''t a material from this ne either; legend has it that it was taken from a mythical mountain called Asgard. It is one of the hardest materials known to date, and even a god-tier powerhouse might not be able to destroy this ck Tower. My father moved it here and connected it with the underground spatial passages as a reinforcement of the crack in the passage..."


    "Oh."


    Hearing this exnation, Su Lun finally understood.


    So, this was something Sir Isaac had moved from another ce?


    The thought that the ck Tower might copse unexpectedly and the seawater flood in also died down in his mind.


    After all, a structure meant to guard a spatial passage wouldn''t be so easily broken.


    Mr. Jing didn''t seem intent on saying more and suddenly frowned, "The fight has started outside! I''m going ahead, be careful!"


    With those words, his figure vanished from the spot.


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun''s expression instantly became serious. Without further dy, he spread his eight-armed spider spear and rushed quickly towards the ground.


    ....


    At the top of the ck Tower was a secluded stone house that looked like a basement.


    The pirates'' assault on the ck Tower had, in a way, cleared a lot of trouble for them.


    The mechanisms and heavy cannons in those bunkers had been destroyed, and the pirates, with no intention of a long-term defense, did not repair them. Theyzily guarded the entrance to the passageway without any tactical formation.


    This led to Su Lun and his group emerging toe face-to-face with the pirates guarding the passageway. The guards were just lowly pirate minions, with the elite troops being on the ship or underground. Mr. Hei and his group took action and quickly cleared them out.


    At least, they didn''t let anyone block the raiders in the underground.


    The five hundred people rushed out of the ck Tower; the first step of the n had been perfectly achieved.


    Su Lun arrived just in time to see several bodies in the basement.


    The Soul Shards were still quite distinct; he harvested them effortlessly and learned more about the pirate gang known as "King of the North Sea."


    While harvesting the bodies, he made an unexpected discovery.


    That was despite the fact that these pirates were all at least first-order professionals, the gear and materials conjured from their bodies were mostly of very low quality!


    In Old Lington City, "ck Iron" materials were considered the lowest grade.


    Yet to his surprise, he found gear on the pirate bodies that was identified as "inferior quality" whiteboard equipment.


    Such upation materials and gear provided very low attribute enhancements but, correspondingly, had much lower advancement requirements.


    One could say that as long as one practiced breathing techniques, just about anyone could be an advanced professional!


    On second thought, he understood why.


    The development of Old Lington City was based on "archaeology," with many professionals'' advancement materials being fine products left over from ancient times.


    Because of the harsh living environment and the dark magicians'' lineage absorbing dark spiritual power, which could lead to mutation at any moment, there were fewer professionals. But correspondingly, the materials for advancement tended to be of much higher quality.


    Thus, when it came tobat power of the same tier, underground city professionals were on average even stronger than those above ground.


    At least, they were much stronger than untrained pirates!


    ....


    Su Lun didn''t linger in the basement; he harvested the "Mist" and followed the main force rushing out.


    The intense battle had already begun outside, with the sound of gunfire booming.


    Not all pirates were high-order professionals; the fourth and fifth orders were in the minority.


    Moreover, the majority of the pirates'' elite forces were down there robbing the underground.


    Mr. Mirror led a group of people in a fierce charge out, catching the guards outside unprepared!


    This was a gothic-style ancient castle, a standard military fortress.


    Entering the eyes, the castle was everywhere a high wall with arrow towers, dense artillery battlements, and "U-shaped Harbor" filled with moored ships.


    Su Lun, from his dissociated memories, already knew that the ck Tower was on an isted ind known as "Lighthouse Reef," home to a military fortress.


    But the others did not know this.


    They had never left the underground before, nor did they know that, besides Old Lington, there were other cities in the world.


    Even the elite guards trained by the Reys family did not know what their mission was until two hours before!


    The time outside was also midnight.


    The night was stunning,


    with a moon that shone sparsely amidst the stars.


    Moonlight enshrouded the castle in a faint silver glow.


    The stars in the sky twinkled brilliantly, vast and profound.


    The waves rhythmicallypped against the shore with a lulling sound...


    The refreshing breeze carried a hint of sea brine, making one feel every pore in their body open withfort.


    Freedom was in the air everywhere.


    When the underground dwellers burst onto the surface, everyone was shocked by the scene before them.


    It was like prisoners who had been trapped for generations suddenly obtaining freedom; despite being mentally prepared, huge waves of astonishment still surged in their hearts.


    Having only seenmplight before, they were seeing the pure moonlight for the first time, gazing upon the endless world, and beholding the stars for the first time.


    "Look... that''s the legendary moon! Is this the sky... How high is it!"


    "This is unbelievable; you can''t see the end at all. Is this the great sea? I thought it was just a bit bigger than an undergroundke..."


    "My God, the world outside is so vast..."


    "..."


    Shock from their copsing worldview was evident on everyone''s face, their eyes alight with life.


    But before they had time to be entranced any longer, the harsh voice of the Commander came through themunicator: "Don''t just stand there, head to twelve o''clock direction,mandeer the ships! Board the ships!"


    Hundreds of people instantly snapped back to reality.


    Following the Commander''s directions, they rushed out from the castle toward the port where the ships were moored.


    The pirates in the city were instantly scattered, and they stormed into the harbor.


    But looking at the more than a hundred ships before them, they hesitated again.


    Two types of ships were moored in the harbor, one was the traditional wooden ship powered by wind sails, flying the "Wolf Fang Club and Skull" pirate g.


    The other was the steam-powered irond ship emitting billows of white smoke, mostly bearing the noble crest patterns exclusive to the Rafael family.


    Even... there were two small steam airships drifting in the sky!


    Someone asked urgently, "Commander, which ship should we seize?"


    A prompt response came through themunicator: "Take the wooden ship..."


    Obviously, the tone was a bit hesitant and uncertain.


    Though none of the underground world people had ever seen a ship, ironds were not considered.


    Even if seized, they wouldn''t be able to figure out how to operate them straight away.


    As for wind sail-powered ships, although no one had operated them, there were records in ancient texts, and they had theorized about it previously, so one could roughly understand the principle by just looking.


    However, there were seventy to eighty wooden ships, each with bizarre and exotic shapes, two-masted, three-masted...


    It felt overwhelming, not knowing where to start.


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun, recalling his previous dissociated memories, decisively said through themunicator: "Everyone, seize ''Sea Breeze'' with the ck sail, that''s the fastest ship in the pirate fleet!"

 Chapter 219 Spore Secret Technique

    Before the pirates fully reacted, the people from Old Lington had already rushed toward the "U-shaped bay".


    Su Lun pointed the way, and everyone charged straight for the ck-sailed "Wind Chaser".


    They only had five hundred people, so they didn''t need a veryrge ship.


    With Mr. Jing leading a few fourth-tier fighters at the front, the pirates could hardly organize any effective resistance and were pushed back step by step.


    The original n was to face Duke Raphael''s well-trained elite guards, and a fierce battle was certain.


    The battle was also expected.


    But the intensity of the current fight was much less than anticipated.


    Pirates are a disorganized mob.


    Don''t expect them to charge in groups and fight to the death like regr troops.


    Most pirates act bravely but without strategy, especially the lower ranks; seeing the tide turn against them, they fight while retreating, prioritizing survival above all.


    Even though the defending pirates had more than twice the number of people, they were beaten without spirit.


    After all, the five hundred who broke out of Old Lington were all elites.


    Apart from a few support personnel, almost all werebatants.


    Not to mention the Jing Organization, even the elite guards trained by the Reyes family had extraordinarybat power. They might not hold high ranks, but they were equipped with the finest gear from Old Lington, nevercking in mechanical, alchemical, or cursed items.


    The Reyes family mayck for nothing else, but they sure do have money.


    With the power of "money" supporting them, they fired alchemical bullets and alchemical cannons like it cost nothing, and their collectivebat strength was not to be underestimated.


    And Mr. Jing and the others were like gods and demons descending.


    Su Lun, observing their overwhelming power, realized that each member of the Jing Organization hadbat power far beyond their peers in the outside world.


    In previous encounters in Old Lington, they had faced tough opponents, so the difference in strength was not so apparent.


    Now, against the pirates, the gap became immediately evident.


    At the same tier, the fourth-tier pirates could hardlyst a few rounds against them.


    Even when facing fifth-tier squad leaders, they could engage in directbat without falling behind in a short time.


    Mr. Hei, Mr. Jing, Card, Assassin Lei, Red Demon Armor, Number Neen... and that mysterious sorcerer with a "Rot Flower" on his cloak.


    Su Lun saw that "Rot Flower Sorcerer" use his abilities for the first time.


    Though he couldn''t tell what his talent was, it seemed to be nt-rted.


    Once his protective gear was removed, his limbs seemed to turn into tree trunks, and with a lift of his hand, wooden spears would pierce through, bullets bouncing off him without effect.


    Of course, powerful as Mr. Jing and the others were, they were mostly fighting solo, which was somewhat entertaining to watch.


    But the one who made the biggest ssh with his appearance was Su Lun.


    With a single move, a hundred cloak-wearing puppets followed him in a mad dash.


    "Nightmare Doll", "st-Proof Doll", "Lead-Heavy Doll", "Oil-Drinking Doll", "Phosphorus Fire Doll", "Voodoo Doll", "ck Hole Doll", "Twelve Armored Knights"...


    The dolls spewed fire, vomited oil, all while baring sharp des and emitting eerie cackles...


    One man, yet he created the momentum of a legion''s charge.


    Enemies of the fourth and fifth tier didn''t need Su Lun''s attention, but those third-tier and below pirates, being in like chopping vegetables by the fearless puppet regiment, hardly stood a chance.


    That''s the excellence of a Puppet Master: as long as the body lives, the battle rages on!


    Where the puppet legion passed, it was like a meat grinder, with limbs and body parts flying everywhere¡ªsome from the puppets, more from the pirates...


    The scene was bloody and eerie.


    Not to mention anything else, just the momentum alone scared the pirates froming too close.


    Even those from Old Lington who didn''t recognize Su Lun were all in awe: indeed, those who wear Gold-Patterned Cloaks are outrageously strong!


    ....


    The fight was a surprise attack, and the effect was very ideal.


    In a blink of an eye, with minimal casualties, the five hundred had already reached the harbor.


    This ce was originally a small military port, but now it was crammed full with nearly a hundred pirate ships.


    Just then, a voice from themunicator urged them, "Board and set sail quickly; the pirates underground are destroying the seals and are about to burst out!"


    Hearing this, no one dared to hesitate, and using the ships as cover, they began boarding.


    Su Lun also leapt aboard, guessing he was the only person present with sailing experience.


    This responsibility, he would not shirk.


    Set the sails, weigh anchor, secure the mooring ropes...


    With witch''s hair flying all over the deck, he alone did the work of a team of sailors.


    And he could stillmand others to assist him.


    Do ships need power to leave the harbor?


    Not at all.


    This is a world of Alchemy.


    Once Su Lun had secured the sails and adjusted their angle, he called out to Mr. Hei not far away, "We''re good to go!"


    Upon hearing this, Mr. Hei quickly formed a sorcerer''s seal with both hands, and a faint blue Seven-Pointed Star Formation immediately emerged beneath his feet. In an instant, his robe billowed as a strong gust of wind abruptly formed.


    It was the fourth-tier wind spell, "Windstorm Technique"!


    To keep providing a powerful wind, Mr. Hei continuously threw a bunch of cursed crystals into the formation, and a roaring whoosh sounded by his ears.


    A great wind rose.


    The sails instantly puffed out, and a mighty force slowly propelled the ship into sailing.


    Every person aboard the "Wind Rider" swayed, their faces revealing unhidden joy.


    Sess!


    ....


    The pirates were baffled by the sudden assault, taking a moment to regain their senses. Wasn''t the ground base overtaken? Where did these hundreds of peoplee from?


    Seeing Mr. Jing take action, those squadron leaders also recognized the goods, and knowing he was a sixth-tier professional, none dared to confront him directly.


    But that didn''t mean they were without the power to fight.


    The scattered pirates regrouped on their fleet''s main ship, which boasted a dark gold ram.


    During the earlier battle for the castle, they had looted plenty of fine wines and food, the rich aroma of alcohol and meat wafting out from the cabins.


    "Damn it! Those guys are trying to steal a ship and run! Quick, notify boss Gaal!"


    "Boss Gaal... is drunk!"


    "Wake him up, quick!"


    "Tried that, he won''t wake..."


    "Damn it, pour ''anchovy fermentation juice'' down the boss to sober him up!"


    "Oh, my God! If the boss finds out someone''s been pouring that shit-like substance down him, he''ll definitely twist that person''s head off."


    "It was the enemy who poured it, get it! The enemy! If we don''t act quickly, they''re going to steal our ship and run away!"


    "..."


    ....


    Su Lun and his party didn''t know why they had been fighting for so long without the appearance of the sixth-tier "Frost Giant," Gaal Popov.


    But now they had sessfully seized a sea vessel. The "Wind Rider" was a charge vessel with a slender and light hull, promising swift sailing speed.


    Once they could break free from the harbor, the boundless sea was theirs to roam.


    However, at that moment, an unexpected change urred.


    A roar like that of a wild beast tore through the night sky.


    Immediately after, an icy chill descended sharply.


    The temperature plummeted.


    Everyone looked in unison, only to see a grotesque giant wielding a Wolf Fang Club, over three meters tall, furiously storming onto the deck of the pirate ship in the distance.


    It was clear he was extremely angry.


    After a roar, the chill emanating from the giant caused the water vapor in the air to freeze. A wide area around him was encased in a thickyer of frost, creating a Frost Domain.


    The pirates, seemingly anticipating this, quickly backed away.


    The hideous giant''s roar could be heard clearly even from a distance, "Damn it, who took a dump on my face?!"


    A squadron leader said, "Boss, it was the enemy! Oh, they''ve killed our brothers and stolen our ship! They''ve got some quite powerful experts among them."


    "Experts? Gaal loves killing experts!"


    Upon hearing this, the grotesque giant let out a sinisterugh and leaped down.


    ....


    Su Lun, seeing the ugly giant with boar tusks on his face, recognized his identity at once.


    The youngest son of the King of the North Sea, "Frost Giant" Gaal Popov, a hybrid of human and ice frost giant.


    "He really is hideous..."


    Su Lun muttered to himself.


    It wasn''t that he discriminated against the frost giant race.


    In the northern ice fields, giants formed arge tribe.


    Su Lun simply found it difficult to understand, how could humans interbreed with giants?


    Giants naturally had a pair of boar tusks; from a human''s aesthetic perspective, even the most beautiful female among the giants was incredibly ugly.


    How had the "King of the North Sea," Oleg, managed to stomach it?


    However, it was said that Oleg himself had Viking lineage, a descendant of giants, so his aesthetics might be different from those of regr humans.


    "Those pirates'' memories suggest this guy isn''t very smart, really... but he''s also incredibly strong."


    Su Lun felt the cold and his face became somber.


    The rich ice magicws were beyond his understanding.


    At that moment, Mr. Jing''s voice came through themunication, "This guy has consolidated a Frost Domain, he''s essentially half a step into the seventh tier. You go on ahead; I''ll hold him off!"


    For lower-tier professionals, not even the privilege to watch the fight was afforded.


    Hearing this, everyone on the ship, without a moment''s hesitation, elerated the wind, eager to help the vessel escape the harbor.


    Su Lun watched Mr. Jing charge out and, with a slight change in his eyes, remotely appraised the two pieces of equipment on Gaal.


    One was the wolf fang club wrapped in cold mist in his hand, and the other was the frost-white armor he wore on his upper body.


    At this nce, his pupils contracted slightly.


    The [Frost Wolf Fang Club] turned out to be a dark-gold level cursed item, inflicting both physical and magical damage, and it also came with a powerful "Armor Break" effect.


    As for the armor on his body, it was an even more defensively robust dark-gold level cursed item, the [Frost Dragon Scale Armor], an ancient relic, truly made from the scales of a mighty dragon, offering extremely high physical and magical defense!


    As expected of the son of the North Sea Pirate King, his equipment was indeed top-notch.


    Both pieces of equipment carried a strong ice curse, continuously inflicting "Frost Poison" damage on the possessor; they required advanced mastery of icews to control.


    Given that the mixed-blood frost giant already possessed inherent resistance to ice, hispatibility with these two cursed items was exceptionally high.


    Once he could use them, hisbat power would increase several fold!


    The sight of such equipment made Su Lun''s gaze grow even more solemn as he ryed the appraised information to Mr. Jing.


    Mr. Jing showed no fear whatsoever, as arge circle of crimson fire elements suddenly coalesced around him, stopping the hideous giant in his tracks.


    The two immediately became entangled inbat.


    ...


    After all, Mr. Jing had the genuine strength of a seventh order or above, and although he had not fully recovered his powers, handling Gaal, the "Frost Giant" with less intelligence, was not a big problem.


    Killing him quickly seemed impossible, but at least he could be detained.


    As long as the "Riding the Wind" could set sail, she being a vampire, could also fly to catch up.


    A battle between professionals of that level was not something Su Lun or anyone else could participate in.


    Even the likes of Chee, Red Demon, and several others had already boarded the ship.


    They also had to protect the people on the ship.


    The pirates were not just spectators; their cannons were all aimed at the "Riding the Wind" and fired wildly. Fortunately, the pirates'' ships were densely packed in the harbor, limiting the use of cannons and alchemic crossbows considerably.


    Mr. Hei and a group of wind magicians were striving at full strength to create strong winds, propelling the ship out to sea. Powerhouses like Chee and Red Demon, who could catch cannonballs with bare hands, also tried their best to protect the hull.


    Even so, the "Riding the Wind" was repeatedly hit, violently swaying amid the barrage of cannon fire and waves, and it could capsize at any moment.


    But clearly, the Jing Organization had anticipated the current situation well in advance.


    At that moment, the mysterious sorcerer with the "Rot Flower" pattern on her cloak made her move once more, speaking to Mr. Hei, "Mr. Hei, I am going to use that ''Sealed Item''!"


    Mr. Hei nodded, "Okay!"


    It was then that Su Lun saw her take out a small sealing box from beneath her cloak.


    Completing her sorcerer''s seals, she uttered softly, "Seal ¡¤ Release!"


    The box opened, revealing a pitch-ck root as thick as a small arm.


    The appraisal showed that this was a "legendary quality" alchemy product¡ª[World Tree Root Tainted by Darkness].


    The Jing Organization was naturally not short of sealed items.


    "Will using it curse one into a treant?"


    Su Lun, eyeing the appraised curse trait, narrowed his gaze.


    This thing couldn''t even be used by the undead; it required a sorcerer who mastered thews of the wood element to activate its energy.


    And at that moment, the "Rot Flower" removed her cloak, revealing a face as gnarled as tree bark, adorned with eerie totems.


    Clutching the section of root, her hands made sorcerer''s seals while a dark green Seven-Pointed Star Formation appeared under her feet.


    Upon closer inspection, her feet began to root, and her body visibly swelled, transforming into a lush banyan tree!


    In the blink of an eye, the branches that her body had be spread across the entire ship, and where the hull had been pierced by cannonballs, it healed as if new flesh had grown, rapidly restoring itself. The dense barrage of cannon fire now made less impact on the ship.


    With this technique, the "Riding the Wind" became unsinkable.


    But that wasn''t all!


    After the "Rot Flower" used the root to be a treant, her now branch-like arms formed sorcerer''s seals once more, and she chanted softly, "nt Alchemy ¡¤ Spore Secret Technique!"


    Just as the alchemic formation''s light lit up, a huge bud suddenly sprouted above her head.


    The bud quickly grew and then violently burst open.


    Su Lun, with his remarkable vision, immediately saw countless spores, finer than dust, dispersing into the air as the bud exploded.


    Before he couldprehend the purpose of this technique, the wind blew, and the spores had already scattered far and wide.


    Almost simultaneously, heart-wrenching screams came from the pirates on the distant ships.


    "Kopper! There''s a mushroom growing out of your head!"


    "Nicole, you''ve got a patch of mushrooms on your back too! Oh my god, they''re multiplying..."


    "What the hell are these damned mushrooms! I feel them sucking my blood, help me pull them off..."


    "Aaahhh!!!"


    "..."


    Su Lun looked over and saw a horrifying sight before his eyes.


    Those pirates had begun to sprout clusters of flesh mushrooms...


    These mushrooms, which fed on flesh and blood, visibly grewrger, and the bodies of the pirates quickly became emaciated.


    On their hands, necks, heads...


    Every piece of exposed skin was sprouting various brightly colored mushrooms.


    And they couldn''t be removed!


    Once plucked, it was like severing a limb; blood would gush out instantly.


    It was in this moment that the pirates who had pulled out mushrooms screamed continuously, merging into a single wail.


    The people of the surface world were not ustomed to wearing gas masks. While those with mushrooms growing on their skin were doing okay, the real sufferers were those who breathed in spores; mushrooms were growing directly in their alveoli.


    One by one, pirates felt the terrifying sensation of "strange things" expanding inside them. Left untreated, the mushrooms could siphon their life away, bursting their organs. They had no choice but to slice their own bodies open with sharp knives while the mushrooms were still small...


    Terror, eeriness, bloodiness... These scenes were ying out on nearly every pirate ship.


    Third-rank and fourth-rank professionals fared better, as their sharp senses allowed them to detect something was off early on. Pirates below third-rank, however, were killed off in swathes!


    Ironically, those manning the cannons were all low-rank pirates.


    The ships were too densely packed, making it impossible to avoid the airborne spores.


    It was this "Spore Secret Technique" that utterly destroyed the pirates'' cannon offensive.


    Only now did the pirate captains realize what was happening.


    "Everyone, hold your breath!"


    "Use fire spells to burn the air around you; there are parasites in the air!"


    "Be careful to cover your skin and don''t expose it to the air..."


    "Go into the sea! You won''t get infected in the sea!"


    "..."


    Then came the sound of sshing as they jumped into the sea.


    The crisis was instantly resolved.


    Su Lun was astonished by the scene before him, "Such an amazing ability..."


    He suddenly realized what the "Rot Flower''s" natural talent was, "B-003-Child of Nature," a talent for an extraordinary affinity with nt life, legendary for its ability tomunicate with nts!


    Without a doubt, this was another second awakening.


    ....


    Because of this "Rot Flower''s" surgical move, the surrounding pirates ceased their attack.


    The "Windrider" made a quick dash toward the open sea, nearly escaping the harbor.


    But then, disaster struck anew.@@novelbin@@


    At that moment, the "Frost Giant" Gaal, who was fiercely battling Mr. Jing, saw them trying to flee. He strode towards the sea and bellowed, "Gaal will not let you escape!"


    The sound was like a muffled drum, deafening.


    But how could Mr. Jing let this brute seed?


    With a refracted sh, she intercepted him. Another kick, and Gaal''s massive body crashed down, breaking the mast of a pirate ship and thunderously plunging into the sea.


    The surrounding water instantly turned to ice, yet the brutish giant, as if unscathed, stood up from the ice once more.


    Though Gaal was not the brightest, he knew that the person before him was difficult to handle.


    At that moment, he suddenly raised his Wolf Fang Club, the chill beneath his feet visibly condensing and growing denser.


    After gathering his strength, he mmed the club down onto the sea surface with a mighty crush.


    Mr. Jing sensed the terrifying Frost Domain forming but was unable to stop it.


    She could not withstand this attack.


    "Boom!"


    The Wolf Fang Club struck hard, and water sprayed up dozens of meters high.


    Oddly enough, the spray of water did not fall back down but froze midair, turning into a crystalline frost flower under the moonlight.


    From themunicator came Mr. Jing''s urgent warning, "Be careful!"


    Before her words even ended, a burst of deadly cold air exploded, engulfing the entire harbor in an instant.


    Su Lun had just been thinking that with Mr. Jing holding the ugly giant off, they surely couldn''t be caught.


    But reality quickly proved him wrong.


    Looking again, he saw the surface of the sea rapidly freezing over, the cold air catching up to the fleeing "Windrider" at high speed.


    The st of icy air skimming past made his facial skin sting as if sliced by an ice de.


    However, because they were at a distance and Mr. Jing had warned them, everyone on the ship was well-prepared.


    No one was harmed,


    but something unexpected urred.


    The piercing cold air had frozen the entire ship to the ice, immobilizing itpletely.


    Even the vast U-shaped harbor had turned into a smooth ice surface, with hundreds of sea ships frozen in ce!


    And those pirates who jumped into the sea to avoid the spores, unable to reach the shore in time, were instantly turned into ice sculptures.


    The hundreds of people from Old Lington aboard the ship watched in horror.


    Su Lun looked at the scene with a grave face, "This is going to be troublesome..."

 Chapter 220 : Soul Lantern Iron Chains

    The "Wind Rider" was frozen on the ice, and everyone on board paled at the sight.


    With such a vast expanse of ice, melting it was almost impossible.


    Mr. Hei, who was controlling the wind, remained calm in the face of danger and shouted sternly, "Chisel the ice, push the ship!"


    Upon hearing thismand, Red Demon K quickly teleported down from the ship and punched the ice with immense force.


    The ship itself trembled violently.


    "Crack," "crack," "crack"...


    The sound of the ice splitting rang in everyone''s ears.


    The ship didn''t have a deep draft, and these punches, brimming with fire energy, shattered the ice that had trapped the ship.


    If it were an ordinary ship, those heavy punches might have broken both the ice and the ship, but the "Wind Rider" was now enveloped with "Decay Flower" magic, which enabled the ship to auto-repair any damage, so it wasn''t a big issue.


    In just a few breaths, Red Demon K had moved from the bow to the stern, and with a few brutal punches, he directly freed the ship from the pit in the ice.


    Then came another thunderous roar as the armor struck fiercely.


    With a "thud," the ship, propelled by that tremendous force, was suddenly knocked out of the ice pit.


    Onboard, Su Lun swayed slightly and marveled inwardly at the dramatic disy of power, "Such astonishing strength... truly one of the strongest melee talents."


    The ship broke free from the ice. Decay Flower manipted growing branches wildly, stabilizing and bncing the ship.


    Meanwhile, Mr. Hei''s Windstorm Technique kicked in again, inting the sails, and the Wind Rider slowly started moving on the ice.


    "Quick! Have the mechanical warriors go down and help push the ship too!"


    At thatmand, the Reis family''s mechanical warriors also jumped down, with the steam boilers roaring loudly as they helped to push the ship.


    Although mechanical warriors had limited use on high-end battlefields, their strength was absolutely superior.


    With the help of these dozens of individuals joining the effort to push the ship, the Wind Rider picked up speed, sliding across the ice.


    The harbor exit was now in sight, and victory seemed within reach.


    But then, bad news followed.


    ....


    The "Frost Giant" Gar had been caught up in a fight with Mr. Jing, battling it out on the ice.


    Just then, Mr. Jing''s urgent voice suddenly came through themunicator, "Get moving, the pirates from underground have broken the seal, they''reing out!"


    Hearing this, everyone on the Wind Rider became visibly tense.


    The pirates left on the outside were mostly fodder, but the elite of the King of the North Sea''s fourth fleet were out plundering underground.


    There was also another sixth-tier professional mentioned in the intelligence, dys Ormedo, the Sr me General!


    But almost immediately after Mr. Jing''s warning, intense shouts of battle came from the castle behind them, as if thousands of troops had burst out of the ck tower.


    A red figure leaped out ahead of the others with a swoosh.


    Seeing the two-meter-tall bald woman, Su Lun''s pupils shrank suddenly, and his mind immediately matched the neer with the person from his memories, he shouted loudly, "Be careful, that''s dys!"


    Behind her, the squadron captains also led hundreds of pirates, swarming out with a ferocious momentum.


    "Damn it, who dares to mess with us when we''re in the middle of a haul?"


    "Could it be some strays from Duke''s estate?"


    "Who cares who it is? If they dare to tread on our territory, let''s kill the bastards!"


    "..."


    The pirates mored loudly, surging like a torrent.


    But the distance was still long, and the Wind Rider was sliding quickly on the ice. By the time the majority of the pirates reached them, they would have nearly left the harbor.


    However, clearly, this distance was not much for those fourth- and fifth-tier squadron captains!


    In the blink of an eye, Su Lun saw at least dozens of fourth- and fifth-tier professionals chasing after them.


    Mr. Hei was still navigating the ship and couldn''t lend a hand, and "Decay Flower" had transformed into a banyan tree, fixed onto the ship.


    The rest, without hesitation, leapt from the ship to intercept the squadron captains, "We will hold them off; you go ahead!"


    But that wasn''t the worst of it.


    Su Lun''s eyesight was exceptional, and his attention was always on the distant sixth-tier ''Sr me General'' dys Ormedo.


    The bald woman didn''t rush forward but instead leaped onto one of the castle''s arrow towers and looked down from her elevated position.


    Gar''s battle with Mr. Jing had reached a stalemate.


    Despite the heavy physique frequently being sent flying, Gar''s robust bodybined with the "Frost Dragon Scale Armor" meant that, for a while, Mr. Jing couldn''t finish him off.


    Right at that moment, dys pinched her sorcerer''s seals, and she began unlocking her alchemical imnts.


    With a sh of light, a pair of fiery wings slowly emerged from her back, and scales began to sprout all over her body.


    On a closer look, her entire being had transformed into a humanoid dragon.


    Su Lun immediately identified the imnts on her body, his expression growing even graver, "Gold imnts ''Wings of the Nether Dragon'', silver imnts ''me Python Scale Armor'' and ''Deep Sea Giant Shrimp''s Cannon w''¡­"


    When he saw the woman taking off into the sky, her hands suddenly morphing into something resembling cannon barrels, his face drastically changed, and he urgently shouted in themunicator, "Be careful, that woman is about tounch ava cannon!"


    No sooner had he spoken than the human-shaped dragon in the sky lit up with alchemical formations, and the cannons in her hands glowed with a crimson light, like a steam boiler gathering force. Two secondster, she uttered a light cry, "Fire Alchemy: Magma Injection!"


    The powerful recoil from the ejection staggered the bald woman backward, as a visible gust of air sted from her giant ws,pressing the surrounding air into ripples.


    Upon closer inspection, a scalding hot blob ofva, which twisted the air around it with its heat, was sent flying forth with a "boom."


    Her spell was as fast as a bullet!


    Su Lun''s eyes narrowed slightly, "This prosthesis..."


    Although that "Deep-sea Prawn''s Giant w Cannon" was merely of ck iron quality, and maybe just suited for withstanding high temperatures and pressurized ejection, it allowed the bald woman''s magma alchemical technique to have its range and speed increased several fold.


    Normally, a professional''s spell has limitations in casting distance and speed.


    Take the "Fireball Technique", for instance, one not only has to gather the fireball but also understand wind maniption techniques tounch it. However, solely relying on oneself, both theunch speed and distance are quite limited and could be easily dodged by others.


    But who has seen a blob of magma shot at the speed of a bullet like this?


    Turning spells into "shells" and prostheses into "cannons," this woman effectively turned her own hands into "magic cannons."


    Indeed, it confirms the saying among professionals: there is no strongest prosthesis, only the one that best fits the professional''s capabilities!


    ....


    The crimson blobs ofva burned intensely, shooting over like cannonballs.


    High-tier professionals could dodge, but the ship could not!


    Just as theva was about to hit, at this critical moment, Red Demon Kai leaped from the stern of the ship, blocking the vessel with his body and punching the iing blob of magma fireball.


    With a "bang," the fireball exploded in the sky.


    On this moonlit icy surface, it burst into a spectacr firework.


    Seeing this, everyone on the ship finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    But who could easily catch a direct hit from a sixth-tier professional?


    After a sh of light, Red Demon Kai appeared a bit disheveled, spewing out a mouthful of dark blood.


    In the distance, the bald woman, now surprised to see Kai''s true form unveiled without his cloak, remarked with amazement, "Huh¡ªso it''s the twice-awakened Red Demon? No wonder he could take a hit from me..."


    Setting aside the matters of killing and hijacking the ship, just looking at the current situation¡ªwho would let these people go?


    The mysterious man in the cloak, who could suppress Gal, seemed far from ordinary even among sixth-tiers.


    A second-stage Red Demon was now added to the mix...


    And the others...


    No, everyone on that ship seemed abnormal!


    By simple deduction, those people must harbor "big secrets."


    Moreover, Old Lington itself was a treasure vault, and surely those who escaped had valuable things aboard the ship!


    As the thought shed through her mind, a cold sneer crossed the bald woman''s face as she muttered contemptuously, "Since you could take one of my hits, then let''s see if you can still handle this!"


    With that said, dozens of ovepping crimson alchemical formations suddenly ignited behind her, and she raised her two cannon-like giant ws forward, already shaping the spell, "Magma Mystery: Meteor Incineration!"


    ....


    Su Lun kept his eyes fixed on the woman in the sky, and seeing theyered hexagram arrays forming behind her, he knew she was about to unleash a major move.


    Truly, the instant the sorcerer''s seals werepleted, the sky seemed to ignite, as the fire element grew denser and denser.


    Then, he watched as the bald woman''s giant ws emitted fire.


    If the previous shot was a single fire cannon, then this was rapid-fire like a machine gun.


    Thud, thud, thud, thud...


    The line of fire continuously spouted from the giant ws, and in a flicker of light, hundreds of red-hot balls of magma appeared in the sky.


    The thick fire element formed waves, and even from a distance, they all felt a burning sensation.


    Upon witnessing this, everyone aboard the Chengfeng felt their faces turn pale.


    Who dares to stand against a wide-range alchemical technique of a sixth-tier professional?


    The only choice was to avoid it!


    Even with teleportation, Su Lun wasn''t sure he could keep safe under this spell.


    And most crucially, if the ship were destroyed, given the situation, they would have no chance to seize another and set sail!


    The gap in strength between them and this pirate fleet was just too vast.


    They were facing the destruction of the ship and the loss of lives.


    At that moment, a mirror image suddenly shed into existence, positioning itself in front of the Chengfeng.


    Mr. Jing''s cloak was still frosted over, looking as if her fight with Gal had not been easy. She teleported over without pause, her handsing together with a p, and massive vampire wings emerged behind her, her spell already taking shape, her expression stern, "Mirror Mystery: Hundred Blossoms!"


    In an instant, in front of her bloomed a dense array of circr mirror wheels, neatly lined up like blossoming flowers.


    The moonlight cast down, spilling silver light across the entire ind, as if a hundred moons were guarding her, brightening the entire field of view.


    As the spell took shape, the hundreds ofva fireballs also fell from the sky.


    The scorching fireball fell, looking like it could easily shatter those thin mirrors.


    But then, something eerie happened...@@novelbin@@


    The fierce fireballs, upon touching the mirror surface, didn''t cause the slightest disturbance; theypletely merged into it!


    The bald woman who was flying in the sky in the distance saw the change in Mr. Jing''s vampire-like body and was slightly astonished at first, "Vampire?"


    As she watched her spell being absorbed by the mirror, her face changed dramatically, and a look of shock and fear appeared in her eyes as she bellowed, "Get out of there, quick!"


    Naturally, the shout was directed to the pirates still in the castle.


    Without any hesitation, she pped her dragon wings and left the spot instantly.


    The very next second, before others could understand what had happened, shadows of fireballs suddenly appeared in the hundred mirror reflections in front of Mr. Jing.


    Then, those fireballs actually passed through the mirror surface and emerged!


    Just like when they had arrived, over a hundred fireballs were "pop pop pop" catapulted towards the distant castle.


    She had...pletely reflected the spell back with the mirror!


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "..."


    Fireballsnded within the castle one by one, erupting with mighty sts as if meteors had struck.


    Even the specially reinforced defenses were sted with holes by the onught of fireballs.


    Just in that instant, the entire castle was as if it received a carpet bombing of artillery, turning into a sea of mes.


    The pirates who had not managed to evacuate wailed pitifully.


    One could imagine the disastrous consequences if the spell had hit the ship instead.


    "Mr. Jing''s ability is so strong..."


    Su Lun understood, seeing that it was somewhat like his own "ck Hole Baby," using the opponent''s strength against them.


    However, the clear difference was that while ck Hole Baby releases someone else''s spell and there''s an energy decay mid-way, the spells reflected by Mr. Jing''s mirrors were an exact copy of the opponent''s.


    This is the S-ss talent "Mirror Guardian''s" replication ability!


    ...


    Escaping even for an instant in a battle between high-ranking professionals is not easy.


    Mr. Jing took advantage of his superior maneuverability to temporarily alleviate the perilous situation of the Wind Chaser.


    Gall, having lost his target, charged forward once again withrge, striding steps.


    This grotesque giant might look clumsy, but that was only rtive to other Tier 6 professionals. To lower-tier professionals, his speed was almost indistinguishable from teleportation!


    And those pirates under themand of the "King of the North Sea," who roam freely across the northern seas and make even the imperial navy of the Luying Empire helpless, would they not have some tricks up their sleeves?


    Mr. Jing, in order to protect the ship, stayed put to cast spells, which gave those pirates an opportunity to act.


    Among these pirate squadron captains were also experts with strange abilities!


    Just as the fireballs were catapulted, everyone suddenly saw a chain of light sh and disappear, as if some mark had been struck on Mr. Jing''s body.


    Others didn''t see it clearly, but Su Lun, with his All-knowing Eye, did, and his heart chilled, "Soul Chains? Mr. Jing has been locked on!"


    Mr. Jing obviously noticed something too, but there was no time to react; Gall had already closed in, and the two once again shed fiercely.


    However, the sole good news was...


    The Wind Chaser finally left the ice surface and exited the U-shaped harbor!


    And at that moment, to prevent the bald woman from pursuing, Mr. Jing turned the battlefield towards those pirate ships in the harbor, ready to releaserge-scale spells in a fight to the death if needed.


    The bald woman had no choice but to give up on chasing the Wind Chaser to defend, and together with Gall, they barely managed to entangle Mr. Jing in a two-on-one.


    ....


    The Wind Chaser finally appeared on the sea surface.


    The wind howled, and the ship''s speed was exceptionally fast.


    There were some pirate ships outside the harbor, but none was as fast as Su Lun''s ck-sailed ship; they couldn''t possibly catch up.


    The pirates behind wanted to give chase, but the lower-ranking pirates didn''t have the strength, and the few high-ranking pirates who could fly also didn''t dare to approach rashly.


    If Mr. Jing could hold them off for just a little while longer, the Wind Chaser would be safe.


    In the distance, the battle on the ice was intense, with Mr. Jing holding his own against two Tier 6 opponents.


    Normally, with her abilities, she could escape if she couldn''t win, and nobody could hold her back.


    But Su Lun knew that she couldn''t leave.


    Not to mention that Mr. Jing''s current strength was already stretched thin against two Tier 6 opponents.


    There were also the encircling thousands of pirates who definitely wouldn''t let her leave easily.


    Of course, the key was the fleeting phantom of the iron chain that had just vanished.


    Mr. Hei and the others had clearly seen the glimmer of the chain before, feeling a sense of ill omen in their hearts.


    They wanted to help, but at that moment, the voice of Mr. Jing came through themunicator, "Emmerich, take them and go first!"


    The tone was more serious than ever before, brooking no doubt.


    Mr. Hei''s unease grew worse, but all he could do was obey, responding, "Yes, Teacher!"


    Qian Tiao, Kai, Card... several members of the Mirror Organization had also shaken off their adversaries and returned to the ship.


    Although they were more or less injured, fortunately, everyone was now aboard.


    The few of them stood at the bow, silent.


    They were very clear that they could not directly interfere in a battle of that magnitude.


    Even if they went, they would not be of much help.


    Speeding away in the ship would at least ease some pressure on Mr. Jing.


    Mr. Jing didn''t speak of her circumstances, and others didn''t know why she didn''t leave.


    But Su Lun knew.


    Among that group of pirates, someone had used a very special alchemical item.


    A piece of a Divine Artifact.


    [Tartaros''s Soul Lamp Chain (Fragment)]


    Quality: Legendary


    Description: Amp ignited by a soul that points the way to the underworld


    Curse Traits: By using the chain to unleash a ''Soul Mark'', the target''s soul can be bound, preventing it from escaping a radius of three kilometers from the chain; if the chain does not consume the marked soul within twenty-four hours, it will consume the user''s soul instead; killing the holder will automatically dissipate the Soul Mark;


    Detailed Exnation: This is no ordinary chain, it is a remnant capable of binding souls, and also a trinket from a forbidden soulntern;


    That chain had marked a soul.


    This meant that if Mr. Jing didn''t kill that pirate captain who had tricked her, she couldn''t leave.


    But how was she to seed when besieged by two sixth-tier professionals and thousands of pirates? Considering how well the pirate tactics were coordinated, it was evident that this was not their first time ensnaring someone in such a way.


    Mr. Jing''s situation was very bad!


    ...


    Getting out of trouble should have been a good thing.


    But for some reason, as Su Lun stood on the deck looking towards the increasingly distant battlefield, he felt more and more oppressed.


    Thoughts flitted rapidly through his mind, weighing safety against gain and loss.


    But the feeling inside him refused to be suppressed.


    Su Lun''s mind shed back to several images.


    Although his time with this "senior sister" was short, he had received many favors from her, a friend as well as a mentor.


    If Mr. Jing died...


    Su Lun shook his head.


    Without Mr. Jing, none would have escaped.


    Naturally, he couldn''t just watch as she faced peril.


    Especially when he knew he could do something about it.


    Su Lun was aware that although his own rank wasn''t high, among those who had escaped from Old Lington, he was the only one who could intervene in that high-rank professional''s battle.


    Because he had the [Xiupunos''s Night Sickle]!


    With this in mind, a resolute glint crossed Su Lun''s eyes, and he calmly said to Qian Tiao and the others nearby, "I''ll be right back."


    Before anyone could ask questions, he leapt up and disappeared into the vast night and the rolling waves.


    On this venture,


    it was not certain he could help, but he had to try.


    If he couldn''t right the wrongs that disturbed his peace of mind, what use was learning all these skills?


    At the age of twelve,


    he could challenge the injustices with a mere dagger,


    why would he hold back now?


    No matter how strong the enemy, he couldn''t let fear stop him from drawing his sword!


    As his thoughts cleared,


    the frustration in Su Lun''s chest suddenly lifted.


    He waspletely unaware that the "will" and "spirit" Mr. Jing once mentioned to him were now taking shape.

 Chapter 221 : Not Much Else, Many Banned Items

    Su Lun jumped into the sea, and under the cover of night, vanished in an instant.


    The Cefeng was not too far from the port, so after swimming a bit and using spatial teleportation, he swiftly reached the U-shaped bay.


    The focus of the battle was on Mr. Jing and the two sixth-rank individuals, so no one noticed that Su Lun had already climbed up the cliffs of the harbor. The effects of such high-levelbat were wide-reaching; captain-ranked fighters could only fight on the fringes, while lower-ranked pirates had to stand far away waiving their gs and shouting.


    Su Lun watched the battlefield where Mr. Jing was fighting against two opponents; although he was struggling to cope, his life was not in immediate danger, so Su Lun did not rush to join the fight.@@novelbin@@


    He needed to find the right opportunity.


    There were many pirates, so only a stealth attack would do.


    Su Lun notified Mr. Jing through themunicator and said, "Sister, your soul has been marked. You should be able to sense the person who marked you, my scythe can ensure a precise attack within two hundred meters, I have a n..."


    He didn''t beat around the bush butid out his n directly, knowing the other party would understand.


    He would only get one chance to strike, and it had to be a fatal blow.


    The situation was that Mr. Jing was being attacked on both sides by "Frost Troll" Gahl and "Sr me General" Gretis. He wanted to kill the person who had marked his soul, but he waspletely tied up.


    Besides, that captain was no weakling and would run.


    Other pirates were also eyeing eagerly.


    So, the predictable oue was that Mr. Jing would eventually be worn down by this horde of pirates.


    Shortly after the n wasmunicated, a response came through themunicator, just one word: "Hmm."


    It was hard to discern the emotion.


    But the more calm the reply, the more Su Lun was aware of the crisis.


    If help was not needed, his senior sister would have definitely told him directly.


    Su Lun did not dy any longer, sprayed himself with masking scent, and quickly changed into the pirate outfit he had stripped off earlier.


    A yellowed linen shirt, a frayed brown vest, armed with a curved saber and flintlock, and even wrapped a dirty red headscarf that looked like a rag around his head. Pirates, constantly adrift at sea, likely hadn''t washed clothes for ten days or a half-month, the nauseating mix of seafood and body odor thoroughly imbued the fabric.


    However, changing clothes also gave Su Lun a bit more sense of security.


    This way, he could possibly avoid those with a keen sense of smell.


    ...


    All attention was on the fight on the ice.


    Dressed as a pirate, Su Lun secretly descended from the cliff.


    He dared not appear in the pirates'' line of sight mboyantly.


    Fortunately, hundreds of pirate ships acted as the perfect cover, each one frozen into the ice next to one another.


    Seizing the opportunity, Su Lun teleported into the cabin of one of the pirate ships. This was a cannon room, piled everywhere with cannonballs and gunpowder. On the floory several bodies with mushrooms growing on them, their death expressions horrendous.


    The inside of the pirate ships were as filthy and disordered as the outside, you wouldn''t expect the illiterate pirates to follow any rules, urinating and defecating anywhere was the norm. The living quarters of ordinary sailors were cramped and reeked of disease and decay.


    Su Lun didn''t linger, sensed theyout of the cabin next door, and teleported over again.


    In the cabins, there were either all dead bodies, or a few living ones; in the lower decks were low-ranking pirates who were easily killed.


    The position of the "target'''' was confirmed: hiding in the crowd, surrounded by numerous captains to guard him, unthinkable for Mr. Jing to kill, and even less feasible for Su Lun.


    He would need a clever trick.


    The battle outside grew fiercer, the shockwaves increasingly intense.


    It felt like drums hammering by one''s ear, stirring one''s flesh and blood.


    Using the ability to teleport, Su Lun cautiously moved from boat to boat.


    Originally going for a kill, he inadvertently passed through the cabin of a special "ve transport ship."


    Pirates had been raiding Old Lington since earlier in the day, plundering many "spoils of war."


    Not to mention treasure, there were also ves.


    This cabin was holding about one to two hundred mechanics in whiteb coats!


    Su Lun noticed the logo on their clothes and immediately recalled the corresponding information. These men were from Old Lington''s "Secret Research Facility Number One," the site that captured mechanics for the "Super Mechanical Warrior Project."


    Apparently, the pirates recognized the value of these mechanics.


    They were probably nning to sell them, or coveting the project itself.


    But in the end, few were left alive.


    Space was extremely limited on the ship, and these cherished scientists from the secret research facilities in Old Lington were crammed into metal cages like livestock, a dozen-meter square cage stuffed with dozens of people, several cabins packed tightly, all wearing chains and fetters.


    When Su Lun arrived, except for a few who were shivering with more breath in than out, the rest had turned into ice sculptures.


    The physical constitution of scientists inclined towards mechanics was certainly no match for professionals, and their advancement direction was not focused onbat capabilities.


    The battle involving three sixth-rank professionals outside sent shockwaves one higher than the next, trapping these mechanics in the ve hold with no escape.


    The "Frost Troll" Gahl wasn''t very bright, fighting with indiscriminate wide-ranging ice magic, which meant these mechanics, nearly as fragile as ordinary people, could not escape and mostly froze to death on the spot.


    Su Lun looked at the faint "grey mist" in the cages, and as he passed by, he devoured it.


    Though the soul shards had dissipated somewhat due to the time psed since death, thankfully the number wasrge.


    From this harvest, he gained a vast amount of mechanical knowledge.


    Research personnel''s memory shards were quite pure and rarely cluttered with misceneous memories.


    Thus, even though many were dispersed, their value remained very high.


    Theoretical knowledge, manufacturing experience, and various iplete blueprints,ponents, and production experiences...


    Su Lun''s mind suddenly filled with an abundance of advanced mechanical knowledge, mostly rted to "super mechanical warriors."


    This instantly provided him with numerous inspirations for creating mechanical puppets, significantly elevating his mechanical knowledge.


    However, under the pressing circumstances, he did not delve deeply into it.


    He then teleported to the neighboring ship.


    ....


    Su Lun exined his detailedbat n to Mr. Jing through themunicator.


    Mr. Jing cooperated by increasing themotion outside to cover up his presence inside the cabin.


    He had learned from Mr. Jing that professionals who advanced to the fourth levelmonly possess an innate ability simr to "danger perception."


    Just like Su Lun''s own "malice detection" skill, it allowed him to instantly sense any hostile gazes.


    Moreover, this "danger perception" ability grew stronger with higher ranks.


    It was nearly impossible for lower-ranked professionals to sessfully ambush them.


    So he was well aware of his limits and never hoped to ambush two level sixes.


    He hadn''t even entertained the thought.


    At such a close distance, the slightest malintent would probably expose him instantly.


    The goal was clear, to kill the person who had used the "Soul Mark."


    But a fifth-rank squadron captain was not so easy to kill.


    Even with the mysteriously unpredictable ck scythe in hand, an ambush would be difficult.


    Thus, he absolutely couldn''t target in conventional ways.


    But without looking, capturing the target and aiming the strike was a major problem.


    Su Lun roughly estimated the distance and hid inside the cabin of a pirate ship.


    After reporting his concealment spot via themunicator, he suppressed his aura and patiently waited.


    Waiting for Mr. Jing to create an opportunity.


    ....


    The entire U-shaped harbor at that moment was like a boiling elemental cauldron, with ice and fire elements fiercely shing, sporadically apanied by other lightning, wind, darkness, and high-level spells colliding, creating massive elemental explosions...


    "Frost Giant" Gar and "Sr me General" Gretis didn''t give Mr. Jing any chance, entangling him, not in a hurry tond the killing blow, nning to wear him down slowly.


    While those squadron captains didn''t qualify for direct engagement, a few of them working together had the capability to protect themselves.


    Whenever Mr. Jing attempted to kill the target employing soul control, they would immediately change the battlefield, avoiding direct confrontation, waiting for the two pirate leaders to intervene.


    "Hahaha... that guy is getting weaker, he''s about done!"


    "Big Gar, smash his head in!"


    "I bet a thousand bucks, Big Gar will surely crush that guy''s skull..."


    "Haha, I think the boss will bash him to death with a club!"


    "..."


    Mr. Jing, like a tiger surrounded by wolves, had his legs chained. No matter how fierce, he was outnumbered and encircled by cunning evil wolves.


    The atmosphere of the battle shifted from somber to resembling a "beast fight", with the pirates seeing the oue as inevitable.


    It was just another instance of a "cornered beast still fighting for its life."


    But those pirates didn''t realize at all that they were like a herded flock of sheep, gradually being driven by Mr. Jing into the "designated area."


    ....


    The hubbub around him was growing louder.


    In the cabin, Su Lun was like a proficient hunter, silently lying in ambush.


    Just then, suddenly, he received a transmission from themunicator: "The target is at your 10 o''clock, 150 meters away on that ship, eight meters up the main mast."


    Earlier, when Su Lun had descended from the cliff, he had already scoped out the entireyout of the harbor.


    His highly developed brain retained everything he had seen clearly.


    At that moment, hearing the precise coordinates outlined by Mr. Jing, his mind worked like a machine, immediately calcting the exact position of the target.


    Without any hesitation, he raised his hand to mimic a grabbing motion in the void, directing the living corpse to sh towards one wooden wall inside the cabin.


    To ount for any minor errors in calction, he estimated the maximal endurance of the living corpse and executed thergest arc possible in a sweeping sh.


    If the target was there, he would certainly be cut in half!


    This strike was enigmatic and unpredictable.


    Even Su Lun didn''t know who he aimed to kill, so how could the opponent possibly sense any hostility?


    Moreover, almost simultaneously, Mr. Jing released his killing intent to envelop the entire scene to synchronize with his action. With the bright moon overhead, everyone would overlook that faint glimmer of starlight!


    ....


    Su Lun swung his scythe down and suddenly, the noisy mor outside came to a halt.


    The pirates had gathered to watch the excitement, and Su Lun knew his strike must have hit some people, but he wasn''t sure if it had definitely killed the "target."


    And a momentter, like cold water dripped into a hot oil pan, a roar of chaos erupted outside.


    "Damn, we are under attack!"


    "Captain Yark is dead! Be careful, the Soul Chains have failed!"


    "The enemy is on the ''Vulture'', capture him!"


    "..."


    The pirates were in an uproar.


    Previously, with the chains holding the tiger, they were calm andposed.


    Now that it was free, how terrifying would it be?


    At that moment, Mr. Jing''s voice came through themunicator, "Well done."


    Listening, Su Lun''s heart was filled with joy, and the heavy stone on his heart finally fell.


    His risky venture here was not in vain!


    Only with Mr. Jing free could his own chances of survival be higher.


    The walking dead exploded, and Su Lun did not dare to linger. He collected the scythe and the shroud.


    Knowing he was discovered, he quickly teleported, leaving the cabin.


    His spatial discement distance was not enough, and he couldn''t possibly outrun higher-order professionals.


    Just as he teleported out of the cabin, the pirates'' tangible killing intent pierced him like hundreds of needles.


    He could clearly feel the pirates'' frenzied emotions, wanting to rip him to shreds.


    Almost at the same instant, Su Lun found himself locked by several Tier 5 squad captains. In the blink of an eye, several figures had surrounded him on all sides, leaving no escape.


    At this distance, even Mr. Jing would be toote to save him.


    Facing one alone, he might still have had a chance to escape.


    Unfortunately... there were at least dozens in this harbor!


    But Su Lun, daring to take the risk ofing here, wouldn''t havee unprepared.


    He had anticipated being exposed and being hunted by a bunch of Tier 4 and Tier 5 pirates.


    In an expected situation, he took out a chessboard he had prepared beforehand and shot a beam of light toward a pirate goon not far away.


    The light struck the pirate goon,


    The next second,


    a scene that astounded the group of pirates urred.


    They watched in disbelief... as both individuals suddenly disappeared!


    A few squad captains who had just thought to strike were baffled by the air.


    But there were those who knew better and reacted instantly.


    "That''s a special space created by a cursed artifact! Seal it off, he''s still here, he can''t escape!"


    "Fetch the cursed artifact that can break this independent space!"


    "..."


    For a moment, the pirates were thrown into chaos.


    ....


    This chessboard was naturally the [Stanitz''s Chessboard] that Su Lun had obtained from Young Master Oliver Danzer.


    This magical artifact could pull the target into a 1V1 independent space.


    For a Puppet Master who could perform "Puppet Theater," it was quite useful, nearly invincible against peers of the same rank.


    But for Su Lun, it was somewhat superfluous.


    Because without this artifact, he hadn''t encountered an enemy among his peers.


    Using it against higher ranks would only burden him.


    Hence, he hadn''t used it.


    But clearly, to use such a precious treasure just for one-on-one duels would be a rather narrow outlook.


    Su Lun developed a new feature for it, just as now, to escape from higher rank enemies.


    Directly pulling a low-rank enemy into it, both would appear in the chessboard space.


    The crisis was instantly resolved.


    Su Lun now didn''t have to face that group of pirates outside but only the goon before him.


    As long as he didn''t die, and the goon didn''t die, the space would not unravel.


    However, the only downside was that the space was still at its original location, essentially being "guarded" by someone. Once he left, he would always have to face that group of pirates.


    Moreover,


    Su Lun didn''t believe that a pirate gang capable of reigning as kings didn''t have professionals who could handle this kind of spatial magical device.


    Hiding in this chessboard space was not a long-term n either.


    But at least, it gave him time to breathe.


    "Senior sister, it''s all up to you now,"


    Inside the ck and white checkerboard space, Su Lun muttered to himself and casually wrapped up the dumbfounded pirate minion opposite him with silk threads.


    He didn''t kill him, just hung him there.


    Su Lun had no doubt of his senior sister''s capabilities.


    If she had thought there was a problem with the n, she would have definitely spoken up earlier. She absolutely wouldn''t let Su Lun risk his life to create an opportunity for her.


    So there were risks, but as long as nothing unexpected happened, the chances of sess were greater.


    At this point, there was no hint of panic on Su Lun''s face.


    He pulled out the "Oz Frost Man''s Shroud," wrapped it around himself, and became "invisible," disappearing into thin air.


    Then, he simplyy t.


    Havinge out of Old Lington, his rank might not have been high, but he possessed many cursed and sealed items.


    This "sealed item," whichpletely enclosed his scent, was imperceptible to anyone outside.


    Thinking that if the chessboard space was broken, it might still hold for a while.


    The people of Old Lington knew Su Lun had these items, but the pirates didn''t. By the time they figured it out, it would be enough time for Mr. Jing to make a move.


    ....


    Su Lun did not know how the battle was going outside, and just quietlyy t.


    Indeed, Mr. Jing did not disappoint him.


    Before long, before the pirates had broken through the chessboard space, suddenly, a voice came through themunicator, "Release the space, I''m here to save you!"


    Hearing this, Su Lun felt relieved and without hesitating, snapped his fingers and killed the pirate minion.


    The chessboard space instantly opened, and the tide-like surge of killing intent flooded in, making Su Lun''s scalp tingle.


    The fierce gazes of countless pirates scanned the area where he was, as if their stares could punch holes through the deck.


    But a momentter, they were stunned.


    They discovered that aside from the minion''s corpse, they couldn''t see Su Lun''s shadow!


    Any sensory coverage failed to detect another person here.


    Disappeared?


    All the pirates had this thought simultaneously, and their collective intent to kill stalled on the spot.


    Without a target, their killing intent had nowhere to vent.


    Su Lun had just breathed a sigh of relief when a biting cold swept over him like a nket.


    A normal person would have been startled for a moment, but there was someone not quite normal in this pirate gang!


    The brute "Frost Troll" Gahl didn''t care whether there was a person or not, he angrily lifted his Wolf Fang Club and swung it down.


    "What strong battle instincts!"


    Su Lun marveled internally for a moment but didn''t move.


    Because at that moment, a figure faster than the ugly giant shed over.


    She urately grabbed Su Lun, who was lying t on the ground, shook her bat wings behind her, and immediately shed out toward the harbor.


    ...


    "Phew...saved."


    Su Lun felt himself flying swiftly, the intense feeling of being overloaded hit hard, but his heart instantly lightened.


    Even carrying another person, Mr. Jing''s speed was extremely fast, the wind howling past his ears,


    the "Frost Troll" Gahl stood on the icy ground, charging along the route, and in the end, roared helplessly at the sky, unable to continue the chase.


    Even the Bald Woman, who had transformed into a human-shaped dragon, was much slower than Mr. Jing. Moreover, even if she caught up, she couldn''t do anything by herself.


    Soon, ck Reef Castle vanished from his sight.


    Thatst trace of locked-on intent to kill also disappeared.


    He was finally out of danger...


    However, as Su Lun looked toward the distant stormy area ahead, his expression soured again.


    The Wind Catcher had entered the chaotic storm belt...


    Asking through themunicator, the ship couldn''t sink in the short term, but it was their first experience with the power of nature; the course waspletely uncontroble. A groupcking sailing experience was adrift in the storm...


    What''s worse, Mr. Jing suddenly spat out a mouthful of turbid blood.

 Chapter 222 : The Ocean, All Water

    Experiencing the storm for the first time and venturing into the vast sea¡ªno one knew how to sail the boat...


    In their rush to escape, the Chengfeng charged headlong into the chaotic wind belt.


    Su Lun, watching the storm clouds shing with lightning before him, could understand the helplessness of Mr. Hei and his group when they said, "We don''t even know where we are, nor where the ship is heading."


    Mr. Hei and his people had extraordinary abilities, so there was no need to worry too much about their safety.


    However, the situation had brought great trouble to Su Lun and his group.


    With no one to meet them, he and Mr. Jing were in an awkward position at sea.


    In his memory, besides the nearby ck Reef, there were no other inds ornds to seek refuge.


    And with thousands of pirates waiting at ck Reef, it was natural not to consider turning back.


    The scope of the storm was still expanding, and the waves were getting bigger.


    The night sky, once clear with moon and stars, had darkened under the cover of clouds.


    Cold wind filled his ears and fine raindrops hit his face, gradually soaking his clothes...


    The wind and rain grew denser.


    ...


    As a genuine nobledy, being the daughter of Demigod Sir Isaac, Mr. Jing usually exhibited a bone-deep grace and elegance in every gesture.


    Su Lun had never seen her behave rudely in front of others before.


    Now, unable to hold back, she vomited a mouthful of dark blood in front of him, and Su Lun knew that her injuries were not minor.


    As Mr. Jing herself said, her strength had only recovered to about level six.


    The fight against two opponents had not been as easy and effortless as it appeared.


    Su Lun asked, "Senior, are you injured?"@@novelbin@@


    "Mmh."


    Mr. Jing nodded, seeming to want to say something more but restraining the acrid taste in her throat, unable to speak out.


    After a moment''s pause, she nced at Su Lun, whom she was gripping in her hand, and then asked a seemingly absurd question in a very calm tone, "Can you swim?"


    Su Lun suddenly realized what she meant by that question and nodded, "Yes."


    Having extracted many pirates'' memories previously, it wasn''t just knowing how to swim¡ªhe was proficient in it.


    A faint smile appeared on the corner of Mr. Jing''s eyes: "That''s good..."


    But before she could finish speaking, the curvature of her lips fell, her weakness no longer conceble, and she slowly closed her eyes. She could no longer maintain her transformed state, and the bat wings on her back disappeared instantly.


    Su Lun immediately felt his body plummeting rapidly.


    "Ssh~" the two of them fell freely into the sea.


    Upon entering the water, Su Lun moved like a nimble fish, quickly swam over, and found Mr. Jing, who had fainted and was sinking.


    At that moment, with the injury no longer suppressed, Su Lun felt as though he was embracing not a living person, but a block of ice. The bone-chilling cold seemed to freeze the surrounding seawater, showing signs of turning into slush.


    He quickly brought them back up to the surface of the water.


    The waves were getting bigger and bigger, and in such a stormy environment, even the best swimming skills would eventually be ovee by the waves.


    However, Su Lun was notpletely unprepared.


    Prior to storming the tower, knowing that the outside environment was the sea, he had taken the time to prepare an intable life raft just in case.


    Now it came in handy.


    Su Lun took out a handbag-sizedpressed package from his Storage Space, pulled the rope, and thepressed gas cylinder "hissed" as it inted, the shriveled skin rapidly expanding into an oval-shaped life raft.


    He first tossed Mr. Jing onto the raft and then jumped on himself.


    The life raft had no propulsion system. Su Lun had a steam-powered engine in his Storage Space, but it was useless in such severe weather. They could only drift with the waves.


    The good news was that having identified the direction of the ocean currents, the waves were not taking them toward the unknown sea to the west, but toward thend to the east.


    He didn''t bother with it anymore.


    When the waterproof fabric zipper was closed, the lifeboat became an independent space.


    This design was modeled after the life rafts on cruise ships in his previous life, wrapped in waterproof fabric, resembling a tent, vastly preventing rainwater and seawater from pouring in.


    By now, Su Lun was, after all, considered a master artisan skilled in mechanics, engineering, forging... various crafts, making such a small object was not very difficult.


    ....


    Looking at Mr. Jing, who was unconscious, Su Lun frowned slightly.


    At this moment, the interior of the life raft was as cold as an icehouse, and the sea water that had poured in earlier had already frozen into frost.


    This was clearly the high-level cold ice Power of Laws from the "Frost Giant" Gal.


    Without Mr. Jing''s suppression, the cold energy inside her body leaked out. Just the remnants of the leakage made Su Lun feel bitterly cold, one could imagine the severity of the injury.


    Without much hesitation, he removed Mr. Jing''s Gold-Patterned Cloak.


    Without the cloak''s concealment, her exquisitely beautiful and cold face was revealed.


    It was unclear whether it was due to her vampiric transformation that her face was naturally pale, or because of the injury, but her skin now had a deathly pale, jade-like quality.


    Su Lun checked her condition; Mr. Jing''s breathing was very faint, and her chest rose and fell slightly.


    Do vampires naturally have weak breathing?


    Su Lun recalled that he had never noticed Mr. Jing breathing before.


    But upon closer inspection of the external wound on her chest, the clothes clearly had a blood hole from a Wolf Fang Club pration, and from her sternum, cold air seeped out.


    The blood that came out didn''t flow down but instead congregated into bits of red ice.


    That high-level cold ice Power of Laws was inhibiting the vampire''s self-healing abilities.


    Though Su Lun wasn''t a professional medical practitioner, he had a good number of medical skills he had harvested.


    Seeing the situation, he felt he should do something, help his Senior Sister treat the wound to prevent further worsening.


    Mr. Jing was wearing a set of courtly equestrian attire under her robe, somewhat simr to the riding apparel of his previous life, with an upper bodyposed of a high-quality, tight dark aqua suit adorned with silver buttons that bore an ancient coat of arms; the lower body consisted of form-fitting white trousers and long ck boots.


    Without hesitation, Su Lun loosened her belt to allow her to breathe more easily.


    Then he unfastened the buttons of her tight suit. Once again, he noticed his Senior Sister wore attire in the style of the court from a thousand years ago, including an ancient corset.


    Su Lun didn''t bother figuring out how to uce the corset. A pale blue thread appeared in his hand, cutting it in half.


    Since the underlying shirt had been soaked by the sea and made the close-fitting ckce bra clearly visible too, there was no hesitation in cutting that open, all in the quest to save a life.


    The wound and arge area of skin were exposed to the air.


    Havingpleted these emergency aid actions, Su Lun noticed that Mr. Jing''s chest movements were noticeably smoother.


    He carefully examined the wound; this type of injury from the Power of Laws was beyond his ability to handle. Thinking further, he could only set up a "Life Alchemy" Formation to speed up the healing of the wound and maintain life signs.


    But as he was busy, to his surprise, Su Lun suddenly felt the cold air around him vanish instantly.


    Turning his head, sure enough, he saw Mr. Jing had opened her eyes.


    It was as if she had been napping and suddenly woke up.


    He abruptly stopped his actions, "Senior Sister, you''re awake?"


    Mr. Jing sat up and, looking at her now bare chest, she instantly understood Su Lun was treating her wound, showed no embarrassment, and nodded lightly, "Mm."


    The clothes now torn could not be worn; she took a new outfit from her Storage Ring, naturally put it on covering her exposed delicate skin, and casually exined, "That ''Frost Giant'' Gal''s weapon has chilly toxin damage, I was in a hurry and couldn''t suppress it, the cold attacked my heart, causing you trouble."


    ...


    Hearing this, Su Lun''s expression became slightly awkward.


    Speaking of causing trouble, it was actually him causing trouble for her.


    Moreover, from her tone, it seemed as minor as getting a stitch from running, as if there hadn''t been a need for his help at all earlier?


    ...


    The storm assaulted them, and the life raft drifted with the waves, probably already in the center of the storm.


    The waves grewrger andrger, tossing the raft around as if it were on a roller coaster.


    Large drops of rain pattered loudly against the waterproof fabric.


    Because of the exquisite design, seawater did not flood in.


    Mr. Jing curiously examined the enclosed intable life raft and remarked, "Did you make this raft? It''s rather good."


    Listening to the praise, Su Lun replied, "I had thought about going out to sea before, so I prepared this raft just in case, but I didn''t expect to actually use it."


    In this world, lifeboats were mostly still made of solid wood, not due to a technical problem, but because the design concept had not yet moved in this direction.


    He had also thought about creating a raft that could fit into a storage space for emergencies, which led him to think of this type ofpressed leather boat.


    Mr. Jing praised, "You are indeed meticulous."


    After a pause, with a gentle curve on her lips, she looked at Su Lun, "Thank you for taking the risk to help me before. Mother has indeed taken in a formidable disciple."


    When she spoke these words, a hint of admiration shed in her eyes.


    Listening to this tone, which was like a spring breeze caressing his face, Su Lun felt like he was seeing his teacher, Sereia.


    Thinking about it, he couldn''t help but smile and asked, "If I hadn''te, Sister, you could have escaped on your own, right?"


    Before, he thought he was going to "rescue" someone, but now, recalling every detail, he also realized that his sister had remainedposed the entire time.


    Even when she took that hit from the ''Frost Giant'' Gahr, it was because the enemy anticipated that she woulde to save him, thus she got injured.


    "I did have some ways to escape. The Vampire n is known as the ''Undying n,'' and it''s not that easy for us to die. At least, two tier-sixes wouldn''t have put me in a dire situation."


    Mr. Jing didn''t treat Su Lun as an outsider and candidly admitted.


    After a pause, her tone shifted as she continued, "If you hadn''te, I might have been forced to use some ''Divine Blood.'' But that would havee at a great cost, probably requiring me to hibernate underground in Old Lington for several decades."


    At this, Mr. Jing said with a tone of approval, "The courage and wit you disyed earlier... that was quite good."


    Hearing this, Su Lun showed an expression that said, ''just as I thought.''


    That is to say, the previous action appeared to be a matter of life and death.


    But in fact, his sister had the ability to turn the situation around all along.


    However, everything was now in the past.


    The important thing was that they were both still alive, which was the best oue.


    As Mr. Jing reached this point in the conversation, she recalled something, pulled out a grey misty iron chain, and handed it to Su Lun, "Right, this is your spoils of war."


    Su Lun epted the iron chain, and at a nce, recognized it as the ''Tartaros''s Soul Lantern Chain'' from earlier, which could mark a person''s soul.


    This thing can lock a soul...


    It doesn''t seem to be of much use, though.


    But since his sister gave it to him, he epted it without anyints.


    At that moment, the storm outside grew stronger, causing the raft to sway even more violently in the wind and waves.


    Fortunately, thanks to the choice of materials and enchantments during its construction, it had not been torn apart by the storm.


    Su Lun struggled to stabilize himself, preventing himself from being thrown around.


    ncing at Mr. Jing across from him, he saw her calmly meditating and healing her wounds.


    He asked, "Sister, what should we do now?"


    They were now very far from the ''Windrider,'' and since Mr. Hei and the others couldn''t sail a ship, there was no hope of theming to their aid.


    "We wait for the storm to pass."


    Mr. Jing was quite calm as she borated, "The weather in this sea area has been terrible for a thousand years. Storms can arrive at any moment and will also suddenly depart. The ocean current will carry us a distance."


    Hearing her calm words, Su Lun wasn''t too worried, "Oh."


    Thinking of something, Mr. Jing added, "Conceal your aura. Although this is near the shore and there shouldn''t be any powerful sea beasts, I''m not sure if, after a thousand years, a new Sea King or Sea Emperor monster hase here. If this raft is swallowed, we''ll be in big trouble."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun recalled some rted memories from the pirates he had encountered before.


    He knew that in this ocean, there were terrifying sea beasts that could swallow a whale whole, and giant octopuses whose tentacles could easily drag arge ship into the depths of the sea...


    He was also curious about something else, "Senior sister, what''s the highest tier of sea beasts in this ocean?"


    Mr. Jing replied, "In this ne, creatures can only reach up to the ninth tier, as thews are iplete and prevent breaking through to the divine tier. However, sea creatures are special; they grow in the deep sea, some be incrediblyrge, and some are descendants of ancient divine beasts... so theirbat power cannot be measured merely by tiers. My father once encountered a terrifying sea beast in the depths of the western sea that almost prevented his return..."


    "Oh."


    "What was the terrestrial world like a thousand years ago?"


    "Back then, there was a powerful alchemic kingdom called ''Antea.'' By that time, the nobility system had actually been abolished, and my father''s title as a knight was merely honorary..."


    "..."


    Su Lun restrained his aura and began to meditate in a seated position.


    He had the ability to multitask, meditating while conversing.


    Mr. Jing could do so as well.


    The two of them thus chatted intermittently.


    ....


    As Mr. Jing had said, the storms in this sea region came and went suddenly.


    Several hourster, it suddenly became calm outside.


    The clouds dispersed, and Su Lun, meditating in the darkness, sensed some light and opened his eyes.


    He opened the tarpaulin, and the fresh sea breeze blew in.


    Looking at the distance, the sky had already turned a faint blue, signaling the arrival of dawn.


    This was the first time Su Lun saw the sunlight of this world, his gaze drifting far away.


    The feeling of oppression from staying in the underground world for too long vanished in an instant.


    In the moment of distraction, the clouds at the edge of the sky brightened, and the sun started to rise from the horizon. The sunlight refracted on the sea surface, and the breeze passed by, resembling thousands of golden scales shimmering in a dazzling sight.


    In the distance, a few creatures that resembled dolphins were frolicking near the surface, asionally leaping from the water, their tails lifting a ssh of crystal clear droplets, a spectacr sight.


    At this moment, rays of light, like threads of gold, also shone into the kayak, and Su Lun suddenly noticed Mr. Jing frowning across from him.


    He then remembered, his senior sister was a vampire, sensitive to light.


    He was about to pull the waterproof tarp back over.


    But Mr. Jing opened her eyes and said softly, "It''s alright. Letting in some sea breeze is quite nice."


    After a pause, she exined further, "Sunlight only harms lower-tier vampires severely, it doesn''t affect me much. It''s just that I haven''t been to the surface for a long time and am not very ustomed to it."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun remembered that his senior sister had mentioned before, she was from a highly ranked vampire lineage.


    Surveying the vast ocean, Su Lun determined the current and direction, and figured out their location in his mind.


    Originally, if they had sailed southeast from "ck Reef" for several days, they would have reached the nearestnd, the territory of Duke Rafael.


    But their current heading was northeast, which was quite off.


    However, it was still eptable, as their course was still approaching human territory, and they hadn''t nned to visit Duke Rafael''snds anyway.


    Mr. Jing sensed the position of their ship, "Riding Wind," already far away.


    Expecting that group who didn''t know how to sail toe back for them was quite a challenge for them.


    Moreover, with ck Reef encountering a pirate attack, Duke Rafael''s support fleet should be rushing over at sea, and they might even run into them.


    Since Mr. Jing had injuries and was not in a hurry to travel, she informed Mr. Hei and their group to proceed and find a ce tond first.


    She and Su Lun continued to drift leisurely in the kayak, taking their time...


    Finally, several dayster,


    They encountered a passing merchant ship, which rescued them.


    PS. I''m having a re-up of my sudden back pain, which hurts whenever I sit. I wrote this chapter standing and sitting intermittently, and I feel it''s a bit shoddy. If you subscribed, I apologize.

 Chapter 224 Gadronte Harbor

    Su Lun and another had taken a merchant ship bound for Gadronte Harbor, exactly where Mr. Jing needed to change to a cruise or buy a ship, as he was heading to Xenodia Province, a neutral area between two great empires.


    They asked Mr. Hei about the itinerary of his team; they had also docked and were shifting tond transportation, heading northward.


    After all, traveling on the "Wind Chaser," a pirate ship, would involve many troubles.


    It would take about two to three more days.


    That was roughly when Su Lun and hispanions would arrive.


    Su Lun himself also nned to visit the northern ice fields; he needed experience and to broaden his knowledge.


    The original family of Lei, located in the southern part of the Luying Empire, wasn''t a ce Su Lun intended to stir trouble in the short term.


    The northern ice fields, quite distant, were a great choice.


    Moreover, he was also preparing for his advancement to the third tier.


    Although spiritual power was sparse on the surface, he possessed Isaac''s Alchemical Heart, akin to carrying a source of dark spiritual power with him, fully meeting his cultivation needs. His spiritual power was also steadily increasing, and it was just a matter of time before meeting the advancement requirements of the golden material "Life Usurper''s Tricolor Mask".


    Furthermore, he needed to gather some rare materials for his third-tier alchemical imnt.


    Visiting Gadronte, thergest trading territory in the northern part of the Luying Empire, would be a good opportunity to try his luck.


    Su Lun had now learned the Secret Technique of Spiritual Power, and his direction for third-tier advancement was "Multi-Heart Multi-Utility," leaning towards spiritual power maniption.


    Thus, he nned to develop a special imnt that had highpatibility with his newly awakened abilities¡ªthe "Spiritual Tentacles."


    This was the same ability that Pestoia used to control him and Bald Ivan''s bodies when he first traveled through time and arrived at Storm Manor.


    Previously unaware of the method, Su Lun now understood it was a form of mental maniption.


    Using spiritual threads to block the transmission of neural signals and convey his own will to control another''s body.


    The Puppeteer''s methods were deemed eerie not only because of their ability to create various strange rune puppets but more so because of some mysterious spiritual control Secret Techniques.


    Using his mentor Sereia''s words: Is a puppet merely a clumsy tool? Controlling dead puppets is but the basics; mastering the live ones is advancement, until, in the end, everything within sight bes a puppet!


    These mental maniption techniques wouldplement Su Lun''s shorings in puppet control.


    Moreover, since he had stripped away fragments of the forensic doctor Gerald''s memories and had studied his "Anatomy Notes" carefully, Su Lun now had an almost intuitive understanding of various human neural transmissions.


    Once the imnt wasplete, he could immediately formbat capabilities.


    By then, the power of puppetry techniques like "Puppet Theater" would tremendously increase.


    Su Lun would no longer need to physically control everything manually, wrestling with people.


    Now directly transmitting spiritual power through threads, achieving both physical and mental control effortlessly, he could manipte human bodies.


    Even in the future,


    as long as he had enough understanding of the neural signal transmission of a target, not only humans but even magical beasts, aberrations...


    theoretically, anything could be controlled.


    This was also, after deep consideration andbining his own circumstances, the imnt Su Lun felt was most suitable for his third-tier advancement.


    After advancement, his strength would surge significantly!


    However, although he had obtained the forging blueprint for the imnt from Sereia, the primary materials were extremely rare.


    He needed a brain of about third-tier level,plete and fresh, from spiritual power creatures like "Nightmare Spider," "Evil Eye," or "Nightmare Octopus," the higher the quality, the better.


    He had found these targets as possible options in the scrolls, but among all the memories he had harvested, no one had ever seen one.


    Therefore, trying his luck in a ce rich in magical beasts like the northern ice fields was the best option.


    A legend says that in the depths of the Silent Forest''s primeval forest, some ancient species thought to be extinct in the outer world are discovered every year...


    ....


    Since learning that Su Lun was a "genuine" Rune Master, the fur trader Benson and his son Jake became very hospitable. In the surface world, a teacher is one of the most respected professions among civilians.


    Even for meals, they would specially send someone to invite Su Lun.


    After all, considering it was a "rescue," it was tough to decline the shipowner''s invitation, so Su Lun graciously epted.


    Through casual conversation at the dinner table, Su Lun also learned some situations about the surface world.


    The Benson family was considered middle-ss among the civilians of the imperial capital of the Luying Empire.


    The "Silent Forest" in the north region is abundant with various magical beast furs. These furs are luxury items in the Empire''s capital, highly sought after for making alchemical scrolls and clothing. A single trip could garner a gross profit of around thirty-five million rixes, and after taxes andbor costs, the profit would be around ten million rixes.


    One could make two or three trips a year.


    However, asionally encountering pirates could lead to a total loss.


    Benson, too, had made a considerable fortune over the years through his own efforts and was a well-known wealthy merchant among the fur traders in the capital.


    And Su Lun''s extensive knowledge had left a very good impression on Benson and his son.


    However, Su Lun didn''t know why, but he sometimes felt a subtle hostility emanating from Marian, Benson''s quite attractive second wife.


    And then there was Raman, the captain of the guard.


    ....


    That day, the port city of Gadronte was in sight from afar.


    On the deck, Su Lun was enjoying the sea breeze, gazing into the distance.


    Hispanion, Gerald, was earnestly taking notes, meticulously recording the questions he had just asked.


    Every day, Su Lun would enjoy the breeze on the deck.


    The fresh sea wind helped him digest the knowledge he had just taken in.


    Gerald was very studious, and took this opportunity to politely ask about alchemy knowledge.


    Su Lun thought this young boy had good learning potential and exined patiently.


    With less than an hour left to reach the port, and without such a great teacher after disembarking, Gerald seemed somewhat mncholic.


    He carefully ced his notebook in his vest pocket and mimicked Su Lun by leaning over the edge of the deck, his feet dangling in the air due to his short stature.


    Gerald expressed, "Mr. Nichs, you really know everything. If I could hire you as a private tutor, I would have a great chance of getting into ''The Imperial Royal War Academy.''


    Su Lun smiled, but said nothing.


    Gerald''s eyes twinkled like stars as he continued, "You know, it''s my dream to get into the Royal Academy. Every year, the entire Empire has less than five thousand new student slots. After deducting the eighty percent reserved for noble students, wemoners need very high entrance scores to get in. It''s truly the highest institution that only the elites can attend..."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun listened with interest, asionally nodding with a smile.


    Gerald had brought him up to speed on a lot ofmon knowledge about the terrestrial world.


    The best educational resources in this world belong to the offspring of nobles, yet there are some chances left formoners.


    Nobles are admitted without examinations, whereasmoners need one-in-ten-thousand talent and high tuition fees.


    Gerald was ustomed to this ss disparity and spoke without a tone ofint.


    He was a boy with dreams, filled with aspirations for that highest institution, saying, "If I could get in, I would have ess to the top masters, the best resources. The Royal Academy campus also houses many buildings from a thousand years ago during the era of the ''Atlia Empire'', and the library contains the richest collection of books in the world! Various rare and lone editions, manuscripts from masters, and documents unearthed from ancient civilizations... like Roger Bacon, Clemont, Ramon Lure, Theofrast von Hornheim... manuscripts from alchemists of various eras."


    Su Lun listened to these widely acimed names in the field of alchemy and nodded in agreement.@@novelbin@@


    The Luying Empire had existed for over eight hundred years, and the Bonapartes'' royal collection of documents was unimaginably vast.


    This discussion really piqued Su Lun''s interest.


    If we''re talking about acquiring alchemical knowledge, there really is no better ce than the Royal Academy.


    With instruction from Seraya, he now clearly understood the direction for his future advancement, certainly needing a vast amount of knowledge as a stepping-stone to reach the pinnacle of alchemy.


    However, the imperial capital is a ce brimming with hidden dragons and crouching tigers, gathering the topmost professionals of the entire empire.


    The key is that the original owner''s Legarde family seemed to have a mansion there¡­


    A thought briefly shed through Su Lun''s mind, nning to visit once he had enough capability to protect himself.


    "Oh, right!"


    And at that moment, Gerald seemed to suddenly remember something else, and excitedly added, "There''s also the thousand-year-old ''Demigod'' Sir Isaac''s collection room, manuscripts, antiques, and so forth... Last time our preparatory college organized a visit, I even saw them with my own eyes!"


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun''s gaze suddenly sharpened, and he muttered unconsciously, "Sir Isaac''s manuscripts?"


    Sir Isaac''s manuscripts left behind were numerous, with pages fetching three to five hundred kroner at auctions in Old Lington.


    The Rafael family had been developing Old Lington for a century, and many treasures from the underground city had flowed up to the surface through them.


    "Yes!"


    Not everyone has the privilege to visit the Royal Academy, and Gerald, wanting to outline the capital''s prosperity for this rune teacher from a remote southern county, added, "Sir Isaac is the greatest inventor, philosopher, biologist, and great alchemist of modern civilization history... He created countless brilliant inventions, and the Royal Academy''s library management even has a special collection room housing the knight''s relics. There are also many original manuscripts, design drawings..."


    Su Lun thought of something and asked, "Among those relics... is there a leather notebook emitting ck mist, almost like a ''living creature''?"


    On hearing this, Jimmy was greatly surprised, "Huh... Mr. Nichs, have you also seen the ''Divine Manuscript''?"


    He thought for a moment, then continued, "There is indeed such a notebook in the collection room! The teachers say it''s a research manuscript on a god-tier imnt invented by Sir Isaac. Oh, I remember it very clearly, it''s a very bizarre notebook... Unfortunately, I''ve never seen its contents."


    "..."


    Even though the name ''Divine Manuscript'' was somewhat unfamiliar to Su Lun, he immediately guessed that it must be one of the five ''Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscripts''!


    So, the Royal Academy of Luying also has one?


    And, unsurprisingly, another one lies with the Rhea family...


    Together with the one in his possession, of the five manuscripts, Su Lun now knew the whereabouts of three.


    "It seems like a visit to the Royal Academy of Luying is indeed necessary..."


    Hearing this, Su Lun gazed toward the distant sea, his eyes gradually growing deeper.


    ...


    Soon, the sailboat was about to dock.


    "Gadronte" is a huge harbor city built on a mountain.


    From the air, it resembled a long boot.


    The natural deepwater harbor was at the heel of the boot, bordered by cliffs on both sides, making it easy to defend and hard to attack.


    From afar, one could hear the bustling crowd at the port.


    Su Lun stood at the bow of the ship, looking at the city in the distant harbor, and murmured, "The technological level of the surface world''s cities doesn''t seem very high."


    The city in front of him resembled a group of ancient medieval castles with a hint of ancient Greek architectural style, dominantly white and blue. With thick, textured white rock walls, tall columns, and blue spires, the streets were very crowded.


    It looked, to him, not much different from the architecture of Dawn City Ruins that were a thousand years old.


    However, this castle-like city was interspersed with numerous steel elements.


    Steam lotives could be seen on the bridges between the inds, and there were various steel bridges throughout the city. Above the city floated airships...


    What struck the eye most were the various giant cannons built into the mountain. Long and short cannons crowded together, arming the city like a hedgehog... it looked like a fusion of magic and steampunk.


    From the architectural point of view, the civilization level of Gadronte was significantly behind the cyberpunk style high-rises of Old Lingdun Inner City.


    At that moment, Su Lun suddenly heard ament from Mr. Jing beside him, "It''s been a thousand years, and the city is still like this. The outdated noble oligarchy has long proven to be a stumbling block to the development of social civilization. These nobles, for the sake of power and pleasure, refuse to strive for progress, letting civilization stagnate for a thousand years. They really aren''t afraid of a nar gateway breach, having humanity enved by beings from another ne..."


    Her tone was calm, but Su Lun could hear an underlying fury andmentation.


    Indeed, people standing in different positions see thingspletely differently.


    Mr. Jing, who had been fighting in the frontlines of nar space protection a thousand years ago, saw the entirety of human and alchemical civilization.


    From what Su Lun understood, the current oligarchic system of the Luying Empire was indeed quite backward.


    The nobility held over ny percent of the society''s resources, and without their drive for advancement, societal progress was difficult.


    But clearly, the nobles were the beneficiaries of the existing system, and they were a group of people least wanting change.


    Apart from a growing poption, there had been little progress in either alchemy or technologypared to a thousand years ago.


    No!


    It was even worse!


    At least, in the field of alchemy, no one nowadays had reached the level of Sir Isaac from a thousand years ago.


    In the Mafa Empire, there had been a recent change only after a hundred years of mechanical revolution.


    Mr. Jing shook her head and said no more.


    Just then, as the sailboat passed a reef where a lighthouse had been built, Su Lun took another look.


    Because the lighthouse was adorned like it was flying the gs of all nations, disying hundreds of various pirate gs, some new, others faded from sun and wind exposure... It looked like they had been hung over a long span of time.


    There were even a few dried up corpses!


    Judging by the attire of the bodies, these men were pirates?


    Since the ship was about to dock, Captain Benson also came up on deck.


    Looking at the confusion on Su Lun''s face, he exined, "That''s ''Bloodhand'' Stuart, captain of the ''Blood Skull Pirates,'' a fifth-tier professional and once a notorious pirate in these waters whomitted numerous bloody crimes..."


    Merchants naturally despised these marauding pirates.


    Pausing, his tone was blunt as he added, "These damned pirates should all be sent to the gallows!"


    Su Lun now understood the blood-drenched ndmark" better, Was this warning about the fate of bing a pirate?


    A fifth-tier pirate, and his body was just hung up to dry like this?


    It suddenly reminded him of Qian Tiao.


    After disembarking, that gamblerdy didn''t follow Mr. Hei; she said she was going to form her own pirate crew.


    Though she wanted to be a "chivalrous thief," a thief was still a thief, and caught, she would be sent to the gallows.


    ....


    The ship entered the harbor and stopped amidst a dense cluster of sea vessels.


    Su Lun and hispanion bid farewell to the Benson family and proceeded to walk into the city.


    Past the dock was a solid high wall, and entering the city required identity registration and verification.


    A long queue had formed outside the city gate, with soldiers in silver-gray armor verifying the identities of those entering one by one.


    The process was notplicated; one simply had to show their identity document, then ce their hand on a crystal ball.


    It was somewhat simr to passport inspection at immigration in his previous life, where the city guards would casually ask a few questions, approve the review, and then stamp the document.


    Su Lun was well-prepared.


    Forging documents was not difficult for him.


    Moreover, except for the cities near the imperial capital of the Luying Empire, each territory had its own proof of nativity, which were oddly varied... mostly backward paper-based proofs, the only anti-forgery measure being gold-stamped emblems representing the lord.


    But looking at that crystal ball, Su Lun''s eyebrows slightly raised as he assessed it.


    [Inferior Energy Detection Crystal]


    Details: A crystal that can only roughly determine the tier of the holder.


    It seemed aimed at preventing high-tier pirates from infiltrating the city, among other purposes...


    But if it only detected the tier, that wasn''t much of an issue.


    Su Lun, being a second-tier, was inconspicuous among professionals.


    After this, he nced at Mr. Jing, who was hooking his arm, If it detected a seventh or eighth tier, it would certainly cause a sensation.


    Mr. Jing was calm, responding with a faint smile.


    He clearly wasn''t concerned about such an energy detection crystal.


    The two of them joined the queue and slowly entered the city.


    While queuing, Su Lun took the opportunity to observe thergely adventurous crowd passing by.


    Most were dressed in traditional professional attire, firearms were not umon, but mechanical arms were scarce.


    Even those that were present had machinery that was about on par with the technology level of Old Spiriton Outer City.


    This was the first city Su Lun had encountered in the surface world, and his impression was that the Luying Empire was an ancient empire with an "aura of decay," like an aged lion drowsy with sleep.


    Soon, it was Su Lun and hispanion''s turn to be reviewed.


    The city guards, dealing with tens of thousands of people daily, had an expression of numbness: "Show your documents, take off your hat, ce your hand on the crystal ball!"


    Approaching, Su Lun noticed that the city wall''s bulletin board was covered with wanted posters.


    In the vast North Sea, aside from the infamous ''King of the North Sea'' fleet, there were countless other pirates,rge and small.


    The bounty list was mostly filled with pirates.


    Su Lun removed his hat, then ced his hand on the crystal ball, which emitted a faint blue light.


    Dressed in a in white suit, perhaps because of his attire, the city guards spoke somewhat politely.


    The guard nced at Su Lun''s face, didn''t match it with any wanted criminal, asked no further questions, and stamped his identity proof: Second-tier, approved.


    Su Lun passed through smoothly, but when Mr. Jing removed the wide-brimmed hat that covered half of his face, the guards'' gaze immediately stiffened.

 Chapter 225 : Everyone is at the Second Order, but Im a Bit Different

    Mr. Jing''s demeanor was such that, even without deliberate embellishing, one could not help but garnish their gaze upon his elegance.


    Today, he wore a wine-red long dress that hugged his figure, not overly luxurious but gracefully dignified. His hair was pulled up high, disying a mature charm.


    Not only was the level of technology in Old Lington higher than in Gadronte Harbor, but there were also subtle differences in clothing styles. Although the wine-red long dress was simple, it was more pleasing to the eyepared to the bulky dresses with leg-of-mutton sleeves worn by thedies in town.


    Mr. Jing removed the sun hat he had been wearing on his head, revealing an exquisitely cold face.


    Then, he ced his hand on the energy-testing crystal ball.


    This time, the crystal ball didn''t even light up.


    Clearly, the test identified him as a mon person."


    The gate guards were momentarily stupefied, even those queueing in the distance took an extra nce.


    Whispers from women nearby could also be heard.


    "Thatdy must be from the imperial capital, only those high-end designers there can make dresses that look so fine."


    "Definitely. Tsk tsk, look at that young man, isn''t he handsome..."


    "..."


    But after all, since there were no issues with their identity documents and they weren''t wanted criminals, the city guards didn''t trouble them, and Su Lun and hispanion entered the city smoothly.


    However, at the same time, in the gate tower, a man with a sharp, monkey-like face was squinting his eyes in a nap, when suddenly his subordinate woke him: "Captain Peng Si, take a quick look, there''s an extremely pretty girl there!"


    Hearing this, the skinny monkey man immediately opened his eyes and looked out the window, just in time to see the backs of Su Lun and hispanion as they entered the city.


    Peng Si''s brother-inw was a knight in the household of the ''Earl of Mistmoon'', the lord of Gadronte Harbor. Through this connection, he had secured the position of captain of an outer city guard squad.


    "What are those two about?"


    "They''re from the southern county of Anlogos."


    "Are they nobility?"


    "No. The man is a Rune Master, and thedy seems to be a rich heiress, they are here traveling. They didn''t even bring any attendants or guards."


    "Heh... good, they are not nobility. By the way, what are their ranks?"


    "The man is a second tier, and the woman is just amon person."


    "Get the ''Viper Gang'' to bring them in, but remind them not to fucking mess around, let me have a taste first!"


    "Boss, I think those two seem a bit serious, should we investigate further?"


    "Investigate my ass! Just some country folks from the south, no matter how big they are, they have to lie low here in Gadronte. Even if there''s troubleter, we''ll just hang a few pirates and fool everyone."


    "Heh heh... Yes, boss!"


    This was clearly not their first time handling such matters.


    ....


    Su Lun sensed a few lingering and distasteful gazes from above the city walls.


    He had thought that Gadronte Harbor was a civilized territory, not chaotic like Old Lington.


    But it seemed that under the sunlight, there would always be sewer rats hidden in the shadows.


    However, Mr. Jing did not respond, and he did not say much either.


    Just as they entered the city, Mr. Jing suddenly stopped, as if sensing something.


    Su Lun asked curiously, "Elder sister, what''s wrong?"


    Mr. Jing shook his head, "Nothing. I sensed the presence of one of my fourth-generation blood descendants in the city."


    He paused, then murmured to himself, "Didn''t think that line had continued..."


    Fourth-generation blood descendant?


    Were there other vampires in the city?


    Su Lun listened, and then he remembered that he himself also belonged to a high-ranking blood n in this world.


    But he did not ask further.


    Su Lun asked, "Elder sister, where shall we go now?"


    Mr. Hei and the others were not arriving until tomorrow, which meant they needed to spend a day in this city.


    Mr. Jing looked up at the floating airships in the sky, seemingly interested, "Let''s walk around the city. Let''s see how much civilization has advanced in a thousand years."


    Su Lun nodded; he too was eager to see what this grand city in the surface world was like.


    The two then walked towards the inner city.


    Seaside cities tend to be more prosperous than those ind, and as the busiest northern port of Emperor Luying''s territory, Gadronte naturally exceeded others.


    A river flowing into the sea split the city in two.


    After entering the city gate, they didn''t walk far before reaching a huge white stone bridge.


    The bridge was wide, and every few dozen meters, there were statues of soldiers over twenty meters tall on both sides.


    Walking under these statues made one instinctively feel very small.


    Su Lun looked up at these statues and found it somewhat incredible. Creating so many stone sculptures required significant effort.


    Seeing his interest, Mr. Jing, who was arm in arm with Su Lun, exined, "This is amon tactic used by those in power. Large statues symbolize authority and constantly remind themon people to hold a sense of awe towards their rulers."


    "I see..."


    Su Lun''s understanding in this area was limited, but he was gaining insight as he listened.


    ...


    Gadnte is a trading city,cking in industry; the market is where the real activity is.


    Having crossed the white bridge, Su Lun and hispanions arrived at the main maritime trading market.


    In the market square, the most striking feature was a gallows built from nks.


    At that moment, three men dressed as pirates were securely bound and being hanged on it for execution.


    They were not hanged outright but rather had nooses tightened around their necks, causing the skin of their necks to split open. The height was neither too high nor too low, but it was precisely enough to make the sufferers tiptoe to avoid suffocation.


    Pirates were very unpopr in this city; if caught, they would often be tortured to death in this manner.


    On both sides of the street, shops were selling a wide variety of goods¡ªfur, tea, ceramics, machinery, timber, minerals, alchemy materials... and ve shops.


    The Luying Empire did not forbid the ve trade; in fact, nobles even used the number of ves they owned as a benchmark forparing wealth and status.


    There were not only human ves, but also ice giants three to four meters tall, half-beast demihumans, ugly trolls, orc warriors...


    Su Lun, seeing other intelligent species on the surface for the first time, took a few extra nces.


    The ves all wore shackles and had explosive cors around their necks.


    The male ves were shirtless, bearing many wounds on their bodies, faces numb.


    The female ves,paratively prettier, wore thin clothes that barely covered their private parts, and if customers requested, the ve traders would even have them undressed for fondling and inspection...


    In the Luying Empire, ves were no different from livestock. Here, they were the cheapest, with one avable for a few tens of thousands of lisos.


    "Come take a look, freshly brought back wild giant, just two million lisos, absolutely a symbol of status..."


    "New war ves, delicate youngdies from noble families of the Manuo Duchy..."


    "Rabbit demihumans, excellent and clingy, perfect choice for a maid,e see, bulk discounts avable..."


    "..."


    As Su Lun walked past, he listened to the ve traders calling out.


    While walking, a little girl holding a bouquet approached him,


    She reached out to Su Lun and asked in a tender child''s voice, "Sir, would you like to buy a bouquet of roses for your beautifuldy?"


    The roses on the ground were red, unlike those underground that glowed.


    Su Lun picked one and asked with a smile, "How much for a bouquet?"


    Girl: "Twenty lisos."


    Su Lun smiled and paid.


    Although the currency in Old Lington was called the same as on the surface, 10,000 lisos for 1 Kroner,


    they were not the same currency, and their purchasing power varied greatly.


    Su Lun, before he had left, had mostly exchanged cash for various solid currencies. Luckily, he had looted some pirates earlier and had some spare change.


    He bought the roses, casually handing them to his senior disciple beside him.


    Mr. Jing also smiled gently and epted them graciously.


    But just at that moment!


    A group of dirt-covered kids who looked like vagrants surged onto the street from a narrow alley, about a dozen of them.


    They crowded around Su Lun, moring non-stop.


    "Sir, sir, please be kind, we haven''t eaten for days!"


    "Sir, spare a few coppers..."


    "..."


    Su Lun, in Old Lington, was part of the Cross Society and was used to seeing the poor who couldn''t get enough to eat.


    They were all pitiful people.


    He wouldn''t have minded giving a bit of help where he could,


    But suddenly, these vagrants dispersed in amotion.


    Once the crowd had dispersed, Mr. Jing calmly said, "My clutch has been stolen."


    The clutch she had been holding was decorative and quite valuable.


    But clearly, it wasn''t about the money.


    Su Lun had actually sensed the malice earlier, but this was a bustling street; he couldn''t just kill the group of stragglers from before.


    He nced and noted that the thief who had stolen the clutch was running fast, probably an experienced assassin.


    At that moment, the flower-selling girl timidly reminded them, "Sir, be careful, they are ''Poison Snake Gang''s'' professional thieves, reporting to the authorities won''t help..."


    With that, she quickly ran off, as if afraid to get involved in trouble.


    Su Lun raised an eyebrow and sneered coldly, "Heh... A gang?"


    From afar, the security officers clearly saw everything but did not intervene, and he realized this so-called "Poison Snake Gang" ran the turf.


    He used to be a member of the Cross Society, so he was all too familiar with this kind of situation.


    He thought about it and mused, "It seems someone has set their sights on us."


    Mr. Jing, affirmed with certainty, "Hmm, they came for me. That thief probably wanted to lure you into an alley."


    Su Lun: "So, shall we go check it out?"


    Mr. Jing nodded.


    The two conversed calmly, as if they were discussing whether or not to take a walk.


    In fact, Su Lun had guessed they might encounter such a situation.


    The beauty of his colleague attracted the covetous.


    Previously in the dungeons, she had to disguise the fact that she was a professional. Now, however, she was all aura open, her stunning charisma shining like a halo.


    And as her strength restored, that queen-like aura also grew stronger...


    Mr. Jing originally had the ability to change appearances, but Su Lun did not ask why she used her real face, though he roughly guessed it was her cultivated "aura."


    Su Lun did not know exactly what aura Mr. Jing cultivated, but he could feel it; beneath her seemingly gentle exterior, there was a domineering, derisive spirit of righteousness...


    She had the power to cut down any injustice.


    ...


    Mr. Jing''s role was like that of amon wealthy youngdy, and Su Lun could not just leave her standing there, waiting to be kidnapped.


    After a brief exchange, they leisurely walked toward the alley the thief had fled down.


    On the other side, in a dim alley where sunlight could not reach, seven or eight gang thugs armed with rifles and swords were already waiting.


    The leader, a dark-skinned man with a scar on his face, was called Polite. He was a minor leader of Poison Snake Gang, known by the nickname "Viper," ruthless and murderous. Among the thugs in Gadngte City, he was considered skilled.


    The thief who had stolen the bag was also there, ying with the bag in his hands, marveling, "Boss, those two foreigners are really loaded. The gems on this bag alone must be worth over a hundred thousand. What if they don''t care and don''te after us?"


    Before he could finish, suddenly, a lookout came.


    "Boss, they are here! Both of them!"


    "Heh, this saves us the trouble of intercepting them on the street."


    "Boss, could there be a problem? Those two looked quite confident."


    "What problem could there be? A tourist wealthy youngdy and an old teacher? Heh, just tender chicks who have never seen the harshness of society. Maybe they are here to reason with us? Hahahaha..."


    "Boss, didn''t Captain Peng Si say that the man is a second-order professional and to be careful?"


    "He''s second-order, and I''m not second-order? As long as he knows his ce, it''s fine. If not, I will cut off his head!"


    "..."


    The men were still muttering when the two figures had already appeared in the alley.


    Su Lun saw the shadows quickly move as three assassins blocked their retreat.


    All were assassins by profession, but their speed wasn''t fast... probably those "nk te" types enhanced through embedding, hence poor attributes, not even matching the assassins of Old Spiriton Outer City.


    The spiritual power of the outside world was abundant and much gentlerpared to "dark spiritual power." The cultivation might be slower, but it rarely led to "mutation."


    With those low-requirement "nk te" materials, almost anyone could advance.


    Like the likes of them right in front of him.


    Seven or eight rifles were pointed at Su Lun''s head simultaneously.


    His face showed no panic, only a cold indifference as he asked, "Who sent you?"


    "Viper" Polite was startled upon hearing this.


    They hadn''t even spoken yet, and the opponent had directly guessed their purpose?


    He vaguely felt something was amiss, but undeterred, he retorted, "Who the hell are you?"


    Su Lun listened and shook his head slightly, clearly the way ofmunication was not right.


    He suddenly said to those thugs, "Watch my lips."


    The eight Poison Snake gang members, upon hearing this inexplicable statement, were simultaneously stunned.


    The next second, they saw Su Lun p his hands together.


    No,


    It wasn''t a p!


    Instead, he formed the magician''s seals with an extremely fast technique.


    He softly chanted, "Silk Control Secret Technique - ughterhouse!"


    Before anyone could react, several shimmering blue threads materialized in the air. These threads, infused with the third stage of wind element rules, sliced through the men''s necks like sharp des, smoothly cutting.


    As blood traced a line, expressions of horror hadn''t even surfaced on their faces when suddenly heads began to slip off, and blood spurted out like fountains.


    Six headless bodies copsed to the ground at the same time.


    The only one still standing was the guy called "Viper" Polite.


    His movement with the dagger froze in midair.


    Watching his men''s heads suddenly separated from their bodies, he realized the horror of the being he had provoked!


    As if falling into an ice pit, his previously arrogant face turned deathly pale.


    But he dared not make the slightest movement.


    Because he could very clearly feel the sharp thread already against his own neck. It was a suffocating despair that even he, as a professional assassin, didn''t see any chance of escaping from.


    Death was just a thread away!


    ....


    Su Lun also guessed where this guy''s confidence hade from just now.


    Probably he had received prior intelligence, thinking that he too was a second stage and had the advantage of numbers, there was no need to be afraid.


    But Su Lun wanted to say,


    Although we are all second stage, my second stage, and your second stage, are not quite the same.


    Clearly, this was the right way tomunicate.


    Su Lun asked again, "Who sent you here."


    This time, Polite answered without hesitation, "Captain Peng Si sent us! He wanted us to kidnap yourdy..."


    Su Lun was not surprised by this statement, "Who is Peng Si?"


    Polite rapidly confessed, "The captain of the city guard, he has a cousin who is a knight in the Earl''s household! He is very close to the young master of the Earl''s family, my boss has good rtions with the nobles in the city, you cannot kill me..."


    "..."


    Su Lun got the information he wanted, no longer interested in hearing the man ther on, just as he was about to make a move, suddenly he heard a voice, "Wait."


    At that moment, Mr. Jing reached out and took off a bone ne from around Polite''s neck.


    [Blessed Mammoth Amulet]


    Detailed description: A cold warding amulet carved from mammoth ivory;


    It was just an ordinary amulet, but seeing Mr. Jing interested, Su Lun took a closer look. He noticed some not-tooplex totems carved on the bone ne. And at the center of the totems was a special crest pattern.


    And this pattern, was it actually the family crest of the Isaac family?


    Su Lun immediately realized, this ne had some connections to Mr. Jing''s family.


    Mr. Jing asked coldly, "Where did this nee from?"


    Polite was already scared out of his wits, "This was taken from a group of new ves who arrived at the port..."


    Mr. Jing asked again, "Where are those ves now?"


    Polite: "In the hands of the major ve trader, Roskin."


    Mr. Jing didn''t ask any further.


    As his voice fell, a head fell.


    Su Lun harvested the Soul Shards from the men, acquiring some not too valuable information.


    Fortunate that the storage space was quiterge, he collected the bodies as well.


    Without a body, no murder case stands... little trouble even if someone made trouble.@@novelbin@@


    Su Lun knew, having killed those men, there would probably be repercussions.


    Even if there weren''t... he nned to find this "Captain Peng Si" and eliminate future troubles.

 Chapter 226 Yekaterina

    ```


    After cleaning up the bodies, Su Lun took out a test tube filled with green potion and dropped a few drops onto each pool of fresh blood.


    This was the potionmonly used by the Old Lington gang to destroy bodies and erase traces¡ª[Blood-Dissolving Bacteria].


    As soon as the potionnded, the bright red blood was quickly devoured by the bacteria, the liquid changing from red to fluorescent green before evaporating in the blink of an eye.


    Thest traces of the bodies were also erased.


    Although there were still some bloodstains sttered on the walls, it was not a big issue.


    Even if someone noticed, they would not go to great lengths over the "disappearance" of a few gang members.


    Having killed several people, neither Su Lun nor Mr. Jing showed any sign of disturbance. They strolled leisurely in the alley, then switched to another passage and re-emerged onto the main street.


    Being half-rted to the Isaac family, Su Lun had nothing to hide and directly asked, "Senior sister, is the pattern on this totem the crest of the Isaac family?"


    "Yes."


    Mr. Jing nodded, exining, "This was a totem co-designed by my father and Great Druid Nuada the Saint during his travels in the northernnds, when he formed an alliance with the ''Dalu Divine Race.'' It represents the friendship and equality between the human race and the Dalu race."


    Su Lun voiced his confusion, "The Dalu Divine Race?"


    "That''s what those ''sub-humans'' in the ve markets are called."


    Mr. Jing provided a brief exnation, then continued, "But in fact, they are not a variant of humans¡ªthey are a very ancient mythical race. They were a race favored by the ancient gods."


    Hearing this, Su Lun immediately thought of the ves with beast-like features.


    They look ny percent human, with just some added beast-like features, such as ears, tails...


    He remembered seeing a group of female ''rabbit-type sub-humans'' with rabbit ears and fluffy short tails in a ve cage, as well as ''deer-type sub-humans'' with small horns on their heads...


    This resembled the forms taken by human awakeners with animalistic talents after transformation.


    In the memories Su Lun had peeled away, the impression humans had of "sub-humans" was that they were the interbred products of humans and beasts, inferior humans with permanent animalistic talents.


    He had thought the same.


    But it turned out not to be the case; instead, they were a mythical race with a history as long as humanity''s.


    Mr. Jing seemed to recall something, and with a rather emotional tone, said, "This totem is a witness to the friendship between my father and the Dalu race back then. Who would have thought that a thousand years have passed, the Atlia Empire has fallen, and yet their people have still upheld the ''covenant'' of those days..."


    She paused and then let out a long, emotive sigh, "Ah..."


    Su Lun had never heard suchplex emotions from Mr. Jing before.


    He was not a party to the events of a thousand years ago, so he did not feel it as deeply.


    But the thought of the equal allies of a thousand years ago now reduced to ves of humankind...


    ....


    The covenant had been signed by Sir Isaac, and Mr. Jing was naturally one of the "parties involved" in that thousand-year-old covenant. Since the allies were still honoring their part of the agreement, she also had an obligation to protect its terms.


    And only someone of very high status within the "Dalu race" could wear that totem amulet.


    The two walked along the street and casually inquired at a shop, learning that the ve trader Roskin was not only well-known in Gadronte Harbor but also one of thergest ve traders in the Emperor Luying Empire.


    Such a "wealthy tycoon" was naturally not someone they could just meet at will.


    But fortunately, they found out the whereabouts of the batch of ves; they might be auctioned off as goods at the auction that evening.


    If possible, Mr. Jing was considering buying those ves.


    Since there was still time, the two continued strolling around the city.


    Su Lun was interested in steam-powered airships, and Mr. Jing clearly wanted to take a look as well.


    ```


    Just a short walk away, they saw the airship tform they had glimpsed outside the city.


    It was a cliffside terrace holding two airships.


    From a distance, Su Lun studied the general structure of the airships and found that the technologicalplexity was not high.


    An oval-shaped enchanted balloon was attached above, with a ss viewing box linked below, and it also came equipped with a rather simple steam power system.


    The practicality of this type of transportation wasn''t significant; due to high air resistance, the speed wasn''t fast.


    The smaller ones could be utilized as reconnaissance flyers, whereas therge ones moved leisurely like ships, yetcked the cargo capacity of cruise ships, making them seem superfluous.


    However, since the fuel was cheap, they were used as a mode of transportation in some ind hill areas.


    In this city, the airship wasn''t a means of conveyance but a high-end dining restaurant with a view.


    Checking the time, Su Lun suggested, "Senior sister, shall we go have a meal first?"


    Mr. Jing replied with a slight smile, "Good."


    ....


    As Su Lun and hispanion approached, a waiter dressed in a white shirt and tie greeted them.


    The airship restaurant''s prices were indeed steep. Su Lun nced at the menu and his eyebrows slightly rose.


    "Deep Sea White Sturgeon Caviar ¡ê300/gram"


    "Vaafei Duchy''s Foie Gras ¡ê700/gram and up"


    "Popodo Estate Gold Rum ¡ê188,888/bottle"


    The good meat was sold by the gram, and a meal could cost tens of thousands.


    But fortunately, having money in one''s pocket, there wasn''t a problem.


    Since arriving in this world, Su Lun hadn''t yet had a real feast and was curious to try the taste of high-end food from this world.


    Back in Old Lington, food resources were very limited.


    Most of the time during his wilderness hunts, he was eating dry rations. Even in the city, he had only had a few decent meals.


    The social structure of Old Lington was deformed.


    Duke Raphael, the "mine owner," didn''t expect the city of exiles to flourish, but rather all resources were diverted to serve his mining operations and mechanical technology research.


    As a result, heavy industry was developed, but light industries like food processing were severely behind, and even daily necessities like drinking water and food were hard toe by.


    Especially in the outer city, most of the meat avable had slight mutations.


    Before it was served, you never knew if the meat came from a pig with five legs or one with seven...


    But as long as it was protein, for most people, having something to eat was good enough.


    Therger airship next door had been rented out by a prominent noble, and the two were led by the waiter to the smaller airship.


    Upon entering, there were already several groups of guests.


    By their attire, it was clear they were people from high society.


    As the airship ascended, they dined, chatted, and overlooked the entire city.


    Although the price was somewhat expensive, the taste was indeed good.


    On Benson''s ship, Su Lun had been eating shipboard food. Seafood was plentiful, but fresh fruits and vegetables were missing.


    The airship was stocked with a variety of fruits, those basking in ample sunlight, so much tastier than the glow fruits from the underground city, sweet and juicy with every bite. The taste buds too reveled in the pleasure brought by the delectable cuisine...


    ...


    Soon after Su Lun and hispanions took off in their flying vessel, another one also took flight.


    A soundproof barrier had been installed on the flying vessel.


    A young woman wearing a fashionable princess dress was dining alone.


    She was the fourth daughter of the Lance family, Yekaterina Lants, with beautiful purple hair, the most distinguishing feature of the Lants.


    Gadronte Harbor belonged to Earl Wuyue, but the entire six northern provinces were the territory of Duke Lance, a family as ancient and powerful as the Luying Empire.


    Yekaterina cut a smallmb chop on her te with her knife and fork, put a piece in her mouth, and chewed slowly.


    Behind her, an elderly butler and a person cloaked in a cape stood quietly.


    No one spoke.


    The vast flying vessel was filled only with the soft sound of chewing.


    After eating for a while, the woman was satisfied.@@novelbin@@


    Only then did shey down her knife and fork, wiped her greasy lips, and asked, "Karlo, how are things with the non-humans?"


    "To report to Her Royal Highness Princess, everything is proceeding ording to your n."


    The cloaked person replied respectfully and added, "I have been active near the ''Silent Deep Woods'' as a bounty hunter for the past two years and have gained some trust from the non-humans at the periphery of the forest. Following your n, I arranged for pirates to raid a non-human vige and captured a significant druid. This time, as long as we sell them and then find a suitable opportunity to rescue them, I should be able to win the trust of the non-human management easily, which will make things much more convenient¡­"


    Hearing this, the purple-haired woman nodded calmly and said, "Mhm. Well done. The empire is currently locked in a major war with Luying and has loosened the restrictions on lords raising troops. I need a powerful army. Gathering those intelligent species of the northern ice fields will certainly be a great asset to me."


    Upon hearing this, the person in the cape said, "I dare not take credit, it is all due to your wisdom, Princess."


    The purple-haired woman smiled faintly and didn''t say much more, but then asked, "Have you found out why Bluul Turner, the legionmander of the ''Imperial Hammer Legion'' from Mafa Empire, came to Gadronte Harbor?"


    "The official news ims it''s to celebrate the Duke''s birthday, but intel suggests he has other important objectives," the person in the cape replied.


    He paused, then continued, "I''ve heard that at tonight''s ck market auction, very top-tier mechanical blueprints will be sold, attracting numerousrge arms dealers. I suspect that those from Mafa are after the blueprints..."


    At this, the purple-haired woman''s brow furrowed slightly, knowing that mechanical blueprints of interest to the Mafa Empire would definitely be no simple thing.


    After pondering for a moment, she asked, "The ck market, could it be something spread by pirates? What kind of mechanical blueprints are they?"


    "The message was specifically directed at severalrge arms dealers; I don''t have exact details. However..."


    The cloaked person paused and then said, "I''ve heard some rumors from the bounty hunter circles that these blueprints originate from Oleg ''King of the North Sea,'' and it''s possible they are the secret ''Super Mechanical Warriors'' blueprints developed by Duke Raphael."


    Surprised by this information, the purple-haired woman chuckled softly and said, "That nouveau riche Raphael leaked the blueprints? And they ended up with pirates?"


    "It''s merely spection."


    The person in the cape replied and added, "There''s also word that Oleg''s fourth fleet recently made a fortune, plundering plenty of wealth and women, and have been reveling in ''Pirate City.'' However, when I investigated, norge territory has been attacked by pirates recently. Thus, I specte it''s very likely that the secret ''mine'' of Duke Raphael has been discovered..."


    Considering this, the purple-haired woman epted the idea and inquired, "Any other news?"


    "There''s also a bit of talk in the pirate circles that Oleg is offering bounties in search of certain individuals... It seems a few gang leaders have died," the cloaked one reported.


    "..."


    After listening to the maritime intelligence, the purple-haired woman swirled her red wine ss, as if pondering something.


    Then she took a light sip and turned to ask, "What about the situation with the Lei family?"


    Upon hearing this, the butler who had been quietly waiting finally spoke, "There are some conflicts between the main and branch families of the Lei family, but with Her Majesty the Empress''s support, they should be resolved soon."


    "And the marriage alliance?" the purple-haired woman probed.


    "When wemunicated before, it seemed those from the Lei branch family had no intention of allying with us through marriage, preferring Duke Raphael. But after the main family regained power, they also showed willingness to form an alliance with us. However, the first heir might not be suitable..." the butler exined.


    Laughing at the response, the purple-haired woman said, "Heh, those fools still think they''re the Mafa royal family from a hundred years ago, waiting for a marriage alliance with the Luying royal family, do they? Fine, anyone but the primary heir will do, the more useless the better."


    Butler: "It is..."


    ....


    Su Lun and Mr. Jing were dining on the airship, asionally making idle chatter.


    He also noticed another airship had taken off, hovering a few hundred meters away.


    The full panoramic ss on the airship offered a great view.


    The sky was dotted with scattered clouds, and the two airships were staggered in flight, not much to be seen.


    But in the instant the clouds cleared, Su Lun saw clearly that there seemed to be only a woman with purple hair dining on the other airship.


    "Regad? Or maybe, Najad... is a... waste(r)?"


    Su Lun was proficient in lip-reading, and even though it was just a moment when the clouds dispersed, he felt that he had read a word that triggered a reflex in his nerves.


    But then the clouds closed in again, obscuring the view, and he could no longer see what the woman was saying.


    The information gleaned from lip-reading was disjointed,cking more context to help conjecture the meaning of the words, resulting in only a few fragmented words.


    "Nobility, purple hair..."


    Su Lun pondered for a moment in his head because he knew so little about the outside world, he also didn''t know who the woman was.


    But he recorded this piece of information in his mind.


    ....


    The civilian airship was somewhat disappointing.


    After dining together, the two got off the airship and continued to wander around the city.


    Su Lun needed to find materials for his job advancement, and Mr. Jing also needed to find some high-level materials to heal his injuries.


    They nned to visit the material market for a look.


    Gadronte also had a specialized alchemy material market, located halfway up the mountain.


    The two took the cable car to the alchemy market.


    The shops here were all very clean, with uniform white-painted walls and blue roofs, reminiscent of a kingdom from a fairy-tale world.


    There weren''t many ordinary residents on this street; the vast majority were professionals and businessmen.


    The people''s attire was also varied and strange; some were dressed in suits like Su Lun, others in Magician''s robes, still others in leather and firearm-adorned adventurer''s outfits, equipped with steam machinery...


    As it was a port city, there were cheaper goods avable than ind, attracting arge number of customers.


    Moreover, the alchemy materials here were much moreprehensivepared to Old Lington!


    Hundreds of shops offered an eye-dazzling variety of goods, probably exceeding one hundred million types. From first, second, to third-tier low-level materials, up to fifth and sixth-tier high-level materials, everything could be bought for a price.


    The two browsed one shop after another,


    Mr. Jing found some small gains.


    Su Lun did quite well too.


    Although he didn''t find the third-tier main material he was looking for, he did find someplementary materials and plenty of essentials for making high-level puppets, things he had only seen in books and which Old Lington simply didn''t have.


    With these materials, Su Lun could also try many new things, such as runes and enchantments above the third tier.


    Unexpectedly,


    While browsing, they actually encountered Captain Peng Si, who wanted to kidnap Mr. Jing!

 Chapter 227 : Kill Slowly

    Su Lun and Mr. Jing were selecting materials in a shop called "The White Whale Alchemist," when suddenly the entire street fell silent. Passersby consciously avoided looking and lowered their heads, not daring to look directly at the imposing group approaching from afar.


    The entourage was grand, led by a squad of guards in shining silver armor, and the leader of the guards was walking two Ice ins giants enved with iron chains, as if walking dogs.


    In the middle of the group was a fat man with a smug look, his cheeks sagging into double chins, and his eyes squinted, weighing over three hundred pounds.


    Nobles of the Luying Empire were instantly recognizable, not only by their entourage but also by their clothing.


    To distinguish themselves from themoners, the nobles had developed aplex set of apparel indicative of their rank and titles.


    The man in the red and yellow velvet coat with three rows of silver buttons and a hat adorned with silver leaves was indeed a viscount.


    ording to the imperial hierarchy, the ruler of Gadngte was a hereditary earl, and his sons were viscounts.


    Without doubt, this fat man was Viscount Primor, a second-generation noble concerned only with eating and womanizing.


    Viscount Primor had a poor reputation within his domain. Su Lun remembered from several disloyal Pirate Gang members, a term: lustful ghoul.


    Using his power, this man had not refrained from exploiting local women.


    However, in the Luying Empire, the status of nobles was invible.


    Lords were like emperors of their ownnd.


    Under the aristocratically poweredw, serfs were private property, and his actions were considered legal.


    Moreover, Viscount Primor was always surrounded by sycophants who shared his interests.


    Some dirty deeds were also carried out by members of the Pirate Gang.


    Although there had been minor incidents involving the abduction of women,


    nothing serious had urred.


    ...@@novelbin@@


    Having purchased many materials from the shop, Su Lun and hispanion were treated as VIP customers by the young steward who warned them kindly, "The two of you are from out of town, that is Viscount Primor, you must not offend him. Also, it''s best to steer clear of the Madam..."


    The steward''s words were veiled, but Su Lun understood.


    These people were out "hunting."


    Yet, he knew that even if they wanted to avoid it, it was unavoidable.


    Because Su Lun had spotted, among the distant group, a man with sharp eyes and a thin face. After extracting memories from several members of the Pirate Gang, he had learned that this man was the city gate''s captain, Peng Si.


    Indeed, Su Lun had noticed a malevolent gaze fixed on them not long after disembarking from the airship.


    It was two men in duckbill hats, whose tracking skills were hardly sophisticated. They were still under the awning across the street, asionally ncing into the shop.


    When Viscount Primor and his train arrived, the two men signaled Peng Si with their eyes.


    That man had already noticed Su Lun and hispanion.


    ...


    If Su Lun could spot them, Mr. Jing certainly could as well.


    She remained silent, apparently curious to see what sort of "demons and monsters" would be drawn out.


    This was exactly what Su Lun had hoped.


    Although he did not consider himself a crusader of justice, he could not tolerate certain things.


    Especially such matters.


    Having spent so many years in juvenile detention, reflecting countless times upon his actions,


    Su Lun firmly believed that even if he lived again, he would still eliminate those gangsters.


    The look in those men''s eyes then was so simr to this crowd''s.


    If things really escted, he might as well be a pirate.


    Afraid of being wanted?


    Not at all.


    Others might worry, but for someone like Su Lun, familiar with warrants, it was a minor issue.


    Though life as a pirate in the surface world was unstable, it was a hundred times morefortable than living in the Outer City of Old Lington, and there was nothing uneptable about it.


    ...


    Thirty minutes earlier, Captain Peng Si had finished his shift at the city gate and, in high spirits, returned to his secret cabin.


    He had assumed that the men of the Poison Snake gang, as usual, had brought a beauty back and locked her up there.


    But to his surprise, when he arrived, he found no one!


    After questioning some of the youngsters, he discovered that "Viper" Polite and his men indeed had taken action. But they had failed to capture anyone, and now an entire group was mysteriously unreachable. Even within the Poison Snake gang, there was no news of them; it was as if they hadpletely vanished.


    Peng Si immediately guessed that they might have stumbled into big trouble.


    If something could make a second-tier professional disappear without a trace, it could make him disappear as well.


    The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became.


    Being just a small team captain, he could not afford to provoke any big shot.


    But Peng Si also had some cunning ns, having avoided trouble for so long because he was bold yet cautious, and he had connections.


    Therefore, he nned to divert the trouble.


    The trouble he couldn''t handle himself could be passed on to his "connection", Viscount Primor.


    Even the most influential figures had to lie low in Gadronte!


    Peng Si knew that Viscount Primor''s daily routine, aside from indulging in food and fun, was to roam the streets "hunting" for new pleasures.


    With a little maniption, he had lured the Viscount to this street.


    And there he was, just arrived. Guided by two youngsters, Peng Si sneaked over and whispered slyly, "Viscount Primor, look over there!"


    Viscount Primor, feeling life was increasingly dull, had be bored with the maids in the castle, the top courtesans of the pleasure house, and all the beauties and ves that various merchants sent over¡ªall easily obtained.


    His father forbade him from harassing the local permanent residents. After listening to the guard''s advice, he could onlye to ces with many outsiders.


    But this was a street frequented by professionals, predominantly burly men. Even if there were women, few were attractive.


    Viscount Primor had not expected to find any outstanding beauties today.


    However, following Peng Si''s direction, when he saw the woman in the red dress sitting inside the "White Whale Alchemy Shop", Viscount Primor''s eyes immediately widened, and he felt an immense thrill: My goodness, there are still such top-notch beauties in the world!


    ....


    The steward attending to Su Lun and hispanion noticed Viscount Primor''s gaze and felt a sense of foreboding, quietly reminding, "Gentlemen, perhaps you should step aside."


    Mr. Jing was expressionless, while Su Lun simply smiled and shook his head, unmoved.


    The other party was specifically here for them; avoiding them was not an option.


    "Ah..."


    Seeing the Viscount''s party enter, the steward let out a helpless sigh, thinking that these two foreigners were in for some trouble. But there was no help he could offer.


    Watching the fat man enter the shop, the shopkeeper guessed what wasing. Though inwardly bitter, he forced a smile and approached, saying, "Viscount sir, your illustrious visit honors our humble shop. What materials might you need? Oh, why should youe yourself? Just give the guards a word, and I will personally deliver it to the castle."


    "No need for the trouble, just here to look around."


    Viscount Primor casually inquired while idly handling a piece of alchemy material on the counter, his attention obviously elsewhere as he asked, "Got any good stufftely..."


    His gaze, however, fell on Mr. Jing who was not far away, his greedy eyes narrowed to slits, filled withscivious intent.


    The air of distinct and chilly mor about him excited him so much that his whole corpulent body trembled.


    Viscount Primor''sckeys understood their master''s intentions and began inspecting the shop''s clientele for an excuse.


    After all, it''s inappropriate to abduct someone on the street; they needed an "excuse".


    Captain Peng Si, not knowing that Su Lun had already recognized him, still made his way over and inquired pretentiously.


    "Who are you people, and where are you from?"


    "We are from Anluogos County, on a trip here. This is my wife."


    "Your identification?"


    Su Lun produced his identity proof, stamped with the city entry seal.


    He was also curious to see what kind of ruse these men would y.


    Peng Si looked at the identification, pretended to scrutinize it for a while, but found no faults, and then asked, "Do you have any nobility in your family lineage?"


    Su Lun calmly responded, "No."


    Hearing this, Peng Si visibly rxed and without further ado,manded in an authoritative tone, "There''s a problem with your identity proof. Come with us to the security office for investigation."


    "Why?"


    Su Lun sneered inwardly and asked, "Captain, can you tell me what exactly is wrong with my proof?"


    Peng Si casually replied, "I suspect you are connected to a previous smuggling case. Please cooperate with our investigation."


    "Heh heh..."


    Listening to this baseless usation, Su Lunughed coldly.


    Nothing new.


    A chilling look shed in his eyes, and he didn''t waste words with such people. He said, "Previously, several gangsters from the Poison Snake gang came to kidnap my wife, and they said it was Captain Peng Si who ordered them. May I ask, was it you who ordered them?"


    Mr. Jing had been silent all along, and Su Lun knew that this was going to blow up.


    Good, he was in the mood to kill.


    Especially people like this.


    He spoke loudly, also to wake Viscount Primor to the fact that he was being used.


    After all, reputation and reality are two different things,


    in case... what if he killed an innocent?


    At this remark, Peng Si finally realized that the other party actually knew him, feeling a bad premonition, "Damn Polite, why did he confess everything!"


    Yet, he deceitfully responded, "I don''t know what you''re talking about."


    Clearly, that fat pig was already overwhelmed by desire, with no intention to think through any covert schemes.


    His gaze couldn''t move away from Mr. Jing anymore, and seeing hisckeys being so inefficient, he eagerly interjected, "If there''s an issue, let''s take these two back for questioning first."


    Upon hearing this, everyone in the shop visibly turned uneasy. Even if they hadn''t understood before, they now grasped what the Viscount intended to do. But even though they understood, nobody dared to speak up.


    Su Lun shook his head, this time he wouldn''t be killing the wrong person.


    At that moment, the nearby Mr. Jing calmly stated, "ording to thews of Emperor Luying, you have no right to detain us without cause..."


    Thew was thest refuge for themoners, and she wanted to see if this powerful civilized nation still upheld it.


    Primo felt offended; amoner dared to speak to him in such a manner?


    And dared to question the lord''s authority?


    His face twitched with fat, revealing a sneering smile.


    He hadn''t spoken yet when the perceptive Peng Si shouted angrily, "In Gadronte, the words of the Viscount are thew!"


    Mr. Jing shook his head, clearly disappointed.


    Su Lun slightly raised his eyebrows, enjoying such arrogance.


    In his eyes, the lives of the nobility were not so valuable.


    Su Lun said, "What if we don''t cooperate?"


    Seeing a conflict brewing, Peng Si wasn''t startled but instead pleased. If it really came to a fight here, no one would know about his deeds. Counting on his numerical advantage, he arrogantly yelled, "You''d best cooperate! Dare to resist, and it''s death on sight..."


    Before he finished speaking, there was suddenly a loud bang in the air.


    "Pop."


    In everyone''s astonishment, Su Lun''s figure had already dispersed in front of them.


    "Protect the Viscount!"


    The reactions of the third-tier guards were extremely quick. Surrounding Primo, they rushed out of the shop.


    Su Lun''s first target wasn''t that fat pig, but Peng Si!


    As everyone only caught glimpses of a dispersing figure, Su Lun had already appeared a few meters away, grabbing Peng Si by the neck and lifting him into the air, coldly looking at him, "Now what?"


    Peng Si, who exerted his energy on women and was only half-professional, had no strength to escape from the iron-like grip on his neck.


    His face turning red, he still tried to be cunning, stubbornly saying, "How dare you attack the Viscount, you... it is... a capital crime..."


    Su Lun snorted coldly through his nostrils, his murderous intent unwavering.


    The reason he let this kind of person live another second was to make him feel true despair.


    Just then, he threw a punch, his fist enveloped with violent wind elements,nding directly on Peng Si''s head.


    "Boom."


    It sounded like a watermelon bursting, sttering crimson all over.


    Su Lun executed this scum in the most violent and bloody manner.


    Witnessing such a terrifying scene, everyone else in the alchemy shop was dumbfounded.


    Being shocked by the massacre was one thing,


    but what shocked them even more was


    that someone dared to kill Viscount Primor''s men?


    My God, these two foreigners were as good as dead!


    ...


    Su Lun had inquired before that Gadronte Harbor had a sixth-tier navymander.


    There were also several fifth-tier and fourth-tier professionals.


    But those high-tier professionals mostly held important positions in the army.


    That son of Earl Mistmoon also had many sons, and this worthless one wouldn''t always have high-ranking officers protecting him whenever he went out to seek pleasures.


    That fat pig only brought a few third-tier guards with him.


    Su Lun killed Peng Si but had no intention of letting the main culprit outside go.


    A three hundred pound fatty, even if surrounded by third-tier guards, wouldn''t escape quickly.


    Just as he was about to go out, Mr. Jing said indifferently, "No rush, kill slowly. I want to see if that Earl Mistmoon cane up with an excuse to save his son from the death penalty..."


    Although his words were calm, they were filled with killing intent.


    The implication was that if things escted, his master sister had his back.


    If negotiations failed, even the Earl might be killed.


    Su Lun grinned, this was exactly what he wanted!


    This was not "ck Reef Fort"; there was no way out after killing someone here.


    This wasnd, where one could go anywhere, whether onnd or sea.


    Not in a rush to kill, Su Lun was not eager to reveal his signature puppetry techniques either. He charged out, his hands forming the sorcerer''s seals, shouting "Hormone Rage!"


    As the sorcerer''s seals shifted, ayer of dark golden Elemental Armor condensed on his skin.


    His physical strength was alreadyparable to a regr third-tier melee professional. Once his hormones were activated, his closebat abilities were off the charts.


    He chased them down alone, braving a barrage of gunfire, his punches raining down like rain.


    The guards had to directly confront Su Lun to cover Primor''s escape.


    Although these guards from the Earl''s estate were much more formidable than those thugs from the Poison Snake gang, none of them was a match for Su Lun.


    First-tier professionals fell to one punch each, and those above the second-tier, depending on their armor, couldst a few more rounds.


    His fists,nding on those d in heavy armor, sounded like cannon fire, "Bang" "Bang" "Bang"... echoing down the entire street.


    A trail of ughter, a trail of corpses...


    The terrified Viscount''s face turned pale,ically scampering down the street in a disheveled manner.


    ....


    There were many people in the alchemical market, and the noise halfway up the mountain was significant.


    Very soon, information was sent throughout Gadronte Harbor through various channels.


    In a high-endmercial district, a purple-haired woman was browsing in a high-end jewelry shop. Hearing the report from her subordinates, she seemed intrigued, "Someone is attempting to kill Primor in public? Heh, that''s interesting... let''s go have a look."


    In an embassy outpost, a group of soldiers d in heavy mechanical armor also received the news immediately. The leader, a middle-aged man with sideburns, immediately sensed something amiss. "Wow, someone even dares to attack the Earl''s son in Gadngte City? Tsk tsk... spirited! Let''s go enjoy the show too!"


    In the Earl''s estate, ''Earl Mistmoon'' Ossaka Ackerman was meeting an old friend, ''Count Blood'' Antonio Harris from the eastern region of Synodia.


    Hearing that his son was attacked in public, Ossaka guessed as usual that it was that fellow getting into trouble again, and he smashed his teacup, "Dammit! That damn son has caused me trouble again!"


    He was well aware of his son''s misdeeds, but for a nobleman, that was not a major issue. Some civilian girls, after all, were just perks that nobility were entitled to enjoy, and being enjoyed was a grace bestowed upon them.


    More than these, he was more infuriated that someone dared to create disturbances in his territory, which was a provocation to his authority as a lord!


    He said to his old friend, "My old friend, I apologize for the embarrassment."


    Antonio shook his head, stood up with him, and said, "To dare to make a move in the city, maybe some big pirate snuck in, let me apany you to see, maybe I can be of some little help."

 Chapter 228 Ancestor

    The battle was raging on the alchemy material street halfway up the mountain.


    A gigantic cross appeared in the sky, covering nearly half a block.


    Silken threads dangled down, binding Viscount Primor, who was as fat as a pig, tightly in ce. The thin threads sank into his flesh, with drops of blood trickling down, causing the man to continuously let out pitiful howls of pain.


    At this moment, Su Lun, drenched in snow-white suit, was sttered with scarlet blood, making him look exceptionally ferocious.


    He had killed the majority of that fat pig''sckeys, and only a few third-order guards were still struggling to hang on. Their armor was of high quality and had almost no ws, taking a great deal of effort to defeat.


    Ultimately, it was still within the city,


    and Su Lun no longer had the opportunity to wipe out all these people.


    The news of Viscount Primor''s attack spread quickly, but the city guard arrived the fastest.


    Soon, a team of knights d in shining silver armor, mounted on majestic lions, surged forward with a formidable aura, quickly sealing off the entire block.


    This was Count Osaca''s most elite army¡ªthe "Fire Lion Legion."


    Themander leading the knights was the "Lionheart Knight," Hattijah Owens.


    Su Lun had some memory of him, a fifth-order professional with no small reputation.


    The mount beneath him was a fifth-order [Blue-eyed Fire Lion], imposing and majestic, the size of a bull.


    Together, the man and lion had an astonishing record of battling a sixth-order pirate without defeat.


    The team members behind him were also elite, with second-order, third-order, and fourth-order lion magical beasts beneath them.


    Magical beasts possess a beastly nature, with eyes revealing fierceness, but under these knights, the formation was orderly and precise.


    These were true "Knights" with noble titles!


    A true knight not only has ess to the best supernatural resources but also wears armor and wields des that are top-notch. Not to mention the cost of forging which could equal thebined wealth of ten or a hundred ordinary professionals, the annual rune maintenance and enchantment costs alone required several civilian families'' yearly taxes to sustain.


    The hundred-man magical beast knight brigade before him could even wear down a sixth-order professional to death.


    Su Lun didn''t feel he was in any position to sh with such an elite legion now.


    However, he also showed not the slightest hint of fear, crooking his finger to hoist that fat pig into the air with silken threads for everyone to see.


    Viscount Primor cooperated with a hysterical shriek, "Ah... Commander Hattijah, quick, save me!"


    .....


    The city guards were gathering more and more at both ends of the block, with at least several hundreds of gun barrels pointed at his head, but Su Lun seemed to bepletely oblivious to them.


    He nced at his suit, now reeking of blood, and frowned slightly, seeming displeased. He calmly took off his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, while casually harvesting and assimting the Soul Shard he had just obtained.


    He didn''t run away nor did he prepare to fight.


    Knight Commander Hattijah stopped from a distance as he observed Viscount Primor bound within the glistening threads above, his gaze bing slightly stern.


    Killing this "criminal" before him wasn''t difficult.@@novelbin@@


    What was difficult was, he had no confidence that he could save the viscount while killing this criminal.


    If the control was lost, those sharp threads would act like des, slicing a person into segments.


    Thinking that the other party hadn''t killed anyone, he probably wanted to negotiate.


    Hattijah, looking at the young man who was tidying his clothing with an indifferent expression, said, "Release Viscount Primor, whatever your conditions are, we can talk."


    "..."


    Su Lun heard these words but showed no intent to respond, not even lifting his eyelids.


    Seeing this attitude, Hattijah felt it was going to be troublesome.


    He feared that the intention was revenge, to kill for the sake of killing.


    If being soft didn''t work, Hattijah tried another angle, "Are you aware that under the empire''sw, attacking nobility is a capital crime. It''s not toote to let go of Viscount Primor now..."


    Indeed, thews of the Luying empire served the nobility; a noble killing amoner would at most pay a fine.


    If amoner killed a noble, the punishment could range from death by hanging to the annihtion of their entire n.


    "Thew?"


    Hearing this, Su Lun shook his head.


    ```


    If thew were effective, we wouldn''t be having this mess.


    He had no intention of troubling these knights who were simply following orders, still waiting for the "Fog Moon Earl" to arrive.


    Just as he said that, a path suddenly opened up in the crowd on the distant street, with a group of high-ranking guards surrounding two big-bearded men in noble-specific garments.


    Both big beards wore clothes with golden sps, and their hats were adorned with golden leaves.


    Although Su Lun did not recognize these two men, he could tell they were both Earls.


    The two Earls, one quite indifferent, the other''s face full of anger.


    Su Lun immediately deduced that the slightly aging, angry gray-bearded man was the "Fog Moon Earl," Ossaka Ackerman.


    ....


    The "Blood Count" Antonio was puzzled.


    He had originally thought that the culprit daring to attack the Viscount''s party in the city must be some fifth or sixth rank Great Pirate.


    But he had never expected that it would actually be a young man.


    Although he was not certain of Su Lun''s rank, appearing like a second or perhaps a third tier professional...


    But without an elemental barrier, he was definitely not a fourth rank.


    This kind of "culprit" seemed to be beneath his need to act personally.


    But looking at the bodies strewn all over the ground, Antonio simply could not understand. How could such a low-ranked professional ughter almost to extinction the elite guards of an Earl''s manor and even capture Viscount Primo?


    Moreover, where did this fellow get the courage to strike and not flee?


    What exactly did he intend to do?


    Now surrounded, even if he were a Great Pirate, his death was certain!


    Antonio took another look at the shimmering threads and his eyes revealed a hint of contemtion.


    The profession of Puppet Master was very niche, usually with some special techniques, one could guess the origin.


    Others might not recognize the maniption technique, but his Harris family had a long history of inheritance, and Antonio recalled a lost Puppet Mastery secret technique, thinking, "Seems like... Puppet Theater? A very ancient puppeteering technique indeed..."


    He suddenly became very interested in the origins of the young man before him.


    ....


    Count Ossaka looked at his son in his sorry state, anger bubbling within him.


    Although he had no respect for this useless son of his, he was not someone who could be disciplined by outsiders!


    Moreover, by a lowlymoner?


    Hmph!


    He looked at Su Lun and asked in a cold voice, "Who are you?"


    Su Lun, seeing the real deal hade, finally spoke, "Who I am is not important."


    He paused and then sinctly recounted the events, "I came to Gadronte Harbor with my wife for a trip, and this guy tried to abduct my wife... I wonder, Earl, do you think this man hasmitted a crime?"


    Although he had been briefed on the whole matter on the way, Count Ossaka still found it unbelievable.


    Just over such a trivial matter?


    His deep-rooted belief in noble supremacy made it impossible for him toprehend the thought process of Su Lun the transmigrator.


    He was more enraged by the fact that amoner dared to question a noble?


    Count Ossaka''s eyes darted as he confirmed personally, "Do you hold any noble titles?"


    Su Lun answered, "No."


    Hearing this, Ossako sneered inwardly, letting go of any hesitation.


    He narrowed his eyes and said, "Since you aren''t a noble, do you know the crime of ndering nobility? Are you aware that attacking nobility means you and your family will be sent to the gallows? I suggest you..."


    Although he also knew the facts to be so, nobles needed to save face too, abduction?


    No... that is damn nder!


    The threatening implication in his tone was more than clear.


    Since it was a newlywed coupleing for a trip, a Rune Master and a merchant''s daughter, they must be involved with some family.


    ```


    He was convinced the young man must have been momentarily blinded by anger and would sumb to intimidation.


    However, Su Lun clearly wasn''t taking the bait, shaking his head slightly, "It seems the Earl has misunderstood something..."


    Before his voice trailed off, he demonstrated his stance with action.


    With a sudden flick of his fingers in the air, he watched as several strands of thread tensed and quivered, and instantly, a desperate scream sounded not far away, "Ah...!!! Daddy, save me!"


    Everyone looked closely, and blood sprayed everywhere.


    The fat pig bound by the threads had all his ten fingers chopped off like carrots by the threads.


    The fingers fell to the ground, and blood spurted wildly.


    "You..."


    Earl Ossako looked as Su Lun made his move without warning, giving no regard to his noble status, and shouted in shock and anger, "What on earth are you trying to do!"


    Su Lun''s tone was still unhurried, "Earl, I''m afraid you''ve misunderstood my intention. When I questioned you, it wasn''t to allow you to make excuses for this fat man''s acquittal. He''s as good as dead. As far as I know, just this year alone, this fellow has raped at least eighty civilian women, resulting in ten deaths... I was simply inquiring whether you were aware. If you were, then you are an aplice and deserve punishment as well..."


    He peeled away the memories of those thugs, feeling even more convinced that this fat man deserved to die a thousand deaths.


    After pausing, he asked again, "So, Earl, do you now believe your son is guilty?"


    ....


    In front of everyone, Su Lun severed a Viscount''s ten fingers.


    In thews of the Empire of Luying, this was already an unforgivable grave offense.


    A few heavily armored mecha warriors who had been watching the excitement for a while, the leader with a bristling beard observed the scene, "Public abduction of women, so this is how it is. The young man has some spirit. Too bad, he has angered Ossaka, and he''s likely not to survive."


    Meanwhile, in the attic of a small building, a purple-haired woman watched the scene with interest, murmuring to herself, "He sounds righteous and loyal... but where does this guy get his confidence from?"


    Her view perfectly epassed the entirety of the "White Whale Alchemy Shop."


    She was also curious to see what the woman this man was fighting to protect looked like.


    But when her gaze fell upon the woman sitting leisurely by the window watching the scene, dressed in a burgundy gown, her face immediately took on a serious expression.


    That woman was too calm.


    ....


    "How dare you defame a noble!"


    A self-righteous roar erupted.


    How could Ossaka ever confess?


    In front of everyone, with all the residents of the city hearing what had happened, admit that he allowed his son to abduct and rape women?


    If this continued, his family''s dirtyundry might spread throughout all of Luying!


    Even if the incident was quelled, it would surely affect the authority of the lord.


    The honor of the family was above everything!


    While speaking, he signaled to his old friend, "Earl of Blood" Antonio.


    Antonio nodded, "Hmm."


    He felt somewhat confident that he could rescue the person, but it was not a certainty.


    Now it seemed his old friend intended to forcefully resolve the issue even if it meant his good-for-nothing son perished.


    Well then, he thought, it''s just a little favor.


    Antonio mumbled to himself.


    But just as he was about to take action, and his aura was beginning to release, it was then that he saw a stunning woman in a burgundy gown appear out of nowhere by Su Lun''s side.


    Seeing Mr. Jing appear so suddenly, Su Lun wasn''t the least bit surprised.


    He also knew that surely a master was watching him.


    Forcing him to act, it was time to let his senior sister take over the resolution.


    Upon Mr. Jing''s arrival, the party from the Earl''s mansion became like an enemy on edge.


    Ossaka''s face darkened, "So there''s help..."


    But he was not too surprised. The city''s military had already tightly encircled the area, and even if a seventh-tier professional came, they would still meet their demise right there!


    Meanwhile, Antonio, standing to the side, harbored a different set of thoughts.


    He looked at Mr. Jing, his eyes full of gravity.


    He hadn''t been able to discern how the man had appeared just now, despite his vignce.


    Moreover... what was crucial was not the other''s peculiar movement, but rather the familiar feeling that inexplicably surged within him upon seeing that face.


    But upon closer thought, he couldn''t understand why it felt familiar.


    ....


    Su Lun thought that with Mr. Jing''s entrance, a fight was bound to break out immediately.


    Yet, to her surprise, he didn''t make a move, but instead repeated her own question, "Do you think Viscount Primor deserves to die?"


    However, the one being asked was not Count Osaca.


    This time, the question was directed at "Blood Earl" Antonio.


    "..."


    Antonio was perplexed by the question, thinking, what does this have to do with me?


    But the next moment, he felt an overwhelming pressure, like a mountain copsing upon him.


    The woman before him carried no aura of intimidation, yet he felt a profound reverence that seemed to emanate from his soul.


    Confronted with this question was like choosing at the gates of Hell.


    A wrong answer meant... death!


    Mr. Jing waited quietly, ready to discard this bloodline if the answer was unsatisfactory.


    Antonio seemed to zone out for a moment, and inexplicably, he spoke his mind, uttering two words, "Guilty, deserves death."


    Upon his words, Count Osaca''s expression changed, and he looked on in disbelief: "???"


    Why would his old friend utter such a remark?


    The guards from the Earl''s mansion exchanged nces with one another.


    They thought they might have heard wrong.


    Mr. Jing nodded at the response, "Good."


    Just then, a hint of red light flickered across her eyes.


    Just as Antonio hade back to his senses, he was clear about what had happened, annoyed at himself for blurting out such impolite words. Even though he also believed that Viscount Primo''s actions were unforgivable, it was the result of the corrupt aristocratic system. In the vast Empire of Luying, such situations were everywhere, and no one could change them, not even the Empress herself. Speaking such "truth" would not only embarrass his old friend but would also put himself...


    But at that moment, seeing the red light in Mr. Jing''s eyes, Antonio suddenly realized something and awakened: "It''s... that person!"


    The next second, he did something that left everyone in disbelief¡ªa most "abnormal" act.


    In front of everyone,


    "Blood Earl" Antonio suddenly knelt on one knee without hesitation and performed the chest-protecting Knight''s salute to the woman in red¡ª an act of loyalty.


    The sight silenced the bustling district.


    Thousands were stunned.


    A mighty Earl, a high-ranking noble, need not kneel even in the presence of the Empress of Luying.


    But now, he showed such respect to the woman before him by kneeling?


    Everyone was guessing, who exactly was this woman? Or had the Earl been bewitched by some secret mental technique?


    Su Lun, observing this scene, was initially slightly taken aback, but she quickly understood: "Is this the four-generation bloodline she spoke of?"


    ....


    Prior to this, Mr. Jing had not exhibited the aura characteristic of his bloodline; Antonio merely found him somewhat familiar.


    Now, feeling the ancestral pressure on his bloodline, he immediately recognized why it seemed so familiar.


    Wasn''t this person depicted in the oil painting of the progenitor in his family''s treasury, despite some discrepancies upon closer inspection?


    Although it seemed unbelievable, the ancestral bloodline pressure was unmistakably urate.


    He respectfully called out, "Progenitor!"

 Chapter 229 Cursed Script

    Everyone on the street watched, dumbfounded.


    No one expected a noble Earl to kneel before a woman unknown to them in broad daylight, nor could they understand why he would do such a thing.


    In the Empire of Luying, it wasn''t just nobility that reigned supreme, but also the inheritors from well-founded, prestigious families, and these were men.


    Aside from Her Majesty the Empress, there had been no mention of a female noble with a status higher than that of an Earl.


    Count Osaca of "Mistmoon" beside him thought his old friend had been bewitched and quickly asked, "Antonio... are you alright?"


    Antonio nced back at him and shook his head.


    Seeing his old friend''s resolute gaze, which did not seem to be under any sort of Illusion Technique, Osaca had no idea what else to say.


    The situation had be very strange; his own son was still suspended in mid-air, his severed fingers dripping blood. The people of his territory were watching as if it were a spectacle. He hadn''t grasped the significance of "Ancestor" that Antonio had mentioned and thought Mr. Jing might also be a high-ranking noble, secretly cursing that damned son of his for getting into big trouble.


    But after all, being a respected Earl himself, Osaca swallowed his pride and said, "If your excellency is also a noble, then whatever misunderstanding there is, we can go to the nobility''s court of arbitration..."


    When nobles of the Empire of Luyingmitted crimes, they weren''t tried under themon judicial system; they had a special court of their own.


    It was rare for the great nobles toe to blows; most disputes were settled through mediation.


    It was either through a duel or by staging a full-scale battle...


    Not by kidnapping someone''s offspring like this.


    But before he could finish speaking, Mr. Jing had not opened his mouth, yet Antonio interjected with an indisputable tone, sentencing the fat man to death, "Primo offended the Ancestor, a crime unforgivable!"


    Without waiting for anyone else to speak, Antonio took action himself.


    He suddenly raised his hand, and with a grasp, it was as though he tore the air itself, revealing five de-like scratches beneath his fingers.


    The next second, the wails of the fat pig in the air came to an abrupt halt.


    A huge head tumbled to the ground with a thud.


    Osaca''s face went rigid as he watched his son killed right before his eyes, "You..."


    He wanted to erupt in anger, but his rational mind told him that somethingplex was at y, given his old friend''s "inconceivable" actions. Although he felt humiliated, he realized it was not the time tosh out.


    Mr. Jing couldn''t care less about the corpse and asked simply, "What do you think of him?"


    Naturally, the question was about Earl Osaca.


    Knowing his old friend''s character well, Antonio answered truthfully, "His crime does not warrant death."


    "Hmm. Then let it be."


    Hearing this, Mr. Jing proceeded to leave without another word.


    This was just an ordinary noble, not one who hadmitted heinous acts.


    At the heart of it all, the fundamentally corrupt system was to me.


    Su Lun also found the turn of events quite dramatic; he had thought there''d be a battle. But since the fat pig was killed by Mr. Jing''s kin, who was also an Earl and moreover a friend of Osaca''s,


    It seemed a fight was no longer an option.


    Watching Mr. Jing prepare to leave, Su Lun followed suit and headed towards the edge of the surrounding crowd.


    However, suddenly, Mr. Jing seemed to sense something, his expression sharpened as he uttered sharply, "Someone is tampering with fate!"


    ....


    Half a minute ago.


    In a small building in the distance, the purple-haired woman watching the excitement looked at everything before her with relish.


    Suddenly, an idea struck her, and she muttered, "Could it be the high-ranking vampire those North Sea pirates are looking for? No, no, this one''s strength is definitely beyond the sixth rank..."


    As she watched the otherwise calm situation unfold in the distance, she said to herself, "Just resolving it like this seems rather boring. Should I test the waters a bit more?"


    The purple-haired woman''s eyes flickered, and she immediately made a decision.


    With that, she took out a ck notebook and a steel pen, and began scribbling down a passage of text: "Count Osaca was a mix of shame and indignation, watching his own son die before his eyes, listening to the whispers of his constituents; he felt an immense humiliation. He decided to uphold the family''s honor, and gave the order: ''Take them all!''"


    After the purple-haired woman had written down this plotline, several lines of text slowly emerged on the page: "Conformity with reality 81%, story established!"


    She peered at those words, the corners of her eyes crinkling with a sardonic smile, "Ah, that''s when a storyline bes truly thrilling..."


    If Su Lun had been here, he would have recognized that this notebook was an "enchanted object."


    [Cursed Script]


    Quality: Legendary


    Description: If the characters in the script have no soul, it must be a terrible script;


    Cursed Properties: One can write a scenario that fits the current situation to change the course of the story; the more logical the story, the more likely it is to affect reality; those who do not master the relevantws need to offer varying amounts of soul energy when using this notebook to alter the destinies of others¡ªthe moreplex the fate and causality involved, the greater the price that must be paid;


    Detailed Exnation: In the Dawn Era, a Great Alchemist of the Screenwriter Profession series created this cursed object. He believed that the screenwriter is the creator of a story world, and as long as the logic in the book world is tight and thews areplete, it can evolve into a real world; it can also serve as advancement material for those in soul-rted professions.


    ....


    Watching the people about to leave, Count Osaca, for some reason, felt a sudden surge of fury in his heart.


    He, a distinguished earl, had just witnessed someone kill his son before his very eyes, and he was supposed to watch them walk away?


    This Gadronte Harbor was the Akeman family''s territory!


    He was the lord who owned everything!


    Listening to the whispers of the constituents, he felt immense humiliation, growing angrier with each passing moment. Without thinking, he blurted out, "Take them all!"


    At thismand, the knights circling the streets surged forward.


    "Blood Count" Antonio, upon hearing this, couldn''t believe his old friend would make such an irrational move, and bellowed, "Damn it! Osaca, do you realize what you are doing!"


    But his words were useless; the knights only obeyed themand of their lord and were already charging forward on their mighty lions.


    Su Lun also inwardly cursed, recalling Mr. Jing''s previous words: Was someone manipting fate?


    Before he could even react, he was suddenly pushed by Mr. Jing beside him. He stumbled forward, and for a moment, the shimmer of a mirror shed before him.


    Not yet understanding what had happened, he steadied himself only to suddenly see the scenery around him change, finding himself in a room with a view of the sea and a breeze blowing through.


    Through the window, he had a clear view of Gadronte Harbor.


    This was a mansion in a wealthy district at the top of the hill.


    Teleported a kilometer out of thin air?


    Su Lun felt he understood something and turned back to look.


    Right behind him, there was indeed arge dressing mirror.


    Today, the sunshine was just right, with a blue sky dotted with white clouds.


    The light and shadow in the mirror were clearly depicting the grand battle happening a thousand meters away on the mountainside.


    "Such a magical ability..."


    Su Lun couldn''t help but marvel inwardly; it appeared that Mr. Jing had pushed him out from within the mirror''s surface.


    Could reflection be used for arbitrary teleportation?


    He figured he had roughly understood the principle behind this technique.


    It was very simr to his own Spatial Discement, but it was clear that thews applied were different. One involved passing through a spatial hole, while the other utilized the reflection of "light elements."


    A vampire using light-basedws?


    It seemed a bit strange.


    ....


    "Thud!"


    "Thud!"


    "Thud!"


    "..."


    Themotion from the battle on the mountainside was immense.


    Regiments charged, high-level spells collided, buildings were destroyed in swathes, and residents fled in panic.


    In Gadronte Harbor, the army continued to gather and assemble toward the city, with patrol ships even returning to port, putting the whole city into a war state.


    The Ackerman family had operated in this coastal city for a hundred years and had a solid foundation. There was no shortage of well-equipped knight regiments, various cursed objects, and some special individuals with unique talents...


    Like within the Old Lingdun Inner City, the wealthy always liked to cultivate professionals with rare talents.


    With arge poption, there was always a chance to find individuals with special abilities.


    From a great distance, Su Lun could see several B-grade and C-grade talented individuals emerging amidst themotion.


    Typically, those who could advance to fourth-rank officers possessed considerable strength.


    Using gaming terminology, they were at least "silver-level" or "gold-level" BOSSes.


    It wasn''t just the knight regiments and navy that were mobilizing; the city''s mercenaries and bounty hunters were also gathering in a mighty throng towards the mountainside...


    In this situation, if an ordinary seventh-rank professional arrived, they would likely be killed in an encirclement.


    However, Su Lun wasn''t worried about Mr. Jing''s safety.


    Having spent these days in constantpany, he had noticed his seniors'' strength bing more profound and unfathomable.


    Aftering to the surface, this vampire, rather than bing weakened by the sunlight, seemed to be rapidly recovering from her injuries due to the abundance of certain elements, and her realm became increasingly ethereal.


    Currently surrounded and attacked by a crowd, she hadn''t fallen behind at all. In fact, once she unleashed her elemental domain, she even suppressed the group.@@novelbin@@


    Besides, there was also an equally powerful earl-blooded vampire and his guards.


    However, since Mr. Jing had noticed the intrusion of a "third party" stirring up trouble, he naturally wouldn''t continue the fierce battle and be a pawn in someone else''s scheme.


    The fight ended hastily with Mr. Jing and her blood progeny retreating.


    ....


    Su Lun watched the entire battle from a mansion on the mountaintop, and seeing Mr. Jing withdraw withposure, he also heaved a sigh of relief.


    Not long after, he received a message from his senior sister. Having found the blood progeny, she was leaving Gadronte early to handle some matters. Then she entrusted Su Lun to go to the ve auction and buy the batch of "Dalu tribesmen" for her.


    Purchasing ves was a minor issue, just a matter of spending some money, and not a real problem.


    The real problem was that Su Lun found himself alone.


    Although this was part of the n, even if he didn''t leave today, he was bound to separate once Mr. Hei and the others arrived tomorrow.


    Su Lun teleported out of the mansion, feeling that something was off along the way.


    A momentter, he figured it out.


    It wasn''t that he was unwilling to part with his beautiful senior sister.


    Rather, without a powerful protector, he immediately felt a sense of crisis.


    It was like stepping out of a warm house into the cold wind that chills one to the bone, causing a shiver to run down one''s spine.


    Without thinking, he had to be on guard against potential enemies lurking around.


    "No wonder Mr. Jing advised me not to follow them..."


    Su Lun shook his head and muttered to himself.


    Flowers from the greenhouse can''t withstand the ravages of a storm.


    The sudden sense of destion also made him realize that, without being aware of it, he had grown ustomed to having someone powerful looking out for him.


    In his subconscious, there was the belief that no matter what happened, the big boss had his back. He could no longer feel the sense of urgency he once did when he was mingling with gangs on the edge of life and death in the Old Spiriton Outer City, and he had be muchzier...


    Just like when he killed someone in the street earlier, the confidence didn''te from his own strength, but from Mr. Jing.


    He didn''t have that full sense of aplishment he used to have after a thoughtful and tough fight.


    Because... hecked the sense of crisis.


    Now alone, that feeling of treading on thin ice crept back into his heart.


    "So that''s what it is..."


    In a state of rxation and tension, Su Lun finally understood what he needed and a slight smile formed on his lips.


    He suddenly felt enlightened, walking on the streets, spreading his arms, giving a shake of his feet. He performed a quick change, and his suit transformed into a set of adventurer''s leather armor.


    After causing such a disturbance in the city, his face was probably not suitable for use anymore.


    With Mr. Jing around, he could be reckless without any issues.


    Now, on his own, he needed to be cautious when necessary.


    Su Lun had no celebrity image to uphold. With a flicker of light on his fingertips, he touched his head, and his lush hair immediately receded, transforming into a bald pate without eyebrows. He then skillfully applied makeup to his face, creating a familiar punk smoky eye look.


    A handsome young master from a wealthy family instantly turned into a punk adventurer.


    Su Lun looked at Baldy in the mirror and pursed his lips.


    Well... Although he didn''t really care about looks, he still felt it was a bit ugly.


    He thought that once he advanced to the third rank, he would never go bald again.

 Chapter 230 : Blueprint

    The warship departed, and the Knight Order returned to the castle, the beautiful seaside city quickly regained its serenity.


    The battle had destroyedrge swathes of houses and there were many casualties.


    After Mr. Jing and his cohorts retreated, Count Osaca seemed to awaken from his fury, realizing how foolish an act he hadmitted.


    Because of a troublesome, worthless son, he had offended old friends and incurred the wrath of a mysteriously powerful being, nearly bringing disaster upon his own Ackerman family and the city...


    The key was, regardless of the woman''s background, the act of kidnapping women meant he had no ground to stand on!


    Once he calmed down, Count Osaca did not pursue the matter, nor did he order a search for any remnants within the city; it was as if nothing had happened.


    Because of this, Su Lun could walk the streets without being hassled by city guards.


    On the other hand,


    The explosive news of Viscount Primor''s death spread through Gadronte Harbor at an astonishing speed.


    In taverns, squares, and streets, the townspeople were talking about the battle in themercial streets.


    No one was indignant at the disruption of the city''s order, nor was anyone saddened by the death of the lord''s son.


    Instead, there was widespread rejoicing.


    Themon folk all secretly praised the hero who had rid them of this menace.


    With the nuisance gone, merchants, tourists, and residents... finally dared to let their beautiful wives and daughters walk the streets again.


    No one dared say why they were happy, but celebrations were everywhere.


    ...


    The auction was still some time away, so Su Lun visited the Adventurers'' Guild to inquire about the main materials needed for his advancement.


    But he did not get the results he wanted.


    Spirit beasts were rare to begin with. Despite the high price of materials, few adventurers would think of targeting such creatures. To ordinary adventurers, those of the spirit genre are deadly beings capable of killing someone silently, and they would normally choose to avoid them when encountered. Moreover, a third-tier spirit beast could likely result in the death of even a fourth-tier professional should they encounter one.


    Without any leads from the Guild, Su Lun posted a bounty.


    It wasn''t long before professional information brokers contacted him.


    He received several pieces of information, which may or may not have been outdated.


    Su Lun noted down two pieces that seemed more reliable.


    One was that a year ago, near the "Roman Strait" in the north, a sea creature with suction cup tentacles capable of emitting spiritual power to confuse sailors was spotted, suspected to be the "Nightmare Octopus."


    Another piece of intel mentioned that in some part of the "Silent Forest," there was talk among adventurers of a spider that could kill a person in their nightmares, suspected to be the "Nightmare Spider."


    The information was vague, but having leads was good enough.


    After all, he still needed time to progress to the third tier.


    And for making the third-tier "Spiritual Tentacle" prosthetics, he needed brain tissue from a live beast, so he would have to make the trip himself.


    So he noted down the coordinates and also took the opportunity to travel the legendary Far North Ice Field.


    If he couldn''t find anything, there was also a "Blizzard City" on the ice field where adventurers on the ins mingled, and perhaps there would be more detailed information.


    ....


    The evening ve auction was on Oak Street in the southern part of the city, near the southern waterfront fish market, conveniently located at the "tip of the boot" shape of Gadronte.


    After leaving the Adventurers'' Guild, Su Lun inquired about the route in the city and took a waterfront steam train that ran along the coast through most of the city districts.


    It is said that when the train tracks were being built, they were above the sea level.


    But in recent years, the sea level has risen, and the train tracks have gradually be submerged.


    However, this did not affect the train''s normal operations and it had be andmark of Gadronte¡ªthe steam train that runs on the sea.


    By now night had fallen, and the starry sky sparkled brilliantly.


    The boundless starry sky reflected in the sea, making the train seem to travel within the Milky Way itself.


    As the waterfront steam train swept along the coast, cutting through the surface of the sea, it stirred up ripples in the gxy, like a lengthy sea-blue skirt studded with resplendent diamonds.


    Su Lun leaned against the window, mesmerized by the beautiful view before him.


    The starsy above him, reflected in the sea, then caught by his gaze...


    At that moment, it was as though his eyes, too, contained a dazzling gxy.


    Before long, the train arrived at its station, Oak Street.


    Seeing the bright neon signs of the taverns at night, Su Lun realized that the pub street was also located here.


    Girls d in cool attire enthusiastically greeted passersby.


    "Handsome, fancy a drink? Come to our Giant''s Tavern..."


    "Visit our Windmill Tavern, we have the best rum from the Capital City..."


    "..."


    The auction house was not far off, and there was still a good while before it began, so without hurry, Su Lun stepped into a pub with a sign that read "Dolphin Tavern."


    He extracted those fragmentary memories from among the Seasnake Gang''s riffraff that had some recollection of this pub''s name.


    Entering the pub, the scene before him ovepped with those fragmented memories.


    This looked like one of Gadronte''s "information ck markets."


    There were two price boards over the bar, one disying drink prices.


    ''Sailor Beer ¡ê100/pitcher''


    "King''s Guillotine ¡ê188/cup"


    "Gold Rum ¡ê3000/bottle"


    "..."


    Su Lun snapped his fingers towards the bartender and called out, "A cup of ''King''s Guillotine,'' please."


    There was also a board marked with the wanted notices of pirates, hanging portraits.


    Densely packed, the one with the highest bounty was naturally Oleg J. Popov, the "King of the North Sea," with a reward of 8.477 billion.


    However, this was just a number, as no bounty hunters would consider going after that top-tier powerhouse.


    Then highlighted in red were some pirates who frequented nearby seas.


    "''Cyclops'' Seymour h, captain of the ''One-Eyed Pirate Group,'' fifth-order professional, with a bounty of 136 million riso; charges as follows, looting the ''Thornbird Commerce'' convoy, massacring over two hundred people..."


    "''Drunkard'' Zelko Jones, captain of the ''ck Shark Pirate Group,'' fourth-order, with a bounty of 74 million riso. Charges as follow..."


    "''Anchor Man'' Bryce Fleming, first mate of the ''Lazy Cat Pirate Group,'' fourth-order, with a bounty of 30 million riso..."


    "..."


    Su Lun nced at the ones below, roughly discerning a pattern in the bounties.


    Those bountied were generally third-order professionals and above; fourth-orderers had bounties in the tens of millions.


    The threshold for a bounty over a hundred million was roughly the domain of the great pirates of the fifth order.


    Sixth-orderers were around ten billion.


    "Frost Giant" Gaal Popov and "Sr me General" dys Ormedo, whom he had seen before, were also on the list.


    After receiving his drink, Su Lun sat alone at the bar, listening to the tavern''s patrons boasting and chatting.


    What he heard the most about was naturally the daytime assassination attempt on "Viscount Primo."


    Being the person involved, he naturally knew what had happened, listening to those demonized stories, he asionally chuckled.


    This tavern had many sailors and fishmongers lurking around, who spent years at sea, all reeking of fish, a smell not even alcohol could mask.


    Su Lun didn''t underestimate these people.


    After observing for a while, he also noticed that among these folks, some asionally revealed wary gazes; these guys were no ordinary people.


    Ordinary people don''t carry such fierceness.


    They were probably pirate informants.


    Outwardly, Gadronte Harbor didn''t wee pirates, but in the face of huge profits, there would always be opportunistic merchants engaged in shady business.


    Pirates needed information for robberies, they needed to fence stolen goods, and they needed middlemen for negotiating ransoms after taking hostages...


    Therefore, in a port city like Gadronte Harbor, a number of pirate informants, spies, and ck market traders engaging in "gray business" were lying low.


    Su Lun listened for a while, getting a bunch of misceneous and mostly useless free information.


    Upon reflection, he took out three silver coins and stood them on their edges next to his cup.


    This was the "secret code" tomunicate with information brokers, indicating you were in the know.


    Soon, a skinny man with a ck felt hat approached and swept the three silver coins into his sleeve with a wave of his hand.


    He ordered a drink for himself and sat beside Su Lun, "Hey, buddy, what kind of information are you looking for?"


    Su Lun nced at the man and said calmly, "Who was it that took action in the assassination of Viscount Primo during the day?"


    "It was two outsiders who took action, seeming to know ''Blood Earl'' Antonio."


    Su Lun sipped his drink and replied coldly, "I''m looking for something useful, not this rubbish that everyone knows."


    The man in the felt hat, eyes circling shrewdly, quickly exined, "No, sir, please don''t doubt the capabilities of my information, ''Mr. Know-It-All'' Polly! This is thetest information, currently no one knows the identities of those two outsiders! However, I do have a highly confidential piece of information..."


    Upon hearing this tone, Su Lun knew the price was about to go up.


    He generously ced a few more silver coins on the bar, but kept his hand on them, "Then offer me some information you think I''d find interesting. I''ll pay if I think it''s worth it..."


    Polly looked around stealthily before whispering, "The woman who took action is a high-ranking member of the vampire race. ''North Sea King'' Oleg has issued a very high bounty, looking for a group of people wearing gold-patterned cloaks, one of them a vampire. Sir, if you''re confident, you might consider taking up this bounty..."


    Being bountied by pirates?


    Su Lun heard this without changing his expression.


    It was no surprise to be bountied by pirates after having taken down a few squad leaders in a tower rush.


    However, the good news was that neither the pirates nor the Earl''s estate were paying too much attention to Su someone like him.


    Mr. Jing was too conspicuous; all the information focused on her.


    "Anything else? Any other interesting information?"


    "I''ve heard that a lot of high-quality treasures from the ck market are appearing at this auction, including many ancient artifacts..."


    "I don''t know why, but many big arms dealers havee to the harbor these past few days. I suspect there might be some major arms deals happening soon, but the information is still very limited..."


    "A very special ship arrived at the harbor, and some suspect it''s the secret arrival of intelligence agents from the Ruying royal family in Gadronte Harbor..."


    "There''s a batch of very valuable antiques among the goods of the ''Red Dolphin Commerce,'' worth at least several billion. The ship sets sail the day after tomorrow..."


    "The Great Bounty Hunter ''Fist of Justice'' Hodge is staying at ''Moon Bay Inn''..."


    "..."


    You get what you pay for.


    This guy was also well-informed and knew how to observe words and expressions, Su Lun spent money and got quite a lot of interesting information.


    After drinking most of a cup of wine, Su Lun also had a general understanding of the situation in Gadronte Harbor.


    Seeing that the time for the auction was almost up, he prepared to finish his drink and leave the tavern.


    At this moment, however, the noisy tavern fell into an eerie silence.


    From outside, "pfft", "pfft"..."click", "click"... sharp sounds came.


    Without looking, Su Lun''s keen hearing identified them as the sounds of steam boilers and mechanical devices friction.


    Dense, quite a number, at least a full mechanical guard squad.


    He cast his gaze over, and indeed, a team of steel guards with strict military discipline happened to walk past the tavern''s main door.


    People started looking sideways, and the tavern suddenly quieted down.


    Because the attire of this group was too eye-catching!


    They were wearing standard full-coveragebat mecha, their mechanical bodies exceptionally robust, like that of bear-like men. On every battle armor''s left shoulder was a three-dimensional silver eagle, while on the right was the national emblem, a blue background with a gold Mafa steam and hammer pattern. The enchanted battle armor covered every joint, with chains, rivets, mechanical power tubes... The overall design epitome of a distinct dark industrial style.


    On their backs, they carried exaggerated huge steam war hammers, alloys shields, saws,rge swords... and various types of exaggerated heavy external firearms.


    The single steam boilers provided power for the heavy armors; each step resulted in a burst of white steam from under their feet.


    They appeared clumsy, but their movements were far from slow.


    The paint on the armors was mottled, a clear sign of battle scars.


    Just the sight of their imposing aura alone made it difficult for onlookers to breathe, indicating they were truly elite forces fresh from the battlefield.


    This was the core technology of the Mafa Empire, external full-body mecha.


    With the helmets on, one man became a moving iron fortress!


    ....


    Laypeople enjoy the spectacle, experts see the technique.


    While others sensed the battle armors'' fierceness and might, Su Lun couldn''t take his eyes off the details.


    He squinted at the leader, a bald man with a sideburn beard, and murmured to himself, "Sixth-tierposite rune magic... The Mafa Empire military''s rune craftsmanship is indeed high."


    He himself was proficient in machinery and runes and recognized the sophistication of that battle armor at a nce.


    After a moment of inspection, he was even more astonished.


    "Amand alloy, magic-patterned brass, Dragon Blood iron... all super rare metals. Not to mention the technological content, just the material cost alone, the price of this set of general-grade battle armor, is probably equivalent to a whole city..."


    Su Lun couldn''t help but feel astonished as he identified the runes and materials, and had roughly estimated thebat power of this mechanical battle armor.


    This set of armor pushed the limits of conventional elemental resistance and physical resistance.


    It could be said that if faced with a traditional profession whose damage output didn''t exceed the armor''s defense limit, this guy could stand in ce and remain unmoved by an attack.


    Not to mention the output capabilities of the battle armor not yet disyed, as well as the personalbat strength of the bearded bald man himself...


    Su Lun assessed in his mind, "A mechanical warrior like this, at the very least, is equivalent to a sixth-tier professional. Against someone with countering abilities, they could even match a seventh-tier professional!"


    The technologicalplexity of this set of armor was something he still couldn''t match.


    However, such top-tier armor was an exception.


    Enchantment and rune magic are not simply about the runes technique; it also requires materials capable of withstanding high-level inscriptions.


    At least the armors worn by the soldiers behind the bearded bald man were significantly less impressive¡ªtwo sets of fifth-tier, the rest possessing third-tier runes, fourth-tier armors.


    To Su Lun, this troupe of mechanical warriors seemed like a collection of high-end mechanical technologies on the move.


    While he envied the view, his brain reflexively contemted how to deal with it, analyzing, "The resistance to both physical and magical attacks is very high, with fierce firepower. There aren''t many weaknesses to exploit. The defense against spiritual power is weak, and perception could be used... If only I could get a set to study in detail."


    Thinking this, Su Lun turned to Polly, the "know-it-all" beside him, and asked, "Who were those people just now?"


    Polly replied, "That''s Bluul Turner, the leader of one of the Mafa Empire''s four ace armies, ''Empire Hammer''. With the current conflict between the two nations, he was originally in the Emperor''s capital as a negotiation ambassador. No one knows why he''se to our northern parts... Seems like he just arrived this morning."


    Only then did Su Lun realize, thinking to himself: So they''re a diplomatic delegation, no wonder their armors are so advanced.


    He then asked, "Is there a way to get hold of such battle armor?"


    Polly heard the question as if it were incredible,ughing, "Hey, buddy, I''d say forget about it. Those kinds of armor have high bounties on the ck market, but no one has ever managed to get their hands on them. The Mafa military officer''s armors are highly technical and all equipped with self-destruct systems. Incorrect dismantling methods or activation by the warrior will cause it to explode, damaging key precisionponents. Even in battle, it is very rare forplete armors to be captured."


    "..."


    Su Lun listened, not too surprised; it was just a technological protection measure.


    But he was thinking of something else, a contemtive look in his eyes.


    What were these guys doing here?


    Heading toward the auction based on that direction?


    Wait a minute, that major arms dealer, the royal espionage department of Ruying, they all came to Gadronte Harbor densely these past two days?


    Su Lun spected that there might be something else among the auction items.


    ....


    Su Lun had juste to Gadronte Harbor to attend this auction, mainly for the batch of Dalu ves; he had no idea what else would be at the auction.


    Even the intelligence merchants didn''t know, so Su Lun didn''t bother to guess wildly.


    It wouldn''t be long before it was revealed.


    The wine was finished, and the start time for the auction was close.


    Without lingering in the tavern, Su Lun headed straight to the auction venue.


    The auction house was a renovated old theater, and asset verification was required for entry.


    Su Lun presented valuables worth a million and thus received a temporary auction item catalog at the entrance.


    As the opening approached, elegantly dressed gentlemen anddies, who looked very wealthy, arrived one after another, discussing the items that would soon be up for auction.


    It seemed that the auction house had already informed other major clients about some of the items, and smaller buyers like him were only finding out now.


    Upon ncing at the item catalog, Su Lun immediately felt a sense of familiarity, "Hmm... items from Old Lington?"


    The underworld was ruled by dark magicians, and many of the materials and upations produced there were different from those on the surface.


    For example, those cursed crystal ores are a type of gemstone with dark energy unique to the underground veins!


    In the end, there were also "Mystery Items" marked with question marks...


    Seeing these, Su Lun quickly guessed what the main source of goods for this auction was.


    Most likely, it was the loot seized by the Fourth Fleet of the King of the North Sea from Old Lington!


    "That mysterious item... couldn''t it be the blueprints and materials for the ''Super Mech Warrior'', could it?"


    Su Lun, recalling various pieces of information, considered this possibility.


    The Mafa Ambassador, along with arms dealers...


    He felt that only such an item could attract so many people with sensitive identities.


    Mech warriors were primarily used inrge-scale wars, requiringrge numbers to be effective in groups. Those interested in such blueprints were either mechanics orrge forces. After stripping the Soul Shards from a group of research institute mechanics, Su Lun knew that the technology threshold for "Super Mech Warriors" was extremely high. He felt that the pirates did not have the technology or resources to create a mechanical army, so the blueprints were of little use to them.


    Keeping a backup and then selling it to arge force would maximize benefits.


    As Su Lun pondered, he entered the auction hall.


    The opera house was simr to a movie theater, with a stage in front and two levels of seating.


    He was led by a hostess to a seat in a corner.


    Soon, the lights focused on the stage, and the auctioneer started the proceedings.


    ....


    Checking the auction catalog, ve auctions were scheduled for mid-intermission, so Su Lun had to wait.


    Quickly, item after item appeared on stage.


    Ancient Breathing Methods, ancient Spell Scrolls, historic tomes, high-grade materials, mechanic blueprints, and ready-made products... all were rare and fine goods seldom seen in the world.


    In the surface world, the demand was great due to therge base of professionals. In a major city like Gadronte, even "silver-grade" upation materials were highly coveted.


    In Old Lington, however, thanks to ruin excavations, ancient artifacts were abundant, and there was no shortage of gold-quality materials and equipment. Pirates had looted far too many treasures...


    These exquisite items immediately set off wave after wave of bidding frenzies among the various bidders.


    As Su Lun watched each item being auctioned off, his brow furrowed.


    He even knew the origins of some of these auction items...


    That group of pirates indeed had killed many people.


    ....@@novelbin@@


    The auction was in full swing when, at that moment, in a private room on the second floor,


    a purple-haired woman took interest in the item currently up for bid.


    This was none other than Yekaterina Lants, the fourth daughter of Duke Lance, the lord of the northern six provinces.


    She seemed especially interested in ancient books, bidding on nearly every one that came up.


    Not long after, an old butler hurried into the room and reported, "Miss, it has been confirmed; thest item of the auction is theplete blueprint for the ''Super Mech Warrior'' and some research materials. Should we prepare to bid on it?"


    Upon hearing this, Yekaterina''s face showed little surprise, but she shook her head and chuckled, "Bid? No. Those people from the Mafa Empire are determined to get it, and we cannot outbid them. The price they are willing to offer is beyond us..."


    The old butler seemed to understand his mistress''s temperament very well and asked, "Shall I make an attempt then?"


    Yekaterina had clearly already considered her options and shook her head again, "We must obtain the blueprints. But there is no need for us to make the first move. ''Military Intelligence'' has now exposed several important agents buried in the north for this operation; they will not let the blueprints fall into enemy hands. Let them start the fight..."


    "Yes," agreed the butler.


    After a moment of contemtion, the butler fell silent.


    Yekaterina, with a mischievous smile growing on her face, mused, "This is going to be lively, hehe... Those pirates are clever, auctioning off these blueprints to intensify the war so they can fish in troubled waters."


    After a pause, she added, "That pirate leader Oleg is likely to be ''crowned'' after this. The war will draw us in the north six provinces as well. Although it''s not all bad news... Let''s prepare in advance."


    "Yes, Miss," the butler confirmed.


    Yekaterina added, "Oh, and have someone keep an eye on that vampiress, find out exactly who she is and what she''s up to. I have a feeling she''ll be a major threat to us in the future."


    "Yes!" the butler responded decisively.


    ....


    Inside the bustling auction hall, outside, a group of people dressed in various upational outfits were meeting in secret.


    "Are you certain that the blueprints for the ''Super Mech Warrior'' will appear at this auction?" one asked.


    "Yes, Commander," confirmed another.


    "Those damn arms dealers have not divulged a hint of information. To seek exorbitant profits, they really disregard even the safety of the empire!"


    "Several of the big arms dealers are backed by the empire''s top royalty and nobility, and they are not afraid of our Military Intelligence. They probably want to keep the blueprints in their own hands..."


    "Forget it, report the situation to Her Majesty the Empress! Mobilize all avable personnel. If we can''t buy it, even if we must intercept the Mafa delegation, we must not let the blueprints slip through!"


    "Yes, Commander!"

 Chapter 231 : Warrior, You Face Deadly Peril

    Su Lun was still unaware of the undercurrents swirling outside the auction house, nor did he know what the "Super Mechanical Warrior" blueprints meant to the two great empires.


    But he guessed that with so many big shots drawn to this auction, it wouldn''t be simple.


    The auction continued.


    Only the finest items would make it to the auction.


    All that came from Old Lington were ancient relics, many of which were rare and unique and unavable elsewhere.


    Due to the usual auction attracting many wealthy outsiders, the bidding prices were driven very high.


    The wealthy arms dealers on the second floor were generous with their funds, and often, just a few bids were enough to outprice the individual attendees on the first floor.


    Many of the treasures ended up in their hands.


    ...


    Su Lun was not particrly interested in the prosthetic materials and was waiting for the ve auction during the intermission.


    He also prayed that nothing chaotic would happen.


    Unexpectedly, before the ve auction could start, a secret technique of great interest to him appeared in the early part of the auction.


    At that moment, ady brought out a tray.


    The auctioneer on stage pointed to the blue scroll on the tray, stating, "The next item for auction is quite significant¡­ I''m sure everyone has heard of the ''Four Servant Gods'' secret techniques of earth, wind, water, and fire¡­ Yes! This scroll is one of them, theplete secret technique of Fire [Inexistence]! The starting bid is one million kroner¡­"


    As soon as these words were spoken, whispers immediately spread among the crowd below.


    Clearly, this secret technique was indeed well-known to all.


    "The ''Four Servant Gods'' secret techniques, legend says it''s a top-tier fire control technique. Even the imperial auction house might not feature such a high-ss secret technique. It''s truly rare."


    "Isn''t this a royal family exclusive secret technique? To think the auction house would have it¡­ I''m quite curious about who the owner of this batch of goods is. With such a technique, why would anyone sell it rather than keep it hidden?"


    "This batch of items all seem to have significant origins. Could it be that some major thief has robbed the royal treasury? Yikes¡­ Selling the technique is possible, but apart from royal family members, wouldn''t others fear breaking thew by learning it?"


    "I think it''s the pirates. Only those reckless robbers would dare to do such a thing¡­"


    "..."


    Hearing these snippets of conversation around him, Su Lun''s face also showed a slightly strange expression.


    He knew the [Inexistence] secret technique was powerful, but he had not considered it particrly special before.


    In Old Lington, such ancient secret techniques were numerous, and any expert nearly always had one or two secret weapons.


    Now, hearing these people''s discussions, he realized that such secret techniques were extremely rare in the outside world.


    Su Lun also felt the urge to acquire it.


    Although he knew part of the [Inexistence] secret technique, it was, after all, fragmented pieces stripped from a corpse.


    In Old Lington, people could not advance beyond the third tier, and at most, they could only master parts of it.


    It was like having a secret manual with ten levels but only being able to practice up to the third level.


    And what Su Lun had stripped was just part of those three levels.


    Now that theplete secret technique scroll had appeared, he naturally did not want to miss it.


    However¡­ the price of the cultivation technique was also somewhat outrageous.


    The starting bid was already one million kroner?


    Unexpectedly, for the wealthy, this was not only not high, it was actually low!


    As soon as the bidding started, the wealthy patrons on the second floor instantly drove the price up to two million kroner.


    ....


    Watching the price soar, Su Lun''s eyelids twitched violently.


    Indeed, prices vary by region.


    The cost of goods in Old Lington is vastly different from the outside world.


    He thought he was quite wealthy, having sold what he could, and by his estimates, had about eight or ten billion lisuo (excluding secret techniques and scrolls)...


    Now, buying a secret technique costs a few billion?


    The pace of the auction was fast. At this moment, the auctioneer was loudly announcing, "Good! The esteemed guest in booth number three bids two million three hundred thousand kroner. Any higher bids?"


    Seeing the hammer about to fall,


    Su Lun, seeing that no one else was raising the bid, raised his paddle once and bid two million four hundred thousand.


    Money could be earned back, but if he missed out on this piece, he wasn''t sure where else he could procure aplete secret technique.


    As for something being a "royal exclusive secret technique" and prohibited...


    Su Lun didn''t think much about it because he knew it anyway.


    This was an ancient secret technique from archaeological discoveries; adding "royal exclusive" meant no one else could practice it?


    ....


    This secret technique was very special; throughout the process, only a few military arms dealers on the second floor raised the price against each other.


    It was strange when someone from the first floor made a bid, as a rather abrupt atmosphere enveloped the entire hall, which suddenly quieted down.


    Oddly enough, after Su Lun raised his paddle, no one else made a higher offer.


    He sessfully won the bid for this scroll.


    Meanwhile, in booth number three, thest bidder, a middle-aged man in a suit smoking a cigar, scoffed coldly.


    Having his item snatched was naturally displeasing to him.


    It wasn''t a matter of money; he simply wanted to retrieve the secret technique that had ended up outside. A few royal rtives fighting over it was one thing, but who would have thought someone else would dare to bid?


    The middle-aged man flicked his cigar against the wall, sparking mes, "Heh, royal secret techniques aren''t for just anyone to learn."


    As soon as he said this, a brawny bodyguard immediately responded, "Should I check it out, sir?"


    The middle-aged man''s sh of anger disappeared, and he quickly realized something, his eyes shifting as he muttered, "Knowing it''s a royal secret technique, and knowing that it was I who was bidding, yet daring to spend so much money to buy it, the intent here mustn''t be simple... We came for the schematics, could it be somepetitor setting a trap?"


    After a moment of thought, motivated by curiosity, he continued, "Hmm... find a local snake to sneak a look first; don''t get us involved."


    Bodyguard: "Yes, sir."


    The middle-aged man was Keller Fischel, the big boss of ''Cobra War Armaments'', one of the three major arms dealers in the imperial capital, a legitor.


    The centuries-long war with Mafa brought huge profits to these arms dealers, and their deeply entangledwork of rtionships made them an indispensable part of the Luying Empire. These were the true power-holders, the big shots who could make a real difference by merely stamping their foot in Old Lington.


    The super mechanical warrior technology held by Duke Raphael was something that other lords, and even the Bonnar royal family, had long coveted. But lords have their own rights, and a Grand Duke already belonged to the highest nobility, so no one dared covet this technology.


    Now with this unexpected opportunity, they naturally wanted to seize it.


    As for the military intelligence office?


    They could go to hell.


    ....


    Su Lun visited the trading room, exchanged some items, and finally swapped them for thatplete "No Servant" secret technique.


    The auction''s items weren''t getting progressively more expensive; they had ups and downs, and the "No Servant" scroll was among the most valuable in its segment.


    When Su Lun returned, he didn''t wait long and just in time for the mid-segment ve auction.


    A group of sub-humans was brought onto the auction stage, about twenty or thirty individuals packed into arge iron cage.


    They were all chained at the hands and feet, with explosive cors around their necks.


    The male sub-humans were as sturdy as tigers and leopards, while the females had graceful figures and beautiful faces.


    The physically weak or those diseased had been killed during the raids already.


    These were the actualmodities of the auction.


    As soon as this batch of ves was brought out, the wealthy merchants who had been waiting to buy ves became noisy.


    "Oh... full of wildness, they have much more vor than those domesticated sub-humans."


    "Hehe, the quality is very high. If the quality of goods is all like these few rabbit breed sub-humans, after proper training and cing them in pleasure houses, they''d surely be wildly popr, earning at least ten times the profit..."


    "...."


    Watching the humans below pointing andmenting, the sub-humans beat against the iron cages, letting out beast-like indomitable roars.


    Su Lun''s gaze also fell on those sub-humans, trying to distinguish which one was the individual Mr. Jing had mentioned might have a special identity.


    But it seemed somewhat difficult to tell, they all looked quite simr within their species.


    As soon as the starting bid was announced, the price quickly began to rise.


    Su Lun also raised his card twice, and the price quickly soared to over eighty million.


    After that, the number of people bidding decreased.


    Sub-human ves were priced higher than humans, typically ranging from 300,000 to 500,000 kroner per piece if the quality was good. Meaning this batch of two hundred shouldn''t cost more than one billion to be reasonable.


    After all, sub-humans still needed taming, and the more feral, the harder to tame.


    How many of them would ultimately survive, of the two hundred, was yet to be seen.


    But he didn''t expect that box number three on the second floor would bid again, "One billion!"


    That guy directly pushed the price to a high level that normal merchants would not dare to touch.


    Su Lun looked on and calmly raised his card again, "One billion one hundred million!"


    Had they been ordinary ves, he really wouldn''t have been interested.


    But he had promised to help Mr. Jing with this task, to rescue this batch of sub-humans.


    No matter how high the price, he had to buy them. Only with a legal ownership certificate could he send those sub-humans out to sea.


    If someone else sessfully bid for them, that would have been even more troublesome.


    "One billion five hundred million!"


    "Two billion!"


    "Two billion five hundred million!"


    Box number three also repeatedly increased their bid, and Su Lun followed suit each time.


    Su Lun knew they were likely testing his attitude and identity because he had previously bid on the "Wushi".


    But after all, it was just a batch of ves; the price couldn''t go much higher.


    Later, with each bid Su Lun made, he bid quite high, giving off the impression of deliberately inting the price.


    He understood well that his small fortune was practically insignificant in the eyes of those major arms dealers.


    Without ying some tricks, he definitely couldn''t close the deal.


    The opponent did not care about the small amount of money, but they certainly didn''t want to be the "sucker".


    In the eyes of onlookers, Su Lun was merely engaging in a stubborn contest with the person in box number three.


    The bystanders were just enjoying the spectacle.


    The more casually Su Lun shouted his bids, the more cautious the person in box number three became.


    Perhaps suspecting Su Lun was a shill hired by that group of pirates, box number three finally quieted down.


    Eventually, he purchased the batch of ves at a price more than double the market value.


    ....


    Having paid the money, Su Lun left the auction house without waiting for the final lot to be auctioned.


    Though he guessed that the final auction item was the "Super Mechanical Warrior Blueprints" and he was very interested in obtaining a copy to study,


    Given the current circumstances, the uing auctions were simply out of his financial reach.


    Moreover, the increasingly tense atmosphere at the auction also led Su Lun to specte that the nerve mechanical technology secretly researched by Duke Rafael was probably top-tier in the terrestrial world.


    Otherwise, there wouldn''t be so many major arms dealers and emissaries from ces like the Mechanical Holy Land of the Mafa Empirepeting in the auction.


    He had a vague premonition that, no matter who ended up securing the blueprints, the matter wouldn''t just quietly resolve itself.


    After all, there was an ongoing war between two nations.


    ....


    Soon after, at dock number seven of Gadronte Harbor.


    This was a regr cargo dock.


    Su Lun had previously purchased a sea vessel and stocked it with ample fresh water and food.


    Without waiting long, auction house staff drove a steam tractor to the dock, delivering severalrge iron cages covered with tarps.


    Theborers unloaded the cages and pulled back the tarps.


    Trapped inside the cages, were the two hundred sub-humans he had purchased.


    Suddenly exposed to the light, the untamed sub-humans showed their fierce eyes and stared menacingly at the humans before them.


    Murderous intent and hatred were almost tangible.


    If not for the chains and cages restraining them, these sub-humans would likely tear the humans before them to shreds.


    The staff member, pointing to thebels on the cages, said, "Sir, this is the merchandise you purchased; please inspect it."


    Su Lun looked over it and found no issues.


    Seeing him alone, the staff member kindly offered, "Sir, do you need help moving them onto the ship?"


    Su Lun shook his head, "No need. Just give me the keys."


    "Ah? Oh..."


    The staff member hesitated but did not ask further, passing over a bunch of keys.


    These were the keys to unlock the ve chains and the explosive cors around their necks, with these, the ves couldn''t escape.


    Once the staff member was far enough away, Su Lun looked at the group of sub-humans in the cage, then asked, "Does anyone speak themonnguage?"


    The only response was hateful res.


    The sub-humanspletely ignored his query.


    "..."


    Su Lun sighed slightly, vexed, murmuring to himself, "Mr. Jing did say that the Druids from the Dalu tribe should know themonnguage."


    Hopefully, he hadn''t purchased the wrong people.


    Su Lun tried a different approach, uttering a strange phrase, "&*%§æ%£¤§×£¤..."


    This was a vow told to him by Mr. Jing, used when a contract was signed long ago, meaning, "A sealed deal cannot be broken, beauty is but a blooming flower, friendship is the evesting boulder."


    Upon hearing this, the sub-humans in a few of the iron cages immediately calmed down.


    The murderous intent in their eyes instantly turned to confusion as they looked at Su Lun, filled with perplexity.


    Seeing this reaction, Su Lun finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that his money had been well spent.


    But that was the only Dalu phrase he knew; having said it, he switched back to themonnguage, "You should know what that phrase means. I mean no harm."


    He paused for a moment and pulled out the Mammoth Amulet he had obtained earlier from a Pirateckey, then said, "Entrusted by others, following the ancient covenant, I have now rescued you. There is enough water and food on the ship, and you can take it to return to the North. Of course, if you cannot sail, I can help you hire some sailors..."


    After a pause, he looked at the group of people with confused expressions and asked, "So, did you understand what I said?"


    There was another awkward silence.


    Looking at their baffled eyes, it was clear that these people really hadn''t understood him.


    Su Lun felt that if they didn''t understand, things might get a bit troublesome.


    Although he no longer felt any murderous intent, he still dared not open the iron cage.


    Unexpectedly, at that moment, a bear-like person over two meters tall spoke up, "May I ask, sir, where did you hear that phrase?"


    Su Lun countered, "Are you a Druid of the Dalu tribe?"


    The ck bear person nodded and said, "Yes, you can call me Pasu."


    With aplicated look in his eyes, Pasu spoke with a sorrowful tone, "Nowadays, humans only call us ''subhuman ves''; no one calls us by our tribe name, Dalu, anymore."


    Being able tomunicate was a good thing.


    Su Lun also let out a sigh of relief.


    He had always thought Druids would be like wise old men, not expecting one to be this burly bear-like individual. If he wasn''t mistaken, he had just seen him being disyed on the stage earlier.


    Unsure of how to introduce Mr. Jing''s identity, he thought and then showed off the ring on his hand, "Seraya''s Blessing."


    On the ring, there happened to be the crest of Isaac''s family.


    All he said was, "The person who entrusted me is currently handling other matters and can''te right now. She asked me to tell you that someone still remembers the ancient covenant, and the friendship between humans and the Dalu tribe will not fade."


    Initially, such lightweight words felt a bit unreliable to Su Lun.


    After all, the process of capturing ves was extremely bloody.


    The people before him were all robust, and the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled had been killed during the capture.


    In other words, it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that humans hadmitted genocide against the subhumans.


    It definitely was not something that a few words could resolve.


    Unexpectedly, these individuals were surprisingly easy tomunicate with.


    Seeing the crest on the ring, the people inside the cage immediately understood something, filled with surprise and excitement.


    Upon hearing Su Lun''s words, the ck bear person even nodded in agreement, his eyes showing utter belief.


    Then, he spoke to the other subhumans in the cage using an iprehensiblenguage.


    This Druid seemed to hold a very high status; as he spoke, the members of the Dalu tribe instantly quieted down. They then looked at Su Lun with the same incredible, grateful, shocked, and friendlyplex expressions.


    In those looks, Su Lun no longer felt any hostility at all.


    ....


    Su Lun couldn''t understand how an "ancient covenant" could be so powerful that it immediately made them set aside a vendetta capable of justifying genocide.


    However, it was a positive sign, allowing him to open the cage without reservation, and he handed them the key to unlock the explosive cors.


    With the cors removed from their necks, the Dalu people were somewhat incredulous¡ªhad they really regained their freedom?


    Then, the group of Dalu people collectively bowed deeply to Su Lun, performing a chest-protecting gesture, "We thank the warrior for his rescue; the Dalu tribe will forever remember this favor."


    Listening to the term "warrior," Su Lun felt a bit awkward¡ªhe had merely spent some money, hardly anything heroic.


    The real thanks should go to Mr. Jing.


    Thinking it was anguage nuance of the Dalu tribe, he didn''t take it seriously nor take the credit, saying, "You''re wee, it''s just something I was entrusted with."


    Now was not the time for idle chat.


    Luckily, these people knew how to sail the ship themselves, so he didn''t need to hire any sailors for them.


    After exchanging a few pleasantries, Su Lun saw the people onto the ship,


    weighed anchor, and set sail.


    Although the ship was filled with sub-humans, the dock manager looked a bit suspicious, but with Su Lun''splete ve ownership documents, he wasn''t troubled.


    As long as the ship left the harbor, the matter would be considered concluded.


    Su Lun and these sub-humans were meeting for the first time, and could hardly speak of any friendship. Apart from being polite, there wasn''t much to talk about.


    Unexpectedly, just at the moment of departure, a sub-human from the ck Bear tribe named Pasu made a praying gesture on deck, his hands emitting a bright green light.


    When he opened his eyes again, there was a wise gleam in them that didn''t match his robust physique at all.


    Su Lun looked on in confusion, not understanding what he was doing.


    However, unexpectedly, Pasu said, "Warrior, the prophecy tells me that you will face a deadly peril in the future. But... the ocean will protect you."


    Su Lun''s eyelids twitched slightly, "..."


    Deadly peril?


    There indeed were professionals with the talent of prophecy, but ny-nine percent of those who imed they could prophesy on the market were swindlers.


    The so-called prophecies were just some conclusions made after eavesdropping.


    However, Mr. Jing said that the druids of the Dalu tribe... were truly adept at prophecy!


    Seeing that the ship was about to leave, Su Lun instinctively asked, "Mr. Pasu, what do you mean by this prophecy?"


    Pasu shook his head, no longer speaking, only smiling and blessing, "Warrior, the Nature Goddess will protect you."


    Saying this, a group of sub-humans on the ship also made a fist-holding prayer gesture, as if simultaneously blessing Su Lun.


    Prophecies came at a great cost.


    Seeing this, Su Lun decided not to ask further, simply waving his hand towards the slowly departing ship.


    But he thought to himself that he was an alchemist, without any faith in deities.


    He did not believe that the Nature Goddess would protect him.


    However, Su Lun did not dismiss Pasu''s prophecy just like that.


    If it was a "deadly peril," then it was no small matter.


    "The ocean will protect me?"


    Su Lun frowned tightly, pondering in his mind, "Does it mean there''s a danger onnd and I should head to the sea quickly? Or should I jump into the sea when encountering danger?"


    This world was full of mythical stories about "prophecy."


    If it wasn''t a swindler or faulty prophecy skills, the content of a prophecy implied that certain events would definitely ur.


    That is to say, was he bound to encounter deadly peril once?


    Su Lun immediately took it seriously.


    And just then, several nces filled with hostility were already sweeping over him.


    "People from the Sea Serpent Gang?"


    Su Lun looked at those, who were clearly dressed like gangsters, thinking: These guys don''t really qualify as a "deadly peril" for me.


    ....


    The Sea Serpent Gang was a local force in Gadronte, but such a gang was far inferior to the three big gangs in Old Spiriton Outer City with their chaotic order.


    These guys were only involved in petty theft, smuggling, and extorting foreigners on normal days.


    Although the gang had a few third-tier professionals, and the cadre was second-tier, their strength was quite average.


    After all, they didn''t have much survival pressure and joined the gang purely out ofziness. Those with a bit of ability all thought of attaching themselves to nobles or merchants to seek a better future.


    Su Lun watched as several individuals d in leather and carrying firearms approached, his face showing no sign of panic.


    His gaze didn''t linger on the seemingly unstable walkers; instead, he scrutinized the shadowy areas around him.


    He sensed a total of eight people¡ªsix were closing in, one keeping watch, and another perched on a distant tower with a sniper rifle aimed at him.


    These guys were familiar with the docks, and their arrival meant the disappearance of the dock''s administrator.


    A few people began to encircle Su Lun.


    The leader, with his explosive hairstyle, was recognized by Su Lun from his peeled memories¡ªFrank "Poison Fang," the vice leader of the Sea Snake Gang, a third-tier assassin proficient with poisons.


    Su Lun saw no other formidable presences, and thought that jumping into the sea was unnecessary.


    He decided to first assess the situation.


    The opposing side, observing Su Lun''sck of movement, stopped nearby. Frank asked, "Brother, where are you from?"


    Su Lun yed along, counter-questioning, "Where have I possibly offended?"


    "Oh... a fellow from the streets then?"


    Frank was slightly surprised but a hint of contempt flickered in his eyes.


    Since he was from the streets, that meant he wasn''t nobility.


    His tone no longer polite, "You have offended someone you shouldn''t have. Someone is looking for trouble with you. If you have any wealth, better spill it now, or else..."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun''s thoughts surged.


    He had just arrived in this city and had no old enemies here.


    He had thought this might be rted to intercepting Viscount Primor, but it seemed not.


    Was it then the individual in booth three at the auction?


    Su Lun pondered this, yet he was puzzled, as sending mere gang members seemed off for arge military dealer from the capital.


    Something didn''t feel right.


    But thinking he wouldn''t get anywhere by asking, Su Lun approached the men in front of him.


    If they harbored killing intent, there was no need to hold back.


    ...


    Frank "Poison Fang" became alert as he watched Su Lun walk toward them, shouting, "Hey! Stop right there!"


    Su Lun ignored him and didn''t pay attention to the gun barrels pointed at him either, boldly moving forward.


    The Sea Snake Gang members, intimidated by his imposing presence¡ªoriginally just probing¡ªhadn''t expected him not to utter an extra word, seemingly ready to fight?


    However, as a gang used to bullying, who in this territory would dare attack them?


    Since the previous n was also to capture and interrogate Yao Qin, this suited their intentions!@@novelbin@@


    "Hmph!"


    Frank snorted coldly, yet unaware of the caliber of opponent he faced.


    His hand drew a beautiful arc with his green poison dagger...


    But just as he was about to strike, he saw a glistening thread light up around the necks of his underlings.


    Frank, relying on instinct, leaned back just in time to avoid the deadly thread.


    But hispanions didn''t react in time, and jets of blood sprayed from their necks, their heads tumbling to the ground.


    Frank thought "Not good," realizing he was facing a top-tier fighter.


    Almost at the same moment, a "pop" rang out¡ªthe distant sniper had fired!


    Frank thought it a good opportunity, whether the shot could kill the target or at least create an opening for attack.


    As long as his poison dagger could break the skin, no matter how strong, it would be effective!


    However, unexpectedly, the man before him, as if foreseeing the shot, swiftly tilted his head just before the gun fired, and then, the bullet noise was heard hitting the ground!


    What!


    He had just easily dodged a sniper bullet?


    The sight shocked Frank to the core.


    None of the third-tier professionals he knew could perform such a feat!


    Could it be a fourth-tier?


    No time to think further,


    And another shocking scene urred right before his eyes.


    As soon as the sniper rifle sounded, Su Lun raised his hand and drew his pistol from his waist, firing two shots in quick session.


    One shot returned fire.


    One shot targeted the lookout gang member.


    Momentster, a faint sound of a hit was heard from the distant tower!


    Blind firing with a handgun?


    Advanced firearms!


    And what kind of marksmanship was that!


    Frank was greatly rmed, and immediately thought of retreating.


    He dodged the deadly thread, but his movements were quick as he leaped, trying to dive into the sea to escape.


    But Su Lun was faster!


    With a loud "thump" of stepping on air, he surged forward by several meters in an instant, and his flying kick sent the airborne figure flying.


    Frank was adept inbat skills as an assassin, and Su Lun normally would have needed to expend some effort in closebat.


    But he didn''t want to dy on the docks. With five puppets pulled out, six against one, it was a quick matter to turn the man into a blood sieve.


    .....


    Su Lun killed the group from the Sea Snake Gang in two encounters, giving them no chance to signal for help.


    ncing at the bodies on the ground, he puckered his lips and muttered disdainfully, "Such razzle-dazzle..."


    Flourishing a dagger in a fight?


    Such superfluous motions could be showy among equals, but facing someone like Su Lun with lethal moves, it was purely a death-inviting act.


    Both being from gangs, this level of the Sea Snake Gang was far inferior to the Cross Union he was previously with.


    Su Lun harvested the souls from a few bodies, obtaining no useful information. He figured those who sent them had merely tried their luck.


    He wasn''t overly concerned, though.


    After all, he nned to leave by boat early the next morning.


    The area was clean, and he wouldn''t be targeted.


    "Checking the time, the auction should have ended by now..."


    Su Lun thought this, his mind drifting to the auction. He had a vague premonition that something was about to happen.


    Suddenly!


    A loud confrontation exploded on nearby Oak Street!


    Su Lun abruptly turned toward it, watching the distant mes and discerning the sound of steam boilers exploding, guessing, "Did the mechanical warriors of the Mafa Empire start a fight with people?"

 Chapter 232 : Bow of Time

    The sound of the Mecha warriors fighting was particrly unique; the noise from the steam boiler could be heard from afar.


    From a distance, Su Lun watched the fires of battle and immediately guessed there was a problem at the auction house.


    Moreover, as expected, he surmised it was the designs bought by those from the Mafa Empire that were being attacked.


    After all, Bluul Turner, the regimentmander of the "Imperial Hammer," was representing a powerful empire at the auction. His bid was so high that no one but the Lurian royal family could afford it.


    Upon further thought, Su Lun also wondered what exactly the people from Mafa had used as a bid to win those designs. He instantly guessed in his mind, "Could it be that the auction included some top-tier extraordinary materials, or perhaps... power?"


    Winning those designs was definitely not just a matter of money.


    The pirates wouldn''t be satisfied with such a small appetite; otherwise, they would have directly sold the designs to some arms dealer, eliminating the need for an auction.


    Especially since it was only money involved, those arms dealers certainly weren''tcking.


    It must have been a special bid, such as a title or something.


    Like how Liangshan''s heroes were recruited under false pretenses, they could use this group of pirates to create some trouble behind the scenes for Lurian.


    A sh of thought crossed Su Lun''s mind, but he didn''t dwell on it.


    This had little to do with him.


    The noise from the battle was terrifying; Mafa''s technology in the realm of firearms had a crushing advantage over Lurian. The dense explosions were like carpet bombings, causing buildings on Oak Street in the distance to copse in swathes.


    The streets were filled with people fleeing in all directions, and screams and cries pierced the tranquility of the night at Gadronte Harbor amidst the fire.


    Facing such intense battle, Su Lun had no intention of getting involved; he climbed atop a tall tower on the docks and observed the battle from a great distance.


    ...


    The area around Oak Street, where the auction house was located, was lit up by res and mes like broad daylight, making it possible to see clearly without any need for night vision.


    Su Lun looked over and saw the Mafa''s Mecha warriors being surrounded and attacked by various groups.


    Count Osaca''s "me Lion Legion" had also joined the fight, along with the city defense forces, navy, security forces, and various other professionals of unknown origins.


    Corners and alleys were filled with fighting figures.


    All the firepower was directed at the group of Mecha warriors.


    Yet, those hundred warriors were pressing and retreating against a force ten times their size.


    "These battle Mechas are so strong..."


    Su Lun watched the heavily targeted battle Mechas, his eyes reflecting admiration.


    He had spected about some of the functions of these Mechas when he first saw them, but seeing them in actualbat impressed him even more.


    No matter the spell or physical attack, if it couldn''t breach the Mecha''s defense, they simply couldn''t hinder these iron clumps at all.


    Even high-damage means like rocketunchers were neutralized by alloy shields with a mere pause in motion, causing no harm whatsoever.


    The counterattacks from these Mecha warriors, however, were particrly sharp.


    In terms of firepower alone, the two sides were simply not on the same level.


    Su Lun watched as various parts of the Mecha armor that had been initially closed sprang open, revealing small missiles, me throwers, electric arc guns, high-pressure air cannons, steam hinges, and six-barrel cannons emitting blue fire...


    All kinds of technical and magical equipment were like a Poison Snake opening its wide jaws, showing off its sharp fangs.


    Especially those steam-enchanted weapons designed for breaching fortresses and ships, these were truly lethal threats even to high-level professionals!


    Knives, hammers, axes, saws...


    An infused steam hammer charged with magic runes could copse solid brick walls several meters thick with a single swing, leaving no one daring to face its sharp edge head-on...


    A battle knife as long as two or three meters, with a trembling alloy de that could easily slice off half a building...


    An electrically charged chainsaw, whose high temperature could effortlessly melt steel...


    Returning axes...


    Each set of Mecha was like a mobile fortress, showcasing the cutting-edge military technology of Mafa.


    Moreover, though there were not many of them¡ªjust over a hundred¡ªthey were all well-trained, with a coordinated elite of fighters.


    Groups of three, lines of ten, in an organized offense and defense, theirbat effectiveness multiplied several times.


    ....


    Yet, despite the formidable prowess of Mafa''s Mecha warriors, the "Lion Knight Squadron" charged again and again with flesh and blood against the mechanical armor.


    It seemed they had been given amand at the risk of their lives, that they must keep this Mafa delegation at all costs.


    In moments, the ground was littered with bodies.


    The battle was brutally fierce.


    ....


    Su Lun watched the debut of these battling weapons on the Mecha, and it was truly eye-opening.


    The Mafa Empire had advanced far on the mechanical + alchemy dark tech path.


    This was a pure weapon of war.


    However, he had also made inquiries beforehand, and this batch of battle armors was not Mafa standard military equipment.


    These were apanying military officers in the delegation, representing Mafa''s facade, equipped with "officer level" mecha. The materials and weapons used were tailored ording to individual capabilities.


    On the other hand, although technology was strong, alchemy was not weak either.


    While the mechanical battle armors had amazing defense and fierce firepower,


    they still had noticeable shorings ¡ª limited ammunition and energy.


    It''s like firearms needing to change magazines, the load that battle armors can carry is limited, making them incapable of sustaining high-intensity output. Their movement trajectory and speed couldrgely be predicted.


    Since Ru Ying''s side dared to make a move, they evidently came prepared.


    Quicksand Technique, Swamp Technique, Slow Technique...


    The high-level spells cast by magical magicians turnedrge swathes of the city outskirts into mud and sand. Even if those mechanical armors had short-range jet propulsion abilities, the escape routes were already blocked in advance. No matter how they dodged, they couldn''t escape the overwhelming magic.


    Apart from control spells, there were also various mysterious attacking techniques, such as various Curse Magics, Illusion Techniques, hypnosis, fear, weakness, mind control, and gue...


    This was the most effective method of attack against mecha, capable of directly ignoring the armor''s defense to target the soldiers themselves.


    Even if the fully covered armors isted most auditory and visual illusions, some special measures were still unforeseeable.


    These mysterious techniques had been waiting for a long time, hidden and casting spells from the shadows. Once cast, they immediately caused most of the low-level battle armors to copse on the spot.


    The Mafa people were also very decisive. Seeing theirpanions "crashing," they did not hesitate to activate the self-destruct program, directly blowing up their mecha.


    Su Lun watched as the mecha self-destructed, frowning slightly.


    With them all self-destructing, the idea of scavenging was also shattered.


    In an instant, he turned his attention to the more than ten high-level officer armors still fighting, his gazending on the runes that faintly glowed during battle, analyzing inwardly, "Composite rune scripts and shielding coatings, able to significantly weaken mysterious spells. These are unseen rune encodings, Mafa indeed innovated a lot on traditional runes to suit mecha..."


    Su Lun sighed internally with only one real thought: I want it!


    He immediately thought of his "Iron Man."


    The ancient runes clearly did not suit the iron mecha, but Mafa''s mechanical revolution over the past century had advanced far on this path.


    Su Lun''s gaze identified the materials of the armor once more, growing increasingly covetous, "No wonder it can resist, the helmets of fourth-tier and above officer armors are mixed to some extent with ''invigorating divine metal,'' capable of blocking spiritual power to different extents. Not only materials and runes, but the energy systems are also filled with advanced technology. Ah... If only I could get a set to study."


    With these more than ten armors surviving the first round of attacks, unless the enchanted runes or something simr were worn out, destroying themter wouldn''t be easy.


    The battle quickly became a fierce struggle for survival.


    Both sides fought fiercely, with high-order magicians also entering closebat.


    When they used their powerful abilities, the battle shifted from a high-tech weaponry conflict to a high-level spell duel.


    Su Lun watched in amazement.


    He looked at the distant sixth-tier mechanical warrior who raised his hands, a white alchemy formation lighting up beneath his feet. Upon a closer look, countless bullets shot towards him were blocked three meters in front of him, as if deterred by an invisible force. Then with a push, the bullets elerated back the way they hade.


    Swords, firearms, shields, iron fences... anything that was made of steel was manipted at will, either as an offensive tool or a defensive measure...


    One man, like a War God.


    This guy was not only strong in his armor, but his personalbat power was also formidable.


    Su Lun was somewhat surprised and realized it was a type of innate ability, "So the talent of Legion Commander Bluul is the control of maism, and he''s a dual-power user?"


    [B-071-Maic Field], this talent is strong.


    But the reason it''s still ranked lower in the B category is that this maic field almost exclusively affects "iron."


    However, in this era of steel and steam, it''s definitely one of the talents that can most effectively transform ability intobat power.


    Thinking of this, he remarked, "It really is a talent with an extremely highpatibility with the mechanical warrior..."


    Watching Bluul control the steel around him, covering his teammates as they withdrew and blocked the enemy, a man in a suit also unwilling to show weakness leapt down directly from a building.


    In the midst of the fall, he pinched a sorcerer''s seal, and mes immediately zed up around him. In a blink, the drifting cold mes grew in length, and quickly coalesced into a massive blue me armored giant. The giant of me red with angry brows, holding a fire spear, while behind it gathered six spheres of blue cold fire.


    The suit-d man, protected by cold mes, fearlessly engaged the battle mecha.


    Su Lun recognizing the familiar cold mes, immediately guessed that these were people from the Ru Ying royal family, and marveled, "Indeed, it''s the culmination of the ''No Servant'' Secret Technique congealing into a Servant God. Very strong!"


    Not just that one, many masters showed up, emerging one after another...


    This was a battle between old-school magicians and new-school magicians.


    ....


    The distant battle grew more intense, varying masters, enhancements, and abilities collided in a never-ending sequence, profoundly opening Su Lun''s eyes.


    It finally gave him a clear understanding of the ground world''s professionals''bat power.


    The earth''s professionals were not all as weak as those mixed up with the Poison Snake gang; nobles holding absolute social resources had cultivated professionals, each with rarer talents and more unique enhancements...


    Intense as the fight was, it had little to do with Su Lun, who was merely watching the excitement.


    Looking for a chance to scavenge, he found none.


    Yet, as he watched, Su Lun eyed the mechanical warriors retreating towards the docks and suddenly harbored a doubt, "Mafa''s mechanical warriors are strong, unlikely to be defeated quickly, but escaping will not be easy..."


    That group of mechanical warriors seemed intent on breaking towards "Dock Number One."


    Therey the private dock for nobility, upied by a battleship from the Mafa delegation.


    At this very moment, Dock One had also transformed into another battlefield.


    Not only were people sabotaging the ship, but naval vessels from outside the harbor were closing in as well.


    Once Ru Ying''s forces took action, there seemed to be no intention of letting these individuals escape by boat.


    No matter how one looked at it, there was no way that battleship was leaving the harbor.


    Considering this, Su Lun watched the mechanical soldiers who were fighting while retreating ponder, "Something''s off ¡ª why does it seem like they''re deliberately stalling for time?"


    Logically, having abandoned the lower-ranked mecha soldiers, now hitting the elite forces would be the perfect opportunity to break through.


    But observing this conservative tactic of fighting while retreating, something was clearly amiss.


    Moreover, since the Mafa people dared to seize that object, they must have confidence in taking it away.


    Su Lun suddenly became intrigued, his thoughts rapidly turning, "They can''t escape bynd, and the harbor is blocked. There aren''t many options left. To escape, it would have to be from the sky..."


    He nced at the clear, starlit night sky, then immediately shook his head.


    If it were a steam airship, those slow-moving andrge target flying objects would probably be shot to pieces by the city''s artillery before evennding.


    With that thought, Su Lun''s gaze fell on the vast sea, and he suddenly guessed, "Or rather, it''s... beneath the sea!"


    ....


    Things not present in one''s world are hard to envision existing.


    But for Su Lun, a transmigrator, he naturally knew of the existence of submarines.


    The technological level between Ru Ying and Mafa now resembled that betweente Qing China and contemporary America in his previous life.


    One already had modern submarines, while the other was still frowned upon by the old-fashioned rulers as "foreign techniques leading the country astray."


    Land routes... were a dead end.


    Sea routes... although the irond is strong, its speed is slower than sailing ships, making escape impossible.


    Su Lun felt that, aside from "submarines," even if those from Mafa grew wings, they could not fly away today.


    Even if he annihted everyone present now, experts from other territories would continue arriving for reinforcement, certainly not allowing them to leave alive.


    Although Su Lun wasn''t entirely clear on the current extent of Mafa''s technology, seeing their mechanical armors, he knew they definitely possessed the capability to construct submarines.


    The technology wasn''t a problem, and with the need in naval war, this direction of warfare product development, "submarines", was bound to emerge!


    The more Su Lun analyzed, the more he felt his conjecture was correct, "They''re dragging out time not to retreat, but to buy time for the submarine to enter the harbor!"


    However, he guessed the beginning but failed to predict the process.


    He thought of submarines as Mafa people''s means of escape, yet he didn''t expect that a submarine would emerge right in front of his eyes!


    While the battle concentrated around the irond at Dock One of the noble district, nobody noticed that in the meantime, the water surface at Civilian Dock Seven suddenly surged quietly.


    A dockworker suddenly shouted, "There''s a monstering up from underwater!"


    As the massive object emerged, it caused the boats in the dock to bob violently.


    Su Lun, staring at the dark object rising from the sea like a giant whale, his gaze sharp, "They really did develop it..."


    Upon seeing the submarine surface, he did not hesitate and quickly withdrew.


    Because the center of the battlefield was shifting in that direction!


    Clearly prepared, the dozen Mafa mechanical soldiers upon seeing the submarine surface, with steam boilers building up pressure, obscured by a great deal of smoke underfoot, left a few to cover the rear, and then altogether rushed towards Dock Seven.


    Ru Ying''s encirclement was mainly around the route from the auction ce to Dock One, and this move caught the encircling forcespletely off guard!


    ....


    Su Lun watched the astonished looks of the pursuers, evidently having never seen a "submarine."


    He had thought that with this clever tactic, the Mafa mechanical soldiers could sessfully escape.


    However, Ru Ying''s intelligence department had plenty of tricks up its sleeve, knowing they were targeting mechanical soldiers, and were already prepared.


    As the people began to flee, they finally released their contingency n.


    At this moment, on a distant high-rise, a person suddenly pulled out a long bow stored in a sealed box.


    Holding the long bow up, he immediately performed a drawing motion.


    Right then, a miraculous scene unfolded!


    On the previously empty bowstring, an alchemy formation lit up briefly, swiftly condensing a milky white light arrow.


    Su Lun curiously observed this movement and upon identifying it, realized it was yet another "sealed item."


    And it was specifically designed to target mechanical soldiers.


    [Chronos''s Bow of Time Curse]


    Quality: Legendary


    Description: Time flies like an arrow, fleeting in a moment


    Curse properties: An Arrow of Time shot at a target ignores obstacles that are not higher than the regtions of bow and arrow themselves, stealing the target''s lifespan upon hitting; those who have not mastered the Timews need to use their own lifespan to condense the arrows; the lifespan consumed from the target is rted to fate;


    Detailed exnation: If your fate is not as strong as the target''s, you need to consume more of your lifespan;


    "Ignoring obstacles," this attribute is specifically aimed at Mecha warriors.


    Su Lun looked at the detailed exnation. This Cursed Bow was somewhat simr to his ck scythe; both had the existence of killing a thousand enemies at the cost of self-damage of eight hundred.


    However, this arrow''s curse bacsh was quite special.


    It''s not about reducing a hundred years of someone''s lifespan and reducing a hundred years of your own.


    There''s an additional condition¡ªfate.


    "Fate" is a very special existence. Su Lun had seen its definition in ancient texts, but it was very vague.


    It''s roughly exined as "the quality of lifespan".


    For example: a beggar''s hundred years of lifespan is roughly equivalent to one month of an emperor''s lifespan (no upational discrimination intended, just an example).


    The rough description is, the greater a person''s influence in this world, the stronger their fate.


    A person with strong fate, using this bow, might consume one year of lifespan and might take away all the lifespan of someone with weaker fate.


    A person with weak fate, using this bow, might consume a hundred years and might only injure someone else''s lifespan for a year.


    Since fate and lifespan are both "uncertain factors," no one can clearly state whose fate is stronger.


    This cursed item truly involves gambling with life!


    ....


    Su Lun watched as Lu Ying''s side brought out this bow and identified its attributes. His gaze also turned very strange, "This bow indeed counters Mecha warriors, but it''s not easy to kill someone..."


    Those from Mafa are all officers, who might be Grand Generals in the future, which means their fate is notparable to ordinary people.


    Using this bow to kill, the cost is not small.


    However, Su Lun still underestimated the deterrence of imperial power.


    These people clearly received a deadly order to keep those individuals.


    He watched as the cursed longbow was taken out and the person drawing the bow shot an arrow without hesitation.@@novelbin@@


    One arrow per second.


    Pull once, change to another person.


    "Whoosh" "Whoosh" "Whoosh"...


    The arrows of light were shot out ceaselessly.


    Those drawing the bow had just put down the longbow when their bodies visibly aged, transforming from their prime to decrepit old age in an instant, some even dying on the spot.


    Watching this made bystander Su Lun''s scalp tingle and his eyelids twitch, "There really are many sinister methods in this world..."


    Not everyone is the main character doomed to survive till the end.


    The fate of most ordinary people is roughly the same.


    Besides, no matter how strong your fate, how many people''s lifespans can it withstand?


    If one isn''t enough, then bring ten!


    Is the Time Bow powerful?


    Are the suicide soldiers strong?


    No, Su Lun deeply felt the power of authority.


    However, the effect was immediate.


    Mecha warriors move fast, but their ability to change direction is a weakness,cking agility, very easy to predict.


    The royals from Lu Ying didn''t bring out this curse bow to let some low-level soldiers shoot the arrows.


    That would only waste the precious opportunity to pursue.


    Su Lun noted that those who were shooting the arrows were all not weak in spirit, and highly aware, clearly being of officer rank.


    This was truly exchanging life for life.


    Both sides were sacrificing high-level talents in the fray!


    And so, life for life, sometimes just two or three arrows were enough to take down a Mecha warrior.


    When those dozen high-level Mecha warriors reached Pier No. 7, only five or six were left.


    Su Lun wasn''t concerned about who won or lost.


    If he was not mistaken, that time arrow was only hitting the people controlling the Mechas, and the Mechas were unscathed?


    Furthermore, just by chance, one ended up falling into the sea at Pier No. 5?


    Seeing this, Su Lun quietly sneaked over.

 Chapter 233 : [Major Rank Destroyer IX Type Mechanical Battlesuit]

    The people of the Mafa Empire clearly had a premeditated n; the remaining few mechanical warriors boarded the submarine, and as soon as the hatch closed, the submarine quickly submerged and then, in full view of the onlookers, disappeared at the No.7 dock of the harbor.


    "Put a magic mark on that irond! Board the ships! Chase them!"


    "Call in the trackers, they must not be allowed to escape!"


    "Notify the fleet to intercept!"


    "..."


    This kind of war machine, the submarine, had never before appeared on the battlefield between the two countries, catching everyone off guard.


    The few mechanical soldiers who served as the rear guard on the dock self-destructed after being subdued, and themotion in the city subsided.


    At the dockside, several major arms dealers looked at one another withplex expressions as they watched the fleet scramble in pursuit out of the port.


    What was thought to be foolproof had encountered such an unexpected event.


    They were shocked that such a submarine, capable of underwater travel, even existed, and were also concerned about how such a stealthy method would add uncertainty to future wars.


    No one knew how many soldiers the Mafa Empire had managed to transport into the hearnd of Luying through this manner.


    ...


    At the same time, in a luxurious small building on a mountaintop in Gadngte City, a purple-haired woman was standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling window, quietly watching the distant battle.


    Watching the submarine vanish at the docks, she swirled the red wine in her ss, took a sip, and remained calm, evidently not too surprised.


    At that moment, an old butler walked in and reported, "Miss, those people from Mafa indeed escaped by sea."


    Yekaterina was still looking at the bay in the distance and said with a deep gaze, "Of course they fled by sea. They couldn''t do it bynd or air, so this was the only way they could have escaped. I thought they would use some special means. It turns out the information we received earlier was true; those folks from Mafa really developed a submarine capable of naval action."


    The butler added, "Our people have already taken action. Even with their stealth submarines, they won''t be able to escape."


    Hearing this, Yekaterina shook her head, "No... call them back."


    "Call them back?"


    Hearing this, the butler looked puzzled and asked, "Miss, didn''t we arrange all this to get the blueprints... "


    Before he could finish, Yekaterina interrupted, "The Regaldi family has just sent a message, telling us not to interfere with the blueprint matter. They have the means to lock down the location of the blueprints and have already sent someone to act."


    "The Regaldi family?"


    The butler''s expression slightly stiffened, showing his bewilderment.


    He was astute and immediately thought of something, "Are you saying that Regaldi is involved with Duke Raphael?"


    "Yes."


    Yekaterina narrowed her eyes, her tone tinged withplexity, "The ''Super Mechanical Warrior'' made such a show of strength on the battlefield, which made me think that Raphael, after a hundred years of operating that ''mine,'' must have discovered many unbelievable things, which is why he dared to show his power. Now, it seems that the entire Luying Empire has underestimated that nouveau riche."


    Pausing for a while, she then mumbled to herself, "Hehe, a nouveau riche who knows how to bide his time and a bunch of conspirators dreaming of restoration... what a perfect match indeed."


    Listening to her words, the butler''s face also grew solemn as he asked, "Miss, then shouldn''t we get our hands on those blueprints even more urgently?"


    Yekaterina''s eyes also shed with thought as she shook her head, "Forget it, we won''t get involved. Let''s see how they y their cards. And let me see what kind of hidden hand they really have."


    After a pause, she uttered a more meaningful statement, "Besides... it''s not certain that those people from Mafa took the blueprints with them when they went to sea."


    The butler seemed to have been startled by her words and gasped, "You mean..."


    The butler stopped abruptly in mid-sentence.


    Seeing that her mistress clearly had no further interest in discussing the topic, he did not press on.


    At that moment, Yekaterina too had turned away from the window, returning to the interior of the room, and asked, "By the way, what about the beastfolk?"


    Remembering something, the butler said with an ugly expression, "About that n, a very strange message just came from the docks..."


    After listening to the butler''s report, Yekaterina''s face showed real surprise for the first time, saying, "What?! You mean to say that the person who bought the beastfolk set them all free?"


    The butler frowned as if his face had turned into a chrysanthemum and said, equally puzzled, "Yes. I did not expect this either. But the messages from the docks have already confirmed it."


    The usual script is, whoever buys these ves will surely use them, or sell them on.


    Then, at the right moment, our people would conveniently rescue them as a way to gain goodwill.


    But no, those people just left the auction and immediately chartered a ship to set them free!


    Without giving us any chance to react at all.


    Too much money?


    Or someone with the same goal as them?


    Yekaterina''s delicate eyebrows wrinkled for the first time, feeling that she could not understand the situation at hand.


    After pondering without sess, she then asked, "Has the buyer''s identity been investigated?"


    "Not yet."


    The butler shook his head and continued, "There was a report that one of Keller Fischel''s subordinates had made contact with the Snake Gang, it appeared to be about seeking that buyer. The dock''s informant confirmed this, but there was no feedback. We don''t know if they were taken out, or died in the earlier battle..."


    "..."


    Yekaterina fell into deep thought upon hearing this.


    ....


    The docks were chaotic.


    On Luying''s side, nearly all the high-ranking professionals had boarded ships and left the harbor in pursuit.


    The aftermath clean-up and salvage operations on the battlefield were also slowly getting underway.


    No one noticed that amidst the chaos, a figure quietly slipped beneath the fifth dock.


    The skill "Master of Submersible Stealth" allowed Su Lun to quickly and covertly dive into the water, then following the direction from his memory, he began to descend slowly.


    His superior dark vision enabled him to see clearly in the pitch-ck sea water.


    It wasn''t long before he found that particr mechanical suit.


    As Su Lun swam over, he could still clearly feel that the Soul Shards hadn''tpletely dissipated, and with a simple peel, he obtained some information.


    ¡¸Obtained 4 memory fragments from "Dias Fase"¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired some information: "Our mission is to act as a decoy, even if it means dying in battle, we must get the blueprints out..."¡¹


    ¡¸You have gained some "mechanical knowledge"¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired information on the "Colonel-level Ship-Cutter IX Mecha"¡¹


    ¡¸Mecha piloting experience +133¡¹


    ¡¸Spiritual power +1.1¡¹


    Although some of the Soul Shards had dissipated, Su Lun had peeled off only a little information.


    But he also knew that this guy was a Colonel in the Luying army, operating a tier four mecha. It was the same one that had wielded the Ship-Cutter, splitting a building in half earlier.


    This guy was a graduate from the "Mafa War Mechanical Institute", with a very solid foundation in mechanical theory.


    Even if the memories were fragmented, Su Lun still peeled away a lot of useful mechanical knowledge. At least his understanding of the technological level in Rumafa wasn''t entirely in the dark now. Most valuable of all were the many open-minded mechanical approaches...


    For example, the general structure and design modification direction of this external mecha suit.


    However, that piece of information "we are decoys"...


    Su Lun had received the information, which was content spoken to this corpse in life.


    It sounded like these officers were also decoys?


    What does that mean?


    Could it be that the blueprints were not on them?


    A feint within a feint?


    But since the submarine had already set sail, Su Lun didn''t bother to delve into it further.


    He didn''t linger in the water for long. He tied the mecha suit with silken threads and pulled it with great difficulty into his storage space.


    Noticing the dense footsteps on the dock, he didn''t dare toe ashore right there. Instead, he swam stealthily to the gap between ships at the other end of the dock and observed for a while before finallynding.


    At this moment, there were many people on the dock. They were cleaning up the battlefield, looking for traces.


    Su Lun didn''t dare to stay long. He avoided people''s sight and quietly teleported several times to enter the city.


    He passed by the ruined Oak Street, which had already been cordoned off, giving him no chance to scavenge.


    But having gained a suit of mecha, he was already very satisfied.


    .....


    A big battle made the peaceful night of Gadngte City noisy once again.


    However, for the ordinary residents, the impact wasn''t significant. Most of them werepletely confused, even thinking it was a Pirate attack.


    Even the information merchants didn''t have many people knowing why the fight started.


    After all, ambushing a Mafa delegation is something that even if the Luying royal family did it, they wouldn''t dare to admit it.


    It might eventually be settled as a Pirate attack.


    There were patrolling soldiers on the streets, so Su Lun didn''t wander around the city anymore and went back to the inn where he had booked a room in the afternoon.


    Entering his room and setting up a barrier, he then took out the two-meter-tall "Colonel-level Ship-Cutter IX Mecha".


    Looking at the intact battle armor in front of him, Su Lun''s eyes were full of a burning desire for knowledge.


    He had been hoping to get a Mafa officer''s mecha suit, and unexpectedly, he had really managed to get one!


    For Su Lun, this suit of mecha was almost an entirely new world of mechanical technology.


    The external mecha suit technology of Mafa and the mechanical augmentation of Old Lington are two vastly different development paths.


    Compared to them, this sort of external mecha suit is more suitable for Puppets.


    With the actual item in front of him, Su Lun put on his magnifying sses and began studying the mecha meticulously.


    Once he started his research, he immediately became immersed in it.


    "The blue inscriptions are tier four physical defense runes, the red ones are magic defense runes, and the purple ones must be for energy conduction. Huh...I see, so rune script can also be altered like this, with the changes most likely made to adapt the runes for mechanical use. Triple engraving, quite a sophisticated skill. Some parts don''t even seem to be hand-engraved. Has Mafa''s technology advanced to the point where even suchplex rune carvings can be mechanized¡­"


    Once he saw the runes, Su Lun couldn''t take his eyes off them.


    Tier four runes were his current area of research, and he wasn''t entirely clueless about them.


    As he watched, his brain automatically partitioned its activity¡ªrecording structures, inferring functions, contemting questions...


    His highly developed brain made his thoughts sharp and his thinking efficiency extremely high.


    As he looked, he began to gain knowledge and learn about theseplex tier four runes.


    It wasn''t just the runes; Su Lun took a look at the mecha''s coatingyers and was equally astonished. "The coating technology is also quite brilliant. The super strong anti-corrosion effect can avoid wear and tear. A pity, though, I can''t get the coating form..."


    Then, he turned his attention to the weapon systems, tinkered with the giant Ship-Cutter knife, and took out his equipment to test it.


    "The alloy of this Steam Ship-Cutter is quite special, isn''t it? Even without energy infusion, its strength has reached level eight, nearly akin to Mithril Blue Steel. The main material is ''Dragon Blood ck Iron'', which seems to be a special metal produced ind in Mafa..."


    "..."


    Su Lun observed the mecha from top to bottom for a while, his amazement growing stronger.


    Only someone knowledgeable could appreciate theplexity and the astonishment of the mechanical technology on this suit of battle armor.


    Su Lun also better understood what Mr. Hei had told him back then; with Alchemy, the more you know, the more you realize your ignorance.


    Until now, Su Lun wasn''t sure about his level of mechanical technology, but looking at it now, at least in the Empire of Luying, he could be considered a master.


    But looking at the technology on this suit of mecha, he also felt a sense of wistfulness.


    He realized there was so much more to learn and explore.


    ....


    It took Su Lun a little over an hour to briefly review all the runes on the exterior of the mecha. The more he looked, the more he was astonished, "To support such aplex mecha, the ''energy core'' of this armor must be the real high-tech. But... how to open it?"


    He initially thought to remove the corpse first, but gave up after a quick consideration.


    The fully covered armor fit seamlessly, even at the joints, there was extremely precise mechanical protection which prevented even water from seeping through.@@novelbin@@


    So, he wasn''t in a hurry to dismantle this set of mecha armor.


    This was a task that required patience, and could not be rushed.


    The armor had a self-destruct device, and disassembling it incorrectly would immediately trigger the self-destruction sequence.


    Being knowledgeable in mechanics and equipped with the All-knowing Eye, Su Lun could grasp the details of the armor faster than others.


    After he fully understood the runes on the armor and added to that the knowledge fragments extracted into his mind, he was quite confident that he could dismantle the mechapletely.


    "Phew..."


    Having generally figured out the outer structure of the mecha, Su Lun let out a long sigh and his expression grew more and more excited.


    In his study of mechanics, naturally his thoughts went to his own mechanical puppets.


    "A pure manual control system, a pursuit of extreme defensive capabilities in materials, resulting in the armor''s bulkiness..."


    Su Lun smiled as he observed.


    The officer''s armor was strong, but the heavy armor also made it look towering and clumsy, the feet covered in te armor as if wearing oversized boots...


    Because he was very aware that the pursuit of armor defense and functionality required a certain volume.


    The higher the level of runes, the greater the demand for material strength; if the strength isn''t sufficient, thickness must be added. Steam power devices also need certain volume, as do weapon systems, cockpit chambers... all these things take up space.


    But as a Puppet Master, Su Lun''s mechanical puppets didn''t need to stuff a person inside!


    Without a pilot, they wouldn''t need to fear any mysterious series attack methods either!


    His "mechanical puppets" certainly needed these technologies.


    While it''s true that he couldn''t decipher the technology just by obtaining the finished product, it was of great significance to him.


    Runes, enchantments, construction, conduction, kic energy, weapon systems...


    Each technology was cutting-edge military tech not avable on the market.


    You couldn''t even buy it with money.


    Moreover, the shorings of mechanical armor are quite apparent; it requires a group to prevent it from being easily countered by targeted measures.


    Previously, Su Lun had personally witnessed a coordinated battle of elite mechanical soldiers, with roles like shieldbat, damage output, ranged, logistics, engineering...


    A singlebat mecha, no matter how powerful, couldn''t possibly be equipped with all functions, but several mechas working together could form a formidable defense and inflict tons of damage!


    Su Lun, the Puppeteer, was precisely skilled at controlling groups of puppets.


    Once he reached the third order, with even better divided attention control abilities, one person''s reaction couldpletely match that of a team.


    A mechanical puppet legion was absolutely feasible!


    ....


    The night had passed in this research.


    When Su Lun noticed the light outside the window, he realized it was already morning.


    At this moment, the room was littered with blueprints, on which were drawn structural analysis diagrams of the battle armor.


    Su Lun''s eight spider arms and hands had been busy all night, breaking down the runesyer byyer from the armor and transcribing them onto the blueprints.


    Just the external runes alone had filled nearly a hundred sheets of paper.


    By drawing these personally, the concepts in his mind became clearer.


    He might not have mastered these runes yet, but he felt that once he was proficient in the triyer rune inscription technique, "copying homework" was definitely doable.


    The difficulty with mechanical puppets wasn''t in a single technology, but in bringing together the right technologies to forge abat-capable armor.


    One could say that for a mechanic to research this alone, it might take a lifetime and still not produce such a suit of armor.


    A hundred years of the Mafa Empire''s mechanical revolution, the wisdom of countless genius mechanics, led to these achievements.


    Thousands of failed experiments, numerous technical tests and improvements, refined temtes.


    This also saved Su Lun a great deal of effort.


    Once he fully mastered these technologies, Su Lun could certainly create lighter mechanical puppets.


    "Phew..."


    He exhaled a deep breath of turbid air.


    Su Lun, with pen in hand, looking at the mechanical battle armor before him, couldn''t help but feel contemtive, "However, without arge forging factory, items like te armor can''t be mass-produced in small workshops. And materials are a big problem too... It would be great to get a few more armors..."


    He thought of something and chuckled, shaking his head.


    Toe across such aplete set of armor was already sheer luck. Otherwise, even if he could capture such high-end mechanical soldiers, they would self-destruct before letting him take the full armor.


    Su Lun was very content.


    Perhaps visit the legendary Mechanical Holy Land of Mafa?


    The idea briefly crossed his mind.


    He neatly stacked up the blueprints with his eight-armed spear and stowed the mechanical soldier into his storage space.


    After tidying up the room and ensuring nothing was left behind, Su Lun stepped out of the inn''s room.


    Because he had booked an early boat, nning to leave Gadngte City and head to the northernnds.


    ....


    The intense battlest night left many scars in the city, with several blocks from Oak Street to the docks full of wounds.


    But Gadngte is one of the most importantmercial ports in the North of Luying, with an astonishing daily turnover of people and goods, and by early morning, the port had returned to normal operation.


    Su Lun walked the streets, listening to the passersby discussst night''s battle.


    But battles on the level of national conflict didn''t concern most ordinary people; they still went to work and ate their breakfast, with just a bit more gossip for after meals. On the docks, the porters were bustling about, and the sailors were busy with the sails, setting anchor and sailing out.


    Su Lun had no intention of staying here any longer.


    Last night''s battle had little to do with him, but he had been involved in the killing of Viscount Primor, and he had personally killed several members of the Sea Snake Gang, with a set of battle armor on him...


    Staying in the city, he feared, would lead toplications.


    If he were to leave, the sooner, the better.


    He had already been nning to go to the North to see for himself, especially now with the "prophecy" from the Dalu Druids.


    He half-believed, half-doubted prophecies, but still felt that an earlier departure to sea wouldn''t hurt.


    At the port, he registered casually and found a merchant ship heading for the ice fields of the Far North.


    The ride was free, with food and fresh water supplied on board.


    Every day, many merchant ships sailed from Gadngte to the North, and the ship owners were happy to take adventurers along who were on their way to hunt magical beasts. In case of attacks by pirates or sea creatures, adventurers could stand together in resistance.


    Soon, a fleet of tenrge and small ships set sail together.


    Su Lun was on a medium-sized sailboat called the "Mopo Sang." The owner was an exotic goods merchant, heading to the North to collect demon cores, meteorites, rare ores, and various gemstones.


    In addition to the crew, there were nearly a hundred adventurers on board.


    Su Lun was assigned to a cabin for eight people, with the other seven from a group called "Night Cats Adventuring Party."


    The cabin had only a dim oilmp, small venttion windows, and was very dark.


    Once on board, Su Lun started reading in a corner against the hull.


    Unless something unexpected happened, he would spend a long half month on the ship.


    His night vision was strong, and the reading was unhindered. The dim light also conveniently disguised the fact that he was flipping through a tome of fourth-level alchemy.


    The other adventurers didn''t pay any mind to the guy who hadn''t spoken a word since boarding and had been burying his head in books the whole time.


    After boarding, everyone had little to do.


    Other than sleeping, it was all about boasting.


    The adventurers quickly struck up conversations.


    Su Lun listened for a bit and quickly understood the rtionships within this group.


    The team leader was Mark, a forty-year-old with a big beard, a second-tier "Jungle Hunter," and an experienced adventurer. He was leading the team to the North to hunt magical beasts for money.


    There were a few neers in the team from "Visota County" in the East. It seemed like their first time heading to the North, and they were listening to the veterans and the leader talk about how incredibly rich the Far North Ice Field was in resources.


    "Captain, I heard that the ice ins to the north are evenrger than our empire, is that true?"


    "Larger? Ten times, a hundred timesrger, practically endless! Us humans have only explored a tiny bit along the coast. I tell you, the Far North Ice Field is not the barren wastnd people from the ind think it is. It''s just that we haven''t set foot there much and don''t understand it..."


    "Legend has it that beneath the millions of years of ice, there are ancient ruins frozen in time. If fortune smiles upon you, you might dig up some ancient relics and get rich overnight. Half a year ago, the ''Hydra ve Group'' identally entered deep into the Silent Forest when they were capturing demi-human ves and stumbled upon an ancient temple, finding several cursed artifacts with mighty powers, making a fortune..."


    "Captain, can we also go capture ves? Like ice giants or demi-humans, I see ves selling for hundreds of thousands at the ve markets!"


    "Capturing ves isn''t so easy anymore. Those demi-human tribes are now far from the coast, deep into the ice field. There are powerful magical beast packs there; it''s hard to say who would be the prey. Specialized ve groups handle the ve business, let''s not think about it and just hunt some magical beasts around the periphery of the ice field."


    "Captain, have you ever encountered sea monsters? I heard that there are Gana people in the sea who don''t wear clothes, descendants of the elves, each one beautiful and graceful and would repay humans who are good to them. If they find a handsome man, they woulde aboard at night, hehehe..."


    "Haha, you''ve been listening to too many fairy tales, kid. Speaking of sea monsters, you better pray we nevere across one! Ever heard of the ''Siren''s Song''? If you hear that thing, it means the Grim Reaper''s knocking on your door. Five years ago, I saw with my own eyes a ghost ship adrift at sea, all the people on board were physically unharmed, but their souls were taken away. They say it was the work of sea monsters..."


    "Hiss... that''s terrifying."


    "Captain, I heard there are treasures everywhere at sea, are those ''Pirate King treasure legends'' real?"


    "Of course, they''re real! Sunken ships, treasures, this sea has plenty of gems... There are also ancient underwater cities! Every year you hear about lucky Navigators and Explorers finding some. It''s just that our route has been pretty well explored already, if you really want to find those treasures, you need to venture into the unknown waters to the west. However, you need to be strong to be an Explorer and you need a good ship; those terrifying sea beasts in the deep sea, they don''t eat veggies..."


    "When I was young working on a big ship, I once encountered a huge sea creature that bit off half the ship in one bite. I barely escaped with my life..."


    "Ever heard of dragons? Sometimes when the weather is clear, you can hear dragon roarsing from far out west..."


    "And the stories of Serpent Ind..."


    "Let me tell you, the most famous legend at sea is the ''Cursed Ship''. It''s said that sometimes, on a foggy night, lucky folks at sea encounter a Ghost Ship drifting on the water. The ship is loaded with gold and silver treasures and has wine and beautiful women; you can go aboard and take anything you want, party to your heart''s content. But, anyone who boards must get off before midnight, otherwise, they can never leave again. Once the Ghost Ship vanishes, you would have to be a ghost along with it..."


    "..."


    The ship had sailed for half a day, and many stories had been told.


    Su Lun was also quite intrigued.


    The tales told by these old adventurers might not be reliable, but they certainly were rich in twists and carried strong narrative appeal.


    They also informed him about many legends of this sea area.


    Yet he hadn''t expected the story of the "Cursed Ship" to be so lively, just as the spooky and thrilling atmosphere had begun to spread through the cabin...


    Suddenly, there was amotioning from the deck.


    "Oh, damn it! How could such thick fog appear in this area? Everyone, be careful, we have entered the fog zone, beware of pirates and sea beasts..."


    Upon hearing this, everyone in the cabin simultaneously showed a strange look on their faces.


    Su Lun felt it couldn''t be such a coincidence to encounter a Ghost Ship.


    Because it was daytime.


    However, this fog did seem abnormal.


    Having peeled away a pirate''s memories before, Su Lun had picked up some knowledge of "navigational weather identification". He looked out through the vent and gauged the air pressure, humidity, and temperature, realizing that this weather seemed unlikely to form such dense fog...


    Before long, he heard the sailors on deck eximing as if they had seen some terrifying monster: "My God... what is that!"

 Chapter 234 : Super Battleship

    Hearing the sailors'' exmations on deck, everyone in the cabin rushed out.


    Su Lun didn''t know why, but he had a slight sense of foreboding.


    The fog wasn''t natural?


    He thought of something called "war fog," which is arge-scale artificial fog developed to conceal military movements on the battlefield.


    Su Lun instinctively had a thought: they had been ambushed!


    The sea looked boundless, but in reality, the shipping route from Gadronte Harbor to the northernnds was fixed to only those one or two mature routes.


    Estimating their journey, they should currently be in a ce called the "Bartholomew Strait." This strait was named after the navigator who discovered this shipping route.


    This sea area was like the narrow middle part of a funnel, getting narrower and narrower. Near the strait, there was arge area of reefs, and passing ships could only be safe by following the established shippingnes.


    If someone were to set up a blockade, this would be one of the best ambush spots.


    Moreover, this was an area frequently infested with pirates.


    At the moment, since there were no sounds of battle, it seemed that the situation was not too urgent¡ªat least there would not be an emergency such as encountering giant sea monsters, pirates, or running aground on a reef.


    As these thoughts shed through his mind, Su Lun put away his books and cautiously made his way to the deck.


    He was also very curious about what the sailors had seen to elicit such exmations.


    Just as he looked up, the massive object in the fog rudely burst into his field of vision.


    A... very huge steam-powered steel-d warship!


    The "Monte Cristo" the medium-sized sailing ship that Su Lun was currently aboard, seemed like a kittenpared to a male lion when ced in front of that exaggerated behemoth, appearing so fragile and defenseless.


    This was a massive warship as gigantic as an aircraft carrier from his previous world, with a height equivalent to twenty or thirty-story buildings. Three huge smokestacks were spewing thick ck smoke. Large rivets fixed steel tes around the hull, as if they were armoring the behemoth with ayer of armor, creating a strong visual impact of invincibility. The bow was as sharp as an axe, with a lion''s head-shaped gold ram at the top, adorned with inscriptions oozing with firmness, visible to the naked eye, as if any ship that collided with it would be instantly destroyed into dust.


    The most exaggerated aspect was that the ship bristled with artillery of various calibers!


    Like the spines on a hedgehog''s back, ominously disyed.


    There were six long main gun barrels, each twenty to thirty meters, at the front and rear of the ship. Aside from that, there were turrets scattered all over the hull, with thousands of densely-packed gun barrels. There were also giant harpoons, alchemical crossbows, heavy machine gun control stations... a myriad of war weapons that made one''s scalp tingle at the sight!


    More is better, big is beautiful, caliber is justice, and within the range is the truth!


    This was the shipbuilding philosophy of this steam-mechanical era.


    This irond warship perfectly encapsted the meaning of that phrase.


    Massive!


    Armed to the teeth!


    Sturdy!


    ....


    Ten wooden sailing ships on their way to the northernnds all stopped in front of this steel behemoth, with everyone crowding onto the deck, utterly astonished by the iron beast thaty before them.


    "This... how can there be such a huge steel ship! My God, could it be that the Mafa Empire''s fleet hase to attack us?"


    "Look, it''s not a Mafa ship. That on the warship is Duke Raphael''s noble g!"


    "How is that possible... How could our empire have such a gigantic warship?!"


    "..."


    Beyond shock, there was only more shock!


    The appearance of this massive battleshippletely exceeded everyone''s knowledge on board.


    Seeing this battleship, Su Lun, in addition to being shocked, immediately realized something ominous: "Duke Raphael actually secretly built such a powerful warship?"


    Seeing how shocked the crew members were, it was obvious that there was no news of it in the outside world.


    And now it was exposed?


    Sulin even suspected that the Royal Family of Ruleen might not be aware that Duke Raphael had this "asset."


    Being a mechanic himself, he nced at the caliber of the cannons and the length of the gun barrels on the ship, roughly estimating the range of these guns.


    Therger the turret, the sturdier the ship''s body needed to be to withstand the impact of the gunfire. Only an irond battleship could be equipped with so many and such massive cannons.


    It was not just about size; this also involvedplex mechanical engineering!


    This type of warship might appear in the Mafa Empire, but absolutely not in Luying.


    Because the technological content within the warship was at least several decades ahead of Luying''s current warships!


    ....


    No wonder there was a war fog¡ªit was used to conceal this super dreadnought.


    However, Su Lun was worried about something else.


    You''ve seen the secrets, can they let you live?


    Traditional sailing ships stand no chance against such maritime steel fortresses, even with top enchantments and materials, they are easily destroyed.


    Apart from the advantage of speed in fleeing, none of their other qualities couldpare.


    The cannons on these sailing ships are like rifles against tanks¡ªsimply inadequate!


    Sailing warships might have a chance to escape from ordinary irond ships,


    But not from this behemoth!


    The range of cannons this size could be tens of nautical miles; if you see it, you''re within range, with no chance to escape!


    ...


    Others didn''t know what Duke Rafael was doing here, but Su Lun immediately guessed it.


    Not long ago, the pirates under the "King of the North Sea" attacked ck Reef and looted Duke Rafael''s "mines", and just yesterday, the [Super Mechanic Soldier Blueprint] was auctioned off at Gadronte Harbor...


    This was no small grievance.


    He was now concealed by the war fog, lying in wait here, obviously out for revenge.


    "Could it be that the blueprint wasn''t carried off by Mafa''s peoplest night?"


    Su Lun immediately thought of the Soul Shard from the mechanical soldier he strippedst night, "Our task is to act as bait..."


    It was indeed possible!


    Even with submarines, this was Luying''s hintend; it would be difficult for those people to break out of the blockade with the blueprint and escape.


    It''s not impossible, but the likelihood of being intercepted was greater.


    "So...st night was actually a feint, the Mafa legionmander himself led people to break through as a decoy to attract fire. In fact, the blueprint didn''t leave Gadronte Harbor at allst night!"


    Su Lun immediately connected all the clues in his mind and deduced the rough truth of the matter.


    He originally thought that such matters had nothing to do with him, but now it seemed he had been implicated.


    Moreover, if Duke Rafael''s warship was keeping such a high profile here, then he must have some precise intelligence.


    "It seems that those guys have some means to locate the blueprint..."@@novelbin@@


    Su Lun murmured to himself.


    And now he was almost certain, the one with the blueprint was hidden on one of the ships in this fleet!


    "Seems like I''m not having the best of luck..."


    Su Lun felt as though if he did not leave the harbor, he might not be implicated.


    Could the Druid''s prophecy have been wrong?


    Coming to the sea, not only did he not receive protection, but encountered danger instead.


    But obviously, that was not the case.


    The crisis stemmed not only from this irond ship but from something else!


    Suddenly, a strong palpitation struck him, that familiar sensation of being "thought of" washed over him like dark clouds overhead.


    This feeling, just like the one he had in Old Lington when he was tracked down by the divination of William Regadi''s people!


    Su Lun immediately had a bad premonition, "Someone is divining me!"


    And by the time he sensed it, a gaze from the dreadnought locked onto him as well.


    ....


    Half an hour earlier.


    On the "Duke Rafael" battleship, in the captain''s quarters.


    The exquisite magic crystal chandelier illuminated the spacious room with a warm, dim yellow glow that bathed the chamber in a lush spring hue.


    The cabin''s decor was elegant and luxurious, exuding the noble air of aristocracy in every detail.


    Directly opposite the door was a row of neatly arranged bookshelves, and in front of a vast sea chart was a solid wood desk. Adorned with navigation instruments, on the desk was an open bottle of red wine, and in two tall sses remained some undrunk scarlet liquid. On the rim of one ss, there still lingered the faint mark of lips. Walking towards the inner room, the soft cashmere carpet was scattered with some clothing items¡ªluxurious ck gowns, women''s intimate garments.


    After a while, a mature woman with undiminished charm walked naked from the bed.


    She picked up the clothes scattered on the carpet and chairs, standing in front of the dressing mirror.


    Though the woman''s face bore the grace of years, the splendid naked body reflected in the mirror shone with a luster no less smooth than a young girl''s skin. One could tell from the skin alone that this was a noblewoman of exceptional care.


    The middle-aged man also got out of bed, embracing her from behind, hisrge hands kneading the delicate and smooth skin, seemingly insatiable.


    The man had a beard, a robust body, yet there was a calm and intimidatingposure about him.


    This man was none other than the current hereditary Duke of the Rafael family, Vogt Rafael.


    "Lady Portia, the time spent with you is truly delightful," he said.


    Hearing these frivolous words, the mature woman didn''t find anything amiss; instead, she smiled coquettishly. She freed herself from those greedy hands and said, "Oh, Duke, I am but an old woman whose charms are fading. Yourpliments should be reserved for those young girls..."


    Lady Portia indeed was a duchess, but not Duke Rafael''s.


    Duke Rafael looked at the naked beauty before him and generouslyvished his praise: "No, madam, in my eyes, you are the most perfect lover."


    Lady Portia, not minding in the least,ughed lightly at his words.


    This was praise for her.


    Such ambiguous rtionships were not umon in the Lu Ying noble circles.


    It was no novelty for high-ranking nobles to have several lovers; not only were the lords and young masters promiscuous, but thedies and misses were too. Even among the upper-ss circles, the elites would brag about their numerous affairs.


    Duke Rafael asked, "Won''t you stay a little longer?"


    Lady Portia had just put on her intimate garments and was pulling her skirt over her hips to cover much of her revealed charms, casually replying, "Didn''t you say, Duke, that the blueprints will arrive in half an hour? We should also be going out... Although I don''t mind, it would be rather awkward if William saw us, given that he is my son."


    Duke Rafaelughed at her words, "Young Master William is indeed talented."


    By this time, Lady Portia had already dressed, and she was now standing in front of the mirror, putting on a dazzling diamond ne.


    Duke Rafael, ever the gentleman, took the ne from her hand and helped her put it on.


    The two engaged in sporadic conversation.


    "Duke, are you not the least bit concerned about the blueprint?"


    "The blueprint''s material itself contains a special marker. Whether through sealing in space or other hidden methods, I can lock on to its location. It can''t be lost. Moreover, the core part of the blueprint is inscribed with spiritual power. Even if given to those pirates, in such a short span of time, they would have no ability to copy it. The infuriating thing is that they destroyed a lot of important research equipment in the institute, and those mechanics..."


    "Oh? Is that so..."


    "Those pirates have some smarts too, having sold what they stole immediately. Heh... It''s hrious that the royal family thought they could take advantage of the situation."


    "Lu Ying has decayed to its core, the royal family''s internal struggles never pause. Arms dealers only see the profits brought by war, without a care for anything else."


    "Hmph, a bunch of bloated parasites; they will soon be the death of the entire empire because of their actions."


    "..."


    ...


    Before long, Lady Portia, now fully dressed, made her way to the deck.


    A handsome young man in a white military uniform was diligently sorting through a pile of documents on the deck.


    If Su Lun were here, he would certainly have realized that these documents contained various kinds of intelligence about him.


    His identity within the Order of the Cross, photos of his bald punk style, social connections, movement trajectories, events participated in, and the methods he was skilled in...


    By the young man''s side, an old mage dressed in a court mage''s robe was divining something with a strand of hair when he suddenly said, "Your Highness, the target has appeared within thirty nautical miles to the southwest. He''s heading in our direction."


    The young man was none other than William Regadi, the primary heir of the Regadi family!


    William respectfully nodded to the old man, "Thank you for your efforts, Master Maburite."


    He paused, then smirked, "Heh, he''sing right to us. That saves us the trouble of looking for him."


    At that moment, Lady Portia had also approached.


    She looked at her son and smiled gently, "William, what are you looking at?"


    "Mydy!"


    Seeing her approach, the robed elder and several guards nodded in turn before leaving the deck, giving the two space for their conversation.


    William nced at the woman, seemingly guessing something, and saidzily, "Mother, I mean... even if we need to form an alliance with the Rafael family, you don''t have to get that close to them."


    Lady Portia, not minding his tone, replied, "No, it''s not entirely about the exchange of interests. Duke Rafael is quite a charming gentleman indeed. What a pity that his Princess Teresa met with an ident, otherwise you could have..."


    This sort of matter wasn''t something worth fussing over in noble circles. William shook his head after listening, obviously not interested in the topic, and cut her off, "Whatever, as you wish."


    Lady Portia reached out and took the intelligence report from his hands, "Still looking at that guy''s information?"


    "Yeah."


    Hearing this, William said coldly, "Heh, that ''Brother Fick'' hasn''t been quiet even during his exile. It''s surprising how much trouble he can stir up even in a mining pit."


    Lady Portia casually flipped through a couple of pages before saying, "Rest assured, the bastard left by your phndering father and his lover poses no threat to your inheritance rights."


    She looked at the astonishing achievements listed on Su Lun''s report and immediately felt threatened, her tone shifting abruptly, "However, he indeed should be eliminated to prevent future problems."


    William said, "The fact that Fick has caused such a stir clearly means he''se upon some great fortune. The intelligence from the branch family suggests that the old man has deciphered the hidden treasure map in ''Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript.'' My Brother Fick must have found Isaac''s legacy and received that legendary talent, or perhaps some other inheritances..."


    Lady Portia also raised an eyebrow, disdainfully saying, "''The All-knowing Eye'' is just an S-rank talent that isn''t very useful, far inferior to yours. That talent can''t undergo a second awakening and has almost nobat power. This time, William, you''ve received the recognition of the family''s heirloom relic, and you will inevitably advance to the seventh rank in the future. With the support of family resources, reaching the pinnacle of alchemy is within reach... No one can pose a threat to you."


    After all, they were once part of the Mafian Empire''s royal lineage, the Regadi family had too many ancient secrets and treasures, their foundation iparable to outsiders'' imaginations.


    William listened and, although he said nothing, the pride on his face showed he agreed with his mother''s words.


    Among his peers, whether in terms of talent, knowledge, or strength, no one could match him.


    He had the confidence to look down upon his rivals!


    At that moment, William''s gaze suddenly turned cold as he thought of something, "Although those fools from the branch family are stupid, they have cleared some troubles for me. Almost all of them have been killed, yet this ''Fick'' is still alive. Even the dimwit Eiven died underground... The report also says he has joined some mysterious organization, the Gold-Patterned Cloak. The strength of that high-order blood race is formidable, he could be a big problem in the future. So, it''s better to eliminate him sooner rather thanter."


    "However, I believe our William didn''te personally just for this, am I right?"


    At her words, Lady Portia smiled and changed the subject, "I remember Duke Lance''s fourth daughter is named ''Yekaterina,'' right? Oh, she was such a beauty when I saw her five years ago. I still clearly remember her lovely purple hair."


    As a mother, she naturally knew what her son was thinking and teased, "I recall, she was also your ssmate at the royal academy, wasn''t she, William?"


    William didn''t bother hiding his thoughts, saying forthrightly, "Katyusha is the most outstanding girl I have ever met. And only I am suited to marry her!"


    A glint of mockery shed through Lady Portia''s bright eyes, and sheughed again, "So, are you resentful because the elders n to bring back Fick, letting that guy arrange a marital alliance with the Lance family, and that''s why you have a murderous intent?"


    "..."


    At those words, a flicker of hesitation crossed William''s eyes.


    He neither confirmed nor denied it.


    He felt vaguely that he should not let jealousy cloud his vision.


    Portia, keenly catching the subtle change in her son''s demeanor, spoke seriously, "No, my son, you did nothing wrong! Only the powerful can have everything. Always remember, we are royalty. The one at the top isn''t that merciful, not even to anyone!"


    Upon hearing this, as if something struck a chord deep in his heart,


    William looked at his mother, and the wavering light in his eyes suddenly became resolute.


    Portia spoke earnestly, "If you can secure the support of both the Lance and the Rafael families, our hope of restoring the nation is promising. Now Ruying has be a tree decaying at its roots, your father and those old-fashioned elders are still pinning their hopes on the Ruying royal family, heh... How foolish!"


    After a pause, she gazed into the distant fog, advising, "My dear William, strive to be stronger... only the strong deserve to have everything!"


    William responded calmly, "Understood, Mother."


    While they were talking, they watched a fleet of sailing ships disappear into the mist.


    At that moment, the Mage in the robe suddenly appeared on deck, pointing at one vessel and saying, "Young Master, mydy, the adventurer in the bald leather attire on the deck of the ship flying the parrot g¡ªthat''s the target!"


    ....


    Su Lun felt rather speechless; on a ship, troublees from the sky.


    When he sensed the gaze that had locked onto him, he understood immediately.


    His actions had always been clean, hardly leaving any trail.


    Being the object of someone''s attention was undoubtedly due to his original... Regadi family!

 Chapter 235 The Death of Su Lun

    Duke Raphael personally arrived, and naturally, he was determined to retrieve the "Super Mechanical Warrior Blueprint."


    Su Lun suspected that there was a spy from the Mafa Empire among the fleet, on board one of the ships.


    As expected, when the steel behemoth emerged from the mist, a figure suddenly leaped from the deck of the "Santa Maria," a sailboat not far ahead, and dived into the water.


    The response was extremely decisive!


    It appeared to be a high-order professional with no small measure of strength.


    But obviously, Duke Raphael''s side was also well-prepared. Almost at the same instant, dozens of professionals dressed in white military uniforms also leaped from the steel behemoth.


    There were those who flew with winged gear, those who dove into the water with aquatic gear, and even those who skimmed across the surface of the water...


    Dozens of people chased after the Mafa spy, forming an encirclement.


    In just a moment, the sound of intense fighting came from the mist not far away.


    ....


    Seeing the cannons pointed towards their fleet, Su Lun knew that Duke Raphael was set on annihting the entire convoy.


    With the spy drawing fire, he had intended to use teleportation to sneak into the sea and quietly leave, perhaps going unnoticed.


    But now, with those several piercing gazes fixed on him from the deck, Su Lun knew concealment was meaningless.


    Compared to this gigantic warship, the folks from the Lei family were the real threat.


    "Probably another divination based on bloodlines, the original owner''s troubles are really not small..."


    Su Lun was filled with solemnity.


    The Lei family was a top force, only slightly inferior to the royal families of the two major empires, and if the problem wasn''tpletely resolved, troubles could continue indefinitely.


    But he couldn''t understand why they were so adamant on killing him. Wasn''t the original owner''s father back in power? Who would persist in wanting to kill the original owner?


    Su Lun thought it might be some bloody conflict of interest, like inheritance rights?


    But right now, there was no time to ponder such details; he needed to consider how to escape this death trap!


    The killing intent in those gazes was as ring as staring at the sun, and the sensation of walking barefoot on sharp des overwhelmed him, leaving Su Lun without any false hopes.


    Without Mr. Jing by his side, he had no helpers to call upon; everything had to be relied upon himself.


    He had never experienced such a brush with death, feeling as if his entire body was immersed in ice water. Hormones secreted inrge amounts due to the stress, and his thoughts whirred into action at high speed.


    Unable to conceal himself, he decisively prepared to make an all-out run for it!


    His hands formed magician''s seals, and with a tug, a spatial channel opened before him. Without hesitating, he stepped through it and instantly appeared a hundred meters away on the sea''s surface.


    As he fell, the seals Su Lun formed in mid-air were ready, and he uttered softly, "Gear¡¤Release!"


    In the instant that the Hexagram Alchemy Array lit up, an eight-armed spear appeared behind him.


    The eight-armed spear had the exceptional ability to move through barriers, which had resolved countless problems for him in the past.


    What was even more remarkable was that after Su Lunnded on the sea''s surface, he didn''t sink!


    The eight-armed spear stepped on the water as if it werend, the spear''s legs moving rapidly, disregarding the rolling waves, and he surged forward at high speed.


    Because of the extreme speed, he even kicked up a white mist in his wake.


    This was the newly developed water-walking ability of his eight-armed spear gear!


    Having considered the endless oceans of the surface world, Su Lun had felt the need for an ability to move across water.


    He had carefully studied the structure of the "water spider" spears, realizing that such spiders could move on water because of the numerous fine hairs on the spears that provided sufficient surface tension when in contact with water.


    This had given him great inspiration.


    Su Lun had already researched the functionalities of the "Eight-Armed Spear" gear to its limits, and controlling the fine hairs was no issue for him. Although there were slight differences between the structure of spears used bynd and water spiders, this was not an insurmountable problem for Su Lun, an Alchemist who was an expert in engineering.


    Back in Old Lington, he had already precisely tested the water-walking abilities of the spears.


    Now it was time for them toe into y.


    Su Lun used the eight-armed spear to move swiftly across the sea''s surface, asionally interspersed with spatial teleportation, covering a hundred meters in an instant.


    With this slick escapebination, a look again showed that he had moved several hundred meters away.


    This speed made it difficult for even fourth or fifth-tier professionals to catch up.


    After all, it was the sea, where the majority of moving capabilities were restricted. Even standard winged gear couldn''t match Su Lun''s spear speed in its flight through the sky.


    Plus, with artillery aiming from behind and the "All-knowing Eye"bined with his ultra-high neural reaction speed, he could also dodge in advance.


    It looked like he was gradually getting out of danger.


    However, Su Lun harbored no illusions.


    Such arge ship surely had several high-order professionals specialized in pursuit.


    ....


    On the deck of the gigantic warship, Lady Portia and William looked at the fleeing figure without any urgency on their faces.


    However, Lady Portia squinted at the speed of Su Lun''s escape and muttered with a sense of crisis, "Spatial Ability? That fellow actually found such rare advancement material underground¡­ quite the luck."


    As a Duchess, her insight was not low; Spatial Ability was a highly advanced and rare skill.


    If he could develop this skill to a high level, the threat would not be small.


    William raised an eyebrow, nonchntly saying, "Just low-level use of Spatial Ability, far from a true understanding of Space Law."


    Seeing that Su Lun had already run quite a distance, a family guard from the side spoke up, "Your Highness, Madam, shall I go capture the target?"


    Listening to this, William shook his head, his gaze shing sharply, "No! I''ll go myself."


    Once professionals ascended to the higher ranks, they would awaken some perceptive abilities beyond the five senses.


    He had a feeling that if he didn''t personally kill that guy, he would be a huge problem in the future.


    He certainly didn''t want to leave any threats for himself.


    Lady Portia, standing beside him, also showed approval of her son upon hearing this, "Mhm. Go ahead, but be careful."


    William looked at Su Lun, who had already submerged into the sea, and a mocking smile like a cat that had caught a mouse appeared on his face. He quickly formed forty-eight sorcerer''s seals with both hands, his gaze intensifying, "Armor Dispel!"


    As soon as the hand seals werepleted, the deck suddenly filled with a dense concentration of wind elemental power.


    Giant pale blue wings suddenly appeared behind William.


    Upon closer inspection, the wings were not made of any physical substance, but were purely "elemental wings" formed from the condensation of wind elements!


    As soon as the wings spread, the onlookers'' cloaks on the ship fluttered in the sudden gust of wind, and William had already vanished from sight.


    ....


    Su Lun had already been running for a while and was puzzled as to why no one was pursuing him.


    Despite the absence of pursuers, those few strands of watchful eyes were still locked on him and had not shifted away.


    The cloud of death continued to hang over his head, not dissipating but instead growing denser and heavier.


    "Could it be... the opponent has an unbelievably fast professional among them?"


    Even though Su Lun was perplexed, he dared not slow his movements.


    Running on the surface of the sea was ordinarily suicidal.


    Those who enjoyed fishing would understand how dangerous a high-speed target on the water could be. It is like lure fishing; such "high-speed targets" can easily attract the attentions of the big guys hiding beneath the water and be swallowed in an instant.


    Besides, the seas of this world were not inhabited by merelyrge fish but various gigantic sea monsters!


    But Su Lun had no choice.


    Seeing that no one was chasing him, he once again teleported into the water and continued to swim stealthily, hoping to use the fog and the resistance of the sea water to shake off those few persistent threads.


    Suddenly, his fears became reality.


    Su Lun kept teleporting rapidly, his peripheral vision constantly alert to his rear.


    Out of nowhere, he blurted out a curse, "F*ck!"


    It was like a scene from a horror movie where, although Mr. Ghost was still far away, in the blink of an eye, he appeared right up close.


    When the image of that teleporting figure with wings shed before Su Lun''s eyes, his heart skipped a beat with intense shock.


    That astonishing speed was not achieved through spatial discement, nor was it like Mr. Jing''s special optical discement technique, but purely a mastery of wind elements for hovering and rapid teleportation.


    No wonder there was no hurry to chase; with this method, let Su Lun run forty-nine meters ahead, and on the fiftieth meter, he could be caught!


    "This seems to be a young master from the Regalido noble family?"


    Su Lun recognized the person''s face, recalling a vague impression in his mind.


    But whoever it was didn''t matter; what was important was seeing his control over the elements, confirming he was a sixth-ranked professional.


    Upon identifying the pale blue wings behind the man, Su Lun had an ominous feeling, "Legendary-quality flying armor[Wings of Wind God Bird]! The wings of a ''Wind God Bird'' phantom beast...where did these guys find such an extinct elemental divine bird from countless eras ago?!"


    Even asposed as he was, witnessing the winged figure surging hundreds of meters in an instant, he couldn''t help but feel agitated.


    Apparently, he wasn''t the only one who had encountered fortune.


    It was Su Lun''s first time seeing "legendary-quality" alchemy armor.


    He was currently equipped with two sets of dark gold-quality armor, so he naturally knew the monumental difference in effectiveness between grades of armor.


    The person behind him being able to integrate a legendary-quality armor indicated that his own strength must also be incredibly strong.


    A deadly foe!


    "The Regalido family truly has profound resources..."


    With a sigh in his heart, Su Lun felt even more bitter.


    He had understood before that the Regalido royal bloodline had a high probability of awakening various "wind-rted" talents.


    It seemed this winged man possessed some sort of wind talent.


    Thepatibility with this armor must be very high.


    "Could it be[A-003-Wind Speaker]?"


    Su Lun looked at the liquid-like pale blue wind elements congregating around the man, and numerous thoughts shed through his mind in an instant.@@novelbin@@


    The talents ranked in the top four of the A grade were earth, wind, water, and fire, the four basic elements.


    The chance of awakening such a talent was one in a hundred million.


    This was an extremely rare and powerful top-tier talent!


    Although under equal-level techniques, the[Wind Speaker]talent might not have the destructive power of[A-039-Thunder], nor the eerie effectiveness of light or dark elements.


    However, elemental talents of the same rank could exhibit an almost invincible strength inbat, as they are nearly everywhere and inexhaustible.


    They could easily manipte elements in quantities a thousand or a million times greater than others!


    Moreover, the four elements talent is the source of all elemental gifts, including control over some elemental variations.


    Take "A-036-me Lady," for example, which is actually a hybrid talent between "A-001-Fire Thief" and the ability of the earth element. In a contest between the two, thetter would have an obvious innate advantage due to elemental suppression, especially when they are of the same tier.


    But the more he deduced, the more Su Lun''s heart trembled.


    In an instant, his mind raced through countless possibilities,


    but all pointed to one conclusion,


    it seemed like... he was doomed to die this time?


    ....


    The gap in rank was too vast, and whether it was the breeding gear "Wind God Bird''s Feathers" or the wind element talent, both were factors that grossly exaggerated the enhancement of teleportation.


    Even though Su Lun was running with all his might, in the blink of an eye, he was still caught up by that person.


    Even through the water, he could feel the chilling killing intent, which was like an ice dagger to the bone.


    At this moment, the winged man flying in the sky was not in a hurry to kill, seeming to want to get a good look at the "prey''s" techniques.


    Through the refraction of the light in the water, Su Lun could even clearly see the scorn on that person''s face.


    "The only chance is that the enemy underestimates me..."


    Seeing this, Su Lun didn''t hesitate at all, and formed the sorcerer''s seals immediately, "Flesh Alchemy Technique: Third Stage Hormone Frenzy!"


    Hormones surged into his limbs inrge amounts, giving him the sensation of overwhelming power.


    This was an amount sufficient to cause death.


    This time, without Teacher Sereya watching over him, there was no one to pull him back at the crucial moment.


    But without going all out, he was bound to die all the same.


    After the hormone surge, Su Lun''s speed increased several-fold. He was no longer swimming underwater; he was running wildly on the sea surface, his figure as fast as a white rainbow.


    Seeing this, William flying above not only wasn''t surprised but instead let out a disdainful chuckle upon seeing the "scene" he was hoping for, "Huh... This secret technique is quite high-level, actually allowing for such a huge physical amplification. It''s not even recorded in the intelligence. It seems this guy has quite a few secrets..."


    He also knew from the intelligence that this "Brother Fick" had a banned weapon-level ck scythe. Although the chance of the other party hitting him was minuscule, he wasn''t careless.


    He wanted to wait.


    After all, spatial storage is different from a storage ring. Should the target die, the spatial storage could copse, and the contents could scatter just about anywhere.


    But just then, before Su Lun''s ck scythe struck, he watched him pull out a pocket watch and press it.


    "Watkins'' Pocket Watch" could provide a 2-5 times speed boost for a short time!


    Though it consumed life randomly, Su Lun couldn''t care less about that now.


    If he couldn''t escape now, he wouldn''t have a chanceter.


    He knew the gap in ranks was toorge to choose battle.


    Even if he took out the ck scythe, he had no chance whatsoever.


    Now he saw a pitch-ck sea cave on the ocean floor, bottomless and dark, and immediately thought ofst night''s prophecy by the Druid of the Dalu tribe: "The prophecy tells me that you will go through a death ordeal in the future. But... the ocean will protect you."


    This was his "death ordeal"!


    If the prophecy wasing true, was the second half of it also true?


    The ocean?


    This was the only chance he could think of now.


    The moment he pressed the pocket watch, Su Lun''s speed surged again.


    He gambled on the maximum five times speed!


    With this increased speed, he dove into the deep sea, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.


    ....


    Seeing this, William''s calm demeanor shattered, and his brows finally furrowed as he wondered, "Does he have some other means of escape?"


    The unequivocal rush towards the sea left one doubting.


    Luckily, he came in person.


    If not for his slippery escape tactics, others really might not be able to catch that guy.


    Moreover...


    At just the second tier, to disy such an astonishing performance, one can only imagine how phenomenal he would be if he advanced to a higher tier?


    For the first time, William truly felt "threatened" by someone of his generation.


    He absolutely wouldn''t allow, within the Regaldi royal household, the emergence of a genius even more exceptional than himself!


    Moreover, that astonishing speed was heading towards a deep, bottomless sea cave. Even if he wanted to chase, it was toote.


    Although he knew that such a temporary augmentation secret technique wouldn''tst long, his instinct told William that he must not let this "Brother Fick" escape again!


    The Regaldi royal treasury had many treasures, and though he was curious about the ck scythe, it was still something he could do without.


    Seeing this, William stood in the air, his eyes glinting fiercely as he formed the sorcerer''s seals with his hands and uttered a light cry: "Condense!"


    At a nce, following this spell, a colossal turquoise figure materialized behind him, a majestic entity with angry eyes, wielding an elemental bow and arrow.


    This was the secret technique passed down through the Regaldi royal family, one of the four guardian spirits'' ultimate mysteries¡ªthe Wind''s "Phantom Guardian."


    ```


    ....


    Su Lun''s peripheral vision caught the scene as well.


    But his heart held no surprise anymore, only charging fearlessly towards the pitch-ck sea cavern.


    William watched him flee and formed another sorcerer''s seal, shouting out, "Wind Language Song: Rhombic Arrow!"


    As the heptagram behind him lit up, he made a motion as if drawing a bow, and at the same time, the azure phantom also mimicked the action. The bow, made of wind elements, bent like a full moon, and with a "whoosh," an elemental arrow shot out towards the fleeing figure.


    The arrow, silently formed from multiple secret techniques, hit the water without resistance. It crossed a kilometer in a blink and struck Su Lun''s back instantly.


    The next moment, the high-pressure wind elements within the elemental arrow exploded violently. The fierce wind pressed against the sea, pushing it to either side and instantly creating a giant whirlpool.


    Within the storm, it was as if countless tiny des were flying chaotically, a sight painfully sharp to behold.


    Not only Su Lun''s body but even the fish in the area were instantly shredded into tiny pieces by the ferocious wind elements, bursting into a mist of blood.


    Su Lun was dead.


    His body torn to pieces, utterly destroyed.


    "Still too weak after all..."


    As his consciousness faded, Su Lun truly felt what the experience of "Death" was.


    This is death...


    He felt as though he had grasped something.


    Like sand through the fingers, he held on to it at that moment.


    He held onto that indescribable, ineffable thing that Mr. Jing had told him about.


    Without truly experiencing death, how could one understand thews of death?


    Now, Su Lun felt he was almost able to touch it.


    ...


    Did Su Lun want to escape?


    No.


    He was gambling.


    Gambling that the other party wouldn''t find his body.


    And wouldn''t want to look for it.


    Because he had a sealed item on him.


    [Thanatos''s Death Proxy]


    Quality: Legendary


    Description: A life borrowed from the god of death, dare you use it?


    Cursed Feature: After a blood sacrifice, the proxy will take a lethal attack in ce of the host; but after resurrection, you will hear whispers from the unknown for the next month, the seductive voice of demons; you may glean some high-level demonic secret techniques from it, but there''s a high chance it will cause mental instability.


    Detailed Exnation: An imitation Divine Artifact, trading souls with the god of death for a chance at rebirth;


    He had found it previously at the Dawn Relic [Hotel 1911].


    And now he used it.


    Su Lun didn''t know if the Death Proxy could resurrect him or in what form he would be resurrected.


    But he thought of the Druid''s words fromst night, "The ocean will shelter you."


    This was the best option Su Lun coulde up with.


    If he were onnd, he might be relentlessly hunted down to death even after being revived.


    The ocean?


    That''s probably what it meant.


    .....


    William in the sky watched the target explode into a cloud of blood, his face showing no emotion.


    If this had been onnd, he certainly would have taken an interest in seeing the body.


    But now, it was probably hard to even find pieces of it.


    Large chunks of the body sank into the sea, and the smell of blood attracted a school of fish. The fish darted towards it, muddling the water.


    William nced at the scene and then turned to leave.


    He was certain that his strike had definitely killed "Brother Fick".


    ....


    "Do you desire power...?"


    Su Lun didn''t know in what condition his consciousness was, as if he were half-asleep and half-awake.


    But he heard a whispering from beyond.


    He seemed to understand the meaning of death.


    Too weak after all...


    As his consciousness slipped away, he responded, "I do."


    ```

 Chapter 236 : Grim Reaper

    "Hey, everyone, look¡ªthere''s someone in the sea!"


    "Pull him up and let''s see."


    "Well, look at that¡ªa rich guy. His storage ring is so big... Hey, there are even a few ''rune treasure chests'' inside!"


    "Just the chests alone are worth over a hundred thousand rix-dors, and the contents must be very valuable. Looks like we''re about to make a fortune."


    "But Captain, we can''t open these treasure chests..."


    "Let''s keep the man for now. When he wakes up, we''ll ask him for the chest passwords and his identity. We might just hit a bigger jackpot."


    "Tests show he''s a second-tier professional... Don''t be careless, take him to the cell, and remember to apply the anti-magic locks."


    "Yes, Captain Boone."


    ...


    In a dazed state, Su Lun seemed to regain a sliver of consciousness.


    He remembered some things, but they were fragmented.


    It was like being in a nightmare; no matter what, he couldn''t open his eyes.


    He tried to gather his focus to wake up, but it felt like some force inexplicably scattered it...


    The murmurs echoing in his brain became more severe, and he couldn''t make out what the devilish whispers were trying to say. He only felt his consciousness growing heavier, like demon hands tearing at him, dragging him toward an endless abyss.


    It was like that nightmare of drowning, unable to die, yet unable to break free.


    Suddenly, he heard a woman''s hysterical scream.


    As if triggering some deep-seated reflex, Su Lun abruptly felt his consciousness return to his body.


    He heard heavy panting and that lecherousughter tinged with depravity.


    "Hey, Pablo, don''t you y too rough. It''d be bad if you killed the hostage. This one belongs to the ''Tulip Commerce Guild.'' We have to keep her for the ransom when the captain gets back."


    "Rx, I''m just having a bit of fun, not taking a chunk of flesh. We only promised to keep a live person, not that we couldn''t touch. Besides, the vice-captain and the boys all had their turn; why shouldn''t I taste the vor of these richdies and misses. Hahaha..."


    "..."


    Su Lun couldn''t open his eyes.


    His mind still wasn''t capable of thinking clearly, passively receiving all this information.


    He heard the cries and anguished sobbing of women, as well as other voices.


    "Pirate lords, please, let my wife go, I''ll pay the ransom..."


    "Please don''t harm my daughter. I''ll give you all my fortune, just please stop hurting her!!!"


    "Please, I''m begging you, stop... please... stop..."


    "..."


    The pleas were futile, met only with scornfulughter.


    And in that moment,


    Su Lun felt waves of intense negative emotions so poignant that they pierced the softest parts of his heart, bleeding him dry.


    Surrounded by the ugliness of humanity, the depravedughter echoing with greed and desire unlocked the chains that suppressed the demon in the depths of his soul.


    Suddenly!


    Su Lun regained control over his body.


    He opened his eyes.


    But... his eyes were filled with brutality!


    Those were terrifying eyes, burning with red fury.


    It was as if the will residing within the body was no longer human, but a hidden demon.


    ....


    Su Lun gasped for air, finding his world tinted through a thick red veil, warping reality itself.


    It seemed he was in the cabin of arge ship where dim candlelight illuminated theyout of the chamber.


    Wooden crates, iron bars, walls, lights, shadows... all appeared as if they had melted under extreme heat, twisted and contorted.


    The main consciousness couldn''tprehend the information his eyes received, nor could it think rationally.


    Memories, jumbled like a scattered puzzle, slowly began to piece together, rising to the surface of his mind.


    I must have died, killed by that guy...


    No, it seems I am still alive...


    Weakness is the original sin, isn''t it...


    Is this hell...


    What''s happened to me...


    I seem to have gained tremendous power...


    I''ve also lost something...


    My consciousness, it''s as if I am going mad...


    Damn it!


    Why am I so irritable!!!


    Listening to the wretched cries near him, Su Lun''s gaze slowly focused.


    His thoughts, mushy like paste, weighed him down like a giant mountain. The heavy breathing in his throat sounded like the roar of a wild beast.


    Instinct took over his body as he tilted his head, trying to identify the source of his restlessness.


    At that nce, his vision gradually converged to see several people still held in the adjacent cells separated by iron bars.


    A middle-aged man with a fat face and big ears was clutching his head and sobbing bitterly as he begged for mercy...


    In the corner cabin, the lewd grins on the faces of two pirates and the "heh heh" soundsing from their mouths... were so grating on the ears.


    A young girl, not very old,y there on her back, tears of helplessness and humiliation streaming from the corners of her eyes.


    That numb gaze happened to meet Su Lun''s pair of blood-red eyes.


    There was barely a ripple of emotion; the stare was as lifeless as a corpse''s.


    Seeing that gaze of despair, Su Lun not only felt no surge of emotion, but a cry of morbid delight rose on his lips, "Such delightful despair..."


    The emotions of despair seemed to nourish some evil soil at the bottom of his heart, and he let out a sinister "kekeke"ugh from his throat.


    In an instant, bizarre phenomena abruptly urred!


    It was as if some terrifying will had descended upon the cabin, suddenly overpowering everyone with a spine-chilling sensation.


    The whole cabin suddenly fell silent.


    The fat middle-aged man stopped his crying and pleading, turning his head to look over...


    Even the two pirates suddenly felt a chill down their spines, and they froze and turned their heads to look over...


    And then, they all watched in unison as behind the young man shackled in chains, an unbelievable scene appeared!


    It was a phantom of Death holding a ck scythe, ethereal and insubstantial!


    Underneath the cloak was endless darkness.


    The moment the phantom appeared, it was as if the gates of hell had opened; death hung heavy in therge cabin. That indescribable will of terror descended like thousands of poison snakes creeping up their spines, choking the life out of the people in the room...


    Su Lun''s blood-red eyes stared at the two pirates, his face sporting a demonic grin;


    The two pirates also stared at him, frozen in shock.


    This exchange of gazes, as if they had seen some "great terror," locked their eyes wide open in horror.


    In an instant, their bodies seemed to have been drained of color, turning ashen.


    A foul stench of urine and feces wafted through the air as the breath of life fled in an instant.


    With just one look, the two pirates were literally scared to death on the spot!


    .....


    Having killed the two pirates, the restless emotion in Su Lun''s heart was vented, and the red glow in his eyes faded somewhat.


    His rationality also took a brief respite, and he suppressed the surging frenzy of thoughts, beginning to ponder the situation.


    He was suddenly clear about his current condition.@@novelbin@@


    This sensation was very familiar to him.


    Like numerous times before, negative emotions had taken over his body.


    But this time, it was worse.


    Su Lun had the ability to control his emotions.


    Before, he had used this method to suppress a multitude of negative emotions.


    To put it in perspective, he had used ten parts of rationality to imprison ny parts of negative emotion.


    Later on, after learning mental secret techniques, those ny parts of negative emotion had be nourishment for assaulting his brain.


    But now...


    He guessed that he still had ten parts rationality, while those "unknown emotions" in his brain totaled up to a thousand, ten thousand parts!


    Each type of negative emotion was like an instinctual desire: murder, hatred, violence, lewdness, irritation, depression, fear...


    Once, these emotions were like "negative personalities" confined deep within Su Lun.


    And now, each one was as strong as a giant, each capable of easily tearing through the bars of their cage to break free!


    Rationality was like a dam holding back an apocalyptic flood, feeble as paper, always on the verge of copse.


    ....


    "I have been resurrected?"


    Su Lun finally understood what was happening to him.


    He didn''t know how long he had been unconscious, but his mind was currently filled with numerous violent emotions.


    His thoughts shifted, and he remembered the aftermath of using the "Thanatos''s Puppet."


    Those extras in his mind were the whispers of demons, the powerful demonic secret techniques, and potentially the powers that induce humans to be ves of strength...


    That was information beyond his brain''s current capacity for processing, in the realm of super cognition.


    "So the cost of using that sealed item was this great..."


    Su Lun didn''t feel much relief at having survived the ordeal.


    His current state was still crazily hovering on the edge of death.


    It was also fortunate that he knew how to control emotions, as well as having these moments to think for himself. Otherwise, if were anyone else, they might have already be a "ve" to their desires upon resurrection.


    I seemed to have stared two pirates to death just now...


    What power was that?


    ...


    Su Lun had no time to think in detail as he felt the violent emotions threatening to surge back. He quickly nced at his attribute panel, wanting to see what had happened.


    But before he saw anything else, he immediately noticed a ring negative status: [Spiritual Power Aberration]!


    "My spiritual power has be aberrant?"


    Su Lun finally understood what that uncontroble stream of thought was all about.


    If he didn''t find a solution, his rational mind would be dispersed by that flood of negative emotions.


    Su Lun''s emotional suppression method, "couldn''t hold back" those negative emotions anymore!


    However, this mutation in spiritual power wasn''t all bad.


    On the panel, Su Lun discovered that the number for his spiritual power had jumped from 200+ to 700+, more than tripling!


    Under normal circumstances, even with a top-level secret technique like the "Starry Sky Visualization Technique," it would have taken him several years or even more than a decade to achieve such an exaggerated figure.


    This was the mutation of the mind!


    Su Lun found that the "willow-tree-like" spiritual power in his mind had also be very vigorous, with roots twisted and entwined, crazily growing into a monstrous tree...


    That spiritual power was strong and... dangerous!


    He simply couldn''t control it!


    Su Lun temporarily managed to suppress those negative emotions, but he was aware that this would notst long.


    To control this spiritual power, he had to be stronger.


    He looked at his dark spiritual power value again, which had skyrocketed from 9 W+ to the physical saturation limit of 13 W.


    During the time he was unconscious, that will had taken control of the "Heart of Isaac''s Alchemy" and absorbed frantically. Probably because of the "X serum," it had not mutated.


    "Terrible state... The price of resurrection is indeed not small. However, haven''t I now met the conditions for integrating the ''Life Usurper''s Tri-Color Mask''?"


    Immediately, Su Lun decided that he must advance as soon as possible.


    Only by advancing to the third tier could he possibly suppress the mutated spiritual power with his reason!


    But just as he started to struggle, he suddenly heard a "tter" of chains. Turning his head, he then discovered that both his hands were bound by runic chains, and he couldn''t feel the dark spiritual power within his body at all.


    "Anti-magic chains!"


    Su Lun immediately realized what was happening, his gaze sharpening.


    Such chains were forged from "anti-magic stone" and specifically used to bind professionals.


    With his hands chained, unable to break free or form seals, he couldn''t do anything at all!


    ....


    Su Lun looked at his empty fingers. Several storage rings and "Sereia''s Blessing" were nowhere to be found.


    In an instant, he guessed what had happened.


    He must have been floating at sea, saved by a group of pirates. Then... those fellows didn''t kill him but imprisoned him in a cell instead.


    "Probably because of the runic treasure boxes..."


    Su Lun sneered.


    He possessed Spatial Ability, and he had stored all his valuable items in a folded space.


    But as a diversion, he also wore several storage rings.


    Moreover, Su Lun had anticipated the possibility of falling unconscious and being "looted," so he had taken some precautions.


    In the storage rings, he ced some valuable items, as well as several "runic treasure boxes" that required special passwords to open.


    Those boxes were very sensitive; forcibly opening them would instantly destroy everything inside.


    These were "bait."


    Su Lun had imagined that if he were looted, the looters, in search of wealth, would likely kill him after taking the storage rings.


    But if there were a few treasure boxes that looked obviously valuable, greed would make people more curious about their contents.


    Just like now.


    The pirates'' greed gave Su Lun the chance to wake up.


    ....


    "Advancing is urgent..."


    Su Lun tested the chains tightly fastened around his wrists; they were very sturdy.


    Without dark spiritual power, his strength was reduced by eighty percent, making escape impossible.


    The pirates were cautious enough, probably to guard against such an eventuality.


    Advancing required dark spiritual power, which meant he had to get rid of these anti-magic chains.


    Now that he had already killed two pirates, there were probably more above. Dy could lead to moreplications!


    If the chains couldn''t be broken, then something else had to be...


    Seeing this, a ruthless glint shed in Su Lun''s eyes.


    His body''s strength had reached the standards of a third-tier muscle profession, and while twenty percent of his strength was insufficient to break the runic chains, it was enough to tear off his own arm!


    Having made his decision, he rxed the muscles in his left arm and then pulled hard. The next instant, a "crack" sound that made one''s scalp tingle echoed through the cabin.


    The intense pain turned Su Lun''splexion to a ghastly pale instantly, as sweat dropped from his forehead like soybeans.


    But as the humerus dislocated from the joint cavity, and despite the sound of tissue tearing, it did not break!


    "Not enough force!"


    Su Lun did not back down; instead, his gaze revealed a fierce smile. In the next moment, he forcefully kicked against the cage and thrust his body in the opposite direction with all his might.


    Then came a terrifying ripping sound, "tear," followed by a spray of blood.


    There was a tear!


    Yet some tissue still connected the arm and shoulder joint,


    He gritted his teeth and pulled again,


    Violently tearing his entire left arm off!


    His extremely high agility gave him precise control over his muscles, so much so that when his arm tore, hepressed the blood vessels with his muscles, instantly stopping the heavy bleeding.


    Having torn off one arm, Su Lun gasped for air, taking a few seconds to allow his body to adapt to the shock of the severe injury.


    Then, without any hesitation, he used the same method as before.


    With a fierce stamp of his foot, this time, his right arm was torn off in one go!


    Having freed himself from the "anti-magic chains," Su Lun''s face, albeit weak, uncontrobly produced a ghastly chuckle, "heh heh heh..."


    The scent of blood excited his body even further.


    Also, because he immediately felt the flow of dark spiritual power within him!


    ....


    The fat overseer from the cell next door belonging to the "Tulip Commerce Guild" waspletely bbergasted.


    He had not yet recovered from the shock of the grim reaper''s shadow that loomed over the young man...


    When he witnessed two pirates inexplicably drop dead on the spot...


    And then,


    He saw the young man in front of him tear off his own arms in an extremely bloody manner!


    My god, is this guy a devil?


    Too many scenes that overturned the overseer''s understanding appeared before him, leaving him incapable of thinking.


    He would rather believe this was all a nightmare than ept what he saw as reality.


    And when he saw the sinister spidernces emerging behind the young man in the cell next door, who had torn off his arms, he was no longer shocked, but just murmured numbly, "It really is a nightmare..."


    ....


    Releasing the alchemy prosthetics required dark spiritual power to circte in a specific way, the purpose of the sorcerer''s seals was to shorten this process and form a specific conditioned reflex in the body.


    Having no arms would work too, but the process would be very slow.


    Su Lun, with both arms torn off, quickly drew a Hexagram Alchemy Array on the ground using his feet dipped in his own blood. After catching his breath for a good while, he finally formed the special cirction of dark spiritual power required to unlock the prosthetics.


    The bloody array beneath his feet lit up, and the spidernces with eight arms manifested behind Su Lun.


    It was at this moment that he finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    The eight-arm spidernces now acted as Su Lun''s own hands, controble at will. The sharpnce tips broke the rune chains, then picked up the severed arms. He took out wound-cleaning potions from his storage space and sewed them directly onto his shoulders.


    Although Su Lun was not a medical practitioner, he was proficient in all kinds of surgery. Especially after assimting the dissection notes of the forensic doctor Gerald, neural and vascr suturing was not a problem for him at all.


    And there was another advantage.


    The wounds were very fresh, and the activity of the "X Serum" would automatically connect arge amount of severed tissue.


    The tiny hairs on the spidernces controlled the silver threads as they flew rapidly and precisely, stitching the wound. At this time, Su Lun took out two puppets covered in green runes.


    These were "Healing Dolls," puppets solidified with a high-level life alchemy array, very costly.


    They were for emergency use when it was inconvenient to set up an array.


    As soon as the dolls were taken out, the green healing light enveloped Su Lun''s entire body, and the wounds visibly healed.


    His two severed limbs, which had already lost their color, now felt sensation in the fingers.


    Not daring to dy, Su Lun, while the spidernces were still dealing with the wounds, had already taken out the materials needed to advance to the third tier and began setting up the advancement array...


    Because he noticed that when he smelled blood, that violent wave of negative spiritual power stirred up again!


    Purple crystals were ced at the feet of the Hexagram Star, and an ink made from a mixture of mercury and green ghost copper drew out the images of scales, ouroboros, and thorn flowers...


    The materials prepared in advance allowed Su Lun to quickly set up the advancement array.


    And just at this moment, his fingers had basically recovered their mobility. He formed the sorcerer''s seal, and the array''s purple light red up, enveloping Su Lun within it.


    He took out the "Life Usurper''s Tri-color Mask" and ced it in the midst of the purple light, softly reciting a spell, "Adhering to thew of equivalent exchange, praise the glory of the original creator, witness the miracle of creation through alchemy..."


    In an instant, the light shone brightly, and the mask slowly melted into the array.


    ....


    His current mental state was like a bucket.


    Before, the bucket was filled with gentle water, but now, it was brimming with a full bucket of fiery magma.


    The seething magma would bubble out from time to time, always on the brink of burning through the bucket.


    Unable to dispose of the magma, he could only reinforce the thickness of the bucket sides as a temporary solution.


    Advancing to the third tier was the only choice.


    But transcendent advancement was a process that required time, and while Su Lun''s advancement ritual was still in progress, sudden rustling footsteps were heard above the sealed hold.


    It seemed that the people above came down to check, thinking that the two dead pirates had been gone for too long.


    However, Su Lun was not surprised at all.


    He couldn''t see them, but he had already sensed those clusters of "Soul Fires."


    At the moment he had broken free from the anti-magic chains, he discovered he had acquired a new ability¡ª[Soul Perception]!


    Even with closed eyes, he could clearly sense things with souls within a certain range.


    Combined with his own Spatial Ability, it was like using an X-ray device, instantly understanding the entire structure of the pirate ship and the arrangement of its crew.


    There were three decks on the ship, with more than eighty pirates.


    The hold contained him and the three captives.


    In the middle cabin, there were over forty people, and more than thirty on the deck.


    Judging from the strength of the souls, Su Lun guessed that the strongest practitioners on the ship were likely third-tiers.


    Not just humans, but a parrot, two monkeys, three snakes, and hundreds of rats...


    As long as it had a soul, it was crystal clear.


    Su Lun nced at his panel and confirmed that his [S-004-Reaper] talent had awakened for the second time!

 Chapter 237 Section 2 Reapers Ability

    "Pablo, Gene, it''s time to switch guard! Where did you two run off to?"


    "Heh heh, stop yelling, those two guys are probably enjoying themselves in the cabin with some captives..."


    "...."


    As Su Lun listened to the footstepsing from the staircase, his face was expressionless.


    In his "Soul Perception," the two human-shaped fires of the soul were not strong.


    Although he hadn''t seen the people himself, based on the ratio of professionals on the pirate ship, these should be two first-tier professionals.


    Shortly after the footsteps began, he watched a pirate dressed in brown hemp clothing climb down the stairs from the middle deck.


    The moment the man touched the ground, he sensed something was wrong.


    A thick stench of blood pervaded the hold, along with a diforting smell that unsettled both body and mind.


    The pirates were familiar with this scent.


    It was the aroma of hormones in disarray, emitted after someone dies of fright...


    The storage was cluttered with various goods and debris, significantly limiting their line of sight. Focusing his gaze, he then saw Su Lun soaked in the light of the alchemy formation.


    Just as the man was about to yell something out, at that moment, a pale blue thread silently appeared around his neck.


    The thread encountered no resistance, lightly slicing through and smoothly decapitating him.


    Above this man, another pirate was about toe down the stairs when suddenly he felt his trouser leg wet, as if soaked by some warm liquid.


    Looking down, he saw a headless corpse and the fresh blood pouring out.


    The pirate on the stairs, frightened, tried to climb up, but it was already toote. A strand of hair, like a python, silently coiled around his leg and with a pull, the man plummeted into the hold, making a "thud" and then lying still.


    ....


    The Reaper wielded the thread to kill two pirates, but Su Lun paid them no further attention.


    As expected, themotion had already caught the attention of the pirates in the upper cabin.


    He controlled the dark spiritual power to assault the stage barriers, focusing intently on merging the advancement materials. The supernatural power from the "Life Usurper''s Tricolor Mask" was being decoded by the formation and slowly integrating into his body.


    It would take some more time.


    Indeed, hearing the noise, a loud shouting immediately came from above, "Hey! Rodolf, Philho, what''s going on down there?"


    A few moments of silence.


    "Send some people to check!"


    "Yes, Captain!"


    "..."


    Not hearing a response immediately alerted the pirates, sending a barrage of footsteps ttering down from above.


    Listening to thismotion, not only did Su Lun''s face show no signs of panic, but his eyes also glinted with a dangerous red gleam, "Heh heh..."


    That restless, frenzied emotion, eagerly anticipating the ughter and bloodshed.


    For others, advancement could not be disturbed or distracted, but for him, who could multitask, it posed no big problem.


    While advancing, he formed a sorcerer''s seal in his hands, and instantly a cross appeared above his head.


    The sharp enchanted thread sliced through the prison bars, and dozens of sinister dolls "ck, ck" walked out, lurking around, their faces grinning maliciously at the nearby staircase.


    The fully armed pirates had just jumped down when, without any chance for them to probe, the puppets surged forward in a frenzied attack.


    Blood sprayed wildly in an instant.


    "Damn it, something''s wrong!"


    "Pointy hazard, quickly notify the deputy leader!"


    "..."


    The pirates swarmed in, and the bodies piled higher and higher.


    After all, this was on a ship, the pirates dared not set the ship on fire or unleash any powerful techniques.


    For a time, the whole pirate ship''s hold resembled a hell on earth, with limbs and severed arms scattered everywhere.@@novelbin@@


    The copious flowing blood umted in the base of the hold, quickly congealing into a thick dark red sma, making a sticky "st, st" sound when trodden upon by leather boots.


    The entire ship was in chaos.


    Su Lun truly became a blood-red eyed killer, the dense scent of blood rushing into his nostrils brought him a spine-tingling pleasure simr to drawing threads.


    The raging emotions in his sea of consciousness boiled over,pletely suppressing his rationality, dominating his body to release its instinctual desires.


    Kill!


    A frenzy of ughter!


    His vision was filled with red.


    As his gaze turned towards those pirates again, Su Lun''s face bore a sickly sinister smirk, and the next moment, a tingling willpower abruptly descended upon the cabin!


    Behind him, the shadow of Death appeared once again.


    The previous time, Su Lun''s consciousness wasn''t clear and he was unaware of what had happened.


    But now, he understood.


    From the reflections in the pirates'' eyes, he saw a terrifying shadow looming over himself.


    This anomaly he had previously seen on Thousand''s body¡ªthe second awakening of the "Rakshasa Woman" also exhibited a simr manifest shadow.


    Clearly, this was the anomaly of the "Reaper"!


    As soon as the deathly shadow appeared, Su Lun felt his momentum surge to new heights. He watched as the pirates opposite him disyed looks of horror. Those of lower professions even copsed on the spot, either fainting or dropping dead...


    Some kind of "intimidation" ability?


    Seeing this, he understood why the two pirates had died instantly upon his nce earlier.


    Thews of death contained within this deathly shadow attacked their souls directly!


    Su Lun thought of something and remembered the feeling he experienced at the moment the deathly shadow first appeared.


    Moreover, what was more astonishing was that, under this state, the "gray mist" emerging from the corpses looked entirely different than before!


    Previously, it was merely an irregr, thin mist, but now he could clearly see a distinct,plete humanoid soul.


    Su Lun guessed that this was a new ability emerging after the second awakening of the "Reaper".


    But there was no time to confirm it, as those wild, instinctive emotions had already taken over control of his body.


    All they wanted was to kill everyone in sight.


    With great struggle, Su Lun''s rationale barely clung to onest thought, his hands trembling violently as he pinched the sorcerer''s seals.


    He had to seed in advancing!


    Before long, several third-tier pirates from the ship also charged down. Each of them was not weak. One had a crab w prosthesis that could easily snap steel; another had a crocodile head with a powerful biting force capable of exploding a doll with a single bite; and another had the talent of a catfish that could spout adhesive saliva all over the cabin...


    These three, leading arge group of pirates, immediately shed into battle with the puppet army.


    Although Su Lun was in the midst of advancing and couldn''t dodge, the "Puppet Theater" known to be unrivaled among its tier was not undeservingly named. In this narrow cabin, the formations could fully cover, preventing anyone from approaching the prison where he was.


    The battle caused intense shockwaves that surged one higher than the other, like being hit by cannon fire, sending wood chips flying everywhere, and the whole pirate cabin in disarray.


    Su Lun hadpletely gone mad with killing!


    Threads continuously spread, enveloping the entire ship into a thick cocoon.


    He didn''t just want to protect himself but to kill everyone here.


    Finally, the battle ended.


    Except for a few pirates on the deck who saw the bad situation and jumped into the sea early, the cabin floor was littered with corpses.


    The group of pirates could neither kill nor oust the undying puppets, and they were all worn to death within the Puppet Theater.


    Su Lun also merged with the advancement materials, sessfully ascending to the third tier.


    ....


    After releasing that burst of insane negative emotions, Su Lun finally got a chance to breathe.


    He also discovered that releasing some pressure appropriately actually greatly alleviated the agitation.


    And with the sessful advancement to the third tier, his control over the amplified spiritual power helped him subdue those restless negative emotions and let his rationality take back control of his body.


    "I guess it won''t erupt again anytime soon..."


    Su Lun took a deep breath, his expression still tense.


    This was much worse than his previous situations.


    Previously it was just some simple negative emotions, but now, these things in his consciousness were not just his own, but also the whispers of some indescribable existence. Mixed in were countless insights he couldn''t understand at his current stage. It was like sealing a massive database that could drive one insane if it surged in all at once.


    This was a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.


    With the pressing crisis temporarily relieved, Su Lun turned his attention back to the "gray mist" on the bodies of the distant pirates.


    Just before, clear humanoid souls were visible, but now they had reverted to ordinary gray mist?


    He casually stripped a soul shard from a second-tier pirate, not much different from before, gaining only some scattered information.


    "Was it because of that shadow of death?"


    Su Lun thought of something and immediately decided to give it a try.


    He closed his eyes and carefully recalled the feeling when the shadow had appeared before.


    After a moment,


    he abruptly opened his eyes.


    Just then, that cold, mysterious feeling descended upon the cabin once more.


    This time, Su Lun clearly felt that elusive sensation, whispering, "So it''s true... the legendary ''Law of Death'', one of the supremews!"


    He couldn''t precisely describe the feeling.


    Not dwelling on thisw understanding that required extensive contemtion, Su Lun looked around the cabin.


    At this moment, his view of the world was once again shrouded in a bloody hue.


    Looking again, the gray mist on the bodies indeed showedplete humanoid forms once more.


    He saw "Death," sawplete souls!


    "It is indeed so."


    Su Lun walked over, trying to test what was different about harvesting with this new ability.


    This trial sent a shock through him.


    At this moment, the mist was not directly absorbed, and at the instant of contact, Su Lun "saw" countless pieces of information within that soul.


    It was like flipping open the table of contents of a book; he saw densely packed, categorized memory fragments.


    The immense volume of information would overwhelm an ordinary person.


    But Su Lun swiftly scanned through it.


    Previously mastering ten lines at a nce, now he mastered a hundred!


    Perhaps it was an ability gained from advancing three levels?


    A thought shed through Su Lun''s mind.


    Then he looked towards that information.


    ''Within the soul, there is a segment of "Jack Davis''s" daily information today,pleteness 99%.''


    ''Within the soul, there is a segment of profound memory information,pleteness 85%.''


    ''Within the soul, there is a segment about musket skills information,pleteness 81%.''


    ''Within the soul, there is an information segment: "..."''


    The memory fragments with higherpleteness were ced further up.


    But the majority were useless daily information.


    Su Lun, still somewhat puzzled by these listings, changed his mind and randomly clicked the first one to see what it was all about.


    Then a series of images shed through his mind like glimpses: ''Ate a piece of bread this morning, then yed cards, losing five hundred lira; ate pickled vegetables stew with sea fish for lunch, yed cards, lost another seven hundred; heard some noise, big fight, Ah Wei died...''


    Su Lun immediately processed the information he obtained, which were this body''s activities today.


    This was almost entirely useless garbage information.


    However, Su Lun was extremely overjoyed!


    Because...


    The stripped data were not like ss shard-like memory fragments!


    These wereplete pieces of information!


    Once this information was stripped, the soul mist on this corpse noticeably dimmed a lot.


    Su Lun thought of something and immediately tried to strip a few other skill-based entries, and immediately acquired: ''Gained "Rough Musketeer Arts of Ten Years Experience", gunmanship experience +13.''


    With this stripping, the soul shardpletely vanished.


    "So that''s how it is!"


    With this trial, Su Lun finally confirmed what uses a Reaper had after a second awakening.


    If previously the soul stripping was like a blind box lottery, randomly drawing a pile of fragments,


    now it was like having the prizes fully listed out, each oneplete, for you to choose at will (subject to soulpleteness and energy impact)!


    This ability... was simply heaven-defying!


    Countless images shed through Su Lun''s mind in an instant.


    Suppose he encountered that fifth-tier professional again who had stripped the "Diamond" skill, he couldpletely ignore all other trash information and directly strip theplete "Golden Element Law Comprehension".


    Then, what he''d control would not be any ipletews but a fifth-tier professional''spletewprehension (theoretically, though actually some would be lost due to death and soul copse).


    This also meant that if he nned to pursue the golden element advancement path in the future, as long as the materials and dark spiritual power were sufficient, he could advance to the fifth tier almost without any bottlenecks!


    And any other skills.


    For example:


    The sixth-tier Wind-element professional who had tried to kill him before, stripping his Wind Law, assuming he could be killed...


    Those mechanics who died unjustly at ck Reef that he encountered, he could solely strip their mechanical techniques, no need for trash fragments, could instantly be a Grandmaster of Mechanics...


    If someday he encountered "King of the North Sea" Oleg, stripping his eighth-tier abilities, he would skyrocket in a moment!


    Although it''s highly unlikely, theoretically, it''spletely feasible!


    ....


    "This is really a blessing in disguise..."


    Su Lun tested out the new abilities of the [Death Reaper], his eyes barely concealing his joy.


    Dying once was already picking up a new lease on life, but he''d never expected such a huge pleasant surprise.


    From what he now knew, a talent''s second awakening included [Soul Perception], [Death''s Gaze], [Directional Stripping], [Law of Death]... four areas of ability enhancement.


    He even felt that after digesting it, there might be more.


    With this thought, the side effect of mental aberration suddenly seemed not so uneptable.


    Su Lun''s heart immediately felt much lighter.


    And now was clearly not the time to be lost in thought, as the soul on the corpse continued to dissipate with time.


    Su Lun hurriedly went on to strip a few pirate leaders.


    If it had been before, with so many dozens of pirates, excluding repetitive and garbage information, the useful data that could be stripped would have been very limited.


    But now, it was a huge harvest!


    "You stripped the Soul Shard from ''Yinmo Bolton'' and obtained the mechanical blueprint [Deep Sea Diving Scuba Design]."


    "You stripped the Soul Shard from ''Tom Nix'' and learned ''the coordinates of Pirate City''."


    "You stripped the Soul Shard from ''XXX'' and mastered a part of the ''twenty years of sailing experience''."


    "You learned about ''Pirate ng,'' ''famous pirates of the North Sea,'' ''the legend of the Pirate King''s treasure,'' ''covert sailing routes,'' ''Devil''s Sea,'' ''the identification of three thousand marine species''..."


    "..."


    Su Lun chose skills and content that interested him.


    Even a low-ranking henchman could fill some of his gaps in knowledge.


    ....


    Just when he was joyfully stripping away, a small ident urred.


    Su Lun suddenly felt a moment of palpitations, and before he understood what was happening, he immediately heard that low, chant-like whisper near his ear, which made one''s mind wander as if the soul was drifting away from the body.


    Su Lun''s expression changed in an instant, and he quickly sat down in meditation.


    After panting for quite a while, he managed to suppress the surging emotions and guessed something, "Is this what happens when I activate the second stage of the Reaper state, hearing whispers?"


    Withoutpletely solving the problem of psychological distortion, using the second stage of Reaper must be done with caution.


    Thinking this, Su Lun muttered to himself, "It''s a pity themunication ring was also taken by the pirates; otherwise, I could ask my senior sister how to handle this issue..."


    He wasn''t too worried about fixing the psychological distortions.


    His senior sister, being Isaac''s daughter, was experienced, knowledgeable, and well-learned.


    She might not be able to solve it, but she most likely knew the method.


    If she didn''t know, there was no use in Su Lun worrying about it all day by himself.


    However, themunication ring was not avable, so he couldn''t contact her for now.


    He had just learned from the stripped information that the leader of a group called "Red Shark Pirates", along with a few elites, had gone to "Blizzard City" to extort a ransom.


    Su Lun''s storage ring,municator, and the [Blessings of Cereia] were all on that guy.


    "I need to find him first and get my things back as soon as possible."


    The thought shed through Su Lun''s mind.


    ....


    Aside from a few who jumped into the sea, all the pirates on board were killed.


    Su Lun left the cabin strewn with corpses and walked onto the deck.


    The fresh sea breeze blew over, dispersing the thick smell of blood from his body.


    Seeing the blue sky and the sea, Su Lun felt a sense of release in body and mind.


    Thend was at the edge of his vision, about half a day''s journey away.


    The sunlight shone on his body, warm andforting. It felt as though it dispelled bad luck and reached into his soul. At that moment, Su Lun truly felt alive.


    Only those who have experienced death can appreciate thefort in his heart at this moment.


    But suddenly¡ª


    "Bang" "Bang", two gunshots unexpectedly rang out from the cabin.


    Su Lun''s gaze slightly narrowed.


    When he hade out earlier, he had casually opened the cargo hold''s prison door, but those three hadn''te out.


    Sensing the two extinguished soul fires, Su Lun knew that the mother and daughter who had been abused by the pirates had taken their own lives.


    Without waiting much longer, a third gunshot also sounded.


    The middle-aged man''s soul fire extinguished as well.


    In that instant, a wave of negative emotions surged to his mind, a red gleam shed in Su Lun''s eyes, and it felt like there was a stifled rage in his heart, "Deserving death..."


    A momentter, rity returned to his eyes.


    He didn''t rush to set sail.


    He nned to make an alchemical item simr to a [Life Usurper Tri-Color Mask] to help suppress the distorted spiritual power.


    He checked his storage space and, not finding suitable materials, settled on a piece of Mithril alloy. This metal could bear spiritual power and various energies, especially important was that if thick enough, it could withstandplex rune engravings.


    "Alchemy ¡¤ Smelting!"


    With a Suren Sorcerer''s Seal made, he added a few curse crystals, and a red glow intensely shone. Therge piece of Mithril alloy in the alchemy formation rapidly melted under high temperature and, after adding a few auxiliary materials and a bit of tinkering, it took on the rough outline of a mask.


    Soon the metal cooled, and Su Lun was holding a silver mask.


    With an eight-arm spear spread out, several carving knives operated simultaneously, and he began to attempt engraving "spirit-type" runes onto the material.


    Before starting, he figured that to suppress the vtile distorted spiritual power inside him, he would need at least a fifth-level rune.


    But he was only barely proficient with fourth-level rune scripts; engraving a fifth-level rune was out of the question. He thought of copying a fourth-level rune script from a book, testing if it would achieve the same effect.


    He was very aware of himself and had already prepared mentally for a very low sess rate and multiple failures.


    Unexpectedly, the control he felt as the knife went down surprised him.


    With this attempt, Su Lun discovered that the "multi-mind multi-tasking" ability he had gained from advancing to tier three was also a super big surprise!

 Chapter 238 : 238

    Su Lun had tried before, and even with the ability to multitask, his sess rate inpletely drawing fourth-order spiritual rune carvings would not exceed 20%.


    This was already the normal sess rate for those regr rune masters.


    Of course, if he were willing to spend several months carefully carving, the sess rate would be much higher.


    But now he did not have that time.


    His distorted spiritual power might explode at any time, turning him into aplete madman.


    The mask needed to be made as soon as possible.


    Su Lun could only try to use the eight-armed spider spear to simultaneously carve the runes he needed in a short time.


    He had prepared himself mentally for multiple failures, but this moment turned out to be unexpectedly smooth.


    ....


    The essence of "multitasking" was still Su Lun alone, controlling various tools for carving. But no matter what, it was still distracting; it was impossible to focus all his attention on one point.


    However, now, after advancing to the third tier, Su Lun had mastered a new ability¡ªmultimind multitasking.


    He had noticed during battle that this ability allowed him to control puppets very smoothly.


    But it was also expected.


    This was the most important reason he chose this line of advancement.


    It was an ability with a very highpatibility with Puppet Masters.


    Su Lun had thought it only amplified hisbat abilities, but now, he was experiencing other benefits it brought!


    Each spider spear''s control over the carving knife had reached an extremely intricate delicacy; the eight spider spears, plus his hands, were like ten Su Luns focusing intently on carving, making every line precise and smooth.


    The advanced engraving techniques that Su Lun had previously found difficult to control were now effortlessly executed.


    It was as if his brain had suddenly mastered those not-so-familiar techniques.


    Having realized this, and guessing something, Su Lun was delighted, "Does ''multimind multitasking'' utilize the super high development of the brain domain?"


    He had seen introductions about such extraordinary abilities before; the ordinary "multimind multitasking" ability just inly increased the "number" of thoughts that could be utilized.


    But not like now, where it directly improvedprehension and learning abilities, enhancing the "quality."


    Su Lun knew his condition differed from what the books described.


    The only exnation was that he had now reached a super high brain domain development of 16%!


    To put it in perspective, Su Lun''s previous brain development was like an AE86 equipped with a racing engine. Although it was somewhat faster, the car could not fully utilize the engine''s effectiveness. But now, the multitasking ability was like swapping a broken car''s four wheels for racing tires, upgrading the brakes, suspension, and dashboard as well. Its effectiveness was instantly realized!


    The final effect was not additive or doubled, but it increased exponentially.


    This advancement indeed brought him a huge surprise.


    Even as thoughts whirled in Su Lun''s mind, it did not affect his rune carving at all.


    Even because he had understood this, he had fewer reservations; the spider spears carved even faster.


    The "sizzle, sizzle" sound of metal being finely cut drew near his ears asrge portions of rune grooves were engraved on the metal mask. After embedding rune crystals, applying rune paint, throwing it into the alchemy array for annealing, and coating...


    In less than half an hour, a fourth-tier alchemy product appeared before his eyes.


    Upon inspection, it even reached the "rough silver-grade" quality.


    .....


    "Is it done?"


    Looking at the finished product in his hands, Su Lun also found it hard to believe.


    He tried it on his face; a cool sensation instantly surged to his forehead. In that moment, those restless spiritual powers, as if appeased, also got absorbed into the mask.


    "It really worked..."


    The effect was better than expected. Su Lun then dared to believe that he had actually crafted a fourth-tier alchemy equipment in such a short time.


    "This advancement really has brought me unexpected joy."


    Su Lun''s eyes sparkled.


    But he felt something was missing in the silver-white runic metal mask, so he took it off again.


    He thought of something, adjusted the colored enchantment paint, painted a white base on the mask, added diamond-shaped ck eyeshadow,ical tadpole red eyebrows... and that crimson, split-open smile!


    This was a "clown mask."


    As if feeling a slight resonance with the mask, a deranged smirk inadvertently flitted across Su Lun''s eyes, "This is more like it..."


    Wearing the mask, his gaze became clear again.


    He felt that, with this mask, he could probablyst a very long time.


    But he still needed to find a way topletely solve the problem.


    To solve the problem, he first had to get back themunication ring from the Mirror Organization.


    Thinking of this, Su Lun muttered to himself, "The leader of the ''Red Shark Pirate Gang,'' Boen, is an old fourth-tier professional. Getting something back from that guy doesn''t seem so easy..."


    ....


    The fourth rank is a watershed for professionals, and this level belongs to high-ranking professionals in the ground world.


    To advance to the fourth rank, one mustprehend the element barrier, which means that defense power will greatly increase; techniques below the third rank would find it hard to be lethal. Moreover, the body''s tolerance to imnted alchemy enhancements will surge, usually indicating possession of a powerful alchemy imnt.


    Su Lun carefully pondered the information he had just harvested. Boen Fritz, with a bounty of 72 million rixos and known as "Poison Frog," had strong offensive and defensive measures and several trump cards, which made him quite problematic.


    Moreover, Su Lun had just annihted his pirate crew; negotiations were likely doomed to fail.


    In the end, it would alle down to fists.


    He had just advanced to the third rank, and while he was somewhat confident in his defenses, his offensive capabilities were somewhatcking. Whether it was puppetry or spells, many techniques had not yet caught up.


    Thinking about it, the only sure means to kill that man were the ck Sickle and... a mechanical warrior?


    ....


    "Huh..."


    Suddenly, Su Lun thought of something. Pinching his sorcerer''s seals, his storage space manifested, and a high battle mecha heavilynded on the deck.


    This was naturally the [Colonel-ss Ship-Cutter IX Mech].


    Looking at this tightly integrated heavy-armored mecha, Su Lun''s gaze sharpened, his eyes revealing deep thought.


    He had already thoroughly studied the overall structure of the mecha; with the information from a stripped soul, he also had some ideas about disassembly.


    But at this moment, as he looked at this battle suit again, he feltpletely different.


    Like facing a challenging problem, he suddenly had a "solution approach."


    Su Lun slowly closed his eyes. In his mind, it was as if each part of the battle suit in front of him automatically started to break down, with mechanical sounds of "click," "click" echoing beside him.


    Then "boom," "boom," "boom"...


    Time and again, the suit self-destructed due to an incorrect disassembly method.


    Reassemble...


    Disassemble...


    Explode...


    Reassemble again...


    At this moment, Su Lun''s thoughts raced at high speed.


    If one approach didn''t work, he would switch to another.


    This miraculous scene yed out in Su Lun''s mind.


    He knew this unprecedented mental capability was also a new ability brought on by his advancement to the third rank.


    A flurry ofplex thoughts shed by.


    After countless attempts,


    finally,


    Su Lun found a feasible possibility.


    He suddenly opened his eyes, realizing, "Right, I must remove three parts of the armor simultaneously to avoid triggering the self-destruction mechanism!"


    Su Lun suddenly understood.


    The disassembly method of this mech was somewhat like the "Kongming lock" from his previous life; finding specificponents or forcefully disassembling multipleponents simultaneously required skill and finesse.


    Having deduced the correct way to disassemble the mech, Su Lun immediately set to work.


    His spider spear controlled the two armored shoulder pads of the mech; then, he forcefully twisted a smallponent on the mechanical spine. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a metallic mechanism with a "click."


    Joy appeared on Su Lun''s face.


    Not triggering self-destruction meant he had seeded!


    He actually managed to easily remove the shoulder armor, revealing various precise mechanical parts inside.


    Once the firstponent was disassembled, the rest became much easier.


    The corpse had already decayed and was directly thrown into the sea.


    Before long, thousands of small andrgeponents were disassembled.


    They were suspended in the air by silk threads,pletely exposed to Su Lun''s eyes.


    "The mechanical armor technology of the Maphar Empire is truly exceptional¡­"


    Su Lun squinted at theponents before him, sizing up a peerless beauty without a single modest garment, all its secretsid bare before him.


    It was his first time seeing such intricate mechanical armor; every crucialponent bore a model identifier.


    [MF11 Individual Steam Boiler], [Hager II Type Explosion-Proof Air Hammer], [Magic Energy High-Frequency Oscitor], [Beo S-11 Energy Core], [T-Alloy Power Shaft], [Dragon Hunter V Mini Missile Launcher]...


    These were all top-tier military technologies that, aside from the Maphar military, were unseen anywhere else.


    Eachponent captivated Su Lun''s gaze.


    They were the core technologies of the Maphar Empire.


    True priceless treasures.


    After looking for a while, he averted his gaze.


    Without a blueprint, it was nearly impossible to manufacture such a sophisticated andplex mechanical battle armor.


    Even Su Lun did not foolishly believe he could replicate this battle armor in a short amount of time.


    These technologies would require a great deal of his time to decode in the future.


    The current priority was to transform the battle armor intobat capability.


    His mind worked furiously, and he tried again, quickly deducing how to use those mechanical devices.


    He manipted with threads, ignited the power boiler, and the machine started moving.


    Su Lun was delighted, "Perfectly intact..."


    ....


    The reason Su Lun was fixated on mechanical puppets was not only that he was a transmigrator who had witnessed the power of machinery.


    Another reason was that mechanical puppets couldpensate for many shorings of traditional puppets.


    For example, strength, defense, kic energy...


    Assume if Su Lun had a puppet swinging a de with a force of 100, then after the steam boiler was charged, it could reach 10,000.


    The two were not on the same level at all.


    To achieve a force of 10,000 with a traditional puppet, the requirements for runes and materials would be very high, and the cost would be countless times that of the steam machinery.


    This was a qualitative gap!


    Moreover, this also involved a subsequent development path.


    A brand new advancement path for a "Mechanical Puppet Master"!


    The reason Su Lun nned to integrate "Spiritual Tentacles" into his third-tier armor was precisely because of the controbility of mechanical puppets!


    The Mafa officer''s battle armor before him was controlled by a person.


    But if Su Lun inserted a corpse, he could achieve the same effect.


    Because this Mecha operated on a purely physical system, he now needed countless threads to control the mechanical puppet.


    It was arduous andplicated, and even with multitasking, he could not control many puppets at once.


    The entire process would be: Su Lun''s brain sends signals ¡úbody exerts force ¡úthreads convey force ¡úcontrol the corpse''s limbs ¡úcontrol the mechanical switches.


    While "Spiritual Tentacles" only needed one thread to control the corpse by transmitting neurological signals,pletingplex controlmands.


    The process would be simplified to: Su Lun''s brain ¡úcontrol machinery.


    This would massively increase the control efficiency and the number of controble units.


    ...


    No!


    Once the technology matured, it might not even require aplete corpse!


    If there were "Super Mechanical Warriors" with such nerve-mechanical technology, just installing a nervous system could control these mechanical battle armors!


    Su Lun thought of something, and his thoughts became more active.


    He had some knowledge of nerve mechanics in his mind, but it was iplete.


    Even!


    Not limited to humans, but anything with a nervous system.


    Such as the "Mechanical Spider" that can control eight arms;


    The "Mechanical Millipede" that can control thousands of legs;


    Or mechanical dragons, mechanical octopuses, mechanical reptiles, mechanical jellyfish, mechanical dogs...@@novelbin@@


    Any biological entity with a nervous system theoretically could be an option for the mechanical puppet''s nervous system.


    They could meet various functional demands, working in coordination duringbat.


    If such a mechanical puppet army were created, it would definitely be an invincible force.


    This was the path of the Mechanical Puppet Master that Su Lun envisioned for his future in this magical world after understanding it.


    Moreover, he was well aware that there was an endless potential in mechanical technology.


    Although the current mechanical technology was far behind the top tier of Alchemy, in the future, it might not be impossible to develop battle armors of higher order, or even divine-level mechanical forces!


    ....


    "Since Duke Raphael has mastered the nerve-mechanical technology, could it be that he has already created such a mechanical monster army?"


    With countless thoughts in his mind, Su Lun suddenly had this idea.


    He thought of the super dreadnought previously.


    Since Raphael could secretly develop such a warship, other ck technologies might also be possible.


    Su Lun was not worried at all; he was even somewhat looking forward to Duke Raphael having such capabilities.


    A grand lord like him, who could mobilize enormous societal resources, was truly the driving force behind the development of social sciences.


    Su Lun''s research capabilities might not be said to be very strong, but¡­ his harvesting ability was still quite formidable.


    If there really was advanced technology, it might have saved him a lot of time for his "ns."


    However, ns are just ns, and right now, Su Lun had many problems to solve.


    First and foremost, was to make sure he didn''t die.


    Su Lun now possessed an exaggerated learning ability, which allowed him to control the Mecha skillfully after only a short attempt.


    The Mecha, grasping the high-frequency vibrating Ship-Cutter, swung it fiercely.


    Under absolute power, any "elemental barriers" were like paper.


    Besides, the Ship-Cutter had high-frequency vibration ck technology.


    If it could cut through steel ships, couldn''t it cut through people?


    "What a pity, these specially made micro missiles, alchemy bullets and the like are consumables, used up in an instant. If only he could get his hands on some high-precision mechanical forging equipment and instruments, then he could manufacture some substitutes of the same caliber..."


    Su Lun looked towards the horizon''s coastline, with no intention of staying at sea a moment longer.


    He maneuvered the sail and began heading towards that port.


    .....


    "Blizzard City" was initially a gathering point for adventurers from the Emperor Luying empire on the Far North Ice Field.


    As more people came and went, it gradually developed into a colossal city.


    It''s covered with ice and snow all year round, with harsh climate conditions, and few ordinary residents. Those whoe and go are adventurers, merchants, fugitives, exiles, pirates, and bounty hunters.


    It is a city where adventurers converge, and although the town lord was granted the title of "Governor" by the Emperor Luying empire, it was actually not under the jurisdiction of the empire''sws and was a neutral territory.


    It is also one of the few cities that pirates don''t plunder.


    Pirates need supplies, smugglers need channels, and the trade in human ransom requires intermediaries...


    This unregted city was the perfect choice.


    Thus, the city was a mix of dragons and snakes.


    Approaching evening, the harbor of Blizzard City.


    The workers at the dock spotted a sea ship rushing towards the harbor. It was moving fast, showing no signs of lowering its sails for a dock.


    Everyone started eximing.


    "Hey, look, there''s a pirate ship docking!"


    "Don''t they know the rules? Coming to Blizzard City, don''t they know you can''t show the pirate g?"


    "Heh, probably some newbie group just set sail dreaming about bing the Pirate King every day."


    "That g looks familiar... damn, isn''t that the ''Red Shark Pirates'' ship?"


    "..."


    The sea ship barged into the harbor, damaging several ships before it came to a stop.


    Thismotion caught everyone''s attention.


    The harbor master stormed over, intending to scold these pirates who had broken the dock''s rules.


    But upon closer inspection, they shockingly discovered that there was no one on the ship?


    Some bold workers jumped aboard, entering the cabin to investigate.


    In no time, they ran out frightened, rolling and crawling.


    "Ah... so... so many dead bodies! The cabin is full of dead bodies!"


    "My God, the Red Shark crew has been wiped out! Someone killed them all!"


    "It''s terrifying, none of the bodies are intact..."


    "..."


    People then realized the reason why the ship hadn''t slowed down was that there was simply no one on it.


    To be precise, there was not a single living person!


    But then, how did a ship that required a dozen people to operate manage to sail to the port?


    Could it be haunted?


    There were plenty of stories of ghost ships at sea, and many people thought of various mysterious events.


    A creepy atmosphere spread across the dock, and the news quickly spread into the city.


    But no one noticed that, as the ship entered the harbor, a person wearing a clown mask, taking advantage of the chaos, had already teleported to a corner of the dock.


    Su Lun was in no rush to go into the city to find someone; instead, he patiently waited on the dock.


    He was certain that Boen, the leader of the Red Shark crew, woulde to investigate after hearing the news.


    Sure enough.


    It wasn''t long before he saw a burly man with a grizzled beard leading a few people to the dock.


    Having previously extracted information about the pirates, Su Lun immediately recognized those few, disguised as merchants. Seeing the main characters, a murderous, chilling smile spilled from his eyes hidden beneath the clown mask...

 Chapter 239 : 239

    "Toad" Boen led a few subordinates to the dock and looked at the all-too-familiar "Blood Shark," his expression extremely grim.


    The news that not a single person on board was left alive had already spread throughout most of Blizzard City, and as the captain, Boen was naturally furious.


    But instinct told him there was something odd about the situation. He restrained himself from boarding the ship to investigate personally and sent a subordinate instead, blending into the crowd that had gathered to watch what was happening and to enter the cabin for inspection. He and a few subordinates mixed in an inconspicuous corner and started talking.


    "Could it be that we encountered bounty hunters?"


    "That doesn''t make sense, bounty hunters are only interested in pirates with bounties, I''ve never heard of anyonemitting such acts of silencing. Could it be one of our enemies?"


    "Captain Boone, could it be a ghost incident?"


    "..."


    As Boen listened to his subordinates'' spection, his face was stern.


    Soon, the pirate who had gone aboard to check the situation came down quietly, his face very grim, and he reported softly to Boen, "Captain, the hold is full of severed limbs, all the brothers are dead..."


    Upon hearing this, Boen immediately seized upon the useful information in the report, "You mean... the bodies are concentrated in the hold?"


    The man nodded, "Yes."


    Boen''s eyes flickered with thought, and he immediately asked, "Is the person in Cell Number 2 of the hold still there?"


    The man recalled carefully and suddenly remembered, responding, "It seems... I didn''t see them."


    Since they were locked with magic-restraining chains, if dead, the body should have been there.


    But clearly, he didn''t remember seeing it, and the magic-restraining chains were broken, yet no body was seen.


    Hearing this, the people beside him also guessed what their own captain was suspecting.


    Someone asked, "Captain, you don''t suspect that guy did it? But, isn''t he just a second-tier professional?"


    "We can''t be careless."


    Boen shook his head without borating further and asked again, "Are there any other clues? Can the traces of the battle tell us who might be responsible?"


    Some great bounty hunters all have their own distinctive abilities that are highly recognizable.


    The man replied, "The battle traces at the bottom of the ship are very fierce, looking very chaotic. Mostly traces of cuts from swords."


    Boen felt somewhat relieved hearing this. "If it was a melee, then the person who acted was probably not a fifth-tier professional..."


    This would rule out a lot of troublesome big shots.


    He thought for a moment and then analyzed, "Previously, the two rings we took from that guy were appraised in the ck market as high-grade alchemical items. That guy''s background might not be simple. Seeing this situation now, I guess... probably an aplice used some method to locate his position and went to rescue him."


    Hearing this, a sidekick also regretfully said, "Damn it, had we known, we should have just killed the guy and thrown him into the sea!"


    At this point, Boen no longer dwelled on what couldn''t be changed.


    He pondered for a moment, a hint of ruthlessness appearing on his face as he said, "Now that the ship hase here, that person must also be in Blizzard City. Maybe he''s hiding in some corner watching us right now."


    Upon hearing this, the sidekick looked a bit uneasy, "Captain, what shall we do?"


    Boen snorted coldly, "Don''t worry, no one dares to start a fight in the city. Besides, if he''s only a fourth-tier, it''s still uncertain who would kill whom."


    Since he wasn''t a fifth-tier, he also felt somewhat confident.


    After a pause, Boen''s face showed a trace of ferocity, and he added, "We can''t just wait around either. Inform the ''smuggling gang'' guys to find this person first and see who he is. Humph! Even if a ''legendary bounty hunter''es here, he must lie low. Whoever killed our Red Shark crew, I won''t let them off!"


    Sidekick: "Yes, Captain."


    ...


    "Quite vignt, huh."


    Su Lun watched from a distance as Boen and his men didn''t board the ship, but instead hid in the crowd, and he guessed that the other party might have already sensed his covert surveince.


    It was better to act sooner rather thanter, Su Lun didn''t n to give them a chance to get reinforcements. But he also needed to wait for a moment when there were fewer people.


    Su Lun watched as the group didn''t linger at the docks and headed toward the town, so he followed them.


    There were a total of five people, and besides Boen being a fourth-tier, the others were third-tier professionals.


    Su Lun had taken the opportunity at the dock to test their abilities and was now certain that the newly awakened "Soul Perception" could distinguish the tier of professionals based on the strength of their souls.


    With the exception of a few specialists like those with spiritual power, the majority of people had stronger soul fires corresponding to stronger abilities.


    Moreover, another advantage was that this method of sensing souls wasn''t noticeable like using one''s eyes.


    As he followed them, he went undetected.


    The port was bustling, and Su Lun didn''t find the right opportunity to strike.


    Of course, he knew that it was forbidden to fight in the town.


    The lord of Blizzard City, "Big Bear" Alonso, was very strong. It was said that he had the backing of a truly big shot, which afforded him significant influence, respected by bothwful and criminal elements alike.


    Fighting was prohibited in the town, and even the most audacious pirates wouldn''t dare to start a fight.


    If caught, one would be stripped of their clothes, bound to a stake, and left to endure the cutting blizzards for several days.


    Such a "wind punishment" was famous, and if not deadly, it made one infamous.


    Being a city of adventurers, the buildings in the town weren''t tall.


    Red domes were covered with thickyers of snow, nearly every cottage''s chimney spouting smoke.


    The blizzard was fierce, howling, with the cold snow biting into the skin painfully like knife cuts.


    Boen and his subordinates, being pirates, had a strong sense of counter-surveince. They had not taken the main street after entering the town but had suddenly veered into a small alley.


    Thus, if someone were following them, they could easily spot it.


    Unluckily for them, this was exactly what Su Lun had intended.


    He sensed the location of their soul fires, smirked coldly, and followed them into the alley.


    ....


    He had not gone far into the alley when Su Lun immediately sensed several hostile gazes fixing on him.


    Boen and his pirates emerged from around the corner, brandishing their weapons.


    One of them called out, "Hey! What wind blew you here, and what g are you flying?"


    This was pirate lingo, asking about his origins and which pirate group he belonged to.


    Su Lun didn''t pay any mind to these guys, his face hidden under a clown mask, still sporting a brilliant smile.


    He directly took out a chessboard.


    As the pirates were still unresponsive, a beam of light from the chessboard had already hit "Toxic Frog" Boen.


    Then, under the dumbstruck expressions of his subordinates, both men disappeared.


    ....


    Boen had not expected that the man following them would act without exchanging any words.


    He was even more surprised to find himself pulled into a separate space.


    Looking at the ck and white tiled floor beneath his feet, he guessed it was a very rare spatial artifact, and not of low grade.


    Upon entering, Su Lun quickly made a few magician seals and behind him appeared the octopus-like spears, his body emanating a cold blue me. Above him, a huge cross appeared in the sky with threads hanging down.


    Facing a fourth-tier professional, he dared not take things lightly and pulled out two more sealing scrolls, calling out softly, "Release!"


    Upon a second nce, numerous puppets and a mechanical suit of armor had already appeared before him.


    As a high-rank professional, Boen''s reaction wasn''t slow.


    The instant the beam hit him, his face transformed into a bump-covered, green-skinned frog visage, his thigh muscles swelling so much they tore through his trousers, visibly harnessing a surge of explosive power. His limbs morphed into webbed shapes as he sprawled on the ground, ready for a powerful attack.


    This was a Talent for Beast Transformation Series [D-055-Frog], not a very strong talent.


    But fortunately, it was highly functional, especially in the sea.


    "Puppet Master?"


    Upon seeing Su Lun take action, Boone guessed his profession.


    The cross-shaped formation in the sky, although never seen before, took at least a Mystique-level secret technique given itsplex pattern.


    Moreover, upon seeing the cold mes and the mechanical armor, he immediately wondered, "Mechanicalbat armor from the Mafa Empire, the royal family of Luying''s secret technique ''Wu Shi''... Who is this guy exactly!"


    Without a doubt, with so many treasures and secret techniques, his background had to be incredibly significant!


    Feeling cautious, he asked, "Are you from the royal family of Luying?"


    Su Lun didn''t respond to him but asked coldly, "Where is my ring?"


    Boone''s eyes shifted, a sly look passing through. He didn''t y dumb, saying, "If you came for those two rings, we could have a good talk..."


    Both were speaking, yet neither stopped moving their hands.


    Su Lun''s hands were still forming the sorcerer''s seals.


    Boone, in the form of the green toad, also gathered a thick water elemental magic shield around himself.


    Just as he was speaking,


    Suddenly!


    A crimson "whip" shot out of the toad''s mouth, moving so fast that it was nearly impossible for the eye to catch.


    Boone chose tounch a surprise attack!


    He had already seen that although the man with the clown mask had many treasures, his own strength wasn''t strong. Theck of an "Elemental Barrier" meant he definitely wasn''t fourth order!


    He was a pirate, daring to kill no matter what the identity.


    Asking was just a way to lower the guard.


    He had used this tactic before to kill those na?ve nobles who relied too much on their abundant treasures and advanced cultivation techniques.


    Hehe, merembs!


    ...


    Su Lun, seeing the other suddenly make a move, showed not the slightest surprise but a hint of a cold smile appeared in his eyes.


    Negotiation?


    No.


    He also wanted to kill this man.


    The moment Su Lun saw this pirate leader, even under the restraint of the clown mask, an innate desire to kill stirred within him.


    This man, deserved to die!


    In that instant of lightning-fast decision, the crimson tongue, carrying a corrosive stench, moved as fast as a bullet, piercing through the puppet and striking Su Lun heavily.


    With a "snap", a sound as if a whip hit wood erupted.


    Su Lun was instantly shredded into pieces, and wood splinters exploded everywhere.


    This wasn''t his real body; it was evidently a trick of puppetry!


    Upon seeing this, Boone''s eyes narrowed, "A substitute? Tsk tsk, some tricks indeed, no wonder he dared to make a move..."


    He couldn''t believe that his once infallible tongue attack had been dodged.


    But, this wasn''t the end!


    It was the moment when the electro-darts shot back, Su Lun''s legs suddenly ballooned, and with a thrust of his feet against the ground, a visible air wave exploded right beneath him.


    With a loud "pop," the explosive force propelled Captain Boon''s body forward like a cannonball right in front of Su Lun.


    However, at this collision, Su Lun''s body dispersed once again.


    This time it was just an illusion.


    Captain Boon was shocked again, "Huh?"


    ...


    The teleportation speed of [Frog]''s natural ability was indeed not to be underestimated, but it also had a very obvious shoring, just like mechanical puppets, it was only capable of straight-line charges. The teleportation had no ability to change direction or move backward!


    This type of linear collision trajectory and the indications of force applied were very obvious, although fleeting, but Su Lun''s All-knowing Eye captured it all clearly.


    [sh] The distance of the sh technique was short, but it was more than adequate for avoiding such attacks.


    Boon charged head-first and hit the edge of the chessboard space, blocked by an invisible barrier.


    Meanwhile, Su Lun had sessfully condensed his technique.


    He stretched out his hands into the void, pulled hard, and whispered in his heart, "Silk Control Secret Art: Flower Waterfall!"


    He predicted thending spot of Boon''s charge, just as the toad''s legs were trying to kick off the wall for another charge, the invisible threads around him suddenly condensed into substance, densely woven into a that securely trapped him within the cascade of silk.


    However, before Su Lun could follow up with other attacking techniques, a wave of yellow-green acidic fluid instantly corroded the of threads.


    The toad broke free from the and charged out again.


    In his rapid movement, the ugly face full of bumps even unted a thickly mocking expression, as if to say: You think you can trap me with this?


    Every technique has an interval between uses, he did not believe that the kind of spatial technique that allowed for instant discement could be used without limit.


    His frog leap propulsion had absolutely no interval!


    ....


    With the enemy breaking free, Su Lun did not seem surprised at all.


    He raised his eyebrows and merely murmured, "The strength of the threads is too weak, controlling a high-level professional like that is still too forced. It seems I need to refine some special rule-based threads in the future..."


    He stood there, this time without any movement, just coldly watching the toad man charging towards him.


    Just when he was about to be smashed to pieces, Captain Boon, as if he had seen something horrifying, suddenly changed his expression.


    He suddenly turned over, stepping on the air with his flippers, performing a move that resembled "Stepping on Air" to forcibly turn around in mid-air.


    But even so, due to his high speed, one of his feet still touched the pale blue threads in front of Su Lun.


    Smoothly, a toe was immediately severed by the thread.


    With the gust of wind hitting his face, Su Lun lifted his eyelid slightly and murmured, "He dodged it, after all..."


    The threads, imbued with the element of wind for slicing, could not be hidden, just like a pre-set trap, the enemy would not just walk into it.


    He could only wait for that moment when Boon''s vision was blocked to set it up.


    By taking advantage of the toad''s exaggerated charging speed, he hoped to create some trouble for the guy.


    Yes, just to create some trouble.


    If a few threads alone could kill a fourth-order, then this enemy would not be worth 72 million bounty.


    ....


    The green toad halted abruptly in midair, reversing and stepping on the air, it seemed to escape the risk of being split by the threads.


    Just as he thought of slipping away to create some distance, would Su Lun give him that chance?


    Since he had calcted that he would charge over, and the threads didn''t kill him, naturally, there was a backup n!


    Just as the toad was flipping its leg, with the sound of a "hiss," the steam boiler''s buildup noise thunderously erupted.


    Boone naturally knew that was the sound of the mechanical battle suit!


    However, having just barely dodged the silk thread, he was already pushed to his limits and unable to leverage himself in the air; even though he heard which direction the mechanical noise wasing from, he had no way to avoid it.


    "Whoosh!"


    The battle suit''s Ship-Cutter cleaved into Boone''s body.


    The trembling de, originally capable of easily prating nearly anything hard, actually cut into ayer of water-elemental shield, and the trembling force was mostly dissipated by the gentle water.@@novelbin@@


    That sh struck the toad''s waist, gouging a horrifying gash three fingers deep.


    Just as he was about to be bisected, Boone twisted his body and incredibly dodged it.


    Not finishing him with one strike, this guy hit the ground and without any hesitation explosively backpedaled a great distance.


    Even more incredibly, the wound on Boone''s waist visibly healed, and even the previously severed toes, like a gecko''s regrown tail, had regrown.


    Su Lun watched this impressive self-healing ability with interest, lifting an eyelid, and thought to himself, "Fourth-tier silver-grown ''Smander Regeneration Muscle''. To be a Pirate Captain, he indeed has some tricks."


    The difference in thebat power of fourth-tier professionals was apparent¡ªif one were to use the terminology from his past life''s video games, this Captain Boone was at least a "fourth-tier silver BOSS".


    ....


    Having brushed past Death, though his wounds were unharmed, a look of terror appeared on Boone''s face.


    He looked at the enigmatic clown before him, a fear rising from within.


    Not to mention facing a third-tier opponent¡ª even facing fourth-tier or even fifth-tier enemies¡ªhe had never felt such palpitations.


    It was a feeling as if Death itself had set its sights on him, and there was no escape!


    The cross in the sky was the Mystique-level Puppetry Technique, Spatial Technique, "Mystique: Wu Shi", and the wind element condensed on the silk threads as well...


    Which of these wasn''t a high-end secret technique that would take a professional years or even decades to master?


    And yet, here they were, all observed in a single person?


    If these had been seen on a seventh or eighth-tier power, that would be one thing, but they were seen on someone of a lower realm than himself!


    Moreover, the wind element on the silk threads could easily slice open his own water element barrier, which also meant that the opponent''s understanding of thews surpassed his own?


    Damn it!


    Boone cursed inwardly.


    And that wasn''t all!


    The endless barrage of various secret techniques was one thing, after all, he was still only a third-tier professional with limited offensive means. What was more terrifying was the ability to calcte every move!


    Touching his now-healed wound on his waist, Boone''s gaze was filled with coldness.


    In the few exchanges earlier, he had thought he had the upper hand with his superior rank and was assured of victory, yet he had nearly lost his life.


    It was as if every step had been calcted by someone, even thending spots had been predicted.


    Only now did he realize that he had been calcted since before they first entered the alley.


    While they had sought to use the alley to find their stalker, this guy also harbored intentions of finding a secluded spot to kill.


    ....


    "Just now realizing, huh..."


    A strange red gleam shed across Su Lun''s eyes, fully aware of what was shocking this guy in front of him.


    Upon advancing to the third tier, he had unlocked many new abilities.


    His current multitasking ability enabled him to derive the most optimumbat choices amidst the rapidly changing battles.


    A normal person ying chess ns one move at a time;


    Seeing three moves ahead was already a sign of a master;


    yet now, with his multi-tasking abilities, Su Lun could foresee various permutations many steps further ahead.


    It could be said that he was able to utilize his avable tactics 100%.


    In the midst ofbat, he also blocked out his other emotional fluctuations, making it almost impossible for any errors or misjudgments to arise due to emotions.


    In a battle of life and death, facing an enemy who never makes a mistake, how desperate is that?


    A single mistake could lead to death, while his opponent would never err.


    Unless one had overwhelming power that rendered all nning irrelevant, if they failed to kill and the fight dragged on, the one who made mistakes would surely lose.


    But as it turned out, Boen Fritz simply did not have the power to instantly kill Su Lun.


    What truly drove Boen to despair cameter.


    Since Su Lun had chosen to make a move, he had calcted everything... There was absolutely no chance for his opponent to survive!


    ....


    Boen squinted at the blue silk thread in front of Su Lun, beginning to retreat.


    This very thread countered most of his close-range tactics.


    Not to mention, there was also an unbreakable mechanical armor standing by his side.


    Most terrifying of all was that he never felt any panic from the mysterious clown from start to finish. This calm control was truly the biggest threat, making him feel a fatal danger.


    Boen asked in a deep voice, "Sir, if I retrieve your belongings for you, can we just let this go?"


    Hearing this, Su Lun seemed to hear something funny and burst out in a snickeringugh.


    After a pause, he replied in a strange tone, "What do you think?"


    Hearing that, Boen''s face hardened, adopting a do-or-die expression as he shouted angrily, "You really think this enclosed space is only advantageous for a Puppet Master like you? Ha ha, it suits me just fine!"


    "Oh?"


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun smiled disdainfully, "Then let''s try it out..."


    He knew all the tricks of this guy, but his opponent knew nothing about him.


    It seemed like a negotiation, but it was actually just stalling for time.


    He hadn''t missed the bulging movement in the other guy''s throat.


    No sooner had his words fallen when that toad suddenly squatted on all fours, opening its mouth to spew out a yellow-green stench.


    "Acidic Secret Art: Toxic Dragon!"


    Like a burst water pipe, the pressurized acid shot out, condensing into a toxic acid dragon in the air, rushing towards Su Lun.


    If closebat was not advantageous, then it was time to use ranged attacks.


    This restricted space was equally the main field for those who specialized in poison!


    This guy, known as ''Poison Frog,'' possessed a hidden ace of "Acidic Corrosion," capable of corroding everything.


    The first requirement for a professional to fuse alchemical enhancements was never about the quality of enhancements, but aboutpatibility.


    His personal enhancement was the acidic stomach sac of an ancient toad he had encountered at sea, which he acquired after killing it.


    The stomach sac could produce and store arge amount of highly toxic and corrosive acid. Once released inrge amounts, even fifth-tier professionals had to retreat.


    ....


    Yet, as this trump card was yed, Boen was shocked to find that the clown with the mask across from him simply did not dodge or evade, but magically, the mask on his face changed to a beaked mask.


    And next to him, a blue-skinned creature holding arge ck scythe suddenly appeared out of nowhere.


    Gazing at the scythe, Boen faintly felt a palpitation, instantly sensing something was wrong, yet he could not pinpoint where this sense of impending death wasing from.


    Could this guy have been just waiting for me to make a move?


    But where did he get the confidence not to dodge?


    With too many doubts in his mind unresolved,


    the next moment,


    he saw the most shocking scene of his life,


    and it was also thest.


    As the Acidic Secret Art: Toxic Dragon surged forth, Boen watched the man he thought was a low-ranking professional suddenly conjure an elemental barrier around himself.


    And more shockingly, what came next!


    It wasn''t any elemental barrier he had seen before; a veil-like aura red up like mes, rapidly gaining intensity. Then, on the man''s body, a spine-chilling... specter of Death itself condensed!


    Seeing this specter of Death was like witnessing an indescribable horror. Boen felt as if he had been hit by a club, his expression bing dazed in an instant.


    In that moment, before the shock could register on his face, he felt a chill on his neck.


    As consciousness slipped away, Boen realized how foolish his previous thoughts had been.


    He had earlier been relieved to have narrowly escaped death?


    Heh...


    It turned out Death had been in front of him all along.


    With a nk, the head fell to the ground.


    The 72 million Rilso bounty on "Toad" Boen Fritz was imed as he died on the spot.


    ....


    Acid rained down loudly as Su Lun was drenched like in a downpour.


    However, the sulfuric acid-like greenish-yellow acid that fell waspletely shielded by the specter of Death.


    Su Lun was safe and sound.


    Trying to kill a high-ranking professional with fast reactions using a ck scythe isn''t easy.


    But Su Lun just happened to know, Boen''s acid spitting move had significant recoil.


    Meaning, for at least a moment during the spellcasting, he would be immobile.


    Besides, although "Death''s Gaze" couldn''t kill this higher-ranked professional, it was highly likely to stun him momentarily.


    Having anticipated these two points, the strike with the ck scythe naturally fell into ce.


    Back in Old Lington, everyone knew Su Lun wielded Xiupunos''s Night Scythe, and everyone guarded against it.


    But in the surface world, hardly anyone knew.


    Equipment of the "Banned Item" ss was something few lower dwellers had ever truly seen.


    Boen being caught by it was truly not unjust.


    As for the "Specter of Death."


    Su Lun had also figured out that one of its abilities was actually the "Elemental Barrier" that fourth-grade professionals must learn to harness.


    However, other professionals realized it through various elements, but Su Lun realized his through "Death."


    If there were topare, other elements would be colors like red (fire), blue (water), yellow (earth), green (wind), purple (lightning)...


    Then "Death" would be the ck that fuses everything together.


    The Elemental Barrier acts like a magic shield, reducing and negating damage, significantly enhancing a professional''s survival ability.


    To break through, one needs a high degree of concentration or element-based counteraction.


    For example, at the same rank, water counters fire.


    As one of the supremews, the "Law of Death" is almost not countered by any otherws.


    The deeper Su Lun''s understanding of various elementalws, the stronger the Specter of Death became, and its elemental countering traits became more prominent.


    He had divested understanding of fourth and fifth tier gold and wind elementalws, added with theyer suppression ofws. Naturally, this acidic attack without subsequent kic energy caused limited damage.


    Su Lun also began to familiarize himself with the new abilities he mastered after advancing.


    Without much thought, he walked over and came into contact with the soul on the corpse.


    ''The soul contains a segment of Boen Fritz''s daily information from today,pleteness 98%.''


    ''The soul contains a segment about the understanding of water elementalw,pleteness 91%''


    ''The soul contains a segment about acid skill information,pleteness 90%''


    ''The soul contains a segment of information: ''...''''


    Su Lun directly divested the understanding of the water elementalw: ''You haveprehended a fairlyplete ''fourth-tier waterw''''


    After digesting that understanding, he clearly felt not only had he grasped Boen''sprehension of the fourth-tier water elementw, his Specter of Death had also be more refined.


    After divesting this information, the soul had not yet dispersed.


    Su Lun then found information rted to himself.


    Soul-searching, far more direct than questioning.


    Neither the "Blessing of Seria" nor the goblinmunicator were of any use against pirates; he discovered Boen had sold the items to the ck market.


    Watching the soul disperse.


    Su Lun indeed felt the turmoil within him stabilize a lot.


    Heads could still fetch 72 million in bounty, so Su Lun collected it.


    As for other spoils of war, Su Lun hadn''t even had the chance to take a closer look.


    Once the chessboard space copsed, Su Lun reappeared in a snowy alley.


    ....


    The battle hadn''tsted long, and as Su Lun emerged, he saw the few thugs who had been following Boen still searching the alley for something.


    After all, their "Red Shark Pirates" were a somewhat notorious pirate group.


    As pirates, they couldn''t just report to the authorities immediately after losing their captain.


    Seeing Su Lun appear abruptly, the pirates were taken aback.


    Engaging in action in the city could get one arrested, and Su Lun wasn''t sure it wouldn''t cause other disturbances.


    He produced the chessboard again, and a beam of light appeared, then he and a pirate disappeared.


    It was quick, the next time he emerged.


    But by that time, there were no more figures in the alley.


    Although those pirates didn''t know what method Su Lun used, with a sh of light, one person was gone. This eerie method also scared them off.


    "Heh heh..."


    Su Lun roughly sensed a familiar soul fire nearby but didn''t pursue it. He walked on the main street, intending to redeem his belongings at the ck market first.


    But unexpectedly, as he walked, he spotted a shady-looking small figure.


    Although his face was covered, Su Lun still recognized him from some details as Benson, the fur merchant''s kid who had once given him and Mr. Jing a ride at sea, apparently named Gik?


    What''s a rich young master doing here, limping?

 Chapter 240 : My Name is Katyusha

    Jiek seemed to be tracking someone.


    He moved in stops and starts, frequently using obstacles for cover, but his tracking skills were hardly exceptional.


    He had pulled up his overcoat''s cor high and wore a uniquely designed pair of wind goggles, covering most of his face. Su Lun recognized them as the wind gear he had given to Jiek before from an intable life raft, confirming his identity.


    Only when Su Lun noticed his limping gait did he realize the man had lost a leg. Footprints on the ground alternated between a full imprint and a round hole. Upon closer inspection, he saw that Jiek''s left leg was reced with a wooden peg-leg prosthesis.


    At this, Su Lun felt a twinge of confusion.


    How had a wealthy family''s young master suddenly lost his leg?


    Since it was on his way, Su Lun followed for a few steps and nced at the people ahead. With a slight discernment, he immediately recognized whom Jiek was tailing.


    It was a young woman wrapped in avish fox fur cape. Despite the howling wind and snow, she was very particr about her appearance. Heavily made up and not fully covered, her snow-white neck and plunging neckline were exposed. Wasn''t this Marian, Jiek''s stepmother?


    There was also a man, affectionately linked arm-in-arm with her, who was not Benson but a man carrying a broadsword on his back.


    Su Lun remembered, this man seemed to be Benson family''s guard captain, Raman.


    Just from the intimate manner between the two, Su Lun had a rough guess of the situation.


    It was likely the typical plot of a remarried young wife conspiring with her lover to seize the wealthy husband''s assets.


    Such audacious behavior suggested that Benson was probably dead.


    Su Lun had a favorable impression of the kind-hearted middle-aged merchant. After all, Benson had "saved" him and Mr. Jing once at sea.


    However, he only nced and no more.


    As bloody as other people''s family affairs were, he had no intention to delve deeper.


    What was more surprising to him was that Jiek was tailing a third-rank professional without being detected?


    ncing again at the wind goggles on Jiek''s face, Su Lun appraised them and took some interest, "Not bad, creatively using multiple mirror refractions to weaken the target''s perception."


    He had previously noticed that Jiek had an excellent talent for mechanics, and now, seeing the clearly handcrafted alchemical wind goggles, it was obvious the young man had made them himself.


    As the Blizzard City district was notrge, it wasn''t long before Su Lun watched the couple enter a four-story luxury hotel.


    Meanwhile, Jiek stopped at the entrance, posing as a passerby.


    Not in a hurry to leave, Su Lun wanted to see what he was up to.


    At this moment, he saw Jiek move to a window, appear to measure the position, and then stop at amppost. He surreptitiously looked around, then, concealing his actions with his clothing, pulled from his chest a... timing bomb connected to a mechanical rm clock?


    Jiek quickly buried the bomb in a pile of snow then took cover behind the mailbox at the entrance of the nearby post office.


    Su Lun found this entertaining and stopped in his tracks, leaning against a nearby wall, "A liquid alchemy bomb? Dyed explosion with a... directional sting device?"


    The homemade bomb was rough, with no casing to conceal it, leaving almost all its mechanisms exposed.


    But even such a bomb seemed to brighten Su Lun''s eyes. Being adept at various mechanics himself, he had almost instantly understood the bomb''s structure and principles from a quick nce.


    The design was not particrly sophisticated, but the concept behind it was very unique.


    "He''s not using standard gunpowder but a more unstable liquid state. A specially formted nitropound, unseen on the market¡ªdid he concoct it himself? The potency does pose a lethal threat to a third-rank professional. But... relying on a bomb alone isn''t enough to kill that Raman."


    Looking at the location of the buried explosive, he harbored some doubts, "Precision-directed sting? Did he predict that someone would definitely jump out the window? Interesting..."


    With only a slight thought, Su Lun instantly understood that Jiek probably had another setup inside the hotel room.


    ...


    Because of his Soul Perception, Su Lun sensed Marian and guard captain Raman moved up to the third floor of the hotel, then rushed into a room, and couldn''t wait to start undressing and getting intimate.


    But while the two were in the throes of passion, just as theyy on the bed and were about to go further, suddenly, a "boom" echoed, triggering a violent explosion.


    The sound of shattered ss filled his ears as the st and mes burst from the second room on the left side of the third floor, projecting outward for over ten meters.


    Two disheveled figures plunged downward from the building.


    After all, Captain Raman was a third-rank meleebat professional, and his reflexes were extremely quick. He sensed the danger the instant the explosive device was triggered, and, protecting the woman, they sted through the window using the explosion''s shock wave.


    Seeing this, Su Lun let out a soft sound of surprise, "Ah, so that''s what this is."


    The explosion in the room had not caused more damage, meaning that Jiek had strictly calcted the explosive dosage; he didn''t intend to hurt the innocent.


    If he had been more ruthless, he could have used arge quantity of explosives and blown up the entire floor to ensure sess.


    Moreover, what was clever about Jiek''s setup was that the room explosion was clearly not to kill the targets immediately but to prepare for a second explosion!


    Even a third-rank professional dazed by the first st wouldn''t expect to be attacked by a second explosion after being blown out of the window.


    Su Lun watched as the two figuresnded right next to themppost on the street corner, precisely where the explosives were buried, and couldn''t help but admire inwardly, "Such meticulous nning, such precise demolition!"


    From these aspects, Gek seemed young, but in terms of temperament and wisdom, he was outstanding.


    But, didn''t this guy want to be a designer?


    Howe he has such high talent for messing with bombs?


    A thought shed through Su Lun''s mind.


    Just as they hit the ground, the half-naked woman and man had not yet reacted when suddenly, with a "boom," they were upheaved by the st of a bomb once again.


    This time, the two were precisely sted against the wall by the terrifying surge, hitting it hard with a "thud," and limbs and blood sttered.


    The elegance they had before was now reced with utter dishevelment.


    The woman''s right thigh was blown off at the root, the white bone and mangled flesh starkly exposed, and she immediately fainted.


    Unfortunately, the man was still wearing close-fitting leather armor. Although he also spat out a mouthful of old blood, it was not fatal.


    Su Lun looked on, without any hint of surprise.


    To be able to achieve this with a bomb was already the limit.


    ....


    After being bombed twice in a row, Raman was not so slow to realize he had been ambushed. The moment he hit the wall and fell, those eyes that resembled those of a wild wolf immediately locked on the cloaked figure by the mailbox, who had apletely different reaction to themotion than the bystanders!


    With a "swoosh," Raman kicked off the ground and had already rushed in front of the cloaked figure.


    Because he was unarmed, he grabbed Gek by the neck and hoisted him up, bellowing, "Damn you, who are you!"


    Perhaps intending to see who it was, he violently ripped off Gek''s goggles with a p, revealing a young but resolute and coldly smiling face.


    "Bastards..."


    Gek''s face twisted with a manic sneer as he struggled to grasp Raman''s wrist. It was at that moment, with a "click," a mechanical lock in his palm snapped into ce.


    The two were locked together like handcuffs, at least unable to break free for that instant.


    Raman saw the explosives wound underneath Gek''s cloak, and his eyes bulged instantly, like copper bells, his face finally revealing a look of extreme horror.


    Gek was determined to die together with the murderer who killed his father!


    Killing a third-tier professional with his own hands was already the most perfect n he could conceive.


    But then...


    Something unexpected happened.


    Desperately, Gek realized that the bomb didn''t explode!


    He had no way of knowing that just moments ago, a thin thread had silently appeared and disarmed the key triggering mechanism of the bomb.


    At that moment, the voices of the patrol yelling echoed on the street, with more than a dozen guns pointed at the heads of the two: "Nobody move!"


    Su Lun watched as the two were taken away, then followed.


    A bomb genius dying like that would be a waste.


    ....


    The hotel was on the main road of Blizzard City, and the patrol responded quickly. They arrived at the scene the moment the explosion urred, preventing the situation from worsening.


    Because only a hotel room and a streetmp were destroyed, Gek wasn''t charged with a severe crime.


    Benson''s fur business had a certain reputation in the city. After he exined the reason, the city guards didn''t execute him immediately.


    But Blizzard City has its own rules.


    No matter whether justified or not, once involved in violence, one must be punished.


    Gek was stripped and hung on the cold wooden cross in the town square to endure a day and a night of "exposure punishment."


    As for Raman, although he acted hically, he did not break the cityws and therefore was not punished.


    Su Lun didn''t think he had the ability to rob aw court, nor did he need to.


    As long as the crime wasn''t serious, there was a way out of "exposure punishment."


    Following the rules, Su Lun paid the security team a bail fee, with instructions not to let the person die, and then waited to collect him the next day.


    Having once received a favor at sea, today he could consider it repaid.


    Besides, he also thought it would be good for Gek to experience the cold wind.


    Some things needed to be experienced personally in order to be understood.


    Just like Su Lun himself had once died.


    ....


    Su Lun left the City Guard and headed to the ck market within the city.


    The ck market in Stormwind City was different from other ces. It wasn''t secretive, but almost everyone knew about it. It was a trading market specifically built for pirates and some not-so-legitimate businesses. Reputable merchants had other ces to go; the ck market was a frequent haunt for pirates, criminals, and smugglers.@@novelbin@@


    It was not on the surface, but underground.


    Upon finding the "ckbeard Tavern," Su Lun coincidentally sensed three familiar souls.


    They were the three who had escaped from the Red Shark Pirate Group before.


    At this moment, they were quarreling with the tavern owner, their faces red and ears burning with intensity.


    "Oh, damn it! You ''Red Sharks'' took the ransom and swore to me that the hostage was alive. Now where is the person, where? How do you expect me to exin to the people from the Tulip Commerce Guild?"


    "Damn it, our brothers in the gang are all killed by someone, and you''re still asking for an exnation from us? We can just refund the money to those guys!"


    "It''s not about the money, it''s about reputation! Do you understand, it''s about reputation!"


    "..."


    Pirates also had their own rules, without reputation, one cannot survive in the underworld.


    After listening for a while, Su Lun gathered that the three men wanted to find help to track down the murderer who had annihted their pirate group.


    He didn''t pay much attention, figuring that if he encountered themter, he would simply kill them.


    After exiting through the back door of the tavern and passing through a few guarded doors manned by burly men in leather jackets, he descended into the underground.


    Going down the iron staircase for more than ten meters, Su Lun immediately heard the noisy chatter.


    This was a street paved with dark red tiles, nked by various crowded buildings, with neon lights of various colors making the streets fairly bright, exhibiting a prosperous and bustling scene.


    The surface was chill to the bone, but this underground street was quite warm. The web of intertwined, dense steam pipes above provided sufficient heat to this subterranean space.


    The street was teeming with people, the vast majority of whom were adventurers in leather jackets and boots, with exposed weapons and unfriendly faces. There were also many people in cloaks and masks. Su Lun, blending into the crowd, did not stand out.


    The ck market had all sorts of things for sale, from storefront shops to street stalls.


    Various alchemical material shops, controlled military weapons, smuggled liquor, hallucinogenic potions...


    As long as it was profitable, almost anything could be found here.


    Of course, the price of most goods was much cheaper than in the precious markets.


    Su Lun found the "Dark Elf''s Grocery" where Boren often went to offload goods.


    The shop was crammed with a variety of merchandise, offering very little space.


    The owner was a plump ck woman.


    When Su Lun arrived, there were a few other people in the shop selecting goods.


    The plump storekeeper greeted Su Lun, "Customer, what do you need?"


    Su Lun: "I''ll take some ''Ocean Breeze''."


    Upon hearing this, the plump storekeeper knew that a familiar figure from the circle hade and beckoned him over to apartment in the shop.


    There was a soundproof barrier.


    Once in thepartment, Su Lun got straight to the point, "I want the batch of goods that ''Poison Frog'' Boren sold here before. The price is negotiable."


    The plump storekeeper nced at Su Lun and, without asking further questions, took out two Storage Rings, saying, "Everything that hasn''t been sold is here, aside from what''s been already disposed of."


    Su Lun checked the items and saw that they were mostly jewelry and gems looted by the pirates; none of them were his possessions. He then directly asked, "I''m looking for two rings, they look like this."


    As he spoke, he drew the approximate features of the two rings on a piece of parchment beside him.


    The plump storekeeper clearly remembered and her eyes showed sudden realization: "Oh, I remember these two rings, both are high-level alchemical items. However, they''ve already been sold."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun''s brows furrowed, and he asked, "Can I know to whom they were sold?"


    The plump storekeeper didn''t say directly, instead nced at him and simply said, "You should know, that''s against the rules."


    It''s not that the rules can''t be broken; it''s that one can''t talk without enough money.


    Su Lun understood the drill and took out a stack of banknotes.


    "This, well..."


    The plump storekeeper tapped the thickness of the banknotes with her finger before reluctantly saying, "This morning, a young girl bought them. I don''t know her, she seemed to be a foreigner."


    Su Lun added more money, asking, "Is there more precise information?"


    Seeing the money, the plump storekeeper finally gave detailed information, "She has freckles on her face and big braids, looking young. She seems well-mannered, likely from arge city. She bought some adventurer''s supplies, seemingly preparing for an adventure in the forest. You may encounter her at the Adventurers'' Guild. Of course, if you''re willing to spend the money, you can ask the ''Smuggling Gang.'' They should be able to get more information."


    Su Lun said hearing this, he knew he could not extract more information and took out a stack of money, entrusting, "This is for purchasing information about myself."


    The fat shopkeeper understood and replied with a brilliant smile, "Of course, no one will hear about your visit from me."


    Su Lun turned around and left.


    He did not expect the other party to definitely not sell him out.


    But the ck market had its own rules; at least in non-special circumstances, these people would still get the job done once they took the money.


    ....


    Su Lun had not anticipated that the goods would not go smoothly; he only hoped that the person who bought his ring had not left Blizzard City yet.


    Wherever there is a ce to spend money, willingly spending money can save a lot of effort.


    Finding the local snakes, the efficiency of getting things done is very high.


    Su Lun did not blindly search on his own but sought out the "Smugglers'' Gang" in the ck market. He offered a substantial reward for a missing personmission and also inquired about the main materials needed for his third-stage breeding gear.


    Then it was just a matter of waiting for news, so he strolled around the ck market.


    The northern ice ins have many special products, such as Frost Iron Ore, Demon Cores, high-grade lumber, and some special magical beast materials.


    Now that Su Lun was advancing, he exactly needed some high-grade materials to create his intricate puppets, so he scavenged quite a few good things in the ck market.


    Moreover, to Su Lun''s surprise, he actually saw a lot of things from Old Lington!


    For instance, those mechanical devices that clearly did not match the style of Ruying technology, he even saw several sets of Frost Giant Battle Armor from the Old Lingdun Inner City''s city guard. There were also some parts that were obviously dismantled fromrge mechanical equipment. It seemed like these were things that pirates had taken apart from the inner city''sboratories...


    Upon inquiry, these items really dide from pirate channels and were quite numerous in the ck market now.


    Many of the mechanical devices were different from ground mechanical systems; thus, very few people were genuinely interested in buying them.


    Only then did Su Lun feel that he had picked up a great bargain, spending over a hundred million to acquire a bunch of equipment.


    With these items, his research on mechanical puppets would progress much faster.


    However, he also realized that mechanical research was indeed a hugely money-consuming field. This trip to the ck market, casually buying some small machines, almost emptied his coffers.


    Fortunately, good news was also on the way.


    The efficiency of the local snakes was indeed very high.


    It wasn''t long after Su Lun put up the reward that he received an urate response.


    The person he was looking for was in the "Star Hotel" in the north city.


    Su Lun did not dare to dy and went directly to the north city, where he met the girl who had bought the ring.


    Upon asking, the items were indeed in her hands.


    Su Lun also heaved a great sigh of relief.


    However, the girl''s attitude made it difficult for him.


    ...


    "I am called Katyusha, an apprentice ''Astrologer,''" she said. "How would you like to be addressed, sir?"


    "You can call me Nichs. I''m sorry, Miss Katyusha, those two rings are keepsakes left to me by my elders. There was an ident earlier, and that''s why they ended up in the ck market. If possible, I would like to buy them back. What do you think would be fair for you to part with them?"


    "But... my teacher said that the ring is very helpful for studying, and I really need it. If I lose it, I''m afraid I won''t be able to find such good alchemical items again in the future."


    "..."


    Su Lun knew that if he were in her shoes, he wouldn''t believe someone who came out of the blue iming the treasure was theirs.


    He arranged to meet her at the hotel''s caf¨¦, nning to talk things over.


    Facing this young girl with freckles on her face and her xen hair tied into a thick braid, Su Lun acted polite and gentlemanly.


    Since the other party had purchased it with money and was acting courteously, it would not be proper for Su Lun to just kill her and take the items.


    Moreover, he noticed a problem.


    If it had been before, he would have thought she was just an ordinary girl from the citying for an adventure.


    But now, with Soul Perception, this "Katyusha''s" soul was very elusive.


    It seemed like his perception was being interfered with.


    For example, by some special cursed item.


    Realizing this, Su Lun felt there was something wrong with the situation.


    If he really needed to take action, he wasn''t sure he would have the upper hand.

 Chapter 241 : I Owe You a Favor

    Katya is a verymon name. In the northern part of the Luying Empire, many young girls are nicknamed this.


    Su Lun didn''t sense any malice from her and patiently began to negotiate.@@novelbin@@


    However, the girl did not seem to becking money; instead, she was more interested in the two rings.


    "I can pay you more ransom to redeem these two rings..."


    "Sorry, Mr. Nichs, it''s not about the money. I am an ''Astrologer,'' though still an apprentice. I need to study a lot of tedious knowledge, and these rings can give me a lot of help. Losing them would be very troubling for me. You know, I got these items from the ck market... so, I''m not sure who their owner is. Sorry, I don''t mean to question you. It''s just that...if it''s just like this, it would be very difficult for me."


    "Can I exchange them for something else? I have some manuscripts by ''Master Arnold'' about astrology that you might have heard of..."


    "The Record of Star Signs? I have a printed set at home too, sorry..."


    "..."


    Su Lun himself thought that the girl''s reasons were logical.


    The goblinmunicator wasn''t a problem, it had a blood pact, and as long as Su Lun was alive, it was useless to others.


    But the other ring, "Sereia''s Blessing," was very useful to Alchemists, especially those who needed to do a lot of reading and studying¡ªit was somewhat of a ''Divine Artifact''.


    Although it was their first meeting, through brief interactions, Su Lun could tell that the freckled girl was well-educated. She seemed to be very polite and obviously well brought up.


    Moreover, as an "Astrologer," she truly had a massive demand for knowledge, and her unwillingness to part with the rings was understandable.


    Moreover, bartering wasn''t feasible; her family seemed quite affluent, and it sounded like she had collected quite a few valuable items.


    Perhaps she was a high-ranking noble on a discreet visit?


    Yet, her politeness and willingness to patiently haggle with an unknownmoner struck Su Lun as unusual.


    Apart from those sealed items he couldn''t bring out, he felt like he didn''t have anything interesting to offer her.


    This was quite problematic.


    However, Su Lun was patient and willing to talk slowly, though his inner negative emotions were not absent.


    ....


    Just as they were talking, suddenly, Su Lun heard a whisper by his ear!


    A sh of red light swept through his eyes, and an uncontroble irritability surged from the bottom of his heart.


    It was as if a demon was urging by his ear: Kill her! Kill her and you can take your things back!


    Su Lun realized something and abruptly closed his eyes, trying to forcefully suppress that dam-bursting desire with his willpower.


    The moment he closed his eyes, he seemed to see a towering sea of blood in front of him, ready to devour his entire inner world.


    Onlookers saw him still sitting there, but under that clown mask, his face was filled with ferocity.


    He would not be a ve to his emotions.


    He pulled out a tranquilizer and injected himself with it.


    Everyone actually harbors some demonic thoughts deep inside, those nearly primal instincts: murder, possession, mating, greed, jealousy... They are suppressed by reason, which is human nature.


    Su Lun''s spiritual power was now distorted, making those primal desires exceptionally powerful, overpowering his reasoning.


    After the potion was administered, he finally felt a trace of rity. Forcibly suppressing those negative emotions was like locking a wild beast in an iron cage, using all his strength; his body slightly trembled.


    With a "crack," he forcefully broke off a corner of the wooden chair.


    Barely containing his murderous intent, Su Lun gritted out a word from his throat, "Leave!"


    This was a roar refusing to let desires control his body.


    .....


    The scene, strange like a drug addict experiencing a bout of addiction, visibly made the girl named Katya tremble.


    She looked at Su Lun, and sensing something, she didn''t flee but asked with slight concern, "Mr. Nichs, you... don''t look very well?"


    Hearing the sound from outside, Su Lun managed to suppress his restlessness and came back to his senses that they were still negotiating.


    As if he had been through a fierce battle, his back was unaware soaked with cold sweat.


    He had guessed that this might be an aftershock from using "Death''s Phantom" to kill the ''poison frog'' Boon earlier.


    Su Lun took a deep breath, finally snapping out of it, and said apologetically, "Sorry, I scared you."


    After a pause, he continued, "As you can see, there is indeed a slight problem with my body, which is why I must retrieve my two rings."


    Upon hearing this, hesitation flickered across Katya''s face, "Oh..."


    Thinking it over, she took out a small silver sphere and ced it on the table, saying, "I know some Healing Techniques. I can see, sir, that you seem to have some minor spiritual issues. This ''Starry Charm'' I''ve made can soothe and calm the mind. You might keep it close, perhaps it will offer some negligible aid."


    Her words were spoken modestly, filled with goodwill.


    Su Lun nced at it, identifying its properties.


    [Starry Charm]


    Details: Made from cold star meteoric iron, a charm that can calm one''s demeanor; although the rune engraving technique is somewhat crude, it''s undeniable that this is a very rare material that can carry spiritual power.


    Looking at the charm, his expression grewplicated in an instant.


    The runes were crude, clearly the work of an apprentice.


    However, the material was truly rare.


    Meteoric metals like these are extremely scarce resources, typically used in forging high-tier weapons and specific alchemical products, and the price has always been exorbitantly high.


    Arge piece of this ''cold star meteoric iron'' that could carry spiritual power was tough to price.


    This item, if it met someone in need, could be extremely valuable!


    Like for Su Lun himself.


    With a slight modification of the runes, its effect in suppressing spiritual distortion wouldn''t be inferior to the clown mask on his face.


    He looked at the charm and then at the freckled girl in front of him, not hiding his thoughts, and directly asked, "Miss Katya, this charm would indeed be very useful to me. May I ask, what price must I pay to purchase it?"


    Just having this item on the table helped soothe his restless emotions.


    Kept close, in case of emergencies, it might even have a ''life-saving'' miraculous effect.


    "If you need it, then it''s yours," she said.


    Katya shook her head, sporting an innocent and exuberant smile, almost as if proud, "Our teacher taught us that stars are gifts from nature to mankind, and even we astrologers are just temporary guardians. It will find those who need it."


    "For me?"


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun felt he shouldn''t take the charm.


    Unexpectedly, he hadn''t redeemed his belongings, yet she was offering something else?


    Could this mean an exchange?


    If it were someone else, Su Lun might suspect ulterior motives.


    But this girl, whose eyes seemed to hold brilliant stars, stirred no malice in him.


    "Yes."


    Katya, as if without any guard, revealed to a stranger, "This time I came to the Far North Ice Field for training, in fact, to search for meteorites here. In the vast expanse of snow, they are easier to spot."


    "..."


    Her attitude made Su Lun at a loss for words.


    The goblinmunicator must be retrieved, and the ''Seraya''s Blessing,'' if it wasn''t a gift from his teacher, he might have considered exchanging it for the charm at this moment.


    Su Lun also made his stance clear, "No, in an alchemist''s eyes, all things have their equivalent value. I''m sorry, Miss Katya, we are strangers, please name your price. Otherwise, I cannot ept your gift."


    "Really, it''s not necessary... look, I have many," she said nonchntly.


    Saying so, she took out a box like a na?vendowner''s daughter.


    Opening it revealed at least a dozenrge and small meteorites of various colors: blue, purple, fluorescent, pitch-ck...


    This box of stones, if taken to an auction house, could be worth more than a box of top-grade gemstones!


    Su Lun looked on, his eyes devoid of much fluctuation.


    But he could also see that this girl truly wasn''tcking in money.


    Seeing that he seemed unmoved, Katya thought for a moment and then said, "Well... if you really want to pay, then give me a gold coin."


    She then took out two more rings.


    Although the freckled girl seemed somewhat reluctant, she generously said, "Sir, you need these two rings more, so they should return to their rightful owner."


    "..."


    Su Lun hadn''t expected to get the items so easily.


    He felt that talking about money now was meaningless. After thinking about it, he took out a Gold Coin, ced it on the table, and said earnestly, "I owe you a favor, Miss Katyusha." Experience more on empire


    The items were valuable, and his favor was not insignificant.


    Upon hearing this, Katyusha readily agreed, "Okay!"


    She picked up the Gold Coin, a naive and radiant smile on her face.


    ....


    Su Lun left the coffee shop.


    Meeting this girl named Katyusha and retrieving his items, he felt very at ease.


    However, he felt more puzzled.


    In this world, no one is kind to you without a reason.


    Especially strangers.


    Either Katyusha truly was like a sheltered flower from a noble family, well-bred and innocently naive;


    or...


    It was a disy of very sophisticated social skills.


    Su Lun, proficient in many peculiar and bizarre kinds of knowledge, leaned more towards thetter.


    The biggest reason was her soul''s fire, flickering and unstable that he sensed.


    But no matter his suspicions, the fact was, Su Lun got his hands on the items, and even gained a charm.


    This favor was definitely worth it.


    He also suspected that the other party might have ill intentions.


    But however he thought about it, he felt this was improbable.


    The rings falling into the ck market was idental, and Katyusha buying them seemed coincidental.


    Besides, Su Lun felt, he wasn''t currently worth someone''s scheming.


    If it were an enemy¡­ it could only be Duke Raphael or someone from the Lei family.


    But it did not seem like an enemy''s doing.


    Otherwise, they would not have sat down to negotiate politely and even given gifts.


    He also guessed that the other party might have noticed he had some special abilities, or perhaps the mystical "Astrology," or maybe her constantly mentioned "teacher"¡­


    Astrologers have abilities simr to prophecy, to seek benefits and avoid harm; perhaps she wanted to form a good karma?


    ....


    Su Lun did not dwell on it. He owned the All-Seeing Eye, so he was not afraid of tampering with anything.


    Having acquired themunicator, he walked the streets and immediately called Mr. Jing, "Senior Sister, I have a question to consult you about."


    Soon, themunicator responded, "Are you asking about a distortion in spiritual power?"


    "Yes."


    Mr. Jing had guessed everything, and Su Lun was not surprised.


    The fact that he had [Thanatos''s Death Doll] was known only to this senior sister of his.


    Moreover, with themunicator, she could sense the location and life or death of all members of the Jing organization.


    This saved him much trouble in exining.


    After hesitating for a moment, themunicator responded again, "''Death Dolls,'' I have seen them used twice before, but ultimately, the oues were not good. Distortion in spiritual power is irreversible, difficult to resolve..."


    One advantage of having someone behind you is that they know everything you ask.


    This thing appeared in the Dawn Relic, so it must have been used by someone before.


    It''s troublesome, but not unsolvable.


    Su Lun listened patiently.


    Mr. Jing continued, "If you want to solve it, first, you cane to me for suppression, but that''s just a temporary solution, and the problem will grow bigger eventually; second, find a higher-level secret technique of spiritual power; third, find some special soul-cursing items to forcibly suppress it, but those are rare and hard toe by, I will notify other members of the Jing organization to keep an eye out for you; there are also some special ones, like the ''Spring of Youth'' that can cure all diseases... You can look at your own situation and consider which option to choose."


    "The Spring of Youth?"


    "On a dangerous ind in the Western Sea. My father once went there. A thousand years have passed, and I''m not sure if it still exists. Moreover, I''m not confident about going there, so I wouldn''t rmend you go now..."


    "..."


    Sure enough,ing from a demigod family has its perks.


    What she hasn''t seen, her dad has.


    What her dad hasn''t seen, he''s heard of.


    Upon hearing the first option, Su Lun heaved a sigh of relief, at least having a "backup" n.


    But the subsequent ones were not very feasible.


    What he was learning now was the Starry Sky Visualization Technique, which was already one of the top spiritual power techniques in the world. Anything higher would be Divine Arts, which was unrealistic.


    Those special cursed objects were definitely hard to find.


    While Su Lun was still considering which n was more reliable, suddenly, Mr. Jing asked again, "Oh...right. Are you currently in the North? There''s another way. The great Druids of the Dalu tribe are skilled in healing, and they might have a way to resolve mental aberrations. However, there might not be any great Druids left now. You can ask them and also pass a message from me."


    Su Lun asked, "What does great Druid mean?"


    Mr. Jing replied, "Druids of the seventh order or higher."


    "..."


    Su Lun felt that there probably weren''t any.


    If the Dalu tribe had a seventh-order powerhouse, they would not be in their current situation, with their whole tribe being captured by ve Hunters day in and day out.


    ....


    He roughly understood the methods now, and considering his senior sister had already told him this, there was no need to ask others.


    Suddenly, Su Lun recalled the whisper he heard during the negotiation that had almost shattered his spirit, and asked, "Oh, right! Senior Sister, I have another doubt I''d like to ask you about..."


    He exined his situation in a few words.


    Clearly, Mr. Jing seemed surprised, "Your Reaper talent has awakened a second time?"


    "Yes."


    "That''s quite impressive. After all, a second awakening of an S-rank talent is very difficult..."


    Mr. Jingplimented him, then returned to his usual tone and exined, "That whispering is different from using a ''substitute doll.'' It''s thew of deathmunicating with the cosmos, listening to the whispers of the deceased. It''s quite normal, and even to some extent a good thing. But before solving your problem of spiritual aberration, it''s best to use that ability sparingly."


    "Oh."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun finally rxed.


    Just as he thought there was nothing more to say and was about to end themunication, a calm reminder came from the other end, "Be careful. Contact me if you need anything."


    Su Lun responded with a smile, "Yes."


    His senior sister might sound cold, but she actually cared about him a lot.


    .....


    After ending themunication, Su Lun had a good sense of his current situation.


    Having obtained the "Star Protector Amulet," he estimated that as long as he didn''t recklessly use the ability of the Reaper''s phantom, it shouldst him a few months.


    Thinking about it, he nned to go ask the Dalu tribe first.


    It was quite convenient since many members of the Dalu tribe could be found in the ve Market.


    If there really was a great Druid or some solutions left behind, it would be even better topletely resolve his mental aberration issue.

 Chapter 242 Yuta

    The ve trade was one of the pir industries of Blizzard City, and every major ve merchant in Emperor Luying''s empire bredrge teams of vers in the north, specializing in capturing ves.


    The three major races of the icy ins¡ªtrolls, ice giants, and subhumans¡ªwere hotmodities in the ve markets.


    There were also some rare, smaller tribes, like the tiny beings less than a foot tall with dragonfly-like transparent wings who were enclosed in birdcages known as "flower fairies." They were not less intelligent and excelled in simple magic rted to flower cultivation. Often, they were treated as pets, kept in the back gardens of grand nobles.


    Other races, like dwarves, lizardmen, cave dwellers, half-elves, and frost maidens... As long as they were not human, various humanoid intelligent races were targets for ve merchants to capture and sell.


    These rare ves were very popr in the upper echelons of Luying society.


    Blizzard City had specifically nned arge market for the buying and selling of ves, located in the eastern part of the city.


    It was a building with a wine-red roof, resembling a massive train station.


    Su Lun arrived at the time when the evening market was at its busiest.


    Continue your adventure with empire


    Stalls disying various signs for ve vending lined both sides of the street. Each store hadrge iron cages at the entrance, containing some "samples" on disy.


    Tags with the prices of the merchandise hung at the entrances.


    "Prime subhumans ¡ê10-20W Riso each, better prices for bulk purchases"


    "Adult giants from ¡ê800,000 Riso each"


    "Rare species frost maiden from ¡ê5 million each"


    Here, at the ce of origin, the prices listed were much cheaper than those at Gadronte Harbor in Luying.


    After all, the rate of loss during ve transport was also quite high.


    Transporting them across the sea to Luying''s territory, they might encounter storms, gues, pirates, and a series of other uncertain factors, and there was also the possibility ofplete loss. A survival rate of fifty to sixty percent was quite good.


    Apart from the shops, the market also had stalls set up by neutral adventure groups and ver teams. These scattered ves were secured with anti-magic chains in lines, like livestock, and led along the street for sale.


    The streets were crowded with people, and here one could pick first-hand, the most affordable and best ves. Wealthy gentlemen anddies in meticulous attire were selecting ves with their respirator masks on, haggling over the prices.


    ....


    The natives of the icy ins bathed rarely, and the smell of their animal hides was strong. Particrly the trolls, who were hairy and never bathed in their lives, emitted a pungent odor that could be smelled from a distance. There were no toilets for the ves; they ate, drank, and relieved themselves all within the cages, which contributed to the peculiar smell in the air of the ve market.


    Su Lun walked along the street, specifically looking for a shop that sold subhumans.


    If possible, he also wouldn''t mind purchasing ves of the Dalu tribe. But there were simply too many ves here, and his financial abilities could not possibly cover the cost. Moreover, a constant stream of ves was being captured each day. In this world where the strong preyed on the weak, buying and selling did not address the root problem.


    Su Lun visited many shops, looking for one that could speak themonnguage, capable ofmunication, just like the Dalu elder Pasu who had prophesied for himst time.


    But he found none.


    Eventually, after quite some time, he arrived at therge-scale ve trading section of the market.


    Just as he walked over, he saw several overseers from major ve trading firms idly chatting at the entrance of a warehouse.


    Even without deliberately listening, he picked up some information.


    "Damn it, our guild has had several good ver teams attacked in Silent Forest recently. Just when they had captured a good number of ves, those ves got released by someone!"


    "It must have been the work of ''Fist of Justice'' Hodge... I heard that guy is now organizing a resistance, opposing the ve trade. I heard he''s rallied some different races on the icy ins to resist ve capturing, and many of our guild''s ver teams have been ambushed frequently by those people."


    "That damn guy, he should have stuck to being a bounty hunter instead of meddling in the ve trade! This is a legitimate business allowed by imperialw! Oh, those people who decry ''the ve trade is shameful,'' do they know how much tax revenue we generate for the empire? Without us, the empire''s fleet would be at least two-tenths smaller! Two-tenths!"


    "Yeah, the business is getting harder and harder to run..."


    "..."


    Su Lun walked over.


    A goateed overseer, quick to notice him, immediately approached with a smile, "Are you looking to buy ves, sir? Oh, you''vee to the right ce, our ''Sun ve Trading Firm'' has the mostprehensive variety and highest quality ves!"


    As he spoke, he sized up Su Lun''s Scavenger attire, and subtly hinted, "Sir, how many ves do you need?"


    This ce was for wholesale, not small trades.


    Su Lun remembered the "Sun ve Trading Firm," one of the biggest in the capital. The batch of ves he had previously bought at Gadronte Harbor had indeed been sold by this firm.


    He tossed a silver coin as a tip and said, "Show me around. I''d like to buy some subhumans."


    Seeing Su Lun''svish tipping, the goateed overseer brightened up, "Right away, sir. Please, this way. We have some samples in the shop, and if you''re not satisfied, we can go to the warehouse where we have many more."


    Su Lun remained silent, following him.


    The major trading firm held arge number of ves, housed like in a breeding farm, with ves categorized and locked in rows of iron cages.


    To facilitate inspection by customers, many ves, especially female ones, were only dressed in thin animal skins for disy. They shivered in the chill wind, their skin showing signs of frostbite turning purple and blue.


    "Do you have any particr requirements for the humanoid creatures, such as type, skin color, age, gender, height?"


    The goat-bearded manager always shed a professional smile at Su Lun.


    While asking, he pointed to the cage and introduced, "If you''re looking to buy a maid, I rmend the deer-type humanoids. They are rtively gentle and easy to domesticate. If you want a more pleasant living experience, the rabbit-type and fox-type humanoids are also good... I can guarantee with the reputation of our business that what we sell are top quality goods and untouched by anyone else! It''s not like those inferior goods out there that you don''t know how many hands they''ve passed through..."


    Su Lun, expressionless, asked, "Are there any among the humanoids who speak a bit of Common Language?"


    The goat-bearded manager showed a troubled expression, "Oh~ those are very rare. Only a very few humanoids can speak the Common Language. Usually, they''re not easily captured..."


    In a tone full of wealth, Su Lun stated casually, "Price isn''t an issue."


    At these words, the goat-bearded manager''s eyes brightened, and he said, "I''m not too sure myself. Perhaps, we could go to the warehouse to check?"


    Su Lun silently nodded.


    ....


    Su Lun followed the manager around the back of the shop and through a heavily guarded iron door into arge underground warehouse.


    The lighting was very dim, a sea of cagesrgely covered with canvas.


    Su Lun felt the soul mes, estimating there were probably several hundred people.


    The sound of rustling emerged from the cages as they heard someone descending.


    With a "tter".


    The manager signaled to a worker behind him and lifted the canvas off one of the cages, saying, "These were just brought in by the hunting team the day before yesterday, mostly rare snow fox and wolf-type humanoids. Truly high-quality goods..."


    Su Lun nced at them; these humanoids were nearly indistinguishable from humans, except for the furry ears on their heads and tails behind them, and they appeared gentle. Their ages also seemed to range from teens to twenties.


    But he also saw pairs of eyes filled with hatred.


    Meanwhile, that worker threw a few ck loaves into the cage. About ten people per cage, no scrambling over food urred, as an older humanoid picked up the bread, broke it into pieces, and distributed them among the group. The small piece of bread they each received was barely a tenth of what a normal person would eat in a day.


    The manager, catching Su Lun''s gaze, exined, "You know, the humanoids we just captured are very wild. We can''t feed them too much; otherwise, they''ll have the energy to make trouble, which can be very problematic."


    He had known all along that among this batch, there likely weren''t any who spoke the Common Language.


    Even if there were, they would hide it, absolutely unwilling tomunicate with humans.


    Bringing Su Lun down was intended to show him these good quality goods.


    If he could sell them here, the profits would generally be higher.


    Of course, Su Lun was aware of this, and he was thinking about how to select someone who understood Common Language.


    He had hoped to try the one sentence of Druidic he knew, likest time. Just then, suddenly from a distance within the warehouse, there came a rattling of chains. It was as if a ferocious beast confined in one of the cages had suddenly awoken and was struggling violently.


    He sensed that this soul me was higher than all the other humanoids here, roughly equivalent to a third-level professional.


    Su Lun cast a puzzled look, "What is that?"


    The manager looked slightly troubled and shrugged, "That''s a humanoid we caught yesterday. Very wild, very fierce. The hunting team said she seems to be the one who evaded capture when their tribe was taken. She followed all the way and came to Blizzard City. Yesterday she sneaked into the warehouse trying to free these ves. Heh, she almost seeded."


    "..."


    Su Lun naturally sensed that the warehouse seemedx in security, but in reality, there were fourth-level guards lurking in the darkness.


    Upon hearing this, his interest was piqued, "Show me."


    The stronger the individual within the Druid tribe, the more likely they were to speak Common Language.


    The manager reluctantly led him to the corner and to the iron cage.


    Upon lifting the canvas, what was revealed was not a person but a huge beast. It resembled both a fox and a wolf, its body covered in noble white fur which was stained with blood. Rune chains pierced through the limbs of this snow fox, and blood flowed freely.


    Despite this, she continued to struggle, trying to break free from the chains.


    Seeing someone approach, she red ferociously at the two outside the cage, emitting a terrifying growl.


    This murderous re made the manager''s scalp tingle, and he exined, "I don''t know why she still maintains such a beast-like form; she must be a very rare species. To capture her, ourpany even lost several men."


    After a pause, he turned to Su Lun, "Esteemed guest, let''s look at the others. This type of ve is very troublesome to domesticate, and if you buy her, it might be dangerous for you..."


    Su Lun, however, disregarded these words, walked up to the cage, and asked, "Do you speak Common Language? If you do, I''ll buy you."


    Just as he finished speaking, predictably, the only response from the snow fox was a growl.


    Seeing this, Su Lun didn''t say more. He turned to nce at the manager and suddenly said, "You''re feeling a bit sleepy..."


    The manager, having just made eye contact with the glint in Su Lun''s eyes, hadn''t had time to react when his pupils dted, appearing to freeze in ce.


    This was visual hypnotism.


    Su Lun''s spiritual power made hypnotizing an ordinary person easier than ever.


    He didn''t bother with it anymore, turned his head toward the cage containing the snow fox, and spoke, "&*%§æ%£¤§×£¤..."


    This was the only sentence of the Dalunguage he knew.


    As expected, upon hearing this, the snow fox immediately calmed down.


    Always so effective.


    Those deep blue eyes looked at the human in front of them, filled with incredulity.


    Su Lun didn''t dy, and said, "If you can understand themon tongue, just nod your head, I mean you no harm. I know Elder Pasu, if he is still alive."


    Clearly, the white fox understood; she looked at Su Lun, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly nodded.


    She really does understand!


    Su Lun was pleased, but knew it was not the time for small talk.


    Guards hidden in the distance had discovered something.


    The steward snapped back from his momentary daze, not remembering what had just happened, patted his head, "Oh, where was I just now? Oh, sir, shall we go see something else?"


    Pointing at the now calm snow fox in the cage, Su Lun asked, "I like this one, how much is it?"


    The steward looked troubled, "But..."


    Su Lun shook his head, "Just name your price, I''ll take responsibility if anything happens."


    Upon hearing this, the steward didn''t say more. Businessmen only care about profit, his mind immediately became active, "This is a rare breed capable ofplete transformation. At the Imperial Capital''s auction house, I think, she could sell for at least ten million riso!"


    Clearly, he had just blurted out a price just then.


    Su Lun didn''t want to be taken for a fool; moreover, he didn''t have much money on him now, "It''s precisely because she is a rare breed that I''m a bit interested. A fixed price, three million! That''s already ten times the price of an ordinary ve!"


    The steward, with a flicker of shrewdness in his eyes, pretended to be in a difficult position, "I''m sorry, I can''t decide on this. I have to ask the boss. Of course, if you can offer five million, I think even if I sold her, the boss wouldn''t me me..."


    Su Lun knew there was still room for bargaining, but didn''t want to waste time, "Fine!"


    As he spoke, he took out tworge bags of coins from the Storage Ring and handed them over, "Count the money."


    The steward had never expected the deal to be concluded so briskly and internally cursed himself for quoting too low a price.


    But the money had already been handed over, and he had no choice but to ept it and count it, then he said, "Sir, the ve is yours now."


    .....


    Before long, the ve tradingpany''s staff moved the iron cage wrapped in canvas to the warehouse of the "Owl Inn" where Su Lun was staying.


    After waiting for the people to leave, Su Lun lifted the canvas and saw the weak-looking white fox inside the cage.


    The severe injuries,pounded by two days without food, hadpelled her to feign fierceness at the ve market, evidently using thest of her strength.


    Su Lun opened the iron cage and then unlocked the rune chains that pierced through her limbs. The chains contained a toxin that prevented wounds from healing and, due to her previous struggles, were covered in blood. When he pulled out the chains, arge pool of thick blood followed.


    The white fox appeared even weaker.


    Showing her his ring engraved with the Isaac family crest, Su Lun introduced himself while removing the chains, "My name is Su Lun. I need a little help from you. It would be better if we could meet with the Grand Druid of the Dalu tribe. The heir of the Isaac family asked me to ry a few words..."


    After hearing this, thest trace of tenseness in the white fox''s eyes rxed. She spoke in humannguage, her voice very weak, "I am Yuta, a druid of the ''White Wolf Tribe''..."


    Su Lun nodded, signaling her not to say too much.


    Yet, looking at her four to five meter long white fox body, he frowned.


    It wasn''t going to be convenient to enter the inn in this shape.


    He asked, "By the way, can you transform back into human form?"


    No sooner had he spoken than the white fox seemed to want to say something; her eyes dimmed, and she suddenly fainted.


    Then the huge beastly body visibly shrank, and a tide of snow-white fur receded, transforming into a sleek human form. This was a sub-human female with short snow-white hair and a red inverted triangle totem on her face.


    Seeing Yuta curled up in the corner of the cage, Su Lun sighed softly.


    Too weak, after all, she couldn''t hold on.


    The warehouse of the inn was very cold and not a ce to treat injuries. He took out a cloak, wrapped it around the white-haired girl, and then picked her up.


    He cleaned the blood stains in the cage with a potion, carried the girl, and went up the stairs of the inn.


    He then arrived at room 303 on the third floor.


    The room was warm, with heating.


    After entering the house, Su Lunid the person on the bed.@@novelbin@@


    The wound was still bleeding, quickly soaking arge area of the snow-white sheets in red.


    If not treated quickly, the injury could cost her life.


    Su Lun didn''t dy, took out a potion to treat the wound, carefully cleaned her wound, and then, with an eight-arm spider spear, manipted surgical instruments that rapidly stitched up the wound.


    He multitasked efficiently, equal to an entire medical team by himself. A not tooplicated surgery was basically resolved in half an hour.


    Yuta was still feverish, and he injected another dose of healing medicine.


    Being a different species from humans, Su Lun wasn''t sure if human medicine would work on the Dalu.


    But after observing for a few minutes, the injury was improving, seemingly effective.


    Su Lun cleaned the bloodstains on the bed, covered Yuta with a nket, and hid her graceful figure.


    No wonder the Dalu were so highly sought after in the ve market by the wealthy, with their appearance and figures leaving little to be desired. Their limbs and torsos were powerfully toned, indeed possessing a wild beauty different from human females.


    However, Su Lun was also curious about exactly what sub-species Yuta belonged to.


    Earlier while tending to the wound, he noticed her hair was a high-quality snow-white, she had a pair of furry pointed ears, and a soft tail attached to her cyx. Other than that, she resembled a human.


    Su Lun wasn''t sure if she was from the fox tribe or the wolf tribe.


    Listening to her breathing stabilize, he finally rxedpletely.


    ....


    Outside, it was already dark, and night had fallen.


    Snow piled thick on the windowsill, and looking out, he could see the orange glow of lights and the smoke rising from the chimney of the house opposite.


    It might still take a while for Yuta to awaken.


    Having found the right person, Su Lun was no longer in a hurry.


    He sat by the window and started messing with the witch''s hair.


    The eight-arm spider spear took out a micro-engraving knife and began to carve runes.


    Now that he had advanced, facing enemies above the third rank, the untreated witch''s hair clearly wasn''t enough.


    Like when he had killed "Poison Frog" Bonn, the thread had easily been corroded and broken by the toxin.


    He needed more durable hair.


    Fortunately, after killing that guy, he stripped almost aplete "Fourth-Tier Water Elemental Law", the rune inscription after wrapping it with water element could increase the toughness of the hair several times. Next time he encountered a fourth-tier professional, it wouldn''t break so easily.


    "Swish," "Swish," "Swish," "Swish"...


    The room was filled with a dense, fine noise.


    Su Lun''s engraving speed was incredibly fast.


    Previously, inscribing runes for increased toughness on the hair, he managed only several tens of meters a day.


    Now that he had awakened the ability to multitask, his engraving was seamless, and his efficiency had increased tenfold.


    Before long, he had produced arge quantity of rune-inscribed hair.


    Later in the night, finding the engraving too monotonous, while some spider spears worked on the hair, he also took out puppet and mechanical materials bought from the ck market during the day, and started tinkering with his new puppet.


    The Iron Ore produced in the Northern Ice ins was a rare material capable of carrying Ice Runes of the fourth tier and above. With this material, Su Lun could mass produce the new variety of "Frost Dolls". Once this puppet army was formed, spewing frost everywhere, theck of control in his puppet army would also be significantlypensated.


    There were also the "Alchemical Golems" that his teacher Seraya had researched. Now that he had high-grade demon cores, he could begin his studies as well.


    .....


    Su Lun had bought Yuta, but unbeknownst to him, a team in Blizzard City was also eyeing that batch of subhuman ves.


    "What, that Druid was bought?"


    "Yes, just half an hour ago."


    "Damn! Having finally found a tribe with a Druid, just about to sail out, and she disappears?"


    "No, boss, she hasn''t disappeared. The person is staying at the ''Owl Inn'', and the subhuman ve is there too."


    "Keep a close watch! As soon as that person leaves town with her, immediately notify me. We can''t fail this ''rescue mission'' again."


    "Yes, boss."

 Chapter 243 The Person Who Is Following

    Su Lun fiddled with his silk threads and puppets untilte at night, producing quite a few finished products.


    As dawn approached, feeling somewhat tired, he sat cross-legged on the carpet and began to meditate.


    He needed adequate rest to recuperate his energy.


    Meditation Technique required enduring solitude, often demanding great perseverance. But with habituation, the efficiency of cultivation would increase, and the need for sleep dwindled. High-efficiency meditation had the effect of deep sleep, not only providing better recovery for the body but also augmenting the "energy" within it.


    Su Lun had now advanced to the third tier, and his body''s capacity to endure dark spiritual power had widened again. [Isaac''s Alchemical Heart] provided him with an endless supply of dark spiritual power, making his extraordinary cultivation progress steadily and swiftly.


    ...


    Blizzard City was known for its howling snow winds year-round, and the nights were extremely cold.


    The number of people on the streets dwindled as the night deepened.


    Close to dawn, when the sun rose, the temperature could drop to tens of degrees below zero, causing any skin exposed to the air to ache as if scraped by a rough sharpening stone. Even professionals were loath to wander outside in such low temperatures.


    Therefore, Su Lun noticed something unusual.


    "Huh... am I being watched?"


    In the midst of meditation, his eyes suddenly opened.


    He had not been entirely sure before, but after observing for quite some time, he was finally certain that someone was tailing him.


    And they were not alone.


    In room 307 on the same floor, someone had been peeking through the door crack for half the night; there was a shivering individual in the alley by the building entrance; and another in the back warehouse.


    No one would be strolling outside on such a freezing night out of sheer boredom.


    The three stalkers were very cautious, clearly trained professional spies.


    Two of them were second tier, one third tier.


    Their hiding spots were in blind spots unobservable from Su Lun''s room, and they avoided making any noise that might give them away.


    If Su Lun did not have the ability of Soul Perception, he really would not have noticed them.


    But now, though his range of Soul Perception was not too wide, it was just enough to cover the "Owl Hotel" and the lower half of the street below, making it impossible for the stalkers to hide their every move from him.


    Su Lun also suspected that they might be from the "Red Shark Pirate Group," or perhaps someone from the ck market had targeted him.


    But obviously, that wasn''t the case.


    He was certain he had not seen these three "fires of souls" before; they had appeared only after he had purchased Yuta.


    And having received professional training, they were very likely people from some significant force.


    This meant that they were most likely not his enemies.


    "Are they after Yuta?"


    Su Lun frowned, feeling somewhat puzzled.


    In the eyes of humans, Yuta was just a ve of another race; no one should go to such lengths to watch her.


    If there were any vendetta, they would have acted immediately.


    But considering the manner of the surveince, it seemed they did not intend to strike but merely to observe.


    It appeared they just wanted to keep track of Yuta''s movements.


    "How strange..."


    Su Lun''s mind raced with thoughts, pondering various possibilities.


    Lacking some essential information, he could not determine the purpose of those people.


    With this in mind, he looked up at the white-haired girl sleeping on the bed, nning to ask her when she woke up.


    Meanwhile, perhaps because her injuries had mostly healed, the nutrition solution and Potion had rejuvenated her body, and feeling the gaze upon her, Yuta suddenly opened her eyes!


    The Dalu tribe were children of nature, possessing beast-like instincts.


    Yuta seemed to wake from a nightmare.


    In the moment of awakening, her eyes flickered with a wolf-like caution and sharp glimmer. With a roll, she adopted a four-legged attack posture, her hands and feet turning into wolf ws, her sharp nails glinting menacingly. In an instant, she was ready forbat.


    But before she fully transformed, her gaze met Su Lun''s.


    The wariness in Yuta''s eyes dissipated instantly, and her half-transformed body quickly reverted to human form.


    "You''re awake?"


    Su Lun took off the clown mask, revealing his face, "Try not to move too vigorously, the sutured wounds haven''t fully healed yet."


    He cautioned her with a sentence, then said, "There are clothes by the bed, you can put them on first."@@novelbin@@


    Upon hearing this, Yuta realized that she was still bare.


    Under the warm light, her skin appeared as smooth and lustrous as warm jade, her body''s lines looking incredibly natural and filled with a wild beauty.


    The Dalu tribe''s faith is in the nature goddess, and many of their thoughts and perspectives differ from humans; thus, there wasn''t much shyness on her face.


    She didn''t know what had happened during her unconsciousness but memories prior to it flooded her mind. Seeing the stitches on her arms and legs, she understood that it was this man before her who had saved and healed her.


    As a Druid, she was adept at Healing Techniques herself. This was the first time she had been treated with human medical skills, and Yuta couldn''t help but murmur instinctively within her heart: what an odd stitching technique...


    The precision of the stitches was somewhat beyond expectation.


    In a moment, she looked at the dress Su Lun had prepared for her, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowing.


    Being ustomed to wrapping herself in beast skins, she was obviously puzzled by such aplicated textile.


    Su Lun also noticed Yuta''s plight and gave her some directions, after which she began to dress.


    The fluffy hem of the dress was just right to cover the soft, silver tail. With the addition of a hat, the pair of furry beast ears could also be concealed.


    She almost looked like a human.


    While Yuta dressed, Su Lun straightforwardly said, "Elder Yuta, as I mentioned before, I need a bit of your help. Furthermore, if possible, I''d like to meet with the current n Leader of the nobility, the descendant of the Aisak family entrusted me with a few words concerning an ancient oath."


    The Druids of the Dalu tribe are somewhat like tribal Priests, so addressing them as Elders is not incorrect.


    "An oath?! Do... do humans still remember the oath?"


    Yuta''s blue crystalline eyes trembled slightly at the statement, clearly unsettled.


    She looked at Su Lun and asked, "Are you, Mr. Su Lun... a descendant of Sir Isaac?"


    The term "Mister" seemed awkward for her, but as she was learning themonnguage of humans which appeared to be a term of respect, she used it.


    Su Lun nodded, "Yes. But someone else entrusted me with the message."


    Being a disciple of Selena, he naturally counted as a sessor to Isaac.


    However, the fact that Mr. Jing was the direct daughter of Sir Isaac wasn''t something he could divulge casually; he nned to meet with the current n Leader of the Dalu tribe personally and convey the words entrusted by his own sister.


    Hearing this, Yuta pondered for a moment, seemingly in thought, without responding immediately.


    Then, she looked at Su Lun and asked, "You said... there was something you needed my help with?"


    "Yes," Su Lun replied.


    He observed the caution in her expression and didn''t mind.


    The rtionship between humans and the Dalu tribe could not be considered good. Even though he had saved her, he could understand her caution.


    He said, "My spiritual power has mutated. I''ve heard that Druids of the Dalu tribe are proficient in healing and might be able to resolve this issue. So, I wanted to ask."


    Probably dealing with a human for the first time, Yuta appeared somewhat reserved.


    Hearing Su Lun''s words, she hesitated for a moment before asking, "May I take a look first?"


    Su Lun: "How do you want to look?"


    Yuta: "I need to hold your hand."


    Su Lun readily extended his hand to her.


    Yuta took Su Lun''s hand, like a Chinese doctor taking a pulse, and then a bundle of green light emerged from her hand.


    Su Lun didn''t feel anything special in his body, but he sensed as if a will had entered his mind, trying to peek at the "Ferocious Beast" he had caged inside.


    However, it didn''t seem to go smoothly.


    Probably sensing the rampant negative emotions, like facing a surge of bloodthirsty waves head-on, Yuta was shocked in an instant, retracting her hand as if receiving an electric shock.


    She had never seen such a terrifying will before.


    Yuta''splexion suddenly turned very solemn, and her gaze towards Su Lun grew strange, "You... your situation is extremely dangerous!"


    "Mhm."


    Su Lun nodded and offered her a kind smile, saying, "I''m aware of my situation. That''s why I wanted to ask if there''s any way to solve it."


    "I''m sorry, I can''t solve it..."


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    A slight sense of guilt passed across Yuta''s pretty face.


    Initially, she thought that since this human had saved her, she could repay him with her expertise in Healing Techniques.


    The people of the Dalu tribe would not be indebted to their savior.


    But she hadn''t anticipated the situation to be so tricky, presenting her with an unprecedented problem.


    Su Lun was not surprised to hear this.


    Since Mr. Jing had mentioned it would take a seventh-tier Druid to possibly solve the issue, it was only natural that Yuta couldn''t resolve it.


    He was about to say it didn''t matter when he heard Yuta continue, "This situation can probably only be handled by the great Druids of our n..."


    Su Lun asked curiously, "Does our n have a great Druid right now?"


    Yuta responded, "Yes. The n leader and several elders are great Druids."


    Su Lun found it somewhat unbelievable. If the Dalu n truly had seventh-tier masters, their group wouldn''t be in the situation they currently were.


    He thought of something and asked in a slightly strange tone, "May I ask, what tier is your great elder now?"


    Yuta responded, "Fifth-tier."


    Although she didn''t understand why Su Lun was asking this question, she seemed to catch the doubt in his voice and instinctively exined, "Hundreds of years ago, our Dalu n had a great war with the deep sea giants. That led to..."


    She suddenly stopped there.


    It seemed that she realized she was touching on some secrets of the n and wasn''t sure if she should continue. Her trembling eyes betrayed her inner struggle.


    Hesitating for a moment, Yuta could only change her words and say, "I can take Mr. Su Lun to the Sacred Lake to see the n leader. Then you will naturally understand."


    "Mmm."


    Su Lun''s eyebrows slightly lifted, revealing a friendly smile.


    Though they hadn''t talked much, he could see that the Dalu n had a simple nature and didn''t possess the deceitful mindsets human beings often had.


    So when they encountered sensitive topics, Yuta''s facial expressions would be stiff, making it obvious what she was thinking.


    Su Lun didn''t mind either.


    A visit there also suited his interests, to broaden his horizons and see if he could solve the issue with his spiritual distortion while also passing on a message to his senior sister.


    Moreover, he had received information from the "smuggling gang" previously, that the Silent Forest indeed contained "Nightmare Spiders," which were among the potential candidates for the main materials he needed.


    Lords of the strange were not easy to find, and since the Dalu n were the masters of that forest, they likely knew more.


    ....


    Just as Su Lun was about to ask for clues about the materials, Yuta seemed to recall something, her face showing difficulty, "Only the masters of our Dalu n can reach the Sacred Lake. But I might not be able to take you there myself. I must find a way to quickly rescue my nspeople, or they will be taken away by the ve merchants..."


    "Rescue?"


    Su Lun was not surprised to hear this.


    From the ve merchants, he had heard she was caught because she came to Blizzard City to rescue her nspeople.


    But upon hearing this, ideas suddenly shed through Su Lun''s mind. He thought of the three people who were keeping watch outside at this moment.


    "Ah...that''s right!"


    Furrowing his brows, Yuta seemed to think of apromise.


    With a "rip," she tore off a piece of the bedsheet, concentrated a ball of light on her fingertip, then wrote some Dalu script on it and handed it to Su Lun, saying, "You can go to the ''Eagle Beak Pass'' on the west side of the forest. My nspeople patrol there. When they see my token, they will take you to the Sacred Lake."


    While speaking, she also sketched a simple map on the back of the bedsheet, showing how to get to that pass.


    Su Lun looked at the token and could tell Yuta had no intention of asking for his help, intending to rescue the people herself.


    After considering, he didn''t rush to express his stance. He asked, "Elder Yuta, have you noticed anyone keeping an eye on you?"


    Yuta appeared utterly clueless, clearly unaware, and asked in confusion, "Mr. Su Lun, what do you mean?"


    Su Lun said, "I''ve noticed there are a few people keeping watch around this inn. If I''m not mistaken, they''re watching you."


    Yuta still looked puzzled.


    Clearly, neither of them could figure out the purpose of those people.


    Was it possible that Yuta had some valuable object on her?


    No... if she had anything valuable, it would have been confiscated when she was captured.


    Then why were they watching her?


    Unable toe up with a reason, Su Lun thought and then said, "There might be something fishy about this situation. So, don''t be hasty in taking action. I''ll go and gather some information first. Your nspeople won''t be setting out to sea for several days. It''s better to understand the shipping situation, as acting on the sea has a higher sess rate than making a move in the city."


    Not to mention, he was currently out of money and couldn''t afford to buy the batch of non-human ves.


    Even if he had the money, given the current circumstances, he feared that buying them might alsoe with unforeseenplications.


    He wanted to rify the situation first.


    If there was really any way he could help, he didn''t mind nning to be a pirate for once.


    Yuta listened to Su Lun''s n, which seemed far more reliable than her rashly attempting a lone rescue.


    Although she felt uneasy about asking humans for help, thinking of her nsmen, she nodded, "Thank you, Mr. Su Lun, for the trouble."


    Su Lun smiled and shook his head.


    At that moment, he took out a mechanicalmunicator and handed it to Yuta, saying, "This is amunicator, the method of use is straightforward, we have several codes... First, I have to make sure if those people are really keeping an eye on you."


    Yuta listened intently to Su Lun''s n, a serious look in her eyes.


    ....


    Soon after, a figure smashed through the window of room 303 at the Owl Inn and leaped out. The crisp sound of shattering ss broke the silent dawn.


    Yuta jumped down from the building and quickly dashed into the alleyways.


    Disheveled, hasty, panicking, like a fleeing ve.


    This noise instantly attracted the attention of the nearby surveince personnel.


    In the room, Su Lun felt two fires of souls on the street below swiftly giving chase, murmuring to himself, "They''re really going after her. Those guys must have some means of tracking Yuta''s whereabouts..."


    He thought of something, left a body meant for reanimation material in the room, creating some wounds that looked like they were caused by wolf ws.


    Then he set a fire, burning the body.


    Next, he used Spatial Teleportation, moving to another open room in the inn.


    Themotion immediately stirred up the inn; the ze in the room was extinguished before it spread further, but the body was charred to a crisp.


    Room 303 became a crime scene where a ve had killed their master and escaped.


    Seeing the body, the person keeping surveince from room 307 of the inn also left.


    Su Lun mingled with the crowd of onlookers to observe for a while, and finding nothing out of ce, he then left.


    He was now one hundred percent certain, the surveince personnel were indeed targeting Yuta.


    ....


    As a Druid, Yuta was not weak either.


    Especially in the snow, she had many stealthy methods and need not worry.


    Su Lun waited a while and heard no sounds of a fight, confirming that those people just wanted to watch her and had no intention of taking action.


    He then stopped worrying and went back to his room to rest for a while.


    When dawn broke, Su Lun left the inn.


    He hadn''t forgotten that there was someone still enduring the "ice punishment."


    In the central za of the city, there was a huge white stone statue, a monument the residents had carved tomemorate the first Town Lord of Blizzard City.


    On the edge of the square was the headquarters of the city''s security, where more than a dozen crosses stood at the entrance of the spire-topped building. Each cross had a person bound to it, men and women alike, all stripped bare.


    These were the individuals who had vited the city''sws and were subjected to the wind punishment by the security team.


    Some were already frozen into ice, while others still clung to life.


    ....


    Having been subjected to the cold wind all night, Gik, butt naked, was puzzled, how had he not died?


    He knew the rules of Blizzard City well.


    His survival meant someone had paid his bail to the security, and that''s why the guards had applied anti-freeze ointment on him and turned on the heating pipes'' hot water for his cross.


    Even so, Gik was barely clinging to life.


    When the sun rose and the sunlight shone on him, he finally felt alive again.


    While he was still in a daze, he suddenly heard amotion close to his ear, "Kid, your punishment is over. Next time, remember, don''tmit the crime again!"


    The man roughly untied the ropes, and Gik copsed to the ground. Some of his skin, which had not been reached by the heating pipe, tore off, leaving a horrific crimson but hardly any blood flowed out.


    Gik felt no pain.


    Then he felt someone covering him with a thick cloak.


    The instant it was ced on him, Gik experienced a surge of warmth.


    He struggled to open his eyes and saw a person in a ck cloak. The person, wearing a mask, tilted their head towards him, saying, "Let''s go. We''ll find another ce to treat your wounds."


    Gik only felt the voice was very familiar, but after being in the cold wind all night, he felt his brain had gone numb.


    It took a long while before he snapped back to reality, and to his great surprise, he thought, "Mr. Nichs?"

 Chapter 244 Accepted a Disciple

    Gik had calmed down considerably.


    Although he had only seen him once before, Su Lun had a favorable impression of this enthusiastic, polite, and intelligent young boy.


    But now, Gik stood motionless like a puppet.


    He silently followed behind Su Lun, leaning on a cane.


    Having walked a few steps and left the central square, Gik couldn''t help but speak up, "Are you Mr. Nichs?"


    His voice trembled from the cold.


    Su Lun responded indifferently, "Hmm."


    "It really is you..."


    Gik felt a surge of emotions upon hearing this.


    In Blizzard City, he had no rtives or friends; now, with his own father dead, the members of the chamber ofmerce had turned into that wicked woman''s subordinates, and no one woulde to rescue him.


    He never imagined that the gentleman who had once saved him at sea woulde to his rescue.


    Yet, thinking further, Gik worriedly said, "Mr. Nichs, thank you for rescuing me. But... you shouldn''t havee forward to save me. If I am alive, that couple will surely send someone to kill me. You will be implicated too."


    "Hehe... it doesn''t matter."


    Su Lun smiled casually.


    He naturally sensed the two sneaky fellows following behind him.


    Their tracking skills were amateurish, far worse than those fromst night, and they looked more like ruffians from Blizzard City.


    Hearing this, Gik''s worried expression deepened.


    Although he knew Mr. Nichs was a powerful Rune Master,


    but... Captain Raman was a formidable third-tier professional!


    Su Lun did not exin further, and casually asked, "What exactly happened, how did you end up like this?"


    Upon hearing this, Gik, overwhelmed with sorrow and anger, said, "That couple plotted against my father at sea. An old servant fought desperately to shield me from disaster, and I managed to escape by jumping into the sea, thanks to the intable life raft you gave me... Later, I came to Blizzard City, wanting to expose that couple''s malicious nature, but that woman was already on guard. The moment I showed up, I was almost caught... Luckily, I had made a bomb, lost a leg, and thus escaped with my life..."


    The situation was about what Su Lun had guessed.


    That Captain Raman and Gik''s stepmother Marian had been in cahoots for a long time. They were originally a pair of swindlers, masquerading and seducing wealthy individuals before engineering idents to seize their fortunes.


    Originally, Benson had not intended to take his son Gik on a long voyage, but Marian had persuaded him with pillow talk and brought him along.


    Only if the heir was also taken out of the equation would she, as the widow, possibly inherit the Benson family''s fortune.


    But now, there had been a slight mishap, and Gik hadn''t died. Discover exclusive tales on empire


    That meant, without killing him, that couple wouldn''t be able to get their hands on Benson''s fortune.


    Captain Raman was just an ordinary third-tier professional to Su Lun, who did not regard him highly. Instead, he was more interested in Gik''s affairs and asked, "That bomb you used in the inn before, did you make it yourself?"


    Gik nodded slightly, "Hmm."


    Recalling the bomb that was much more powerful than conventional explosives, Su Lun asked, "The special nitropound used in the bomb, did you blend that yourself too?"


    Although Gik didn''t know why Su Lun was asking these questions, he nodded again and added, "Hmm. I found a fragment of an ancient goblin explosives form in the academy library. After many experiments, I managed to create it."


    Su Lun found it interesting, as this fellow seemed to have a real talent for tinkering with explosives, "Weren''t you interested in bing a designer? Why do you like ying with explosives?"


    "I..."


    Hearing this, Gik fell silent.


    Seemingly reminded of something, his eyes filled with sadness. He sighed, then said, "No, that was actually my father''s wish. He wanted me to be an architect in the future. You know, even in the imperial society, being a designer is a very respectable profession. My father didn''t want me tinkering with those dangerous explosives, I..."


    As he spoke, tears filled Gik''s eyes.


    His most respected father was no longer alive.


    Heartbroken, his face contorted with conflict and ferocity, "But actually, my true dream is to be an ''ammunition expert.'' My dream is to create the world''s most powerful bomb. I love the moment when gunpowder bursts into me, I..."


    As he spoke, his expression darkened, and his voice suddenly weakened, "If I could have created a more powerful bomb, my father wouldn''t have died..."


    Su Lun listened expressionlessly.


    Hatred often bes the greatest motivation for progression, and what Gik was enduring now might be a good thing for his future.


    As he said this, Gik looked again at Su Lun and asked, "Mr. Nichs, do you know... did that wicked woman get blown up?"


    "She didn''t. She just lost a leg."


    Su Lun shook his head, sensing something else, and added, "Otherwise, they wouldn''t have hired people to keep an eye on you."


    Hearing this, a look of shock shed across Gik''s face, "Then you..."


    At that moment, Su Lun was already leading him into an alley between houses with red brick walls.


    Gik instinctively looked back just in time to see the two amateur trackers who had clumsily followed them. But before he could say anything, he saw the two men who had just entered the alley suddenly stop.


    Without warning, "ng," heads fell to the ground.


    "This..."


    Gik didn''t know how Su Lun had managed it, but the scene left him stunned.


    He had never thought murder could be so casually executed, and as he watched the human fountains in front of him, he was dumbfounded, "Did you... do this?"


    Su Lun smiled and said nothing more.


    He walked over, skillfully cleaned up the body, and calmly called out, "Let''s go."


    Indeed, Blizzard City did not permit fighting, but that was only if the safety guards caught you.


    If you could silently kill someone and dispose of the body properly, no murder case would be established.


    Jick watched the figure who had killed and leftposedly, feeling a storm of emotions inside.


    How could Mr. Nichs be so powerful?!


    ....


    Su Lun found a nearby inn and settled Jick down.


    His injuries were not a big problem; after using potions for frostbite, he would recover in a few days.


    Jick, wrapped like a mummy, was full of gratitude. "Thank you for saving me, Mr. Nichs."


    Su Lun took off the rubber gloves he used for surgery and said indifferently, "No need to thank me. You and your father once saved my life."


    He looked at Jick, who, though not seriously injured, had lost a leg, which was a considerable problem.


    Thinking of helpingpletely, Su Lun then took out a steam mechanical leg and added, "If you don''t mind, I n to install a prosthetic leg for you."


    This was one of the spoils of war previously captured in Old Lington. Although it wasn''t neuro-mechanics technology, it fully met the needs for daily life and simplebat.


    Jick stared at the mechanical leg, his eyes at once widening.


    He was no ordinary civilian; the preparatory academy had special courses on steam mechanics. Seeing the finely made mechanical leg, his eyes widened in shock: there was even a miniature steam boiler? This must be military-grade!


    He wanted it, but then he remembered something and stammered, "This... I... but Mr. Nichs, I don''t have the money to buy such a high-end mechanical leg."


    Su Lun shook his head, "No money. It''s a gift."


    With that, he began to dismantle the instation tools for the mechanical leg.


    Su Lun''s vast knowledge of mechanics allowed him to effortlessly dismantle the finished mechanical leg. He even pulled out some parts and impulsively modified it a bit to better fit shorter wearers.


    Soon, the mechanical leg was installed.


    Jick immediately got down and walked around; it was fine for running and jumping. Aside from a slight mechanical noise, it was hardly different from a real leg.


    Seeing that he could walk normally again brought a smile to his face for the first time in many days.


    Su Lun felt he had done everything necessary and debts of gratitude were repaid, so he didn''t n to stay longer. He advised, "Live well from now on. Revenge can be taken slowly; don''t think about dying together with those people. It''s not worth it."


    As Su Lun walked away, Jick had many words of gratitude in his heart but couldn''t utter a single word, "Wait, Mr. Nichs!"


    Su Lun turned to look at him.


    "Please... please..."


    Jick stammered from nervousness.


    After hesitating for a moment, he suddenly bowed deeply and finally gathered the courage to say, "Please take me as your disciple!"


    It was not lost on him that this Mr. Nichs was not only an excellent Rune Master but also proficient in medicine and possessed highly advanced mechanical skills.


    Mysterious and powerful.


    There could be no better candidate for a teacher than such a learned schr!


    The crucial thing was, theposed demeanor during the killing had been deeply etched in Jick''s mind.


    At that moment, he finally clearly knew what kind of person he wanted to be in the future.


    "..."


    When Su Lun heard this, many thoughts shed through his mind in an instant.


    He thought of his own teacher, Sereya, and the scene when he first met Mr. Hei.


    Jick had good talent and a good temperament. After surviving this great ordeal, he also had vast potential for growth.


    It was just missing a bit of opportunity.


    He was somewhat inclined to teach him, but found it a bit troublesome.


    His eyes showed little surprise as he spoke faintly, "My background is a bit special. If you be my disciple, you might get involved in troubles multifold greater than now. And even if I take you as a disciple, I won''t have much time to teach you. Have you thought it through?"


    "I have thought it through!"


    Jick said resolutely, "My father is dead, and I don''t have any rtives left. Please take me as your disciple!"


    Saying so, he knelt on one knee and extended his hands forward, offering the discipleship gesture that meant: Teacher, please impart knowledge to me.


    Seeing him perform this profound salute, Su Lun pondered for a moment. "Very well! From today on, you are my disciple."


    Upon hearing this, Jick was overjoyed and respectfully called out, "Teacher!"


    This being Su Lun''s first time taking a disciple, he was slightly perplexed, not knowing what to do. He asked, "What do you want to learn?"


    Jick was also slightly surprised; wasn''t it the teacher''s prerogative to decide what to teach based on their strengths?


    He politely responded, "Whatever teacher teaches, the disciple will learn."


    Su Lun frowned slightly and said, "My studies are quite varied; alchemy, runes, medicine, mechanics, various magical arts, mysticism, pharmacology... I know a bit of all. An Alchemist definitely needs to be learned. But a person''s energy is limited, and the path ahead, you must choose for yourself."


    Su Lun knew his own path was not suitable for others; others didn''t have the "Death Reaper" talent.


    Nor was everyone a learned Mr. Hei.


    "This..."


    Upon hearing this, Nick immediately felt something was strange.


    How could someone possibly know everything?


    If it were not for knowing that Su Lun had demonstrated extensive knowledge in mechanics and runes, he would certainly have thought this was an unreliable teacher.


    Thinking it over, he said, "Teacher, I want to learn about runes and mechanical explosions!"


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun nodded as well, feeling that the path he chose was quite good, as the future potential of mechanical firearms was boundless.


    Explosives were actually just an offshoot within the branch of alchemical potions.


    In ancient times, some alchemists had discovered that mixing certain materials in specific ratios could cause explosions, which gradually evolved into a specialized field of study.


    "Since I''ve taken you as an apprentice, let me give you a little wee gift."


    With that, Su Lun took out about a dozen thick tomes from his storage space, which piled up nearly half as tall as a man, and added, "These are the tomes on first-level runes and introductory mechanical knowledge; you might start by looking at these. The magical content in these tomes might be different from what you have previously learned, but they lead to the same goal. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions."


    At this point, as though he remembered something, he took out some mechanical blueprints he had studied before, "There are also these introductory blueprints, if you''re interested, you can look at these too..."


    Nick was now a graduate of the preparatory academy, holding the level of a "mechanical apprentice." These tomes were enough to engage him for a long time.


    Teaching was the job of college professors, which was very cumbersome.


    Su Lun did not n to teach Nick hands-on, nor did he have the time.


    Thus, he nned to "free-range."


    ....


    Nick watched as Su Lun pulled out one tome after another, his astonishment growing deeper.


    To know, alchemical knowledge tomes in the Luying Empire were exclusive to the nobility.


    Besides some channels through various preparatory academies to obtain some introductory knowledge, further advanced knowledge could only be obtained at the royal academy or by serving a noble. It was also prohibited on the market.


    He initially thought that Su Lun would take out some textbooks containing only vague theoretical knowledge; little did he know, he would be stunned.


    Items like alchemical forms and mechanical blueprints, which were protected by patents outside, would absolutely not be circted.


    Yet here they were in front of him, tossed out by his own teacher like scrap paper.


    Just these blueprints and forms alone were immeasurably valuable!


    Indeed, most of what Su Lun took out were "textbooks," but the textbooks from Old Lington were different from those outside.


    Since it all stayed inside the private mining area, knowledge wouldn''t leak out. Duke Raphael, aiming to make Old Lington his secret research base, included much "advanced" content without "barriers" in many textbooks; there were also knowledge systems autonomously researched by miners after uncovering ancient relics. This was why the technology level of the dungeons was much higher than that of the entire Luying Empire.


    However, all of this was unknown to Nick.


    He was bing more and more amazed, wondering, just who was his teacher?@@novelbin@@


    A private teacher from a small southern town?


    No!


    Definitely not!


    Nick had experienced major life setbacks these days, and he felt that probably nothing could shock him anymore.


    But looking at the "little wee gift" in front of him, he vaguely felt that his teacher''s background might be a bit extraordinary...


    And what''s more terrifying, whatever he asked, the teacher could answer immediately!


    "Teacher, did the bomb I made earlier fail to kill that man because the dosage was too small?"


    "It''s not an issue of the dosage, but you misjudged the crisis response capability of a third-tier professional. However, arger dosage would indeed have increased the chances of sess."


    "But that was already the limit I tested. Any more dosage, and it would be highly unstable and explode uncontrobly."


    "You can address this issue by starting with runes. On page 119 of ''Introduction to Mechanics,'' there''s a section recorded on ''The Rtionship between Runes and Directed st Stability''..."


    "Teacher, are you a [Schr], or perhaps a [Generalist]?"


    "No, I am a [Puppeteer]."


    "What kind of professional is that?"


    "I''ll tell you about it another time..."


    "..."


    ....


    After Su Lun gave those "wee gifts," Nick immersed himself in the ocean of knowledge.


    This fellow indeed had a learning talent; he found the dry professional knowledge fascinating.


    As a teacher, Su Lun stayed at the inn until noon, clearing up many of Nick''s doubts.


    It wasn''t that he was very idle, but because at this time, the pub areas in the city would start to open.


    He needed to go to a special pub to inquire about some information.


    The entertainment industry in Blizzard City was very developed, with most of the crowd being adventurers and merchants, all willing to spend money. As it was also the origin of ves, the pleasure districts were famously notorious.


    In the eastern part of the city, there was a lively entertainment district, with an unremarkable pub on the street called "Sailor''s Tavern."


    The pub was filled with many patrons dressed as sailors, but in reality, they were all pirates!


    "This is the ''secret meeting ce'' where pirates of all sizes from the North Sea meet in Blizzard City."


    Su Lun was here to find out when the next batch of Dalu ves would be transported. This was the most appropriate ce for that.


    Since it was noon, the tavern seemed to have few people when Su Lun arrived.


    As soon as he entered, he headed straight for the storeroom at the back of the tavern.


    Two burly men wearing leather jackets, their chests heavily exposed, guarded the ce. Their gaze was sharp, easily distinguishing between pirates who habitually roamed the seas andndlubbers.


    Su Lun didn''t give them time to be suspicious, tossing them a tip of two silver coins and moved on as if it wasn''t his first time there, quite familiar with the ce.


    After passing through a passage leading underground, it was a whole different world.


    Su Lun ended up in a spacious underground tavern.


    The red and green lights flickered, and the air was filled with the enchanting scent of hallucinogens.


    In a pirate tavern, good liquor was nevercking. Behind the bar, the liquor cab was filled with all sorts of beverages. Judging by thebels on the bottles, some were even rare supplies designated for high nobility and even the royal family¡ªbooty piged by the pirates.


    The confined basement might feel unsafe to some, but Su Lun sensed several secret passages leading in all directions within the underground tavern.


    Under the floorboards of the storeroom, behind the bare oil paintings on the walls, and behind the barrels at the bar, there were hollow spaces...


    This somewhat reassured Su Lun.


    Although there weren''t many people in the pirate tavern yet, there were a few souls with strong fires. One fourth-tier, several third-tiers, likely security...


    The lighting was very dim, the few upied tables were in their own separate booths, discussing matters with soundproof barriers, making it impossible to eavesdrop on what they were discussing.


    Su Lun took a seat and ordered some expensive drinks as a sort of "entrance fee."


    Before long, a skinny man with a red cock''sb and a face full of tattoos appeared.


    "Hey, brother, where have you sailed from?"


    He began with pirate ngmon among them, and Su Lun responded fluently.


    The Cock''s Comb didn''t notice anything unusual and then got to the point.


    "Brother, are you here to dig up information or to move goods?"


    "I want detailed information on the recent ve shipments by ''Sun Commerce'': merchandise information, timing, escort strength, what ships..."


    "Oh, the Sun Commerce is not easy to mess with."


    "Add thirty percent to themission."


    "Done! It''s a pleasure doing business, 100,000 lixos, pay half up front."


    "Mmh."


    "This information is a bit tricky toe by... but within today, I''ll definitely get back to you!"


    "..."


    Gathering such information in a pirate tavern came the fastest and with no trouble.


    After Cock''s Comb left, Su Lun patiently stayed in the tavern waiting for the news.


    Noticing him alone, the tavern''s working hostesses also approached, each very attractive and scantily d.


    The rough pirates definitely didn''te here just to drink in silence. Su Lun didn''t act out of the ordinary; he casually picked two blondes to chat with while drinking.


    "Anything interesting been happening at sea recently?"


    "Tulip Commerce''s meat tickets got assassinated, causing a huge uproar among the middlemen..."


    "Heard that the Red Shark Pirate Group got annihted, seems they ticked off a Great Bounty Hunter..."


    "The Great Bounty Hunter ''Strongman'' August recently came North..."


    "Heard there''s some big movement happening at ''King of the North Sea'', gathering a lot of people..."


    "..."


    As Su Lun waited for the information, he wasn''t hurried, confident in the brokers who said they could provide the news today through their channels.


    The women were also good at keeping the atmosphere warm, and time flew by quickly.


    Gradually, the tavern became buzzier.


    Pirates weren''t the only ones; there were giants, trolls...


    From Su Lun''s perception, stronger soul presences became increasingly abundant.


    A casual sweep revealed bounty-bearing pirates.


    "Iron Cross Pirate Group''s" leader Brando Martic, with a bounty of 63 million lixos; "Strange Snake Pirate Group''s" first mate Janick Bisley, with a bounty of 33 million lixos; a bounty of 55 million on...


    Many of these prominent pirates entered the tavern without covering their faces, as if being recognized was a matter of pride, with high bounties a bragging right.


    They were practically walking bounties.


    Su Lun took an interested ear to the pirates bragging about their exploits, gradually gaining insight into the affairs within the pirate circles.


    As the drinking went on, suddenly, Su Lun raised his eyebrows and looked towards the staircase.


    Although the guy with the small mustache was well-disguised, Su Lun recognized her soul fire. Wasn''t that the girl named Katjusha?


    What was she doing in a pirate tavern?

 Chapter 245 Drinking

    "What a clever disguise, it doesn''t look like synthetic skin; it must be some kind of alchemical creation..."


    Su Lun nced at the faux mustache Katya had donned and pondered inwardly.


    If this group of pirates hadn''t seen through it, her disguise was indeed clever.


    However, Su Lun was also curious why ady, seemingly from a noble family, woulde to a pirate tavern.


    Was she ying some sort of adventure seeking game?


    He watched as the little mustache took a seat at the bar. Although she had disguised her appearance to look like a pirate, likely being her first time, her demeanor was slightly unnatural. She ordered a drink from the bartender and started drinking.


    The others didn''t see the true face hidden behind her cup; her lips moved slightly, as though she was talking to the air.


    ....


    Su Lun was rather impressed by this youngdy, but he didn''t pay her further attention.


    If such a youngdy dared to enter, she was probably protected by a master, meaning he, an outsider, need not worry.


    After all, this was a seedy tavern frequented by pirates, vored with the scent of lust and hallucinogenic potions. The waitresses, tall and attractive, were dressed in hot pants and tank tops, unabashedly showcasing their figures as they moved around the tavern. asionally, a handsy pirate would tear off their clothes, eliciting raucousughter. The patrons seemed to enjoy this spontaneous entertainment, generously tipping and rejoicing; the dancing girls on stage moved seductively, their clothes gradually shedding; everywhere there were images prompting the secretion of hormones...


    Here, pirates could indulge in ultimate pleasures just by spending money.


    The information dealer''s message hadn''t arrived yet, so Su Lun continued to wait patiently.


    As time passed, more and more patrons filtered into the underground tavern.


    Some descended from upstairs; others came through secret passages. All seemed to be significant pirates, and many greeted each other upon entering.


    "Hey! Captain Martin, I heard your ''Blue Lion Company'' recently plundered a gemstone merchant''s ship and made a fortune?"


    "Hahaha... all just hard-earned money; and we lost several brothers, too. Still, not as much as you ''Triple Eels'' made. I heard you kidnapped a baron and demanded a ransom of five billion?"


    "Oh, isn''t that Captain Ferdinand? Long time no see. I heard you went down south; those ntation owners are all rich folks. How was the loot...?"


    "..."


    Although Su Lun knew the tavern was expensive and not frequented by any nobodies, he hadn''t realized that so many "captain-level" pirates would attend.


    Drinking his beverage, he casually remarked, "Oh, it seems we have many big shots here today."


    Hearing this, the girl massaging his shoulders also smiled sycophantically, "Because today is Saturday, it''s the captains'' gathering day."


    Su Lun then realized there was such a tradition.


    Nonchntly, he replied, "Oh, I almost forgot. No wonder I saw so many familiar faces."


    The pirates in the tavern weren''t just drinking; as they chatted, they started a card game, betting big amounts, making the atmosphere quite heated.


    ....


    Su Lun quietly watched this fellow from a corner.


    However, as he observed, he suddenly spotted another acquaintance!


    At that moment, a middle-aged man in a suit with a bowler hat walked in. His appearance was highly distinctive, with a crow perched on his shoulder and a cataract-like false eye in his right eye, exuding an air of danger and malevolence.


    Su Lun immediately recognized the man, feeling slightly surprised, "Isn''t that Gwenb Mary, the Crow Godfather from the Old Lington Outer City? He''se out too?"


    Moreover, after sensing his soul fire, it appeared he had also advanced to the fourth tier.


    Clearly, many in the tavern were unfamiliar with this figure from Old Lington, and out of curiosity, they began to whisper among themselves.


    "Who is that guy?"


    "Some neer dubbed ''Crow,'' sprang out of nowhere and suddenly made a name for himself. I heard he recently swallowed up several small pirate crews and expanded his power quickly..."


    "A newbie getting into the seas stirring this much, what tier is he?"


    "Apparently, he''s fourth tier."


    "Fourth tier and so audacious?"


    "Don''t underestimate him. I heard he''s a Curse Magician, with very sinister methods and capabilities. ''Bald Eagle Crew''s'' Arcade got taken out by him. Just the other day, I also heard they seized one of Ruying''s naval ships..."


    "...."


    Listenting to these whispers, Su Lun pondered thoughtfully.


    It''s normal for professionals from Old Lington to be stronger than their external counterparts at the same tier, especially this former underworld boss.


    But... a newbie pirate?


    Su Lun savored the title a bit.


    In Old Lington, it was basically impossible to set sail. Originally, it was a huge risk when Mr. Jing took them out, and it was even more impossible for others.


    Apparently, Wengerb was most likely recruited by the "King of the North Sea."


    He sensed something for a moment and muttered to himself, "But then again, this guy is really strong."


    Few people in Old Lington had seen Wengerb in action, so not much about his abilities was known to outsiders.


    Now, upon sensing his soul, Su Lun also noticed something peculiar about the crow on that guy''s shoulder.


    At that moment, just as Wengerb was walking towards the bar counter, a pirate captain approached with a red-beaked parrot.


    People talk behind others'' backs, but that silly bird, probably used to mouthing off among pirates, mimicked human speech to mock the crow, "Where does this idiote from¡­ where does this idiote from..."


    Wengerb ignored it, took a seat, but the crow on his shoulder looked over, tilting its head with a sh of red in its eyes. Just that look, and the red-beaked parrot stiffened as if electrocuted, then fell headfirst to the ground with a "thud."


    It was this eerie "Crow Kills Bird" technique that instantly quieted the bustling tavern.


    Not far away, Su Lun watched the scene, narrowed his eyes slightly, and pondered, "A soul curse simr to ''Death''s Gaze'', perhaps..."


    A momentter, the tavern resumed its lively atmosphere.


    No one minded the dead parrot, and its foolish owner didn''t dare say anything.


    Wengerb seemed to be there to recruitrades, and that''s how it is in the pirate circles¡ªthose with strength neverck followers; after showing a gesture, people immediately approached to get familiar.


    ...


    More and more people filled the tavern, and soon the underground bar was packed.


    Su Lun''s gaze asionally rested on the bar, watching the "little mustache" looking slightly ufortable, and he smiled lightly to himself.


    No matter how much the young girl disguised herself, she couldn''t muster the demeanor of a rugged man. Although dressed in men''s clothes, she still looked like a handsome little mustache.


    She was having a drink, and just then, a female pirate, about two and a half meters tall wearing a bull-horned iron helmet, walked in and sat next to her.


    The female pirate''s clothes resembled a sack, and her unveiled arms were knotted with muscles like elephant legs, visibly strong.


    This was a Viking.


    Vikings are born warriors, swimming in the icy waters before they learn to walk. Riding magical beasts, weight lifting, wrestling, rowing, sailing¡­ these were survival skills they mastered from childhood; they are born warriors, extremely belligerent.


    But they had no loyalty to speak of, they would sell their services for profit.


    So even though Oleg imed the title of "King of the North Sea," the Vikings did not fully obey him.


    Pirates and mercenaries were their real calling.


    Perhaps thinking Katya was a clean-cut man, the female pirate rudely threw an arm around her shoulder, lifted a mug as big as her head, "Hey, handsome, wanna have a drink?"


    Katya, frightened by this barbaric flirtation, instinctively looked back at Su Lun, seated in his booth.


    Su Lun pretended not to recognize her, drinking on his own. He was wearing the same clown mask outfit as during their previous meeting, which wasn''t hard to recognize.


    The Viking female pirate, seeing "little mustache''s" anxious demeanor, became even more enthusiastic.


    Finally, Katya couldn''t bear it, hastily shrugged off the female pirate''s arm. She squeezed through the crowd and came to Su Lun''s booth, asking for help, "Mr. Nichs, may I sit here?"


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun affected a cautious look, "Who are you?"


    Katya nced at the twodies next to him, didn''t say it outright but pointed to the "Star Amulet" at Su Lun''s waist.


    Su Lun pretended to ponder for a moment, then gestured for the twodies to leave.


    Once they were gone, Katya patted her chest and let out a huge sigh of relief, "That scared me to death~"


    This exmation suddenly shifted back to a delicate female voice.


    Su Lun, feigning sudden realization, eximed, "You are¡­ Miss Katya?"


    "Yep."


    Katya looked around to make sure no one was watching them, then made a tearing gesture on her face.


    Su Lun watched as the alchemical face mask was peeled off, revealing indeed that girl with the little freckles.


    "Nice piece¡­"


    Su Lun appraised the face mask, admiring inwardly. To have eluded his perception, the material and craft of that mask must be quite sophisticated. Too bad it''s single-use, destroyed once torn.


    Tsk tsk~ the rich have money indeed.


    Upon seeing Katya reveal her true face, Su Lun gave up his seat and gestured for her to sit down.


    The girl, with an expression of fright, hid beside Su Lun by the wall.


    Su Lun asked curiously, "How did youe to a ce like this?"


    "I... I sneaked out."


    Katya stuck out her tongue, her face flushing slightly as if embarrassed, "I''ve never been to a tavern, so I wanted to see what it was like. I thought I''d pick any tavern, but Astrology told me this ce was interesting. So... here I am."


    She paused, then nced at the burly female pirate and shrank her head slightly, "Sorry for the trouble."


    The story sounded problem-free and logical, just a tale of a nobledy curious about the lower world, wanting to see it for herself.


    Fairy tales are often written like this.@@novelbin@@


    Astrology indeed can exin some inexplicable coincidences.


    Although Su Lun felt something was off, he didn''t pry further.


    There was no malice, so it was none of his concern.


    He looked at the frightened girl and said, "You''ve seen it now, do you want me to escort you out of the tavern?"


    Katya blinked, her big watery eyes filled with wonder, and asked in a pleading tone, "Mr. Nichs, may I... may I stay a bit longer? The stories from those pirates are quite interesting too."


    She paused, then quickly added, "If you find it troublesome, please feel free to take me out."


    Her words were full of the demeanor of a well-bred youngdy, not making it difficult for anyone.


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun had no good reason to refuse, and he shrugged, "As you wish."


    "Thank you, Mr. Nichs, I won''t cause any trouble!"


    Katya, with permission granted, showed a hardly concealed joy on her face, and sat down obediently.


    The nobledy probably had really never seen the lower world''s pirates or been to a pirate-filled tavern before.


    With Su Lun blocking her view, she looked like a little thief hiding her bell under her arm, restlessly peeping around.


    However, pirate taverns are all about pure, unadulterated desires, gambling, drugs¡ªyou name it, they''ve got it here.


    Pirates gambled fervently at the tables while the hallucinogenic potions in the air excited the blood, and the scantily d dancers passionately gyrated their bodies...


    One couldn''t help but wonder what a young girl would make of all this.


    Su Lun nced at Katya pretending to be calm and shook his head slightly, drinking on his own.


    No one spoke, making the atmosphere slightly awkward.


    However, it didn''t take long for Su Lun to realize that she indeed was a sociable girl.


    As if suddenly having made a friend, she felt no need to be fearful, and quickly became friendly.


    "Mr. Nichs, are you a pirate?"


    "No."


    "Oh~ Then let me buy you a drink."


    "Never mind, I''ll buy you one instead."


    "Ah... Thank you so much."


    "Mr. Nichs, why do you drink with a mask on?"


    "I''m used to it."


    "Ah! Is it... did I bother you? Should I call those two... two... back again?"


    "..."


    "Those pirates really are wanted criminals. I''ve only ever seen them at the gallows before, oh my, I didn''t expect there''d be so many here..."


    "My goodness, a few thousand liuxi could... could... make them do that?"


    "They... they gamble with their hands? Oh, they really cut it off!"


    "Ah... that Baldy, I know him, he''s quite famous on the Empire''s wanted list..."


    "..."


    The two of them chatted on and off like this.


    Thedy, ustomed to sipping elegantly from a stemmed ss, found the pirates''rge beer mugs somewhat unfamiliar but intriguing. Katyusha watched the pirates at the next table chugging their drinks and decided to emte their hearty style. However, it didn''t take many drinks for her face to flush a tipsy red, appearing nearly drunk, and her speech became slightly slurred. Yet, the more she drank, the more spirited she got.


    "Mr. Su Lun, shall we toast? I see they''re all downing it in one go..."


    "If you can''t handle your drink, just have less."


    "I can handle it, mmm...burp~ Cheers!"


    "..."


    Su Lun watched, somewhat helplessly, but he had to wait for information and couldn''t leave just yet.


    Fortunately, it wasn''t long before the man with the cock''sb hair came over with the information Su Lun needed.


    ....


    Su Lun left the Sailor''s Pub, carrying a very drunk Katyusha on his shoulder who was babbling incoherently.


    It was noon when he entered, but by the time he came out, the sky had darkened and snowkes began to drift down.


    As soon as he stepped out of the pub, Su Lun noticed a guard lurking in the shadows.


    The guard''s stealth skills were impressive, eluding ordinary detection.


    Su Lun pretended not to notice and, still carrying the drunkendy, hailed a carriage.


    Before long, the carriage stopped in front of the Starry Inn in the north of the city.


    As Su Lun got out of the carriage, he was met by an anxiously waiting elderly steward.


    Upon recognizing them getting out of the carriage, he immediately rushed over, "Oh! Miss, where have you been?"


    At the shout, Katyusha seemed to sober up a bit, barely managing to open her eyelids and recognizing the person in front of her, "Steward Herbert... I went to have some drinks... burp~"


    Having delivered thedy, Su Lun said to the steward, "She''s all yours now, I must be going."


    Steward: "Sir, thank you so much."


    "No need. She has helped me, too."


    Su Lun didn''t linger and turned to leave.


    ....


    Su Lun returned to the inn where he was staying.


    All the way there, he thought a lot.


    He continuously recalled the entire sequence of events whereby he had encountered Katyusha that day.


    No matter how much he thought about it, nothing seemed amiss.


    It was like a perfectly staged y: a nobledy curious about the world of themon folk, on a discreet visit, happened to meet a kind stranger?


    It was precisely because the encounter was too perfect that it felt unreal, as if something was missing.


    Su Lun even hypothesized that Katyusha might have approached him intentionally.


    So, what could her motive be?


    "Could it be Astrology? Or am I just overthinking it?"


    Su Lun eventually concluded.


    By this time, he had already arrived at the doorstep of the inn.


    Thump! Thump! Thump!


    He knocked on the door.


    Jieke opened the door respectfully, "Teacher, you''re back?"


    Su Lun nodded and told him, "I''ll be next door, call me if you need anything."


    After instructing him, he went next door.


    The newly acquired information showed that a group of sub-humans from the Sun ve Traders would be moved in three days. The escort team appeared normal, a routine convoy with some adventurers.


    Su Lun passed the message to Yuta, nning to help intercept these Dalu people when the time came.


    With these two days, he could prepare some high-level puppets and rune threads.


    PS. Sorry, the writing is a bit sluggish.

 Chapter 246 Solving Trouble

    After Su Lun left, inside a luxurious suite at the Star Inn.


    On a soft lounge chair, the fully intoxicated Katyazily reclined, her maid wiping the smell of alcohol from her body with a hot towel.


    She really was quite drunk, her face flushed with the unique coquettishness of young girls.


    An old nursemaid gently massaged her temples.


    With a thick tongue, Katya muttered, "So this is what being drunk feels like, it''s quite interesting. Just that my head hurts a bit, not sofortable..."


    The old nursemaid, slightly helpless, said, "Miss, you shouldn''t drink so much when you can''t handle liquor. If thedy finds out, she would say I have neglected my duty. Do you need me to prepare a hangover potion for you?"


    Katya waved her hand, "No need. I quite like this feeling. It''s rare to get drunk~"


    The old nursemaid, who had looked after her since she was little, looked at the drunken Katya with eyes full of affection and said earnestly, "You could have left those matters to others, miss. There was no need for you to-go personally."


    Katya felt her eyelids heavy, but the intoxication made her thoughts more acute. She said, "How can I know what the world looks like if I don''t see it for myself? All my life I''ve been taught thatmoners are dirty, despicable, that pirates represent evil, and that taverns are gathering ces forziness, disease, greed, lust... all the sins of humanity. But the real world isn''t like that at all. It''s just the arrogance and prejudice of the nobility..."


    Pausing, she added another profound statement, "How can one write a good story without experiencing the world firsthand."


    Listening, the old nursemaid sighed softly, knowing she could not persuade her very opinionated young miss. She changed the subject, "The olddy sent a message, there might be big changes in the north, and you need to return quickly, saying it''s not safe here."


    "The original story plot can''t continue, there must be unknown factors interfering..."


    The closed-eyed girl on the lounge chair, whether she absorbed this or not, murmured dreamily, "The Majestic Empire''s royal family will soon recognize ''King of the North Sea'' Oleg as a king. Although that ragtag group won''t achieve much, it will bring massive trouble to the back of Luying. The Bonaparte royal family, Duke Raphael, and the Pirate leaders from the West and South Seas won''t let Oleg ''be king'' so easily. An era of great chaos ising, and even the oldest families could copse if not prepared..."


    Listening, aplex emotion shed across the old nursemaid''s face, then she fell silent.


    If only the youngdy was not a woman, how wonderful that would be.


    Katya, seeming to feel the alcohol''s effects, began mumbling fragmented sentences.


    "Among the Yat people, a prophecy is passed down: A warrior who follows the ancient covenant will save their people and return the sacred artifact. ording to historical records from the Atriya Period, the alliance between the Dalu tribe and humans was a matter from a thousand years ago, the oath unbroken... Our family happens to have treasured the spearhead of the [Mj?lnir Lance], what a great material..."


    "Stories must have logical coherence so that sages won''t notice inconsistencies when tracing them. If I don''t get involved in the events, how can I connect cause and effect? We are the protagonists of our own stories, but aren''t we also supporting characters in the stories of others..."


    As she spoke, Katya''s eyes, slightly open, were a bit blurry yet not without insight.


    She seemed to have thought of something, and a small dimple appeared on her lips as she murmured, "Hmm, it''s rare to meet such an interesting person..."


    Having said that, she finally sumbed to sleep.


    ....


    The Smith Inn.


    After returning, Su Lun and Jekyll hardly left their room.


    Every day, he would spend about an hour teaching his newly epted apprentice.


    Jekyll was truly talented in alchemy potions, especially in the study of bombs!


    Although he was but an orange seed, his father once wanted him to grow into an apple tree. The deviation in his career path greatly obscured his remarkable talent.


    Now, under Su Lun''s guidance, Jekyll began to grow uncontrobly.


    His wildly divergent thinking, even amazed Su Lun, a transmigrator, from time to time.


    Don''t be fooled, despite Su Lun having knowledge that FAR exceeded Jekyll''s, to create and invent a certain type of new bomb might still not be feasible.


    Creation and innovation are also the best talents of an alchemist!


    "Teacher, could we use silk threads to control a missile, changing its trajectory to achieve a precise hit?"


    "Is it possible to use special living organisms like the ''Split Worm'' that sense each other after division, to make a remotely controlled bomb detonation device?"


    "Teacher, do you think my ''heat sensing tracking'' idea is correct?"


    "Regr potion form bombs are limited by medicine quantity, but actual organisms can contain endless energy, like: magical beasts. Could we create biological bombs?"


    "..."


    Su Lun made it clear he had limited time to teach, and Jekyll cherished this rare opportunity.


    Within just these few days, he asked all the questions that had umted over the years.


    Those questions were as numerous andplicated as the stars in the sky, many of which even the teachers at the preparatory academy in Luying capital couldn''t solve.


    Su Lun answered each one with his vast amount of knowledge.


    Even in some unknown areas, he was now able to provide Jekyll with an idea, enabling a rapid deduction.


    ...


    Today is the third day.


    Jekyll knocked on Su Lun''s door, "Teacher, it''s time to eat."


    After knocking, he turned the doorknob.


    The master and apprentice had built a tacit understanding; he knew the teacher would definitely control the silk to open the door.


    Opening the door, he indeed saw a figure deeply engrossed in study.


    Even such a learned teacher is still so diligent...


    Jekyll marveled to himself.


    In the past two days of interacting, he hade to realize that his teacher wasn''t just slightly knowledgeable in many areas, but was genuinely a master of all!


    Su Lun was still working on aponent blueprint for the mechanical armor when he saw Jikeing in. He turned around and nced, "Hmm."


    The food wasid out on the dining table.


    As he opened the dish cover, the aroma of meat filled the room.


    For lunch, they were having roasted venison and some fruits.


    Su Lun wasn''t short of money, nor would he skimp on food.


    The mentor and disciple would dine together in the room, during which Jike would take the opportunity to pull out his notebook and ask about the questions he had umted over the day''s learning.


    Even while eating, Su Lun''s eight-armed spider spear didn''t stop.


    Eating, answering questions, studying mechanics, drawing... doing several tasks at once without affecting each other.


    Watching the glowing eight-armed spider spear behind Su Lun, Jike couldn''t hide his envy, "Teacher, when can I possess impressive prostheses like yours?"


    Su Lun also smiled, "Work hard on your training, and you should be able to advance to a formal professional within half a year. Then you can consider for yourself the functional andbat-focused prosthesis that suits you. My path isn''t suitable for you, you must follow your own path..."


    Jike was at the best age for advancement, having learned the top-tier secret technique taught by Su Lun, he would start much higher than the average person.


    The choices for prostheses and job materials would also be more plentiful for him.


    Su Lun was very optimistic about his disciple''s future.


    Hearing this, Jike''s face lit up with anticipation, seriously nodding, "Yes, teacher."


    But knowing that Su Lun was to leave today made his expression somewhat gloomy.


    At that moment, he asked, "Teacher, are you leaving today?"


    Su Lun replied, "Hmm. I have some matters to attend to. Once they are settled, I maye to the capital."


    Sabrina should have already gone to the capital, and there was also a volume of Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript in the royal academy''s library, where the mostplete knowledge of alchemy was passed down.


    It seems he must make a trip to the Emperor Luying''s capital.


    Jike, still young and somewhat sentimental, said, "Teacher, meeting you has been the greatest fortune of my life."


    Hearing this, Su Lun thought of his own teacher, Sereya, and knew how important it was to meet a good teacher.


    This scene mirrored the time back in that cursed space.


    He smiled and advised, "Strive to be stronger. Even if you be a mechanic and want to go farther in the future, you must have sufficient strength."


    After a pause, he suddenly remembered something a friend had once told him and repeated it, "Only from high ces can you see more of thendscape."


    Listening to this, Jike was deeply moved, stood up, and respectfully bowed, "Teacher, with your guidance, I believe I can definitely get into the royal academy. The next time we meet, I certainly won''t disappoint you!"


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun smiled and shook his head, not caring about these formalities.


    Suddenly, he sensed something, his gaze sharpened slightly, and he thought to himself: Have they finallye?


    Turning to Jike, he seriously said, "Jike, studying is one thing, but before you return to the capital, do you know if there''s anything else you need to sort out?"


    Jike, quick-witted, instantly thought of something, "You mean... that vile woman?"


    Su Lun nodded.


    Thinking of something, Jike''s expression changed dramatically, "Teacher, do you think they coulde to the inn?"


    Su Lun said calmly, "They are already here."


    ....


    After all, Jike was just a student who had recently graduated from the preparatory academy,cking in worldly experience and unaware of the perils of society.


    His father Benson had been killed, but if Jike were not dead, then the Benson family''s properties in the capital would not fall into the hands of Marian. If exposed, they would be wanted by the authorities.


    So, they would definitely try to kill Jike, to prevent him from leaving Blizzard City.


    Su Lun had guessed this but hadn''t informed him beforehand.


    He also wanted his disciple to experience some things for himself.


    Before they had finished speaking, a loud "bang" sounded as the door was kicked open.


    A group of thuggish-looking guys barged in, around twenty or so. Each one was dressed in leather, with tattoos, ear piercings, cock''sbs, spiked hair, and an appearance screaming "gang."


    Blizzard City had a rule against starting fights, but that rule was for outsiders.


    The local gangs had much more leeway.


    Su Lun also sensed that when this gang entered the inn, the two security officers patrolling the street had quietly left, clearly wanting to avoid the crime scene.


    Though Jike was caught off guard, he immediately stood up, unafraid as he demanded, "What do you want?!"


    Su Lun recognized the neers as members of the "Smuggling Gang," a local syndicate.


    However, he chose not to speak, silently watching how Jike would confront them from behind.


    ....


    As he spoke, Jike had already pulled out two bombs from his hand.


    These people clearly came prepared, the first two even pulled out riot shields.


    These people dared to charge in so directly, probably thinking no one would dare confront their smuggling gang in Blizzard City.


    The leader with the explosive hairstyle didn''t hide their intention and said, "Someone paid us to take you for a visit."


    Seeing the gun pointed at him, Gik angrily shouted, "Was it that pair of scoundrels who sent you? I am the junior head of Benson Trading. They plotted against my father and tried to seize our family assets. Don''t be deceived by them!"


    Hearing this, the man with the explosive hairstyle showed a face full of disdain.


    Clearly, he knew what was going on.


    He looked at the bomb in Gik''s hand and scoffed, "Boy, I advise you not to be unwise, juste with us peacefully."


    Hearing this, Gik continued to argue justly, "I will not go with you! You have no right to ask for my cooperation, this is kidnapping!"


    The explosive-haired man seemed to hear something funny, picked his ear, "Heh, I never said we weren''t kidnapping! What now, you want to teach us ''smuggling gang'' how to conduct our business?"


    Hearing such overbearing words, Gik was both anxious and angry, and suddenly became speechless, "You... you...!"


    But he was greatly frightened at the same time.


    The "smuggling gang" had a notorious reputation among the business circles he was well aware of. Every merchant in Blizzard City, big or small, in buying and selling goods, had to have ayer peeled off by them. These folks in Blizzard City, had an immense clout. His father had once warned him, it''s better to offend the officials than to provoke these viins.


    Forw-abiding merchants, this group of guys was like the rats in the sewers, a nuisance that wouldn''t leave you alone once provoked.


    He thought of the teacher behind him.


    But there were too many of them, even if his teacher was incredibly capable, today it might still be hard to escape unscathed.


    Moreover, if they really started a fight in the city, they would definitely be caught by the peacekeeping team, and the final oue would also be a dead end.


    Gik also realized the gravity of the situation in a moment and regretted not thinking of this sooner.


    He still harbored thest hope, shouting, "You dare to kidnap, the peacekeeping team will definitely catch you!"


    The man with the explosive hair raised an eyebrow and smirked mockingly, "Heh... the peacekeeping team?"


    Hearing that scornfulugh, Gik immediately felt an immense sense of helplessness.


    Thew was useless, and he was helpless, was he going to die together with them?


    This feeling of helplessness made him feel very guilty.


    Because of his mistakes, did he drag his teacher into this...


    Just as he was at a loss for what to do, he finally heard Su Lun behind him start to speak, "Gik, with some people, reasoning doesn''t work. In the eyes of some, as long as the benefits are substantial enough, both humanity and thew can be trampled."


    Hearing this, Gik felt very mixed emotions, but more than anything, guilt, "Teacher, I''m sorry, I dragged you into this."


    Su Lun shook his head.


    If these people hadn''te, he had nned to resolve this trouble before leaving.


    Since he was the teacher, naturally he did not want his disciple to be harmed by just any schmuck.@@novelbin@@


    Now, it saved him the trouble.


    ....


    The explosive-haired man looked at the man in the mask, slight curiosity in his eyes, and asked, "Friend, which path do you walk?"


    Su Lun didn''t respond to him, but smiled, "If I''m not wrong, did someone promise you the family assets of Benson Fur Trading to get you to capture someone? Heh, sixty percent, or seventy percent?"


    Listening from the side, Gik suddenly understood why the gang had intervened in this matter!


    At the same time both angry and furious, that pair of scoundrels actually used his family assets to put a bounty on him?!


    The explosive-haired man couldn''t guess the calm attitude of the other party and asked another question, "Brother, what does this matter have to do with you?"


    "He is my disciple."


    Su Lun responded calmly.


    Hearing this, Gik''s eyes filled with tears, "Teacher, you..."


    Su Lun shook his head.


    All this talk was naturally to make Gik understand some truths.


    He didn''t expect to turn around the other party and added, "You should know what the situation is. I''m asking, can we just drop it?"


    As soon as these words came out, the response was more than ten gun muzzles pointed at him simultaneously.


    The smuggling gang, used to being imperious as the local kingpins, how could they be persuaded with just a word?


    Moreover, the Benson family''s assets were not a small amount, with such profits, how could they give up!


    The explosive-haired man squinted like a Poison Snake, his tone full of threats, "I''d advise you not to meddle in idle matters... in Blizzard City, offending us, the smuggling gang, is not a wise choice!"


    He also vaguely guessed that the other party might have some capabilities, hence he unted the gang''s influence. Even if some very wildrge Pirates were in Blizzard City, they had to give face to their gang.


    But where would Su Lun be afraid?


    "Heh, I was just asking."


    He chuckled in an unhurried, calm tone, and added, "After all... killing someone also needs a reason, right?"


    As soon as these words ended, a suddenly violent red light shed through his eyes!


    Just when the people in the room had no time to react, Su Lun suddenly "shed" in front of Gik, pping his hands.


    "Silk Control Secret Technique¡¤ughterhouse!"


    He had decided to kill and would not give his enemies a chance!


    Murder shed in Su Lun''s eyes as he made grasping motions in the air, and the drifting blue silk threads suddenly appeared. These dense silk threads were the wind system cutting silk threads he had produced over the past few days!


    These gang thugs, the strongest were merely two half-baked second levels. In front of the fourth level wind system silk threads, they were as fragile as paper mache.


    But at the same time, gunfire erupted.


    Countless musket bullets struck Su Lun''s body, popping and creating numerous holes in the room.


    The battle ended in an instant.


    In this narrow room, these guys didn''t even have a ce to flee.


    Su Lun was unscathed.


    Having killed this group of people, he finally felt the restless emotions in his heart settle down a bit, and he exhaled softly.


    Just then, he sensed something and said to Gik, who was behind him, "Wait here for me, I''ll be right back."


    Hence, his figure disappeared from the room.


    ...


    The odor of blood assaulted the senses, and upon looking again, Gik saw that he was the only living person left in the vast room.


    Looking at the limbs and severed arms all over the floor, his eyes shimmered wildly with disbelief.


    They were dead...


    The teacher had killed them all?


    Just by flicking his fingers?


    Oh my goodness...


    With his hand gripping the bomb now drenched in sweat, Gik''s mind went nk.


    He had been ready to die together with them, just like this?


    He had never killed anyone before, nor had he seen so many dead people at once.


    Blood flowed under his feet, turning the carpet dark red. As it moved under his feet, he could even feel its warm moisture. Everything before his eyes was like scattered LEGO bricks, limbs, intestines, organs, and minced flesh everywhere, simr to a meat showcase in a ughterhouse.


    Gik was overwhelmed by an unprecedented shock.


    In his heart, it seemed like something had sprouted.


    Power...


    Only immense power could make one fearless!


    While he was still dazed, a figure shed, and Su Lun reappeared at the room''s entrance.


    And in his hand, he held another head.


    Upon seeing the face, how could Gik not recognize it as the head of their former family guard captain, Raman?!


    Oh my God, in just a few moments, the teacher had killed a third-level professional?


    The teacher is so strong...


    Shock filled Gik''s eyes.


    Su Lun casually tossed the head onto the pile of bodies, set a fire, and called out, "Let''s go."


    Gik was still a bit dazed and instinctively asked, "Teacher, where are we going?"


    Su Lun nonchntly uttered a few words, "To eradicate the roots."


    .....


    Twenty minutester, in a private rehabilitation center in the eastern city.


    Su Lun waited a few minutes at the hospital''s entrance.


    Suddenly, an explosion sounded from a VIP room on the second floor of the rehabilitation center, and mes shot out of the window.


    Almost at the same time, Gik walked outposedly.


    Su Lun looked at him and called out, "Is it done?"


    In that room, there was another woman whose legs had been blown off previously; Marian.


    "Yes!"


    At this moment, Gik''s face was slightly pale, but his eyes were much more determined than before.


    Su Lun didn''t ask further and said, "The trouble is now dealt with. Let''s go, I''ll get you on board."


    Gik: "Yes, Teacher."


    The two didn''t look back at the fire, blending into the crowd before the security team arrived.

 Chapter 247 Pirate

    ```


    Before the smuggling gang could react, Su Lun had already sent Jike off on a merchant ship bound for Luying.


    As for his disciple, Su Lun felt that he had done everything he could; the road ahead was for him to walk alone.


    He left the dock, changed his outfit, and mingled with the crowd again.


    As for any possible retaliation from the smuggling gang, Su Lun wasn''t too concerned.


    It wasn''t only because he was always careful, but also because there was a good chance that they didn''t even know he existed.


    Besides, even if trouble dide his way, it wouldn''t be too big of an issue.


    He had already found out that the leader of this gang was only a fourth-order.


    In Old Lington, being part of a gang was a means of survival. Amidst the harsh living conditions, many ruthless figures emerged from the three major gangs.


    But in the wider world, those involved in gangs were oftenzy and ipetent, with very few truly capable individuals¡ªat least, that was the case for small cities like Blizzard City.


    Even if he was outnumbered and couldn''t win a fight, he still had some confidence in his ability to protect himself.


    Having not gone out for a few days, Su Lun wasn''t in a hurry to return and instead wandered the market for a while, nning to buy some alchemy materials.


    The demon cores from the northernnds were both high-quality and inexpensive, offering much more than the purely dark energy elements found in curse crystals, and thus meeting a wider range of alchemical needs. There were also consumables for enchanting runes that he needed to restock.


    He then visited the ck market where he picked out some scattered sea charts from several nautical shops, as well as adventure maps of the "Silent Forest."


    Yes, the ck market.


    In this world, detailed sea charts and maps are banned as military contraband. Cartographers are also a very rare and noble profession, exclusively serving the nobility. Aside from the official maps from Luying, anyone who dares to print them privatelymits the serious crime of "espionage." As such, most of the sea charts avable to the public are handmade versions by sailors and adventurers, which aren''t very urate and are fraught with errors and discrepancies. They''re also very expensive.


    But having some maps is better than none, and Su Lun believed that for someone like him, who might need to flee at any moment, having extra maps was always a good thing.


    After browsing around, Su Lun also scavenged quite a few useful materials.


    It seems the incident at the Ironsmith Inn where twenty to thirty people died might also havee to the attention of the higher-ups in the "smuggling gang," as various lowlifes could be seen searching for people on the streets.


    Unfazed, Su Lun casually found another inn, booking a room.


    ....


    The next morning.


    Su Lun arrived early at the dock of Blizzard City.


    The "Sun ve Trading Company" was set to transport a batch of ves across the sea to Luying that day.


    Su Lun specifically arrived fifteen minutes early, strolled around the dock, and confirmed the Daru tribe was indeed on the ve ship.


    Yuta, who was mingling in the crowd, also picked up the scent of his tribesmen.


    The two pretended not to know each other and boarded the ship one after the other.


    Su Lun also took special care to observe that one of the three people who had been following them had followed Yuta to the dock.


    But that guy didn''t get on the ship.


    Su Lun didn''t think those people had given up.


    On the contrary, this was a clever tactic of alternating surveince¡ªto confuse and distract.


    Now, Su Lun couldn''t even distinguish who in the crowd was a tracker anymore.


    However, he became increasingly curious about what these people, following Yuta, intended to do.


    Before long, the fleet weighed anchor and set sail, with a line of three-masted ships leaving the harbor.


    There were about ten ships in total, simr to when he arrived. Since big tradingpanies like the Sun Corporation had their own escort teams, they didn''t need apanying adventurers. Su Lun and Yuta thus blended in with the merchant ships at the back.


    The journey to Luying was not short, and there would be plenty of opportunities to act.


    Su Lun''s original n was to wait for a foggy, windy night¡ªor during stormy weather¡ªuse the cover of night and the sea fog to cross over undetected, and hijack the ship carrying the subhuman ves.


    With "Stanitz''s Chessboard" and "Oz''s Ice Man Shroud" in hand, it was unlikely he would be detected. Even if the fourth-order escort leader was on the ve ship, he could subdue him without causing too muchmotion.


    The most ideal scenario would be to hijack the ve ship without anyone noticing and quietly slip away.


    However, the only variable that made Su Lun feel uncertain was the person tracking Yuta.


    Without clear understanding of their purpose, he became even more cautious.


    Su Lun''s senses couldn''t cover the several ships behind him, and he wasn''t sure if there were any masters beyond his abilities, silently watching.


    ....


    The daytime sail was smooth with fine weather and a fair breeze.


    Probably fortune was on their side for their nned heist¡ªsoon after night fell, fog began to nket the sea.


    The air suddenly grew damp and cold. Su Lun, who was reading in his cabin, immediately realized something.


    Looking out of the vent in his cabin, he saw a faint mist starting to drift across the sea.


    Su Lun felt the humidity in the air, and it seemed that the fog was going to thicken considerably.


    That was a good sign.


    The ship''s navigators also noticed the anomaly, and soon the second mate went around alerting the adventurers in their cabins: "We''re entering a foggy area, everyone be wary of pirates!"


    Encountering fog at sea ismonce, and both the crew and apanying adventurers remained calm¡ªthose who wanted to sleep slept, and those who wanted to boast boasted.


    Su Lun estimated that it would take another hour or two for the fog to thicken, and midnight would be the best time to take action.


    He hadn''t expected to initiate action as the fog thickened, but someone else had beaten him to it!


    As he was reading a book, suddenly, he heard themotion of intensebating from the ships behind him.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "..."


    Those were the sounds of gunfire mixed with the sh of swords.


    Following that, the entire floti erupted into chaos.


    "Man your stations! Man your stations!"


    "Everyone, prepare for battle!"


    "..."


    Hurried footsteps resounded on the deck while the artillery chambers buzzed with the sounds of ammunition being loaded.


    res shot across the sky with a "whoosh" "whoosh" "whoosh".


    Soon, everyone could see clearly what was happening.


    "Damn it, it''s that Hodge fellow! He''s here to raid the ve ship again!"


    "Oh~ You gave me a fright, I thought we had encountered pirates. Hodge is no pirate, they only free ves, they don''t rob normal merchants. No need to worry too much."


    "But we''ve signed a mutual defense pact, if we don''t help out and he steals ''Sun Commerce''s'' ves, we''ll have to pay a hefty breach of contract fee!"


    "..."


    Su Lun followed the crowd onto the deck and upon hearing that it was ''Fist of Justice'' Hodge who had taken action, his expression grew even more peculiar.


    Suddenly, he realized something, and the pieces of the puzzle in his mind clicked into ce.


    Too many coincidences stacked together suggested deliberate intent.


    "Could the person who has been following Yuta be a subordinate of Hodge?"


    The more Su Lun thought about it, the more likely it seemed.


    Out of the many ve ships that left Blizzard City daily, why target this one in particr?


    Su Lun recalled that the only thing that set this batch of ves apart was the presence of a highly esteemed Druid from the Dalu tribe¡ªYuta!


    But what was the purpose of such an action?


    To curry favor with the Dalu tribe for some goal?


    Su Lun reflected on some recent intelligence; Hodge was active on the front lines of the ''ve Liberation Movement'', enjoying a significant reputation among other races and had rallied a mighty force.


    "Tsk tsk, interesting..."


    If Hodge truly came to liberate the ves, then Su Lun had a certain admiration for him.


    But now, it seemed the man''s motives might not be so pure.


    The one tailing Yuta was clearly a professional spy, not someone an ordinary power could cultivate. This seemed to indicate that Hodge was not a lone hero in the ''ve Liberation Movement''; behind him, there likely stood a tremendous force offering covert support.


    Only the very powerful could pull off such a feat¡ªa top noble or perhaps the Royal House of Ruling.


    Thinking this, Su Lun pursed his lips.


    Without needing to think further, such actions likely aimed at the vast expanse of the Northern Tundra and its various indigenous races.


    And reality didn''t let Su Lun specte for long, as the intense battle at sea redirected his attention.


    ....


    Su Lun''s eyesight was much better than that of others, and he could see through the mist at once, on the ship flying the "Norsen Commerce" g, some people were inbat.


    Someone was attempting to seize the ship.


    Others were resisting.


    However, the battle was nearly one-sided. This was because the sturdy man in the silver lion armor on the deck was the fifth-order professional, ''Fist of Justice'' Hodge.


    The Great Bounty Hunter who had once in a pirate with a bounty of over a hundred million!


    His presence meant that the smallmerce''s guards and adventurers had no chance to resist.


    Hodge leaped onto the deck and called out with a voice as loud as a bell, "I am Hodge Soriano, we are here to free ves, we shall spare those who are innocent! But those who dare to obstruct us shall be considered as filthy ve traders''pdogs, to be executed without mercy!"


    At his words, pressure radiated in all directions.


    Upon the other ships not belonging to Sun Commerce, the supporting gunfire promptly lessened significantly.


    Reputation aside, this man was still well-regarded. While he was detested by ve traders, ordinary merchants didn''t have a bad impression of him. As he dered, he hade to rescue ves. Against such a formidable expert for the sake of protecting the property of a greatmerce, it was clearly unwise.


    ....


    The sudden emergence of a fifth-order professional within the fleet caused Su Lun to frown.


    However, he didn''t feel particrly threatened.


    After all, they hadn''te for him.


    Moreover, no matter what Hodge''s motives were, the purpose of those people freeing the ves was the same as Su Lun''s.


    Having such a Five-stage master taking action also saved him a lot of effort.


    Su Lun had no intention of making a name for himself at this critical juncture.


    He stood on the deck, along with everyone else, watching the excitement with interest.


    Meanwhile, Yuta, who was mixed in with the crowd, also transmitted over themunication device, "Mr. Su Lun, I''m going to check on my people first!"


    Su Lun thought about it,


    If Hodge wanted to save people to gain favor, then he certainly wouldn''t harm the Dalu people.


    It should be safe for Yuta to go.


    He responded, "Hmm! Be extra careful, that person might be the one who has been following you recently."


    Yuta''s reply came through themunication device, "Okay!"


    With that, a figure leaped into the sea.


    ....


    The battle did notst long, and the force led by Hodge quickly quelled the resistance.


    Before long, Su Lun saw the ves being released from the three ve ships.


    Just then, in the nearby fog, several ships slowly emerged, seeminglying to rendezvous with Hodge''s people.


    Su Lun felt that it was quite good to end it this way.


    After all, everyone was rescued, which saved him a lot of trouble.


    But just at that moment, something unexpected happened.


    Su Lun''s ears twitched slightly as he heard the "caw caw caw" of birds in the sky.


    In the night, those ck birds were not conspicuous, and even with his eyesight, he could only see some dark figures flying from afar.


    "Crows?"


    Su Lun looked up, but his brow furrowed.


    He had personally killed a man who raised crows in Old Lington and knew that these ominous birds had certain habits.


    Crows cannot fly long distances.


    The appearance of crows over the sea meant that someone on a nearby ship was keeping them!


    Moreover, the sound of their pping wings was bing increasingly dense, indicating there were many of them.


    A bad premonition was forming in Su Lun''s mind.


    Just then, more than a dozen red-eyed crows had already alighted on the mainmast of the ship where he was.


    Seeing these red-eyed crows, Su Lun immediately thought of someone he had seen three days ago in the pirate tavern¡ªthe Crow Godfather, Gwenb Mary!


    "Not good!"


    He had just realized something when his pupils suddenly shrank; before he could say anything, the flock of crows, with a sh of red light in their eyes, suddenly flew down, pping their wings as if to attack the people on the deck.


    When attacked, the adventurers on the deck reacted quickly. Amidst the shouting, a volley of gunfire rang out.


    The sound of crackling gunfire was instantly extinguished.


    Only a few crows were killed, and no one paid much attention.


    "Bad luck! Why encounter crows at sea as well!"


    "Haha, my shooting''s not bad, right? I got two birds with one shot!"


    "..."


    What they hadn''t noticed was that the crows, when hit by bullets, exploded into a mist of blood in mid-air.


    ....


    "It really is that cursed technique..."


    Su Lun narrowed his eyes as he looked at the clouds of blood mist, already certain of the origin of these crows.


    He had crossed paths with this technique before and was all too familiar with it.


    This was the Curse Magic spell, "Blood Curse of the gue Crows"!


    Previously he did not know the principle behind this technique, but now, in his perception, it was crystal clear. At the moment the crows burst into blood mist, his eyes saw what seemed like a sandstorm made of tiny soul particles. Within an extremely short time, they had spread across the entire sea.


    This blood was the medium for the parasitic curse!


    "Now the fleet is in big trouble..."


    Realizing this, Su Lun quickly changed his appearance with a sort of spellcasting, putting on a crow-beak poison mask as if it were changing faces.


    The others on the ship didn''t react in time and had already inhaled some of the blood mist.


    The next instant, a bizarre scene unfolded!


    Some people on deck suddenly felt something stuck in their throats and reached with their fingers to pull it out.


    As they did so, live crows began crawling out of their mouths!


    More and more people, as if possessed, began to cough up crows in an eerie spectacle. The number of crows regurgitated increased rapidly and soon covered the sky.


    Su Lun looked on with a heavy gaze.


    This spell was much more formidable than any he had encountered before. As he looked at the sky full of crows, he muttered to himself, "Curse Magic released by fourth-tier professionals is indeed much more powerful than that of the second tier."


    "Oh, damn it, what the hell is this thing!"


    "It''s Curse Magic! Everyone be careful, don''t touch those crows!"


    "It''s a parasitic curse, not fatal for the time being. But if the curse isn''t lifted, we will eventually be drained to death!"


    "Damn it, the ''Basic Curse Potion'' is useless! Who has a high-level one, sell me one!"


    "Everyone watch out, it might be a pirate attack! I''ve heard of this method before, a new pirate known as ''Crow'' has recently appeared on the seas..."


    "..."


    Everyone was dumbfounded by the Curse Magic.


    They had no clue what was happening.


    Moans echoed all over the deck and inside the cabins.


    ....


    Su Lun was also puzzled, thinking that if Hodge was rescuing people, why did he add this twist to it?


    Could it be that Hodge is one of the King of the North Sea''s men?


    But clearly, that wasn''t the case.


    Looking out into the distance, the so-called ''Fist of Justice'' Hodge also stared gravely at the few ships veiled in fog.


    It seemed that he too was unaware.


    Su Lun followed the man''s gaze and saw the silhouettes of thoserge ships in the misty night. As he got closer, he could make out the fluttering gs on the ship''s masts¡ªshockingly, they were blue skull gs with a Wolf Fang Club motif!


    That was the fleet of the King of the North Sea!


    And indeed,


    The one controlling the crows was Gwenb!


    Su Lun immediately guessed what was happening, his eyes shifted, and he quickly realized, "Has Hodge been targeted by the King of the North Sea''s men?"


    He realized that tonight seemed to be a "series of traps."


    Hodge hade to rescue the ves, and the King of the North Sea''s men had been keeping a watch on him. They took advantage of his voyage to sea, ready to surround and kill him.


    The reason wasn''t hard to surmise.


    Hodge''s action of rescuing ves was gaining him more and more fame among the various races of the North, and the trend was intensifying. This, indeed, posed a serious threat to the prestige of the King of the North Sea.


    Su Lun felt that, if it were him, he probably wouldn''t allow this disturbance to continue either.


    He nced at Yuta. The curse seemed to have no effect on her as a Druid. She was casting spells to dispel the cursed blood fog on the ve ship detaining the sub-humans.


    Seeing this, Su Lun didn''t rush to act and calmly watched as the situation unfolded.


    ...


    Before long, the crew members on the mast also spotted the pirate gs and shouted, "Pirates are attacking!"


    This shout immediately sent the fleet into chaos.


    "Damn it, how could there be pirates?!"


    "No good, it''s the North Sea fleet..."


    "..."


    The various merchant ship Captains immediately gave orders: "Quick, turn the rudder, return to port! Notify the other merchant ships to form up, prepare the cannons, and sink those damned pirates!"


    Normally, cargo ships can''t outrun pirate ships.


    Especially those returning from the North,den with too much cargo, they draft deeply and move slowly.


    Pirate ships, designed for raiding, are built for speed.


    So escape was highly unlikely, the only option was to fight while fleeing, perhaps to hold out until reinforcements arrived.


    The merchants could ignore Hodge, as they knew he wasn''t a pirate and had some moral standards.


    But when faced with real pirates, there was only the choice to fight to the death!


    Being captured by pirates meant that aside from a select few who could be ransomed for their value, the fate of the others, if they managed to survive, especially the women, would be worse than death!


    Cannon fire suddenly broke the silence, and the booming sounds filled the air.@@novelbin@@


    ...


    Hodge clearly understood that those men wereing for him.


    He knew if he stayed on the ve ship, the sub-human ves would be implicated, and all his previous efforts to free them would be in vain.


    With that thought, he leapt off the ve ship and jumped onto the merchant ship he hadmandeered earlier.


    Watching this, Su Lun also leaped off the ship.

 Chapter 248 The Emergence of the Void Armor

    The fog over the sea gradually thickened, and the bright moon was also hidden within the dark clouds, reducing visibility over the ocean more and more.


    The midnight seawater was somewhat icy, as Su Lun soaked in the water, silently making his way toward the ve ship.


    What had started as a midnight ve liberation raid suddenly turned into an intense sea battle.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "..."


    The violent sounds of artillery fire erupted in rapid session, bursting eardrums.


    Pirates'' cannons generally couldn''t match those of the wealthier merchant ships, so they had little advantage in navalbat.


    Those pirate ships, neglected andcking maintenance for years, couldn''t withstand as much damage as the merchant vessels either.


    But for either side to sessfully sink the other was no easy feat.


    When a wooden sailing ship was hit by a cannonball, the projectile would pierce the ship''s body, which was coated with runes and ting, andnd in the cabin, scattering wood chips everywhere, causing quite amotion but making sinking it difficult in a short time. Only with good luck, such as breaking a mast or hitting the ammunition cabin, could one deal a devastating blow to the vessel.


    Therefore, if thebatants were evenly matched in strength, the sea battle oftensted a long time.


    For several hours, perhaps even several days.


    Of course, there were high-level alchemy bullets that could shatter such wooden ships with a single hit. But the cost of one such bullet might be more than the price of a sailboat, affordable only to great nobles and imperial navies, and unlikely to be used in such a degree of naval warfare.


    ....


    The two sides continued to exchange relentless artillery fire.


    The pirate ships had a numerical advantage, with about twenty-odd silhouettes of ships in the mist.


    But whether it was a chase with the navy or a robbery, pirates wouldn''t engage in prolonged artillery duels.


    They were more adept at boardingbat.


    No, in this world where alchemical augmentation wasmon, boarding wasn''t even necessary. Pirates could use their augmentations to fly in from the sky or swim up from the ocean depths.


    Wing augmentations, waterlung augmentations for underwater breathing, sharkskin augmentations...


    These practical augmentations were the favorites among those who made their living at sea, possessing strong survival capabilities.


    Flying in the sky was still easily targeted, but underwater, it was much safer.


    Su Lun advanced quietly through the water, watching countless pirates diving off the opposing pirate ships.


    Once those fellows entered the water, they swam like fish with great speed.


    All sorts of fins, flippers, tails, and stealth devices... helped the band of pirates quickly approach the merchant ships.


    The hand-to-handbat upon boarding began as well.


    The first wave of fodder pirates to board and engage in closebat were mostly low-ranking, first and second-tier. Undetected, Su Lun took out two who happened toe across him underwater.


    At this distance, he was finally able to make out the entire pirate fleet''s arrangement and let out a sigh of relief, "Good thing only one squadron came..."


    Although all those pirate ships flew the g of the King of the North Sea, the secondary gs also identified their allegiances.


    This was the Fourth Fleet of Oleg, team seven "Silver Wolf," led by Carrol.


    Some of those ships, Su Lun had even seen before, during the grand battle at ck Reef Harbor when he chased in the tower.


    Oleg was the confirmed overlord of the Northern Sea.


    Their official squadron leaders were at least fifth-tier professionals, and even the reserve leaders were fourth-tier. Elsewhere, these were the equivalent of great pirate captains.


    Su Lun had previously visited the "Bounty Hunters Guild" and learned a lot about many great pirates'' details.


    Included among them was this Carrol.


    The man was once the captain of the guard for a noble, involved in an affair with the noble''s wife. After being discovered, he ughtered the noble''s entire family and was wanted by the empire, forcing him to flee and be a pirate. His talent, augmentation, and cultivation technique were all superior, and his strength formidable.


    Pirates paid particr attention to rank and face.


    One''s position on the deck revealed the difference between "squadron leader," "vice-leader," and "small team leader."


    Even as a spectator, a big shot would stand in the "center position" rather than hiding in a corner.


    Su Lun watched from afar as that bearded man in cold iron mail on the main pirate ship and identified Carrol.


    By his side, there was a gothic woman with half-shaved head and ck teeth.


    Su Lun recognized her at a nce, thinking, "The captain of team nine ''Instigator'' Heidevich. One specializes in controlling mind magic and the other in closebat, both fifth-tier. It seems they are dead set on taking out Hozier this time..."


    However,


    These two were gunning for "Fist of Justice" Hozier, and he had nothing to do with them.


    Seeing this, Su Lun''s thoughts became more active.


    Having only one squadron meant that at least he would not have much trouble ensuring his own safety.


    ....


    The sea battle raged on.


    At this moment, Hozier seemed to realize that he was in big trouble today.


    He hadn''t counted on the merchant fleet being of any assistance, so rather than waiting to be surrounded by pirates, he and his men took control of the captured ship and attempted to break through to the west.


    As he fled, several pirate ships immediately set off in pursuit, and naturally, two fifth-tier squadron leaders from the main ship joined the chase.


    Seeing this, Su Lun''s heart surged with joy: "What a golden opportunity!"


    ....


    Another piece of good news was that the ve ship carrying Yuta and the others didn''t attract much attention from the pirates.


    It was a vessel specifically designed for transporting goods and ves; the pirates, being savvy, knew it was full of "valuable merchandise." If they were to sink it, the robbery would be entirely pointless.


    Moreover, the merchant''s side, even knowing that the ves had taken over the ship, wouldn''t waste ammunition to sink their own vessel in the face of more vicious pirates.


    Thus, the already not-so-powerful ve ship remained unharmed amidst the cannon fire.


    Upon seeing this, Su Lun immediately spoke into themunicator: "They''re after Ho Qi! Yuta, throw all the cannons and cargo overboard and set sail. Head east and leave this sea area as fast as you can!"


    A prompt response came through themunicator: "Okay!"


    No sooner had he spoken than the cannons and cargo were seen being discarded into the sea from the ship.


    With the heavy items thrown overboard, the draft of the ve ship lightened considerably, and its sailing speed immediately increased.


    Listening to the distant sounds of battle, Su Lun figured the two squadron leaders must have engaged Ho Qi. He no longer hesitated and, after several instances of teleportation, arrived beneath the very ship.


    Your journey continues with empire


    He leapt aboard the deck, where Yuta was busy organizing her people to manipte the sails and discard any unnecessary items into the sea. Apart from freshwater and food, everything that could be thrown overboard was tossed into the ocean.


    The two exchanged a nod of understanding.


    Gratitude filled Yuta''s sparkling eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Su Lun."


    Without the man before her, there would be no rescue operation happening now.


    She then spoke a sentence in the Dalunguage to her people.


    Upon hearing this, the sub-humans one by one expressed their sincere thanks, bowing respectfully to Su Lun.


    Su Lun thought he had understood two words: "warrior" and "thank you."


    He shook his head, signaling everyone to continue working the sails; this was no time to rx.


    The pirates behind them certainly wouldn''t just watch as this merchandise, worth billions, got away.


    ....


    Though Ho Qi, the ''Fist of Justice,'' had brought upon them a major problem, he also saved Su Lun and the others a lot of trouble.


    At least they obtained keys to the explosive cors and the magic-suppressing chains, and once the Dalu people were freed, they also regained somebat strength.


    The humans of this ne were mostly alchemists, with no divine faith.


    But the Dalu were different.


    They worshipped the "Nature God."


    Their strength was also a gift from the deity.


    Natural warriors, they harbored the ability to shapeshift and cast spells.


    The rather small ve ship had been crammed with thousands of sub-humans; now freed, they were far from short-handed.


    Though their ranks were not high, with hundreds of them rotating to cast wind spells to propel the sails, the ship gained an extraordinarily swift speed.


    Hence, the two pirate ships pursuing them had almost no chance of catching up through speed alone.


    It was Su Lun''s first time witnessing what "magic" truly was, and he found it somewhat miraculous.


    Through devout prayers and incantations, spells took form.


    This was entirely different from the spellcasting he was familiar with.


    Alchemists performed their craft solely based on the "principle of equivalent exchange," harnessing natural elements to form spells through forms-like rules summarized by alchemical predecessors.


    Meanwhile, the Dalu''s spells seemed tomunicate with some will through incantations, manifesting in a simpler manner.@@novelbin@@


    Su Lun didn''t quite grasp it, but it seemed that their spellcasting utilized part of their own power and part of the power bestowed by their deity.


    Essentially, the nature of magical incantations was an acknowledgment of faith.


    In other words, one method of casting spells was a reasoned "science," while the other was "ultism."


    He didn''t dwell on it much because at that moment, the pirates on the ships behind them, seeing their quarry slipping away, frantically gave chase.


    It wasn''t ships, but a group... capable of void discement!


    ....


    "These winged flight grafts, they actually contain the spatialw?"


    Su Lun''s pupils narrowed as he observed the group unleashing their grafts to fly¡ªresembling mantises, fleas, and also like aliens.


    It wasn''t mere physical flight; as they pped their wings, the purple patterns on them shed, and the wearers teleported forward by tens of meters.


    Others might not have noticed anything, but to Su Lun, a practitioner who had awakened spatial ability, those spatial fluctuations were very obvious!


    A quick assessment revealed the significance of these wings.


    [Void Wings]


    Details: First-tier ck iron quality alchemical graft, wing grafts produced by a specific insect from the void ne, containing spatial discement abilities; adaptation value rating C+ or above, mutation probability not exceeding 20%; after integration, a slight increase in the host''s toughness and agility, with a chance ofprehending some rudimentary applications of the spatialws.


    Being low-tier practitioners, the pirates only had one or two types of grafts on them.


    Normally, Su Lun wouldn''t give these underlings a second nce, but now that he looked at their grafts, he was genuinely amazed.


    "Could it be that those guys have found a ''void ne'' seal channel?"


    Su Lun looked at the information disyed and his expression turned slightly odd.


    He knew that apart from the "Abyssal ne Channel" beneath the Dawn City Ruins under Old Lington, this ne once had many spatial channels connected to other nes.


    But among the plethora of information Su Lun had harvested, no one had ever seen this kind of "void equipment."


    This meant that the pirates under the King of the North Sea had either found a secret ne channel or poked into their of a void monster, and that''s how they obtained these materials?


    Spatial ability is an extremely rare and strongbat power.


    Let alone flying equipment!


    Thebat enhancement for professionals would be an absolute qualitative leap.


    Looking at the current situation, the King of the North Sea might have arge group of subordinates equipped with void equipment.


    This force was not to be underestimated.


    "Really shouldn''t underestimate these pirates..."


    Su Lun narrowed his eyes as he watched the pirates chasing after them, expressing his thoughts internally.


    It seemed now that this vast ocean was full of endless opportunities and treasures. He wasn''t the only lucky one.


    ...


    The pirates closed the distance by dozens of meters in a blink, quickly catching up.


    The people on the boat could even see the scornful smiles on their faces.


    Yuta, who was beside him, also lost color on her face, "Damn it! That leading pirate is a fourth-ss professional!"


    On the ship, all the Dalu people, she was the only third-ss one.


    Though there were many among the Dalu, they weren''t without the power to fight. But if a fierce battle did break out, no one would be able to stop that fourth-ss professional, which would surely result in heavy casualties and deaths.


    Su Lun''s eyes shifted, his mind quickly pondering.


    One fourth-ss, two third-ss, and also some first and second-ss. To him, the problem wasn''t too big.


    But if a real fight started, that spatial discement ability would be very tricky, and he couldn''t guarantee he could take them down immediately.


    Moreover, killing these few was a minor issue, but behind them was aplete Great Pirate group. The King of the North Sea was not so easy to provoke.


    On the other side, two or three dozen boats were waiting. If a bigmotion broke out here, certainly some superior woulde to reinforce.


    Among the pirate squad leaders, there might be those with special abilities beyond the intelligence gathered.


    Such as the Curse Magician known as ''Crow'' Gwenb.


    Facing unknown enemies, one must not be careless.


    Otherwise, you wouldn''t know how you were hit when the timees.


    Su Lun''s thoughts shed through his head in an instant, and quickly, he came up with a n.


    Seeing the pirates were about to board the ship, he hastily said to Yuta beside him, "When theye on board, don''t resist. They probably won''t kill. I have a way to get them to leave!"


    Upon hearing this, Yuta was startled at first, "But..."


    Although she wasn''t very familiar with Su Lun, she could sense that he was only a third-ss professional.


    The other side had fourth and maybe fifth-ss. Was he nning to go alone?


    Too dangerous!


    Yuta''s expression turned resolute, "I''ll go with you!"


    "No, you stay on the ship!"


    Su Lun''s tone left no room for refusal.


    Without time to exin further, he added, "They''ll definitelye for me in a minute. You seize the chance to leave. Don''t worry about me, I have my ways to escape."


    Yuta looked at the man''s determined gaze, unsure of what to say, "You..."


    That gaze seemed to have an inexplicable power to convince.


    Could he really do it?


    Without giving Yuta the chance to speak, Su Lun leaped off the ship.


    ....


    The dozen or so pirates flying toward the ve ship also saw Su Lun jump overboard, but didn''t care at all.


    In their eyes, he was just a coward fleeing from battle.


    The leading fourth-ss professional was named Suleiman, and he had earned himself a domineering pirate nickname, "Void de."


    Since sessfully integrating the fourth-ss silver void equipment, he had be the reserve captain of Squad Seven.


    Though he didn''t have a bounty yet, it wasing soon.


    As long as they killed Hogg this time, they''d immediately make a name for themselves throughout the North Sea.


    He felt with this void ability, sooner orter he would be a Great Pirate known throughout the region!


    With the winged equipment retracted behind him, Suleimannded steadily on the ve ship and nced at the group of sub-humans with frosty faces, letting out a strangeugh, "Yo... this batch of goods is not bad."


    The female sub-humans of the fox and wolf ns were indeed visibly beautiful at a nce.


    At this remark,scivious smiles hung on the faces of the dozen or so pirates behind him.


    Yuta had already shown her fangs and ws, hesitating in her heart whether to make a move or not.


    If it were just her, she would definitely not surrender without a fight, even if it meant dying in battle.


    But behind her were a group of her tribespeople.


    Suleiman brandished the de glowing with purple light in his hand, the source of his confidence.


    The unique pressure of a fourth-order professional instantly swept across the entire ship, and he barked loudly, "I don''t care if you understand or not. Right now, go to the hold and stay put, or don''t fucking make me kill people!"


    As he spoke, he provocatively pointed the de at Yuta, the leader...


    As long as these subhumans made the slightest move, he wouldn''t mind killing one to warn the others, and immediately there would be arge number of heads rolling.


    Yuta was fearless; her azure pupils gleamed with a wild beast''s sharp fierceness.


    She thought of what Su Lun had just said and couldn''t help but look towards the distant sea.


    Just at that moment, as if a giant whale was breaching, there was a loud "whoosh" from the sea, and suddenly a figure emerged, a ferocious... iron giant!


    Yuta had never seen abat mecha before and could hardly conceal her shock at the odd entity, "That... Is that Mr. Su Lun?"


    A few pirates also heard themotion and nced over, only to see the mecha warrior wielding a Ship-Cutter chopping towards their pirate ship, all astonished, "Military mecha armor? People from the Mafa Empire?"


    ....


    Indeed, this was the "Colonel-ss Ship-Cutter IX Mecha Armor"!


    Su Lun certainly didn''t delude himself into thinking he could take on a pirate group head-on.


    Besides, he couldn''t guarantee that there weren''t other professionals with mysterious powers among the pirates.


    Donning the mecha armor was more than appropriate.


    This set of armor had previously been tested in a great battle at Gadronte Harbor and was a handy weapon, with a helmet possessing special anti-curse treatment.


    Once adorned in battle armor, it would be very difficult for even a fifth-order mysterious magician to kill him.


    In order to draw attention and prevent the pirates from continuing their pursuit, there was no better means than the mecha armor.


    To prevent pursuit, the pirate ship could not be left intact.


    And the "Steam Battleship Cleaver" equipped with the armor was essentially a super battleship cutting weapon!


    The mechanical Ship-Cutter, though incapable of unleashing "Sword Qi" or other ranged attacks, with a vibrating de, could easily slice through wooden sailboats.


    With one wide, powerful swing, it carved a gash in the hull of a pirate ship.


    A few more "shes" and that gap immediately became a gaping hole.


    Seawater rushed in instantly, and therge pirate ship looked as if it would soon sink.


    What''s the most significant concern for a mecha warrior?


    It''s being able to withstand and deliver hits!


    Su Lun controlled thebat mecha, fearless, like a War God in human form.


    The rain of bullets rattled against the mecha armor, but that did not impede his movements one bit. Steam from the boiler gathered power, and a st of white steam from his feet stirred up great ripples on the water''s surface. With a leap, the mecha surged toward another approaching pirate ship.


    Su Lun jumped onto the deck and, without hesitation, chopped down fiercely, cleaving the iron-hard coated mainmast in two!


    The mast copsed, scattering the henchmen in all directions.


    With all the strong fighters gone to intercept the ve ship, the remaining rabble was as ineffective as ants biting an elephant against Su Lun.


    Powerless to stop him, they could only watch as he swung the Ship-Cutter like a giant windmill, severing all the masts on the ship.


    As they saw their two ships taking on water and starting to capsize, the Heidevich of the "Void de" from the distant ve ship bellowed in rage, "Damn it!"


    This was the nest egg he had saved in anticipation of one day bing a legitimate captain...


    And now, in the blink of an eye, it was being hacked to pieces?


    "I''ll kill you!"


    Boiling with rage and no longer caring about the ves, Suleiman flew back.


    After all, in his eyes, a set of Mafa military armor was worth countless times more than a shipful of ves!


    He red at that mecha warrior, his eyes full of hatred, yet he also sneered, "Hmm! Mecha warrior? Others might not be able to handle you... but don''t you know my Void Armor is specifically designed to counter mecha warriors?"


    ....


    Su Lun, of course, saw the group of pirates flying back. He even clearly saw the contempt on the face of the leader.


    He wasn''t surprised in the slightest.


    This diversionary tactic was precisely to wait for their return.


    Su Lun didn''t rush to flee, identifying the fourth-order armor in the other''s hand and musing, "Tsk, tsk, that armor does indeed counter mecha warriors quite effectively... no wonder he''s so confident."


    The Void Sickle


    Details: A fourth-order silver quality alchemical imnt; the sickle of a creature unique to the Void ne, containing spatial teleportation ability, that can ignore obstacles in its shes; containment value rating B+ or above, aberration probability no more than 15%; after fusion, substantially increases the resilience and agility of the host, and highly likely to gain some understanding of the use of Space Law.


    As Su Lun read this, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly, also with anticipation, "Gift-wrapped ''experience of space''..."

 Chapter 249 Harvesting Space Law Fragments

    Su Lun was closely watching the battle at sea to the west.


    The fight was still intense, with shockwaves cresting higher and higher. This meant that the "Fist of Justice," Hozier, was still holding strong, showing no signs of defeat in the short term.


    Even better news was that the three Rank 5 battlefields were drifting further apart.


    Su Lun also set his mind at ease.


    Without any Rank 5 professionals approaching, there was no need for him to rush away.


    The ve ship was heading east at full speed, and the fog over the sea was getting thicker. If they could hold off for just a little while longer, those Dalu tribespeople would be able topletely escape the pirates'' pursuit.


    Of course, what mattered most to Su Lun was his interest in the Void Predation Outfit.


    .....


    It was when Su Lun was sabotaging the pirate ship that the dozen or so pirates previously headed for the ve ship unsurprisingly flew back.


    He didn''t hesitate to respond; the mechanical armor raised its hand, and the six-barreled Fire God Gun "tat-tat-tat" burst into blue mes.


    This type of gun, exclusive to army mecha, whether in design, material choice, or spell enchantments, had very high technology content and could withstand the high-intensity continuous fire of alchemy bullets.


    But Su Lun couldn''t afford such luxury.


    At best, he would mix one basic bullet with an alchemy st bomb¡ªa strike covering a small area was sufficient.


    The theoretical maximum rate of fire for the six-barreled Fire God Gun reached 4000 rounds per minute, but to reduce the recoil and barrel load, the usual rate didn''t exceed 2000 rounds per minute.


    Still, it was purely an extravagant way to burn money.


    One alchemy bullet was priced at nearly ten thousand Liso.


    Which meant, at full firepower, the gun would consume ammunition worth tens of millions in a minute.


    The power was great¡ªhigher Rank 4 and 5 professionals needed to avoid its intensity, but not everyone could afford to use it.


    If you were poor, you shot urately; if you were rich, you relied on overwhelming firepower.


    This saying was a true reflection of the mechanical warriors.


    This was also the biggest reason the militaristic imperialists of the Mafa Empire constantly waged wars and plundered; they needed to sustain the war with war, and they needed to plunder resources to develop.


    The use of this suit of armor was expensive to manufacture and to operate!


    One volley could deplete the wealth that amoner might earn over several lifetimes.


    However, the effect was immediate.


    After a round of "tat-tat-tat," air ripples characteristic of st bombs exploded in the distance.


    The dozen or so pirates flying through the air were quickly scattered by the barrage, and those who couldn''t dodge in time were turned into bloody sieves and fell into the sea.


    Su Lun''s pupils flickered rapidly, and through his helmet, he saw this scene and analyzed some useful information: "Using Void Discement, the purple energy patterns on the outfit be visible... The greater the discement distance, the more intense the purple light, and the longer the energy umtion time needed. The discement limit for a Rank 1 outfit is roughly between 20-30 meters, and Rank 2 will not exceed 70 meters..."


    He recorded the data reflected by the pirates using the outfit in his mind.


    No matter how you looked at it, thebat capability of this "Void Predation Outfit" was very strong, even more efficient than Su Lun''s own method of tearing through the fabric of space.


    "Quite a powerful outfit..."


    Su Lun concluded.


    As he fired, he watched the Rank 4 fellow, with a hint of subtle amusement in his eyes.


    .....


    The pirate ship, whose mast had been chopped down, had lost its propulsion and was drifting with the waves.


    The deck was empty.


    Not a single pirate dared to approach Su Lun''s mecha.


    Unassable and deadly at close quarters¡ªthat was the unmatched terrifying power of the mechanical armor among low-ranked professionals!


    A burst of gunfire from Su Lun took out most of the lower-ranked pirates.


    But that Rank 4 guy was extremely agile.


    Su Lun knew at a nce that killing him with the tactics avable on his mecha was nearly impossible.


    Moreover, the guy''s talent was highlypatible with his profession.


    "C-015-Light-absorber" was a talent that produced a special pigment in the body capable of absorbing light.


    It was inherently an assassin-type talent.


    Now, with the Void Predation Outfit, it could reduce the perceivable effects of discement to next to nothing.


    The capability and profession of the individual almost perfectly matched the outfit.


    The guy flitted through the sky like a firefly, thenpletely vanished into the pitch-ck night...


    For normal people to perceive him with sight or hearing was nearly impossible.


    With this ability, even against some Rank 5 professionals with weak perception, he stood a fair chance of sess.


    ....


    However, for Su Lun, all of this effort was futile.


    No matter how skillfully one stealthed, the soul fire of the entity remained. It was like a candle in the endless darkness, impossible to ignore. Explore more stories at empire


    In Su Lun''s perception, the location of that guy had never been lost.


    "Pity, had he not encountered me, perhaps he could''ve grown into a Great Pirate with a hefty bounty in the future..."


    Su Lun hummed in his mind.


    Now, with the high cerebral domain development and the ability to multitask, he had already devised a quick kill strategy the moment he assessed the guy''s abilities.


    But he did not act on it.


    The battle raging in the west was intense, and there was plenty of time; he was in no hurry to evacuate.


    He wanted to collect more data on the ''Void equipment''.


    While Su Lun could kill the guy, he also didn''t want others to see too much of his hand.


    Just as in Old Lington¡ªeveryone knew he possessed the ''Reaper'', making it difficult for him to surprise anyone with an ambush.


    Now, in his hands, he held an artifact he had previously deemed quite useless, but it specifically countered Void abilities. It could be very useful in the future, and he did not want to reveal it so soon.


    Thinking this, he raised his hand, and a ck and white chessboard on his mechanical arm emitted a ray of light, instantly enveloping the figure fully merged into the darkness.


    ....


    ''Void de'' Suleiman was startled as the surroundings abruptly changed into a space filled with ck and white chess squares.


    He did not know how his stealth had been discovered and thought it was some special capability of the magick-mechanical armor. After all, this was a custom-made suit of officer-grade armor, possessing some special functions was normal.


    However, after his initial shock, Suleiman quickly steadied his heart.


    Turns out, it was just a space limitation.


    Assessing the space, he nced at Su Lun not far off, a barely perceptible cold smile ying at the corner of his mouth.


    It was as if a cat was toying with a mouse.


    Su Lun caught that mocking microexpression, full of derision.


    It was as though he himself, the first time he had been pulled into this chessboard space, immediately knew that this closed space could not contain anyone with Spatial Discement abilities.


    However, Su Lun''s purpose in using the chessboard wasn''t to trap the guy; it was merely to keep others from seeing how he killed.


    Pretending to be oblivious, Su Lun controlled his mechanical armor to charge fiercely at the guy.


    "Hiss," "hiss," two rapid venting sounds, the miniaturized steam power boiler in the legs provided the armor with powerful thrust. The charge was aggressive, like a lotive ruthlessly barreling forward. The mechanical arm swung wide, and the Ship-Cutter shed horizontally with such speed that the de left behind a fan-shaped afterimage in the air.


    If that sh had truly connected, even a fifth-tier professional would have been cleaved in two.


    Unfortunately for the opponent, Suleiman merely showed a disdainful smile.


    As the Ship-Cutter passed, the remaining afterimage at the original spot also dispersed.


    Utilizing his Void Wings, the guy easily dodged it.


    The mechanical armor''s weakness was exposed: when facing those with incredible agility, all its brute strength was of no avail.


    The hit rate was far too low...


    The opponent wasn''t about to sh head-on; if this dragged on, it was certain the mechanical armor would either exhaust its energy first or sumb to mechanical failure due to high-intensitybat.


    From this point of view, the mechanical warrior was already at a disadvantage even before the fight began.


    But if mechanical warriors had weaknesses, their advantages were also very pronounced.


    Their strong defense allowed them to enter battle from an "undying" position.


    Normally, when facing such opponents, the mechanical armor couldn''t kill the other party, but they also couldn''t hope to kill him.


    The eventual oue would be a stalemate where both sides retreat without having gained an advantage.


    Suleiman saw through this and, knowing that this model of mechanical warrior couldn''t kill him anyway, was not in a hurry to escape from the space.


    The two sides exchanged blows in the chessboard space in the blink of an eye, for dozens of rounds.


    Yet the clumsy mechanical warrior didn''tnd a single hit.


    Suleiman''s dodges were effortless.


    Butbat has its costs.


    The movements of Su Lun''s mechanical warrior, fierce as they were, gradually slowed down.


    The steam boiler''s valve began to emit a "whistle" of shrill cries, a high-temperature alert for an overload duringbat.


    Like a human body, machinery couldn''t work endlessly; it too would fatigue from high-intensity battle. The burst of sprints and shes put the power boiler, kic pipes, and pressure devices in an overloaded state. umted heat would rise, and at a certain point, it could melt the runes and enchantments, or even cause the mecha to shut downpletely.


    But this was enough.


    Su Lun had essentially ascertained the various characteristics of this ''Void equipment''.


    ....


    Suleiman obviously noticed that the speed of the mech suit had slowed down.


    He wouldn''t give his enemy a chance to catch his breath, sneering, "Heh, done ying with you."


    Assassin-ss professionals are very fragile, especially when facing these advanced mechs, "a touch equals death" is not an exaggeration at all.


    Previously, he had been cautious, not daring to get close, afraid the mech suit might have some special defense devices like "Thunder Net."


    Now he had almost figured it out.


    He was certain that this mech posed absolutely no threat to him.


    Suleiman''s battle experience was also formidable, he deftly dodged a volley of bullets at the right moment, and a feigned charge lured out the Ship-Cutter''s strike. Both of the mechanical warrior''s hands were in sight, leaving its back wide open.


    "Perfect opportunity!"


    A sneer shed in Suleiman''s eyes, and with a gleam of purple light from his wings, his figure disappeared in front of thebat mech.


    A second look, and it was as if a curtain in the void had been lifted; with one thrust, he had already teleported behind the mech.


    "It''s over."


    A triumphant smile spread across Suleiman''s face.


    His arms, transformed into the fourth-order silver prosthetic "Void Sickle", were specifically designed to counter heavily armored enemies!


    The two Void Sickles, surrounded by a purple glow, thrust forward prematurely, and a bizarre scene ensued.


    Any other de, no matter how sharp, seemed almost impossible to pierce through the heavy defense armor of the "Colonel-level Ship-Cutter Mark IX Mech Suit."


    But as soon as these two purple sickles struck, their sharp edges did not touch the mech suit, instead, they opened a ck void crack in the air and went straight in.


    With these two strikes, capitalizing on the Void prosthetic''s ability to ignore obstacles, they directly bypassed the thick armor and stabbed the operator inside!


    This odd move would certainly make anyone else''s scalp tingle if they saw it.


    Is it over?


    Yes!


    But the one who died was not Su Lun.


    ...@@novelbin@@


    This supposed surefire "kill move" encountered an unexpected error!


    As Suleimannded what he believed was a sessful strike, his face had not even had the chance to rx from battle when he suddenly transformed into shock.


    As an assassin, how could he not realize that something was off about the feel of that stab?


    That was definitely not flesh, but more like wood.


    rm struck his heart, "It''s not real? Damn, it''s a puppet!"


    Realizing the peril, Suleiman felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, a tidal wave of impending death washed over his heart.


    It''s not just because he missed, but because he could no longer understand the situation at hand.


    How could a puppet be inside a mech suit?


    Could it be that he had been fighting a puppet all this time?


    An absurd thought shed through his mind: all of his desperate fighting was just to cooperate with someone behind the scenes to y out a puppet show?!


    His instincts screamed at Suleiman to immediately escape this space.


    A sh of purple light from his wings and he tried to dive into the void.


    But... it was already toote.


    He horrifiedly discovered that his "Void Wings", which had never failed, were now useless!


    His body was still in the same spot, not teleported away at all!


    "Spatial Confinement?"


    Suleiman immediately realized what it was, his face ashen.


    Looking up, as if the chessboard space was like a theater stage, a shadowy figure with countless strings attached to its fingertips loomed above, manipting everything from above.


    And it was at that moment, he felt a slight chill on his neck.


    A crack in the void?


    He was all too familiar with these fluctuations of thews.


    However, that was hisst thought.


    ...


    The shroud fell, and Su Lun''s figure appeared.


    Looking down at the body, he arched an eyebrow, thinking to himself, "The de bypassed the armor and stabbed the puppet, this Void prosthetic is really OP...


    Thinking of this, Su Lun let out a slight sigh and muttered to himself, "But when you use that prosthetic''s spatial ability to attack, your body stiffens for about 0.7 seconds. That must be the moment when you can''t use the Void Teleportation while attacking with those sickle prosthetics. Huh... that''s one of the few ''weaknesses'', I guess."


    The entire battle went without any unexpected incidents.


    When Su Lun thought of the "Chronos''s Spatial Gloves" in his hand, he knew that this result was destined.


    The glove utterly restrained the void gear, making escape impossible.


    "Chronos''s Spatial Gloves"


    Detailed Description: The gloves solidify the high-level spell "Titan''s Grasp," which consumes energy to cast a spell that applies spatial solidification to a target area, confining any spatial fluctuations within that area that aren''t higher than the spell''s own level of spatialw;


    Evaluation: This is a somewhat frivolous piece of alchemy, consuming ten times the energy to execute a spell that is not very practical; but in reality, it is a spatial magic tool, enhancing spatial affinity by 30%, and increasing the might of spatial spells by 7-16%;


    Su Lun once thought of this alchemy item as quite frivolous, but now ites in extremely handy against professionals who can move through void.


    Without it, he wouldn''t have been confident in stopping the guy who could teleport away at will.


    The only downside is that the consumption pain is a bit much.


    Casting "Titan''s Grasp" once would consume a "Cursed Source Crystal."


    This kind of energy baryte, in the mining area of Old Lington goes for a hundred million rixdors each. In the surface world, it''s even more expensive, and the resources are all in the hands of major nobles, making it impossible to purchase.


    Looking at the body, Su Lun also felt somewhat emotional, "It seems that I can''t rely too much on any single ability, otherwise against a counteracting force, I wouldn''t even know how I died."


    This battle was a ssic case of ability suppression.


    Void gear suppressed mecha warriors,


    While Su Lun''s gloves suppressed the spatial gear.


    Facing an enemy with suppressing abilities, one''s fighting power could plummet off a cliff.


    ...


    He didn''t think too much about it because at that moment, the soul mist began to emerge from the corpse.


    Su Lun didn''t hesitate; the shadow of the Reaper immediately condensed behind him.


    Although using this ability came with some risks.


    But rarely encountering a target that might understand fourth-tier spatialws, it was worth taking some risks.


    The harvest expected from this stripping was substantial.


    ''You have stripped the soul of "Suleiman K. Salgado," obtaining some "Fourth Order Space Law Fragments"''


    ''You have acquired some day-to-day information: "Some intelligence on the fleet of the King of the North Sea"''


    ''You have stripped lingering thoughts: "The boss''s Void n..."''


    ''You have obtained some impactful notions: "Some secrets within Pirate City..."''


    ''You have stripped a multitude of "Spatial Ability Combat Application Skills"''


    ''Spiritual power +3.3''


    Su Lun chose a few fragments of interest to strip.


    After assimting those memories into his sea of consciousness, his eyes sparkled with eagerness, "Fourth-tier spatialws, eh..."


    Comprehension of spacew is extremely difficult, and as alchemistsck the faith in a deity, it''s almost impossible toprehend spatial abilities without relying on job materials.


    He himself had taken office with the "Magician''s Conical Hat," mastering some rudimentary application of spatialws.


    But that was limited to usage only.


    There was no real understanding.


    "Space Law," this supremew is powerful, but the difficulty of continuing toprehend and improve it is N times that of other lower-tierws, and the progress would be incredibly slow.


    This fellow named Suleiman used the shortcut of "Void gear" toprehend some fragments of spatialws.


    But those fragments were precious treasures to Su Lun.


    Merely stripping the corpse''s insights allowed him to directly understand things he might have taken years toprehend.


    It saved him a lot of effort.


    And this might just be a "good start."


    On ordinary days, encountering a person versed in spatial ability was like finding a needle in the sea; even wanting to strip was not possible because there were no targets.


    But not anymore.


    From the memories of the corpse, Su Lun also knew that King Oleg of the North Sea had indeed obtained arge amount of cursed materials from the void dimension through some secret channel.


    Now that Pirate King''s fleet had been turned into a force equipped with void gear!


    This news might cause the Mechanical Holy Land of the Mafa Empire a great headache, but for Su Lun, it was excellent news!


    If there are indeed many creatures born with mastery of spatial abilities, and he also possesses the abilities of the "Death Reaper" to strip them efficiently, should he fear not understanding high-tier spatialws in the future?


    He seemed to see a smooth path toprehending the supreme "Space Law."


    "Void dimension, huh..."


    Thoughts shed through Su Lun''s mind as he pondered extensively, "Even the squadron captain is unaware, the confidentiality is quite impressive. It looks like that group of pirates found a passage to an unknown dimension buried in the dust of history. Hmm... Should I make a trip to ''Pirate City'' to gather more information?"

 Chapter 250 Riding the Wolf

    The body had already begun to congeal alchemy growth armor, and Su Lun looked at the outline of the "Void Sickle" that had begun to appear, thinking of the scene just now where it ignored the mecha''s defense, a thought also popped into his mind, "This kind of void growth armor, it''s very suitable for that guy Kai, tsk tsk, I should mail him a set if there''s a chance..."


    Without waiting for the growth armor topletely disengage, he directly stored the body in his storage space.


    "Huh..."


    But it was this very act of storage that immediately brought a surprise delight to Su Lun''s eyes, "The folded space expanded by nearly twice?!"


    Folded space was an ability he awakened when he advanced to the second tier and beganprehending spatial abilities; it was very convenient for storage.


    The volume of the space would increase with the tier level and the enhancement of dark spiritual power.


    Originally, the expansion wasn''t too fast, and Su Lun felt it wasn''t quite enough since somerge objects couldn''t fit inside.


    But now, it had actually doubled in size?


    Su Lun immediately understood that this was due to the enhancement brought by stripping that "fourth-tier fragment of spacew."


    Furthermore, not only did it expand the storage space, but the improvedprehension of spacew also made opening the space feel incredibly smooth.


    He distinctly felt that his affinity for space had surged dramatically!


    "This is like taking off..."


    Su Lun could hardly conceal his joy.


    An increase in space affinity meant that he could use spatial discement for greater distances and cast spells faster...


    Most crucially, the difficulty of learning other space spells decreased!


    "Space Law," as one of the supremews, facilitates storage and teleportation, and itsbat capability is also extremely outstanding.


    Su Lun had always wanted to learn some space spells, but even with his strong learning abilities now, progress was very slow.


    The few space scrolls he happened to get from Mr. Hei took him several months to barely learn one life-saving "sh."


    Others, like "Hand of Confinement," "Twisted Barrier," "Void Strangle," and so on, each more bizarre than thest, he had not managed to learn any.


    At the root of it was that spatial techniques were much harder to understandpared to other elemental techniques, requiring a magic matrix which, without sufficientprehension of thew, simply couldn''t be constructed.


    With the detachment of this fragment, he suddenly felt like his "spatial skill tree" had grown from a bud into a small tree.


    With robust branches to support, it was only natural for dense leaves (skills) to sprout.


    Thinking of this, a thought shed through Su Lun''s mind, "When I advance to the fourth tier, should I also equip myself with a set of void growth armor?"


    Because there was no source of void growth armor before, he had never thought in this direction.


    But now, it was clear that there were material sources at the "King of the North Sea," which made this path entirely viable!


    If it were winged flight growth armor, that would work too, but it didn''t seem like the best option...


    Offensive growth armor was also good; killing people invisibly...


    Or perhaps those that assist with casting, like enhancing affinity andw perception...


    Or even spatial defense growth armor?


    Su Lun''s mind instantly raced through countless possibilities for advancement.


    But currently, his knowledge about void creatures was practically nk, and he had no idea which abilities would have a highpatibility.


    Considering that he hadn''t even settled on third-tier growth armor, he wasn''t in a rush; it wouldn''t be toote to learn more at "Pirate City" and make a decision then.


    ....


    Many thoughts were but a sh in his mind.


    Su Lun put away the body, and the chessboard space was also lifted.


    Although the battle consumed quite some time, it was broadly within Su Lun''s estimates.


    Now that his spatial discement ability had greatly increased, he was not the least bit panicked. Thinking that even if he faced those two fifth-tier pirates, though he couldn''t beat them, the chances of escaping had increased at least tenfoldpared to before!


    Moreover, he also felt it unlikely that he''d encounter two fifth-tier squadron captains outside.


    The pirates probably had great confidence in that pirate vice-captain named "Suleiman."


    The man''s strength indeed justified that confidence.


    If he hadn''t run into Su Lun, even facing a fifth-tier professional, Suleiman would have had a certain chance of victory.


    Moreover, void growth armor had an advantage against mechanical warriors.


    No matter how one looked at it, Suleiman should not have been the one to die.


    Therefore, Su Lun also deduced that as long as the pirates weren''t sure that guy had died, they would not call for backup. Those two fifth-tiers couldn''t leave their post. After all, Hozi was their main target for the night.


    Sticking to the original n, Su Lun felt that when he emerged, he should see a group of pirates with faces full of astonishment on the deck.


    There was plenty of time, enough for him to wipe out the pirates on these two ships and then leave at his leisure. By the time those two fifth-tier pirate squadron captains heard the news and wanted to chase, they wouldn''t be able to catch up.


    The n was perfect.


    Su Lun had gone over it many times in his mind and couldn''t find any oversights.


    But unexpectedly, when it all started, things were quite different from what he had anticipated.


    On the deck of the pirate ship, a fierce battle was unfolding?


    "Eh..."


    Su Lun was slightly surprised.


    He watched as a group of pirates fought with a blood-covered white wolf.


    The pirates were making a racket.


    "Haha... didn''t expect another one toe back just to seek death!"


    "Hey! Brothers, capture this white wolf alive! It''s a rare breed, worth at least a few million!"


    "Dammit, be careful, this non-human can use magic!"


    "..."


    The pirates held the advantage in numbers, with two to three hundred survivors between the two ships, including some third-tier professionals. They were armed with variouss,ssos, and harpoons, seemingly intent on capturing the white wolf alive.


    "Yuta? How did shee back..."


    Su Lun recognized the white wolf as Yuta, transformed.


    It seemed she wanted to return to help him?


    Yuta, overwhelmed by so many pirates, was already struggling to keep up, but there was no sign of retreat on her face.


    Although it seemed like she hadn''t provided much help and had even caused more trouble, a smile crept into the corner of Su Lun''s eyes.


    ...


    The fierce battle on the deck was at its height when the burly mecha appeared once again, causing thebatants to freeze in shock.


    The pirates, especially, were taken aback.


    It wasn''t Deputy Captain Siman who came out?


    How was that possible!


    Even the mechanical warriors of Mafa couldn''tpletely counter the Void Sickle, right?


    But the eyes of the white wolf showed relief: Mr. Su Lun was still alive...


    Su Lun didn''t give the pirates time to figure things out. As soon as he appeared, he activated the energy tremor of his Ship-Cutter and charged into the crowd.


    Not all Void Sickle armors posed a threat to his mecha; the lower-tier ones only made the de sharper, but they couldn''t stop Su Lun.


    As the other pirate ship had already sunk, everyone had congregated on the deck of this one. Swinging his Ship-Cutter, Su Lun hacked wildly, and the six-round cannons of the Fire God also fired sporadic bursts. The pirates couldn''t avoid the onught, and the deck soon piled up with bodies. The most lethal damage was done by the mecha to the ship''s hull.


    Seizing the opportunity, Su Lun harvested the mist from the pile of bodies and called out softly, "Let''s go!"


    The white wolf understood immediately and leaped into the sea.


    The ocean was the pirate''s yground; once they jumped in, they were as agile as fish, and in the short term, they couldn''t be killed off.


    Su Lun didn''t linger any longer and followed suit, leaping down.


    In midair, he wielded his Ship-Cutter and swiftly carved two gaping, irreparable gashes into the hull. As water flooded in, the pirate ship began to show signs of capsizing.


    Now, the pirates had to look out for themselves.


    But the mecha only had the ability to leap short distances and couldn''t fly. After wrecking the pirate ship, Su Lun retracted his armor.


    He had intended to use the eight-armed spear to walk on the sea, but unexpectedly... a white figure caught his falling body at lightning speed!


    Su Lun immediately spotted Yuta and didn''t avoid her,nding squarely on the soft back of the wolf.


    "Hold on tight!"


    Yuta, in her white wolf form, let out a sharp cry. Her paws conjured a pale blue wind element, walking on water as if it were solid ground, leaping ten meters at a time.


    Before Su Lun could say anything, she dashed off, turning into a white arc as she sprinted away across the sea surface.


    ....


    At this moment, the mist over the ocean was already thick.


    Soon, the pirate ship slowly sinking behind them could no longer be seen, and the sound of gunfire had also ceased.


    After running for one or two kilometers, Yuta, in her white wolf form, began to slow down.


    It seemed her explosive speed running atop the water couldn''tst indefinitely.


    The white wolf fell into the chilly waters, starting to swim.


    Due to her injuries, blood stained the seawater, spreading into a vast expanse of red.


    Yuta didn''t stop.


    From her actions, she seemed intent on carrying Su Lun back to shore by herself.


    The merchant ship had been sailing for an entire day, and they were several hundred kilometers from the coast.


    Su Lun felt her goodwill and, to avoid embarrassment, didn''t mention his ability to walk on the sea, instead quietly riding on her back.


    After waiting a while and hearing no more noise from the pursuing pirates, he finally spoke, "Elder Yuta, why did youe back?"


    The white wolf spoke in humannguage, her tone calm but resolute, "The Dalu people will never abandon a friend to escape alone!"


    "..."


    Listening, Su Lun was taken aback and slightly... didn''t know what to say.


    Yuta had undoubtedly returned with the resolve to face death.


    She probably thought that if she hadn''te back, Su Lun would surely die.


    ....


    Earlier, when Su Lun single-handedly held off an enemy vastly outnumbering him, anyone would have deemed his chances of survival slim.


    Moreover, Yuta could see that although the "strange iron armor with white steam" was imprable to des and spears, the Void equipment was clearly able to counter this type of armor.


    She felt that bying, she might not necessarily save him, but at least she could share some of the pressure.


    Yuta also believed in Su Lun''s earlier im that he had a way to escape.


    But she also worried that what if he misjudged and didn''t realize the severity of the Void abilities?


    And on another note, even if he was confident in escaping, without a ship, he wouldn''t be able to escape either...


    The Dalu people are a grateful race.


    She absolutely wouldn''t let a warrior who had saved her and her people fall into danger.


    At least, not while she was still alive - never!


    Although they had only known each other for a few days, Yuta had already acknowledged Su Lun as her friend and "the Dalu''s best friend" in her heart!


    ....


    By midnight, the night was dark and the sea, rippling with small waves.


    The white wolf''s paws paddled lightly through the water, apanied by the "whoosh" of the gentle waves against her ears.


    The atmosphere felt cold, lonely, and helpless...


    The man and the wolf swam silently towards the coast.


    The sea was slightly chilly, but Su Lun felt the immense friendliness of the Dalu people, warming his heart.


    He didn''t bother to exin that he had anticipated the entire scenario and was almostpletely certain of there being no danger.


    But Yuta hade back without looking back, and that was enough for him.


    Even though his n for rescue had initially been made on a whim, this was the first time Su Lun felt it was truly worthwhile.


    Not in terms of gains or losses of interest.


    But because he felt it was the kind of return that could put his "heart at ease."


    After some time, the white wolf swam on and they could no longer hear any noise from behind. It seemed the pirates hadpletely given up the chase.


    Although Su Lun thought that Yuta, in her transformed state, probably had the ability to swim hundreds of kilometers to shore, he couldn''t just watch her continue to carry him through the cold seawater while injured.


    The fog was heavy, and he couldn''t see the vers'' ship anymore.


    The vast sea is not a road with signposts to follow.


    A slight deviation could easily result in missing the mark.


    Su Lun wanted to exin in a way that wouldn''t embarrass her that he had a ship, "Well... Elder Yuta, we should be safe now. You can rest a bit, I have..."


    Before he could finish, Yuta, thinking he felt awkward riding on her, said, "It''s okay. We are not too far from the coast, I should be able to swim to shore."


    "..."


    Su Lun''s eyes twitched at her words.


    Thinking that any excuse would be awkward, he simply said, "Um... you''re injured, and I have an intable boat. We can float on the boat."@@novelbin@@


    Yuta''s tone was full of surprise, "Where is the boat?"


    Yuta''s people, the Dalu, with their technology still in the Stone Age, had most of their lives confined to the forest. If they hadn''t been captured by the vers, Yuta would likely have never seen a musket, let alone mechanical equipment. While she had heard of some things from the human world from her ancestors, those impressions were a thousand years old.


    As for an intable life raft?


    Stay connected through empire


    Such a thing was naturally unheard of to her.


    Without further ado, Su Lun took out the intable boat, activated the trigger and punctured thepressed gas canister, and threw it into the sea.


    In an instant, a life raft was fully inted.


    Yuta was startled by the hissing sound of intion but soon, her eyes filled with curiosity as she looked at the floating "strange boat."


    How did such a small thing suddenly be so big?


    Su Lun leaped onto the raft and gestured towards her, "Elder Yuta,e aboard."


    It then dawned on Yuta that humans had invented such a boat.


    As she looked at the hand Su Lun extended to help her, her fur quickly receded, returning to her human form.


    This world had nothing like "Hulk pants" that defied thews of physics¡ªat least the Dalu tribe didn''t.


    After transforming, bingrger, her clothes would have burst at the seams.


    As Yuta shifted from her giant wolf form back to human, she stoodpletely bare, her figure exposed to the air.


    Su Lun pulled her onto the life raft, and a slight blush crept onto her cheeks.


    It wasn''t embarrassment from being naked. The Dalu tribe worshipped nature and were not so prudish. After all, wolves in the forest don''t wear clothes, do they?


    Instead, she realized she seemed quite "foolish."


    Mr. Su Lun already had a raft, so there was seemingly no need for her to carry him.


    Seeing her expression, Su Lun decided not to take out the steam engine and started to paddle instead.


    To save her from further embarrassment.


    ....


    Using magic to dry the seawater inside the life raft, it quickly warmed up.


    Su Lun gave Yuta a nket to wrap around herself.


    She had many wounds on her body, which Su Lun also took care of along the way.


    Although Yuta had the ability to treat her own wounds, she was without herbs and didn''t decline the offer.


    Unlike human girls, the Dalu tribe didn''t shy away; she boldly watched the man before her tend to her wounds¡ªabdomen, back, thighs, shoulder des¡ªwithout a hint of embarrassment.


    Somehow, by coincidence, the two of them had encountered each other under simr circumstances twice.


    Su Lun was focused and swiftly treated her wounds.


    After rescuing her tribespeople, Yuta felt the heavy stone that had been pressing on her heart was finally gone, a great weight lifted.


    She showed an unprecedented ease on her face, looking at Su Lun and sincerely saying, "Thank you, Mr. Su Lun."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun smiled and nodded at her in response.


    After treating the wounds, he took out arge linen shirt and handed it to Yuta, demonstrating briefly, "This shirt has buttons, you just button it up like this."


    "Hmm."


    Yuta didn''t refuse, took off the nket, and in front of Su Lun, slipped the shirt over her head. Her body, as sleek as a cheetah''s, was now covered.


    At that moment, with a serious expression yet a sense of trepidation, she said, "Mr. Su Lun, on behalf of myself and my people, I thank you for saving our lives. You are my friend, and a friend of the Dalu tribe forever!"


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun also smiled and said, "No need to be polite. I am also a descendant of the Isaac family, and I will adhere to our vows. It''s my honor to be a friend of the Dalu tribe and of you, Elder Yuta."


    "Hmm!"


    Yuta nodded seriously upon hearing his words, her face lighting up with a radiant smile.


    Thinking of something at that moment, a shimmer of light flickered in her pure eyes.


    Then, she tore a corner from the shirt she was wearing, deftly unpicked it, and quickly wove the linen threads into a cord.


    Su Lun was curious about what she was doing.


    Suddenly, Yuta''s right hand became beast-like, revealing sharp wolf ws.


    One of the gleaming wolf ws then fell off.


    Su Lun watched as Yuta used the woven cord to tie the wolf w, creating a simple ne that possessed the distinctive traits of the Dalu tribe.


    With a serious yet somewhat uneasy expression, she said, "Mr. Su Lun, this is my thank-you gift to you. Although it is not as exquisite as the jewelry of your people, please... do not disdain it."


    [Yuta''s Wolf w Amulet of Affection]


    Description: An amulet made from the life w of the Silver Wolf n, filled with the most sincere emotional devotion of a member of the Dalu tribe. It is blessed by a Druid and can bring good fortune to its wearer.


    Su Lun smiled as he received the wolf w ne and immediately wore it around his neck, responding, "Thank you for your gift."


    "Hmm!"


    Yuta saw his action and beamed with joy.

 Chapter 251 251

    The intable life raft wasn''t fast, and poor track conditions at sea meant that Su Lun and hispanions eventually failed to catch up with the ve ship.


    After drifting for nearly two days, they finally reached the coast.


    Instead of heading to Blizzard City, the two of them crossed mountains and valleys, nning to go deep into the Silent Deep Woods to the sacredke of the Dalu tribe, "Lake Gaius."


    The Silent Forest was vast, consisting mostly of mountains and primitive forests, and the journey was rugged. It would take several days to get from the coast to the Sacred Lake.


    Although Su Lun''s spider spear was excellent inplex terrain for teleportation, it was far less enduring than Yuta, who had lived in the forest since childhood.


    Running and traveling all day, the silver wolf''s body was clearly more suitable.


    Yuta didn''t mind being ridden, and Su Lun dly epted, happy for the leisure.


    Riding on the soft back of the wolf wasn''t too bumpy, and Su Lun, finding the journey idle, took the opportunity to read and carve a puppet on the wolf''s back.


    Seeing him reading, Yuta moved even more lightly, as if gliding along with the wind.


    After several days together, the two gradually became acquainted. During their casual chats, Su Lun learned that he was probably the first and only human who had ever ridden a Druid.


    After all, Druids held a high status among the Dalu tribe as priests whomunicated with the deities, and riding one was considered very disrespectful.


    Unless the Druid was willing.


    ....


    The Silent Forest was a primitive forest that had existed for countless years, and the dense woods were full of towering giant trees. It wasn''t rare to see trees with a height of a hundred meters and a size that required dozens of people to encircle. Branches and leaves formed a continuous canopy. In some areas, the leaves were so dense that no light could prate. It was cold, damp, and full of hidden dangers.


    Apart from the trails made by wild animals, there was no clear path in the forest. Odd maic fields could even render apass useless.


    If it had been Su Lun alone, even if he wouldn''t get lost, he dares not move as fast.


    Here, various predators lurked everywhere.


    Those with souls were manageable since they could be sensed. However, the deadliest were those soulless creatures like insects and nts.


    Luckily, they had Yuta, apetent guide.


    As they moved swiftly, she introduced Su Lun to the strange creatures of the forest.


    "That is a ''Mist Sprite,'' it looks like a ghost but is actually a type of woond fae. It asionally makes people lose their way, but it''s harmless," she said.


    "That ck tree over there with the red fruit is a ''Devil Tree.'' It''s actually a tree-shaped demon that emits a smell to lure prey. That''s just its canopy decoration, its main body is hidden underground, very dangerous. Even a second-tier forest giant bear cannot escape its vines..."


    "Those are ''ck Spur Ants.'' Don''t underestimate them; they are highly venomous and very vengeful. If you identally step on a few, they can chase you for dozens of kilometers and thenpletely devour you. They are one of the several creatures in the forest you must not provoke..."


    "That fallen leaf area is often where ''Titan Forest Serpents'' hide to ambush their prey. Their skin matches the color of fallen leaves, making them hard to spot. If you enter their strike zone, even wild buffalo can be swallowed whole..."


    "The Silent Forest is vast, stretching north to the Endless Ice Sea; further east, there is the very tall Mount Rug. The elders in my tribe say that there are dragons on the mountain. No one knows what lies beyond the God Mountain. Some brave souls from my tribe have gone there, but no one has ever returned. Even we, the Dalu tribe, upy only a part of the forest¡­" she continued.


    "..."


    Su Lun also heard many legends about the Dalu tribe from Yuta, learning a lot about the peculiar magical creatures of the forest.


    Her speech was filled with reverence for nature.@@novelbin@@


    This was also the Dalu tribe''s attitude towards the world: they did not see themselves as masters of the forest, but as part of it.


    ...


    Yuta was very swift, easily scaling cliffs and crags.


    After sprinting for a whole day upon reachingnd, by evening, they had arrived deep in the Silent Forest.


    As the sun was setting, Yuta did not continue traveling but stopped in a clearing in the forest where sunlight could still reach.


    She said to Su Lun, "Let''s camp here for the night. Unless it''s necessary, it''s best not to wander in the forest at night. That would attract many nocturnal beasts. There are quite a few fourth, fifth, even sixth-tier magical creatures here. Encountering them could be dangerous, but they generally stick to their own territories and don''t roam about..."


    "Mm."


    Su Lun responded affirmatively and jumped off the wolf''s back.


    Yuta looked around once more, apparently quite pleased with the camping spot, "This ce gets sunlight, is dry, and will have fewer insects."


    As she spoke, her body hair quickly receded, and she reverted to her human form.


    The evening sunlight filtered through the branches, transforming into ribbons of golden satin. The light and shadow yed over her body, casting a golden glow. In the wilderness, her uncovered exquisite body was a pleasing sight, embodying wildness, strength, and purity, with beautifully graceful contours.


    Even Su Lun couldn''t help but take an extra nce.


    In his eyes, he seemed to see a radiant sculpture of Wen Yu, beautiful not in a lustful way but in a manner truly integrated with nature.


    Yuta noticed his gaze, her wolf ears yfully twitched, then she modestly covered herself slightly.


    It was just a slight turn of her body, but with the halo flowing, it seemed as if the golden satin too could not hold onto her smooth skin, sliding off her handsome face, falling across her elegant shoulders, and then gently touching herely back...


    She wasn''t shy, and with a slight smile revealing a pair of small sharp fangs, she asked, "Mr. Su Lun, in the eyes of your people, is being naked considered very rude?"


    Su Lun diverted his gaze, looking into her eyes, and replied with a smile, "Quite delightful."


    Yuta listened with a turn of her crystalline eyes, the hint of a smile on her lips as she chose to remain silent.


    The slight smile at the corner of her eyes seemed to acknowledge that Su Lun wasplimenting her.


    Having donned her clothes, she then said, "Mr. Su Lun, please wait here for a moment, I''ll go get some food."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun wanted to say that he had dry food on him, but before he could speak, he watched Yuta leave him with a stunning view of her back, vanishing into the dense forest.


    ....


    The Dalu tribe was still in a primitive state in terms of material life.


    They primarily relied on hunting and gathering wild fruits in the forest for food.


    Therefore, various tribes were scattered throughout the forest, each with its own hunting territory.


    In recent years, many tribal members had been captured by human ve hunters, causing a sudden decrease in the poption. This had gradually forced them to shrink their hunting grounds within the forest.


    Soon, Su Lun understood why Yuta had chosen to camp here now.


    There was still a trace of light in the sky, but as the sun set higher in the west, it soon could no longer prate the dense forest.


    Su Lun felt the light around him suddenly darken.


    This was not a human city where lights lit up at night. In the primitive forest, there was no source of light, casting everything into pitch darkness.


    It was simply not suitable for travel.


    The night wind howled through the trees, and sounds of unknown animals snapping twigs could asionally be heard by his ear. In that endless darkness, it seemed as if pairs of eyes were staring at him.


    Although Su Lun hade from an underground city and was familiar with darkness, he too felt a sense of danger in this jungle.


    Behind him stood towering trees, making him feel like an ant on the back of a giant.


    In the face of nature, humans were truly insignificant.


    Suddenly, Su Lun felt a flickering sense of enlightenment in his heart, not knowing exactly what it was.


    He sat down cross-legged and began to meditate.


    Before long, he ultimately failed to grasp that fleeting insight.


    Su Lun didn''t feel any regret and calmly gathered some dry branches to start a fire.


    The light of the fire dispelled the darkness, bringing an inexplicable sense of security in this endlessly dark night.


    He sat by the fire and took out the "ck Hole Doll" he hadn''t finished earlier in the day, continuing to carve it.


    Now his understanding of the Space Law had improved significantly. The puppets he had previously made had many areas that could be improved. Since he didn''t have to ride on the back of a wolf to hurry through, he could fully focus on crafting with the eight-armed spider spears. The anticipated finished product was expected to perform much higher than before, even easily devouring tier four spells.


    Su Lun soon became engrossed in puppet crafting.


    As he was absorbed in his work, a rustling sound soon reached his ears.


    The footsteps were light, and he knew Yuta had returned.


    Yuta came over, dropping the approximately two to three hundred pounds of wild boar she had been carrying on her shoulder to the ground, joyously saying, "Mr. Su Lun, we''re in luck today. I didn''t go far to hunt down a ''Mountain Wild Boar''."


    Su Lun nced at the robust animal, "Wow, it looks like we''re in for a treat tonight."


    Feeling like he should do something, he added, "Do you need any help?"


    Yuta shook her head, "No need. It will be ready soon."


    As she spoke, she skillfully began to skin the wild boar and clean its innards with a small knife in her hand.


    While dealing with the boar''s head, Yuta let out a surprised "Oh... there''s a Demon Crystal too."


    Su Lun looked at the blood-stained yellow Crystal Core in her hand, feeling slightly curious.


    It was his first time seeing a Demon Crystal being extracted from a monster''s body.


    A fully charged tier-one Demon Crystal could sell for several thousand Risos in the market.


    In this Silent Forest, treasures were everywhere, a gift from nature.


    Having quickly processed the boar''s hide, Yuta then smeared the meat with a berry resembling blueberries that she had picked from the forest.


    The bloody meat was skewered on sticks and ced over the fire to roast, and she threw some specially scented branches into the fire.


    Soon, the aroma of the meat wafted through the air, golden and dripping with juices.


    Su Lun originally thought that without spices, the taste of roasted wild boar wouldn''t be ideal.


    However, the Dalu tribe''s secret recipe made the roasted meat incredibly enticing, with a sweet aroma of fruit and meat mingling in the air.


    It didn''t take long for the surfaceyer of the meat on the rack to cook thoroughly.


    Yuta sliced a fewrge chunks with a small knife and ced them on a cleaned, huge leaf.


    She handed it to Su Lun, "Mr. Su Lun, try the craftsmanship of our Dalu tribe."


    Yuta, back in the forest, seemed free and at ease, her happiness reflecting on her face. A gentle smile always lingered at the corners of her mouth.


    Su Lun picked up a piece with a fork and knife and put it into his mouth. One bite down, it was crispy and smoky, the rich meaty vor swirling around his pte and providing immense satisfaction. He couldn''t help but exim, "Mmm, delicious!"


    Indeed, it was the tastiest roast meat he had ever had.


    Yuta, hearing this,ughed happily.


    ...


    The wild boar on the grill was chopped into pieces.


    The Druid Miss, enthusiastic in her demeanor, had rescued the tribe members.


    Su Lun didn''t need to lift a finger, as Yuta always took thorough care of him.


    The two were no longer strangers, and Su Lun didn''t shy away from Yuta. Even while eating, he multitasked, tinkering with his puppet.


    While eating the roast meat, Yuta grew curious, "Mr. Su Lun, I see you''re always carving this puppet. Is there something special about it?"


    Su Lun exined, "I''m a Puppet Master, and this is my puppet."


    Upon hearing this, Yuta''s face filled with confusion: isn''t controlling that strange iron giant your job, and now it''s made of wood?


    Curious, she asked, "I can feel a powerful force from these puppets. But how do they fight?"


    The system of human alchemists was vastly different from that of the Dalu tribe, tooplex to exin in a few words. Su Lun thought about it and exined, "I can control it with threads, simr to a spider''s."


    "Oh."


    Yuta blinked, clearly not entirely ignorant of artificial grafting: "Is it part of your human alchemy, the alchemical grafting?"


    "Yes."


    Su Lun nodded, not borating further.


    "I see¡­"


    Yuta didn''t know if she understood but continued eating her roast meat.


    While eating, she even added some more to Su Lun''s te.


    The Dalu tribe didn''t have manyplex things.


    Their growth process was simple as well¡ªhunting, fighting, eating, sleeping, praying... and then they became stronger. Strength was bestowed by their bloodline and deities.


    Talking about grafts, Su Lun remembered the main purpose of his journey to the North and asked, "By the way, Elder Yuta, I have a question to consult you with."


    "Just call me by my name, Mr. Su Lun. We are friends, no need for formalities."


    Yuta smiled kindly, then asked, "What is it?"


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun nodded, then continued, "It''s about the question I asked you earlier. I was wondering where in the forest there''s a group of ''Nightmare Spiders''? I need a third or possibly fourth-tier lord-level spider for making alchemical grafts."


    "I do know a few ces in the forest where such spider groups exist. One such area is in the hunting zone of our ''White Wolf Tribe.''"


    Yuta thought for a moment, then responded.


    She paused, then, shifting the topic, she added, "However, adult ''Nightmare Spiders'' are generally second-tier, and it''s rare to see third-tier ones. It''s even lessmon for such spider groups to have a lord monster. At least I have never seen one. Perhaps some might be hidden in certain caves."


    Su Lun listened, not too surprised.


    "Lord-level" monsters were indeed rare.


    But if the quality was too low, he felt it wasn''t suitable as material for his grafts.


    Yuta saw what Su Lun was thinking, and added, "The forest is vast; it shouldn''t be hard to find a lord spider. Once we get to the Sacred Lake, I''ll ask other tribes for you, they might know."


    She paused, then stated confidently, "If not, I''ll apany you to look for one."


    Su Lun smiled and said, "Hmm. Thanks in advance."


    Only after entering the forest did he truly appreciate that having the Dalu tribe''s help could indeed save him countless amounts of time.


    "By the way, Mr. Su Lun¡­"


    At that moment, Yuta thought of something else and asked, "The Nightmare Spider you''re looking for, is it to make alchemical grafts? I mean, isn''t there something else that could substitute? There are many, many magical beast species in the forest¡­ If it''s not that one, maybe another could suffice?"


    Su Lun said, "Yes. I need a creature skilled in mental maniption..."


    The materials for making grafts were naturally not limited to one kind; his former teacher Sereya had introduced him to many alternative materials in the blueprints she had given him.


    "Nightmare Spiders" were just one of the targets he knew of that were easiest to obtain.


    Yuta: "Mind control?"


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun looked at her as if something had urred to him.


    He thought about how in the Adventurers'' Guild, it was always said that Silent Forest contained many species that had been extinct in the outside world, and perhaps Yuta knew something else.


    He then listed a few species that satisfied the "Mental Tentacles" blueprint and said, "There are also the ''Nightmare Octopus,'' ''Thousand-Eyed Centipede,'' ''Heartstealer,'' ''Abyssal Evil Eye''..."


    Listening to this string of names, Yuta suddenly caught onto a word and asked, "Heartstealer? Is it that evil race with flesh tentacles as whiskers?"


    Su Lun heard her description, which was exactly like in the books, and curiously asked, "Have you seen one?"


    Yuta''s face showed a very solemn expression, "I have not seen one. But... I know that such things exist in the forest."


    She seemed to recall some unpleasant memories, and her expression darkened.


    ....


    Hearing this, Su Lun was genuinely surprised.


    There were Heartstealers, a "mythical breed" creature, in Silent Forest?


    This was a creature of myth and legend, supposedly extinct long ago.


    He had even specifically asked Mr. Jing, and even she had not heard of their existence anymore.


    And now there were actually some alive?


    The species that appeared in myths were all no simple matter!


    If he could really use such creatures as imnt material, it would definitely be a T0 level choice.


    Su Lun couldn''t help but feel excited.


    But seeing Yuta''s uneasy expression, he guessed that this might involve some secrets of the Dalu tribe, hesitating over whether to inquire further.


    At that moment, though, Yuta took the initiative and said, "In the far north, in ''Cursed Valley,'' those evil kinds of species are present. But it is the territory of the giants and a ''forbiddennd'' where the elders of our tribe do not allow us to go."


    Su Lun: "The territory of the giants? Forbiddennd?"


    Having built sufficient trust through their previous battle at sea, Yuta did not hold back and slowly said, "Yes. The reason for our Dalu tribe''s decline actually began with the battle in ''Cursed Valley'' five hundred years ago..."


    Su Lun''s expression also hardened, realizing that he was indeed touching on some secrets of the Dalu tribe.


    A thousand years ago, the Dalu tribe had many true Druids of the seventh and eighth rank.


    Now the highest were only fifth rank. If the lineage was unbroken, then where did those high ranks go?


    Before Su Lun could ask, Yuta exined his doubts, slowly revealing the tribe''s greatest secret, "Five hundred years ago, there was a massive earthquake. In the very north of the forest, a sinkhole formed, revealing an ancient ruin¡ªthat is now known as ''Cursed Valley.'' The great god of nature issued a divine decree that it was a ''source of cmity.'' We of the Dalu tribe then guarded that ce to prevent the cmity from spreading. Unfortunately, the appearance of the ruin attracted a powerful giant from the deep sea who sought to seize the objects within the ruin. It had huge wings, octopus whiskers, and emitted a terrifying, mind-clouding low... Then, the great battle urred."


    "We do not know what exactly happened, but those who participated in that great battle died, and very little information was passed down... Our tribe won the battle, but all the high-ranking Druids died, and the four Holy Artifacts of our tribe were also lost. We lost our ability tomunicate with the great god of nature. The lineage of our Dalu tribe was thus interrupted..."


    "Later, when it was known that we no longer had supreme strength, humans broke the covenant, and ve-catching squads appeared in the forest, more and more... Without high-ranking Druids, we simply could not resist, losing countless tribespeople over the years..."


    "..."


    Hearing this, Su Lun also roughly understood the entire decline of the Dalu tribe.


    But listening to Yuta''s description, he felt a strange feeling in his heart.


    Why did that "source of cmity" feel like a gateway to a dangerous dimension?


    The "Deep Sea Giant" that had annihted the high ranks of the Dalu tribe seemed at least to be a ninth rank being.


    It might not be unlike the Fallen Angel from Old Lington of the "godly rank."


    But the information was too vague, leaving him with numerous questions.


    Returning to the topic of Heartstealers, Yuta said, "Our ancestors didn''t let us go to the north, and we have always abided by this teaching. Butter our Dalu tribe encountered too many difficulties, almost leading to our extinction. Thirty years ago, some tribespeople wanted to go and check, trying to find the four Holy Artifacts and the lineage, to find a way tomunicate with the gods again. But it was then that they encountered those creatures, the ''Heartstealers,'' and many tribespeople died in a great catastrophe. Since then, Cursed Valley became a forbiddennd for our tribe..."


    ....


    After listening to the whole story, Su Lun also fell into contemtion.


    The issues involved were quite troublesome: ancient ruins, Holy Artifacts, a great battle...


    But upon reflection, it didn''t seem like an unsolvable problem. Experience new tales on empire


    Now that the Dalu tribe was weak, but still existed, it meant that those Heartstealers were not impossibly strong.


    Moreover, Heartstealers themselves did not possessbat abilities, their troublesome aspect was their ability to control other creatures.


    Assuming from the strength of the highest-ranking fifth-rank present in the Dalu tribe, a Heartstealer should not be able to control a sixth-rank creature. That meant that thirty years ago, the Heartstealers were probably third or fourth rank (though he couldn''t rule out a hidden boss).


    Looking at it this way, this matter seemed worth considering.


    And if it involved ancient ruins, that also meant... a huge opportunity!

 Chapter 252 White Deer Tribe

    Su Lun listened to the secrets of the Dalu n recounted by Yuta, and his thoughts began to whirl.


    He had once seen detailed information about the "Heart Snatcher" in ancient texts.


    This creature is a subterranean being, photophobic, solitary, and usually stays underground.


    Stay updated through empire


    Moreover, due to its mythological bloodline, it is born with a bloodline pressure higher than other creatures of the same rank, equivalent to a "Gold-level" monster. It has a high chance of bing a dominant "Lord Monster" when mature.


    For a Magician, the materials produced by these creatures are of a very high quality.


    Su Lun, at the third rank, intended to craft "Spiritual Tentacles" imnts, and the "Heart Snatcher''s brain" was undoubtedly the best option he knew of so far!


    Moreover, Su Lun dared to consider it for a very important reason¡ª the monster''s means of attack were singr.


    In terms ofbat power alone, a Heart Snatcher of the same rank was even easier to handle than a Nightmare Spider.


    Like themon Puppet Master profession, this subterranean monster also controlled "puppets" inbat. Its ownbat power and defense were very weak. At most, it possessed some psychic attack skills, such as "Mind Shock st."


    But this type of attack, though unperceived and highly troublesome to ordinary people with weak spiritual power, was not of great concern.


    For Su Lun, as long as the spiritual power didn''t overwhelmingly suppress him, the threat was not considered significant.


    And now his spiritual power had mutated, making it not easy to be overwhelmed in terms of strength.


    Su Lun estimated that even a fifth-rank Heart Snatcher wasn''t lethal to him. At least a sixth-rank, along with rank suppression, would possibly reach the level of "overwhelming."


    Furthermore, Su Lun could also control puppets himself.


    Both used long-range methods, so it wasn''t clear who should be more afraid.


    If it was just about mental control, while it could be a big problem for others, for the current Su Lun, there was still considerable room to maneuver. Mechanical armor and wooden puppets were not vulnerable to mental control.


    The only thing to consider was whether the "living puppets" it controlled contained any particrly troublesome ones.


    ....


    The bonfire was burning vigorously, and the aroma of the wild boar meat on the grill was extremely rich. Amber-like fat dripped from the meat, falling into the fire and making a sizzling sound.


    The two ate and chatted.


    The firelight cast Yuta''s pretty face into an orange-red glow, and also flickered in Su Lun''s contemtive eyes.


    Yuta, pure-hearted, spared theplex thoughtsmon to humans, but she also realized that Su Lun was very interested in the "Heart Snatcher."


    She looked at Su Lun for a long while without speaking, then cut him another piece of meat and, after a moment''s thought, said, "Mr. Su Lun, if you really want to go, I''ll secretly take you there when the timees."


    Secretly?


    Hearing this word, Su Lun immediately understood. He looked at her, and smiled slightly.


    After all, it was the Dalu n''s forbidden area, and Su Lun naturally knew the risks were certainly not small, and the threats definitely involved more than just the Heart Snatcher.


    Yuta''s willingness to risk taking him there already represented a great kindness.


    He shook his head and said, "No rush. Let me gather enough knowledge first, then I''ll consider this. If it''s too dangerous, I''ll give it up."


    "Yes. Going to the Sacred Lake, the n leaders know more."


    Yuta agreed, seeming to recall something else, then added with less confidence, "But, we can''t let Wolf Granny know I said I''d take you. Otherwise, I''ll be lectured again..."


    As she spoke, her pair of furry wolf ears yfully twitched. This demeanor bore no trace of the ferocity she had shown facing the pirates earlier. She looked very much like a timid young girl wanting to misbehave but afraid of being scolded by her parents.


    Listening, Su Lunughed heartily, "Great!"


    .....


    After nearly finishing the roasted meat, Su Lun continued tinkering with his puppet by the fire.


    There was also a military tent pitched next to the fire, but Yuta said she was not ustomed to the delicate human fabrics, preferring instead the soft, fragrant grass.


    She rested on the grass not far from Su Lun''s side.


    After running all day, she was extremely tired.


    The warmth of the campfire dispelled the darkness, and the two of them quietly coexisted in peace.


    Somehow, Su Lun found an unprecedented sense of tranquility in the heart of the deste, primeval forest.


    He did not know where this feeling came from, looking up at the sky, then at the tall trees, and finally at Yuta, who had already fallen asleep.


    It seemed that she sensed his gaze, and her soft, fluffy tail swayed in response. She did not wake up, as if to say she knew.


    Watching her, Su Lun gave a faint smile and then continued to carve runes on the Puppet.


    By midnight, it was pitch ck all around.


    The night was beautiful.


    But, it could not be enjoyed from the forest floor.


    Looking up, he could see a few stars twinkling brightly.


    Su Lun''s senses were now very sharp; he could clearly hear the sounds of the nocturnal "predators" and noticed several batches of magical beasts lurking in the vicinity of the camp.


    They probably feared the firelight and left after a brief observation.


    He had thought it would be a calm night, yet suddenly, loud gunfire and explosions rang in his ears.


    Su Lun''s eyes widened, "Hmm?"


    The gunfire was as dense as a storm, and from it, he could tell there was arge-scale battle involving at least hundreds of people.


    "ve capture team?"


    Su Lun immediately realized something.


    In the Silent Forest, there were no human territories; the only possibility for suchmotion was a ve-catching team.


    He had learned before that ve capture teams usually operated at night when surrounding the humanoid tribes.


    The darkness posed a great danger to the primitive Dalu people due to their limited visibility.


    But for a group employing alchemical night vision and various lighting equipment, night and day made little difference.


    Even more so, as the tribespeople were usually resting in their viges at night, allowing the teams to capture them all in one fell swoop.


    Su Lun''s engraving tool stopped, and he frowned: The ve capture team had prated this deep into the forest?


    At that moment, Yuta also suddenly woke up nearby.


    She heard the gunfire in the night and seemed to recall a nightmare-like experience. Her expression turned grave and murderously tense.


    She clearly understood what the gunfire meant as well. Her face and hands showed signs of partial animal transformation in a reactive flurry, her eyes filled with sharp hatred. She growled, "Damn it! It''s those detestable ve catchers!"


    Yuta''s ws emerged prominently as she quickly climbed up a nearby towering tree.


    Su Lun frowned and followed her up with his octopus spear.


    Atop the nearly two hundred meter high canopy of the giant tree, their view widened significantly.


    The vista opened to endless dense forests and rolling hills.


    With sparse moonlight and stars, visibility was high.


    Su Lun immediately spotted flickering lights on a sun-facing hillside dozens of kilometers away.


    From a distance, the lights resembled fireworks, but Su Lun discerned they were re lights.


    "That''s the direction of the ''White Deer Tribe'' vige!"


    Yuta immediately recognized the location of the mes and her face showed urgency.


    Meanwhile, Su Lun was pondering other matters.


    To dare encircle a humanoid tribe, it meant that it was arge ve capture squad, and there had to be at least two fourth-tier professionals in the squad.


    ....


    "Mr. Su Lun, wait here for me. I need to go help my tribespeople!"


    Yuta let out an urgent shout and immediately transformed into a beastly shape, leaping down from the massive tree.


    She didn''t give Su Lun a chance to react, swiftly dashing into the dense jungle.


    She did this naturally because she was afraid of putting Su Lun in a difficult position.


    After all, he had already saved her twice and had taken too many risks for their Dalu n.


    Yuta, who had experienced the cmity that befell her own tribe, knew how cruel the ve-catching teams were. "White Deer n" was a medium-sized n, and those enemies dared to act, meaning they had very strong professionals among them.


    She herself wasn''t even sure of her own safety in this trip, let alone wanting to drag her savior into this danger.


    Moreover, the vers were also human¡­


    Su Lun watched Yuta dash into the jungle and shook his head with a slight sigh, where could he fail to see that Yuta was worried about putting him in a difficult situation.


    But he didn''t hesitate and followed her right away.


    With his eight-armed spider spear and spatial discement, he soon caught up with Yuta, who had transformed into a silver wolf.


    Seeing that he had followed so quickly, Yuta slightly felt surprised but more so anxious and apologetic, "Mr. Su Lun, you... you didn''t need toe."


    Su Lun didn''t exin much, and with a dismissive smile, he said, "Could you give me a ride? I''m not very good at traveling long distances."


    The ve trade was a pir industry of the Emperor Luying''s empire, a grotesque business shaped by the societal environment, which he perhaps couldn''t stop. However, he did not wish for his friend Yuta to die. He would be relieved only if he went to see for himself.


    Seeing that he had no intention to leave, Yuta''s blue eyes flickered, hesitating but eventually nodded.


    The silver wolf paused slightly, and Su Lun mounted it.


    The intense explosions and mes scattered the various magical beasts in the forest.


    The two traveled, encountering arge number of startled animals.


    Driven by her anxiety, Yuta sped extremely fast. It took less than half an hour to cover several tens of kilometers, and the fire burning the mountain was already reflecting on their faces.


    The two did not rush to approach the fort, but found a tall tree to observe the situation from a height.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in the "White Deer n" fort.


    The wooden walls of the fort were sted open, and sentry towers and city walls were draped with the bodies of sub-humans¡­


    The battle was almost over.


    The sub-humans using spears and bows ultimately could not withstand the vers armed with firearms and cannons.


    The n''s Druid, the old deer-race elder, resisted to the death but was eventually outnumbered and severely wounded and captured after being surrounded by several of the vers'' leaders.


    This was arge ver group, about two thousand strong.


    Their clothing and battle mechas bore the insignia of the "Human Face Sun and Iron Axe", exclusive to the Sun ve Business vers equipped well and with highbat capability, undoubtedly one of the most elite groups operating in the Silent Forest.


    The n''s Druid and several other surviving robust deer-race warriors were tied next to the altar. Other sub-humans were herded beside the open space under the altar, each shackled with anti-magic iron chains and explosive cors.


    There were still asional gunshots in the vige, as the vers'' team members were searching house-to-house for sub-humans hiding inside.


    The high-levelbat had ended, and the stubborn resistance forces had all been killed.


    Tallying the battleground was the busy work for the lower-ranking members.


    The vers'' leaders also gathered together, tallying this operation''s gains.


    On the ground, items like dog-head gold, ore, demon cores, and medicinal herbs piled up into mountains.


    The vers, stained with blood, looked somewhat fierce. But now, their faces held the joy of their harvest.


    "Hahaha... these natives are so damn extravagant, using such valuable gems and dog-head gold just to worship some statue."


    "Directly raiding the fort really reaps the biggest rewards. These materials sold back in Luying will be worth at least a billion..."


    "Yes, this batch of ves is enough for us to make a fortune. A high price of two hundred thousand, that''sparable to the prices at the Luying auction house. We don''t even have to transport them ourselves. Tsk tsk... the military folks really arevish in their spending!"


    "Hey, I didn''t expect the military toe to the Silent Forest too. Leader, what do you think the military wants with so many ves?"


    "They probably discovered some ''cursed space'' or another dangerous area and need the ves to probe it. Who cares, as long as we deliver the people to the designated spot as agreed."


    "There are many treasures in this forest, and I''ve heard frequently about people discovering ancient artifacts. Could it be there are some ancient ruins appearing?"


    "Even if it is ancient ruins, what does it matter? The Empire''s military is involved, what can we possibly think of? I heard that this time it''s a general from the capital, no small figure. Seems like they are here to hunt the giants, or something like that..."


    "..."


    ....


    The bloody plundering in the stronghold was ongoing.


    Meanwhile, several hundred meters away, on a gigantic tree, two figures, a man and a wolf, silently watched the scene.


    Su Lun used a telescope to closely observe those people, and through lip reading, he could roughly make out the content of a few people''s conversations.


    The ve trade was destined to be bloody and brutal.


    Of ten subhumans, maybe only one or two could survive and appear at the auction house.


    Su Lun looked at the corpses scattered around the stronghold, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, and a sh of red light flickered in the depths of his eyes.


    Though called a legal trade, this act of burning, killing, and plundering was no different from that of pirates, and perhaps even worse.


    What puzzled him more was the mention of "ancient ruins" by those people?


    Were the people from the Luying military also here?


    In an instant, many thoughts shed through his mind.


    By his side, Yuta, who had transformed into a white wolf, had her fur slightly bristled and was suppressing a low growl in her throat, her eyes filled with a fierce light of hatred.


    But she also knew, with nearly two thousand enemies inside the stronghold, she couldn''t change anything.


    Su Lun patted her body to soothe her.


    He carefully observed a few leaders among the ve capturing group from the "C position," even though he didn''t recognize them, they didn''t seem like they were fifth-tier.


    Thinking over it, he asked, "What tier is that druid of the deer tribe?"


    Yuta suppressed her grief and said, "That''s Elder Tagu, a very strong fourth-tier."


    Relieved by this, Su Lun loosened a breath.


    Looking again at the signs of battle in the stronghold, he felt his deductions were likely correct. Without a fifth tier, there seemed to be no one in the ve capturing group who posed a lethal threat to him.


    Yuta felt utterly helpless, the number of enemies was enough to annihte a medium-sized tribe, more numerous than those who had destroyed her "White Wolf Tribe" thest time, she couldn''t change anything all by herself!


    But she couldn''t just watch her fellow tribespeople suffer.


    In the forest, perhaps there were still some opportunities.


    If they took the captives away, it would be toote for anything.


    After thinking it over, Yuta spoke very decisively, "Mr. Su Lun, I need to follow them and see if there''s any chance to rescue my tribespeople... even if it''s just one!"


    She paused for an instant, then urgently added, "This is a grudge between our Dalu tribe and those despicable ve catchers. Please, you must not get involved! Before you left, I mentioned the ''Eagle''s Beak Pass,'' there will be my tribespeople to meet you there..."@@novelbin@@


    But before she could finish, Su Lun shook his head, his eyes slightly narrowing, "It seems we can''t leave now, they''ve already spotted us."


    He looked at the flying bees around them and realized that there was an [Insect Controller] among them.


    Yuta was shocked upon hearing this, a look of urgency immediately appearing on her face.


    With the enemy so powerful and numerous, if they were surrounded, escape would be difficult.


    She could die for her tribespeople but didn''t want to drag anyone else into this, without thinking, she prepared to fight to the death, "I''ll hold them off! Mr. Su Lun, you go first!"


    Su Lun didn''t respond to her but just slightly tilted his head, narrowly avoiding a sniper bullet grazing his scalp. He raised his eyebrows and scoffed, "Those guys don''t seem very friendly..."

 Chapter 253 Cocoon World

    "Commander, it''s bad, the deputymander has been killed!"


    "What! How many enemies are there?"


    "Two... two of them."


    "The two who were spying on us just now? Weren''t they said to be third-tier professionals? How could Petra, the deputymander, be killed!"


    "It seems so... but I''m not sure. That person''s methods are very strange, capable of controlling silk threads to kill, and there''s also a suspected method of invisible killing. That''s how Deputy Commander Petra was killed."


    "Did the person escape?"


    "I don''t know. That guy is tied up in the forest, and I don''t know what he''s doing..."


    "Damn it! First and second squads, follow me."


    "Yes."


    ....


    The visibility in the jungle was nothing like that in the vige, especially at night, it was almost pitch ck.


    The vige, needing light pration, had little vegetation, so res could clearly illuminate everything. But in the forest, the visibility was greatly affected. Even with alchemical night vision devices, the abundance of obstacles greatly limited the field of view.


    At that moment, a thick fog began to fill the air, and everyone''s visibility was greatly limited.


    The yellow fog was clearly not naturally formed, but rather the smoke from the burning of an alchemical potion. Drifting about, even strong lights were confined to a very limited range.


    Themander of the Sun Group, "Spiked Bear" Selt, was a rugged faced man with a ck beard, battle-hardened. Although he appeared rough, his mind was very delicate.


    After the initial shock from hearing the news, he quickly regained his calm.


    He was well aware that anyone capable of killing the deputymander in such a short time was not to be underestimated.


    The profession "Insect Controller" was very peculiar, and even he was reluctant to face it head-on. How could it be that he was killed in such a short time?


    Looking at the mist in front of him, he immediately had a bad premonition, and raised his hand to stop the hundreds of people behind him, "Everyone be careful, this is alchemical fog. There might be an ambush!"


    Was it necessary to be so cautious with just two enemies?@@novelbin@@


    Although the others felt it was a bit of an overreaction, they all stopped as well.


    Selt''s unease grew even richer, eventually steering clear of recklessness.


    Thinking, he asked, "Where''s the perception squad, any findings?"


    Someone responded, "Commander, no enemies detected. But at eleven o''clock, about eight hundred meters away, there is a heat reaction suspended in the air. It''s likely Young Master Corny. He might still be alive!"


    Still alive?


    Selt''s eyes flickered frequently.


    This situation, however you looked at it, seemed like a trap set to lure in prey with deliberatelyid "bait."


    But he couldn''t figure out where the enemy''s confidence to set an ambush came from.


    Or maybe it was just a feint?


    He didn''t take any chances, "Seventh squad, neenth squad, take your st-resistant equipment and check it out. Be careful!"


    "Yes,mander."


    As soon as the order was given, two squads d in heavy mechanical equipment entered the forest.


    After all, a group constantly operating outdoors, they were rich in jungle warfare experience.


    They deployed in squads of ten, covering each other, slowly heading toward the target area. The people at the front held mechanical shields, while those at the back held guns, aiming in all directions. Such tactical coordination, even if they encountered high-ranking enemies, could quickly formbat effectiveness.


    But to their surprise, as they walked further in, not only did they see no one, but there were also no animals.


    They were on guard for possible traps, but after walking a while, they found none.


    Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.


    Communications kepting through the inte.


    "Jax, how''s the situation?"


    "Commander, no discovery. That guy must have escaped."


    "..."


    Everyone felt the person must have fled.


    After all, the enemy was only two people, and they had two to three thousand on their side. Seeding with fewer numbers might still be attributed to a sneak attack. But after the kill, unless the enemies were idiots, they definitely wouldn''t just stick around waiting to be caught.


    This fog was obviously just to slow down their pursuit.


    The two third-tier squad leaders led their respective squads smoothly into the fog.


    Soon, they also spotted the person tied up in midair.


    At that moment, more inquiries came through the inte.


    "Jax, any situation there?"


    "Commander, no situation here. We''ve found Young Master Corny. He''s still alive... Eh..."


    The reporting armored warrior approached a bit closer and, with a light eh, realized that Corny tied in the silk was violently struggling.


    Upon the re lighting up, they could clearly see that the mouth of the youngest son of the brigademander was stitched shut with threads?


    At this moment, the face of the young master was covered in blood, his eyes filled with intense fear, as if he had seen something so terrifying it distorted his face. He was trying to say something, whimpering, but couldn''t articte it.


    He just kept shaking his head vigorously.


    It seemed he was trying to urge these people to leave.


    After all, what others didn''t know, and only young master Corny had seen, was the horrifying scene of hundreds of puppets appearing!


    ....


    The rescuers, unaware of what they were about to face, asked, "Young Master Corny, what happened to you?"


    The blond young man strained his eyes towards the threads as if to hint at something, urging them not toe closer.


    The intense struggle to speak caused the wounds on his lips to stretch open with fresh blood.


    However, the rescuers did not understand.


    "Do you want us to be careful of the threads? Okay, we will carefully get you down..."


    Two teams were on guard, some attempting to untie the threads to rescue him.


    But then, one of them seemed to notice something, touched their neck, feeling the unusual sensation of wet fog dampening their hairs, and didn''t think much of it.


    But suddenly...


    The threads in the fog suddenly coalesced, as if hearing someone softlymand, "Silk Control Secret Technique - ughterhouse!"


    Immediately after, the sound of des slicing through flesh and bone rang out sharply.


    Upon closer look, a dozen or so heads fell to the ground, spurting blood in sync, creating a gruesome scene of human fountains everywhere.


    "No good!"


    Two third-order captains reacted swiftly, spotting the threads and avoiding the noose around their necks.


    Several heavily armored professionals also barely blocked a fatal blow with their robust external mechanical skeletons.


    But seeing the human fountains beside them, the few survivors'' faces drastically changed. Having dodged the first wave, they tried to retreat but found themselves surrounded by a dense web of threads.


    The numerous threads, dozens woven together, slithered like a tide of snakes, wrapping around their bodies, and instantly immobilizing them...


    In the control range of the "Puppet Theater," how could anyone escape?


    The fourth-tier water elemental threads were extremely flexible and densely packed, impossible to cut or tear...


    Even fourth-tier professionals trapped for a short time couldn''t hope to escape, let alone these lower-tier professionals?


    Simultaneously, several doll puppets dropped down from the treetops, their mouths emitting strange, disorientingughter. Their des mercilessly stabbed into the bodies of the few survivors.


    In the chaos, the sound of gunfire crackled erratically.


    But it abruptly stopped.


    ....


    There was indeed an ambush!


    Outside the dense forest, hearing the gunfire, Selt''s expression was exceptionally grim and brooding.


    Themunicator was silent, meaning those two elite teams had been killed.


    He immediately realized that the enemy hadn''t left, but indeed intended to use his son as bait in their trap!


    At this moment, another squad leader offered eagerly, "Commander, the enemy might still be hiding in the dense forest. Shall I lead some teams in there again?"


    "No."


    Selt shook his head grimly, "The enemy might be aiming to destroy us one by one. If they could easily kill Jax and the others, sending more teams would be useless. Since they dared to stay, they must have some means."


    Hearing this, the captains fell silent.


    "Could the enemy be a fifth-tier professional?"


    "Even if not, they must be nearly so, otherwise how could Captain Jax''s team have been killed without even sending a distress signal..."


    "..."


    Listening to his subordinates'' whispering, Selt''s expression grew darker.


    This situation was even more difficult than the previous attempt to surround and suppress the Ge''ya tribe.


    Being capable of killing a fourth-tier deputymander, the enemy could likely kill him too; Selt dared not act recklessly.


    "What about the scouts we sent out?"


    "They''ve been silent since they entered the fog. They''re probably dead."


    "Can''t the fog be dispersed?"


    "Not in the short term. The person who deployed it has set up a sophisticated air cirction device in the forest. When the wind blows, the fog will circte within the same area, making dispersion very ineffective. Unless we go into the forest and find the fogging device to deactivate it..."


    "..."


    The operation was momentarily at a standstill.


    One thing they were sure of was that the "enemy" had not left.


    Just then, the soil on the ground slowly rose and formed into a ck-skinned woman with a witch''s hat and tattoos all over her face.


    She was another vice-captain of the Sun Group, a fourth-order professional, "Elemental Witch" Frida McCarty.


    The crowd began to greet her, "Vice-captain!"


    Selt nodded towards her, "Frida, why have youe?"


    "Captain, there might be some issue with this..."


    Enjoy new chapters from empire


    The ck-skinned woman spoke directly, "Petra''s ''Insect Perception Secret Art'' has never been wrong. I also feel that those two are just third-order. If they were fifth-order professionals, they wouldn''t need to resort to so many schemes and plots. Him being able to kill Petra means he likely has some advanced cursed object, or perhaps a ''Sealed Item''. But the more powerful those items are, the bigger the cost to use them. I don''t believe he can keep using them..."


    Selt frowned, listening and finding it reasonable, "Vice-captain Frida, you mean to say..."


    "Charge together, we must kill those two people!"


    The ck-skinned woman said, "No matter how powerful, they are only two people. If we gather the high-order professionals in our group, we can eliminate them in one fell swoop, otherwise, it will lead to endless trouble!"


    She paused and then analyzed, "One of those two is a subhuman, who might just be one that got away from this tribe. Even if we don''t go after them now, they could continue to harass us. If we don''t kill them now, once we start transporting ves into the forest, it''ll be even more troublesome! The longer we wait, the worse it is for us!"


    Now, regardless of the reason, killing a vice-captain of the group meant a death feud had been established.


    Besides, behind them was a Big Shot of the imperial capital, so they weren''t afraid of offending people. If things weren''t handled well and it got back to them, that would be a real problem.


    Selt looked fierce as he listened, "Good!"


    The side with more people often blindly trusts in numbers, thinking they can overwhelm the opponent with sheer volume.


    Usually, that is indeed the case.


    They, the "Sun ve Hunters," came to surround and kill the subhuman tribe with over two thousand people.


    With four fourth-order professionals, dozens of elite three-order captains, and even low-order professionals managing to secure retired military equipment through businessmen and nobility of the capital, the legion''sbat strength was extraordinary.


    This was why other ve hunting groups didn''t dare touch subhuman medium tribes, and their Sun Group did.


    Strength, that is confidence.


    Even facing fifth-order professionals, they could rely on sheer numbers to crush them to death!


    Soon, apart from a necessary few left to guard the ves in the stockade, the dense forest outside was densely packed with people.


    ...


    Su Lun sat atop the treetops, somewhat bored.


    He had thought he might ambush a few more groups, but listening to the noises outside the forest, it seemed the enemy was prepared to rush them en masse.


    However, this suited him just fine.


    It was a good opportunity for a ughter.


    The Puppet Theater needed more "actors" to liven things up.


    The thick fog limited everyone''s visibility, but for Su Lun, the impact was minimal. Now with "Soul Perception" and his ability to "listen for position," he could almost detect any enemy within his perception range.


    In contrast, it was difficult for the enemies to detect him.


    Even with methods like "Thermal Perception" and "Life Perception," few people knew such spells. Even if they did, Su Lun, being wrapped in a shroud, couldn''t be discovered before he acted.


    Besides, his body was not the main character of this massacre.


    It was those tricky puppets hidden everywhere.


    "Two fourth-order? Tsk tsk... Quite cautious indeed."


    Su Lun''s eyes gleamed with a mad smile.


    Fearless, he grew only more excited.


    In his perception range, suddenly, hundreds of soul fires appeared, growing in number.


    He wasn''t in a rush to act, just waiting for those fellows to walk into the "theater."


    As the numbers increased and the ground search intensified, several hidden "Alchemical Foggers" were gradually discovered in the forest. Once the devices were destroyed, the dense fog began to thin.


    Su Lun did not stop them.


    Those two fourth-orders were keeping watch. He was just waiting for a chance to act when they''d focus their attacks.


    While the prey had not yet fully entered the trap, suddenly, Su Lun noticed something, "Eh..."


    He sensed a fourth-order soul fire rapidly emerge from arge tree, "Elemental Integration?"


    Among the bodies Su Lun had previously stripped, there were some memories concerning this person, "It should be the vice-captain of the ve hunting group, that ''Elemental Witch'' Frida who awakened ''B-003-Elemental Absorber''..."


    Fourth-order professionals, more or less, all have a few tricks up their sleeves.


    This woman was powerful; her talent allowed her to quickly absorb elemental power from various objects to perform various spells.


    For instance, absorbing the power of earth elements and merging into the ground.


    Probably wanted to hide in the tree and ambush someone?


    Heh...


    Su Lun scoffed in his mind but didn''t bother with her just yet.


    By this time, those who had walked in hadrgely entered the coverage range of the sorcerer''s formation.


    These guys were clearly on guard against invisible targets, walking forward andunching reagent grenades that revealed their positions.


    Su Lun knew he could no longer hide.


    But it was almost time.


    Before the men could fully form an encirclement, he smirked mockingly and suddenly leaped down.


    This action naturally did not satisfy the enemy''s life perception practitioners.


    In the forest, a loud yell broke out, "Captain, there''s something at nine o''clock!"


    Before that shout had fallen, a brown, humanoid giant bear had already charged over.


    "Oh? The captain himself hase..."


    Su Lun immediately recognized him as Selt, the captain of the ver Group - Spiked Bear.


    Strong and tough, it would be difficult to kill him in a short time.


    He had no intention of confronting this troublesome guy head-on just yet.


    Watching the burly figure charging over, the corners of Su Lun''s mouth turned up slightly. He grasped at the void and yanked hard, summoning arge mechanical war Mecha, holding the Ship-Cutter. Apanied by the roaring of the steam boiler, it descended from the sky and crashed straight into him.


    "Boom!"


    The loud noise of the impact sounded just as the Mecha and the giant bear collided.


    Selt quickly identified what had collided with him and his face changed dramatically: "A Mafan war Mecha!"


    Su Lun didn''t give him a chance to be shocked. At the same moment of the sh, he pinched his sorcerer''s seals with both hands and narrowed his eyes, harshly chanting, "Silk Control Secret Technique - Cocoon World!"


    In an instant, silk threads flooded the area like a tidal wave... covering the sky!


    ....


    During the time he waited for the enemy, Su Lun had not been idle.


    Using the giant trees in the forest as supports, Su Lun had expended arge amount of cursed crystals to weave a massive early on.


    The advantage of the Infinite Witch''s hair became apparent. As long as there was enough energy, it could grow indefinitely.


    Woven into a wall, it was incredibly tough. Ordinary cannons might not even be able to prate it.


    Another look at the silk threads that had be visible, and it appeared that they had wrapped arge portion of the forest into a thickyer of cocoons.


    This area had just trapped everyone within the "Puppet Theatre''s" range.


    ....


    "Dammit, what the hell is this silk thread... why is there so much of it!"


    "Be careful, something else is falling from the trees!"


    "..."


    As soon as the silk threads appeared, the dense forest immediately turned chaotic, and the sounds of gunfire erupted.


    Behind Su Lun, the Eight-Armed Spider Spear unfurled, and suddenly hundreds of mystical puppets fell from the sky!


    The puppets, cackling madly in the sky, flew chaotically and fearlessly plunged into the crowd,mencing a massacre...


    In the past, Su Lun, who multitasked, could manage to control twenty to thirty puppets with 80% efficiency; now, with his spiritual power greatly enhanced, he effortlessly fully controlled more than a hundred mystical puppets!


    This was the true manifestation of the "Hundred Guile Nightwalk"!


    Moreover, the various puppets had also seen a qualitative improvement.


    Especially now, with fourth-tier runes engraved on the "Nightmare Dolls," their ability to control minds had greatly advanced.


    Earlier, Su Lun had used mist to limit visibility, not to block the enemy''s sight but for this moment.


    To force the enemy''s hearing to its utmost limit!


    Now, as the hundreds of puppets wailed together, their voices echoed in the enclosed space like a sh flood, resounding in all directions.


    "Cackle cackle cackle..."


    The eerieughter instantly dazed people.


    Caught off guard, the lower-ranked practitioners instantly fell into a state of mental confusion.


    Moreover, the silk thread was not just used to create a "Cocoon."


    In the puppet theatre, the silk threads bound everything.


    Silk control, sonic mind control, and various puppets working together made for highly efficient killing. For a moment, within the vast theatre like cries filled the air, limbs and body parts flew chaotically, akin to an animal ughterhouse, with blood flowing like rivers...


    In just one face-off, the ve Hunting Team was reaped like wheat, cut down swath by swath...


    Su Lun''s puppet army disyed for the first time the terrifyingbat power of swarm warfare.


    The various puppets interspersed through the crowd inevitably brought about a ssh of bloodshed.


    As long as the controller didn''t die, within the theatre, the puppet army was invincible; everything was puppet fodder!

 Chapter 254 Spatial Barrier

    The ver group''s people could never have expected that, with only one enemy, such a grandmotion could be created!


    My God, one person controlling hundreds of puppets, how is that possible!


    And what in the world are those all-epassing silk threads?


    What''s going on with the battle mechas of Mafa?


    Is this guy still a Puppet Master?


    And only a third-tier one at that?


    Everyone was nothing short of shocked.


    But clearly, these questions were no longer important.


    What was even more chilling was that everyone in the ver group could feel the unbelievable "madness" emanating from the enemy''s actions.


    Having sealed this space, was that guy nning... to kill everyone here?


    As the thought urred, no one believed it.


    But in the next instant, they believed.


    ....


    The battle erupted in an instant, with gunfire thundering and wails filling the field.


    The fight between humans and puppets started with a huge disparity in advantages and disadvantages.


    Humans have many negative emotions, such as fear, death, the unknown, the wails ofpanions... All these directly affect theirbat strength.


    But puppets have none of these physiologiocal disadvantages.


    They have no flesh and blood, so even if the firepower is fierce, it can''t make them retreat half a step.


    Even when faced with enemies several times their number, they arepletely fearless.


    mes, fuel spraying, thick smoke covering the area, visibility obstructed...


    A familiar routine.


    But this is just the beginning of despair.


    Puppets don''t need to breathe and are not affected by perception interference; they already have a seventy percent home-field advantage before the battle even starts.


    Under unifiedmand, with tacit coordination, indifferent to life or death, can you imagine theirbat strength?


    Moreover, the current Puppeteer army, apart from some old ones that hadn''t been updated, the new batch of runes and materials were all up to the standards of the third-tier and above...


    Theirbat strength had already evolved beyondparison with the past.


    The battle grew more and more fierce, but it was entirely a one-sided ughter.


    A sense of despair spread.


    The people of the ver group didn''t even know where the "enemy" was.


    The unknown intensified their fear.


    Everyone knew how to deal with a Puppet Master; amidst the dense smoke, many were wailing and shouting, "That guy is a Puppet Master! Don''t bother with the puppets, kill his real body first!"


    Unfortunately,


    Not to mention whether they could perceive Su Lun''s location,


    Even if they did perceive it,


    How could Su Lun let them kill him that easily?


    ...


    Su Lun, controlling the puppets, began the ughter, the red light in his eyes growing ever more fervent.


    The killing excited his nerves, the frenzied secretion of hormones made his body more and more agitated.


    With Soul Perception and the silk thread perception, his field of vision was crystal clear.


    In this puppet theater, he was the hidden hand controlling everything behind the scenes.


    But he hadn''t forgotten that the biggest threats to him at the scene were the two fourth-tier professionals.


    One was the closebat group leader "Spiked Bear" Selt, and the other was the magic user, "Elemental Witch" Frida.


    However, Su Lun had no intention of confronting them head-on.


    For that Selt to extricate himself from the entanglement of the mechanical armor was not going to be easy. Even if he could free himself for a moment, Su Lun''s ability to use Void Discement was not so easy to be caught.


    And it was he who controlled the puppet army, caught the ver group off guard with a single encounter, and finally, the woman hiding in the trees took her shot.


    She had bided her time, waiting for the moment tounch a stealth attack.


    ```


    But little did she know, Su Lun had intentionally given her that opportunity!


    After drawing enough elemental power, the woman abruptly appeared. With a sorcerer''s seal formed between her fingers, she softly chanted, "Wind Mystique: Thousand Whirls Strangle."


    Her move was her most powerful killing technique!


    In an instant, countless tiny Wind des began to coalesce in the air, swiftly forming into bowl-sized "wind vortexes."


    Innumerable, there were easily a thousand.


    As the vortexes swept towards him, even from a distance, Su Lun felt a sensation on his skin as if it had been grazed by the edge of a de.


    The tricky part of this spell was that its power would multiply in a confined space.


    With area coverage and no escape, it was inevitable!


    Clearly, that was exactly what the woman had in mind!


    Seeing this tactic, Su Lun''s eyes filled with mockery.


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    He made no move to dodge or evade; instead, he flexed his fingers and a puppet appeared beside him.


    The puppet raised both hands, and a ck spiral appeared in the palms. A powerful suction was visibly forming two vortices, and the overwhelming Wind des were absorbed before they could wreak havoc.


    The "ck Hole Doll," now inscribed with fourth-tier Lu Rune symbols, had vastly improved in both spatial storage and suction powerpared to the old version.


    Even fourth-tier mystic techniques could be effortlessly drawn in.


    After absorbing them, the puppet seemed to open its mouth again, and a barrage of simr Wind des was sprayed back at the woman.


    "What kind of puppet is this?!"


    The woman with the dark face was visibly rmed.


    What was even more terrifying was that it seemed as though her opponent had anticipated her location.


    Having failed her ambush, she hurriedly drew on the power of wood elements from her feet on the tree trunk, merging herself into the tree.


    But in the very next moment, the Wind des arrived, grinding the tree trunk into powder.


    "Escaped, huh..."


    Su Lun sensed the fleeing fire of her soul, and his gaze narrowed slightly.


    With this ability to escape, she wouldn''t be an easy target to kill.


    He shifted his attention to Selt, the "Spiked Bear," who was grappling with a battle Mecha.


    At that moment, Selt had unleashed his fourth-tier fortified garment, the "Gang Bear Needle Coat," which featured steel-like fur that could prate the elemental barriers of fourth-tier professionals with its devastating effects. Capable of offensive and defensive counterattacks like a porcupine, he was troublesome for any ordinary fourth-tier opponent.


    Regrettably, although formidable, it waspletely ineffective against the mechanical body of the battle Mecha.


    To kill, he was the prime target.


    ...


    Closebat professionals were resilient. They could fight and flee with high alertness and survivability.


    After fighting for a while, Su Lun had yet to find a suitable opportunity to execute him.


    The ideal assassination strategy was to control the threads and seal off the entire space.


    In that case, no matter how tough Selt was, his survival space shrinking step by step, he would inevitably meet his death.


    Unfortunately, while controlling hundreds of puppets, Su Lun''s "energy" was critical.


    "The dark spiritual power is far from adequate..."


    Su Lun wasn''t surprised; he just felt a bit of regret that he could have killed the enemy more easily.


    It was only now that he appreciated what his teacher, Sereya, had mentioned about the increasing need for dark spiritual power in theter stages of a Puppeteer''s development.


    While his skill in controlling over two hundred puppets was barely adequate, his dark spiritual energy was severelycking.


    He thought if he could merge with the "Isaac Alchemy Heart" after reaching the fifth tier, then this problem could be resolved.


    One could foresee that with infinite energy, hisbat power would be astonishing.


    His thoughts vanished in a sh.


    In the current situation, Su Lun was not the anxious one.


    In this kind of melee battle, his greatest loss would only be some receable puppets.


    The elites of the ve Catcher Group, on the other hand, were about to be ughtered.


    The two fourth-tiers would certainly try everything to kill him quickly!


    Sure enough, as soon as the woman''s ambush failed, Su Lun saw Selt charging fiercely towards him.


    Seeing the bristling needles poised to fire, Su Lun immediately knew what he was intending to do, and his thought process quickly provided a countermeasure.


    ```


    ....


    After dozens of exchanges, the two fourth-level members of the Sun Catcher Gang also realized that Su Lun was not easy to kill.


    Being the leader and deputy leader, their years of cooperation had fostered a profound tacit understanding.


    Even withoutmunication, they knew what to do with each other.


    Although the dark-skinned woman''s sneak attack was fruitless, it created an opportunity for Selt to make a move. Seeing Su Lun controlling the puppets, Selt burst forth decisively, briefly shaking off the mecha''s entanglement and charging fiercely towards Su Lun.


    From a distance, he formed the sorcerer''s seals, and the imnted metal fur on his body suddenly grew longer in the wind, shooting out like feathered arrows.


    "Swoosh," "swoosh," "swoosh"...


    Steel needles a foot long came raining down from the sky.


    Su Lun had some impression of this signature move of his opponent.


    "Secret Technique: Thousand Needle Rain," a range spell, was considered one of that guy''s trump cards. The steel needles could easily prate the elemental barriers of fourth-level professionals, so facing it head-on was not the smart choice.


    Building up power for a long time, what that guy was waiting for was this moment.


    The steel needles sealed off almost all direct paths, and instinct would drive one to dodge towards the blind spots.@@novelbin@@


    But Su Lun knew as well.


    This was exactly what the other person had calcted.


    A frontal assault was the lethal move, and simrly, there were ambushes lying in wait at the blind spots!


    "Tsk tsk, so this was your n..."


    Su Lun''s attention was not solely on what was in front of him.


    That woman underground probably thought she was well-hidden.


    Little did she know that her every move was under Su Lun''s control.


    Su Lun remembered that the two seemed to have some sort of coordination for abination attack technique and together had killed many strong opponents with it.


    But those were fragmented memories, somewhat vague.


    To dodge ording to the enemy''s n was obviously not wise.


    In an instant, Su Lun analyzed and determined the best course of action.


    He decided that the steel needles likely couldn''t kill him, and as long as he killed one of the opponent''s fourth-level members, the situation would immediately reverse from the standoff!


    The opponent wasn''t foolish; they would have certainly collected intelligence.


    Su Lun clearly remembered that he had revealed some of his techniques.


    Although the opponent didn''t know what the ck scythe was, after the death of a fourth-level member, they were obviously wary.


    The abilities of spatial discement had also likely been somewhat uncovered by others...


    Threads and puppets were currently in use.


    But what they didn''t know was...


    Not all puppet masters were inherently "weak".


    Su Lun''s closebat abilities were not inferior in the slightest!


    ....


    Su Lun did not choose to dodge towards the blind spots of the steel needles, but with a fierce stomp on the ground, there was a "snap" sound, and his figure vanished from the spot.


    As the afterimage dissipated, on a closer look, he was already charging head-on into the needle rain.


    Selt''s eyes narrowed as he recognized this as the exclusive skill of closebat professionals, "Stepping on Air."


    But this wasn''t the moment for shock. Seeing Su Lun''s figure disappear, he realized that Su Lun had used spatial discement in his rapid movement to dodge the deadly needle rain.


    However, the trajectory of spatial discement could sometimes be predicted by certain actions just before vanishing.


    "He actually chose to charge straight through?"


    Selt was puzzled, how could a puppeteer opt to sh head-on with him?


    As quick as a thought shed through his mind, the figure reappeared in front of him, and without a moment''s hesitation, Selt threw a powerful punch forward.


    However, as he delivered this punch that should have been decisive, he immediately realized something was wrong, his expression changed dramatically: "How is this possible?!"


    To his astonishment, the punch felt like it had "missed" its target.


    No,


    it wasn''t a miss.


    It was a misjudgment of distance!


    It clearly seemed as though the two were only one meter apart.


    But after extending an arm, it became apparent that the distance between them was actually one meter and ten centimeters!


    Despite the distance being only slightly off, the optimal point for punching was different, leading to vastly different effects of the attack.


    Let alone reducing its might by seventy to eighty percent, he would have been able to counterattack or follow up with ease if the punch hadnded as intended.


    But it was this very "miss" that disrupted all his subsequentbat responses.


    Even his stance staggered, exposing a massive vulnerability.


    With a "thud,"


    Although Su Lun took a punch, the power behind it was neither painful nor itchy, and the steel needles on the fist didn''t even pierce through his vajra protective body.


    His eyes zing with red light, the corner of his mouth curved upward, "Heh heh... it''s over."


    This strike was not due to the opponent''s mistake, but rather, Su Lun had just formed a "Spatial Barrier" right in front of himself.


    This wasn''t a visual deceit, but rather a slight elongation of a segment of space.


    Without understanding the Space Law, it would be tough to detect.


    This was Su Lun''s immediate grasp of spellcasting methods that he had once struggled with, after stripping away that tier-four Space Law fragment. Although the distortion in space wasn''t vast, it was now sufficient!


    Su Lun looked at the huge w exposed by his opponent, his eyes fierce.


    That guy was extremely quick to react, his body''s steel needles already standing on end as he instantly entered a defensive stance.


    Unfortunately, Su Lun had no intention of colliding his flesh fist against him.


    You may have abination attack, but so do I!


    You have two people, but I have countless puppets!


    It was at this moment that a burst of steam explosion noises suddenly came from behind Selt, as the waiting mecha charged ferociously.


    A brain capable of devising control schemes ensured a seamless natural cooperation!


    In that instant, Selt was terrified within his heart, immediately realizing that while he had beenying a trap for his opponent, the opponent had already prepared the current pincer move during the earlier attack: "How is it possible... he controls so many puppets, how could he still react so fast!"


    Unfortunately, a single mistake was enough to make him pay a painful price.


    The mechanical explosion sound behind him was unavoidable, and he could only curl up as much as possible to shield his vitals.


    "Bang!"


    A loud metallic collision echoed.


    The Ship-Cutter cleaved heavily onto Selt''s body, its trembling de crackling as it cut through countless steel needles. A single sh tore open flesh and revealed chilling white bones, leaving a gaping wound of several dozen centimeters from his buttocks to his waist.


    Selt didn''t resist fiercely; using the force to fly backwards, he avoided being cleaved in two.


    Afternding, he thought of fleeing immediately.


    Believing that hisrades would surelye to his aid at the first opportunity.


    But uponnding, an intense chill suddenly struck him.


    Catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye, he saw several puppets spewing frost, wildly spraying at the spot where he was about tond.


    Only then did Selt realize that a third wave of attack wasing.


    His opponent had anticipated hisnding spot!


    Such simr tactics.


    Both aimed to force the opponent to reveal a weakness, employing multyered pincer attacks.


    But they saw only one step ahead, while their opponent foresaw the next three steps.


    No, fouryers.


    Looking at the frost-covered ground, Selt''s face turned ashen.


    The intense stickiness of the powerful frost, not to mention his broken leg at the moment, would have greatly constrained his movements even if it weren''t broken.


    He also realized that this frost served another purpose beyond hindering his escape.


    It was to cut off the possibility of hisrades rescuing him.


    The "Elemental Escape" ability was indeed formidable, but it wasn''t impossible to counter.


    Just like the vast coverage of frost before him, hisrade couldn''t possibly tunnel through the ground to save him.


    Upon arriving, they would immediately fall into the same freezing dilemma.


    In that moment, Selt knew he was undoubtedly going to die, as the final thought crossed his mind.


    With the appearance of a space rift, heads fell to the ground.

 Chapter 255 �Black Sams Cursed Gold Coin】

    "Captain!"


    As the n leader''s head fell to the ground, the "Elemental Witch" Frida was filled with horror.


    She had been waiting in a tree, hoping to join forces with Selt for a pincer attack on the enemy, but to her dismay, thebined strike that had seeded many times before had failed this time!


    Rather than reacting as they had anticipated, this small mistake had led to the direct demise of their n leader.


    She wanted to rush to the rescue, but it was already toote.


    The Puppet Master''s wide-range ice frost attack deterred her from approaching, knowing that if she got stuck, death would be her only fate.


    This time, she clearly understood the seemingly formless method of killing.


    As she had previously suspected, it was definitely an artifact of the "restricted item" level.


    "Damn it, how did we provoke such a freak!" Frida cursed in her heart.


    Having fought for so long, she had recognized that this was indeed a genuine third-tier professional.


    When it came to treasures, whether it was the mecha or the restricted artifact, some top-tier nobility might possess such resources.


    But this fellow''s personal strength was what truly baffled her!


    Puppetry, silk control secret techniques, martial arts mysteries, Space Law... Each ability was mastered to a degree far beyond the reach of ordinary third-tier professionals.


    She had seen Puppet Masters before, but whose Puppet Master could simultaneously control hundreds of puppets?


    And also be so strong in person?!


    Rather than saying this guy was alone, it was more urate to say he was a one-man puppet legion!


    Moreover, the chilling murderous intent was the real source of fear for her, a fourth-tier professional.


    This guy... he''s truly a madman!


    Now that their captain Selt had been killed, Frida immediately thought of retreating.


    She was very aware that she could not kill that Puppet Master not far away on her own.


    Though she didn''t know what means he used to detect her "Elemental Escape," all signs indicated that she had been discovered by the enemy.@@novelbin@@


    Intuition told her that if she stayed any longer, it would inevitably lead to a dead end!


    ...


    Su Lun, of course, had sensed that individual escaping underground, but he had no intention of going after her.


    The "Cocoon World" created from the witch''s hair provided physical istion but had never stopped that woman from the beginning.


    Su Lun found it difficult to keep her if she was so bent on escaping.


    Su Lun went over to the headless corpse and prepared to collect that clump of "gray mist."


    The surging turmoil in his heart had finally calmed down a bit, and he dared not continue to use the Reaper''s phantom, casually devouring the gray mist from the corpse.


    But luck wasn''t always on his side, and the result of this blind box draw was disappointing.


    The fragments held little of value, and Su Lun frowned slightly, muttering to himself, "It''s hard to downgrade from luxury to simplicity..."


    Having be ustomed to the precise harvest of the Reaper''s phantom, the "blind draw" felt like a significant letdown.


    He didn''t dwell on it, though, since he ultimately needed to address the issue of his warped mental state to fully utilize the second tier of the Reaper''s talent.


    Now that the two fourth-tier enemies were gone, Su Lun could focus solely on dealing with the members of the ver party.


    Out of the seven or eight hundred people who came in, probably only a few dozen remained after the onught of the puppet legion.


    Su Lun had intended to reap them all, but just then, a green me suddenly appeared on the silken cocoon walls, burning through theyers of silk and creating an opening.


    The surviving ver members were overjoyed at the sight and escaped in a swarm through the breach.


    "A cursed item?"


    Su Lun instantly identified the me as originating from a decent fire-based cursed item.


    It wasn''t surprising that such arge-scale ver party had one or two good artifacts.


    However, Su Lun watched the escaping people but did not pursue them.


    Separated from the "Puppet Theater," his puppets''bat effectiveness would significantly diminish. With more enemies outside, he might not instantly gain the upper hand if he pursued them.


    Most importantly, his dark spiritual power had reached a critical low.


    If the battle continued, with the enemies'' greater numerical strength, Su Lun might have to be the one to tactically withdraw first.


    But it looked like the fight wasn''t going to happen after all. Judging by the noises from those outside, it seemed they had no intention of seeking a decisive battle to the death. The people who escaped joined the one or two thousand inside the encampment, and without even bothering about the demi-human ves, they hastily retreated into the forest.


    "Heh... quite decisive."


    Su Lun raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly, not too surprised by the oue.


    As long as that dark-skinned woman wasn''t foolish, she definitely wouldn''t opt for ast stand.


    Now that she knew Su Lun was skilled in Space Arcana, she also understood that with mere numbers, they would have a hard time killing him.


    On the other hand, in this forest, failing to kill the enemy would be a nightmare for theirrge-scale team.


    Enough...


    After taking a few bullets,


    And killing a few hundred of your men,


    That should settle things.


    Su Lun didn''t n to pursue,


    The bloody ughter had calmed those restless negative emotions.


    As he looked at the bodies strewn across the ground, the red glow in his eyes began to fade away.


    Su Lun controlled the puppets, beginning to clean up the spoils of the battlefield.


    Despite the "World of Cocoons" secret technique of controlling threads having impressive effects, just setting up the formation had consumed nearly ten million lysi of cursed crystals. Magicians, being the most money-burning profession, is not an overstatement; the bigger the move, the more willing one has to be to spend.


    Su Lun intended to recoup some losses from these spoils of war.


    The soul shards and equipment of these few hundred people were also not a small harvest.


    ...


    In the forest, the only two remaining fourth-tier members of the Sun Catchers ve Group withdrew inplete disarray.


    The people previously staying at the fortress didn''t understand what had happened, they only heard the retreat ordering through theirmunicators.


    On the way, everyone then started to discuss.


    "Frieda, what the hell is going on?"


    "The leader is dead, hurry up and go!"


    "What! Could the enemy be a fifth-tier professional?"


    "No! But... there''s no time to exin, let''s get out of here first. That guy knows space arcana, we can''t kill him at all. Also, he is totally a madman, he''s probably exhausted his spiritual power by now, so he hasn''t pursued us. Just wait for him to recover, he will definitely kill all of us here!"


    "..."


    Explore more at empire


    The few dozen survivors were still trembling with fear.


    They described the terrifying battle they had just experienced to theirpanions, talking about the overwhelming threads and puppets as if they had a horrifying experience right on the doorstep of hell, which made the listeners'' scalp tingle.


    Just one person killed two of their fourth-tier professionals and a quarter of their main force?


    This was a loss they had never suffered, even when they had previously conquered the Subhuman vige.


    Once all the members of the ve Group learned the truth, they fled even faster.


    ....


    "What exactly happened in there?"


    Atop a giant tree, Yuta watched those enemies fleeing inplete disarray, too shocked to speak.


    She had intended to help, but Su Lun had shut her out of the battlefield.


    Looking at the cocoon-like closed space, she felt both anxious and helpless.


    Originally thinking that Su Lun''s erratic behavior was due to mental derangement, Yuta had pondered how she might save people.


    But with the enemy in overwhelming numbers, she waspletely alone and without any means to help.


    The turn of events was so sudden.


    The ve Group suddenly became chaotic. That fourth-tier magician who was originally guarding in the vige rushed over in haste, took out a strange oilmp, burned through the wall of threads, and then a group of people fled in a sorry state.


    Only... so few people had escaped?


    Before Yuta could understand what was happening, all the enemies in the vige dispersed in panic, fleeing into the forest.


    Seeing their panicked states, Yuta immediately realized that something major must have happened to Su Lun.


    As soon as the enemies left, she rushed in without any hesitation, only to be met with a scene she had not anticipated at all.


    That man was leisurely sweeping the battlefield.


    ....


    Su Lun saw Yutaing in and greeted her with a smile.


    Concerned about his mental state, Yuta asked, "Mr. Su Lun, are you alright?"


    Now considering themselves friends, she didn''t shy away. She gathered a green light in both hands and directly touched Su Lun''s temples, seemingly to check on him.


    Su Lun didn''t refuse, only shaking his head with a smile, "I''m fine."


    Hearing this, Yuta''s brows rxed, and not finding anything seriously wrong upon her checks, she let out a huge sigh of relief.


    Then, ncing at the bodies around her, her azure pupils filled with shock.


    Only then did she realize that Mr. Su Lun had really defeated the enemy on his own.


    Although she found it hard to believe, having witnessed everything firsthand, Yuta genuinely eximed, "Mr. Su Lun is so impressive..."


    Su Lun neither agreed nor disagreed with a shrug of his shoulders and then asked, "Have those people left?"


    "Yes. They''ve all fled into the forest!"


    Yuta remembered, and her eyes suddenly brightened, "That''s right, the people of the White Deer tribe weren''t taken away!"


    Did that mean the tribespeople had been rescued?


    Su Lun wasn''t surprised.


    Those fleeing for their lives naturally wouldn''t take ves with them.


    He said to Yuta, "Go check on your people, they should still be bound. I''ll clean up here."


    Seeing that he was alright, Yuta nodded vigorously, "Okay!"


    She was about to rush to the vige in a hurry when she looked back, thinking of something, and smiled brilliantly, "Our Dalu tribe has a prophecy, that a warrior who follows the ancient covenant will save our people... I think Mr. Su Lun must be the ''warrior'' mentioned in the prophecy!"


    "Oh?"


    Su Lun raised his eyebrow as he listened, having personally experienced the prophetic abilities of the Dalu tribe, he didn''t find it unreliable.


    But hearing this made him feel a bit strange.


    He himself had indeed rescued a few Dalu tribespeople.


    As for a "warrior following the covenant"?


    He just smiled, probably referring to Mr. Jing.


    With the crisis of tribal annihtion averted, Yuta''s previously furrowed brow rxed, her pretty face beaming with excitement. She ran off, looking back to wave her hand, "Mr. Su Lun, I''ll go check on the people in the vige first. I''lle find youter~"


    "Okay."


    Su Lun watched her and nodded, then continued to clean up the battlefield.


    The puppets helped sort the spoils from the bodies, which were packed into a storage ring.


    The damaged dolls were also collected; after some fixing up, they could be used again in the next fight...


    If they couldn''t be fixed, they could be melted down to extract the materials.


    He didn''t neglect the broken parts and bullets scattered on the ground either.


    Su Lun was not rich at the moment, in fact, he had a veryrge financial gap.


    To make the battle capabilities of his puppet dolls strong, aside from craftsmanship, good materials were also needed.


    He wanted to make a "ck iron quality" third-tier doll now, but just one of the materials cost over five million, and the recent few silver [Ice Dolls] capable of engraving third-tier runes were priced over ten million each.


    A hundred of them would cost a billion, and he was far from reaching that sum.


    The materials needed for fourth and fifth-tier puppets were even more expensive.


    This battle had shown him how useful a puppet army could be, and he would definitely need to adopt a strategy of overwhelming numbers in the future.


    Without a solid foundation of wealth, one simply couldn''t manage the profession of "Puppeteer."


    Alchemy bullets required money, and casting spells cost money...


    Not to mention the research on mechanical puppets, which were the real big burners of cash.


    Apart from those few banned items, Su Lun''s entire fortune added up probably couldn''t even produce aplete set of [Colonel-grade Mech Armor IX].


    "Puppets really burn through cash..."


    Su Lun couldn''t help but feel both amused and distressed at the thought.


    ....


    Now that the enemy had left, Su Lun could count the spoils at ease.


    The Octopus Spear was controlling the spears, sorting and packing away the standard spoils into the storage ring to sellter.


    From such arge team, the low-tier professionals didn''t have much aside from standard gear and some possessions.


    He turned his eyes to the two fourth-tier bodies he had killed earlier.


    The alchemical armor condensed on the corpses were still pretty good, both silver quality, one set of [Spiked Bear Needles] and one set of [Ironback Centipede].


    Closebat gear was in high demand on the market, and although there was some damage, they could still be worth tens of millions.


    Su Lun then gave Selt''s storage ring a look, and as the group leader, the Spiked Bear had many good items in it.


    To his pleasant surprise, the storage ring wasn''t veryrge and didn''t contain much, but he scanned it and saw a huge gemstone.


    "This... should be a gemstone stolen from the vige?"


    Looking at the unpolished sapphire the size of a fist, Su Lun also guessed the origin of the item.


    Even he had never seen one sorge.


    Such arge chunk of high-purity gemstone, whether used for jewelry or as alchemy material, was excellent.


    In an auction, it would probably fetch at least a hundred million.


    It was a break-even at least.


    Su Lun stashed it away.


    But he didn''t n to sell it. Higher-level puppets also needed these materials for rune engraving, and the high-level gemstones were monopolized by the nobles, impossible to buy from the market.


    The storage ring also contained some alchemical items of decent value, but they were of no use to Su Lun; they were all just goods to be sold for money.


    However, in the pile of items within the storage ring, Su Lun finally found a tightly sealed rune box.


    Upon opening it, he discovered a roughly made gold coin bearing a human head.


    In the memories collected by the Reaper, there were legends rted to this object, which the All-Seeing Eye immediately identified with terms he could understand.


    [ck Sam''s Cursed Gold Coin]


    Details: Legend has it that collecting three of these gold coins will lead to the sunken treasure of the Pirate King, Sam Bemy; inscribed on the coin are some iplete secret messages;


    "The Pirate King''s treasure?"


    Looking at the object, Su Lun grew slightly interested.


    An item treasured by a prominentrge-scale ver was likely credible.


    Besides, the All-Seeing Eye had also identified some hidden messages.


    It appeared to be the "real" thing.


    Su Lun had also heard this legend.


    This world has endless seas, and pirates have always existed; very few could im the title "Pirate King."


    One legendary Pirate King, "ck Sam" Bemy, was the most recent to be acknowledged by pirates and officials across the four seas.


    And now, the "King of the North Sea," Oleg, was only just the king of the northern waters.


    Bemy didn''t concern himself with building powers; he preferred adventuring and exploring unknown routes, raiding nobility.


    That''s right, they were "noble thieves."


    That guy had a good reputation among the poor, living a life full of legend.


    He himself was also a powerful Alchemist, collector, Navigator...


    His pirate group dared to rob anything, whether it was dukes, princes, or even royal treasures.


    Consequently, he had countless treasures in his hands.


    However, thirty years ago, the legend goes that he led a top tier pirate crew on an adventure to uncharted waters, encountered sea monsters and storms, and their ship sank.


    It''s said that a few survivors lived to tell the tale, and the legend of the "Pirate King''s sunken ship" spread.


    Legends say that aboard that ship, in addition to gold and silver treasures, there were various high-level cursed objects, [Sealed Items], ancient weapons, and legendary artifacts...


    This is also one of the biggest lures that has drawn countless adventurers to the sea inter generations.


    ....


    Su Lun only took a second nce before he tucked it away.


    Whether the legend was true or not, even if it was, how could the sea areas that sank the Pirate King''s ship be easy to reach?


    Moreover, he now had only one gold coin; without the set of three, daydreaming was futile.


    Su Lun wasn''t one to fuss over things beyond his reach.


    He then took out the body of the previously killed [Insect Controller].


    Only after examining the storage ring did Su Lun feel fortunate that his decision to kill him quickly was the right one.


    Had that guy been given a chance to use those bizarre poisons and venomous creatures, it would be uncertain who would have died.


    The [Insect Controller] was a mysterious lineage Alchemist, and that one named Petra specialized in the lineage of venomous creatures. His storage ring was filled with various poisonous materials and jars.


    Even though Su Lun''s resistance to toxins was quite high now, the sight and identification of many poisons still sent chills down his spine.


    The storage ring was mostly full of poisonous materials, as well as some toxic tomes, like the"Poison Encyclopedia","Poison Insect Breeding", and the like.


    Su Lun casually nced at them and then tucked them away, nning to study them in depth when he found timeter.


    What surprised him slightly was that he also acquired a "cursed object"!


    [Anniestora''s Poisonous Incense Burner]


    Description: I aim to concoct the world''s deadliest poison;


    Cursed Properties: The fuel in the incense burner is the poison nd of the ancient Poison Snake ''Hydra''. Lighting it will lure venomous creatures from miles around to converge, fight, and devour each other, after which there''s a chance for the creatures to evolve into a Poison King and produce even higher-tiered mixed toxins; these toxins spread through the air and are just as deadly to humans;


    Details: A poisonous Magician named Anniestora from thest epoch created an alchemical item used to cultivate venomous creatures;


    Su Lun raised his eyebrows at the information identified.


    From the description, ordinary gas masks wouldn''t be able to protect against the poison. He happened to have a [gue Doctor''s Beaked Mask], which had poison-resisting properties, and he wondered which cursed object would be stronger.


    Although the incense burner was a cursed item, it seemed that its use in killing wasn''t that great.


    The toxin would naturally disperse slowly in the air, making it easy to detect.


    For high-tier professionals, a whiff of something unusual would be enough to avoid danger.


    Its use would probably only be in poison crafting?


    The art of poison wasn''t a niche, for it was genuinely a branch of the "gue Laws".


    Looking at the incense burner, Su Lun had an idea: "Why not create a bunch of poisonous dolls?"

 Chapter 256 Emerald Holy Land

    Su Lun finished tallying this batch of war loot and, all in all, had made a sizable profit.


    For the stronger party, war has always been a shortcut to immense wealth.


    With a hundred puppets helping to clear the battlefield, the work progressed quickly, and before long, he had almost gathered up all of the spoils.


    While he was dealing with the traces of the battlefield, he heard arge group of people approaching from the vige on the distant hillside.


    Looking over, it was Yuta leading a group from the White Deer tribe.


    The leader was an elder with white deer antlers on his forehead and the strongest soul fire, which naturally made him Daggu, the Tier Four Druid elder.


    The old man looked very weak, being supported by others, with freshly ground herbs still applied to a wound on his abdomen. As he approached, a strong scent of medicine wafted through the air. It seemed he had been severely injured in the previous battle.


    This group of people came over, and Yuta introduced to them very formally, "This is Mr. Su Lun, who just now repelled the enemy."


    Themon tongue was used, and only the Druids among the Dalu tribe could understand it.


    The White Deer elder looked at Su Lun, his face showing an excited and sincere gratitude, "On behalf of the entire White Deer tribe, this old man Daggu thanks the brave warrior for saving our lives..."


    As he spoke, he ced one hand over his chest and bowed deeply to Su Lun.


    Behind him, the dozens of people also bowed in unison.


    In front of the elders, Su Lun naturally did not dare to act arrogantly and courteously responded.


    ....


    Even though the tribe had just experienced a great disaster, being the warrior who saved the tribe, Su Lun was still warmly weed by the people of the White Deer vige of the Dalu tribe.


    He had initially nned to spend the night in the forest but now stayed in the vige''s best hut, provided with roasted meat and fruit.


    It was probably because they needed people, that the old and young in the tribe had not been ughtered to thest by the ver gang.


    But even so, bodies were piled up like a mountain.


    The vige was a sight of devastation.


    As a guest, Su Lun naturally did not need to help, as there were enough hands within the tribe. The young and robust of the Deer tribe were chopping wood to repair the vige wall destroyed by the st. With sturdy walls, the elderly and the young could safely clean up their rtives'' bodies, to prevent predators from the forest drawn by the smell of blood and flesh from causing secondary harm to the tribe members...


    The tribe had been burned nearly to the ground, but Su Lun was still arranged to stay in the best hut, with barbecue and fruit.


    The night sky was beautiful this evening, with moonlight like silver.


    Su Lun watched the vige in front of him, carving the puppet in his hand, and his thoughts asionally drifted to other things.


    Yuta was by his side.


    For a long time, neither of them spoke.


    This Druid had witnessed such desperate scenes twice in a short time, and her emotions were very unstable.


    She dared not look too much at her fellow tribespeople, and the moonlight poured into those blue crystalline eyes, shimmering with waves of light.


    Eventually, unable to hold back the overflowing emotions, she looked at Su Lun with tearful eyes and asked with grief, "Mr. Su Lun, why are humans so cruel, when we could all live together peacefully..."


    Su Lun didn''t know how to answer.


    Thinking it over, he reached out and touched Yuta''s head, consoling the weeping young Miss of the White Wolf n.


    Yuta threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrobly.


    ....


    Early the next day, Su Lun and Yuta continued on their journey.


    A team of strong young people from the White Deer tribe escorted them for a long distance, not parting until the sunset, and then they returned.


    The situation of the various tribes of the Dalu n was very bad now.


    Having been discovered by the ver gang, other gangs would certainlye upon hearing the news.


    The White Deer tribe must also migrate.


    The Silent Forest was vast, but there were not many ces they could choose from.


    This was already the depths of the forest, and to retreat further would mean to enter the sanctuary.


    But it could not amodate so many tribespeople.


    The Dalu tribe worships the god of nature, and their way of life is almost entirely primitive. Their main source of food is hunting and gathering. This lifestyle also means that they cannot live together in a city like humans do.


    A hunting area can only sustain a certain number of people.


    When a tribe''s poption exceeds what an area can support, part of it must split off to develop new hunting grounds and establish new tribes.


    But now, with their living space continually shrinking and the poption rapidly declining, the very survival of the tribe is a big problem.


    Su Lun had also asked Yuta why they did not migrate further away.


    Yuta said that at Sacred Lake there is something the Dalu tribe must protect.


    ....


    The next few days of travel went smoothly.


    As a Druid, Yuta could understand some of thenguage of birds and beasts. With her leading the way, the two of them avoided areas where high-level magical beasts roamed and other dangerous regions. Although they were attacked a few times, they safely made it to the deepest part of Silent Forest without serious incident.


    Even in the frigid north, the Silent Forest boasted an abundance of water resources like awork of leaf veins, and there were rivers that never froze all year round.


    That day, after descending a mountainous terrain, they fashioned a small boat and changed fromnd to water travel, drifting eastward along arge river known to the Dalu tribe as "Runas River."


    Drifting in the clear river water, the two of them seemed very rxed.


    Yuta was responsible for rowing the boat while Su Lun remained focused on tinkering with his puppet, asionally flipping through books.


    The pair had formed a tacit understanding along the way, chatting asionally, with Yuta introducing him to the extraordinary creatures of the forest.


    Half the day had passed on the boat without them noticing, when Yuta suddenly spoke up, "Mr. Su Lun, we''re almost there!"


    Su Lun finally snapped out of his immersion and saw a lovely face.


    After days of travel, Miss Druid''s mood had progressively improved, and a naive and cheerful smile had returned to her face.


    Yuta sighed, "Mr. Su Lun, you really do work hard, no wonder you''re so amazing..."


    Su Lun smiled nomittally and looked around, "Are we almost there?"


    He observed the surrounding forest was not much different from before, feeling slightly surprised in his heart. Was this the legendary central tribe of the Dalu n, "Emerald Holy Land"?


    It looked the same, and he saw no other members of the Dalu tribe.


    "Mhm!"


    Yuta nodded earnestly, then turned and pointed toward the front of the boat, "It''s over there~"


    Only then did Su Lun extend his gaze beyond Yuta''s body and looked toward the front of the river.


    "Eh... That''s a waterfall?"


    With his excellent eyesight, he naturally noticed that the river abruptly dropped off at the end of their view, forming a fine line.


    Listening closely, the "roaring" sound of the water was also bing progressively clear.


    With such noise, the waterfall seemed to have a significant drop.


    "Mhm, this is the nearest path!"


    Yuta''s face was full of anticipation, "It''s been a year or two since I became a Druid andst visited Sacred Lake..."


    Su Lun looked on with slight curiosity, like reaching the peak of a roller coaster, when the view down below is obscured, yet there''s still a thrill of anticipation for the unknown.


    Noticing that Yuta had no intention of pulling to the shore to stop the boat, he asked, "Are we going to jump down from the waterfall?"


    Yuta nodded, a sly smile forming at the corner of her mouth, "Mr. Su Lun, you''ll have to hold on tight to me~"


    "Heh..."


    Hearing her yful words, Su Lun''s eyes crinkled with amusement.


    He also stood up, looking into the distance.


    The waterfall was getting closer, the boat''s speed increasing, and the roar in their ears now so loud that speech was barely discernible.


    Approaching the edge of the river, Su Lun finally saw the shockingly magnificent scenery ahead, murmuring involuntarily, "It truly is the Emerald Holy Land!"


    ....


    The maps that Su Lun had previously purchased from the ck market and the Adventurers'' Guild outlined only the outer areas of Silent Forest. He had not known that deep within the foresty such a wondrous and unimaginable sight.


    ```


    It was as if a meteor had fallen, smashing into the depths of the forest to create a vast basin, known as the "Emerald Holy Land".


    The Silent Forest was situated in the cold northernnds, and its vegetationrgely consisted of coniferous trees such as various firs and cold pines, all nketed by frost and snow, presenting a dominating hue of greyish white. Yet beneath this waterfall, there was a burst of lush green teeming with life and a pleasant climate.


    From the sky above, it resembled an emerald embedded in a greyish-white expanse.


    Su Lun didn''t have time to appreciate the scenery before him, as the small boat they were in began to free-fall over the waterfall, and they leaped for their lives.


    Yuta grabbed Su Lun''s hand,ughed heartily with a face full of joyous and mischievous smile, "Hahahaha... Mister Su Lun, do you know? My most most most favorite thing when I was a child was jumping off waterfalls..."


    Su Lun listened and smiled slightly, his eyes also glittering with fascination as he gazed at the waterfall with its several hundred meters of drop.


    Free falling through the air, there was an inexplicable sense of exhration in his heart.


    After a few breaths, the two of them hit the water with a "plop."


    The gurgling sound of water filled their ears, apanied by the rush of flowing water all around.


    Yuta didn''t rush to surface, instead, she pulled Su Lun along for a long underwater swim.


    After the waterfall''s turbulent flow entered the forest, it quickly became calm.


    The water was exceptionally clear, and with eyes open underwater, the world beneath the surface was visible in great detail.


    There were swaying aquatic nts with roots clearly seen; little red fish joyfully apanying the two uninvited guests; semi-transparent shrimps startled and swiftly retreating... The y of light and shadow from nt life above the water''s surface was reflected below, creating an indescribably beautiful scene.


    Everything in sight was crystal clear.


    As Su Lun swam underwater, that sense of exhration within him grew stronger.


    It was as if the countless days of umted frustration were being cleansed by the crystal clear river water.


    Only then did he realize that sinceing to this world, he had never observed and experienced the beauty of nature so closely before.


    In that moment, every pore in his body felt refreshed.


    Su Lun tilted his head slightly and saw a radiant, smiling face.


    Yuta pointed towards the surface.


    The two surfaced and climbed ashore.


    This was a serene and quiet deep forest, with the chirping of birds by their ears, and the scent of flowers in their breaths. It was like a small woond path on a summer day, with dappled tree shadows on the ground, afortably warm temperature, and a gentle breeze caressing their faces.


    Underfooty a path of moss-covered stones stretching into the depths of the woods. On the side of the path stood two rustic stone pirs carved with mysterious patterns, resembling the torii gates in front of Japanese shrines from Su Lun''s previous life. Around these pirs, somewhat hidden in the piles of earth, were several pottery jars used for offerings. They seemed aged, with the marks of time leaving mottled traces upon them.


    Su Lun took a moment to look.


    The runes of Alchemy and the prohibitory system of the Dalu n were vastly different, yet he discerned that these carvings on the stone pirs contained some form of high-level Power of Laws.


    Seeing his interest, Yuta exined, "Those are ''ritual pirs,'' built specifically for the elves who guard this forest. They can avert disasters and bring blessings. They are also enchantments blessed by deities that protect our Dalu tribe, repelling anyone with malice towards us."


    After a pause, she called out, "Let''s go, Mister Su Lun."


    "Hmm."


    After giving the pirs another thoughtful look, Su Lun followed her.


    Passing through the two stone pirs, it was like crossing through an invisible barrier, and he faintly sensed something. But before he could ponder it, they had only walked a few steps when suddenly, several beast-skin d sub-humans sprang out from the trees above.


    From their elevated position, they recognized the neers and excitedly shouted in unison, "Sister Yuta!"@@novelbin@@


    Yuta clearly knew them and cheerfully greeted back, "Ko, is it your group''s turn to patrol today?"


    "Yeah! Sister Yuta, what brings you to the Holy Land?"


    The one named Ko was a rabbit-kin girl, seemingly young, around thirteen or fourteen years old. She was armed with a bow and arrows, carrying a quiver on her back, appearing ready for patrol. And beside her were several other Dalu youths of simr age.


    The group jumped down, and upon seeing Su Lun, a human, everyone''s eyes immediately showed caution and wariness.


    Ko asked, "Sister Yuta, why did you bring a human into the Holy Land?"


    Yuta introduced him, "This is Mister Su Lun. He is my lifesaver and a benefactor to our Dalu tribe..."


    Despite her exnation, the wary gazes of the young ones towards Su Lun did not diminish, and they began to speak all at once.


    "Lately, there have been a lot of vers in the forest, the ''Green Tiger Tribe'' and ''ck Bear Tribe'' to the north have been attacked by those despicable humans, many of our people died..."


    "Yes, Sister Yuta, humans can''t be trusted... Some humans have already attempted to scout the perimeter of the Holy Land recently."


    ```


    "I heard that there are humans eyeing the relics in ''Cursed Valley'', and the n Leader even specifically instructed us to patrol carefully..."


    "..."


    Su Lun stood by, listening to Yuta and the group of young patrollersmunicate in the Dalunguage, but he could not understand much.


    However, from their expressions, he could tell that these kids didn''t seem too weing towards humans entering the area.


    Yuta, having heard some of those bad news, and aware of their concerns, patiently exined, "Mr. Su Lun is different, he is the ''Brave Warrior foretold in the prophecies'' you know."


    Hearing this, Ko eximed in surprise, "Ah? Another Brave Warrior from the prophecy? But, a human just arrived yesterday. The elders were very happy and even gathered everyone to wee that human..."


    Upon hearing this, Yuta frowned immediately and asked, "A human came yesterday?"


    "Yes."


    Ko said, "That human saved the ''Frost Fox Tribe'' during a ve-catching raid, and even brought back a sacred object. The elders said that she is the warrior foretold in the prophecy."


    As she said this, she looked at Su Lun with a skeptical gaze, worriedly uttering, "Sister Yuta, don''t be deceived by this human. The adults always say that humans are very cunning and lie better than foxes..."


    Yuta was immediately shocked upon hearing this, "The human brought back a sacred object?"


    "Mhm!"


    Ko nodded earnestly and responded excitedly, "It''s the ''Spear of Maburionak'', I saw it with my own eyes yesterday!"


    At this, Yuta was truly surprised.


    She had assumed that Mr. Su Lun by her side would be the person from the prophecy, but it appeared he might not be?


    "The Brave Warrior, adherent to the ancient covenant, will save his people and bring back a sacred object"¡ªcould the prophecy be referring to someone else?


    But what about the covenant?


    Mr. Su Lun had said that he was the heir to the Isaac family.


    For a moment, Yuta felt conflicted, unable to figure out what the problem might be.


    However, no matter how she thought about it, the return of the sacred object was ultimately a good thing.


    .....


    Su Lun, seeing Yuta''s expression be quite strange, asked, "What''s the matter?"


    Without doubting Su Lun in the slightest, Yuta tranted the previous conversation for him. Stay updated through empire


    Su Lun also found it odd, "Someone came with a sacred object?"


    Upon hearing this, he immediately felt there was something fishy going on.


    The covenant of old was signed between Sir Isaac and the ancestors of the Dalu tribe; the "Brave Warrior following the covenant" mentioned in the prophecy would most likely be Mr. Jing.


    Now that another one had arrived, what was going on?


    If Su Lun wasn''t very familiar with Mr. Jing, and didn''t know Isaac only had two daughters, he might even suspect there were other heirs to the Isaac lineage.


    So, what exactly was happening now?


    Bringing back a sacred object also seemed to fit the conditions of the prophecy more closely...


    Yuta couldn''t figure it out either, her face full of confusion.


    However, in her eyes, whether Su Lun was the "Brave Warrior from the prophecy" wasn''t important.


    He had saved herself and her people multiple times, and that was a fact.


    She

 Chapter 257 [The Verses of Eoshang]

    Su Lun and Yuta strolled along a forest path, as if entering a fairy tale world.


    There was a strong sense ofyered greenery before their eyes, with shades of new green, light green, dark green...


    The flowers and nts in the forest, when observed with the All-Seeing Eye, revealed many that were rare outside, even extinct, only documented in alchemical texts.


    Su Lun found everything very novel, and Yuta enthusiastically introduced it all along the way.


    They followed a cobblestone path deeper into the forest and, after walking a few kilometers, their view suddenly opened up.


    It was only then that Su Lun realized they had left the forest and were standing on a gentle slope covered with grass.


    The scene was a verdant green, dotted with charming little flowers of purple and red. A gentle breeze caressed their faces, carrying a faint, refreshing fragrance that rxed every pore. Below the slope, a meandering stream flowed past, astonishingly reflecting the sunlight in scintiting, multicolored glimmers.


    Giant trees lined the riverbank, each with triangr-roofed cabins nestled in their branches, reminiscent of dwarven homes from fairy tales.


    Children from the Dalu n were ying on the grass by the river, theirughter reaching their ears.


    A scene of tranquility.


    As if all the world''s beauty was within sight.


    Su Lun''s gaze became fixed for a moment.


    Looking at all this familiarity, Yuta''s crystalline eyes revealed a happy smile, "Mr. Su Lun, we have arrived."


    Su Lun nodded, the beautiful scenery seemed to cleanse the filth from his soul, calming even the restless emotions at the bottom of his heart.


    He attentively felt that fleeting sensation and whispered to himself, "Is this ''The Law of Nature''..."@@novelbin@@


    Contemting this, Su Lun removed the clown mask from his face.


    The breeze touched his face.


    ....


    The news of Yuta and another entering the holynd had already been sent to the central tribe by the patrolling sentinels.


    They had just stepped out of the forest when a group of Dalu children, not yet fully grown, came running from afar. There were those from the wolf, bear, and leopard ns, among others. They shouted loudly, "Sister Yuta!"


    Yuta seemed to be very well-liked in the tribe, many people knew her.


    She waved happily at the group of youngsters.


    Lowering her hand, she exined to Su Lun with a smile in her eyes, "To be a qualified Druid, one must receive long teachings from the elders in the central tribe. I''ve lived here since I was very young and only left two years ago."


    After a pause, she pointed to the youngsters and said, "They are all apprentice Druids sent from various tribes to learn in the Holy Land."


    Su Lun realized then why the souls of these children seemed so strong. Most were at the second or even third rank, a significant step above the average of the Ayr n members he had met in the White Deer tribe.


    In a blink, the group of youngsters had rushed to them with the wind.


    In their enthusiastic wee to Yuta, they also cast cautious and wary nces at Su Lun, the human.


    Su Lun was aware but didn''t mind, his face wearing a friendly smile.


    Yuta knew that her tribespeople weren''t very weing to humans, and she introduced him seriously, "This is Mr. Su Lun, my savior and also the savior of the White Deer tribe."


    At her words, the re in the children''s eyes softened a bit.


    But before she could finish, the leading wolf n boy noticed the wolf n amulet hanging around Su Lun''s neck. His eyes sharpened with disbelief as he asked, "Sister, you gave your life wolf w to this human?"


    Yuta blushed slightly as if recalling something, and responded with a gentle smile, uttering, "%&...%&*."


    Their conversation was in the Dalunguage, which Su Lun didn''t understand.


    But in that moment, he definitely felt the gazes that had eased bing hot and angry.


    Su Lun felt puzzled. What had Yuta said to make these kids suddenly be hostile?


    Yuta didn''t trante what she had just said; she just smiled and introduced the wolf n boy who seemed the most hostile toward Su Lun, "Mr. Su Lun, this is my brother Arcu."


    Su Lun asked curiously, "Your real brother?"


    "Yes."


    Yuta wore an indulgent expression, "He''s just a mischievous little rascal, don''t mind him."


    Hearing this, Su Lun took a closer look.


    The sister is pretty, and this young wolf tribesman is also quite handsome, just with a trace of youthful naivety on his face.


    Feeling slighted by his sister''s words, Arcu retorted with defiance, "Human, do you dare to fight with me?!"


    At those words, the energetic young tiger and leopard demihumans behind him were also eager to try shouting out loud one after another.


    The druids of the Dalu n all learned the humanmonnguage. Though these apprentice druids might not be too fluent, their emotions were clearly expressed.


    Su Lun understood as well, were these guys looking to beat him up?


    He found it somewhat baffling and didn''t know why he had attracted the ire of these young druids.


    Before Su Lun had a chance to ask, Yuta interjected, scolding the group of brats with annoyance, "Arcu, Gael... quit it. Mr. Su Lun is very powerful, even if you all teamed up, you couldn''t beat him."


    Su Lun nced at her, could this way of breaking up a fight be adding fuel to the fire?


    Sure enough, a spark lit in the eyes of the boys, who mored for a duel on the spot.


    Arcu, not to be outdone, said arrogantly, "Humph, how is that possible! I am the future number one warrior of the white wolf n! I must make this human understand my strength!"


    Yuta gave him an exasperated look, using her disdainful older sister''s voice to mock, "You can''t even beat me, and you want to fight Mr. Su Lun?"


    These sentences were all said in themonnguage, and Su Lun understood clearly.


    He stole a nce at Yuta and felt that there was something off about the way she was breaking up the fight.


    Yuta, however, seemed unperturbed as if it were a customary affair in the Dalu n,ughing, "Don''t mind them, just a bunch of brats. Sometimes a good thrashing is all they need to behave."


    "..."


    Listening to this, Su Lun was somewhat exasperated and didn''t really intend on physically disciplining the impish youth.


    Pausing for a moment, she blinked meaningfully and added, "In our Dalu n, Arcu is the king of the kids. Giving him a thrashing could save you, Mr. Su Lun, a lot of trouble~"


    "..."


    Hearing this, Su Lun didn''t know whether tough or cry.


    How much did this sister actually want her brother to get beaten up?


    ....


    With Yuta, the elder sister intervening, the challenge never came to pass.


    Nheless, the number of Dalu tribespeople who came to watch this human, Su Lun, continued to grow.


    And there were even more young ones who wanted to duel with him.


    Su Lun also realized that it might be because of the wolf w amulet Yuta had given him?


    Yuta didn''t seem to mind, and naturally, neither did he.


    Meanwhile, from the vige beside the riverbank, a familiar face approached Su Lun, calling out from a distance, "Mr. Su Lun, long time no see."


    Su Lun recognized him instantly, "Elder Pasu!"


    This man was none other than the bear n elder who had purchased the ves at the auction in Gadronte Harbor previously.


    Previously, he had been concerned about some mishap that had befallen the returning Dalu tribespeople from across the sea. Now seeing the person in question, he inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.


    Pasu greeted him warmly, "I didn''t expect to see you again."


    With that, he said to the Dalu tribespeople gathered around, "This is the human warrior who saved me and our people before, Mr. Su Lun."


    It was only after this that Su Lun felt the gaze of those in the crowd soften.


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    Many of the older Dalu tribespeople even smiled kindly at him, and Su Lun responded politely.


    After introducing him, Pasu added, "Mr. Su Lun, we''ll catch upter. The n Leader and elders have been informed of your arrival and are waiting for you."


    Su Lun nodded, "Hmm."


    He indeed needed to take care of some official business first, to deliver a message to Mr. Jing and to inquire about the n Leader''s mental aberrations.


    A group of people walked toward the vige.


    Crossing the colorful little river over the shallow stone shoal, they entered a forest of Sulin, primarilyprising elm and ash trees. Although not dense, the trees were massive. Dozens of people could wrap their arms around a single tree, and nestled in those giants were little treehouses, colorful like mushrooms.


    Su Lun saw heads popping out of the houses, peering curiously at him, a human being.


    The people of the Emerald Holy Land''s Dalu tribe had almost never seen a human in their lifetimes.


    Oh, that was until before yesterday.


    Now he was the second.


    Su Lun had also been wondering who the warrior in the Dalu tribe''s prophecy might be.


    To his surprise, as he walked, he actually encountered them.


    There were not many man-made structures in the treehouse vige, just a few stone pathsid out.


    But in the center of the vige stood several conspicuousrge ck steles.


    Each of these steles was the size of more than a dozen ckboards.


    Due to the long passage of time, the steles were covered with moss and vines.


    And at this moment, a person in a red cloak was standing in front of the steles, carefully examining the inscriptions.


    Even from behind, Su Lun recognized in an instant that this was a human being.


    Because the Dalu dressed in animal pelts, while a red cloak was a fine textile from the human world.


    However, even more coincidentally, Su Lun knew this person in the red cloak!


    ....


    The crowd walked past, and the noise caused the cloaked person scrutinizing the stele to turn their head.


    It was a young girl with xen pigtails and freckles on her face.


    "Katya?"


    Su Lun had been wondering all along about who could be the "prophesied person" of the Dalu tribe. He had never imagined it would be the noble youngdy who had returned a ring and given him a "Star Amulet."


    Katya also saw Su Lun, and it seemed she was surprised to see another human.


    After sizing him up for a moment, she seemed to recognize something.


    Although Su Lun was not wearing a mask, the aura he emitted and the amulet at his waist made her feel familiar, so she ventured, "Mr. Nichs?"


    Seeing that she had recognized him, Su Lun didn''t pretend not to know her, responding, "Miss Katya, what are you doing here?"


    Hearing his response, Katya''s eyes immediately lit up with excitement, as if she had encountered an old acquaintance in a foreignnd, "Ah, it really is you!"


    She trotted over joyfully, chattering like a magpie, "I was with my family''s guards, searching for meteorites in the forest. By chance, we ran into a Dalu tribe ve-catching squad. Coincidentally, I was able to help out a bit. Then, they invited me to be a guest here..."


    Su Lun, suddenly understanding, nodded to himself. So that was what happened.


    He was well aware that the girl hade to the Ice ins to find meteorites. Encounters with ve hunters in the forest were not unusual.


    Seeing a familiar face, Katya was thrilled, but her expression suddenly paused.


    As if remembering something embarrassing, her fair neck tinged with red and she asked timidly, "Last time I got drunk, you had to take me home, Mr. Nichs. I didn''t... do anything too rude, did I?"


    Su Lun smiled and shook his head, offering reassurance.


    Seeing the two recognized each other, Yuta and Pasu, as well as the Dalu tribespeople, were all taken aback.


    So the two "warriors" knew each other?


    Yuta, who was well acquainted with Su Lun, asked directly, "Mr. Su Lun, you know each other?"


    Su Lun nodded, "Yes, we met twice before in Blizzard City."


    Yuta: "Oh."


    Katyusha blinked at the appetion, seemingly curious about the name "Su Lun."


    Su Lun didn''t borate much and just gave a dryugh.


    Having too many enemies, he had gotten used to using aliases.


    He then said, "The n Leader is waiting for me to visit; we''ll talk moreter."


    Katyusha nodded politely, "Okay."


    ....


    After walking a few steps, Katyusha returned to the stele, apparently nning to continue studying the text on it.


    Su Lun took another look; those peculiar symbols were Dalu script.


    Katyusha could understand Dalu script?


    And she seemed to be enjoying it?


    Perhaps sensing his gaze, Katyusha wanted to share her joy, her face full of excitement as she introduced, "Mr. Nichs, this is ''The Poems of Eyang''! Eyang was once one of the greatest wandering poets of the Dalu and even the entire continent, who had traveled in the world of humans and left behind many exquisite poems. My family is also fortunate to have some fragments... I didn''t expect to findplete poems here!"


    As she spoke, like an enthusiastic fan, she generously bestowed her praise, "Oh, these poems are simply wonderful. Mr. Nichs, when you''re less busy, let me read you these marvelous verses... It will definitely be the most delightful experience in the world."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun nodded.


    It was only then that he realized the stele was inscribed with poetry.


    On his way there, Su Lun had also learned a lot About Dalu customs through Yuta.


    A distinctive trait of the Dalu was that although they had a writtennguage, their heritage, especially spells, had no written record.


    In their words, interpretation of predecessors'' text can indeed enable sessors to rapidly understand abstract concepts, but it also limits perspective and solidifies certain trains of thought.


    Each person''s insights are different, and the world they perceive is not the same; even when looking at the same text, the understanding is different.


    The Dalu people believe that everything they have is a gift from the gods, and anything recorded in writing is bound to be misinterpreted; not relying on written text is the only way toe closer to the divine will.


    This was also the most crucial reason why after the "Battle of Cursed Valley," high-ranking Druid warriors could no longermune with the deities, and the lineage ended abruptly.


    It sounds unbelievable, even a bit "superstitious." But since many top-tier Dalu warriors existed, this method of heritage must be "reasonable" to some extent.


    Su Lun spected that "divine decree" might be something akin to enlightenment, which can be intuited but not verbally transmitted.


    But there was one exception ¨C poetry.


    Poetry was not just some marginal literary skill but one of the actual rules that could encapste divine nature.


    The natural deity worshipped by the Dalu is said to be a higher deity that embodies nature, poetry, and peace.


    Su Lun didn''t yet understand the differences between these deities, but from Yuta''s description, the natural deity seemed to rank much higher than the fallen angel once in Dawn City.


    Because of this belief, historically, the Dalu tribe was known to produce many wandering poets ¨C a wise race.


    The top warriors of the Dalu were almost all great poets!


    ....


    Though Su Lun was not knowledgeable about poetry, he knew from texts that the poems created by these top-tier wandering poets were no different in essence from the "arcane secrets" of the field of alchemy, containing certain special rules and spells.


    He had also heard Mr. Jing mention "The Poems of Eyang"; in some areas, their value might even rival "Isaac''s Alchemy Notes."


    The Dalu steles before him were indeed priceless treasures.


    Some things in the Dalu holynd didn''t surprise Su Lun; what he wondered more about was why Katyusha understood Dalu script?


    Although he had met this young girl more than once and had a fairly good impression of her.


    The reasons for her presence were crystal clear.


    But all causes and effects were as perfectly crafted as a story.


    This noble youngdy gave Su Lun a feeling that was not only unclear but became even more blurred and mysterious.

 Chapter 258 Devouring Demon Totem

    Su Lun followed Elder Pasu through the dense forest and came to a giant tree.


    This was a vast ash tree, probably thergest tree Su Lun had ever seen. The trunk''s diameter exceeded thirty meters, with lush leaves reaching skyward like a green ind bustling with chirping birds.


    It was in full bloom, its branches hung with willow-like twigs decorated with clusters of small white flowers. A breeze scattered the white petals through the air, reminiscent of falling snow.


    At the base of the trunk, there was a tree hollow framed by a three-tiered stone arch shaped in the form of the character "ÃÅ".


    The moss-covered stone frame, engraved with ancient patterns, invoked a sense of sacred solemnity in anyone who saw it.


    Pasu and Yuta approached the giant tree and solemnly prayed with hands sped.


    After praying, Yuta introduced it to Su Lun, "This is our Dalu Tribe''s Divine Tree, as ancient as our sacrednd. Our ancestors say that the Great God of Nature once blessed it personally."


    Su Lun also looked askance, sensing that this tree was indeed different, exuding a vibrant spiritual aura.


    The branches swayed as if to wee him, the guest.


    Yuta continued, "Let''s go inside. The n leaders are in there."


    Su Lun nodded and followed him into the tree hollow.


    Once inside, it revealed a whole new world.


    The space inside the tree hollow wasrger than it appeared from the outside and very tall, with a spiral staircase winding up against the wall, reaching up to the height of three or four floors. The walls were lined with dense cabs filled with various herbs, and many dried medicinal herbs hung from the ceiling.


    Inside the tree hollow, there was arge rectangr wooden table lit brightly by magic stonemps.


    By the time Su Lun arrived, seven or eight people were already sitting on chairs.


    Judging by their faces, they were all quite old.


    These were the elders of the Dalu Tribe.


    "Only two fifth-tiers?"


    Su Lun sensed the soul fires of these people and clearly identified two among them as fifth-tier.


    One of them was in the main seat, an elderly Deer Tribesman with a long beard.


    His antlers wererge, about half the size of his body, and he had a demeanor of untroubled wisdom, probably n Leader Mona.


    Next to him was an olddy with gray wolf ears, likely the "Wolf Granny" whom Yuta often mentioned timidly.


    No wonder the Dalu Tribe seemed so weak; there were only two fifth-tiers, and both were quite aged.


    However, what drew Su Lun''s attention was a broken spear disyed in a prominent position inside the room.


    The All-knowing Eye nced at it and realized its significance.


    [Mauribreonak Spear (Damaged)]


    Description: One of the four Holy Artifacts of the Dalu Tribe, a divine weapon bestowed by the God of Nature; in itsplete state, it could be thrown over long distances, bypassing obstacles and defenses, piercing any object within the user''s sensory range not higher inw than the spear, and inflicting additionalw-piercing damage; after the attack, the divine spear returns to the thrower''s hand; only those with divine power of nature can wield it;


    "Is this the Holy Artifact that Katya brought back?"


    Su Lun thought to himself as he looked on.


    Its effects seemed somewhat simr to his ck scythe, disregarding targets'' defenses not exceeding those of the weapon''sws.


    Even thews contained within this divine spear might be higher.


    It indeed qualified as a powerful weapon, but s, it was damaged.


    Su Lun did not linger his gaze.


    Though the spear had no side effects, it did have usage restrictions.


    It was a sacred artifact exclusive to the Dalu Tribe.


    ....


    As Su Lun entered, Elder Pasu introduced him, "This is Mr. Su Lun."


    The elders of the Dalu Tribe, already aware of Su Lun''s background and purpose, stood up in unison and sincerely expressed, "Thank you, warrior, for rescuing our tribespeople of the Dalu Tribe."


    "Elders are too kind,"


    Su Lun politely responded.


    At that moment, n Leader Mona stood up, clearing his throat twice and went straight to the point, "Elder Pasu told us Mr. Su Lun is the heir of Sir Isaac?"


    Upon hearing this, everyone in the room looked at Su Lun with anticipation.


    No one understood better than these elders the significance of that thousand-year-old "Pledge" to their Dalu Tribe.


    The "warrior" who arrived yesterday brought back a Holy Artifact, which was a big surprise.


    But upon questioning, they realized she was not the "Pledged One" prophesied.


    And this young man in front of him, mentioning Sir Isaac, also brought new hope.


    Su Lun nodded and said, "Yes. For some special reasons, I am a disciple of Lady Cereya, Sir Isaac''s wife."


    Now that he had met the n leader of the Dalu, there was no need for him to hide his identity.


    Yet, as he openly dered this identity, a room full of Dalu n sages all showed a look of surprise.


    What!


    Lady Cereya''s disciple?


    If that were true,


    this... this generational difference seems ridiculously high.


    Were they people from their ancestor''s generation?


    But... how could this young man be the disciple of ady from a thousand years ago?


    Su Lun did not allow them time to specte wildly. His lineage was indeed hard to exin in a few words, so he paused and added, "I have also heard Yuta mention the noble''s ancient oath. But I think, the Pledged One may not be me..."


    Before he even finished speaking, Yuta gave him a surprised look.


    The elders also simultaneously showed expressions of astonishment, fearing that their hope would turn out to be in vain again.


    Probably due to the pressure of their n''s potential extinction, Su Lun could see the intense hope in their flickering gaze.


    He didn''t beat around the bush and directly said, "My elder sister, who is also the biological daughter of Sir Isaac, ''Ophelia Fei Isaac,'' is still alive. She entrusted me toe to the noble''s sacrednd to discuss matters regarding the oath..."


    Very few people in this world knew Mr. Jing''s identity, not even all the members of the Jing organization were aware of it.


    Who would have thought a person from a thousand years ago was still alive?


    When Su Lun revealed this, the entire room fell silent.


    Initially, when Su Lun said he was Lady Cereya''s disciple, they were skeptical. Although they wouldn''t doubt a hero who had saved their tribe, the im, after all, seemed far-fetched to anyone.


    But now, he was also iming that Sir Isaac''s biological daughter was still alive?


    This news was like a massive bomb, causing shockwaves in everyone''s hearts.


    A group ofposed sages couldn''t hide their shock.


    For a moment, therge treehouse was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.


    People looked at each other, seemingly at a loss for words.


    Seeing that they remained silent, Su Lun delivered Mr. Jing''s exact words, "Lady Ophelia also said... the Isaac family will always remember the oath and will defend the friendship with the Dalu tribe with their lives."


    He hadn''t expected that these words, once spoken, seemed to have touched some mysterious prohibition.


    Suddenly, Su Lun felt a force sweep over him, which refreshed his spirit and made him lightly exim, "Was that just now the power of nature?"@@novelbin@@


    He looked around the room, as if it was the Divine Tree''s will responding to the vow.


    Only then did he realize that the oath from a thousand years ago was not so simple.


    Su Lun had originally thought it was something like a "covenant contract," but it seemed to involve a very high level of legal force.


    "Oath" is the most secretive and sacred part of the Dalu tribe, even a source of their power.


    It is said that when the deities bestow on them the divine power, the warriors of the Dalu tribe are subjected to prohibitions, and this is a form of "oath." Abide by it and benefit; vite it and suffer.


    This was something even Yuta hadn''t rified.


    ....


    "Was that... the Divine Tree responding?!"


    "The ancient oath has indeede true..."


    "The great nature deity has not forsaken His devout followers..."


    "..."


    The people of the Dalu tribe in the treehouse were more sensitive than Su Lun.


    Obviously, they too felt that sudden surge of natural force, and they started praying excitedly.


    After enduring hundreds of years of the darkest times, they thought the night wouldst forever.


    At this moment, they suddenly saw the dawn''s early light.


    Su Lun saw devout and excited tears in the eyes of Yuta and these Dalu elders, and his heart could empathize.


    The clouds were swept away, and all that was left was a light of hope.


    After a while, when the prayers finished, the elders of the Dalu looked at Su Lun, and their eyes instantly changed.


    Previously it was polite, grateful, respectful.


    Nowadays, he regarded them as warmly and affectionately as one would a rtive.


    Su Lun felt this was quite nice; he had a good impression of the Dalu tribe and didn''t mind being treated as a friend.


    Yet, there was still one issue.


    Due to seniority, everyone in the room, except for the Deer Tribe Chief Mona, was younger than Su Lun by several generations.


    Despite Su Lun''s repeated refusals, he was still invited to take the main seat, sitting next to the n Leader.


    Now that the Divine Tree had recognized Su Lun, no one else harbored any doubts.


    Everyone was visibly excited, discussing fervently and asking questions about the pledge and the heir of the Isaac family.


    However, Su Lun himself didn''t know much and could only honestly say, "I don''t know much about the pledge. Lady Ophelia is still in seclusion recuperating due to some health issues, but after some time, she will personally visit¡­"


    The elders of the Dalu tribe, upon hearing this, were overjoyed.


    The appearance of the Pledged One meant that the prophecy was about to be fulfilled.


    Recently, the continuous bad news had been suffocating them; now, they finally saw hope.


    As they chatted, n Leader Mona took out a brass scripture cylinder, carved with secret inscriptions, from a wooden box in the treehouse.


    Under everyone''s gaze, he opened it and took out a yellowed parchment scroll, solemnly saying to Su Lun, "This is the pledge scroll handed down within our tribe. Now that the heir of the Isaac family has arrived, we witness the renewal of this pledge¡­"


    The scroll was unfolded with a sense of ceremony, and the room filled with solemn faces.


    Su Lun saw that the contract''s contents were simple, roughly stating ''the eternal friendship between humans and the Dalu tribe''.


    Looking at the signature at the bottom, his gaze slightly hardened.


    It was the name signed by a Demigod a thousand years ago.


    Merely seeing those few characters brought a profound sense of history and responsibility washing over him.


    Su Lun took the quill pen that Yuta handed to him, signed his name, and pressed his handprint.


    Read thetest on empire


    On the scroll, the magical glyphs shed and disappeared.


    Originally, he felt it would be more appropriate for Mr. Jing to undertake this covenant.


    But during his previous visit, he had contacted that senior sister of his.


    Because of the reasons rted to bloodline dormancy regression, she was still recovering her strength and needed some time.


    Apart from bringing these words, she specifically told Su Lun that he could represent the Isaac family in making certain decisions.


    Such as: signing the pledge.


    Mr. Jing didn''t treat Su Lun as an outsider,


    and Su Lun himself didn''t have any reservations.


    Being the heir of the Isaac family, adhering to the pledge was only natural.


    ....


    After the pledge was signed, the other elders left first.


    Only Yuta, Deer Tribe Chief Mona, and Wolf Granny, the three Dalu tribespeople, remained in the cabin.


    Su Lun had a personal issue as well.


    He directly brought it up, "Aside from the matter of the contract, I have a personal issue for which I need to request the seniors'' help. I would like to know if your tribe has a way to resolve anomalies in spiritual power?"


    Deer Tribe Chief looked at Su Lun and asked, "Does young friend Su Lun have some problems with his spiritual power? Would you mind if this old one takes a look?"


    "Of course not."


    Su Lun extended his hand.


    The Deer Tribe Chief''s hand emitted a green light as he checked, his brow furrowing.


    Then, he motioned for Wolf Granny to take a look.


    Their gaze towards Su Lun also appeared veryplex, akin to the astonishment of expecting a cat in the cage but seeing a tiger instead.


    Seeing that their expressions were not very good, Su Lun knew that things might not go smoothly.


    After the examination, he asked, "Elders, is this issue rather troublesome?"


    "Indeed, it is quite thorny."


    Deer Tribe Chief pondered for a moment and said, "This situation is likely because young friend Su Lun you listened to the whispers of a Dark Deity. Those high-level pieces of information are not bearable with your current understanding, which has caused the anomaly..."


    There, his slightly murky yet wise eyes nced at Su Lun, "and you, you''ve been forcefully suppressing this negative spiritual power with your will. This is causing it to potentially lose control at any time, bringing you trouble."


    It was no wonder he was the n Leader of the Dalu tribe; his words pinpointed the issue precisely.


    The Dalu tribe was a people of divine belief, having oncee into close contact with deities. Thus, in some ways, they understood the power of gods better than the magicians did.


    Su Lun listened attentively, waiting for a solution to be proposed.


    The Deer Tribe Chief continued, "Your willpower is incredibly remarkable, but this has actually exacerbated the distortion issue."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun nodded in agreement with the statement.


    He had been aware of this problem quite some time ago; suppression would only make the issue worse.


    It was like using dams to stop floods, a temporary solution at best, never solving the root cause but potentially making it more severe.


    Yet, he had no better alternative.


    He asked, "Elders, can this problem be resolved?"


    The Deer Tribe Chief said, "There is indeed a way..."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun was overwhelmed with joy.


    He had held no hopes initially, but now he received a definite answer.


    The Deer Tribe Chief slightly shifted his tone, then added, "There are two methods, but neither canpletely resolve the issue, only try them for now."


    Having a method was good news!


    Su Lun, with a sincere expression, looked at the elder, "Please, tell me."


    The Deer Tribe Chief continued, "The first method is for you to stay in the sacrednd. Here, under the protection of the natural god, the influence of the whispers of the Dark Deities will be suppressed. The dense natural power will also help sooth those negative spiritual forces. Over time, it might notpletely solve the problem but will at least prevent bacsh that endangers your life..."


    "..."


    Su Lun frowned slightly upon hearing this.


    When he had entered earlier, he had distinctly felt a sense of relief and had already spected that the old n leader''s method might work.


    But to shy away in a corner of this fascinating world for a lifetime would indeed be a pity.


    Perhaps sensing his thoughts, the Deer Tribe Chief smiled and said, "Our Dalu tribe''s sacrednd is always weing to friends. However, you young people should aspire to explore the exciting world outside. Thus, you might be more interested in the second method."


    Su Lun did not hide his thoughts, earnestly saying, "Please enlighten me."


    "That would be drawing the ''Devouring Demon Totem''."


    The Deer Tribe Chief slowly exined, "Originally, mental distortions are not too troubling for our Dalu tribe. Our tribe has inherited a secret technique of totem mysticism involving the drawing of special totems that bear abnormalities the body cannot handle itself. It''s like adding an external container to the body, absorbing all negative spiritual forces. However, your issue is a bit special... the source of the whisperses from the Dark Deities, which means the grade of the totem needs to be very high."


    "Totem Mysticism?"


    Su Lun heard some knowledge beyond his understanding.


    Listening to this tone, it seemed possible, yet also not.


    The Deer Tribe Chief continued, "As you see, our Dalu tribe''s tradition is broken. The kind of totem that can perfectly solve your mental distortions would need at least a seventh-level druid to draw it perfectly..."


    Su Lun''s eyes slightly shed with contemtion.


    This was simr to what Mr. Jing had said.


    He did not feel regretful; since the old n leader had mentioned this method, there were evidently some viable alternatives.


    Indeed, the Deer Tribe Chief then said, "The tribe has passed down some iplete secrets of totem mysticism. I am not sure I can resolve the issue, but I can draw a totem to temporarily suppress the distortions..."


    "Temporary suppression, huh..."


    As Su Lun digested these words, part of his mind set about devising a n.


    If there was a way to solve this problem, then he should pursue that goal.


    If the conditions were not met, then he would find a way to meet them.


    In an instant, an idea struck him.


    A seventh-level druid or higher?


    The strongest in the Dalu tribe was only fifth-level, but that didn''t mean there hadn''t been any before!


    A thought crossed Su Lun''s mind.


    He remembered what Yuta had mentioned about the ancient relics in the "Cursed Valley" north of the forest.


    The top elites of the Dalu tribe had all perished there. Su Lun spected that the relic might be like the Dawn Relic, a passage to another dimension. Therefore, the mass demise of the elites could likely create a "cursed space."


    In a cursed space, he might encounter a former druid.


    He nned to seek the "Heartstealer," and it was a good opportunity to explore.


    If there truly was a cursed space, and considering his current rtionship with the Dalu tribe, the possibilities were vast...

 Chapter 259 [Eclipse]

    In the treehouse, Su Lun sat shirtless on a woven bamboo mat.


    Wolf Granny was next to him, preparing the materials for the totem drawing. She went up to the loft and rummaged around, gathering demon beast blood essence, Crystal Cores, minerals, and herbs¡ªdozens of ingredients in total, which she crushed together in a trough.


    Soon, she had created a ckish paste.


    The Deer n Leader used a wooden spike to draw the totem on Su Lun''s body.


    As he drew, he chanted spells, and a gentle glow, simr to fireflies, began to envelop him. He harnessed a natural force far greater than his own strength.


    Su Lun saw that the source of this power seemed more like...it came from the Divine Tree.


    The drawing process wasplicated, and even Su Lun, who was proficient in rune drawing as an Alchemy Magician, found it baffling.


    While drawing, the Deer n Leader said, "This totem can only containws of not very high levels. But as long as divine whispers don''t frequently ur, under normal circumstances, it could keep you safe for three to five years. After that, you cane back to the sacrednd, and I will draw a new totem for you."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun nodded in agreement.


    The totem was somewhat like an external attachment device for him to manage the flow of rivers. Once filled, it would need to be reced.


    Without using the ability of "Death''s Phantom", it could probablyst three to five years.


    However, Su Lun naturally still wanted to use his second-stage talents.


    He then asked, "If it''s a higher grade totem, could it permanently solve this problem?"


    "Yes."


    The Deer n Leader provided a definite answer, adding, "If it''s a Great Druid of the seventh rank or higher, they can create a permanent totem with ''spirituality''. Then, you wouldn''t need to change the totem at all. Instead, you could cultivate the ''spirit'' within the totem. The spiritual power within the totem could then assist you whenever you need it. For example, if you need a surge of spiritual power to break through a bottleneck when advancing to a higher rank, it would be an excellent aid..."


    Wolf Granny, who was standing by, seemed to think of something and sighed slightly, interjecting, "If the n''s Holy Artifact, ''Fal''s Holy Grail'', were still here, solving this problem wouldn''t be so troublesome. But s, the Holy Artifact is also lost now."


    "Holy Grail?"


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun showed a thoughtful expression.


    Although the Holy Artifact was lost, having another method topletely solve the problem was also good news.


    He quickly thought, and there was a spearhead in front of him, the [Mubrionak Spearhead]. He could ask Katiushater where she found this item, as there might be rted clues.


    Moreover, if that great battle took ce near the ruins of Cursed Valley, maybe the cursed space might provide clues about the other Holy Artifacts of the Dalu n.


    At that moment, the Deer n Leader, seeing Su Lun frowning in deep thought, assumed he was worried about the spiritual imbnce problem. He smiled, shook his head, and shared a different perspective, "In fact, to us Druids, spiritual power distortion isn''t entirely bad. Young friend Su Lun, you don''t need to totally abandon those things. Even deities possess greed, jealousy, anger...and other negative emotions. All things in existence, they are part of nature. Without ''darkness'', there would be no ''light''. Simrly, people can''tpletely rid themselves of emotions beyond rational ones..."


    Pausing briefly, he continued, "Thus, spiritual distortions have their negatives, but also their positives. If used well, it is a powerful force that can rapidly enhance your strength. Strong negative spiritual energy means, correspondingly, your inherent beneficial spiritual energy is strong. Of course, the premise is your willpower prevents you from bingpletely enved by emotions..."


    "..."


    Listening to the Deer n Leader''s words, Su Lun pondered thoughtfully, nodding asionally in approval.


    The spiritual distortion indeed caused his spiritual power to surge at a much faster rate than harvesting and meditation could achieve.


    If it did not threaten his life, it truly was a shortcut in cultivation.


    ...


    It took about half a day to finallyplete the totem.


    The totem drawn on Su Lun, called [Eclipse], looked simple; it resembled a sun outlined in ck lines. The center was empty, surrounded by spreading coarse ck lines.


    Su Lun felt the pattern looked somewhat familiar.


    His physique was also very lean now, with highly defined muscles that were knotted in blocks. The ck sun pattern tattooed onto his body resembled the ultimate boss "Orochi" from the past life arcade game King of Fighters, exuding an aura of heroic fierceness.


    With theplete totem tattooed onto his body, he distinctly felt it contained a high level of "natural force," which absorbed the uncontroble spiritual power.


    This was far more effective than the "Clown Mask" he had made himself.


    Internally, Su Lun estimated that using "Death''s Illusion" a few times would likely be sustainable.


    This trip to the Dalu tribal sacrednd was not in vain after all, as this was the best solution he knew of to address mental distortions.


    Upon finishing the totem tattoo, Su Lun didn''t n to stay in the wooden hut any longer. He put on his shirt and sincerely thanked them, "Elders, thank you so much for solving a big problem for me."


    Hearing this, the two old men both showed kind smiles.


    Deer Tribe Chief said, "Su Lun, my young friend, you are too polite. Compared to the hope you have brought to our Dalu tribe, this little favor I did seems quite trivial."


    Su Lun responded with a polite smile.


    After a pause, Deer Tribe Chief thought of something and added a piece of advice, "Also, my young friend Su Lun, you should pay more attention to this. It''s normal for people to experience emotions and desires, you shouldn''t always suppress them. A bit of rxation will make your situation better..."


    "Okay."


    Su Lun nodded.


    Seeing that they were about to leave, Yuta also said with a smile, "Chief, Wolf Granny, we''ll be heading out now~" Your next chapter awaits on My Virtual Library Empire


    Wolf Granny, who had already noticed the wolf w amulet hanging around Su Lun''s neck, held a meaningful smile on her face, "Hmm. Yuta, you take Mr. Su Lun for a stroll around the sacrednd first. The tribe will have a banquetter."


    Yuta obediently responded, "Hmm."


    With that, she led Su Lun out of the wooden hut.


    The two elders from the Dalu tribe watched the young duo''s retreating figures, their kind smiles growing warmer.


    ....


    The path from the Divine Tree to the Rainbow River vige crossed through a dense forest.


    They didn''t walk fast.


    Once out, Yuta''s steps became noticeably more joyful.


    Before this, the survival of the tribe hung like a dark cloud over everyone''s head, with every member of the Dalu tribe tense.


    Most critically, there was no sign of improvement in sight.


    But now that "the one who follows the vows" had arrived, it seemed like everything was getting better.


    Thinking about it, Yuta''s face filled with a radiant smile.


    After they had walked a bit further, she sneaked a nce back at the wooden hut, as if breathing a sigh of relief.


    Su Lun, seeing her like this, teased her, "Wolf Granny seems quite kind, why are you so afraid of her?"


    Yuta patted her chest and said, "Mr. Su Lun, you don''t understand... Wolf Granny is actually very strict! As a kid, if my friends and I couldn''t remember the effects of the herbs, we would always get spanked; if we fell asleep during prayers, our ears would be pinched and scolded; if we scraped our legs jumping off waterfalls, despite the pain, we would still get scolded..."


    She tilted her head, recounting her childhood embarrassments, her eyes full of happy smiles.


    Listening to her continuous chatter, Su Lun envisioned a scene: a strict teacher, instructing a group of mischievous wolf cubs, tiger cubs, deer cubs...


    He too, slightly curved his lips upward.


    "I''ve never seen so muchughter on her face before today."


    Pausing a moment, Yuta then looked at Su Lun with a curious face, her eyes full of wonder, "I didn''t expect Mr. Su Lun to be a disciple of Mr. Isaac too. No wonder you are so formidable..."


    Su Lun looked at her pretty face and chuckled.


    There was only a hard mud path in the forest, and the two of them followed it further in.


    It was like the early summer sun filtering through the gaps in the treetops, warming their bodies.


    The green grass beside the path was lush, dotted with small white flowers. Above them, amidst the green leaves, hung heavy fruits, orange-red, yellow, purple... and some that were slightly unripe.


    In the forest, a couple of deer leisurely grazed on the grass, ncing at the two intruders before returning to their munching.


    Everything here was so peaceful andfortable.


    Su Lun strolled through the forest, momentarily mesmerized.


    ....


    Unknowingly, the two of them walked back into the vige.


    Probably because they knew Su Lun''s identity, the people of the Dalu tribe seemed very enthusiastic.


    As he walked by, people nodded at him one after another.


    But everyone was very quiet as if they were listening to something.


    Su Lun followed everyone''s gaze and saw a girl in a red cloak standing in front of the huge ck stele, engrossed in the poetry inscribed upon it.


    Su Lun''s interest in this noble youngdy, whom he had met three times, grew.


    Her presence always felt shrouded in mystery. He wanted to probe her background and casually ask where she had found that holy artifact.


    This whip-toting girl seemedpletely captivated.


    Her serious little face asionally furrowed in concentration or paused in thought, as if utterly fascinated by the poetry on the stele.


    Su Lun watched without hurrying to greet her, his gaze slightly intensifying.


    Because right then, he saw a visible special aura enveloping Katusha. It resembled an elemental barrier, yet it wasn''t any of the elements of earth, wind, water, or fire, but rather seemed to rhyme with thews of nature.


    Red cloak, stele, primitive vige...


    She stood there, as if integrated into this beautiful painting.@@novelbin@@


    The heavens and the earth resonated with her.


    Anyone looking would feel as if she truly belonged there.


    Yuta tugged at Su Lun''s arm and gently shook her head, whispering, "Don''t disturb her; she''s roaming within the poetry."


    As she spoke, her eyes also showed aplex expression, "The elders in our tribe say that only those who truly understand the poems on the steles can immerse themselves in the stories of the poems. Thisdy has a profound understanding of poetry¡­"


    Su Lun listened thoughtfully and also stood there quietly.


    Although he did not understand poetry, he knew it was likews.


    Only those who truly understand canprehend its subtleties.


    At that moment, a faint yet clear recitation sounded next to his ear.


    It was a poem.


    "How could Ipare thee to a summer''s day?


    Thou art more lovely and more temperate:


    ...


    When you lengthen time itself within the immortal poetry.


    As long as there are humans for one day, or people have eyes,


    This poem shall grow and bestow life upon you."


    The voice was rich and melodious, lingering in the air.


    She recited a poem as if singing a song, more so as if narrating a story.


    Katyusha stood in front of the stele, having finished the entire poem, she then sighed deeply, "This poem is truly beautiful!"


    It was only then that she seemed to emerge from that wondrous state.


    She noticed Su Lun and another behind her.


    Katyusha looked back, immediately showing a delighted expression, "Nichs sir..."


    Just as she began to speak, her eyes twinkled with cunning, fluttering her eyshes, "Should I address you as ''Mr. Nichs'', or ''Mr. Su Lun''?"


    "Whichever is fine,"


    Su Lun didn''t feel embarrassed, and responded casually.


    In noble etiquette, it is rude to use a pseudonym with ady.


    But Su Lun didn''t mind, he felt he was just an ordinary person, unable to blend into that so-called high society.


    Plus, he also felt that "Katyusha" was probably a pseudonym as well.


    At least, among the top nobility memories he had stripped away, like dukes and marquises, there was nody named that.


    And thisdy, who could casually produce a Holy Artifact, surely was not some minor noble.


    As neither were telling the truth, it wasn''t awkward.


    Katyusha, extremely astute, seemed to perceive what Su Lun was thinking and spoke softly, "I didn''t mention a false name, you know~ My family indeed calls me ''Katyusha''."


    Looking at her teasing demeanor, it was as if she was saying: you''re deceiving a youngdy, tsk tsk~


    On hearing this, Su Lun felt slightly embarrassed and changed the subject, "I just heard you reciting the poem, it sounded very pleasant. You are quite a talented poet."


    He was also testing her, despite iming to be an "apprentice astrologer", her prowess in poetry seemed astonishingly high.


    Katyusha, while seeming indifferent to thepliments, modestly said, "I''m not that impressive."


    She pointed towards the stele behind her, her face suddenly revealing a fan-like fervor, "The predecessors from n Dalu who wrote these poems are the truly incredible ones! These poems record the most wonderful stories in the world, they are the poems with real souls~"


    Su Lun nodded in acknowledgment.


    He nced at the stele, but regrettably he could not read the Dalu script.


    Even if he could read, this man who followed the "Death Rules" was rough and only understood fighting and killing. He couldn''t appreciate the intricacies encrypted in the poetry, nor the romantic sentiments.


    At that moment, Su Lun noticed Katyusha''s curious gaze falling on Yuta standing next to him, and then he remembered to introduce, "This is Elder Yuta, from the White Wolf n''s Druids."


    Katyusha politely and sweetly greeted, "Hello Sister Yuta, my name is Katyusha, it''s very nice to meet you."


    Although upon first seeing Katyusha, Yuta felt a strange sensation, as if fate would heavily intertwine their paths in the future.


    But having returned the Holy Artifact and saved her tribespeople, the "warrior" couldn''t evoke any suspicion in her heart.


    She also courteously responded, "Miss Katyusha, hello."

 Chapter 260 Ill Bite You to Death

    Only two humans were in the Emerald Holy Land, and they happened to know each other.


    So, it was only natural that Katyusha stayed by Su Lun''s side.


    The three of them wandered around the vige, chatting.


    Before long, the sun set in the west, and the skies were bathed in red.


    The tribespeople lit a roaring bonfire by the river, mountains of fruits and vegetables were piled high, and the air was filled with the aroma of roasting meat.


    The Dalu tribe''s people sang and danced, weing the two human friends of the Dalu.


    However, because of Su Lun''s unusually high status, aside from exchanging pleasantries with the Deer Tribe Chief and Wolf Granny, none of the elders or youngsters found themselves able to strike up a conversation. Those who dide over had to perform a great ceremony.


    The excessive formality actually made Su Lun feel somewhat ufortable.


    Katyusha was in a simr situation.


    Although regarded as a friend of the Dalu tribe, she knew no one here.


    It so happened that the two of them sat together, Su Lun on the left with Yuta and Katyusha on his right.


    Perhaps sensing Su Lun''s restraint, the Deer Tribe Chief and the elders didn''t mingle much, after some pleasantries, they left the space open for the young people to interact.


    The wooden table wasden with fruits special to the Sacred Land, probably dozens of types, many of which Su Lun had never seen before.


    It wasn''t just him; even Katyusha, the nobledy, had not tasted them. She chewed slowly and savored, clearly enjoying the experience.


    Yuta asionally peeled some of therger fruits and passed them to Su Lun, who, being a brusque man, didn''t fuss over manners like a nobledy might, eating heartily with juices flowing freely.


    Katyusha, being gregarious, quickly became familiar with Yuta as well.


    The three of them chatted happily and aimlessly.


    Katyusha enlightened Su Lun and Yuta about many of the strange and entric happenings within the top echelons of the Rue Ennd nobility,


    Yuta shared many stories of the forest,


    and Su Lun felt that since his arrival, all he''d done was fight and kill, leaving him seemingly without any stories to tell.


    Thinking about it, and looking at Katyusha''s bright red cloak, he decided to tell a twisted version of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf to set the mood.


    Katyusha listened with zest and after the story, remarked with curiosity, "Wow... Mr. Su Lun, your story is so strange. Shouldn''t it be the brave prince who happens by, defeats the Big Bad Wolf, and saves Little Red Riding Hood?"


    Su Lun replied with a smile but no words.


    Just as Katyusha finished speaking, she suddenly noticed her own red cloak, and btedly realizing something, she fixed Su Lun with a profound gaze, "Hmm, I see it now, you are alluding to me!"


    Her tone was yful, showing no sign of taking offense at all.


    She bared her white teeth, yfully threatening to transform into a fierce wolf, "Ah... I''ll be the Big Bad Wolf, and Mr. Su Lun, you''ll be the first one I eat~"


    After theughter, Su Lun also asked, "By the way, Miss Katyusha, didn''t you say you were an Astrologer? Howe you''re also a poet?"


    Yuta, sincere in his admiration, added, "The elders also say Miss Katyusha is a very talented poet."


    "The two aren''t contradictory at all."


    Katyusha blinked at him before responding, "Astrology is about deducing thews of change in everything under the heavens, while poetry is the vessel for recording all the interesting stories in the world. Romantic love, grand wars, brotherly feuds, joys and sorrows... all sorts. I am an Astrologer who also loves poetry."


    As she spoke, she gazed upward at the sky, her eyes dreamy, and her voice growing softer, "Ever since I was young, I''ve had a dream: to be like those great traveling poets, to journey across the entire continent, to experience the full spectrum of life, and to write the world''s most beautiful tales... "


    The sky above Emerald Holy Land was exceptionally enchanting.


    Tonight the stars dazzled, vast and deep.


    Listeing to her, Su Lun casually remarked, "Such a dream should be quite easy to achieve for Miss Katyusha, shouldn''t it?"


    A nobledy from a prominent family could choose her own path,


    worry-free about her livelihood, pursuing poetry if she wished.


    At those words, Katyusha seemed to recall something, dimming the sparkle in her eyes, "Not at all."


    She didn''t answer directly but muttered, "I can only write my dreams into my stories. There''s a girl as ordinary as the Ugly Duckling, unremarkable in appearance, na?ve yet merry, loving poetry and all things beautiful... In the end of the story, she will inevitably be a great poet."


    As Su Lun listened, his expression became somewhat odd.


    Was she not talking about herself?


    Freckles, braids, her attire not particrly extravagant. If it weren''t for the asional shes of wealth and well-bred behavior, she wouldn''t seem like ady from a top noble family.


    Talking about writing stories, Su Lun felt if he were to write one, he would definitely not create a protagonist like the one Katyusha described, so utterly ordinary.


    In his story, the hero would surely have to be handsome.


    Otherwise, how could he immerse himself in it?


    Moreover, how could he expect the readers to get absorbed in it?


    ....


    The three of them chatted about a wide range of topics.


    Su Lun also inquired about the origin of Katyusha''s spear; she exined it was a family heirloom with many years of history.


    It was said to have been found in the belly of a strange fish hauled up from the sea by fishermen.


    She mentioned that her family''s treasury contained many such curious and mysterious items and warmly invited Su Lun to visit her family''s castle sometime.


    Upon hearing that, Su Lun was reminded once again that Katyusha was certainly a top-tier noble.


    But he was also curious; among the hereditary dukes and marquesses of Rue Ennd, only a few families were of such high standing. Which one did she belong to?


    The feast continued, and amidst their conversation, amotion stirred among the crowd.


    Seven or eight burly members of the Dalu tribe suddenly approached, carrying arge square wooden box.


    Yuta said excitedly, "Look, that''s the ''Poets'' Honey Wine''!"


    Su Lun saw it instantly, a seal on therge wooden box?


    Hearing it was wine, he was also curious, what kind of wine was it that it deserved such treatment.


    Katyusha, who had clearly heard of it, was full of expectation, "The ancient books record that this is the legendary wine said to make poets'' inspirations gush forth?"


    Yuta nodded, "Yes! It''s brewed from the spring water of Sacred Lake and the nectar of the Divine Tree and it needs to be cered for many years before it''s finished. It''s only taken out from the sealed cer and used during very important rituals. I''ve grown up listening to the elders talk about it, but have never tasted it myself."


    Clearly, this was to entertain the "Pledged One."


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    Katyusha, clever as she was, guessed something and blinked her eyes, "Earlier, the n Leader grandpa said he would give me some when I left. I didn''t expect to taste it ahead of time thanks to Mr. Su Lun."


    "Hehe."


    Su Lun felt, too, that he was benefitting from Mr. Jing''s good fortune.


    ....


    The sealed wooden box was opened, and inside was an enormous y jar.


    The Deer Tribe Chief personally broke the y seal, and a rich fragrance of fruity wine rushed forth, instantly filling the entire river bend.


    Even though Su Lun was not fond of alcohol, the scent triggered a craving in his stomach to have a taste.


    With the honey wine seal broken, Dalu tribe members, led by the Deer Tribe Chief, performed a prayer, praising nature for all it had given them.


    Once the prayers were over, it was time for carousing.


    Arge cup filled with wine in a bamboo vessel was handed to Su Lun.


    Su Lun''s all-seeing eye nced at it, quite surprised.


    "Kuvarsil''s Poets'' Honey Wine"


    Detailed exnation: In myth and legend, the divine wine said to coalesce the ''Divinity of Poetry'' when drunk; an iplete recipe passed down from the Dalu tribe, a top-notch wine, which after consumption gives a temporary insight gain¡ªthe higher the degree of intoxication, the easier it is to fall into a state of epiphany; it is tremendously beneficial for the inspiration of poetic creation;


    "It really does have special effects, actually enhancing insight temporarily."


    Su Lun felt like he was gaining new knowledge.


    This was the first time he had seen alcohol with an enhancing effect.


    And it was on ''insight,'' of all things, which is the most ethereal and elusive.


    Katyusha, holding her wine cup, was full of expectation, "Yay~ The legendary divine wine."


    From the expression of the young miss, one could tell that this was something incredibly, incredibly precious.


    Su Lun responded to the toast by the Deer Tribe Chief and the Dalu tribal elders, and everyone drank together.


    Then he took a big gulp himself.


    The drink was slightly cool at first, and just as he tried to savor it, aplex burst of vors exploded in his mouth, reaching his taste buds, and in an instant, it was as if he tasted sweet fruitiness and the heat of alcohol, like a thundering herd of horses, yet like a gentle stream trickling softly. That level ofplexity was indescribable.


    And the wonders continued!


    The potency of the drink was immense, leaving one with an almost otherworldly feeling.


    It was a very pleasant experience, as if one wasn''t drinking wine, but downing a mouthful of rainbows from the heavens, giving one a sublime feeling of floating in the clouds.


    It brought surging emotions that one wanted to express.


    That was the inspiration for poetry!


    However, Su Lun''s knowledge of poetry was not profound, and as he didn''t drink much, the sensation quickly flickered away.


    But something magical immediately happened to Katyusha beside him.


    The alcohol hit her hard, and with just a sip, her face instantly flushed with redness, her neck bing rosy as well. She looked incredibly shy, adding three parts of allure to her demeanor.


    Yet unlike the others, a marvelous halo of light condensed around her.


    Seeing this, not just Su Lun but even the Dalu tribal elders couldn''t help but look with shock and admiration.


    Katyusha seemed unaware of the changes urring within her, covering her mouth as she belched daintily, "Ah... Mr. Su Lun, this wine has quite the kick~"


    Su Lun was caught betweenughter and tears.


    Last time in Blizzard City, he had drunk with Katyusha and knew that this girl didn''t have a high tolerance for alcohol.


    This wine was fiercer than anything he had ever had before.


    Moreover, the "Poets'' Honey Wine" was an irresistible temptation for poets.


    The more intoxicated one was, the more inspiration for writing poetry would flow forth.


    Clearly, Katyusha was experiencing this, and although she spoke in a dazed manner, she picked up her cup again, eager to try, "Mr. Su Lun, Sister Yuta, let''s toast~"


    Then, the little cup-greedy girl gulped down a big mouthful.


    Su Lun and Yuta exchanged smiles and clinked their cups together.


    It''s not often one gets to drink such fine wine, and he was feeling a bit tipsy too.


    This wine was truly top-notch.


    Moreover, Su Lun was amazed to find that the state induced by the wine actually made him feel surprisingly good! Those negative emotions, unexpectedly, settled down, as if he too was enjoying the soothing sensation of roaming through the ocean of poetry.


    Su Lun couldn''t stop himself from having another cup after cup.


    After a few drinks, he too could feel that inspiration for creation was bursting forth, growing stronger and stronger.


    Countless rhythms, words, and themes, like fragments scattered across the sky, shed through his mind.


    It seemed that just randomly gathering some of them could form a marvelous poem.


    Su Lun felt that, as a lousy chicken in poetry, one could only imagine how splendid Katusha must be, since even the Deer n Leader never tired of praising her poetic prowess.


    At this moment, the girl who loved her drink had cheeks flush with a rosy tint, her eyes slightly zed with tipsiness.


    The milky halo of light that surrounded her grew increasingly intense.


    As she continued to drink, Katusha turned her gaze from the starry sky and suddenly asked, "Mr. Jing, may I include you in my story?"


    Su Lun replied offhandedly, "If I am the protagonist, I wouldn''t mind."


    Hearing this, a thought seemed to strike Katusha, and her brows twitched slightly.


    Though tipsy, her consciousness was not dulled, a mischievous spark shed in her eyes as she chuckled, "You''re quite greedy. But what if I want to be the protagonist in my story?"


    Su Lun, also feeling a bit woozy, replied casually, "Ah... then let the story be a romantic love tale."


    Katusha, utterly carefree, burst intoughter, shaking her head like a tambourine, "No way! Astrology tells me that I will be the brightest star in the sky. Love is an unnecessary distraction that would only slow down my sword-drawing speed!"


    Su Lun watched her slightly drunk and boastful demeanor and remembered a saying, "How can you write a story that moves one to tears without having experienced a love that pierces the heart?"


    To his surprise, Katusha didn''t argue and mused, "Hmm... that does make some sense."


    She tilted her head and thought, her eyes growing a bit hazy, "Once I figure out how to write our story, I''ll tell you about itter."


    Su Lun was indifferent, "Oh."


    As they drank, their spirits soared higher.


    Katusha became more and more intoxicated,


    Suddenly, as if she had caught a bout of inspiration, the glow around her coalesced. Excited, she eximed, "Wow, Mr. Jing, Yuta sister, I am going to recite a poem for you!"


    Su Lun nodded with a smile.@@novelbin@@


    Yuta, too, was a bit drunk, her pretty face colored with a joyful blush, and said with a smile, "Sure."


    However,


    expecting nothing more than a poetry recitation, they thought nothing more of it.


    Yet, an unexpected scene unfolded.


    As soon as Katusha started to speak, the heavens and earth seemed to change.


    "Wind!"


    She seemed intent onposing a song in praise of the wind and pondered for a while before uttering just that one word.


    But as that single word left her lips, the air around them trembled violently and suddenly began to blow!


    The night wind crept up their cors; Su Lun, though woozy, was suddenly captivated by the thought, "Word Bes Law? Is poetry really that powerful..."


    Not just him, but the revered elders of the Dalu tribe nearby were also staring, ck-jawed.


    The Deer n Leader and Wolf Granny exchanged a nce, full of wonder, "What a towering talent..."


    The breeze gently stirred Katusha''s skirt, as if responding to her call.


    Suddenly, amid the haze of intoxication, Katusha''s tone grew fierce, "Great Wind!"


    Nobody had seen the face of the wind,


    be it you or me;


    But among the stirring leaves,


    the wind is passing through there.


    ...


    Katusha sang what sounded like a beautiful bad, her words spreading out around her. The wind spirits seemed to respond to her, yfully darting around the forest and the treetops, rustling.


    The vast expanse of the riverside bonfire was filled with the pleasant sound of her poetry recitation.


    The Dalu tribe''s deity in their faith embodied the "Divine Tree," and their bloodlines carried the legacy of the free-spirited and romantic wandering poets. Everyone at the feast was intoxicated by the beautiful melody of Katusha''s recitation.


    For the first time, Su Lun realized that listening to poetry could be such an enjoyable experience.


    It was as if his soul was being gently massaged, and he feltpletely rxed.


    By then, the wind had picked up, but it remained gentle.


    The wind spirits lifted Katusha into the air, where she began to float slowly.


    Su Lun felt as if he too were drunk, light as a feather.


    No, it wasn''t just a feeling.


    He was truly floating.


    Wrapped in the wind, he was lifted into the air.


    Yuta was, too.


    Katusha, with blurry eyes, slurred, "Mr. Jing, Sister Yuta, the night is lovely tonight. Shall we go look at the stars together?"


    Yuta, also lost in that exquisite drunken state, agreed, "Sure."


    Su Lun echoed the response.


    Katusha was delighted.


    The three of them rode the wind upward.


    Once aloft, Katusha didn''t forget to wave to the Deer n Leader on the ground, sweetly saying, "Grandpa n Leader, we''re going to look at the stars~"


    The Deer Tribe Chief said kindly with a smile, "Good. Just be careful not to fall."


    A response came from afar, "We will be careful~"


    Hearing this, Wolf Granny, who watched the three fly away, smiled contentedly, "Youth is wonderful."


    ....


    The three flew higher and higher, the bonfire below growing more distant, until they reached the treetop canopy of a dense forest.


    "There''s a treehouse on the western treetop. I used to climb up here to watch the stars when I was a child..."


    Yuta pointed in one direction, and they arrived at the top of a redwood, towering dozens of meters above the nearby trees.


    There was a treehouse on the treetop, resembling a gigantic bird''s nest with no roof, just several wooden nks.


    From here, the brilliant Milky Way was in full view.


    The three descended, and Katusha, freed by the effects of the alcohol,ughed heartily, her voice echoing throughout the dense woond.


    The wind spirits hadn''t forgotten to bring them candied fruit and fine wine.


    The trio continued to toast and drink copiously in the little treehouse atop the tree.


    The night was enchanting, with hints of romance permeating the air.


    Fueled by the wine, the threey back and stared at the sky, gradually spacing out.


    Katusha slurred her words, "Mr. Su Lun, do you know? I''ve never been this happy in my life~"


    "Mm. I''m feeling pretty good too."


    Su Lun also felt amazing at the moment, as if lying on a cloud, with his mind seeming to overflow with brilliant inspiration.


    This soaring sensation grew more intense as the alcohol took hold.


    Su Lun deeply savored this marvelous experience of "wandering in poetry."


    "Mr. Su Lun, could you recite a poem for me?"


    "Sure. If life deceives you, don''t be sad, don''t be in a hurry. In gloomy days be calm, and believe, happy days wille!"


    "Wow... Did you write that?"


    "No..."


    "..."


    Katusha, probably really drunk now,cked any nobledy''s restraint and clung to Su Lun''s side, unabashedly pressing up against his neck as she spoke, very intimate.


    Su Lun''s ear was warmed by her breath, but he didn''t mind her. However, looking at the girl with braids in front of him, he felt a strange illusion, seeing a beautiful purple-haired woman. It seemed familiar somehow.


    At that moment, the girl, a bit fuzzily, asked, "Yuta, do you like Mr. Su Lun?"


    Su Lun''s mind hadn''t even caught up yet.


    Yuta''s response came dreamily from beside him, "Mm-hmm..."


    She said this as if asleep, the two very close together, with arge expanse of skin touching.


    Back at the Emerald Holy Land, Yuta had changed into Dalu Tribe attire. The simple leather clothes were thin, like hot pants and a tank top, leaving much skin exposed to the air. This contact made Su Lun feel as if his arm had plunged into a swath of warm, soft flesh.


    Su Lun himself could hardly keep his eyes open, but upon hearing her words, he likely smiled.


    The conversation of drunkards can suddenly lose all response.


    The three fell silent.


    Katusha, who had the weakest tolerance for alcohol, had already slipped into a drowsy haze.


    After a while, she finally uttered some mumbled words, "Ah, I think... writing a... love story... might be nice too..."


    With that,plete silence fell upon the treehouse.


    All three seemed to be sleeping.


    The potent aftereffect of the "Poet''s Honey Wine" stirred desires.


    In his hazy consciousness, Su Lun thought he grasped something warm.


    It felt smooth to the touch, so he stroked it.


    Huh... it seemed to be a back?


    Instinctively, he turned over and felt it again.


    It still wasn''t the satisfying touch he was seeking...


    Half-asleep, Su Lun couldn''t open his eyes, but his unreasonable hand moved back, carefully distinguishing, until he felt a slightly raised, moist warmth.


    He pinched it.


    Oh, so it wasn''t a back.


    Being drunk was frustrating; his mind knew what he was doing, but his body wouldn''t obey.


    It was these actions that probably woke the deep sleeper, and a intive grumble reached his ears, "Mr. Su Lun, you''re being very inappropriate... I don''t mind you taking advantage, but you''re actually dissatisfied with me..."


    Only after a while did he hear murmurs and sleepy babbles close to his ear, "Ah, I''m going to turn into a big gray wolf, and bite you to death~"


    Su Lun felt he might have been bitten.


    As by a wolf in a grand red robe, or perhaps a white wolf.


    Gentle to the bone.


    That night, endless sweet dreams.

 Chapter 261 I Buried Myself

    ```


    With the "Eclipse" totem, Su Lun no longer had to constantly worry about mental aberrations.


    He rxed that taut string at the bottom of his heart and got thoroughly drunk for once.


    The potency of "Poet''s Honey Wine" was strong, with that floating, ethereal sensation lingering for a very long time.


    Su Lun felt as though he had had a very long dream.


    This sleep was very solid, bringing an unprecedented sense of security and joy.


    The honey wine seemed to have also intoxicated the ferocious beast at the bottom of his heart, and theyy quietly.


    He vaguely felt.


    That in his sleep, as if someone had been chanting beautiful poems, melodious and pleasant, their echoes resonating within his heart. It was like resting on clouds, experiencing an ineffable and utmost tenderness that transcended words.


    He didn''t know how much time had passed.


    The dream should end.


    It was like the golden light of dawn spilling into his eyes,


    Su Lun''s closed eyelids fluttered slightly as his consciousness gradually realigned with his body.


    Only then did he realize that the disturbance of his sweet dreams was the crisp chirping of birds beside his ears.


    ....


    A gentle breeze brushed against his body, one side feeling slightly cool, while the other retained a soft warmth.


    Still drowsy, Su Lun moved his body, and the smooth touch felt increasingly real.


    It was then that he gradually became more alert.


    He wanted to move his arms, only to discover they were trapped in a gentle embrace.


    Without any barrier, skin touched skin.


    Su Lun slowly opened his eyes to find that at some point, he was entirely naked, mumbling in his heart, no wonder it felt a bit cool.


    Upon closer inspection, lying beside him was an equally undraped, stunning body.


    The dawn''s glow yed upon her wheat-colored skin, emanating an amber-like delicate and soft light. The thin nket on her body failed to conceal her exquisite figure. Strands of morning light shone from behind her, illuminating the contours of her waist and the curves of her hips like undting hills, alluring and graceful.


    This was naturally Yuta.


    Their current position was extremely intimate, with Yuta''s mostly bare body leaning against Su Lun.


    Their extensive skin contact allowed Su Lun to feel her body temperature and the hidden softness beneath her lithe and athletic stature.


    Su Lun had seen Yuta naked before, but this was the first time they had such close skin-to-skin contact.


    His gaze lingered on her pretty face for a moment, then slid downward. He saw through her at a nce. The smooth visual touch, especially in the morning light, was particrly alluring. It was hard to look away.


    Perhaps it was Su Lun''s fixed stare that triggered her alertness, as her obedient wolf ears trembled slightly and her eyshes twitched.


    Yuta woke up as well.


    Opening her eyes, her gaze was filled with the reflection of Su Lun, and she smiled faintly, "Mr. Su Lun, you''re awake?"


    The Dalu people weren''t shy about expressing their love, and even though she was naked, Yuta barely flinched, her face devoid of any trace of shyness.


    Su Lun also felt quite good, chuckling softly, "Hmm."


    With that, he gently caressed her face.


    Yuta didn''t get up, maintaining their intimate position, snuggling up beside Su Lun.


    In this treehouse, hundreds of meters above the ground, the breeze served as their nket, and the clouds as their fleece. Morning light poured down on them, seemingly softening just for them as they savored this rare peace and quiet.


    Su Lun gazed at the not yet fully brightened sky, his eyes profound.


    It seemed as if he was still savoring that unfettered, pleasant feeling.


    This was a solid sleep he had never experienced before.


    Yes, and an enjoyment of extreme tenderness.


    Neither spoke, Yuta''s eyebrows curved, her fluffy white wolf tail sweeping through the air from time to time.


    ```


    Su Lun looked on with curiosity and gently touched it with his hand.


    The previous two times had been for healing, and while attending to her body, his mind had been free of distractions.


    Now, it waspletely different.


    No need to avert his eyes, he openly appreciated her. Discover stories with My Virtual Library Empire


    Yuta did not skimp on showcasing her figure, even turning her body slightly to make it easier for Su Lun to touch.


    Yuta''s figure might not boast an exaggerated proportion of curves, but it was very symmetrical. Her proud and full grip, waist and hips were just right. Her waist and abdomen had smooth lines, and touching them, he felt a special kind of softness and resilience. Then there were the yful wolf ears and the fluffy tail, which added a wild and natural beauty.


    Su Lun yed with the wolf tail for a moment, and then his handnded on the perky part above, enjoying the wonderful feel.


    Yuta didn''t mind at all.


    At that moment, she seemed to sense something and a teasing smile shed in her eyes, "Mr. Su Lun seems quite spirited this morning~"


    Su Lun raised his eyebrows and gently caressed her as a response.


    "You seem to be very interested in my tail?"


    Yuta said with a smile, not waiting for Su Lun to reply, as she flipped over and sat up.


    With the change of position, Su Lun found it more convenient as well.


    He could not remember what had happened in his drunken state; it seemed to have happened, yet it also seemed like a dream... not quite real.


    And now, he was thoroughly enjoying the delicate sensation without being polite.


    At this moment, Yuta seemed to have noticed something and eximed in surprise, "Eh~ Mr. Su Lun, there''s also a bite mark on your shoulder."


    As she spoke, she reached out and touched it.


    Su Lun tilted his head and barely managed to see the imprint on his own shoulder.


    A teasing glint shed in Yuta''s eyes; she obviously wasn''tpletely clueless and teased, "Could it be that I bit you when we were drunk? But that''s not right, the marks I leave are not like this..."


    She was from the White Wolf n and had a pair of small, sharp fangs.


    The bite marks were neat, clearly made by a human.


    "Did Katyusha bite me?"


    Su Lun felt a mix of amusement and dismay in his heart, vaguely recalling a memory from his drunken state¡ª he seemed to have been bitten.


    The girl''s bite was quite substantial indeed.


    But why did she bite me?


    Su Lun tried hard to remember; it was as if Little Red Riding Hood had turned into the Big Bad Wolf?


    Drinking could cause memories and dreams to blend together, leaving you unsure whether it was a dream or something that really happened.


    However,ing back to it, he hadn''t seen her upon waking up; where did Katyusha run off to?


    Su Lun looked at himself and Yuta, both undressed; maybe she left to avoid embarrassment?


    Yuta looked at Su Lun, a sly smile flickering in her eyes.


    She didn''t seem to mind, and she didn''t dwell on the bite mark.


    Sheid her entire body on Su Lun''s, affectionately rubbing ear against cheek.


    Her tail brushed over his body, tickling him, like a tiny current touching every part of him.


    Su Lun felt the experience was fantastic.


    Yuta giggled as if she sensed something again, "Ah, Mr. Su Lun''s spirits are even higher now~"


    Su Lun smiled in response, unapologetically reaching up to embrace her.


    Yes, it was a vibrant morning indeed.


    ....


    After a while, the morning light finallypletely pierced through the clouds and shone into the Emerald Holy Land.


    Mist and clouds entwined, the whole Holy Land was filled with steaming vitality.


    Yuta''s bewitching figure was covered by a beast skin skirt and a vest as she busied herself tidying her disheveled hair.


    Su Lun also sat up, searching for his clothes to put on.


    But as he was putting on his pants, he identally felt something scratching his leg.


    He reached into his pocket and found a letter.


    Realizing what it might be, he didn''t avoid Yuta as he opened it, and sure enough, it was left by Katusha.


    Yuta, however, showed no interest in looking, as if he guessed what the letter said, and after getting dressed, he said, "Mr. Su Lun, I''ll go down first. Otherwise, being seen by the nspeopleter will bring you some trouble~"


    With that, the corner of his mouth lifted in a meaningful smile.


    "Mhm."


    Su Lun nodded with a smile.


    Watching Yuta agilely leap down from the treehouse,nding on the branches, and disappearing into the dense foliage above within moments.


    Su Lun withdrew his gaze.


    As he dressed, he also took the time to read the content of the letter.


    The handwriting was neat and graceful.


    ''Mr. Su Lun, thank you for giving me such a pleasurable life experience. I finally know what my story was missing. Unfortunately, the beauty of this world is fleeting, like the clouds at dawn, a gentle breeze blows, and they dissipate...''


    ''I''m sorry for leaving without saying goodbye. Because this is the best ending to the story I could think of. When I left, the sky was filled with colorful clouds, escorted by blooming flowers and a gentle breeze, no need for longing.''


    ''We will eventually blend into all beings, but there is a moment when we are unique to each other. Mr. Su Lun, you must remember, we once watched the stars together. My face is hidden among the stars... If you happen to think of me asionally, just look up at the night sky. The stars will bring you my blessings.''


    ''By the time I wrote this letter, my story finally had a soul. Thank you.''


    ''If the story went on, Katusha would be a carefree grand minstrel. The wildflowers on the hillside bloom, fall, and flourish year after year without an owner. But our story ends here. We probably won''t see each other anymore, take good care of yourself. ¡ªKatusha''


    The content of the letter ended here.


    But it seemed she forgot something and added another line afterward: ''Ah... I''m sorry, I only realized I bit you after I woke up. But you are really annoying...^?^''


    Su Lun, looking at the doodled smiley face, his mind suddenly filled with the image of the girl with small freckles and big braids, always polite and well-mannered.


    After reading the letter, he murmured unwittingly, "Heh, this girl..."


    Though he spoke yfully, he also discerned the undertone of farewell between the lines.


    Leaving aside her mysterious origins, he actually had a rather good impression of the girl, Katusha.


    She bore no ill will, and he had no desire to specte with malice.


    Even though it was a parting,


    Su Lun didn''t feel particrly sad.


    Luing''s territory might be vast, but there were only a few top noble families. With a chance to inquire in the future, he could surely find out which family''s youngdy "Katusha" was.


    Su Lun put away the letter, didn''t overthink it, and leapt down from the treehouse as well.


    But as he descended, he found that Yuta was waiting for her.


    And next to her, there was a white wolf youth with a profound gaze, none other than her younger brother, Arcu.


    Su Lun only then realized that the morning light above was not from the next day''s dawn.


    They had been drunk and asleep in the treehouse for three days and three nights.


    ....


    When Su Lun and the others woke up,pletely unaware on the other side, a team was swiftly moving through the Silent Forest.


    A troop of Dalu nsmen escorted a youngdy in a red cloak to the outskirts of the forest.


    Once there, the leading ck bear Druid did not escort her any further, saying, "Miss Katusha, we will take you only this far."


    With a bright smile, the girl in the red cloak waved her hand, "Mhm, thank you, Elder Pasu. The guards from my house havee to pick me up. You can go back now."


    "Take care."


    "Mhm."


    "..."


    The Dalu nspeople disappeared into the dense forest, and shortly after, an imposing guard troop appeared within the woods.


    Everyone simultaneously knelt on one knee, performing a Knight''s salute, "Miss."


    Katyusha nodded her head, showing no hurry to depart.


    She cast one final nce back in the direction of the Emerald Holy Land, her pure eyes revealing aplex expression as if recalling something, the corners of her brows lifting in a smile.


    Katyusha remained silent for a long time, and none of the guards spoke either, their expressions solemn as they stood quietly waiting at her side.


    After a moment, the head elderly butler, looking slightly worried, quietly asked, "Miss, are you alright?"


    At these words, as though her emotions had been interrupted, thest trace of longing in Katyusha''s eyes finally dissipated.


    Her expression darkened, as if she had lost something precious.


    She softly replied, "I''m fine."


    With those words, it was as if some thought had be clear to her, the wisdom in her gaze growing brighter and brighter.


    It was then that Katyusha took out a ck notebook and retrieved a fountain pen, rustling softly as she wrote a passage: "Miss Ugly Duckling bid farewell to the amiable Mr. Su Lun whom she found very pleasant to interact with... Reflecting upon it, he was an interesting person unlike any she had met before in her past life. Like a shooting star, he showed her a moment''s beauty. She left behind a note, in her heart hoping that Su Lun would remember her. Ah, it seems she doesn''t dislike him after all... Indeed, only through experience can one write the best stories. Miss Ugly Duckling also got her desired ending, the most beautiful one she could imagine..."


    At this point, Katyusha''s pen halted for an instant, as if she had made some difficult decision.@@novelbin@@


    The pen in her hand, like a knife dividing the past and present.


    Ultimately, she made the cut.


    Thest struggle in her eyes suddenly dissipated, bing like a pool of still water without a ripple.


    She continued writing to thest sentence, pausing after each word: "Miss Ugly Duckling buried herself in the past. That instant, she was reborn."


    Once this passage was written in the notebook, Katyusha let out a slight sigh of relief.


    Then, slowly emerging on that notebook, were a few lines: "Reality alignment 99%, story established!"


    In an instant, the story beneath her pen seemed to resonate with some supreme cosmicw.


    Katyusha''s face was impassive as the two adorable braids over her shoulders suddenly became fluffy and disheveled. Her lovely xen hair shed with light, magically transforming into a cascade of bright purple. Her freckles vanished, her figure became more graceful, and she suddenly shone radiantly.


    The innocent cuteness vanished in a moment, her expression proud like that of a queen,manding awe.


    Yet, at this time, the marvel had only just begun.


    The aura around the woman with purple hair rose higher, her body haloed with a strange white glow.


    This was a state even more intense than when she recited poetry in the Emerald Holy Land.


    She took out a sk from her Storage Ring and took a swig. Walking on, she continued to write: "She diedst night, her heart as calm as still water; I am reborn this morning, in a world where spring abounds..."


    Each stroke penned a world within the book.


    The next instant, the marvel abruptly manifested.


    World of the book, fantasy incarnated.


    The woman with purple hair slowly closed her eyes, and concentric ripples visible to the naked eye gathered around her.


    The elderly butler and the guards, as if they recognized the significance of this phenomenon, dared not look directly and promptly bowed their heads, prostrating themselves on the ground.


    The woman with purple hair paid no attention to them as she stepped toward the forest. With each step, fresh, tender grass sprouted from the frozen mud beneath her feet.


    Breaking soil, germinating, growing, blooming... a vista of vibrant life unfolded.


    The path she walked turned into a small trail of flowers and brocades through the forest.


    With each step, the ripples around her grew denser, gradually forming a special domain.


    At that moment, the woman with purple hair came to a halt.


    When she opened her eyes again, they were filled with brilliant stars.


    "I''ve entered the ''Saint Realm''."


    The voice was nonchnt, yet it seemed to carry an endless resonance, harmonizing with the universe.


    Transcendent, sanctified.


    At that moment, a fresh marvel arose, as the primeval and icy forest blossomed into spring.


    Yekaterina didn''t linger any longer, and walked forward.

 Chapter 262 Mr. Su Lun is Very Impressive

    Su Lun descended from the treehouse to the ground and had not walked far when he saw Yuta and a young member of the White Wolf Tribe waiting for him under a tree.


    "Arcu, I''ve told you, a hundred of you wouldn''t be a match for Mr. Su Lun, and you''re still not convinced."


    "Hmph! I refuse to lose to a human! Although he''s the ''Pledged One'', but... but I still want to fight him. Even if you stop me now, sister, soon Gary, Dar, Umon... they''ll definitelye too!"


    "Have it your way. Just don''t me me when you get thrashedter."


    "..."


    Seeing the young boy scolded by Yuta without aeback, naturally, it could only be her own little brother, Arcu.


    Arcu watched Su Lun approaching with a look of defiance.


    Yuta, on the other hand, smirked slyly.


    As Su Lun walked over, he discovered that they had slept in the treehouse for three days.


    Now everyone in Emerald Holy Land must know about his unusual rtionship with Yuta.


    However, Yuta didn''t mind at all, so naturally, Su Lun didn''t feel ufortable either.


    But looking at the young Wolf Tribe member who hade to challenge him, his expression was a bit peculiar.


    Even though the women of the Dalu Tribe were mostly attractive, Yuta was one of the top few in the tribe. Besides, being a respected Druid, the White Wolves were naturally very popr in the Emerald Holy Land.


    Having taken someone from the Dalu Tribe''s "vegetable patch", and an outsider human at that, it was no surprise that Su Lun was treated this way.


    As for Arcu, the more he looked at Su Lun, the more displeased he felt, shouting, "Human, I challenge you to a duel!"


    Knowing Su Lun''s strength, Yuta was not worried in the slightest, she simply blinked and said softly, "Although he''s my brother, Mr. Su Lun, you don''t have to be polite when hitting him."


    Hearing this, Su Lun didn''t know whether tough or cry.


    This was indeed the kind of treatment only a real brother could expect.


    "Oh."


    This time, Su Lun agreed to the challenge.


    As Yuta said, perhaps giving him a good thrashing would save a lot of trouble.


    He also knew the customs of the Dalu tribe, that only true warriors would be recognized.


    Upon hearing Su Lun ept the challenge, Arcu finally breathed a sigh of relief, "Good! I''ll wait for you by the river in the vige!"


    With those words, he walked towards the forest.


    ....


    Yuta, hearing Su Lun ept the challenge, was also visibly excited.


    Although she knew he could win, he still needed the tribe''s recognition.


    With no one else around, she joyfully jumped into Su Lun''s arms.


    Now that they were in an intimate rtionship, they didn''t need to "observe formalities" like before.


    She wrapped her arms around his neck like a ko and said, "That brat Arcu does need a good lesson, lest he always thinks too highly of himself, ignorant of the ways of the world."


    Su Lun smiled and held her with one hand to keep her from slipping.


    The Dalu Tribe''s leather skirts were thin and revealed much; touching them felt soft. The hindquarters of the White Wolf Tribe were already well-developed, and even in human form, the tight, toned muscles felt excellent.


    "Ah~ Mr. Su Lun seems particrly energetic today..."


    Yuta teased him, not really minding.


    After being affectionate for a moment, Yuta got down.


    The two walked towards the forest exterior.


    But as they walked, Su Lun suddenly sensed something and looked south.


    Seeing his expression, Yuta asked, "What''s wrong?"


    Su Lun frowned and after a moment said, "It seems someone is thinking about me."


    It wasn''t the kind of thinking that meant malice, more like someone was reminiscing.


    Was it that direction... could it be that girl Katyusha?


    He didn''t dwell on it and followed Yuta out of the forest.


    .....


    It seemed there weren''t a few in the Holy Land from the Dalu Tribe who wanted to beat up Su Lun.


    When Su Lun and Yuta emerged from the forest, there were already dozens of people on therge meadow by the river.


    Su Lun remembered a few names, Gary from the ck Bear Tribe, Dar from the Golden Leopard Tribe, Umon from the Grey Wolf Tribe... all were present.


    Looking carefully, even the treetop heads from the vige huts across the river, curious about the duel, had popped out quietly to watch.


    The elders of the tribe were also curious about the strength of this "Pledged One."


    As soon as Su Lun arrived, everyone turned to look at him in unison.


    Yuta wore a radiant smile, bright as the warmth of spring.


    This smile made the group of young men on the other side, flush with vigorous blood, unable to contain their fury, casting ever more resentful nces at Su Lun beside her.


    Su Lun''s expression remained unchanged as he casually sauntered over.


    A duel was a duel, nothing fancy about the process.


    After Su Lun stepped onto the makeshift arena that had been cordoned off on the grassy field, sure enough, those kids'' hostility diminished considerably.


    No matter the oue, by taking up the challenge, he had earned their respect.


    ...


    Arcu was not weak by any means.


    Among this group of apprentice Druids, he was also among the very best.


    Probably at the peak of the second tier, on the verge of breaking through to the third tier.


    But for Su Lun, without any special techniques, such a level posed no threat at all.


    The duel began, and the onlooking apprentice Druids were all screaming at the top of their lungs, as if they wished they could take the stage themselves and thrash the human who had ''stolen their vegetables''.


    Even though he couldn''t understand Dalu''snguage, Su Lun knew they were cheering Arcu on.


    On the other hand.


    Su Lun had only one cheerleader, and that was Yuta.


    The Miss White Wolf''s face was adorned with a bright smile as she cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone and shouted in themon tongue, "Mr. Su Lun, fight on~"


    Her voice alone seemed to drown out several dozen others.


    It was as if she was somewhat excited to see her little brother about to get a beating.


    Arcu frowned upon seeing Su Lun just standing there, showing no intent to prepare for battle, and instantly felt underestimated. He questioned, "Aren''t you going to release your alchemical enhancements?"


    Su Lun sighed faintly but gave no response.


    After all, this was just a sparring session, not a real enemy, so he naturally wouldn''t use his full strength.


    If he were to really go all out, he estimated that the fight would probably be over in two or three rounds at most.


    It wasn''t that Arcu was weak, but because all of Su Lun''sbat skills were designed to kill¡ª"killing techniques" prepared to take down his targets.


    Not to mention forbidden objects, puppets, or silk threads, hisbat skills alone would be enough trouble for him.


    Arcu, though young, was also very smart.


    He had guessed that Su Lun was very strong.


    His sister had told him so, and although he verbally disagreed, his heart had never once doubted her.


    He just wanted to confirm it, so he said, "Then be careful, I''m going to make a move. I''m very fast."


    Listening to these words, Su Lun nodded, "Hmm."


    The next instant, Arcu didn''t waste any more words, and with a fierce push off the ground¡ª


    "Whoosh" went the sound.


    It was as if a bomb had been nted under the grass, which instantly exploded into arge pit, and his figure aggressively lunged forward.


    "Indeed quite fast."


    Su Lun muttered to himself, his gaze slightly intensifying.


    Arcu''s speed was indeed quite fast among second-rank meleebatants; even an alchemist of the same rank might not be able to react in time.


    Yet, despite the speed being fast, Su Lun could see it all clearly under his All-knowing Eye.


    He watched the figure charging toward him and didn''t act cocky, assuming abat stance.


    Although Su Lun rarely utilizedbat techniques in his usual battles, he was truly proficient in various styles ofbat techniques, and his physical fitness wasn''t much less than that of a third-rank meleebatant''s.


    Just as his arms were raised, a massive force struck them.


    "Hmm... the strength isn''t bad either."


    Su Lun wasn''t at all surprised and inwardlyplimented Yuta''s brother for his indeed impressive strength.


    He deflected the blow with a simple motion, dissolving the force into nothingness.


    As the impact from the collision had yet to dissipate, Su Lun used the momentum to deliver a side kick thatnded heavily on the figure''s waist.


    The Dalu n possessed a beast gene, and their innatebat talents were strong. Arcu, having been kicked, retreated with agility, effortlessly neutralizing the blow and looking for an opportunity to disengage and attack again.


    Unfortunately, Su Lun wouldn''t give him that chance!


    Su Lun''sbat reaction and thinking were so fast that he''d calcted various countermeasures even before his opponent made a move.


    He never took his opponents lightly, not even in a sparring match.


    He had already anticipated the next few steps when his foot kicked out.


    Watching Arcu dodge his kick, Su Lun was not surprised in the slightest.


    His foot hit the ground hard, and with a "snap" of air sting, he used Stepping on Air to swiftly disappear from the spot.


    Before Arcu could react, Su Lun had already reappeared in his retracing arc,unching a punch.


    ....


    Arcu was greatly astonished; he hadn''t expected his opponent to follow up so quickly!


    Looking at that expressionless face, he realized just how strong the other was.


    But he wasn''t weak either!


    Arcu''s eyes hardened, and suddenly some fine fur appeared on his handsome face as he entered a semi-beast transformation.


    With this slight change, he was able to catch the punch mid-air.


    "Not a bad reaction."


    Su Lun slightly raised an eyebrow, inwardly praising the move.


    However, if it had been to the death, the opponent would have been dead!


    Su Lun didn''t mind giving Yuta''s brother a taste of the real deal.


    He surged forward once more.


    .....


    Nobody expected the encounter to be so fierce from the get-go!@@novelbin@@


    In an instant, the entire riverside grasnd was filled with echoes of punches, with ongoing cracking sounds everywhere.


    The apprentice Druids were stunned, their eyes brimming with excitement.


    "This human... oh, no, Mr. Su Lun is quite formidable."


    "Indeed, not bad. But he''s still a whole rank higher, so it''s only natural he''s at this level."


    "Just watch, Arcu hasn''t transformed yet. That kid is considering his sister''s face, not wanting the human to lose too badly."


    "I don''t think Arcu can definitely win. Haven''t you seen that Mr. Su Lun hasn''t released his alchemical enhancements either?"


    "Many human alchemical enhancements are not externally visible. That Mr. Su Lun''s strength is on par with Arcu''s, obviously he''s augmented by a strength-focused enhancement."


    "No wonder Yuta sent him a lifelong wolf w, he does have some skills."


    "...."


    They watched, chattering among themselves.


    The resentment in their eyes also diminished a lot.


    Su Lun''s strength had finally be "eptable" in their eyes¡ªat least barely so.


    Meanwhile, Yuta, who was watching the battle, was exceptionally excited. Her clear eyes were full of Su Lun''s shadow, as she cheered intermittently, "Go, Mr. Su Lun!"


    She knew that Su Lun was a formidable Puppet Master and had expected him to dispatch a few puppets to resolve the fight. She never anticipated his hand-to-handbat skills would be so strong!


    ....


    The battle was fierce, and it seemed Arcu hadn''t gained the upper hand.


    But Su Lun knew that perhaps out of consideration for his "brother-inw" status, Arcu wasn''t using his full strength either.


    Though the Dalu tribespeople did not have Alchemy enhancements or various methods like Alchemists, their beast transformation talents gave them remarkablebat power.


    After dozens of exchanges, Arcu, understanding that he couldn''t do a thing to Su Lun without transforming, suddenly pulled back to create some distance, dropped to all fours, and took on a crawling stance.


    At the same time, a cold glint shed between his fingers and disappeared; sharp ws emerged, and his body sprouted thick fur. Upon closer inspection, his entire being had turned into a majestic white wolf, even bulkier than his sister when she transformed.


    Although itcked some of the shrewd and ferocious maturity, it already possessed an oppressive and fierce aura.


    The White Wolf spoke with a human voice, "You need to be careful. I''m getting serious now!"


    Su Lun looked on with a slight smile and nodded in acknowledgment.


    He anticipated Arcu''s next move by focusing on the muscles rippling beneath the White Wolf''s fur.


    What surprised Su Lun even more was that the White Wolf suddenly leaped powerfully, creating visible ripples in the air beneath its feet, like waves in water.


    "Eh...you learned ''Stepping on Air'' after seeing it once?"


    Surprise brushed Su Lun''s mind.


    The mastery of "Stepping on Air," a mystic-level movement technique, required extreme skill and talent to find that momentary pause when stepping on air.


    Many high-ranking professionals couldn''t perform it at all without the right feel, even if their muscr strength was sufficient.


    Who would have thought that Arcu would pick it up on the spot?


    His talent was indeed astounding.


    Su Lun knew he could no longer afford to be careless and became a bit more serious as well.


    He rapidly formed the sorcerer''s seals with his hands and chanted softly in his heart, "Flesh Alchemy: Hormone Rampage!"


    Hormones surged into his body, instantly giving him a feeling of explosive energy.


    However, Arcu''s speed was faster!


    After transforming, he became several times quicker than before, charging over like lightning, and before Su Lun could even react, his ws reached Su Lun''s chest.


    "So fast!"


    Su Lun certainly saw him in a new light now.


    Among the second-tier closebat professionals he had encountered, Arcu was definitely the strongest, absolutely overpowering others of his level!


    But no matter how strong, he was still second-tier.


    Su Lun anticipated his trajectory and knew he was toote to block. At that moment, his hands, previously forming the sorcerer''s seals, changed again, sparking with the speed of lightning as he chanted, "Mystic Art - Vajra!"


    The next instant, a "thud" like the toll of a bell reverberated across the entire riverbend.


    The powerful shockwave of the touch instantly whipped up a green tide on thewn, even the onlookers'' robes billowed from the st.


    ....


    Su Lun felt the power of that w, which was nowhere near as fierce as it appeared to be.


    He naturally understood that Arcu had probably held back to avoid hurting him.


    But...with his level four gold-based "Vajra," if it was just an attack of that magnitude, even if he was standing still, the opponent couldn''t touch him.


    Level four magic against level two did seem like a bit of bullying.


    He smiled and shook his head, saying to the incredulous White Wolf opposite him, "You don''t need to hold back. Otherwise, you cannot defeat me."


    The transformed White Wolf, Arcu, had aplex look in his eyes.


    Although he had moderated his strike, which could smash even rocks, how could it be that Su Lun was unscathed?


    He finally understood that this human, as his sister had said, was truly powerful.


    Yet, this only fueled hispetitive spirit!


    He shouted earnestly, "Alright! Mr. Su Lun, I''m going to use magic now, be careful!"


    Hearing himself addressed as "Mr. Su Lun" instead of simply a "human," the corners of Su Lun''s mouth lifted slightly.


    The Dalu people really were kind-hearted.


    Direct with their feelings, once they epted you, they harbored no other thoughts in their hearts.


    ....


    Su Lun had initially thought this friendly bout would hold no more surprises.


    In terms ofbat techniques alone, Arcu, no matter how strong, stood no chance.


    But unexpectedly, Arcu actually used magic.


    A true Druid could listen to the voices of all things, harness the power of nature, and cast spells that transform into various animals.


    The White Wolf chanted a spell, and suddenly the weather shifted dramatically.


    Strong winds howled in the sky and dark clouds swiftly covered the grassy in.


    With a crack of thunder, a downpour began, and amid the clouds flickered restless, serpentine lightning.


    Such a disy was truly formidable and intimidating.


    "The force of nature powering wind, rain, lightning...a triple-elemental spell?"


    Su Lun watched, curious, no longer in a rush to act.


    Druidic casting was an entirely different system from Alchemy. With the power of faith, they were able to release various elemental spells more readily.


    Yet Arcu''s use of a triple-element spell indeed caught Su Lun''s eye.


    Still, there was that old problem¡ªif it couldn''t break through "Vajra," all the shy spells were just for show.


    "No, there''s wood element too!"


    The next instant, Su Lun sensed something and realized that the grass beneath his feet was growing wildly, entwining around his legs like vines, binding him in the blink of an eye.


    Su Lun looked on, his eyebrows slightly raised in approval: "To think he actuallyid an ambush in advance, his mind isn''t bad at all."


    At this thought, he raised his eyebrows as well, realizing that if he didn''t pull out some other tricks, he probably wouldn''t be able to hold out.


    Although it wouldn''t result in a loss, being trapped by those nts could stillnd him in a very embarrassing situation.


    After all, the lightning building up above, the wind sharp as des, and the clearly perception-altering and teleportation-limiting rain were the real joint killing move.


    ....


    "When did Arcu learn to secretly cast four-elemental hybrid spells? Wow, with this move, he''s definitely going to win!"


    "Ha-ha... This time Su Lun is going to take a big hit! It might not be very polite, but it''s so satisfying. He''s the one who took away Sister Yuta!"


    "Right, that''s it! Now he''ll understand the strength of us from the Dalu tribe, and treat Sister Yuta better in the future."


    "..."


    The onlooking young druids clenched their fists in excitement, watching Su Lun about to get hit as if they were the ones in the arena.


    Yuta, who was nearby, looked at Arcu casting his spell, her eyes full of satisfaction, muttering to herself: "To think this child has already reached this level... he''s been very hardworking."


    But in a blink, her gaze shifted, even more curious about how Su Lun would respond.


    After all, she knew that from beginning to end, Su Lun hadn''t been taking it seriously.


    ....


    Su Lun saw the lightning about to strike him and a resigned look appeared in his eyes.


    The power of this spellpelled him to use some of his signature moves.


    Feeling he had fought enough, he thought about ending this spar.


    The nts around him had already woven into a barrier, enclosing him.


    Su Lun didn''t attempt to destroy the nt barrier. As the spell quicklypleted, a spatial rift suddenly appeared beside him.


    Then, his entire figure vanished from the spot.


    For the first time, Su Lun used his Spatial Ability.


    He "shed" to appear beside the White Wolf, who was about to spew Wind des.


    Arcu was dumbfounded, momentarily at a loss.


    Like a smoker choking on a puff, the Wind de Technique in his mouth was forcibly swallowed, and tears were almost squeezed out of his eyes.


    The next second, his brain registered what had happened, revealing a bitter smile with a slight sigh.


    He had no intention of continuing the spar either.


    The forces of nature dissipated, and the thunderclouds in the sky instantly extinguished, losing their aggressive momentum.


    Sunlight broke through the clouds, shining again on the riverside meadow.


    As the dark clouds scattered, the air still carried a heavy mist, creating a beautiful rainbow.


    Arcu transformed back into his human form, looked at Su Lun, and said earnestly, "I lost."


    Reflecting on the encounter, he realized that Mr. Su Lun had been sparing him all along.


    If the Spatial Ability had been used earlier, he would have fallen sooner.


    No, even before that.


    If they had fought in earnest, he felt he wouldn''t have even had the chance to cast a spell.


    "Mr. Su Lun is really powerful, to think he can also use spatial spells..."


    Arcu''s expression was veryposed.


    He acknowledged the strength of his sister''s husband, indeed far surpassing his own.


    Su Lun gave neither agreement nor disagreement, but also smiled and said, "You have good talent; you will definitely be strong in the future."


    Listening to this, Arcu seemed to realize something, his previously furrowed brow suddenly rxed, as if he had found peace of mind.


    The observing young druids immediately lost their fire, and no one doubted "Mr. Su Lun''s" strength anymore.


    At that moment, Yuta also hurried over and, looking at her brother, said, "I told you, Mr. Su Lun is very powerful."


    This was an expected oue, and she showed no surprise, but she did look at a disappointed Arcu, offering constion: "But our Arcu did well too, he has made great progress."


    To her surprise, her usually argumentative brother didn''t argue back at all, simply saying, "Yes, Mr. Su Lun is very impressive, I lost fair and square."


    Yuta felt that her brother''s demeanor was somewhat strange.


    ....


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    On the other side of the river bend, inside a treehouse.


    The Deer Tribe Chief and Wolf Granny were also watching the battle from a distance.


    Seeing the oue, both elders had amiable smiles on their faces.


    The Deer Tribe Chief remarked with a sigh, "Very strong indeed."


    Wolf Granny replied, "Yes, throughout the entire fight he didn''t use any prosthesis, Alchemy was only used in a few closebat professions. ording to Yuta, his main profession is that of an impressive Puppet Master."


    The Deer Tribe Chief stroked his beard under his chin with a full smile, "Living as long as I have, I''m quite eager to see just how astonishing Su Lun''s Puppetry Technique is."


    .....


    As Yuta said, beating up her brother would save a lot of trouble.


    After the duel, there were no more Dalu youths in the vige who sought to challenge Su Lun.


    And because of the duel, everyone became clearer about his rtionship with Yuta.


    The elders in the tribe sent their blessings, and the children greeted him with joy and excitement.


    An atmosphere of friendliness and harmony.


    Su Lun originally nned to rest for a few days, to rify the situation in the "Cursed Valley" to the north, before setting out for the "Heart Stealer."


    But unexpectedly, the next day a situation arose.


    Yuta''s brother and several passionate young druids secretly left the Holy Land to support the "Grey Wolf Tribe" to the north that was being besieged and overwhelmed by humans.


    News came that a very powerful enemy had appeared.


    It was not a ving team, but a crack troop from the Lu Ying royal family!

 Chapter 263 Rune Human Skin Umbrella

    The Dalu tribe''s current situation is very bleak.


    The great war in the Cursed Valley centuries ago resulted in the death of all the great druids, and the tribe lost the ability tomunicate with the gods. Without the protection of the gods and the continuation of their lineage, they have not produced any high-endbat power since.


    What''s worse is that humans have reneged on their former pacts, and greedy ve traders have begun to delve into the Silent Forest to capture ves, which has caused the poption of the Dalu tribe to plummet, pushing them to the brink of extinction.


    Now in the Emerald Holy Land, there are only two fifth-tier individuals; in terms of high-endbat power, they can''t evenpete with some of therger ve-trading groups. They simply have no right to face them in battle.


    Therefore, even if a tribe in the forest is in danger, the elders in the Emerald Holy Land dare not go to their rescue.


    They might save them once, but not the next time.


    If these elders were to die in battle as well, the Dalu tribe would havepletely lost all hope.


    Thus, for the continuation of their tribe, they have no choice but to hide and take shelter in various ces within the Silent Forest.


    This is why, when the news of the "Grey Wolf Tribe" being attacked came, the Deer Tribe Chief did not spread the word throughout the Holy Land.


    They had heard too much of such terrible news over the years.


    The young apprentice druids still have passion in their hearts, but they are the future hope of the Dalu tribe.


    The elders wouldn''t let them take risks either.


    But still, the news spread.


    There were a few apprentice druids in the Holy Land who were from the Grey Wolf Tribe, and they certainly wouldn''t just watch idly as their tribe was destroyed and their people taken away to be sold as ves. Arcu''s good friend Umon was one of them. A few hot-blooded youngsters got together and quietly slipped out of the Holy Land, nning a rescue mission.


    They would save as many as they could.


    Druids, being stronger inbat than the average tribesperson, were the only ones with a chance to save some of their people.


    ...


    In the forest, Su Lun rode on Yuta, who had transformed into a white wolf, quickly moving through the woods.


    He had originally nned to head north to take a look, and now this detour was on his way.


    From his previousmunication with the Deer Tribe Chief, he had obtained a lot of detailed intelligence and roughly assessed the rank of the "Heart-stealer." It shouldn''t be too outrageously high. He estimated that it was likely a third-tier, or perhaps a fourth-tier "Lord." It was still within an operable range.


    Yuta had originally nned to secretly take him there. But when the Deer Tribe Chief and the others became clear about Su Lun''s reasons for going and guessed his strength, they expressed understanding and support. They even nned to send a strong team to apany him.


    But Su Lun refused.


    His situation was very special.


    He was a Puppeteer, and a team of people made no differencepared to him alone.


    If they encountered an enemy that was too strong, having more people was useless.


    If they encountered an enemy they could beat, those few extras weren''t necessary.


    Having Yuta, who was familiar with the forest, as hispanion was enough.


    Together, even if they encountered a fifth-tier enemy, they would be able to protect themselves in the forest.


    "The Grey Wolf Tribe is by Lake Rudasil, and a day''s journey further north is the Cursed Valley. The elders in the tribe say that thest time they encountered the ''Heart-stealer'' was near a ''Skull Grotto'' not far from the valley, and the beast was hiding in the cave there."


    "Hmm. We''ll head to the Grey Wolf Tribe first, those boys like Arcu should have gone there."


    "..."


    Yuta wasn''t angry at his younger brother for sneaking out of the holynd; he was just a bit worried.


    Being hot-blooded isn''t necessarily a bad thing for Dalu Tribe warriors.


    ....


    On the other hand, along the shore of Lake Rudasil in the northern part of Silent Forest, a deadlypetition was underway.


    A group of soldiers dressed in silver armor from the empire had breached the Grey Wolf Tribe yesterday. The tribespeople were fitted with ve cors and escorted further north.


    There were also some young knights searching through the jungle for the "fish that slipped through the," who had scattered.


    "These natives turn into animals when they run, slipping and sliding through the forest, making them hard to catch..."


    "Hahaha... Yuke, my spear throwing skills were top marks during the academy''s graduation assessment, a spear for each; how''s that?"


    "Bore, I''ve killed eight natives, and you have only five, what''s there to show off? I''m going to turn their shinbones into specimens and keep them in my family''s treasure room as my merits!"


    "Hey, hey, can you all stop showing off? The trial mission given by the instructor requires at least five native heads each, and I have only killed one."


    "..."


    This is an elite reserve squad of the Sacred Judgment Knight Legion from the Imperial Royal Academy of Emperor Luying.


    The knights were young, fresh graduates from the Imperial Royal Academy who had joined the army as reserve officers.


    Hunting non-humans was their bloody trial before officially entering the battlefield.


    At the same time, in the tribe''s encampment strewn with corpses, there were several wooden cages crammed with Dalu Tribespeople.


    These were the ves who hadn''t been transported away in time, also serving as bait.


    A few middle-aged men in exquisite armor stood guard nearby, listening intermittently to the sounds ofbat from the jungle, chatting now and then.


    "These youngsters are pretty lucky to have non-humans to hunt. Back in our days when we graduated, we were sent straight to the battlefield without such opportunities to wet our beaks."


    "Indeed. But then again, these natives are really foolish. Leaving a few ves here as bait, and they just don''t run; they keeping to die."


    "Instructor Sandru, those non-humans that escaped earlier seemed quite strong, probably Druids. ording to the intelligence extracted from previous soul-searching, there''s a ce in this forest called ''Emerald Holy Land,'' the sacrednd of Dalu Tribe. It is said there are two Tier 5 beings. If those youngsters chase too far, won''t they run into trouble?"


    "Casualties are always part of a trial. Rx, with Rokshi watching over them from the shadows, nothing major can go wrong. Although I''m not too fond of that guy, he''s known as ''Gravedigger,'' and his abilities are quite formidable. Even if there really are Tier 5 professionals among these non-humans, he wouldn''t necessarily be at a disadvantage..."


    "Hehe, that''s true."


    "..."


    After listening for a while, the men stopped paying attention to the fighting noises from the forest.


    As they continued chatting, they moved on to the topic of the legion''s mission this time.


    "We initially came to capture some Icefield Giants, to acquire some [Giant''s Muscles] for warrior enhancement, but we never expected to discover such an ancient ruin. Judging by the relics unearthed so far, thebyrinth might even predate the Dawn Era. This secret excavation is likely to yield significant findings."


    "Yeah. From the look of it, there might be potent mysteries and [Cursed Objects]; maybe, if we''re lucky, we might even find some mythological treasure."


    "Those ve traders are really something, setting a date for delivery and then falling short on the numbers. Now we have to do it ourselves. The forest is so vast; this is hardbor..."


    "I heard that a few days ago, the ''Sunshine ve Hunting Group'' encountered a lone adventurer in the forest and lost quite a few men..."


    "Distortions of the truth, surely. Do you believe a Tier 3 adventurer, all by himself, could ughter a ve hunting group with four Tier 4 professionals and seven to eight hundred elite members? While the fighting strength of the ve hunters isn''t impressive, even you or I would struggle to pull that off. To kill seven or eight hundred people, the de would be blunted, and all on his own? Hehe..."


    "..."


    As the men chatted away obliviously, they were unaware that Arcu and hispanions were already lying in ambush for the group of knights undergoing their trial in the forest.


    ....


    Su Lun and Yuta quickly made their way to Lake Rudasil.


    The tribe''s settlement of the Grey Wolf n was just beside theke, where the woods were not too dense and the view was quite open.


    From atop a distantrge tree, two figures were observing several people chatting in the vige through a monocr telescope.


    They didn''t rashly approach but watched carefully.


    After a long while, Su Lun put down the telescope, narrowed his eyes slightly, and muttered, "They''re strong... So these are the elite royal troops of Luying?"


    Even though they were too far to sense the fires of their souls, Su Lun could tell from their armor that those people in the vige were the elite of the elite!


    From the military insignia on their armor, the middle-aged man leading them seemed to be of the rank of colonel.


    In Luying''s military hierarchy, such a high-ranking position was usually held by professionals of the fourth tier and above.


    "So that''s the legendary Golden Gryphon Armor, troublesome indeed."


    Su Lun''s pupils contracted slightly as he pondered something.


    With his current level of understanding, he could naturally tell the quality of the armor from the runes and enchantment traces on it.


    The armors on those people varied, but they were at least of the "gold" or "dark gold" level for military officers.


    The Imperial Royal Knight Legion of the Luying Empire has been able to sustain such a war of attrition against the mechanical army of Mafa for so many years, thanks to their alchemy, mechanical augmentation, and most importantly, their "Imperial Secretly-Forged" runic alchemy armors.


    These were top-tier armors with defense strong enough to go head-to-head with mechanical battle armors.


    It wasn''t just about the indestructibility of the outer armor; the linings were able to absorb and dissolve the force of impacts, and some ingenious design at the joints ensured that knights'' movements were not hindered at all, making them much more flexible than mechanical battle armors.


    The armor also had high demands on the wearer.


    To achieve ultimate defensive capabilities, such an armor would weigh at least half a ton and could go up to several.


    To fight for extended periods on the battlefield, knights needed considerable strength.


    "They''vee to hunt the wild giants, huh. It looks like the Luying Empire must have found a shortcut that leads directly to the northern tundra..."


    A myriad of thoughts shed through Su Lun''s mind in an instant.


    The enemy was the royal elite, which was bad news.@@novelbin@@


    But the good news was that he hadn''t seen anyone who seemed like a fifth-tier presence thus far.


    Yuta, using a telescope for the first time, adapted after some familiarization.


    She keenly caught the tracks of flocks of birds asionally startled into flight above the forest and analyzed, "There''s fighting to the northeast in the forest, heading toward the ''Wildwind Path.'' It could be Arcu and the others..."


    As she spoke, she put down the telescope, looked at Su Lun, and asked, "Mr. Su Lun, are there formidable enemies among them?"


    Su Lun stated bluntly, "This group of enemies is much stronger than the vers. Although I haven''t seen any fifth-tiers for now, we definitely can''t confront them head-on. We have a chance only if we spread out."


    Although he had killed several fourth-tiers, they were either pirates or ver gangs.


    What he was facing now was the genuine royal elite legion of Luying. Whether in terms of cultivation techniques, equipment, talent, or augmentation... they were one in ten thousand.


    There was no room for carelessness.


    Su Lun was fairly confident about taking down one.


    But if several people from the vige joined together against him, he didn''t stand a chance.


    Especially that colonel, aside from the Reaper, Su Lun didn''t feel he had any way to take him down right now.


    Yuta, hearing this, nodded seriously, "Mhm."


    If he felt they were a challenge, the enemies must be extremely strong.


    Su Lun had pieced together some information from reading lips and knew that those Luying knights were on an officer''s trial.


    The few officers in the vige seemed to have noticed someone spying from afar.


    But they didn''t pursue, clearly not taking it seriously.


    This was something that could be exploited.


    Su Lun thought it over and said, "Let''s go over there and take a look."


    ...


    Meanwhile, several kilometers northeast of Lake Rudasil in the dense forest, a fierce battle was taking ce.


    The seven or eight young Druids of Arcu were not foolish; knowing the strength of the enemy, they had no ns to force a confrontation.


    When they arrived, they found that most of the tribespeople of the Grey Wolf n had already been transported away, leaving behind some who were injured and inconvenient to transport.


    They naturally knew it was a trap, but they nned to rescue them first.


    The youngsters discussed it and decided to lure the enemy.


    Using the jungle environment, they aimed to kill the detestable humans and rescue their people.


    However, the actual battle did not go as they expected.


    They had heard from their people about the strength of the "ver squads," but this time they indeed encountered the royal elite legion of Luying!


    The decoy worked; they sessfully lured the enemies out.


    But... the battle was extremely brutal.


    Even with traps set in case of danger that caught the enemy off guard and severely injured one.


    That was all.


    They soon realized that the other side had an absolute advantage in equipment.


    It was equipment even more terrifying and powerful than that of the ver squads!


    Even the attacks of the Druids in their beast-transformed state caused only limited damage to the enemy''s armor.


    ws could easily tear through leather armor, even ordinary mechanical gear, but on that runic armor, they left at most some slight scratches, doing no real harm to the enemy itself.


    Even with spells, the lower tiers were just as useless against enemies d in full-body armor.


    And it was clear that the enemy had anticipated an ambush and did not panic when attacked; instead, they began to retaliate and encircle them.


    Large-caliber sniper rifles, bombs, alchemy crossbows, cursed items... a constant stream of tactics emerged.


    Whether at range or in closebat, Arcu''s novice Druids had no advantage whatsoever.


    Unable to rescue the captives, they were now the ones being hunted.


    They could only rely on the forest for cover as they fought and retreated.


    Soon, three of the eight who had snuck out from the Holy Land were dead in the chase, and the situation for the rest wasn''t good; they were injured to varying degrees.


    "Umon, stop being stubborn, let''s get out of here!"


    "It''s my fault that everyone''s in this mess. Arcu, you guys go ahead, I''ll hold them off!"


    "Damn it, if we go, we go together!"


    "..."


    These hot-blooded Dalu tribe youths would never abandon arade. They hade with the determination to face death.


    They fought fiercely to the end.


    ....


    When Su Lun and Yuta arrived, guided by the sounds of battle, they saw several people being chased in a sorry state.


    However, fortunately, there were still a few alive ¨C a stroke of luck amidst the misfortune.


    Suddenly blocked by a huge white wolf, the group was collectively startled.


    Arcu recognized it immediately as his sister.


    "Sister!?"


    Guilty shed across his face as he realized she had discovered his sneaking out.


    But now was clearly not the time for that.


    He shouted, "Sister, get out of here, the enemies are really tough!"


    Yuta nced at the young men, not moving, and coldly rebuked, "You go first. We''ll deal with you when you get back!"


    Arcu, thinking his sister didn''t know how formidable the enemy was, anxiously said, "Sister, their armor is very strong, you can''t fight them head-on."


    Yuta didn''t have a chance to reply. Her gaze hardened and she disappeared into a white blur.


    In the blink of an eye, with a "thud," she had sent a heavy-armored knight flying with a palm strike, breaking arge tree.


    But the knight had armor to protect him and seemed unaffected; he immediately stood back up.


    With a "whoosh," a javelin was thrown their way. Yuta sensed it and narrowly avoided it.


    At that moment, seven or eight more people caught up, all fully-armored knights.


    "Sister!"


    Arcu certainly hadn''t gone first; he resolutely stood by Yuta''s side, ready to protect her.


    His refusal to leave meant that the other apprentice Druids didn''t leave either, all ready to stay and fight to the death if necessary.


    ....


    Meanwhile, high in the treetops, Su Lun cloaked in his mantle and suppressing his presence, closely observed the area.


    [Sacred Judgment Legion''s Standard Javelin]


    Quality: Silver


    Description: Standard javelin of the Luying Royal Legion, made of tungsten steel alloy, with wind attribute piercing and eleration effects;


    Looking at the javelin, Su Lun muttered to himself, "They really are rich... the cost of that javelin must be worth two to three hundred thousand apiece."


    He then observed the equipment worn by those knights.


    Elite is indeed elite; the knights'' armor, sabers, and firearms were all top-grade military gear that couldn''t be bought on the open market.


    The value of their full set of equipment was staggering; it wouldn''t be an overstatement to say they were carrying half a city''s worth on their backs.


    Within his mind, Su Lun roughly estimated that just the value of the equipment on this small squad of ten exceeded the worth of the few hundred vers he had taken down before.


    Moreover, all of it was military gear that couldn''t be acquired on the market.


    However, these knights weren''t the ones Su Lun needed to be wary of.


    The soul fires of the trainee officers below were all within his sensing range, none of them particrly strong, ranging from second to third tier.


    Without a fourth tier amongst them, even with their superior equipment, it would not be difficult for Su Lun to kill them if he wanted to.


    But he knew there was a high-ranking professional secretly protecting the group.


    Without pinpointing that individual''s location, he refrained from taking action rashly.


    ...


    On the ground, Yuta and herpanions had already engaged in fierce battle with the enemy group.


    With her in the fight, thebatants were momentarily in a standoff.


    The heavy-armored knights had a weakness too; thebat greatly drained their stamina.


    Although the attacks from Yuta''s side did limited damage to the armor, they required much less stamina and were more agile, making it difficult for the armors to win quickly.


    Seeing Yuta was not in immediate danger, Su Lun was not in a hurry to intervene.


    He watched the trainee officers and their disyed tactics, his thoughts racing, "[B-036-Earth Dragon], [Talent C-071-Ape], [C-004-Divine Power]... This Judgment Legion really is like the legends say, mostly recruiting talented fighters with strength-based abilities, and their augmentations are all focused on enhancing strength..."


    Su Lun was pensive.


    The Luying military had several mature professional advancement systems. Soldiers advanced in this way would be incredibly strong in groupbat.


    However, as he watched, his expression suddenly changed.


    "Have I been discovered?"


    Su Lun''s brows immediately furrowed.


    He had been nning to observe from the shadows but hadn''t expected to be detected by the enemy first.


    It was just a moment before, that he clearly felt a soul fluctuation sweep over him like a radar wave.


    This fluctuation would go unnoticed by normal people, but his spiritual power was so sensitive now that he immediately identified it as some kind of spiritual power sensing technique.


    Su Lun was somewhat puzzled. He was wearing a mirror organization''s cloak which usually rendered him undetectable by ordinary means.


    This meant that the person lurking somewhere possessed a curse object with a sensing ability?


    Since the enemy had already discovered him, remaining hidden was pointless. He immediately changed tactics.


    Without any hesitation, Su Lun spread out a sealed scroll, formed sorcerer''s seals with his hands, and chanted "Seal¡¤Release!" Discover exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire


    The next instant, a massive Mecha appeared out of nowhere.


    The Mecha plummeted down rapidly, and Su Lun leaped down with it.


    While he was still in descent, he swiftly assembled the Mecha onto his body using maneuvering threads. Before anyone on the ground could react, the Mecha''s steam boiler charged and expelled a burst of steam with a "hiss," propelling his form rapidly downward as he shed with his de.


    Because it was a surprise attack, those underground didn''t have time to dodge when they noticed.


    Su Lun''s Ship-Cutter struck the knight who attempted to block with his sword.


    This was the "main tank" of that team.


    With a "ng," the ear-piercing nk resounded through the woods.


    It was only a momentary standoff before the vibration of the Ship-Cutter broke the long sword in two, and then heavily cut into the opponent''s armor.


    Blood sttered everywhere as the knight, overwhelmed by the tremendous force, sunk one leg deep into the soil.


    The fact that the cut didn''t bisect him showed how astonishing the armor''s defense was.


    But Su Lun didn''t give him a chance.


    The initial sh had opened a breach andpromised the integrity of the armor, significantly reducing its defensive capability.


    He lifted his arm and came down with a diagonal sh, following the gap and cleaving the knight in two from the chest, blood spraying wildly, and the sight turning crimson.


    ....


    Su Lun killed someone in an instant.


    This sudden change shocked everyone underground for a moment.


    The few members of the knight order, upon seeing theirrade in, were horrified and confused.


    They instantly recognized that this was a battle Mecha from Mafa!


    What the hell!


    How could someone from Mafa appear in the Silent Forest?


    Even Yuta, watching him y a knight in armor she herself couldn''t kill, had a slight surprise in her eyes.


    As for Arcu and the others, their shock was beyond measure.


    Such sturdy armor, split with a single sh?


    But in that moment, they guessed the identity of the person.


    Only humans would use such mechanical devices.


    And the humans they knew were only two, one was Katyusha, and the other was Mr. Su Lun!


    The one who woulde to rescue them alongside his sister was fairly obvious.


    Su Lun shouted, "You go first!"


    His Mecha armor held back those on the opposite side, and both sides disengaged and stood off at a distance.


    Upon hearing this, Yuta nodded her head.


    Knowing Su Lun''s capabilities, she understood that staying would only be a burden, so shemanded Arcu and the others with a sharp cry, "Go!"


    .....


    Now the situation was reversed, with Su Lun''s side having the overwhelming equipment advantage.


    The armor of the Imperial Royal officers of Luying might be incredibly defensive, but the properties of the armor worn by these reserve officers fell far short of the [Ship-Cutter IX-Type Mecha Armor] Su Lun wore!


    Without any idents, these people stood no chance of killing Su Lun.


    Instead, they''d likely be killed cleanly by him.


    Therefore, the one hiding in the shadows would definitely not just watch this happen.


    Moreover, now that a battle Mecha from Mafa had appeared, the matter had be moreplicated.


    They couldn''t help but suspect that the forces of the Mafa Empire had infiltrated the Northern Ice Fields, and might have even formed some alliance with the demi-human tribes.


    Therefore, this Mecha warrior and those Druids could not be allowed to escape!


    ....


    Su Lun was forcing that person toe out!


    Everyone was shocked for a moment.


    But Su Lun didn''t stop. Now that he had made his move, he wouldn''t give the enemy a chance to react.


    In that brief moment, steam power built up beneath his feet and he rocketed forward, his mechanized body lurching as he swung his second sh!


    Just as another was about to be cut down by the de, a ghostly figure appeared before Su Lun. Holding a ck long staff-like weapon, he steadfastly blocked the Ship-Cutter.


    Su Lun, seeing his attack blocked, was not at all surprised, "So you''vee."


    However, upon seeing the person clearly, he did feel a hint of surprise.


    To be exact, it was not because of the fourth-tier professional, but because of the weapon in his hand.


    It was an ink-ck umbre!


    Just now, for a moment, golden runes lit up on the umbre''s surface, and astonishingly, they absorbed the blow from the Ship-Cutter. Briefly, one could even hear the sound of ghastly wails and howls.


    A flicker passed through Su Lun''s left eye as he appraised it.


    [Rune-Engraved Human Skin Umbre]


    Quality: Dark Gold


    Description: Messengers of the underworld also need an umbre to shield them from the sun;


    Cursed Feature: An umbre made of human skin holding resentful spirits, a prison for souls; it can increase the bearer''s spiritual perception and enhance Necromancy Spell Pration; consumes arge amount of Spiritual Power to actively deploy the umbre, creating a ''Nightfall Domain'' that deprives everyone within its range of their five senses; releases resentful spirits to inflict continuous psychic damage on the target; those who have not attained a certain level of mastery over thews of Death will suffer from the curse''s bacsh, permanent sensory distortion, with a moderate probability of hearing whispers from unknown beings of the underworld;


    Exnation: This is a damaged forbidden artifact, missing its ribs; it only has the canopy left. The collection of souls can strengthen this cursed object''s characteristics, currently hosting 85546 malevolent spirits;


    Once Su Lun understood the details of the umbre, the realization dawned on him.


    Of course it could block the Ship-Cutter; it was a damaged forbidden artifact.


    Seeing the whispers and feeling a sense of deja vu,


    "Not being affected by the curse with the mastery ofws of Death? I wonder if my second-level Reaper meets the usage requirements..."


    As Su Lun pondered, the cursed object seemed quite suitable for him.


    He also understood why he had been detected.


    It was truly because of this umbre.


    At the same time, he was also amazed by the depth of resources the Luying royal family had.


    Not to mention those costly standard issue gears, just any fourth-tier that showed up had in their possession a damaged forbidden artifact.

 Chapter 264 Necromancy, Stones, Harvest

    The hunchbacked old man in ck clothes used an umbre to block Su Lun''s sh.


    The two immediately disengaged and created some distance between them.


    As the old man retreated, he closed his umbre and his fingers flurried through enchanting movements, almost instantly conjuring sorcerer''s seals.


    Seeing this reaction speed, Su Lun knew he was dealing with a formidable opponent.


    The old man in ck fixed his gaze on Su Lun in front of him, though his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of Yuta and the others in the forest behind.


    Clearly, he had no intention of letting them go.


    The sorcerer''s seals formed instantly, and he pped the ground with one hand, "Spirit Summoning Contract: Hellhound!"


    As Su Lun observed the old man performing the sorcerer''s seals, he knew they weren''t the usual elemental spell configurations and had his guards up. However, he never imagined it would be necromancy!


    Necromancers are extremely rare in the alchemy field, even rarer than Puppet Masters.


    They usually employ ancient contracts, offering sacrifices for an equivalent exchange to summon creatures from other-dimensional nes to assist in battle.


    As the spell was cast, a ck Seven-Pointed Star Formation pattern suddenly appeared under the old man''s palm.


    The formation seemed to open a spatial gateway, and Su Lun immediately felt a strong aura of death overwhelming him.


    This smell would make anyone else feel dizzy and nauseous, but he found it strangelyforting.


    "Is this contract summoning a creature from a necromantic ne?"


    A thought shed through Su Lun''s mind.


    He didn''t need to guess much further, as at that moment, the necromantic array shed with a ck light, and suddenly five ugly, giant hounds engulfed in ck mes appeared.


    [Hellhound]


    Description: A third-tier hell creature with a trace of divine lineage; adept in dark me spells, tracking, and has a remarkable biting force;


    Su Lun looked at these headless demonic hounds and knew they posed no threat to him.


    The old man, evidently, intended them to chase after Yuta and his group.


    Sure enough, after a fierce barking session, the demonic hounds dashed into the dense forest like lightning.


    Su Lun wasn''t particrly worried; Yuta and his crew were strong, and there was no immediate danger.


    "This is the depth of the royal family''s heritage..."


    Su Lun sighed internally.


    The hunchbacked old man before him, who he had encountered at the fourth-tier, waspletely out of his league.


    However.


    If the opponent had tactics, his were not inferior!


    While the old man was forming seals for summoning, Su Lun also took out a ck-and-white chessboard.


    Who knew what strange abilities the enemy might deploy; he had no intention of letting him escape.


    With a sh of light, the two appeared within the space of the chessboard.


    ....


    "Huh..."


    The hunchbacked old man sensed the space shifting around him and let out a light huh.


    Instinctively, he immediately lifted the ck umbre in his hand.


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    Su Lun showed no courtesy, lunging forward with his Ship-Cutter in hand.


    This guy could block the Ship-Cutter; his melee capabilities were indeed strong.


    But at equal levels, how could a fleshly bodypare with machinery?


    If he could kill with the mecha or perhaps pry some secrets from his opponent, that would be perfect.


    But the old man was extremely decisive; after only a few exchanges, he realized that even if he wouldn''t be defeated, he definitely couldn''t break through the mechanical armor.


    While dodging, as Su Lun watched him unhesitatingly take out a piece of meat, chew it briefly, and swallow it,


    Su Lun''s eye twitched as he observed the dark piece of meat.


    [Cursed Corpse Chunk]


    Description: A piece of meat over three thousand years old, which, after special curing, has acquired miraculous powers; consuming it can greatly enhance necromantic affinity and improve resistance to certain necromantic curses; high probability of contracting corpse poison.


    Being able to swallow a millennia-old piece of rotten meat without batting an eyelid, Su Lun understood why necromancers weren''t very sociable.


    Being harsh on oneself naturally results in great effects.


    After swallowing that piece of rotten meat, the old man''s body emitted steaming ck vapors, his aura abruptly changed, wrapped in ck mists, and he looked terrifying.


    The scent of the living vanished from him in an instant, and he appeared as though he had crawled out of a grave.


    Su Lun immediately guessed what that guy was nning to do, feeling a fresh sense of great enlightenment in his heart.


    "So it''s possible to evade part of a curse''s bacsh using such an unorthodox method?"


    He thought in a sh that if he ever heard uncontroble whispers again, could he also use this method to suppress them temporarily?


    However, eating rotting flesh... seemed a bit hard to stomach.


    The thought vanished in a sh.


    This guy, obviously knowing he couldn''t kill Su Lun, was nning to use the power of that umbre.


    However, since he had identified the properties of the human skin umbre, Su Lun also felt confident about his chances.


    He also wanted to test whether his hypothesis was correct.


    If he was right, this guy was dead!


    .....


    The hunchbacked old man was decisive, even willing to endure a curse bacsh to use this tactic, which was not to be underestimated.


    After consuming that piece of meat, the old man''s sorcerer''s seals rapidly changed, quickly forming into a spell pattern Su Lun had never seen before, and he eximed softly, "Incorporation ¡¤ Release!"


    Just then, a pair of blue phosphorus-fire wings congealed behind him, lifting him into the air, and his figure became even more ghostlike.


    Su Lun watching the incorporation, twitched at the corner of his eye, "Gold quality incorporation, the wings of the phantom species ''Phosphorus Sparrow''?"


    This time, he truly realized how extravagantly wealthy the Luying royal family was.


    Their heritage was absolutely staggering...


    Su Lun himself had survived many near-death situations, which had earned him the few restricted items he now possessed.


    This guy, with cursed items, incorporations, and cultivation techniques all of superior quality, was enough to incite envy.


    The incorporation not only enhanced movement speed but also increased affinity with necromancy; the match between the incorporation''s attributes and abilities was very high, and his aura became even stronger.


    Furthermore, the blue phosphorus fire on the wings was very effective in burning through the threads condensed by Su Lun''s fourth-tier Space Law.


    This made Su Lun''s n to kill the opponent solely with his mechanized armor fail.


    With these wings, at least for the short term, he wouldn''t be able to kill that guy.


    The hunchbacked old man used this wing incorporation not just for teleportation to save his life.


    But to give himself peace of mind to execute that particr spell.


    Su Lun didn''t use his powerful moves to stop him.


    The first reason was that he wasn''t sure he could definitely kill him.


    The second reason naturally was to let him go ahead and use that spell.


    After all, using it would greatly burden the guy.


    Then there would be a chance to kill him.


    And that spell, unless there was an unexpected turn, wouldn''t affect him too much.


    ....


    Su Lun''s set of "Ship-Cutter IX Form Mechanized Armor" included a helmet made of invigorating alloy, so general mental spells had no effect on him.


    The hunchbacked old man clearly realized this, which is why he resolutely used that cursed ck umbre.


    Su Lun gave him the opportunity, and the guy finally used it.


    As aplex array of sorcerer''s seals formed, the old man''s aura suddenly soared, and he emitted a low ghost-like voice, "Dark Domain: Nightfall!"


    The vast checkerboard space was instantly enveloped in pitch darkness, like asphalt.


    Su Lun felt as if he had been blinded by the nightfall, seeing nothing but darkness before him.


    Not only was his sense of sight stripped away, but his hearing and touch vanished too.


    He couldn''t even feel his own body, as if only his lonely soul remained there, lost in thought.


    It proved that in an environment of absolute darkness, fear could intensify a hundredfold.


    If one were to remain in such a state for a long time, their spirit would eventually spiral out of control and break down.


    But Su Lun was unusually calm.


    This feeling made controlling his negative emotions much easier.


    He even took the time to carefully experience this stripping of the senses, thinking to himself, "Using cursed items to execute a domain that seems like something only a seventh-tier professional could use? Tsk tsk, such a miraculous spell. With this move, probably most professionals would have their eyes wide open inplete darkness. My checkerboard space should also pull off something like this, close the doors, turn off the lights, it would be perfect..."


    Being deprived of the five senses, for most people, meant being likembs to the ughter.


    But Su Lun had Soul Perception, and he clearly sensed the opponent''s soul fire, so he was not at all flustered.


    However, what puzzled him was that the old man''s soul fire form had changed from the initial human form to a shape with horns on its head and fleshy wings on its back.


    "A mythological series talent, [A-029-Hell Messenger]? No wonder he dared to use that cursed umbre so potent it''s considered a restricted item..."


    Su Lun recognized the origin of the shadow, but he was not surprised anymore.


    The poption of the Emperor Luying''s Empire was vast, and even with a talent awakening rate of one in a million for level A talents, there were still quite a few.@@novelbin@@


    Moreover, those who woke up with rare talents generally gathered under the nobles.


    It was not strange for people of the royal family to possess such level A and B talents.


    However, if it were just that, Su Lun, protected by his mechanicalbat suit, wouldn''t have had a major problem.


    He couldn''t sense the opponent or attack, but the opponent couldn''t kill him either.


    Obviously, the power of this dark umbre was far more than just that.


    When darkness fell, Su Lun suddenly heard a wailing scream beside his ear.


    He clearly blocked his hearing, so where did this sounde from?


    Su Lun immediately realized that it was a spiritual attack from the vengeful spirits.


    These were the over eighty thousand vengeful spirits imprisoned by the Human Skin Umbre, now attacking his mind.


    This made Su Lun feel as if he had fallen into an abyss paved with the souls of the wronged, with hands of evil spirits trying to drag his thoughts into an endless abyss.


    This was somewhat simr to the sonic attack of his "Nightmare Doll."


    It was a range release; even if one didn''t sumb in a short time, the longer the duration, the more chaotic the spirit would be, leading eventually to a mental breakdown.


    What made Su Lun more curious was, how did this technique prate the vibranium helmet and affect his true body?


    Tsk tsk¡­ interesting.


    "It must be the ''Necromancy Spell Pration'' feature of the dark umbre, so powerful. Doesn''t this mean that in the future when facing mechanical warriors, even if I don''t use the Reaper''s scythe, I also have a way to kill the opponent?"


    Thoughts shed through Su Lun''s mind,


    and he already considered the dark umbre as his spoils of war.


    Now, he had roughly figured out the effects of this cursed dark umbre.


    The testing was almost done.


    It was time to end this.


    Moreover, after that old man employed this technique, his aura had significantly weakened a lot.


    The exhaustion of this "Dark Domain," as identified, was enormous!


    If he let this domain continue, it could directly drain that hunchbacked old man dry.


    But Su Lun himself wouldn''t be able to hold out that long.


    The spiritual attacks of those vengeful spirits were getting stronger, and even though he suppressed them, he felt increasingly irritated.


    At that moment, his expression suddenly became stern, nning to make onest attempt.


    If his guess was correct, it also meant that he might be able to control this cursed dark umbre!


    ....


    The hunchbacked old man seemed to think Su Lun had sumbed to the control of "Nightfall" and confidently stepped closer.


    The old man got very close, probably wanting to find any ws in the mechanicalbat suit.


    But just then, a sudden change escted!


    His eyes suddenly hardened, and he saw a silhouette of a cloak and scythe appear behind the Mecha.


    It was the second stage Reaper''s ghostly shadow!


    "This!!!"


    Seeing this, the hunchbacked old man instantly panicked, a fear from the depths of his soul.


    Others might not recognize what this apparition was, but being a Necromancer, he clearly knew much more about the taboos of death!


    He recognized the origin of this shadow, and his eyes went nk: "This is the S-level talent ''Death Reaper,'' and a second stage awakening? How... how is this possible!"


    Vengeful spirits are just minor ghosts; wouldn''t they shiver at the arrival of the Grim Reaper?


    As soon as the ghostly shadow of the Reaper appeared, the tens of thousands of vengeful spirits within the domain of Nightfall, like cats whose tails had been stepped on, panicked and changed shape. They had been greedily inhaling human breath moments before, but now they were terrified and bolted back into the floating dark umbre in mid-air, daring not to show themselves again.


    Su Lun''s senses also instantly recovered, and his vision cleared.


    "Pff~"


    Seeing his technique broken, the hunchbacked old man''s face turned red, and he couldn''t help but spurt out a mouthful of blood.


    The curse rebounded against him several times over, due to the forced breaking of the technique.


    And just when his mind was still dazed, Su Lun would not give him a chance to catch his breath!


    The threads that hadn''t appeared before now densely materialized into solid form.


    "Controlling Threads Secret Technique¡¤Caged Bird!"


    Su Lun had long locked onto his opponent, and once he made a move, it was a thunderous strike, leaving no chance for a turnaround.


    Masses of silk threads controlled the field, not yet burnt through, as a mechanical arm quickly gripped the neck of the hunchbacked old man, firmly locking it in ce like a vise.


    A crisp snapping sound of bones breaking echoed.


    The shock on the face of this hunchbacked old man hadn''t faded before hepletely lost his vitality.


    His body went limp, turning into a corpse.


    Su Lun watched as wisps of gray mist floated from the corpse in his hand, casually selecting a few interesting ones and devouring them.


    ''You have stripped "Roksh Luweio" of his soul, obtaining some "Fragments of Dark Laws," "Fragments of Space Law"''


    ''You are now aware of some usage details of the "Runic Human Skin Umbre"''


    ''You have gained the understanding of a specific "Contractual Spirit Summoning Technique"''


    ''You have acquired extensive knowledge rted to "Necromancy Techniques" and "Necromancy Runes"''


    ''You have mastered some information: "Information on the strong of the Sacred Judgment Legion..."''


    ''You have learned some "Royal Secrets of the Luying Dynasty"''


    ''Spiritual power +6.3''


    Having digested the stripped information, Su Lun''s eyes sparkled, "Heh... The people of the Luying royal family really have extraordinary knowledge!"


    This guy definitely was the highest-quality tier-four professional he had stripped, his understanding ofws so solid, far stronger than those half-baked pirates he''d stripped before.


    Su Lun''s thoughts drifted.


    Many of his ideas had greatly changed.


    Although the Luying empire was a declining one, from some of the "Royal Secrets" he had stripped, like those of Roksh, there were many more high-level practitioners in the Luying royal family.


    And the information this guy knew was just the tip of the iceberg; the entire empire was a massive, frightening "old monster."


    "The strength of the Luying royal family really should not be underestimated..."


    Su Lun mused to himself.


    Having digested the memories, he also understood that Roksh''s techniques were not so simple.


    It just so happened that Roksh encountered Su Lun''s "Reaper Phantom," which he countered.


    Otherwise, even facing a tier-five professional, this guy could have shown considerablebat power.


    Too bad.


    This further convinced Su Lun of the thought that an alchemist must be well-learned.


    Learning more always helps, reducing the chances of being countered.


    ...


    As Su Lun digested the memories, two glowing objects slowly condensed from the corpse.


    One was a crystal skull, a silver initiation material of the dark series, which could greatly enhance the capability toprehend darkws after advancement.


    The tier-four gold outfit "Phosphor Peacock Wings" also condensed.


    If Su Lun had no better options, these two materials were also somewhatpatible with his profession.


    Even if not used, they could still fetch a good price.


    The items were all high-grade, which was also the biggest reason this guy could use the ck umbre and withstand the curse bacsh.


    Thinking of the ck umbre, Su Lun turned his gaze over it once more.


    He held the umbre in his hand, a chill and bizarre sensation shooting straight to his forehead.


    Yet strangely, there was a sense of familiarity.


    The death aura on the ck umbre seemed to really like Su Lun''s deathws.


    Just by touching it, Su Lun noticed a difference, his heart thrilled, "With this item in hand, my soul perception range has expanded nearly fivefold!"


    Not to mention its other effects, just this functionality alone made it an extremely practical cursed object for him!


    He had already had a hunch, and now upon handling it, it might actually be feasible.


    With his understanding of deathws, using this ck umbre, the negative consequences of curse bacsh would be very low!


    For Su Lun, this was certainly an item that could be used immediately!


    His storage ring still contained many materials, potions, and scriptures of sorts.


    However, now was not the time to thoroughly experience them.


    If there were no surprises, someone should be chasing after him!


    Su Lun packaged the items quickly, unraveling the chessboard space.

 Chapter 265 The Omen Bird

    Having a human skin umbre expanded Su Lun''s sensory range by several times.


    When he emerged from the chessboard space, he immediately sensed several powerful soul fires nearby. As expected, they were the same Ru-Ying military officers from the vige earlier.


    Fortunately, Su Lun had prepared in advance and used his old method of wrapping himself in shroud cloth for invisibility, while also controlling a walking corpse as a decoy.


    As expected, as soon as it appeared, several figures shed, and the walking corpse was immediately hacked into three pieces by two silver-armored warriors wielding huge swords, one in front and one behind.


    The recent lesson from "Roksh Luweio" vividly taught Su Lun.


    It made him realize that encountering professionals with strong backgrounds required extra caution since they might possess certain forbidden items. The abilities of professionals in this world were diverse and should never be underestimated.


    This wasn''t just Su Lun''s spection; he had deliberately extracted the memories of that hunchbacked old man earlier, learning the identities of the people behind him and some of their methods.


    These individuals were instructors at the "Ru-Ying Royal War Academy."


    Although their transcendental rank was not too high, they had rich practical experience and each possessed curses that enhanced theirbat capabilities, which would make an actual fight extremely troublesome.


    Moreover, military personnel were adept at coordinated attacks. They had prepared tactics for handling various professionals with seamless cooperation. Even if Su Lun went out in mechanical armor, he wouldn''t gain any advantage whatsoever.


    Not intending to confront them directly, Su Lun seized the opportunity to sh into the dense forest.


    ...


    While the shroud clothpletely shielded his aura, the slightest noises of movement couldn''t escape those fourth-level professionals.


    After gaining some distance, Su Lun decisively deployed his eight-armed spidernce and began sprinting wildly through the dense forest.


    The men behind him naturally pursued relentlessly.


    Despite wearing heavy armor, these fellows were not slow, and all possessed highly advanced alchemical augmentations.


    The one closest in pursuit, wearing gold griffin armor and known as Big Beard Sandru Heimer, nicknamed "Guile Sword," shed the air, sending several sharp and cunning sword Qi that chopped down the giant trees in the forest like cutting wheat.


    If it weren''t for Su Lun''s keen senses and spatial sh ability, he would have been cut into pieces long ago.


    There was also that individual flying midair with shiny golden wings, "Metal Angel" Lei, whose mainbat augmentation was the gold version of "Thousand Killing Wings." The metal feathers could beunched like a storm, wreaking havoc wherever they passed.


    Fortunately, in the primeval forest, wing augmentations were not so effective. Flying low, they encountered numerous trees and obstacles, and flying high, the dense canopy obscured their vision.


    And wind elemental elerated golden spears shot through the air like bullets, exploding the giant trees...


    There were also returning flying axes...


    None of the individuals following him were weak in their methods.


    However, the good news was that not all of them excelled in pursuit.


    Such burst speeds were not sustainable.


    And Su Lun himself, with spatial discement and the eight-armed spidernce, could escape at a despairingly fast pace.


    If they couldn''t close the distance in a short burst, those behind him would likely have no chance to catch up.


    If the opponents recklessly split up to pursue him, he wouldn''t mind defeating them one by one.


    The opponents clearly understood this as well, never revealing such a w. They knew very well that anyone capable of killing the fourth-rank hunchbacked old man Roksh could certainly kill any one of them as well.


    Eventually, after a chase through the forest, Su Lun sessfully eluded them.


    .....


    Meanwhile, in another part of the forest.


    The ce was in chaos, with evidence of battle everywhere.


    The vegetation was scorched en masse into ashes, with some stumps still holding unextinguished, eerie ck fires, and the air was thick with the smell of char.


    Yuta, in his form of a white wolf, was also scorched all over, panting heavily while staring intensely into the depths of the dense forest.


    They had just been through a fierce life-and-death battle, and if not for his protection, Arcu and the boys might have died here.


    The running speed of the hellhounds wasn''t a bit slower than their beast-transformed forms, and they were also adept in tracking, making them impossible to shake off.


    Fortunately, all of a sudden, the five hellhounds were pulled back to another ne, allowing the group a moment to breathe.


    Arcu refrained from looking his sister in the eye, as he tended to the severe injuries of the other twopanions.


    Yuta''s deep blue pupils couldn''t hide the worry, and after looking at Arcu and the others, she said, "This ce isn''t safe, you all go back to the sanctuary first."


    "Oh."


    Hearing her words, the boys all bowed their heads in response, each passing a trace of guilt across their expressions. They hadn''t saved anyone and instead lost a fewrades, creating a big mess this time.


    They hadn''t expected Mr. Su Lun woulde to their rescue.


    But facing such strong enemies, their worries remained.


    Arcu asked, "Sister, Mr. Su Lun won''t be in trouble, right?"


    Another young man, transformed into a ck bear, also asked, "Yeah, Sister Yuta, that Mr. Su Lun..."


    Yuta interrupted them, "The sudden disappearance of the hell creatures implies that the contractor has been killed."


    Although she said that, her face also showed slight concern.


    After all, she knew there were several other troublesome enemies not far away in the vige.


    Yuta didn''t criticize much further, only saying, "In the future, you guys will be the hope of our Dalu tribe. Remember, always think thoroughly before making any decisions."


    Although the price was somewhat severe this time, having a lesson was a good thing as well.


    The group dared not meet her gaze, "Understood, Sister Yuta."


    Ultimately, Yuta couldn''t stop worrying and said no more, "You all go back first, I''ll make a trip!"


    With that, she courageously dashed into the dense forest.


    ....


    Having shaken off his pursuers, Su Lun slowed down.


    The greatest dangers in the forest were never humans; it was the magical beasts and all sorts of bizarre creatures that were far deadlier, and they were present everywhere.


    He didn''t dare to continue teleporting at high speeds in an unfamiliar environment; that would only attract the hunters in the jungle.


    Using the ck umbre as a walking stick, Su Lun strolled leisurely.


    With the perception amplification granted by the ck umbre, he could sense the soul mes within a one-kilometer radius, unafraid of being ambushed suddenly by anything.


    He had not carefully felt it before, but now he genuinely appreciated the finesse of this ck umbre.


    Having it in his possession, he sensed a realism far surpassing the information seen through the All-knowing Eye.


    "This Guile Sword Umbre is indeed a fine treasure..."


    Su Lun felt moved and yed with the ck umbre in his hands, bing even more attached to it.


    Although he had not tried using the "Nightfall Domain" function of the umbre, he felt that its curse bacsh would not be a big issue for him. This defective sealed item would greatly enhance his strength!


    Thinking of testing it furtherter, he felt immediately capable of using it in realbat.


    While walking and pondering over the effects of the ck umbre, Su Lun suddenly sensed a soul me quickly approaching him.


    "Yuta?"


    Su Lun was not surprised.


    He wore a ne with Yuta''s real name and a wolf w, which allowed her to confirm his location from a great distance.


    As expected, a familiar, massive white wolf burst into view from the dense forest.


    Seeing that Su Lun was unharmed, a visibly relieved expression appeared in Yuta''s eyes, and she asked, "Mr. Su Lun, are you alright?"


    "I''m fine."


    Su Lun, noticing her scorched fur, also asked, "Are you alright?"


    "Just a minor injury."


    Yuta''s face showedplete indifference as she slowly transformed back into her human form.


    She cared more about Su Lun than herself.


    Injuries in her beast form also appeared on her human body. Su Lun saw the burn marks on her skin, took out a potion, and helped clean and treat her wounds.


    Yuta, unembarrassed, sat bare-skinned, looking tenderly at the man before her.


    The cooling essence of the potion soaked into the wound, visibly washing away the charred flesh as new flesh formed.


    She noticed the ck umbre in Su Lun''s hand, her brow furrowing at its unsettling aura.


    It carried a deathly aura starkly different from the natural forces.


    However, considering it was Su Lun''s war trophy, her expression rxed again.


    Guessing something, Yuta said, "It''s also lucky you killed those Hellhound contractors; otherwise, the situation would be very bad."


    Su Lun nodded, his curiosity piqued as he asked, "How strong were those Hellhounds?"


    Yuta replied, "Very strong. Unlike magical beasts, their bodies arergelyposed of fire elements, making them hard to kill."


    "Oh."


    Su Lun listened to her description of the recent battle, his hands busy treating her wounds.


    Although called "Hellhounds," they were not necessarily from the mythological Hell.


    Most likely from some other realm like the "Abyssal ne" that housed undead creatures.


    The necromancy contracts in Alchemy originated from ancient alchemists who subdued creatures from different realms to facilitate envement, creating the spells for this purpose.


    Current alchemists no longer have the capability to campaign against different realms; thus, such knowledge has grown increasingly rare.


    The hunchbacked old man he had killed before had found a Necromancy Mysticism scroll from the Dawn Era in some ruins and seeded in contracting a creature from an alternate realm like the Hellhounds.


    Thinking this, Su Lun also recalled that the storage ring he had just acquired seemed to contain that tome.


    He thought it might be worth trying to see if he could form a contract himself.


    If he could obtain a few creatures like the "Hellhounds," skilled in tracking, they would be quite handy.


    ....


    As his thoughts shed through his mind, Su Lun finished treating thest torn and burned wound on Yuta''s back.


    "All done."


    He put away the potion bottle and casually pped Yuta''s firm buttocks, which were very stic.


    Yuta smiled coyly in response, "Thank you."


    She put on her clothes and looked at the darkening sky, saying, "It''s getting dark; we need to find a ce to rest."


    "Yeah."


    Su Lun nodded.


    Yuta had been to the Grey Wolf tribe and was quite familiar with the forest in this area.


    Soon, the two found a cave.


    Because there were enemies in the forest, they did not start a fire but ate some dry food instead.


    After resting for a while, Yuta went to sleep on the ground spread with animal skins, the day''s travel and battles having drained much of her energy.


    Meanwhile, Su Lun began to organize the day''s spoils.


    A set of iplete silver armor, and some standard officer equipment from the Royal Luitton Army, these were the spoils from the apprentice officer killed by the Ship-Cutter Sword earlier.


    There were also many spare items in the storage ring, alchemy bullets, potions, demon cores, energy crystal cores...


    It has to be said, these guys were really wealthy. The equipment on this third-tier lieutenant was worth more than those on the fourth or even fifth-tier pirates.


    After roughly checking everything, Su Lun searched carefully through that hunchbacked old man''s storage ring.


    The storage ring could not hold much, but everything in it was valuable.


    There were three thick tomes: "Dark Magic," "Necromancy Mysticism," "Fourth-Level Seal Sorcery"... and several dark magic spell scrolls. Although copies, each one was of fine quality. Probably an official perk from Luitton.


    Thest thin, map-like ancient scroll, however, was the "Necromancy Spirit Communion Secrets."


    Judging by the material and the degree of wear, it was an ancient item.


    Su Lun gave it a look over.


    Previously, he had pieced together memories from "Necromancy," so he could read quite swiftly.


    In just a quarter of an hour, he had read through the secret text, and his brain quickly assimted the content into his knowledge.


    "I can only contract extranar necrotic creatures that do not exceed my own tier, otherwise, I risk being devoured by the necrotic creature?"


    Su Lun pondered for a moment.


    No wonder the hunchbacked old man summoned a third-tier Hellhound during the day.


    "So, to be safe, I can only summon about second-tier necrotic creatures? And it''s random?"


    Su Lun pursed his lips.


    Seemed hardly useful.


    Although he felt it was somewhat trivial, he still decided to give it a try.


    Performing necromancy not only required this contract scroll (coordinates) but also a mastery of either thews of death or dark magic, and a bit of spatialw.


    Now that he had everything he needed.


    Su Lun thought it wouldn''t be difficult and started setting up the Spirit Communion Array ording to the scroll.


    The first time was a bit troublesome, requiring sufficient offerings.


    Su Lun spent over a hundred thousand materials to set up a pentagram formation, then ced a piece of rotten flesh that the guy had eaten during the day in the center of the formation.


    With a clench of his sorcerer''s seals, he activated the magic array, and a ck light began to shine.


    The first necromantic contract was like fishing¡ªextranar necrotic creatures that fancied these "offerings" would be hooked naturally and appear within the formation.


    Due to the constraints of the formation, they would obey somemands from the contractor.


    It was somewhat like hiring them.


    .....


    Su Lun hadn''t really expected to summon any powerful creatures.


    He had seen plenty of extranar creatures before, especially during his time in Old Lington, where he had encountered many abyssal creatures.


    He thought that even if a necrotic creature appeared, it wouldn''t be surprising.


    However, he never expected that after the ck pentagram formation lit up and the void of the ne connected, he suddenly felt a strong surge of necrotic air assaulting him.


    It wasn''t that the presence was powerful, but it had a sort of bloodline oppression to it.


    Su Lun felt uneasy and furrowed his brows, "Could something go wrong?"


    The disturbance was even greater than the hunchbacked old man''s summoning of a third-tier Hellhound during the day.


    Yet, he had clearly set up a second-tier necromancy formation?


    Su Lun was sure that he had followed the scroll''s instructions perfectly when setting up the formation, without any mistakes.


    And the ritual had stripped soul experience, so there was no possibility of encrypted misunderstanding.


    The ritual was already underway, and if he forcibly terminated it, it would also adversely affect Su Lun, the caster. As he watched the shining phantom in the formation, he patiently waited.


    Su Lun had been mentally prepared to see some kind of second-tier lord-level necrotic creature,


    but unexpectedly,


    as the light from the formation faded,


    the silhouette slowly solidified into an unimpressive... raven?


    "Just this?"


    Su Lun watched as the formation''s light disappeared, he and the bird eyeing each other.


    However, unlikemon ravens, this one had a ck halo above its head.


    When Su Lun encountered a creature he didn''t recognize, he naturally cast an All-knowing Eye at it.


    Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire


    Then, his expression immediately turned very strange.


    [Herald of Death]


    Detailed Exnation: A second-level juvenile, mythical species; also known as ''Bennu Bird,'' a mythical harbinger of the god of death, a guide of the underworld, capable of foretelling death; this bird feeds on decay and death energy, its existence sustained as long as death energy persists; contains some information beyond normal understanding;


    Seeing the identification information of the bird, Su Lun realized he had summoned a very "special" being.


    But unexpectedly, this bird seemed harmless, right?


    With a shift of his gaze and noticing the details indicating "information beyond normal understanding," Su Lun immediately knew the bird had an extraordinary origin.


    He instantly thought, "Could it be because my understanding of the Death Law is rtively profound?"


    At that moment, probably because of themotion caused by necromancy, Yuta also opened her eyes.


    She looked at the bird Su Lun had summoned and then nced at the traces of the Spirit Communion Array on the ground, asking in a peculiar tone, "Mr. Su Lun, did you summon this?"


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun nodded.@@novelbin@@


    He was also curious about what use the bird might have.


    The Dalu Tribe has traditions many human civilizations are unaware of, and he thought Yuta might know something, so he asked, "This is the ''Herald of Death.'' Yuta, do you know what it''s used for?"


    On hearing this, Yuta indeed got startled, "The Herald of Death? The legendary guide of the underworld?"


    She then looked at the crow, blinked, and perked up immediately.


    Su Lun became more curious: "You know about it?"


    Yuta nodded, but then said dubiously: "Legend has it that the ''Herald of Death'' is the transformed soul of a deity. They often apany the god of death, are proficient in the Law of Death, indestructible, and embody ominous and deathly omens. But... the birds of legend don''t usually look like this."


    "This is a juvenile. It should look different when it grows up."


    Su Lun thought about it and said.


    Without the All-knowing Eye, he would not have guessed this crow with a halo on its head to be a mythical species.


    Since what Yuta said matched the information identified, he further inquired, "What specific use does this bird have?"


    No sooner had he asked than the foolish bird "cawed" in a sound that seemed to express its discontent with his dismissive tone.


    Yuta solemnly said, "It''s the legendary bird of death, unseen by the living. It is said that those who have seen it... will be guided by it to the underworld."


    "..."


    Su Lun also twitched at the words, thinking if this meant the bird was a harbinger of sending people off?


    This bird was truly a damned omen...


    If it weren''t for a sort of telepathy with the contracted creature, knowing it was harmless to him, on hearing Yuta''s words, he''d definitely have turned hostile and sent it back through necromancy immediately.


    Yuta also felt her words might sound ill-omened, so she changed her phrase, "It''s just a legend, after all, nobody has really seen it."


    Su Lun instantly felt uneasy, "So, does that mean this bird is actually useless?"


    He had thought to try summoning a necrotic creature.


    But it turned out it was the much-hyped "mythical species" that seemed less useful than even a hellhound?


    No sooner had he made thisment, the crow "cawed" again, disying even more dissatisfaction.


    Su Lun''s eye twitched, realizing this bird was not low in intelligence.


    Just as he spoke, the body of the crow in front of him suddenly dissolved into a mass of ck mist.


    Just as Su Lun was puzzled, the creature abruptly perched on his shoulder.


    "Oh..."


    He softly eximed, immediately sensing something and was greatly surprised, "Does this bird also understand the Law of Death?"


    What surprised Su Lun even more was that the bird''s grasp of the Law of Death was even higher than his?


    It was like being next to a firece, where you could clearly feel the me was hotter than your own body temperature!


    It seemed to have no offensive capabilities, but for Su Lun, it was extremely valuable.


    It could help him enhance his understanding of the Law of Death!


    Last time, it took one death to let Su Lun find a shortcut to understand a part of the Law of Death.


    Such a method was not avable a second time.


    Su Lun did not want a second time either.


    Now with the bird by his side, he distinctly felt a slight increase in understanding...


    "Found a treasure!"


    Su Lun was joyful inside, his expression immediately changing.


    Seemingly sensing something, the crow on his shoulder "cawed" again, probably in a triumphant response.


    At this moment, as Su Lun looked at the pitch-ck bird, the more he looked the more appealing it became.


    Hmm... truly delightful!

 Chapter 266 Skeleton Burrows

    After discovering that the "Harbinger of Death" was a treasure, Su Lun spent the entire night studying its additional functions.


    He thought that even in the necromantic realm of another dimension, such a "mythical species" creature would be very rare.


    Fearing he might not be able to summon it again, Su Lun coaxed and deceived, nning to sign a Blood Covenant.@@novelbin@@


    The crow seemed not to mind, happily agreeing after consuming two pieces of rotting flesh.


    Although they couldn''tmunicate directly, as a contracted creature, they could simply share thoughts.


    The intelligence of crows is already high, but this "Harbinger of Death" was clearly much smarter than the average crow.


    Moreover, Su Lun had also gleaned some experience in raising crows, making theirmunication rtively smooth.


    Soon, he figured out the other two abilities of the bird ¡ª "resurrection" and "shared vision."


    After signing the Blood Covenant, Su Lun discovered his soul had mysteriously connected with the bird.


    Channeling the power of the contract was like a video call, enabling him to see through the eyes of the Harbinger of Death.


    After multiple trials, he had mastered this new ability.


    Before, he wasn''t very confident about hunting the "Heartstealer Demon," but with the crow, his confidence increased significantly.


    It was a true "undying species" creature. Even if its body was shattered, as long as the death energy remained, it could resurrect next to the Contractor and reassemble itself.


    In other words, it was an indestructible "unmanned scout."


    The cost of using this ability was minimal, just a piece of tasty rotting flesh, and the crow would be willing to work for him.


    Moreover, Su Lun also learned some legends about this bird from Yuta.


    The ancient necromancy books recorded that the Harbinger of Death served as a messenger between theherworld and other nes of existence. It was one of the most coveted contract pets for top-tier necromancers. They often apanied real deities of death, devouring death energies. While consuming rotting flesh, they could asionally gain certain abilities of the corpses, condensing deathws and bing stronger over time.


    This innate ability was somewhat simr to that of a "Death Reaper," one consuming corpses and the other souls. Weak earlier on but strongerter.


    Su Lun also guessed this was why he managed to summon this mythical breed.


    He was excited to see what the bird would be like when fully matured.


    However, the only problem was that the bird was very picky about its food.


    Su Lun tried feeding it various types of meat, but discovered it only ate the "Cursed Flesh" from their spoil of war.


    Other meats, it wouldn''t even nce at.


    This also meant Su Lun couldn''t keep it with him for long.


    After all, there wasn''t much of that type of meat, and once it was gone, it was gone.


    After trying for a few hours and keeping some meat as a reserve, he released the necromancy spell and sent the crow back to the other dimension.


    He thought about keeping the bird around for a long time once he found enough high-quality rotting flesh as "feed."


    ...


    The next morning, sunlight entered the cave.


    After resting and preparing, Su Lun and Yuta continued on their journey.


    The Grey Wolf Tribe was about a day or two further north, located near the "Cursed Valley."


    This area was a forbidden ce for the Dalu tribe, and Yuta had never been there, only having heard the elders in the tribe mention it.


    By the evening of the next day, the two had arrived at a ce called the "Blood Fog Swamp."


    They found their way obscured by swathes of blood-red mist.


    Yuta looked at the rudimentary beast-skin map and pointed in a direction, saying, "Not far northwest of the swamp is the ce where our ancestors encountered the ''Heartstealer Demon.'' There should be a skull-shaped grotto there..."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun nodded.


    Looking at the blood fog ahead, he didn''t n to probe it with his body.


    In the current situation, the crow came in handy.


    Thinking this, he pinched his sorcerer''s seals, and the five-pointed star formation lit up, summoning a ck crow.


    After feeding it a piece of rotting flesh, the Harbinger of Death took to the sky.


    A flicker passed through Su Lun''s right eye, and immediately, the view from the crow appeared.


    The blood fog of the swamp was confusing, but because the mist was heavy, it covered just tens of meters above the ground.


    The crow flew up a hundred meters, and the view instantly opened up.


    Then, he indeed spotted the skull-shaped grotto Yuta had mentioned.


    Su Lun softly eximed, "Found it!"


    But he was simultaneously shocked, "Could it really be a fossilized skull? How enormous must that creature be?"


    Perhaps it was not clear from the ground, but from the sky, it was unmistakable.


    It looked like a human skull, with sockets and the shape of a mouth - a gray-white grotto that didn''t seem naturally formed, but more like the rotting body of a humanoid lying on the ground.


    It was truly massive, with just the two eye sockets measuring several meters in diameter.


    Just as he intended to take a closer look, at that moment, a dark shadow swooped across the sky, a flying creature of unknown species, swallowing the crow in one gulp.


    The vision cut off, and a swirl of dark mist on Su Lun''s shoulder condensed into a crow again.


    Su Lun fed it another piece of rotting flesh, replenishing its death energy.


    He frowned slightly and said to Yuta beside him, "Let''s go. Be careful."


    Yuta nodded, "Hmm."


    The Cursed Valley stretched from the north to the south, and members of the Lurian Judgment Legion had entered from the northern entrance.


    The "Heartstealer Demon" Su Lun was looking for was in the south, unavoidable through this swampy terrain.


    With the fog obscuring their sight and limiting visibility, the two moved slowly.


    In the swamp, there were giant crocodiles dozens of meters long, ck water snakes capable of swallowing buffalo whole, and tyrant leeches that could drain a person dry without them even noticing... and countless venomous insects.


    Everywhere in the swamp was fraught with danger.


    Had it been earlier, Su Lun would definitely have been extremely cautious with every step he took.


    But now he held a ck umbre in his hand, his perception expanded several times, allowing him to easily sense and avoid the powerful beasts hidden in the mud and thus avoid unnecessary battles.


    Yuta, being a Druid, was also proficient in various methods of pest control and draining miasma.


    There was also the unmanned aerial vehicle, a ck crow.


    With the cooperation of the two and the bird, they managed to proceed quite smoothly.


    Once they confirmed the direction of the cave, they quickly arrived in the nearby area.


    ....


    Su Lun and hispanion didn''t rashly approach but chose a safe ce to first observe the situation.


    Near the cave, they discovered some human adventurers'' scattered equipment and belongings.


    It appeared that humans had passed through here recently.


    Without any signs of battle, it was highly likely that they had be food for some creature.


    The heart-stealing demon was a subterranean creature, usually not appearing on the surface, let alone in daylight.


    However, its psychic tentacles could extend very far.


    The elders of the Dalu n had once passed by here, controlled without their knowledge, and then walked into the cave to be food for the monster.


    This was also the terrifying aspect of the heart-stealing demon.


    Had it been earlier, Su Lun would probably have slowly approached the Skull Grotto to test it out.


    But if so, once discovered, they would have had to fight face-to-face with the puppets enved by the heart-stealing demon. Then continue fighting all the way down to find its main body.


    This n was not impossible, but it was ast resort


    The situation inside the grotto was unclear,


    Su Lun did not think that a creature as intelligent and evil as the heart-stealing demon would be without means of escape. Even if they could defeat those psychic puppets, the chances of catching it would be very low after signaling their presence.


    Moreover, Su Lun did not know how many puppets it had, what species they were, or what rank they were...


    Now with the ck crow, it was much easier.


    Su Lun didn''t need to probe himself; remote control would suffice.


    He released the ck crow, which flew along the way and entered the skull-shaped cave.


    Upon looking, the cave unveiled another world.


    The ck crow flew deeper into the tortuous underground, and then they saw a vige.


    "There are so many lizardmen?"


    Light flickered in Su Lun''s eyes as he discerned the shadows active in the glow of the magic crystals, clearly a bustling vige.


    The creatures were covered in scales with long tails, and he identified them as the subterranean species "lizardmen".


    The ck crow perched on a cliff rock, carefully observing everything inside the cave.


    This lizardmen tribe had at least five to six hundred individuals.


    Indeed, not rushing in was the right choice.


    Lizardmen of the fourth rank grow horns on their heads, which are easy to distinguish.


    Su Lun saw several horned individuals among the group of lizardmen. The horns were not long, meaning there was no particrly troublesome presence.


    Moreover, upon closer examination, some of the lizardmen were wearing human leather armors and armors


    They looked like the equipment of a "ve hunter team".


    The meat they were sharing was that of human and Dalu tribesmen!


    The scene was exceptionally bloody.


    The devoured corpses had their skulls uniformly punctured with a hole, their brains sucked out.


    Seeing this, Su Lun immediately realized that the heart-stealing demon must be here!


    Such evil creatures, their favorite food was the brain matter of living beings.


    "To think it controlled an entire tribe of lizardmen as its food supply..."


    Su Lun''s gaze turned slightly solemn.


    If they went in head-on, he would first have to fight with these five to six hundred lizardmen.


    Whether they could win was not certain,


    Even if they truly won, the heart-stealing demon would probably take the opportunity to escape.


    After watching for a while, the ck crow did not spot any likely fifth-rank presences and continued deeper into the cave.


    Not far in, it discovered a cave emitting a green luminescence.


    The source of the green light was a pool in the cave, filled with fist-sized spheres.


    The crow''s gaze shifted and immediately saw several humans standing there, expressionless. Opposite them, a monster three meters tall with an ugly face and meaty tentacles piercing through human skulls and greedily sucking the brains out.


    And those humans being used as "food" didn''t resist or struggle until their death.


    "It''s here!"


    Outside the cave, Su Lun saw this scene and immediately determined that this was the heart-stealing demon he was looking for!


    Just then, perhaps due to the noise made by the ck crow entering, the tentacled monster suddenly looked up, and an invisible shockwave hit them.


    Su Lun only felt the scene before his eyes freeze like a paused tape, then it copsed instantly.


    When he looked again, the ck crow had reformed on his shoulder.


    ....


    The Reaper had died twice in a short time, suffering severe loss of its death essence.


    Hard to recover with only food, Su Lun sent it back to the other realm.


    Watching the Reaper revive again, Yuta asked, "How is it, is the Heart Stealer in the burrow?"


    Su Lun nodded his head, "It is."


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    While speaking, the frown of contemtion never left his face.


    Seeing him like this, Yuta was slightly worried, "Is it going to be very tricky?"


    After all, passed down from the ancestors, it was a tremendously horrifying creature, and she also harbored an innate fear. The fifth-order elder who initially encountered it had barely escaped with his life. After so many years, that Heart Stealer might have grown even stronger.


    "It is somewhat tricky. The burrow isrge andplex, and there''s also a tribe of about six hundred lizardmen..."


    Su Lun exined the situation truthfully while strategizing inside his mind.


    Having thought of something, his tone shifted, adding, "But I have some assurance."


    The lifespan of a Heart Stealer is much longer than that of humans.


    But ordingly, their advancement is very slow.


    Therefore, Su Lun judged that this Heart Stealer was about the same as before, at most a fourth-order.


    This was deduced from the fact that the strongest among those lizardmen was only fourth-order.


    If the Heart Stealer were of a higher order, it would definitely have stronger "spiritual puppets."


    Moreover, Su Lun had discovered a "significant advantage!"


    The pool emitting a fluorescent light that the ck crow saw in the burrow was the Heart Stealer''s hatching pool!


    Having thoroughly researched this evil species beforehand, Su Lun knew that Heart Stealers were hermaphrodites; they produce eggs in their brains and then ce them in the hatching pool, a process that consumes a lot of vital essence.


    Therefore, during the hatching process, when the creature is at its weakest in its life, itsbat capability often drops a rank.


    If it was a fourth-order lord Heart Stealer, then in its hatching state, it might have only the strength of a normal fourth-order, or even third-order.


    This was the best opportunity to strike!


    Having heard Su Lun''s exnation, Yuta knew that he always deliberated deeply before acting and didn''t say much, only asking, "What are you going to do then? There are six to seven hundred lizardmen; if we really fight, the creature might escape..."


    "No! I''m not going in through the cave entrance!"


    Su Lun shook his head, his eyes intense, and said, "That creature won''t leave the hatching pool; I''ll teleport directly there. Its physicalbat strength isn''t strong. As long as I withstand the mental attacks and kill it quickly, there should be norge issue."


    Listening, Yuta also felt this was the best n, "Can I help with anything?"


    Su Lun had noticed the slick slime on the walls of the burrow previously and thought, "Not ruling out that the Heart Stealer might have other tricks. If I can''t kill it or encounter other dangers, I might not have enough time to escape. Then you can tear the space scroll, and I can teleport directly to it!"


    As he spoke, he handed Yuta a space scroll.


    Having been inspired by necromancy the night before, he had thought of another method of escape.


    That is "reverse necromancy."


    By pre-sealing the energy needed for space discement and the Blood Covenant in the scroll, Su Lun could teleport quickly and precisely without even forming sorcerer''s seals.


    This method allowed for even faster and further discement.


    Although he had meticulously calcted over and again, confirming the speed-kill n had a sess rate of over ny percent, he was not careless.


    This was thest line of insurance.


    Yuta nodded her head.


    ....


    Having prepared everything, Su Lun was ready to make his move.


    The space inside the burrow was notrge, and the mechanized armor was not agile enough. He didn''t n to wear it, but he took off the helmet made of invigorating alloy to wear. He also draped on a Gold-Patterned Cloak and held a human-skin ck umbre possessed by a vengeful spirit.


    With these multiple levels of insurance, unless the Heart Stealer was sixth-order, it couldn''t possibly control him.


    Everything prepared, Su Lun suddenly disengaged his Eight-Arm Spider Spear imnt and teleported to the entrance of the Skull Grotto.


    Almost simultaneously, a wave of spiritual power swept over.


    "Was I discovered after all!"


    Su Lun was not surprised, dropped a few signal transmitters, then performed the Spatial Technique again.


    Having previously explored the terrain inside the cavern, he teleported directly to a deep spot in the cave. At the same moment, he immediately heard dense footsteps converging towards him.


    It was clearly the lizardmen controlled by the Heart Stealer advancing to kill.


    Su Lun had no intention of getting entangled; he dropped two transmitters, then teleported again.


    His vision in the dark was extremely good, and even in the dimly lit mines, he had no trouble seeing.


    The scene before him changed again, and he appeared immediately in the cavern with the green fluorescent light that he had seen before.


    In his Soul Perception, a very strong soul fire appeared right in front of Su Lun!


    Then he and the creature with tendrils all over its face faced off in a stare-down.


    The creature, apparently seeing "Spatial Magic" for the first time, was greatly surprised by this sudden appearance of an enemy.


    Its reaction was not slow, with a re, an invisible shockwave surged directly towards him.


    "Soul Shock!"


    Su Lun''s pupils constricted slightly; even with the helmet and holding the ck umbre, the sensation like being hit with a blunt object at the back of his head made his expression flicker momentarily.


    This kind of mental shockwave, if faced by a fifth-order professional, would likely sumb to it.


    But Su Lun was overjoyed as he loosened his grip on themunicator in his hand.


    Having endured that first wave of the attack meant, as anticipated, that the Heartstealer Demon had little effect on him!


    The monster''s attack was also very skilled, its tendrilsshed out like spikes towards his eye sockets while causing a soul shock.


    This was its only close-rangebat method.


    A cold gleam shed in Su Lun''s eyes as he dodged the tendrils like lightning.


    Without hesitation, he took out a chessboard, intending to directly draw the Heartstealer Demon into the space within the chessboard. However, unexpectedly, the chessboard space malfunctioned for the first time; ripples formed around the demon''s body, which rendered it immune to the beam.


    At this moment, arge number of lizardmen had already appeared in the cave tunnel behind him.


    The Heartstealer Demon, clearly aware of its weakness in closebat, had summoned spirit puppets.


    "A spiritual power barrier? Or is it immune because its spiritual power is stronger than mine..."


    A sh of doubt passed through Su Lun''s mind, but he wasn''t flustered at all and changed his approach, ready to face off directly.


    With both hands forming magician''s seals, he softly eximed, "Mystic Art: Puppet Theater!"


    Just then, densely packed threads appeared throughout the cave, a scroll unrolled, and dozens of puppets manifested, blocking the cave entrance and stopping the aggressively advancing lizardmen.


    As for himself, he charged without hesitation towards the main body of the Heartstealer Demon.


    In such a confined space, Su Lun, a Puppet Master, wasn''t afraid of numerous monsters.


    The Heartstealer Demon continued to release waves of spiritual shock, and Su Lun felt his consciousness bing increasingly foggy.


    What was worse, from deep within the cave suddenly came a sound like a giant serpent moving through the cave.


    "Are there other spirit puppets?"


    Su Lun faintly realized what the slime on the walls indicated.


    Although he didn''t know what kind of creature wasing, he knew he had to quickly kill the Heartstealer Demon in front of him. The sorcerer''s seals transformed again: "Thread Control Secret Technique: Cocoon!"


    Masses of threads, like a spider web, sealed off the various cave entrances.


    The Heartstealer Demon had nowhere to retreat.


    Su Lun charged violently, his whole body covered in cold mes, and his eight-armed spear jabbed around the creature.


    He immediately confirmed that the physicalbat strength of this monster was very weak, merely on the level of an ordinary tier-three magical beast!


    Once Su Lun got close, the demon had no escape and was instantly punctured with several bloody holes.


    Just as Su Lun was about to finish it off in a flurry of sess, the sudden sound of friction was already next to his ear.


    The wall made of threads was not thick enough; a pink tendril like a blind shot suddenly pierced through the wall and charged at Su Lun like lightning.


    Before it hit, the tip of the pink tendril suddenly burst open like a flower, turning into a giant mouth full of sharp teeth, and the muscle that resembled the throat pulsed, spewing out a foul and pungent acid.


    Su Lun''s eyes hardened, and he immediately recognized the origin of this creature.


    [Hell''s Barb Beast]


    Details: A tier-four lord level hellish creature with extremely strong vitality. Its skin has high tensile strength, can spit corrosive poison, and its tendrils move very quickly, extending up to a kilometer; low intelligence; highly sensitive to biological scents, it hunts all detectable living creatures;


    "Another legendary creature from hell..."


    Seeing this, Su Lun felt a great sense of misfortune.


    What was in front of him was just one of its advancing tendrils, with its main body underground, followed by countless other tendrils!


    Listening to the dense sounds of friction, it was clear that the tendril beast had surrounded the entire cave.


    Su Lun was also grateful that he had chosen to teleport and attack swiftly. Otherwise, even if he had killed all the lizardmen in a direct, hard confrontation, this creature would still have lethally ambushed him.


    This dense cave was not naturally formed but was the moving channel for the creature''s tendrils. With this creature around, even if several tier-five beings came, they would likely die here!


    The toughness of a tier-four lord beast''s flesh was not to be underestimated; it would be very difficult to cut through!


    Without wasting any opportunity to try, Su Lun performed a sh to avoid the first tendril, without any hesitation, controlled the animated corpse to swing the ck Scythe, and directly severed one tendril.


    Arge amount of yellow-green corrosive fluid flowed out, filling the cave with a burning-like stench.


    Meanwhile, his own body also controlled the spear to puncture seven or eight bloody holes in the Heartstealer Demon''s body.


    Instantly, the previously intense spiritual impact vanished.


    It was a quick kill nned in advance; except for the Barb Beast, everything was within expectations.


    "Sess!"


    Su Lun was delighted inside, and without taking another look, he immediately stored the dead body of the Heartstealer Demon into his storage space.


    Once the Heartstealer Demon died, the lizardmen were momentarily dazed.


    Although the Barb Beast had lost control, its predatory instinct was still active. Tendrils densely popped out in the tunnel, instantly devouring arge number of lizardmen.


    The ck Scythe had already severed three tendrils, but had no effect whatever on its body hidden underground.


    This creature, with its enormously terrifying body, was not something Su Lun hoped to kill.


    He nced at the brightly glowing incubation tanks.


    Those fist-sized orbs were naturally the eggs of the Heartstealer Demon.


    He took out a ss container and poured them into it.


    At the same time, he pressed themunicator.


    Upon taking another look, the surroundings had changed and Su Lun had already appeared on the surface.


    "Quick, run!"


    Without time to exin, Su Lun took Yuta and started running.


    Behind them, near the entrance of the Skull Grotto, thousands of pink tendrils sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain, swaying in the wind like seaweed...

 Chapter 267 Prosthetic Gear - Psychic Tentacles

    Su Lun dragged Yuta along in a frantic run, appearing somewhat disheveled, yet the expression of relief on his face was evident.


    Thanks to his preparedness, the n for a swift kill had ultimately encountered no mishaps.


    Having sessfully hunted a fourth-tier Heart-Stealing Demon Lord, his third-tier alchemy imnt finally had a purpose, achieving his main goal for venturing to the northern ice fields.


    Su Lun was naturally in high spirits.


    The Hell Thorn Beast going berserk behind them was somewhat baffling, but since the monster''s main body was virtually incapable of teleportation, as long as the tentacles emerging from the ground were avoided, there was no danger at all.


    With an evacuation route prepared in advance, Su Lun and Yuta managed to flee the swamp with ease.


    They reached a dense forest and stopped there.


    The ground was firm, making it easy to detect any monster tentacles that might reach them.


    ....


    Both panting heavily, Yuta caught Su Lun''s relieved expression and asked with a smile, "Was it a sess?"


    "Mm!"


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    Su Lun nodded.


    Without the information from the Dalu n or Yuta apanying him on this adventure, he wouldn''t have stumbled upon such a grand opportunity.


    The Heart-Stealing Demon''s brain was the ideal material for the "Spiritual Tentacles." He was very much looking forward to seeing the astonishing effects of the sessfully crafted imnt. This type of imnt crafting was quite special, as it had to be done while the brain cells of the Heart-Stealing Demon were not fully dead.


    Not daring to dy, he said, "Let''s go, we need to find a safe ce. I must craft the imnt as soon as possible."


    Yuta shed a grin revealing her sharp little fangs and replied, "Okay."


    Soon, the two found a wolf den cave.


    Yuta scouted nearby and found no signs of higher-tier magical beasts.


    Only then did Su Lun rx.


    As the main ingredient was difficult to find, the crafting process of the imnt could not be disturbed; there was no room for error.


    Yuta also realized how important this imnt was to Su Lun, so she didn''t interfere and instead helped keep watch outside the cave with great care.


    With the corpse still fresh, Su Lun didn''t dare waste more time. He took out the body of the Heart-Stealing Demon.


    Since the other ingredients were prepared beforehand, he could start anytime.


    Once the Eight-armed Spider Lance was unfolded, the melting array needed for crafting the imnt appeared on the ground.


    The fiery Hexagram Array lit up, and Su Lun, holding a scalpel, precisely removed theplete brain of the Heart-Stealing Demon. Following the crafting sequence he knew by heart, hemenced creating the imnt.


    Before long, the vast cave was flickering with intermittent orange-red glows.


    This crafting sessionsted three days and three nights.


    ....


    Spiritual imnts were quite niche and their creation was particrly troublesome, requiring a significant expenditure of experience.


    Fortunately, Su Lun was proficient in all areas of forging, allowing him to craft on his own.


    Now multitasking, he was doing the work of seven or eight people single-handedly.


    He was a master craftsman, rune master, enchantment master, and material analysis master... a one-man team equal to an entirerge forging group.


    His strong cognitive control abilities also allowed him to methodically shape the imnt into form.


    Finally, on the evening of the third day,


    Su Lun looked at the finished product floating within the alchemical glow and smiled contentedly.


    It was a semi-transparent tentacle imnt resembling a jellyfish.


    "Spiritual Tentacles of the Heart-Stealing Demon"


    Description: Dark gold quality alchemy imnt; third-tier containment value rated S+ or above, fourth-tier A+, spiritual power not less than 750, mutation rate less than 5%; upon fusion, one gains the ability of spiritual tentacles, +88 spell resistance to mental spells, +70% mental strength, +10% mental spell pration, +22% nerve reaction speed, +5% intelligence, +0.3% brain domain development;


    "Tsk tsk... the fusion requirements are quite demanding," Su Lun said as he assessed the properties of the imnt, visibly delighted.


    Some attributes of the finished imnt were even better than he had anticipated.


    Mental resistance and spell pration were exceedingly practical enhancements for his magical abilities. With a sessful fusion of the imnt, the mental control effect he aimed for would be even more perfect.


    Initially, Su Lun had merely sought to obtain a third-tier mental leader monster, but unexpectedly encountered a fourth-tier Heart-Stealing Demon.


    Under normal circumstances, he would have needed to downgrade the materials, crafting the imnt into a "Gold Quality" or "Silver Quality," to ensure that he wouldn''t mutate after fusion.


    But since his own spiritual power had mutated, granting him an extraordinarily high spiritual power, he was able to meet the fusion criteria that would normally only be satisfying at the fourth tier.


    It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.


    Su Lun looked at the freshly forged "Psychic Tendrils" imnt, meditated to recover some dark spiritual power for a while, and then immediately began the integration process.


    He arranged the Hexagram Alchemy Array, ced pure crystals on the six points of the star, and drew mystic patterns with a secret mixture of mercury and lizard powder, which was then activated with the blood of a heart-stealing demon to energize the entire formation.


    Standing at the center of the Hexagram Array, Su Lun held the imnt in his hand and murmured, "By thew of equivalent exchange of all things, praise the glory of the original creator, and witness the miracle of creation through alchemy..."


    A fiery radiance enveloped the whole cave as the wondrous fusion reaction proceeded violently.


    This was not Su Lun''s first time integrating an imnt; his mind was as still as water. His body had enough endurance that even though the process of merging a psychic imnt made him drowsy, he sessfullypleted it smoothly.


    Two hourster, the light from the fusion formationpletely dissipated, and Su Lun abruptly opened his eyes from his meditation, "It''s done!"


    As expected, he had perfectly integrated the tendril imnt.


    Eager to test his new ability, Su Lun formed the sorcerer''s seals with both hands and shouted, "Imnt¡¤Release!"


    In the next instant, a white hexagram array lit up beneath his feet, and Su Lun immediately felt the difference.


    The "Psychic Tendrils" were intangible, invisible to the naked eye.


    Yet, in the mirror image, Su Lun saw a faint white halo lingering all around his body.


    He also clearly sensed them¡ªthe "invisible tendrils" he could control at will, much like his own war spear!


    The tendrils could be thick or thin, and Su Lun focused a strand of spiritual power into the shape of a hand. Then, he tried to pick up a stone from the ground.


    A miraculous scene unfolded before his eyes.


    The stone, as if defying gravity, slowly rose from the ground and floated up before his face.


    "Psychic maniption of objects..."


    Su Lun''s gaze slightly narrowed.


    Although it felt effortful, his eyes couldn''t hide the delight within them.


    "Psychic object maniption" is vastly different from "Qi object maniption."


    Because Qi is a substance, any professional with a slight understanding of controlling Qi would more or less know some techniques, such as Sword Qi, de Qi, shockwaves...


    But psychic power is imperceptible, escaping the normal methods of human detection.


    To put it simply, it ignores obstacles and cannot be blocked!


    While Qi leaves traces that can be blocked, psychic power leaves no trace to follow.


    If harnessed well, this ability could be an invisible, deadly weapon.


    But for now, it was obviously just the beginning.


    After handling the stone for a while, trying to move it farther away, Su Lun immediately felt as if a child was lifting a weight of a thousand catties, unable to bear the burden.


    With a ng, the stone fell uncontrobly to the ground.


    Even so, Su Lun was very satisfied.


    Once his psychic power grew stronger in the future, his ability to move objects through the air would also strengthen.


    However, object maniption was just an additional feature of the "Psychic Tendrils" imnt.


    What Su Lun was truly concerned about was the tendrils'' ability to control living beings!


    ...


    "Sigh... I''ve never been so eager before."


    Su Lun''s gaze was profound as he whispered to himself, "I hope it works..."


    He formed the sorcerer''s seals with his hands once more and released the "Thousand Threads" imnt.


    This time, strands of pale blue threads floated from his hands.


    Su Lun tried to attach the psychic tendrils to the threads, and they spread out smoothly without difficulty.


    "As I thought, this idea is feasible!"


    Ecstatic with his sessful attempt, Su Lun was overjoyed.


    He had previously tried and found that a witch''s hair was an excellent conductor for psychic power.


    Thinking that thebination of hair and tendrils would manifest significant qualitative change, he was proven right¡ªhe seeded!


    It was like installing wires on a battery; he could now send the "electric current" to much farther ces.


    This would instantly increase the control distance of his psychic tendrils by several times, even dozens of times!


    And they became controble, prating, precise, and stable, not prone to dissipation!


    This was also one of the most important reasons why he had to choose this type of armor advancement.


    Armor not only needs to be a perfect match with the profession, but thebination of multiple performances can also stack up the practical efficiency, creating some ingenious uses.


    This is why those ancient families all have their own inherited set of exclusive "advancement sequences." Centuries of trial and error have yieldedbinations of armor and professional materials that can maximizebat power.


    While his thoughts were still spinning in his mind, Su Lun immediately nned to put it to the test.


    At that moment, he took out a zombie from his storage space.


    Then, he carefully attached a silk thread with spiritual power tentacles to the neurons in the back of the zombie''s brain.


    He had already thoroughly read the various human anatomy diaries of the forensic doctor Gerald, and now he had a nearly perfect grasp of the human nervous system.


    It was at the instant when the spiritual tentacles touched the neurons, Su Lun immediately felt as though he was holding a "Transformer" in his hand, which he could manipte at will.


    He sent a "control signal" to lift an arm from his mind, and the zombie indeed raised an arm!


    Moreover, the attempt was not at all clumsy despite being his first try; he adeptly tried various maniptions.


    Because three days ago, when Su Lun killed the Heart Snatcher, he also conveniently stripped the monster''s soul of the [Experience with Spiritual Tentacle Control]!


    The ability of the Heart Snatcher to control any intelligent creature was a mythological bloodline talent. Although Su Lun couldn''t strip away the talent, he had stripped its usage experience.


    He had ample proficiency in how to control it.


    The zombie in front of him began to perform variousplex movements under Su Lun''s control.


    The movements were as fluid as those of a living person, with no stiffness at all.


    It didn''t look at all like the previous "marite" style!


    If one isn''t enough, then two, three, four...


    Su Lun didn''t even need to move his fingers to control the threads like before, those zombies perfectly executed the same actions as the "control signals" he sent.


    Neural signals precisely activated muscles,manding the flow of spiritual power...


    "This is when my Puppeteer profession truly takes off," Su Lun thought, with a tremble in his gaze.


    Seeing this, he truly realized the viability of the path he had nned for his future.


    One thread to control one zombie, the controbility of the puppet army was finally arriving!


    Although it seemed like he controlled zombies the same way as before, the essence was worlds apart.


    Previously it was physical control; he needed to manipte hundreds of threads to control the zombies, making them perform the actions he envisioned. But because it was external control, some actions were greatly limited, and the agility of the zombies was poor.


    Now, with only one thread, he can truly bring the zombies to life.


    As flexible as his own shadow.@@novelbin@@


    This also meant that Su Lun freed up arge number of threads and could now control even more puppets!


    This also meant that the zombies wielding scythes were no longer stiff, making it more likely to hit their targets; controlling the cumbersomebat Mecha no longer required countless threads¡ªone thread could solve it, and it was more agile...


    ....


    Before long, the entire cave was filled with various blue-skinned zombies.


    They were like a party, some dancing, some keeping the beat, some...


    Although there was only one living person, the scene was exceptionally lively.


    Amidst such a terrifying scene, Su Lun took pleasure in it.


    He gradually became proficient with the control techniques of the new armor [Spiritual Tentacles], and he also discovered some shorings.


    For example, the control distance¡ªsignals would be less urate the further they were sent.


    Another point was that before, he felt the "multi-focus" ability was sufficient, but now he suddenly found itcking!


    One thread could control one zombie, but no matter how divided his attention, it couldn''t outnumber the threads.


    However, these were not major issues; his spiritual power would enhance over time, and these aspects would gradually improve.


    "Tsk tsk..."


    Su Lun was very pleased with his new ability.


    However, strong as the spiritual tentacles were, they also had a problem¡ªthey could only control living bodies.


    Right now, other than controlling the zombie with the ck scythe, his other puppets were wooden, and some mechanical.


    In the short term, these spiritual tentacles wouldn''t be able to exert their fullbat power.


    "When can I get Duke Raphael''s ''Nerve-Mechanical Technology'' and create a mechanical puppet army; only then will I truly soar..."


    Su Lun looked at the mechanical battle armor before him, which was easily controlled with an animated corpse stuffed inside, and felt a sense of wonder.


    Now that the first step had been taken, the future held great promise.


    ....


    Soon, Su Lun retracted the animated corpse horde, and for the first time in three days, he finally stepped out of the cave.


    As he walked out of the soundproof barrier, he heard some noises, which came from Yuta, who was on alert up in the trees.


    Yuta clearly noticed him too and excitedly jumped down from the tree.


    She looked at Su Lun, whose face was adorned with joy, "Mr. Su Lun, have you sessfully integrated the battle gear?"


    "Yes."


    Su Lun nodded and then turned to her, "You have worked hard these past few days."


    Yuta gave a graceful smile, not minding that she had been in the tree for several days at all.


    She didn''t bring up that topic but instead expressed concern, "You seem to be in a good mood, Mr. Su Lun. Is the new battle gear really powerful?"


    She was actually quite curious what battle gear refined from a monster like the "Heart Stealer" would be like since even the n leaders thought it was a helplessly evil creature.


    "Want to see it?"


    Su Lun smiled and suddenly thought of something as he lifted his hand slightly.


    Yuta blinked with curiosity, thinking she might see something.


    But suddenly, to her surprise, she found that her hand had involuntarily lifted?


    Su Lun certainly didn''t dare to try it directly on Yuta''s main nerve, but instead, he had cut off the nerve signal transmission in her arm, so as to control her to make the motion of raising her arm.


    "Eh..."


    Yuta let out a soft gasp and immediately understood, deeply shocked, "This is the monster''s control ability!"


    "Mhm."


    Su Lun nodded with a smile and also asked, "How does it feel?"


    Yuta thought for a moment and said, "I can sense the intrusion of spiritual power. Um... I should be able to break free of the control with willpower."


    "Mhm."


    Su Lun nodded thoughtfully.


    The Heart Stealer had a mythic bloodline talent allowing it to control many spiritual puppets.


    Even though Su Lun himself was human and could reach the same level of Spiritual Power, the effect would still vastly differ.


    He estimated that at full power, he could control professionals of the third, or even the fourth, tier.


    But the extent of this control was another question.


    The target''s spiritual power, willpower, equipment, and other factors would all impact the controlling effect.


    The more dispersed the control was, the more difficult it would be to maintain.


    A lot of practice was needed to determine specific data.


    However, it was not a major issue.


    Su Lun had intended to use this battle gear to control animated corpses anyway.


    ....


    When Su Lun came out, it was already dusk, and neither of them nned to travel through the forest at night.


    Yuta seemed to have prepared the game earlier waiting for Su Lun to emerge, that being a cheetah. In no time, the golden juicy roasted meat was already emitting a delicious aroma over the campfire.


    In the quiet primitive jungle, with the sounds of birds and the fragrance of flowers, it was a perfect scene for a romantic tryst.


    Having not seen each other for several days, the two flirted for a while by the glowing red firelight which outlined their graceful and wild figures.


    Yuta asked, "Where should we go next?"


    Su Lun thought for a moment and said, "I want to go check out ''Cursed Valley''."


    He now knew that an army from the Luying Empire had already reached the ruins and had a general understanding of the situation there. Although it was dangerous, with new means at his disposal, his ability to protect himself was much stronger.


    Such a grand ancient ruin was naturally worth exploring.


    Moreover, Mr. Jing had entrusted him to confirm some matters.


    Yuta, hearing this, nodded as well, "Okay."


    She too had long held the notion to go see if, like her ancestors, she could find something in the ruins that would bring "hope" to revive her tribe.

 Chapter 268 Burial God Ritual

    The next day, as the first rays of sunlight entered the forest at dawn.


    The bonfire had extinguished, with wisps of blue smoke rising from the pile of burnt ashes. A gentle breeze passed, and shimmering red glimmers could still be seen on the charred wood.


    Yuta opened her eyes, feeling refreshed. It had been rare for her to enjoy a sound sleep during the recent days of vignce. She did not disturb Su Lun, who was meditating nearby, and silently packed up her sleeping fur mat.


    Before long, the crisp sound of birds'' chirping broke the silence, and only then did Su Lun slowly open his eyes from his meditation.


    Having reflected overnight, he had almost fully understood the effects of what had been newly installed.


    "Awake?"


    Yuta smiled at him, retrieving a few cassavas that were cooked through residual warmth from the bonfire using a stick.


    "Mmm."


    Su Lun nodded, cleaning his mouth.


    Then he grabbed a roasted cassava, eating it with relish.


    As daylight broke, there was no more need for the bonfire, so Yuta carefully covered itpletely with mud. In the forest, one must use fire with great care; the people of Dalu would not trouble the forest.


    While handling the mud, she said, "We''re not far from ''Cursed Valley'' now. From here, if we continue north, there is a narrow pass. Thest time our people came here, they encountered many strange creatures. We need to be careful..."


    "Mmm."


    Su Lun listened and nodded.


    He initially did not want Yuta to join the adventure, but she insisted.


    She said, as the ancestors of her tribe would venture for the continuation of their people, she could too. Now that the tribe was facing its most perilous time, she intended to do something.


    Su Lun had nothing more to say.


    The people of Dalu had their beliefs, and Yuta had her convictions.


    She was brave, persistent, kind, and sometimes naively so. Like that time at sea, she knew it might lead to her death yet she unhesitatingly came back to help.


    Su Lun thought that was good.


    The two packed up their temporary campsite and set off once again.


    ....


    The entrance to the ancient Cursed Valley was about twenty kilometers north of Skeleton Burrows.


    Walking cautiously, it took them almost half a day just to reach a cliff pass.


    The ground suddenly split open, forming arge crack that extended far into the north, growing wider as it went.


    Standing at the pass, their view was greatly limited; they could only vaguely see some blurred mountain silhouettes in the distance.


    The winds were strong at the pass, and there were eagle nests on the cliff walls on both sides, asionally filled with the soaring, distant calls of eagles echoing through the gorge.


    Yuta pointed towards the fog-covered gorge ahead, her expression solemn, "Ahead lies the Cursed Valley. Our ancestors left messages saying that this mist can make one irritable. The magical beasts and monsters are also affected, making them extremely fierce. The deeper we go, the more dangerous it bes."


    "Mmm."


    Su Lun looked at the fog ahead and assessed it.


    [Necrotic Mist]


    Details: A mist mixed with the negative emotions of the deceased, containing trace toxins; rich in necrotic energy; prolonged breathing can cause mental confusion, producing irritation, hallucinations, unconsciousness... and other negative conditions;


    "Necrotic energy?"


    Su Lun looked into the mist, specting whether the ruins might be some sort of necrotic ne.


    Since the mist was thin, with a bit of caution, it wasn''t too dangerous. He gave Yuta a gas mask, and he also wore a gue doctor''s mask himself.


    Thinking it best to be cautious, Su Lun summoned a herald raven.


    The raven, fond of such necrotic-rich gorges, cawed and flew down.


    After waiting a while, seeing nothing dangerous through the raven''s eyes,


    Su Lun and Yuta then followed the cliffs, climbing down.


    As they descended, he immediately realized why this ce was called "Cursed Valley."


    The wind howled through the valley, whistling and echoing by their ears. It sounded as though someone was cursing right beside them, causing an inexplicable irritability. But when he tried to listen closely, he couldn''t make out anything specific.


    Yuta, attuned to the force of nature, was clearly ufortable in such an environment rich in necrotic energy.


    "Is this the ''Whisper of the Dead''?"


    Su Lun listened, furrowing his brows slightly.


    His spiritual power was very sensitive, and he immediately realized this was not merely the sound of the wind, but the whisper of the dead.


    This voice wasn''t actually heard by the ears, but rather an influence on spiritual power.


    Could it be because of the great battle that previously took ce here, where arge number of powerful beings died and their resentful spirits lingered?


    Or could it be the cause of the ruins?


    Su Lun spected two possibilities in his mind, but he hadn''t delved deeper, nor could he verify them.


    Thinking about it, he opened his ck umbre, covering both himself and Yuta beside him.


    The human-skin ck umbre could absorb substances rted to undead spirits, and opening the umbre was like setting up a barrier, immediately isting the two of them from that voice.


    Yuta''splexion improved significantly in an instant.


    ....


    The canyon was formed by an earthquake hundreds of years ago, so a dense forest had already grown beneath it.


    However, the trees here were generally grey and ck, giving an utterly lifeless sensation whether it was the leaves or the trunks.


    The fog would limit the perception of most normal people, but Su Lun''s Soul Perception wasn''t hindered at all. Even undead creatures had some sparse "soul bodies." Moreover, there were crows ahead to clear the vision; they weren''t in much trouble handling the creatures in the canyon as long as they were careful.


    The two gradually ventured deeper into the canyon, with the fog sometimes thick and sometimes thin.


    They walked a long distance without encountering any danger.


    However, this Cursed Valley had once caused a Dalu n''s exploration team to suffer heavy losses. It definitely wasn''t so simple.


    Even with Su Lun being extremely cautious, they inadvertently entered the territory of a "Face Rot Flower" monster.


    To be precise, the monster''s tentacles were buried underground and spread for miles, like a fishing set across the canyon to trap prey. There was no avoiding it.


    These roots had no soul, so Su Lun didn''t sense them.


    As soon as the two stepped into its hunting range, the tentacles came to life and wrapped around them tightly.


    Luckily, Su Lun noticed there were no normal living beings around and had his guard up in advance. Furthermore, the monster''s body wasn''t very strong, only having the third-tier silver "weird" strength.


    The "Phosphorous Fire Doll" burned fiercely in arge area, and the tentacles couldn''t escape it easily, making them easy to kill.


    It was a close call.


    Su Lun also discovered that the environment here was very simr to that of Old Lington.


    The "Face Rot Flower" had flesh and blood and characteristics of both animals and nts.


    This wasn''t a normal creature, nor was it a being from another dimension.


    ording to Old Lington''s monster ssification system, this was a "mutant creature."


    It was a local species that mutated due to the inability to withstand the pollution of undead energy.


    After this minor incident, Su Lun and hispanion became even more cautious.


    Later, they encountered several strong monsters but managed to avoid them.


    Because they weren''t traveling quickly, their progress through the canyon was slow. The day darkened unusually early in the canyon, so instead of risking travel at night, they found a rock cave to spend the night.


    The next day, after the sunlight entered the canyon, they continued on their way.


    By noon, they had finally discovered traces of the ruins.


    ....


    Thest time the Dalu n came to Cursed Valley was decades ago. There were essentially no paths in the jungle, nor any specific routes to speak of.


    The only identifiable features were a few majorndmarks like "Winter Spring," "Dog Head Rock," "Red Pine Forest"...


    Although Su Lun had strong perception, Yuta''s observational skills far surpassed his in the jungle.


    When the two walked into an area resembling a forest scorched by lightning, Yuta suddenly eximed, "Mr. Su Lun, look there!"


    Su Lun walked over for a closer look and realized that the inconspicuous stone was actually a man-made carved pir.


    Due to the passage of time, the pir was covered in green moss.


    Su Lun also felt a surge of excitement, seeing the pir meant they were very close to the ruins.


    He examined the patterns on the pir and uncertainly said, "This appears to be a worship totem of the giant n. ording to myth, the giants worshipped the earth, so mountain patterns are often seen on their totems."


    Yuta nodded in agreement, "Yes! The elders in the tribe also say so."


    Su Lun further examined around and found other pieces of man-made construction in the soilyer.


    It was arge scale, looking like a copsed temple.


    The pair didn''t linger long and continued forward.


    It wasn''t long before their path was blocked.


    Initially thought to be a mountain, the fog cleared and Su Lun realized it was a high wall.


    Even if it had copsed, it was still a miraculous structure that could leave one speechless.


    The city wall, only partially exposed above the soil, rose up to a hundred meters, constructed from huge white stone bs asrge as trucks. There were traces on the wall resembling cracks from an earthquake, and rubble scattered throughout the jungle.


    The weather today was nice, and the sunlight suddenly flooded the canyon, significantly improving visibility.


    Yuta''s eyes sparkled slightly with excitement as she pointed to the city wall and eximed softly, "Mr. Su Lun, we''ve found it!"


    Behind those walls was the turning point of the Dalu n''s decline.


    To this day, they were unclear about what had happened there.


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun nodded without rashly climbing over the wall.


    In his harvested memories, the Sacred Judgment army of the Emperor Luying''s empire should have already reached the ruins.


    He released a ck crow, which flew over the wall.


    Just then, as the wind blew and the mist dispersed, the crow''s view broadened, allowing a prefect glimpse of thendscape behind the wall.


    But this sight, it immediately shocked him with the shared vision!


    "That is...!!!!"


    Su Lun had thought the ancient ruins were merely a city of architectural debris, but he had never imagined that he would see a super giant tree behind the walls.


    It was a massive tree that obscured the sky like a mountain!


    It was an enormous gray elm tree, far beyond Su Lun''sprehension, the same species as those considered sacred by the Dalu n.


    However, the sizes of the two were vastly different.


    Indeed, there was a massive relic behind the wall.


    Tall stone columns, ruins of pces, and uniquely styled colossal stone statues could be seen everywhere...


    But all these architectural traces were atop the intertwined roots of the giant tree!


    "How could this be?"


    Su Lun''s thoughts raced in his mind.


    He immediately concluded that the giant tree must have grown after the ruins were established. Thus, the buildings seemed to be shattered and strewn over the trunk.


    Yuta, noticing the strange expression on Su Lun''s face, asked, "What''s wrong, Mr. Su Lun?" Explore stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    Su Lun''s expression was a bitplex as he replied, "I saw a giant tree¡­"


    Upon hearing the description, Yuta was immediately shocked.


    When the ancestors of the Dalu n came previously, it was all misty, and they only discovered some traces of ruins and monsters before retreating; they had never seen the full extent of the ruins.


    They had thought the ruins were on a mountain, but to think it was actually on a tree?


    Suddenly, Yuta thought of something, her expression excited as she said, "I think, I might know what it is!"


    "Oh?"


    Su Lun listened and turned to look at her.


    Yuta''s eyes trembled with emotion, her voiceplex, "That... that might be a lost Divine Art of our Dalu n¡ª''Tree Seal - God Burial''!"


    "Divine Arts?"


    Su Lun keenly caught that phrase, surprised, "You mean... this giant tree was transformed by Divine Arts?"


    "No, not a Spell."


    Yuta shook her head, correcting him, "''Burial God Ritual'' could only be performed by a Druid of at least the eighth rank. But the power of Divine Arts is not something mortals can control; after overexerting it, the body irreversibly transforms into a tree. Therefore... that tree might be the Druid''s transformed body!"


    After pausing, as if she had guessed a tip of some ancient secrets, her voice trembled, "Such a massive seal must have been thebined effort of many top-tier Druids."


    As Su Lun heard this, various clues emerged and connected together in his mind, and he seemed to understand why thest battle led to the annihtion of the Dalu n''s top warriors.


    Was it because they performed this Divine Art and turned into trees?


    However, at the same time, another question arose.


    What terrifying thingy within the ruins that required the entire n''s elites to seal it off with a Divine Art?


    The "Source of Cmity" spoken of in the legends of the Nature God, what was it really?


    ....


    The situation in the Cursed Valley ruins was evidently moreplex than anticipated.


    Faced with something he couldn''t understand, Su Lun decided to seek help from outside.


    He picked up themunication ring and contacted Mr. Jing.


    Beforeing to the Dalu n, upon learning about the Cursed Valley Ruins, Mr. Jing seemed to have some spections. He particrly entrusted her to confirm some information if she were to visit.


    Seeing the situation now, Su Lun immediately contacted her.


    "Senior Sister, I have a question I need to consult you on."


    He briefly and concisely shared his findings.


    Mr. Jing was meditating, and Su Lun thought he wouldn''t be able to get a timely response.


    Unexpectedly, it wasn''t long before a rather grave voice came through themunicator, "Are you saying that the valley is thick with necromantic energy and there are high-tier aberrant monsters?"


    "Yes."


    As Su Lun spoke, he also shared the situation with the giant trees and their spection.


    Listening to the silence on the other end of themunicator, Mr. Jing seemed to fall into deep thought.


    Thinking it over, he then asked, "Senior Sister, is there a nar passage beneath these ruins?"


    After a long pause, aplex tone came from themunicator, "It''s not that simple."


    After a pause, Mr. Jing continued, "My father always wanted to trace the real reason behind the copse of the Dawn Era civilization. Later he traveled around and found some scattered clues from some ancient ruins. He conjectured that there should be a ''God Burial Ground'' near the ice fields of the northern continent, close to Silent Forest."


    "God Burial Ground?"


    Su Lun became interested.


    His senior sister had encountered god-tier powerhouses and even killed one.


    With her speaking in such a tone, it definitely was not as simple as ordinary gods.


    "Yes."


    Mr. Jing responded, "ording to legend, the copse of the Dawn Civilization was due to a war. Many top fighters from various nes besieged the Alchemy Civilization, causing a ''War of the Gods.'' The details of which are unknown toter generations. My father couldn''t find definite clues either. However, he deduced from thews of fate that this tremendous battle indeed took ce. Battles involving god-tier powerhouses are terrifying and can even cause nar ruptures. Our current missing news are very likely a result of the catastrophe from that great battle."


    "...."


    Hearing this, Su Lun finally understood why his senior sister was so concerned about these ruins.


    Ancient treasures were everywhere in this world; Mr. Jing herself had emerged from the Dawn City Ruins, so she naturally wasn''t after some ruins'' treasures.


    At that moment, Mr. Jing added, "The fall of a god-tier powerhouse leads to a copse on both material andw dimensions, which is extremely terrifying. Those chaotic high-tierws, necromantic energies, dark energy...they burst out uncontrobly. To transcendental powerhouses, that might be an opportunity. But to mortals, it''s essentially a disaster like a gue. The best way is to seal these forces. Once leaked, it''s like the source of a cmity, which would be catastrophic for human civilization."


    Is this how the necromantic energy of Cursed Valley originated?


    With that exnation, everything seemed to make sense.


    Had that deep-sea giante to the ruins just to snatch the opportunities left by the fallen gods of the Dawn Era?


    Su Lun suddenly understood why the Dalu n''s ancestors had sacrificed themselves to seal these ruins.


    So that was it.


    ....


    But then, another problem arose.


    The Dalu n might not covet the treasures in the ruins, but now it was Emperor Luying''s people developing the ruins!


    The greedy nobles could enve humans; could they give up the ruins'' treasures?


    If Mr. Jing''s guess about the "God Burial Ground" was right, wouldn''t their actions be like ying with a nuclear bomb, dooming everyone?


    Clearly Mr. Jing thought of this too.


    Through themunicator, her solemn tone came through, "I will rush over as quickly as possible."


    "Senior Sister, you''reing here?"


    Su Lun knew that his senior sister was currently in a critical period of recovery and had mentioned that it would take another half a year or so toe out.


    And now she was saying she woulde?


    "Yes."@@novelbin@@


    From themunicator, Mr. Jing''s decisive response came


    Pausing for a moment, she said seriously, "Su Lun, as much as you are capable, try to stop those people from Emperor Luying''s military from breaking the seal. I will be there in no more than three days."


    "..."


    Hearing this, Su Lun couldn''t help but twitch.


    The other side had a royal elite legion led by a sixth-tiermander.


    You think so highly of your junior brother?


    In a moment of astonishment, a concerned reminder came from the other side of themunicator, "Um...stay safe."

 Chapter 269 The Myth of Sacrificing Eyes

    Su Lun hadn''t expected that the ancient ruins of Cursed Valley would be tied to the mysterious secrets of a suspected Dawn Era copse.


    If this was indeed the "God Burial Ground" Mr. Jing had spoken of, the danger was one aspect, but he also felt a strong interest in seeing it for himself. The world, through his eyes, was bing more and more fascinating.


    Without further dy, Su Lun and Yuta climbed the hundred-meter-high wall and immediately had a view of the giant tree''s outline.


    Thanks to the shared vision with the ck crow, Su Lun had seen it before and remained unfazed.


    However, Yuta was stunned, muttering to himself, "This... is really the ''Burial God Ritual'' indeed!"


    The tree''s canopy shaded the sun, resembling a huge ind in the sky.


    The sunlight poured down from above, casting a dreamlike scene.


    From an unknown water source, a white waterfall hung on the giant tree. The water fell a kilometer down, and the thunderous sound of the water could be heard from afar. The light beneath the waterfall created a colorful rainbow, like a ribbon.


    Su Lun watched the flying creatures that asionally swept across the tree canopy, his gaze sharpening slightly.


    They were not mere "birds" but huge, grotesque creatures with fleshly wings asrge as airnes.


    Looking at the giant tree, an inexplicable feeling rose in Su Lun''s heart: the tree, at least five hundred years old, had clearly formed its own ecosystem. Constantly enveloped in a dense aura of death, could it be harboring some extremely terrifying creatures?


    But as his thoughts flew, the fog drifted past again, and the clear view was obstructed, shrouding the scene in a hazy mist once more.


    "Let''s go and take a look."


    Su Lun called out.


    Yuta nodded in agreement.


    The two leaped down from the city wall.


    The giant tree loomed like a mountain; they were now on the southern side of the tree, while the personnel from the Royal Legion of Dalu were on the north side.


    Although the ''Burial God Ritual'' was a Divine Art and naturally not easy to breach, Su Lun nned to first check what stage of excavation those guys had reached.


    ....


    The two crossed the city wall, and the terrain already began to slope gently. It looked like the earthen ground had entered the scope of the giant tree''s roots.


    Here, remnants of massive ruins were visible everywhere.


    Su Lun roughly estimated the scale of the buildings, guessing that the average height of the "natives" who had once lived here would have exceeded five meters.


    Significantly taller than the current Ice Giants.


    Having previously encountered an attack by a "Face-Rot Flower," Su Lun became very cautious, scanning almost everything with the All-knowing Eye.


    The two encountered no dangers.


    But as they walked, Su Lun suddenly stopped.


    He noticed that Yuta''s gaze had slightly changed since they had descended from the wall, as if she was often distracted.


    Thinking she might have been influenced by the increasingly dense aura of death and unknowingly contaminated, Su Lun asked, "Yuta, have you noticed anything unusual?"


    Yuta nced at him, understanding what Su Lun was asking, and shook her head.


    "I''m fine. Actually, I feel much better than before."


    She seemed to be experiencing some feeling, hesitated for a moment, and then said with uncertainty, "It''s like, since we entered the range of this giant tree, there''s been some kind of protection from the ancestors of our tribe, and those negative effects are getting weaker..."


    "They are getting weaker?"


    When Su Lun heard this, he realized that he didn''t have the same feeling.


    Considering that the giant tree was transformed by the ancestors of the Dalu tribe, he thought what Yuta said seemed usible.@@novelbin@@


    Out of caution, Su Lun carefully checked Yuta''s condition again, confirmed she really was better than before, and didn''t worry too much.


    ....


    The two continued to delve deeper, discovering more and more scattered buildings intertwined among the roots.


    In those mud and bush areas, there were also some rusted, huge weapons like axes, shields, helmets, and armors, though they were mostly too corroded to retain their shapes.


    Su Lun collected some of the precious metals that could be refined and reused.


    The venture was indeed fruitful.


    On their way, just the metal fragments alone were worth several million resos.


    The two nned to bypass the outer perimeter of the giant tree''s roots and head to the north to see what the people of the Sacred Judgment Legion of Dalu were doing.


    But along the way, a rtively intact building caught their attention and caused them to pause.


    ....


    "Mr. Su Lun, look over there!"


    Yuta saw and pointed out the stone columns hidden among the tangled vines.


    Then, as they approached, they discovered many gigantic columns, about twenty to thirty meters tall. Among the ruins was a distinctive domed structure, appearing less like a residential dwelling and more like a temple.


    Su Lun and another person just happened to pass by, so they approached for a closer look.


    The entrance was overgrown with vines. Yuta, holding a magicmp, deftly climbed in first, followed closely by Su Lun.


    The space inside was not small, but because it was entangled with tree roots and perennially devoid of light, the grand hall was cold and damp.


    Su Lun sensed for a moment that in the dark corners, there lurked some not-too-strong soul fires. Judging by the shadows that asionally swept through the dark, they seemed to be lizard-like aberrant monsters, a small group of about twenty or thirty.


    Since the monsters didn''te looking for trouble, Su Lun didn''t n to expend energy clearing them out either.


    Part of the grand hall had copsed, leaving a space about the size of a ser field, which the magical light could illuminate mostly.


    Su Lun also saw several damaged statues.


    As he had guessed, these statues mostly depicted crude bullhorn helmets and weapons, with the upper bodies exposing bulging muscles. These were likely the image of the giants from ancient times.


    He was studying the statues when Yuta beside him suddenly noticed something and softly eximed, "Mr. Su Lun, there are reliefs here!"


    "Reliefs?"


    Following the direction Yuta pointed, Su Lun looked towards a copsed corner near a ck pool and saw severalrge stone bs with patterns.


    All along, he wanted to find some written records to see exactly what the situation was with this giant city ruin.


    Regrettably, he hadn''t found any.


    He also guessed that this city''s ancient giant civilization, much like the current Ice in Giants, didn''t have their own writing.


    Hearing about the reliefs now, Su Lun also felt somewhat hopeful. As a proficient archaeologist, he knew that some ancient civilizations might not have writing, but reliefs were an important means of record-keeping.


    The two walked over, and Su Lun inspected the contents of the reliefs.


    Indeed, as he had expected, these were the narrative reliefs used by this giant city in ancient times.


    Due to dampness over hundreds of years, the reliefs were severely eroded, and many parts were blurred.


    The reliefs were scattered everywhere, but Su Lun''s current level of brain development allowed him to process these fragmented pieces of information efficiently. Even if he couldn''t see everything clearly, he could guess the general story.


    He figured out that it was an ount of some physically strong giants killing monsters.


    "It looks like this giant tribe knew about the ''God Burial Ground'' being sealed here quite early on, right?"


    Seeing those images on the wall that were clearly not creatures of this ne, but more like aberrant beasts or undead monsters, he guessed something.


    But there was another problem,


    The Dalu tribe once experienced an almost civilization-destroying catastrophe here.


    So, long before that, how did this underground giant citye to fall?


    .....


    "Mr. Su Lun, there''s another piece here!"


    "There''s another piece here too..."


    "And here..."


    "...."


    In the dim hall, Su Lun looked around as Yuta also helped him find many stone bs hidden among the roots and vines.


    He originally thought that the reliefs would mainly tell documentary-type stories,


    Butter,


    He saw some "mythical stories."


    For instance, a giant, glowing all over, ying a sun in the deep sea;


    Or how a supreme deity bled from the knee, and the giants were thus born...


    The storylines seemed absurd, almost like listening to myths.


    But Su Lun wasn''t surprised.


    The giants had a deity belief.


    Where there is belief, there might be myths about some things.


    Alchemists are a particr group of people; theyck deity beliefs. Thus, they usually regard most deities from a neutral perspective, even somewhat critically.


    Some evangelists collect beliefs to create gods, using some spells or alchemy to perform so-called "miracles" and deceive ordinary people''s faith.


    So, many of the myths that are passed down nowadays are both true and false.


    They didn''t necessarily happen in ancient times.


    Su Lun thought he wouldn''t see anything noteworthy in the content of these wall paintings,


    But as he looked,


    He was drawn to a damaged relief.


    This was clearly another story te of a mythical tale, but Su Lun couldn''t take his eyes off it.


    Because this experience felt inexplicably familiar to him!


    ....


    There was a relief depicting a man with a halo behind him, riding a horse.


    Probably a deity.


    He found a "spring" guarded by giants.


    The two pointed at the water, seemingly discussing something.


    Then, the mural content abruptly ended.


    The other half of the mural was quite bloody, showing the haloed man with only one eye left, blood streaming down. He was then hung upside down on a tree, impaled by spears.


    Afterwards, something resembling a "symbol" seemed to fall from the tree, and an expression of finding a priceless treasure appeared on his face?


    "This..."


    When Su Lun saw the one-eyed figure, he involuntarily thought of the time he had sacrificed an eye at the Storm Manor to obtain the "All-knowing Eye."


    Although the mural wasrgely missing, a bizarre hypothesis crossed his mind, "Could the god in the mural have sacrificed an eye, and then something fell from the tree as an exchange?"


    Su Lun also found the "symbol" that fell from the tree somewhat familiar.


    It seemed like a rune?


    He was now quite knowledgeable about this world, but he had never heard of a second ritual requiring the sacrifice of an eye.


    Could it be that this mural was rted to the All-knowing Eye?


    Unfortunately, the relief was blurred and iplete, no further useful information could be found.


    Thinking of this, Su Lun''s brow slightly furrowed.


    If he could find theplete mural, he might understand what this "myth" was really about.


    ....


    Unable to find any other useful murals in the battered hall, Su Lun decided to leave with hispanion.


    Unexpectedly, they then heard hurried footsteps outside.


    It sounded like someone was running fast.


    There was also a faint clinking of armor.


    Yuta''s hearing was sharper than Su Lun''s; she immediately started, "There are people nearby!"


    Both exchanged a look, silently agreeing not to talk. They quietly moved out and hid among some vines.


    Soon, they saw where the sounds wereing from.


    It was a group of more than ten armored soldiers chasing several huge grey wolves.


    "Warriors from the Grey Wolf tribe?"


    Su Lun immediately recognized that the grey wolves were not magical beasts, but beast-transformed Dalu people.


    Yuta''s expression changed, and her fangs and ws morphed out.


    However, she did not act rashly but instead gazed fiercely around. She knew there was a powerful human army nearby; acting recklessly would mean certain death and wouldn''t solve any problem.


    The grey wolves were chased so badly that two of them had blood holes from spears in them; despite theplex terrain providing many advantages to the four-footed, they were not running fast. The others also refused to abandon theirpanions to escape, and it seemed inevitable they would eventually be caught by the soldiers behind them.


    Su Lun did not rush to act but focused his gaze on some details.


    "Strange, what does the red cloth mean?"


    He was puzzled as he observed each of the armored soldiers had a piece of red cloth wrapped around their arm.


    Su Lun thought it might have a special effect, but upon identifying, it turned out to be just an ordinary "bloodstained cloth."?


    Though he couldn''t figure it out, and nothing seemed out of ce, he did not dwell on it.


    Killing and searching souls would be more direct.


    Being a descendant of Isaac, he could not just watch the Dalu people being ughtered, both emotionally and logically.


    The ck crow flew in the sky, seeing no other pursuers.


    Su Lun also eased his mind and signaled to Yuta with a nce; both of them tacitly charged out.


    ....


    The chasing soldiers were all royal elites and clearly on guard against an ambush.


    As soon as Su Lun and hispanion moved, they were immediately spotted.


    Moreover, seeing thebination of a man and a white wolf, the leader''s expression changed and he immediately shouted, "Signal!"


    Su Lun knew he had been recognized.


    He had previously killed the hunchbacked old man in the Grey Wolf tribe and left some survivors.


    The news had obviously gotten through.


    So, as soon as the squad of soldiers saw him, they immediately prepared to call for reinforcements.


    But Su Lun wasn''t about to give them that chance.


    He stepped on air below his feet, continuously causing "pop pop" sounds in the air.


    In his rapid advance, he also utilized Spatial Discement.


    Thisbination of rushing and Teleportation made him appear like a ghost, blinking into the midst of the enemy squad in an instant.


    Although the leader was only a third-tier major, his armor was standard-issue from the Royal Legion, exceptionally defensive. Killing everyone instantly was nearly impossible for Su Lun.


    But he couldn''t stand by and watch this group send out a signal.


    As he fiercely charged in, Su Lun pinched his sorcerer''s seals with both hands, simultaneously releasing his imnts. Enjoy new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    "This is a good opportunity to test my new imnt abilities!"


    His ten fingers wed at the void, muttering to himself, "Mental Alchemy: Shadow Murder Technique!"


    ....


    The elite squad had clearly received intel that Su Lun could use Teleportation.


    Thus, with a tactical gesture from the leading major, more than ten men immediately scattered to escape. They had no intention of fighting directly and simultaneously pulled out their signal senders.


    If any one of them could send a signal, a high-ranking professional would immediately lead a team to reinforce them.


    Just holding on for a moment would see them through the crisis.


    However, what they least expected happened.


    Indeed, they were elite, and seeing Su Lun suddenly teleport into their midst, their reactions were extremely quick, instantly changing their battle formation and enteringbat mode...


    But suddenly!


    Without any warning, everyone''s body became rigid on the spot as if they were possessed!


    As if they suddenly lost control over their bodies, they found themselves unable to sense their own bodies.


    Everyone was terrified.


    "This is bad, it''s mental control!"


    The leading major realized something and tried to break free with his willpower.


    But where would Su Lun give them a chance?


    The witch''s hair could prate through gaps, and this set of highly defensive armor was rendered useless under the attack of the "Mental Tentacles."


    On the way here, he had experimented many times on Yuta''s body, and he had mastered the use of his new imnt.


    When he struck, it was with the intent to kill.


    The rigid bodies of these armored soldiers, one by one, lightning-fast drew their short swords from their sides. Then, without hesitation, they thrust the des into the gaps of their helmets.


    In the next instant, the des pierced unimpeded into their brains from their eye sockets.


    More than ten men, without any resistance, instantly became more than ten corpses.


    Mental control is just this sinister; once caught, it''s almost a certain path to death.


    The third-tier captain still earnestly tried to resist, his trembling arms attempting to stop the dagger from stabbing in.


    But Su Lun simply pped the end of the dagger''s handle, sending him on his way.


    Meanwhile, the few enemies remaining at a distance were entangled by Yuta and those few gray wolves that had returned, also having no opportunity to send out a signal.


    ....


    Before long, the battle was over.


    Su Lun harvested the Soul Shards of this squad.


    He now understood what the red cloth wrapped around their arms was for.


    Yuta''s previous feeling was correct.


    This gigantic tree indeed protected the people of Dalu.


    Other races that trespassed would be strangled by the omnipresent vines, tree spirits, and monsters. The group from the Luying Royal Legion had suffered heavy losses previously.


    The cloth imbued with Dalu tribal blood held a temporary protective effect.


    And Su Lun''s previous guess was also correct; this ce had generated many cursed spaces due to a great battle long ago.


    Those from the Luying Royalty had lifted many curses and discovered that this city sealed some "ancient secrets."


    And now, those people had brought an "Enchantment Item," working to lift thest gigantic cursed space in the core area of the giant tree, which had caused them heavy casualties.


    Su Lun guessed from those reports that this gigantic cursed space might very well pertain to the truth behind that ancient battle!

 Chapter 270 [The Death Banner of Nelgale]

    Su Lun and Yuta rescued several injured members of the Grey Wolf tribe and also learned some movements of the Sacred Judgment Legion from them.


    The situation was worse than expected.


    The legion had been there for a month or two already, and they were making rapid progress in relic development.


    Moreover, it seemed they had obtained some special intelligence regarding the relics and could always employ targeted measures to break through many difficult cursed spaces. For this purpose, they had hired arge number of ve hunters, capturing almost every small andrge tribe of the Dalu in the north of the Silent Forest, taking tens of thousands of people. It was all to refine an evil alchemical item to break the biggest cursed space.


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun instantly felt that something was amiss.


    Well-prepared as they were, they might indeed damage the seal of the Tree Realm.


    He also guessed that the item they were refining for sacrifice was probably the "Sealed Object" he knew about from searching the soul of the man he had killed.


    ....


    Su Lun and hispanion didn''t dy any longer and, after bidding farewell to the Grey Wolf tribesmen, quickly bypassed the giant tree to reach the north.


    As evening approached, the sky had already darkened.


    After covering some kilometers, they found a high vantage point and looked down at the brightly lit war camp in the distance.


    The soldiers of the Sacred Judgment Legion had already constructed a temporary war fortress at the foot of the giant tree,plete with high walls and heavy mechanical artillery, and above the camp floated three steam-powered airships. Lights were searching in all directions, with elite guards in battle armor patrolling the camp''s perimeter.


    Visible sentries, hidden guards, and flying griffins in the sky¡ªthe camp''s defenses were extremely tight, giving no chance for any outsider to get close.


    As Su Lun observed the intensely active soldiers within the camp, his gaze grew slightly more solemn.


    Just by the ranks, one could tell there were many experts.


    Not to mention his being a third-tier, even if he were a seventh or eighth-tier professional, a direct attack might not necessarily be advantageous.


    The reconnaissance squad he had killed before had the lowest members at a second-tier profession, with at least silver grade for their imnts and employment materials. They were also proficient in militarybined strike formations, making the legion''sbat strength very high. This was not any enemy he had encountered before.


    However, what caught the attention of Su Lun and Yuta even more was a giant blood pool within the camp.


    Next to the blood pool stood a fluttering griffin-patterned war g.


    A sh of light passed through Su Lun''s left eye as he identified the information of the g, which turns out to be that Sealed Object.


    [Nelgale''s Death War g]


    Quality: Legendary


    Description: Blood-sacrificed g, unrivalled in battle


    Cursed Trait: Sacrifice the blood souls of living beings, granting the contracted soldiers of this war g a group aura enhancement, encouraging group morale, granting immunity or reduction from fear, intimidation, wailing, gue, chaos, curses, whispers... and simr negative states; effects are limited by the number of living beings sacrificed, current sacrifice count 23354;


    Exnation: A war g made by an ancient civilization for war, obtaining minor permanent enhancement and major temporary benefits after blood refinement.


    As Su Lun looked at the g, his brows knitted tightly.


    No wonder he hadn''t seen any "ves" alive; they had all been killed for the g sacrifice.


    Next to the blood pool, there were several Eight-faced Corpse Towers piled up with heads. Heads stained with blood were stacked over ten meters high, surrounded by obelisks carved with alchemical formations, through which the blood energy continuously gathered atop the war g.


    The poption of the Dalu tribe was notrge to begin with. By current estimates, there were only a few hundred thousand in the Silent Forest, yet tens of thousands had been killed here...


    Aplex look shed through Su Lun''s eyes.


    Yuta, standing beside him, looked even worse, her face a stark mask of suppressed fury and murderous intent, her lips, clenched on her silver teeth, nearly bleeding.


    Su Lun could somewhat understand why she had insisted oning on this dangerous relic adventure¡ªwithout a continued heritage, the Dalu tribe really might be extinct.


    The two surveyed the camp''syout further but found no opportunity to take advantage of.


    These Royal elites were battle-experienced and were not to bepared with the rabble of Pirates they had encountered before.


    He felt that perhaps only Mr. Jing''s arrival could possibly stop those guys.


    While watching, Yuta suddenly sniffed and frowned, "It seems like we''ve been discovered. There''s a scent of blood approaching!"


    They already knew that every soldier in the camp wore blood-stained bandages, and Yuta, being from the Snow Wolf tribe, could smell the blood from a long distance away.


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun immediately guessed they had been spotted by a scout and without hesitation said, "Go!"


    The two of them didn''t hesitate, retreating and vanishing into the dense vines.


    Before long, several scouts dressed as assassins appeared where Su Lun and hispanion had been.


    The hunting dogs they brought sniffed around and then barked furiously in one direction.


    The leader seemed to understand the meaning of the dogs'' barking and muttered, "Eh, they discovered us in advance... It seems their scouting skills are not weak."


    They did not pursue deeper but reported the situation back to the camp.


    ....


    Meanwhile, in themanding tent of the military encampment.


    Themander of the Sacred Judgment Legion, "Ferocious Beast" Alek Barrett, was sitting on the main seat, his face turned fearsomely cold at some message he received.


    Two deputies in golden griffin armor next to him also looked displeased.


    Opposite the three men, a middle-aged man in a khaki trench coat, clearly not military personnel, was saying something.


    The atmosphere of negotiation was not good. After only a few words, an argument broke out.


    Captain Barrett, hearing the order, angrily interrupted, "Damn it! Yeager, do you know what you''re saying? You people from Military intelligencee with orders without considering the actual situation? Looking at the current situation, this ancient ruin might be involved with something very dangerous. I even suspect that rashly breaking into the ruins might trigger a disaster. The more it seems this way, shouldn''t we be even more cautious? And yet you notify us that we have to break the curse space within three days?"


    The man in the trench coat shrugged his shoulders, his tone helpless, "Sorry, Captain Barrett, I know this task is not easy. But as you know, I''m just following orders."


    Barrett snorted coldly, "Is Military intelligence''s think tank raised on shit, not knowing how stupid these orders are?!"


    "Not..."


    The man in the trench coat shook his head, sighed slightly, and corrected, "It''s not an order from Military intelligence headquarters. This is a secret order directly from Her Majesty the Queen."


    "Her Majesty the Queen?"


    Hearing that it was the Queen''s order, Barrett''s eyes shed withplexity, and he swallowed his words.


    After pondering for a long time, he finally voiced the difficulties, "The legion''s battle g has not been refined to the expected level. To have some assurance in that cursed space, we need at least two more tens of thousands of ves to sacrifice to the g! For that damn progress you demanded before, my Sacred Judgment Legion has already lost a deputymander and three hundred elite soldiers!"


    After a pause, he almost gnashed his teeth, "Three days... Forget three days, even three more months might not be enough toplete the exploration! Also, Silent Forest is so remote, why the rush to excavate the ruins?"


    The man in the trench coat spread his hands with a nk expression, "I''m not clear on the specific situation either. But this came from a top-secret report from the capital''s intelligence office. As for why it''s three days, perhaps it''s divination, or maybe another reason... that''s not something a minor member of the Spades group like me can inquire about."


    With that, the trench coat man''s tone suddenly turned very indifferent, "The exact words of themand from above were: At all costs, the seal in these ruins must be broken within three days."


    "..."


    Barrett''s gaze narrowed.


    Before long, the man in the trench coat left the tent.


    The two deputies of the Sacred Judgment Legion, seeing theirmander''s grim face, knew the order was extremely difficult.


    The atmosphere was heavy, and one could hear a pin drop in the tent.


    Finally, one deputy asked, "Commander, what should we do?"


    Barrett''s eyes were overcast with shadow, but his tone was resolute, "Carry out the orders! At dawn tomorrow, the whole army will attack."


    Upon hearing this, the deputy''s face showed difficulty, "But... we don''t know the situation in that cursed space, recklessly going in might... Commander, shall I take some men to scout it out first?"


    Barrett shook his head, "No, it''s pointless. To investigate thoroughly within three days, we can only take the risk."


    He finished speaking and then muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear, filled with helplessness and confusion, "Why is Her Majesty so eager about this ruin..."


    ...


    Su Lun and Yuta avoided the patrolling scouts, not daring to rashly climb up the trunk again. The higher they went, the denser the aura of the undead became. In the thick canopy above, countless terrifying monsters were hidden.


    Fortunately, most of the monsters near the base of the north side had already been cleared out by the people from the Sacred Judgment army, and they didn''t encounter much danger.


    The sky had nowpletely darkened, and the two of them found a tree hollow to rest in.


    They had previously checked the condition of the Royal Army camp. The captives from the Dalu tribe had all been killed, so there was nothing left to rescue.


    The camp was tightly guarded, offering no chance for infiltration.


    He had originally nned to rest and umte energy, nning to check out that "cursed space" tomorrow.


    Then, three dayster, once Mr. Jing arrived, they''d have much more room to maneuver.


    But unexpectedly, just as dawn was breaking and the morning sunlight began to filter through the gaps in the leaves, they heard the noise of arge troop on the move.


    The sound of gunfire and battle moved away towards the upper part of the giant tree; it was extremely intense.


    Su Lun and Yuta didn''t dare dy and immediately left the tree hollow to check the situation.


    Then, from a distance, they spotted that Sacred Judgment army heading toward the upper part of the trunk, fully mobilized.


    ...


    Hidden in a dense thicket, Su Lun and Yuta observed the army several kilometers away through a telescope.


    Those soldiers d in armor, equipped with heavy machinery, and riding on griffins swept upwards.


    The noise of the army''s movement was unmistakable and naturally attracted the aberrant monsters hiding in the giant tree''s canopy.


    These monsters, having grown in a high concentration of undead aura for a long time, were very aggressive. The presence of humans was like cold water dropped into boiling oil, instantly causing an explosion.


    Ghouls with blue mes emanating from their bodies, mutant snakes with three heads, centipedes covered in eyes, and spectral frost banshees...


    Monsters of the third, fourth, and even the fifth order of strangeness appeared in endless session.


    Su Lun and the other were horrified by the sight.


    They were also relieved that they hadn''t recklessly gone up into the canopy the night before.


    On the other hand, they also witnessed the strength of this Royal Army of LuYing!


    The weak must always tread carefully.


    The strong can bulldoze everything in their path.


    No matter what the monster or how many there were, in the face of this elite army''s charge, hardly any could withstand a single blow.


    Groups of ten soldiers and bands of a hundred tore through squads of monsters like a sharp knife through soft mud, instantly sting them apart.


    The monsters could scarcely breach their armor.


    Even when facing troublesome high-order oddities, the high-ranking professionals within the army stepped forward to y them.


    Just by observing, Su Lun even saw a fifth-order silver oddity ambush from the tree canopy. Before it could do any harm, it was sted to death by the giant-transformed army captain with a single punch.


    ...


    With such strength from the opposing side, Su Lun and the other naturally didn''t dare poke their heads out.


    But they were also puzzled: what exactly were these people up to?


    The two of them followed the army as it continued upwards, climbing like scaling a mountain, until they reached the waist of the giant tree.


    Here, the branches were dense with leaves, and little light could prate through, casting the ce in a cavern-like gloom.


    Su Lun looked at the route of the group and naturally guessed that they might be heading for thergest cursed space.


    But he was also very aware of the situation.


    He knew that among the Soul Shards harvested, the Sacred Judgment army had no certainty of breaking through that space, so why would they suddenlyunch an all-out strike? Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire


    Then, Su Lun saw that cursed space as well.


    It was a gigantic vortex, ck hole-like, resembling a bird''s nest.


    [Druid''s Gate to God Burial Ground]


    Exnation: A superrgepound cursed space, where the sealing Formation of a copsing ne that buried superior beings'' corpses was torn apart due to the great battle five hundred years ago, high-level undead''s aura leaked, and the space was filled with chaotic timelines, copsing spatial fissures, rampant rules, powerful undead beings, and mutated monsters; it''s a cursed space formed by various chaotic energies without a main consciousness; only undead beings can move freely, and the living will forever lose themselves; if you''re willing to eat that kind of rotten flesh, enveloped by the stench of corpses, it''s highly likely that the monsters won''t notice you; the spirits of Dalu ancestors will protect those of Dalu bloodline, or humans who follow oaths, but there are even more powerful evil beings within the space; breaking open the cursed space, you will see the seal''s true form;


    Looking at the information he had identified, Su Lun''s expression became very solemn.


    This was different from what he had thought.


    Normally, cursed spaces would have a "main consciousness."


    Like the [Central Prison] he encountered in Dawn City, where he met his teacher Sereya.


    When top professionals fall, their strong consciousness remains, and some memories of their lives be the "plot" of the cursed space.


    They are not necessarily monsters but possess their own consciousness and reason.


    They canmunicate, and hence, the space is highly controble.


    Su Lun originally thought that since many Dalu ancestors had fallen here, even if there was a cursed space, it would likely be one formed after the death of Dalu''s ancestors.


    He had thought that if he was lucky to meet a great Druid, he could even inquire about the issue of spiritual distortion.


    Perhaps he could also find the opportunity to solve the current predicament of the Dalu tribe.


    That was also the reason Yuta followed him here.


    But unexpectedly, this cursed space had no main consciousness!


    Moreover, looking at the descriptive words like chaotic rules and spatial fissures... the dangers inside the space would be immense.@@novelbin@@


    .....


    Watching those soldiers walk in with the [Nelgale''s Death Battle g], Su Lun''s expression grew even more peculiar.


    "Both the Captain and the Vice-Captain have gone in. Could it be that they have mastered a way to break open this cursed space?"


    He realized the situation was getting troublesome.


    Although Su Lun thought that the "extremely dangerous"bel wouldn''t be so easily deciphered, seeing that group rush in without hesitation, his thoughts immediately started racing.


    Previously, Mr. Jing, upon seeing the real thing, had just spected that this was the "God Burial Ground".


    Now, having identified words like ''pieces of the copsing ne that buried superior beings'' corpses'', Su Lun was certain this was likely it.


    Therefore, it became even more imperative not to let those army troops from Luying break through.


    "It''s strange... what could make the Captain of the sixth-order royal army take such a risk? Could someone from the higher echelons of the Luying royal family know about this relic?"


    A thought shed through Su Lun''s mind.


    But knowing that, would they still dare to tamper with it?


    As Su Lun was still specting some causal rtionships in his mind, those people had already walked in.


    At this moment, Yuta beside him also spoke up, "Mr. Su Lun, what should we do now?"


    Hearing this, Su Lun pondered for a moment before speaking lightly, "I want to follow them in and have a look."

 Chapter 271 The Silver of Activation

    Su Lun didn''t know about the Empress''s secret order.


    He just felt that the Royal Army being so decisive in entering meant they were rtively sure of themselves.


    Those guys were carrying "Nelgale''s Death Battle gs," clearly well-prepared.


    The ce was full of "spectral" undead monsters, many of whose attacks were psychic in nature, such as fear, hallucinations, wails... For ordinary people, especially those with strength-based professions, it would be extremely troublesome.


    But this battle g could shield and slow almost all negative statuses, effectively countering them.


    With this method, the fighting power of the Sacred Judgment Army would not diminish too much.


    Su Lun roughly estimated the level of monsters in the cursed space and began to believe they really could bulldoze their way through.


    Normally, the ranks of monsters in cursed spaces wouldn''t exceed their ranks in life.


    Moreover, without a stable power source, cursed spaces would dissipate energy, gradually bing less dangerous. After a few hundred years, it was hard to say what rank the monsters formed in it would be.


    Moreover, besides this sealed military g, the Royal Elite Army wouldn''tck advanced equipment.


    This kind of professional army operation was far more efficient than those of individual adventurers.


    That''s why Su Lun nned to follow and see for himself.


    In terms of strength, he was far inferior to that army corps. But because the All-knowing Eye had identified detailed information about the cursed space, his chance of survival was not lower than either of the two thousand-man corps.


    Furthermore, with arge force leading and drawing fire, Su Lun felt the danger to himself would be significantly reduced.


    Of course, there were also many unknown factors.


    The All-knowing Eye had identified some other things as well.


    This wasn''t merely a cursed space formed by the fall of the mighty. It also contained breezes leaking from the "God Burial Ground."


    That was the most dangerous.


    Those high-rankingw fragments were very violent, much like nuclear radiation, causing lower organisms to mutate unknowingly.


    ....


    The cursed space was very dangerous, and Su Lun had no intention of taking Yuta into it.


    To make Yuta understand, he repeated the information he had identified.


    Yuta didn''t say anything, listening quietly the whole time as Su Lun spoke.


    The two of them didn''t hurry to move, observing from a distance for a good half hour.


    The ck hole formation of the cursed space covered arge area, and even though those legions still stationed a formation''s strength, Su Lun thought it would be easy to slip in unnoticed.


    Before long, seeing the timing was right, he said to Yuta beside him, "I am ready to go in. Yuta, be very careful on your own."


    "Mm."


    Yuta obediently nodded.


    After he spoke, Su Lun was about to walk away when a hand grabbed his arm.


    He turned to see a face filled with tenderness looking at him.


    Confused, Su Lun asked, "What''s wrong?"


    A flicker of emotion others would hardly notice passed through Yuta''s crystal eyes, and after hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke, "Mr. Su Lun, thank you for always taking care of me."


    It seemed as if she had much to say, but when the words reached her lips, she didn''t know how to begin.


    Clearly hesitating for a moment, she then added, "You... be sure to stay safe."


    Su Lun heard the concern in her tone, gently stroked her cheek, and smiled, "Mm."


    Having said all that needed to be said, he didn''t linger and quietly dropped from the tree branch.


    Watching Su Lun''s departing figure, Yuta felt inexplicably sad and murmured to herself, "I really hope I can see you again, Mr. Su Lun..."


    After speaking, the tenderness in her eyes gradually turned into determination.


    Liking someone was her personal affair.


    But she was a Druid of the Dalu tribe, with tribal continuity requiring her protection.


    This was their closest moment to the ancestral relics in hundreds of years.


    Yuta would not give up such an opportunity.


    Druids all had more or less some special perceptive abilities.


    At such close distances, she could already distinctly hear the call from the beyond. She guessed it was the spirit of the Dalu tribe ancestors.


    This, she didn''t share with Su Lun.


    Because Yuta knew if she did, Su Lun would definitely help her.


    But she also understood. Without her as a burden, Su Lun''s chance of survival would be higher.@@novelbin@@


    Although Mr. Su Lun was a friend, the Dalu people also had their beliefs andmitments. Matters concerning the survival of their tribe couldn''t entirely rely on others.


    Yuta watched as Su Lun''s figure vanished into the ck light of the cursed space and quietly descended from the tree as well.


    ....


    To Su Lun, there was another advantage about [Druid''s Gates of God Burial] in this cursed space; it was rather friendly to undead creatures.


    The crow truly enjoyed the scent here.


    Su Lun went around the guarding soldiers and conjured a crow to act as his scout before it flew into the cursed space.


    Seeing no traces of the British Legion that entered earlier, he breathed a sigh of relief.


    At least he wouldn''t be ambushed.


    Meanwhile, he realized that stepping into this space seemed to ce one at a random location.


    After observing the surroundings, Su Lun reluctantly took out a piece of ckened corpse, looking at it with disdain.


    The corpse poison wasn''t a big problem for him.


    But if it weren''t for increasing his chances of survival, he definitely wouldn''t choose to eat such a thing.


    He stuffed it into his mouth.


    Su Lun, avoiding the taste of the rotting meat and chewing as little as possible, swallowed it whole, nearly choking.


    But the effect was immediate.


    In an instant, the lively air around him was shrouded by the putrid miasma of decay.


    Withst night''s preparations, Su Lun didn''t hesitate and silently slipped into the cursed space.


    ....


    The surroundings shifted instantly, from dark enormous trees to a world aze with red light.


    In front of Su Lun stood a tall city wall, its design familiar to him as it resembled the ruined walls they had encountered previously.


    "It seems the timeline within this cursed space precedes the arrival of the Druid Divine Arts seal?"


    Su Lun spected.


    Though he couldn''t see the full extent of the colossal city from the base of the walls, the crow saw everything quite clearly.


    The city was intact.


    But also very eerie.


    No living giants were in sight, and there were no people from the Dalu tribe.


    Moreover, more eerily, there were no light sources in the sky, but it was full of spatial rifts.


    It appeared that a terrifying world ofvay within the rifts, as dark red light, akin to blood, spilled from the cracks, bathing the city in a glow simr to that of some dubious massage parlors.


    Lifeless nheless.


    The atmosphere turned incredibly eerie in an instant.


    "Could theva world within the rifts be the ''God Burial Ground''?"


    Su Lun guessed, clearly feeling the thick, bone-chilling aura of death around him.


    If not for the piece of rotting flesh he had consumed, a rash entrance would likely have made him as conspicuous as a torch in the night, instantly drawing the attention of whatever lurked in the shadows.


    The crow seemed delighted, like a parched fish encountering water, greedily devouring the deathly aura.


    The foolish bird, perhaps overexcited, cawed loudly in the air.


    Then, it got itseuppance.


    A mysterious tentacled creature suddenlyshed out like lightning from behind the city walls.


    The crow was struck and exploded into a cloud of death energy.


    Su Lun watched as the foolish bird reformed its body on his shoulder, his brow furrowing.


    It seemed that even with the cover of death energy, one couldn''t be too careless.


    There were sounds of battle within the city; it must have been the British Legion that had entered earlier.


    With those fellows attracting the monsters within the space, Su Lun felt much more at ease.


    He figured out his direction, unfastened his spider spear armor, and, sheltered by his ck umbre, quietly climbed the tall wall.


    ....


    Once atop the city wall, Su Lun could take in the entire city.


    Earlier, outside in the ruins, he had seen simr but fragmentary structures, noneparing to the scale here.


    This was an imposing city.


    The scale of the buildings was enormous even in the eyes of ordinary humans.


    Buildings a hundred meters tall weremonce; altars, temples, coliseums, baths, open-air council venues, fountain pools, statues... the entire city''s architecture was roughly hewn.


    Simple, yet mysteriously inspiring a profound reverence for their "massiveness."


    Numerous spatial rifts distorted the view, rendering the space like an abstract painting with a dark red background.


    Su Lun stood on the city wall, pulled out a telescope, and observed for a while.


    Before long, he spotted a familiarly enormous pce among the buildings, murmuring softly, "That structure... resembles the temple I saw in the bas-relief?"


    In a race with gods to worship, temple structures tend to be quite distinctive, likely the same one.


    Thinking of the mythological story from the mural depicting eye sacrifices, Su Lun felt anticipation to see what theplete mural actually looked like.


    Moreover, coincidentally, that temple was located in the direction of the city center, exactly where the noise of the battle wasing from.


    Su Lun put down his telescope and decided to go and have a look.


    He used his Spider Spear to climb down, avoiding the area where the tentacle monster had been, and found another route.


    ....


    The giant city was like abyrinth, once inside, all around were tall white stone walls.


    Su Lun noticed many fresh tracks of monsters on the ground and was thankful that Lu Ying''s group had attracted their attention, which spared him from encountering anyrge groups of monsters.


    But just as this thought crossed his mind, an ident urred.


    Su Lun proceeded very cautiously.


    The raven led the way in front, and his Soul Perception was fully extended.


    Even with such caution, avoiding several groups of monsters hidden in buildings, he still ran into trouble.


    When passing through a residential area, he didn''t sense the presence of any monsters.


    But as he walked past, his perception range suddenly filled with the special soul fluctuations of a deathly spirit fire.


    In the blink of an eye, two dual-headed giants, each over six meters tall, materialized out of nowhere and blocked his path.


    "Monsters from a space rift?"


    Su Lun thought of something, and the corner of his eye twitched.


    He himself had mastered some aspects of Space Law and keenly noticed the spatial fluctuations when the monsters appeared.


    Indeed, the space in this cursed area was not normal.


    The monsters'' skin was pale as a corpse. However, instead of rotting flesh, the exposed skin had a metallic luster akin to mercury.


    Su Lun looked on with curiosity, nced at the beings, and immediately identified the information.


    [Dual-Headed Silver Giant Corpse]


    Details: Level three silver-ss undead creature; possesses immense strength; deathly aura and special metal afford it strong defense and regenerative abilities;


    Seeing the phrase "special metal" in the identification, Su Lun''s original thought to avoid the battle instantly vanished.


    Instead, he became excited and spected, "Could it be ''Animate Silver''?"


    He immediately recalled a special puppetry material his teacher had once mentioned.


    If it truly was that material, it was indeed a top-tier material that was extremely rare.


    It was definitely not something to pass up!


    Thinking this, Su Lun''s actions were swift.


    His hands formed magician''s seals, and a giant mechanical battle suit appeared out of nowhere in front of him.


    At that moment, the two dual-headed giants also charged at him, wielding their Wolf Fang Clubs.


    Different from before, Su Lun had ced a reanimated corpse inside the battle suit after acquiring the new armor, which could be controlled with a single thread. The agility of the battle suit had increased immensely.


    The mechanical boiler vented with a powerful st, and in a sh of lightning, the two forces shed.


    The mechanical battle suit loved shing head-on with opponents. When it came to grappling orparing defense, machinery had a natural advantage over flesh, even if the opponent was a bizarre creature!


    The Ship-Cutter shed widely, aiming at one of the giants.


    If the strike hadnded, a typical level three creature would likely have been cleaved in two on the spot.


    However, to Su Lun''s surprise, when they shed, the Ship-Cutter indeed cut the dual-headed giant''s Wolf Fang Club. But the normally reliable trembling strike felt like a blunt de chopping wood, cutting only two inches deep before stopping.


    At the same time, the point where the de touched the monster emitted a metallic slicing "screech" noise.


    "Such incredible toughness!"


    Seeing this, Su Lun was not startled but oddly expectant, thinking to himself, "If it''s really that metal, with such toughness, it should..."


    His gaze intently fixed on the wound of the dual-headed giant, he immediately saw the wound flickering with silver light, then visibly healing itself. Like a severed liquid, it restored itself automatically!


    Seeing this, Su Lun became quite excited, muttering, "Memory metal! It''s really ''Animate Silver''!"


    No wonder he was so thrilled; this metal was what his teacher, Serena, had mentioned as the primary material to create her ultimate puppet project, the "Alchemical Golem"!


    ''Animate Silver'' is said to be one of the metals with the most stable material states in the world.


    High temperatures, cold, corrosion, cutting, various types of energy erosion... all have little effect on it.


    A puppet made from this material would thus possess a nearly unsolvable dual defense against physical and magical attacks.


    Moreover, this metal could also be merged with other metals, gaining additional properties such as hardness and flexibility.


    It could withstand top-level rune inscriptions and various enchantments without deteriorating...


    The advantages are too numerous to list.


    The reason Serena thought this metal was most suited for puppet construction was because it is a "memory metal"!


    It can regain its original form within a short time after its shape is altered by external forces.


    Such an "Alchemical Golem" would be unkible and indestructible, almost unsolvable!


    However, this metal is very strong yet extremely rare.


    It didn''t exist in the natural mines, only in mythological tales.


    Su Lun had once read a description in an ancient tome about dwarven mining, which stated that this metal was only produced where gods were buried. It was said to be the product of the decay of godly flesh.


    Su Lun had inquired about this metal in various material shops at Gadronte Harbor and Blizzard City, but those material merchants not only did not have it but had never even heard of "Activated Silver."


    He had thought the material was nowhere to be found, but now he had unexpectedly encountered it!


    "This is the ''God Burial Ground'', it makes sense for this metal to be here..."


    Thoughts whirled in Su Lun''s mind, his expression shifting rapidly.


    He looked at the two giant monsters in front of him as if he saw two mountains of treasure. In his heart, he was already calcting; the two giants mentioned were not small, the amount of "Activated Silver" that could be extracted was probably not insignificant...


    If he could actually manufacture an elementary alchemical golem, its value would far surpass that of the set of "Major General-level Ship-Cutter IX Type Mechanical Armor"!


    But then, another problem arose...


    The mechanical armor, it seemed, couldn''t kill these two bizarre creatures.


    ....


    In that instant of confrontation, the Ship-Cutter failed to cut the monster in half.


    The mechanical armor staggered, and another bizarre creature beside it hammered a heavy club into the armor''s waist.


    With a thunderous "thud", the force actually sent the mechanical armor flying, crashing heavily against a wall with a loud noise.


    Seeing this, Su Lun''s eyes slightly narrowed.


    The bodies of the two giants contained Activated Silver, which made them unkible in one or two cuts.


    From this, one could predict that if the standoff continued, even if the mechanical armor ran out of energy, it probably wouldn''t be able to handle the two giants.


    Although the mechanical armor was tough, the noise of the battle was loud and would attract other monsters in the city.


    Su Lun observed everything from a distance.


    As the mechanical armor was smashed and had not yet managed to recover, Su Lun saw the two giants charging towards him.


    Fortunately, the twin-headed giants weren''t too agile; his pupils moved rapidly, urately capturing their approach toward him.


    Normally, he could easily avoid their speed, but unexpectedly, the giant whose Wolf Fang Club had been chopped off, managed to throw a punch from dozens of meters away.


    Although turned bizarre, the fighting instincts of the giant race, famed to battle gods, were still intact.


    As this punch was thrown, a sound like that of a cannon st echoed through the air.


    "Boom!"


    In a sh, the punch created a visible ripple in the air.


    Su Lun''s face immediately changed, as he felt as if the air around him had solidified.


    He wanted to teleport, but his body felt as if it was weighed down by lead, moving extremely difficultly.


    "Third-ranking giant''s strength is so exaggerated? The force twisted the space..."


    Su Lun''s gaze became sharper.


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    This punch, if dealt to an ordinary third-rank, would have been a severe blow.


    He didn''t n to continue draining his resources and used sh to avoid the punch. Then he reached out with empty fingers, and a figure wielding a ck scythe, the unseen zombie, appeared next to him.


    Meanwhile, the mechanical armor also burst out from the smashed ruins.


    This time, the armor put away the Ship-Cutter and charged straight ahead. After resisting a punch from the twin-headed giant, two metallic pincer-like hands firmly controlled it. The two started to wrestle.


    The two giants turned bizarre had be very strong, but since they were bizarre, theirbat was mostly instinctive, and their intelligence was extremely low.


    It was controlling this moment that a pitch-ck spatial rift appeared on the giant''s neck.


    "ng" a head fell to the ground.


    After the limbs were separated, the head that fell to the ground trembled like a ma, showing a tendency to attract and reattach itself to the severed neck.


    Su Lun, quick in action, teleported over, and swiftly stored the head in the storage ring.


    Only then did the headless giant cease to move.


    Subsequently, Su Lun executed the same technique and quickly killed the other one.


    Having collected two corpses, he also obtained two pieces of cursed silver material, "Corrupted Giant''s Magic Muscles".


    .....


    "Whew..."


    After storing the two bodies, Su Lun also breathed a sigh of relief.


    At the same time, as he looked at therge buildings in the distance, his gaze grew even more solemn.


    The first wave of monsters he encountered had taught him a lesson.


    If he didn''t have the ck scythe, he couldn''t have managed these two bizarre creatures at all.


    Inside these ruins, he would have been unable to move an inch.


    However, the gains indeed exceeded expectations!


    While the noise of the battle hadn''t attracted more monsters, Su Lun didn''t linger and darted into the streets.

 Chapter 272 The Origin of the All-knowing Eye

    Su Lun had taken down two giants with eerie ease and immediately circumvented the battle area, choosing another route to quickly vacate the battlefield.


    The two third-order oddities had given him a vivid lesson, making him aware of the terror of monsters in this cursed space.


    Su Lun became even more cautious, not only paying attention to the soul fires within range but also constantly monitoring the fluctuations of those spatial rifts.


    He was lucky this time to encounter monsters that could be physically controlled, which could be eliminated with thebination of his armor and ck scythe.


    Otherwise, if he encountered monsters with special abilities, his luck wouldn''t have been as good.


    While he feared running into more monsters on one hand, on the other hand, Su Lun was secretly hoping to encounter more.


    He had finallye across "Animating Silver," a top-tier puppetry material, and he had no intention of giving up this excellent opportunity.


    This unnatural material couldn''t be found anywhere in the outside world.


    The corpses from earlier didn''t contain much silver in their flesh, and he estimated, after refining, they could at most be made into a silver bracelet.


    He was still far from his minor goal of crafting aplete alchemical golem.


    He needed more.


    But he feared encountering a group or even higher-tier oddities.


    It was a contradictory state of mind.


    ....


    As Su Lun walked and pondered, themotion in the distant city center suddenly intensified again. It seemed like the forces of the Royal Army of Luying had encountered some difficult monsters.


    Hearing the sounds, Su Lun suddenly had a thought and muttered to himself, "Those guys might have encountered monsters with animating silver, maybe they have some in stock?"


    At that thought, his eyes suddenly lit up.


    Therge troop wasn''t like him, alone and able to flee if unable to fight. The people from the Sacred Judgment Army encountering monsters in this cursed space had almost no choice but to confront them head-on.


    So, if they weren''t annihted by the monsters, it meant they had annihted the monsters.


    They definitely had gathered quite a bit of "spoils of war."


    However, those two legions had sixth-order leaders, and Su Lun dared not entertain any ideas about them.


    Thinking of this, he became somewhat disinterested: "Senior sister will arrive in no less than two days. These guys are making quick work of breaking the curse of this space..."


    Hey...


    An idea suddenly shed in Su Lun''s mind, and he stopped thinking about the spoils of war, contemting something else instead.


    Previously, he had observed thebat strength of this Sacred Judgment Army and thought they could sweep through this cursed space.


    But having now witnessed the strength of these oddities firsthand, he felt less confident about that idea.


    In another ordinary cursed space, perhaps they could push through.


    But here...


    It was now almost certain that it was the "God Burial Ground," and Su Lun felt that pushing through wouldn''t be so easy for anyone.


    Otherwise, so many top-tier warriors from the Dalu tribe wouldn''t have died here in the past.


    Reflecting on this issue, Su Lun suddenly realized a "highlight."


    "Strange... knowing this cursed space is so dangerous, where did those guys get the confidence to charge through with the full army?"


    A thought shed through his mind, and he increasingly felt something was off.


    As various thoughts linked together, his expression became slightly bizarre, leading him to a bizarre spection: "Could it be that they didn''t have confidence at all, but were given some kind of death order, a must to break through this space... that''s why they came in?"


    At that thought, Su Lun suddenly felt not so great.


    He had once witnessed in Old Lington the power of authority, where a singlemand from the nobilitypelled countless Scavengers to venture into new territories.


    Although the Sacred Judgment Army wasn''t a ve group, under this monarchic system, the monarch''s authority was supreme.


    To say they were the empress''s ves wasn''t very nice to hear, but it was the truth.


    The intensity of the battle from afar was not of the kind that indicated a sweeping force.


    It wasn''t hard to guess, the army was also having a tough time.


    Su Lun increasingly felt his spection might just be the truth, mumbling to himself with a bleak heart, "I followed because I saw you entering so decisively..."


    Never before had he so strongly hoped that the other party had the strength to sweep through.


    At least if they could push through, he could also tag along for the ride.


    If they couldn''t, he would follow this group of sharks, only to be swallowed whole by even bigger monsters.


    Su Lun felt mildly vexed.


    But then he thought,


    Oh well,


    he hade all this way already.


    Looking at the ck vortex above the distant pce, it seemed he could leave by going there.


    Being careful shouldn''t be a big issue.


    ....


    The distant battle grew fiercer, and the shockwaves even affected the street where Su Lun was hiding.


    He felt things might have gotten really serious.


    However, looking on the bright side, those guys had attracted most of the monsters in the relics, so other ces naturally became much safer.


    With no other choice at the moment, Su Lun didn''t stop, continuing cautiously on his way.


    With the crows leading the way, his perception fully extended.


    He didn''t dare to explore those buildings, prioritizing his safety above all else.


    Luckily, his luck wasn''t too bad, and he avoided areas where monsters might be lurking. Although he encountered a few ghostly creatures that could pass through walls, they seemed uninterested in Su Lun, possibly because the rotting flesh he consumed made his body emit a corpse-like stench, and they simply drifted away.


    Before long, Su Lun had reached the vicinity of the city center.


    The city streets, which were not very clear from the city wall, were now distinctly visible.


    It was a white stone za about the size of ten football fields.


    At the end of the za, there was a nearly one-meter-high step, exactly one hundred steps in total, leading to the highest point of the city.


    A tremendouslyrge pce brutally intruded into Su Lun''s view.


    The pce was made up of hundreds of giant stone pirs and uniquely styled circr arch doors. There were two giant statues on either side of the door, one holding a giant sword and shield, and the other wielding a long-handled axe.


    However, this area had particrly numerous and unstable spatial rifts, appearing intermittently like shes of lightning.


    The path from the za to the great hall was marked by signs of battle.


    The fierce battle left the streets littered with copsed, shattered stones.


    Su Lun didn''t dare to get too close.


    The ck crow flew a bit closer, silently observing Ru Ying and his people tallying up the battlefield.


    ...


    "Two thousand-man legions, and now only half remain?"


    From the ck crow''s shared vision, Su Lun roughly estimated the number of Ru Ying''s troops.


    Including the wounded, there were probably just over a thousand alive.


    The ferocity of the battle was evident.


    The za was awash with blood, littered with human bodies and mountains of monster corpses.


    There were double-headed giants Su Lun had encountered before, along with all sorts of bizarre, never-before-seen necromantic creatures. There was the skinned humanoid monster of fifth-order lord level, [Coveters], the sixth-order eerie [Corpse Worm Conglomerate] that looked like countless ck earthworms clumped together, and the mud-like [Rotten God]...


    Seeing these monsters made Su Lun''s gaze grow more solemn.


    He was also grateful that these people had cleared the way.


    Otherwise, he didn''t feel he had the capability to clear out these monsters himself.


    Or to say, if it weren''t for this royal legion, even ten times more pirates or several seventh-order beings might not have been able to achieve this extent.


    However, what surprised Su was that their objective seemed very clear, after tidying up the battlefield and dismantling the mechanically equipped strongpoint, they headed straight towards the pce above.


    Su Lun waited a moment, and there was no further noise.


    He didn''t think those people had left, nor were they likely totally annihted.


    It was highly probable that there was some special situation inside the pce.@@novelbin@@


    Naturally, Su Lun wanted to go over and see, but he nced again at another building not far from the pce, slightly shorter, and a contemtive look crossed his face.


    It was the giant God Temple he had seen before.


    He thought for a moment and then had the ck crow fly inside.


    The ck crow quickly circled inside, and Su Lun also examined it carefully, "Huh... there are actually no monsters?"


    Thinking it was probably because the previous za battle had attracted all the monsters, he didn''t give it much thought.


    Moreover, what delighted Su Lun was that he actually saw theplete relief content through the ck crow''s vision!


    ....


    "Could this really be the origin of the ''All-knowing Eye''?"


    Although the ck crow''s gaze swept past quickly, Su Lun clearly saw theplete version of the mythological story he had seen earlier in the ruined temple on the giant tree.


    A big-bearded man on horseback with a halo behind came to a spring, pointing to the water, wanting to drink.


    But the giant guarding the spring did not agree.


    Then the big-bearded man pointed to his own arm, probably wanting to exchange it.


    The giant still didn''t agree.


    He brought out gold,


    Still, there was no agreement...


    In the end, the big-bearded man sacrificed his own eyes and sessfully got to drink from the spring.


    ....


    Having seen the previous fragmented reliefs, Su Lun did not know why the big-beard wanted to drink that water.


    But looking at the details in the subsequent few reliefs, he roughly guessed that after drinking the water, the big-beard was hanging upside down there, and he had gained "wisdom"!


    This was strikingly simr to the awakening ceremony of the "All-knowing Eye".


    Moreover, the story even had a continuation!


    The more Su Lun watched, the more his heart filled with anticipation.


    The big-beard hung from the tree, and from the tree fell some mysterious symbols...


    The previously seen reliefs had corroded, and those symbols couldn''t be clearly seen.


    But now, they were clear.


    Su Lun, who was currently studying runic script and had a deep understanding of countless varied runguages, took one look at those symbols falling from the tree and felt an inexplicably familiar feeling, "Is this... Rune script?"


    Su Lun''s thoughts shifted, and he felt something was not quite right, "Not quite... it seems moreplicated. This must be some higher form of script simr to runes."


    Unfortunately, the relief only had shapes carved into it, with no aspect ofws.


    Su Lun couldn''t be sure what the script was.


    It turned out to be just an ordinary stone carving.


    Then, he looked towards the content of the relief behind.


    Big Beard had left an "eye" by the spring.


    Then one day, a giant thief came, stole the eye, and installed it on his own head.


    The thief turned into a cyclops.


    In thest relief, the giant with the big eye jumped down from a cloud-filled pce,nding on an ind, and bred a race of cyclopses.


    That was where the mural ended.


    Looking at that mythical story, Su Lun''s thoughts raced.


    Clearly, what was carved inside this giant temple, if not fabricated, had really happened in the ancient times.


    "So... should I go look for the cyclops race, perhaps to find out if this myth is true?"


    thought Su Lun.


    He felt that, even if the content of the mural wasn''t about the origin of the All-knowing Eye, it was still greatly rted.


    However, the cyclops race is mentioned in ancient texts to have once existed but is now extinct.


    "Perhaps Mr. Jing should know?"


    Su Lun raised an eyebrow.


    This is the benefit of being mentored by the powerful; having a senior sister who is well-versed in various ancient secrets, one always has someone to ask.


    Mr. Jing was due to arrive in two days, so he wasn''t in a hurry to ask using amunicator.


    .....


    Besides the mural, there wasn''t much of value in the temple.


    Su Lun didn''t want toplicate matters further, fearing it might trigger some other danger.


    After crow looked around, he prepared to go to the grand hall at the top.


    But just then, Su Lun unconsciously performed a habitual action of twirling his finger, murmuring, "When I am in a dream, I look at my finger, then realize I''m dreaming."


    He had done it countless times before, and nothing unusual had happened.


    But this time, his expression changed drastically!


    "Am I under an illusion?"


    Seeing his finger, Su Lun was greatly rmed, and his back broke out in cold sweat.


    He had known before entering that this cursed space was home to many necromancy creatures and was always on guard against those mental attacks, always being very careful.


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    Yet unexpectedly, he had still been affected.


    "When did it happen...?"


    Su Lun''s thoughts shed and vanished, but his hands didn''t slow down.


    He quickly drew his flintlock, aimed at his own head, and without hesitation, pulled the trigger.


    Now mastering various mental techniques, he also knew there was a very small chance that he might be misjudging (or that other factors had influenced his decision).


    This shot could potentially be a fatal mistake for himself.


    But he was clear on this, there was a 95% chance he really was affected.


    This was a risk he had to take!


    Although he didn''t know when it had happened, if he didn''t quickly break free from the illusion, the consequences would be unimaginable.


    With a "bang" of the gun, everything went ck before Su Lun''s eyes.


    ....


    As if waking from a dream, his mind went nk for a moment.


    Su Lun felt his body''s presence again.


    The high development of his cerebral region and spiritual power allowed him to react in the shortest time.


    His fragmented memory quickly connected.


    "I didn''t die!"


    Su Lun immediately sensed something, his expression turning stern.


    His left hand was still making the twirling gesture to check if he was still under the illusion. His right hand already drew the Rune-covered Human Skin Umbre from his back and, with a "poof", opened it, covering himself and without hesitation activated the umbre''s "Nightfall Domain".


    Because Su Lun knew very well that his strongest mental defense was this ck umbre.


    The evil spirits sealed within the umbre surged around his body, suppressed by the surrounding necromantic air, not daring to drift too far.


    At the same time, Su Lun looked at the twirling gesture of his left hand, determined, "I''ve broken out!"


    Yet even though he could control his calm, his adrenaline surged violently.


    The looming fear of death made his scalp tingle.


    Because in front of him appeared a very disgusting and terrifying monster.


    [Abbas, the Thousand-eyed Flesh Mountain]


    Description: A fifth-order gold-level aberration monster, a mental aberration formed by the aggregation of numerous biological organs; eroded by necromantic air, this aberration''s mental power is unusually strongpared to others of its level; adept in visual illusion techniques for preying; incapable of teleportation, and its physical body is extremely frail;


    "Fuck!"


    Su Lun looked at the monster and cursed in his heart.


    It was the most disgusting creature he had ever seen since he hade to this ce, with no equals!


    In front of him was a massive clump of crimson rotten flesh, its edges crowded with red tentacles resembling earthworms.


    However, what made one''s scalp tingle the most were the dense, numerous eyes on the clump of rotten flesh.


    The eyes were irregr in size; thergest were as big as washbasins, the smallest like thepound eyes of a fly, thousands of them, crowded like tumors on the meat, appearing as though pieced together from the eye organs of countless different creatures.


    It was enough to make one''s hair stand on end.


    It was the moment Su Lun snapped out of the illusion when the monster also seemed stunned for a moment, its thousand eyes all looking over simultaneously.


    Su Lun didn''t hesitate to close his eyes and "sh" backward explosively.


    At the same time, with a sweep of one hand, more than a dozen puppet weapons appeared, hacking the monster into an exploding mess.


    As the intelligence had identified, the creature''s main body defense was extremely weak.


    With that chaotic shing, mixed with the stench of dark green blood gushing out, sounds akin to numerous evil spirits screaming in agony at death resounded by his ear. Listening to those cries was even more hair-raising than nails scraping a chalkboard.


    In that instant, Su Lun had already retreated several hundred meters. Releasing his gear, dozens more puppets appeared, unleashing a barrage of firepower on that clump of rotten meat.


    Finally, the world quieted down.


    The tsunami-like surge of spiritual power ceased.


    Su Lun knew, the monster was dead.


    Only then did he walk over, looking at the rotten flesh that now glowed with the distinct sheen of cursed material, and he finally took a deep breath of relief.


    ....


    "Huff..."


    Su Lun felt lucky to have survived the ordeal.


    He hadn''t expected that while he was still on the street outside the square, waking from the illusion would suddenlynd him inside this temple.


    "Visual Illusion Technique... It must have been when the crow saw this monster that it was enchanted."


    Su Lun guessed what had happened and felt a chill.


    This monster had managed to enchant him without him noticing, indicating how potent the illusion was.


    Within the mound of mangled flesh, countless eyes, as if refusing to close in death, were still staring at him.


    Not far from the pile of corpses, there were twenty or thirty human bodies not yetpletely devoured.


    These bodies were all d in uniform armor, naturally belonging to the people of the Sacred Judgment Legion.


    Su Lun''s eyelids twitched involuntarily.


    It was almost a close call.


    If he hadn''t reacted in time to kill this monster, his own eyes might have ended up adding to that pile of flesh.


    But fortunately, he had managed to kill it.


    The bodies were now emanating a grey mist, and Su Lun calmed his emotions and harvested the souls.


    ''Gained "Abbas''s Thousand-Eye Meat Mountain" Soul Shard, you have understood a great deal of the mysteries of the "Visual Illusion Technique," and received an enhancement in "Understanding of Necromancy Laws"...''


    ''You received some chaotic and furious information: byrinth, seal, bodies, danger..."''


    ''Spiritual Power +15.5''


    "Is there a dangerousbyrinth beneath that pce up there?"


    Su Lun separated the monster''s soul, frowning.


    He then realized that those people from Old Lington were probably heading for thebyrinth.


    But since it was a distorted monster, the information was very unclear, only some fragmented scenes like thermal images.


    Su Lun''s gaze grew heavy, and he pondered for a moment.


    At that time, a fist-sized crystal stone also appeared on the monster''s corpse.


    He also gathered his thoughts and picked up the stone.


    [Thousand Illusion Demon Crystal]


    Detailed information: An extremely rare cursed material, containing a special mental matrix; wearing it can shield against spiritual illusion techniques not higher than the item''s rule level; can be used as the primary material for advanced illusion technique professions, to create some alchemical potions that unlock mental resistance;


    Su Lun looked at the material and collected it.


    Then, from the rotting meat, he found a batch of stones simr to cat''s eyes.


    Upon identifying them, they could replenish spiritual power, a decent material.


    ....


    Su Lun looked at the materials he had collected, without any joy from his gains, and murmuredplexly, "Indeed, there are deadly dangers everywhere..."


    He had thought that having ck Crow meant everything was fine, only to encounter such a monster he had never seen before and being taught a lesson.


    He didn''t dwell on it any longer, lingering was too risky.


    Su Lun wasn''t prepared to explore the great hall.


    His gaze swept casually, the relief he had seen in the illusion was there in the temple.


    The content of the carving was exactly the same as what he had seen before.


    He hadn''t intended to look any further, but the next instant, he identified the mural with the All-knowing Eye and let out a soft exmation.


    This mural was not as simple as it seemed.

 Chapter 273 Original Runes

    Su Lun looked at the relief and identified it as no longer showing the words "Ordinary Stone Relief" like it did in the previous illusion, and there was an additional detailed exnation.


    [Relief Containing Special Laws]


    Detailed exnation: A relief carved by ancient dwarf master craftsmen; you see some *** rune script; if your perception is high enough, you might observe something else;


    "Is this yet another piece of information beyondprehension?"


    Su Lun looked resolute.


    He was no stranger to this situation, as it had also urred when he had appraised the divine-ss Fallen Angel.


    However, that was in the past.


    His knowledge had now be incredibly vast, making it extraordinarily difficult to encounter anything that could surpass his understanding in this world.


    Yet, unexpectedly, he had encountered another!


    "How high-level must this rune script be?"


    Su Lun thought this, and it stopped his initial thought of leaving. Discover exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    Looking at the relief, where a man hanging upside down saw something fall from the tree, he finally understood that it was indeed some kind of rune script, and its grade was outrageously high.


    If it had been identified as a normal treasure, he might not have even batted an eyelid.


    But this string of "***" genuinely piqued his curiosity.


    However, upon closely examining the stone sculpture, Su Lun could not discern anything special about it.


    Touching it felt the same way.


    "Do I need a high enough perception to see it?"


    Su Lun looked at the identified method, and a sh of inspiration struck him.


    He had two things on him that could boost his perception.@@novelbin@@


    One was the Dalu''s "Poet''s Honey Wine," which could temporarily enhance perception. However, this perception was more about inspiration for poetry; the drunker you get, the higher the perception.


    In such a dangerously cursed space, he dared not drink himself into a stupor.


    The other was the "Heart Stealer''s Egg" he obtained before, which had been identified as also temporarily enhancing perception upon consumption.


    High in protein, non-toxic.


    Su Lun felt like the choice was already very clear.


    He took out a fist-sized, translucent egg, slightly raising his eyebrows, reminding himself to just think of it as an egg.


    He put it into his mouth.


    It couldn''t be swallowed in one gulp; he had to chew a few times.


    He had thought...


    Huh, the taste is surprisingly not bad?


    It was somewhat like caviar, bursting in his mouth with every bite.


    Su Lun felt slightly weird inside, having eaten rotting flesh before and now consuming a Heart Stealer''s egg...always eating such bizarre things, was he straying further and further from bing a bizarre foods host?


    However, the effect was immediate.


    After eating a Heart Stealer''s egg, the world in his eyes suddenly became clearer.


    It was an incredible experience, as if he could see the true nature of everything.


    Su Lun focused his gaze on the relief and indeed saw some wave-like halos, as if some shadows were flickering.


    He tried to concentrate harder to see clearly, but still fell somewhat short.


    "Is my perception still not high enough?"


    Su Lun thought of the reason.


    Unfortunately, only one Heart Stealer''s egg could be consumed, and the effects wouldn''t stack.


    Thinking over it, he could only take out the Poet''s Honey Wine and took a sip.


    He also muttered inwardly in his mind, hoping it wasn''t like mixing antibiotics with alcohol, leading to poisoning or something.


    He didn''t drink much, but as the slight intoxication hit him, Su Lun''s expression immediately grew excited.


    Because in front of him, a hazy image appeared as if it were projected by a slide projector.


    It was as if time was flowing, and he witnessed the entire process of this relief being carved.


    Dwarven craftsmen, about a meter tall, had carved a huge stone into its current form, transporting it from a distant ce to this temple. Then, light and shadow flowed, and countless giants moved back and forth before the stone carving.


    It was like an elerated video that vanished in an instant.


    Then, it slowed down.


    Before Su Lun, a human old man d in a white robe stood in front of the stone carving, making hand gestures before the inverted relief.


    Another look, and the light and shadow dispersed.


    "What''s going on?"


    Su Lun was very puzzled.


    That''s it?


    It seemed like he had seen something, yet also as if he had seen nothing at all.


    The temporarily amplified understanding was rapidly declining, and the images before Su Lun''s eyes became increasingly blurry.


    The relief turned back into an ordinary one.


    Just when he thought he had wasted a Heart-Stealing Demon Egg, Su Lun suddenly had an idea, "Maybe I need to try it out myself to trigger some specific conditions?"


    He recalled the scene he had seen before, moved his position slightly, and then traced the trajectory of the old man''s fingers on the stone carving, drawing an arcane symbol that connected end to end.


    The first attempt didn''t react.


    Su Lun then concentrated dark spiritual power between his fingers.


    This time, as he traced the symbol, it seemed to activate some special prohibition. On closer inspection, one of the carved runes on the relief emitted a bright glow.


    "Huh?"


    Su Lun watched in amazement; a mere stone had transformed into an item.


    [Imitation of the Primordial Rune]


    Details: ?????


    It had just a name, followed by a series of question marks.


    Seeing this, Su Lun, far from frowning, was overjoyed.


    The words "Primordial Rune" were thunderous to any Rune Master!


    The essence of runes was "patterns imbued with magic power," abstract concepts of variousws expressed through visual concrete patterns. By specialbinations and arrangements, they created a variety of miraculous effects.


    In ancient alchemical texts, it was recorded that when the creator crafted the world, the world''sws were in chaotic newly-formed states, not yet fully dissipated and evolved into everything, and these chaoticws condensed into some symbols, known as "Primordial Runes."


    This was recognized by alchemists as the origin of rune studies.


    In various mythologies, such runes also appeared frequently.


    This was something countless Rune Masters dreamed of obtaining.


    It was said that glimpsing the true face of these "distant runes" would lead one to perceive the ultimate mystery of runes.


    Therefore, seeing that the All-knowing Eye could identify this name made Su Lun very happy.


    Even if it was an imitation, he felt like he had found a great treasure!


    Although he couldn''t understand it, the series of "?????" pointed out clearly that this was definitely a top-tier item.


    Seeing this object, Su Lun felt that it was worth the near loss of his life.


    Although he temporarily didn''t know its uses, it was good to hold onto it.


    ....


    Su Lun kept the rune and, seeing that the relief identified as [Ordinary Stone Carving Relief], he knew there was nothing more to take.


    This giant city was more mysterious than anticipated, and it also hid opportunities.


    But, the dangers were real.


    Su Lun wasn''t greedy and had already heard some minor noises nearby, sounding like distant monsters attracted by the blood scent here.


    He left the temple, quickly walked up the steps in the square, and then arrived at the top of the huge pce.


    Surprisingly, this pce had no signs of battle.


    Just in the center of the great hall, a dark passageway leading to the underground was opened on a ground engraved withplex magical patterns.


    The royal legion of Lei had clearly gone down.


    After observing for a while,


    Su Lun then carefully walked into the grand hall.


    Upon entering, he noticed two rows of giant guards made of stone, armed with swords, spears, axes, and halberds, all stately and august in demeanor.


    "Is that..."


    Following his gaze through the pce, Su Lun had thought there was just a wall in the distance, but unexpectedly, it was a massive throne sculpted like a mountain!


    Atop the throne, there sat a creature with a hundred arms and fifty heads.


    Su Lun had thought the sculptures of the giant guards, several dozens of meters tall, were already imposing, butpared to the creature atop the throne, they barely reached its knees.


    "A mythological Hundred-Handed Giant? Could it be that this city''s former king was a Hundred-Handed Giant?"


    Seeing this sculpture, a strong sense of mystery overwhelmed Su Lun.


    The creature on the throne was like those from mythology, standing at the pinnacle ofbat strength, capable of tearing dragons apart with its hands and trampling deities beneath its feet!


    It was as if a chapter of history, long concealed by the dust of time, had been uncovered, invoking a profound sense of the ages in Su Lun''s heart that stirred up exhrating emotions.


    No wonder those adventurers and navigators would risk their lives to explore various perilous ces. Unraveling ancient secrets firsthand and enhancing their understanding of the world was indeed a gratifying and fulfilling endeavor!


    Su Lun squinted and meticulously examined everything in the grand hall.


    Thinking about it, he stepped into the dark subterranean passageway.


    ....


    When Su Lun had previously extracted the Soul Shard from the "Abbas Thousand-Eyed Flesh Mountain," he knew about the existence of a dungeon here.


    Therefore, after entering, the sight of the stairs descending into hell was not a surprise to him.


    From the moment he stepped on the stairs, it was as if he had entered another world, with the aura of the dead growing denser around him.


    Su Lun spected that this dungeon was probably the key to sealing the "God Burial Ground."


    Having been tricked by an illusion technique before, Su Lun was even more cautious now. He didn''t dare to continuously share his vision with the crow he had released, for fear of seeing something he shouldn''t.


    The crow was smart enough; asionally returning to ry some information enabled Su Lun to grasp whaty ahead.


    Although progress was slow, it was safe at least.


    This path leading to the depths seemed endlessly long and was devoid of any light sources, not even a crack in space.


    The farther he descended, the fainter the red glow of the exit behind him became, gradually diminishing to the size of a sesame seed, and finally disappearing altogether.


    Su Lun dared not create any light sources, as that would attract the monsters lurking in the darkness.


    He found himself in absolute darkness.


    Fortunately, he mastered certain Space Laws, which allowed him to discern the presence of the stairs under his feet, so his walk remained steady.


    Su Lun stepped down, one step at a time,


    the staircase seemingly having no end.


    Absolute darkness, profound silence, the unknown ahead¡­ these would instinctively activate the primal fear deep within one''s heart.


    He could clearly hear his own heartbeat and breathing, along with the thoughts in his mind.


    If such a state persisted, those thoughts, like someone talking into your ear, became vividly clear.


    It could cause ongoing hallucinations and fear.


    But Su Lun was ustomed to this state of solitude and managed it quite smoothly.


    "There''s something in the darkness..."


    In his perception, Su Lun keenly sensed some unusual spiritual fluctuations.


    But perhaps because he bore no signs of life, created no source of light, and hardly made any noise, he did not disturb those existents lurking in the darkness.


    There were also some unusual structures beside the staircase, looking like mechanisms.


    Su Lun did not study what these mechanisms were, and carefully avoided them.


    However, after walking for a while, he stopped.


    "Am I trapped? No wonder I''ve walked for so long and haven''t reached the bottom..."


    In the darkness, Su Lun was expressionless, but not too surprised.


    If this underground was indeed a ce of sealing, then it was normal to encounter some prohibitions.


    "It''s not a visual illusion technique nor a physicalbyrinth..."


    Su Lun sensed for a moment and confirmed some things.


    He stopped moving forward, propping his chin, and began to recall the path he had taken, thinking to himself, "every 305 steps, the staircase repeats itself. Have I encountered something like a ''Penrose Staircase''?"


    He thought back to before he entered, when the All-knowing Eye identified a hint, "No wonder I felt that the space was abnormal... This space is chaotic indeed."


    Because Su Lun was proficient in Space Law, he quickly noticed the anomalies.


    Obviously, this was not the three-dimensional space recognized by senses; it might be a higher dimension, or perhaps several chaotic spaces intertwined to create this staircase that infinitely descend, yet one couldn''t walk out.


    In this fantasy world, such existences are not umon.


    Sometimes, the senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch, and intellect could deceive the brain, giving out some incorrect judgments.


    Trusting perceptions too much can lead to misjudgments.


    That was probably what the designer of thisbyrinth thought.


    For example, this staircase in front of him, even spatial perception did not notice anything unusual, obviously, the restriction was very advanced.


    Su Lun had not yet thought of a way to break the enchantment, so he released a thread from his hand, using a very primitive method.


    The witch''s hair had infinite length, no matter howplex this space, it couldn''t be endlessly extensive.


    He continued to move forward.


    The thread was unraveling along the way.


    In his mind, quite quickly, a route delineated by the thread formed; it gradually took shape not as a direct downward path.


    Soon, Su Lun noticed something unusual.


    He bumped into what his spatial perception identified as a "wall."


    As expected, he sessfully made his way out.


    Su Lun looked at the structure in front of him, no longer a stairwell, and muttered, "A very clever spatial restriction. The designer even considered spatial abilities..."


    At the same time, he thought of something and squinted, thinking, "Those people from Luying are very familiar with this underground pce..."


    Since he hadn''t encountered those people, it meant that they passed through very quickly and didn''t trigger any mechanisms.


    Clearly, they had a map, or perhaps a special method to decrypt it.


    Su Lun tended to think the former.


    It seemed that decrypting thisbyrinth was not difficult for him.


    But in reality, it was very difficult.


    The ability to decrypt the space staircase just now was not a matter of superior or inferior rank, it required many special abilities.


    If Su Lun hadn''t mastered a multitude of knowledge and abilities, he really couldn''t have escaped.


    But at the same time, he was even more puzzled, where did those guys from Luying get their information?


    Moreover, what are they here for?


    .....


    Su Lun''s thoughts whirled in his head as he looked at the high passageway in front of him dense with roots, and soon noticed something else.


    The passageway looked like the city walls outside, constructed from numerous huge blocks of stone.


    The air was slightly moist, and tangled roots emerged from the rock crevices.


    The identification revealed that these roots belonged to the Druid''s Divine Tree.


    "This timeline must be after the Dalu n performed the Burial God Ritual. The ground is still from who knows how many years ago, so this is 500 years ago? What a chaotic timeline indeed..."


    Su Lun slightly frowned, contemted for a moment, and then stepped into the passageway.


    He hadn''t walked far when he saw a fork in the road, and more than one at that.


    Su Lun knew this was an undergroundbyrinth.


    He should have been more cautious, but intuition told him it wasn''t necessary.


    There were clear traces of arge troop having passed through on the ground, those people from the Luying royal legion, and it wasn''t long ago.


    Those people knew this relic well, Su Lun thought, following the traces would save a lot of effort.


    As he walked along, Su Lun saw bloodstains and bodies in the passageway.


    There were human ones and monsters'' too.


    The human bodies were naturally from the Luying royal legion, while those monsters'' corpses were bizarre, some new monsters had appeared here.

 Chapter 274 The Toxic Magician

    Su Lun appraised the unprocessed monster corpses and saw many species he had never seen before.


    There was a spectacled king snake over ten meters long with two legs, the "Golgor Blind Snake," something akin to a fusion between a mantis and a spider, the "Hell Mantis Spider," and the "gue White Bat"...


    The monster types were numerous, mostly undead creatures of the gue variety, often carrying deadly poisons and fatal diseases.


    Of course, the mostmon were the mutated monsters with root-like tendrils, the "Toxic Wood Sprites," a vine-like creature that seemingly had to be burned to ashes to ensure itsplete death.


    Every type was enough to give Su Lun, a lone wanderer, a headache.


    Fortunately, those wood sprites didn''t show any signs of attacking Su Lun; it seemed they even regarded him as one of their own.


    Su Lun guessed that this might be due to the protection of the oath.


    That was good news.


    The Luying Royal Army cleared the path, and Su Lun followed closely behind. They encountered a few isted monsters, which they swiftly dispatched and quickly passed by.


    As they walked, the aura of death around them grew denser, the foreign energy eroded like me burning into flesh and bone.


    Had it not been for the "Isaac Alchemy Heart" that Su Lun had sealed into his chest, providing a continuous supply of dark spiritual power to resist this wild, foreign energy, anyone else would have likely been corrupted and mutated by this aura of death long ago.


    The deeper Su Lun went, the more cautious he became, guessing that they might already be nearing the core area of the seal.


    The fact that the Luying army hadn''t been annihted yet meant that they had made it through.


    Su Lun didn''t rush forward recklessly but instead released the ck crow once again.


    His vision followed the crow''s journey.


    It didn''t fly far when it indeed saw the exit to the maze.


    ....


    Did they really make it out?


    It was so easy that it was almost unbelievable.


    Such aplex maze, having followed along without passing through any corridor twice, led straight to the exit.


    Su Lun, looking at the exit in front of him, was even more certain that those from Luying must have had a map of this underground maze.


    The ck crow flew out of the exit and entered a vast space.


    A nce revealed highly unstable spatial cracks everywhere, magma in view, an all-epassing heat.


    On the walls, countless shrine-like cavities appeared densely packed.


    The exit through which the ck crow flew was just one among thousands.


    Seeing no danger, Su Lun also went to the cavity entrance, his pupils dting to take in the entire space.


    Upon appraisal, the words "Giant Race''s Hall of Heroes" appeared.


    This world''s "Hall of Heroes" wasn''t much different from the ancestral halls of Su Lun''s previous life, all equipped to disy ancestral ques and provide shelter for descendants.


    Put simply, this ce was a tomb of the giant race, used for sealing and suppressing.


    And in his field of vision, Su Lun also spotted the Luying troops.


    Two elite battalions of the Sacred Judgment Army, now reduced to less than two hundred.


    Even with information from unknown sources, such heavy losses highlighted the perilous nature of this space.


    Looking down from where he stood, a few hundred meters away was a huge obelisk. On the ground beneath the stele, a massive nine-pointed star formation was engraved.


    And most striking was the ck iron coffin above the obelisk, held fast by eight chains!


    The coffin was adorned with bas-reliefs of fierce evil spirits, exuding an aura of mystery, malevolence, antiquity, terror, and the indescribable.


    From a distance, Su Lun observed thick ck miasma wafting out from the coffin.


    "Is this coffin the seal?"


    Su Lun''s brows furrowed deeply.


    He kept looking down.


    And the Luying crowd was gathered in front of the huge underground obelisk, pulling out the "Nelgale''s Death Battle g" and sticking it beside. A thick blood fog emerged around, forming a special domain that shielded the necromantic aura of the temple from the outside.


    The soldiers formed a "¡÷" shaped defensive formation, with several people in khaki trench coats busy with something in the center.


    Su Lun was just watching them in front of a thirty-six sided bronze die floating with a diameter of nearly one meter.


    On every face of the die, ancient and special alchemical symbols were engraved: eagles, fire dragons, mercury, alembics, scales, sunflowers...


    Below this strangely shaped die, there was also aplex machine forged from brass that resembled a differential engine.


    Two people in trench coats were typing away at the machine like typists. The air was filled with the crisp and dense sounds of "click" "click".


    Under the control of the two people, the floating die with thirty-four six-sided faces changed rapidly,bining into different arrangements.


    It was like a slot machine, trying to get a specificbination of patterns to hit the jackpot.


    "They''re really here to break the seal..."


    Su Lun''s gaze was very solemn.


    He naturally saw that these people were cracking the prohibitions here.


    That strange alchemical device, although Su Lun had never seen it before, he had certainly heard about it.


    It was the fabled specialty machine developed by the Luying Royal Academy of Sciences¡ª "Babbage''s Prohibition Decoder".


    A machine that supposedly could quickly decipher any kind of prohibitive arrangement!


    But usually, it was used in the military field.


    For instance, to decode the spy operations of Mafa.


    "This is going to be troublesome..."


    Su Lun looked on with furrowed brows.


    That the Luying soldiers had such detailed intelligence, they couldn''t possibly bepletely unaware of the situation here.


    That meant, talking reason would be futile.


    Telling them this ce was "God Burial Ground" and that unleashing the seal would bring great disaster, they would undoubtedly ignore that.


    And they might even p you in return.


    A royal legionmander who dared to venture into the unknown at the risk of a ny percent casualty rate was definitely not acting alone.


    Thatmander didn''t have the authority to do so.@@novelbin@@


    Clearly, those people were also acting on orders.


    This wasn''t something that could be dissuaded in a few words.


    Those in the higher echelons of the Luying royal family, they were the truly tricky ones to deal with.


    "Could it be that someone in the royal family covets the treasures of this burial ground?"


    Su Lun thought of this.


    And now in this cursed space, there was only him, an outsider.


    It seemed that only Su Lun himself could stop these guys.


    Mr. Jing would not arrive for another two days, and that was the most troublesome part.


    Although Su Lun''s level of thinking had not yet reached the point of considering the continuation of civilization, he would not hold back against those who, for some unspeakable reasons, yed with nuclear weapons wishing for everyone to perish together.


    There was definitely no chance in a frontal confrontation.


    Seeing this, Su Lun''s thoughts raced, contemting countermeasures, thinking about what means he had to stop them.


    ...


    One minute earlier.


    Actually, just when the ck crow flew out of the cave to scout the surroundings, someone in the Luying legion had already noticed the bird.


    The perception-inclined adjutant sharply sensed something and said to the legionmander "Ferocious Beast" Barrett beside him, "Commander, that ck crow has appeared in our field of view for the second time."


    "Hmm. I''ve noticed as well. At first, I thought it was one of the undead creatures from this cursed space, but appearing a second time, it must mean someone has followed us."


    Barrett nodded expressionlessly and nced sideways without much concern.


    Compared to the ck crow, he was more interested in the Prohibition Decoder in front of him that was currently in operation.


    His adjutant continued to analyze, "The scouting traps set by the service team along the way haven''t been tripped, which suggests that the guy has strong anti-spy capabilities. Most likely, he is here with malicious intent."


    It was as if Barrett had guessed something, agreeing with this spection, "That ck crow seems to be a mythical kind of strange bird. To control such a bird, one must be either a necromancer or at least well-versed in some Death Laws. I am thinking of someone..."


    The adjutant next to him immediately understood, "Commander, are you referring to the mysterious person who attacked the reserve officers and killed Roxie?"


    Barrettmented lightly, "Hmm."


    The adjutant said, "ording to intelligence, that guy has a set of major general''s battle Mechas in his possession, and it is highly probable that he is a spy from Magepha. Now that the Human Skin Umbre has fallen into his hands, maybe..."


    Barrett''s eyebrows lifted slightly, interrupting, "The Human Skin Umbre indeed is a troublesome cursed object, but not everyone can use it. Besides... that guy hasn''t shown himself, which shows he''s not of a high rank. He must be a professional with some special abilities, possessing some powerful cursed objects. A force capable of cultivating such talents would not be numerous, whether it''s our Luying or the Xide Empire. Once we get out, we''ll have the intelligence department investigate it."


    The adjutant said, "Are you suggesting that we don''t need to deal with him now?"


    Barrett hummed nomittally, pondered for a moment, and then added, "That person is hiding and hasn''t shown himself, which means hecks the ability to confront us directly. He knows Space Law, so pursuing him in the maze is meaningless; the moment we move, he will surely flee. The only uncertain threat is whether he has any special cursed objects in his possession..."


    Pausing, he added in a lower tone, "That, too, cannot be prevented."


    As he spoke, the experienced and decisive old general had a flicker of hesitation in his eyes that had never been seen before.


    Even, deep down he was hoping for some... idents to ur.


    He looked at the intelligence officers in front of him working on breaking the prohibitions and his expression shifted subtly.


    The adjutant seemed to catch on to hismander''s thoughts, muted his voice, and whispered, "Commander, from what we see now, this relic must involve some ancient prohibition. Do we really need to do this? If we don''t handle it correctly, it could bring disaster to us, the Empire, or even the entire Alchemical civilization..."


    Upon hearing this, Barrett was expressionless.


    The slight twitch of his eye muscles indicated that he was not as calm as he appeared.


    The adjutant continued, "What I mean is, since we know the relic is here and it won''t disappear, we could wait for the Empire to send more professional archaeologists to investigate before taking action. Those guys at the intelligence department might not have the best intentions..."


    Upon hearing this, Barrett''s eyes narrowed slightly, and he only responded in a low voice, "It is the Empress''s decree. And we are the Royal Knights..."


    "Understood, Commander."


    After these words, the adjutant showed a hesitant look but sighed and said no more.


    It was at this moment that suddenly, the beehive-like holes in the surrounding rock walls started buzzing with noise.


    Everyone was shocked.


    "Monsters areing!"


    "How is that possible? We''ve been extremely careful, shielding all our traces. How could such a massive monster revolt happen? Could it be an issue with breaking the prohibition?"


    "It''s not because of the prohibition breaking! There is a special toxin mixed in the air, those creatures have been deliberately lured here!"


    "Damn it, a few of you, find the source..."


    "..."


    The Luying Royal Legion instantly enteredbat mode.


    Barrett and the adjutant from earlier exchanged nces, obviously guessing something.


    An ident is one thing, but in their eyes, there seemed to be a sense of relief that passed.


    Following that, various poisonous creatures emerged from those cavities in the rock walls.


    ....


    Of course, themotion was Su Lun''s handiwork.


    He knew he had no power to stop those people head-on.


    Reflecting on his experiences in passing through the cursed space multiple times, he knew that sometimes wisdom was more useful than strength.


    The one chance he had to stop them was to exploit the rules of this cursed space.


    Su Lun thought of the monsters here.


    The monster corpses he had seen earlier in thebyrinth were identified as predominantly gue-ridden, highly poisonous creatures.


    He thought of a cursed artifact in his possession, "Anniestora''s Toxic Incense Burner."


    Lighting the incense burner would attract all the poisonous creatures within range.


    But using this item was not without danger to Su Lun.


    Thebyrinth''splex terrain made the range of the poison gas uncontroble; the number of monsters in the underground pce was unknown... All these were uncertain factors.


    Perhaps upon lighting it, even he would be overwhelmed by the tide of monsters.


    Moreover, if discovered by the enemy, it could also be extinguished prematurely.


    Considering this was the only method he could think of, Su Lun hesitated little before deciding to give it a try.


    He took out the incense burner and crafted a simple trigger mechanism.


    He then ced a fan near the incense burner, hoping to blow as much of the poison gas towards the temple as possible before the fan was corroded by the gas.


    The effects were better than expected.


    The "Hydra''s poison nd" emitted an intense poisonous gas that corroded the solid rock walls swiftly, much like a red-hot iron on ice, melting it rapidly away.


    Moreover, this toxin wasn''t solely a gas but also had a corrosive quality on aw level. Even the mechanical fan Su Lun had set up was instantly melted.


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    As soon as the toxic fumes appeared, it was like blood had been spilled in the ocean, with sharks from dozens of leagues away smelling the blood.


    In an instant, the vast underground pce came alive with activity.


    All sorts of highly poisonous monsters surged out as if mad.


    Su Lun fell back into thebyrinth, wrapped himself up in the "Oz Ice Man''s Shroud," and hid in a corner pretending to be invisible.


    Then, he watched countless monsters rush past him like moths to a me.


    And that was just one corridor.


    There were countless corridors in thebyrinth.


    By the time those underground realized it, it was already toote.


    But the troops from the Luying Royal Army were no fools.


    Almost immediately, someone located the position of the toxic incense burner.


    Su Lun watched a spotted python over ten meters away rush toward the incense burner, thinking it was a creature from the underground pce. But to his surprise, after the serpent drew close, it opened its gaping maw and spat out a man in a trench coat.


    "Toxic Magician?"


    Su Lun, seeing the man wearing physician''s gloves and the green barrier on his body, immediately guessed his profession.


    The Luying fellows had clearlye well-prepared, having considered various possibilities.


    That man apparently had his own ways to counteract the poison and wasn''t affected by the corrosion; he walked straight over, seemingly intending to close the incense burner''s air intake.


    With not enough monsters having arrived, Su Lun naturally couldn''t just watch the other party neutralize the incense burner so soon.


    "Toxic Magician" was a rare profession, and he didn''t think there were many among the Luying army.


    Killing this man could at least greatly slow down the enemy''s progress in solving the puzzle.


    Su Lun took out a chessboard and didn''t hesitate to fire a beam of light at the man in the trench coat.


    He was well aware that this man was also a "bait."


    When the Luying Royal Army undertook missions, they typically operated in groups of three.


    If Su Lun made a move, he was sure to be exposed.


    Even if he had various methods, being discovered and encircled would make it difficult to escape.


    He had to kill quickly!

 Chapter 275 Reversal

    The space around them transformed, bing a ck and white chessboard.


    Having chosen to strike, Su Lun gave his enemy no quarter. He tossed his fast ck umbre into the air and his hands quickly formed magician''s seals, nning to unleash the "Nightfall Domain" to strip away the opponent''s perception before delivering a swift kill.


    The man in the trench coat watched as he was pulled into the space, his expression also turning grim.


    But he was a truly battle-hardened elite of the royal forces who, even when facing certain death, did not panic and reacted withbat readiness at the first opportunity.


    His hands, too, swiftly formed magician''s seals.


    As he formed the seals, a bizarre scene unfolded.


    Su Lun hadn''t expected his chessboard and ck umbre ploy to be easily countered, and thought that swiftly killing a fourth-order enemy shouldn''t be a problem.


    But when he saw the man''s skin lose its color at an rming rate, revealing patches of greenish-ck mortuary spots, Su Lun also showed a hint of surprise.


    ....


    "Talent [C-008-gue Bearer]?"


    Su Lun caught sight of the enemy''s condition and immediately guessed it was some kind of talent ability.


    Such individuals with this talent were often sickly from childhood and many died young. But if they survived, correspondingly, their resistance to gues would be very high.


    This was a talent with a very highpatibility with the profession of "Toxic Magician."


    Su Lun did not dare to be careless; this was his first encounter with a Toxic Magician and he was unaware of what techniques the man might possess.


    But watching the sequence of seals being formed and the increasingly turbulent fluctuations of the guews, he immediately thought of a notorious gue-rted technique.


    "Flesh Alchemy¡¤Whale Explosion Technique?"


    Su Lun''s eyelids twitched slightly as he muttered to himself, "Starting with self-destruct, that''s pretty decisive."


    This technique was as the name suggested. Once cast, the practitioner would explode like the rotting carcass of a whale, self-destructing and scatteringrge amounts of diseased and decayed tissue everywhere, widely contaminating the surroundings.


    Among the countless alchemy spells, it was counted as one of the most disgusting!


    In the enclosed space of the chessboard, an explosion would be a disaster akin to being smeared with excrement.


    With this move, the enemy turned the tables from passive to active.


    Starting with "self-destruct," they did not fear being killed.


    Su Lun felt that even if he were hiding inside abat mecha, directly withstanding the st would see the armor corroded and damaged.


    Now, it was up to him to consider whether to dissolve the space.


    Otherwise, he could only take the hit directly.


    ....


    The enemy''s quick reaction clearly indicated he was well-prepared.


    In an instant, as Su Lun continued making sorcerer''s seals, he thought, "Seems like the battle earlier exposed some of my techniques. This guy was ready for the ck umbre and thebat armor."


    Almost concurrently with his realization, the man in the trench coat''s body swelled rapidly like a rotting whale carcass. His stomach ballooned out like an inting balloon, growingrger andrger.


    Even before explosion, the greenish glow of the guews grew brighter and brighter.


    Seeing that the man''s technique was irreversible, Su Lun knew his opponent wasn''t just bluffing.


    In the final moment, he decisively chose to dissolve the chessboard space.


    The two were once again back in the corridor.


    The next instant, a muffled "boom" like the bursting of drum skin echoed in his ears.


    A wave of foul stench, detectable even through his gas mask, flooded over them in an instant.


    Su Lun quickly teleported back in retreat.


    But even so, the closed passage added a directed diffusing force to the gue airstream.


    Su Lun avoided the initial wave of impact but was still swept by the aftermath.


    His beaked mask let him breathe unhindered, yet the corrosive airstream directly burned through his clothes, breached the barrier condensed from thews of death, and struck his right arm.


    In an instant, a searing pain shot through his forehead.


    A nce with the corner of his eye revealed arge patch of blistered red spots on his arm, teeming with water-filled blisters and pustules.@@novelbin@@


    "The ''Eradicating Property'' of the guews," Su Lun said to himself with respect.


    guews were niche, but mastering them made them far more insidious than regr elemental spells.


    Just the ability to corrode elemental barriers was enough to put practitioners of the same level at a substantial disadvantage.


    It was a good thing he had exited the chessboard space in time; otherwise, taking the brunt of that move would have covered him in rotting flesh. Even if the mecha armor had blocked it, the enchantments and coatingyers would likely have corroded away by seventy to eighty percent.


    The plume of gas poisoned Su Lun, and only his serum-modified constitution coupled with a long-term wearing of the beaked mask, which was not low in toxin resistance, saved him from the arm infection potentially iming his life in a short time!


    Su Lun did not dy further and took out a strong antidote serum, broke it over and drenched it on the wound, rinsing the contaminated skin.


    A wave of coolness instantly eased the burning sensation, and his body''s healing ability started to resist the toxin''s corrosion.


    At the same time, his gaze was fixed on a distant incense burner, not daring to let his guard down.


    Su Lun didn''t think that it was the end of the affair.


    ...


    It was when the stench of the explosion''s shockwave had subsided that the spotted python vomited once again, spitting out a man covered in mucus with a deathly paleplexion.


    Looking at the man, Su Lun muttered to himself, "Knew he wasn''t dead..."


    And this guy wasn''t alone!


    At the same time, another man wearing a monocr and a trench coat appeared.


    The man probably didn''t expect that his aplice would choose self-destruction when faced with Su Lun.


    But despite his surprise, the guy was quick to act.


    He pinched the sorcerer''s seals with his hands, and to his feet, an Octagram Array shone brightly as he shouted, "Human Dissection Technique¡¤Release!"


    There was no time to dodge, and just like the principle Word Bes Law, Su Lun watched as his body was sliced into three parts by some sharp object.


    "A seventh-tier spell? No... it''s an Illusion Technique!"


    At the glimpse of the Octagram Array, Su Lun was instantly rmed, overwhelmed by an immense pressure that made him think he was facing a top professional, or that the other had an embargoed item like the ck scythe.


    But in an instant, he saw through the nature of the technique.


    It was merely an illusion!


    He nced at the monocr the man was wearing and immediately realized something.


    [Robert''s Monocle]


    Description: Let the world feel your agony!


    Cursed Attribute: Alchemy Imaging, which materializes scenes from your mind into an illusionary image, deceiving the target''s sensory system; the pain the target suffers must be something you''ve personally experienced;


    Detailed Exnation: The name ''Robert Rnd'' is engraved on the brass frame of the lens; once a genius magician, he was framed and lost everything due to others'' jealousy of his talent; after struggling to rebirth from a hellish life, he forged this Alchemical Eye, swearing to let his enemies feel the agony he once endured;


    This is yet another cursed item with quite special effects.


    Indeed, the royal family of Ru Ennd has no shortage of treasures.


    Su Lun, although he saw through the illusion, found it eerie that the pain of being sliced felt so real!


    As if a de truly cut through skin and flesh, the agonizing pain immediately covered his forehead with cold sweat.


    Even though it was an illusion, Su Lun knew he mustn''t underestimate it, for illusions can kill!


    There are two ways the human body perceives pain.


    The first is normal, where nerves in the limbs detect external stimtion and send signals to the brain;


    The other is when the brain directly perceives false signals and believes it is in pain.


    The second is the essence of nearly all "Illusion Techniques."


    While not truly felt by the body, the consequences are just as severe.


    Not just pain, but cold, heat, shing, corrosion, fear, joy... and so on.


    All sensory experiences, in theory, can be simted with Illusion Techniques.


    And the sensation of pain or any other feeling can trigger an instinctual reaction in the body, leading to some horrifying results such as "death from pain," "death from fright," "mental breakdown," and so on.


    For instance, if one were to die in a freezing illusion, the autopsy would reveal the same results as if the person had actually frozen to death.


    The field of Illusion Techniques is broad and profound, and cannot be simplified in a few words.


    It even ties in with philosophy, the ultimate mysteries of the world.


    There''s an ultimate topic circting within the circle of illusionists that no one can prove: how can you be sure that the world you are in right now is real?


    ....


    Su Lun did not consider such profound philosophical topics as whether he was just ''a brain in a jar''¡ªhe only knew that the man before him was troublesome.


    The pain of being torn apart might cause most people to lose the ability to fight instantly, but for Su Lun, it wasn''t much of a problem.


    His gaze turned cold as he skillfully detached and blocked the sensation of pain.


    He knew he would be affected, but that didn''t necessarily mean the other''s spiritual power was stronger than his. However, the man''s profession and equipment were definitely highlypatible with Illusion Techniques.


    Humans are different from heart-taking demons and other monsters; knowing how to use "external objects" is the greatest advantage of an alchemist, allowing theirbat power to increase exponentially.


    The man in the trench coat was a master of Illusion Techniques, his virtual signals not only affecting the mind but materializing like projections, made real.


    "This monocle''s curse attribute really is strong..."


    Su Lun didn''t pay attention to his body already cut into three parts, but with a light shout in his heart "Silk Control Secret Technique - ughterhouse," his fingers gripped the air.


    Almost simultaneously, dense pale blue threads emerged around the body of the illusionist.


    Those threads, imbued with the sharp energy of the wind element, abruptly contracted as soon as they coalesced into physical form.


    In a sh, the man in the trench coat was sliced into pieces.


    But unexpectedly, there was no sight of blood sttering everywhere.


    It was like the reflection in the water being sliced open, only to restore itself back to normal instantly.


    ```


    The Illusionist nced at the silk threads in the corridor, revealing a barely noticeable sneer at the corner of his mouth. That expression seemed to say, "This trick is useless against me."


    Upon a second look, the Illusionist split into seven identical figures.


    Upon seeing this, Su Lun''s pupils slightly contracted.


    A look ofplete surprise appeared on his face.


    But in fact, he had already anticipated this oue.


    This guy''s Illusion Technique was almost indistinguishable from reality; even in spatial perception, there stood a "person" everywhere.


    However, Su Lun knew it was an illusion before he made his move.


    Other things could be imitated with illusions, but the fire of the soul could not.


    Through Soul Perception, he clearly knew a ball of soul fire was nearby.


    The reason he deliberately struck the wrong one was to confuse the enemy.


    Because, even if he had determined the location, he was not confident he could kill the Illusionist in one blow.


    Su Lun was very clear about his current situation; the opponent already knew many of his methods, and if he couldn''t kill with one strike, the subsequent fight would be increasingly troublesome.


    Not having killed that poisonous Magician in a single encounter earlier already cost Su Lun his chance for a swift victory.


    Now what he needed to do first was to protect himself.


    The opponent didn''t know he had the ability of Soul Perception, so the Illusionist''s guard would be very low.


    He would eventually catch an opportunity.


    Besides,


    the enemy wasn''t just the two in front of him, there was a third person!


    .....


    The poisonous Magician had just self-destructed and must have used some special method to evade death, but his power also suffered greatly. He did not participate in the head-on fight but continued to attempt to extinguish "Anniestora''s Poisonous Incense Burner."


    Su Lun was controlling the puppet, fiercely fighting the seven illusions created by the Illusionist.


    No matter how they were killed, the illusions could immediately revive.


    It seemed that if the situation dragged on, Su Lun was bound to lose eventually.


    Su Lun could have used Spatial Discement to retreat to the maze, but he didn''t want to watch these guys simply break the seal. Thinking that no fifth-order professionals hade, he still wanted to struggle in the end.


    The Illusionist in front of him seemed not to be a great threat in Su Lun''s view.


    He himself was also adept at mind spells, and with precautions and care, those illusions weren''t a big problem.


    Instead, he was always on guard for the third person hiding in the shadows.


    In Soul Perception, that was a fourth-order Assassin, stealthily making his way from the top of the rock wall!


    It appeared that the fellow was preparing for a stealth assassination.


    But, Su Lun had prepared his own body as bait for a counter-kill, yet what he least expected happened!


    ....


    The Assassin crept up, Su Lun watched him passing by the poisonous Magician, keeping his eyes intently fixed.


    He thought the guy would continue to stealthily approach him for an assassination, but unexpectedly, he made his move prematurely!


    Without warning, a pitch-ck dagger suddenly appeared in the air.


    If Su Lun couldn''t perceive the soul fire, he would have had no idea where the Assassin was.


    Right above the head of the poisonous Magician!


    The pitch-ck dagger actually slid across the neck of the poisonous Magician?!


    An Assassin''s lethality ispletely different before and after being exposed.


    An unexposed Assassin could even assassinate targets above his rank.


    This cut directly severed the naked man''s neck, spewing forth a jet of green blood.


    Even though the green blood corroded the Assassin''s arm, the poisonous Magician''s head also hit the ground.


    This was not any sort of self-sacrificial ploy.


    Su Lun looked at the rising grey mist from the corpse, full of confusion, "What''s going on, is there a rebellion in their ranks?"


    He could have never expected that the Assassin would betray his own ally and kill him!


    Simrly, the Illusionist was also greatly shocked, shouting, "Cortes, what are you doing!"


    Su Lun did not care about their internal strife; an enemy dead was a huge advantage for him.


    He watched the Illusionist''s moment of shock, his expression turning cold, "What an opportunity!"


    He had been feigning weakness all along, setting traps, waiting for this very moment.


    "Silk Control Secret Technique - Flower Waterfall!"


    Behind Su Lun, the spidernce suddenly tugged, and countless silken threads instantly condensed into form.


    ```


    But the target was not any of the seven illusions, it was another dark corner.


    The illusionist used illusions to create an environmental barrier,pletely concealing his figure.


    It seemed wlessly executed.


    But had Su Lun fought with puppets for so long without any preparation?


    The scattered fighting puppets were meant to cover the act ofying down those silk threads that would leave the enemy with no escape!


    It was in the moment the silk threads converged that the illusionist realized he had been discovered. Just as he tried to act, the long-anticipated threads had already sealed off his retreat.


    In that instant of error, a crack in space suddenly appeared at his neck, severing it in two.


    Seeing the mist of the soul spill out, Su Lun confirmed he had killed the man.


    However, he did not react; instead, he stared solemnly at the unclearly aligned assassin from afar.


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    The assassin nced at the illusionist whom Su Lun had killed in an instant, and a trace of surprise showed in his eyes as he muttered to himself, "I didn''t expect you to have such a trick up your sleeve. I thought..."


    The rest of his thought went unspoken: He hade to rescue someone but didn''t expect his aid to be unnecessary.


    Su Lun did not respond to him but asked, "Who might you be?"


    The assassin shook his head, "Who I am is not important. I am entrusted to make sure you don''t die."


    After a pause, he looked at Su Lun with a somewhatplex gaze and added, "It seems now that I was overconcerned."


    He even suspected that the person before him had noticed him from the very beginning.


    Even if it were three against one, there was a possible chance that the person could strike back!


    "Entrusted by someone?"


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun immediately realized that this was a spy arranged by a certain power within the royal army.


    His first thought was of a person.


    The young nobledy with arge braid and small freckles.


    There were not many who could nt a spy in the Sacred Judgment army.


    Su Lun had juste out of the Old Lington Mine and did not know anyone with such influence.


    The only one that fit the profile was Katusha.


    "She actually arranged for someone to protect me?"


    Su Lun felt strangely about it.


    Although unnecessary, he still appreciated the sentiment.


    By then, the assassin also muttered, "It seems you know who it is."


    "..."


    Su Lun remained nomittal, raising his eyebrow slightly without borating.


    Setting up a spy in the royal family was a grave crime.


    Even if he guessed who it was, it was best not to say it aloud.


    Katusha had good intentions to save him; he did not want to cause the young girl trouble.


    However, such an ambitious move did not fit with her persona as a wandering poet, or an apprentice astrologer, did it?


    Could this assassin be a secret agent from her family?


    Su Lun did not dwell on it, thinking that he should thank her the next time they met.


    He also did not hesitate to use the silk threads to collect his spoils of war.


    Having frequently used the Spectre of Death, the [Eclipse]totem was already showing signs of strain. He dared not continue using it under the circumstances and casually stripped it away.


    The souls of royal lineage were inevitably of high quality. Even a "blind draw" hadted him arge amount of knowledge on advancing in the profession of illusions.


    He also stored away the monocr.


    The assassin, quite considerate, deliberately kept his distance to avoid suspicion, allowing Su to conveniently dispose of the body of the toxic magician.


    Su Lun began to examine the contents of the storage ring, engrossed in what he found.


    ....


    Su Lun''s goal was to use the incense burner to attract monsters, to stop those people from breaking the seals here.


    Naturally, he would not leave now.


    The assassin looked at the incense burner and also said, "I can''t stop those people from breaking the seal. Your method might have a chance."


    Su Lun remained nomittal.


    Now that he had killed a group of people, he could at least dy them for a while.


    But before the assassin could finish speaking, he frowned and eximed, "Someone ising!"


    In an instant, his expression drastically changed, "Not good, it''s Barrett!"

 Chapter 276 Am I Dead?

    The poisonous fumes from the magical incense burner continued to burn, and the monsters in thebyrinth grew increasingly frenzied.


    Su Lun knew very well that the people from the Luye royal army below must have realized their failure to extinguish the incense burner meant their assassination attempt had failed.


    They would certainly send more people.


    If three fourth-rank professionals couldn''t stop him, the next one toe would surely be of a higher rank.


    It was very likely one of the two fifth-rank deputy legionmanders.


    Su Lun was also prepared at all times for both battle and retreat.


    But he never imagined that the legionmander of the Sacred Judgment army, a sixth-rank professional known as "Ferocious Beast" Barrett, woulde in person!


    With his current abilities, Su Lun was confident that he had a slim chance of survival against a fifth-rank professional even if he couldn''t defeat him.


    But against a sixth-rank, there was only one word, run.


    Moreover, this was not just an ordinary sixth-rank.


    A sixth-rank able to serve as a legionmander in the Luye royal army was definitely among the elite of the elite.


    This Barrett was even stronger than the two sixth-rank professionals he had seen before, "Frost Giant" Gaal Popov and "Sr me General" dys Orme, from under themand of the King of the North Sea!


    Sixth-rank professionals nearly reached the limit of ordinary humans in all physical aspects. Whether it was perception, physical condition,bat skills, alchemy armor... they had almost achieved a state of perfect harmony.


    The gap of three whole ranks was not something Su Lun could ovee by outsmarting the enemy.


    ....


    Su Lun, hearing the assassin''s exmation and the name that escaped his lips, also sensed a Soul Shard shooting up towards him with the speed of lightning.


    His reaction was extremely fast, and without hesitation, he darted into thebyrinth behind him.


    Although he wished to stop the Luye people from breaking the seal here, he had to act within his limits.


    This was an irresistible force, survival was the top priority.


    As for the incense burner and such, he couldn''t worry about them now.


    Since he was prepared early on, in the blink of an eye, Su Lun had already fled to the end of the passageway.


    Just as he was about to turn the corner, he caught sight of the assassin in the corner of his eye.


    To Su Lun''s surprise, the man had not chosen to escape but looked in his direction with a nce.


    As their eyes met for a moment, there was no panic in the assassin''s eyes, only determination.


    Because no one knew better than he the terror of Legion Commander Barrett.


    He was acutely aware that if he didn''t do something, the man entrusted to him by the youngdy at all costs would never escape!


    Then he stood his ground, assuming a stealthybat stance.


    Was he preparing to block Barrett?


    ....


    "A dead man?"


    Even withoutmunication, Su Lun could understand the gesture, aplex feeling passing through his mind.


    The assassin had earlier exposed himself to "save" him.


    For an undercover operative, revealing one''s identity also meant sacrificing one''s life.


    Su Lun, although aware of Katusha''smand,


    did not expect the assassin to be so decisive in the moment.


    If the two had chosen to split up and escape, it wasn''t certain Barrett would definitely follow either of them, and there might have been a sliver of a chance to live.


    But staying now was almost certain death,


    All to give himself just a little more time to escape.


    ...


    "Pop," "pop," "pop"...


    A series of air bursts came.


    Even before the person arrived, this cannon-like series of sounds already exerted tremendous pressure.


    It was like mountains copsing and tsunamis surging, an unstoppable force of nature.


    These were the sounds of Stepping on Air!


    "So strong!"


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    Su Lun was shocked.


    He himself was adept at Stepping on Air.


    The shorter the bursts of air from Stepping on Air, the faster the opponent''s speed.


    The continuous booming sound by his ears formed a thread, sounding like the strike of lightning. This was a realm Su Lun found unimaginable with his current level of ability.


    Barrett arrived faster than expected.


    It was when Su Lun was still at the corner of the corridor that the bulky figure charged into his field of vision, lightning-fast.


    It was not a human form, but rather a giant ck gori with a body like cast steel and muscles coiled like ropes.


    "Talent [C-071-Ape]?"


    Upon seeing its form, Su Lun immediately realized something, his gaze sharpening, "No, it''s a second awakening!"


    Although the [Ape] wasn''t too rare a talent, after a second awakening, the growth coefficient of strength would be exaggerated beyond belief.


    This talent and the career progression sequence that is focused on strength would be highlypatible.


    However, a royal legionmander having a talent of the second awakening was not what astonished Su Lun so much. What drew his attention more was the giant transformation of that fellow''s body!


    That was the outward form of the alchemical imnt [Isaac''s Giant Strength].


    Yes!


    This was the imnt described in that collected volume of [Isaac Alchemy Notebook] owned by the Luying Royal House!


    The memories Su Lun had stripped away from his kills happened to contain this secret.


    This imnt was now standard issue for the Sacred Judgment Legion, and it was also the reason they originally came here to capture members of the giant tribe.


    .....


    "This is bad..."


    Only by encountering the opponent head-on could he understand the other''s strength through pressure.


    The sight of that ck King Kong made Su Lun think of a humanoid tank, devoid of any desire to fight head-on.


    Barrett''s speed was so fast that it seemed to slow down time around him, elongating an instant into ten seconds.


    Seeing this rtive speed, Su Lun even felt his own escape seemed as slow as a snail''s crawl, taking a good while to even run past that corner.


    While Su Lun struggled to escape, the assassin who had been lurking in the air also made his move.


    Without hesitation, he swung the dagger in his hand and stabbed towards the ck gori.


    Unfortunately, it waspletely ineffective.


    The gulf in their levels was too vast.


    The ck gori didn''t even give the sharp dagger another nce, as its big ck-furred hand caught the assassin''s neck as easily as picking up a chicken. Then with one punch, it sted the assassin''s body into meaty fragments.


    Su Lun just happened to witness this scene of blood scattering through the air, and it left aplex feeling in his heart.


    For the first time, someone had given their life for him.


    He remembered that the assassin was called "Cortes."


    That man, with his life, had bought Su Lun a fleeting chance to escape.


    ....


    There was no time to think further as Su Lun had already rounded the corner of the corridor.


    The most rational route in his mind was to withdraw the way he hade because he had already traversed it once. That way he wouldn''t trigger any unknown mechanisms or wander into any dangerous areas.


    But now it seemed impossible.


    There were some corpses in the corridor before, but now with poisonous creatures swarming in, the previous path was cluttered with monsters and was impassable.


    Besides, Barrett''s speed was too fast.


    Even with Su Lun possessing the eight-arm spider spear and teleportation, a straightforward run would inevitably result in him being caught sooner orter.


    The feeling of death pressing in from behind was like a sharp knife against his heart, a momentary pause would surely lead to being pierced. Reality left no room for Su Lun to choose; he opted to use Spatial Discement to pass through walls!


    Su Lun pinched sorcerer''s seals with both hands, tearing open a spatial rift, and dived right into it.


    And when he looked again, he had already emerged through the wall into an unfamiliar corridor.


    Using this twisting undergroundbyrinth was his only chance to dodge danger and escape.


    But before he could catch his breath, the wall behind him suddenly exploded. A ck gori enveloped in a white glowing aura brutally entered his field of vision.


    "Damn it!"


    Su Lun cursed inwardly.


    The wall behind him was a solid five meters thick; normal circumstances would require several rounds of explosives to breach it.


    And yet, Barrett smashed it directly.


    It wasn''t just the physical impact force; there were alsows involved.


    Seeing the force field around Barrett causing the space itself to distort slightly, Su Lun felt a jerk at the corner of his eye, thinking, "Is this the intensity of the forcew that a sixth-order professional can condense? It''s truly terrifying!"


    He felt that even the mech battle armor of a major general would not withstand many punches.


    In that instant, all hope vanished into smoke.


    Fortunately, Su Lun''s Spatial Discement skills had significantly improved. After a momentary pause, he once again tore through the fabric of space and moved through the wall.


    The ck chimpanzee relentlessly chased after him, wreaking havoc as it went.


    "Thud," "Thud," "Thud"...


    The sound of shattering walls echoed through the underground pce, resembling the muffled explosions of cannons.


    The exaggeratedmotion was enough to instinctively make even the mutated monsters steer clear.


    The predator and prey dashed through thebyrinth, unwittingly venturing deeper into its depths.


    .....


    With his keen spatial awareness, Su Lun urately determined his escape route each time.


    However, his time for thinking was shrinking; he faced several perilous situations, teetering on the edge of disaster.


    Sixth-order professionals, especially those who had formed a "Power Domain," dominated in both spiritual power and recovery rate over someone like him, who barely qualified as a fourth-order professional.


    If it came to a contest of attrition, Su Lun had no chance tost until the end.


    On several asions, he attempted to ensnare Barrett, the pursuer, in a few predicaments.


    But the wily old man saw through everything.


    In the face of absolute power, all stratagems seemed hopelessly feeble.


    Su Lun had originally intended to repeatedly change course, finding his way back to familiar passages, then think about escaping thebyrinth.


    That''s because he had previously extrapted some lingering thoughts from the Soul Shard of the "Abbas Thousand-Eyed Flesh Mountain," and knew that certain areas within thebyrinth harbored dangers beyondprehension.


    But Barrett''s meticulousness didn''t afford him that opportunity.


    Seemingly anticipating traps in the corridors, Barrett didn''tpletely follow the direction Su Lun fled.


    Often instead of a pursuit, it seemed more like he was herding.


    Barrett blocked Su Lun''s escape routes, forcing him to rush headlong into unknown parts of thebyrinth.


    And so, as Su Lun ran, even he became disoriented, unsure of his location within the maze.


    He could have kept running, tried to hold out for a bit longer, and looked for an opportunity.


    But suddenly.


    In front of a tall wall, the ck crow on his shoulder let out a sharp "caw."


    After a briefmunication with the bird, Su Lun stopped immediately.


    His gaze became grave as he surveyed his surroundings, realizing something.


    Before him, the tall walls of the space were slightly distorted, and the assessment revealed the characters for "Chaotic Spacetime Region."


    The crow on his shoulder was called the "Herald of Death," because it possessed an exceptional innate ability¡ªto predict death.


    It had cawed twice before.


    Once when they were under an Illusion Technique.


    Once when Barrett first appeared.


    Both times were moments when Su Lun was on the brink of life and death.


    Now, the third time.


    The crow sensed something wrong with this space.


    Going through the wall might lead to death.


    Not going through would also mean death.


    Su Lun was stuck between a rock and a hard ce.


    He looked back at the ck chimpanzee and decided to make onest attempt.


    He panted heavily and bellowed with all his might, "Wait!"


    If talking his way out of this wasn''t going to work, his only option would be to go through the wall.


    ....


    The more Barrett chased, the darker his expression grew.


    Thankfully he was personally on the scene; otherwise, if someone else had been sent, they likely wouldn''t have caught such an elusive target.


    But even with his presence, the chase astonishingly defied his expectations.


    What he thought was a minor issue to be resolved in a few encounters turned out to be fraught withplications.


    A senior spy lurking within the imperial military intelligence willing to sacrifice their life just to dy for this young man?


    Then there''s the officer''s battle armor from Mafa, each evasion tactic more surprising than thest... on a few asions, Barrett almost suffered minor setbacks.


    This young man''s identity and origin began to pique his curiosity increasingly.


    He watched as Su Lun stopped in his tracks, but didn''t rush to act.


    This distance was now within easy reach.


    Moreover, he had discovered that thebyrinth here was somewhat different from others.


    ....


    Seeing that Barrett gave him a chance to speak, Su Lun cut to the chase and said, "Do you know what seal you''re trying to break? This is a ''God Burial Ground,'' where gods that fell during the destruction of the Dawn Era are interred. Once the seal fractures, those chaotic high-orderws, the aura of the dead, dark energy... will spill out uncontrobly. That would be catastrophic for the entire human civilization!"


    He repeated verbatim what Mr. Jing had said before.


    This information was no secret that couldn''t be shared, letting this guy know might still offer a chance for redemption.


    Upon hearing this, Barrett''s brows visibly knitted together, his voice cold as he said, "Oh? And these are thest words you wish to speak before death?"


    Though he skirted the issue, deep down he was well aware that the young man behind the crow-beaked mask was likely telling the truth.


    "..."


    Su Lun noticed a hint of struggle in his microexpressions, there was evidently still a shred of conscience left.@@novelbin@@


    But it was a choice between loyalty to the Lurian Royal Family and conscience, and only one could be chosen.


    The struggle in Barrett''s eyessted only a moment before it faded away.


    At his level of power, his mind was very firm, and decisions were made in an instant.


    Avoiding the topic, he coldly asked, "Cortes has been infiltrating the military intelligence department for so many years, now risking exposure just to save your life. I am more curious, whom do you work for?"


    "..."


    Realizing the implication of his words, Su Lun immediately sensed danger.


    The adversary clearly acknowledged his point but did not pursue the topic of the seal, meaning he had chosen "loyalty."


    Su Lun naturally would not betray Katya.


    Even in death, he couldn''t bring himself tomit such a betrayal.


    Besides, speaking wouldn''t change the situation.


    Knowing there was no room for negotiation, he held no illusions in his heart, his hands moved with lightning speed, forming the sorcerer''s seals.


    "Hmph!"


    Seeing this, Barrett snorted coldly.


    His reaction was quick, as heunched a punch straight forward!


    With the fist that twisted space, one punch struck Su Lun''s chest, sending him flying backward into a spatial fissure.


    ....


    The scenery shifted around him, and Su Lun had passed through the wall to appear behind it.


    But this time, the wall was not shattered.


    No pursuers, the immediate danger was resolved.


    Su Lun also let out a sigh of relief and couldn''t help but spit out a mouthful of bloody phlegm with a "pfft" from the bitterness at his chest.


    Assessing his own injuries, they weren''t too severe, he chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Heh, that guy still showed some mercy..."


    Thatst punch from Barrett was clearly held back, probably out of a sense of "duty."


    One punch forced him into this conspicuously problematic space, not pursuing him to the end, leaving him a sliver of a chance at life.


    Su Lun looked at thebyrinth that was simr in style to the one before, his gaze filled with solemnity.


    For the ck Crow to issue a death warning, the situation was certainly not as simple as it seemed.


    "Could this timeline be before the Burial God Ritual again? What chaos..."


    Su Lun, seeing no tree roots in the underground pce, thought of something.


    He observed his surroundings, trying to locate any potentially "lethal dangers."


    Suddenly, the wolf w amulet hanging from his chest momentarily grew warm.


    Su Lun was ovee with a surge of strong empathetic sorrow.


    Listening closely, it seemed to be Yuta''s sobbing?


    The sound was initially intermittent, then gradually became clearer.


    "Mr. Su Lun, I''m sorry, I''mte..."


    "But... how could you be dead..."


    "..."


    Hearing this, Su Lun felt a chill run down his spine as if he had seen a ghost.


    I''m alive and well, how could I be dead?


    And where is Yuta?

 Chapter 277 Notes I Wrote for Myself

    "Mr. Su Lun, I''m sorry I''mte..."


    Yuta''s sorrowful, self-ming sobs echoed through the space.


    Su Lun''s first reaction was that he was hallucinating.


    He immediately tried various methods, only to find that he wasn''t in an illusion, nor was he influenced by some special spiritual power field.


    The attribute panel was all normal.


    Right now, everything was very real.


    Meanwhile, the sobbing sounds continued next to his ear.


    "I came as soon as I received themunication signal, but you..."


    Su Lun confirmed it was Yuta''s voice.


    She was crying very sadly.


    Am I dead?


    Su Lun, listening to the content of the words, realized something: Yuta must have seen his body, which was why she was crying so sadly.


    But there seemed to be a missing link, which made the scene very eerie.


    I am clearly alive and well, so why would "Yuta" say I am dead?


    Moreover, where is the voiceing from?


    ....


    Su Lun''s thoughts in his mind started to whirl.


    Assumption 1: I am hearing hallucinations (mostly ruled out)


    Assumption 2: It''s really Yuta, or some other ''Yuta'' speaking (?)


    He instantly had an analysis of the current situation in his mind.


    Having ruled out the first assumption, his thoughts automatically went toplete the possible logical links of the second assumption.


    The Wolf Fang Amulet hanging from Su Lun''s neck was Yuta''s actual Wolf Fang, which had some kind of spiritual connection with her.


    Su Lun didn''t know exactly why he could hear Yuta''s cross-dimensional conversation, but it probably was because of this Wolf Fang.


    So, Yuta was here and had seen his own body?


    But why can I hear her speak yet not see her?


    Su Lun ruled out that he was in a spirit state.


    He considered that it might be something simr to a "phonograph"?


    No!


    Stay tuned for updates on My Virtual Library Empire


    A chaotic timeline?


    Su Lun suddenly realized something.


    If I''m not dead now, could there be a possibility: Yuta might have seen "the future me"?


    ....


    Yuta was just in this corridor, maybe even right in front of his eyes!


    But not on the same timeline.


    Was it after I had died?


    Some special force allowed him to hear her cries across time and space.


    "So... will I be trapped here to die?"


    Su Lun concluded, his gaze immediately bing serious.


    ck crows give warnings, so this space must definitely have some "lethal danger."


    There''s no doubt about that.


    Wasn''t Yuta supposed to be outside, so how could she appear in the cursed space?


    A thought shed through Su Lun''s mind; he instantly understood that probably she had sneaked in for Dalu tribe''s inheritance. This silly girl probably didn''t tell him because she was afraid he would worry.


    But now was not the time to think about that.


    If another timeline''s version of himself had really died, Su Lun had to quickly figure out the cause of his death, perhaps now he could avoid it and survive.


    He tried calling out to Yuta, discovered she couldn''t hear him speak.


    "Yuta" saw his body, the best way was to ask her directly.


    It would also confirm if his guess was correct.


    But since the voice could only travel one way, how could he let her know?


    Su Lun saw the Wolf Fang Amulet on his chest, an idea shed through his mind, and he immediately thought of a method.


    "That''s it! Since my body is still here, it means the Wolf Fang Amulet is also still there..."


    Su Lun''s eyes whirled, he pulled off the amulet, then carved a line of small characters on it: "I am Su Lun, Yuta I can hear you speak. If you see this, tell me what you saw."


    He quickly carved these characters, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.


    If things were as he guessed, Yuta in ater timeline saw his body.


    Then, she should be able to see the characters on this Wolf Fang!


    .....


    The moment he finished carving the characters, the sobbing sound by his ear suddenly stopped!


    The Yuta on the other side seemed stunned for a moment, then cried with joy, "Mr. Su Lun, is it really you?"


    Su Lun, hearing those words, felt ted: My guess wasn''t wrong!


    He hurriedly carved another sentence on the Wolf Fang: "It''s me! Can you see the characters on the ground?"


    The Wolf Fang being quite small, he wrote some more words on the ground: "I might have fallen into a space with a chaotic timeline. Describe in detail what exactly happened and what you saw."


    Just after writing those two sentences, indeed, Yuta''s response came through the air, "I can see them! I''m sorry, Mr. Su Lun, I didn''t heed your advice and sneaked into the cursed space..."


    Indeed, just as Su Lun thought, Miss Druid had sneaked in.


    She continued, "I suddenly received amunication from you through the device specifying a route, asking me toe over... I came and then I saw you... no, a corpse. The corpse had the Wolf Fang Amulet I gave you, and then I thought it was you."


    "..."


    Su Lun, hearing this, his mind went nk again.


    Was it my corpse that contacted Yuta through themunicator, leading her to this ce?


    What is this situation, resurrecting a body?


    ...


    Su Lun hastily carved another line on the ground: "What else?"


    The Yuta from another dimension saw the characters on the ground, obviously also hoping it wasn''t Su Lun''s body.


    But after looking carefully, she probably suspected she was caught in an illusion or something else, her tone bing uncertain, "It''s a mummy, appears like a natural aged death, very old, very old. It seems... it truly is your body. Mr. Su Lun, are you a spirit now?"


    A naturally dead mummy?


    Su Lun heard this, his gaze shifting.


    It meant, he didn''t die from an ident but was trapped until he died of old age?


    No!


    If there was no misfortune, Su Lun felt he should at least have a hundred and eighty years of lifespan left.


    Moreover, the food supply simply couldn''t support dying of natural aging.


    Doubts shed through in session.


    Su Lun''s mind raced at high speed.


    He rapidly ruled out some incorrect logic.


    Thus the only possibility left was, there was some strange "chaotic timeline" in this space, "letting" "himself" age and die in a moment?


    ....


    Su Lun thought about this, and immediately realized the problem was serious.


    Since he was not dead now, he thought about saving himself.


    "If it is really my own body, since I have tried to contact Yuta using themunicator, I must have considered something. I definitely wouldn''t let her take the risk... even, ''I'' was very aware that I would die."


    Su Lun knew himself too well.


    He quickly thought of something and carved another line: "Yuta, check the storage ring on the body, and see if there is something like a notebook."


    As he spoke, he also took out a notebook and began to record everything that was happening now.


    Perception can be deceived, and even memories can be distorted, erased, or altered by some extraordinary powers.


    But a "poor pen" won''t!


    This clumsy method sometimes works wonders in certain situations.


    And Su Lun himself had the habit of taking notes, and he thought that if he were trapped in a maze, he would definitely leave notes to crack it!


    Once the line was carved, Yuta''s response indeed came through the air, "Eh... there really is one!"


    Su Lun felt like he had grasped the key point and immediately carved: "Read what is on there."


    ....


    "Yuta, you received themunication, which means you definitely sneaked in here, you... When you see this notebook, it means that the dyedmunicator I made could withstand the erosion of more than two hundred years. Tsk tsk, the craftsmanship is pretty good... In thest moment before deciding to step out of this space, I recalled my life. Although it was brief, it was splendid. I have no regrets abouting here. I''m writing this because I''ve left some things for you, and some words... Oh, don''t be sad. I quite liked you."


    Su Lun was surprised to hear Yuta reading these words from the notebook; he wondered if he had heard wrong.


    Such grandiose words, were they really written by "himself"?


    Could it be that he thought about these things in a desperate situation?


    In the air, Yuta''s reading turned into uncontroble sobbing.


    She continued reading.


    "You must want to know what happened, why I died here. If nothing unexpected urred, am I a dried-up corpse by now? Hopefully, it wouldn''t scare you. If I''m not wrong, I''ve fallen into a ''time distortion zone'' where the time ratio to the outside world is 1:3700. That is, if I spend one day in this space, the equivalent of ten years passes in the normal space. And I''ve been here for over twenty days, so if I were to go out, my body would instantly age two hundred years. Thus, what you see should be a corpse that died of old age."


    That was it!


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun immediately realized how the events had unfolded.@@novelbin@@


    He abruptly looked around the cursed space and blurted out a curse.


    In this ce, one day equals ten years outside?


    No wonder people are trapped to death.


    But at the same time, he grew hopeful.


    Because ording to his character, he would definitely not wait to die but would find ways to decipher this space.


    And moreover, since he had left notes, it meant there must be a detailed process to break it!


    ...


    Yuta continued reading: "I explored every part of the maze and found a way to break it, but it was toote. I spent more than twenty days in this space to break it, and aftering out, it was more than two hundred years. If I had stayed hidden in the space, I could have lived much longer. But when I came out, I would turn into nothing but dust... I never lived a life ofpromise. So, I decided toe out. This is how I chose to leave this world, with peace of mind. Don''t be sad. By the time you read this note, it simply proves that everything I predicted was right. If you encounter simr trouble, you can also use this method to get out."


    Yuta likely had tears streaming down her cheeks, touched by the emotion across time and space, and she began to cry, "Wah... Mr. Su Lun, please don''t die..."


    But in Su Lun''s heart, there was a different feeling, hearing this he immediately conceived hope.


    He carved on the ground, urging Yuta to read everything out loud, afraid the signal might suddenly cut off: "We are not dead yet. But if you don''t finish reading, I might really die."


    "I" spent over twenty days figuring out how to get outst time, and another attempt would likely take no less time.


    One day equals ten years; he couldn''t afford that.


    Fortunately, fate did not y tricks on Su Lun, nor did any idents happen.


    Yuta too realized the seriousness and kept reading the contents of the notebook.


    "The notes towards the end are a bit chaotic, but I''ve organized them for your ease of reading. If you need, you might want to see what I did at the end of my life. Nevertheless, this ''time distortion zone'' is quite interesting... this world is wonderful, it''s just a pity life is too short. I understood some of the meaning of death, it seems I also grasped some of the meaning of life... give me some more time, I could possibly make my life even more splendid, letting the world know I was here... but, there''s no more maybe."


    "..."


    The rest of the content was mostly the methods to break the "time distortion zone."


    Su Lun carefully recorded on the notebook the method "he" had left behind to break the region.


    He had also seen "himself" take too many detours.


    Because he had to grope through the entire maze to find clues to get out, he had wasted too much time.


    Now, all he needed to do was follow the strategy in "his" notebook, bypassing the exploration process.


    Soon after, Su Lun finished understanding the method and determined in his heart, "So this is how to get out..."


    With this strategy, he was confident that he could handle it in half a day at most!


    ....


    The notebook read up to this point; logically, there shouldn''t have been any important content left.


    What needed to be exined had been exined, and everything that needed to be said had been said.


    However, in thest few pages, Yuta read a few sentences that caused Su Lun''s just-calmed heart to suddenly feel a chill down his spine.


    "It feels like I have forgotten something very important, which is astonishing. How could I have done such a thing? Was there something guiding me to do it? Or did I see something that made me think this way?"


    "Huh... Why did I write down these words? Was it due to some external influence? I am sure that there is something else in this space, something beyond my understanding!"


    When Su Lun heard these sentences that sounded like "mad ravings," his hair instantly stood on end.


    He looked around at the dim space and couldn''t help but think, "Could it be there is some other terrifying presence here besides the chaos in time?"


    Fear stems from the unknown.


    Since he had written those words in the notebook, then that thing must certainly exist.


    Some kind of monster?


    The chaotic rules of the God Burial Ground?


    Or something else...?


    Su Lun''s eyebrows were tightly furrowed.


    At least that "thing" hadn''t killed his other self in that timeline, it had only caused him to forget something, which seemed not too serious?


    However, there was one more sentence at the end of the notebook.


    "I wanted to understand the source of this feeling, so I carefully searched through all the items I was carrying, item by item... Then, I finally noticed something unusual. That is: I couldn''t remember how I got the [Replica of the Original Rune]!"


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun suddenly became very rmed.


    He instantaneously felt a chill down his spine as if a ghost had blown on the back of his neck.


    A deep, terrifying thought.


    Su Lun was surprised to find that he actually couldn''t remember how he had acquired that [Replica of the Original Rune]!


    "I remember, it seemed like I had fallen under a monster''s illusion, and I then scraped it off from the stone wall?"


    Su Lun saw the [Thousand Illusions Demon Crystal] in his storage space, recalling the origin of the rune.


    Just like that?


    Scraped off from a mural?


    It seemed logically sound.


    But it felt like it shouldn''t have been that easy.


    Su Lun immediately realized why he had written that sentence in the notebook.


    It was then he discovered, his memory was missing something.


    Not much, but crucial.


    Within this cursed space, there might be a "special presence" that his subjective consciousness had forgotten or otherwise overlooked.


    ....


    However, now was not the time to ponder this question in detail.


    Time in this space passed so shockingly fast that every second wasted was a massive loss of life.


    Su Lun engraved thest sentence on the ground: "I am going to break the space now, Yuta, be careful."


    A gentle response also came through the air: "Okay. Mr. Su Lun, you... be careful too."

 Chapter 278 Arm, Crown, Hourglass

    Enjoy exclusive adventures from My Virtual Library Empire


    Su Lun recorded everything he was now preparing to do in his notebook.


    Because he was not certain that even with his own "strategy," other variables wouldn''t ur.


    After all, what if this wasn''t the first time he "died" in this space?


    If there was a first time, there could be a second, a third...


    And possibly countless times.


    The "himself" who left the notes might not necessarily have seeded on his first try.


    It could be the only version of him that the current timeline''s self could see.


    Making detailed notes might, perhaps, provide a lifeline to another self in another timeline.


    With this thought, his mind started to infinitely nest.


    "No wonder it''s one of the supremews of the ''Time Law,'' it truly is the most elusive..."


    Su Lun gathered his increasinglyplex thoughts; failing to understand them, he stopped trying to figure them out. He merely sighed, acknowledging that the chaoticws of the God Burial Ground were indeed beyond mortalprehension.


    .....


    "ording to the route in the notes, there''s no need to waste time revisiting most ces in this maze..."


    The route was now etched into Su Lun''s memory.


    First thing to do to get out, he had to find the ck iron coffin in the Giant''s Hall of Valor.


    "The notes mentioned that the item sealed within the coffin is likely one of the energy sources of this cursed space. It might also be one of the objectives of the Royal Legion..."


    Su Lun carefully walked through the corridor.


    Another timeline''s self had already meticulously explored almost every corner of this underground pce and had clearly recorded the dangers and mechanisms.


    Su Lun didn''t have to explore blindly this time, which saved him a lot of effort.


    He had some concerns that the actual situation might differ from the notes, but these were dispelled as soon as he stepped into the maze.


    Since the notes were left by "himself," as soon as Su Lun saw those words and matched them with the surroundings, he could immediately grasp the meaning of the sentences and wlessly understand what he needed to do next.


    Following the route map, he easily avoided the monsters inside the underground maze.


    Soon, he arrived once again at the previously visited "Giant''s Hall of Valor."


    The timeline should be before the Burial God Ritual, and the ce now didn''t have its usual entangled roots.


    However, there were many spatial rifts.


    And now, there were more drifting ghosts.


    These ghosts were no longer normal spirits; they had be mutated spectral aberrations.


    The iron, silver, and even gold monstrosities were everywhere.@@novelbin@@


    "The notes said to wear a Mirror Organization cloak, open a ck umbre and a phantom of death, and be careful to avoid the spatial rift at ten o''clock, because there will be monsters there..."


    Su Lun looked at the detailed reference on his notes, nning not to miss any step.


    One could imagine that the "past self" had probably spent a lot of time here, trying many times cautiously to find this correct route closer to the coffin.


    After observing that the environment matched the descriptionpletely, he then donned the cloak, opened the Human Skin Umbre, and a phantom with a scythe appeared behind him before he proceeded.


    After making these preparations, the drifting spectral creatures in the sky seemed not to notice an extra living person here, and continued drifting on their own.


    Su Lun let out a long sigh of relief.


    Shortly, he easily approached the coffin.


    However, getting close wasn''t easy.


    The ck iron coffin wasn''t chained yet, but from several meters away, Su Lun felt an overwhelming pressure.


    Mysterious, evil, ancient, terrifying, indescribable...


    Previously seen from afar, and now up close, these unclear auras hit him like a tsunami.


    It was as if an invisible force was repelling all foreign objects from nearing the coffin; with every step Su Lun took, he had to withstand tremendous pressure.


    "This necromantic aura really is exaggerated... If one hadn''t grasped thew of death, it would probably be difficult even to get close to this coffin."


    Su Lun took thirty-five steps, stopping at the position noted in his notebook.


    He also clearly saw the ghastly bas-relief on the coffin, the carvings depicted a story of the Hundred-Armed Giant King battling a horde of demons.


    In the end, the dimensions copsed, the Hundred-Armed Giant King perished, and his enormous body was torn apart, shattered into countless pieces scattered everywhere.


    Su Lun gazed at the mural, his gaze sharpening, and then he noted down something more in his notebook.


    The Massacre Demon-Subduing Coffin


    Detailed exnation: A coffin of fallen corruption iron forged from the underworld. It contains seals and prohibitions beyond your understanding;


    The notes did not mention the possibility of moving the coffin, and Su Lun did not dare make any unnecessary attempts.


    Following the method described in the notes, he took out a space scroll and released a mechanical Mecha.


    Then he controlled the Mecha to forcefully open the coffin.


    Yes, sufficiently cautious, this was very much in his style.


    This was one of the most dangerous ces in the underground maze, where the "past him" had hesitated due to concerns about triggering something dangerous, saving it until the end to take the risk and explore.


    In the end, it also caused a substantial waste of time.


    The mechanical Mecha moved forward, the necromantic essence rapidly corroding the runes and ting on the Mecha, and the living corpses inside instantly decayed into ashes.


    Luckily, the witch''s hair could forcibly be reconnected, and Su Lun intermittently controlled it, finally managing to get the Mecha close to the coffin.


    The steam boiler umted power and, just before a shutdown, pushed open the heavy lid of the coffin.


    The "click" "click" of metal friction sounded like a hellish demon grinding its teeth, making one''s hair stand on end.


    As the coffin was gradually opened, revealing just a slit, Su Lun saw a coffinful of "ck water."


    He had been curious about what exactly was inside the coffin, but now he already knew from the notes that it contained the arm of a Hundred-Armed Giant King.


    Only, its rank... was a bit preposterously high.


    Just a segment of a corpse''s arm exerted such a daunting presence, one could only imagine how fearsome it was when alive.


    Moreover, it wasn''t ck water in the coffin, but rather a dense mist-like liquid of necromantic essence.


    Originally, knowing the steps to opening the coffin, he could have reacted more quickly.


    But Su Lun, in order not to cause unexpected changes, did not do so. He counted a seven-second interval in his heart, then took out a transparent bandage, which was indeed the "Oz''s Iceman''s Binding Cloth."


    This thing was genuinely an "enchanted object," used for invisibility on ordinary days and seldom useful otherwise.


    But now, using it to wrap a corpse could not have been more suitable, as it could contain that surge of violent corpse energy.


    The water inside the coffin was very ck, yet very clear.


    From where Su Lun stood, he could clearly see the jet-ck, crystal-clear, sinuous arm.


    Just the arm alone was nearly three meters long, visibly brimming with power.


    The identification showed, as well as a name, just a row of question marks.


    [The Arm of the Hundred-Armed Giant King Briareus]


    Detailed exnation: ???


    Thews exuding from this corpse''s arm were terrifying, and even from such a distance, Su Lun felt the special reaction of corpse dissolution forming a terrifying dark energy, like a ck hole with the ability to tear through everything.


    This object, Su Lun''s current elemental barrier, definitely did not have the qualification to approach.


    To touch it physically felt like trying to grab a red-hot iron barehanded, just thinking about it made his scalp tingle.


    He lifted his hand, and a transparent cloth strip floated over, slithering like a snake into the coffin.


    The exceptional material of the burial cloth remainedpletely unaffected by the necromantic essence, swiftly wrapping the arm tightly like a mummy.


    The moment the energy waspletely sealed, Su Lun immediately felt a relief in his scalp, the oppressive atmosphere around him instantly cleared.


    The feeling of walking on a knife''s edge finally dissipated.


    He walked over and took the transparent object out of the coffin.


    He did not know what use the Giant King''s arm would have in the future, but now it had a big use.


    Only by obtaining this arm could he pick up another crucial tool for breaking through the maze located elsewhere in thebyrinth.


    Su Lun also collected the liquid of gathered necromantic essence in the coffin using a container.


    Though he was not a necromancer, for the "Herald of Death," it was the best nourishment.


    Such pure necromantic essence could not be found anywhere else.


    ....


    After securing the arm, Su Lun then unfurled the ck umbre.


    He looked at the "Sr Eclipse" totem on his chest that had turned slightly pale, it also seemed it wouldn''tst much longer.


    Without any idents, the totem wouldpletely copse after this.


    Su Lun formed a sorcerer''s seal with both hands and softly chanted, "Nightfall Domain ¡¤ Release!"


    Although unaware of whether this move had any significance in breaking through the space, since the "past him" had done so, he did not hesitate much and followed suit.


    The ck curtain spread from under the Human Skin Umbre, the runes on the umbre lighting up with a brilliant golden radiance.


    Instantly, as if attracted by something immense, the drifting spirits of the Giant tribe rushed towards the ck umbre like moths to a me.


    Then Su Lun watched as each spirit dove into the pool like stones sshing water, disappearing without a trace.


    Before long, the vast space had be empty.


    The Human Skin Umbre, having absorbed the souls of the wronged, shone with a glossy ck luster.


    With the addition of a few thousand giant n spirits, the efficacy of the Human Skin Umbre likely increased by about twenty percent.


    This is the power of a growth-capable cursed object.


    Su Lun put away the ck umbre.


    Gazing at the empty Hall of Valor, a thought suddenly shed through his mind, "Could it be that there are no spirits in the Hall of Valor on the other timeline because I absorbed all the resentful spirits here?"


    At the same time, he thought, "So, if I go out now, will there be an arm inside the coffin those people from the Royal Legion opened, or not?"


    With this thought, his face immediately showed contemtion.


    Like Schr?dinger''s arm, no one knows whether there is one in the coffin or not before opening it.


    The "Time Law" in Su Lun''s mind became increasinglyplex, seemingly tangled with quantum mechanics.


    ....


    Su Lun didn''t figure it out, nor did he ponder further.


    He left the Hall of Valor and, following the route outlined in his notebook, navigated through twists and turns until he arrived at a massive stone door within thebyrinth.


    His past self had tried countless methods at this stone door to no avail.


    It was onlyter discovered that specific Earth lineage was needed to open it.


    And since the giant n worshipped the Earth Mother Goddess, a special prohibition for opening this stone door was: the giant n.


    Now, Su Lun was the only living person in the entire underground pce, so that severed arm finally came into use.


    Touching it with the arm, the stone door easily pushed open.


    The space inside was unsurprisingly vast.


    It was like a treasury of the giant n.


    But everything inside had been moved out, with just a few scattered weapons and shields that had all decayed.


    In the most conspicuous ce, there remained an item, a gold crown nearly a meter in diameter.


    [Giant King''s Crown]


    Detail: A legend states that only kings of the giant n are entitled to wear this crown, which contains inheritance messages that only their n canprehend;


    Su Lun grabbed the crown and immediately left.


    He circumvented a monster''sir and climbed the "Endless Dark Staircase", eventually returning to the great hall of the giant city.


    This was the final step in breaking this bizarre timeline.


    ....


    Thest step written in the notebook was: "I discovered that the statue of the Hundred-Armed Giant King in this timeline does not have a crown, and once returned to its ce, it is possible to move the positions of the giant guard statues. Then, I found my deductionpletely correct, this is the key to breaking the ''Time Paradox''..."


    Su Lun looked at the sculpture of the Hundred-Armed Giant on the throne, his gaze somewhatplex.


    After a moment, he muttered with great emotion, "How much effort did another timeline''s me have to put in to find out that cing the crown back would be the method to break the space?"


    Without the notebook, he felt it would take tend days or even a fortnight to find the right method.


    Without any dy, Su Lun went up and ced the crown on the head of the stone sculpture. He respectfully bowed, "My apologies, Your Majesty, the Giant King, for the disturbance."


    Saying this, he went down and began moving thirty-six guard statues.


    Havinge this far, even without the notebook, Su Lun knew what to do next.


    He had carefully observed when entering before; the positions of these thirty-six guard statues differed from those in the other timeline.


    But they could not be moved.


    Only the king has the right tomand them, and the Giant King''s statue had to wear the crown.


    Su Lun moved ten of the statues, positioning them ording to the timeline in his memory.


    He spected that there might be other ways to arrange these statues, corresponding to other timelines.


    It was somewhat like the pointers on a clock, specific positions indicating specific times.


    If it were a puzzle game, Su Lun would certainly be curious about other solutions.


    But now, he just wanted to return to his original timeline, to make it out alive.


    Suddenly after all the moving, Su Lun put the statues in their ce.


    Then, in this great hall, a gilded hourss, over half a meter tall, suddenly appeared. The transparent ss container was filled with some pale blue crystalline sand.


    [Sand of Time]


    Detailed Exnation: A god-tier material containing the Law of Time, serving as the core of this time domain''s restrictions;


    Watching the hourss, Su Lun exhaled deeply.


    He had finally cracked this special space with a chaotic timeline.


    He stored away the crown and the hourss, then walked out of the suddenly appearing "Door of Time".


    The surroundings changed, and Su Lun found himself back in the corridor from before.


    ....


    "Huh... Yuta is not here? Could the timeline still be incorrect?"


    Su Lun didn''t see his own body, nor did he see Yuta, which he found somewhat odd.


    But then it urred to him, "In this timeline I am not dead, which means my body won''t appear. If my body doesn''t appear, Yuta wouldn''t receive themunication signal to follow up, right?"


    Su Lun checked and saw that the engraving on his wolf fang ne was still intact.


    However, the scenario of conversing with Yuta seemed as if it had never happened.


    Had the chaotic timeline resulted in different parallel spaces?


    Then, were there other timelines where "Su Lun" also existed?


    His mind was suddenly flooded with manyplex thoughts.


    Time and space, intertwined together.


    Such thoughts gave him a headache.


    "Regardless, at least I''m alive," he said.


    Su Lun felt that his current advancement couldn''tprehend such profound matters, and he didn''t force himself to understand everything.


    He set aside thoseplicated thoughts and focused on the present.


    "So, that means Yuta is in this space, not far from here?"


    Su Lun''s brow slightly furrowed.


    In this cursed space fraught with dangers, he naturally worried about Miss Druid.


    He took out hismunicator, hoping to make contact.


    But at that moment, his hand touched the notebook in his bag.


    He thought it over and decided to write down the experiences he had not yet had the chance to record.


    However, when he opened it, he was stunned.


    The notes detailing his journey so far were all fine.


    But at the end,


    there were a few sentences, Su Lun''s own notes, but he had absolutely no recollection of having written them.


    ''I only realized when I opened the notebook that I seemed to have forgotten something very important. Even the thought of it only came to me after seeing the notes. I realized there might be some kind of existence beyond our understanding...''


    ''Huh... Why would I write these sentences?''


    ''It seems some mysterious force made me forget about its existence. Even as I write to remind myself, this action might also be forgotten.''


    ''...''


    Reading these sentences gave Su Lun goosebumps.


    This wasn''t the first time he had discovered that he''d forgotten something.


    And thest page contained onest bizarre sentence: ''Could the strength of the Daru tribe have been insufficient to stop the powerful deep-sea giant, with a "third party" involved too?''


    Su Lun immediately realized that something had happened in the "Time Anomaly" that he had now forgotten.


    "A third party? What exactly did I see in the space that led me to this conclusion?"


    Su Lun''s expression became very strange.


    As he hadn''t yet been caused to forget by that mysterious power, he quickly recorded his current thoughts in the notebook: ''That mysterious force of forgetfulness seems to pose no threat to me, but it''s irresistible. It''s as if "it" does not want to be remembered, does not want its existence to be noticed.''


    Unable to make sense of it after thinking for a long time, Su Lun closed the notebook.


    Deciding to consult Mr. Jingter.


    ....


    But just after closing the notebook, the frown on Su Lun''s face immediately rxed, as though he hadpletely disregarded the contents of the notes.


    He tapped his head as if he had spaced out for a moment, "Huh... What was I doing just now? Oh, right, contacting Yuta..."


    With this thought, he took out hismunicator and asked, "Yuta, where are you?"

 Chapter 280 279

    Themunicator signal had not been sent out long before Yuta responded.


    That Miss Druid was indeed here.


    Before long, Su Lun found Yuta in the underground pce.


    After asking, Su Lun realized his worries were unnecessary.


    Compared to his own near-death experiences, Yuta''s experience seemed almost like a cheat code.


    As soon as she entered, she immediately felt the guidance and protection of the Dalu ancestors'' spirits, and then she smoothly entered deep into the cursed space.


    Even more miraculously, as she walked, she casually picked up a "Holy Artifact."


    Then, without encountering any danger, she just waited until Su Lun contacted her.


    ....


    "So, you just casually picked up the Dalu Tribe''s Holy Artifact, ''Dagda''s Magic Cauldron'', outside?"


    Su Lun looked at the golden object hovering next to Yuta, his expression somewhat incredulous.


    This cursed space was indeed full of treasures.


    But every artifact he obtained had involved great risk to his life.


    And Yuta had just casually "picked up" such treasure?


    The cauldron, resembling both an incense burner and a vessel, contained a brilliantly colorful liquid: red, yellow, blue, green... all sorts of elements mixed together, looking like a stewed rainbow, extremely beautiful.


    ''Dagda''s Magic Cauldron''


    Description: One of the four sacred artifacts of the Dalu Tribe, a divine weapon gifted by the god of nature; enhances the user''s affinity for natural elements, magic recovery, and spell pration gains a huge boost; the holder gains powerful elemental spellprehension and is protected by a natural barrier; it is a vessel tomunicate with the gods, devout believers can sense their presence; only those with natural divine power can wield it;


    The attributes identified were impressive, allowing maniption of almost all elements, truly a ''Divine Artifact'' for elemental mages.


    However, simrly, only the natural divine power of the Dalu could wield it, enviable to others.


    What surprised Su Lun even more was that due to the magic pot at her side, the aura of this Miss Druid felt very special to him, ethereal and elusive.


    "Hmm."


    Yuta nodded timidly.


    She looked like a little girl scared of getting scolded for a wrongdoing, and she nced stealthily at Su Lun, cautiously said, "I''m sorry, Mr. Su Lun, I shouldn''t have kept it from you. But this is our closest approach to our ancestors yet, I... I couldn''t give up."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun shook his head with a smile.


    The ''Four Sacred Artifacts'' indeed held extraordinary significance for the Dalu Tribe, concerning their heritage and survival of the tribe.


    The ancestors of the Dalu Tribe had been searching for the artifacts for centuries, a desperation that could make them forsake their lives.


    Su Lun naturally understood Yuta''s decision.


    Besides, his survival owed much to Yuta''s fortune.


    Although nomunication through space had urred in this timeline, had Yuta not entered, the previous "Time Warp Domain" might have been a dead end.


    "Next time, you can just tell me straight," he said.


    Su Lun knew why Yuta had kept it from him and didn''t say much, gently stroking her cheek.


    After a pause, he asked again, "So, where are you nning to go now?"


    Seeing that Su Lun didn''t me her for the trouble, Yuta blinked and seemed very happy.


    She smiled, showing her little fangs, and replied, "I n to see what those humans are up to. Our ancestor''s heroic spirit left instructions that we must not let them break the seals here."


    Hearing this, Su Lun also nodded, "Hmm."


    He was naturally interested in seeing for himself too.


    Though previously he had been frantically chased by the sixth-order ''Ferocious Beast'' Barrett, he was now incredibly familiar with the underground pce, confident that even if pursued again, he could escape using the terrain.


    Besides, with that Holy Artifact in Yuta''s hands, herbat power was not simple.


    ....


    Su Lun switched to a different route, quietly approaching the Hall of Valor.


    From a distance, he released a ck crow and carefully flew over.


    In his view, the Hall of Valor was littered with toxic beast carcasses, and the perilous incense burner had disappeared.


    It seemed that the previous tactic of diverting disaster had caused some trouble for the Sacred Legion, but not much.


    The legion had dwindled to about a hundred people left.


    Su Lun and Yuta didn''t go out and hid deep in the corridor instead.


    The breaking of the curse space was nearing its end, and it was no longer something they could stop.


    What they had to do was wait for an opportunity.


    "There shouldn''t be an arm in that coffin. Those guys will probably get quite a shock when they see it..."


    The reflection in Su Lun''s left eye showed the scene the ck crow had seen; he watched as those people used the decoder to unlock the rune iron chains binding the coffin and were carefully opening it.


    He had once been up close to that ck coffin and knew what state it should have originally been in. The absence of oozing necromantic aura had already confirmed that the arm was definitely not inside.


    So, the cause of the past indeed led to the present effect.


    Theoretically, it is possible for two identical items to appear in the same curse space.


    But the condition is that there is enough energy.


    However, when something like the "Hundred-Armed Giant King''s arm" that supported the curse space as the "source of the curse" was taken away, it would no longer be possible to have enough curse source to form a second one.


    As expected.


    The ''click'' ''click'' of metallic friction echoed through the Hall of Valor, and a man in a trench coat cautiously approached.


    Then, from the gap, they saw the empty inside of the coffin.


    Immediately afterward, an incredible shout came from the corridor, "How can it be empty?! The seal hasn''t been broken; how can the contents be gone?"


    However, before those people could think more, the surrounding scenery began to copse.


    Those people had disrupted the seal, breaking the stability that maintained the entire curse space, and naturally, the space started to fall apart.


    ...


    Su Lun watched as the environment around him transformed; they were also in an undergroundbyrinth.


    But clearly, the roots around were more lush.


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    Previously, the scene in the curse space was probably from a timeline five hundred years ago; now, this ce was the real world. The air was moist and humid, the corridor was filled with broken copses, and thick moss covered the stone bs.


    The gray elm trees that had grown for five hundred yearspressed and deformed this relic, wrapping it more tightly.


    However, having escaped that perilous cursed space was also a good thing.


    Su Lun''s gaze swept around, reassessing the ce where they were now.


    The change in environment meant that the escape route nned earlier was different now.


    But just then, Yuta''s expression turned very strange, as if... she had been greatly shocked, looking somewhat out of her body.


    Su Lun thought she had encountered some problem and asked, "What''s wrong with you, Yuta?"


    Hearing the query, Yuta seemed to snap back from her trance.


    "Mr. Su Lun! I...I..."


    In an instant, her face showed uncontroble ecstasy, and she excitedly said, "I...I think I can sense the call of the great nature god!"


    It had been five hundred years since the Dalu tribe had broken the inheritance after that battle, and they had not felt the call of a deity since then.


    Now, she had felt it!


    "You felt the call of the spirit of nature?"


    Su Lun thought of the previously identified information and was not too surprised.


    He saw Yuta''s eyes suddenly glimmer with tears and genuinely felt happy for her.


    At least, her risking her life toe here had finally paid off.


    However, being happy was one thing; Su Lun''s gaze involuntarily shifted towards the magic cauldron floating beside her.


    He felt that Yuta''s aura was bing more and more ethereal, like being on the fourth, fifth, or even sixth level, and kept rising higher...


    "It''s really exaggerated..."


    Su Lun smiled, squinting his eyes, and muttered to himself.


    This is one difference between an alchemist and a follower of the gods.


    The strength of an alchemistes entirely from oneself, alchemical imnts and cultivation, which can only be difficultly improved step by step;


    The main source of a follower''s strength, however,es from the deities.


    The magic spells of the followers are more like prayers, hoping for a response from the deities, just like the Dalu tribe''s spells that all go "Great God of Nature above, please grant me the power of the XX element...".


    Without the response of the divine, the power of the spell would be very minor.


    But once responded to, or blessed by a deity, the power was hard to predict.


    ....


    Yuta sensed the call of the nature god and knelt on the ground with devout faith, muttering arcane incantations in the Dalunguage.


    A miraculous scene then unfolded before their eyes.


    From those twisted roots, small green dots, like fireflies, suddenly emerged, floating around Yuta before merging into her body.


    Gradually, her body emitted a soft glow, and a surge of magic power spilled out.


    The magic power gradually responded to the Holy Artifact "Dagda''s Magic Cauldron" near her. The cauldron radiated a prismatic sheen, as splendid colored ribbons of light flourished around it, lighting up the entire corridor.


    Su Lun had not expected such a grand disturbance and hastily shielded the surrounding energy fluctuations.


    Yuta was enveloped in a green orb of light, her aura growing stronger. Her clothes dissolved into specks that vanished into the air, and her skin subtly shifted from a wheatish to a translucent amber hue, purified of all impurities. The force of nature seemed to cleanse her marrow and purify her veins.


    Watching the power that obviously did not belong to Yuta, Su Lun grew more curious and guessed something, "Is this the way of the Dalu tribe''s heritage? Divinely bestowed power, truly a miraculous method."


    The phenomenonsted for about a quarter of an hour, after which the glow around Yuta slowly began to fade. Her skin tone also gradually reverted to normal.


    But the green light did notpletely disappear, instead remaining on her skin, leaving behind arcane red totems. They appeared on her forehead, cheeks, chest, back, abdomen... all over her body.


    Being close to her, Su Lun did not need to avoid any intimacy.


    He curiously looked at the red totems on Yuta''s bare body.


    He had a "Sun Eclipse" totem himself, butpared to these red totems, the difference was stark.


    "This is a very high-level totem... Seventh tier? Eighth tier? Ninth tier?"


    Su Lun pondered for a moment.


    Though the totem mysticism of the Dalu tribe and the runes of alchemy were different systems, some aspects weremon.


    He could naturally see that Yuta''s totem wielded a kind of authority originating from the very principles ofws.


    At that moment, Yuta suddenly opened her eyes, an authority simr to that of a wolf king reigning supreme radiated from her.


    This aura was so intense that Su Lun furrowed his brows.


    But an instantter, Yuta controlled the leaking aura, returning to her gentle demeanor.


    Looking at Su Lun excitedly, her voice trembled, "Mr. Su Lun, I... I felt the presence of the great nature god!"


    "Hmm."


    Having witnessed the entire process, Su Lun naturally guessed that the power likely originated from a deity.


    He smiled and nodded, sharing Yuta''s happiness.


    "Our Dalu tribe now has hope!"


    Unable to contain her joy, Yuta spread her arms and leaped over.


    Su Lun wrapped his arms around her warm and soft body, giving her a warm hug.


    Yuta buried her head in Su Lun''s shoulder, crying with happiness, repeatedly muttering, "The gods have not abandoned our Dalu tribe, we... our Dalu tribe is saved!"


    The centuries-old despair of the entire tribe was finally fully released at this moment.


    The darkest times had passed, and dawn''s first light appeared.


    Su Lun gently stroked her smooth back, softly saying, "Yes, things will get better."


    Sensing the call of the nature god was a great boon for Yuta.


    However, now was clearly not the time for that discussion.


    Just as Yuta was still immersed in her joy and excitement, suddenly, a fierce argument erupted from deep within the corridor.


    Having been monitoring the group through a raven, Su Lun knew exactly what had happened.


    It seemed that there was some conflict within Rue''s group.


    ....


    In the real world, the Giant''s Hall of Valor was buried deep within the roots, and the ground where the coffins had been ced, previously marked by a nine-pointed star, had be a seemingly bottomless pit.


    Even through the raven''s vision, the sight of that ck hole gave Su Lun a chilling sensation.


    It was as if the hole connected to the underworld itself, carrying with it evil, destruction, and unspeakable horrors.


    At that moment, two groups of people were confronting each other beside the pit.


    On one side were three men in trench coats, and on the other was the less than one hundred-strong Sacred Judgment Legion.


    Barrett, the legionmander Su Lun had met earlier, seemed to have changed his mind about continuing to decipher the seal.


    "General Barrett, do you understand what you are doing? You are defying a military order!"


    "No, I am not trying to prevent the seal from being unlocked. But after all, the northern ice field is too far from the Imperial Capital, and there may be some discrepancies in the transmission of intelligence. What I mean is, Her Majesty might not be aware of the situation of this relic... I think the most prudent method is to first preserve this relic, and after I personally report back to the Imperial Capital, we can excavate the relicter."


    "Hmph! Are you questioning our military intelligence!"


    "No... no no. Yegel, we are old friends, you know I did not mean to question your military intelligence. But I think the situation may involve some factors we currently cannot control, so it is appropriate to be cautious."


    "You...!"


    "..."


    Su Lun watched as the argument between the two parties became increasingly intense and sighed in relief, "It seems that my previous words were not entirely in vain; Barrett still has some conscience. Otherwise, if these guys really forced the seal open, I would be powerless against them..."


    However, things were clearly not so simple.


    The few men from the military intelligence in trench coats were not so easy to appease.


    The leader named Yegel suddenly took out a Golden Lion Token: "Barrett, this is the Empress''s hand-order, seeing the order is as if seeing Her Majesty herself."


    As expected, once the golden order was shown, the soldiers of the Sacred Judgment Legion looked at each other. Even Barrett solemnly crossed his chest. The soldiers behind him knelt in unison, performed a knightly gesture towards the token, and shouted in unison: "Glory is mymand!"


    Yegel sneered and, holding the golden token, shouted coldly, "Sacred Judgment Legion, heed the order! Per Her Majesty''s secret order, continue deciphering the seal!"


    Hearing this, Barrett still maintained his kneeling posture from saluting and did not rise immediately.


    He stared deeply at the ground, pondering something.


    The legionmander did not move, and neither did the soldiers behind him.


    "You... you guys..."


    Seeing that the group remained unmoved, Yegel''s face turned dark in an instant, and he shouted angrily, "You defy the Empress''s secret order¡ªare you trying to rebel!"


    Listening to the jarring word "rebel," the faces of the Sacred Judgment Legion soldiers turned ugly.


    As knights who had been loyal to the royal family for generations, this was the greatest insult to them.


    After hesitating for a moment, Barrett finally spoke, his voice extremely low, "My Sacred Legion has always been the most loyal guard to Her Majesty!"


    Hearing this, Yegel''s expression slightly rxed.


    But at that moment, as if Barrett had made a decision, he then said with conviction, "However... I still insist on my opinion; this relic absolutely cannot be unsealed now! As themander of the Judgment Legion, I have the right to make the most reasonable decision based on the situation on the battlefield, and this is also the right granted to battlefieldmanders by Her Majesty and the Congress! I also believe my judgment is in the best interest of the Empire!"


    Upon these words, the soldiers behind him immediately echoed theirmander, shouting, "Glory is mymand!"


    Hearing this, Yegel''s face became very unsightly, and his speech became less polite, "Barrett, do you know what you are saying? Defying the Empress''s secret order, you and your subordinates will be sent to a military tribunal, and the punishment could be death! Moreover, you would also destroy the centuries of honor of your Judgment Legion, and even implicate your families and friends in the Imperial Capital!"


    This threat was fullyden with implications.@@novelbin@@


    Betraying a royalmand was not a simple matter of death for a knight.


    Ultimately, it would lead to total disgrace and extermination of their families.


    Yet even so, Barrett''s gaze was firm and his tone unyielding: "I am well aware of what I am doing."


    ....


    In the eyes of others, Barrett was seen merely as a crude man who only knew how to fight.


    A professional ascending to the sixth tier¡ªhow could he be unaware of some secrets?


    Having fought battles, sailed, and explored all year round, unearthing relics and encountering various indigenous intelligent races, the legends he had heard, and the secrets he knew were not few.


    His experiences far exceeded those of the nobles in the Imperial Capital who had never left their doors.


    Previously, in the cursed space, Bazil may have been just suspicious.


    Now, seeing the piece of high-order chaosw leaking out of the ck hole, he felt an inexplicable heart palpitation; how could he not guess that this situation totally matched the words of that crow-beaked masked man?


    He knew, even if it was not some "God Burial Ground," this relic had significant issues!


    He even suspected that something was wrong with the high ranks of the military intelligence.


    Even that... something was wrong within the royal family!


    Before sorting it out, this relic must not be opened!


    .....


    Seeing Barrett''s attitude, a fierce light suddenly shed in Yegel''s eyes. Holding the golden token, he dered, "By Her Majesty''s secret order, I now announce that Bazil is defying military orders, and his position asmander of the Sacred Judgment Legion is revoked!"

 Chapter 281 [S-005-Time Messenger]

    Su Lun knew that Mr. Jing would soon arrive at Cursed Valley, so naturally, he wasn''t in a hurry to leave.


    But while he still remembered that bizarre situation that puzzled him, he directly asked Mr. Jing about it.


    "Senior sister, I''ve encountered a problem that has me very confused..."


    Su Lun shared everything he encountered and what was recorded in his notes.


    After listening, a response came from themunicator, "You mean to say, you saw some ''special existence'', but you forget about It?"


    Su Lun: "Mhm."


    Mr. Jing: "From your description, it sounds a bit like the ability to control time. There is a god-level talent rted to time, [S-005-Time Messenger], which is the statue you saw in the basement of Storm Manor with the ''?'' symbol. I''ve thought of some secrets that my father mentioned before. Mmm... It''s not very good to go into detail. That ''existence'' is either beyond yourprehension, or It doesn''t want you to remember It. Usually, this situation involves some very high-level causality..."


    Su Lun felt somewhat lost in the fog and uneasy for not understanding clearly.


    He pressed on, "Ah? So what exactly is it?"


    Mr. Jing seemed to know something but didn''t borate, responding, "You don''t need to ask in detail. If you ask, you''ll ignore it just the same. If It doesn''t want you to be aware of the existence, then there is no need to dig deeper. When the timees, you might remember on your own. But likely, it isn''t a bad thing."


    "I see..."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun finally felt at ease.


    His senior sister was counted among one of the most learned people in their group.


    If she said so, then the problem shouldn''t be significant.


    Even if there was a problem, pondering further would be futile.


    After all, by all ounts, if Su Lun had spent more than a day in that "time anomaly," his life span should have declined by over a decade, or so he guessed.


    But it didn''t seem like it had.


    Although there was no lifespan value on the data panel, he analyzed some data on metabolism and judged that his body probably hadn''t undergone such significant changes.


    Su Lun guessed it probably had something to do with that "existence" Mr. Jing had mentioned.


    But without a threat, the actual truth didn''t seem so urgent to know anymore.


    ....


    The battle in the Hall of Valor became fiercer and fiercer. In this enclosed underground, it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say mountains were copsing and the earth was splitting.


    Both Su Lun and hispanion dared not get close.


    Even the watchful ravens, there to observe the battle, were killed several times by the aftershocks of the fight.


    Barrett, as themander of the royal legion, indeed had astounding strength.


    Although Su Lun had met him before, it had always been on the run, and that guy had never disyed even a tenth of his true power.


    Now was the true time to see the "Empire''s Ferocious Beast" unleash his full strength.


    Su Lun observed various top-notch techniques of a fighter on Barrett.


    As expected of themander of the royal legion, his punches and kicks were so fundamentally solid that Su Lun had never seen anyone who couldpare.


    At this moment, Barrett was clearly fighting with all his might.


    His double-stage talent [Ape], along with a series of alchemy enhancements, were all focused on increasing strength. His power had grown to such an exaggerated level that it was astounding to any lower-ranking professional.


    There was no need for armor; his muscles, tough as steel, were the best defense!


    A milky-white aura swirled around his body and fists. When he struck, the space itself twisted, exuding an absolutely domineering and unrivaled aura.


    But while the techniques were one aspect, what Su Lun couldn''tprehend was that mountain-splitting, earth-shattering momentum ¨C it was a vague and indistinct sensation.


    "Is that the ''energy'' Senior Sister mentioned we need to cultivate?"


    Su Lun pondered thoughtfully.


    In this world, there weren''t too few professionals of the fifth rank, but those who could advance to the sixth rank were rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.


    This was because there was a very high "threshold" for this rank.


    Su Lun, blessed with the talent of the Reaper, could kill several fifth rank professionals and after stripping theirprehension of thews, he almost had no threshold to advance all the way to the fifth rank.


    But to advance to the sixth rank, no matter how powerful the dark spiritual power was, or how perfect thews were, it was impossible without one condition.


    And that was "energy".


    To this day, Su Lun remembered Mr. Jing''s words: Without cultivating one''s spirit, it''s like a person without bones; despite all the skills, one''s achievements would ultimately be limited.


    The reason why sixth rank professionals were outrageously strong was directly rted to this threshold.


    Seeing the "resolute energy" emanating from Barrett, Su Lun''s eyes narrowed slightly, and he faintly felt as if he had grasped something.


    ....


    The pace of the battle was fast.


    Wave after wave of violent surges exploded in the air.


    Barrett''s moves were broad and powerful, capable of smashing boulders weighing several tons with a single punch.


    Although Su Lun could not quite understand those moves infused with sixth rankws,paratively, the others were even more iprehensible to him.


    The one covered in red lines, Yegel, had methods too bizarre, able to restore his limbs instantly with the help of those red lines even after they had been blown to pieces.


    The magic used by that guy wasn''t from the alchemy system but the divine system.


    Su Lun waspletely baffled by what he saw.


    Yuta, who was sensing with his eyes closed next to him, suddenly opened his eyes and eximed, "That guy has borrowed the power of an evil deity, drawing the vital energy from the surroundings to replenish himself, thus achieving an immortal body."


    "An immortal body?"


    Su Lun frowned upon hearing this.


    Looking at it this way, if the battle dragged on, Barrett would eventually be defeated.


    Clearly, Barrett, who was engaged in the intense battle, had realized this too.


    He knew he had to fight quickly and decisively.


    Even an immortal body had its breaking point; if that point were shattered, it couldn''t recover.


    Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    Barrett, an old soldier seasoned on the battlefield, would certainly understand this.


    It was at this moment that the stalemate suddenly changed.


    Reflected in Su Lun''s eyes was the battle scene in the Hall of Valor, from which he discerned something and murmured, "Are they going for broke..."


    Finally, Barrettpleted his energy umtion!


    "Flesh Alchemy: Open!"


    He let out a fierce shout, ringing like a bell and echoing through the corridor.


    Following that roar, his momentum surged wildly, and a steaming white vapor rose from the surface of his body.


    Barrett did not pause, his hands quickly forming magician''s seals, and his aura suddenly turned cold and stern. With his hands well-formed in the sorcerer''s seals, he lifted them up and let out another fierce shout, "Power Mystique: Ten Direction Fierce Beast Ban!"


    With the emergence of this secret technique, a formidable ferocity instantly enveloped the entire area.


    In the space of the Hall of Valor, ten white vapor beasts suddenly coalesced.


    The ten apes ced their hands together, forming a hammer to unite their strike, encircling Yegel on the spot.


    Though the action didn''t look fast, the oppressive force of the powerw seemed to solidify the space around them, rendering all things in all directions unable to move.


    Even the ck crow, watching the battle from a great distance outside the force field, felt so pressured it almost copsed.


    Su Lun witnessed this scene and saw the underlying technique, thinking to himself, "A secret technique for a short burst of fury? Among professions based on pure strength, a body''s durability might be more suited for spells like ''Hormonal Rampage''."


    His own physical strength could only withstand three stages of hormonal release before it became life-threatening. He estimated that this giant''s body could at least sustain six stages. Such an increase inbat power could be even more exaggerated than what was currently disyed.


    ....


    Barrett''s momentum reached its peak, and finally, Yegel''splexion changed.


    How could one underestimate this desperate strike?


    This kind of pressure at the level ofws, where one power suppresses ten, offered virtually no alternative means of coping.


    One could only withstand it head-on!


    But the exaggeration of this fellow''s powerw was such that, after gathering strength for so long, even true Seventh Order professionals would struggle to break free, let alone someone like him who only had Seventh Order fighting strength with the help of external forces?


    Yegel saw that he could not move, his facial features even became distorted under the immense force. But he didn''t panic much, and a fierce light glowed in his eyes.


    He seemed to give up resisting, speaking fervently, chanting the honored name of some evil deity: "Oh great lord of disaster, your devout follower requires your bestowed power..."


    While the incantation was still being chanted, the fists of the ferocious ape already thunderously fell.


    "Boom!"


    The ten-headed ferocious ape fiercely struck the ground, creating a vibration that shook the entire space, simr to an earthquake.


    The exaggerated power squeezed space, making a thunderous explosion.


    Barrett''s eyes were bloodshot, the skin of his muscr body turned from ck to pink due to the high heat, emitting wisps of smoke.


    The giant ape he transformed into hammered down with alternating fists, the space under the fists visibly twisted.


    At the same time, the ten fierce apes condensed by fighting spirit also hammered down fiercely into space.


    I strike mountains with divine power!


    The rhythm of the ferocious ape''s hammering was the same, one after another, one after another...


    Themotion was akin to mountains copsing and the ground splitting.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!


    The vast underground space trembled intensely with each strike.


    Arge number of falling rocks quickly turned to dust upon entering the air field surrounded by the ten apes but, surprisingly, disintegrated into powder instantly.


    Only then did the watching Su Lun realize that the seemingly invisible pressure wielded such terrifying tearing force!


    Although Barrett had yet to condense his own domain, this power field fascinated the watching Su Lun.


    Meanwhile, in the center of that power field, Yegel''s elemental barrier had copsed under the hammering, and his windbreaker had turned to dust. His skin was also torn to shreds, revealing, like a human anatomical chart, his ck and red muscle fibers. However, what was eerie was that these muscle fibers seemed toe to life, turning into squirming red worms.


    With each strike from the giant ape, Yegel''s body would explode intorge clouds of blood mist, limbs burst into bloody meat, sttering everywhere.


    But in an instant, they would be restored as before by the red threadlike worms.


    The air was filled with a malodorous scent of blood that made one feel wicked.


    But for the moment, he didn''t die explosively!


    But casting such a powerful spell naturally came at a price.


    Since the opponent hadn''t dropped dead yet, Barrett on the other side was obviously under tremendous pressure. With every hammer strike, crimson blood spilled from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, and his momentum weakened a bit.


    During this stalemate, it seemed Yeager couldn''t withstand the continuous hammering; the red insects covering his body started seeking a new host, invading underground and spreading to the tree roots in the crevices of the rock walls.


    If the consumption persisted, it was difficult to predict who wouldst to the end.


    The most likely oue was a pyrrhic victory for both sides.


    Su Lun hoped for such an oue; it would be for the best.


    But, watching Yeager, who was still reciting spells despite being under attack, Su Lun knew that things might take an unexpected turn.


    Sure enough!


    What was initially an evenly matched situation suddenly took a drastic turn.@@novelbin@@


    ...


    Alchemists relied on their own true strength; whatever skill they possessed was that much, and they could at most rely on alchemical cursed items.


    But those heretics had the backing of certain special entities, making theirbat power difficult to measure urately.


    Especially those followers who could receive responses from deities.


    Sure enough!


    As Yeager spat out his final incantation, a hideous smile emerged on his face awash with gushing blood, "Hahahaha..."


    His madughter echoed around, and Su Lun, hiding in the tunnel, heard it loud and clear.


    And as thatughter subsided,


    An indescribable and terrifying will suddenly descended upon the ce.


    Before, Yeager was like a boat tossing in a tsunami with a risk of capsizing at any moment, but in an instant, with the mysterious will''s empowerment, his aura abruptly changed, and he began to mock, "Tsk tsk... Barrett, is that all you''ve got?"


    The voice sounded as if it came from the mouth of a demon from hell, sending shivers down one''s spine.


    At the same time, the ck crow cawed sharply.


    Su Lun knew it was a warning of imminent death.


    He closed his right eye, leaving only the left open.


    Su Lun was well aware that some beings should not be faced directly!


    Others might not know what this mysterious will was, perhaps only feeling an instinctual fear.


    But Su Lun had previously experienced such a scene.


    "Damn it, that colossal deep-sea creature is a deity-level entity..."


    Su Lun''splexion turned very unsightly.


    He had encountered it once before in the Dawn City Ruins.


    But back then, the fallen angel was caught in Sir Isaac''s millennium-old scheme, and with Mr. Jing''s various preparations, it didn''t cause much of a stir.


    Now, facing this wild deity, Su Lun felt a massive headache.


    Although it was just the descent of will, without its full strength being present,


    Su Lun knew that it was beyond his ability to interfere.


    Seeing the situation, Su Lun''s first instinct was to grab Yuta beside him and retreat as the smart move.


    But before he could act, Yuta sensed the presence of the mysterious will and spoke first, very solemnly, "Not good! That being seems to be absorbing power from the seal; I must stop Him!"


    Before Su Lun could react, Yuta turned to him, her eyes filled with a gentle andplex emotion of farewell, "Mr. Su Lun, you must leave this ce. I have to stop Him!"


    In the end, she had only two options.


    As she spoke, not waiting for Su Lun to answer, the red totem on her face suddenly shone brightly, and the rainbow light from the magic cauldron beside her was dazzlingly intense.


    With another nce, her entire being had transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the tunnel.


    ....


    Watching Yuta''s departing figure, Su Lun''s gaze was filled with solemnity.


    He knew he could not dissuade her, so he didn''t speak.


    It was the mission of a Dalu Druid, with a priority above their own life. Yuta''s faith was resolute; she would go no matter what.


    Su Lun deeply respected her choice.


    But he was genuinely worried.


    Although Su Lun was unclear about Yuta''sbat ability now that she had a holy artifact by her side,


    he was very aware of one thing: even with external power, if the inherentbat strength isn''t strong enough, the cost of using too high-tier powers could be immense.


    He had seen in the Dawn Relic how a Fallen Angel, possessing Duchess Raphael, used power far beyond her capabilities, paying with her life.


    "If it''s just a will descending, perhaps the problem isn''t too serious..."


    Su Lun, though cautious, was not afraid of death.


    After all, he had already experienced death twice, and to him, death was not so frightening.


    In an instant, he thought back to the battle in the Dawn City Ruins where a divine being had truly descended, possessing a second-rank individual, yet thebat power disyed wasn''t too exaggerated.


    Now only a will has arrived, augmenting a sixth-rank person.


    Perhaps... the strength of a seventh rank?


    If her abilities had the upper hand, there might be a chance to exploit.


    In an instant, Su Lun had analyzed many useful pieces of information.


    Thinking it over, he picked up themunicator and reported the situation to Mr. Jing: "Senior sister''s situation isn''t looking good, seems like a divine will has descended..."


    After finishing, he received Mr. Jing''s calm reply from the other end: "Hmm, I see."


    Su Lun hung up themunicator, took a deep breath, and without hesitation, dove into the tunnel leading to the Temple of Valha.


    ....


    By the time Su Lun arrived, Yuta was already locked in fiercebat with Yegele, who was covered in tentacles.


    Barrett, unbeknownst to when, had already lost an arm.


    Back in his human form, he was bloodied all over, having crashed heavily into the distance and embedded in the rock wall, his life and death unknown.


    Just as Su Lun arrived, he happened to see in the far tunnel a few soldiers holding the "Death Banner of Nelgale," sneaking in and taking the opportunity to rescue Barrett.


    Yegele, now engrossed in his intense battle with Yuta, seemed to have no interest in the life or death of a few insects.


    As long as they didn''t stop him from breaking the seals, everything else seemed insignificant.


    Moreover, he was entangled by the sudden appearance of Yuta and couldn''t disengage.


    Around Yuta swirled a seven-colored elemental aura, while the Holy Artifact, the magic pot, floated beside her, providing her with an endless source of magic power. With a raise of her hand, the winds and clouds surged, and the dazzling spells shone brilliantly.


    On the other side, Yegele was surrounded by a dark red aura of death, drawing in more and more of the red threads from the surrounding life force. These threadworms converged into various forms of tentacles, leaving behind red and ck auras that corrupted all vitality as they passed through.


    The grand Hall of Valor was a battleground where red and ck energies of cmity shed with the multicolored forces of nature.


    Both individuals were employing spells that didn''t belong to the alchemy system, and both were using powers not their own. Su Lun found it all very confusing, yet he could definitely sense the exaggerated fluctuations of the elements.


    "If this goes on, Yuta is in grave danger..."


    Su Lun watched with furrowed brows.


    Observing the situation, even if Yuta seemed to be holding on for now, the longer the fight dragged on, the more her body would be overdrawn.


    Su Lun felt he should do something.


    Whether it worked or not, he still had to try.


    However, after observing for just a moment, he also realized that there was not apleteck of opportunity.


    The good news was that the tentacle monster Yegel had be was aiming to break a seal. It used countless red tendrils to siphon off life force, but at the same time, it anchored itself there.


    With the ck scythe, there might just be a chance to strike.


    Su Lun had been controlling his thoughts and had never truly entertained the idea of killing the creature. He knew even the mere thought of taking action would intuitively alert such a formidable enemy.


    The shared vision of the ck crow would also confuse the enemy''s sense of hostility.


    So, there was only a fleeting chance for an attack!


    Now, at the very instant Su Lun''s intent to kill arose, he didn''t hesitate at all. Controlling the zombies beside him, he calcted the distance perfectly and shed at the tentacle monster in the southern side of the Hall of Valor from afar.


    Simultaneously, Yegel immediately sensed it. His gaze shot towards the corridor where Su Lun was hiding like a bolt of lightning.


    Unfortunately, the numerous tentacles that had spread out to absorb life force made his body toorge and his movements to teleport away extremely clumsy.


    Furthermore, Su Lun''s decisiveness also gave him the chance tond the blow.


    With a "swoosh," the space rift urately hit the torso of the tentacle monster.


    Su Lun''s heart tightened: "I hit it!"


    The space rift had cleanly split the humanoid core of Yegel in two.


    Such an injury would have undoubtedly been fatal for an ordinary person.


    But after that very strike, countless tendrils suddenly connected the two severed halves of the body back together.


    A mocking smile appeared on Yegel''s face.


    Raising his hand, he summoned a ming spear that flew towards Su Lun from a great distance.


    The spear moved incredibly fast; almost in the same instant it was thrown, it pierced through the body of "Su Lun" a kilometer away.


    ....


    With a "bang," Su Lun''s shadow was revealed to be nothing but a stump of wood.


    This was clearly the effect of using a "Puppet Substitute."


    On a closer look, "Su Lun" had reappeared inside the Hall of Valor, readying another attack.


    Yegel did not hesitate and hurled another ming spear.


    "Su Lun" was impaled once again.


    However, the figure disintegrated.


    This time, it was an illusion projected by "Robert''s Monocle."


    Then, seven or eight "Su Luns" appeared in various corners of the hall.


    Seeing Su Lun''s emergence, Yuta''s pretty face also showed a trace of urgency.


    She naturally couldn''t just watch as Yegel killed Su Lun, so when he was distracted, she also stabbed forward with several wooden spears.


    The wooden spears and the tentacles engaged in fierce battle again...


    ....


    Deep in the corridor, Su Lun, wearing a monocle, saw the scene through the vision of the crow and analyzed, "Immune to physical damage, huh..."


    Luckily, with Yuta dragging the enemy, he was also able to make some attempts.


    From these attempts, he confirmed that the ck sickle couldn''t kill the immortal Yegel.


    That bizarre regenerative ability, unless one could simultaneously deliver dozens of strikes to cut the fellow into small enough pieces that couldn''t reconnect, otherwise it was impossible to kill.


    But clearly, Su Lun couldn''t do it.


    However, the probing just now wasn''t entirely futile.


    "The puppet wasn''t discovered in advance, which means, that guy can''t sense the existence of the threads. The puppet can control arge space..."


    Su Lun''s mind was like a rapidly operating calctor, analyzing swiftly.


    Most of hisbat power was in the puppet.


    But the puppet wasn''tpletely wless.


    The source of the threads was on him, so as long as one could sense the threads, they could lock onto his real body.


    Conversely, as long as they couldn''t lock onto his real presence, the chances of surviving were very high.


    "Moreover, that guy can''t distinguish the illusions created by the monocle. Be careful, and it might be possible to find an opportunity..."


    Su Lun''s thoughts in his mind diverged in an instant, analyzing various countermeasures.


    Of course, the biggest advantage was that after testing it himself, he confirmed that the "heretic''s" real body must be very far away, with the projected will able to exert at most tier seven standards.


    With Yuta restraining it, it at least can''t devote too much attention to deal with him.


    "Only thest resort is left to try."


    Su Lun thought of something, and a sharp light shed in his eyes.


    The gap in rank was too great. Discovering the ck sickle couldn''t kill that guy, he thought of thest resort.


    That was firepower coverage.


    Time waits for no one, without any hesitation, Su Lun took out the mechanical battle armor from the spatial storage.


    The mechanical battle armor was controlled by a living corpse, but it didn''t have its own will. Then there were the threads that Yegel couldn''t detect. Theoretically, being careful, it might catch the enemy by surprise.


    ....


    Inside Valha, the confrontation continued on.


    Even with the Holy Artifact continuously supplying magic power, Yuta was gradually falling behind.


    Encountering power far exceeding her own for the first time, she wasn''t using it skillfully, and the burden was bing greater, she persevered solely with a will that feared not death.


    Su Lun controlled the mecha and stealthily made his way over.


    The ck sickle wasn''tpletely useless, at least that sh when it cut through disrupted the integrity of that guy''s protective field.


    The recovery interval gave a slight gap, which was the opportunity Su Lun was looking for!


    Right after the mecha quietly reached the designated position, he repeated his old trick, shing out with the ck sickle, while the mecha''s six-cylinder Fire God Cannon instantly produced a long me serpent. That was the special glow of alchemy bullets leaving the barrel.


    Previously he had been reluctant to use such an extravagant method, with the expense of ammunition costing several tens of millions of Liso per minute, it just wasn''t worth it against regr enemies. But now, it couldn''t be more appropriate.


    Right as the spatial rift cut to the umtor monster in the instant, the integrity of the field was split open, and alchemy bullets surged in like a tide.


    The bullets sted apart many red threads, looking like countless smashed watermelons on the ground, the scene was incredibly bloody.


    But it was a pity that the blood thread creature''s regenerative ability was too strong.


    That mysterious will also had methods Su Lun couldn''tprehend.


    After a moment, Yegel''s body restored to its original state, and the field expanded again.


    That domain capable of corrupting everything shielded in front of the body, even bullets that hit it werepletely corroded away just meters from the surface.


    Seeing this, Su Lun sighed slightly, "Still no good..."


    He had done all he could.


    Before he had time to feel more regret, he suddenly felt an alert in his heart and bolted backward explosively.


    "I''ve been discovered!"


    Su Lun didn''t hesitate at all and dashed toward the corridor behind him.


    In the moment of escape, countless dense red thin lines suddenly sprouted from the rock walls around him.


    Only then did he realize that Yegel had imperceptibly spread the blood thread creature into the depths of the corridor.


    Unable to sense Su Lun''s position in other ways, he had resorted to this most crude method.


    In an instant, the blood thread creature in the corridor converged into tentacles and grabbed at Su Lun.


    The tentacles were extremely tough, and severing them required a lot of energy.


    Chop one down, and countless more will spring up.


    Su Lun''s expression was grave, not daring to tangle with those threads, he teleported repeatedly, narrowly missing being caught by those red tentacles multiple times.


    But because he had observed the escape route beforehand, he narrowly evaded the tentacles'' reach without danger.


    After escaping for about one or two kilometers, the red tentacles were no longer so dense.


    This zone was beyond Yegel''s attack range.


    Su Lun also stopped.


    For the moment, he was temporarily unharmed.


    But looking at the dense tentacle-covered walls in front of him, it meant that he had beenpletely cut off. He wanted to go in but couldn''t.


    Yuta inside could only face the enemy alone.


    Although he had done all that he could, Su Lun''splexion wasn''t too good.


    "It will be at least a few hours before Senior Sister can get here, she might notst that long. Should I use explosives to cause a targeted copse? No, that fellow is immortal, explosives have limited effect..."


    His brows were deeply furrowed as he considered whether other methods might be of some help, but again, he had no solution.


    Suddenly, a sh of light appeared before his eyes, and a person wearing a gold-patterned cloak appeared before him?


    That method of appearing was quite special, and also very familiar.


    It was like a sh of mirror light, and then the person was there.


    "Senior Sister?"


    Su Lun thought he might be hallucinating, so he blinked.


    But no matter what, he was indeed in the real world.


    Looking at the proud and aloof face revealed under the lifted cloak, who else could it be if not Mr. Jing?

 Chapter 282 Outer Gods (Wishing everyone a happy 2022)

    "Senior sister, how did you get here?"


    Su Lun thought he must be seeing things.


    Because thest time theymunicated, Mr. Jing was still far from Cursed Valley.


    Even without any dys, it was estimated that it would take several hours to arrive.


    But now, she suddenly appeared before his eyes?


    "Mm."


    Mr. Jing lifted her cloak, revealing that cold and beautiful face.


    She looked at Su Lun, the corners of her mouth curving slightly as she said indifferently, "You seem to be in good shape. It looks like I haven''te toote."


    It was only in front of this junior brother that she ever wore such a rxed expression on her face.


    "You really came..."


    Su Lun felt a sense of unreality as he listened.


    But he could not hide the joy in his eyes.


    No matter how Mr. Jing got here, the fact was she had arrived!


    With "Golden Leg" here, this seemingly desperate situation instantly gained the capability for a breakthrough reversal.


    Mr. Jing nced at the dense red threadworms in the corridor, her brow furrowing slightly as she seemed to detect something unusual about these worms.


    She didn''t dy, saying to Su Lun, "I''ll exinter. I''m going out first to deal with that Outer God''s follower."


    "Mm."


    Hearing this, Su Lun naturally didn''t have to say much then and there.


    He also thought that if his senior sister hade ahead of time, she must have anticipated something.


    Just as this thought crossed his mind, Mr. Jing''s hands were quickly forming the sorcerer''s seals, her expression bing fierce.


    Su Lun watched the sequence in which she was constructing the seals and found it strange.


    This wasn''t the start of any elemental spell, nor was it any sorcerer''s seal system Su Lun had ever seen. It felt more like... a unique spell she had created herself?


    Before Su Lun could guess, Mr. Jing had already gathered the sorcerer''s seals, softly chanting, "Domain: Mirror of All Aspects!"


    It turned out to be a seventh-tier domain?


    A look of realization crossed Su Lun''s face.


    This was also the first time he had witnessed an authentic domain ofws.


    This was quite different from the ck Umbre''s "Nightfall Domain," and the corrosive domain of the tentacle monster before.


    As soon as she cast the spell, a faint luminescence lingered around Mr. Jing''s body, which seemed to be surrounded by shards of a shattered mirror. Even though the domain wasn''t aimed at Su Lun, standing within the domain''s scope, he instantaneously felt as if he couldn''t sense anything around him. It was as if this space hade under Mr. Jing''s control.


    And just like that, Mr. Jing''s voice had vanished into the corridor.


    Su Lun, gazing at the spot where the mirror light had shed past, muttered, "Senior sister has be so strong..."


    ....


    "She really dide..."


    Su Lun felt an incredulity that lingered for a long time.


    But with the arrival of strong reinforcements, the heavy stone in his heart suddenly fell.


    Such a high-level battle was surely like a scene from hell, and he had no desire to get physically involved.


    Su Lun decided to wait in the corridor and then sent a ck crow flying in to watch the battle.


    However, the battle was too intense. The fallout from high-tierws colliding was a catastrophic disaster for lower-tier creatures.


    The ck crow was shattered by the aftermath of the battle several times.


    Each time it reformed, it cawed in grievance, voicing its discontent.


    Fortunately, Su Lun had previously collected a rich amount of death energy in the coffin, and after pouring a few mouthfuls into the crow, it felt ready to go again.


    Even with the ck crow, Su Lun never saw how the battle in the hall of valor unfolded from start to finish.


    Yegel, or rather the "heretic," fought desperately.


    The destructive force generated by their sh surged wave after wave.


    After about a quarter of an hour, themotion of the copsing corridors below steadily subsided.


    "It''s over."


    Su Lun''s furrowed brows finally rxed.


    Although he guessed that his senior sister''s strength must be formidable, she had said herself that she hadn''t fully recovered her power.


    And, Su Lun also didn''t know if this enemy, who appeared to have the will of a deity, had any other tricks up their sleeve.


    Now seeing that the battle was over and those red threadworms on the rock walls had shriveled and ckened, seeming to have died, the oue was quite clear.


    "But speaking of which, what tier is senior sister at now?"


    Su Lun''s curiosity mounted.


    Hearing from themunicator that Mr. Jing said the battle was over, he didn''t ponder over it further and, with several spatial discements, quickly traversed the copsing corridors.


    This haste was partly out of concern for the safety of Yuta and Mr. Jing.


    Another reason was that he needed to clean up the battlefield.


    After all, the corpses were still warm.


    He might make it there in time if he hurried.


    ....


    Su Lun quickly arrived at the hall of valor.


    The previously intact space was now shattered into pieces.


    Mr. Jing stood above a sealing artifact-level ancient light mirror at the mouth of a pitch-ck hole, performing some sort of spell.


    Seeing Su Lun arrive, she nodded in acknowledgement.


    Mr. Jing appeared to be engaged in something very important, so Su Lun didn''t disturb his senior sister.


    In a moment, he also saw Yuta, who was sitting nearby, recuperating. He too breathed a sigh of relief.


    A magical pot enveloped her, and streams of rainbow energy were repairing her wounds, which didn''t appear too severe.


    Though her aura was very weak, fortunately, she was unharmed.


    Su Lun''s browspletely unfurled as he walked over, tousled Yuta''s hair, and asked, "Yuta, are you okay?"


    Yuta also revealed a relieved expression, replying with a somewhat pale smile, "Yes. I''m fine."


    She paused, ncing at the figure in the gold-patterned cloak at a distance, blinked her eyes asking implicitly.


    Su Lun smiled and said, "That''s my senior sister, the one I''ve told you about, also the daughter of Sir Isaac."


    "Oh."


    Upon hearing this, Yuta''s eyes lit up, and she finally rxedpletely.


    Even though Su Lun had forewarned her about everything, including Mr. Jing''s existence,


    the arrival time of the person in the Gold-Patterned Cloak was much earlier than scheduled.


    And it was too coincidental, arriving just when the great battle broke the seal.


    She couldn''t help but be extra cautious.


    Although this mysterious person had indeed helped her kill the enemy, her current actions were puzzling.


    But now, listening to Su Lun''s confirmation, Yuta finally let go of her concerns.


    Since it was a descendant of Sir Isaac, then they were friends of the Dalu tribe.


    ....


    Yuta was in worse shape than she appeared. Only after seeing Su Lun did shepletely let down her guard.


    But it was also because that taut spirit rxed, she suddenly fainted.


    Su Lun hurriedly checked her injuries, which weren''t too bad.


    The power of nature had a special healing effect, more effective than any potion.


    There was no need for Su Lun to worry, as the magical pot was healing Yuta''s injuries.


    With Mr. Jing fussing over the seal and Yuta healing, Su Lun didn''t need to intervene.


    He walked to the center of the battlefield and saw the segmented carcass of the tentacled monster.


    Upon noticing the "gray mist," a phantom of Death appeared behind Su Lun and devoured it.


    ''You have stripped the soul of "Yegel Sellet," gaining some Tier 5 "Fire Elemental Law" and a fragment of Tier 6 "Cmity Law";''


    ''You have gained extensive experience in using "Mystique: Wu Shi,"prehending the [Infinite Samurai: Emperor of mes], with +555 casting experience.''


    ''You have stripped a substantial amount of "Espionage Expertise"''


    ''You have acquired some "Intelligence from the Luye Military Intelligence Service"''


    ''Spiritual Power +14.7''


    Su Lun originally thought that Yegel''s Soul Shard would provide many answers to his questions.


    Unexpectedly, he didn''t strip any information about the "heretic" behind the man.


    Even the high-level secrets of the Luye Military Intelligence Service were not there.


    Only some not very important intelligence was stripped.


    It was after assimting the information about the military intelligence that Su Lun understood that high officials there had mental restrictions and training.


    If they encountered soul searching or dream invasion techniques, the restriction would instinctively erase the sensitive information, preventing probing and information leakage.


    As for the "heretic" information...


    Su Lun felt it might be some highly sophisticated method that directly erased that part of the memory.


    And the Law fragments were stripped rather haphazardly.


    The Tier 5 ''Fire Elemental Law'' seemed to be something Yegel had originallyprehended.


    This matched the intelligence Su Lun knew before: the guy was supposed to be a Tier 5.


    The fragment of Tier 6 ''Cmity Law'' resembled something foreign, with very little presence.


    But for Su Lun, it was a "treasure."


    After assimting it, he felt a sudden spark of insight in his understanding, as if


    in the pitch-dark night, upon looking up, he saw a few stars.


    Though not enough to illuminate the path ahead, they marked the position and altitude of certain specific existences.


    An incredibly rare discovery.


    It was also Su Lun''s first contact with such high-levelws.


    Elsewhere, he had no ability to kill a Tier 6 professional and strip their fragments.


    As for the experience in using "Wu Shi," Su Lun had previously watched the man use it with shock, so he prioritized it over other skills and stripped it effortlessly.


    The people from the intelligence service had practiced this secret technique from a young age; in essence, Su Lun had stripped decades of experience in one go.


    [Infinite Samurai: Emperor of mes] was an advanced form of this secret technique.


    With this stripping, his proficiency skyrocketed to the point of "integrated mastery."


    Su Lun now just needed enough dark energy to immediately cast this secret technique, which would multiply his survival andbat abilities several times over.


    ....


    After digesting those memories, Su Lun''s gains were not insignificant.


    Immediately after, his gaze fell on the bits of flesh on the ground.


    More precisely, the countless rotting, ckened worms.


    "Parasites?"


    Su Lun frowned tightly.


    He had stripped a "Control Insect Magician" before and knew of many bizarre insects.


    But he had never seen this kind before.


    There was no information about these worms in Yegel''s memory, obviously directly rted to that "heretic."


    Through Soul Perception, he sensed faint traces of souls in the pool of blood and flesh,


    but they were rapidly diminishing.


    It was a sign of the worms dying off quickly.


    However, there was one exception.


    "Notpletely dead?"


    Su Lun muttered to himself.


    He maneuvered a thread, and at the ce where life force was the most concentrated, he found a heart.


    As soon as he picked it up, those blood vessel-like nematodes burst out, like leeches craving blood, they stood erect, probing towards Su Lun, continually extending and inspecting.


    Perhaps because the heart was thest bastion for these parasites, they had not died off.


    Su Lun watched with a deep frown, initially thinking of burning them with a fire to resolve itpletely.


    But now the situation wasn''t so simple, so he took out a container and ced the heart inside.


    It was the same runic ss bottle once used for the heart of a Fallen Angel.


    He figured that if it could hold the heart of a real deity, it could naturally contain that of a Tier 5 or 6 professional.


    Having looked for a long time without finding anything of interest, Su Lun didn''t waste any more time.


    He thought he''d ask Mr. Jing about itter.


    ...


    Since it was a battlefield clean-up, one naturally had to be thorough.


    Su Lun set the jar aside and then found a storage ring amid the remains of the bodies.


    The storage space was quiterge, likely belonging to Yegel.


    There were many items inside, a mixture of sorts, with not a few fine goods.


    Worthy of a royal intelligence operative.


    Suddenly, Su Lun saw tworge silver bricks in the storage ring and felt a small surprise, "Huh... is this the ''Activated Silver''?"


    The amount didn''t look much at a nce, but after all, it was already refined.


    If one were to really calcte, it was probably a hundred times the quantity that could be refined from the two giants Su Lun had previously hunted.


    But before he could be happy for long, Su Lun suddenly remembered something, "My deadly poison incense burner!"


    He hadn''t forgotten that his deadly poison incense burner was taken away by Luying and the others.


    Moreover, the Sacred Judgment Legion had left with nearly a hundred people, meaning they took all the spoils of war with them.


    "This is going to be troublesome..."


    Su Lun suddenly felt the storage ring in his hand wasn''t as appealing anymore.


    He didn''t know if he could catch up if he went out now, and even if he did catch up, Su Lun was powerless.


    Mr. Jing was his senior sister, not his enforcer.


    Moreover, the legionmander Barrett had staked his life and fortune to prevent Yegel from breaking the seal...


    Even if they were enemies, it was just a matter of stance and faction.


    Thinking of this, Su Lun''s thoughts began to scatter.


    He suddenly felt that the people who left were likely to share Luying''s grim fate.


    "The Luying royal family is clearly in trouble now, and Barrett even stopped the ''heretic'' from breaking the seal. On returning, he''ll probably be unable to escape death..."


    Su Lun immediately felt very vexed.


    The items seemed to be slipping through his fingers.


    The other things were still manageable, but the Activated Silver was an irreceable main material for alchemy golems.


    Just as he was feeling aggrieved, a soft voice came from beside him, "What are you thinking about?"


    He nced over and, of course, it was the amiable Mr. Jing.


    ....


    Since there was no one else, Mr. Jing took off his cloak.


    Although she seemed approachable, Su Lun could tell her aura was bing more elusive.@@novelbin@@


    Looking at that strikingly beautiful and familiar face, Su Lun curiously asked, "Senior sister, have you recovered your cultivation?"


    Mr. Jing shook her head and calmly responded, "Not yet."


    Su Lun looked at her, and it was clear from her ease in the recent fight that she hadn''t exerted much effort. Believing she wasn''t a stranger, he curiously asked, "Senior sister, have you reached the seventh rank now?"


    Mr. Jing smiled without answering, giving him a nce. She naturally guessed her junior brother was curious about her rank and said, "After hibernating for a thousand years, I should fully recover and smoothly advance to the eighth rank."


    She paused, not meaning to hide anything from Su Lun, and added, "With some more great opportunities, it is possible for me to reach the ninth rank in this lifetime."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun''s expression immediately became animated, "That''s amazing!"


    A true Golden Leg!


    Whether she can advance to the ninth rank or not, an eighth rank professional is already a top-tier powerhouse.


    Mr. Jing simply smiled nomittally.


    Su Lun didn''t dwell on the topic. He nced sideways and noticed that the ck hole behind him had disappeared?


    Seeing his confusion, Mr. Jing replied, "Iid an Illusion Technique on the seal; it won''t be easily noticed now. Even if someone touches it, I can be here in no time."


    Upon hearing this, all was good.


    Su Lun didn''t ask any more questions. Instead, he was more curious about something else and blurted out his question, "Senior sister, didn''t you say it would take several more hours for you to get here? Why..."


    This had been a question he hadn''t had the chance to ask earlier.


    Because he knew his senior sister was a very rigorous person.


    If she said a time, it would definitely be that time.


    Yet, this time she had arrived early.


    And, coincidentally, she arrived at the most critical moment of the battle, solving the urgent crisis.


    This made him very curious.


    Mr. Jing looked at him, her expression serene, and exined, "Divination and prophecy aren''t uncheatable. Earlier, when I heard you say those people were eager to develop the Cursed Valley, I guessed that some of them might have foreseen my arrival would bring some changes. So, I used a little trick..."


    Su Lun, upon hearing this, seemed to understand something.


    But it definitely wasn''t as simple as "deceiving" him.


    It was about deceiving the enemies as well.


    This allowed her to seize the opportunity and arrive in time.


    Otherwise, there might have been serious trouble.


    Mr. Jing didn''t hold anything back and exined patiently, "The essence of most divinations is following naturalws topute possible oues, not definite ones. It means that certain divination rules can sometimes be misled through clever tricks. Of course, the prerequisite is that you have a thorough understanding of those rules. My father happens to master thews of fate, and I happen to know a bit more because of it..."


    "Oh," Su Lun said, feeling like he sort of got it, and yet didn''t.


    So, did she use some methods to deceive certain divination rules of this world?


    Not being quite ready to understand those methods, he didn''t ponder deeply.


    In the end, one thought remained in his heart: Senior sister, awesome!


    Then, Mr. Jing added meaningfully, "It''s like the situation you asked me about earlier. When existences are forgotten by all, they are non-existent in the cause and effect of the world. That is also a very clever way to deceive the rules of the world."


    "Oh,"


    Su Lun, upon hearing this, instinctively felt it was profound.


    But after a moment of reflection, his thoughts briefly went nk: Huh... what did I ask?


    Mr. Jing caught the fleeting look of bewilderment in his eyes and smiled showing her teeth.


    Clearly, she wasn''t interested in lingering on the topic, and after sizing up Su Lun and noting his not insignificant progress, she didn''t skimp on her praise, saying, "Your third rank realm has stabilized, huh. And you''ve cultivated your ''qi'' well."


    "Hehe."


    Hearing his senior sister''s praise, Su Lun did not y coy and smiled without any false modesty.


    But upon mentioning "energy", he instantly thought of the insight he had when he observed Barrett before.


    Unable to grasp it firmly, he straightforwardly asked, "Senior sister, what exactly is ''energy''? I heard it''s a prerequisite for advancing to the sixth order?"


    "That''s not absolute. Some professionals who have consumed arge amount of resources can also advance to the sixth order. However, ''energy'' is the inevitable path to bing a strong person, and it''s essential for condensing a domain at the seventh order. Otherwise, you''ll find that, apart from understanding thews, the domains you condense will vary greatly in power..."


    It seemed that this question was not easy to answer, so Mr. Jing paused for a moment, pondering.


    She then said, "If one must provide a specific description of ''energy''... you could say, to be a powerful being, one must possess an imposing presence."


    "Imposing presence?"


    Su Lun contemted for a moment and felt it was very simr to what he had seen in Barrett before.


    Since he was praised for cultivating his energy well, he shamelessly asked, "Senior sister, do I have that ''imposing presence''?"


    "You''re still far from it," Mr. Jing replied after giving her junior brother a look, then teased him, adding, "Sometimes you''re too cautious, overly careful in considering things, which makes your energy cultivation slower. Although there''s nothing wrong with that, youck the determination to follow through without hesitation and some level of dominance."


    Su Lun was not bothered by this "lesson" and instead let out a chuckle.


    Since he had already asked, he took the opportunity to ask further, "Senior sister, then how can one quickly condense their energy?"


    Mr. Jing said, "Each person''s condensed energy is different, and the path they eventually take is also unique, so no one can say for sure. However..."


    She raised her eyebrows lightly, and her tone shifted abruptly, "For instance,st time at ck Reef, when you came back to save me, that was very good. Some decisions you make without caring for gains or losses, those thate from the depths of your heart, will allow you to rapidly condense your own ''energy''."


    "Oh..."


    Listening, Su Lun finally felt like he understood a bit.


    Inyman''s terms, this exnation meant: Be indifferent to life and death, and don''t hesitate to take action when challenged?


    ....


    The senior sister and junior brother, who hadn''t seen each other for a long time, caught up with old times.


    Soon, Su Lun steered the conversation toward the current situation.


    He hadn''t had time to go into detail over themunicator before, but now that they were face to face, heid out everything he knew.


    In the end, he also asked, "So... senior sister, what exactly is that ''heretic'' entity?"


    Mentioning this, Mr. Jing''s expression turned slightly solemn. After pondering for a moment, she said, "It should be a ''foreign god''."


    "Foreign god?"


    Su Lun showed confusion, as this was a very unfamiliar term.


    Mr. Jing exined, "Any deity that is not from the alchemy system, we generally refer to them as ''foreign gods''."


    She paused, nced at the heart in the jar while musing for a moment, then added, "Currently, there are ws in thews of our ne, and under normal conditions, it''s impossible for deities to be born. Therefore, it must be a remnant from the ancient era. If nothing unexpected has happened, this ''foreign god'' is probably one of the ''demon gods of the heavens'' that destroyed the Dawn civilization. And although we''re unclear about what exactly transpired in the great war that caused the civilization''s discontinuity, we can be certain that all invading ''foreign gods'' perished."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun questioned, "Then why is this one still alive?"


    Mr. Jing didn''t seem surprised and exined, "This kind of existence has appeared in history before. It''s very difficult for a god topletely perish. Moreover, even after a god falls, the remnant wills,ws, or shattered divine fragments of these ancient foreign gods can contaminate other beings. Therefore, they usually create some ''false gods'' who think they are deities. During the Atlia Empire era, the authorities eliminated many simr heretics."


    Now understanding, Su Lun felt less pressure, "So, this tentacled monster isn''t necessarily a true deity?"


    Mr. Jing dismissively said, "Even if it is, the threat isn''t significant at the moment. Once a god is wounded andcks faith, recovery is not easy, and it''s not very powerful right now. At least the fact that the main body hasn''t personallye indicates many problems."


    After a brief pause, she continued, "During the war that destroyed the Dalu n five hundred years ago, that ''foreign god'' must have also suffered heavy damage. Otherwise, it wouldn''t havein low for hundreds of years. Moreover... there might be other reasons it dares not show itself. Just contaminating a few believers isn''t a big problem."


    "Other reasons?"


    Su Lun faintly felt that this statement seemed to resonate with some of his own familiar thoughts.


    But he tried to remember, and couldn''t recall anything at all.


    Mr. Jing didn''t say much more, instead, something urred to him, his gaze bing slightly solemn, "From the intelligence we have so far, I think I have an idea of what It intends to do."


    Su Lun looked at the fragments of flesh on the ground and had a guess as well, saying, "Does it want to use imperial power to restore its strength?"


    Yegel''s identity was quite particr; this wasn''t hard to guess.


    "Hmm."


    Mr. Jing nodded and continued, "That ''Outer God'' seeks to find a method to reconstitute its divinity in this God Burial Ground, but it has failed. It won''t seed in the future either. Therefore, It is left with only one choice, and that is to spread faith. An ancient saying goes: Reestablish the faith, and a god remains a god. Although I do not know how It managed to extend Its reach into the Luying royal family, it seems the issue won''t be small."


    Su Lun listened with only half an understanding; concepts like faith felt very abstract to him.


    Mr. Jing continued to exin, "Actually, ''faith'' is not necessarily frightening. Ancient texts record that our ne once had many followers of different deities. Just like the Dalu tribe worships the nature god, who embodies peace, poetry, and nature in its divine essence and does not do anything like annihting lower beings. But we must fear the Evil Gods. Such beings can bring ruin to life, invade nes to transform them into divine kingdoms, and enve living beings. If that''s the case, for us alchemists without a god to believe in, this could be a civilization-destroying cmity..."


    At this point, Mr. Jing''s gaze fell once again on the heart stored in the ss jar, and suddenly a chill arose in his tone, "Now it seems, this ''Outer God'' is very likely an Evil God. If that''s true, then under no circumstances can we allow It to seed..."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun was influenced by these words and felt an inexplicable sense of excitement in his heart.


    He knew that his senior sister had ambitious aspirations, always contemting many problems from the perspective of the survival of human civilization.


    On her, there was an undeniable radiance of character.


    Mr. Jing thought of something and sighed lightly, "Now, with the two great empires in chaos for hundreds of years, human alchemical civilization has almost stagnated for centuries. This can''t go on... Thus, I want to rebuild ''Dawn City'' as a free exchange ce for alchemists, to enhance and propagate alchemical civilization. But there are also many problems now. The noble autocracy means those in power hoard over ny percent of society''s resources. Social stratification is rigid, and many actions are restricted. To establish such a free and neutral ce, we can''t avoid dealing with those nobles'' power ys. Even if ''New Dawn City'' can be established, it is bound to face resistance from both great empires and the noble sses. This is inevitable. Those who cling to power will never allow a ''free territory'' to thrive... Besides, from what we see now, Luying''s situation is veryplicated, and significant changes may ur. Therefore, I need stronger military power, not just me alone, I may have to establish an organization strong enough to help me achieve this goal..."


    Su Lun listened and also felt that Mr. Jing would face significant resistance in the days toe.


    The greater your ability, the higher the stakes you consider.


    But hearing his senior sister''s words, although it was just a budding idea, was she getting ready to start a "revolutionary army"? Going against the two great empires would essentially mean revolution.


    But, talking is just talking.


    Su Lun felt that Mr. Jing''s n currently had nothing to do with him.


    He didn''t feel any sense of urgency either.


    But as if by telepathy, as soon as this thought crossed his mind, Mr. Jing turned to look at him and said seriously, "You too should work hard to be stronger."


    Su Lun pointed at his own nose, "Me?"


    He had an inkling, and his eyelids twitched violently.


    "Yes."


    Mr. Jing smiled gently, "You are the disciple of my mother, and you have obtained my father''s notes. The goal of rebuilding Dawn City, naturally, requires your help as well." Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire


    "..."


    Su Lun rolled his eyes and said despondently, "Senior sister, you think too highly of me..."


    It wasn''t that he was selling himself short; it was just the reality.


    With the talent of the "Death Reaper," as long as he didn''t die, he was confident he could advance to the fifth rank.


    But beyond that, it was hard to say.


    Rebuilding Dawn City, such a grand ideal, would likely end up in a head-to-head confrontation with the two great empires. Without being at the eighth or ninth rank, one wouldn''t even be qualified to dream about it.


    Mr. Jing, however, did not say much more and smiled meaningfully.


    PS. Wishing everyone a happy new year~ And, by the way, a small request for monthly votes and subscriptions.

 Chapter 283 [S-009 - True Solution of All Phenomena]

    Su Lun had also guessed that the previous great battle had not been as easy for his senior as it appeared. After all, she had been forced to leave her retreat prematurely, her strength had not fully recovered, and she had traveled a long distance only to engage in a fierce battle, during which she seemed to have sustained some minor injuries.


    After chatting for a while, Mr. Jing began meditating in a seated position.


    Yuta was still unconscious and recovering from her injuries, leaving no one else to talk to. Su Lun was not idle either; he started to get busy with his own affairs.


    The mechanical armor was severely damaged and urgently needed repairs; the two pieces of "Living Silver" he had recently obtained were not enough to make an alchemical golem, but that did not prevent him from studying and familiarizing himself with the various properties of this legendary puppetry material; he also needed to digest and understand the skills andws he had acquired previously; and he had discovered some issues with his mental tentacles in realbat...


    Su Lun soon immersed himself in his busyness.


    The crypt was very dim, illuminated only by a not-so-bright blue magicmp, which lit up a small area and cast the shadows of three figures.


    From the copsing tunnels around them, one could asionally hear small, scattered sounds, like the noises of deformed creatures following the scent.


    But with his Golden Leg senior by his side, Su Lun was not worried at all.


    This meditationsted for two days and two nights.


    Finally, Yuta woke up.


    ...


    Su Lun had been keeping an eye on Yuta''s condition; her breathing was steady, and her injuries were healing.


    Suddenly, he sharply heard a change in Yuta''s breathing and opened his eyes from his meditation.


    Yuta looked like someone recovering from a severe illness, her expression nk for a moment as if she had just remembered what had happened.


    She turned her head and saw Su Lun, her eyes filled with the joy of having survived a disaster.


    A nce at the mysterious cloaked woman nearby also added a hint of caution to her pretty face.


    Su Lun approached and asked, "Yuta, how are your injuries?"


    As he spoke, he also did not shy away from checking her injuries himself.


    Yuta responded, "They''re mostly healed now."


    At that moment, Mr. Jing also opened his eyes.


    Realizing he had not formally introduced them, Su Lun said to Mr. Jing, "Sister, this is Yuta, a Druid from the White Wolf Tribe of the Dalu n."


    Then turning to Yuta, he said, "This is my senior, Lady Ophelia Fei Isaac; you can also call her Mr. Jing."


    Yuta nodded politely, her expression slightly reserved, and took the initiative to greet her, "Mr. Jing, hello."


    After all, she was facing a presence whose seniority was immeasurably high.


    Sir Isaac was a witness to the ancient pact signed with the ancestors of the Dalu n, his own daughter...


    Truly a figure of ancestral stature.


    Even without that connection, this mysterious Lady Ophelia was Su Lun''s senior.


    Yuta felt as if she were facing elders like the n Leader and Wolf Granny, which gave her a kind of invisible pressure.


    Mr. Jing nodded.


    Naturally reserved, her tone was just like that of a caring elder, as she said indifferently, "Being able to awaken the Sacred Totem of the Dalu n is also a recognition by the god of nature of a great Druid. You need not be so formal."


    She naturally noticed the rtionship between Su Lun and Yuta, and as she spoke, a smile appeared on her lips.


    Hearing this, Yuta obediently nodded and said, "Yes."


    Observing the tone of their conversation, Su Lun''s expression became somewhat strange.@@novelbin@@


    The two seemed normal enough, but suddenly... it felt like an adult speaking to a junior?


    Hemented internally that although his senior had lived for over a thousand years, she looked, in every aspect¡ªappearance, temperament, and physique¡ªnothing different from a young woman. Her character was also gentle and kind, and there shouldn''t really be any generational gap.


    It did not seem right for Yuta to be treating her like one would treat the Wolf Granny.


    Su Lun recalled regr interactions with Mr. Jing. His senior, aside from being somewhat cold, did not seem to care about seniority much and was quite amiable.


    He couldn''t understand why.


    And didn''t know how to broach the topic.


    Anyway, the atmosphere had be somewhat strange.


    Their exchange was brief.


    Noticing that a previous ck hole had disappeared, Yuta couldn''t hide her concern and directly asked, "Mr. Jing, how is the seal here? The God once decreed a divine edict for our Dalu n to guard this ce..."


    Mr. Jing responded, "The seal is secure. I have set up a barrier to make it less detectable. That deep-sea giant should not return anytime soon."


    Relieved by this answer, Yuta sincerely said, "Thank you for resolving the crisis of our people and for saving me."


    Though she expressed gratitude, the worry in her eyes did notpletely dissipate.


    The relic in the Cursed Valley had troubled their Dalu n for five hundred years, and now that it had been discovered by people like Luying, trouble would surely follow.


    Mr. Jing, seeing the still troubled look on Yuta''s face, guessed her thoughts and dered emphatically, "My father once represented human civilization in signing the pact with the Dalu n. Although times have changed and some humans have forsaken the agreement, my Isaac family has never forgotten. From now on, the pact between humans and the Dalu n will be upheld by us."


    Hearing this, Su Lun included himself in the affirmation and nodded.


    Far from viewing the pact as a burden, he felt honored to protect certain matters on behalf of civilization.


    Upon hearing this, Yuta''s eyes shimmered.


    She crossed her arms in front of her chest and bowed deeply, "The Dalu n will forever remember this pact."


    ...


    Yuta''s injuries had mostly healed.


    This visit to the Cursed Valley not only thwarted the heretics'' attempt to break the seal, but by a fortunate coincidence, she also recovered one of the four sacred artifacts¡ªthe "Magic Cauldron of Dagda."


    It was aplete sess.


    Moreover, she was the first Druid in five hundred years to reawaken to the call of the god of nature. This was tremendous news for the Dalu n. She needed to return quickly to the holy ground to share this exciting news with the n Leader and her people.


    Moreover, a descendant of Sir Isaac had also personally arrived.


    The Dalu n''s friend deserved a grand wee.


    It seemed that everything was getting better.


    The environment rich in the aura of death within the ruins was not suitable for Mr. Jing to recover his strength, so Su Lun and his twopanions decided to set off immediately, heading to the Emerald Holy Land of the Dalu n. Mr. Jing also needed to meet with the elders of the Dalu n.


    The Cursed Valley was fraught with dangers, but unlike the cautious approach Su Lun and hispanion had taken earlier, their return was swift.


    Now that the trio had a top-tier powerhouse among them, they didn''t have to worry about any monsters.


    What was originally a journey of half a month''s duration, took just a few days as they were already approaching the Emerald Holy Land.


    ....


    In these few days of constantpanionship, although Yuta and Mr. Jing had be somewhat familiar with each other,


    the atmosphere was still a bit strange.


    Su Lun couldn''t pinpoint what was odd.


    But when he was alone with Mr. Jing, although they didn''t speak much, they could asionally joke around.


    The same was even more so with Yuta, whereughter abounded, pleas were intense, and they could even engage in yful intimacy in the primeval forest.


    However, when the three of them were together, the atmosphere would be eerily solemn, serious, and small talk was scarce.


    Even when they did speak, it involved very serious matters, such as the troubles of the Dalu n or current problems...


    Su Lun guessed it might be because of Mr. Jing''s seniority.


    That day, the trio found a cave in the primeval jungle to stay for the night, nning to overnight.


    The campfire was burning strong, roasted meat on the rack was fragrant, and some orange-red fruits were served on fresh leaves.


    Yuta, like a host serving a guest, was passionately dividing the food.


    Mr. Jing, being of a vampiric lineage, had little need for normal food and only ate a few bites out of courtesy.


    Su Lun, on the other hand, had a great appetite; Yuta''s grilling skills were impable, and the long journey required energy replenishment, so he feasted heartily.


    Soon, night had fallen, and the sky was twinkling with brilliant stars.


    The night in the Silent Forest was extraordinarily beautiful.


    In the forest, the night breeze shook the leaves, creating a rustling sound like the continuous roar of ocean waves.


    ording to the past few days'' routine, after dinner, the three of them would rest separately.


    Because of the presence of others, Yuta couldn''t make overly intimate gestures and usuallyy down quietly next to Su Lun to sleep.


    Mr. Jing would sit in meditation.


    Until dawn.


    Having spent several days together, Su Lun realized that Mr. Jing must have been injured during the previous battles, so he had not disturbed her throughout the trip.


    But today, Mr. Jing seemed to have adjusted her condition.


    After dinner, she didn''t immediately enter meditation, but instead initiated some casual conversation.


    She seemed quite excited about the Emerald Holy Land, saying, "My father once told me, the Sacred Lake Gaius Lake of the Dalu n possesses a beauty of this world; under the sunlight, myriad glows descend from heaven, piercing through to the other world. I wonder if after a thousand years, the water of the Sacred Lake still holds the same scenery¡­"


    Upon hearing this, Yuta''s expression slightly dimmed, responding, "The steps to the Sacred Lake have been unvisited for hundreds of years. The elders in our n say that only those called by the deities are worthy to ascend. I''ve only heard about the scenes of the Sacred Lake from the elders, I''ve never seen it¡­"


    Mr. Jing''s eyes slightly curved, "Oh, is that so."


    They had been fine not talking, but once they started, Mr. Jing''s "ancestral-tier" status immediately stood out.


    What she knew and could talk about were all things known a thousand years ago.


    And once Yuta responded, her words naturally revolved around "ancestral" legends. Mentioning those topics, Miss Druid always carried a strange reverence and slight nervousness.


    Mr. Jing was a very serious person, especially with those she was not familiar with, hardly ever making jokes, so she always seemed rather aloof.


    But Su Lun knew that his senior sister was actually quite easy to get along with.


    So, the task of warming up the atmosphere was still up to him.


    Hearing the two potentially leading the conversation to a standstill, he immediately took over, "Yuta, how much longer until we reach the Holy Land?"


    In answering Su Lun''s question, Yuta visibly rxed more, "By tomorrow evening, we should arrive. When the n leader and the elders learn of Mr. Jing''s arrival, they will definitely be very happy¡­"


    The closer they got to the Holy Land, the more intense her anticipation grew.


    The prophecies passed down in her n had now all been fulfilled, "The warrior honoring the ancient covenant will appear once again, rescue the nsmen, and bring back the sacred object."


    It seemed now that the warriors were Mr. Su Lun and Mr. Jing.


    In Yuta''s eyes, it was as if she could already see the joyful cheers of her nsmen, her eyebrows curving like crescent moons with happiness.


    Mr. Jing smiled but didn''t speak.


    It seemed as if she felt there wasn''t much else to say.


    Yuta wanted to say something, but due to restraint, she didn''t.


    They needed to find some topics.


    Seizing the rare opportunity when Mr. Jing was free, Su Lun decided to bring up some of his doubts.


    He said, "Senior sister, have you ever heard of the Cyclops race?"


    "Cyclops?"


    Mr. Jing seemed also unfamiliar with the term, but it also seemed vaguely familiar as she tried to recall, asking, "Where did you see this race?"


    Su Lun said, "I saw it in the cursed space of the ruins in the Cursed Valley. In the city of giants, there was a mural, and I guess it could be the origin of the ''All-knowing Eye'' talent¡­"


    He detailed the content of the mural he had seen and shared some of his own spections.


    After listening, Mr. Jing appeared somewhat enlightened: "Now that you mention it, I do remember some things."


    Pausing, it seemed she recalled something, her beautiful brows furrowing slightly, she continued, "My father traveled to many ces when he was young. When I was a child, he used to tell me bedtime stories about his adventures in the western deserts and perilous seas. My father once mentioned that on some inds in those dangerous sea areas, he encountered a type of giant capable of battling dragons. I have a deep impression of it because in the story, that kind of giant had only one veryrge eye on its forehead¡­"


    "Really?"


    Su Lun also looked surprised and pleased.


    He had never heard of the Cyclops race before, and by all ounts, they were considered an extinct species.


    He asked this question to see if his world-wise senior fellow apprentice knew any legends, ancient books, or relics about the Cyclops.


    Who would have thought that the Cyclops race still existed a thousand years ago?


    Perhaps they still exist now!


    "Hmm."


    Mr. Jing nodded, naturally guessing why Su Lun had asked this question.


    She continued, "Many human talents originallye from ancient deities. ording to what you said, your ''All-knowing Eye'' might indeed be directly rted to the Cyclops race. If that''s the case, your talent''s second awakening might even take the shortcut of ''reverting to ancestral bloodline''."


    Su Lun had merely asked out of curiosity, to see if he could learn more about the origin of the ''All-knowing Eye''.


    Listening to Mr. Jing''s exnation, it also pertained to a second awakening?


    The second awakening of the ''Reaper of Death'' could be pondered through the enlightenment from the brink of life and death. But for this All-knowing Eye, there waspletely no clue.


    Now, hearing this, it seemed possible to make some efforts in the bloodline aspect?


    However, before Su Lun could ask in detail how this ''reverting to ancestral bloodline'' worked, Mr. Jing poured a bucket of cold water over his thoughts, dispelling them.


    She shifted the conversation and said, "However, these are, after all, mythological tales whose authenticity is uncertain. Besides, I''m not sure whether the Cyclops my father had seen is the same kind you spoke of. Most crucially, that ind lies in the extremely dangerous sea region of the West Sea where dragons exist..."


    "..."


    Su Lun heard this and gave a bitter smile.


    Indeed, a race involved with mythological stories wasn''t that simple.


    The topic uncovered, Mr. Jing''s extensive knowledge was revealed.


    She suddenly thought of something, and casually said, "Speaking of your ''All-knowing Eye'', I remembered a very powerful talent that might be somewhat rted to your ability."


    Su Lun asked, "Oh?"


    Mr. Jing said, "''S-009-Universal Deconstruction'', also a Pupil Skill released through the eyes. This talent is very strong. As long as the gifted one can understand theposition of matters, they can break down everything into its primal structure. Speaking of which, it fits very well with your ''All-knowing Eye'' talent. That talent requires self-understanding, and your talent understands everything. Moreover, the source of that talent, legend has it, alsoes from an ancient deity."


    At this point, she paused for a moment before continuing, "The myth you mentioned about ''gaining knowledge through eye extraction'' makes me feel these two talents may have the same origin. However, level S talents are very rare. I have only heard of the ''Universal Deconstruction'', and have never seen any gifted ones before."


    At this, Su Lun''s expression slightly changed.


    But he didn''t take it too much to heart.


    Myths are indeed elusive, and adding legends and spections makes it even less reliable.


    He took it as his senior sister telling a rare story.


    As the conversation went on, Su Lun suddenly remembered something. He took out a stone rune sealed in a box and asked, "By the way, Sister, Yuta, can you look at this and see if it has any use? I got this in the Cursed Space before."


    As soon as Yuta saw it, sensing something, she said, "This appears to be a highly advanced solidified form of runenguage. I can feel that thews engraved within it are veryplex..."


    Su Lun spread his hands and said, "Hmm. This is a ''Replica of the Primal Rune''. But aside from the name, I also have no idea what it does."


    Clearly, the alchemist understood runes better. Mr. Jing looked at the object and immediately realized what it was.


    She sealed the box carefully, looked at it for a while, and eximed, "This is a great treasure. Even though it''s a replica, the runenguage structure it contains is among the most top-notch I''ve seen in over a thousand years."


    If Mr. Jing said it was a great treasure, it naturally was so.


    A glint of joy appeared in Su Lun''s eyes, and he curiously asked, "Then...Sister, how do I use this?"


    Mr. Jing evidently knew and casually responded, "Keep it close and slowlyprehend it. Once you thoroughly understand it, you might be the top master in the field of runes of this era. However, it demands very high requirements in terms of insight and proficiency in runes. You might need decades topletely grasp the high-level runenguages contained in it."


    "Decades?"


    Su Lun''s eyelids twitched upon hearing this.


    The use of this stone rune was indeed thrilling, but the method of using it was problematic.


    He had looked at it many times for days and apart from the "???" information, he hadprehended nothing.


    This situation indicated that he probably hadn''t even reached the threshold ofprehension.


    He might not understand it in his lifetime.


    It felt like a very impractical thing...


    Seeing Su Lun''s expression, Mr. Jing smiled slightly, "If you want to quickly understand this thing, there actually is a clever shortcut."


    Su Lun immediately responded, "There''s a shortcut?"


    His knowledge level was much lower than his senior sister''s.


    He knew a lot about low-tier stuff, but he waspletely in the dark about the domain of these top-tier items.


    Instead of directly answering, Mr. Jing said, "Alchemists are strong because they know how to utilize tools."


    Having guessed something, Su Lun''s eyes flickered, and he instantly said, "Sister, are you suggesting that I refine this object into a ''Promotion Material''?"


    Mr. Jing smiled coyly, which was as good as a confirmation.


    The conversation immediately opened a new train of thought, and Su Lun''s mind raced.


    ....


    The essence of Promotion Material is to help alchemists forcefully understand things they originally cannotprehend.


    Then to slowly digest it.


    This is the strength of the human alchemic vocational system.


    It is also the basis on which alchemists stand.


    It''s like Su Lun''s second-levelprehension of the ''Space Law''.strictly speaking, he only used the Promotion Material to forcefully open a gate to peer into the Space Law. He understood just the superficial aspects, which definitely doesn''t count as fully understanding it. How far he can go in the future still depends on the level of histerprehension.


    But this first step of opening the gate is the most crucial.


    It is the first step from nothing to something.


    Now that he had this ''Replica of the Primal Rune'' in his hands, once he used the method of Promotion to forcefully understand it, his proficiency in runes would definitely improve qualitatively.


    That''s precisely what Su Lun needed at the moment.


    ''Rune Studies'' in the early stages looked merely like drawing patterns, but in fact, this subject is one of the most profound branches in alchemy.


    The early stage focuses on working on the patterns that require improvement in ''drawing skills''.


    But after reaching the intermediate and advanced levels, it involved those mysterious realms, requiring an understanding of rules and a perception of naturalws.


    Su Lun, currently in the field of runes, felt somewhat powerless.


    It wasn''t that his foundational skills were insufficient, but rather his understanding couldn''t keep up anymore.


    The Reaper''s talent had solidified his foundation in a short time, which was very useful in the lower levels. But forplex runes post-fourth or fifth levels, or moreplicated variant Lu''en runes, he felt extremely impotent.


    Those advanced runes that needed to integratews and intentions, even if he tried to copy them exactly, he couldn''t produce them.


    It''s like everyone can paint, and when copying a tiger, some people''s work looks just like skin, but others make it seem "alive."


    This is the divide between a rune master and a grandmaster.


    Su Lun was now trapped in this bottleneck in the field of runes.


    Advancing his skill further would be extremely slow.


    If he really followed the usual process, relying on proficiency to improve, he estimated that it would take a lifetime to possibly reach the "Rune Grandmaster" level, depending also on insight.


    Yet, rune skill was a capability that strongly amplified hisbat power.


    Su Lun himself was a Puppeteer, with a significant part of his strength lying in puppets.


    And in making puppets, the greatest technical challengey in rune skills.


    Especially with alchemical golems, the higher the level of the runes, the more powerful the final product.


    Currently, it seemed his skills were not enough to support him in creating too powerful a puppet in a short time.


    He felt that using an advancement to open the gates of runes was totally worth it!


    ....


    Su Lun, listening to Mr. Jing mention this method, naturally knew how to operate it.


    His senior sister didn''t need to beat around the bush or be overly polite.


    He directly asked, "Senior sister, if I want to refine this rune into a job material, what should I do?"


    Ingredients aren''t meant to be eaten directly; they need to be cooked first, easier to digest.


    Professional advancement items are the same; forcefully digesting them would only waste such fine raw materials.


    Mr. Jing, with a smile brimming with implications, guessed his thoughts and responded, "I might disappoint you, even though I know some basics, I don''t have the specific blueprints for refinement."


    "Ah..."


    Hearing this response, a muscle in Su Lun''s eye twitched.


    Even senior sister didn''t know?


    Like a recipe for ingredients, the optimalbination is surely the result of countless failures and time.


    Now with the materials in hand, it was impossible for Su Lun to slowly figure out how to refine them into job materials just by his own efforts.


    The effort required might not be less than directlyprehending the rune.


    Su Lun, seeing that trace of jest in his senior sister''s expression and demeanor, knew there might be a turning point.


    He directly asked, "Senior sister, do you know where we can find the blueprints for refinement?"


    Mr. Jing did not keep him in suspense, saying directly, "Within the ranks of alchemists, there''s a small ssification called ''Rune Magician.'' This branch specializes in runes. And they also have systematic methods of professional material refinement. The only problem is that traditional alchemy has been stagnant for nearly a thousand years, and I''m not sure how much of the tradition is left."


    "Rune Magician?"


    Su Lun pondered for a moment, his mind vaguely recalling some impressions.


    Among the memories of the Reaper, at least one person had heard of this branch.


    This was good news.


    Mr. Jing thought of something else and added, "While I''m not quite sure where the practitioners of the Rune Magician lineage are today. Remember, there are other people in our organization, you can ask around more in the future. Everyone is very capable, and by now most should be ustomed to the world on the surface. More and more information will be avable..."


    "Oh."


    Su Lun then realized he was not alone.


    He was still a member of the "Mirror Organization."


    Assassin "Lei," Red Demon "Kai," Number Neen, Mr. Hei, Card, Decay Flower...


    And of course, the most familiar one, Qian Tiao.


    Each one was a highly capablepanion.


    When he joined the Mirror Organization, he had been told that it was a loosely structured group, but everyone would help each other out.


    Talking about this, Su Lun muttered, "I wonder how Qian Tiao is doing these days..."


    "Her?"


    Mr. Jing''s face revealed a bit of helplessness, "I contacted her a few days ago, she''s thoroughly enjoying being a pirate. I heard she''s already made a bit of a name for herself in the North Sea."


    Su Lun couldn''t help butugh and sighed, "She really became a pirate, huh."


    Gang boss turned pirate captain does sound somewhat fitting.


    ....


    As they chatted more, the three of them gathered around the fire, andughter filled the air.


    Su Lun picked some lighter topics.


    Yuta asionally chimed in.


    She was very interested in Su Lun''s past, listening intently. It was only now that she learned Mr. Su Lun had also once been a ve to others.


    "Mr. Su Lun, how did you meet Mr. Jing?"


    "I remember the first time I met Senior Sister was in a private room at a gambling house. Senior Sister was wearing a very stylish ck dress..."


    "Hmm, I remember it was about selecting a guide within the Cross Society. Qian Tiao rmended you. The first impression was quite good..."


    "..."

 Chapter 284 The Narwhal Slave Hunters

    The next morning, only a wisp of blue smoke remained in the campfire.


    Su Lun and his twopanions tidied up the traces of life in the cave and continued on their way.


    Before long, three figures were quickly making their way through the dense primitive forest toward the Emerald Holy Land to the south.


    The snow and fallen leaves bore a trail of very light footprints which the cold wind swept over, and as the snowkes fell, they soon covered up the traces of their journey.


    However, without any warning, Su Lun suddenly copsed onto the ground.


    Yuta quickly stopped and helped up Su Lun, whose eyes were shining with a red glow, and asked with concern, "Mr. Su Lun, what''s wrong with you?"


    Mr. Jing observed his condition, her elegant brows slightly furrowing, and said, "It must be the outburst of those negative spiritual powers."


    As she spoke, she reached out her hand, pinched a single sorcerer''s seal, and with a delicate finger touched Su Lun''s forehead, uttering a lightmand, "Mirror Seal¡¤Suppress!"


    In an instant, a faint blue Hexagram Array sank into his forehead.


    The rity returned to Su Lun''s eyes.


    ....


    "Sorry for the trouble," he said.


    Now that his sanity had regained control of his body, Su Lun looked at Mr. Jing and Yuta with a somewhat bitter smile at the corners of his eyes. "I don''t know what happened, suddenly, I just heard the whispers of death..."


    The [Eclipse] totem on his body had alreadypletely copsed when the time anomaly field was broken that day. Later, when he reaped the soul of the intelligence official and also used the Shadow of the Reaper and the ck umbre, it naturally backfired.


    Just now, his attempt to forcefully suppress those irritable negative emotions had caused his body to fall uncontrobly.


    However, this backfiring was within expectations.


    The reason he wasn''t too concerned was that Mr. Jing was by his side, so naturally there was no danger.


    He had just thought he could hold on until returning to the Emerald Holy Land, but it erupted unexpectedly.


    After Mr. Jing checked Su Lun''s condition, her brows knit together slightly in concern. "I can''t handle your current situation. I can only suppress it forcefully. If you can''t find a permanent solution, you should try not to use the Reaper''s second phase abilities in the future," she said.


    "Understood."


    Su Lun nodded.


    He thought that upon his return, he could ask the Deer Tribe Chief and Wolf Granny to inscribe a new totem for him, which should sustain him for a while.


    "Um..."


    Yuta, who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke.


    In front of her elder, she often appeared very reserved.


    After waiting for Mr. Jing to finish speaking, she timidly interjected, "Mr. Su Lun, I have prayed to the Divine for this issue before, and He responded..."


    "Huh?"


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun was taken aback.


    It was as if his brain had received a signal that needed processing.


    Only after a moment did hee to realize what he had heard and asked in astonishment, "You... you prayed to the nature god about this?"


    He knew that Yuta cared about him, but to pray to a deity¡ªwhat was that about?


    Communicating with a god, such an invaluable opportunity, and she used it to ask about this?


    And more importantly, that deity actually responded?!


    "Yes."


    Yuta, still in the presence of an elder, blushed slightly as she exined, "It wasn''t a deliberate prayer. The Divine can sense the true convictions and thoughts in a druid''s heart. I... I have been concerned about Mr. Su Lun''s mental affliction. So, when I was called upon, the Divine also knew of my thoughts. And then He responded..."


    Su Lun listened, somewhat dumbfounded.


    That works?


    Mr. Jing, off to the side, seemed to think of something and a gentle smile appeared at the corner of her eyes.


    Yuta naturally noticed that look and, stealing a nce at Mr. Jing, continued, "Thews of nature inherently contain all the beautiful emotions in the world, and the Divine does not mind the prayers of His devout followers. Besides, Mr. Su Lun, you saved our Dalu Tribe, which means you saved the Divine''s followers; you''re a friend of our Dalu Tribe. The oracle told me that if I go to Sacred Lake and pray, I will be able to use the Divine''s power to inscribe a Sacred Totem that could probablypletely solve Mr. Su Lun''s problem."


    "An oracle?"


    Su Lun listened, his expressionplex.


    He finally realized that there might be a turning point in his mental affliction.


    Originally the Dalu Tribe didn''t have a seventh-tier Druid who could solve the problem.


    But now Yuta had appeared, a Druid who had been summoned anew by the Divine, and she became a variable.


    Su Lun also felt somewhat taken aback; he had actually received an oracle directly from the nature god?


    Yet, Su Lun also had some concerns.


    He wasn''t a follower of the nature god, and he wondered if the bestowal of Divine Power wouldn''t immediately convert him to the ways of nature on the spot?


    If that were the case, then he would be somewhat hesitant.


    It was good topletely resolve the mental affliction, but he felt that the atheistic "scientist system" of an Alchemist suited him better. He had no intention of converting to any other faith.


    Mr. Jing, seemingly guessing his thoughts, smiled and said, "The nature god operates on a higher ne; He is a superior deity. To receive an oracle is a great opportunity..."


    Only from his teacher-sister did Su Lun then learn that the faith of high-ranking deities spread across countless nes, and that the Dalu Tribe in this Alchemy ne was like a mere speck of sand in the desert.


    Answering a follower was merely a trivial matter of a divine "thought" for a god.


    It was probably like when people eat and casually throw a grain of rice to the ants on the ground.


    Far lessplex and important than what Su Lun had thought.


    "So that''s how it is..."


    A relief washed over Su Lun''s heart.


    The surge of negative spiritual power was suppressed, and the three of them didn''t stay put.


    As they traveled, they talked.


    From Mr. Jing, Su Lun learned many top-tier secrets usually known only by professionals, broadening his horizons tremendously.


    Ancient myths, legendary battles of the gods, the God''s Graveyard, mythological tribes from before the Dawn Era, countless extinct civilizations, the Lost City in the deep sea, giant monsters in the unknown seas...@@novelbin@@


    Some were known from Mr. Jing''s ancient books; others were heard from her demigod father, Sir Isaac.


    The history of this world was like a multiyered cake, dense and utterly fascinating.


    Amidst the dust of timey countless treasures and rare oddities, with a random excavation of a relic possibly unraveling a splendid ancient civilization.


    Su Lun and Yuta were utterly captivated.


    ...


    The Unicorn Whale Trading Company was one of Luying''s three major ve trading firms, with severalrge ve-catching teams under its banner.


    One of these teams was active year-round in capturing demi-human ves in the Silent Deep Woods.


    This constituted a mature ve trade chain.


    Recently, the Luying military had been offering highly priced ve orders, which in turn spurred ve traders to dispatch arge number of ve-catching teams into the forest.


    With the increasing incursion of vers and adventurers, the Emerald Holy Land was inevitably discovered.


    While Su Lun''s group was still on their way, the Unicorn Whale''s main ve-catching force had already appeared at the edge of the Holy Land.


    They had just raided the "Grizzly Tribe," capturing hundreds of Dalus.


    However, they did not transport these "ves" out; instead, they chained them with anti-magic shackles and ve cors, using them as bait on a cliff at the edge of the Holy Land.


    The Unicorn Whale had significant backing; its financial supporters were among the top elite of Luying.


    The leader was named "Gold Tooth" Yuke, a fifth-tier professional.


    Once a retired officer from the Luying Empire military, his strength was formidable.


    Yuke had a mouthful of gold teeth, and at this moment, he was instructing his subordinates to set up traps, "Take a few ves to the cliff edge. If those demi-humans don''te out, kill a few every hour and toss their heads down."


    "Yes! Captain!"


    A few ve catchers acknowledged the order and took several ves towards the cliff edge.


    But upon hearing this n, the deputy leader Doppler felt it was a pity and said, "Captain, the quality of the demi-humans caught in this core area is much higher than those from the outskirts, and they can fetch a good price. What if we can''t lure the demi-humans out? It would be a waste to kill them like this, wouldn''t it?"


    Hearing this, Yuke''s face revealed a scheming smile as he countered, "How much can a ve sell for?"


    After a pause, he said meaningfully, "Doppler, you''re not seeing the real valuables! This demi-human tribe has continued for countless years and once had top-tier powerhouses. Tell me, wouldn''t there be treasures in theirir? Heh, I''m certain that the Holy Land must be filled with numerous treasures. Gemstones, demon crystals, leathers, curse materials... there will definitely be no shortage. Once we get our hands on a few high-grade materials, won''t they be worth more than a few hundred ves?"


    As the rity of the n settled in, hisckeys were delighted, "Haha, the captain is wise!"


    Yuke, squinting at the misty basin not too far away, said, "What a pity, the restrictions in this ce are ingenious, and we won''t be able to break through it in a hurry. We only have a chance to find a way to breach them if we lure them out."


    At this point, someone else spoke up, "Captain, it''s said that there''s a fifth-tier presence in this demi-human Holy Land. Aren''t we risking a mutually destructive battle by doing this?"


    "Heh..."


    Yuke let out a coldugh.


    He was confident that this would not happen, and said confidently, "Heh, I''m afraid they won''te out! We''ve been capturing ves for so many years; if those old things had the determination to fight to the death, could they have waited until now? They''re probably hoping to keep their tribe going and are cowering inside, struggling on theirst breath. Besides, we''re at their doorstep, and they still dare note out, which means that the people inside the Holy Land certainly don''t have the power to crush our ''Unicorn Whale Squad.'' Without a seventh or eighth-tier professional, they can''t reallypete if ites to a fight. With our equipment, should we fear these primitive savages? If they don''te, so be it; if they do, we''ll take care of them all in one go."


    ...


    Theckeys finally realized the true intent.


    ...


    On the cliff at the edge of the Holy Land, the beheaded Dalu bodies were thrown one after another.


    The patrolling young druids ryed the news back to the vige.


    Meanwhile, in front of the Divine Tree hut in the Emerald Holy Land, the Deer Tribe Chief and the Wolf Grannies were leading their people in earnest prayer.


    For hundreds of years, their prayers had never been answered.


    But they remained devout.


    Without the Great Druid, they had lost the ability tomunicate with the spirit of nature.


    To the east, near the cliff edge, the sound of cannon fire erupted sporadically as the ve catchers tested the Holy Land''s restrictions with their artillery.


    Boom, boom, boom...


    Each st trembled in the hearts of the tribespeople.


    After prayers, the elders discussed how to deal with the unavoidable crisis.


    Outside the treehouse,


    the Dalu people were agitated.


    Especially the young druids, each burning with the desire to immediately confront the enemy and fight to the death.


    "n Leader, let''s go out and fight those damned ve catchers to the end!"


    "Right! Even if we don''t venture out, those greedy humans will eventually break in..."


    "..."


    Compared to the impulsiveness of the young ones, the dozen or so elders sitting around the circr table in the treehouse seemed much more rational.


    But their eyes were also clouded with worry and bitterness.


    The crisis of annihtion was so oppressive that each and every one of them found it hard to breathe.


    The Deer Tribe Chief and Wolf Granny remained silent.


    An elder spoke up, "Now that the sanctuary has been discovered, more and more ve hunters will flood in. If real high-level professionalse, even with the sanctuary''s restrictions, I''m afraid it won''t be long before we can no longer hold out..."


    Upon hearing this, another elder chimed in, "Yes, n Leader, we think we should consider an escape route. Let us old folks stay and defend the sanctuary, and arrange for the young ones to relocate. There''s no ce for us in the Silent Forest anymore. Head to the east of Mount Rug. Although it is dangerous there, it at least offers a glimmer of hope for the continuation of our tribe..."


    "..."


    With that said, the people in the treehousepsed into a prolonged silence.


    They realized that the future of the Dalu tribe no longer offered any alternatives.


    ....


    The daytime in the Silent Forest wasn''t very long; by noon, the sun had already moved significantly westward.


    Su Lun and his twopanions were deep in the Silent Forest, half a day''s journey away from reaching the Emerald Holy Land.


    The anticipation on Yuta''s face grew stronger, excited about the surprise she would bring to everyone upon her return.


    But that anticipation came to an abrupt halt.


    Before they arrived, they suddenly heard the sound of gunfire from a great distance away.


    It was normal to encounter adventurers in the Silent Forest, hunting magical beasts or searching for treasures, as well as ve hunter groups; sporadic fighting wasmon.


    But this time, the direction from which the noises of battle came was different.


    Yuta''s wolf ears twitched slightly as she listened and identified the direction, her crystal eyes suddenly filling with worry. She said, uncertain, "Those gunshots seem to being from the direction of the sanctuary?"


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun also said, "Indeed, it''sing from the southwest."


    Seeing Yuta''s serious expression, she didn''t dy; with a transformation of her hands into wolf ws, she climbed up a nearby gigantic tree.


    Su Lun, wanting to understand the situation, unleashed his spider spear and followed her up.


    Once they reached the canopy, their view suddenly widened.


    The weather was good that day, visibility was high.


    Su Lun narrowed his left eye slightly, and the superior range of vision from his All-knowing Eye allowed him to see clearly the direction where the shes of gunfire were indeeding from the edge of the Emerald Holy Land!


    Almost at the same time, Yuta also discerned something, her expression changing, "Something''s wrong at the sanctuary!"


    They descended from the tree, and Su Lun informed Mr. Jing of the situation.


    The trio didn''t pause; instead, they hurried toward the Emerald Holy Land as fast as they could.


    ....


    Yuta transformed into a white wolf and sprinted on all fours, incredibly fast in the jungle.


    There was no need to speak of Mr. Jing; when his shadow flickered, he had teleported several hundred meters away.


    Inparison, Su Lun wasn''t adept at long-distance sprints; he could only ride on Yuta''s back.


    In no time, the three of them had already arrived at the location of the gunfire.


    Stopping on a huge tree from afar, they paused to observe.


    They saw the dense forest in the distance bustling with activity. A massive ve hunter group of over three thousand was chopping down trees to set up a camp. The roaring of steam logging machines was incessant, as huge trees, wide enough that several people could not encircle them with their arms, were felled one by one. These people seemed to have been there for days, having cleared arge open area, and the camp was already taking shape. It looked like they were preparing for a prolonged battle.


    Su Lun recognized that g and thought of some conditions; he then said, "That''s the ''Unicorn Whale'', one of the three major ve trade guilds of the Luying Empire. A group this size of three thousand people, the leading captain usually has the strength of around fifth rank."


    They also saw the members of the bear tribe locked in wooden cages.


    Just as they were observing, they witnessed a fully-armed ve hunter party escorting several people toward the edge of a cliff.


    The clotted bloodstains on the cliff made it clear what these people intended to do without having to look.


    Yuta''s expression turned disturbing, she angrily said, "Those people want to lure out the tribesmen from the sanctuary!"


    Su Lun''s brow furrowed tightly, murmuring, "Greed is truly the vile root of human nature..."


    The ve trade was always drenched in blood, and looking at the scene before him, his expression also darkened.


    "I''m going down there!"


    As they saw several tribesmen about to perish at the hands of the ve hunters, before Su Lun and Yuta could react, Mr. Jing leapt from the tree.


    With a casual tug, his Gold-Patterned Cloak enveloped his body, and an overwhelming aura spilled out like a flood toward the ve hunter camp.


    The Aisak family had an alliance with the Dalu tribe, and naturally, Mr. Jing would not stand by idly and watch these Dalu tribesmen be harmed.


    ...


    Normally, when faced with such a situation, Su Lun definitely wouldn''t have the power to charge in.


    Even now, with Yuta''s improved strength, caution was still needed.


    After all, thebat power of arge-scale ve hunter group couldn''t be judged merely by the ranks of a few top professionals.


    A well-trained hundred-man team could kill professionals a full rank higher.


    A group like this, well-equipped and possibly with a fifth-rank captain, would have even greater battle strength. Not to mention a six-ranker, a normal seventh-rank professional wouldn''t necessarily gain any advantage. And as for alchemists, theirbat power didn''t just depend on rank; there might also be various odd and peculiarly effective cursed objects...


    But that was the usual scenario.


    Yuta, watching Mr. Jing boldly charging into the camp, also wanted to follow and help.


    Su Lun, of course, wouldn''t hide either.


    The two exchanged nces, seeing each other''s intentions in their eyes, they both leaped down.


    Su Lun guessed that Mr. Jing''s intervention wasn''t just to stop the ughter, simple as that. With her arrival, the entire Northern ve trade was likely to turn upside down!


    Today was bound to make a big stir to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. Su Lun hadn''t nned for her face to appear on a wanted poster.


    He also casually pulled on a Gold-Patterned Cloak over himself.


    ....


    "Who are you!"


    "Not good, someone''s breaking into the camp!"


    "Everyone, be on alert!!!"


    "..."


    With Mr. Jing leading the way, Su Lun and Yuta closely followed behind.


    The vers from the ve hunters'' group, holding their guns high, pointed them uniformly at the iing trio.


    The snipers on the towering watchtowers also took aim at them.


    If hostile gazes could kill, the three of them would have been turned into porcupines by now.


    Mr. Jing didn''t immediately take action but stood there and said indifferently, "Call your leader over."


    Theckeys, overpowered by her presence, looked at each other in uncertainty, not daring to move rashly.


    Soon after, a gaunt middle-aged man with Gold Teeth, leading a group of fully armed people, hurried out of the main tent.


    Su Lun sensed for a moment that the soul fire of this Gold Tooth man was strong, revealing that he was indeed a fifth-tier professional.


    The few beside him also carried the strong presence of fourth-tier professionals.


    Moreover, the group exuded a sharp military air, clearly indicative of their exceptional strength.


    A fifth-tier professional was already considered a formidable expert capable of intimidating a region and certainly carried their own pride.


    The man with Gold Teeth squinted his eyes as he sized up the three before him, his eyes shooting out a cold re.


    In any situation, forcibly breaking into someone else''s camp was tantamount to dering war.


    Because of the Gold-Patterned Cloak''s cover, he couldn''t figure out the depths of Su Lun and Mr. Jing, but his gaze quickly shifted towards Yuta, whose face was seething with murderous intent, and naturally recognized her as a member of the Dalu Tribe.


    In an instant, he made a guess.


    The man with Gold Teeth coldly inquired, "Who might you be?"


    Mr. Jing said, "The Dalu Tribe is under my protection. From today on, any vers in the Silent Forest will be killed without mercy."


    The tone was calm, but it carried an indisputable sense of authority.


    What?


    The members of the ve hunters'' group all showed shocked expressions upon hearing this.


    They originally thought these three reckless people wanted to save a few sub-humans. They didn''t expect them to have an even greater appetite, seeking to cut off the entire Northern ve trade.


    Haha, isn''t that daydreaming?


    The eyes of the man with Gold Teeth grew even colder as he scoffed in response, "Are you joking with me?"


    Not having rified the origins of the other party, he also appeared quite cautious.


    Yet, the ve trade was a legitimate business permitted by the Luying Royal Household. You say no capturing, and it''s no more?


    Although this trade isn''t well-regarded, behind everyrge-scale ve hunter is there not a top imperial authority?


    The tangled web of interests even has direct ties to the princes of the royal family.


    Who dares to cut off the financial resources of these Big Shots?


    Even the Empress wouldn''t dare to make this im.


    While speaking, he scrutinized the Gold-Patterned Cloaks on Mr. Jing and Su Lun, feeling that they seemed quite familiar. A deputy from the side also mentioned something, and Gold Tooth then had a realization.


    The King of the North Sea had a wanted notice out for several individuals in Gold-Patterned Cloaks.


    Could it be the two right before his eyes?


    However, based on the information he had, there was but a single sixth-tier along with a few who were not even fifth-tier professionals?


    Haha.


    Pirates, after all. In the eyes of this former Luying officer, they were just a ragtag bunch.


    The greatly feared sea pirates often amounted to little most of the time.


    Having served in the military before, he had killed his fair share of them.


    This cloaked person is probably sixth-tier?


    No wonder they had the confidence to barge into the camp.


    But they, the "Narwhal Group", feared no one.

 Chapter 285 The Domineering Trio

    The atmosphere in the ve traders'' camp turned deadly at Mr. Jing''s words.


    What she intended to do was not just to save lives, but to resolve the Dalu tribe''s plight once and for all and put an end to the ve trade within the Silent Forest.


    However, this would not be easy.


    The ve trade in the northernnds had continued for hundreds of years. To the ve traders, the Silent Forest was also known as the "Silver Forest."


    Capturing ves was like mining for silver, with a low input cost and massive profits.


    Such a lucratively profitable endeavor could not possibly be terminated upon meremand. A "mine" so profitable would certainly not be abandoned because of someone''s words.


    Su Lun was well aware that attempting to reason with these people would be futile.


    Nor would the backers from themerce guilds behind them ever agree to it.


    Thews of Ruying supported the ve trade, a deep-rooted environmental problem that had persisted for centuries.


    But even the sudden prohibition of thew wouldn''t resolve the issue.


    As long as there were exorbitant profits to be had, countless people would continue to flood into the Silent Forest, and the Dalu tribe''s predicament would remain unchanged.


    Therefore, the only feasible solution was to make the cost of capturing ves for these trading groups skyrocket.


    The method was to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys.


    The ve catchers were the biggest cost of the ve trade.


    Not just now but for a long time in the future.


    It might take the killing of innumerable monkeys to fully curb the wave of ve capturing in the Silent Forest.


    So, when Su Lun saw Mr. Jing make a move, he knew there would be a fierce battle today.


    This was an act of killing to stop more killings, where neither side could im absolute right or wrong, but to root out certain entrenched ills of outdated systems, powerful measures were needed.


    ...


    Upon hearing Mr. Jing''s purpose, the people from "Unicorn Whale Capture" turned grim, their formation quietly solidifying into a battle array.


    Su Lun nced at them.


    Previously in Cursed Valley, he had seen members of the Sacred Judgment Legion employ military formations.


    Charge, defense, encirclement... The military formation could maximize the advantage of numbers.


    Just by seeing this clearly well-trained arrangement, Su Lun knew that this ve capturing group had a military background.


    However, they were, after all, ve capturers.


    Whether it was their equipment, the ranks of their members, or the intensity of their training, all were far inferior. The pressure that these 3,000 people ced on Su Lun was not even as great as that of several hundred-strong groups from the Sacred Judgment Legion before.


    ....


    The group leader with gold teeth, observing Su Lun and the two others, showed no fear.


    He couldn''t fathom the purpose of the two people in cloaks.


    To risk their lives to rescue these non-humans, was it worth offending them?


    Nevertheless, the man with the gold tooth also disyed enough caution, saying once more, "Such an act might not be proper, might it? We ''Unicorn Whale Group'' belong to the business of the honorable Marquis Sordo, a member of the parliament. Have you considered the consequences of your actions?"


    Revealing the identity of the backer was not meant to intimidate Su Lun and the others into retreat, but to avoid any misunderstanding.


    Although there was information about these cloak-wearers being wanted by pirates, their origins had never been disclosed.


    To these people, being hunted by pirates often meant being part of some great power in Ruying.


    After all, a level six professional was already considered a top expert, and usually only top resources could cultivate one.


    And the rtionships amongst Ruying''s top nobility were intricate and interconnected, and it was not beyond the bounds of possibility that they were acquaintances of the backer.


    Better to avoid killing the wrong person and bringing about unnecessary trouble.@@novelbin@@


    Mr. Jing, upon hearing this, did not prattle on, simply saying lightly, "I would not like to repeat a second time."


    The ve trade was a problem rooted in the decrepit nobility system, a lingering mdy. She was very clear that this was not something that could be solved in just a few words; strong medicine was required.


    Su Lun, listening to this, also slightly turned his head.


    Despite his sister''s usually gentle and elegant demeanor, when it came to battle, she was anything but soft-hearted.


    Her indifferent aura also revealed an unrivaled domineering presence, one person''s force suffocating the very breath of thousands.


    ....


    The man with the gold teeth, realizing that unting his backer did not deter the other party, knew there would be no turning points in this situation.


    They naturally might just walk away, even if the opposition were sixth-level professionals.


    After all, as retired military officers, any hesitation on the battlefield could be a fatal mistake.


    A fierce look shed through Yuke''s eyes, equally decisive, and he shouted loudly, "Attack!"


    It was thismand that triggered the thousands of gunmen who had been ready, simultaneously pulling their triggers.


    For a moment, the sound of gunfire exploded in the eardrums.


    Rat-a-tat-tat-tat...


    In the vast forest, fire zed everywhere.


    While firearms did limited damage to high-ranking professionals, they were not entirely ineffective. "The constant dripping wears away the stone," and the quantity could lead to a qualitative change. Bullets hitting the elemental barrier continuously would rapidly drain the spiritual power of a high-ranking professional. Once depleted, they too could be killed.


    ....


    Su Lun, watching the bullet rain pouring down, pupils slightly narrowing.


    In his sight, space appeared to freeze. Countless bullets, alchemic rounds glowing with runes, flew through the air, stirring up numerous trails in the currents.


    Actually, at the moment when the word "attack" was spoken, he had already sharply caught the action of the people pulling the triggers.


    Were he alone, the smart thing would certainly be to dodge and leave the center of this focused fire.


    But now was different, having a top-tier powerhouse by his side.


    Su Lun was not the least bit panicked.


    In the moment when the gunfire lit up from numerous muzzles, Mr. Jing quickly formed sorcerer''s seals with both hands, uttered a detachedmand, "Domain: Mirror of All Aspects!"


    Su Lun was witnessing his senior sister casting her domain for the second time.


    However, unlike thest time, this time he witnessed the ferociously lethal aspect of the domain.


    The moment the domain unfolded, a bright white light, akin to moonlight, suddenly spread from under Mr. Jing''s feet. Instantly, the vast camp appeared as if covered with reflections of mirrors, those shattered fragments of mirrors looked like twinkling stars in the night sky. The scenes before everyone''s eyes were like looking through a kaleidoscope, within the domain, every person could see countless reflections of themselves in each shard.


    Su Lun once again felt that sense of istion, as if the elemental forces all around had been stripped away, and couldn''t help but think, "The domain''s control over thews is really strong..."


    If one were truly to fight under this domain, there would be no elements to draw upon, the power of magical spellcasting would be reduced to the minimum.


    Mr. Jing released the domain and extended his hand forward, palm facing outwards.


    Then, the miraculous scene unfolded before their eyes.


    Countless bullets and cannonballs, like a downpour from alchemy projectiles, rained down upon them.


    But merely a meter away from Su Lun and the other two, it was as if an invisible spatial barrier stood in ce. As soon as the bullets touched it, they disappeared without a trace.


    The members of the Unicorn Whaler''s ving troupe watched this unbelievable spectacle, the shock in their eyes had not even transmitted to their brains when their expressions suddenly turned to horror.


    Mr. Jing pushed his hand forward, murmuring, "Mystic Art: Material Reflection!"


    In the next instant, countless bullets that had been absorbed by the mirror barrier were reflected back out.


    Ding ding ding...


    The rain of bullets collided with another rain of bullets, creating a sh of fire that filled the sky.


    And countless more bullets and shells were shot back toward various parts of the camp!


    Not all members of the ving troupe could withstand bullets with their flesh; the lower-ranked professionals hit by the bullets elicited a continuous series of screams throughout the camp.


    Mr. Jing, with his own power, had firmly suppressed the enemy''s advantage in firepower.


    ....


    "Stop firing wildly!"


    "Be careful, that''s a seventh-tier professional!"


    "Form up, charge!"


    "..."


    In just that brief encounter, the members of the Unicorn Whaler''s group were taken by surprise.


    Even though they recognized that Mr. Jing was a seventh-tier professional, they had no intention of stopping.


    They were well aware, having killed so many non-humans, if their opponent was indeed here to protect the non-human tribes, this situation was bound to be a fight to the death.


    Gold Tooth Yuke very well knew that seventh-tier professionals were strong, but that didn''t mean they couldn''t be overwhelmed by numbers.


    With his extensivebat experience, he roared and immediately changed tactics, "Machinery, form ranks, assemble for a surrounding assault!"


    Steam machinery didn''t need to tap into elements, so they weren''t afraid of any domain control.


    And this semi-official ving troupecked nothing in terms of good equipment. In their ranks, they had arge amount of military machines retired from the Ruying army!


    Unfortunately, he didn''t know that the three people he was facing were no ordinary individuals.


    After a brief moment of chaos, the ve catchers in the encampment stopped thinking about firing their guns. They assembled into units of a hundred and closed in on Su Lun and the two others.


    The steam boilers roared incessantly, and the iron beasts that had been logging before now formed a killing shield wall.


    Heavy mechanical warriors at the front, various professionals at the back.


    This was a standard encirclement formation, and even high-ranking professionals would find it difficult to break through and get mired in the quagmire of the steel battle formation.


    ....


    The enemy''s momentum was overwhelming.


    However,


    Su Lun looked at those mechanically monstrous beasts baring their ws and teeth, a hint of disdain shing in his eyes.


    His expertise in mechanics was not low, and he could tell at a nce that the technology of these steam machines was not very sophisticated.


    The technological level of Ruling was far behind that of the Mafa Empire. The mechanical equipment on those guys was not some kind of full-coverage mechanical armor. At best, it was a kind of external mechanical skeleton, useful for supportingrge-caliber guns and cannons and some not so nimble mechanical arms, but far less threatening than Mafa''s mechanical armor when used inbat.


    In battles amongst equals, these mechanical skeletons might be able to disy considerablebat power. Unfortunately, they were of no use against Su Lun and his twopanions.


    Mr. Jing took action, and naturally, Su Lun and Yuta weren''t just going to stand by and watch.


    Yuta had long despised the hateful ve catchers with the blood of her tribespeople on their hands.


    The red totems on her face suddenly lit up, and chanting the revered name of the god of nature, it seemed as though the entire forest responded in kind. Wood elements, wind elements, earth elements... Various elements came together like a rainbow, continuously streaming into the magic cauldron floating beside her.


    "Great god of nature above, please bestow upon me the roar of the wind spirit, summon... the Wild Wind Technique!"


    "Great god of nature above, please bestow upon me the roar of the earth spirit, summon... the Earth Splitting Technique!"


    "Great god of nature above, please..."


    Yuta finished chanting, and spells formed in an instant.


    The grade of the spells was not too high, but the amount of elemental convergence was staggeringlyrge.


    The[Dagda''s Magic Cauldron]was a BUG-like holy artifact, providing Yuta with an almost endless recovery of magic power and drawing the power of elements from around her.


    A third-rank spell was forcibly enhanced by the magic cauldron to the might of the fourth or fifth rank.


    When the "Windstorm Technique" was cast, ghostly howls and wolfish wails suddenly whipped through the forest. The gale that blew sent those in the war tumbling and turning.


    When the "Earth Splitting Technique" was unleashed, huge ravines instantly tore the encampment into thousands of pieces, forcing the units of a hundred to break apart, their weaknesses exposed in an instant.


    Of course, there was also the signature ability that only a legendary Druid could use ¡ª summoning treants!


    After Yuta chanted a mysterious spell in the Dalunguage, the giant trees surrounding the encampment suddenly seemed toe to life, with ancient human faces emerging from their trunks. They began attacking the people from the ve-catching team.


    In the forest, there was no shortage of trees. The wood elements surged, and vegetation grew like bamboo after a spring rain.


    In a sh, the vast encampment was filled with dancing treants and vines everywhere.


    They entwined like a swarm of pythons, constricting, strangling, binding...


    The ve-catching group, numerous as they were, was no match for the "treants," who knew neither pain nor fear of death.


    For a moment, limbs were severed, screams and cries for help could be heard everywhere.


    ....


    Yuta''s move once again shocked the members of the ver group.


    It was fundamentally different from the sub-humans they had seen before.


    Sub-humans were known to be weak inbat; it wasmon knowledge.


    Those "primitives" who didn''t understand the use of tools, and rarely even had iron, had almost no capital to resist against the well-equipped ver group.


    Even the Druids among the sub-humans only possessed thebat power of elite professionals of the same rank.


    This was the most important reason whyrge ver groups were invariably sessful.


    But now, what did they see?


    A sub-human who seemed to be of the third rank was actually using such exaggerated natural magic?


    There were experts within the ver group who immediately realized something, and someone shouted, "She has a super-grade magical device, kill her!"


    Although those treants were troublesome, killing the caster would immediately resolve the crisis.


    Even if they couldn''t kill her, hindering her spellcasting could provide more opportunities for attacks to the others.


    But would Su Lun give them that opportunity?


    Apart from the few leaders of the fourth and fifth rank, he really did not take these thousands of people seriously.


    Even if he couldn''t beat them, he could leave withposure.


    Currently, the elite group of five hundred led by a fifth-ranker and Mr. Jing were in a tough fight and couldn''t spare any effort.


    The rest of them... weren''t much of a threat to Su Lun.


    Numbers?


    For a Puppet Master, that wasn''t considered a big threat.


    Su Lun, looking at several clusters of soul fire approaching, naturally detected the assassins in stealth.


    He ignored thempletely, his hands swiftly forming sorcerer''s seals, his gaze - stern: "Puppet Mastery ¡¤ Puppet Theater!"


    In the next instant, a giant cross appeared in the sky, enveloping Su Lun and Yuta within it.


    At the same time, he raised his hand to take out a few spatial scrolls, fiercely tearing them open and shouting, "Release!"


    "Bang", "Bang", "Bang"...


    The scrolls exploded in the air, and suddenly, hundreds of odd-shaped puppets appeared.


    They wore exaggerated, eerie grins on their faces, staring at the several hundred-strong battalions, emitting a "gagaga" of sinisterughter.


    With the appearance of the puppet legion, and the treants that hade to life, the numerical disadvantage of Su Lun''s side was immediatelypensated for in an instant.


    ....


    As the puppets appeared in overwhelming numbers, clearly, for the third time, everyone in the ver group showed incredulous astonishment on their faces.


    They only then realized,


    All three individuals in front of them


    were monsters!


    Before taking action, the vers thought they had absolute superiority.


    Now at a nce, it felt like they had poked a ho''s nest.


    Touch it, and hundreds woulde out!


    "That guy is the Puppet Master who severely wounded the ''Sun''s Deste Hunting Group'' previously!"


    "Damn it, the rumor is actually true! Selt and his group fell at the hands of a mysterious Puppet Master, this guy!"


    "..."


    That instant, upon seeing the puppet army in front of them, those people finally realized who they had encountered.


    They had heard rumors that a Puppet Master could control hundreds of puppets, yet they didn''t believe it.


    Now, they immediately believed it.


    Unfortunately, it was already toote.


    ....


    Runes and puppets flooded the battlefield, even Mr. Jing nced over with a slight tilt of his head.


    In the midst of battle, she found the time to nce over, revealing a hint of admiration in her eyes.


    After not seeing each other for so long, the moment they met, her junior brother had given her a great surprise.


    But Su Lun''s methods at present involved more than just puppets.


    The opponents knew the tricky part of dealing with a Puppet Master, but if they killed the controller, everything would be easy to solve.


    Thus, even as Su Lun summoned the puppets, dozens more stealthy assassins closed in, among them even a fourth-rank professional.


    They not only wanted to kill Yuta but also targeted Su Lun.


    Su Lun still acted as if he had not noticed, his sorcerer''s seals pinching again, murmuring in his heart, "Activate ¡¤ Release!"


    The moment the third-rank gear "Spiritual Tentacles" was released, his spiritual power traveled along the threads and spread into the field.


    Waiting for those dozens of stealthy assassins to enter the range of the Puppet Theater''s control, Su Lun immediately readied himself.


    A Puppet Master already had superb spiritual power, and usually, even if they felt the fluctuation of spiritual power, no one would think it amiss.


    However, with various sensing professionals in this group of three thousand, the moment Su Lun''s gear activation opened, someone suddenly shouted, "Bad news, don''t get close to him! There are many spiritual power threads around him!"


    Hearing the shout, the fourth-rank assassin reacted very quickly, using some technique, he teleported a hundred meters away.


    Unfortunately, before the other assassins could respond, they suddenly discovered they had lost control over their own bodies and revealed themselves from stealth.


    Those controlled wanted to struggle and escape with their will,


    but would Su Lun give them that chance?


    The moment he gained control over them, Su Lun stood in ce, his right hand imitating a knife across his own neck, making a throat-slitting gesture.


    The next second, a horrifying scene urred.


    The more than twenty controlled assassins all drew their daggers in unison and then, uncontrobly, made a swift cut to their own throats.


    "Rip~"


    The sound of flesh being torn apart rang out instantly.


    Although subtle, it sent a chill down the necks of everyone present.


    In a sh, it was as if the intense battle in the camp had been paused, and all eyes were fixed on the twenty or so corpses lying in pools of their own blood.


    Huge gashes adorned the necks of the corpses, from which blood spewed like fountains.


    In that instant, more than twenty people were in.


    Such tactics left everyone at the scene in awe and horror.


    The only fourth-tier assassin who had escaped stared with wide eyes, his face filled with disbelief.


    He nced at the corpses and then instinctively turned to look at the cloaked figure with the fierce spidernce behind him. In that brief moment of eye contact, he didn''t clearly see the face under the cloak, but he caught a glimpse of the gleam that shed like a monocle.


    It was this extra nce.


    That was thest chance the assassin had to escape.


    ....


    [Robert''s Monocle]could create realistic illusions, provided that the caster had personally experienced them before.


    This feature was somewhat mediocre for most illusionists.


    After all, if you haven''t died, the best your illusion can do is torment your opponent. If you can endure it, most likely, so can they.


    Moreover, casting it consumed a significant amount of spiritual power.


    Under normal circumstances, except for some "perverts" who had suffered greatly, the effect of the illusions produced by this monocle wasn''t considered great.


    At least, it was hard to kill someone with it.


    But for Su Lun, thepatibility was exceedingly high.


    Because he possessed the talent of the [Reaper].


    He had stripped away the understanding of death from too many people, be it from gunshots, stabbings, poisonings, burnings, freezings... He alone had experienced countless kinds of profound and terrifying feelings.


    Therefore, the illusions he created were absolutely more deeply real than others.


    In that brief moment of eye contact, Su Lun gave that fellow an illusion of "being consumed by mes."


    The pain of burning was sustained, causing one to continuously feel an indescribable level of agony.


    After one nce, the assassin''s face immediately contorted in severe pain, and from his throat came a hysterical scream of anguish, "Ahh...!!!!"


    No one knew that, in the eyes of the assassin at that moment, his own skin appeared charred and cracked ck, and even breathing sent out mes searing his very organs...


    This was a type of despair-inducing pain.


    The continuous illusion of pain caused his spiritual power to endure sustained torment, and his body instinctively secreted an overabundance of chaotic hormones.


    Even if he could endure it without dying on the spot, this continual torture rendered his bodypletely incapable of fighting.


    The continuous screams caused the hearts of the ve hunters in the camp to shudder.


    As the ve hunters turned their gaze back to the cloaked Su Lun, fear began to appear in the eyes of more and more people.


    Even more so than when facing the seventh-tier Mr. Jing.


    On the battlefield, one does not fear meeting a strong enemy.


    No matter how strong, there are ways to deal with them.


    What''s really terrifying is an enemy you don''t understand at all...


    Fear of the unknown naturally makes one cowardly.


    Su Lun''s maniption of the mind to kill, coupled with his one-nce killing technique, caused all the enemies in the camp to bristle.


    .....


    The camp of the Unicorn Whale ve hunters was right beside the Emerald Holy Land.


    When Su Lun, Mr. Jing, and Yuta brazenly stormed the camp, the Dalu people from within the Holy Land naturally heard themotion.


    They initially thought it was those despicable hunters testing the Holy Land''s defenses and paid it no mind.


    But as the sound of gunfire from the sacred grounds reached their ears, they immediately realized something was different.


    Inside the treehouse, the Deer Tribe Chief, Wolf Granny, and a group of elders were still discussing the current crisis.


    But all of a sudden, they found a very intense force of nature surging throughout the treehouse.


    The elders were all astonished.


    "The Divine Tree... seems to be responding to some kind of call?"


    "No, someone is mobilizing the natural forces within the Holy Land!"


    "How could that be, even if you, n Leader, were to..."


    "..."


    This exaggerated force of nature was definitely not within the capacity of any Dalu to maneuver.


    Even those present could not achieve such a feat.


    The elders did not understand what was happening and one after another stepped out of the treehouse.


    Upon looking, they were all stunned on the spot.


    Not only the natural force of the Divine Tree but also the earthy yellow of thend''s earth elements, the pale blue of the river''s water elements, the clear winds... Various elements from within the Holy Land were converging in a spectacr spectrum towards the southeast cliffs.


    The Deer Tribe Chief, upon witnessing this heart-stirring scene, felt his cloudy eyes suddenly shaking with excitement.


    His entire body uncontrobly trembled as he murmured to himself: "This is the power of the Holy Artifact! My heavens, after five hundred years, has it finally returned...?"


    Wolf Granny, seeing this extraordinary phenomenon, also realized something, and her eyes became moist with tears, "I recall the elders once said, only when the Holy Artifact [Dagda''s Magic Cauldron] appears, does the Holy Land radiate such colorful lights... My word, could it be that our tribe''s Holy Artifact has returned?"


    Hearing this, all the elders were dumbfounded.


    As they looked towards the southeast cliffs, hope sparkled in their eyes.


    Could it be... the great God of Nature has answered their prayers, and a miracle has descended?

 Chapter 286 The Gates of Heaven

    The battle within the Unihorn Whale Mercenary Group''s camp suddenly intensified.


    However, from the moment those folks misjudged the strength of Su Lun and his twopanions, a tragic end was already sealed.


    Su Lun also guessed why those people dared to make their move with full confidence.


    It was probably because they had seen the gold-patterned cloak and recognized them as targets wanted by the King of the North Sea.


    In those people''s information, Mr. Jing was still at the sixth rank.


    If that was the case, their three thousand-man group did indeed have the confidence to face them head on.


    What they didn''t consider was that intelligence from a few months ago was somewhat outdated now.


    Su Lun was no longer the naive rookie who had just emerged from beneath Old Lington.


    Yuta wasn''t an ordinary Druid either.


    And Mr. Jing was certainly not at the sixth rank.


    Even more so, she wasn''t just any seventh rank!


    As soon as Mr. Jing''s Mirror Domain was activated, her near-eighth-rank strengthpletely overpowered those few elite hundred-man teams.


    Just as those people still harbored hope that they had a fighting chance, she struck with the force of thunder, killing the fifth-ranked Golden Tooth Leader.


    The vers were all people who came for themission; they didn''t have much loyalty to speak of.


    They were not like professional soldiers who would fight to the death for orders.


    Seeing their leader in, the other ordinary vers immediately scattered.


    The battle that had reached its climax came to an abrupt end.


    But.


    Mr. Jing had no intention of exterminating them all.


    Watching the vers flee into the forest, she withdrew her domain and stood amidst the carnage of the campsite, silent for a long time, as if contemting something.


    Su Lun couldn''t understand her state of mind.


    But since Mr. Jing didn''t move, he also refrained from pursuing those fleeing vers.


    His puppet theater was indeed strong, but now, limited by dark spiritual power, its control range was not too vast, and its pursuit capabilities were not very strong.


    He was also clear about his senior sister''s intentions.


    Killing was never the goal; it was to end the ving business in the Silent Deep Woods.


    Those who escaped alive would spread the news, and it would also make other ving groups wary.


    Yuta, bolstered by the magic cauldron, had the ability to pursue, but seeing neither Su Lun nor Mr. Jing make a move, she remained quietly in her ce.


    ....


    After the battle, the campsite was filled with smoke.


    The people of the Unihorn Whale group had fled, leaving behind hundreds of corpses, along with arge amount of cumbersome machines and supplies.


    The supply for arge team of thousands was not a small amount.


    With no outsiders present, Su Lun had no qualms about starting the pleasant task of collecting the spoils.


    He didn''t dare use the Reaper''s Phantom, but instead directly stripped the haze from the corpses. Then, controlling the threads, he began gathering the equipment from the bodies, along with cursed materials and alchemical imnts.


    Most were of ck iron andmon materials, not worth too much.


    But the volume was considerable.


    Su Lun had previously noticed that many of the Unihorn Whale Group''s mechanical-preparation had the marks of the Lurin military. Although this retired old equipment was technologically behind the current service equipment by a generation, they were still valuablemodities not easily bought with money in the ck market.


    This batch of spoils, once sold, would likely fetch a good sum.


    With puppets and countless threads to sort through the spoils, Su Lun himself didn''t have to toil too hard, and could still observe Mr. Jing.


    Watching his senior sister remove her cloak, he finally spoke, "Senior sister, are you alright?"


    Mr. Jing shook her head and did not borate, "I was just suddenly reminded of some things."


    She gathered herplex thoughts, nced at Su Lun, and the coldness between her brows dissipated; her eyes softened.


    After pondering a moment, she spoke with approval, "Your puppetry technique has greatly improved. Now, you truly have a bit of a Puppeteer''s air."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun chuckled nomittally.


    He was generally regarded as a "master" in the field of puppet alchemy by now.


    But in the eyes of his senior sister, he was only at the level of "having a bit of the air."


    However, this was a very highpliment already.


    After all, she had once seen the pinnacle of this ne.


    The two chatted casually for a moment when suddenly, from the nearby jungle, there came the sound of rustling movements.


    Mr. Jing was the first to notice something and said indifferently, "Someone''sing."


    Su Lun, listening closely, then noticed the rustling sounds as if many people were approaching. He thought it was the vers returning and couldn''t understand why they woulde back to seek death, when Yuta, who was helping him collect spoils, heard the anomaly and softly eximed.


    In the sky, a long eagle''s cry resounded, and from the woods, there came the sound of special horn signals.


    Yuta''s face lit up with joy, eximing, "That''s the battle horn of our Dalu tribe!"


    Upon hearing this, the wariness in Su Lun''s eyes also dissipated.


    With a moment''s thought, realization dawned on him.


    The previous battle had been loud, especially Yuta using the magic cauldron to draw on the elements from all directions, creating a spectacle of rainbow hues across the sky, visible from tens of kilometers away.


    The Dalu tribesmen from the Sacred Lands must have seen it and were attracted here.


    He nced at Mr. Jing, who was standing not far away with a detached expression, and decided not to dwell on it any longer as he continued to clear the battlefield.


    No matter the situation, with him present, chaos could not ensue.


    ....


    Su Lun''s guess was not wrong.


    While they were still fighting, Wolf Granny and a few elders had led a hundred-man squad out of the holynd and silently approached the cliff.


    The sight of the holynd''s colorful radiancepelled them to take the risk and investigate. If it really was their Dalu n''s sacred object "Dagda''s Magic Cauldron" that had appeared, any risk was worth it.


    The battle had just ended, and the faint scent of blood still lingered in the air of the forest.


    The Dalu n, with their partially animalistic organs, had keen senses of smell and could clearly detect the bloody scent from miles away.


    They discerned that many had died, so they proceeded with extra caution.


    Yet, before they could approach the area of the battle, the intense fighting abruptly ceased.


    This made them even more cautious.


    They also feared it was a trap, as those despicable human vers would resort to any method to capture ves.


    The main force remained hidden at the edge of the cliff, and a few young Druids volunteered to scout ahead, quietly moving closer to the area.


    The youths carefully leaped between the giant trees, avoiding areas on the ground that might have trap alerts.


    From a distance, they saw the camp littered with bodies, and the three remaining people who were standing.


    Yuta had wolf ears, and they naturally recognized one as a Dalu nsperson.


    Moreover, she looked familiar.


    The few youths gathered for a discussion.


    "That... Arcu, look, doesn''t she resemble Sister Yuta?"


    "It does look like my sister... but why does she look different?"


    "I think so too. Arcu, do you have any other sisters?"


    "..."


    The leader was a young man of the White Wolf n, none other than Arcu.


    He saw Yuta and was stunned for a moment, uncertain if the White Wolf nswoman with the red totem on her face and apletely different demeanor was indeed his sister.


    She resembled her to about eighty or ny percent, but that otherworldly aura made him doubt his own judgment.


    And that totem was strange!


    The Dalu n''s totems were subject to strict rules: the more mysterious the totem, the higher the strength and status it represented. He had never seen anyone in the n draw a totem like that red one.


    His sister, being a Druid of the White Wolf group, did not draw that kind of totem.


    But as his gaze moved back to the man who was cleaning the battlefield, Arcu immediately confirmed his identity, eximing excitedly, "That''s... Mr. Su Lun!"


    Upon hearing this, the other youths also recognized him.


    Yuta had undergone a great change, and they dared not be certain.


    But Mr. Su Lun, who had saved their lives not too long ago, had not changed at all!


    "Mr. Su Lun has returned!"


    "Indeed, it must be Mr. Su Lun who drove away those vers. Then that must be Sister Yuta."


    "My God, we must tell Wolf Granny and the others!"


    "...."


    With this discovery, a few youths went back to deliver the news while the rest excitedly ran over.


    ....


    Suddenly, several young men with bows and arrows and d in animal-skin clothes burst out from the woods.


    Su Lun recognized them all and smiled, taking the initiative to greet them, "Arcu, it''s you guys."


    "It''s really Mr. Su Lun!"


    Arcu excitedly walked up, just about to greet him, but upon seeing Yuta''s stern expression, he hesitated.


    Yuta looked at the rash youths with disdain and coughed lightly, "Ahem!"


    It would have been fine if it were just her and Su Lun, but with an ancestral elder present, being rash would reflect poorly on their Dalu n.


    The few youths didn''t know what had happened, but Yuta''s intimidating presence as their elder sister was strong, so they stood quietly to the side and did not dare to speak.


    Before long, Wolf Granny and several elders carefully led a group of people out of the woods.


    When these elders saw the red totem on Yuta''s face and then noticed the colorful magic cauldron floating beside her, they were moved to tears of excitement.


    They had heard from the older generation in the n about the significance of the red totem and had been described the appearance of the four sacred objects of the n.


    "This is a God-Given Holy Totem! Oh my... our Dalu n has been favored by the great Nature God once again..."


    "It is truly ''Dagda''s Magic Cauldron!'' The sacred object has been recovered!"


    "Great Nature God above..."


    "..."


    Seeing the scene before them, Wolf Granny and the elders kneeled on the ground in unison.


    The hundreds of Dalu nspeople behind them also knelt down, chanting the name of the great Nature God in Dalunguage.


    Yuta saw everyone kneeling towards her and did not dare to ept such a grand gesture; she too knelt down and began to pray devoutly.


    Su Lun silently watched from the side.


    Faith is worthy of respect.


    He had stayed with the Dalu tribe for a while and was clear about their religious customs.


    Mr. Jing was also silent.


    ....


    Before long, the prayers were finished.


    After the excitement came confusion.


    Everyone''s eyes turned to Yuta, filled with a desire to know more.


    Yuta was aware that the nspeople must have many questions at this moment, but there were more pressing matters at hand.


    Everyone was already familiar with Su Lun, so no introduction was needed.


    She formally introduced Mr. Jing, who was not far off, saying, "Wolf Granny, and everyone else. This is Su Lun''s senior apprentice sister, Lady ''Ophelia Fei Isaac.'' She is also the direct daughter of Sir Isaac from a thousand years ago."


    She paused before adding, "The retrieval of our tribe''s sacred artifact was thanks to the assistance of Lady Ophelia and Mr. Su Lun. It was also her who drove away the vers just now."


    "This..."


    Upon hearing this, Wolf Granny and the entire Dalu tribe were shocked.


    Although they had been informed that Sir Isaac''s direct daughter was still alive, the presence of a person from a thousand years ago still left them visibly astonished.


    With her hands pressed together over her chest, Wolf Granny bowed deeply and with great respect, saying, "Mara, Druid of the Grey Wolf n, extends the sincerest greetings to the Dalu tribe''s pledged ally and our dearest human friend."


    Following her lead, the elders and the people behind her also bowed deeply in unison.


    Mr. Jing, having lived for over a thousand years, was certainly worthy of this grand gesture.


    She looked at the gathered Dalu tribe members with a kind smile, bowed slightly with her hands over her chest in return and said with conviction, "The Isaac family will always remember the pledge."


    ....


    The imminent danger of destruction hanging over the Emerald Holy Land was suddenly alleviated with Mr. Jing''s arrival.


    Mr. Jing also intended to stay in the Holy Land for a while.


    This time, repelling the unicorn whale ver group was just the beginning. She needed a considerable amount of time to deter other vers and to guard against retaliation from the major ve traders.


    Your journey continues at My Virtual Library Empire


    Until the business of ve capture in the Silent Forest was entirely eradicated.


    However, without a top expert to defend them, the Dalu tribe''s crisis would still not be resolved.


    But the good news was, the situation was about to change immediately.


    Yuta, being the first in five hundred years to feel the call of the gods, would turn a new page in Dalu history.


    Adding to the great joy, she had brought back the sacred artifact "Dagda''s Magic Cauldron." In thend where natural essence was most concentrated, the Magic Cauldron would unleash its strongestbat power. The Dalu tribe now at least had some means of self-protection.


    In the evening, the Emerald Holy Land held a grand wee celebration.


    The Dalu people sang and danced, weing Mr. Jing as the prophesied Pledged One.


    ....


    Two dayster, at dawn.


    The weather was clear.


    Radiant colors steamed in the Holy Land, persistent and unceasing.


    Chieftains and Druids from dozens of nearby tribes in the Emerald Deep Forest had received the news and gathered in the Holy Land.


    The Holy Land had never been this lively in hundreds of years.


    In front of the massive gray elm Divine Tree, Yuta, dressed in ceremonial robes, stood alone before the Divine Tree, her face solemn as she chanted ancient prayer incantations.


    The pattern on her face was the "God-Given Sacred Pattern," a totem personally bestowed by the gods, which meant she had now be the highest-ranking Grand Druid of the tribe.


    Behind her, the people of the Dalu tribe dressedvishly.


    Arcu''s group of young Druids, with totems painted on their faces, beat stone drums and danced a primal war dance, weing this most important day. The Deer Tribe Chief and the other elders devoutly followed Yuta in chanting prayers passed down through generations.


    Su Lun and Mr. Jing stood not far away as the most honorable guests, observing this ancient ritual ceremony.


    Shortly after, the ceremonial rites in front of the Divine Tree wereplete.


    The main group began to march with great pomp toward the depths of the forest.


    ....


    There is but one tall mountain in the Emerald Holy Land, and midway up its side is pure white snow.


    Lake Gaius lies above the mountainside.


    There stands an altar where, legend says, only those called by the gods may ascend.


    ording to legends passed down from the ancestors of the Dalu tribe, Druids who partake in a baptismal rite at theke will gain power bestowed by the gods and inherit the Grand Druid lineage.


    Yuta, too, had received a divine decree, and this time she was leading her people to the Sacred Lake.


    For the first time in hundreds of years, the Dalu tribe embarked on the pilgrimage to the Sacred Lake.


    The mountain path was rugged, yet the scenery was delightful, a winding stream flowing down from the mountain gully. As they climbed higher, vegetation gradually became scarcer. The small, ck stone-paved path, long-unused over hundreds of years, was now covered with dark green moss. Every so often, totem-carved pirs stood beside the path.


    Su Lun and Mr. Jing, as esteemed guests, walked at the front of the procession.


    The pace of the entourage was slow; the Dalu people took each step with reverence, their prayers solemn.


    The short mountain path took nearly three hours to traverse.


    Before long, everyone stopped beneath an almost vertical rock face.


    Further upy the Sacred Lake.


    Cold mountain winds blew down, and Su Lun felt a slight chill. He looked up but the rock face obstructed his view, hiding any hint of theke.


    The main force halted below the mountain pass, with only Yuta and a host of elders ascending.


    Along with Su Lun and Mr. Jing, who were present as guests.


    ....


    The sheer rock wall was about a hundred meters high, and as soon as they climbed up, the view suddenly widened.


    Su Lun''s gaze was immediately captivated by the sight before him.


    This ce was right below the snow line, where a verdantke came into view.


    Theke was notrge, but the steaming aura over theke surface made it look like a scene filled with fairy-like mist.


    It wasn''t just the natural scenery that Su Lun found overwhelmingly beautiful, but more striking were the two gigantic ck steles above the Sacred Lake!


    Su Lun had not imagined that within the sacred site of the Dalu tribe, akin to an original stone civilization, there would be such magnificent structures.


    Majestic, sacred, grand, mysterious...


    Looking at the carvings on the stele, a surge ofplex and indescribable emotions welled up within him.@@novelbin@@


    Even more astonishing was the peculiar sight behind the steles.


    The two steles, rising a hundred meters, stood like two unfeeling giants, forming the shape of a "gate."


    Su Lun looked intently as the sunlight shone precisely through that "gate."


    Instantly, a cascade of rainbow-colored light dazzled the eyes, aze with splendor.


    It was as if beyond that stone gatey not the world before them, but the gorgeously colorful heavens of myth and legend.


    In that single nce, he witnessed what could be called the most beautiful sight in this world.


    Su Lun squinted slightly, his heart shaking for a long time, as he muttered, "The gods look down upon all creation; is this the view from on high..."


    Mr. Jing, standing beside him, also cast his gaze that way, his crystalline eyes unintentionally shing a strange brilliance.


    This was the scene his father had once described to her, where sunlight descended, bringing with it myriad rays of light from heaven, piercing through the otherworld.


    Indeed, it was so.


    ....


    It was Yuta and the Dalu tribespeople''s first visit to the Sacred Lake.


    They were also the first group of Dalu tribespeople toe in five hundred years.


    Upon witnessing this scene, they were all exhrated, folding their hands together and praying fervently.


    Their ancestors had repeatedly admonished them that this was the ce closest to the divine, and only with enough devotion could they receive a response from the gods.


    After the prayers, everyone remained where they were.


    Yuta alone walked towards the white stone altar beside theke.


    She stepped onto the altar and began a beautifully graceful ritual dance, chanting enigmatic prayers as well.


    Although the altar was hundreds of meters away from the mountain pass, the sound should not have been so clear.


    Yet the prayers from Yuta''s lips grew clearer and clearer in everyone''s ears.


    The sound echoed above the Sacred Lake as if it had prated the "gate of heaven."


    Before long, the rainbow mist above the Sacred Lake grew heavier, and that indescribably mysterious aura intensified.


    Everything seemed to indicate that something was about to happen.


    The Dalu tribespeople looked on in eager anticipation, filled with hope.


    Finally,


    the devout ones received a response from the divine.


    A miracle urred.


    A sudden beam of divine light fell from the heavens above, like the first ray of dawn gracing the world, piercing the darkness. The beam instantly illuminated the entire snow-capped mountain peak, spreading to the entire Emerald Holy Land and stirring the surging natural forces between heaven and earth.


    The world before them became luminous in an instant, everything sharpening into rity.


    Su Lun did not use the All-knowing Eye to investigate what the ray of light was, as it would have been an offensive act to a high deity.


    Although he did not witness the arrival of a deity, he could clearly sense the indescribable will within the light.


    The next moment, Su Lun witnessed another scene he would never forget.


    The light fell,


    Landing upon all the Dalu tribespeople.


    The next instant, a dazzling rainbow brilliance rose from their bodies.


    The confusion in their eyes gradually cleared, bing pure and cool, as if they were filled with wisdom.


    Their momentum grew higher and higher until it reached a critical point,


    And then, they all broke through concurrently!


    Su Lun was astonished by the scene before him.


    He could distinctly sense that the Deer Tribe Chief and Wolf Granny beside him suddenly surged in power, both advancing from the fifth tier directly to the sixth; other elders likewise ascended a full tier. Moreover, the rainbow mist that condensed around them remained for a long time, seemingly containing even more of nature''s secrets.


    What Su Lun found even more puzzling was Yuta, not far away on the altar.


    At that moment, the red totemic glow on her body flourished, and her aura became even more ethereal.


    She danced, she twirled, she prayed...


    By divine grace, the awakened tribespeople of Dalu, who had received the response from the divine, truly revealed their exaggerated potential.

 Chapter 287 King of the North Sea

    Su Lun observed the entire process of the Dalu tribe''s ritual and witnessed the magical moment when they all advanced together.


    It was not just a promotion in rank, but also the continuation of a legacy.


    From that moment on, the Dalu tribe was once again blessed by the gods.


    This meant that the lineage of the Dalu tribe was continued.


    Empowered by divine grace and protected by a faithful god, the number of masters in the Dalu tribe would increase. It was foreseeable that in the near future, the Dalu tribe would gradually regain its former glory.


    Now with Sixth Order professionals, there wouldter be Seventh Order, Eighth Order, and even higher, Great Druids born.


    They truly had a foundation to stand on.


    Su Lun was genuinely happy for them from the bottom of his heart.


    ....


    Su Lun looked at the glowing portal pensively.


    Were deities higher forms of life, simr to "higher-dimensional beings"?


    He had always thought so.


    But upon feeling the descent of the will of the nature god, he felt it wasn''t that simple; it was something beyond the five senses. Although he could not yet understand what he saw, this experience gave him a hint of insight beyond the mundane world.


    Mr. Jing''s face also maintained a thoughtful demeanor all along.


    Standing at her height, she clearly perceived much more.


    ....


    The anomaly at the Sacred Lake plunged the entire Emerald Holy Land into an atmosphere of jubtion.


    Long after, the dazzling, multicolored radiance gradually dissipated, and that mysterious will also vanished behind the heavenly gate. Yet, the people of the Dalu tribe continued to pray devoutly for a long while.


    After the ritual waspleted, the crowd gathered near the altar.


    Therey a ck stone tablet engraved with an oath.


    This was a stone monumentmemorating the pact signed by Sir Isaac and the ancestors of the Dalu tribe a thousand years ago.


    A thousand years ago, that Demigod stood right where Su Lun and Mr. Jing were standing now, and made a vow with the Dalu tribe.


    Now, the crowd once again stood in front of the stone tablet, presenting fresh flowers, announcing that the friendship between humans and the Dalu tribe would endure.


    Shortly after, all the ritualistic aspects werepleted.


    The Deer Tribe Chief and Wolf Granny led a group of elders away from the Sacred Lake.


    Mr. Jing also departed.


    Only Yuta and Su Lun remained.


    Su Lun had another matter to attend to here, which was to draw totems to suppress spiritual anomalies.


    With no one else around, Yuta excitedly called Su Lun to the altar, "Mr. Su Lun,e over here!"


    With her words, the solemn atmosphere immediately dissipated.


    Su Lun too felt much more rxed without the Dalu tribe elders around.


    But when he walked to the altar and saw Yuta reaching out to pull him up, he still asked, "Is this... okay?"


    Previously, the Deer Tribe Chief and no one else could approach the altar, and he also felt that as a human, it might not be appropriate to ascend.


    It was said that only Great Druids summoned by the gods had the right to step on this altar.


    Yuta of course understood what he meant, and said with a smile, "The god will not mind. Besides, it''s permitted by a divine oracle."


    After a pause, she winked and said, "But, you have to take off your shoes."


    When Su Lun heard this, looking at Yuta''s bare feet, he reassuredly took off his shoes as well and stepped up.


    The white stone altar was carved with various mystical motifs.


    In the center was a sun totem with a human face, surrounded by flowers, birds, fish, trees, beasts, mountains, rivers... and everything under the sun.


    Stepping on it barefoot was slightly ufortable.


    Seeing Yuta''s restless little feet, Su Lun knew that her dancing during the ritual must have been somewhat ufortable as well.


    Yuta pulled Su Lun to sit on the altar, her face no longer serious.


    She heaved a big sigh, "Phew... I was so worried that something would go wrong during the ritual. But thankfully, nothing did. Otherwise, I guess I would have been scolded by Wolf Granny again."


    Su Lun couldn''t help but smile and shake his head.


    Even though she was now the highest-ranking "Great Druid" of the Dalu tribe, she still appeared quite afraid of Wolf Granny. Childhood memories indeed run deep.


    The altar was by theke, and standing upon it one could clearly see theke, which was as pristine as emerald.


    Before, from a distance, he hadn''t been able to see clearly, but now, here at theke''s edge, Su Lun realized that theke seemed bottomless.


    He found it somewhat unbelievable and casually asked, "Yuta, how deep is the Sacred Lake?"


    Yuta thought for a moment and replied, "The elders in the tribe say that the Sacred Lake is bottomless. It seems to connect to another dimension."


    Another dimensional gateway?


    Listening to this, Su Lun couldn''t help but take another look, although he didn''t figure anything out.


    He then asked, "Are we going to start drawing the totem now? What should I do?"


    Without the elders around, Yuta appeared very rxed. She gave a slight smile and said offhandedly, "Just take off your shirt."


    Then she took out the materials she had prepared in advance, cing them on the altar while adding, "I will use divine power to draw ''Eclipse''. It might take a long time. It might also be a bit painful. Mr. Su Lun, you should be prepared."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun nodded and sat down cross-legged on the ground.


    Seeing Su Lun sitting so formally, Yuta chuckled, "There''s no need to be so serious. The deity can sense the devotion of its followers, so many formalities... he actually doesn''t mind them..."


    Her words trailed off, and a yfulness appeared on her face for a moment. Likely it was a slight resentment towards the tiresome training Wolf Granny had given her these past few days, as well as theseplicated ritual procedures...


    As she spoke, she had already prepared the necessary materials and then began to pray.


    Before long, a crack once again appeared above the altar, and a beam of multicolored light shone down.


    But this time, unlike before, there was only one beam of light, like a spotlight, illuminating only the altar where Su Lun and Yuta were.


    The multicolored light shone down, making Yuta''s presence seem even more ethereal.


    Su Lun also felt warm andfortable.


    However, as Yuta traced the totem on his body with her sanctified brush, Su Lun immediately felt a slight burning pain as if touched by mes.


    Fortunately, it wasn''t too intense. He calmed his mind and closed his eyes, entering into meditation.


    ....


    The drawing of the totemsted the whole day.


    While Su Lun was still immersed in meditation, Yuta''s voice suddenly broke the silence with a light exmation of triumph, "Done."


    Su Lun opened his eyes and immediately his gaze was drawn to the finished product.


    The totem on his chest was the same ''Eclipse'' he had seen before, a ck sun pattern.


    But it feltpletely different now.


    Before, it merely looked like an ordinary tattoo, but now, he felt as if a zing sun was sealed within the pattern. The ck lines looked like roaring mes, truly magical.


    Su Lun carefully considered his feelings and expressed, "I feel like this totem is alive. Is this what the Deer Tribe Chief meant by ''Spirit of the Totem''?"


    "Yes! Just like my totem~"


    Yuta nodded.


    She also seemed very pleased with her craftsmanship, gently tracing the contours of the totem with her finger, saying, "This is a Sacred Totem, now spirited. From now on, nurture it with your spiritual power, and it will grow along with you."


    Hearing this, joy flickered in Su Lun''s eyes.


    With this totem, wouldn''t he be unlimited in using the Reaper''s Shadow?


    Suddenly changing the subject, Yuta added, "However, being an overflow of mutant spiritual power, it also carries some risks. As the totem''s spirit grows stronger, reaching a certain limit, if you can''t control it, it might overwhelm you. But actually, those negative emotions are also a part of you, just beyond your current control. If used correctly, just like the n Leader said, it can also be a great aid... "


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun listened but didn''t pay it much mind.


    This was already an ideal situation.


    With this totem, for a long time, he didn''t have to worry about the distortion of his spiritual power.


    In that time, it would be enough for him to seek other methods topletely solve the issue.


    Like another lost artifact of the Dalu Tribe, ''Farrel''s Holy Grail'', or as Mr. Jing mentioned, the ''Spring of Youth'' on a remote ind overseas. Or other magical entities. There seem to be plenty of options to fully solve the issue of spiritual distortion, just difficult to find. This world is far more fascinating than it appears, filled with countless wonders.


    Worst case, if he really couldn''t control it, he could always return to the Emerald Holy Land to retire.


    Enjoying the scenery, and Yuta''s beautifulpany, wouldn''t be so bad.


    However, having witnessed the miracle of the Dalu Tribeing upon them, his outlook had shifted somewhat.


    If possible, Su Lun hoped to advance further in the field of Alchemy.


    He wanted to stand at the pinnacle of this world and see the view.


    And perhaps, if it were possible, he wanted to visit other dimensions.


    To see theplete picture of this wonderful world.


    ....


    After the pilgrimage to the Sacred Lake, the entire Dalu tribe was engulfed in an atmosphere of joy.


    Those who had been prepared to move decided to stay. Tribes from the Silent Forest sent their young sessors to be trained as the new generation of Druids.


    Yuta, who had been promoted to "Great Druid," was busy every day aftering down from the Sacred Lake.


    As the only one who couldmunicate with the gods, she needed to convey the divine decrees and teach the knowledge bestowed by the gods to her tribespeople.


    Only at night, when she could rest, did she have time to sneak off to see Su Lun, to talk and be affectionate.


    Mr. Jing was also busy. The ve-hunting activities in the Silent Forest would not bepletely extinguished just because the Unicorn Whale unit had suffered a setback.


    Later, during this half-month period, several tribes also received information about attacks by the ve-hunting groups. Mr. Jing would personally go to these ces and suppress the ve hunters with his imposing power.


    This also led to intelligence that several major ve merchants in Emperor Luying''s capital still posted rewards, inviting one of the "Top Ten Bounty Hunters" toe over to deal with her.


    However, Su Lun didn''t need to worry.


    Mr. Jing wasn''t in a hurry to leave, partly to protect the Dalu tribe and also because the Emerald Holy Land offered a better recovery environment.


    Her current strength was on the brink of breaking through to the eighth tier; whatever bounty hunters came, it was useless.


    Besides, the Dalu tribe truly had divine protection now; they were no longer the weak group that others could beat and squeeze without being able to fight back.


    In the Emerald Holy Land, with divine protection and Yuta''s magical skills, herbat power was beyond ordinary reasoning.


    Even Mr. Jing tantly said that she was very strong.


    If those ve traders from Emperor Luying really assembled arge force toe over, they were likely to be taught a lesson and made to rethink their lives.


    ....


    In this period, Su Lun also stayed in the vige attending sses taught by Yuta, understanding the Divine Arts and cultural heritage of the Dalu tribe.


    Although the Way of Nature and Alchemy were two different fields, their fundamental principles ovepped on some levels.


    After a period of lectures, Su Lun gained immensely. These insights significantly benefited his own cultivation.


    However, Su Lun didn''t n to stay in the Emerald Holy Land for a long time.


    His rank was too low, and many things were beyond his understanding.


    Advancement was his most urgent need.


    He needed to find the heritage of the "Rune Magician" and then use that replica "Original Rune" to create materials for his advancement to the fourth tier.


    Advancement below the sixth tier posed almost no hurdles for Su Lun, and with Isaac''s Alchemical Heart replenishing his dark spiritual power, his state was brimming. He was ready to advance anytime with the right materials.


    Besides, he also wanted to try his luck in Pirate City to see if he could find origins of the spatial gear that belonged to the King of the North Sea. Finding space-rted materials or suitable alchemical gear would greatly fortify hisbat abilities.


    ....@@novelbin@@


    That day, Su Lun met Mr. Jing, who had just returned from outside.


    He was waiting for his senior sister so he could bid her farewell in person before preparing to leave the Emerald Holy Land.


    The two walked through the sacrednd''s forest, apanied by the chirping of birds nearby.


    "You''re nning to go to Pirate City? Hmm... it''s good to take a look. This world consists of more than just the Luying and Mafa empires. The North Sea is vast, hundreds, thousands of timesrger than Luying territory. There are also many human territories and other intelligent species. Alchemists, after all, need to broaden their horizons and observe the myriad things of the world..."


    "When you leave the Silent Forest, you might contact Qiantiao. She has been active near the Blizzard City region recently, and I hear it''s quite lively there. Her temperament is fiery too, so you two might reflect each other well."


    "..."


    Mr. Jing wasn''t surprised by Su Lun''s decision to leave; on the contrary, he strongly supported him traveling around to gain more worldly experience.


    Talking as they walked, they reached the edge of the forest.


    Suddenly remembering something, Mr. Jing turned to Su Lun, revisiting an old topic, "I''ve given some thought to that ''revolutionary army'' proposal you mentioned, and I think it might actually be necessary. Without strong military support, an absolute neutral ground is just an idealist''s dream. So you also need to strive to be stronger. You are my mother''s direct disciple, and rebuilding Dawn City in the future will need our collective effort."


    Hearing these earnest words, Su Lun couldn''t help but show a bittersweet expression, "Hmm."


    Mr. Jing continued, "That''s why I''ve also been considering ns for the future recently. I''ve made some changes to the ns. I sent Emmerich to Emperor Luying''s capital, and the Reyes family followed him there. With the wealth umted in Old Lington and some of my ancestral background, they should be able to establish a major tradingpany soon. Rebuilding Dawn City in the future will also need a great deal of financial support..."


    Listening to this, Su Lun roughly understood Mr. Jing''s intentions.


    The Reyes family, able to be top financiers in the harsh environment of Old Lington, definitely had strong capabilities. Such top business talent would quickly find stability in the surface world.


    Moreover, Mr. Hei was there.


    Thinking of the old man who had helped him many times, Su Lun always pictured those wise and profound eyes.


    Mr. Hei was the most impressive sage Su Lun had met, and very strong in his own right.


    Even among the organization led by his senior sister, he was the foremost figure.


    "Ah, there''s one more thing."


    It was at this point that a rare mischievous gleam shed in Mr. Jing''s eyes.


    After a pause, she added, "Emmerich asked me to tell you, your subus maid also followed him to Emperor Luying''s capital. Emmerich even praised her as a genius in intelligence gathering. So... what I want to say is, your person is now my person too."


    "..."


    Su Lun listened with a slightly strange expression on his face.


    He actually had no long-term ns of his own.


    It was Sabrina herself who wanted to y a role and create an intelligencework for Su Lun, simr to an umbre organization.


    He had nted the willows without intending to, and now it coincidentally matched Mr. Jing''s ns perfectly.


    Now that Mr. Hei and hispanions were joining them, he no longer needed to worry about her safety.


    Su Lun felt it was just right.


    However, the tone of his senior sister seemed a bit teasing?


    ...


    "Okay, I will leave you here."


    "Mhm."


    "Be careful."


    "Okay. You take care too, senior sister."


    ...


    Mr. Jing walked Su Lun to the edge of the sacrednd, concluding their conversation just in time.


    At the end of the forest path, several Dalu tribesmen who had been waiting for a while were present.


    Since Su Lun was leaving, the Deer Tribe Chief naturally arranged for an escort.


    Leading them was a young man from the White Wolf Tribe, none other than Yuta''s brother Arcu.


    As he looked at Su Lun, his first words were, "Mr. Su Lun, my sister said she has ss during the day, so she won''te to see you off."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun turned and nced toward the direction of the northern sacrednds vige, his gaze slightly deep.


    As if responding to his feelings, the wolf w ne around his neck warmed slightly.


    At the same time, in the treehouse of the sacrednd, Yuta was lecturing a group of young Druids. She stood in front of the ckboard, suddenly sensing something, and her pen halted. Then she walked to the window, gazing at the southern skies'' rosy light, corners of her mouth lifting into a gentle curve as she whispered softly, "Mr. Su Lun, take care... until we meet again."


    Su Lun nodded towards Arcu, "Mhm."


    The party moved swiftly through the jungle.


    ....


    During Su Lun''s time in the Silent Forest, a "major event" urred in the North Sea that shook the world.


    That was the sudden recognition of the King of the North Sea''s royal legitimacy by the Mafa Empire and the announcement of diplomatic rtions between the two nations.


    This initially sounded utterly absurd.


    It was so because, on the "North Sea Kingdom''s" sea map, most of thebellednd belonged to the territory of the Luying Empire. Supposedly, if there were to be an enfeoffment, it should be an affair of the Luying royal family. However, Luying would never acknowledge the legitimacy of a groupprising savages and pirates.


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    Yet, because of this secret decree, the situation in the North Sea suddenly became turbulent and chaotic.


    Although Luying did not acknowledge it, it did not hinder the pirates'' celebrations.


    The noble ss in Luying was solidified, with almost no chance for new top-tier nobility to emerge.


    But now, an exception had appeared.


    Oleg suddenly transformed from a pirate leader to a "king"-level top-tier noble. This showed numerous great pirates and conspirators a "new route."


    Inspired by this, countless new pirate groups were established; rookie pirates eagerly boarded ships, flooding into that vast blue sea...


    They boldly plundered passing merchant ships, attacking various Luying territories in the North Sea, all striving for dominance.


    With high-end military equipment secretly supported by the Mafa Empire, the fleet of the King of the North Sea even annihted several navy forces sent by Luying officials to quell the uprising.


    For a time, there was no equal in prominence.


    The turmoil in the North Sea even caused pirates from the West Sea and South Sea to join in the revelry.


    The era proimed by pirates as the "Great Pirate Era" had arrived.


    ....


    Several dayster, Su Lun returned to Blizzard City.


    This human city "Blizzard City," located on the edge of the Silent Forest, had beenpletely upied by pirates.


    Upon entering the city, he immediately heard another startling piece of news¡ªthat the Ninth Fleet of the King of the North Sea had been annihted!


    Surprisingly, the force that annihted the Ninth Fleet was not the Luying official navy, but Duke Raphael''s fleet.


    Oleg''s im to kingship had thrown the northernnds into chaos.


    Duke Raphael, a sea territory lord who had always kept a low profile, revealed his substantial hiddenbat strength for the first time!

 Chapter 288 The Gambling Addict Young Woman Revisited

    ```


    "King of the North Sea" Oleg suddenly being crowned king, this news, upon first hearing it, took Su Lun by surprise.


    But after giving it some thought, he no longer found anything astonishing about it.


    Two great empires at war, forming distant alliances and striking nearby.


    Mafa''s move would bring endless trouble to the rear of Luying.


    This tactic was like what Su Lun saw in his previous life from America, distributing some military equipment and economic support to regional military organizations. Without dispatching a single soldier, they could cause persistent turmoil in a region. This not only brought trouble to their rivals but also garnered a continuous stream of war dividends.


    Moreover, the situations at sea and onnd were entirely different.


    Those pirates, though not qualified to sh with a great empire head-on.


    If they couldn''t beat them, they would flee.


    One could foresee that this newly crowned "King of the North Sea" would be a persistent problem for the giant that is Luying for many years toe.


    Irremovable, incurable.


    Even the origin of this decree of kingship, Su Lun had guessed.


    He finally understood what condition Mafa''s men had put forward at Gadronte Harbor to acquire the "Super Mechanical Warrior blueprints."


    When remembering the blueprints, it was no longer surprising to hear about Duke Raphael''s obliteration of the King of the North Sea''s ninth fleet.


    It was most likely retaliation for the previous piging incident at Old Lington.


    A duke piged by pirates naturally wanted to retaliate.


    Compared to pirates bing kings, Su Lun was more concerned about the disy of power by Duke Raphael.


    The fleets under the King of the North Sea were strong. Fleet captains were usually sixth or seventh-tier big pirates, the real top fighters. For instance, the fourth fleet that once raided Old Lington boasted two sixth-tiers and more than ten fifth-tier squad leaders with over ten thousand pirates, which truly had the capacity to overrun somerge territories.


    But sadly, they misjudged Duke Raphael''s strength.


    When Su Lun thought about the steel battleship he once saw, which was an extreme exaggeration, it wasn''t something any pirate fleet could sink - a super battleship.


    Old Lington''s malformed industrial society enabled Duke Raphael to possess many technologies far beyond the times. Technological levels were much higher than the average within the Luying Empire, and even in areas such as "Neuro-Mechanical Technology," they surpassed even Mafa Empire, known as the Mechanical Holy Land.


    Yet, with such a strong foundation, Su Lun gleaned from the extracted memories that Duke Raphael was a marginal figure in the top echelons of Luying''s power center.


    Su Lun had his doubts about why.


    But only when he saw the young master William from the Rega family appear on that steel giant did he understand that those who be great lords are all deep and cunning old foxes.


    This was a true crocodile lurking beneath the surface, and the league had gained an ambitious member.


    Its purpose was now crystal clear.


    However, Su Lun had no interest in the power struggles among the higher lords.


    Now that the North Sea was in chaos, he also wanted to see if he could fish in troubled waters.


    .....


    Two months ago, when Su Lun came to Blizzard City, the city was orderly.


    As the only human city near Silent Forest, it attracted numerous merchants and adventurers. Because of this,mercial activity in the city thrived. Although there were quite a few pirates around, everyone tacitly epted the city''s no-weapons rules because this was a base for pirates to dispose of their loot and resupply.


    But things were different now, with Oleg being crowned, pirates fell into revelry, and the original order was broken.


    All legitimate businesses in Blizzard City were looted, and no normal merchants darede by. The once prosperous Blizzard City became deste and dpidated in an instant.


    Today''s weather was not too good, the sky a leaden gray, andrge snowkes fell from the sky.


    In the city, most shops were empty, and from the broken doors, windows, and walls you could see the remnants of the recent fierce looting.


    There were no city guards anymore, and the umted snow, which had not been cleared, was several meters high.


    On the main street, there was only a small path trampled by pedestrians that was passable.


    Su Lun, dressed in a ck trench coat, walked out of an informant''s pub, holding a ck umbre, with a crow perched on his shoulder.


    "Seems like I''ve been put on the wanted list..."


    As Su Lun walked, he mulled over in his mind.


    He had just gone to the pub to gather some information and had learned about some of thetest news from the outside world.


    Su Lun also paid special attention to news about himself.


    As expected, he was wanted.


    Both pirates and Luying''s ve traders had ced a bounty on the "Gold-Patterned Cloak man."


    Mr. Jing''s bounty was the highest, reaching ten billion liso, which was already the bounty level of a sixth-tier big pirate.


    ```


    He, Su Lun, ranked second, with a bounty of 188 million Lixos.


    However, the good news was, the wanted poster only had descriptions of a Gold-Patterned Cloak and his puppetry ability, without any other details.


    Other members of the Mirror Organization were also keeping a low profile, with almost no news about them.


    "Now, once I use my powers, I''ll have to eradicate all witnesses..."


    Thinking of something, Su Lun smacked his lips and didn''t take it to heart.


    With such vague descriptions on the wanted poster, he felt it would be difficult for anyone to target him if he remained cautious.


    Walking through the snow, he followed his memory towards the entertainment district of the eastern city, nning to make a trip to the agreed-upon "Sailor Tavern."


    He had contacted Qian Tiao yesterday, considering the time, she should have already arrived in Blizzard City.


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    Su Lun was going to meet her first.


    One reason was to catch up on old times.


    The other was that Qian Tiao said she had news about "Rune Warlock."


    The number of pedestrians on the street was small, not like the times when wealthy merchants and noblewomen used to shop. Now, even if there were pedestrians, they were mostly in groups; they were likely either pirates or fully armed adventurers. Their expressions were hurried, and no one dared to linger on the streets.


    As he walked, Su Lun realized a few menacing gazes were fixed on him.


    He wasn''t surprised in the slightest.


    Last night at the inn, he had killed two groups of thieves who snuck in at midnight.


    The most outrageous part was that neither his killings nor the deaths of those guys caused any excessive reaction from anyone.


    After the bodies were discovered, the owner, patiently holding a musket, skillfully threw them into the alley behind the inn, where they froze into ice pops in the snow.


    Blizzard City was now a ce of utter disorder.


    Robbery, revenge killings, and rape were all toomon.


    Before long, only a few sounds of cats scurrying were heard, and the snow in the alley concealed three still-warm bodies.


    Without drawing any attention, Su Lun covered his face again with his scarf and stepped back out, wandering into the snowstorm.


    ....


    When Su Lun returned to Blizzard City, a fleet that had left Blizzard City nearly half a month ago was about to arrive at Gadronte Harbor.


    Among the fleet was an inconspicuous three-masted ship.


    Yet no one knew that the interior of this ship was extraordinarily luxurious.


    In the captain''s room, brilliant crystal lights illuminated the space, pure gold and silver instruments on the mahogany navigator''s table glinted. Embroidered on the tablecloth''s corners were noble crests of tulips and eagles belonging to the Lans family, a prominent ruler of six northern provinces, and this was their secret ship.


    A breathtakingly beautiful girl with purple hair was currently standing in front of the wall hung with North Sea naval charts,zily examining the densely marked coordinates.


    In her arms, she also held an equally lethargic long-haired white cat.


    At the door of the captain''s room stood an old butler with downcast eyes, reporting something, "Miss, our arrangements left in Blizzard City have mostly been destroyed by those pirates. Those pirates have great ambitions and seem to be intent on eradicating all powers in the North Sea that don''t belong to them. Mafa has also transported arge amount of military equipment over with submarine irond ships. It seems they are preparing to build a mechanical fleet for those pirates. The threat to us in the future... may be substantial..."


    Hearing this, the purple-haired girl showed no surprise and continued to look at the sea chart.


    The old butler waited patiently.


    After pondering for a moment, as if she found interest in speaking, the girl finally spoke, her response indifferent, "Let those Viking pirates have a taste of power, then. Heh, they really think bing a ruler is as easy as being a pirate? Capturing territory is easy, but what about afterward? Being a pirate without constraints is one thing, but once they start ying politics in the open, those pirates aren''t even fit to carry shoes for the parliament''s old foxes."


    She paused, then added, "Pirates will always be pirates, nothing noteworthy beyond their brute force. They''ll quiet down after stirring trouble for a while."


    The old butler then said, "Miss, does that mean... we should pull our people back?"


    "No."


    The purple-haired girl shook her head, her beautiful purple eyes sparkling with insight, "With the North Sea being so lively, how can we not enjoy the spectacle? If we really withdrew, Mafa''s ns would go too smoothly. With so much the family has invested in the North Sea over the years, we can''t let others reap the fruits..."


    The old butler asked, "Then we...?"


    The purple-haired girl said with a meaningful tone, "It''s not asplicated as you think. We don''t need to confront those pirates head-on at all."


    She continued, "Most pirates can''t even do mathematics. They don''t even know how to set tax rates, let alone understand economics. Even if they loot wealth, they only know how to hoard and let it rot in their private vaults, oblivious to the uses of a bank. Since theyck such talents, we might as well provide them. Weren''t there still some survivors from thest ''Fog Moon Rebellion''? Now would be the perfect time to put them to use, send them over."


    Coming to a thought, the purple-haired girl took a pause.


    Her gaze narrowed slightly, and she said in a deeper tone, "That Oleg thinks he can be a lord, so let''s help him be one..."


    The old butler, catching on to the true cunning of the strategy, flickered a moment of astonishment, then nodded respectfully, "Yes."


    After a pause, he added, "Oh, Miss. There''s another piece of news."


    Before the purple-haired girl could inquire, he stated outright, "Duke Rafael''s patrol fleet encountered Oleg''s Ninth Fleet near the Berman Archipgo five days ago. Arge battle ensued, and the pirate fleet was annihted. It''s said that Duke Rafael has mastered a very advanced warship technology and now possesses an irond fleet whose strength is uncertain but might be stronger than the Imperial Navy..."


    Hearing this, the purple-haired girl finally raised an eyebrow.


    She did not seem surprised, merely sighed and said, "Not just us, everyone in the empire had underestimated that nouveau riche."


    Despite some officials being reced year after year, the noble social stratum at the top of the Luying Empire had long be rigid. The wealth umted by the great nobles over hundreds of years was simply unimaginable for ordinary people.


    They controlled everything.


    Parliament seats, banks, social resources, wealth, poption, were in fact all in the hands of those few top families. Whichever way they were shuffled, it was still their people.


    As long as Luying did not copse, there would be almost no major changes in the overall pattern.


    Therefore, under normal circumstances, even if a newly risen noble struggles, they could at most sip some soup but must not think about eating the meat.


    Should someone dare harbor thoughts of eating the meat, they would immediately be strangled in the cradle by those big shots.


    However, technology was an exception.@@novelbin@@


    Before this, no one knew that steam machinery technology would develop so rapidly, nor did they know its potential would be so immense.


    Duke Raphael operated quietly for three generations and overtook on the curve.


    An entirely isted mine had also created such conditions for them.


    By the time the empire''s bigwigs truly reacted, everything was beyond retrieval.


    ....


    The old butler said thus far, then asked, "Miss, shall we try to make contact? We''ve just received news that all the major lords, a few from the parliament, and even some from the royal family have extended olive branches to Duke Raphael..."


    The purple-haired girl remained calm and spoke evenly, "It''s toote to go now. Since Duke Raphael dares to show his hand now, he must already have something to rely on. Going now would not benefit us."


    The old butler wore a worried expression and said, "If the rumors are true, wouldn''t we be passive by not making contact?"


    "My over-eager older and second brothers are probably already on their way. We don''t need to join the excitement," she said, entirely indifferent.


    The purple-haired girl continued with a nonchnt look, "Besides, it''s not a rumor. I''ve already obtained concrete intelligence that Duke Raphael has mastered many top-secret technologies, right there in ''Old Lington'' underground."


    Upon hearing this, the butler''s eyebrows rxed, and he suddenly said, "So the youngdy had already made arrangements. I''ve spoken out of turn."


    The girl''s tone shifted again, and she continued, "Instead of going directly to Rafael, that slippery old fox, it''s better to start with the Regatti family. It seems, now, that these two families have already be very close."


    The butler immediately understood, "Are you referring to the matter of a marriage alliance?"


    A thought urred to him, his eyebrows twisted, showing hesitation, and after a moment he said, "Previously, news came from the Regatti side expressing a willingness to align through marriage but not with the legitimate eldest son. But it seems there''s been someplication recently, and their attitude is ambiguous again..."


    The purple-haired girl chuckled, clearly in the know, "That''s because they think that all offsprings from the concubines should be killed, and the n elders are reluctant to let the eldest son marry. Heh... after all, my ssmate William is very proud and wants to hold everything in his own hands."


    As she spoke, a flicker of realization crossed her eyes.


    But before that spark of light could arouse any emotional turbulence, it hadpletely dissipated.


    Her tone was distinctly indifferent as she said, "Sometimes, the eldest son may not necessarily be the best choice."


    The butler did not understand why his young mistress had suddenly changed her mind, but as if grasping something, he asked, "Miss, how should we reply to the Regatti side then? Should the marriage alliance be canceled?"


    "No, of course, the marriage must proceed. It''s an indispensable part of the family''s grand n..."


    The purple-haired girl appeared to lose interest in listening further and waved her hand, "You don''t need to worry about this matter, I have my own arrangements."


    "Yes."


    The butler assented and decisively withdrew.


    ....


    After the riot, nearly all regr shops in the city were closed.


    But taverns, pleasure houses, and gambling dens¡ªthese necessary venues for pirates'' daily entertainment¡ªwere busier than ever.


    When Su Lun arrived at the "Sailor Tavern," it was already packed to the brim.


    It used to be a secret meeting ce for pirate captains in Blizzard City, now it was open to all, and its size had increased several times over.


    "Nine! Nine! Nine!"


    "Big! Big! Big!"


    "Oh, give me a good hand, bust this damn dealer!"


    "..."


    Hearing the raucous noise, a sense of familiarity welled up within Su Lun.


    The sounds of slot machines, moring voices, and crude curses resonated together.


    Pirates were nearly all gamblers, drunkards, and the tavern was the liveliest ce.


    After contacting him with themunicator, Chris had already arrived.


    Su Lun did not find anyone in the tavern''s seating area on the first floor, and instinct told him that the gambling-addicted woman was probably sitting at a gambling table downstairs.


    As expected.


    Just as Su Lun descended the staircase, he caught sight of that energetically handsome face at a high-roller table in a small hall.


    She was sitting with her legs wide apart at the gambling table, with a young girl wearing a long face and hugging a katana beside her.


    Looking at the katana, Su Lun recognized it as her own weapon.


    He was very curious when she started having a girl following her around, but before he could greet her, the girl holding the sword was earnestly advising, "Captain, are you going to gamble again... If we lose more, we won''t have enough money to buy supplies when we go ashore..."


    Although spoken softly, Su Lun heard every word clearly, and a wry smile spread across his lips.


    The gambling-addicted woman hadn''t changed one bit.


    Back when she was an officer at the Cross Society, she would often lose everything but her pockets, relying entirely on her gang members to get by. Now that she was a pirate captain, it seemed her old habits persisted.


    But, there was something fishy with this card game.


    ncing at the croupier''s dealing technique, Su Lun''s pupils narrowed slightly.


    He didn''t believe for a second that Sister Qian hadn''t noticed the scam.


    This... seemed to be the rhythm of someone stirring trouble?


    Su Lun couldn''t help but smile slightly, and he walked over.


    Sister Qian had obviously noticed him, but she didn''t greet him.


    The girl beside her took out thest stack of banknotes from her pocket, still anxiously advising, "Captain, this is all the money we have left, please be more careful with your bets..."


    Sister Qian just slightly lifted the corner of her mouth, took the money, and interrupted her, saying meaningfully, "Your captain is about to turn her luck around."


    The girl pursed her lips, muttering discontentedly, "You always say that, but you always lose..."


    Su Lun almostughed out loud upon hearing this.


    He also pretended not to know her and casually took a seat at the table.


    Only then did he clearly see that Sister Qian wasn''t wearing her kimono anymore, but had switched to the iconic pirate captain''s attire.


    A deer leather tricorne hat with a silver skull decoration on the brim; knee-high leather boots covering the calves; a gothic-style leather skirt for easy fighting; a linen shirt revealing her cleavage; a brownish cape with gold fringe epaulettes on her shoulders; a katana hanging at her waist, and inside the scabbard, there were three traditional pirate flintlocks.


    However, the clothes seemed to have not been washed for a long time, and her messy style was exactly like a pirate''s.


    Su Lunughed slightly in his heart, thinking: This gambling-addicted woman got into the role of a pirate captain very quickly after reachingnd.


    ...


    Su Lun sat down, and the game continued.


    It was still Texas Hold''em Poker.


    This kind of gambling could make one rich quickly but could also drain thest penny from a gambler''s pocket.


    Because the game was rigged, Sister Qian lost herst stack of money too.


    Su Lun, with his variety of gambling techniques, saw through their cheating strategies at a nce.


    In this round, after two cards were dealt, Sister Qian ran out of money to raise the bet. As everyone waited for her toe up with more cash, she suddenly mmed the sword that the youngss was holding onto the gambling table, and shouted fiercely, "I bet this!"


    Instantly, the atmosphere at the gambling table turned cold.


    The pirate across from her, wearing an eyepatch, also looked like a captain.


    This guy was also the biggest winner of this round.


    Hearing her words, a hint of unease clearly shed in his eyes, and he said viciously, "Hey hey hey... what do you mean by that? Lost your money and now looking for trouble? This is Chris''s gambling den, think carefully..."


    At this point, a bunch of other pirates also started to make a ruckus, ready to start a fight at the drop of a hat.


    Su Lun could tell that most of the men at this table were from Cyclops''s crew.


    Sister Qian sneered, "I bet this sword on the croupier having another ''A'' up her sleeve!"


    The female croupier''s poker face wasn''t that good, getting caught cheating at a pirates'' gambling table usually meant at the very least a broken hand or foot. Hearing that usation, fear clearly shed across her face.


    Cyclops''s eye twitched as he heard this, not giving anyone a chance to make a scene, he was the first to p the table fiercely, "What the hell are you talking about!"


    With a "bang," coins and cards scattered on the table, and suddenly, the whole gambling den fell silent.


    The croupier saw her chance and instantly tried to shake off the hidden card in themotion.


    But at that moment, the dark muzzle of a gun was suddenly pointed at the croupier''s head.


    "Move an inch, and I''ll blow your head off," someone dered.


    The crowd turned to see Su Lun holding the gun with a yful look on his face, "I''ll also bet that there is a card in your right sleeve."

 Chapter 289 The Great Sun Bathhouse

    This table was set up by the high rollers themselves.


    The stakes, the rules, and the croupier were all decided by the gamblers. The gambling house didn''t interfere in any matter, only taking amission.


    Su Lun looked at the stacks of cash on the table that resembled bricks, probably amounting to over ten million.


    There were a total of six gamblers, besides Su Lun himself and one other, the other four were all together.


    Looking at their practiced techniques, some cheated while others covered or stirred up trouble, it was obviously not their first time doing this.


    They probably thought of the other as an addicted gambler, an easy mark.


    The big sister figure could afford to lose money, but she couldn''t afford to be made a fool of.


    Su Lun pressed his handgun against the croupier''s forehead and watched her with interest, and said, "I''ll count to three, show your sleeves, or I''ll blow your head off."


    Su Lun wasn''t just making an empty threat.


    He was truly daring enough to shoot and kill.


    "One!"


    "Two!"


    "..."


    The croupier, intimidated by his fierce killing aura, turned pale, her forehead already breaking out in cold sweat. Under such pressure, she inadvertently looked towards the mastermind behind her for help.


    Seeing things falling apart, Cyclops, beside her, suddenly flipped the table while shouting, "You motherfucker, looking for trouble because you lost money, huh?"


    Clearly, he was ying dumb.


    With the table flipped, cards and bills flew everywhere.


    Now, catching the cheat was impossible.


    Taking advantage of themotion from flipping the table, the croupier also disposed of the cards. Discarding the "evidence," she felt relieved and suddenly became defiant, looking at Su Lun triumphantly and shing a mocking smile as if to say, What can you do to me now?


    Pirates don''t reason much; whoever has the bigger fist is thew.


    This Cyclops was not someone to mess with.


    Seeing the boss flip the table, the group of pirates around Cyclops drew their weapons, ready to fight. Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire


    "Boss, this woman is clearly picking a fight, let''s get her!"


    "Yeah, if she can''t handle losing, she shouldn''t disgrace herself at the gambling table! Fucking bitch!"


    "Hahaha..."


    Not only did the group flip the table, but they also cursed.


    In pirate speak, there''s no such thing as verbal decency; they swear whatever ugly wordse to mind.


    ....


    Su Lun watched, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. Although he wasn''t intimidated by these people, he hesitated on whether it was worth starting a fight.


    Killing these people wouldn''t be difficult.


    But after all, this ce was a pirate''s den. Causing a big disturbance might be difficult to settle afterward.


    He, being alone, wasn''t much troubled about it.


    But now that one other was a pirate captain, if things became uncontroble, it might be difficult for her in the future.


    However, just as Su Lun had this hesitant thought, a gunshot suddenly exploded beside his ear.


    "Bang."


    The croupier, who was unting just moments ago, had her head blown open like a smashed watermelon, with crimson tissue sttering everywhere before everyone''s eyes.


    The entire room was stunned on the spot.


    Su Lun nced sideways and saw it was the stoic one other who had fired the shot.


    Her fiery temper leading to violence wasn''t surprising.


    What intrigued Su Lun was that one other, who never used guns, seemed rather proficient?


    However, watching her fire the gun, Su Lun''s eyes narrowed slightly, and a dangerous gleam appeared, his heart also stirring with anticipation: Tsk tsk... this is getting exciting.


    In that instant of the gunshot, the young girl beside one other suddenly drew her sword.


    "ng."


    The sharp longsword was unsheathed, and a cold gleam shed across the gambling hall.


    With the sword in hand, the girl, who just had a soft and tender face, suddenly became stern and fearless.


    "Huh... is she an apprentice you''ve taken in?"


    Su Lun looked at the girl whose demeanor had drastically changed, realizing why she was apanying one other and holding her sword.


    Just by watching the situation, Su Lun knew she was a promising swordsman.


    Standing there, she herself seemed like an unsheathed sword, exuding sharpness.


    ....


    The moment one other fired the gun, it was as if a signal had been sent.


    Suddenly, intense footsteps ttered from the stairwell entrance.


    Groups of sumo wrestlers with mboyant tattoos charged down.


    Su Lun found them very familiar. Weren''t these the capable leaders brought out by the Cross Society?


    Afterward, about twenty to thirty fearsome people followed, each with furrowed brows and imposing demeanors. Among them were three seemingly naive yet unusually burly ice giants.


    "Captain!"


    "Captain!"


    "..."


    The crowd reached the gambling hall and positioned themselves behind Thousand des Rakshasa.


    In an instant, her isted situation was bolstered.


    What was once a one-against-many scenario suddenly showed signs of a group beating.


    Although these neers were not of very high rank, mostly second or third tier, their presence was intimidating. The severity in their expressions resembled that of diators indifferent to life or death.


    Su Lun had seen too many of such people at the gambling stalls of the Cross Society, and he was familiar with this temperament.


    Seeing this, a glint of curiosity passed through his eyes; it appeared that Thousand des Rakshasa''s pirate gang had reached such a scale.


    Upon seeing these people, Su Lun felt his involvement was no longer needed, so he holstered his gun and stepped aside to enjoy the show.


    Though, from the beginning, this group had never troubled Thousand des Rakshasa anyway.


    ....


    Suddenly, someone died. If this had been any other gambling stall, the gamblers would probably have scattered in fright by now.


    But this ce was a nest of pirates.


    Those coarse old men with yellow teeth and beauties tattooed with anchors on their arms were not frightened by the gunfire; instead, they gathered around to join in the excitement.


    As they watched Cyclops''s group being overwhelmed by Thousand des Rakshasa and her crew, some began to jeer.


    "Hahaha... ''Cyclops,'' you''re scared by a woman? Don''t be a wimp, fuck it up!"


    "Shush, don''t fucking stir things up. Haven''t you heard of that one''s reputation?"


    "''Cyclops'' Soke? I know him..."


    "I''m talking about the other one!"


    "You mean that woman is someone significant?"


    "You haven''t heard of ''Thousand des Rakshasa''? I didn''t recognize her at first, but now that I see the Giant Three Brothers..."


    "Hiss... The female sword fighter from the new Dawn Pirate Gang? The one who supposedly overturned a whole ship of the great ver Yujins by herself, killing everyone brutally?"


    "Yep!"


    "..."


    The crowd engaged in hushed whispers, revealing the background of both parties.


    Now, even those who didn''t recognize Thousand des Rakshasa immediately knew her.


    Then a collective gasp was heard.


    Su Lun stood among the crowd listening to the fragmented conversations, and he realized that in a short time at sea, Sister Thousand des'' notoriety had be quite prominent.


    A female sword fighter?


    Tsk tsk...


    Hearing the gossipy crowd''s exnations, Su Lun also learned that the other party was from the "Iron Crocodile Pirate Gang."


    Their captain, ''Cyclops'' Soke, was a fourth-tier with a bounty of over ten million.


    He wasn''t very famous though, Su Lun had only vaguely heard the name before.


    ....


    Cyclops glimpsed the group behind Thousand des Rakshasa, now realizing they were not so easy to bully. After hearing the whispered hints, he understood he had messed with a fierce woman.


    But now in a difficult position, he could only stubbornly say, "Hey, what do you mean by this?"


    Thousand des Rakshasa coldly replied, "Did you really think I''m foolish? Can''t you see that you''re cheating?"


    Cyclops, looking at the croupier whose head had exploded on the floor, scoffed coldly, "You''re fucking using me out of nowhere? What evidence do you have that I''m cheating? You''ve killed the croupier, I could say you''re just picking a fight!"


    Thousand des Rakshasa gave him no room for excuses or thoughts of reasoning.


    She cut to the chase, "You have two choices, follow the rules of the underworld andpensate, or deal with my sword!"


    "You''re threatening me?"


    Cyclops''s eyelids twitched violently, and his gaze grew icier.


    Although he hadn''t met them before, he had heard of several new notorious yers from the North Sea, including one who yed with crows, one who tinkered with machines, and this ''Thousand des Rakshasa.'' None were pushovers.


    The sword in her hand wasn''t just for show; she was truly a killer.


    Cheating was cheating, but no evidence was found. After all, Cyclops was a somewhat famous pirate captain. If he were to back down now, he couldn''t continue mixing it up at sea. His temper red, and he suddenly burst out, "Fuck it!"


    With thatmand, the entire gambling hall instantly erupted into chaos.


    Muskets fired wildly, swords shed erratically.


    This was just daily life for pirates, if you don''tply, you fight.


    Infighting among pirate crews for dominance and ruthlessness was all toomon.


    Robbery and brawls were normal, all lived by the edge of the de with nows to abide by, relying solely on strength to make their point.


    Might makes right.


    This was also the only rule of survival for a pirate.


    Just like King Oleg of the North Sea, invincible and thus crowned; those who couldn''t defeat him simply took a detour around him.


    Bang, bang, bang...


    Thud, thud, thud...


    Pirates fighting had no particr method, just chaotic melees.


    Su Lun too was in a corner, asionally firing a sneaky shot.


    However, after seeing the methods of that Cyclops, he finally realized why that person wanted to meet in this tavern.


    It turned out it wasn''t just her gambling addiction ring up, but also because of this fellow.


    "A Rune Magician? So I''ve encountered one already..."


    Su Lun watched as the Cyclops bit his own finger and then drew a mysterious pattern on his face, suddenly bright golden mysterious runes lit up all over his exposed skin.


    Together with his crocodile skin armor, this fellow became impervious to des and guns.


    Bullets sparked off him without leaving a mark.


    He could even catch the long sword shes of Thousand des Rakshasa with his bare hands!


    It wasn''t just the defensive "Earth Rune"; the color of the runes on his skin changed, and there were variations of "Fire Rune" and "Wind Rune"...


    The biggest characteristic of the Rune Magician lineage was to treat the body as a cursed object under preparation, engraving runes into skin, bones, and flesh, achieving the effect of a "human curse object".@@novelbin@@


    ....


    Two pirate Captains, theirbat equally matched.


    The crews too, fought life and death battles.


    Endlessly intense.


    But Su Lun, the "third party," seemed rather inactive, just hiding among the crowd firing asional shots, avoiding getting too involved. This also led to scornful looks from the spectators.


    However, what others didn''t know, Su Lun knew very well.


    Thousand des Rakshasa was strong enough not to need his concern.


    She hadn''t even used her second stage Rakshasa powers, so she clearly wasn''t fighting seriously.


    The fight was so fierce because Su Lun knew, she probably wanted him to clearly understand the opponent''s rune abilities.


    After watching for a while, Su Lun confirmed, this was what he was looking for.


    "It''s indeed a lineage of the Rune Magician. However, the level seems a bitcking..."


    Su Lun murmured in his mind.


    He was searching for the lineage that could craft the "Imitated Original Runes," a high-level skill. But from this guy''s understanding of runes showcased, he was still far off.


    However, he did have a lead now.


    Since this guy was from the Rune Magician lineage, from him, he should be able to find out where this lineage originated.


    As Su Lun pondered, he asionally fired a few shots.


    ....


    As the two pirate crews were fighting fervently, in another tavern not far from the Sailor''s Tavern, a group of brawny men who still exposed their chests despite the cold weather were drinking.


    They were Vikings.


    The leader, named "Whaler Chris," a captain of the third team in the seventh fleet under King Oleg of the North Sea, was a Great Pirate with a bounty over a hundred million.


    Stormwind City had already been breached by the pirates, and the spoils divided, naturally King Oleg''s men took the lion''s share. They had also dispatched such a team captain to oversee this location.


    "Boss Chris, there''s trouble brewing over at Sailor''s Tavern. ''Iron Crocodile Crew'' and ''Dawn Crew'' have started fighting."


    "Never heard of them... a new crew that recently went to sea?"


    "The captain of the ''Iron Crocodile Crew'' is the son of Rune Old Man, Sok."


    "Ah, that guy, he seems a bit familiar... What happened?"


    "Apparently, Sok was caught cheating at cards. The other party is that notorious neer ''Thousand des Rakshasa.''"


    "Heh, let them fight if it''s just over a game of cards. Just remember to have the losers reimburse the damages."


    "..."


    ....


    As it turned out, Thousand des Rakshasa''s side was indeed much more formidable.


    Su Lun guessed correctly; her crew, including those three giants, were indeed diatorial ves rescued during a previous raid on a ve ship.


    diators in Emperor Luying''s Empire were ves, and even if they escaped, without a household registry, they couldn''t settle anywhere in any Luying territory. Even if they hid and kept a low profile, returning to a normal life was difficult, and they were always at risk of being captured again.


    So, most of them followed Thousand des Rakshasa and became pirates.


    Theirbat prowess was naturally exceptional.


    But what surprised Su Lun even more was that little girl.


    Previously appearing genteel, she chopped people up like a "Little Thousand des."


    A ten-year-old girl had managed to kill several in a group of grown men, her clothes sttered with fresh blood.


    The oue was also very satisfactory.


    Thousand des Rakshasa had been hiding her true strength to control the scene, and with Su Lun sniping from the side, that "Iron Crocodile Pirate Group" was defeated step by step.


    In the end, the Cyclops was nearly chopped to death in the chaos before he finally surrendered and agreed topensate.


    ....


    Before long, Thousand des Rakshasa and her group walked out of the now-ruined sailor''s bar, heads held high.


    In the pirate world, winning a fight means you are right.


    Thousand des Rakshasa spotted Su Lun waiting in a nearby alley, exchanged nces, and smiled faintly.


    Turning to her crew members, she boisterously eximed, "Lolota, distribute thepensation money to the brothers. Everyone, have a great time and drink up. Keep an eye on themunicator, we sail in five days!"


    The crowd cheered joyfully, "Alright! Captain is mighty!"


    The little girl with the ponytail, holding the handles of several knives, returned to her genteel demeanor, resembling the captain''s personal steward. She took out thepensation money they had received and handed it to everyone.


    The crew members dispersed amid high spirits, heading off to spend their money on drinks.


    Thousand des Rakshasa led the small aide along the snow-covered streets.


    Along the way, the ponytailed girl counted on her fingers the remaining money, meticulously calcting. After careful ounting, she found a significant shortfall. She then cast a somber gaze at her captain and said, "Master, shouldn''t we save some reserve money? Our ship needs maintenance, the sails need recing, there are many ces requiring money..."


    Thousand des Rakshasa dismissed the concern, "We are pirates, you know~ money wille!"


    "But..."


    The ponytailed girl wanted to say more, but the sword she carried slipped and fell, forcing her to quickly pick it up, looking somewhat flustered.


    At that moment, they happen to pass by the mouth of an alley.


    Leaning against the wall, Su Lun greeted with a smile, "Long time no see, Sister Thousand des."


    Seeing a familiar face brought joy to both of their faces.


    Thousand des Rakshasa casually hooked her arm around Su Lun''s shoulders, "Come on, let''s go somewhere else to catch up."


    Su Lun, his arm sinking into a soft embrace, couldn''t help butugh and cry at the same time.


    The ponytailed girl behind them watched their intimately casual demeanor, her expression nk.


    Only then did she realize that the helpful gunman was actually an old acquaintance of her teacher?


    .....


    There weren''t many ces still open for chatting in Blizzard City,


    apart from hotels, bars, and brothels.


    Not in the mood for drinking, and having gambled enough already, Thousand des Rakshasa directly led Su Lun to a building booming with the sound of steam chimneys.


    A sign hanging at the entrance read "Great Day Bathhouse."


    Thousand des Rakshasa''s three great loves were practicing with des, soaking in baths, and gambling.


    Having already bathed together many times in Old Lington, they were more than familiar with each other''spany. Su Lun nced at her chosen spot, showing no surprise, and naturally followed Thousand des alongside her into the bathhouse.


    However, Lolota, who followed them, looked extremely bemused, as if witnessing something inconceivable.


    As she stepped into the bathhouse, she hesitated, took a half step back to double-check the sign, and then confirmed something: her own captain was actually entering a bathhouse with a man?


    In Blizzard City, unlike the delicate bathhouses in Old Lington, especially in the piratemunity, bathhouses were straightforward brothels.


    The pink-lit atmosphere alone was less than decorous.


    Lolota, who had never been to such a ce, entered with a heart full of trepidation.


    Upon entering, several mboyantly dresseddies were greeting guests in the hall.


    "Three distinguished guests!"


    Their voices, distant and echoing, traveled down the hall.


    With the steam boiler next door, the room was very warm, and thedies were lightly dressed, revealing deep cleavages and thighs up to their hips, their faces carrying flirtatious, seductive smiles.


    Lolota, unable to fix her gaze, was extremely nervous.


    Su Lun and Thousand des Rakshasa, both products of the gangster world, were unfazed.


    Thousand des hurriedly waved her hand, demanding, "Get the best private room. The hottest water, the finest medicinal baths, only the best of everything."


    "Certainly, boss."


    Seeing the unusual trio of a man, a woman, and a little girl, the madame and proprietor initially paused but brightened up hearing Thousand des''s domineering tone.


    A waitress led Su Lun and the others upstairs.

 Chapter 290 I Dont Mind, But You Cant

    Su Lun and two others were led upstairs by the plump Madame.


    The wooden staircase ttered as they stepped on it.


    As they walked, Qiantiaoined while hooking her arm around Su Lun''s shoulder, "Being a pirate is great except for not being able to take baths. It''s awful! We''ve been drifting at sea for nearly a month, and I feel like I''m marinated like a salted fish."


    Su Lunughed upon hearing this.


    It reminded him of the times at the Cross Society when he and this gambling-addicted woman would spend three to four days a week in the bathhouse whenever they were in town.


    Now, as pirates on board, there was barely enough fresh water to drink, let alone spare any for baths, which truly made it hard for her.


    They reached the top of the stairs, where they could see the public bathhouse on the first floor through the gaps in the rusty louvered windows. It was spacious, and some bare-chested pirates were enjoying baths.


    Su Lun and Qiantiao were ustomed to such sights from their days in the gang and kept their eyes straight ahead.


    The young girl Lalota behind them blushed and kept her gaze on her toes, not daring to look around.@@novelbin@@


    She had been captured and taken to a diator arena at six, and while she had seen many dead, she had never been to a bathhouse before.


    Once they reached the third floor, it became much quieter.


    The deluxe bathhouse was expensive, but fortunately, each room was private and didn''t have the constant foot traffic of strangers like downstairs.


    The Madame opened a door and made a gesture for them to enter, then asked, "Would you like me to arrange a masseuse for the three of you?"


    Qiantiao asked, "Do you have any good ones?"


    The Madame smirked ambiguously, "The girls in our establishment are carefully selected; I guarantee they do excellent work."


    Although the patrons were mostly men, there were also a few female pirates from time to time, satisfying everyone''s needs.


    Qiantiao frowned upon hearing this, evidently the Madame had misunderstood her, "What I meant was..."


    She paused, then pursed her lips and changed her response, "Never mind. We''ll handle the bathing ourselves."


    She understood what kind of ce this was; there wouldn''t be any skilled bath attendants here.


    She felt theck of a back scrub greatly diminished the enjoyment of the bath.


    As she spoke, Qiantiao flicked the gold coin she had been ying with in her hand and walked towards the room, adding, "Don''te to disturb us unless I call for you."


    She could hardly stand the smell of herself any longer and had no interest in chitchat.


    The Madame, quick-eyed and nimble, caught the gold coin and after hearing the chink, her expression turned all smiles, "Alright, rest assured, boss."


    Saying this, she then shut the door.


    ....


    The bathhouse room on the third floor wasrge and fairlyvishly decorated.


    Upon entering, one could see a 4x4 meter pool already filled with misden clear water. Next to it, there was an aged brass pipe continuously gushing hot water.


    This wasn''t the type of water from Old Lington''s underground springs imbued with dark spiritual power; it was just ordinary boiler water. If one sniffed closely, they could even detect a faint metallic scent mixed with the smell of the chemicals.


    In such an establishment, everything was about fulfilling the guests'' sensory experience.


    Theyout of the room was straightforward¡ªan entrance with a frosted ss separated shower room, then the bath, and arge bed on the other side. There was hardly any concealment; almost everything in the room was visible. If one were to bathe, they could almost be seen from any ce inside.


    Qiantiao looked at the pool in the room, smacked her lips, and muttered, "This pool is too small..."


    But in Ice and Snow City, having a bath to soak in was already quite nice.


    As she spoke, she had already removed her pirate hat, cloak, blunderbuss, and holster and handed them to Lalota behind her, casually instructing, "Find a ce to hang these up."


    "Oh."


    The young girl obediently responded.


    Before she could react, she saw her captain already beginning to unbutton her shirt.


    Seeing the delicate whiteness at the neckline exposed, she suddenly panicked, "Ma''am, you¡­"


    Had she forgotten there was a man in the room?


    But before she could voice her warning, the linen shirt was thrown over her head, covering her view.


    With the shirt over her head, she murmured indistinctly, unable to hear clearly.


    When Lalota lifted the shirt off her head, she saw the bare, graceful figure walking into the bathroom.


    Immediately, the sounds of running water and Qiantiao''s casualints could be heard, "Oh, this terrible smell of the sea, just unbearable. Su Lun, hold on, I''ll rinse off first. Why don''t youe and rinse off too?"


    "It''s alright, you go ahead."


    Su Lun had long been used to such situations, having shared a room at an inn in Dawn City''s campgrounds before.


    This gambling-addicted woman had never regarded herself as an outsider, nor did she have any notion of modesty around him.


    The view from outside the bathroom was a vista of spring, revealing all of her beautiful curves and proud posture...


    Qiantiao was unconcerned, and Su Lun remained as impassive as ever, hardly ncing over.


    He walked straight to the bed, lied down leisurely, and waited.


    Just like old times.


    Seeing this, Lalota still standing by the door was utterly shocked.


    This... What exactly is the rtionship between my teacher and this man?


    She even doesn''t avoid him when taking a bath?


    ....


    The bed in the bathhouse was much morefortable than the one Su Lun had slept in the night before; hey back on the goose-down bed, sinking deep into it.


    The gasmp''s light passed through a warm-colored shade, casting a somewhat dim light in the room.


    It wasn''t clear, but there was a kind of hazy, ambiguous atmosphere.


    With Qian Tiao in the room, there was no need to worry too much about safety, and he seemed very rxed.


    Soon, the rustling sound of flowing water by his ear ceased, then he heard Qian Tiao call out again, "Bring me a towel."


    Su Lun nced up, intending to help out.


    "Sure, teacher."


    But the girl named Luoluo Ta was quicker, grabbing a towel from the cab and running over.


    In a moment, Qian Tiao emerged from the shower, wrapped in a towel.


    "Great Sun Bathhouse" wasn''t a formal bathhouse, and there weren''t many fancy bath robes. After all, the pirates who came to spend money weren''t really there to take baths, and they would end up undressed under the service of the attendants anyway.


    So only a few towels were prepared.


    The towel only covered a part of Qian Tiao''s body, leavingrge areas of skin exposed in the air.


    This gambling-addicted woman had a body to boast about; as a closebat knife fighter, her proportions were impable.


    The towel was not veryrge, the hem just reaching her hips. It was just the right coverage, showing off her shapely legspletely, slightly revealing the contour of her buttocks and the tantalizing curve that led the imagination astray.


    With arger movement as she flipped her hair, it even seemed mysteriously captivating, tempting one to peek.


    Of course, there was also her imposing tattooed upper arm.


    Su Lun couldn''t help but take another look.


    Qian Tiao probably never thought she had any feminine charm.


    She walked up to the pool, looking somewhat ufortable.


    Not because of Su Lun''s gaze, but because she disdained the towel she wore.


    It became heavy and clumsy when wet.


    However, once shey down in the hot pool, her eyebrows immediately rxed, and she let out a pleasurable sigh, "Ah... finallyfortable."


    Su Lun watched and chuckled softly.


    Qian Tiao beckoned, saying, "Su Lun, boy, what are you standing there for? Come and soak for a while."


    "Sure."


    Su Lun didn''t mind.


    He had picked up the habit of soaking from Qian Tiao.


    Looking at the pool water in front of him, it felt rather uneasy not to soak it in for a long time.


    He also went to the bathroom, stripped off his clothes, quickly rinsed, and then wrapped in a towel, he stepped out.


    Getting into the water, the steamy hot water overflowed from the edge of the pool, sshing soundly...


    The pool wasn''trge; Su Lun and Qian Tiaoy facing each other.


    Both of their breaths were rxed andfortable...


    Directly opposite Su Lun was the room''s window; looking out, he could see the falling snowkes. Being the bathhouse''s best room, privacy was well-handled, offering a beautiful snowy scene outside without any buildings in sight.


    The scene of soaking in the bath was all too familiar,


    as were the people,


    and neither felt any difort.


    But there was a third person in the room.


    Suddenly remembering, Qian Tiao called out, "Luoluo Ta, do you want to join us for a soak?"


    "Ah... teacher, I... I''d better not."


    In the corner, the girl named Luoluo Ta stuttered her response.


    Hearing her slightly nervous voice, Su Lun guessed she must have that flustered expression, and he smiled slightly.


    Thinking of something, he asked, "Is that girl your apprentice, Sister Qian Tiao?"


    "Yes."


    Qian Tiao, enjoying the feeling of her body being soaked and all her pores opened up in the warm water, said, "She''s also a hard-luck girl. Originally from a minor noble family, she fell into hard times due to a disaster. Her family declined, and she ended up in the hands of a ve trader. She was initially meant to be sent to a brothel, but when the traders were selecting diators, they discovered her talent and trained her into a youth diator. I happened to raid a Yunnus Ship and rescued her..."


    Su Lun listened and wasn''t too surprised.


    Hearing about her ruthless and cruel sword technique, it made sense she was trained as a diator.


    He eximed, "Indeed a fine prospect for sword training."


    With the topic started, the two began to chat.


    Before, Su Lun knew that the Cyclops in the gambling stall was a rune magician, so he directly asked, "Sister Qian, what was that ''Cyclops'' Sok''s story?"


    Qian respondedzily, "Wasn''t I inquiring about rune magicians for you? It just so happened that I heard about an inheritance in the North Sea. Unexpectedly, I ran into this ''Cyclops'' Sok at the gambling stall. I was originally trying to probe his background by joining the card game. Haha, I didn''t expect those guys to treat me like a fatmb..."


    "Oh."


    Su Lun nodded thoughtfully.


    Yesterday, when he was returning to Blizzard City, he had inquired through information traders, and Emperor Luying indeed had a lineage of rune magicians.


    But the most important lineage was in the imperial capital, and it was quite renowned. There were also some in the southern Stormguard territory. But they were all too far away.


    It would be very troublesome to seek them out.


    Now that there was one in the North Sea, it couldn''t be better.


    Qian and Su Lun were very familiar with each other, knowing at once what Su Lun intended to ask, she continued, "Sok isn''t that strong, but his father is very powerful."


    "Could it be some big pirate?"


    Su Lun asked, guessing, and then listened intently.


    He had seen many experts, so his judgment wasn''t low. The knowledge of pirates could be discerned from their level ofbat. Even without interacting with this ''Cyclops'' Sok, he guessed that he probably wouldn''t be satisfactory.


    But having his father there meant there was a source of legacy.


    "Rune magician" wasn''t like any other alchemy sequence; it was a profession that needed exclusive knowledge and legacy to advance.


    "Sort of a pirate leader," Qian contemted for a moment, then added, "His dad''s nickname is ''Rune Old Man,'' a native leader of the Talin Archipgo in the four nations of the North Continent, controlling several inds and hundreds of thousands of people¡ªa real lord. That old man doesn''t show up often, not much information about him circtes outside, and he''s quite mysterious. It''s said he has the strength of the sixth order, and in the North Sea, he''s considered a prominent figure."


    "Sixth order?"


    Su Lun had memories rted to the "four nations of the North Continent" from those he had stripped before.


    Those were some human territories on the vast North Sea, called nations, but actually just some remote, backward, isted inds. Compared to the Emperor Luying Empire, they couldn''t match in either poption ornd area, at most they were like a viscount''s domain.


    Hearing Qian''s words, thoughts rapidly passed through his mind.


    If he wanted to obtain the legacy of the "rune magician," he could either buy it or seize it by force.


    Given the current situation, if the other party was sixth order, he would need to put more thought into it...


    But because it was sixth order, Su Lun was more likely to find what he wanted.


    He was not very familiar with the ways of pirates and asked, "Sister Qian, if I wanted to reach that ''Rune Old Man,'' are there any channels for that?"


    Qian shook her head slightly and said, "There isn''t much information about Rune Old Man, and that area of the Talin Archipgo is very secluded. The only exchange is to go to Pirate City for trading."


    As she said this, she paused and shifted her tone, then said, "However, there might still be a breakthrough now."


    Su Lun thought of something and took the chance to say, "Are you talking about Sok?"


    Qian said, "Hmm. If nothing unexpected happens, that guy should end up in my hands. By then, getting more information from him should be possible."


    Su Lun, hearing this, spoke with a light chuckle, "You''re that sure?"


    Qian lightly said, "Character shows at the card table. That ''Cyclops'' Sok is not honest at heart. Today, he suffered a loss and definitely won''t let it go. If nothing unexpected, when we set sail, he will surelye looking for trouble with me."


    "Hehe..."


    Su Lun chuckled, recalling some details and also feeling it very likely that Qian would be right.


    But that guy didn''t know Qian''s true strength. Coming over, he figured, would be like delivering himself.


    Thinking this, his eyes shifted, and he also said, "Then should I join you when you set sail?"


    Qian gave an "Hmm."


    ....


    The ceaselessly flowing warm water from the brass pipes, added with a bit of medicinal bath, seemed to dissipate all fatigue after a dip, refreshing the spirit more and more.


    Qiany back, half-floating, with a hot, wet towel on her forehead, asionally letting out a contented hum.


    No technicians were present, nor any distractions.


    Both enjoyed this timid time of rxation.


    Su Lun alsoy therenguidly and asked, "Sister Qian, are you getting ready to advance to fifth order?"


    Qian curiously said, "Huh... you can tell?"


    As soon as she asked, she answered herself, "Oh, almost forgot, Philo mentioned that you''ve significantly progressed in strength."


    Su Lun listened and chuckled nomittally.


    Qian had no intention of hiding and continued, "Yeah, I''m indeed at the threshold of advancing to fifth order. Moreover, I had already found the career advancement materials previously in Old Lington. Now, I''m justcking the fifth order necessary armor. I''ve been looking recently, but haven''t found a suitable one yet. There''s no rush since I''ve just advanced to fourth order not too long ago, stabilizing my realm more also has its benefits..."


    Su Lun listened to this without surprise.


    Mr. Jing had previously mentioned that every member of the Jing organization had excellent talents, and advancing faster than others was normal. Moreover, Qian also had a portion of divine bodies around her and was notcking in dark spiritual power. Advancing to fifth order was also within expectations.


    Su Lun asked, "Sister Qian, what kind of alchemic armor are you looking for at fifth order?"


    Given her profession as a dagger user, spatial ability would naturally have a highpatibility.


    He thought of something and said, "What I mean is, the people of King of the North Sea have discovered a channel to a void ne. Those pirates hold a huge amount of spatial materials, if you need spatial materials, you could consider this direction."


    "Spatial materials?" Read exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire


    Hearing this, Qian Tiao clearly became interested and said, "If appropriate, spatial material growth gear is indeed one of the ideal choices. How did you know such a secret about the King of the North Sea?"


    Gear containing thews of the void is very rare; even Su Lun had never encountered it before.


    At the question, he recounted his previous encounters at sea.


    "I see."


    After listening, Qian Tiao also showed a sudden realization and added, "Tsk tsk... now the King of the North Sea is still hiding that void fleet. It seems that guy has quite big ambitions now."


    Su Lun picked up the conversation, "I''m very interested in the spatial channel to that void ne. So, if possible, I would like to find some intelligence on that ''Void Fleet.'' Qian Tiao, do you have any good suggestions?"


    Qian Tiao thought for a moment and replied, "That information can probably only be found in Pirate City. Why not try to infiltrate the fleet of the King of the North Sea? Previously, their recruitment process was a bit problematic, but now that Oleg has imed kingship, all the pirate groups are recruiting; anyone in the North Sea with even slight ambition is bing a pirate... The best time to mix in as a neer is now."


    "Infiltrate as a pirate?"


    At hearing this, Su Lun''s thoughts suddenly became very active, and he muttered, "This method seems feasible..."


    ....


    After they finished discussing business, the two of them started chatting leisurely.


    "Qian Tiao, what does it feel like being a pirate?"


    "It''s quite nice. More freeing than the days with the Cross Association. My ''Rakshasa Woman'' talent was born for ughter. In this vast sea, there are too many evil people who deserve to be killed. There used to be gang constraints, but now, as a pirate, I roam the seas. This is the free life I''ve always wanted. By the way, how have you been these days?"


    "Not bad... Ran into some issues."


    "Didn''t we agree to be pirates together before? Did you go to Silent Forest to find demihumans instead? Demihuman girls are exceptionally beautiful, tsk tsk, you lucky chap..."


    "That''s not it... I also went partly because of Mr. Jing''s matter. Besides, I was preparing to advance to the fourth rank. After this period, I will join you as a pirate."


    "Hahaha, good! Let''s aim to be Pirate Kings then!"


    "..."


    The two chatted on and off.


    Outside the window,rge snowkes fell gently, and the sound of water crisply sshing could be heard by their ears.


    Soaking in the hot spring and catching up was blissfully soothing.


    The atmosphere in the room grew increasingly pleasant.


    As they chatted, Qian Tiao suddenly stretched and sighed, "Ah, it''s been a long time since I had a good soak... how rxing..."


    But with that movement, there suddenly was an unexpected exposure.


    Perhaps because of the soaking, the tied bath towel had loosened.


    Qian Tiao tried to wrap it around again but found the damp towel was not easy to tie, and it was also ufortable sticking to her skin. Instead, once loosened, the slightly chest-constraining heat of the soak was gone, leaving a refreshingly cool feeling.


    Perhaps because there were no outsiders, she simply pulled the towel away and tossed it aside the pool.


    Shey therepletely bare, seeming relieved, as she let out a long,fortable sigh, "Whew..."


    Su Lun, hearing the ssh, thought something had happened and inadvertently opened his eyes for a peek.


    With that look, the stunningly beautiful body was unabashedly revealed. The pool water was clear, with mist swirling around, creating a beautifully hazy and vaguely alluring scene.


    Though Qian Tiao usually seemed carefree andcked any feminine delicacy,


    her figure was impable.


    Her breasts, standing proud, were among the finest Su Lun had ever seen, surpassed only slightly by Sabrina''s magnificent dimensions.


    Now, as she soaked in the water, she was partially floating. Warm water continuously flowed in from the copper pipes, causing ripples in the pool. Her majestic peaks rippled as well.


    Although the two had shared many hot spring baths before, they always wore bathing robes. Even when the robes became wet and semi-transparent, there was still ayer of covering. They had never beenpletely naked like this before.


    Su Lun couldn''t help but take another look, feeling increasingly unable to avert his gaze.


    From the shoulders, the beautiful vicle glided into view, partially obscured by the proud view. His gaze continued downward to the delicate and clearly defined lines of abdominal muscles resembling a swordsman''s strong physique.


    He had seen, so he watched openly.


    There was no other emotion in his gaze, only appreciation and admiration.


    This subtle anomaly naturally did not escape Qian Tiao''s perception.


    Had it been any other woman, being stared at this straightforwardly would have probably made her shyly cover up.


    Qian Tiao, however, was unfazed.


    She too could discern the purely appreciative emotion.


    But perhaps Su Lun had stared a bit too long. The eyes-closed, bath-lovingdy finally spoke up, "Hey, hey, hey... Su Lun, though I don''t mind, you shouldn''t keep staring."


    "Hehe..."


    Su Lun, not the least bit offended, chuckled lightly and openly praised, "Qian Tiao, you really have a great figure."


    "..."


    Hearing this, Qian Tiao casually rolled her eyes at him.


    But without any real objection, she sighed softly and said, "What''s there to look at? It''s not like you haven''t seen it before."


    Su Lun grinned brightly.

 Chapter 291 Cant Say Theres No Threat At All

    Although Thousand des Rakshasa didn''t mind, Su Lun didn''t look more than necessary.


    However, asionally, his gaze would inadvertently catch sight of that enchanting figure in the water, which was quite a pleasing view.


    Outside the window, the falling snowkes piled up a thickyer on the windowsill. The light inside the room was dim, and the moonlight gradually climbed up the window, casting a brilliant silver glow into the room and onto the misty steam above the pool.


    The warm medicinal bath moisturized the skin, and Su Lun truly enjoyed this leisurely time.


    There was beautiful scenery, and there was beauty.


    The two casually conversed now and then.


    Before long, Thousand des Rakshasa seemed to have washed away the sea smell that had umted during the month at sea, and let out a long, refreshing sigh of relief, "After this soak, I finally feel so refreshed..."


    Then the sound of sshing water was heard.


    Su Lun opened his eyes, only to see Thousand des Rakshasa standing up naked from the pool.


    At this moment, the night was deep, and the moonlight was bright. Strands of silvery moonbeams entered through the ss window, casting their light perfectly onto her graceful and exquisite figure.


    Perhaps feeling that they had already been in the hot spring together with nothing left to hide, Thousand des Rakshasa stood up in her bare skin and called out to Su Lun, "Young Su Lun, I''ve finished soaking, you take your time."


    "Oh."


    Su Lun chuckled and raised his eyebrows slightly.


    He originally had no intention of taking advantage of this gambling-addicteddy, but his gaze involuntarily lingered on her body for a moment.


    Previously, with her submerged in the water, the light refracted and steam swirled around her, her stunning figure was somewhat hazy and not too clear.


    As she emerged from the water now, everything was inly visible.


    Thousand des Rakshasa happened to be standing with her back to the window, and as she stood, the moonlight shined from behind her. The moonlight draped over her like a shawl, enveloping her in a faint luminescence. Moonlight spread out over the edges of her skin, casting a hazy silhouette, like the translucent and lustrous texture of Wen Yu, every detail exquisitely soft and smooth.


    Because of the moonlight''s shadows, the proudly standing curves of her snow-white body appeared even more majestic.


    The heavy visual impact was not at all cumbersome, everything seemed just right.


    Thousand des Rakshasa noticed the gaze wandering over her body, and her expression carried a bit of helplessness as she shot Su Lun a nce: still looking?


    Without much concern, she then called toward the door, "Philo, help me get a bath towel."


    From the corner of the room, an awkward response came promptly, "Ah... oh! Yes, teacher!"


    As she said this, Thousand des Rakshasa stepped out of the pool, and with that side turn, her smooth and elegant back waspletely visible.


    Su Lun didn''t hold back his gaze at all. Beautiful things were always pleasing to the soul, so his eyes naturally lingered a bit longer.


    As he watched, the splendid curves of her form were entuated by glistening droplets of water cascading down her skin, swiftly sliding from her shoulders to her slender waist, only to slow suddenly due to the proud perkiness. Both his gaze and the droplets seemed unable to stay on that slippery skin, gliding down, following the beautiful contours...


    Thousand des Rakshasa flicked her damp green hair ¨C it probably felt ufortable sticking to her skin ¨C and used a cord to tie it up.


    This simple action stirred up boundless allure, and the sight at her chest was revealed without reserve...


    Outside the window was the mournfully beautiful night snow scene, inside was a warmth like spring.


    Su Lun''s eyes were slightly blurred.


    With her hair tied up high, the fierce full-back Rakshasa tattoo came into view. A vigorous figure of a diator emerged before his eyes.


    In this intery of light and shadow, one''s mind could lightly waver, as Su Lun seemed to see two different scenes.


    On one side was a Rakshasa of the night uninvolved with the world, and on the other, a carefree gambling-addicteddy.


    It was not only her figure that was enchanting. Su Lun recognized a sharp, biting "aura" from Thousand des Rakshasa, a martial prowess unparalleled.


    Su Lun couldn''t help but praise, "Sister Thousand des, your ''aura'' is really strong..."


    Hearing this, Thousand des Rakshasa, who had just tied up her hair, turned her head to look at him with a lift of her mouth''s corner, "You''re not too shabby either. You''ve improved a lot."


    Su Lun smiled and shrugged his shoulders, also reining in his wandering gaze.


    ....


    Listening to the two talk as if nothing was out of the ordinary, Philo holding the bath towel on the side, had a strange look in her eyes.


    Teacher, you''re still not dressed!


    Recalling the earlier awkward moment, her cheeks flushed slightly. She had thought that her teacher and this man might have some special rtionship, fearing something unspeakable would happen in the pool. But since the teacher didn''t speak, she didn''t dare leave the room.


    But now that she looked again, it didn''t seem to be the case?


    ...


    After the bath, Su Lun didn''t leave. Instead, he stayed in the room with Thousand des Rakshasa and the girl named Philo.


    He was indifferent, as there was no difference to him between staying in a hotel or a sauna.


    Sharing amodation with Thousand des Rakshasa was also nothing new to him.


    Besides, at night, he would be either meditating or working on his scrolls, so having one more person around didn''t make things awkward.


    The sauna''s room was much more expensive than the hotel''s, but it was still small change.


    That staysted for several days.


    Every day, Thousand des Rakshasa would hang around the gambling houses, returning at night with a peculiar pirate stench and soaked herself in a bath to rest.


    Ever since the big fight in the Sailor''s Tavern, nobody dared to treat her like an easy mark. Even so, Thousand des Rakshasa''s gambling luck was pretty bad, and in just a couple of days, she lost all the money in her purse.


    Then, penniless, the vaunted pirate captain spent her days holed up in the inn, relying on her old friend Su Lun to get by.


    Luckily, the girl named Lolota was apetent housekeeper; she had prudently turned some cash into supplies and had them loaded onto the ship well in advance, which prevented the original sail date from being pushed back.


    In Blizzard City, which had fallen under pirate control, the prices of living essentials skyrocketed, while alchemy materials remained surprisingly cheap.


    Su Lun too found himself engrossed in a busy yet fulfilling routine.


    He bought lots of materials, repaired the automatons damaged in the previous battles, and crafted some new puppets.


    The trio spent a full five days at the "Great Sun Bathhouse."


    That day, finally, was the day of departure.


    ....


    Inside the room, Thousand des Rakshasa wrapped her chest with a bandage in front of the dressing mirror, binding her impressive figure.


    Only then did she put on her unwashed pirate captain''s outfit. Find your next read at My Virtual Library Empire


    A shirt, coat, gun holster...


    As she dressed, sheined, "Being a pirate has its perks, but these clothes are just atrocious, and you can''t even soak them whenever you like."


    As a pirate, you have to look the part, and pirates are not expected to be squeamish about cleanliness.


    She said this and then turned to Su Lun, who had already packed up and was browsing through scrolls, "I heard that there are superb volcanic baths in the North Continent''s four countries, shall we give it a try once we get there?"


    Su Lun casually responded, "Mhm."


    Lolota was tiding Thousand des Rakshasa''s clothes on the side while somberly reminding, "Teacher, if we can''t find good jobs next, we won''t have money for supplies when we dock again. What''s worse, if our ship doesn''t get a new coating, it might not even reach the North Continent''s four countries and could get capsized by the waves..."


    Thousand des Rakshasa wasn''t concerned at all, "Ah, someone''s about to bring us money and supplies."


    Instead of being reassured by these words, Lolota grew more worried, "But... Teacher, when I went to gather information, I heard that people are inquiring about our ''Dawn Group.'' That ''Cyclops'' Sok has a big background; he might rally a lot of people to cause us trouble..."


    In the past few days, Lolota knew some things that ordinary crew members didn''t because Su Lun and Thousand des Rakshasa spoke without avoiding her.


    Hearing this, Thousand des Rakshasa''s gaze narrowed slightly, her attitude eager for a challenge, "The more, the better. If we pull off this job, won''t we have everything?"


    "But..."


    Lolota''s eyes were filled with a deep sense of grievance as she stared at Thousand des Rakshasa in the mirror.


    Thinking that probably no amount of persuasion would work.


    She then turned to look at Su Lun, "Mr. Su Lun, won''t you advise the teacher? I think waiting a few more days to set sail would be safer. Otherwise, if those guys..."


    After spending several days together, Lolota and Su Lun had be rather acquainted and could talk to each other.


    Su Lun, instead of siding with the girl, smiled indifferently, echoing Thousand des Rakshasa''s sentiment, "I think your teacher is right. If enemiese, just kill them all..."


    "..."


    Lolota, pouting, wore a look of someone whose heart had been wrung with worry for the two of them.


    One could dismiss the asional unreliability of the teacher...


    This Mr. Su Lun seemed quite sensible at first, but now he was just like her teacher.


    He was only a third-tier stage, while the enemies were very, very strong notorious Great Pirates!


    Even if the teacher was very powerful, what if the enemies had many ships, many people?


    ...


    In the end, Lolota failed to persuade Thousand des Rakshasa to reconsider.


    The trio walked out of the Great Sun Bathhouse.


    Su Lun and Thousand des Rakshasa were at the forefront, with Lolota walking behind, holding a knife, her little face filled with gloom and worry.


    They reached the docks, where the crew was already aboard the ship.


    "Captain!"


    "The captain''s here, prepare to set sail!"


    "..."


    The once-bustling Stormwind City dock had now be an exclusive harbor for pirates, with various skull and crossbones pirate gs waving in sight.


    Su Lun looked at the somewhat shabby three-masted sailing ship before him and asked with a peculiar look in his eyes, "Thousand des Rakshasa, is this your ship?"


    Patches on the sails, ropes looking severely worn, haphazard repair marks from cannon fire on the deck and hull, a corroded coatingyer, and the cheapest cannons avable on the market...


    The entire ship radiated the "antique" feel of disrepair and bygone years.


    Thousand des Rakshasa raised an eyebrow and responded, "Yes, this is the ''Grey Dolphin.'' We snatched it half a month ago. The ''Riding the Wind'' we had when we left ck Fortress Reef wasn''t bad, but it was too conspicuous, so we scuttled it into the sea."


    "..."


    Su Lun instantly felt that Lolo''s judgement was correct.


    If they relied on this ship, the chances were high that they wouldn''t reach theplex marine environment of the four countries of the Northern Continent.


    However, he didn''t say anything and just boarded the ship.


    No ship, no guns; the enemy will make them.


    Su Lun had already clearly felt several probing eyes following them all the way, and he sneered in his heart.


    Most of the people on the ship Su Lun had seen before during the battle at the Sailor''s Tavern; the female sumo, diator, and the three members of the Giant tribe.


    After sensing around, including the chef and gunners in the cabin, Thousand des Rakshasa''s "Dawn Pirate Crew" had only about fifty or sixty people.


    This was probably considered the smallest scale for a pirate crew.


    But Su Lun thought it was quite good.


    It''s not about having the most people, but the best.


    Thousand des Rakshasa didn''t just recruit anyone; she had no intention of keeping those ferociously evil pirates by her side.


    Since she still needed to maintain her current identity, Thousand des Rakshasa had no intention of introducing Su Lun, so he just quietly remained on deck, making himself transparent.


    The crew''s loyalty to Thousand des Rakshasa, the captain, was also high; as soon as she boarded, the ship became lively.


    The Giant Three Brothers swiftly raised the sails, and the anchor was drawn out of the water.


    The cold wind blew, and this ancient sailboat known as the ''Grey Dolphin'' slowly left the harbor of Blizzard City.


    ....


    But just as the Dawn Pirate Crew set sail, those pirates who had been tailing them contacted their backer with their ownmunication devices.


    On the docks, members of other pirate crews also noticed. Those pirate captains who knew some of the inside story gathered together with a look of eagerness to watch the excitement, discussing among themselves.


    "Captain Jack, the Dawn Crew has set sail!"


    "Tsk tsk, this ''Thousand des Rakshasa'' really doesn''t know what''s good for her, thinking she can provoke just anyone. Now, after today, there probably won''t be a Dawn Crew anymore."


    "I originally thought that woman was a tough character, one who would make a name for herself in the Northern Seas... pity, with Sok mobilizing the forces of three crews to intercept them, no matter how strong that woman is, she''s bound to die this time."


    "The sea always has its share of headstrong neers. But recently, indeed, there have been some neers with real strength..."


    "Yeah, I heard that recently, another guy who has awakened a gravity talent has popped up. Despite being only in the fourth tier, his strength is ridiculously strong. No idea where such an oddity came from."


    "..."


    Compared to the Dawn Pirate Crew, which had been in the city for just a few months, the reputation and background of the "Iron Crocodile Pirate Crew" were much greater.


    No one believed the Dawn Crew would survive.


    ....


    As the sailboat set out to sea, the cold-resistant seagulls that had been perching on the mast were startled and took flight, returning to the port.


    Su Lun found a corner on the ship and watched as the coastline grew more distant. The sea breeze brushed his face, and his thoughts became clearer.


    The crew was on deck ying cards, wrestling, drinking, making merry...


    This was a pirate crew that seemed quitex.


    But the atmosphere was very harmonious.


    The naive Giant Three Brothers lost at cards again and were punished to dance aical jig; the female sumos wrestling tore open their clothes, prompting a round ofughter; sailors were sharpening and maintaining their shields and spears, asionally shouting; the little girl Lolo was standing on the mast, her little face all seriousness as she held up her knife for meditation...


    It was probably because most of the crew came from the diator arena and were used to taking life and death lightly.


    Compared to a diator''s life where one never knew which fight might be theirst, they found the life of a pirate much more free and easy.


    Birds of a feather flock together; all of the people on the ship seemed to share some traits with Captain Thousand des Rakshasa.


    Su Lun was also infected by theughter and chatter, feeling an inexplicable sense of belonging.


    Thousand des Rakshasa''s crew felt like they were all kin.


    Before he knew it, Thousand des Rakshasa hade over. She copied Su Lun''s movement, resting her upper body on the railing, and asked, "How does it feel? Not bad, right?"


    Su Lun''s eyes narrowed slightly, and he nodded, "Yeah. Not bad."


    There was an unspoken understanding between the two who were familiar with each other, as if they could sense what the other was thinking.


    Without the need for many words, after exchanging greetings, there was silence for a while.


    Looking out at the vast expanse of blue sea, both of their gazes grew profound.


    Letting the sea breeze blow, they just quietly leaned there.


    ....


    Afternoon.


    The tranquil seafaring was shattered by an rm that was anticipated.


    As their ship passed a deserted ind, the lookout atop the mast spotted three ships that suddenly emerged from a blind spot in their vision.


    "Captain, ships spotted behind the deserted ind at ten o''clock!"


    "Not good, those are the gs of the ''Iron Crocodile Pirate Crew''!"


    "There''s also the ''mingo Pirate Crew'' and the ''Hammer Pirate Crew''. There are a lot of people on the three ships'' decks, at least five or six hundred!"


    "..."


    Upon hearing this, the deck of the Dawn became a hub of activity, with the constant sound of footsteps.


    Wen Yu exchanged nces with Su Lun, giving each other a slight smile.


    Neither saw any hint of surprise in the other''s eyes.


    The crew, although somewhat nervous, showed no signs of cowardice. Whether they were from the former gang or the diators, they were all tough characters who had experienced life and death.


    They picked up their weapons smoothly, donned their armor without panic, and the gunners rushed into the cabin to aim the cannons...


    At that moment, Lolo, having observed the situation, also leaped down from the mast.


    On the ship, there was no teacher, only the Captain. She looked worriedly at Wen Yu and asked anxiously, "Captain, they''re signaling us to furl the sails or they''ll sink us. What do we do now?"


    Wen Yu, not the least bit worried, took the long sword handed to him by Lolo, "Order the crew, furl the sails, and hold fire."


    Are we surrendering?


    Lolo didn''t understand and was just about to argue.


    "But..."


    Before she could finish, Wen Yu, eyeing the three approaching ships, let a cold light sh in his eyes and a smile curl his lips, "Don''t damage our ship. Prepare for a boarding battle!"


    Our ship?


    Lolo paused for a moment, then realized what her teacher was implying, and her eyes twitched fiercely.


    You mean the enemy''s three ships?


    Oh my...


    Hearing these words filled with domineering spirit, although unbelievable, they instilled an inexplicable sense of security in Lolo.


    She spoke no more, gritted her teeth, "Yes, Captain!"


    With that, she turned and went to convey the orders.


    ....


    Everyone in the Dawn crew was busy, except for Su Lun and Wen Yu who stood leisurely on deck.


    "Whoa... they''re really in a hurry, huh."


    Wen Yu secured the knife at his waist, smacked his lips while his eyes brimmed with a cold gleam, "But when ites down to it, it looks like there''s going to be quite the ughter soon."


    Su Lun immediately understood and loosened up his joints, "Yeah. Once we use our abilities, we have to kill decisively."


    Some of his and Wen Yu''s techniques had a high degree of recognizability, such as the "Rakshasa Woman" or the puppet legion.


    Once these were deployed, leaving survivors would bring endless trouble.@@novelbin@@


    This was also the real reason why Wen Yu had recently gained a "notorious" reputation in the pirate circles.


    Some enemies can''t be killed without going all out.


    And when you really get serious, you have to eliminate thempletely.


    The enemy ships drew closer, and Wen Yu could even make out the arrogant expressions of the people on the opposing decks, and he said, "Three ships, at least seven or eight hundred men. I''ll take two, you take one, confident?"


    "Doesn''t matter..."


    Hearing the distribution n, Su Lun spread his hands, seemingly indifferent.


    After a thought, he added, "If among the enemies there are several rank four or even rank five, Wen Yu, you distract them, and leave the rest to me. As long as you can hold them for a while, it''s fine even if they outnumber us."


    At these words, Wen Yu blinked, curiously asking, "Oh, that confident?"


    Su Lun didn''t borate, "Pretty much."


    Wen Yu grew interested, curious, "Philo mentioned you advanced, but I still don''t know how strong you actually are. Now... are you saying you can cut through rank three professionals like slicing vegetables?"


    Su Lun shrugged nomittally, pulling out several scrolls, then finally said, "I wouldn''t go so far as to say cutting through rank three is like slicing vegetables... that would be too arrogant. But I guess ordinary rank three pirates really aren''t much of a threat anymore."


    Hearing that, Wen Yu''s face broke into a smile, and she said meaningfully, "Tsk tsk... Su Lun, not bad at all."


    As she spoke, the aura around her grew increasingly intense.

 Chapter 292 The Big Surprise Su Lun Prepared for the Dawn Group

    The enemy''s three ships billowed their sails, forming a "Æ·" shape as they surrounded the Dawn Group''s vessel.


    Those guys must have calcted the sailing speed of the "Grey Dolphin," an old ship, well in advance. Among the three ships that came, two were swift assault vessels. Even if they thought to escape, they''d inevitably be chased down.


    Moreover, they were ambushed behind the deste ind. By the time they were spotted, it was already toote to flee.


    Because Qian Tiao had ordered not to open fire, the three enemy ships only fired a few warning shots.


    The cannonballs fell around the ship, sshing up more than ten meters of white foam. Some spraynded on deck, soaking it.


    Su Lun, however, paid no mind and continued to set up energy crystals one by one in the corner of the cabin.


    Qian Tiao leanedzily against the mast, the asional sh of sharpness in her eyes indicating that she was building up energy.


    She didn''t pay much attention to the ferocious enemies approaching, instead showing great interest in Su Lun setting up the formation, saying, "That alchemy formation of yours is quite interesting... Puppetry Technique?"


    At that, Su Lun gave a brief exnation, "Just a puppet controlling secret technique. The more energy prepared, therger the control range. It won''t let anyone escapeter."


    "Oh."


    Qian Tiao raised her eyebrows, feigning understanding.


    She naturally knew that Su Lun was a Puppeteer.


    But that impression was from a long time ago.


    Now, seeing the scale of this alchemy formation, Qian Tiao knew it was definitely not simple.


    What kind of Puppet Master would use such a massive energy-gathering formation?


    This surely wasn''t the level of a third-rank technique.


    Qian Tiao guessed something and a hint of anticipation crossed her face. She directly asked, "Tsk tsk... Su Lun, why do I feel like you''re not nning to control just a few puppets, but a whole lot of them?"


    Su Lun neither confirmed nor denied, simply shrugging his shoulders. There was nothing he needed to hide from Qian Tiao, "After advancing to the third tier, I awakened some new abilities. Now, the number of puppets I control... has increased a bit."


    He didn''t speak too confidently, leaving some room for modesty.


    "Yo?"


    Listening to that, Qian Tiao''s eyebrows showed a smile, and she asked no further.


    She nced at the enemies now close at hand and casually said, "Prepare for battle."


    "Mhm."


    Su Lun nodded.


    His eyes were good and he could clearly see the people aboard the three ships. After observing for a moment, he added, "There should be no fifth-rank among the enemies."


    The center position observation method was still very effective.


    Usually, the strongest person would be in the most prominent position.


    Aboard the three enemy ships, Su Lun noticed none of those in the center position posed any significant threat.


    On the deck of the ship that flew the "Crocodile Iron Hook" pirate g on its main mast, the leader was a one-eyed Cyclops wearing a leather eyepatch. Naturally, it was the previously seen ''Cyclops'' Sok.


    The leaders of the other two ships, both dressed in pirate captain attire, were also fourth tier.


    Both had distinctive appearances, and Su Lun had some recollection of them from the Bounty Orders he''d seen. The guy with a golden iron hook for a right hand was Captain ''Gold Hook'' Charles of the ''mingo Pirates'', with a bounty of 35 million risos; also there was the leader of the ''Hammer Pirates'', ''Iron Wall Explosive Bear'' Horn, with a full mechanical skeleton and a bounty of 55 million risos;


    The other few with impressive presences seemed to be the chief mates and second mates of the ships.


    None looked like they were fifth tier.


    However, this was expected.


    If there were any fifth-rank big pirates among the enemies, they had no need for such encirclement tactics; they would juste at them directly.


    Qian Tiao''s face showed no fear, and a cold smile curled at her lips, "No fifth tier, then it will be easy to handle."


    Su Lun felt the energy umting within her bing sharper and more chilling, like a dam about to burst. Standing beside her was like being near the edge of a sharp de, as if a careless move could tear him apart with that aura.


    He had not understood her realm before, but now he truly appreciated it.


    This gambling-addicted madam was truly powerful!


    ...


    Seeing the enemy vastly outnumber them, it was impossible for the Dawn Group to be nonchnt.


    Each person held their weapons, focusing intently on the three enemy ships, their hands sweaty with tension.


    However, this was the advantage of having carefully chosen crew members.


    When it came down to a fight to the death, everyone would band together, uniting against the enemy.


    Three giants d in crude armor, holdingrge shields, stood in front. The wrestlers and sumo wrestlers behind them had also released their alchemy-enhanced rigs.


    No one backed down.


    Even the ten-year-old girl, Lolota, had drawn her longsword, her face grim with a fierce determination.


    Qian Tiao chatted idly with Su Lun for a moment before leaping onto the deck, standing in front of the tense crew, and called out, "Brothers, prepare for hand-to-handbat!"


    It was that steadymand that seemed to instantly strengthen everyone''s resolve, as their morale surged and they shouted in unison, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"


    Su Lun also noticed this sudden burst in morale, and his eyebrows rose slightly.


    Qian Tiao indeed suited the role of a pirate captain. Beneath her forthright naturey an inexplicable charisma thatmanded respect.


    ....


    As the Dawn Group prepared tensely for the enemy, the pirates aboard the three approaching shipsughed wildly, rxed and at ease.


    Seeing the Grey Dolphin had taken down its sails, showing no sign of fleeing or firing, they naturally assumed the other side had given in and surrendered.


    The three ships were less than a hundred meters apart, and the pirates on deck could hear each other''s shouts.


    "Hahaha, that woman didn''t run? And she even looks like she wants a fight? Is she trying to scare us?"


    "If you can''t fight, can''t you still put on a show? Tsk tsk, probably want to negotiate."


    "That''s boring. I had heard that this ''Thousand des Rakshasa'' was a formidable neer on the seas recently, seems like that''s all there is to it."


    "That bitch is clever! If we really resisted, a few rounds of cannon fire would leave us nothing but ashes. By surrendering, we might still have a chance to live..."


    "She was all tough at the gambling stall earlier, I thought she would fight to the death, haha... didn''t expect her to be such a coward! Once we catch that bitch alive, I''ll make sure she knows what regret means!"


    "Hehe, that whore will probably be totally submissive to the boss."


    "Hahaha..."


    ...


    Seven or eight hundred pirates gathered on the decks of three ships, yet they were oblivious to what they were about to face.


    Looking at the few dozen members of the Dawn group, these pirates felt not the slightest threat. Many of them hadn''t even disengaged the safety on their guns.


    They believed that with such a disparity in numbers, it was a battle without suspense.


    If the other side fled immediately, maybe they''d live a little longer.


    Now... there was no chance to escape.


    ...


    Soon, the three pirate ships smoothly approached the Grey Dolphin. All three ships wererger and taller than Su Lun''s.


    When they were still dozens of meters away, the "Cyclops" Sok stared down from his superior position at Qiantiao and arrogantly said, "Hey hey hey... you fucking bitch, not feeling so high and mighty now, are you?"


    The humiliation at the gambling stall had spread all over Blizzard City, causing their "Iron Crocodile Group" to lose facepletely.


    The bottled-up anger from so many days demanded a vocal release; it just didn''t feel right otherwise.


    Qiantiao, hearing these words, didn''t rush to action but sneered back, not mincing words, "Cyclops, are you so eager to court death?"


    "Oh, still talking tough?"


    Although somewhat puzzled as to why the opponent didn''t beg for mercy and was still acting tough, Sok wasn''t panicking anymore. The situation was under control, and there was no way for them to escape. A lecherous smile appeared on his face, "You fucking whore, I''ll have you kneeling and begging for mercy soon!"


    At these words, the pirates on the decks of the three ships burst into raucousughter, hurling filthynguage around.


    In the brief time it took for this cross-water banter, the three pirate ships hadpletely cut off the Grey Dolphin''s retreat. One blocked the prow, while the other two besieged it from either side.


    When the ships were a little over ten meters apart, grappling hooks, hook-ropes, and chains ttered through the air,tching onto the Grey Dolphin''s railings and hull. The ropes tensed, pulled taut, and the ships drew closer to each other.


    Even then, Qiantiao did not act; she simply stood firmly on the deck with one hand resting on her sword hilt.


    Members of the Dawn group were nervous to their core, as several hundred muskets targeted them; they were fully prepared to die.


    Seeing the enemy about to board, they kept ncing at Qiantiao out of the corner of their eyes, puzzled as to why their captain had not yet given the order to strike, especially when the moment seemed ripe.


    But without an order, they didn''t move either.@@novelbin@@


    Only Lolota sensed something and dimly guessed what her teacher might be waiting for, praying inwardly, "Is the teacher waiting for that Mr. Su Lun? I hope that gentleman is also very powerful..."


    And at that moment of confusion, a man with a crow on his shoulder and a strange umbre in hand walked out of the cabin, unhurriedly.


    It was Su Lun.


    ...


    With the distance so close, all the enemies had entered the range of soul perception.


    Su Lun finally confirmed there were no fifth-order professionals on the opposing three ships.


    Qiantiao watched him approach and asked, "Is it ready?"


    Su Lun nodded slightly and said indifferently, "Yeah."


    Hearing this, a dangerous glint disappeared from Qiantiao''s eyes as she remarked, "Tsk tsk, Su Lun, I always feel like you''re going to give me a big surprise."


    With the corner of his mouth slightly lifted, Su Lun replied lightly, "I probably won''t disappoint Sister Qiantiao..."


    Just then, with two "ng" sounds, the hulls of two pirate ships had already fully collided with the Grey Dolphin under the pull of countless ropes. Everyone on deck rocked simultaneously.


    The most brutal boarding battle was about to begin!


    The pirates from the three ships, numbering hundreds,ughed wildly and with great mor, they leaped over from the opposing deck, full of aggressive momentum.


    "Brothers, for fuck''s sake!"


    "Capture that bitch alive! Hahaha..."


    ...


    The oppressive mass of invaders barged in, the strings in the hearts of the Dawn group members were stretched to their limit.


    Now was the moment, with a "ng", swords were drawn from their scabbards.


    Atst, Qiantiao gave a softmand: "Kill!"


    ...


    The "Iron Crocodile Pirate Group", "Firemingo Pirate Group", and "Iron Hammer Pirate Group" three pirate groups totaled seven or eight hundred people.


    Counting the leaders and the first mates, there were five fourth-order experts, with countless third and second-order elite fighters.


    The situation was supposed to be aplete rout.


    But just as the boarding battle erupted, something unexpected happened.


    They suddenly felt an ice-cold Sword Qi piercing through to the sky.


    "That woman...!!!"


    Almost at the same time, the faces of several fourth-order professionals changed dramatically.


    Only experts of the same tier could clearly sense how strong and inconceivably powerful this outburst of Sword Qi was!


    Only then did they realize the aura exploding from the woman they thought had been trapped like a turtle in a jar was so exaggeratedly powerful that it was beyond belief.


    It was like encountering a hundred-meter wave at sea, making them feel a trace of instinctive fear before the fight had even begun¡ªhow could this be?


    Just looking at the fierce Sword Qi felt like it could blind their eyes, and they found no breach to exploit.


    Several fourth-order pirates suddenly felt a sense of helplessness, amazed, "Sword Master? Is this not the realm of a grand sword master?"


    Moreover, what shocked them even more was still toe.


    After a thousand long swords were drawn, a ming six-armed deity suddenly appeared behind her!


    After she released her armor, four alchemic arms likewise emerged, each holding a sword. Her soaring Sword Qi, together with the phantom of the deity, merged into a six-armed, six-sworded presence like a descended heavenly god, imposing and overwhelming.


    ....


    It was the instant that the thousand swords burst forth, as if time itself had frozen.


    The mor ceased abruptly, and the pirates who were boarding the ship suddenly froze in ce. The huge deck became silent as a tomb, the sound of swallowing clearly audible.


    Even without understanding the soaring Sword Qi, the sight of the phantom behind her made them grasp something.


    "Look, what is that! It seems like an innate phenomenon?"


    "This... what kind of innate talent is this? Howe I''ve never seen it before."


    "Damn it! This must be some advanced form of a very high-level talent! Everyone be careful; it''s dangerous!"


    "...."


    After thatment, the atmosphere turned strange.


    Just when they thought it would be a thoroughly satisfying victory, something seemed off.


    The three pirate group leaders called ''Cyclops'' all turned ashen.


    They immediately realized why the woman had earned the nickname ''Thousand des Rakshasa.''


    This woman''s strength was even more formidable than the legends!


    But why hadn''t she shown this level of ability before?


    The thought was terrifying.


    Even without confirmation that the six-armed apparition was the second stage of "A-022-Rakshasa Woman," they knew well that anyone awaking such a talent would be beyond ordinary fighting capabilities!


    No wonder she had the confidence for a desperate fight...


    If it truly came to blows, it might not be the one-sided crush they anticipated; they might suffer heavy losses.


    But now, it was toote to back down, and with the situation as it was, there was no choice but to fight.


    ''Cyclops'' acted decisively, roaring, "Captain Charles, Captain Horn, we few will engage this woman. The rest of you, kill everyone on her ship!"


    The several fourth-order pirates exchanged nces and unanimously agreed, "Good!"


    No matter how good her talent was, she was still just one person.


    They had a numerical advantage of dozens of times over.


    If they could take out the rest of the Dawn Group, their seven or eight hundred men could wear her down to death, even if just through sheer attrition!


    "Brothers, kill!"


    "Leave no survivors, y all those bastards!"


    "..."


    With order after order from the group leaders, the pirates, who were initially hesitant due to the intense aura of Thousand des, charged onto the deck of the Grey Dolphin once more.


    ....


    Thousand des leapt onto a mast, poised to charge into the crowd below. But the fourth-order pirate chiefs certainly weren''t going to give her the chance, following her up without hesitation.


    It was a fierce six-on-one battle.


    Being a melee, there weren''t any Magician''s widespread bombings. On the narrow deck, the Dawn Group stuck together, not scattered by the first wave of enemies.


    Yet even so, the enemy was just too numerous.


    Spears, poles, crossbow bolts, and hidden des emerged without end.


    Just in the initial sh, several wounds were already sliced across the bodies of the three giant shield warriors at the forefront. Though not fatal, it was a disastrous start.


    The Dawn Group was being forced back, wave after wave of fresh enemies surging onto the deck.


    "ng," "ng," "ng,"...


    The sharp sound of sword strikes was heart-wrenching, with sparks frequently shing between the shields and des.


    Lorota held her long sword, swinging it in an imprable flurry.


    But even the most exquisite swordy seemed pale now, overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies, too many...


    In front of her, dense shadows of swords and des - block one and there are ten, a hundred more to follow!


    She knew the oue of today was likely to be grim.


    In Lorota''s eyes was the certain resolve of a fighter in the arena.


    The enemy was just too numerous...


    But she had no regrets.


    Meeting her teacher, these brief months were already a hundred times happier than her time in the diatorial arena.


    At this critical moment, countless thoughts shed through Lorota''s mind.


    But just then, it was as if the favor of fate suddenly arrived!


    Her peripheral vision caught sight of the suited man who had been standing there the whole time.


    "Huh?"


    She immediately felt puzzled.


    Since the start, Lorota noticed that Mr. Su Lun had just been standing behind them.


    asionally firing his gun, he urately hit a few pirates.


    His marksmanship seemed pretty good?


    But other than that, he did not seem to be ready to fight with all his might.


    If it were a sign of giving up, there was no look of despair or fear on his face.


    Instead, thatposure was so unsettling it was baffling.


    It was as if the life-and-death struggle before him didn''t even catch his eye.


    Not right!


    Huh... Mr. Su Lun''s gaze seems to be observing the battle at the mast?


    There, the teacher had already engaged those few fourth-tier professionals, and although he wasn''t losing, he couldn''t spare a hand for now.


    Just when Lorota was full of surprise, she suddenly caught a glimpse of Mr. Su Lun inserting his fire gun into its holster like lightning, and then his hands swiftly began changing into the sorcerer''s seals


    "Such fast seal-making speed!"


    Lorota was stunned.


    Sorcerer''s seals aren''t just about the speed of one''s hands; the moreplex the seal, the moreplex the energy needed to condense. To be that quick, one needs an extraordinary understanding of the spell.


    "He... He''s actually casting a spell that''s not of the third tier?"


    Lorota''s rank was too low; she didn''t yet understand the origins of Suren Sorcerer''s Seal. But she did understand the anomaly that descended suddenly with thepletion of the seals.


    "Release!"


    It was when Su Lun''splex series of sorcerer''s seals reached the final seal that a ck Seven-Pointed Star Formation suddenly lit up beneath his feet.


    A tremendous surge of dark energy emanated from him.


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    And this was just the beginning!


    The Seven-Pointed Star Alchemical Formation was like the fuse to a barrel of gunpowder; the moment the formation''s light red, the entire Grey Dolphin lit up with a boiling glow.


    Once Su Lun''s spell was cast, his hands changed seals with even greater speed.


    "Armor Release!"


    As the spell was released, a ferocious eight-armed spidernce suddenly emerged behind him.


    With each dizzying change of the sorcerer''s seals, suddenly, from deep in his throat, a low chant emerged like a demon''s whisper, "Silk Control Secret Art - Cocoon World!"


    Finally, an impressively shocking visual burst into view.


    ....


    Just when everyone was yet to understand the exaggerated energy fluctuations of the spell, they suddenly saw countless dense silver threads spring from below the decrepit ship''s hull.


    "Damn it, watch out for those threads!"


    The pirates also immediately realized something was terribly wrong and began hacking away with their swords.


    But the witch''s hair was extremely tough; a few could be cut, but when clumped together, they became incredibly hard. Even if cut, the threads would reconnect on their own, spreading endlessly in all directions. No matter how they were shed, it was all in vain.


    In an instant, to the pirates'' surprise, the threads showed no intention of attacking them. Instead, they crazily spread, rapidly binding all four ships together.


    Then, before most could react, the threads had already formed a cocoon, enveloping everyone within the independent space made by the joined ships.


    This scene, amidst the heat of battle, was extraordinarily abrupt.


    It wasn''t just the pirates who were dumbfounded; even the members of the Dawn group were speechless.


    Doing this, weren''t they sealing off their own escape route?


    Now they couldn''t even jump into the sea if they wanted to.


    If not for knowing the man with the ck umbre was the Captain''s friend, the members of the Dawn group might have thought him an enemy infiltrator.


    Only Lorota seemed to realize something.


    She looked at the walls of threads wrapping around them, her eyes revealing a mix of shock and disbelief.


    What kind of spell was this?


    And what on earth was Mr. Su Lun trying to do?


    She suddenly realized something; Mr. Su Lun hadn''t taken action earlier because it seemed like he was waiting for the enemies to gather?


    This thought sparked, and recalling the "seemingly senseless" dialogue between him and her teacher earlier, Lorota suddenly grasped something.


    The threads had sealed off any retreat.


    Mr. Su Lun intended not only to counterattack but to kill all these enemies.


    My God, that''s insane...


    Lorota was still struggling to believe the absurd thought that had suddenly sprung to her mind,


    But the reality was unfolding before her very eyes!


    ....


    In the moment of everyone''s realization, Suren''s sorcerer''s seals changed again, and a gigantic cross began to coalesce slowly in the sky.


    As his dark spiritual power grew, so did the control area of the cross.


    It seemed as if time had stopped, but these series of actions happened in the blink of an eye.


    Right then, he pped his hands together and uttered softly, "Release!"


    "Boom"


    "Boom"


    "Boom"


    "..."


    Several space scrolls arranged around the hull suddenly exploded.


    In the blink of an eye, the small space was filled with hundreds of eerily grinning rune puppets.


    As the overwhelming army of puppets appeared, the situation finally became clear.


    Everyone understood what had happened.


    Both the seven or eight hundred pirates and the members of the Dawn group were shocked on the spot.


    Even Qiantiao, who was engaged in a heated battle above, shed a look of surprise on her heroic face upon seeing this. Looking at the calm-ck-clothed Su Lun amidst the puppet horde, she murmured, "You really did give me a big surprise..."

 Chapter 293 The State of Mountain Hermit

    "Wee to my Puppet ughterhouse!"


    A fierce smile crept into Su Lun''s eyes.


    For some reason, whenever he executed "Hundred Guile Nightwalk," there was an excitement in him that made his body violently restless.


    The sensation of controlling countless puppets at his fingertips and also dictating the life and death of his enemies stirred an overwhelming urge to battle within him.


    It also brought a kind of morbid pleasure to his body.


    He had thought it was a disorder caused by a split in his emotions, and had tried to suppress that state continuously.


    But it had no effect. Instead, it produced more negative emotions.


    Later, when he visited the Dalu tribe and heard what the Deer Tribe Chief had to say, he realized it was part of human nature, a fundamental trait that even gods could not discard.


    Afterwards, he learned from Mr. Jing that the thrill of "cleaving the injustices within the heart" through killing was also a part of consolidating his Qi.


    Su Lun finally understood a bit more.


    At this moment, as he looked at the enemies before him, an invisible aura that dominated the entire scene suddenly burst forth.


    ....


    Space sealed, the sudden arrival of hundreds of puppets on the battlefield gave the enemies of the "Iron Crocodile Pirate Gang" an immense sense of oppression.


    Behind Su Lun, the eight-armed spider spear vibrated at a high frequency, precisely controlling each puppet.


    He had also extracted some Soul Shards from the knights of the Sacred Judgment Legion, acquiring quite a bit of knowledge about army charge formations.


    Applied to the puppet legion, it maximized the advantage of their numbers.


    "st-resistant Dolls" acted like shield warriors at the forefront, withstanding concentrated firepower, grinning, spitting fire, cutting, leaden, voodoo, healing... there was offense, control, and healing.


    The variously functional dolls coordinated with each other, much like a well-trained army.


    The ability to multi-task also allowed Su Lun to perfectly control the entire battle situation.


    Not giving the enemies any time to react, those variously functional automatons charged into the crowd, bringing a storm of bloodshed.


    Compared to the enemies he had encountered before, pirates were what Su Lun felt to be the weakest in groupbat prowess.


    Even with puppets joining the fray, the enemies'' numbers were still around two to three times that of the Dawn Squad.


    But the moment the fight began, the pirates, who had swarmed over just before, were scattered after one confrontation, with no formation to speak of.


    This small pirate gang epitomized the term "rabble."


    Most pirates were low-level professionals greedy for pleasure,cking systematic training, good equipment, or much umted alchemy knowledge. They feared death and acted slyly, ready to flee at a moment''s notice, with many such people present.


    They were far inferior to the ve hunting teams they had encountered before.


    Therefore, Su Lun''s puppet legion dealt with them with ease, quickly dispersing their assault on the "Grey Dolphin" and turning the siege into a counter-ughter.


    Actually, if the pirate group had resisted forcefully, it would not have been so easy for Su Lun''s puppet legion to break the situation.


    After all, due to material and financial limitations, most of his puppets were only on the level of second-tier professionals.


    If those seven or eight hundred people had fought fearlessly to the death, they would not have been without power.


    At least, they wouldn''t have been scattered at the first contact.


    But now, their defeat was like andslide, beyond redemption.


    Of course, from beginning to end, Su Lun had never felt that these pirates had a numerical advantage.


    After all.


    If puppets were destroyed, it was of no consequence. Su Lun could simply tear open a space scroll and summon another hundred new ones.


    Since leaving the Silent Forest, he had been busy using materials he had purchased to create arge number of automatons. He was not short ofbat puppets at all.


    As time passed, the numerical advantage of the pirates would only decrease.


    After the first wave of pirates who rushed onto the "Grey Dolphin" were scattered, the remaining pirates began to flee and fight individually.


    Even with fourth-tierbatants being tied up, Su Lun felt no pressure in dealing with them.


    He stood on the deck, controlling his puppets to focus fire on those third-tier squad leaders who still had fighting capability, as well as those attempting to break through the "Cocoon World."


    In this confined space, he controlled everything.


    Even if the pirates hid in the cabins, it was futile.


    In his Soul Perception, any cluster of soul fire in the ships waspletely exposed.


    ....


    This dramatic turn of events stupefied the people of the Dawn Squad.


    They had all been prepared to fight to the death, but they didn''t expect that the mysterious man the captain had brought would reverse the situation all by himself!


    Although Puppet Masters were rare, they had seen some before.


    But how could there be a Puppet Master who could control hundreds of puppets?


    Moreover, this man also took the time to send out a few puppets emitting a greenish healing aura, providing urgent treatment to the recently injured crew members of the Dawn Squad. Having the chance to catch their breath, the crew members also began to counterattack. Following the puppet legion, they leaped across the deck, dived into the cabins, and pursued the fleeing enemies.


    ...


    Su Lun''s pressure was diminishing, as he managed to fight with puppets and silken threads while still finding time to pay attention to another battlefield.


    Thousand des Rakshasa fought five with one, not falling behind in the slightest.


    Her six arms wielding six des created a light so dense it appeared like ten thousand des, and even from afar, the whirlwind of de energy sent shivers down one''s spine.


    "Thousand des Rakshasa is so powerful..."


    Watching, Su Lun couldn''t help but sigh in his heart.


    The strength of the few fourth-tier pirate captains was not bad, but they simply couldn''t handle Thousand des Rakshasa at all.


    "Cyclops" Sock had been able to trade blows with Thousand des Rakshasa when she only had two arms back at the gambling stand, but now he waspletely overwhelmed. If it weren''t for their numerical advantage, he would have been in by now. Your journey continues at My Virtual Library Empire


    Iron Wall Explosive Bear Horn was in the same boat¡ªthe veteran pirate with a bounty of over fifty million had a mechanical body that could withstand cannon fire, but now, before those sharp de lights, he barely managed to protect himself.


    "Gold Hook" Charles employed some impressive knightly swordsmanship, but he was far weaker than Thousand des Rakshasa and posed little threat...


    Together with two other first mates, the five of them barely managed to defend themselves.


    Thousand des Rakshasa was a pure swordsman, with no fancy spells or techniques, just sh after sh after sh.


    But once her physical strength and swordsmanship reached a certain level, she became utterly unreasonable. (Note: Single-Edge Sword can be called both a sword and a de.)


    Like her current state, the Swordmaster realm.


    The difference between a "Swordmaster" and an ordinary swordsman was most apparent in their Sword Qi.


    At full status, her shing Sword Qi could extend three to forty feet outward. Her Sword Qi was highly effective at breaking through qi, armor, and elemental barriers, posing a lethal threat to anything short of a fully armored Mecha.


    And the second stage Rakshasa Woman also provided her with a massive increase in physical capabilities: nerve response, speed, agility, strength... all of it.


    It was aplete domination over almost any fourth-tier opponent.


    In this state, it was challenging for enemies to harm her, but one sh from her meant losing a limb.


    ...


    Normally, if you can''t defeat your enemy in an instant, you have to progress through the battle step by step.


    Otherwise, if the enemy sees no hope of survival, they might resort to a mad act of mutual destruction.


    Seeing Thousand des Rakshasa with the upper hand, Su Lun had no intention of using his scythe tounch a sneak attack. He nned to wait until after disposing of the underlings and securing the overall situation before revealing other methods.


    But while he was enjoying the chaos, the pirate captains turned their gaze towards him.


    Those guys knew they couldn''t deal with Thousand des Rakshasa in a short time, but if they continued like this, their crew would be wiped out by Su Lun.


    Anyone with half a brain knew that to deal with a Puppet Master, the puppeteer themselves had to be killed first.


    And those third-tier squad leaders had no ability to kill him.


    So, it was up to them to make a move.


    It was during this fight that the five fourth-tiers suddenly erupted, and for a moment, Thousand des Rakshasa couldn''t break free to intervene.


    One of the fourth-tier assassins deftly left the battlefield and stealthily vanished into the air.


    Su Lun, upon seeing this, was not the least bit panicked; he merely raised an eyebrow and muttered, "Tsk tsk... only one came, how underwhelming."


    The assassin''s stealth and movement were quite skillful, as he deftly blended into the shockwaves of the battle, making him hard to detect.


    But to Soul Perception, that guy''s movement trajectory was anything but hidden.


    Su Lun sensed that the fellow was already within ten meters of him, apparently nning for a one-shot kill. Only then did he leisurely pick up the ck umbre beside him.


    The cursed Human Skin Umbre had previously been a worry due to the risk of bacsh, but now with the Sacred Totem, Su Lun used it without any pressure. Whispered influences and such were negligible.


    With a "thud," he opened the umbre.


    He formed a seal with one hand.


    "Nightfall Domain: Open!"


    Su Lun, as a Puppet Master, had guessed that they would send a master to kill him, hadn''t he?


    The moment he engaged, he knew that the underlings could not deal with him, and those captains would definitely look for an opportunity to attack.


    He had prepared the cursed umbre in advance, just waiting for this moment.


    Not everyone had the All-knowing Eye to understand what the Human Skin Umbre did immediately. The fourth-tier assassin, seeing Su Lun take out the umbre, didn''t realize he''d been discovered and kept charging ahead. But as soon as the umbre opened, he found his senses stripped away in an instant, unable to perceive his body or anything around him, and his stealth was immediately nullified.


    Before the resentful spirits within the umbre even attacked, a sharp silken thread appeared on the assassin''s neck.


    Having lost control of his body, his elemental barrier naturally dissipated as well.


    Su Lun''s fingertips flexed slightly, easily severing the fourth-tier assassin''s head.


    ....


    "Gulp," the head hit the ground.


    The fourth-tier assassin hadn''t reacted at all before he was decapitated.


    This scene added an even more eerie atmosphere to an already bizarre battle.


    Everyone was as if they had seen a ghost, looking at Su Lun holding the ck umbre.


    He had just opened an umbre and hooked his finger, and then a fourth-tier expert was so easily killed?


    This method, unseen, was... indescribably eerie.


    If just now the sight of the puppet legion had shocked everyone with their number,


    then at this moment, they realized that the strength of the ck umbre man himself was also terrifyingly formidable!


    The members of the Dawn Group were naturally ecstatic as they discovered that their captain''s friend was indeed outrageously strong.


    On the other hand, the sailors and leaders of the "Iron Crocodile Group," "Fire Phoenix," and "Hammer Group" pirate crews all had ashen faces, cursing inwardly.


    Where did this monstere from...


    Dammit, a "Thousand des Rakshasa" was already freakishly strong, and now there''s this abnormal Puppet Master popping up?


    Even up until this fourth-tier assassin died, they felt they still had a fighting chance.


    Now, all hope was utterly extinguished.


    Even Qian Dao, upon seeing Su Lun kill the enemy so effortlessly, revealed a momentary look of astonishment, unable to hide her shock, "This kid, he''s not just cutting down third-tiers like vegetables, he even surpasses the ordinary fourth-tiers..."


    With this thought, a deep sense of relief appeared on her face.


    She then looked at the remaining four pirate captains with an extremely sharp gaze, and the power of her shes suddenly increased by threefold.


    ....


    The original n to drag the battle out and slowly whittle them down was disrupted, making the fight suddenly much more intense.


    With no way out, the pirates could only fight desperately.


    "Enough, we must make it a quick battle..."


    Seeing this, Su Lun exhaled softly and once again spread out two scrolls.


    "Bang" "Bang" two sounds.


    The scrolls exploded.


    An animated corpse holding a ck scythe and abat mecha appeared on the deck.


    With the arrival of these two major weapons, the bnce of the battle once again heavily tipped in favor of the Dawn Group.


    The oue of the fight was nowpletely without suspense.


    ....


    Soon after, two more fourth-tiers fell to Qian Dao''s de, and the battle was nearing its end.


    Seeing no hope of survival, the badly wounded "Cyclops" Sock finally panicked.


    In his repeated retreats, he begged pitifully.


    "Wait! We can talk about this! Whatever you want, I can give it to you. I can even surrender to your Dawn Group..."


    "You can''t kill me, my dad is..."


    "..."


    The more arrogant this guy had been earlier, the more pathetic his pleas were now.


    Qian Dao gave him no chance to live and with a sh ended his life.


    Su Lun walked over and they exchanged a brief nce.


    Looking at the corpses scattered everywhere, a shadow of the Grim Reaper rose behind him.


    Although Qian Dao was already aware of his awakened abilities, seeing this shadow emerge, with the oppressive might of thews of death looming, she narrowed her eyes slightly and murmured, "The talent of deathw is very impressive."


    Without lingering, she led the crew to clean up the enemies hiding in various parts of the ship.


    ....


    Su Lun looked at the corpse of "Cyclops" Sock on the ground, traces of solidified runes evident in its skeletal remains and flesh.


    It was because of these runes that even after "Iron Wall Explosive Bear" Horn, who had his body mechanized, was in by Qian Dao, this guy survived until the end.


    This alone showed that the secret techniques of this lineage had their unique aspects.


    Without dy, Su Lun harvested "Cyclops" Sock''s Soul Shard.


    Unsurprisingly, he did not find the rune knowledge he needed.


    ''You have stripped the soul of "Sock Leonhart," gaining some fragments of thews of "water, fire, and metal."''


    ''You have obtained some information about "Talin Archipgo Mountain Hidden Country."''


    ''You have learned some secret information about the Leonhart family: "Our familyes from Emperor Luying''s imperial capital..."''


    ''You have obtained some low-tier legacy knowledge about "magicians".''


    ''Spiritual power +5.7''


    This guy only knew a bit of the surface, and the amount of knowledge rted to "Magicians" stripped from him was still far from enough to craft an "Imitation of the Original Rune."


    Nevertheless, Su Lun gained some useful information from him.


    "So, this lineage of magicians alsoes from Emperor Luying''s imperial capital?"


    After digesting the information, Su Lun understood.


    This Sock''s father, known as "Rune Old Man," was actually a genius apprentice from the Imperial Rune Grandmaster''s school thirty years ago. For reasons unknown, he fled with a very special cursed object. After years of being hunted, he hid in the Northern Continent and gradually became the lord of those natives.@@novelbin@@


    "This plot is a bit outrageous... If Rune Old Man could advance to the sixth tier, calling him a genius is no overstatement. Why would he steal something and flee? Also, what cursed object was worth stealing?"


    Su Lun looked at the corpse in front of him, and there were some things he couldn''t figure out.


    Hecked some essential information and couldn''t make sense of many things at the moment.


    But the good news was that he had confirmed that the "Rune Old Man" really did hold the inheritance of a rune magician.


    "Looks like I really am going to make a trip..."


    As Su Lun thought to that point, he murmured to himself, his voice fine as a thread.


    But he also felt indifferent about it.


    After all, the four countries of the Northern Continent weren''t far from Pirate City, so it would be convenient to make a detour. Although the Rune Old Man was of the sixth order which was a bit troublesome, he should be able to find a breakthrough when the time came.


    However, within Sock''s memories, the "Mountain Hidden Country," one of the four countries of the Northern Continent, held many pieces of information with a strong scent of mystery.


    The situation there was veryplicated.


    "Ten thousand eight hundred deities? Tsk, tsk... Another fragment of a brilliant ancient civilization."


    At first nce, it was an area full of intrigue.


    Su Lun was also very interested in taking a look for himself.


    As he pondered, he had already extracted the Soul Shards of the other fourth order beings.


    Now he could use Reaper''s Wraith freely, reaping a full harvest in a single sweep.


    ...


    Su Lun released the "Cocoon World," and the threads covering several ships receded like the tide.


    The enemy forces from three pirate groups were almost entirely wiped out aboard their ships. Even if a few managed to jump overboard and escape, the likelihood of surviving in these cold waters with heavy winds and waves was next to nothing.


    The Dawn Group had only minor casualties¡ªso insignificant they were hardly worth considering.


    Now that the battle was over, they were cheerfully collecting the spoils on the ships. They collected the corpses, equipment, alchemy materials, and then transferred the supplies from the "Gray Dolphin" and the other two ships onto the light warship previously belonging to the "mingo Pirates."


    This was a new ship.


    This model of warship was known to be one of the fastest among the smaller pirate ships.


    For the Dawn Group, it was like trading a musket for a cannonball; in future encounters with strong enemies, the chances of being able to escape were now much higher.


    Before long, Qian Tiao came over, covered in blood.


    There were no wounds on her body; the blood belonged to the enemy.


    "Eh, I tried to control my shes, but I still ended up damaging the ship a bit. Repairing it is going to cost a lot of money..."


    Though Qian Tiaoined, she seemed to be in a good mood.


    Pirates didn''t have much loot, but the spoils from the three ships were enough to cover their expenses for a good while.


    She looked at Su Lun and asked, "Did you find what you were looking for?"


    Su Lun shrugged and replied honestly, "No. But I got some information, and I need to make a trip to the four countries of the Northern Continent."


    Qian Tiao added, "Oh. I was nning to check out Pirate City myself. Do you want to go together since it''s on the way?"


    "I have a better idea. I might need to go back to Blizzard City..."


    Su Lun revealed his n, "I''m thinking of infiltrating the fleet of the King of the North Sea to find out more about the sources of those void armaments. If I go to Pirate City, it''ll be harder without a legitimate identity, and I''d be more susceptible to suspicion."


    This was a n he had already considered before.


    "Oh."


    Qian Tiao listened, her lips curving into a slight frown of regret, but she didn''t seem too surprised and didn''t say much.


    She looked at Su Lun and smiled faintly, "Do you want me to give you a ride?"


    Su Lun shook his head, "No need. We''re not far from the coast. Just give me a boat, and I can make it back on my own."


    It was as if Qian Tiao only then realized something, "Oh, right, I almost forgot. With your abilities, you can handle a boat alone."


    Su Lun smiled.


    After a pause, Qian Tiao spoke again, "Then take care. If anything happens, use themunicator to let me know. If I''m free, I''lle to help you."


    Su Lun grinned, revealing neat white teeth, "Sure."


    A tacit understanding was evident in their eyes.


    It had not been long since they met, and their parting was marked by just a few simple words.


    ...


    Before long, two ships full of corpses were consumed by fire.


    The members of the Dawn Group set off northward, while a battered, empty ship headed south towards Blizzard City.


    Su Lun stood on the deck,


    Just in time to watch the increasingly distant ship where Qian Tiaozily sat on the mast, letting the gentle breeze flutter her cloak and scatter her green hair.


    Watching the nting sun,


    She was the epitome of solitary pride.

 Chapter 294 Prison Break

    Su Lun had returned to Blizzard City once again.


    This time, he didn''t dock his empty ship too close; a few kilometers from the shore, he scuttled it. Then, using a spider spear, he walked on water and quietly blended into the city, settling down in an inn.


    In the following days, his life was very regr.


    He rested at the inn during the day, tinkering with puppets and machinery. At night, he would frequent various taverns to gather information.


    Su Lun''s purpose in returning was to find a way to connect with the "Void Expansion Gear," not just to join any pirate crew. He needed to find a crew closely affiliated with the King of the North Sea.


    Now that Lord Oleg had dered himself King, the Great Pirate Era had arrived, and the Northern Sea Fleet was indeed recruiting. However, after several days of inquiries in Blizzard City, he found only Chris, the captain of the "Whaler" from the Seventh Fleet''s Third Division. Ironically, that guy only recruited Vikings and Trolls¡ªNorthern races¡ªand wasn''t too weing to humans.


    Just as Su Lun was racking his brains for another way to infiltrate, he heard another explosive piece of news.


    It was that Duke Raphael''s secret maritime prison had been broken into!


    Previously near the Berman Archipgo, Duke Raphael had annihted the Ninth Fleet of the King of the North Sea. But the fleetmander, "Gluttonous Grand General" Yixier Peion, and a few key members were not dead, but captured. They were likely to be sent for trial and execution.


    However, for some reason, this news leaked out.


    Then, the King of the North Sea sent people to attack the transport ship, rescuing them during the voyage. They also released a bunch of apanying high-security prisoners.


    Su Lun wasn''t particrly interested in the news about the Great Pirates escaping.


    Piratesmonly seeing jailbreaks as no big deal.


    But he was more interested in another piece of news: the group of Great Pirates from the King of the North Sea, who had been freed in the jailbreak, might arrive in Blizzard City for supplies in the next day or two.


    Su Lun felt this was a good opportunity.


    ....


    That day, at Walrus Tavern.


    The Seafarer''s Tavern had been trashed by Thousand des Rakshasa''s group before; now, this was the most bustling tavern in Blizzard City. It was also a favorite spot for various Great Pirates to meet.


    As the sun set, Su Lun, dressed in an inconspicuous pirate outfit, headed out to the tavern as usual.


    From this time until midnight, the tavern would gradually be lively.


    Upon entering the tavern, the crowd was not toorge yet. Three or five bald men were ying darts, a few with big beards were ying pirate cards, and scantily ddies danced around steel poles on stage...


    Familiar with the ce, Su Lun made his way to the bar and settled on a triangr high stool made of jujube wood, snapping his fingers at the bartender, "A ss of silver rum."


    Having been there for several days, the bartender recognized him and greeted with a smile, "Hey, Brother Johnny, haven''t you found a suitable crew to join yet?"


    As he spoke, he took out a jug, opened the cork of an oak barrel, and poured a full ss of wheat-colored rum.


    The twelve-year silver rum was widely recognized for its taste and was even pricier than some gold rums on the alcohol market. Pirates were connoisseurs of liquor; they usually consumed what they plundered and rarely sold it. Hence, you might not find this stuff in big taverns across various territories of Luying, but it was plentiful in pirate taverns.


    Su Lun flipped out a coin and took a sip from the cup, seeming to relish the rich vor of alcohol swirling in his mouth. He exhaled and then said, "Oh, Mark old chap, you know I''m not just looking for any crew. I''m a decent marksman, looking to join a real money-making pirate crew."


    He was now "Johnny," a somewhat famous marksman from a small city in the southern province of Anrogoths in Luying.


    This was the persona he had been crafting for himself over the past few days.


    At least if someone came snooping around, they could gather some clues from various drunkards rather than having such a person suddenly appearing out of thin air.


    Moreover, the identity was entirely fabricated, cobbled together from many fragments of memory to create a "person whose experience withstands scrutiny."


    The bartender, hearing this, chipped in with augh, "Hey, then I''ve got a piece of news you''ll be interested in."


    Su Lun guessed what he was about to say but still feigned curiosity, "Oh?"


    The bartender wore a smug expression and said, "Did you know, the Fleet Commanders under Lord Oleg might be in Blizzard City tonight. I think there''s no better fit for you than those big shots'' fleets."


    Su Lun pretended to be surprised and said, "Oh, that''s really great!"


    Actually, he had learned of this news from an information broker yesterday, but it was only a ''possibility.''


    This bartender confirmed the news and even pinpointed it to tonight.


    It wasn''t surprising that these taverns, backed by various pirate crews, knew some top-secret intelligence.


    Saying this, Su Lun, knowing the etiquette, threw a few more silver coins as a tip for the news, "Can you tell me more? I''m very interested in this news."


    The bartender happily pocketed the money and replied, "I don''t know the specifics. But didn''t the Ninth Fleet run into some trouble? Lord Peiwen will likely be reassembling the fleet, so, Brother Johnny, you''d better seize the opportunity..."


    "I see..."


    Su Lun listened while drinking gulps of liquor, chatting with the bartender intermittently.


    ....


    The night deepened, and the tavern filled with people.


    Su Lun, having several drinks at the bar, listened to the intelligence discussed by the pirates.


    "Hey, have you heard? There''s been a big stir in the Silent Forest!"


    "What happened?"


    "I''m not sure what''s going on with the sub-humans over there, but suddenly a mysterious master has appeared. Severalrge ve-trading groups have beenpletely defeated, suffering heavy losses. It''s also said that this mysterious master intends to ban the ve trade in the Silent Forest¡ªanyone who goes there will be killed. Now, the depths of the Silent Forest have be forbidden territory..."


    "What kind of big stir is this? Wasn''t this already announced?"


    "There''s more to it! Those ve traders suffered heavy losses this time, and of course, they wouldn''t let anyone sever their lifeline. So they hired the ''Thief King'' Carlo Meldis to handle it. However, the news just received today is that the team sent to cause trouble was almost entirely wiped out by the sub-humans, and ''Thief King'' Carlo was severely injured and his life or death isn''t known..."


    "My God, Carlo is one of the ''Top Ten Legendary Bounty Hunters,'' once ying a seventh-tier, extremely powerful. And he got severely injured? Who in the world is that mysterious person in the Silent Forest?"


    "I don''t know, seems to wear a gold-patterned cloak, and there''s information that it''s something called the ''Mirror Organization''..."


    "..."


    Su Lun heard this news and showed no surprise; he expressionlessly took a swig of his drink.


    Now that Blizzard City had been invaded by pirates, the ve trading had stalled, yet the pirates also eyed this trade, leading to no decrease in the number of ve-trading groups heading to the Silent Forest.


    But with Mr. Jing around, whatever "Top Ten Bounty Hunters," they naturally would be beaten up.


    After this time, things would probably quiet down a lot.


    After listening for a while, apart from some off-color jokes, Su Lun heard another piece of information that interested him.


    "Did you hear about the mysterious disappearance of the ''Iron Crocodile Group'' a few days ago? Today a group that docked brought news; someone saw the ''Thousand des Rakshasa'' pirate group heading towards Pirate City..."


    "Are the people from the Dawn Group still alive? That''s impossible! What about the people from the ''Iron Crocodile Group,'' the ''mingo Group,'' and the ''Hammer Group''?"


    "If the Dawn Group is still alive, it means that ''Cyclops'' and the others must have been killed."


    "This news is too ridiculous. They''re also an old pirate group; how could they all be killed without any news leaking out? I''d rather believe this was the work of a deep-sea leviathan!"


    "Yeah. Not a single survivor, it''s too damned strange. Saying the Dawn Group did it; that''s giving them too much credit. It''s probably a shipwreck, or maybe a deep-sea leviathan..."


    "Cut it out, the new folksing out on the sea these days, one more audacious and bizarre than the next, it''s really not certain. Did you hear? Lord Oleg''s Fourth Fleet has a neer who''s into mechanization. He just showed up and was promoted out of sequence to squad leader. I heard, during the recent prison break, that guy swallowed a battleship from Luying directly..."


    "..."


    At the neighboring table, the pirates grew increasingly excited as they talked.


    Su Lun listened attentively; these past few days, he had been mixing in pirate taverns, gathering many tales of "Pirate Neers."


    ''Thousand des Rakshasa'' naturally referred to Thousand des. That Crow yer is none other than the former leader of the Raven Gang, ''Crow Godfather'' Gwenb Mary. The one awakened with the gravity talent, most likely the old leader of the Cross Society, ''Arbiter'' Chak.


    Now, hearing about a neer involved with mechanization, he naturally thought of the former leader of the "Steam Party," ''Butcher'' Banner. There weren''t many tech talents among the pirates, not everyone was qualified to y with mechanisms. So, the chances of the neer being Banner were quite high.


    "Banner, eh..."


    Su Lun thought of something and seemed slightly distracted.


    He had learned a lot from Sabina''s words, naturally knowing that guy was not as simple as he appeared.


    ...


    As he drank, it was soon midnight, and the street outside the tavern suddenly came alive.


    Hearing the noise outside, Su Lun immediately knew that the Admiral from the King of the North Sea had arrived in Blizzard City.


    Now there weren''t many ces left to stay in town, so those guys pompously made their way to the tavern street.


    The patrons also watched as these imposing great pirates arrived, their conversations filled with these legendary figures from the pirate circles.


    "Herees the opportunity..."


    Su Lun wasn''t in a hurry to join the crowd, just sitting inside the tavern. He didn''t need to actively gather information, for with these significant people here, by tomorrow morning there would be plenty of intel at the information merchant''s.


    He sat at the bar, ncing at the passersby with his peripheral vision.


    The Fourth Fleet under the King of the North Sea''smand that had arrived was the one that previously raided Old Lington.


    So he recognized many of those people.


    Admiral ''Frost Giant'' Gaal Popov, Vice Admiral ''Sr me General'' dys Ormedo, Squadron Leader ''Flower Knife'' Chris, Third Squadron Leader ''Man-Devil'' Maburite, Fifth-Tier Professional ''Shadow Demon'' Tim Ashley...


    All were notorious big shots listed on the bounty board.


    These guys passing through the tavern district, seemingly intent on showing off their strength, unintentionally let their aura spill out.


    The oppressive might of a group of powerful figures? Terrifying!


    Combined, it was like a deluge sweeping through the entire district, drawing sideways nces from all the passersby.


    "They really are strong."


    Su Lun subdued his own aura, fearing he might be recognized.


    Seizing this opportunity, he also detailedly remembered the soul me characteristics of each person.


    The pirates under themand of the King of the North Sea were the ceiling of the pirate world. These guys were the elite among pirates, and theirbat abilities were notparable to the "Iron Crocodile Group" from before.@@novelbin@@


    It was just those fifth-tier squadron leaders who could pose a lethal threat to Su Lun.


    However, the Walrus Tavern was crowded, so therge group of pirates did note inside but went elsewhere.


    But at the end of the group, more than a dozen people walked in.


    They were dressed in checkered suits and waistcoats, woollen coats, wearing leather gloves, clearly in the Old Lington style.


    ....


    "Look, that''s the newly famous rookie, the newly appointed Captain of the Neenth Squad!"


    "Really it is!"


    "..."


    As soon as this group, dressed in ck, walked in, someone immediately recognized their identity.


    The leader was a vulture-like middle-aged man smoking a cigar, one of his arms was a modified mechanical arm, and his expression exuded a fierce aura.


    Upon seeing the leader, Su Lun murmured to himself, "It really is Banner."


    The former gang boss naturally had an imposing aura.


    Su Lun''s gaze then lingered on Banner''s mechanical arm for an extra moment.


    This mechanical arm was much more sophisticated than the one he had seen before.


    Moreover, he saw many exclusive parts of Mafa mechanical armor on thoseponents. [MF911 Magic Mech Arm Boiler], [TU-0 High-Frequency Tremor],[Dragon Scale S-st Panel],[T-alloy Power Shaft]...


    The parts appeared to be directly dismantled from a mechanical armor suit, all very intact. They were not just "Colonel-level" armor parts, but even included "Brigadier-level" high-techponents.


    "Banner, with this mechanical body, is much more powerful than before. Not to mention the fourth tier, if the abilities don''t counter, perhaps even the fifth tier could hardly touch him..."


    Su Lun, who had deeply studied Mafa''s mechanical technologies, instantly recognized the technological content of Banner''s mechanical arm.


    Moreover, this was just the visible mechanical arm.


    He knew that this guy was not just a semi-modified mech warrior... but fully modified!


    Seeing those mechanical parts even made Su Lun somewhat envious.


    The throne of the King of the North Sea was still conferred by the emperor of the Mafa Empire, and the rtionship between the two powers was very ambiguous. It was said that the Mafa side also supported with technology and equipment.


    It was unknown whether these mechanical parts were previously stolen by the King of the North Sea or funded by the Mafa Empire.


    "Buting back to that, if it is thetter, wouldn''t it be possible to get some of Mafa''s mechanical armor through the channels of the King of the North Sea?"


    Thinking here, Su Lun''s thoughts became more active.


    His current mechanical puppet army, which could really stand up, only had one [Colonel-level Battleship IX Form Mechanical Armor], and there was still a long road to technical decryption.


    If there really was a channel to obtain more armor parts, the formation time for his mechanical army would significantly reduce.


    Thinking of this, he found yet another excuse for himself to join the North Sea fleet.


    And yet, Su Lun was more concerned about something else.


    He turned his gaze to the people apanying Banner.


    ....


    "Where exactly did Banner get this neuro-mechanical technology from?"


    Su Lun''s eyes narrowed slightly, and he quickly sensed that among those people behind him, a few had unique soul mes.


    Once in Old Lington, Sabina stayed with a disguised identity in the Steam Party. Consequently, she was the only one who knew that Banner was fully mechanized.


    Because Sabina was not absolutely loyal to the Umbre Organization, this information had never been reported, maintaining a mutual understanding of each side extracting what they needed.


    But the question still remained.


    Who transformed Banner''s mechanical body?


    "Neural mechanics" was a top-secret scientific project of Duke Raphael, and even in theboratories of Old Lington, only a few top executives had mastered theplete technology.


    And Sabina was sure that Banner''s transformation did note from theb.


    So... this had be a mystery.


    Previously, during the pirate raid on ck Reef, the tower storming was very rushed. After Su Lun came out, he felt there was no opportunity to investigate and stopped thinking about it.


    Now that he had seen Bannere out, a thought in his heart started to stir eagerly.


    "Neural mechanical technology, if we can really find clues from him, it would be much easier than going through Duke Raphael..."


    Su Lun looked at Banner, his eyes sparkling with thought.


    ....


    Banner and his group entered the pub.


    The bartender also cleared a booth for them.


    All eyes were on this group, but Su Lun''s observant gaze went unnoticed.


    The former "Steam Party" had secured their position as one of the top three gangs in the Old Lington Outer City through mechanical modifications, and Banner''s knowledge of mechanics was not bad. However, even so, it was highly unlikely that he had mastered the top-secret "neural mechanical technology."


    Therefore, there must be a "technician" behind him.


    Previously in Old Lington Outer City, there were too many ces to hide, and Sabina hadn''t found any clues.


    But now, venturing out to sea, if there is indeed such an important person, it''s highly likely they always carry it with them.


    Su Lun''s gaze quickly locked onto an ordinary-looking middle-aged man with a goatee.


    Although most of Banner''s followers had mechanized limbs, that person''s soul fire flickered notably, distinctly different from other professionals.


    "Synthetic skin, huh..."


    Su Lun found this goatee very unfamiliar.


    He thought of a possibility, that of a super mechanical soldier!


    Banner wouldn''t bring along someone useless, and with that thought, the existence of the goatee man seemed very special.


    ....


    "He really is into mechanics..."


    "Psh, mechanics, what skill is that? It''s all about the equipment. Anyone with equipment could be a captain of the North Sea Fleet."


    "Exactly. Without their equipment, mechanical soldiers are useless. The neers these days are really arrogant, acting as if they are incredibly powerful..."


    "..."


    As soon as Banner''s group entered the pub, the other patrons began whispering among themselves.


    In Ru Ying, mechanical technology is backward, and those who tinker with mechanics are looked down upon.


    Even within the pirate circles, mechanical soldiers are at the bottom of the disdain chain.


    Traditional professionals look down on those whosebat power relies wholly on external mechanical enhancements, and indeed, these mechanical soldiers are usually significantly weaker than their peers.


    Clumsy, slow in reaction, with limited potential... this is the general public''s notion of mechanics in Ru Ying.


    "Super mechanical soldiers" are only known by the upper echelon in Ru Ying, and the concept of neural mechanics is still apletely alien field for most people.


    In most pirates'' eyes, as long as the machinery is advanced enough, even a pig can achieve the same effect.


    So Banner''s group''s entry inevitably faced contempt.


    Su Lun, listening to these sourments, shook his head slightly and muttered in a voice only he could hear, "This one''s called ''Butcher'' for a reason. His temper isn''t so kind..."


    He knew someone was about to be unlucky.


    In Old Lington, the title "Butcher" was not thrown around lightly.


    Sure enough.


    It was right after Su Lun''s mutter that the few people at the next table, who continued whispering, suddenly stopped.


    Two people''s heads "ng" smashed down onto the table.


    Upon closer inspection, a bloody hole had appeared on top of their heads.


    Your adventure continues at My Virtual Library Empire


    Su Lun naturally noticed that, in that instant, the nails stuck in the wooden table had suddenly shot out, piercing through the men''s jaws into their skulls.


    "[A-043-Metal Devourer], his professional advancement has gained the ability to control metal elements, tsk tsk..."


    Su Lun drank his drink expressionlessly, not the least bit surprised.


    He was well aware of Banner''s information.


    ording to Sabina, this guy''s employment sequence was very special, retaining his innate abilities even after aplete mechanical transformation.


    Even without relying on mechanics, this guy''sbat power was very strong.


    The King of the North Sea is the ceiling of the pirate circles, who can''t be killed?


    Those killed by Banner''s temperamental outburst were within expectations.

 Chapter 295 Going to Pirate City

    Su Lun did not rush to make contact with "Butcher" Banner.


    Now that this fellow has alsoe ashore and even joined the fleet of the King of the North Sea, there would be plenty of opportunities to make contactter. He needed the right moment so as not to arouse suspicion.


    Two people died at the neighboring table, which did not cause much disturbance. However, it gave the patrons some understanding of the ruthlessness of this newly promoted captain of the fourth fleet.


    Su Lun quietly drank at the bar, asionally chatting with the bartender.


    He drank a lot of alcohol and heard plenty of news.


    What the patrons discussed most was naturally the recent sea prison raid incident.


    How the fourth fleet had severely beaten the Royal Navy of the Luying Empire, rescued Ninth Fleet Captain "Gluttonous Grand General" Yixier Peion, and released some very famous "Big Shots."


    In the pirate circles, pirates thrashing the Luying Navy naturally made for the most exhrating topic.


    Su Lun listened and roughly formed some ideas, then returned to the hotel.


    ...


    The next day, all sorts of news about the fleet from the King of the North Sea filled the skies of Blizzard City.


    Su Lun went directly to the informant, where he bought a scroll containing the most detailed intelligence.


    Then, as expected, he heard the news about the reformation of the ninth fleet.


    The pirates of the entire Blizzard City became lively.


    Normally,rge pirate groups seldom recruit massively unless they have suffered great reductions in numbers.


    After all, the spoils from robbery were limited ¡ª too many people would mean not enough to go around.


    And joining the North Sea Fleet was many individual pirates'' ultimate dream.


    To get aboard was akin to securing a "job for life" in pirating ¡ª fame, a stable sry, ess to the best resources, and opportunities for advancement.


    But joining a great pirate crew had its pros and cons.


    The advantage was, with this status, one basically didn''t get messed with in the pirate circles.


    With the protection of "King of the North Sea" Oleg, a top-tier power, there was no need to fear enemies or bounties. Ordinary bounty hunters didn''t dare provoke such top-level pirate crews. And even without robbery, there was a fixed sry. Not entirely dependent on luck.


    But the disadvantage was it attracted too much attention, making it easy to be a target.


    The Royal Navy of Luying Empire was very keen on pursuingrge pirate crews, as it counted as military merit. The higher the bounty on the pirate, the greater the merit.


    So,rge pirate crews had to be very cautious with their movements.


    Once their whereabouts were exposed, they very likely could be surrounded and trapped.


    Just like the previous annihtion of the ninth fleet by Duke Rafael''s elite naval fleet ¡ª once they received urate information and mounted an attack, the chances of being severely damaged were enormous.


    Then there were the bounty hunters.


    Ordinary bounty hunters indeed didn''t dare to provoke, but those who dared were not ordinary.


    It''s like when the "top ten bounty hunters" came, they would wreak havoc.


    Low-tier pirate fodder were easy to be harvested en masse.


    The risk of being cannon fodder was great.


    However, any pirate with a little fame was basically already a wanted criminal and a ruthless viin, so these risks did not matter much to them.


    ...


    After breakfast and reviewing the intelligence, Su Lun leisurely left the city.


    When he arrived at the docks of Blizzard City, it was already crowded with people.


    Oleg''s ninth fleet now only had a few baremanders left; they had to regroup, get a new ship, and recruit crew members. Those guys had set up a recruitment event at the dock that resembled a job fair, bustling with noise.


    The opportunity was rare, and some smaller pirate crews joined ship and crew alike, quickly assembling twenty or thirty ships.


    The docks were awash with the ck skull gs of the North Sea Fleet.


    Being the cr¨¨me de cr¨¨me of the pirate circles, the ninth fleet, though short-staffed, was not just recruiting anybody. To join, one needed to have a particr skill.


    Such as sailors who could handle sails, anchor men, navigators, artillerymen...or perhaps your name being on a bounty order.


    Su Lun, dressed in pirate attire, followed the long queue, preparing to try and register to join.


    He looked lethargic, but his gaze constantly surveyed the surroundings.


    Off in the distance, the most striking figure was a fat man, resembling a mountain of flesh.


    Even amidst the swirling snow on the docks, the man shamelessly disyed hisyers of pale flesh on his belly. His eyes squinted, and his hair was ited into long braids that coiled around his neck several times. He sat there beside arge iron pot that constantly simmered with meat soup, busy eating even while recruiting. His greasy hands showed no concern as they dived into the bubbling broth, continuously stuffingrge chunks of meat into his mouth.


    Despite his unattractive appearance, he was none other than Yixier Peion, the Ninth Fleet Captain known as the "Great Glutton." A seventh-tier professional, he was a top-tier Great Pirate with a bounty as high as 2.177 billion.


    Su Lun nced at him briefly before swiftly averting his eyes.


    If stared down by such a powerful individual, he probably wouldn''t even have a chance to flee.


    However, what slightly turned Su Lun''s head was the fact that next to the mountain of flesh stood a middle-aged man in a ck suit.


    The middle-aged man wore a round hat, had high cheekbones and a goatee, emanating a firm look in his eyes.


    He held an ordinary cane, his trousers were crisp, and his shoes were shiny; his appearance from head to toe was meticulous.


    The suit''s cut seemed like it belonged to upper-ss society in Luying, resembling a particr old gentleman. But on closer inspection, his clothes were starch-washed to the point of whiteness, and his shirt was slightly yellowing, indicating he likely lived frugally.


    Yet, even so, merely standing there, the man distinguished himself with a dignified air that made him stand out starkly from the scruffy pirates surrounding him.


    "Could that be...?"


    Upon seeing him, Su Lun immediately thought of the intelligence he had received earlier.


    During the jailbreak led by the fleet of the King of the North Sea, many serious criminals were released.


    Among them was a high-profile figure who was sentenced to life imprisonment.


    As Su Lun noticed the middle-aged man in the suit, so did the queueing pirates nearby.


    The others were also curious about the man''s identity, and someone voiced their question.


    "Hey, look, who is that guy with the hat?"


    "He looks like a noble lord, not like us pirates. What''s he doing next to Lord Peiwen? He seems to be quite respected by the big man."


    "That''s Zs D. Andres, a real big shot from the capital of Luying!"


    "Is he famous? Why haven''t I heard of him?"


    "You might not have heard of his name, but you would have heard of his students. Especially one named ''Thomas Hobbs''..."


    "Could it be the former Prime Minister of Luying, the leader during the Mist Moon Revolution?"


    "Exactly! That''s why I said he''s a top-tier big shot we could never meet in our lifetimes."


    "..."


    Su Lun listened to the hushed conversations nearby, his face showing a shocked expression for the lively scene.


    But in fact, he had already known about the origins of Zs.


    Although the guy was only a professor at the Royal Academy of Luying, he was one of Luying''s most famous political scientists, economists, and revolutionary theorists.


    If it weren''t for the queen''s restoration, his students might have overturned Luying''s monarchic dictatorship, transitioning to a "constitutional monarchy."


    Su Lun had previously taken the time to learn about the "Mist Moon coup," which was a real turning point in social progress.


    Unfortunately, it never came to pass.


    After the queen''s restoration, most of Zs''s students were executed or imprisoned. Because he hadn''t directly participated in the coup, and many big shots pleaded on his behalf, he wasn''t killed but was sentenced to several hundred years of imprisonment and exiled to a remote ind overseas.


    Unexpectedly, he had now fallen into the hands of pirates.


    Su Lun watched as he gave the crowd of pirates stern looks, guessing what the King of the North Sea was probably thinking.


    Criminals from Luying were the best source of recruits for pirates.


    It was very likely he nned to retain such a political talent.


    Even though Su Lun felt this situation seemed slightly serendipitous, he wasn''t particrly interested in the King of the North Sea''s ns. He followed the queue and moved forward.


    ....


    The recruitment site consisted of a few simple wooden tables, with pirates staring sternly at those in line, and others jotting something down on parchment.


    Yixier Peion, the "Great Glutton," was nearby, alongside a few ranked fifth-tier captains, their oppressive presence enveloping the whole area, making it difficult for anyone with ulterior motives to not reveal their ws.


    Su Lun, able to perfectly control his emotions, walked forward with an expression slightly tinged with nervousness, just like everyone else.


    "Name, ce of origin, any special skills."


    "Johnny, from the West Wind City in the southern county of Fang Anlugos. I''m an excellent musketeer. Oh... I''ve also studied cannon firing before. Because I offended a noble young master, I''m wanted..."


    "Do you know how to operate the T5 series anti-ship cannons?"


    "That''s what I studied before."


    "Hmm... from today, you are part of our Ninth Fleet!"


    "..."


    Recruiting pirates was just like joining the gang in Old Lington back in the day, no fancy rituals involved.


    If a wanted criminal had skills, they were recruited on the spot.


    Moreover, Su Lun had been prepared.


    He had thoroughly studied the personnel structure of the pirate crew before.


    Musketeers were a dime a dozen, but good artillerymen were rare. Crucially, artillerymen didn''t need to appear on deck often, had fewer tasks, yet were an essential role on the ship. It was the ideal disguise identity.


    Indeed, under the scrutiny of a pirate wrapped in a red headscarf, Su Lun operated the cannon briefly, showed off his gun skills, and smoothly boarded the ship.


    His peripheral vision also caught the registering clerk writing his alleged background as "Johnny" on parchment.


    They would probably confirm this with informantster.


    ....


    Su Lun and those pirates fortunate enough to be recruited boarded a medium-sized sailing ship called "White Eagle."


    Three dayster, the fleet set sail from Blizzard City, heading to Pirate City in the north.


    No one troubled them as the ships set sail, and Su Lun knew his disguised identity must have passed inspection smoothly.


    In just a few short days, the Ninth Fleet recruited thousands of pirates and sailed the seas in a formidable disy.


    Su Lun became an "apprentice pirate."


    The life of a pirate was monotonous, doing nothing all day.


    Aside from piging, they were free to do as they wished.


    ying cards, boasting, and then sleeping.


    As an artilleryman, he didn''t need to work on deck and was quite idle all day. Su Lun didn''t disy anything special, spending his days ying cards in the cabin with a group of pirates, winning some, losing some, and he became familiar with a few of the pirates.


    He also noticed that each ship actually had a few "informants" who were continuously observing and testing the backgrounds of these neers.


    Su Lun''s fabricated background was almost wless and no one detected any loopholes.@@novelbin@@


    Previous pirate frenzies had nearly halted the majority ofmercial activities in the North Sea, and they hadn''t encountered any merchant ships to rob.


    Therefore, the fleet headed straight for Pirate City.


    The sea voyage was entirely uneventful.


    The only slight mishap urred on the third night when they encountered a deep-sea leviathan.


    It was a[Deep Sea Purple Glow Eel]over one hundred meters long that could easily sink ships.


    To the fishermen and pirates who made a living on the sea year-round, it was one of the unstoppable "natural disasters."


    If a small pirate crew had encountered it, they would likely have been annihted.


    But in this Ninth Fleet, there was a seventh-tier fleet captain called "Greedy Grand General," Yixier Peion.


    Su Lun watched as that man swallowed the hundred-meter-long eel alive!


    [B-010-Glutton King]''s second awakening ability, capable of devouring targets to gain a substantial boost in attributes. His seventh-tier gold alchemy armor, [Whale Mouth Swallow], devoured sea whirlpools in a single gulp, a terrifyingly non-human strength.


    Under the King of the North Sea, a host of powerhouses gathered.


    When Su Lun saw this top-tier pirate''s strength, he hid even deeper.


    ...


    Pirate City was named Hasteling.


    In the pirate circles, it was also known as "Golden City of Eternal Night."


    That was thergest gathering point for the pirates of the North Sea and also a haven of sin, a true melting pot of squandered gold.


    It was said in Pirate City, as long as you had money, you could enjoy the treatment of an emperor.


    It was thergest ck market in the North Sea, possessing the mostprehensive and beautifully priced alchemy materials. All kinds of customs venues, gambling dens, arenas, major hallucinogenic potion trading markets, arms smuggling routes, and hired killings... everything legal under Luying, and illegal¡ªwhatever could satisfy human desires, was avable here!


    Further north from Pirate City were the four nations of the northern continent: Mountain Hermit, Frost, Roman, and Morning Veil.


    Su Lun had previously inquired about the situation in this sea region through amunicator with Mr. Jing.


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    These four countries of the northern continent had actually existed for a thousand years.


    But back then, they weren''t called by these names, they were known as "Land of the God''s Legacy."


    This ne was an alchemy ne, and although no divine-tier beings existed anymore, the worship of deities had never ceased from ancient times until now.


    During the several thousand years that the Atlia Empire existed, magicians had always been mainstream. Thus, those devout followers were exiled and ostracized to distant overseas locations.


    Now, the region of these four northern countries was and of exile for various deity worshippers over countless years.


    Apart from the deitiesuded from mythological times to the present, like the stars in the sky, numbering countless, the phrase "one hundred and eighty thousand deities" came to be.


    However, not all devotees were like the Dalu n, who still received responses from the deities. Those exiled overseas lost almost all of their faith in the gods.


    Yet, for various reasons, many bizarre heritages of divine power, evil legends, darkness forces, evil weapons, foreign secret techniques, and ssics... were left behind.


    The four countries of the northern continent, like an unseeable depth of water, were dangerous, mysterious, and filled with the unknown.


    Even after his travels, Sir Isaac reflected, "This is a veryplex and mysterious ce."


    ....


    That day, a loud shout suddenly came from the deck.


    "Brothers, we''re about to reach Hastelin!"


    "Secure the cannons in the cabin! Hold tight, we''re entering the vortex area!"


    "..."


    Hearing this, Su Lun and a few artillerymen in the cabin checked the cannon''s chains, then also went up to the deck to watch the excitement.


    Looking out, they saw dense reefs and a vast area of whirlpools not far away.


    It was marked on the sea chart as one of the North Sea''s most famous coordinates¡ªthe "Devil''s Sea."


    It also served as a natural barrier for Pirate City.


    Beyond the reef zone, was Pirate City.


    This region of sea vortices, due to itsplex currents and special wind directions, could only be navigated by experienced navigators who maneuvered the wind sails on wooden ships through the whirlpools.


    Although wooden ships were agile, they had a significant disadvantage inrge wars, and tactical battles and sieges almost had no advantages. Hence, the current Royal Navy of Luying and nobles who could afford it had all switched to steam-powered irond ships.


    However, ironically, irond ships couldn''t navigate this area of reefs.


    The Royal Navy of Luying was unable to prate deep enough to eradicate them, and this was the most critical reason for the rapid prosperity of pirate ships over the decades.


    Rain and wind struck his face as Su Lun stood on the deck, gazing at the reef-seas before him, his look growing more profound.


    It felt like riding a roller coaster, with his center of gravity starting to spin.


    The neers were visibly excited, and pirates who had been to Pirate City shared their experiences.


    "I''ll tell you, Hastelin has the top-notch pleasure quarters; any kind of girl you want is there! When we get off the ship, we can really have some fun..."


    "Hey hey, those of you who haven''t been might not know, but the geishas of Hastelin are unmatched in the world, you can''t see them anywhere else. The legendary ''First Beauty of the World'' is in the country of Mountain Hermit..."


    "I''ve heard about it too. But these legends have been around for over ten years, that ''First Beauty'' must be faded now, right?"


    "Hey, I''m also curious. But someone went to see her this year and said she''s truly matchless, a beauty of the human world. That figure, that face, that dance, it could haunt a person, making them never forget for a lifetime. They say it''s because of those bizarre and ghostly gods, a bit sinister, but she''s fucking beautiful. If I could have her just once, I''d be willing to shorten my life by thirty years..."


    "..."


    Going ashore to resupply was the event the crew most looked forward to.


    With less than half a day''s voyage left, these men were already anticipating their debauched arrangements after disembarking.


    Su Lun listened to the stories from the mouths of others, his gaze distant, murmuring in his heart, "Finally getting there huh. Mountain Hermit country, Rune Old Man''s ce..."

 Chapter 296 The Mysterious Scientist from Old Lington

    Su Lun had known the situation of this sea area before, but he was still significantly shocked by the force of nature before him.


    "Devil''s Sea" served as a natural barrier for Pirate City and was extremely dangerous. Every year, dozens of ships perished here due to mishandling. Thergest whirlpools in this area could reach a kilometer in diameter, and there were various hidden reefs that even a medium-sized warship like the "White-headed Eagle" would spin wildly around.


    Fortunately, the ship''s experienced navigators managed to get the fleet through without incident.


    Once the fleet passed that whirlpool area, the sea suddenly became calm.


    Sunlight streamed through the thick clouds like ribbons of gold, illuminating a spectacr view.


    "Hahaha... we''ve arrived at Hastling!"


    Everyone on the ship cheered.


    Su Lun looked at the distinctive architecturalplex in front of him, his eyes gleaming with wonder.


    The sea area of Pirate City benefited from the warm currents from the northwest, transforming the frigid climate into a pleasant one. Great swathes of green vegetation grew on the inds, offering splendid scenery.


    On the sea, there were myriad inds scattered like stars.


    The inds were uniquely shaped, mostly resembling giant stgmites. The roofs painted in various colors looked like colorful, whimsical wooden stilt houses built atop these stgmites, adorned with lush green trees. In the sky floated massive animal hide airships connected to wooden buildings below, with various neon signs hanging, creating a vibrant scene of lights and festivities. On the sea, antique-grade steam trains hooted as they pulled long white steam tails, shuttling between the inds like something out of a fairy tale.


    The most extravagant were the wooden water fortresses at the far end, towering over thirty stories high.


    Su Lun didn''t know how the locals managed to construct such exaggerated wooden structures.


    The fleet arrived in the evening, and as the ships slowly approached, the sky had already darkened.


    When they were about two or three nautical miles from the city, lights suddenly brightened within the tall buildings.


    Then, a stunning scene unfolded before their eyes.


    The closely packed wooden buildings glowed a bright orange under the lights, making the entire water fortress appear as if it were cast in gold, shimmering brilliantly. The light reflected in the dark turquoise sea, making it seem as though there was a city of gold in the water too. Looking up, the sea and sky merged into one, dazzling and blurring the line between reflection and reality.


    "Thirty-three floors of Golden Tower, connecting the underworld to the heavens..."


    Su Lun squinted at the distant "Golden City of Eternal Night," recalling the legends about Pirate City.


    Now seeing it firsthand, it truly lived up to its reputation.


    This was undoubtedly the most breathtaking architectural marvel he had encountered in this world.


    ....


    The existence of Pirate City dated back over a thousand years.


    Besides pirates, there were hundreds of thousands of indigenous inhabitants.


    They were descendants of once-exiled individuals, retired pirates, fishermen, convicts, and followers of the North Continent''s four-nation religion. It was a diverse mix where even the great pirates dared not act recklessly.


    But the fleet of the North Sea King still held some prestige.


    Su Lun and his newly formed Ninth Fleet also received a warm wee from the merchants in the City of Gold.


    As soon as they entered the port, all sorts of agents and brokers eagerly swarmed up at the docks, warmly greeting them.


    "Hey, big boss, tonight the ''Sun City Bathhouse'' has a major performance. Shall I take you there?"


    "Sir, the ''Silver Knight Casino'' has a batch of performers from the Royal Dance Troupe of Emperor Luying''s court. Oh, those are the exquisite dances only real nobles can enjoy!"


    "At our ''Sparta Colosseum'', tonight there is a fifth-tier professionals'' battle against a sea monster. A big shot is running unlimited stakes, and for gentlemen who enjoy betting on fights, we guarantee your satisfaction."


    "..."


    It was, after all, Pirate City.


    This ce boasted the most developed entertainment industry in Luying, a dazzling spectacle of opulence and debauchery.


    The pirates risked their lives to plunder and came here specifically to splurge. They would spare no expense from their pockets, willingly getting cleaned out at the gambling dens and brothels.


    After disembarking, the fleetmander, ''Grand General Gluttony'' Peion, didn''t stick with a few captains and the newly recruited ruffians. He distributed some money and then entered the city.


    As it was a newly reformed group, everyone wasn''t really familiar with each other and there were no deep bonds of camaraderie.


    The captain of the fifteenth squad where Su Lun was, didn''t n to take his "brothers" out for entertainment. He distributed money and said, "The dockside is cheapest; the best girls are always in the city. You guys can go have a look around, broaden your horizons. Just don''t forget to bring yourmunicators; the boss said there might be major actions in the next few days¡­"


    "Yes, Captain!"


    Having been aboard the ship for almost half a month, everyone was bursting with impatience.


    With money in hand, they entered the city gates arm in arm.


    The treatment in the North Sea Fleet was indeed good.


    With a grand gesture, the fleetmander offered Su Lun, a junior member, entertainment expenses of over ten thousand Risis. Coupled with the previous fifty thousand for settling in, it was enough to splurge in Pirate City for a while.


    The lure of instant gratification and luxury was why many chose to be pirates.


    Su Lun had things to do and didn''t n to hang out with those guys.


    But at that moment, someone patted his shoulder, "Hey Johnny, you got any ns?"


    Turning his head, it was a young man with blonde hair.


    A gunner in the same cabin whom he had gotten to know recently through ying cards¡ªhis name was Sharp.


    He was not a bad guy.


    This fellow wasn''t originally a pirate but a city defense gunner from Blizzard City. He joined the North Sea Fleet purely because his family was so poor they couldn''t make ends meet and his mother was seriously ill. The settlement money was an emergency lifesaver for him.


    Thinking it over, Su Lun replied, "I''m thinking about checking out the geisha house."


    Sharp lost interest upon hearing this, "Hey, don''t listen to Martin and those guys bullshitting. I''ve heard before, geishas are damn expensive. You can only feast your eyes, can''t y with meat. That''s a pastime for the wealthy big shots. With our money, it''s enough for just a few cups of tea. If you really want to have fun with girls, brothels are much better. I heard there''s a batch of war ves recently in Pirate City, their skin smooth as soap. Let''s go try it together?"


    Su Lun shook his head,ughing, "Never mind. After all, I''ve never seen one before. I want to find a cheap ce to see what the legendary geishas are like and broaden my knowledge."


    "Suit yourself."


    Hearing this, Sharp looked disinterested and waved his hand, quickly catching up with the previous group. He called back, "Contact me on themunicator if you need anything."


    "Okay"


    Su Lun nodded with a smile and entered the city alone.


    ....


    Once inside Golden City, the space was extremely three-dimensional andplex, somewhat reminiscent of old Old Lington, with densely packed buildings everywhere. It appeared to be a city, but crossing into it felt like entering a forest of wooden buildings. The streets were very narrow, and overhead were various spider-web like pipes and aerial bridges.


    The buildings in the city were mostly wooden, but there were also some steel structures and steam pipes. The architectural styles were an eclectic mix, not the Gothic style mainstream in Luying, nor the Baroque style. Instead, it was a strange assortment of styles, as if hundreds of civilizations were mixed together.


    The most eye-catching aspect was the people on the streets.


    Pirates from outside were immediately recognizable by their attire.


    The attire of the natives was quite peculiar.


    Ronin, monks, nuns, missionaries, Spartans, wrestlers, adventurers... Their dresses were diverse, their upations bizarre, and their skin colors varied.


    Many of the natives'' outfits also carried heavy religious symbols.


    In Luying, there were almost only alchemy magicians, but here, Su Lun saw devotees of various gods.


    "108,000 gods, so many faiths all mixed together...."


    Su Lun found it somewhat incredible.


    Moreover, as he passed along the way, the soul fires of certain passersby were very peculiar. Among those god believers, many were strange creatures.


    Su Lun observed them, and those passersby also scrutinized him with cautious and covertly dangerous gazes. Seeing the symbol of the North Sea Fleet, they would restrain themselves a lot.


    The identity of a pirate, which elsewhere would be shunned by ordinary people, was just ordinary here.


    This was the "City of Sin," a ce with a high crime rate. Turning out someone at random from the street could likely reveal a hardened criminal. No one was indulged here, and a disagreement could easily lead to mortal peril.


    Su Lun had harvested many memories about pirate ships before, so he was notpletely unfamiliar with these streets.


    He nned to check out the alchemy material shops for some goods, then visit a geisha house in the city.


    He wanted to watch a geisha performance, not because he was really interested in that form of entertainment.


    It was because the geisha was an official business of Mountain Hermit''s nation.


    Understanding the lineage of Rune Magicians in Pirate City was one of Su Lun''s primary objectives. The "Rune Old Man" was in Mountain Hermit''s nation.


    Plus, he was indeed intrigued by that almost isted civilization.


    Previously, Su Lun was puzzled that the kimono and Sword Dao were quite different from the mainstream alchemy magicians. Later, he learned that Old Lington''s poption was filled with ves from various ces. The origin of these things was not clear even to Thousand Traces, as many were family heirlooms.


    But there must be a source where there is a legacy.


    None of the major territories in Luying had the custom of wearing kimonos.


    Now in Pirate City, seeing those ronins and geishas, Su Lun realized that the ancestors of Thousand Traces might very likely havee from Mountain Hermit''s nation.


    It was certainly wise to learn more about that ce beforehand if he was nning to go there.


    Su Lun contacted Thousand Traces on themunicator.


    That gambling-addicteddy had already been in Pirate City for a while.


    ording to her, she felt an inexplicable sense of belonging after arriving here and was investigating some matters.


    She seemed to be in a bit of trouble now, didn''t specify her location, and didn''t n to meet up first.


    Considering Thousand Traces'' capabilities, Su Lun wasn''t particrly worried and didn''t ask further, ending themunicator call.


    He sensed that no one was paying attention around him, changed his appearance, and donned an unremarkable adventurer''s attire, delving deeper into the city.


    ....


    The sky hadpletely darkened, and Pirate City was brilliantly lit and even more bustling.


    The entertainment industry was the busiest aspect of Pirate City, with various signs shing in red, green, and pink neon lights that could blind. These ces of pleasure also upied the best spots in the city.


    Pirates had a designated ck market for their goods on the lower levels of the city.


    Su Lun''s harvested memories weren''t too detailed; navigating through this maze-like water fort took him a long time before he found the alchemy materials market. Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire


    It was a street like a sewer, with sewage flowing and densely packed small boatsden with cargo unloaded from the port, moving back and forth in front of the shops. Some masked figures went in and out of the shops.


    This ce was dark, damp, dirty... and full of little rascals eyeing the possessions of tourists.


    Those sneaky teenagers could easily spot first-timers to Pirate City and would particrly ''take care'' of them.


    Because it was a ck market, it didn''t have shy signs like regr shops.


    Pirates robbing other pirates wasmonce, so for safety, pirates usually dealt with shops they were familiar with; otherwise, one might lose everything and find nowhere toin.


    Su Lun entered a small shop; his harvested memories told him this was "Sister Atang''s Magic Materials Shop." The buying and selling prices were fair, and she generally didn''t rip off acquaintances.


    He walked straight in.


    The space inside the shop was not very spacious, serving both as a storefront and a warehouse, crammed with various materials.


    The air was filled with a faint scent of aromatics.


    Behind the counter, an old woman resembling a witch mumbled to herself while holding a crystal ball.


    She didn''t even open her eyes when a customer entered.


    By his side, a middle-aged man, his face full of tattoos, was looking over the ledgers, seemingly the son of an old crone.


    At the sound of the bell at the door, he nced over indifferently.


    Su Lun sized them up without a sound, it was clear that these two were followers of a deity.


    But he didn''t know which deity they worshipped, their Soul Perception felt somewhat chilly, simr to that of a Dark Magician.


    He didn''t look too long and knocked on the table before saying, "Wandering through the shadows of the graves, blood instills fear into the mortals."


    Pirate''s ng indicating he knew his stuff.


    The content of his words seemed to rte to the beliefs of the shopkeepers.


    Upon hearing this, the tattooed man also knew a regr had arrived and finally raised his eyebrows, "What do you need?"


    "I need some materials."


    As Su Lun spoke, he took out a list filled with tightly-written materials.


    The gue God man scanned it and promptly quoted the prices, "Pink lizard marrow 800 per gram, Devil''s mushrooms 3000, Grade VIII pure amethyst 150,000, a pair of three-tailed sea snake eyes 200,000, white phosphorus whale oil¡­"


    "No problem."


    Upon hearing the quote, Su Lun agreed immediately, adding, "Quantity of materials as listed on my sheet."


    The prices hadpletely satisfied him.


    If he were elsewhere, these materials would cost him at least several times more.


    And that''s if they were even avable.


    That was the advantage of Pirate City.


    The booty looted there sold for much less than in regrmerce in Emperor Luying, typically fetching about forty to fifty percent of the market price. Some rare materials of gold or dark gold quality were not only inexpensive but surprisingly cheap, sometimes avable at discounts as steep as twenty percent of market value.


    After all, the pirates'' cultivation techniques and gear were quite ordinary, leaving them with little use for high-grade materials.


    On Su Lun''s list were many alchemical materials that were not previously avable.


    With this batch, he could produce many more advanced enchanted puppets.


    The tattooed man spoke again in a deep voice, "Some of the materials you''ve requested will need to be prepared. Pay a deposit now, ande to collect them after tomorrow."


    "That''s fine, let''s do everything by the book."


    Su Lun immediately pulled out a deposit of a million.


    He knew his order was varied, and a normal shop wouldn''t have everything in stock. However, these ck market dealers would lend items to one another, so if it was avable in Pirate City, they could find it.


    This also saved Su Lun the trouble of searching various shops.


    After paying, he casually inquired, "Got any special items? Cursed objects, mechanical equipment, or such..."


    Su Lun wasn''t just idling with the Neenth Fleet; he had heard through inner sources that the Mafa Empire had indeed funded Oleg''s production of many cutting-edge mechanical devices.


    Since there was arge-scale leak, some might have surfaced in the ck market.


    Moreover, with the pirates possessing many looted valuables, there was a chance he could find some steals.


    If he was lucky, he might evene across information about Void Gear...


    Seeing that Su Lun was familiar with the rules, the tattooed man didn''t babble on. He touched the ss disy cab slightly.


    The previously pitch-ck cab suddenly became transparent.


    Su Lun''s eyes shifted, and he saw an assortment of small specialty items, a g, a set of wrist guards, apass, a goose feather quill, among other small objects...


    He had the All-knowing Eye and naturally didn''t need much introduction.


    [Columbus''s Sailing g]which affects wind cirction and enhances sailing speed; [Amity''s Magic Rune Wristbands (Silver)], which provide a shield defense when infused with energy; [Damaged Compass]not much use...


    The items varied in quality, but all were effective alchemical objects.


    Unfortunately, none were of much use to Su Lun, who then said, "Hey, I need the real good stuff."


    Seeing his frown, the tattooed man modeled once more, the ss shimmered, and the items inside changed¡ªsuddenly, they were all mechanicalponents.


    A broken mechanical arm, a steam boiler that was seventy percent new, a steel te with a TTR logo, among small parts...


    Su Lun, who had just casually asked, hadn''t expected to actually find some good stuff.


    In the showcase, he saw some Mafa mechanical armor remnants.


    And that steel te also belonged to the Mafa Empire''s top-secret "Adamant Alloy"!


    These were good items.


    However, the quantity was somewhatcking.


    Not enough even to make one puppet.


    "How much for these?"


    "Seven hundred thousand."


    "I can give at most four hundred thousand."


    "Five hundred thousand."


    "Deal!"


    Su Lun obtained the mechanical parts.


    Then the tattooed man changed the batch again, and Su Lun suddenly gave a soft exmation, only now noticing that those uniquely styled mechanicalponents had been produced by Old Lington!


    "[Frost Giant Mechanical Armor]," some external skeletons, neuro-mechanicalponents ..."


    The tattooed man introduced, "This is a batch of good stuff from the North Sea Fleet..."


    Su Lun naturally knew where these things came from.


    Previously, Oleg''s Fourth Fleet had raided Old Lington and brought out a considerable amount of underground machinery. Among that batch, there were quite a few technologically superior items.


    In Pirate City, there were likely a lot of Old Lington "specialties."


    He didn''t show any unusual behavior and casually picked a few items he liked.


    Su Lun felt thating to Pirate City was indeed the right decision, as he had already found quite a few good items to start with.


    He continued to look for goods, wanting to take all the mechanical equipment, blueprints, and materials in the store that interested him.


    However, as he was searching, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart.


    In his perception, a very unusual soul fire appeared not far away.


    That was "The Butcher" Banner''s suspiciouspanion!


    "Okay, that''s all for now."


    Su Lun did not continue to stay in the store. He paid the money, took his items, and walked out of the store calmly.


    Banner was in the Fourth Fleet, and their fleet was scheduled to leave Blizzard city two days early; encountering them in Pirate City was not surprising.


    The "suspicious person" seemed to be selecting materials too, having spent some time in a nearby shop.


    Su Lun nned to follow him. He didn''t necessarily need to figure everything out in one go, but he also wanted to get a sense of what the man was up to.


    Most people shopping in the ck market dressed in cloaks and coats, so Su Lun was not afraid of being recognized. He had quite advanced tracking skills and was not likely to be discovered easily.


    Soon after, the "suspicious person" seemed to have finished buying the materials and left a shop, apparently nning to head to the upper city district.


    "Came alone, huh..."


    Su Lun observed for a moment and didn''t notice anyone else following the guy.


    Rather than being careless, he became more alert.


    If this person was as he suspected, the "Mysterious Mechanic" who modified Banner''s mechanical body, then Banner would likely provide significant protection.


    Coming alone either meant they were keeping their whereabouts secret, or the individual had the ability to protect themselves.


    Not to be underestimated.


    "Who could it be? It really is bing more and more intriguing..."


    Su Lun muttered to himself.


    Watching the man turn into an alley, Su Lun thought for a moment and followed him.


    But he hadn''t followed for long when he immediately realized something, "I''ve been spotted, haven''t I..."


    Su Lun could sense the soul fire, so he easily caught the unusual counter-surveince tactics of the other party.


    But he pretended not to notice and continued to follow.


    To him, this mysterious person was most likely from Old Lington.


    If so, he had a rough assessment of the man''s abilities.


    Under normal circumstances, even the members of the Mirror Organization were among the strongest from beneath the surface.


    This mysterious individual would be hard-pressed to surpass them.


    So even if he was discovered, it wouldn''t be a big issue.


    Besides, with his current strength, if he truly wanted to escape, even a fifth level professional might not be able to stop him.


    He was also curious as to how he had been discovered.


    No sooner had he walked into the alley.


    The mysterious person materialized behind Su Lun like a ghost.


    Before Su Lun could speak, the other party immediately asked, "You have the scent of ''X-serum'' on you. Who are you?"


    Hearing this, Su Lun was immediately startled.


    Yet, at the same time, he caught a keyword and instantly understood how he had been exposed.@@novelbin@@


    "A talent in smell?"


    Anyone capable of detecting the scent of potion and familiar with "X-Potion" was almost certainly from Old Lington.


    He immediately thought of someone.


    A friend from the underground, the Pharmacist Danny!


    Su Lun''s eyes flickered, and a wild idea crossed his mind. He began to validate, "Are you someone from Danny Banks?"


    "..."


    Hearing this, the mysterious person''s body visibly flinched.


    Clearly, he was also extremely surprised that Su Lun would ask such a question.

 Chapter 297 Eternal Cells

    Su Lun looked at the mysterious person before him, his eyes not rxing their vignce in the slightest.@@novelbin@@


    Although the two were conversing, a murderous intenty quietly concealed.


    In the brief time they had spoken, Su Lun''s sharp gaze had detected something amiss.


    The ck market was crisscrossed with damp, sweltering waterways, which bred many mosquitoes.


    But the moment this individual appeared, the mosquitoes in this alley had eerily fallen to the ground. It was as if an invisible barrier of death was slowly encroaching upon Su Lun.


    The man had spoken of "X serum," not out of a naive desire to reminisce but to cover for the assassin hidden within his words.


    Su Lun had guessed as well; if the other party could discern that his body had been enhanced by X serum, then their first reaction would definitely be to think that Duke Rafael''s men hade after him!


    That''s why an attack would be justified.


    "Strange... It''s not Alchemy, nor does it seem like a conventional toxin, what exactly is this method?"


    Su Lun was somewhat curious as he hadn''t understood the man''s means of attack.


    There were no signs of a spell being gathered, not even any energy fluctuations.


    It looked like, maniption of some kind of deadly microorganism in the air?


    Such a method, especially for assassination, really made one''s defenses inadequate.


    Therefore, Su Lun didn''t test the waters, and instead asked directly, "Who are you to Danny Banks?"


    ....


    Upon hearing Su Lun''s words, the mysterious person immediately knew that the other might have guessed his identity.


    But why was he asking about his son instead of directly exposing his identity?


    A moment of puzzlement.


    Su Lun wouldn''t let the man have a chance to misunderstand and take action, so he directly dropped a bombshell and clearly stated, "I am Danny''s friend. He''s not dead."


    If nothing went wrong, he surmised that the individual before him must be one of Danny''s direct blood rtives!


    The pathways to awakening human talents were diverse, but bloodline inheritance was the mostmon form of breakthrough.


    Danny had achieved the second stage of talent awakening in [D-031- Enhanced Olfactory Sense], and Su Lun had once been tracked down by him from a considerable distance using this skill.


    Now that someone else was using it, he naturally made the connection.


    Knowing about "X serum," and having an olfactory talent, there weren''t that many coincidences in this world.


    However, Danny had said that his parents had died in that explosion. After that incident, all other rtives had also been secretly executed by Duke Rafael.


    Su Lun wondered how this person had survived?


    ...


    "What, Danny''s not dead!"


    As expected, upon hearing this, the mysterious person was greatly shocked.


    Even though his face was hidden by a cloak, one could vividly feel his agitation.


    In a deliberately lowered hoarse voice, he asked, "Who are you really?"


    Su Lun nced sideways at his surroundings, noting that the invisible barrier wasn''t continuing to approach, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    It was good that he hadn''t resorted to violence.


    He directly stated, "As I said, I''m his friend. He barely survived an explosion in theb and then made his way through the sewers to the outskirts..."


    Danny had told Su Lun a lot about his parents, so merely rting a few life details was enough to let the other party judge the truth of his words.


    The mysterious person, upon hearing this, really believed it. He seemed stunned, muttering to himself with excitement and apparent sobs, "Danny is still alive... He''s still alive..."


    That kind of overwhelming joy found in regaining what was thought lost could indeed make a person loseposure.


    Especially for a parent.


    Seeing his reaction, Su Lun was certain this individual was either Danny''s father or his mother!


    A few momentster, the mysterious person again inquired, "Where is Danny now, in Old Lington? How is he?"


    Su Lun responded, "He is quite safe for the time being, probably in the capital of the Luying Empire. But he''s not doing too well."


    Upon hearing this, the mysterious person''s tone became markedly more anxious. Without waiting for Su Lun to finish, he quickly interrupted, "What''s wrong with him?"


    As it wasn''t sensitive information, Su Lun simply stated, "After theb ident, though he didn''t die, he injected himself with a prototype of the [Aberration Reversal Potion] due to a mutation, so his lifespan has reached its end. Without any mishaps, he might run out of life within a year or two."


    "Gic mutation?"


    The mysterious person murmured, "Hmm... I see."


    Su Lun keenly captured that slight fluctuation in emotion, almost as if the person had breathed a sigh of relief?


    One could understand upon thinking about it; the chief scientist who researched "X serum" in Old Lington must possess top-tier expertise in the field of contemporary biological technology.


    It wouldn''t be surprising if such a degree of mutation could be solved.


    But those who lived with betrayal and conspiracy for a long time would always assume the worst about those getting close to them.


    The mysterious person was no different.


    After asking these questions, his gaze suddenly turned cold again, sizing up Su Lun before bluntly asking, "What do you want to gain from me?"


    The person in front of him had followed him, clearly with a purpose in mind¡ªit''s possible he had been watched for a long time.


    Now he ims to be his son''s friend, a statement that certainly raises doubts about his motives.


    "Neuro-mechanical technology."


    Su Lun had guessed the other''s thoughts and didn''t try to hide his own.


    In this situation, if he were in the other person''s shoes, he would be equally cautious.


    Beating around the bush serves no purpose; it''s better toy all the cards on the table.


    "Oh?"


    Hearing this, the mysterious man showed no surprise, instead letting out a cold snort.


    But his attitude suddenly became chilling.


    He possessed knowledge of neuro-mechanical technology that even Duke Raphael might not be aware of, and yet this man in front of him had pinpointed it right away... That was intriguing.


    Others might not understand the value of this technology, but he couldn''t be more aware of it.


    It was something countless people would die for.


    If it were brought into y, the two great empires would stake their lives topete for it.


    Once this objective was revealed, all previous conversations and motives seemed much less innocent.


    Su Lun had also guessed what was concerning the man and directly said, "Earlier, through certain channels, I found out that Banner was turned into a full-body mechanical man, so I guessed someone close to him must possess neuro-mechanical technology. Therefore, when I ran into your excellency just now, I took the liberty to follow."


    "So that''s it..."


    Upon hearing this, the mysterious man''s doubts cleared up.


    It turns out he had been so easily exposed.


    But he didn''t ask further, simply sneering, "Knowing Banner has a mechanical body isn''tmon knowledge. Let me think... was it that Umbre Organization woman?"


    Sabina''s cover identity was the Gang Lady, someone recently close to Banner, so guessing this wasn''t surprising.


    Su Lun didn''t hide it and nodded: "Yes."


    Realizing the information came from the Umbre Organization, the mysterious man''s indifference could no longer be concealed, and with augh that was not quite augh, he said, "Hehe... you do have a bargaining chip I can''t refuse. Speak then, how do you want to trade?"


    In Old Lington, he had witnessed too much sordid power struggle. Clearly, he had concluded that Su Lun had thought things through and now intended to use "Danny" as leverage.


    ....


    Su Lun wasn''t surprised by the man''s misunderstanding, and with a slight shake of his head, he spoke directly, "I said before, Danny is my friend. I didn''t mean to use this as a bargaining chip. I need the neuro-mechanical technology for some personal reasons, not on behalf of any force. Even if the trade doesn''t seed, Danny will still be my friend. This will never change."


    After pausing, he continued, "Sabina did indeed work for the Umbre Organization before, but now she is my person. And I..."


    He did not continue.


    He did not reveal his identity with the "Mirror Organization," nor did he disclose the current situation with Danny.


    This world has many extraordinary powers. Although he suspected it, he wasn''t certain the person before him was truly Danny''s kin.


    Perhaps it was a special existence bearing the memories of Danny''s kin?


    As if the Fallen Angel soul that had once clung to Pestoia''s spirit.


    Because Su Lun felt something was off.


    Earlier, he hadn''t noticed anything strange, but upon closer proximity, he sensed that the mysterious man''s aura was very wrong. The "halo" around him, deadly even to mosquitoes, shared the same source as the energying from his body.


    That energy had now sealed off the alleyway.


    Clearly, he was prepared forbat.


    This mysterious individual, both in temperament and methods, was certainly no easy adversary.


    Continuing this interaction might well be more trouble than it''s worth.


    "Let''s leave it at that for now. We can discuss further when we both have enough trust," Su Lun said, without intending to carry on the conversation, indicating a readiness to leave.


    He did indeed desire neuro-mechanical technology, but not necessarily to obtain it immediately.


    Besides, having established a connection with this mysterious person, there would be other opportunities in the future.


    "Not a trade?"


    The mysterious man, observing Su Lun''s demeanor, fell into contemtion.


    He seemed to hesitate about whether to take action and keep Su Lun here.


    If he could capture him and use his life as a threat, their circumstances would instantly reverse, and he could extract more information.


    But seeing Su Lun''sposed manner, he knew it might not be so straightforward.


    ....


    Su Lun didn''t intend to stay any longer and turned to leave.


    The unknown "halo" sealing the alley was indeed tricky, but using Spatial Discement to get out was no big issue.


    He had no desire to conflict with the mysterious person.


    Just as he turned to walk away, a soft call came from behind him: "Wait!"


    Su Lun turned back and nced over, "???"


    "How do I contact you?"


    The mysterious figure said, and, afraid of being misunderstood, added another sentence, "What I mean is, I''d like to make some gene-repairing potions for Danny. I hope you can take them to him."


    He could wait, but Danny''s body couldn''t.


    No one knew better than him the effects of gic mutations on the human body.


    He had also figured out that if the man before him were a person of Duke Raphael, there was no need to say so much. As soon as they discovered he was still alive, they would definitely eradicate himpletely, preventing any chance of technology leakage.


    Could it be Emperor Luying, or perhaps someone from Mafa?


    But no matter what, his son was more important.


    "I can."


    Su Lun wasn''t the least bit surprised by his words, and even breathed a sigh of relief.


    At least he was more certain that this man cared about Danny''s safety.


    Having humanity meant he wasn''t a monster.


    But he pondered for a moment, and instead of answering, he asked, "But before that, I have a question for you. Who exactly are you?"


    "You should have guessed who I am."


    Without any hesitation, the mysterious person directly stated his identity, "I am Danny''s father, Pickman Banks."


    He paused for a moment, probably in order to convince Su Lun of his words, and then lifted the cloak covering his head.


    Su Lun thought to himself: It really is him.


    But gazing at the non-human face before him, his pupils shrank sharply.


    It was a face shaped like pitch, with very distorted features. Two huge eyes upied nearly half of the face, and upon closer inspection, one could seepound eyes simr to those of a fly, densely packed like thousands of small eyes. When he spoke, a mouth full of dense, sharp teeth was revealed.


    No matter how you looked at it, this was a mutated monster, or perhaps a creature from another ne of existence.


    And not a human.


    After a moment of astonishment, Su Lun asked lightly, "Danny would be very d to know his father isn''t dead. But I''m sorry, I want to ask... how did you survive?"


    Hearing this, the mysterious person let out a soft sigh.


    He also knew he had to exin some things to gain the other''s trust.


    Only then did he slowly say, "Danny must have told you about theboratory ident back then. However, there was some unexpected..."


    .....


    The Banks couple were the leaders of the former "Project X," but because they found out that Duke Raphael''s experiments had caused too many innocent deaths, they nned to terminate the project.


    Su Lun had heard the causes and consequences from Danny''s mouth, and there wasn''t much difference from what he was hearing from this man.


    But theboratory ident had some twists and turns.


    Originally the Banks couple nned to slowly dismantle "Project X" through other methods, but they were found out beforehand. In the extreme capture, they had no choice but to detonate theboratory in a hurry.


    They thought it would be the end for their entire family along with theboratory, but a small error urred.


    The "Dr. Pickman" in front of him was exining in detail how he survived, speaking very precisely.


    "So-called mutations are when a biological body cannot withstand certain foreign factors, resulting in mutations. To be more precise, the essence of human body mutations is that some special factors change the original gic sequence of the body, acquiring the biological characteristics of foreign genes. However, not all these ''foreign factors'' are malignant. It''s also because the human constitution is too weak to bear them... this was also the purpose of our research."


    "Therger the size, the higher-level the organism, the more violent the mutation process it can endure. Correspondingly, their reproductive abilities are lower. This is the delicate bnce point of life in nature."


    "..."


    Su Lun, who now had solid foundational knowledge in the field of biological science, did not find itpletely confusing to listen to.


    From Pickman''s mouth, he also learned more secrets about "Project X."


    It turns out that in the hundred years of archaeology in Old Lington, Scavengers had found many strange ancient artifacts. Things that could extend life weren''t only the [Heart of the Fallen Angel].


    That was just a part of "Project X."


    The mysterious person continued, "At that time, I was simultaneously researching another highly confidential project. We found a piece of abyssal creature tissue that still had vitality. I extracted from it a type of cell with extremely strong activity, endowed with formidable division and repair abilities. In a sense, the number of cell divisions determines the lifespan of a living organism. However, during my research process, I found no upper limit to the division times of these cells. Theoretically, that piece of ancient creature tissue is an ''immortal entity.'' Therefore, I named it [Eternal Cells]."


    "I established a new research project, which was to add a segment of this cell''s genes to the human gene chain in order to extend lifespan. But all experiments ended in failure. Ultimately, ''X serum'' became the main direction of research..."


    "Um... I''ve said a bit too much. I just want to rify that I''m not a monster. I possessplete rational thought. It only changed my gene chain, thereby affecting my body structure..."


    ...


    After listening, Su Lun automatically filtered through the technical terms in his mind, and then summarized a simple storyline.


    After the explosion, Pickman did indeed die.


    But the biological chunk in theboratory culture dish scattered in the explosion, and by chance, merged with the corpse. The [Eternal Cells] repaired his brain and body tissues, transforming him into what he looked like now.


    As forter giving Banner mechanical modifications, among other coincidences...


    So it turns out, the "Butcher" Banner, who appears to be the captain of the Pirate City''s fourth fleet, is actually controlled from behind the scenes by this Pickman.


    Listening to him speak with clear logical thinking, Su Lun didn''t think he was any kind of monster, or possessed by some will, and he let go of some of his concerns.


    However, whether it was him or not didn''t matter much.


    At least there was no hostility, which would makemunication easier.


    After listening, Su Lun said, "I can take the potion to Danny for you. After you finish the potion, leave it in ''Dance of Fire Tavern.'' I will go and get it."


    Pickman nodded, not saying much else, "Okay!"


    This approach is good for both parties when there''s no trust.


    Ever since Su Lun stopped mentioning the "neural mechanical blueprints," the atmosphere had be noticeably more rxed.


    After that, the two of them vanished at opposite ends of the alleyway.


    ....


    Once back on the streets, Su Lun''s expression was also more rxed. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    He reflected on their previous conversation and had a realization, saying with a sigh, "That ability that would even kill mosquitoes is really a control over microorganisms. Tsk tsk... this thing is even weirder than toxins. Besides, ording to what he said, even injuries as severe as a smashed body can be repaired by ''eternal cells,'' which is a bit of an exaggeration. Hisbat strength, it''s really hard to gauge..."


    Now it looked like that "Pickman" was likely Danny''s father after all.


    And, if he had chosen mutual destruction over continuing the experiment, his character must be decent.


    The risk of further contact would also be very low.


    Su Lun was just worried that those "eternal cells" might affect his sanity in the future.


    However, as a top biological scientist, he should be well aware of the situation and didn''t need an outsider like him to worry too much.


    In the future, once mutual trust was established, getting his hands on those "neural mechanical blueprints" was also hopeful. Su Lun''s own n for a mechanical puppet army would also take a big step forward.


    And it was not just about a single blueprint.


    Dr. Pickman was a top scientist in the fields of neural mechanics and biotechnology.


    There was ample space for future cooperation.


    Su Lun felt that it was a good start.


    Unbeknownst to him, he had wandered into a brightly lit alley.


    This was a street full of eateries, illuminated by the orange glow ofnterns hung above. Neon signs dazzling outside the storefronts were enough to dazzle onlookers. The disy windows showcased food piled up like little mountains: bright red sausages, fish balls turning over in bubbling broth, glistening roast suckling pig on the spit, lively octopus teppanyaki, the fragrant aroma of smoked turkey, and the delicate, rich sea fish sashimi...


    Diners sat atop tall stools, indulging in the feast.


    The exquisite aroma of food wafted through the air, and Su Lun''s stomach began to growl too.


    He spread his hand out, and with a sleight of hand, his clothes transformed back into his pirate attire, and he strode forward.


    The food in Pirate City was incredibly diverse, inhabited by worshippers of various faiths. Their food, marked with traits of various civilizations, was scattered in numerous small bites that amounted to thousands of options¡ªa sensory journey that was unparalleled elsewhere.


    Compared to the delicate dishes of fine dining, Su Lun preferred these street foods that could induce a profound sense of satisfaction.


    As he walked, he sampled the fare, trying lots of delicious food along the way.


    Experiencing food was also the essence of travel.


    Appetite is one of the most basic of human desires, and among these street stalls, it wasn''t umon to spot some Great Pirates.


    The Great Pirate "Iron Nun" Susie Mel with a bounty of 146 million risos, the aristocratic human trafficker "Poison Buddha" Kebi Price with a bounty of 255 million, the deserter naval lieutenant colonel "ck Dragon" Nn Dasilva with a bounty of 89 million risos...


    With an excellent memory, Su Lun watched as those faces, ones he had seen on Bounty Orders, walked through the streets, as if they were walking bounties.


    Figures that would hide in the shadows elsewhere roamed freely here in the streets.


    Su Lun continued eating his way through the city, making his presence known.


    He knew well that beneath this calm surface, the eyes of various intelligence agencies and informants were dancing wildly.


    Among pirates, there''s no shortage of brokers in information.


    ....


    It was still early, and Su Lun decided to visit a Geisha house.


    Proper Geisha houses weren''t brothels, and geishas were artists, not selling their bodies.


    The Mountain Hermit nation was impoverished and istionist.


    Those geishas were official bor exports" sent out to earn money.


    Geishas weren''t bar girls or providers ofscivious services but were truly skilled in ceremonies, tea ceremony, martial arts,nguage arts, literature, and music.


    They started learning their art at a young age and officially debuted at sixteen. Geishas were also masters of conversation; it was said they harbored the mostprehensive intelligence on Pirate ships, and knew how to boost a man''s ego, good at reading people and understanding the emotions of the guests. They provided satisfying intellectualpanionship. One could say geishas disyed the most charming aspects of a young woman to their guests.


    Su Lun hadn''t experienced it before but thought it might be a kind of spiritual enjoyment?


    It was expensive, but in a way, truly worth it.


    The few thousand that the Pirate band had given Su Lun could probably afford amon geisha for tea and a few songs.


    As for the lead courtesan, forget about it¡ªwithout a few million, there was no chance of even a meeting.


    Despite their oft squalid appearance, pirates were never stingy when it came to indulgence, and in Pirate City, those who spentvishly were all toomon.


    As Su Lun strolled along, he crossed a wooden bridge and suddenly smelled the faint fragrance of cherry blossoms.


    Looking up, he saw a blooming cherry tree and hanging amidst it, a wooden signboard for "Nagano-ya."


    In his memory, this was one of the most famous regr Geisha houses on Pirate ships.


    He wondered how these folks managed to transnt cherry trees here, creating a winding path amidst the narrow cluster of buildings.


    One had to admit, even just the facade was pleasing to the eye.


    Su Lun walked over, intent on experiencing it for himself.


    Little did he expect to bump into Qiantiao there.

 Chapter 298 "Guardian of the Chrysanthemum Crest Shrine

    Su Lun didn''t know whether to call the kimono-d woman who led him inside a "Madame" or a "Madam", but he followed her regardless.


    Despite the few cherry trees, their clever arrangement created the illusion of a forest in full bloom.


    Passing an exquisitely carved corridor bridge, the view suddenly opened up, and the main structure of the building came into view.


    This was not just a simple wooden building, but rather a building ship. The entire structure was half-floating in the air. The top featured airship-like balloons, and the bottom had floating devices akin to boiler rooms. The overall architectural style was very unique, with curved roofs and soaring eaves, blue tiles and white walls, as well as paper-backed woodentticed windows and doors. Rednterns inscribed with "Nagano-ya" hung under the eaves of the corridor, all exhibiting the distinctive style of the Mountain Hermit nation.


    Su Lun felt quite pleased with the sight; every stone and de of grass in this geisha house provided a sense of beauty that was just right.


    Yet, who would have thought that just as he walked in, he would bump into a familiar person.


    That woman in thevish kimono, striding with an inherentmanding aura, if not Qian Tiao, who else could it be?


    ....


    "Why would she be here?"


    Su Lun was equally surprised.


    If he had encountered this gambling-addicted woman at the gambling stands, he wouldn''t have been surprised in the least. But what was the meaning of this situation now?


    Right behind Qian Tiao was the shy young girl holding a sword, naturally Lolita.


    What was even more surprising to Su Lun was that Qian Tiao was actually hugging a delicately featured young man dressed in a samurai outfit, whose handsomeness made even the blooming cherry blossoms seem bashful byparison.


    And the two of them seemed very intimate.


    A male geisha?


    (Spoiler alert, this is a woman.)


    "Eh...?"


    Su Lun was quite sure about Qian Tiao''s preferences, and they certainly didn''t include visiting geisha houses. She was neither into men nor women. To her, it would be more enjoyable to gamble with the spare time.


    Therefore, seeing this abnormal scene, not only did no gossip spring to Su Lun''s mind, but he immediately realized something: Was Qian Tiao here to stir up trouble?


    Clearly, yes.


    With that nce, Qian Tiao also saw him.


    Even though Su Lun was disguised, the two were too familiar with each other; a single look was enough to recognize him.


    Qian Tiao''s gaze swept past him without the slightest intent to greet him. She continued to walk into the building, hugging the elegant young man andughing.


    Their eyes met and then parted.


    Even without speaking, having known each other so well, Su Lun could sense the teasing in that nce, as if to say, "Oh, you''re quite the pleasure-seeker, visiting a brothel?"


    "She didn''t tell me beforehand, she must be dealing with some troublesome matter... but to think that I would bump into her nheless."


    Su Lun couldn''t help feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation.


    At that moment, the Madam next to him suddenly spoke, breaking his train of thought, "Sir, please watch your step."


    "Mhm."


    Su Lun acknowledged absently, pulling his thoughts back together.


    Now that he had reached the entrance, he naturally wanted to go in and have a look.


    Moreover, if there was any serious trouble, Qian Tiao would send a message to inform him.


    Su Lun was also curious about what had urred that Qian Tiao didn''t want him to get involved in.


    Just to be safe, he changed his outfit quietly as he walked, the ck umbre bound with cloth to resemble a long staff already in his hand.


    ...


    Upon entering, the elegant decor of the building instantly provided a stark contrast to the noisemonly found in other simr establishments.


    Despite thepact size of the ship building, its clever design gave no sense of constriction or oppression.


    Serene and refined, one immediately felt a sense of peace upon entering.


    Having scanned his surroundings, Su Lun immediately felt it was indeed worth the money.


    The geisha house was considered high-end consumption for the average pirate; there weren''t many guests.


    Screened partitions ensured privacy. After going upstairs, other guests were virtually out of sight.


    Su Lun was led to a room on the second floor. "Nagano-ya Geisha House" was situated midway up the city, providing a sweeping night view of Pirate City from the window.


    He checked the price list and requested the services of the cheapest geisha, which cost 5,300 riso per hour.


    Before long, a young woman in a blue koi fish cheongsam with a golden fan hiding her face walked in gracefully.


    Su Lun nced at her.


    She wore heavy makeup. But even without it, her facial features suggested she would be considered beautiful. At the age of sixteen or seventeen, she was in the prime of youthful charm. Following the geisha were two attendants, which entuated her presence. After the three women entered, thest one gently closed the door.


    The lead woman approached Su Lun, curtseying with a smile: "Good evening, sir, my name is Koike Teppei, a geisha from Nagano-ya."


    "Mhm."


    Su Lun nodded his head, showing no particr emotion.


    The atmosphere here wasfortable, and he felt quite good staying there.


    In his perception, Qian Tiao was in a room directly opposite his.


    There was no rush; he would wait patiently.


    ....


    After the geisha entered the room, there were several service routines, including tea ceremony, dancing, musical performance, and swordsmanship disy... all very characteristic performances.


    Su Lun himself knew a bit about music theory and wasn''t exactly chewing on peonies.


    As he listened to the melody and watched the dance, he indeed felt a sense of delight.


    This geisha, called "Koike," had truly put in painstaking effort into these artistic pursuits, and her mastery was profound.


    For her age, she could indeed be considered extremely talented.


    What''s more valuable was that, during their time together, she gave Su Lun the impression not of an entertainer, but more of an amiable friend. Her eyes were also filled with emotion, not the blunt practicality of a brothel girl who might say, "Hurry up, I need to go service the next client."


    Even without physical pleasures, herpany offered a kind of spiritual delight.


    This was a very clever way of interacting.


    Just based on the price alone, it was truly worth it.


    After finishing a dance, Koike gathered the hem of her kimono and walked over to Su Lun in tiny, mincing steps,ing closer to pour him some tea.


    On one side of the room, two attendants yed the Sanxian Qin, with a rhythm that was slow and rxing.


    Because she was so close, Su Lun could smell a faint fragrance from her and casually asked, "The dance just now was quite interesting, but it seemed a bit like a ritual dance?"


    In geisha houses, besides performing, conversation is also one of the most important services.


    Su Lun wasn''t just there to watch dancing; he had heard that these geisha held a lot of important information.


    The teapot was held high, not a drop of tea spilled; this was the expertise of an "oil seller."


    Koike poured Su Lun some tea, handed it to him with a gentle smile, and replied, "You have a keen eye, sir. That dance is the Wind God Music Dance, usually performed by the shamans in our tribe when worshiping deities."


    "Oh? That''s the Kagura dance?"


    Su Lun knew a bit about Mount Hide''s situation, and they started chatting about it.


    "Why do you wear such heavy makeup? You''re naturally pretty."


    "Because in our Mount Hide, every household uses candles. It gets very dark in the evenings. To provide guests with a better sensory experience, geishas apply whiter makeup. It''s ratherical to you, sir."


    "Does Mount Hide have any interesting customs or special products?"


    "Sword Dao, tea ceremony, literature, volcanic hot springs, and also tales of demons... Demon des, ghosts, deities..."


    "Are there really demons in Mount Hide?"


    "Of course, there are. Deities and ghosts are the most important entities in our Mount Hide. If sir is interested, perhaps you might encounter a demon on a personal visit. Kappas, alcohol-consuming goblins, the Nine-tailed Demon Fox Tamamo-no-Mae, Jorogumo..."


    "Is the ''world''s number one beauty'' as stunning as the legends im?"


    "Indeed, even Koike has not seen anyone more beautiful than Lady Tamamo-no-Mae. It''s a shame she never leaves Mount Hide..."


    "..."


    Su Lun and Koike gradually got into deeper conversation.


    The geisha had indeed mastered the art of conversation, true to their reputation.


    She made Su Lun feel like they were having a casual chat between friends, and she was well-informed and well-read. Whatever the topic¡ªfacts, history, literature, music¡ªthere was never a lull.


    In other ces, just this level of knowledge would be extraordinary, more than many noble daughters might possess.


    Su Lun skillfully inquired about many customs of Mount Hide and also learned some information about theplicated forces in Pirate City.


    This information added value to the high service fee.


    However, it was strange that whenever the topic of "Rune Old Man" came up, Koike would deftly steer the conversation away, as if it were taboo.


    Su Lun was not in a rush; the night was still young.


    ....


    Geisha houses are not like brothels, where technicians and clients are there solely for that sort of business. Geishas take their time with every little task, even pouring tea bes a pleasing ritual.


    Although no explicit allure was shown by the geishas, every frown and smile radiated charm.@@novelbin@@


    Su Lun felt very rxed.


    After only an hour of conversation, Koike gave him the feeling that they were as familiar as old friends.


    He didn''t forget his role as a pirate and, while gathering intelligence, also made light-hearted jokes. Amidst the chat, he asked a question he was also curious about, "Miss Koike, being in Pirate City, do you ever encounter very rude customers in your daily work?"


    Pirates are a rough bunch, and no matter how cleverly one might handle them, how would these geishas resist those ovee with lust?


    Koike naturally knew what he was asking about. Her cheeks blushed ever so slightly, disying a natural shyness, and she nodded gently, "Naturally, we do encounter such people. But the house has specialists to handle them."


    Su Lun then asked, "What if the client is very insistent?"


    With a reserved smile and a glint in her eye that seemedden with meaning, Koike said, "If they are agreeable, then naturally there is no problem."


    After a pause, her tone suddenly became firm, "However, if there is no liking, then there is no fate. Although we geishas are humble, we do not hold back our lives and won''t cause trouble for the house."


    Su Lun heard the banter in her voice, lifted an eyebrow, and casually followed up, "What if I wanted to stay the night?"


    Koike nced at him, her brows and eyes revealing an elusive charm, "You certainly wouldn''t, sir."


    This was indeed a clever response; retreating to advance, it created a feeling that even if one had such intentions, one would be reluctant to mar the charm.


    Su Lun was curious about the extent of her conversational skills and persisted with a smile. "Why do you feel that way?"


    Koike spoke earnestly, "Because there''s a distinctive quality about you, sir. Koike knows, you are different from the other clients."


    "Oh...?"


    Su Lun listened, his eyes narrowing slightly.


    The skill in her reply was indeed impable.


    The words were a routine, yet they seemed not to be.


    In the pleasure quarters, if a girl praises your performance in bed, saying you''re great and well-endowed, chances are it''s not because you''re really good, but rather professional jargon. They''re skilled at telling people what they want to hear. Even if the customers know it''s fake under those intimate circumstances, they still feel very pleased, and their happiness is doubled.


    But this is a geisha house, where everything is more subtle.


    Koike''s response left Su Lun momentarily unable to discern whether she saw through his disguise or if it was her professional demeanor making her say those words.


    This is the true artistry of a geisha''s ability to read the room and converse skillfully.


    It''s also the most important reason why the geisha house can exist amongst the myriad pleasure houses in Pirate City.


    Don''t be fooled by the pirates'' vicious appearances; the rougher they are on the outside, the more deste they feel inside, making their thoughts easier to predict.


    ....


    Su Lun had spent two to three hours in the inn and had a very pleasant exchange with Koike.


    Indeed, it was a ce where money melts away.


    If not for the identity he was hiding behind, he probably wouldn''t have been stingy with tips.


    But his persona was that of a minor pirate, whose few tens of thousands wouldn''tst through the night.


    Su Lun stayed here also to see what Qiantiao was up to.


    Now it seemed like his money wasn''t going tost until midnight.


    Just as he was contemting this, the big show began without much of a wait.


    Around ten o''clock, the folding screens andttices of the rooms on the second floor were opened, allowing those inside to view themon stage on the first floor.


    This was a special feature of "Nagano-ya Geisha House": the evening sword dance performance by a geisha.


    However, even before the sword dance began, a dispute erupted in the room across.


    The angry shouting echoed throughout the geisha house.


    "Hey, hey, hey, how can you prove that I killed ''Cyclops'' Sock? To catch a thief you''ve got to catch them dirty-handed, at least find a witness to say it was my Dawn Group who did it, right? And even if I did kill him, so what? He came looking for trouble with me, am I not allowed to fight back? Those aren''t the rules of the underworld, right?"


    That was Qiantiao''s voice, and upon hearing it, Su Lun''s ears perked up.


    It sounded like it was about the aftermath of the "Cyclops" Sock killing incident.


    But the job had been done carefully back then, all witnesses were wiped out leaving no one to me. Even if there was a ship, it could be muddled through.


    Besides, as Qiantiao said, if he was killed, what of it?


    "Qiantiao is deliberately picking a fight..."


    Su Lun guessed something.


    Pretending not to recognize him before was probably just waiting for this moment.


    While he was still specting about who was confronting Qiantiao,


    suddenly, a loud "ng" of splintering wood interrupted his thoughts.


    On a closer look, someone had smashed through the railing andnded in the hall.


    Seeing the sword fighter covered in glowing runes, Su Lun knew he had ties to Rune Old Man.


    In the next instant, Qiantiao alsonded fiercely, ready to draw her sword and engage in a brawl.


    ....


    Su Lun asked curiously, "Who''s that man?"


    Koike''s face slightly changed, "He''s the owner of our ce... Mr. Yaxi Aurorae."


    "The ''Ghost Sword'' Yaxi?"


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun immediately knew who the man was.


    One of Rune Old Man''s other sons, and the most sessful one, ''Ghost Sword'' Yaxi, a renowned mixed-blooded swordsman in Pirate City.


    The runes shining on this man''s body were far more powerful than those on the brother he had encountered before. Furthermore, the bloodthirsty, chrysanthemum-patterned ck de in his hand was no ordinary weapon.


    Su Lun asked further, "That seems to be a famous de, isn''t it?"


    Koike''s eyes showed an unnatural look, responding, "Yes. That is one of the ''Twelve Masterwork des'' of Mount Hide country, ''Chrysanthemum Emblem Shingon Guardian''."


    "It really is a famous de..."


    Su Lun took another look.


    While Mount Hide might be poor, it still possessed world-ss sword forging techniques. Swords and des from there are top-tier collectibles andbat weapons even amongst Rueil''s high society.


    These "Twelve Masterwork des" could bepared to high-level cursed items, or even "Sealed Artifacts" in alchemy.


    Legend has it that not only are these masterwork des sharp and resilient, but each one is infused with the craftsman''s dedication, granting them miraculous effects: some cause unstoppable bleeding, some have Sword Qi that can slice the soul, some can cut through past and present rtionships, some have demon-sealing effects, some can summon monsters... and more.


    However, as time passed, only three or four of the "Twelve Masterwork des" have remained in cirction.


    For a small country like Mount Hide, the ''Chrysanthemum Emblem Shingon Guardian'' in front of him was undoubtedly a national treasure.


    ...


    The two suddenly began fighting, with Sword Qi overflowing, leaving the geisha house full of gaps...


    Su Lun''s eyebrows twitched, but he wasn''t particrly worried.


    Qiantiao dared to make a move and had nned ahead; she was naturally confident in her odds.


    But where would her opportunitye from?


    After all, this was their turf!


    That ''Ghost Sword'' Yaxi was a fifth-tier swordsman, and with a famous de in his hand.


    In broad daylight, under the watchful eyes of many, how could the second form of the "Rakshasa Woman" not be exposed and still take advantage?


    Just as Su Lun was pondering her possible countermeasures, suddenly, without any warning, several ninjas sprang out from the four corners of the hall!


    "It''s not Spatial Discement, nor stealth¡­"


    Su Lun''s pupils shrank suddenly as he guessed something, "Mount Hide Ninjutsu''s ''Illusory sh Assassination Technique''? This movement skill is quite impressive..."


    Just now he had clearly sensed the soul fires of those four ninjas, suddenly taking form. But he hadn''t felt any spatial fluctuations.


    This was a type of movement that physics couldn''t exin, bordering on the divine.


    He had heard about it before, and now seeing it with his own eyes, he felt his horizons were greatly broadened.


    Indeed, the followers of gods in the four northern countries had inherited many peculiar abilities.


    ....


    "However, this ''Illusory sh'' is not something ordinary people cane into contact with; it seems to be a secret ninjutsu of the Mount Hide nation. Who exactly has Qian-Tiao met?"


    Su Lun''s mind raced, and his gaze became slightly more solemn.


    Just as Qian-Tiao was restraining Yaxi, those four suddenly-appeared masked ninjas formed hand seals and then a purple square barrier appeared, creating a spatial barrier.


    With that in ce, outsiders could no longer see what was happening inside.


    Su Lun was very clear that this was not a spur-of-the-moment conflict but a premeditated ambush!


    He hesitated, considering whether to help and when it would be best to take action...


    But then he thought that if there was truly a need, Qian-Tiao would definitely speak up.


    Themunications device of the Mirror Organization''s goblins, even if space was blocked, could still transfer messages without any barriers.


    The customers in the Geisha House were starting to panic.


    However, the fight started suddenly, and it ended just as abruptly.


    Like a magician''s trick, the moment the purple-space barrier had sprung up, it suddenly vanished from sight.


    Su Lun, with a slight frown, thought to himself, "The battlefield has been transferred elsewhere..."


    Seeing this, he also figured out the ins and outs of tonight''s affairs.


    Qian-Tiao came here explicitly to ambush the ''Demon de'' Yaxi. Moreover, a certain power of the Mount Hide nation was involved.


    But... why the killing?


    Su Lun''s thoughts whirled.


    ....


    Meanwhile, Su Lun was staying in the Geisha House.


    Pirate City was as bustling as ever.


    The tallest building in the city was the "Emperor Entertainment City".


    At the top of the Entertainment City, there was a secret pce overlooking the entire city.


    This was the domain of the "King of the North Sea," Oleg, where outsiders had no right to enter.


    Inside was a vision of glittering gold. The opulence was extreme, with glints of gold gleaming everywhere, golden columns, doorknobs, railings... it seemed as if every metallic thing was cast from gold. The floors were covered with the finest Asgard cashmere, and the walls were adorned with authentic masterpieces, while the illustrated vases were worth a fortune in antiques...


    This pce, even some of the top nobles did not possess such luxury.


    At the moment, Oleg, wearing a crown, was sitting on the golden throne in the very center of the pce.


    This top-tier powerhouse, with a bounty of 84.77 billion, emanated a severe pressure even without disying rage.


    Twenty-three individuals of varying demeanor sat in the shadows to his left and right. These were the leaders of the various fleets of the North Sea Fleet. Each one had an overwhelming presence, their mere sitting posture imposing a suffocating solemnity on the entire golden hall.


    And in the hall stood a lone, proud middle-aged man. Dressed in an impably clean white suit, his expression calm. Even being watched eagerly by this group of Great Pirates, not a hint of fear surfaced in his eyes.


    Oleg''s voice, domineering and authoritative, rang out from the throne, "Lazarus, I''ve heard of your talent. Those pedantic nobles from Ruying do not appreciate you. From now on, you''ll work for me."


    Lazarus replied without subservience or arrogance, "I can! But I need absolute management rights. Starting with reforms in the four Northern States. Give me twenty years, and I will turn this deste sea into a flourishing territory, no less prosperous than any domain in Ruying."


    Hearing this, a fleet leader immediately voiced skepticism, "Twenty years? Ha, who knows if we''ll even be here in twenty years."


    Lazarus did not hide his contempt for such shortsightedness, "If Mr. Oleg has already proimed himself king, then please do not continue to consider the future of this sea area with the mentality of a former pirate. You are a lord, a king, and you should have a sense of responsibility for your territory and subjects. The reason I chose to stay here is not for power, but to allow more people in this world to live with dignity!"


    His words fell, and the vast pce fell into dead silence.


    Even if these pirates did not understand his n, they could feel the resounding "righteousness" in his words.


    "Then, Mr. Lazarus, what do you think should be our first step?"


    "Start with the taxation of the four Northern States."


    "Ha, how much tax could possiblye from those barren mountains and evil waters? A year''s tax wouldn''tpare to the loot from robbing a few merchant ships."


    "Mr. Oleg, do you think you can move the people of the four states now? If not, what''s the point of being the King of the North Sea?"


    "Not everyone wants to be a pirate for life. If there''s a peaceful life to be had, who would gamble with their lives? You might, but have you thought about your family, your descendants? With Mafa and Ruying in a key battle, this is the North Sea''s best opportunity to rise. n for now, think for the future!"


    "Taxation is not a means of collecting wealth; it''s to slowly instill a sense of belonging in the four Northern States, letting them know who their king is. The process could be hard, lengthy, but it must be done! And I guarantee you, in a few years, when the four states prosper, this tax revenue will be ten times, a hundred times the loot from your robberies!"


    "..."


    Lazarus''s impassioned speech rendered the powerful Great Pirates of the North Sea silent.


    No one could refute.


    After a long silence, a voice from the throne, which had been thoughtful for a while, finally gave a response that shook one''s soul, "Good! As you say!"

 Chapter 299 Great Writer

    Executing an assassination in Pirate City, particrly against the owner of the "Nagano-ya Geisha House", was bound to attract serious trouble.


    After all, it was one of the local powers of Pirate City.


    That "Demon Sword", Yachi, wasn''t weak himself, let alone he represented the country of Mountain Hermit.


    Su Lun also guessed that this was probably why Qian Tiao did not want to get involved herself.


    Even so, there might be moreplicated situations involved.


    Su Lun had learned a secret from stripping the soul of "Cyclops" Sock: the "Rune Old Man" was not a native of Mountain Hermit, but a defector from Ruying.


    That was the problem.


    Why would a foreigner be a more powerful person than the daimyo of the Mountain Hermit country?


    Something like the Geisha House, one of the most important cash flow channels, was in the hands of the Old Man''s son, which was quite puzzling. The untold story behind this was probably why the geisha Koike was so reluctant to talk about it.


    ....


    A sudden battle broke out in the Geisha House, and arge number of Mountain Hermit country''s samurais flooded into the building.


    Unfortunately, before they could swarm in, the battlefield shifted.


    After searching around and finding no one, the samurai could only leave the matter unresolved.


    But with such amotion, watching tea ceremonies and sword dances naturally could not continue.


    The brothel''s Madam also understood people''s feelings and waived the expenses of all the guests.


    But Su Lun still gave the tip that he should to Koike.


    The geishas of Mountain Hermit country may seem morous, but their lives are not necessarily good.


    In a short while, Koike, wearing her traditional wooden footwear, escorted Su Lun out of the Geisha House.


    It was at the cherry blossom grove that they finally said goodbye.


    She looked at Su Lun, her face full of tender smiles, and asked politely, "Sir, will youe again next time?"


    Seeing her earnest manner, it seemed hard for anyone to bear saying a single word of "no".


    Su Lun smiled and thought it would be nice to visit again when he was free, so he replied, "I''lle again if there''s a chance."


    "Mhm."


    Koike nodded and said no more.


    Insisting is meant to leave a longing, not a burden; just right is best.


    Something crossed her mind, and she smiled sweetly, "Koike has never met anyone quite so exceptional as you, sir..."


    Su Lun couldn''t detect the slightest pretense in her tone and responded with a polite smile, "I''ve also enjoyed thepany of Miss Koike very much."


    Hearing this, a joyous smile spread across Koike''s face as she curtsied, "Sir, that is the finestpliment I have ever received..."@@novelbin@@


    As Su Lun was about to leave, Koike hesitated for a moment. Her demeanor became a tad more bashful, and for the first time this evening, her voice a little less smooth, "If... sir wishes to stay tonight... that is also possible."


    "I''ll pass for today."


    Su Lun raised his eyebrows with a smile, only then realizing that she had genuinely noticed something different about him.


    He wasn''t strictly upright, but he didn''t want to make anything too special of it.


    A mere pirate had no right to stay overnight in a geisha house.


    It''s always right to be cautious.


    Hearing his response, Koike didn''t press on, a hint of regret flickering in her eyes as she bowed in farewell, "Take care, sir."


    ...


    Feeling refreshed, Su Lun walked out of the Geisha House as if his spirit had been cleansed, washing away the irritations of his days adrift at sea.


    He was walking through the streets of Pirate City once again.


    The fortress was vast, its streets winding and deep, its entertainment venues so abundant it would take weeks to visit them all. Not to mention the surrounding inds and floating buildings, each with their own unique features. This ce had developed the entertainment industry to its utmost.


    If it weren''t for the sight of children rummaging through trash cans for food, the emaciated beggars with hardly any clothes, and the stinking pirate corpses in the alleys... Pirate City''s boisterous scene wasparable to the most prosperous territories in Ruying.


    Su Lun was strolling through the city at a leisurely pace, intending to familiarize himself with its pathways.


    Thinking that in case of an emergency, he would be well-prepared.


    He had already stripped some memories before and walked the paths again, so he was fairly acquainted with the area now.


    About an hourter, he finally received amunication from Qian Tiao.


    The gambling-addicted woman was still vague about what she was doing, but she revealed her ns to go to the country of Mountain Hermit.


    Su Lun had some guesses, but since she did not say, he did not ask further.


    As long as she was fine, that was what mattered.


    ...


    Having spent a long time on the ship and not feeling particrly tired, Su Lun continued to wander around the city for a while longer.


    When he reached the gambling street, Su Lun also ran into some piratepanions from the same ship on the road.


    Those guys had juste out from the pleasure quarters and still had some money in hand, so they decided to gamble a bit.


    Saying they were going to the coliseum, Su Lun followed suit.


    The four countries of the North Continent each have their own characteristics.


    Just like the geisha houses are a feature of Mountain Hermit Country, diators are a specialty of the Roman Empire.


    The natives of the Roman Empire are all belligerent, both men and women.


    They worship the "God of War" and various ancient deities that represent strength and valour. Everyone has genes that thrive forbative andpetitive spirits; dying in the coliseum is considered an honor. It is said that the country possesses many ancient war technique engravings that even a monkey, after watching for a long time, would master variousbat skills.


    Because of this tradition, the Roman Empire is also the strongest diator training base and exports arge number of diators. Even many ve merchants from the two great empires send people here for training.


    The people around Barrett, like Lolo and others, were previously trained in the Roman coliseum and then sent to perform for nobles in Lington as ve diators.


    After watching a few diator matches, Su Lun witnessed real diators.


    Although the deities worshipped by the believers in Roman seemed to have fallen, certain mysterious power systems have been passed down. This gave the diators, even without following the alchemy system, formidablebat strengthparable to magical beasts.


    A group of people stayed at the coliseum untilte at night, some lost, some won.


    Those who won money went to the bathhouses to enjoy a pleasanttter half of the night; those who lost all their money went back to the ship at the dock, disheartened, and slept in the cabin.


    Su Lun wasn''t particrly lucky or unlucky, with no significant losses or gains.


    After spending nearly half a month on a ship, he had no intention of spending the night in the cramped, foul-smelling cabins.


    So he found a hotel in the city for a good night''s sleep.


    ....


    The next day, the weather was nice.


    Su Lun opened his eyes from meditation.


    Outside the hotel window, the view of Pirate City was unobstructed; the sea breeze gently caressed his face, and the ind scenery was beautiful with shimmering waves ¨C indeed, a sight to behold.


    But the City of Gold during the daytime was like a beauty without filters. Although still attractive, itcked the radiant charm.


    As a pirate underling, it was another in and unremarkable day.


    Rich pirates would sleep through the day in the arms of pleasure, or go to taverns and gambling halls for entertainment.


    Those without money would sleep in the ship''s cabin for the day.


    Su Lun was not idle; he left the hotel, changed his outfit, and continued to stroll around the city.


    In Pirate City, there were many shops that only opened during the day.


    Su Lun knew that Pirate City had seen arge influx of Mafa mechanical equipment and items from Old Lington, so he nned to look around the boutique shops to see if he could dig up some treasures.


    And also to see if there were other good finds.


    Pirate City is never short of fine things.


    Following the direction in his memory, Su Lun crossed several covered bridges and then took a rickety ropeway to a rocky pirate market beside the Golden City.


    It is called the "Rainbow Conch Market."


    This ce was somewhat like the underground ck market of Old Lington, with all buildings supported by wooden poles against the rock walls, resembling stilt houses. The rooftops were colorful, like the variegated mushrooms growing on the stones.


    The ck market Su Lun visited yesterday was a bulk trading market; this ce was more like a flea market.


    There were street stalls and shops selling all sorts of odd and curious items.


    And there were boutiques selling high-end alchemy items.


    Those treasures salvaged from the seabed, unearthed from ruins, or plundered were mostly gathered at this market.


    As long as one had money, they could always return loaded with goods.


    Those who strolled in the pirate market during the day were mostly professional merchants among pirates.


    Even non-pirates, such as middlemen from certain gray areas of Lington, were present.


    Pirates seem like a disorderly bunch of robbers, but in fact, some pirate groups were covertly funded by major forces in Lington. Royal spyworks, merchant pirate groups suppressingpetitors, and even noble-sponsored adventurer groups...


    Everyone tacitly understood, which is why these factions have not been wiped out over the years and have only grownrger.


    The plundered items would be channeled back to Lington through these gray channels.


    As Su Lun strolled from shop to shop, he found pleasant surprises.


    Not only did he dig up some finished mechanical products, but he even found manyboratory-grade research instruments! Pirates are adopters and have almost no R&D capabilities. To them, these precision instruments were almost as good as scrap metal, gathering dust in the shops. Su Lun managed to buy these genuine treasures at very favorable prices, treasures that couldn''t be bought even with money.


    It was also fortunate that he didn''t arrive toote in Pirate City; in another year or so, those items would probably all flow into the two great empires.


    But once he started buying things, money became a bit short.


    Su Lun sold off the spoils of war he had collected previously. Although the price was a bit low, exchanging them for some urgently needed items was considered worth it.


    ....


    Su Lun strolled along and came upon a shop called "Three Bird Residence."


    It was a specialty store of the Mountain Hermit Country that sold swords, samurai armor, and a variety of unusual items.


    The weather doll hanging at the entrance swayed gently, and having nced at it, Su Lun walked in.


    The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man in a kimono with the typical polite demeanor of someone from the Mountain Hermit Country. Upon seeing a customer, he bowed respectfully and said, "Wee to my humble shop."


    Su Lun nodded and looked at the merchandise disyed in the showcase,


    Famous swords were produced in the Mountain Hermit Country, and many were prominently disyed throughout the shop.


    The middle-aged owner was holding a long sword and introduced it, "Would you like to buy a sword, sir? This is ''Third Generation Valley,'' the work of Forging Master Kurosawa. It''s indeed a rare and fine de..."


    The de gleamed coldly, visibly sharp to the eye, and truly a fine item.


    Unfortunately, Su Lun was not a swordsman, and thus the item was of little use to him.


    If used on puppets, the poor quality would be somewhat inadequate, while the high quality would be too extravagant.


    He recalled the "Chrysanthemum Patterned Shrine Keeper" he had seen the day before and casually asked, "Do you have any swords from the Twelve Artisans?"


    The middle-aged owner chuckled and said, "You must be jesting, sir. Such famous swords, naturally, our small store doesn''t carry. You could say that no shop has them."


    He looked at Su Lun, who did not appear to be joking, andughed again, "It seems you have very high standards for weaponry. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, there are only four remaining swords from the Twelve Artisans, all of which are in the hands of very formidable swordsmen..."


    Su Lun merely shrugged nomittally, thinking that if he could afford it, it wouldn''t be a bad idea to buy one as a gift for Senjo.


    The gambling-addicted woman had taken good care of him, and it was only proper to give her a present.


    The middle-aged owner then began to introduce the shop''s other items, "Sir, would you be interested in looking at other things?"


    The shop was more like an antique store, with many old and ancient items in the showcase.


    The armor worn by Hattori, the Grand General of the Mountain Hermit Country, when he died in battle; a ck jar with a sealed lid imed to be "Mouth Chewed Sake" made by shrine maidens; a "Great Tengu Mask," said to summon monsters and make all evil spirits flee; talismans...


    The items were nice, and Su Lun appraised them, finding that the majority indeed had some special effects.


    However, they were of little use to Su Lun.


    At that moment, Su Lun noticed some ancient manuscripts in the corner of the shop and asked, "Do you have any documents about monster legends?"


    The middle-aged shopkeeper replied, "Yes, we do. When ites to stories about monsters, in the recent hundred years, none is better than the grand writer, Fujiwara Hayato''s ''Fairy Tale.'' Coincidentally, I''ve collected a few of his manuscripts. Shall I show them to you?"


    Su Lun nodded.


    Monsters were rampant in the Mountain Hermit Country, unlike magical beasts or mutated monsters¡ªa very special existence.


    He was indeed very interested in learning more.


    The shopkeeper was searching on the shelves when suddenly, the chime of the windbell at the door sounded, signaling the arrival of more customers.


    It was normal for a shop to have customers as long as it was open,


    But Su Lun sensed something about these people and furrowed his brows slightly!


    A group of seven, five remained at the door, and two entered the shop, all shrouded in alchemical cloaks that obscured their faces.


    Such an arrangement looked like the entourage of a Big Shot.


    Moreover, in Su Lun''s perception, the souls of these individuals were elusive and difficult to fathom.


    If it wasn''t for the interference of high-level cursed items, then they had to be very strong high-tier professionals.


    Either way, they did not seem like the sort one would want to provoke.


    "What''s the background of these people? If they were major pirates, they''d have no need to hide their identities so thoroughly."


    Su Lun muttered to himself, disying no sign of suspicion, acting like an ordinary customer examining the items in the showcase.


    "Shopkeeper, do you have any manuscripts by Gustav?"


    The person speaking sounded like an olddy, her tone very amiable.


    The middle-aged shopkeeper looked puzzled, "Gustav?"


    The olddy said, "Perhaps it''s another name, known as ''Fujiwara Hayato''."


    With sudden realization and a hint of pleasure, the shopkeeper replied, "Oh, of course we do have them. I was just about to show them to that customer. My shop probably has the mostprehensive collection of Mr. Fujiwara''s manuscripts."


    Upon seeing the manuscripts, the olddy didn''t even ask about the price and said, "If you don''t mind, I would like to purchase them all."


    The middle-aged man appeared somewhat troubled and looked at Su Lun before asking, "Sir, what do you think? After all, you were the first to ask to see them."


    Su Lun nced at them, showing an uninterested expression, "Of course I don''t mind."


    The manuscripts were appraised as just "ordinary manuscripts," and without any special effects, it certainly wasn''t necessary to buy the originals.


    For Su Lun, who merely wanted to learn about Mountain Hermit customs, having a transcribed copy would suffice.


    Besides, the grand writer''s works were outrageously expensive, nearly matching the price of "Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript."


    After hearing the price, Su Lun was certain he wouldn''t waste his money on such an unwarranted expense.


    But the olddy didn''t bargain at all and spent nearly ten million Lirath to buy those manuscripts.


    This group, having made their purchase and asked a few questions rted only to the grand writer "Fujiwara Hayato," found nothing more and then left.


    The shop was quiet once more.


    The few visitors had arrived abruptly and left just as suddenly.


    Su Lun remained at the counter, murmuring to himself, "Here for the collection, perhaps? Seems like a big noble..."


    Some people could be immediately recognized as well-mannered just by their tone of voice.


    That olddy didn''t talk much, but Su Lun could tell that her background was far from simple. Besides, a pirate wouldn''t get egg on their face by spending so much money on a few manuscripts.


    Moreover, Su Lun couldn''t tell if it was just his imagination, but when those people left, did that olddy''s apanying person nce at him one extra time?


    ....


    Su Lun spent most of the day wandering around Seashell City and had a good haul.


    He then returned to the Golden City, lucky as ever, the materials he had reserved the night before at "Sister Atang''s Magic Materials Shop" were gathered ahead of time.


    After paying the bnce, he had the materials, which filled over a dozen storage rings, in hand.


    Su Lun had intended to take the materials back to the hotel to craft new intriguing dolls, but seeing it was still early, he happened to pass by a store that he recognized.


    It was a small hut with a sign reading "Sea God Divination."


    A witch who could perform divinations lived there and was also one of the most well-informed information traders in Pirate City.


    Su Lun lifted the magic-sealed curtain and walked in.


    The magicmp was dim and grey, and he could see a dark-skinned woman tinkering with tarot cards, using them for divination. Her face was adorned with some fish scales, said to be a hybrid of human and fish folk.


    The pirates all called her "ck Beauty" Amalys.


    As soon as Su Lun entered, she started mumbling, "The divination tells me that a very special visitor woulde today."


    Su Lun didn''t take it seriously, as this was just professional jargon used for anyone who came.


    He cut straight to the chase, "I need to inquire about a few pieces of news."


    Upon hearing this, Amalys knew she was dealing with a knowledgeable person and dropped her usual spiel meant to deceive.


    "Have you heard about ''Cyclops''?"


    "I''m looking for information on a certain Holy Grail, one that''s rumored to havee from a non-human tribe..."


    "Ever heard about ''ck Sam''s Cursed Gold Coins''?"


    "I''m looking for some advanced spatial materials, do you have any rmendations?"


    "..."


    Su Lun presented all the pieces of information he wanted to inquire about, none of them particrly sensitive.


    He had thought to cast a wide, indifferent as to whether he''d actually get any leads.


    But unexpectedly, this ck Beauty did know quite a bit!


    Amalys said directly, "The Cyclops, in our sea folk''s legends, inhabit an ind deep in the western sea. However, that ce isn''t meant for humans to tread. Only the great adventurers who are not afraid of the wind and waves might catch a glimpse of that mythical race''s true form. As for ''ck Sam''s Cursed Gold Coins,'' I think you might need to ask someone who happens to have one in their possession. Regarding spatial materials, I''ve heard there''s someone in the ck market who has them. If needed, I can inquire for you, but the price might be a bit steep..."


    As Su Lun listened, his delight grew stronger and stronger.


    Indeed, professional matters required professional handling!


    These information traders had their hands on a lot of astonishing news.


    Even the Roan officials had their own "rat trading" of military supplies, so what of the pirates? As long as there was a profit to be made, any "Spatial Gear," no matter how confidential, was definitely being traded!


    Beforeing to Pirate City, Su Lun had spected that there might be information on "Void Gear."


    Upon asking, it turned out there indeed was.


    After some discussion, Su Lun spent two hundred thousand to pry the wanted information from ck Beauty''s lips.


    As for the Void Gear, after hearing the exorbitant price quoted, he didn''t ask any further.


    If news had leaked, it would gradually be less valuable.


    Now that he had joined the Northern Sea Fleet, there was no rush at all.


    ....


    Pirate City wasrge if you said it wasrge.


    But it was also small if you said it was small.


    For instance, when it came to selling materials, there were only so many major markets.


    It just so happened that while Su Lun was inquiring information at the fortune-telling shop, amotion broke out in the ck market with sounds of fighting.


    Normally, a scuffle or a fire fight among pirates was nothing unusual, but when Su Lun stepped out to watch themotion, one of the fighters caught his eye, someone he had seen before.


    The guy with one arm missing turned out to be the samemander of the Roan Sacred Judgment Army he had seen in Cursed Valley, the "Ferocious Beast" Alek Barrett!


    "How could this guye to Pirate City?"


    Seeing the scratches on Barrett''s military rank, Su Lun was also quite surprised.


    It was the mark of desertion.

 Chapter 300 Hand of Silver

    Su Lun heard the noise of fighting and disputes and walked out of the "Sea God Divination Shop." He just saw a crowd gathered in front of a shop that sold materials.


    Dozens of members from the "Iron Lions Pirate Crew" were confronting more than a dozen others, while arge crowd of onlookers who had heard themotion gathered around.


    The dozen or so individuals dressed in the white uniforms of the navy stood out conspicuously in the chaotic environment of the ck market.


    "Damn it! We clearly agreed on cash on delivery, how can you go back on your word?!"


    "Hey, hey, hey, don''t fucking talk nonsense! How can it be considered breaking my word if I haven''t received the goods?"


    "Didn''t we already deliver the goods to your manager at the dock? That old man from ck Fang personally received them, I even have the transfer receipt!"


    "Could it be that you gave the goods to the wrong person? I don''t have any manager from ck Fang in my shop."


    "You...! My severely injured brother needs those potions to save his life, you must hand them over!"


    "Hmph, what do I care if you have someone injured? This isn''t Luying, don''t you fucking act like you''re still high and mighty officers. If you keep causing trouble here, don''t me me for not being polite!"


    "..."


    After listening for a bit, Su Lun immediately understood the cause of the dispute.


    These were people who had been tricked in a "scam on scam" situation.


    Selling materials in the ck market, if you''re inexperienced, it''s very easy for someone to swindle you and take everything, including the goods.


    Those who open shops in the ck market generally have some sort of backing. Moreover, they are unfriendly towards outsiders. If you dare to cause a fuss, the Great Pirates of Pirate City certainly won''t indulge you. Experience new stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    The one-armed "Ferocious Beast" Alek Barrett had a gloomy expression and remained silent throughout, but no matter how his lieutenant argued, the shop owner had a cold smirk, showing no intention of paying up.


    The pirates, with their greater numbers, pushed and shoved a bit, but arge-scale fight ultimately did not break out.


    ....


    In the pirate circles, it was not rare to find defectors from the Luying Empire navy.


    Usually, these were prisoners of war, or those who had defected for some unavoidable reasons and be pirates.


    These well-trained navy men were also prime recruitment targets for many major pirate crews. Under the King of the North Sea''smand, there were quite a few squadron and fleet captains with backgrounds in the Luying Royal Navy or the private armies of nobility.


    Normally, even as defectors, they would still wear the Luying navy uniform to assert their identity. Even in defection, they felt they were different from ordinary pirates.


    But they would also put a sh through their rank insignia, indicating a severance from their former status.


    Su Lun was slightly surprised to see Barrett and his men appear in Pirate City.


    Such high-ranking officers like these, who would be considered Big Shots back in Luying with ess to power, wealth, and all the vices, were something that pirates couldn''t lure with any tempting offers.


    Now it seemed they hade to sell materials and equipment, only to be cheated by the ck market traders?


    However, after thinking about his previous experiences, he was not so surprised to see them here.


    Su Lun guessed that someone important within the Luying royal family might be involved with that "Outer God" coveting the God Burial Ground. Barrett had previously prevented the seal from being broken and witnessed the entire process of that military intelligence guy summoning the arrival of the Outer God. It would be odd not to be ostracized.


    Even though that guy almost drove him to his death previously, he actually didn''t leave a bad impression. Setting aside certain issues of stance, someone who would gamble their life and honor to stop the military intelligence person from breaking the seal certainly didn''tck a sense of justice.


    ...


    Su Lun looked pensive and asked Amalys, who was also watching themotion, "What''s that guy''s story?"


    As expected, the professional information dealer knew more.


    Upon hearing the question, the ck Beauty immediately revealed his identity, "He''s from the Holy Judgment Legion of the Luying Empire, the leader¡ªAlek Barrett, a Major General. For some reason, he lost an arm, and his strength has greatly diminished."


    Su Lun naturally knew how he had lost his arm and was more curious about other things, so he asked again, "Isn''t the Holy Judgment Legion a royal legion? Why did they defect and be pirates?"


    "Because of ''treason''."


    As the ck Beauty spoke, there seemed to be confusion in her eyes.


    After a pause, she continued, "The Luying Royal Family has issued a warrant for the arrest of Barrett and his men on charges of treason, with a frighteningly high bounty. Now countless people are thinking about exchanging his head for the bounty. It''s not just Bounty Hunters, the Luying military intelligence also sent special operatives to pursue and kill them all the way here, and there have been several assassination attempts by suicide assassins in Pirate City. However, all have ended in failure..."


    Treason?


    Hearing this charge, Su Lun was also quite surprised.


    To have a decorated officerbeled with this charge without a military tribunal must mean the person behind the order is frighteningly influential.


    He pondered, wanting to know more details and tentatively asked, "Could it be the nobles'' conspiracy and tricks?"


    The ck Beauty seemed to think the recent cooperation for a fee was pleasant enough and wasn''t stingy with words, responding, "There were suspicions that this was a trap set by the Luying Royal Family, but confirmed news came from Luying saying that the Holy Judgment Legion''s establishment has been revoked by the Royal Family, and all members of the legion have been put on the wanted list. Moreover, the rtives of these knights were almost all sent to the gallows. Especially the legionmander Barrett''s wife, daughter, parents... there was no trial, they were all executed by firing squad directly."


    As she spoke, her lips pursed and she continued, "The actions of the Luying Royal Family are very abnormal, but no one knows why. Outsiders specte that it may involve some royal scandal that couldn''t be made public... after all, there have been cases like this before, like when a noble courted someone within the court and then mysteriously disappeared under trumped-up charges..."


    "I see..."


    Su Lun''s gaze grew moreplex upon hearing this.


    Annihted?


    It could be that the "Outer God" was afraid of a leak and decided to kill to silence it.


    With a special warrant issued by the Royal Family, the former Holy Judgment Legion had no ce in Luying anymore, and only in Pirate City was there still a slim chance of survival.


    It wasn''t surprising to encounter them here.


    At that moment, the ck Beauty sighed slightly, "Now I hear that Luying has sent even more experts over to deal with them, and Great Pirates also want to im the bounty. Heh, there aren''t many powers in the North Sea that can provide them with protection."


    "..."


    Su Lun frowned slightly as he listened; Barrett and his men were indeed in dire straits.


    With both the underworld and thew offering no way out, even the strong wouldn''t survive.


    "However... these guys have brought this on themselves."


    The ck Beauty, reminded of something, shifted the conversation and continued, "Even though that guy has lost an arm and his strength has greatly diminished, the Holy Judgment Legion was once the ace legion of Luying. Their strength and resources aren''t weak despite being reduced in numbers. Several Great Pirate groups are eyeing them, intending to recruit this group. Unfortunately, they think too highly of themselves and aren''t interested in banding together with us pirates. Even when people from the King of the North Sea approached them, it led to nothing..."


    After pausing, she added, "It''s a pity, without the protection of powerful people, they can''t mix in Pirate City. Just wait and see, it won''t be long before these people either disappear or have topromise."


    "..."


    Su Lun couldn''t help but feel a tinge of mncholy.


    A loyal general of a great empire had fallen to such circumstances.


    However, the affairs of others are ultimately their own private matters.


    When Su Lun saw these members of the Sacred Judgment army, he thought of issues that were rted to his own interests.


    If nothing went wrong, these guys should have a good amount of "Living Silver" on them, as well as the cursed object "Anniestora''s Poisonous Incense Burner" which he had lost.


    He had previously thought that the treasure had slipped through his fingers, but now, it seemed like there might be another opportunity.


    "I hope they haven''t sold it yet..."


    Su Lun prayed inwardly.


    .....


    The crowd of onlookers grew, but in the end, those people from Barrett''s Sacred Judgment army did note to blows.


    The generals and knights who were once full of honor in the Luying Empire, were now bargaining for prices like housewives in a vegetable market, and not everyone could endure such a contrast.


    Barrett, seeing the shop owners and those pirates'' fearless demeanor, guessed that this was the "rule" of the Pirate ck market.


    This time was a lesson learned.


    He snorted coldly, "Let''s go!"


    Turning his head, he walked away, and although his soldiers were reluctant, they followed suit.


    Once the people from the Sacred Judgment left, the excitement died down and the ck market returned to its usual order.


    Blending in with the crowd, Su Lun watched Barrett''s people leave, and after some thought, he quietly followed them.


    For the "Living Silver," he decided to take the risk and make contact.


    Barrett and his men did not head toward the upper structures of the fortress city but seemed to be heading toward the docks, probably staying on a ship.


    However, Su Lun didn''t follow them long before he noticed something amiss.


    It turned out that it wasn''t just him; several other groups were also eyeing Barrett and his men.


    "Hiss... These guys really aren''t small trouble, are they?"


    Su Lun moved through the alleys like an ordinary pedestrian.


    With Soul Perception, he didn''t need to keep his eyes on them; he could follow without losing track.


    But in his Soul Perception, there were several sneaky individuals trailing along.


    Thinking they were neither information dealers nor likely to be spies recruited by the Great Pirates...


    Barrett''s men must have realized they were being followed, but probably couldn''t do much about it.


    This was Pirate City, and they were the outcasts.


    ....


    As expected, they hadn''t gone far before Barrett and his party arrived at the docks and boarded a wooden warship moored in the harbor.


    In Luying, it was rare to see all-wood sailing ships, usually used for chasing pirates.


    The hull of the warship bore the marks of battle everywhere, including cannon holes, bullet scars, and cuts from sharp weapons. It seemed they hadn''t had an easy journey here.


    The masts did not fly a pirate g, but the ordinary seagull g also had a line marked out with paint.


    Even though they were no longer a part of the Luying Royal Navy, the group on the ship still maintained a strict military decorum.


    Sentries, scouts, each doing their duty, guarded their ship closely.


    Compared to thexness of the pirate ships around them, they seemed very much the odd ones out.


    The group that had gone to the ck market had just boarded when the ship''s guards immediately surrounded them to inquire.


    Hearing what had just transpired, everyone was filled with righteous indignation.


    "Damn merchants! The materials we worked so hard to obtain were just swallowed up by them. Captain, let''s go kill those filthy swindlers!"


    "Good thing the Captain was cautious earlier, and we didn''t bring out anything too important. The loss isn''t too great. These despicable pirates truly can''t be trusted."


    "If those guys from the intelligence department hadn''t attempted the assassination, our losses wouldn''t have been so severe. Everything else is manageable, but we urgently need some potion for cursed wounds, otherwise our severely injured brothers are unlikely to make it..."


    "At this point, we shouldn''t expect Pirate City to provide us with much supply. Those pirates are clearly making things difficult on purpose, trying to force us to join them. Heh, King of the North Sea, just a rabble. They even think about recruiting our royal knights..."


    "..."


    As everyone spoke, they suddenly fell silent.


    Their current predicament was indeed as bad as it could get.


    But life and death were another matter. They had faced all kinds of adverse situations in battles and near-death experiences.


    No matter how difficult, they could grit their teeth and get through it.


    But what chilled their hearts the most at the moment was not their challenging situation.


    The very royalty they had once sworn to serve loyally had not only abandoned them, deprived them of the honor their ancestors had earned for Luying, but had also ughtered their families!


    What was even more iprehensible was that this charge of "treason" waspletely unfounded!


    If they were not averse to being wronged, they would dare return to the Luying imperial capital to confront the usations face to face.


    But returning now meant certain death.


    If they were willing to degrade themselves, choosing to be pirates, they could live well enough.


    But...


    Without saying much, Barrett entered the cabin.


    ....


    Su Lun originally nned to find an inconspicuous opportunity to make secret contact with Barrett.


    However, after observing on the docks for a long time, he embarrassingly realized he had no chance to strike!


    Those guys were so tightly guarded that it left Su Lun without any opportunity to sneak over. He thought even if he used Spatial Teleportation to get on board, he would probably be detected immediately, possibly backfiring on him.


    Unable to think of a better way, Su Lun still decided to take the risk and go directly.


    Although the dock was full of watchers, this was also to his advantage. Now there were many forces watching Barrett and his men, and even if Su Lun went openly, no one would know which side he was from.


    With that thought, he extended his hand, draped himself in the alchemical cloak, and walked over.


    Even from a distance, Su Lun noticed that many gazes were fixed upon him.


    No shrinking back, he strode forward with firm steps.


    As he reached the side of the ship, two sentries halted him, "Stop! This is a private vessel, no closer approach is allowed!"


    Su Lun was not one for small talk, he replied, "I wish to see Captain Barrett."


    Before he could finish, the sentry bluntly refused, "Sorry, our captain doesn''t see just anyone."


    These days, many wanted to meet their captain, from various pirate leaders to bounty hunters and assassins from the military intelligence... most came with ill intentions.


    In their current situation, it was best to meet with no one.


    Without any fuss, Su Lun produced a small piece of "Activation Silver" and said, "I have some important matters to discuss. I think Captain Barrett will be interested in seeing me when he sees this item."


    The sentry looked at the silver-colored object in Su Lun''s hand, apparently recognizing it, and their confident tone also left them puzzled.


    There was a moment of hesitation on their faces, like they were consulting with a nce, and one of them spoke, "Wait here, I''ll go ask if the captain wants to see you."


    Su Lun responded indifferently, "Hmm."


    .....


    It wasn''t long before the sentry came out, his tone not as cold as before, "The captain says, pleasee in."


    Su Lun was not at all surprised at this response.


    The reason he was so certain that Barrett would see him was not because of any Activation Silver.


    It was because of his "identity".


    Back in Cursed Valley, one of Katusha''s loyalists had taken a lethal hit for him, and Barrett would definitely be curious about his identity.


    Besides, this would confirm that Su Lun was not from the royal family.


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun nodded and walked up the gangway with a rxed gait.


    As soon as he stepped on, those piercing gazes concentrated on him.@@novelbin@@


    Even with an amputated arm, Barrett, possessed of fifth-tierbat strength, was still not someone he could contend with at present. Not to mention, his senses told him there were another two to three hundred elite royal knights aboard the ship.


    Nevertheless, Su Lun was not worried.


    The previous confrontation had been due to factional differences, and now, without those, there was no need to fight.


    Feeling the weak soul fires aboard the ship, he felt even more assured.


    ...


    Su Lun briskly walked onto the ship and met with Barrett in the captain''s cabin.


    He revealed his face by lifting his cloak.


    Barrett looked at him, his gaze containing a trace ofplexity.


    He certainly remembered the man who had received a punch from himself before, and got straight to the point, "Do you have some matter to discuss with me?"


    ncing at Barrett''s empty right sleeve, Su Lun said directly, "I want to buy some materials from you."


    Barrett''s expression was unreadable as he asked in response, "Those silver bars?"


    "Yes."


    Su Lun did not disguise his purpose, "If possible, I would also like to redeem back that poisonous incense burner."


    Barrett didn''t seem too interested in trading. Instead, he stared into Su Lun''s eyes for a while, "What can you offer me?"


    "Supplies, high-grade potions, and... some possibilities," Su Lun said smoothly and without a trace of embarrassment.


    It was unthinkable that he was here to "get something for nothing."


    Previously, when buying materials, he had nearly run out of money, and now he had no cash on hand.


    Moreover, this was a divine-grade material. If Barrett knew the value of the Activation Silver, no matter how wealthy Su Lun was, he could not afford it.


    So, his only option was to outtalk him.


    "Haha, it seems you havee prepared. No one in Pirate City dares to help us now, and yet you dare?"


    Barrett was like a sick tiger, his gaze still sharp.


    He thought that Su Lun must have already investigated and knew that there were injured on his ship, which was why he offered these irresistible conditions.


    Unfazed, Su Lun replied, "You should guess that I''m not a pirate. So, there is no question of daring or not."


    Barrett''s brows lifted slightly, "I was curious about your identity before. Anyone who can nt spies in the military intelligence muste from an extraordinary background. But now..."


    It no longer mattered to him, as long as it was not the royal family.


    He didn''t finish his sentence and instead switched the topic, "We can trade. However, I need to get the goods first, before I hand over anything."


    "No problem!"


    Upon hearing that, Su Lun agreed without hesitation.


    Pirates were not known for keeping rules. In thiswlessnd of Hastelin, if they were duped again, it would prove Barrett and his men were fools indeed.


    "That cursed incense burner can be returned to you," Barrett said calmly, pausing for an instant before adding, "But those silver bars... how much do you want?"


    Su Lun replied, "As much as possible."


    Hearing this, the general known as "Ferocious Beast" narrowed his eyes slightly, a sh of sharpness disappearing as quickly as it came, "Haha... Activation Silver is divine-grade material. How much do you think is appropriate?"


    Despite their troubled situation, they were not going to let themselves be duped and taken advantage of.


    "As much as possible."


    Su Lun offered the same response.


    Upon hearing the other party name the material, he immediately knew they understood its value.


    Mere restorative potions could never trade for this "priceless treasure," not even a tiny bit of it.


    Su Lun had no intention of bluffing his way through; ncing at his amputated arm, he spoke directly, "To be frank, I need a lot of this metal. Moreover, I happen to know one of its uses, and that is to repair human limbs."


    Barrett, hearing this, showed a skeptical expression, "Are you referring to a mechanical arm?"


    The loss of an arm indeed greatly affected his strength, even to the extent of a demotion in rank.


    His original limb waspletely damaged and there was no hope for regeneration; the best-case scenario would be to fit a mechanical arm.


    Yet, the current level of technological advancement made mechanical arms almost useless to someone of his high-ranking profession.


    Even the most advanced technology from Mafa for mechanical arms.


    Rather than adding a cumbersome mechanical arm, it would be better to remain as he was.


    Su Lun corrected him, "It''s the ''Hand of Silver,'' not a regr mechanical arm!"


    Since he could say this, he naturally had preparations in mind.


    He went on to exin, "Animating Silver is a special metal found only where divine corpses lie. Aside from its wonderful properties, it can also be fused into human flesh! Forging an arm from it, in theory, couldpletely rece the original limb and might even be stronger. You should have experienced this during your hunts of those creatures. As for transnting the nervous system and such, that''s even easier¡­"


    As he spoke, Su Lun added, "But to create an arm from this metal requires an exceptionally precise structure, including essential runes, fusion forms, and blueprints. By chance, I might be the only person in this world who knows of this particr use for the metal."


    He himself did not possess this ability.


    However, his teacher Cereiya had left behind alchemical golem crafting tomes that detailed the various uses for this divine-grade metal.


    Previously, on his way to Pirate City, Su Lun had been experimenting on the undead. Animating Silver could indeed be sessfully fused into flesh. Moreover, the strength of the fusion visibly increased by many folds, even exhibiting some incredible mutations.


    "Hehe..."


    Barrettughed lightly.


    Hearing these ideas that seemed like tales of fantasy, his first reaction was that it was impossible.


    To his knowledge, some of this divine metal was in Emperor Luying''s royal treasury, but he had not heard of anyone using it to make an arm.


    Metal installed into the body that isn''t a mechanical arm?


    Though intuition told Barrett that the person before him was trustworthy, he still challenged, "Do you think I would believe that?"


    With a shrewd nce, he seemed to see through Su Lun''s intention of getting something for nothing, showing a yful smile.


    Su Lun didn''t expect to convince the other party so easily and stated inly, "It''s normal for Mr. Barrett to disbelieve. After all, without a finished product, I wouldn''t dare guarantee one hundred percent sess."


    After a pause, he admitted without any concealment, "Moreover, there''s no rush for this issue. Because, even if I could craft a high-precision arm, there''s still one key technology missing for integration."


    Barrett might not have extensive knowledge in the field of science, but after all, he graduated from the royal academy.


    Realizing something from what was said, he inquired, "You''recking... neuromechanical technology?"


    Su Lun did not deny, simply replying lightly, "Yes."


    Now, Barrett''s expression became even stranger, his tone shifting from indifference to puzzlement, "From your tone, it sounds like you might have a way to get your hands on that top-secret technology from Duke Raphael?"


    He thought it was downright impossible!


    The information regarding that top-secret technology in Raphael''s hands had already been leaked.


    All the major nobility, both empires'' royalty, arms dealers, financial tycoons... everyone was trying to get their hands on that technology, yet no one had seeded.


    Let alone an outsider.


    Barrett suddenly felt he could no longer read the young man before him and guessed: Could he already be one of Duke Raphael''s men?


    Su Lun didn''t borate, simply remarking, "We''ll talk about thister. When I''m more confident, I will certainlye to find you. As for how much material my potions can trade for, I''ll leave that to your judgment."


    Not wishing to force the issue, he left the choice with the other party.


    Barrett listened but remained silent, now seemingly troubled by the decision.


    Finding someone willing to help them, who also possessed a significant background¡­ giving too little was inappropriate, but so was giving too much.


    Both men were decisive; through this exchange, they effectively reached an understanding regarding the trade.


    A thought suddenly urred to Su Lun, and he added, "Oh, right. How should I contact youter on? ording to the information I''ve obtained, the bounty hunters, pirates, and even Emperor Luying''s forces are all eager to take their chances. If you''re not nning to join any pirate group, staying here won''t be safe."


    Barrett was well aware of his predicament and spoke, "If you can bring the supplies by tomorrow evening, we''ll trade here. If it''ster than that, we''ll be leaving the harbor."


    With that, he produced amunicator and said, "This is an Emperor Luying military-grademunicator. Itsmunication range is much farther than regr ones, and you don''t need to worry about security breaches. If there''s anything urgent, you can contact me directly. At least it covers this marine area."


    "Alright!"


    Su Lun took themunicator and said no more.


    Animating Silver wasn''t a matter that could be rushed; without sufficient trust, more words were useless.


    ....


    Barrett provided Su Lun with a supply list; they needed many things.


    The rest weren''t too difficult, but the rare potions for treating special curse bacsh were somewhat tricky for Su Lun.


    It wasn''t that they couldn''t be bought, but acquiring them made one an easy target.


    Now, anyone with clear eyesight knew Barrett had a group of special casualties, and the shops selling such potions in the city were most surely under surveince.


    Attempting to buy would definitely draw attention.


    Su Lun considered someone, Dr. Pickman, Danny''s father!


    That man was a top-tier alchemist of the times. Making contact might yield unexpected rewards.


    After all, the more potions he provided, the more Animating Silver he could trade for.


    Having walked around the city for the better part of the day and gathered many supplies, Su Lun headed for the middle district.


    Although he was now a pirate of the North Sea fleet, he didn''t directly seek ''Butcher'' Banner but instead went first to the "Fire Dance Tavern."


    This was the meeting ce previously agreed upon with Dr. Pickman.

 Chapter 301 Discussing Ideals with People of High Intellectual Levels

    The Fire Dance Tavern was on an inconspicuous spire ind on the west side of Golden City.


    Su Lun did not know how long it would take Dr. Pickman to concoct the gic potion. They hadn''t arranged a specific time, so he decided to check it out first.


    Time suddenly became a bit pressing.


    Because earlier, while buying supplies in the city, he had received a message from the acting captain of the 15th Fleet of the Ninth Fleet, indicating that the pirate groups were nning an operation in the next few days, and they needed to be ready to set sail at any moment.


    Su Lun also thought it best to settle matters in the next couple of days.


    Taking a boat across the sea took some time. The tavern on this side of the ind was much cheaper than those inside the fortress, very popr in the eyes of the lower-tier pirates, and thus, also very bustling.


    Following his memory, Su Lun found the Fire Dance Tavern, walked in, and recited the agreed-upon code for pickup.


    Unexpectedly, he actually received the goods!


    Carrying the sealed package, Su Lun walked down the street, sensing that no one was following him, before he switched to a different restaurant. He found a spot by the window, opened the package, and saw a metal box with a mechanicalbination lock.


    87065.


    The code had been given to him earlier.


    Su Lun carefully inspected the mechanical device of the box, found nothing unusual, and then carefully opened it.


    Upon opening, he found two rows of potions inside.


    He identified them as a specially fabricated gene mutation reversal potion.


    "That was quick, to have concocted it in just one day..."


    Su Lun remarked emotionally while looking at the potions, amazed that these might be the only ones of their kind in the world.


    Moreover, there were two doses of the potion.


    Reading the note on top of them, in addition to the instructions for use, there was also a request from Su Lun, hoping he could promptly deliver the potion to Danny in a secure manner.


    The urgency in the note also confirmed that the current Dr. Pickman, who had fused with a foreign creature, was indeed Danny''s father.


    And there was an unexpected find.


    Besides the potion and the note, Su Lun found a stack of densely written papers at the bottom of the box.


    He quickly scanned them and immediately knew what they were.


    "Neuromechanical technology blueprints!"


    Su Lun hadn''t expected Dr. Pickman to entrust something so important to a tavern.


    However, a quick nce revealed that it was only part of the theory of neuromechanical technology.


    "Is this meant as a sort of down payment?"


    Sitting in a corner of the restaurant, Su Lun, with his chin resting on one hand, flipped through the data thoughtfully.


    He had extracted some fragments of knowledge rted to neuromechanical technology during the battle when he had burst out of the ck Reef, so he wasn''t overwhelmed by the stack of papers filled with technical jargon.


    Dr. Pickman paying a part of the fee in advance was already an unexpected gain.


    Not disclosing everything was also within reason.


    Both parties stillcked sufficient trust.


    After skimming the papers and getting a rough idea, Su Lun didn''t loiter but left the restaurant.


    Then he went directly to two different informants in the city and spent a considerable sum to dispatch the two doses of potion to Emperor Luying''s capital. It was a well-established courier route. By tomorrow, the package would likely leave Pirate City on some grey traders'' ships bound for Luying, a route free from pirate raids unless they encountered bad weather.


    With these potions, Danny''s health should greatly improve.


    Su Lun also felt very pleased.


    Afterpleting all this, instead of wandering around, he returned to a nondescript corner of the "Fire Dance Tavern" and sat down.


    He didn''t have to wait long before a cloaked figure approached and sat down opposite him.


    ....


    The person was none other than Dr. Pickman.


    But this time, he was wearing ayer of synthetic skin.


    He eyed Su Lun and asked with a hint of confusion, "Do you need something else from me?"


    Strictly speaking, the transaction had already proceeded to a certain stage, and there was no need for further face-to-face meeting.


    Su Lun ordered him a drink and went straight to the point, "I''ve already dispatched the potion. I''ve contacted Danny and told him about your condition."


    Previously, due to insufficient trust, he was not sure whether this "Dr. Pickman" harbored any hostility, so he had left some details unexined.


    Now, seeing his attitude towards Danny, his doubts were mostly resolved.


    "You..."


    Hearing this, the initially skeptical Picks was startled by the implications of Su Lun''s words, "You can contact Danny now?"


    "Yes,"


    Su Lun nodded and added, "He''s also very d to hear you''re alive."


    Danny was currently with Mr. Hei in Emperor Luying''s capital.


    And themunication device of the Jing organization was just right to get in touch.


    As he spoke, Su Lun didn''t wait for Picks to ask more, set up a soundproof barrier, then directly dialed themunicator and used the external device to broadcast the call outsourced.


    Towards themunicator, he said, "Mr. Hei, is Danny right there with you? His father, Dr. Pickman, is here with me."


    Seeing his move, Dr. Pickman''s eyes instantly showed a look of surprise and anticipation.


    Suddenly, a timorous inquiry came from themunicator, "Father, is it you?"


    Hearing that familiar yet unfamiliar voice, Dr. Pickman could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart, his face incredulous as he blurted out, "Danny?!"


    At that moment, the previously stoic middle-aged man''s eyes suddenly welled up with tears.


    ....


    The father and son caught up on many things.


    After testing the waters, both realized that the person on the other end of themunicator was indeed their beloved kin.


    They had both thought the other dead, and now, it was as if by a miracle, they had found back the most precious person in their lives.


    The joy of rediscovery was undeniable.


    Su Lun stood quietly to the side, listening contentedly, his feelings growing increasingly strange.


    During previous interactions, he thought the Dr. Picks before his eyes more of a "monster"¡ªaloof, intelligent, and guarded against the whole world, hardly disying the "humanity" of a living person.


    Now, watching himmunicate with Danny, he seemedpletely transformed.


    As if hope had been reignited in him, he suddenly became a living person with emotions and desires.


    Long after they finished their call,


    Danny had detailed his experiences over the years and his current situation, which alsopletely dispelled any of Picks''s concerns about being "threatened," "enticed," or "coerced."


    Su Lun also noticed that Dr. Picks''s gaze at him had changed; the wariness had finally vanished.


    ....


    "Thank you, Mr. Su Lun."


    Dr. Pickman knew that it was Su Lun who had been taking care of Danny and said sincerely, "Thank you for taking care of Danny during this time."


    After themunication, the atmosphere of the conversation suddenly became less serious than before.


    Su Lun smiled nonchntly and repeated his earlier words, "Danny is my friend."


    Dr. Pickman nodded in relief, sensing that Su Lun probably had more to discuss, and asked, "Mr. Su Lun, have youe to see me because there is something else?"


    Su Lun said, "Yes, Dr. Pickman, I am currently facing some tricky problems. I might need your help."


    "Oh?"


    Dr. Pickman thought it was about the other half of the blueprints.


    But now, mentioning that issue seemed awkward because, for safety, he hadn''t brought them.


    Unexpectedly, Su Lun said, "I need some special potions to treat cursed injuries..."


    As he spoke, he took out the potion list Barrett had given him earlier.


    Upon seeing the names of the potions, Dr. Pickman immediately guessed what was needed and asked, "Are you nning to help those people from the Sacred Judgment Legion?"


    Su Lun did not intend to hide anything, "Yes."


    Hearing this, Dr. Pickman''s expression revealed a hint of surprise and said, "I heard about it when I was in the Fourth Fleet. Oleg intends to recruit those people. Now, no one dares to approach them. The major pirates would also prevent others from contacting them. I didn''t expect Mr. Su Lun to know them."


    He didn''t ask further and agreed immediately, "These potions aren''t a big issue to prepare. It will just take a little time, and I can have them ready by tonight. I had prepared some materials in advance, and they won''t attract attention."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun knew it was feasible!


    Danny is a very skilled pharmacist; his father must be even more impressive. Those potions, which seemed cutting-edge to outsiders, were naturally minor issues for a top-tier alchemist.


    Moreover,municating with a clever person is so reassuring; Su Lun didn''t have to worry about other issues.


    Dr. Pickman had already considered everything.


    The matter of supplies finally had a solution, and Su Lun said, "Then I''ll have to trouble you. These potions are indeed very important to me at the moment."


    Dr. Pickman shook his head, "It''s just a small matter, not a trouble at all."


    To him, these potions indeed were not a trouble.


    However, he added a word of caution, "But you also need to be careful. From what I know, many people are keeping an eye on those from the Sacred Judgment Legion. Getting too involved might implicate you."


    Su Lun nodded, "Hmm."


    .....


    Su Lun and Dr. Pickman were people onpletely different paths, whose fates would normally never intersect, but because of Danny, they had be connected.


    The two lowered their guards and talked more and more.


    Thinking of such a great scientist, Su Lun knew he couldn''t always remain a pirate and asked, "Dr. Pickman, what are your ns for the future? Staying in a pirate crew isn''t a long-term strategy."


    "I don''t know."


    Discussing this issue, Dr. Pickman showed a trace of confusion and sighed, "I thought escaping Duke Raphael''s control would make things better outside. But once here, I realized the entire world is the same, where nobility represents everything, filled with wars and plunder. Even in the Malfa Empire, the abnormal development of militaristic technology is for war. But I believe, alchemy should benefit humanity, contribute to the progress of civilization, rather than serve the sinister schemes of conspirators. I just want to engage in pure scientific research..."


    He joined the Northern Fleet initially because he wanted to leave the ck Tower.


    Now on the ground, the situation was not quite what he had expected.


    Scientific research required a substantial amount of manpower and financial resources, and without joining a major power, he simply had no environment conducive to his studies.


    This plunged him into confusion.


    Bing a pirate was not his desire,


    but if not a pirate,


    where else could he go?


    Su Lun frowned slightly and also discerned the helplessness in these words.


    This Banks, he saw through the era very clearly.


    But how simr were his ideas to some of Mr. Jing''s concepts?


    Su Lun thought of something and spoke directly, "Dr. Pickman, if there were an absolutely neutral organization, dedicated to the continuation of alchemy civilization, would you be interested in learning more? I mean, someone wants to establish an alchemical sanctuary like Dawn City from a thousand years ago, purely for the purpose of striving for the continuation of humanity and civilization..."


    Upon hearing this, a spark of interest ignited in Dr. Pickman''s eyes, but he asked doubtfully, "Is there really such a ce?"


    "Yes! You must know the ''Jing Organization'' from Old Lington before?"


    Su Lun began his own spiel.


    He had not forgotten the trust ced in him by his senior sister, the task of "rebuilding Dawn City" was partly his responsibility.


    But now, this "New Dawn City" didn''t have even a shadow of existence, and he could only rely on those lofty ideals to inspire...@@novelbin@@


    ....


    In the evening, the two left the tavern in high spirits.


    Su Lun was also quite hopeful that Danny''s father might join "New Dawn City."


    But he merely tried talking about it without harbouring much hope.


    After all, if these ideals hadn''t been expressed by his own senior sister, if someone else had painted him this rosy picture, Su Lun would surely have looked at that person with the skepticism reserved for pyramid schemes.


    The ideals of "New Dawn City" were too hollow.


    Voicing them, ordinary people would definitely not understand or believe them.


    But unexpectedly, those words Su Lun himself deemed as spiel surprisingly worked well.


    For ordinary people, talk of authority, money, and benefits was necessary.


    But when discussing ideals with truly visionary individuals, they easily epted them!


    They could even offer some of their own ideas, helping to build on that castle in the air.


    In the end, after hearing Su Lun''s words, Danny''s father said, if there really was such a "New Dawn City," even if it was still merely a conceptual framework, he would be willing to join!


    ....


    The next morning, when the sky was still dimly lit before dawn, Su Lun sensed something and woke up from his room in the inn.


    He went to the front desk and received a forwarded package.


    Upon untying it, inside were several potions and another thick stack of documents.


    It was the missing part of the "neuro-mechanical schematics."


    Su Lun did not expect it to be so smooth.


    If it were a matter of exchanging interests, obtaining these schematics would definitely have required great effort.


    And perhaps it would have brought endless trouble.


    But with trust, without any scheming, everything became very simple.


    At this point, Su Lun had acquired theplete blueprints of the technology that both great empires coveted!


    This alsopleted the most crucial part of his "Mechanical Puppet Legion"!


    This technology was extremelyplex, involving a wide range of fields, usually only manageable by arge scientific research team.


    It required not only a high level of expertise in biological sciences but also equally deep research in both mechanics and alchemy.


    It would have been difficult for anyone else to digest these blueprints, but for Su Lun, who had some knowledge in all relevant fields and the fragments of memory he had previously stripped away, the barrier to understanding was very low.


    Although he still hadn''t reached the stage where he could develop it, he didn''t need to¡ªbeing able to use it was enough!


    He estimated that with these detailed blueprints, it would probably take some time to read through them before he could begin trying to produce prototypes.


    Once sessful, the Mechanical Puppet Legion would soon be within reach!


    ...


    Su Lun didn''t linger in the inn, he disguised himself and headed to the fortress port.


    Since the arrangements had been made yesterday, it was much easier for Su Lun to board the ship this time. He didn''t appear under the "watchful eyes," but found a blind spot and teleported directly onto the ship of the Judgment Legion.


    As expected, the spatial fluctuations did not escape those well-trained former royal knights.


    As soon as Su Lunnded, swords were drawn and pointed at his neck.


    "Who are you!"


    If it hadn''t been for the heads-up yesterday, his boarding the ship in this manner might have likely led to him being killed on the spot.


    Su Lun lifted his cloak and saidposedly, "I am here to see Captain Barrett."


    ....


    In the captain''s room, Barrett was slightly surprised to see Su Lun again.


    "You came so early? I thought you might encounter some troubles."


    Barrett said, his face showing little expectation.


    He knew very well that in Pirate City, anyone wanting to contact their Judgment Legion couldn''t avoid the major pirates.


    He thought that this young man showing up so quickly probably didn''t bring the supplies he wanted.


    At least, not much.


    Su Lun didn''t waste words, he directly took out more than ten storage rings and ced them on the table, then said, "Mr. Barrett, these are the supplies you needed from yesterday''s list, I''ve brought them all."


    "All of them?"


    Barrett''s tone revealed his surprise upon hearing this.


    But presently in the ship''s cabin, twelve brothers were waiting for potions to save their lives. He didn''t pretend to remain calm and immediately started checking the storage rings.


    This look immediately brought a look of astonishment to his face.


    On taking another look at Su Lun, his gaze became veryplex, and with much emotion, he said, "Young man, your efficiency is indeed surprising."


    It proved that with a certain base of trust, getting along with strangers bes easier.


    Since Su Lun had brought the urgently needed supplies, Barrett''s stern gaze softened a lot.


    The one-armed general was also straightforward and handed over a storage ring to Su Lun, saying, "This is your reward."


    He paused, then added, "This transaction was very pleasant."


    Having been deceived upon arriving in Pirate City, suddenly encountering someone who followed the rules naturally felt exceptionally good.


    ...


    Su Lun epted the storage ring; inside were the Deadly Poison Censer and more than ten mercury bricks!


    Though retrieving the censer wasn''t incredibly surprising,


    looking at those "Activation Silver" bricks, Su Lun''s pupils slightly constricted.


    The quantity of these silver bricks, while not enough to create an alchemy golem, was much more than had been agreed upon previously.


    This divine-grade material was truly a priceless treasure; if put up for sale, it could possibly be sold by the gram.


    This stack couldn''t be bought for less than hundreds of billions!


    Su Lun looked puzzled and directly asked, "So much material?"


    Barrett spoke indifferently, "These silver bricks are of no use to me other than selling for money. Since you said you have confidence in making ''Hand of Silver,'' I gave you some extra as experimental material."


    The higher the grade of the material, the fewer the people who can use it.


    In his view, if sold, it would eventually end up with the top nobles, or even the Luying royal family.


    Barrett did not want to do that.


    After all, these things were tied to some unhappy memories.


    It would be just scrap metal in the hands of someone who couldn''t use it, better to give it to someone who could.


    And who knows?


    The young man before him was capable of achieving what most could not; his words might not be impossible.


    He had been skeptical yesterday, but today, he believed a bit.


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun naturally felt relieved.


    Barrett then said, "I still have many silver bricks. If it really works, you can contact me again. We can have more transactions."


    "Alright."


    Su Lun nodded as well.


    With those words, he also estimated the quantity of silver bricks Barrett had, which was indeed substantial.


    Now, with the "Neuromechanical technology," the technical issues with the Hand of Silver were mostly resolved, and the likelihood of forging it was very high.


    Those silver bricks also seemed like something within reach.


    ....


    Although their contact had been brief, Su Lun had noticed that Barrett, like himself, was a decisive person.


    After the transaction ended, Su Lun wasn''t in a hurry to leave.


    Barrett naturally wanted to chat more with this "mysterious young man" who could provide them with supplies.


    He directly asked, "Young man, are you Duke Rafael''s man?"


    "No."


    Su Lun directly denied it.


    He naturally knew that Barrett''s question was probably based on yesterday''s conversation.


    But he didn''t bother to exin.


    "Not?"


    Barrett chuckled lightly, obviously skeptical, then added meaningfully, "Only a few powers can nt spies in the intelligence department. It seems, Sir, your identity is quite special."


    "That matter was arranged by a friend, and had nothing directly to do with my identity,"


    Su Lun did not borate further.


    But since identity was mentioned, his eyes shifted, and he suddenly thought of something and said, "Mr. Barrett, would you like to know what exactly happened in the Cursed Valley with that Outer God cultist?"


    Barrett keenly caught something, frowning, "Outer God Cultist?"


    This immediately piqued his interest, after all, the situation his Sacred Judgment Army faced now, the battle in Cursed Valley was a turning point!


    Yet, he had not figured out what had happened until now.


    Looking at Su Lun''s expression, Barrett also realized immediately that this man knew some critical information.


    After all, apart from their Judgment Squad, he was the only eyewitness!


    Barrett hastily asked, "Sir, do you know what exactly happened?"


    Su Lun pondered for a moment and said, "Cursed Valley is a God Burial Ground, I''ve mentioned it to you before."


    Barrett, listening closely, furrowed his eyebrows. Although he had no source of information to prove whether this was correct, he chose to believe this young man, otherwise he would not have initially stopped that person from breaking the seal. "Then, this ''Outer God'' you speak of, what does that mean?"


    "It refers to deities that are not part of the alchemy system. Usually, they are ancient beings that have perished long ago."


    Su Lun repeated the concepts Mr. Jing had exined to him and continued, "During that fight, after you were knocked unconscious and carried away by your subordinates, my friend and I killed that ''heretic''. I suspect someone in the Luying royal family must have be a follower of that Outer God, which is why they wanted to break the seal. As for its origin, it likely is the deep-sea giant that nearly destroyed Dalu civilization five hundred years ago..."


    "I see..."


    Upon hearing this, Barrett''s gaze sharpened.


    Information in his mind connected suddenly, and he understood all that had been unclear.


    Yet what surprised him more was, "You stopped Jegar from breaking the seal and killed him?"


    After all, he had personally witnessed how terrifying Jegar''s strength was when he had summoned that mysterious will.


    The issue was that his body, made up of worms, literally could not be killed.


    Normally, even a seventh-tier professional might not manage to kill it.


    They had killed him?


    Barrett became even more certain that a very powerful force backed this young man!


    Su Lun, listening, nodded, "Yes. My friend and I went there just to prevent someone from breaking the seal. Otherwise, once breached, the entire human civilization would suffer a catastrophic disaster..."


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    He had now startedying the groundwork for some of hister arguments.


    Barrett listened in silence.


    Undeniably, he was bing increasingly curious.


    He had initially thought this man was from Duke Rafael, but now his intuition told him otherwise.


    Schemers like that do not match this sort of righteousness.


    He directly asked, "Sir, how did youe by this information?"


    Su Lun did not answer directly; thinking it over, he countered, "Before I answer that question, I would like to ask, Mr. Barrett, what are your ns for the future? Do you intend to find a chance to clear your name and then continue serving the Luying royal family, or do you have other ns?"


    "..."


    Barrett''s eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this.


    He guessed Su Lun''s purpose: he was trying to recruit them.


    Royal knights are taught from a young age that "the glory of knighthood is above everything" and that "loyalty to the royal family is above all else."


    If it had been his former mindset, even if his entire family were ughtered, if they were vindicated, Barrett and his brothers might not hold a grudge against the Luying royal family.


    But recently, Barrett had done a lot of thinking.


    He had never been as confused as he was now.


    Yes, there were major issues with the Luying royal family.


    Vindication was as difficult as reaching the heavens, and even if vindicated, what then?


    Could they go back?


    Could the deade back to life?


    He realized that the issue was not about loyalty, but he still did not know exactly where the problemy.


    After thinking for a moment, Barrett said solemnly, "It''s difficult for us now, even if I say it''s not, you wouldn''t believe me."


    Saying this, he skillfully threw the question back, "Sir, where do you think we should go from here?"


    He wanted to probe Su Lun''s background.


    To recruit, he would have to disclose his background.


    Su Lun was not surprised he would say this.


    When conversing with intelligent people, the best approach is not to deceive but to present the true situation and let the other person make their choice.


    Now, it was time to test his skills in persuasion again.


    He said, "Suppose... there is an absolutely neutral force. Its existence is merely for the continuation of humanity and alchemy civilization. Sir, would you be interested in joining?"


    Upon hearing this, Barrett, as if he heard of a utopian society, shook his head andughed, "Heh... impossible. The royal families of the two great empires, all the major lords, even the pirates, would not allow such a ce to exist! I admit the concept of this absolutely neutral ce you speak of is very attractive. But under this monarchic system, such a ce simply cannot exist. It would touch upon the interests of the noble ss and would surely be eradicated by the times."


    Su Lun did not deny it, simply sharing his view, "A thousand years ago, during the Atlia Empire period, there was no nobility, and Demigod Sir Isaac founded the absolutely neutral Dawn City, and the alchemy civilization was even more resplendent than now..."


    He started the same smooth talk as the day before.


    Because he had spoken once already, everything came easily.


    He had the experience now and knew that discussing ideals with high-minded people was better than talking about interests.


    This pie drawn in the sky was very, very big.


    In this era, probably no one could paint it as grandly...


    The key was, with Demigoddess Mr. Jing''s daughter as support, it was also reliable!


    "..."


    Listening, Barrett''s eyes showed a deep reflection and contemtion.


    Dawn City was just a legend...


    The Atlia Empire era had passed a thousand years ago...


    But for some reason, he felt an endless anticipation for this "absolutely neutral ce" depicted by the young man before him.


    He suddenly felt that the confusion that had troubled him for a long time was fading.


    Like the near approach of night, a beam of dawn''s light, illuminating the endless darkness of thend.


    It was not bright enough, but it directed a path.

 Chapter 302 Experiment Number #006

    When Su Lun disembarked from the Sacred Judgment Legion''s ship, it was nearly noon.


    After chatting for a good half of the day, Su Lun could see that Barrett was very interested in the idea of "New Dawn City."


    However, ultimately due to ack of trust, or perhaps some ingrained old imperial general''s mindset, Barrett did not give a definitive reply but said he would consider it.


    Su Lun thought that was normal.


    Dr. Pickman, having been born in Old Lington and with his connection to Danny, naturally found it easy to ept "the Mirror Organization".


    But Barrett was different.


    He was a homegrown Royal Knight from Ruying, having been educated from a young age with the nobility-first doctrine. Changing the worldview that had been established wasn''t easy and required time to contemte.


    Moreover, he had to consider the well-being of the officers on that ship.


    Su Lun was not in a hurry.


    He thought he would ask again when he had sessfully created the "Hand of Silver".


    But the prerequisite was that in the meantime, these people from the Sacred Judgment Legion didn''t get annihted.


    Now, with Barrett''s arm amputated, hisbat strength had decreased, and staying in Pirate City was not safe. If he didn''t join a major pirate group, he would be eventually pushed out by the pirates.


    However, their situation had somewhat improved; with the supply from Su Lun, Barrett and his people got a chance to breathe.


    They were also ready to set sail immediately.


    ....


    The news that the Sacred Judgment group suddenly left the port spread quickly throughout Pirate City.


    While everyone was specting who had dared to provide them with supplies, Su Lun was already staying in a hotel.


    He had obtained the "Neuro-Mechanics Blueprints", and now needed a lot of time and effort to assimte that knowledge.


    Moreover, from this trade, he had acquired a considerable amount of "Activating Silver", which he wanted to begin studying for creating alchemical golems and to ovee the technical issue of attaching Barrett''s severed arm.


    In room 406 of the Big Waves Hotel, Su Lun had not left for two days.


    The bed, the walls, the tables, and even the air, everywhere was hung with blueprints.


    Upon close examination, one could see detailed anatomical drawings of arms on those blueprints¡ªmuscles, bones, nerves, blood vessels... dense with data parameters.


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    The high development of Su Lun''s brain domain allowed him to memorize almost all the content of the blueprints given by Dr. Pickman within just a couple of days. But theplexity of neuro-mechanics technology far exceeded any kind of alchemy or technological blueprints he had seen before.


    Even with the fragmented memories he had stripped before, he felt that he now understood only about twenty percent of it.


    However, understanding could be slowly digested like Ajin would do; he was now preparing tobine some of the neuro-technology with alchemical golem techniques to create "Hand of Silver".


    Making a bionic arm wasn''t as simple as kneading a hand model. It was more like 3D printing, meticulously creating "silverized tissue" etched with runesyer byyer, then assembling them. The process was both tedious andplex. Bones, flesh, fingers, joints... Only when the bionic silver arm mirrored the structure of a human arm to the greatest extent, would it achieve a sufficiently "bionic" effect.


    Activating Silver was highly toxic when vtilized; at that moment, Su Lun was wearing a gue doctor''s mask, with the eight-armed spidernce unfurled behind him, tinkering with his experiment.


    On the table,


    stood two rows of bottles and jars filled with various alchemical potions,


    and a special ss vessel brimming with green liquid.


    These had been scavenged from the ck market,boratory-grade equipment that the pirates had plundered from Old Lington.


    This also greatly facilitated Su Lun''s experiments.


    Inside the ss vessely several arm-like structures resembling skinned flesh, with the patterns of muscles and blood vessels distinctly visible. Upon closer inspection, a silver iridescence seeped from within the tissue, looking both like flesh and metal.


    Su Lun, wearing gloves, fished out an arm.


    He nced at his own schematic with peripheral vision, then turned and connected the arm to the cadaver on the operating table. Stitching the nerves, blood vessels, and tissue together, he injected the neuro fusion serum and pinched the sorcerer''s seals; the alchemical formation began to merge.


    The whole process waspleted in one fluid motion, showing that he had already attempted this many times.


    With the "Mental Tentacles" graft, Su Lun had a great advantage in his experiments. Even if the cadaver couldn''t speak, it was like he was fitting his own arm, with every sensation clear and distinct.


    After the stitching was done, he connected to the cadaver''s nervous system on the operating table and controlled it a bit. The newly attached silver arm lifted, and the fingers also moved.


    While it seemed to be a sess, Su Lun didn''t show much joy on his face. He was already aware of some resistance and muttered with a frown, "The fingers are stiff, probably because the deep flexor muscles haven''t fused perfectly. But where is this abnormal neural connection signaling from... Strange, where did the problem arise?"


    Trying and trying, he suddenly discovered that the externally connected mental tendrils hadpletely lost signal feedback from the arm''s nerves, and the arm of the zombie dropped down.


    Experiment failure was very normal, after all, the conjecture of alchemy golem + neural mechanics was theoretically feasible, but there was still a long way to go in practice.


    Having basically confirmed the feasibility ofbining the two, it was already a milestone experimental achievement.


    Su Lun''s expression remained unchanged, as he recorded the progress of the research in his notebook: "Experiment No. #006, first sessful connection, shoulder de of zombie drilled and injected with Potion No. 3, neural connection normal. However, after control attempts, abnormalities in shoulder guard stability discovered. Increased dose of fusion agent, feedback signal interrupted... Experiment failed, conjecture the cause of failure to be ws in rune adaptability and modeling precision."


    His notebook was already filled with various notes.


    With each experimental failure, he would carefullyb through and reason backwards to identify the problem, so he could target it in future research.


    Su Lun put down the notebook and pondered for a moment, thinking to himself, "The ''Hand of Silver'' experiment was preliminarily sessful. But to create a silver hand that someone as powerful as Barrett would need, is still far off. The material hardware is fine to talk about, but the software ws are significant..."


    Thinking this, his gaze precisely found the rted records among the thousands of pages of diagrams.


    After looking for a while, he caught sight of one diagram that sparked an idea in his mind.


    "At least a sixth-order Lu Rune is needed to support the structural stability of the arm..."


    Su Lun thought of a solution, and his brow slightly furrowed, but this was already beyond his capabilities.


    "Alchemy golem" was already a top-tier field in puppetry, most of the technology within it was usually only dealt with by high-level puppeteers.


    With the experiment''s progress being hindered, Su Lun felt even more the gap in his rune expertise.


    "To craft a high-order silver hand, the need to merge that ''Imitated Primeval Rune'' is quite urgent..."


    Su Lun muttered to himself with a sigh.


    Not only alchemy golems but also high-level mechanical equipment needed high-level runes for support.


    He also understood what Mr. Hei had once told him: the more one knows in the path of alchemy, the more one feels their own ignorance.


    ....


    Su Lun looked at the time, didn''t continue with the experiment, and cut off the silverized arm from the zombie to put it back into the culture dish.


    There were still fifteen minutes left until four o''clock in the afternoon.


    Earlier, a notice hade from the team, to gather at the docks at four o''clock for a mission.


    Though Su Lun had reaped a lot from his trip to Pirate City, he hadn''t found any information about "Void Progeny Gear."


    Therefore, he intended to maintain his pirate identity for the time being.


    He certainly nned to participate in this mission.


    In the room, the threads retracted, neatly stacking the numerous diagrams on the table.


    With a seal of the Suren Sorcerer''s Seal, a ck hole appeared in the air. He casually stuffed all the items into the storage space.


    After changing into a sloppy pirate outfit, he cleaned up any traces, checked the room for anything left behind, and then left the inn.


    The fortress was still bustling.


    When Su Lun arrived at the docks, the dozens of ships belonging to their Ninth Fleet were already filled with people.


    The pirates were gathered in groups on the decks, bragging and chatting.


    As Su Lun reached the White Eagle, Sharp, who was on deck, saw him and, leaning against the ship''s side in amanding position, teased, "Yo, brother Johnny seems to have really worn himself out these past few days. Tsk tsk, pleasure houses are fine, but you''ve got to exercise some restraint..."


    "Hahaha..."


    With this remark, the pirates on board showed expressions that all men understood.


    For these past few days, everyone had been living in thep of luxury.


    "Hehe..."


    Su Lun was aware of his own condition after staying awake for two days and nights, which naturally did not leave him in the best state of mind.


    Without denying it, he gave a smile and climbed up theting onto the ship.


    Once on deck, Su Lun noticed that there were many more green-painted boxes neatly lined up.


    On the boxes, sprayed with white paint, werebels such as "PG411," "KL125"...


    Su Lun recognized them at a nce as munitions crates.


    And by those numbers, he guessed that these were products of several major military factories from the Mafa Empire.


    As expected, this was the military supply secretly supported by the Mafa Empire for the King of the North Sea.


    Looking at the ships nearby, it seemed like each squadron of the Ninth Fleet had been issued some.


    Su Lun pretended to be ignorant and asked, "Sharp, what is this?"


    "Heh... you don''t know, do you? This is a real good thing."


    Sharp seemed to know some insider information and said, "Because our Ninth Fleet has been reorganized, Lord Oleg has allocated us arge amount of resources. This batch of military supplies came straight from Mafa, the genuine article. Even the Luying military doesn''t have better than this."


    Su Lun listened without surprise but still asked, "Why are we suddenly getting equipment? Do we have some kind of mission?"


    Sharp shrugged, indicating he wasn''t too clear about it nor did he care much, "I heard something about going to the Four Kingdoms, but I don''t know whether it''s Mountain Hermit or Roman..."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun didn''t say anything more and just stood around watching the group y cards.


    It wasn''t long before the acting squadron leader of their ship returned.


    As he jumped onto the deck, the man started shouting loudly, "Hey, brothers, good news!"


    This big-bearded guy called "Tea Beard" Hans Schmidt had once been the captain of the "cksmith Pirate Group". With a bounty of 45 million, greedy and lecherous, he was a somewhat famous pirate. Although he was only fourth-tier, he had nownded the role of acting squadron leader due to the fleet''s reorganization.


    "Oh, the captain''s back!"


    "Haha, did our revered leader juste from a meeting? Did he bring back some good news?"


    "..."


    The crowd looked at the excited smile on Hans''s face and gathered around.


    Hans pointed at the crates of military supplies on the deck and said, "These supplies from Mafa will be distributed to everyone soon. Lord Peiwen has secured us a very lucrative task..."


    He deliberately paused to tease their appetites.


    Hearing "very lucrative," the pirates'' eyes immediately lit up like a pack of hungry wolves glowing green with greed. An eager voice questioned, "Captain, what kind of good job is it?"


    "Hehe... Our Ninth Fleet is going to collect taxes in Mountain Hermit!"


    As Hans spoke, he patted his chest, boasting, "I specifically requested for our Squadron 15 to go ahead as the vanguard..."


    Hearing it was tax collection rather than a raid, the expressions of the pirates turned odd.


    Someone questioned, "Captain, I''ve heard that Mountain Hermit is poor, with hardly any poption to speak of, not even as much as some of the Earl''s territories in Luying. How much money can we actually collect from taxing there?"


    "That''s what you don''t know..."


    Hans''s face held a smug expression, as if he had foreseen some delightful scenarios, "Although Mountain Hermit is poor, the imperial capital Edo Castle is quite prosperous. Furthermore, that ce is known for its beautiful women, and it''s said that ''the most beautiful maiden under heaven'' is in Edo. We are representing Lord Oleg, will they not treat us well?"


    After a pause, he added, "Moreover, as the vanguard for the tax collection, once the task ispleted, every person will get at least a reward of one hundred thousand lire."


    "One hundred thousand?"


    Upon hearing that, all the pirates got excited.


    They had just finished spending the tens of thousands they''d been given as a resettlement fee, and now this?


    The treatment in the North Sea Fleet was indeed very generous.


    ....


    While everyone was excited, Su Lun, amidst the crowd, thought with a trace of spection in his eyes.


    "Tax collection? It seems like Oleg ns to extend his reach deep into the northern Four Kingdoms. But those godly remnants have been autonomous for countless years, would they willingly submit to foreign rule?"


    During these days, Su Lun had learned quite a bit about the Four Kingdoms of the North. Although Mountain Hermit was impoverished, it was still a ce where the remnants of the gods resided. They had their own unique way of life with many bizarre things, not so easily controlled by outsiders.


    A cushy job as the tax collection vanguard?


    Su Lun didn''t think so.


    This "one hundred thousand" reward was not going to be easy to im.


    Such an assertion of sovereignty could easily lead to conflict with the locals.


    Moreover, the mission hadn''t even started yet, and Su Lun was watching as the pirates on the ship were already calcting what gains they could make from this opportunity.


    He felt that the situation was likely to getplicated.


    Su Lun didn''t dwell on it; he wasn''t too knowledgeable about political matters.


    But thinking about taking a trip to the Mountain Hermit Kingdom might be just right.


    In there, Qiantiao was present, and Rune Old Man too, it would be a good opportunity to handle all matters.


    ....


    A ship full of pirates was noisily discussing the taxation task that filled them with endless spection, when suddenly, Hans brought out arge box, boasting, "Look what I''ve got here!"


    As he spoke, he opened the box, revealing a pair of purple-glowing biological wings.


    Upon seeing the item, Su Lun immediately identified it as a pair of fifth-order ck iron quality Alchemy Prostheses¡ªVoid Wings!


    Ordinary pirates had never seen something so advanced, let alone Void Prostheses.


    "Captain, are these Alchemy Prostheses?"


    "That''s odd, this pattern of the Space Law looks so strange; it''s not earth, wind, water, fire..."


    "Tch, you just don''t get it, huh? These are obviously super rare special prostheses. Am I right, Captain?"


    "..."


    The underlings heaped praise and conjectures, yet none could discern the origin of these wings.


    After a moment, Hans finally introduced with a face full of pride, "These are fifth-order prostheses personally bestowed upon me by Lord Oleg! And they''re not made of ordinary materials, but of Void materials!"


    "Void Prostheses?"


    Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.


    They looked again at the prostheses in the box, and their faces changed with anticipation, envy, and fervor...


    Prostheses containing the supreme Space Law were real rarities, beyond the reach of ordinary professionals. They had only heard rumors that such items asionally appeared at some top auction events in Luying, nothing the lowly pirates had ever seen.@@novelbin@@


    And now their captain had a pair?


    Hans continued, "Heh heh, let me tell you, as long as we serve Lord Oleg well, the rewards will be plentiful in the future. It''s not just prostheses¡ªLord Oleg also granted me a special Potion to break through my current rank. My advancement to the fifth order is imminent!"


    With the advancement to the fifth order, he would truly join the ranks of the high-order professionals, and his position as acting captain could be permanent.


    Moreover, now armed with the Void Prostheses, hisbat capabilities would exceed those of an ordinary fifth-order professional!


    Hans could already envision his uing glorious days.


    "Our Captain is mighty!"


    "Hahaha, once the Captain advances to the fifth order and merges with the Void Prostheses, our fifteenth squad will soon be famed!"


    "Heh heh... you guys don''t need to envy your Captain here. Work hard, stick with Lord Oleg, and there will be plenty of rewards for you in the future!"


    "...."


    The deck fell into celebration once more.


    Su Lun joined the cheers of the crowd, his mind clear as a mirror.


    It was indeed a clever move by Oleg, offering a grand promise and a sweetener, winning over these newly recruited pirates to serve him willingly.


    The techniques of the higher-ups to govern their subordinates weren''t anything to note.


    However, now that the Void Prostheses had been revealed, Su Lun saw an opportunity to trace their origin.


    It seemed that after proiming himself King, Oleg had no intentions of continuing to hide the fact that he had mastered the Void Prostheses; instead, he wanted to disy his strength.


    ....


    After the celebration, the fleet prepared to set sail.


    As the military equipment was divided up on the deck, the capability of the underlings visibly surged significantly with the upgrade from flintlocks to cannons.


    They not only reced several long-rangerge-caliber main cannons on the ship with Whale-hunting Alchemical Crossbows but also received many firearms and ammunition, and even a repeating missileuncher.


    Even Su Lun, the gunner, was assigned a [MF422 Single-soldier Cannon] with external skeletal support,rge caliber, heavy firepower, with devastatingly high lethality.


    The military products from Mafa were indeed of exceptional quality, with craftsmanship and various technical parameters far more advanced than their previous equipment¡ªit felt decades ahead.


    Su Lun also took a keen interest in studying the detailed structure of this batch of mechanical equipment.


    Supplies loaded, the fleet of the ninth squad set sail the next morning, heading towards the Mountain Hermit Kingdom.

 Chapter 303 : "Shiranui" and "Kappa

    "The King of the North Sea," Oleg, was indeed the strongest pirate in the North Sea, and his fleet possessed the power to crush nearly any force in the North Sea.


    But he didn''t actually have dominion over all the forces in the North Sea, especially the four countries of the northern continent.


    To pirates, power was far less important than wealth, and previously, everyone had lived in peace. After all, pirates also need fertile ground for survival; even the strongest tree can''t destroy the very earth that nourishes it. Many of the pirates recruited by the North Sea Fleet were citizens of the four countries.


    But now that Oleg had suddenly be a "king," the situation had begun to change.


    Upon seeing the act of "taxation," Su Lun guessed that Oleg probably wanted to start proiming sovereignty and taste what it''s like to be a true lord.


    Compared to anynd under Ruying''s rule, the four countries of the northern continent were a byword for barren poverty. The revenue from collecting taxes there would be less substantial than plundering merchant ships.


    So this tax collection was not actually aimed at looting wealth.


    The Ninth Fleet, where Su Lun was, brought not only artillery but also arge amount of wealth.


    No matter how much tax was collected, they would offer even more gifts in return.


    This was roughly equivalent to the tributes that sovereign states give to their vassals, like a king''s grace to the lords of thends.


    This was Oleg testing the waters.


    If the taxation went smoothly, they would collect a bit of money and give back some gifts; if not, they would intimidate with force.


    Once the four countries paid taxes, they would be acknowledging their vassal status, making Oleg the true Sea King of the North Sea.


    This rtionship would then continue to grow stronger, and in a few more years, Oleg would be able to fully control this maritime territory.


    However, this process wouldn''t be easy.


    The four countries of the northern continent had arge number of remnants of the gods, with their own divine beliefs. Like Mountain Hermit, their sovereign authority was considered divinely ordained,sting for countless years. To suddenly ept an outsider as their lord would not be so readily epted.


    Having learned much about the local customs and culture of the four countriestely, Su Lun knew that this tax collection journey might not go smoothly.


    So he had always been vignt.


    ....


    The journey from Pirate City to Mountain Hermit would take several days, and the sea area was dotted with numerous inds, known on Ruying''s sea charts as the Talin Archipgo.


    Sailing was monotonous; as long as they did not encounter inclement weather, all the pirates had to do was y cards, fish, and tell tall tales.


    Using the excuse that he had spent all his money in Golden City, Su Lun had been daydreaming in his cabin these past days, not mingling with the pirates in the gun deck.


    In reality, he was digesting the knowledge from the "Mechanic Nerve Diagrams."


    Even without looking at the diagrams, whenever Su Lun closed his eyes, his mind was flooded with the various schematics he had memorized. He would first deduce all the possibilities in his mind and then record them in his notebook. asionally, when no one was around, he would take out the half-finished silver arm to test some new ideas, and his days were quite leisurely.


    Since he was always prepared for trouble, Su Lun also kept the All-knowing Eye crow, used for Soul Perception, close at hand.


    It was not unusual for pirate ships to have small animals like monkeys, parrots, or hamsters. Apart from alleviating the loneliness of the voyage, these animals served as an early warning system. Often, their senses could be keener than humans'', like with impending bad weather or certain dangerous sea monsters.


    That day,


    On the fifth day of sailing,


    Just as Su Lun was "sleeping" in his usual manner in the cabin, the ck crow beside him suddenly let out a cry.


    "Caw~"


    Su Lun''s ears twitched slightly, and he abruptly opened his eyes.


    He gently stroked the ck crow and fed it two drops of liquefied spirit of the dead, but his gaze was fixed through the artillery port, out toward the open sea.


    Now that he was familiar with the ck crow, Su Lun could also sense some of its thoughts more urately.


    This cry warned of danger nearby, but nothing too fatal.


    "Is there something appearing at sea?"


    Thinking of this, Su Lun got up and walked out of the gun deck.


    At the doorway, Sharp and a few artillerymen were ying cards. They greeted him cheerfully upon seeing Su Lun rarelying out of the cabin, "Yo... Johnny, brother, you''re finally awake today?"


    Su Lun shrugged his shoulders, pretending to be groggy as he rubbed his eyes, "Yeah, I''m going up to the deck for some fresh air."


    He didn''t linger and went up to the deck.


    At that moment, he could hear a faint disputeing from above.


    "Captain Hans, this sea area is the outlet of the Fei River; there are monsters here. Relieving oneself in the sea is not permissible; it might bring great trouble. We must quickly offer a ritual sacrifice of livestock..."


    "Hey, I say Yongshu, it''s just taking a dump into the sea, what''s the big deal? Monsters? Haha, just some strange sea creatures, don''t get so worked up. I''ve been at sea for so many years, I''ve even seen deep-sea behemoths, am I to fear a few little monsters?"


    "..."


    The skinny man dressed in hemp was the guide for this voyage, named Song Yong Jiushu, a national from Mountain Hermit.


    At this moment, he was anxiously trying to persuade a man in a captain''s uniform with a big beard.


    The big-bearded man was naturally Su Lun''s current squadron leader, "Tea Beard" Hanz.


    This guy had previously received an advanced potion from Oleg to enhance his equipment and sessfully advanced to the fifth rank. These days, he was showing off his newly acquired Spatial Discement ability all over the ship.


    Su Lun had detected spatial fluctuations more than once.


    Inyman''s terms, this guy''s power had surged, and he was literally "floating" with arrogance.


    Yongshu continued to persuade, but Hanz was visibly impatient, "Alright, alright, cut the crap! If there really are monsters, it''ll be a good opportunity to catch one and have a look, I''ve never eaten monster meat before."


    To ordinary fishermen who had never seen the world, some huge fish weighing hundreds of pounds were already considered incredible monsters. But for high-rank professionals, they were usually just fodder that could be killed with one punch. Now that Hanz was a fifth-rank professional, indeed most sea monsters couldn''t really trouble him, so his words weren''t entirely bragging.


    But Su Lun, who was at a distance, frowned slightly.


    The fact that the ck Crow issued a warning meant there really was something going on nearby.


    Su Lun had seen descriptions of "monsters" in various exotic tales from reclusive kingdoms but had never actually encountered one.


    He was also somewhat curious to see what a monster really looked like.


    ....


    The fleet was about a few nautical miles away from the shore, and looking forth, one could already see the vague outlines of mountains in the distance.


    The sun had just set, and a faint mist had begun to drift over the sea''s surface.


    Yongshu was still at the bow, praying something fearfully.


    It was at that moment that a red light, like antern''s glow, suddenly appeared atop the sea.


    The lookout atop the mast spotted the anomaly and bellowed, "Captain, ten o''clock direction, there seems to be a fire on the sea!"


    Su Lun had expected trouble and hadn''t gone below deck. He naturally also saw that flickering me, and his gaze narrowed slightly.


    The All-knowing Eye allowed him to clearly see the me. It was strange; there was nothing around, yet the me floated on the sea''s surface... If it was ghost fire, the color was the normal orange-red.


    ....


    Most pirates had not taken the earlier dispute seriously¡ªafter all, tales of monsters from reclusive countries had been around for a long time, and not many had actually seen one. They were mostly exaggerated hearsay.


    Now that a strange fire had suddenly appeared on the sea, everyone on deck was curiously watching the mes in the distance.


    Yongshu recognized something and pointed fearfully at the sea, saying, "That... that is the ''Unknowing Fire''!"


    Su Lun wasn''t surprised by the term. It matched the name he had assessed.


    He had read about "Unknowing Fire" in the records, one of the many spirits in the legends of the reclusive kingdoms. It was usually interpreted as a nameless wrathful fire sent down by deities upon offending mortals.


    In just that moment, the number of floating mes on the sea started increasing.


    Looking intently, one seemed to see the phantasm of some burning louchuan, with the mes growing more intense by the moment, quickly turning into a sea of fire.


    The vanguard fleet consisted of four squadrons, four ships. Hearing themotion, the pirates ran up on deck to see what the legendary "monster" actually looked like.


    Seeing that it seemed rather serious, "Tea Beard" Hanz didn''t take it lightly and sent some men on a charge boat to check out the situation.


    Shortly after, a message came through themunicator: "Captain, those mes are just mirages, not real."


    Hearing this, everyone on deck let out a collective sigh of relief.


    "Ha ha..."


    Hanz also scoffed, "It''s just a sea mirage, what monster! The fleet continues as normal!"


    Since they had to enter through the river mouth and there was no alternative route, the fleet continued on its way.


    The crew didn''t make much of it and chuckled while watching the sea of fire in front of them, pointing andmenting.


    ....


    In the crowd, Su Lun leaned against the railing holding a ck umbre bound with a cloth strip and muttered softly like a fine thread, "It really is a Spiritual Body. Legend has it that ''Unknowing Fire'' scorches impurities; I wonder how it will burn..."


    In his perception, some special Spiritual Bodies had appeared within this sea of fire.


    This confirmed Su Lun''s previous conjecture that monsters had intelligence and were certainly spiritual beings.


    However, these Spiritual Bodies were strange,pletely different from the feel of human souls. Cold, uncanny, with a sense of elusiveness, like the will of the divine beings Su Lun had encountered twice before.


    This was also good news.


    At least, many of the spirits recorded in the "Fairy Tales" he had read were described as having "supernatural powers." Now that he was certain they could be detected by Soul Perception, the danger level would be greatly reduced if they were truly encountered.


    The fleet continued onward, then entered the mirage-like sea of fire.


    It was as if they had entered into a realm of light and shadow, with no danger urring.


    The mes burned fiercely around them but emitted not a trace of heat; reaching out to touch them was to pass right through.


    Everyone collectively let their guard down, thinking this was truly a "mirage."


    Only Song Yong Jiushu remained prostrated at the bow of the ship, shivering and praying incessantly.


    He seemed as if he had been driven mad with fear, muttering nonstop, "The immortals say that when you truly encounter a monster, you must have a heart of reverence. Pray sincerely, and the monster will forgive you..."


    That fearful demeanor was very much like that of a bumpkin who had never seen the world.


    Hearing this, the pirates all mocked him.


    "It''s just a mirage, and here I really thought it was some sort of monster. It seems not all the legends from Mountain Hermit Country are true..."


    "Just country folk who haven''t seen the world, that''s all. Not like us, who have seen everything sailing the seas all year round."


    "Tsk, that guy''s already scared witless."


    "..."


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    Su Lun listened to the words around him but said nothing.


    His eyes narrowed slightly, reflecting the sea of mes in the glimmering light.


    The spiritual pressure grew stronger and stronger, and he knew that something big was about to happen.


    Sure enough, as all four ships entered the sea of fire and the people were stillughing at the guide''s ignorance...


    Suddenly!@@novelbin@@


    An agonized scream tore abruptly through the air.


    "Ah...!"


    Everyone turned their heads to see a man standing on the deck with a vacant gaze.


    Startled, someone scolded, "Duden, what the hell are you screaming for?"


    But as soon as he spoke, he saw Duden''s face twist into an expression of unspeakable horror, his hands clutching his throat in unbearable agony, yet unable to speak.


    Witnessing this sinister scene, everyone realized something was terribly wrong.


    Tea Beard Hans strode over, frowning angrily and shouting, "Hey, what the hell is wrong with you,d?"


    He was about to pat Duden on the shoulder, but in that instant, Duden''s skin visibly charred and ckened before his eyes. The next moment, like a candle, he was engulfed in mes. A thick scent of burning flesh immediately filled the air.


    In just a few seconds, everyone watched a living person burn to a pile of charcoal ash before their eyes.


    For a time, the deck fell silent, you could hear a pin drop.


    And this seemed to be just the beginning.


    Meanwhile, on the other three ships, the same burning events unfolded, with screams echoing one after another.


    "Ah..."


    "Ah..."


    "Ah..."


    "..."


    An unseen enemy only stoked the fear in people''s hearts even more.


    Nearly a thousand pirates on four ships had no understanding of what was happening. They could only watch helplessly as people around them burst into mes and burned to a crisp.


    One after another...


    There wasn''t even time to use any dispersal or healing techniques before life after life was taken away by the "Unseen Fire."


    Fear swiftly spread, and the vast deck filled with wails. In no time, the panicked screams of frightened pirates were echoing continuously, plunging the entire fleet into chaos.


    Even Tea Beard Hans, with his level-five strength, surrounded by many level-three and level-four professionals, waspletely at a loss.


    On the chaotic deck, some were putting out fire, some were drawing water, some were shooting guns, and others were frantically donning armor...


    In the darkness, a pair of calm eyes watched all this indifferently.


    Su Lun had already roughly figured out the nature of this "Unseen Fire."


    Monsters and other creatures were no different; they too had to follow the w of conservation of energy."


    Through the eyes of an alchemist, every event could be exined as a phenomenon of energy fluctuations. Even if one hadn''t seen a type of creature before, like the "Spontaneous Combustion" at hand, it was merely a different method and manifestation of energy release.


    With this understanding as a foundation, many mysterious imaginings could be seen for what they truly were.


    Su Lun had carefully read many introductions about monsters prior to his arrival. Watching this scene of humanbustion, he also analyzed the cause: "Is it a method simr to a parasitic fire seed? It seems to utilize people''s fear to spread, causing the body''s own energy to be chaotic and fuel the mes, burning up in a short time. But how did this fire turn from a ''mirage'' into a solid entity?"


    Fear elerated the chaos of the body''s energy, and a single spark was enough to set it aze.


    During that moment, dozens had already burned to death on the four ships.


    Yet Su Lun was not the slightest bit panicked.


    Because he knew clearly that the monster could not harm him.


    Under normal circumstances, the weaker one''s strength, the greater their fear of the unknown, and the more they were affected.


    If you observed closely, you would notice that it was the first-order pirates who had selfbusted, specifically those with very weak soul mes.


    Energy fluctuations of such a degree were far from enough to burn Su Lun to death.


    There is a universal method for dealing with ghosts, malevolent spirits, and simr beings: control your fear, and their influence will be minimized.


    This method is not difficult if said, but it is also not easy to execute.


    Ordinary people struggle to control their emotions, especially in the face of fear that spreads among groups.


    But for Su Lun, it was a routine operation.


    At this moment, his heart was without any ripples.


    ....


    This was the first time Su Lun had seen the "Will-o''-the-wisp" and had a taste of the monsters of the Mountain Hermit Kingdom.


    After a good while, "Tea Beard" Hanz finally reacted and shouted, "Don''t panic, everyone! This monster is simr to the ghostly kind, as long as we control our fear, they cannot do anything to us!"


    As a seasoned pirate, he naturally had some inkling about the nature of this fire.


    However, just as he spoke, more bad news struck.


    Those in the hold conveyed a message through themunicator, "Captain, it''s bad news, something is drilling holes in our ship!"


    As soon as these words fell, the ship suddenly shook violently and even showed signs of capsizing. Looking towards the sea, one could see a rapidly flickering dark shadow.


    The atmosphere of fear, which had slightly eased, became tense once again.


    On deck, frantic footsteps were heard everywhere.


    "Captain, I saw it! It''s a sea monster that looks like a water monkey. It''s very strong, and it''s trying to sink our ship!"


    "What on earth is that?!"


    "Lord Hanz, that''s another monster, it''s... it''s a ''Kappa''!"


    "Damn it, Stoya, take the water ghost squad down to check! Musketeers, artillerymen, fire into the water!"


    "Yes, Captain!"


    "..."


    All four ships were in chaos.


    Su Lun was an artilleryman, and whether it was diving into the water or using Yang Fan, it was not his turn.


    He, along with other artillerymen, donned the personal cannons issued earlier and fired at the rapidly moving shadows beneath the sea.


    "Kappas" are physically substantial monsters and are easier to deal with as firearms can cause significant harm.


    However, these monsters were very fast in the water, their sharp ws could pierce armor, easily drilling through the wooden hulls of the ships. Even with the pirates'' quick response, two of the four ships were quickly holed, and the other two were damaged to varying degrees, slowly taking on water and sinking.


    Luckily, they were not far from shore, so the pirates who fell into the water could still swim to the shore.


    Su Lun also ended up in the water, mingling unnoticed among the heads bobbing densely in the cold sea. He quietly followed the crowd and swam ashore.


    ....


    At the dock''s edge, before the four pirate squadrons could dock, two to three hundred had already died.


    The atmosphere was very heavy.


    Thankfully, with the militarymunicators provided by Mafa, the leaders of the several squads reported the situation to the captain of the ninth fleet, "Gluttonous Grand General" Peion, but the response was to keep moving forward!


    After people died, most of them realized that the vanguard mission this time was not so easy.


    Having received the order, they could only continue to move forward as nned.


    Now without ships, they could not take the water route and had to proceed on foot.


    The howling wind was frigid, and the temperature at night was extremely low, making it unrealistic to set up camp on the spot.


    Fortunately, the guide Song Yong Jiushu knew the way around here; he was aware of a vige not far from their location.


    The pirates followed the guide and entered the mountains.


    Su Lun moved with the group, watching the greenish mountains, with a deep look in his eyes.

 Chapter 304 Demon Blade

    The Mountain Hermit Kingdom is an ind nationposed of hundreds of inds.


    Honshu Ind is quiterge, featuring several feudal domains such as Izumo, Akina, Owari, Mikawa, Nagano, and Akibara...


    Although they are called domains, the actual size of their territories is not thatrge¡ªthree or two of them together are roughly equivalent to a county in Luying.


    The lords are called daimyos; you can think of them as something akin to princes. They are independent of each other, engage in conquests, and all nominally pledge allegiance to the imperial family.


    The divine imperial family, "the Shinsu n," has its capital in Edo Castle.


    "Rune Old Man" is the Shogun of the Bakufu, with tremendous power, almost the second in the nation under the emperor. This fellow''s life is also full of legends, starting from marrying into a minor daimyo family and then gradually climbing to his current status.


    This is the information that Su Lun had gathered about the Mountain Hermit Kingdom beforehand.


    ....


    To travel from Pirate City to the Mountain Hermit Kingdom, one would typically take the sea route into the ind river, switch to a smaller boat that goes directly to Nagano, and then continue bynd to Edo Castle.


    The ninth fleet''s ships hadn''t even entered the ind river when they were scuttled at sea, so they had to travel bynd.


    On the tortuous mountain road, the beams of light from alchemymps and torches formed a long dragon of fire.


    Snowkes drifted in the sky, and a thickyer of white snow had piled up by the roadside.


    Under the moonlight, everything was clothed in silver.


    "Pah! Just upon arrival, we run into some monsters that sink our ships, damn bad luck..."


    "Stay close to shore; otherwise, we''re in for big trouble."


    "That demonic fire earlier was too damn terrifying. People vanished without a trace. Until now, I still can''t figure out what the hell that was about..."


    "Yeah, I heard about the monsters of the Mountain Hermit Kingdom, but they''re rarely seen. Never thought we''d be so unlucky to actually encounter one."


    "..."


    The six to seven hundred people from the ninth fleet had juste out of the sea, shivering from the cold, shaking, and walking while cursing and swearing.


    Amidst the crowd, Su Lun listened to everyone''s murmurs and his mind raced with thoughts.


    Was it really because of dumping filth into the sea that they offended the monsters?


    Obviously, it wasn''t that simple.


    On the Mountain Hermit side, there must be someone who didn''t want them to go.


    A few of the pirate fleet''s squadron and deputy captains seemed to sense that something was off, but the Great Pirate fleets had money to be made and obligations to fulfill.


    Having realized something was wrong, they could only grit their teeth and keep moving forward.


    After traveling a few kilometers, the guide at the very front, Song Yong Jiushu, suddenly spoke up again with utmost humility, "Sir Hanzi, there''s a vige ahead in the valley called ''Sword Forging Vige.'' In our Mountain Hermit Kingdom, we have some special customs. Some ces worship monsters for protection. Hence, I must implore the lords to please ignore any strange ritualistic behaviors they might witness and to refrain from touching any taboos to avoid offending the monsters and bringing about a lot of trouble."


    "..."


    ''Tea Beard'' Hanzi listened with his eyes twitching slightly.


    If it had been before, he probably would not have taken it seriously.


    But having just experienced the shipwreck, he didn''t dare to be careless anymore.


    He even regretted not listening to the guide''s advice earlier, which led to offending the monster and suffering great losses. He then said to the people behind him, "Did you all hear that? Once we''re in the vige, behave yourselves, and don''t freakin'' cause any trouble. First thing tomorrow morning, we continue our journey!"


    "Yes, Captain!"


    The people replied listlessly. Having just encountered a major disaster, no one wanted to stir up more trouble.


    However, at the back of the procession, Su Lun''s thoughts became active upon hearing the guide''s words.


    Worshipping monsters?


    He had been pondering where exactly the monsters of the Mountain Hermit Kingdom came from.


    Beasts, sea monsters, even aberrations¡ªall of them had a traceable origin and a clear history.


    Yet these "monsters" were particrly peculiar.


    They seemed to be rootless, appearing abruptly in reality when they should only exist in legends and stories.


    Food chains, ecosystems, reproductive chains... none of them seemed to apply by normal principles.


    The impression was as if they materialized out of myths and legends.


    ...


    With no answer in sight, Su Lun continued to follow the main force.


    Not long after, they crossed a valley and suddenly saw a small vige.


    There were dim lights in the vige, which seemed to be from oilmps and firewood. The roofs were covered with ayer of snow, and smoke rose from the chimneys.


    The pirates of the ninth fleet, upon seeing the vige, suddenly grew excited.


    Not only because there was a ce to stay, but more importantly, seeing alive people dissipated much of the fear dominated by the monster.


    ''Tea Beard'' Hanzi waved his hand andmanded, "Brothers, find yourselves some farmhouses to stay in, and each squadron arrange for sentries. We leave first thing tomorrow morning!"


    He paused and then added with a caution, "We''re not here to loot this time. Remember to stay put inside the house and don''t fucking mess around!"


    "Got it, Captain!"


    "Understood, Boss."


    "Hahaha, we finally have a ce to settle down..."


    Everyone responded in unison, eager to get inside the house and warm up beside the fire, thawing their frozen bodies.


    Pirates don''t have much in the way of military discipline; they swarmed down as a group.


    The best houses were up for grabs, and whoever seized them first imed them.


    Su Lun was still carrying the issued personal cannon on his shoulder, walking slowly and falling behind the group.


    As he passed the mountain entrance, he saw the guide, Song Yong Jiushu, earnestly and repeatedly pleading with the descending pirates not to touch certain taboos.


    Seeing that no one was left behind the group, the guide followed suit.


    When Su Lun saw the guide walking by his side, he casually asked, "Guide, this ce is called ''Sword Forging Vige.'' Is there a story behind that?"


    Yongshu gave Su Lun a nce and bowed anxiously, "I don''t deserve the honorific ''sir.'' You can just call me Yongshu."


    With his head bowed, he exined, "We are now in the territory of ''Izumo,'' famous for its rich deposits of ck iron ore. Since ancient times, it has been known for producing fine swords. There were many viges nearby that relied on mining and weapon forging for livelihood¡­ including this vige. However, due to certain misfortunes, the vige fell into decline."


    "Oh..."


    Realization dawned upon Su Lun as he listened.@@novelbin@@


    He wanted to ask more, but Yongshu quietlygged behind and didn''t catch up again.


    ncing at the man, a hint of contemtion passed through Su Lun''s eyes, and he muttered to himself, "The fleet''s route was arranged by the guide. If someone really wanted to stop our team from collecting taxes in Edo Castle, this guy would be very suspicious..."


    But since he sensed nothing unusual with his Soul Perception, he didn''t dwell on it much.


    ...


    There were no more than a hundred households in Sword Forging Vige. By the time Su Lun arrived, the bigger and better houses had already been taken by the more assertive pirates. Stay connected through My Virtual Library Empire


    Since travelers to Edo usually took the water route, hardly any outsiders visited the vige. The vigers, who rarely saw strangers, appeared quite frightened and served the band of pirates, who had the word "viin" written all over their faces, with great caution.


    The food at sea wasn''t bad, but it was rather monotonous, with mashed potatoes as the main dish. The pirates, who had been eating dry rations for days, were eagerly catching livestock, such as chickens and ducks, in the pens. The vige was in chaos with the poultry running amok.


    Fortunately, warnings had been given in advance by the leaders of the various pirate squads, so no real trouble arose.


    Su Lun carried the cannon and his disguised rune ck umbre, with a quiet raven perched on his shoulder, giving off no sense of danger.


    Yet he remained cautious, scanning every corner of the vige attentively as he walked.


    It didn''t take long before Su Lun noticed the houses in the vige all had a simr design. Yet there was one building, reminiscent of an ancestral hall, that was particrly well-crafted.


    Seizing the opportunity to look for a house, Su Lun walked over and discovered that the hall was lit by dim candlelight. On the altar, instead of memorial tablets, there was a "sword-like object" wrapped in a banner-like cloth, concealing the sword''s full appearance.


    It was not strange for a vige once thriving on sword-forging to worship a sword, but Su Lun nced at it and a hard-to-catch shade of peculiarity passed across his expression.


    "Eh..."


    A light exmation echoed in his mind.


    For he sensed a strange soul fluctuation emanating from the "sword-like object."


    "Is it a monster, or a spirit of the sword?"


    He pondered the situation.


    Whichever the case, he found it to be quite unusual.


    If it were a monster, there wouldn''t be much to tell; the guide had already warned that these vigers worshiped monsters.


    It wouldn''t be odd for the hall to exhibit a monstrous soul fluctuation.


    But if it were a sentient sword, then it might be one of the "Twelve Renowned Artisan Famed Swords," which raised the question: How could such a de end up in a vige where the inhabitants were all ordinary people with nobody iming it?


    It seemed the guide''s previous warnings had had an effect, as no pirates had bothered the hall.


    Su Lun had no intention of meddling; after one nce, he headed straight for the end of the vige.


    He found upied houses all along the way until atst, he came across a lonely hut constructed from thatch and mud walls at the vige''s edge.


    Sword Forging Vige was already poor, but this dwelling looked especially destitute.


    Poor enough that the pirates didn''t even care to stop by.


    The paper on the windows was torn and,cking new paper to patch it, it was simply blocked with stacks of brushwood.


    The house was unlit inside and felt chillingly cold.


    While other houses squeezed in seven or eight pirates, this one was empty. Even before Su Lun''s arrival, some pirates hade, but after looking inside, they cursed and left to squeeze into neighboring houses instead.


    For Su Lun, theck of residents was a good thing¡ªit was quiet and free from disturbances.


    He walked in and called out to the frightened old man at the door, "Sorry to trouble you, old man. I would like to stay in your house for the night."


    His Soul Perception told him that besides the old man and the young boy at the door, there was another person in the house¡ªthe presence seemed deliberately hidden, holding its breath and making no movement.


    However, Su Lun paid it no mind; a roof over his head to block the wind and snow was enough.


    The old man, watching Su Lun enter the house, didn''t dare to refuse. Bowing in a greeting, he exined with trepidation, "The house doesn''t have a warm bed, I''m afraid the gentleman may not be ustomed to it."


    Su Lun did not mind, "No matter."


    The old man watched the neer without daring to show any dissatisfaction. He called out to the boy at the door with naive curiosity in his eyes, "Yoshino, go boil some water for the gentleman."


    "Oh."


    The boy responded and darted into the house.


    Just as Su Lun was about to enter, the small unit leader outside saw him and yelled, "Johnny, you and Sharp are on the midnight watch!"


    The night watch rotated in three shifts, but the midnight shift especially was both cold and sleep-inducing, belonging to the hardest lot.


    Usually, it was the people with bad rtions within the pirate group who ended up on such duty.


    Su Lun also didn''t seem to mind and responded, "Alright!"


    From a few rooms over came Sharp''s reluctant reply, "Oh."


    ....


    The house wasn''trge, with only three rooms.


    To say this family had nothing but empty walls wouldn''t be an exaggeration. Apart from an old table and two bamboo chairs, there were no other pieces of furniture. The house was stuffed with straw everywhere, kept as firewood and also to block the wind.


    Su Lun entered, not wanting to trouble anyone, and deliberately avoided the room that harbored people.


    The old man pointed to the main room, humbly saying, "If you don''t mind, sir, you may rest here tonight."


    The bed was lined with thick straw and covered with only a thin blue nket. In this snowy weather, it hardly radiated any warmth.


    Su Lun frowned slightly.


    It wasn''t that he thought he couldn''t adapt to the living conditions, but rather, how could the three people in this leaky house survive the winter?


    There was only this one bed in the house, the other room, which housed someone, served as a woodshed.


    That is to say, if Su Lun took the bed, the old man and the other two would have to spend the night in the woodpile.


    He sighed softly, feeling a slight sense of guilt for bothering them and adding to their troubles.


    At that moment, the boy who had gone to boil water, carefully walked in holding a porcin bowl.


    Steam rose from the bowl.


    The old man received it and handed it to Su Lun with an uneasy, apologetic chuckle, "You''ve caught us at our worst, sir. We don''t have a cup nor tea leaves, so we can only offer water in a porcin bowl. My apologies for the poor hospitality..."


    Su Lun, looking at the chipped porcin bowl, guessed that there probably wasn''t a single intact bowl in this household.


    He didn''t show the slightest care, took a sip, and said, "Thank you."


    As the warm water slid down his throat and into his stomach, Su Lun felt aplex emotion stirring within him.


    Having been in this world for quite some time now, he had seen many impoverished and suffering people. But never once, like tonight, had he felt so uneasy.


    Was it the human nature to pity the weak?


    Or did he believe this world could be better?


    Su Lun didn''t know.


    In that moment of contemtion, he turned to see the old man and the young boy standing there, restrained, as if without his say-so as a "gentleman," they would not dare to leave.


    Su Lun noticed the boy''s clothes, which were toorge, and asked, "The clothes don''t seem to fit?"


    They looked like a robe or a long shirt, washed out to white, riddled with patches.


    The stitching was crude, not resembling a woman''s handiwork, likely the old man''s doing.


    Looking down at his feet, the boy''s shoes were worn, exposing his purple, frostbitten toes.


    The boy seemed shy, barely responding to the question.


    The old man heard and replied with a wry smile, "To report to the gentleman, these clothes are modified from the old man''s clothes. It''s not that they don''t fit. They''re just worn as clothes during the day, and at night, they also serve as nkets. It''s better if they''rerger, to cover well."


    "Oh."


    Su Lun said faintly.


    Having not seen a quilt on the bed earlier, he had already guessed as much.


    Without saying much more, he took out several items of clothing and shoes from his storage ring and handed them over, "These old clothes aren''t worth much, just take them as a cover for my lodging."


    Seeing his gesture, the young and the old did not rejoice, but instead immediately knelt down, more terrified, "Sir, it is an honor for the Koike family to have you as a guest, we dare not ept anything from you..."


    To these vigers who had never left the mountains, an outside pirate probably seemed like a very important "big shot."


    They dare not offend.


    Su Lun ced the clothes down on the bed, calmly saying, "Just take them."


    Worried they were frightened, he thought to find a topic to ease the mood. Suddenly remembering something, he casually brought up a light subject, "I knew a girl with the Koike surname before, from Izumo just like you. I wonder if you know her. Um... her name is ''Koike Teppei''."


    This was the geisha he had met previously at the "Nagano-ya Geisha House," and Su Lun had a good impression of her.


    Hearing this, the youth suddenly startled and couldn''t help but blurt out, "My sister is also called Teppei!"


    Su Lun thought it might be a coincidence and said, "I met her in Golden City, she is a geisha."


    The light in the young man''s eyes brightened, and he spoke again, "My sister is also a Kabuki artist from Edo!"


    With that said, Su Lun also felt it was quite the coincidence; this was probably the home of Koike Teppei.


    Upon hearing this, the old man couldn''t help but excitedly say, "Sir, have you seen my daughter? Is she... is she still doing well? Cough cough..."


    As he spoke, he couldn''t help coughing twice.


    From the cough, Su Lun could tell that the old man had a severe problem with his lungs, likely pneumoconiosis.


    He said, "She is doing well. She is at Nagano-ya in Golden City, already a very outstanding geisha."


    At these words, a trace of joy finally showed on the old man''s face, as if he had heard the long-awaited news, relieved, "As long as she is well, that''s good..."


    In the Mountain Hermit country, geishas held a high status.


    But usually, geishas are born into dire circumstances, most are girls from impoverished families sold to geisha houses from a young age.


    Once sold, they could no longer contact their families.


    Now that Su Lun mentioned he knew Koike Teppei, the old man''s speech was not as distant as before, and they could chat for a bit.


    "Ailments from previous mining, inhaling iron dust into the lungs. Got tuberculosis, no strength, the mine owner wouldn''t let me go down to the mine anymore. And eight years ago, during Yoshino''s birth, his mother also died from a difficult delivery... Our householdpletely lost its ie, we had no choice but to sell Teppei..."


    "Lord Big Shot was very kind to us, he gave us money to settle down and offered a lot of help. It''s just that this old man was too foolish, got tricked by a rowdy ronin who came to the vige."


    "..."


    After a few words, Su Lun also knew the situation of the Koike family.


    It was deeply distressing to hear.


    The Mountain Hermit country was already impoverished, and this was truly a family where several generations were poor.


    Yet, what was slightly strange to Su Lun was that the old man''s face showed a fervent admiration when speaking of "Lord Big Shot."


    Just what kind of charm did the legendary "Number One Beauty in the World," Lord Big Shot Yayohime have, to inspire such admiration? (Not the surname ''Hand washing,'' so don''t fuss over it)


    Perhaps feeling that Su Lun was not so terrifying, the girl hiding in the darkness of the shed also sneakily peeked out her head. She was a rather pretty young girl, around thirteen or fourteen years old.


    Su Lun had excellent night vision, but he pretended not to see.


    He let the youth named Yoshino wear the clothes he had brought and also gave the old man a Potion of Healing Medicine, which wouldn''t cure the lung disease, but could prolong his life by several years.


    As they talked, expressions other than anxiety finally appeared on the faces of this family.


    The atmosphere gradually became more harmonious.


    Su Lun was interested in the spirits of Mountain Hermit country and wanted to ask the locals about them. Thinking this, he recounted his encounters with "Shiranui" and "Kappa."


    The old man also shared some things he knew.


    For the people of Mountain Hermit, spirits were of special significance, terrifying yet venerable, yet often they protected them.


    The ounts were simr to those written in the Chronicles of Gods and Spirits, and Su Lun didn''t gain much useful information.


    ....


    As the conversation went on, Su Lun suddenly thought of the sentient de in the vige shrine and asked, "Old man, when I passed by the entrance to the vige earlier, I saw that a de was enshrined in the shrine. Is there a particr reason for that?"


    "This..."


    At the question, the old man''s face visibly showed difficulty, he hesitated and stammered, "It''s not that the old man doesn''t want to tell you, sir, but speaking of it might bring you misfortune."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun''s interest piqued even more, but he also said, "If it''s inconvenient to mention, it''s not a problem."


    At this moment, the youth Yoshino, seemingly anxious not to disappoint an important guest, interjected, "Father, sir, the high monk once said that someone with a just heart will not be affected. Please tell him, Mr. Johnny is such a good person, it won''t happen..."


    A high monk?


    Listening, Su Lun felt the de must be truly remarkable.


    The old man red at his son, finding himself in a difficult position.


    He seemed to hesitate at keeping it a secret, appearing somewhat reluctant, then turned back to Su Lun and asked, "Sir, do you really want to hear it?"


    Su Lun smiled and nodded, "Yes. I am indeed quite interested."


    Hearing this, the old man sighed slightly, as if he had decided to speak.


    He paused for a moment, then said, "Because it is a Famed Sword, ''Onimaru Hyakumei Munemasa.''"


    At that name, Su Lun felt a chill run down his spine, incredulously saying, "The ''Demon de'' ''Onimaru Hyakumei Munemasa,'' ranked third among the twelve exquisite craftsmanship des?"


    It was a Famed Sword that was believed to have disappeared!


    To think it was enshrined in the temple of this small vige?


    As he spoke, Su Lun internally eximed it was impossible and felt something was amiss.


    Yet the old man opposite him nodded with aplex expression, "Yes."

 Chapter 305 "Onimaru Hyakume Munemasa

    Legends say that each of the twelve masterfully crafted famed swords possessed incredible powers, and some have even ranked these swords by their might and battle achievements.


    Su Lun had previously seen the "Demon de" Ash''s matching sword "Chrysanthemum Pattern Divine Pce Guard" in Pirate City, which rankedst among the twelve, but even that famed de was widely known as a great killing weapon.


    It was said that the top three possessed the power of "Banned Items."


    This "Ghost Eye Sujo Kenshin," rumored to have the strength to y ghosts and deities, was as infamous among professional swordsmen as any cursed object.


    How could such a famed sword be simply enshrined in the ancestral temple of an ordinary little vige?


    .....


    Although Su Lun knew there might be discrepancies between legend and reality,


    he was certain that the "Ghost Eye Sujo Kenshin" was no ordinary sword.


    Seeing Su Lun''s astonishment, the old man nodded and said, "Yes, it is that ''Demon de.'' To be precise... it''s a ''Yokai yer.''


    Su Lun''s interest was truly piqued.


    He instantly understood why the old man had hesitated before.


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    Fearful that after speaking of it, Su Lun might covet it.


    After all, who wouldn''t desire such a famed sword for themselves upon learning of it?


    Yet, just the name "Demon de" carried a sense of mystery, increasing one''s curiosity the more they heard it. But the fact that it still rested untouched in the ancestral temple suggested that it was not so easily taken.


    The old man continued, "In the past, people have tried to take it -- thieves, ronin, warriors, rich merchants, great swordsmen... even daimyos. Without exception, all met with misfortune, reaping no good oue and causing harm to those around them. Moreover, whenever the sword was taken, it mysteriously returned after a while. Later, following the guidance of a wise man, the vigers built the ancestral temple. Since then, with the incense offered, the sword hasn''t caused any more trouble, and it has also protected our Sword Forging Vige."


    This story''s beginning had stoked Su Lun''s deep interest, and he asked, "This sword is so strange -- does it have a backstory?"


    "Indeed, it''s quite a long story,"


    The old man''s eyes showed a glimmer of reminiscence as he slowly borated, "Our vige is called ''Sword Forging Vige'' because for thousands of years, it has been one of the best ces to craft swords in Mountain Hermit Country. But a hundred years ago, an unexpected change urred. There was a swordsmith family called ''Sojo'' in our vige, unparalleled in smithing skills. They found a meteorite and forged an exceedingly sharp ''Fifth Generation Sojo.'' The de could cut through iron like mud and had already qualified as a ''famed sword.'' On the day the sword waspleted, numerous swordsmen flocked to request it. However, the head craftsman Master Sojo Kenshin wasn''t satisfied with the de''s potential, thinking that a de without a ''spirit'' wasn''t perfect. He perused ancient tomes, determined to find a way to forge a legendary sword. In the end, he didn''t seed, but instead became insane. My grandfather told me he saw Master Kenshin, in his madness, wandering around the vige with the sword, always muttering something to himself..."


    Su Lun could already imagine the crazed state of the swordsmith master who crafted the de.


    How did a famed sword turn into a Demon de?


    He grew even more interested in the rest of the story.


    The old man kept telling the tale: "The older folks say that Master Kenshin was seduced by mountain spirits and vanished into the mountains with the ''Fifth Generation Sojo.'' That''s when the strange incidents began. People in the vige would suddenly be attacked by yokai at night, end up dead, and have their eyes gouged out. These eerie incidents spiraled out of control from the start. In a few days, all of Sojo''s swordsmiths were blinded by the yokai. Other renowned swordsmiths in the vige weren''t spared either, and idents became frequent. Scared and confused... Later, a high monk was passing by and discovered the culprit was a "Hundred Eyes Demon."


    "Hundred Eyes Demon?"


    Su Lun had read about this kind of yokai in "Fairy Tale."


    It was said that this female demon lured men to steal their eyes for her use, and if she managed to collect a hundred eyes, she would turn into an uncontroble demon.


    With a sigh, the old man confirmed, "Yes. By the time she was discovered, it was toote; the yokai had grown powerful. She was short of just one pair of eyes to be an indestructible demon lord. That''s when the crazed Master Kenshin reappeared. Weter realized he had found some forbidden de-crafting method. He sacrificed his own eyes to the demon... Afterwards, the high monk, at the cost of his life, used the ''Fifth Generation Sojo'' to sh at the [Hundred Eyes Demon]. Since it had be powerful and couldn''t be killed, it was sealed in the de, following the method left by Master Kenshin. That''s how it became the current ''Ghost Eye Sujo Kenshin.''


    ...


    Hearing this story, Su Lun instantly understood.


    No wonder it bore the name "Demon de" with such a sinister forging process.


    The old man went on, "This de is indeed a supreme one, but it''s too evil. Once it fell into outsiders'' hands, it caused much ughter, and the name ''Demon de'' became well-known. No one could tame it, and it ultimately caused the death of a feudal lord who loved collecting famed swords. Our vige was implicated and gradually fell into decline. Wishing not to let the sword harm anyone ever again, the vige chief, under advisement, built the ancestral temple and honored it with incense offerings, and we''ve had peace for decades."


    After hearing the history of the demon de in the temple, Su Lun felt like he had truly broadened his horizons.


    He further inquired, "Does the Demon de have any special effects?"


    Su Lun had a faint suspicion that, aside from the bizarre forging process, there might be more at y with the method of incense worship.


    "No one knows."


    The old man shook his head and sighed, "Everyone who has held the ''Ghost Eye Sujo Kenshin'' has met a grim fate. Nobody can discern its true mystery. ording to those who have survived encounters with the Demonic Sword, it allows a person to see ''Hell''..."


    The story, too, was drawing to a close.


    Upon hearing it all, Su Lun''s gaze sharpened slightly.


    Merely listening to the tale was enough to pique one''s interest in the Demon de.


    Fortunately, he was no swordsman¡ªfamed swords held only so much allure for him. Had he been a swordsman, he might have been tempted to try it, no matter how sinister.


    And, the de was within arm''s reach.


    At this, the old man pleaded again, "My lord, please, you must ensure that news of the ''Onimaru Hyakume Sojo Kenshin'' does not get out. It''s not that we fear someone taking the sword. We simply do not wish to see it bring misfortune to anyone else."


    "Um."


    Su Lun nodded.


    Matters involving the faith in deities were never simple. If the tale were true, ''Onimaru Hyakume Sojo Kenshin'' was certainly not a de that just anyone was fated to wield; at least, without fully understanding it first, he had no intentions whatsoever.


    But suddenly!


    A spark of inspiration shed through Su Lun''s mind, giving rise to another thought.


    They had just encountered a shipwreck, and now they''de to a vige with a Demonic Sword¡ªcould it really be such a coincidence?


    Su Lun believed he could control his own covetousness and not dwell on the sword''s allure, but this vige was currently home to several hundred pirates!


    What if someone else became aware of it?


    With this thought, he frowned, immediately realizing the severity of the situation.


    It wasn''t just that the matter of ''Onimaru Hyakume Sojo Kenshin'' shouldn''t be leaked; if things were as he suspected, and someone had intentionally drawn them here, then warnings would be futile.


    His mind raced, connecting all the clues together and assessing the risks involved. He felt fairly confident he could protect himself and thus didn''t give it much more thought.


    Should any problems arise, he was certain to leave at the first opportunity.


    ....


    Time quickly approached midnight.


    "Johnny, it''s your turn to take over the watch!"


    A voice called from outside, and Su Lun, without dy, grabbed his gear, donned his windproof cloak, and pushed open the door to go out.


    The midnight blizzard was fierce, painfullyshing at the face like cuts from a de.


    As Su Lun reached the doorway, he saw Sharp bundled up like a dumpling, emerging from the house.


    He greeted Su Lun with apparent disbelief, "Brother Johnny, you''re staying here?"


    Looking around, he eyed the leaky thatched hut with disdain, "Oh my, this shabby hut could copse under a heavy snowfall."


    Su Lun just shrugged indifferently, "I think it''s alright. It''s just for one night, anyway."


    Chatting, they proceeded to the watch post at the edge of the vige and relieved the previous two guards.


    "Damn, it''s really cold. I wonder if there''s any woman in this vige to warm a man''s bed."


    "Captain, I did see a few farmers'' wives earlier with some charm, but the boss said we can''t mess around. You''re different, though, Captain¡ªthe boss surely won''t me you..."


    "Heh heh, let''s go have some fun."


    "..."


    The squad leader was named Polk Jaliad, the brother-inw of ''Tea Beard'' Hans. His strength was at the second rank, but he had leveraged his connections to be the leader of a small artillery squad.


    Su Lun listened to the two men''s departing conversation and frowned.


    Just then, Sharp patted his shoulder, "What are you looking at, Brother Johnny?"


    Afterining, he followed Su Lun''s gaze towards the two distant figures, frowning, "Ah, forget those guys. I''ve seen it, too¡ªamong our fifteenth team, only the two of us are on the same side. I thought with Oleg being crowned king, we''d turn over a new leaf and stop being pirates. Didn''t expect it to stay the same. If it weren''t for needing money to save my old mother, I wouldn''t stoop to their level. The vige is so poor, yet they still look for fun. We''re all in miserable straits; why afflict each other?"


    Speaking of which, Sharp sighed helplessly, knowing that nothing would change from hisints, so he didn''t dwell on those increasingly annoying thoughts. Instead, he changed the subject and said, "Hey, do you think there could be monsters in this vige?"


    "..."


    Su Lun listened without responding, his gaze fixed on the two figures skulking around the corner of the wall, his eyes growing darker.@@novelbin@@


    For some reason, his mood tonight was unountably irritable.


    Why am I so irritable?


    Is it because of the hardships the Koike family is going through?


    Their fate is already tragic enough.


    Just then, he suddenly saw those two slip into the Koike family''s yard, and the violent emotions that had long been suppressed in his heart surged forth.


    Sharp, seeing Su Lun lost in thought with a cold and utterly strange expression, nervously asked, "Eh, brother, what are you spacing out for? You''re not possessed by a monster, are you? Don''t scare me..."


    A sh of red glimmered in Su Lun''s eyes, and his face was expressionless. Without much exnation, he simply said, "I''m going over there."


    Sharp grabbed him at once, realizing what he intended to do, "Brother, don''t be rash, we can''t handle that guy Polk!"


    Su Lun shook his head, stepped out of the cowshed, and walked straight over.


    ...


    When Su Lun returned to the Koike''s house, the door had already been forced open.


    The two lustful goons of Polk had no intention of making a lot of noise¡ªthey, too, had snuck in quietly.


    In the house, Su Lun had given up his bed earlier and the three Koike family members were lying in a pile of straw from the dismantled house.


    "Heh, I told ya, sniffed out a young girl''s scent when I came by earlier, knew there was something good to find. And look, there really is!"


    "Captain''s mighty!"


    When Su Lun entered the room, he heard the two men chuckling and talking lewdly.


    A perception professional with heightened sense of smell, put to use for stealth stealing and lust, tsk...


    In the woodshed, the three members of the Koike family were already knocked out by a hallucinatory potion, and the two men were about to undress the young girl, revealing a patch of her snowy shoulder.


    At this sight, a sh of red glinted in Su Lun''s eyes.


    Hearing someone enter, Polk turned his head, frowned, and said, "What are you doing here instead of standing guard?"


    With a tone as if he were looking at a corpse, devoid of emotion, Su Lun said, "Captain, I don''t think this is right. They''re also people with hard lives."


    Polk was already irritated at being interrupted and, hearing this, he exploded, "Who the hell do you think you are, meddling in my business?"


    As he spoke, another henchman touched the gun at his waist, full of warning intent.


    Su Lun would have had better ways to deal with the situation, but for some reason, he couldn''t contain the killing urge inside him.


    Looking around at the breezy house, then at the Koike family lying unconscious on the ground, their lives were already so bitter.


    The more he thought about it, the more detestable the faces of the two men in front of him became.


    But killing was easy; the hard part was making sure it didn''t implicate the vige afterward.


    Acting here might alert "Tea Beard" Hanz, who was not far away, potentially causing even more trouble for this family.


    Su Lun hesitated for a moment.


    Moreover, there was an inexplicable feeling of unease in his heart.


    Ever since he entered the vige, he had the sensation of being watched.


    He had thought it was just his imagination,


    but that feeling intensified the moment he walked through the door.


    Su Lun''s eyebrows knitted together as he surveyed his surroundings.


    That "presence" did not seem human.


    After all, with Su Lun''s current perception, even if a sixth or seventh-order professional were to spy on him, he would be able to distinguish it.


    The sensation was like that of some special existence, a monster?


    Polk Jaliad thought Su Lun was frightened by his aura and sneered, "Scram!"


    His hand had already reached out towards the Koike family''s girl.


    Just then, Su Lun thought of a solution and expressionlessly put on "Robert''s Monocle." His hand suddenly grabbed at the void, and before Polk Jaliad and hispanion could react, a line of blood appeared on their necks.


    Before the blood could spurt out, Su Lun pinched a sorcerer''s seal, a ck hole in space appeared, and he swiftly stuffed the two corpses into his storage space.


    "Eh... not discovered?"


    Su Lun had been thinking that if he were discovered, he would use the monocle to create the illusion of a monster to confuse Hanz and his people.


    But clearly, themotion here had not been perceived.


    Indeed, he had overestimated them.


    A mediocre fifth-order and a bunch ofzy pirates were still far from being a threat.


    But this was good as well; it saved him a lot of trouble.


    Su Lun carried the girl back to the haystack and watched over the three sleeping people until the restlessness in his heart finally subsided.


    He was about to breathe a sigh of relief when suddenly his pupils shrank!


    For in that instant, his Soul Perception told him that something had appeared in the room.


    Not human, but a "monster"!


    At the same moment, he found his field of vision engulfed inplete darkness.


    "Visual deprivation?"


    Inwardly, Su Lun was not the least bit panicked.


    He raised his ck umbre high and with a "bang," it opened.


    Then he quickly turned his head, only to find a pair of reddish human eyes in the endless darkness.


    One pair, ten pairs, a hundred pairs... countless eyes, like a sea of stars turned into eyes, gazing ominously.


    "The Hundred-Eyes Demon?"


    Su Lun thought of a kind of monster and immediately linked it to the story Koike Koichiro had told him earlier, realizing something and thinking, "No, it''s that Demonic Sword!"


    Even though his vision was stripped away, he was not affected in the slightest. His left eye bulged, and the All-knowing Eye revealed the truth of everything before him.


    "So this is what the ''Demonic Sword'' is like..."


    Su Lun instantly felt confident in his heart.


    Just as he was about to deploy a magical technique to counterattack, he suddenly heard a creepy cackle near his ear, "Hee hee hee... I didn''t expect to find someone like you among the pirates, I''ll spare you."


    The malice was gone?


    The evil presence faded away like a receding tide, and Su Lun didn''t rush to act. Suddenly, his vision returned to normal.


    At that moment, noise came from another part of the vige.


    Su Lun didn''t know why, but the sudden eerie feeling that appeared in the room gave him a pleasurable sensation on a spiritual level, as if he had found a resonance with his own kind. A mischievously wicked smile formed on his lips as he murmured, "Interesting, are we getting started now..."


    His interest was piqued to see what was happening, so he quietly walked out.

 Chapter 306 Reaching Out for the Knife

    When Su Lun walked out of the Xiao Chi family''s house, the midnight snowkes had already be so dense they blurred the vision.


    The howling of the cold wind echoed in his ears, and the icy wind would pour into any gap in his clothing, chilling one to the bone.


    In that brief encounter inside the house, he had already clearly sensed that tide-like special aura.


    This was the "demonic power" of the Mountain Hermit y¨­kai, a special kind of energy.


    The demonic power of those [Will-o''-the-wisps] and [Kappa] he encountered on the sea surface were too weak, hardly distinguishing themselves. However, the aura of the [Hundred Eyes Demon King] sealed within the Demon de let Su Lun genuinely feel its presence.


    Having witnessed the descent of divine wills twice before, he had experienced that indescribable divine might, allowing him to identify it at once.


    That y¨­kai just now gave Su Lun the same feeling.


    It was like a deity, but much weaker.


    He squinted at the windswept snowy vige in front of him, pondering to himself, "So this is demonic power, almost divine. Hah, the y¨­kai of the Mountain Hermit nation really do seem to be high-ranking beings born of faith and some special energies."


    ....


    He didn''t think too much about it.


    With a step, Su Lun plunged into the thick snow in the courtyard, his deer leather boots sinking halfway through.


    At this very moment, the moonlight spilled over the snow-covered mountain vige, a silver sheen, yet it was no longer a beautiful snowy night scene but carried with it an eerie and ominous atmosphere.


    "Damn it, what the hell is going on!"


    In the snow, "Tea Beard" Hanzi was bellowing, "Everyonee out and assemble!"


    That roar, simr to that of a lion, awakened the entire mountain vige.


    Su Lun stepped outside the door, just in time to meet Sharp running over anxiously, ready to assemble.


    Upon seeing Su Lun, he called out, "Brother Joy, it looks like something''s happened. The boss is calling us over."


    Saying so, he cast a nce at the quiet house behind Su Lun, his expression abruptly changing.


    He had seen Bork and another sneak in to steal pleasure just a while ago, and their failure to emerge suggested the oue.


    Disbelief flickered through Sharp''s eyes, but he said, "Brother Joy, don''t worry, I won''t tell anyone. We''ve both been on guard duty the whole time!"


    Su Lun chuckled and nodded, not really caring.


    He had worried a little about being exposed, but now it seemed unnecessary.


    He knew that this night''s events had only just begun.


    ....


    Su Lun followed Sharp to the center of the vige, where many people had already gathered.


    He didn''t leave, his curiosity piqued about what interesting incidents might unfold next.


    Also, he realized that the y¨­kai''s demonic power could stir the negative emotions within him.


    This made him even more interested in the y¨­kai.


    Moreover, Su Lun had just appraised the Demonic Sword, finding it quite sinister, yet, peculiarly, it wasn''t fatal to him.


    If the person behind the scenes chose this way to stealthily wear down the pirates, their strength probably wasn''t too outrageous.


    Staying to watch the excitement posed little risk.


    Besides, in this snowy mountain vige at night, it seemed all the same wherever he went.


    Outside the vige shrine, "Tea Beard" Hanzi red ferociously, several headmen and the pirates woken from their sleep by screams stood uneasily in the snow.


    The res lit up the entire vige brightly, with the houses and buildings clearly visible.


    Su Lun also walked over and from afar could see a row of bodiesid out in the snow.


    Twenty or so in number.


    Their deaths were all very peculiar.


    Their eye sockets were bloody holes, eyeballs long gone.


    It seemed there might be more.


    The pirates were carrying bodies out from some of the houses in the vige.


    Seeing this chilling scene, Su Lun''s expression did not change in the slightest, as if he had anticipated it. He quietly moved closer and saw that the "de" that had been ced on the altar in the ancestral hall was now nowhere to be found, leaving only the tattered robe that had wrapped it behind.


    Among the crowd, the pirates with pale faces looked at the bodies, whispering to one another.


    "Sss... this is terrifying, how did this happen without any noise?"


    "It must be the work of a y¨­kai! I''ve always felt this vige was sinister. Tim''s dead, Casilia''s dead, Magitan too... and soon it''ll be our turn."


    "I don''t want to stay here for another moment, it''s too scary. If I''d known, I never would have joined any vanguard team..."


    "..."


    Having experienced encounters at sea before, the first reaction of the people upon seeing the dozens of eye-gouged corpses was naturally to think the y¨­kai were to me.


    But even guessing as much only increased their terror.


    What kind of y¨­kai was it?


    Where was it hiding?


    How did it silently kill all these people?


    Countless questions arose, and fear quickly spread among the crowd.


    The newly issued magical arms provided no reassurance to the pirates; some of the more cowardly were already panic-stricken.


    Another wave came, and without identifying the root of the problem, it was obvious to any fool that there was an issue.


    At that moment, everyone looked upon the vige, the dimly-lit green mountains around, as if any ce could be where the y¨­kai hid.


    The next moment, it could be oneself meeting Death.


    ....


    Tea Beard''s face had grown so grim with coldness that it seemed water could drip from his expression. His gaze cut across the room like a knife, fixing on the corpses on the ground. He had thought he was in for a simple task, scouting ahead for the fleet, but now he realized the perilous nature of the situation.


    He had assumed the North Sea fleet possessed crushing strength over the Mountain Hermit nation, and that the locals wouldn''t be able to cause much of an uproar. This tax-collection expedition was supposed to be like a vacation.


    But now, it seemed more like they had walked into a trap.


    Hanz knew that things hade to this point, and there was no turning back.


    He scanned his surroundings and shouted, "Sentries! Did any of you see anything unusual just now?!"


    "Sentry post one, no abnormalities detected."


    "Same with post two."


    "Post three as well, nothing."


    "..."


    Su Lun and Sharp were at sentry post four, at the edge of the vige.


    Listening to the reports of the others, Sharp nced at Su Lun and followed suit, reporting, "Post four, no abnormalities!"


    No abnormalities had been seen by the sentries, yet people were dying inside their homes, and an eerie suspicion filled the air.


    Just then, Song Yong Jiushu, their guide, ran over in disarray, pulling on his coat with a panicked face. "Lord Hanz!"


    Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire


    Hanz''s anger surged just looking at the man. He grabbed Yongshu by the cor, hoisted him up, and angrily demanded, "Damn it! You led us to this vige, now what the hell is going on?!"


    Even if he was slow to catch on, he now understood where the problemy.


    Whether on the sea or now, the route had been arranged by this man in front of him.


    If it weren''t for the fact that this guide was from their ninth fleet''s Admiral Peiwen''s crew, he''d suspect this guy had led them here on purpose to their deaths!


    Yongshu, upon seeing the eyeless body on the ground, paled with fright and hurriedly exined, "This... this might be the work of a ''Hundred Eyes Demon''!"


    Hearing it was a demon again, Hanz''s eyes bulged like brass bells, and he roared, "You knew there were demons here and still led us here? I''ve lost so many brothers, you owe me an exnation, or I''ll kill you right now!"


    "Lord, please, spare my life!"


    Scared out of his wits, Yongshu frantically exined, "Lord, I didn''t know, demons usually don''t enter the vige. Especially the ones worshiped with incense, they not only do not attack the vigers, but they protect them..."


    Suddenly, he thought of something, and with a ghastly expression, he asked, "That... you lords didn''t disrespect any of the vige''s taboos, did you?"


    "..."


    Hearing this, Hanz''s eyes twitched as if he had guessed something, and his rage seemed to subdue suddenly.


    Before entering the vige, the guide had warned them of some customs of Mountain Hermit. With this question, he immediately felt that someone under hismand might have touched upon something forbidden. After all, they were pirates,prising all sorts of people, and having unclean hands was toomon.


    Hanz felt he was close to the truth and found a squad leader in the crowd, demanding, "Kahn, Magitan and a few others died right next to your room, didn''t your mother notice anymotion?"


    The fact that the dead were all concentrated in a few rooms raised the inevitable suspicion: why them?


    "That..."


    The squad leader named Kahn was startled by the shout.


    Stuttering and noticing the murderous look in Hanz''s eyes, he knew he couldn''t hide the truth and confessed, "Earlier, Magitan and the others couldn''t resist the charms of the vige woman who offered them lodging. They... went too far... I warned them, but they didn''t listen. Then they identally killed her. Fearing you would reprimand us, they threw her into the well in the backyard."


    Understanding dawned on everyone upon hearing this.


    Su Lun listened to everything, his eyes narrowing slightly.


    He had previously resented the demon for killing as if life was worthless, but now, hearing this, he thought these men truly deserved to die...


    As the words sank in, Hanz''s face froze, and he felt the wrath turn upon himself.


    He violently threw the guide onto the ground and pointed to the row of bodies, shouting with fury, "Dammit! I''ve already warned you, told you to keep in line; you couldn''t even hold back for a single night?! It''s fine when you mess around on normal days, but now look at what you''ve done; not only killed yourselves but endangered us all!"


    The pirates were scolded, hanging their heads low, not daring to make eye contact.


    In the vastness of the vige, only the sound of wind and falling snow could be heard.


    But by now, Hanz knew that more scolding was useless; the priority was to resolve the predicament before them.


    ...


    After all, he was an old hand at piracy; Hanz was no pushover.


    Now that they couldn''t find the cause, it was time to eliminate all the unsettling factors!


    His eyes shed with malice, and he barked an order, "Come on, gather all the vigers and chop them down! I want to see where that demon is hiding!"


    A fifth-tier professional, he was considered a master anywhere he went.


    Given the current situation, whether there was a conspiracy or it was indeed the work of a demon, if there truly was strength to wipe them out, they wouldn''t be doing it surreptitiously.


    Round up and kill everyone, and then the demon would surely show itself!


    Upon hearing thismand, the guide Yongshu immediately pleaded, "Lord, you can''t kill! The demon is worshipped by the vigers of the Sword Forging Vige with incense. It protects this ce. Anyone who harms the vigers will surely be cursed."


    Hearing this, Hanz was unmoved and shouted fiercely, "Do it!"


    "Yes, Captain!"


    The pirates obeyed the order, ready to go from house to house gathering people up.


    It was then that someone finally noticed the object of worship was missing from the shrine.


    "Captain Hanz, the sword is gone!"


    "What sword?"


    "The sword that was previously enshrined in the shrine!"


    "Damn it, who the hell took that broken sword, hand it over!"


    "..."


    Despite the questioning, no one responded for a moment.


    But it was at that moment a strange, cacklingugh suddenly rang out among them, a sound as terrifying as that of an evil spirit echoing in everyone''s ears.


    "Are you looking for this sword?"


    ...


    The sudden response made the hundreds of people in the snowy field feel as if a poison snake had slithered up their spines, causing goosebumps to erupt all over their bodies.


    Following the direction of the voice, they saw someone in the crowd draw a long sword.


    It was one of the four squad captains who hade, the ninth squad captain "Rain Sword" Akos, with a bounty of 41 million Riso, a somewhat famous fourth-order swordsman.


    Seeing this, Su Lun had already quietly retreated. The ck crow on his shoulder cawed once, and he slightly curled the corners of his mouth upward, closed his right eye, and watched the increasingly interesting situation before him with great interest.


    With a loud shout, Hanzi demanded, "Akos, what are you doing?!"


    "Aren''t you looking for me?"


    Akos squeezed a few cold words through his teeth.


    He cocked his head, his face stretching into an increasingly sinister smile, nced at the crowd, and with a flick of his finger, "ng," the sword was drawn from its sheath.


    In an instant, it was as if the gates of hell had been opened, and an evil aura suddenly enveloped the surroundings.


    All eyes were mysteriously drawn to the de of the sword.


    Upon a closer look, they discovered that the de bore patterns resembling eyes. It was at the moment of unsheathing that the eye pattern on the sword eerily opened up!


    As if someone had abruptly woken from their sleep, the eyes snapped open!


    It was... an actual human eye!


    And the more fear-inducing sight was yet toe!


    In that moment, as the long sword was fully drawn, the de revealed countless eyes densely packed together. These eyes, bothrge and small, seemed toe alive, frequently moving, and staring at every person in the crowd from all directions.


    It was then that Su Lun saw the full appearance of this "Demon de" for the first time.


    ''Ghost King Hundred Eyes Sojo''


    Description: Ranked third among the twelve masterfully crafted famed swords; made from heavenly meteorite iron, it seals the demonic spirit of the Hundred Eyes Demon King, possessing the characteristics of inducing bleeding, breaking armor, resilience, and unstirred;


    Demonic Power Characteristics: 1. [Blind] The user causes vision impairment to targets within a certain range and absolute blindness to targets with lower realms; 2. [Visible Hell] The powerful demonic power can invoke the darkest and most evil aspects from the depths of one''s heart, showing the dreadful state of hell and confusing the mind; 3. [Transparent Vision] The user shares the vision of hundreds of eyes; 4. [Great Demonic Sword Qi] Possesses the sword qi of the Hundred Eyes Demon King, with the intensity of the sword qi affected by the user''s Sword Dao prowess; [Cut the Spiritual Body] Can inflict sh damage to special spiritual bodies and target souls.


    Detailed Exnation: The sword, worshipped with incense for a century, has be a hellish ghost de, imbued with the swordsmanship, Sword Intent, and Sword Qi of its previous wielders; a spirited instrument chooses its master, and if not recognized by the Demonic Sword, whoever carries it will be eroded by demonic power, leading to permanent blindness, a nature for bloodshed, and a deranged mind.


    Earlier in the room, Su Lun had seen thevish attributes of this Demonic Sword.


    Now that he had seen its full appearance, despite the somewhat horrifying design, he still found it breathtakingly impressive.


    The attributes of this Demon de were definitely of the [Sealed Object] level.


    Blindness, enhanced vision, damage to spiritual bodies...


    Each characteristic was a surefire divine-level trait for a swordsman.


    One could say that even a pig wielding this sword could instantly be a master of the Sword Dao.


    However, the cost of usage was not small.


    Su Lun had previously heard from Qiantiao that truly good swords had their own "temper," and not everyone could wield them.


    Seeing the description of "path of hell" identified by the All-Seeing Eye, he felt it definitely wasn''t suitable for him.


    But since Qiantiao was the Rakshasa Woman, he wondered if she could use it?


    ...


    The moment the long sword was drawn, an enormous centipede''s phantom appeared abruptly behind the sword-wielding Akos!


    The centipede was snow-white, tens of meters in length, its belly, and back covered with countless eyes, its thousand feet like sharp scythes, presenting a fearsome and intimidating appearance.


    "Is this the demonic soul of the [Hundred Eyes Demon King] that''s been sealed away?"


    Su Lun raised an eyebrow, the reflection of the snow-white centipede shimmering in his left eye.


    He was unprepared before, his vision stripped away, but now he was just enjoying the scene.


    However, those pirates weren''t so fortunate.


    The moment the Demon de was unsheathed, those who were close by were immediately engulfed in darkness and screamed in fear.


    "Ah... I can''t see!"


    "Damn it, what''s wrong with my eyes..."


    "..."


    Ordinary people were not like Su Lun; even after being stripped of their vision, they still had other senses.


    These ordinary pirates instantly became "blind while seeing."


    Moreover, it was not just about being unable to see; they were probably witnessing the "scenery of hell."


    Su Lun was well aware that the impact of such negative emotions could cause those of weak will to copse instantly.


    Those affected by the Demon de brandished their vicious expressions amidst great agony.


    They pulled out their swords and began swinging at those around them as if everything in their eyes had be the most evil thing that needed to be killed...


    Then, the ughter began!


    The "Rain Sword" Akos was originally a seasoned fourth-order swordsman proficient in intricate court swordsmanship, as dense as rain. Now with the Demon de in hand, his aura erupted in an instant, evolving from swordsman to sword expert, and then to great sword expert... and kept rising!


    Around his body, snowkes converged into a tornado, visibly forming a sword qi twister.


    In that split second, the pirates whose visions had been stripped hadn''t even had the chance to figure out what was happening before their bodies bore scale-like dense cuts, as if they had been sliced by countless des...


    With a single sh of his sword, Akos''s sword qi extended hundreds of meters, leaving behind death and injury in its wake.


    This sword qi was not something his rank should be able to unleash.


    Even Su Lun, watching from a distance, was impressed.


    But as much as he was amazed, he also noticed that Akos''s mental state hadpletely descended into madness, thinking to himself, "He''spletely controlled by the sword''s demonic power indeed, truly living up to the name ''Demon de.''"


    ....


    It seemed they were waiting for the pirates to converge in a group for an easy ughter. That''s when "Akos" suddenly made his move, blinding them first and then cutting them down with an area-wide sweep of Sword Qi. This tactic was near unbeatable.


    When the Swordsmith Master Sojo Kenshin forged this sword, he must have intended to achieve this effect.


    Pirates below the third rank didn''t stand a chance to react; six to seven hundred pirates were instantly wiped out by several tornadoes of Sword Qi. The snowy ground was littered with limbs and severed arms; where it was once covered in a nket of white, it was now stained crimson...


    "Damn it, Akos, stop!"


    "The boss has been possessed by a demon, brothers, stop him!"


    "Don''t harbor any illusions, kill him, or we''ll all die here..."


    "..."


    The pirates were instantly stunned, but they quickly rallied together, preparing to kill him.


    But "Akos" was already not weak, and with the Demonic de in his hand, it was as though he had grown hundreds of eyes on his body, letting him easily evade attacks from every direction. No sneak attack could touch him.


    Even the fifth-rank "Tea Beard" Hanzi was pushed into an extremely awkward position, dodging desperately from ce to ce.


    Being the strongest, "Akos" relentlessly pursued him, hacking wildly along the way.


    After being deprived of sight, Hanzi could only rely on his hearing to dodge attacks.


    Originally, having advanced to the fifth rank, he should have had an absolute suppressive advantage over those of the fourth rank.


    But now, the situation was utterly one-sided.


    "Akos" disyed superb swordsmanship, perfectly executing "technique overpowers strength." The Demonic de''s armor-piercing effect allowed the de to easily slice through elemental barriers, dealing fatal wounds to Hanzi.


    If it weren''t for his fifth-rank advancement, which had fused with void gear granting him Spatial Teleportation abilities, he would have been cut down by the de already.


    From a distance, Su Lun knew that the overall situation was settled.


    There were originally hundreds of pirates, and there was a chance of sess.


    Although "Akos" had the Demonic de, after all, he was just one person.


    s, the opponents were too weak.


    The pirates werezy and had never trained in any specializedbined attack tactics; mostly, they only knew two tactics: "swarm in" and "scatter."


    Su Lun shook his head as he watched.


    This was several sses below the team fighting cohesion he had seen practiced by the Judgement Legion.


    This lot had already been left with shadows in their hearts by the demons at sea, their morale was naturally low. Now stunned by the impact, once they found they couldn''t win, the vast majority thought about fleeing far away to save their own skins.


    In the end, after several of Tea Beard Hanzi''s close associates were chopped down, he was left struggling to hold his own and "Akos"nded several blows on him.


    The pirates from the other squadrons, seeing the situation, also knew the tide had turned.


    They had already been frightened out of their wits by the demon. When someone shouted "Run for it!", the remaining couple hundred pirates scattered outside the vige.


    ....


    "It''s over..."


    Su Lun watched the people flee, his eyes flickering with an unusual light.


    The mastermind had never shown his face, relying on a handful of demons and a single Demonic de to block this group of pirates at the gates of the Mountain Hermit country.


    However, it seemed the mastermind had no intention ofpletely annihting them, letting these people escape could exaggerate the horror here when spread, most likely putting the me on "demons causing chaos."


    This way, faces were notpletely torn, and any subsequent trouble would be much less.


    In the future, anyone thinking abouting to Mountain Hermit would have to think twice. The King of the North Sea would also be informed of Mountain Hermit''s stance and would weigh the pros and cons before considering the matter of taxation.


    Su Lun''s mind was racing as the battle before him was nearly concluded.


    In the vast vige, only corpses littered the ground.


    "Akos" had killed everyone who was still breathing, and at that moment, he suddenly turned his head and saw Su Lun, who was standing in the snow with his umbre.


    The two locked eyes.


    The man''s eyes were white, and behind him, the ghostly white centipede shimmered with demonic power.


    In the man''s gaze, Su Lun saw the endless torments of hell.@@novelbin@@


    Yet his face bore no fear.


    Death was not an unfamiliar experience,


    He was no stranger to it.


    Suddenly, Su Lun shed a devilish grin, his eyes full of ghostly amusement, "Seeing the sights of hell, tsk tsk, demonic power indeed triggers the most evil and fearful thoughts in people''s hearts..."


    He nced at the sword in the man''s hand and tilted his head, ready to face any attacks that mighte at any moment.


    But after several breaths of standoff, "Akos" suddenly avoided him, appearing to give up the intention to kill.


    Then, under Su Lun''s watchful eye, the man went mad!


    After hacking wildly in the snow, he poked his own eyes out with his hands and then plunged the knife into his heart.


    Su Lun observed the madness unfold with an expressionless face.


    He murmured softly to himself as he looked at the body kneeling in the snow, "Demonic de."


    He walked over.


    Collecting the fragmented souls scattered among the corpses, Su Lun then stopped beside "Akos''s" body.


    He seemed to ponder something, hesitated for an instant, but eventually reached for the "Ghost King Hundred Eyes Sojo" embedded in the corpse.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in a certain room.


    Ever since the killing began, a pair of eyes had been coldly watching everything.


    Seeing Su Lun ready to draw out the Demonic de, the onlooker chuckled, "Heh, overestimating oneself!"

 Chapter 307 Gone for a Year

    "After Akos died, the overwhelming demonic energy of ''Onimaru Hyakume Munemasa'' also began to fade. The eerie human eyes on the de also closed, and this famed sword from legend returned to its original state."


    The sinister energy gathered and disappearedpletely, leaving the sword de snow-white with densely packed cloud patterns. In the snowstorm, it looked particrly pleasing to the eye.


    Su Lun admired it for a moment before slowly drawing the sword from the corpse.


    As he pulled out the sword, the blood droplets on the de, drawn by gravity, coalesced intorger drops, then ran down the de and dropped onto the pristine snow, resembling stters of red plum blossoms. Upon closer inspection, the de did not have a single drop of blood on it, and its cold light gleamed visibly sharp to the naked eye.


    Holding the sword handle, Su Lun immediately felt the sword''s sinister aspects. Instantly, demonic energy scattered his reason, and his vision filled with endless scenes of terror. He saw the most evil thoughts at the bottom of his heart, saw the terrifying visions of infinite hell.


    With the great weapon in hand, it seemed as if a voice at the bottom of his heart tempted him¡ªkill, kill, kill...


    A sh of red light in Su Lun''s eyes was followed by a slight warmth in the ''Eclipse'' totem on his chest, and then his rity was restored.


    For ordinary people, the assault of demonic energy could mean the difference between life and death. Even the most steadfast will, if exposed for a long time, would eventually erode.


    Unfortunately for Su Lun, this was not a major issue. Be it frantic negative spiritual power or the visions of hell, he was no stranger to them.


    The Sacred Totem of the Dalu tribe could perfectly devour those uncontroble negative spiritual powers, so this Demon de posed no great threat in his hands.


    Perhaps because he had not been transformed into a "sword ve," the ''Onimaru Hyakume Munemasa'' held by Su Lun issued a soft ringing sound.


    Su Lun''s fingers tightened suddenly, firmly gripping the Demon de trying to break free.


    To unload the oppressive demonic aura, he swung the de forward, cutting a trench over ten meters long in the snow with a sharp burst of Sword Qi.


    The sound of the Sword Qi tearing through the air faded into the wind, and Su Lun''s eyes misted as he murmured to himself, "So powerful..."


    The surging Sword Intent supported him, making him, a Puppeteer, momentarily think about changing professions.


    Indeed too powerful.


    The thought vanished in a sh.


    Su Lun chuckled lightly.@@novelbin@@


    Even though he held it in his hand, he still sensed the de''s resistance, and his eyebrows slightly furrowed with a hint of helplessness.


    Su Lun was not afraid of the de''s malicious nature, but the de also did not acknowledge him, a Puppeteer, as its master.


    That feeling of "different professions, different paths" made him no longer want to try controlling the de again.


    Strangely enough,


    with that thought, the de in his hand quieted down as well.


    Truly full of spirit.


    Su Lun pursed his lips and mockingly said to himself, "Heh, I really can''t use it."


    He always believed that swords and des were mere tools for killing¡ªwhat is considered right or wrong depends entirely on the human heart.


    The de was called "demonic" because users attempted to employ powers beyond their control.


    When no longer pursued, it ceased to act maliciously.


    Su Lun raised one hand, crooked his finger, and used a thread of silk from afar to draw out a tattered cassock from the temple as well.


    The cassock enveloped ''Onimaru Hyakume Munemasa,'' which thenpletely calmed down.


    Having done all this, his gaze caught something in a distant house behind him, revealing a meaningful smirk.


    ....


    The person hiding inside the house watched as Su Lun drew ''Onimaru Hyakume Munemasa,'' expecting another soul to fall to the sword.


    But after watching for a while, she just stared as Su Lun calmly put away the de, even wrapping it in a cassock.


    This act truly surprised her.


    Normally, anyone who got this de would be instantly mad with demonic energy, wouldn''t they?


    The pair of eyes hidden in the darkness shed coldly: "Does the North Sea Fleet actually have someone capable of taming ''Munemasa''? Could it be Oleg''s hidden card?"


    Although no one could control the de for now, such a renowned sword could not possibly be just taken away by an outsider.


    Thinking this, she went out.


    ...


    Su Lun heard footsteps behind him, turned around, and saw the guide, Song Yong Jiushu, running over anxiously.


    "Oh dear... are you alright, sir?"


    This guy watched as Su Lun began to walk away and hurriedly followed, his steps slightly unsteady.


    "What''s going on?"


    Su Lun, with an expressionless face, turned around and asked the obviously troubled guy. A teasing glint briefly appeared in his eyes as he jokingly said, "Oh, you''re still alive?"


    Yongshu''s face stiffened, thinking he had gone unnoticed, and awkwardly said, "I was afraid of dying, so I hid. It saved my life, please forgive my cowardice, sir."


    Seeing that Su Lun wasn''t paying him any attention and was about to leave the vige with the sword, he quickly tried to stop him: "Sir, this sword is a sacred offering of the Sword Forging Vige. You cannot take it with you. It will bring you misfortune."


    "Oh, will it?"


    Hearing this, Su Lun chuckled lightly.


    He naturally knew that taking the sword would bring misfortune to ordinary people, and the name Demon de was not unfounded.


    Moreover, if he hadn''t noticed anything unusual about the vige, he probably wouldn''t have thought of taking the vige''s treasured sword.


    But now, the sword was merely a "tool" for this fellow to kill people.


    Those vigers, no, there was a significant issue with this vige too.


    Su Lun narrowed his eyes and said, "What if I insist on taking it away?"


    Upon hearing these forceful words, Yongshu''s face darkened, and he said hesitantly, "This¡­"


    Without revealing his identity, he couldn''t keep this famed sword.


    But once he did reveal it, the King of the North Sea would have an excuse to make trouble directly.


    After all, the scheme of killing someone with a borrowed sword could still be med on the "Demon de".


    But once someone revealed the truth, it would be a man-made event.


    The problem would be unsolvable.


    For a moment, the guide''s face looked as troubled as a daisy, but he didn''t show any w in his act as he pleaded, "Oh dear, please don''t, my lord. On the boat before, and just now when entering the vige, those nobles didn''t listen to my advice, and that''s why¡­"


    Su Lun had no interest in continuing this charade with the fellow, and he interrupted his rambling with a teasing tone, "Mr. Guide, can you tell me what exactly is going on with this vige?"


    He knew that taking the sword away wouldn''t be the end of it; rather than being ambushed on the road, it was better to rify things right here.


    Hearing this, panic flickered through Yongshu''s eyes, unnoticeable to others. He attempted to feign ignorance again, "Ah? This is Sword Forging Vige, haven''t I told you before¡­"


    "Heh."


    Su Lun once again interrupted him with a coldugh.


    After walking around for a while and making his preparations, he stopped, and a fierce killing intent suddenly surged from him.


    He stared intently at Yongshu''s face, a glint of coldness shed, and he said in a deep voice, "What I mean to say is, the people of Sword Forging Vige died a year ago. Why are they still ''alive''?"


    This was what he truly cared about.


    Even more important than obtaining the Demon de!


    Without figuring this out, he felt as if his understanding of the world was obscured by a barrier, so severe that it might make him doubt everything he saw!


    "..."


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    Upon hearing this, Yongshu suddenly stopped, his face that had been currying favor by smiling ingratiatingly just moments earlier turned cold instantly.


    He looked at Su Lun, dropping the pretense and said coldly, "How did you find out?"


    "nning to leave? Did you really think you could escape? You didn''t think I was just making small talk all this way without a n, did you¡­"


    Su Lun had not failed to notice that this guy was preparing to flee.


    But since Su Lun had chosen to unveil the truth, how could he give this person a chance to escape?


    Even as he spoke, he unhesitatingly flexed his fingers, and countless sharp threads had already surrounded Yongshu, and in the next instant, would slice him into countless pieces.


    ....


    Before entering the vige, Su Lun only suspected that the guide had issues.


    After entering the vige, he knew there was a problem with the "Demon de".


    But it was the conversation with Koike Koichiro that made him realize the entire vige had issues!


    Because he had seen Koike Teppei at the Geisha house and knew some of her family situations through their conversation.


    Thus, his conversation with Koike Koichiro allowed him to quickly gain the other party''s trust.


    But it was this conversation that revealed a major problem!


    Su Lun remembered clearly that Koike Teppei said she was sold nine years ago and is now sixteen years old; however, Koike Koichiro said he sold his daughter eight years ago, and she is now fifteen.


    The difference of an entire year, yet all other information matched perfectly!


    Such an important matter, neither person could have possibly gotten it wrong.


    Moreover, since they did not know each other before, both had no motive or reason to lie to Su Lun.


    Therefore, when Su Lun heard this "contradiction," he immediately sensed that something was amiss.


    If the theory that one of them is lying is ruled out, then this discrepancy in time bes significant.


    Finally, after connecting all the clues, Su Lun came up with the most reasonable exnation: The people of "Sword Forging Vige" had died a year ago!


    But strangely, based on any method of discernment avable to him at the moment, they should seem to be "living" people.


    But in reality, in the most logical conclusion, they should be dead!


    No, to be precise, it seemed as though the vigers of Sword Forging Vige had been frozen in time a year ago,


    Like... a frame of a movie film!


    They appeared lifelike under specific conditions.


    Su Lun had also suspected that he had inadvertently fallen into some special cursed space.


    Even after carefully observing everything in the vige, the All-knowing Eye could not detect any anomalies.


    In such cases, either the cursed space was so vast that it was beyond his field of vision,


    or this "Sword Forging Vige" existed in a form that he temporarily could not understand.


    Therefore, he urgently wanted to know the truth.


    ....


    When Su Lun suddenly acted, the silk threads he had already set up instantly formed a solid trap, and "Song Yong Jiushu" had no chance to evade; the sharp threads instantly cut into his body.


    Su Lun had not intended to kill him upon arrival and had thought of controlling him first to see how things would unfold, but as soon as the silk threads touched him, Yongshu''s body deted like a punctured balloon, and a skin husk fell down.


    Indeed, the original guide had been reced.


    Su Lun silentlymended how seamlessly this fellow had hidden, not showing the slightest sign of abnormality.


    Meanwhile, with a "pop," a smoke bomb exploded, and a shadow escaped from the cage of silk threads.


    "Ninpo: Vain sh Shadow Kill Technique? Indeed, a ninja... But how could I let you escape so easily!"


    Su Lun''s eyes narrowed sharply, and as he opened his ck umbre, he immediately perceived abnormal fluctuations in the far-off dirt, still rapidly escaping towards the outskirts of the vige.


    "Subterranean Escape Technique?"


    His eyes narrowed slightly.


    This was his first encounter with a ninja, and he found this technique very astonishing.


    Although there were simr Earth System Arts in alchemy, the principles werepletely different.


    Facing it for the first time, there was no trace to follow.


    The ninjutsu of the Mountain Hermit country were unique; although there were many legends about the various mystical aspects of ninjutsu outside, almost no one had seen a truly highly skilled ninja. After all, they were believers in divinity, and some of the ninjutsu could not be exined bymon sense.


    Su Lun thought about the situation in this vige,


    Could it be some kind of ninjutsu?


    His mind raced, but his actions did not slow down.


    Su Lun had long heard that ninjas were adept at using the environment to hide themselves, but for someone with Soul Perception, it was almost ineffective.


    The moment Yongshu attempted to flee underground, Su Lun raised his hand and fired a cannon shot.


    With a loud "bang," the ground cracked open, and a person sprang out.


    This individual was dressed in standard ninja attire, with only her cold eyes visible from behind her mask.


    Previously unknown by what means, she had used human skin to disguise herself as Yongshu, even altering the perception of her soul''s essence. Now back to her original form, she appeared to be about fourth tier. This was close to earlier estimations.


    There were scorch marks on her clothes, clearly she hadn''tpletely avoided the earlier st.


    Su Lun didn''t give his opponent a chance to catch her breath; as he forced her out of hiding, his fingers pulled, and dozens of silk threads stretched tightly once again.


    The ninja drew a short dagger from her back, blocking several threads, but in the next instant, her body suddenly dissipated into a cloud of ck mist, evidently using Ninjutsu again.


    "The gap in ''[Vain sh]'' is about 1.5 seconds; with that level, you cannot escape..."


    Su Lun was still learning about ninjutsu, all these were merely probes.


    After a few exchanges, he had also discerned some details about his opponent.


    Ninjutsu was tricky, but once fully understood, he could find a way to counter it.


    Su Lun used sh to avoid two shurikens that came flying at him like lightning, then he teleported a hundred meters away and punched into the air.


    He was well aware that the target was hiding in the air.


    Before the ninja could escape, she felt a heavy kicknd on her stomach.


    She immediately realized that hiding was meaningless, as her opponent had another method to pinpoint her location. As her body bent like a shrimp, she exploded into a cloud of smoke again.


    Su Lun, feeling a void under his foot, kicked onto a piece of clothing.


    His gaze shifted to the graceful figure in the distance, and he was slightly surprised, "Ho... a female ninja, huh?"


    The substitution technique in ninjutsu seemed to require shedding ayer each time?


    ...


    Su Lun''s eyes showed no emotional fluctuation as he chased after her again.


    The female ninja actually had good skills and reactions; if she weren''t so panicked, she wouldn''t be in such a mess.


    But as long as she decided to confront Su Lun, he could find a chance to kill her!


    Unfortunately, her instincts were remarkable, and she was wholly focused on escaping; Su Lun couldn''t do much to her in a short time.


    But her instincts seemed to perceive something; when Su Lun was about to use his Human Skin Umbre and his ck scythe, she suddenly took out an ancient y jar. Once she opened the lid, streams of ck silk swarmed over.


    "A yokai ''[Enter Inner Sparrow]''? So that''s how ''Yongshu''s'' skin husk came about."


    Su Lun identified the item and did not dare to be careless.


    This "ck Sand" was also one of the famous hundred ghosts of Mountain Hermit Country.


    It was a type of parasitic ghost bird, smaller than human pores, that would swarm into human bodies and then consume all the tissue under the skin. The infested person wouldn''t even realize they were dead and could still move normally... it was very bizarre.


    Almost at the same time, Su Lun burst out with a bluish cold me, and within the blink of an eye, it solidified into a giant spirit wearing armor made from shadows.


    It was thisyer of me that overflowed, forming a barrier a few meters thick. The ck sand ghost birds that came close were incinerated, unable to get near at all.


    Seeing this scene, the serious-looking woman expressed a look of confusion and shock, and urgently shouted, "Secret Technique of ''No Servant,'' are you from Ruei''s group?"


    At that moment, she was truly puzzled. She had thought he was one of Oleg''s men, but seeing this method... Such proficiency in the Secret Technique of ''No Servant'' definitely marked aplex identity!


    But if he were one of Ruei''s people, why would he be lurking in a pirate gang?


    Moreover, the Dark Spiritual Power-driven cold me of ''No Servant'' and those used by the Ruei royal family were slightly different. The "Fire No Servant" divine shadow on Su Lun had a sinister and evil feel to it.


    She seemed to have recognized something, andpletely lost any intention of fighting, adding, "Wait, we can talk!"


    "Hmph!"


    Su Lun snorted coldly and ignored her.


    Having witnessed the strangeness of ninjutsu, he did not dare to let his guard down.


    He did not feel that giving the opponent a chance would enable him to maintain the upper hand.


    If they were to talk, it would be after capturing her!


    Just then, Su Lun, who had prepared earlier, shone a beam from his chessboard.


    But this time, the chessboard missed for the first time.


    Su Lun noticed the scenery around him change suddenly; the figure in front of him softened, as if melting like asphalt into a ck shadow. Only a set of clothes were left behind, naturally, the ones the female ninja had been wearing.


    The chessboard space hadn''t trapped the person, but had trapped the shadow of the female ninja instead.


    "Shadow Woman?"


    Su Lun watched the escaping shadow and realized this was another type of monster.


    There were soul fluctuations, clothes, and a covering of demonic aura; one couldn''t distinguish the real from the fake.


    Su Lun immediately released the space and returned to the snowynd, only to see no shadow of the female ninja.


    His eyes showed deep thought as he picked up the clothes from the ground and kept them.


    ....


    The person had run away, and Su Lun''s face showed a trace of difficulty.


    The female ninja was skilled in various ninjutsu escape techniques, making her very hard to kill.


    However, his frustration was fleeting.


    Although he hadn''t obtained the "truth," fortunately, the Demon de had ended up in his hands, which was already a significant gain.


    After chasing far out just now, Su Lun thought it over and quickly ran back towards the direction of the vige.


    But when he returned to the valley, he was once again shocked by the scene before him.


    Not long ago, it was still "Sword Forging Vige," but now it had turned into a pile of ruins. Like it had been through a great fire, in the snowynd, the former houses were only left with some charred wooden stakes. There were also corpses everywhere.


    Su Lun stood in the snowynd, his expression growing increasingly solemn as he looked at the scene before him. His left eye gleamed brilliantly, turning frequently, yet he could not detect any anomalies.


    He naturally judged that these charred marks were at least a year and a half old.


    This was the real "Sword Forging Vige."


    But what about the Sword Forging Vige he had seen before?


    What about those "living people"?


    If it were not for the "Ghost Circle Baimoku Sojo" in his hand and the real touchable corpses, he would really feel as if tonight''s experience was a dream.


    Su Lun wandered around the vige, reaping some spoils of war, and after not finding any clues that could solve his puzzles, he quickly left the valley.


    The Sword Forging Vige was seeping strangeness from all quarters, and even in the chilly wind and heavy snow, he did not want to stay overnight.


    The female ninja was very likely to return, and if one could not beat her alone, she could call for others.


    ...


    Su Lun walked through the mountains, clearing his own trails as he went.


    Now that the ninth fleet''s vanguard was almost entirely wiped out, Su Lun''s original infiltration n naturally no longer worked.


    Thinking it over, he contacted the gambler widow.


    "Sister Qian Tiao, I''ve run into some situations..."


    He briefly exined the previous situation.


    Soon, a response came from themunicator, "That''s good, the n to assassinate ''Rune Old Man'' had a bit of an ident, and I''ve run into a bit of trouble and need your help..."

 Chapter 308 Shinfuku Mitsuko

    Su Lun braved the snowstorm and left Sword Forging Vige, and didn''t encounter any further idents along the way.


    Mountain Hermit Country did have monsters, but not to the extent that you''d run into a horde just by walking around, as had happened before.


    Because it was premeditated, the vanguard of the Tenth Fleet had been scattered, and the crisis had naturally been resolved.


    Su Lun traveled dozens of miles by night, stumbling upon a few wild beasts thatcked foresight and casually killing them, then found a cave to spend the night.


    Early the next morning, he changed into the attire of a ronin from Mountain Hermit Country and left the Izumo region, heading for Chikada.


    Senjo said she had run into a bit of trouble, and he needed to go there.


    Although Mountain Hermit was poor, it was fortunate that there were horse carriage roads between the domains, and though the roads were in poor condition and muddy with snow, they were passable by carriage. Of course, that also meant they could be traversed by a mechanic motorcycle.


    With a few hundred kilometers between the domains, it would not be timely to rely on his legs alone. Su Lun took out mechanical parts he had prepared in his storage space and assembled a steam off-road motorcycle, then raced along the road. Where there was a road, he rode; where there was a vige, he tried to avoid it, using the eight-armed spider spear to cross mountains and ridges.


    Finally, by the afternoon of the second day, he reached the agreed-upon location, the bamboo sea of Chikada Ryun Vige.


    ...


    At the same time, several people were hurrying along the road in a slightly disheveled state.


    The person in the lead was Senjo, and beside her was a pale-faced man dressed as a samurai, who would have been recognized by Su Lun as the one he had seen outside the "Nagano-ya Geisha House" before. Behind them followed Lolota, holding a sword, and several ck-clothed ninjas wearing masks.


    The group had various injuries, with bloodstains on their clothing, new and old. It seemed they had been through several battles without time to tend their wounds and had been fleeing in haste. Especially Senjo, who had several congealed scabs on her body, but even weirder were the enigmatic sealing symbols densely covering her hands. The runes glowed subtly, as if rusted machinery, making her limbs extremely stiff.


    As the sky darkened, their expressions became increasingly grave.


    As if something terrible would descend upon thend once night fell.


    The pale-faced man, anxiety written across his features and a gentle, apologetic demeanor, said, "Miss Senjo, I''m sorry, the failure of this operation is because I didn''t provide detailed enough information, dragging you down with me. We simply can''t kill the ''Ghost Samurai;'' if we keep this up, I''m afraid we''ll all be wiped out. They are after me; you don''t need to risk your life following me any longer..."


    Even though they had been chased for three days and nights, Senjo''s valorous face showed not a hint of fear. Hearing this, she shook her head with a firm tone, "Having epted employment, it is natural to keep the promise and protect you to the end."


    The pale-faced man, unable to hide his gentle aura in distress, said, "No, what I mean is, the employment ends here. Since it''s our information that was faulty, Miss Senjo, you aren''t breaking the contract by not joining us in dangerous predicaments..."


    Senjo, upon hearing this and looking towards the distant bamboo forest, spoke again, "The situation isn''t that bad yet; my reinforcements should have already arrived."


    "Reinforcements?"


    Hearing this, the pale-faced man looked surprised, "But... this is Sagara of Uesugi, a person from the Shogunate. He must have received orders by now and is gathering samurai to hunt us down. Even if reinforcements doe, it''ll likely be bad news at this point..."


    This is Mountain Hermit Country, and all the domains have received orders to kill, making any number of reinforcements futile.


    Senjo didn''t argue and thought of something, "Let''s try it. That guy is rather formidable. As long as we can take care of the Ghost Samurai, there shouldn''t be a big problem."


    Having said thus, the pale-faced man didn''t continue to insist.


    The group approached the bamboo forest and soon spotted a ronin with a wide-brimmed hat waiting on the road ahead.


    Everyone tensed up in an instant, and the ninja guards had already drawn their swords.


    However, Senjo recognized the person with one nce, rxed slightly, and called out, "You''re here, huh?"


    Naturally, the ronin with the hat was Su Lun.


    He looked at the ragged state of the few people before him, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Senjo, I''m not toote, am I?"


    Senjo smiled, "You''re just in time."


    Behind her, Lolota looked at Su Lun. Although she didn''t recognize his disguised appearance, recognizing the voice, she guessed that this was Mr. Su Lun, the one who had helped them counterattack "Cyclops" Sock back in Blizzard City!


    Recalling how he had single-handedly controlled a puppet army to withstand a thousand foes at sea, her little face immediately lit up with excitement.


    Since they were quite familiar, she didn''t hold back and greeted, "Mr. Su Lun!"


    Su Lun smiled, walked over, and patted her head, "Lolota, long time no see."


    Hearing their conversation, the pale-faced man, guarded by four ninjas, started in surprise; this was the assistance Senjo mentioned?


    His gaze swept around the bamboo forest and saw no one else.


    Only one person?


    This was the assistance?


    But, he didn''t seem very strong.


    Naturally, Su Lun also recognized the group from the soul fire within them as the people he saw before at "Nagano-ya Geisha House," the ones who had tried to assassinate the "Demon Sword" Ashi with Senjo.


    Seeing the "Twelve Good Craftsman''s Famed Sword ''Kiku-pattern Jingu Guard''" in Lolota''s hands, he knew that their assassination was sessful.


    Thinking of the trouble Senjo mentioned, it seemed they had attempted to assassinate "Rune Old Man" and had failed...


    The course of events was bing clear.


    To kill a son first, then his father, was to wipe out the Mountain Hermit Country Shogunate General''s entire family.


    Though he didn''t know why they wished to do so.


    Yet, having failed in their assassination, the situation didn''t look good at all.


    Senjo''s soul fire was stronger than before, likely having advanced to the fifth rank. But her aura was very bizarre, and noting her hands covered in runes, Su Lun frowned and asked, "Senjo, what''s wrong with your hands?"


    "A small problem."


    Qian Tiao still wore a carefree expression, "When I attempted to assassinate the Rune Old Man earlier, he got me with a sealing rune. The meridians in both my hands are restricted, preventing the flow of dark spiritual power, so I can''t use it for now. But it''s not a big issue, it''s not life-threatening."


    After a pause, she nced at Su Lun again and asked without any pretense, "Young man Su Lun, can you solve it? Otherwise, it might get tricky when it gets dark."


    A light shed in Su Lun''s left eye as he examined the mystical runes on Qian Tiao''s arms, as if analyzing strands of data code, his mind swiftly deconstructing and interpreting to find the correct method of breaking the seal.


    Momentster, he gave up and said solemnly, "The structure of this sealing rune is veryplex, it appears to be a ''Hexa-Rune Chain Variant'' of the Anti-Magic Runenguage; the caster has set multiple traps, forcing a solution could injure you. I''ve detected some leads, but it may take a significant amount of time to break the seal."


    Rune sealing is a bit like an encryption lock, which can only be opened with a specific way of encryption. If opened violently or incorrectly, it often either permanently locks or injures the victim of the spell.


    Hearing this, Qian Tiao raised her eyebrows slightly, sounding a bit serious, "This could be troublesome. If the seal cannot be broken, my strength will be greatly limited. Once the ghost warriorse out, you might have to deal with them."


    Su Lun looked at the sky; the winter sun always set early, and now the sky was darkening, with only a faint light lingering on the horizon, "Sister Qian Tiao, what exactly are these ''ghost warriors'' you mentioned? How strong are theypared to other professionals?"


    "Around the third or fourth rank, but the troublesome part is... they cannot be killed."


    Qian Tiao said thoughtfully.


    Recalling the dangers along the way, she added, "They''re a kind of hellish yokai, somewhat like ghost types that only appear at night. The minor ones are manageable; though they can''t be killed, they''re not too threatening. The most troublesome is a major demon wearing a general''s armor, with considerable demonic power. The armor is impervious to des, and even if you kill its host, it will resurrect infinitely after death..."


    "I see..."


    Su Lun was listening to Qian Tiao''s introduction, forming a rough concept of the ''ghost warriors'' in his mind.


    They sounded like entities that ignored physical damage, were immune to most spells, and resurrected after death... some sort of armored demon?


    Indeed, traditional tactics would seem futile against them.


    Meanwhile, the pale-faced man who had been observing Su Lun by Qian Tiao''s side suddenly interjected, "Sir, I know some information about this monster..."


    She had been listening to their conversation all along and knew that this man was a reinforcement trusted immensely by Miss Qian Tiao.


    Although she was surprised that Su Lun was alone, hisposure clearly indicated his strength.


    She felt it necessary to share all the intelligence she had so they could face the situation together.


    On hearing this, Su Lun slightly turned his attention toward her, he''d been preupied with Qian Tiao until now and hadn''t noticed the others.


    Seeing this, Qian Tiao managed to interject and introduce her, "This is Princess Shinfuku Mitsuko. Uh... her status is somewhat special."


    Special?


    Princess Shinfuku Mitsuko?


    Was this a woman?


    No wonder he had felt that the pale-faced man spoke with a certain softness.


    But for some reason, Su Lun actually felt it was better that she was a woman.


    After all, since assimting the "X Serum," which boosted his charm over ten points, he hadn''t encountered anyone who overwhelmed him in looks.


    Previously, he thought this fair-faced individual was a match,


    but now that he discovered she was a woman,


    his mood suddenly improved.


    Sensing the hesitation in Qian Tiao''s words, Su Lun also perceived her unique status.


    Qian Tiao didn''t borate further and directly introduced Su Lun as well, "This is my friend, Su Lun."


    Upon hearing Qian Tiao''s introduction, the Princess bowed deeply at a ny-degree angle, performing a greeting typical of Mountain Hermit Country.


    Pausing briefly as if she felt it would be impolite to keep hiding her identity in this situation, she introduced herself, "My name is Shinfuku Mitsuko. It''s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Su Lun."


    At this revtion, Su Lun was suddenly enlightened.


    The Shinfuku family?


    If he wasn''t mistaken, Mountain Hermit Country only had one ce with that surname.


    It was the royal family of Edo in Mountain Hermit Country.


    Was she royalty?


    Not at all surprised that someone would show such a reaction upon hearing her name, Shinfuku Mitsuko said, "I apologize, Mr. Su Lun, but there''s no time for details now. The ghost warriors will likely appear soon..."


    Upon hearing the name and considering the situation in Mountain Hermit Country, Su Lun guessed why they had attempted to assassinate the "Mountain Hermit Old Man," who was the Shogunate General.


    He didn''t press for details, but nodded instead, "Alright, Princess, please exin the situation with the ghost warriors."


    Shinfuku Mitsuko began to exin, "The armor is the famed ''Iron Red Scale Coating Five te Harness'' from two hundred years ago, belonging to one of the strongest warriors of that era. It was the armor of Grand General Oda Nobuo from the Warring States period, who was killed by a traitorous vassal during the Honnoji Incident, leaving his lingering resentment embedded in the armor, which turned it into a powerful demon. Those ghost warriors were likewise transformed from the resentment of his subordinates... I''m not sure how those from the ck Dragon found them..."


    Mountain Hermit Country is known for its famed swords, and its armors are simrly exquisite.


    However, due to theplex craftsmanship and low production of such armor, which included weak spots for swordsmen to exploit, it was only suitable for sword-wielding warriors and didn''t offer asprehensive protection as the full-body knightly te of Luying.


    As a result, Mountain Hermit Country''s armor wasn''t as renowned internationally.


    These ''ghost warriors'' were spirits of the armor?


    No, it should be the spirit of the armor.


    After hearing the intelligence, Su Lun felt a certain confidence in dealing with them.


    He suddenly thought of the Demon de "Onimaru Hyakume Masamune" he had just acquired.


    Intending it as a gift for Chitose, he took it out.


    "By the way, Chitose, I found a famed sword. Do you think you can use it?"


    As he spoke, Su Lun took out the long sword wrapped in an old monk''s robe.


    Chitose, hearing this, didn''t seem to care whether the sword was famous or not, but was more interested in the gesture itself, smiling with raised eyebrows: "Oh, is this a gift from you, Su Lun?"


    "Yes."


    Su Lun nodded, a calm smile on his face.


    He unfolded the robe to reveal the snow-white scabbard and spoke gravely, "This de is a bit sinister. Be careful with it and see if you can use it."


    Chitose hadn''t realized the sword''s particrities yet, but affected by Su Lun''s tone, she took him seriously and casually asked, "What kind of sword is it that''s got you so tense, kid?"


    The Demon de was very still, slowly revealing its true form.


    Just then, Shinfuku Mitsuko, who was nearby, recognized the handle that was showing. She couldn''t help eximing in shock, "Is this... the Demon de Masamune?"


    Others might not recognize it, but how could she, a princess from the Mountain Hermit royal family, not know?


    The moment she spoke, her face dramatically changed, and the four ninjas by her side also took on a stance as if they were facing a great enemy, retreating a good distance.


    "Demon de?"


    Upon hearing the name, Chitose was surprised, but more than that, she felt an expectation and excitement: "Is this the legendary famed sword ''Onimaru Hyakume Masamune''?"


    "Yes."


    Su Lun shrugged, seeing her reaction, and didn''t forget to add a word of caution, "That''s why I''m telling you it''s tricky."


    "Where did you find it, kid?" Read exclusive adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    When Chitose heard it was indeed the famous sword of great renown, her eyes immediately glimmered a faint green.


    This was the pinnacle treasure that all swordsmen dream of!


    When the robe was removed, just by looking at the scabbard, her excitement came out in a soft cry, "What a magnificent sword!"


    Which swordsman could resist the temptation of a famed sword, especially when it was ranked third among unparalleled famed swords?


    "It''s a long story; I can exinter when we have time. This sword..."


    Su Lun knew Chitose''s character all too well; he had seen that gold-sparkling eagerness at the gambling table, clearly showing she was hooked.


    He was about to warn her again about the evil nature of the de when someone else spoke up first.


    "Miss Chitose, be careful! Don''t touch that sword!"


    Shinfuku Mitsuko, who was nearby, suddenly interrupted, warning with a grave expression.


    Although she didn''t know why Su Lun had the Demon de, she knew that no one could control it.


    Thinking that Su Lun and Chitose weren''t aware of the sword''s terrifying nature, she hastily said, "This sword has the great demon ''Hundred Eyes Demon King'' sealed within. It''s said to have be a hellish demonic weapon, and all its previous owners have met untimely deaths, resulting in endless ughter... It''s simply not something a living person can control!"


    With someone else taking over the exnation, Su Lun saved his breath and supported her statement, "Princess Mitsuko is right."


    He also raised his eyebrows, looking at Chitose and added, "So, Chitose, see if you can use it or not. If not, just keep it with me for the time being..."


    "Hmm. I''ve already sensed the demonic power."


    Chitose''s excitement faded, reced by an utterly solemn demeanor, as if she were facing a very sacred decision.


    A good sword chooses its master.


    Likewise, a swordsman also chooses a sword that fits them.


    As she looked at the legendary famed sword, Chitose truly couldn''t look away.


    She listened to Su Lun''s cautionary words but still took a deep breath and reached out her hand, unwavering, wanting to grasp the Demon de.


    Su Lun was still worried and asked, "Are you sure?"


    "Yes! But I may also die."


    Chitose appeared indifferent, as if she had prepared herself for death in an instant, and firmly said, "I have no regrets. This is the resolve one has from the moment they start wielding a sword."


    With that, she nced at Su Lun, her eyes shimmering, and nodded slightly, "Thank you, regardless. I really like this gift."


    "..."


    Su Lun said no more.


    He was well aware of Chitose''s temperament; once she had made up her mind, she would go through with it.


    Mr. Jing once said that Chitose''s progress in the Sword Dao was directly rted to her genuine dedication to it.


    In her world, what she loved most was undoubtedly the sword.


    However, as it was a gift from him, and she was still in his presence, how could Su Lun let Chitose fall into danger?


    Silken threads had already silently covered Chitose''s entire body, ready to control her immediately if anything went wrong.


    As for spiritual distortion and the like, Su Lun had plenty of experience to deal with it.


    If things truly got out of hand, he would first sever the control of the nerves over the body, tie the person up, and take them to the sacrednd of the Dalu n to seek Yuta''s help in dealing with it.


    Su Lun was almostpletely confident.


    ...


    The Shinfuku Mitsuko nearby, however, was unaware of this. She watched as Chiyo nned to draw the "Demon de" forbidden by the Mountain Hermit, anxious and wanting to say something to dissuade her.


    But just at that moment, a ghostly apparition of a fire-haired Rakshasa Woman burst forth from Chiyo''s body, seething with blood and vapor.


    Upon a closer look, her whole demeanor had suddenly be unreachably high.


    Her Rakshasa aura actually resonated from afar with the demonic power of the de, as if one were seeing two fierce mes burning.


    "From now on, I shall be your master, is that fine..."


    Chiyo took the "Onimaru Hundred Eyes Soujirou" and muttered to herself as if speaking to an old friend, caressing the de with a face full of fascinated devotion.


    With a "ng," the sharp de slid from its sheath, and demonic energy surged skyward.


    Su Lun frowned upon seeing this and his fingers trembled slightly, already preparing himself.


    He had felt the weirdness of this Demon de firsthand before, and knew very well that this was the most dangerous moment.


    At this point, Chiyo''s aura was shing intensely with the Demon de, as though she were taming a wild horse. The red glint in her eyes had already lit up, and the ghostly Rakshasa behind her became more and more solid.


    The Rakshasa Woman had obtained a de from hell, and it was as if the gates of hell had opened and she could see the endlessndscapes of theherworld in her eyes.


    Even Su Lun, as a bystander, broke out in a cold sweat in an instant.


    Chiyo, now holding the Demon de, seemed increasingly unfamiliar to him. She appeared neither human nor ghost, closer to a divine being...


    If it hadn''t been for the steadfast determination in her eyes, Su Lun would have no hesitation in controlling her and sheathing the de again.


    ...


    The overwhelming demonic power and Chiyo''s already grand sword master level of oppressive feeling made Su Lun''s scalp tingle.


    The moment the Demon de was unsheathed, the Shinto Shrine Maiden and several Ninja guards had already retreated dozens of meters, their faces extremely solemn. Lolota had also been pulled far away by some threads to avoid the range of the overflowing Sword Qi.


    Only Su Lun did not retreat half a step, fully focused on observing Chiyo''s condition.


    The Shinfuku Mitsuko, seeing the situation potentially getting out of control, bit her silver teeth, pulled out a string of golden bells, and suddenly a majestic aura also rose from her. It was another indescribable sensation that seemed toe from a high-ranking deity, ready to intervene if anything went wrong and prevent Chiyo from sumbing to the de''s possession.


    "Kagura bells? A Shinto Shrine Maiden?"


    Su Lun caught a glimpse of this scene from the corner of his eye and faintly guessed the Mitsuko''s profession, somewhat surprised.


    But at this moment, he couldn''t afford to think about anything else.


    He knew this was a critical moment for Chiyo to conquer the Demon de. Now was not the time for disorder, nor was it time to retreat. However, under the dual pressure of hierarchy and spiritual power, Su Lun was also struggling to endure.


    That "Demon de Soujirou" in the hands of an exceptional sword wielder truly unleashed that world-defying, overwhelming demonic power.


    Su Lun also faintly felt that things seemed to be getting out of hand.


    The most dangerous aspect was that he saw the resolve in Chiyo''s eyes starting to waver.


    Chiyo suppressed the Demon de with her Sword Intent and aura, but the Hundred Eyes Demon King sealed within the de seemed unwilling to be controlled and struggled more and more fiercely.


    Both sides released ever-rising spiritual power.


    Because she was a friend, she had never released her killing intent towards Su Lun before.


    Now, directly confronting this aura, the Sword Intent oppressed Su Lun to the point where every hair on his body seemed to burst.


    Su Lun, caught in the middle like a small boat floating on stormy seas, felt as if the surrounding tempest could overturn him at any moment.


    Yet at the same time, the towering demonic aura also stirred up the violence in his heart, and a red light shed in his eyes.


    In the next instant, a ghostly apparition holding a ck scythe suddenly rose behind Su Lun.


    As the apparition manifested, a mysterious air enveloped the entire scene, drastically reducing the pressure. In an instant, the energies in the area were at a three-way standstill.@@novelbin@@


    Su Lun appeared as if the true embodiment of Death had descended, his eyes dominating and unmatched. He red at the de of the Demon de where one after another vicious blood eye opened, his thoughts inexplicably irritable. If this damned de really hurt Chiyo, no matter how good the de was, it would be of no use!


    As if sensing Su Lun''s thoughts, the hysterical demonic energy of the Demon de suddenly retracted a bit.


    Chiyo''s right hand, which was holding the de, finally stopped trembling more intensely. She switched to gripping the hilt with both hands, while the ghostly apparition of the Rakshasa Woman behind her also slowly started to form an evil longsword in her hands.


    The storm was abating.


    ...


    "Lord of the Netherworld, Rakshasa Divine General..."


    At the same time, not far away, the Shinto Shrine Maiden holding the Kagura bells was utterly astonished. She watched the scene of the two confronting with their sword auras with disbelief shimmering in her eyes: "They...they..."


    No wonder she was regarded by Sister Chiyo as reinforcement. So this Mr. Su Lun is truly that powerful!


    (PS. Lord of the Netherworld ¡Ö the title for Death within the Mountain Hermit nation''s Shinto religious system)

 Chapter 309 Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi

    In the boundless bamboo sea, the rustling never ceased to the ear, as the wind and snow blew, sounding like the continuous roar of the ocean waves.


    No one spoke; everyone watched the astonishing phenomenon in front of them with tense attention.


    The Reaper, Six-Armed me Asura Woman, and the phantom of the great centipede demon conjured by the Demon de...


    Though Su Lun didn''t know what had happened before, he could tell that Chitose trusted the Shinto Shrine Maiden called Shinfuku Mitsuko. To ensure Chitose safely subdued the Demon de, he disregarded everything else and decisively used the second-tier ability of the Reaper to suppress the evil energy.


    Fortunately, after the sword intent and the malevolent Qi contended for a while, the red light in Chitose''s eyes gradually receded.


    Su Lun also breathed a sigh of relief.


    Finally, the redness fully retracted from Chitose''s eyes, and her gaze became clear again. The long sword in her hands reverted from its fierce open-eyed state to its original pure white appearance.


    "Tsk, tsk, tsk..."


    Chitose clicked her tongue in amazement, swung a beautiful flourish with her sword, then sheathed it, not forgetting to express her admiration, "What an exceptional sword. Compared to the ''Kiku-pattern Jing¨± Ichisuke'' ranked twelfth, this one ranked third is on apletely different level."


    Seeing that she had fully contained her aura, Su Lun finally asked, "Have you subdued it?"


    "Not yet."


    Chitose raised an eyebrow, nced at Su Lun with a touch of helplessness, and said, "The hundred-eyed spirits sealed in this Demon de were just frightened by you, that''s why they''ve temporarily capitted. It won''t be easy to truly subdue it; it requires daily nurturing with Sword Qi."


    "..."


    Hearing this, Su Lun''s brow furrowed slightly, and he hesitated over whether to persuade her further.


    This Demon de felt like a ticking time bomb, unpredictable in its potential to explode.


    Yet, unexpectedly, Chitose seemedpletely unconcerned, casually affixing the de to her waist with an air of great satisfaction.


    She looked at Su Lun beside her, then hugged his shoulder openly andughed, "I really like your gift."


    Seeing her demeanor, Su Lun knew he wouldn''t be able to dissuade her and shrugged, saying, "As long as you like it."


    He had already made up his mind to keep an eye on this gambling-addicteddy''s condition, lest she be harmed by the Demon de.


    ....


    The onlookers who were at a distance, seeing that Chitose was safe and sound, all approached.


    Lolota ran over excitedly with a bright face, shouting, "Teacher!"


    Although the girl was young, she was also a formidable swordsman. Her gaze likewise fixed on the ''Onimaru Hyakumezsou Masanori'' at Chitose''s waist, unable to look away, "Teacher, do you want me to hold your sword for you?"


    She wanted to touch it but was stopped by Chitose, "You can''t handle this sword at your current realm."


    Lolota pouted, her face full of regret, "Oh."


    Then, Shinfuku Mitsuko approached, patting her chest as if a weight had been lifted, let out a long breath, and said, "Miss Chitose, what you did just now was really too risky."


    She was still somewhat frightened and could also see that the malicious energy lingered around the de, saying, "This Demon de holds the souls of countless who perished by its cuts, souls that not even the high monks of Senso-ji Temple could purify after years of chanting. Now that you carry it with you, it might bring you..."


    Before she could finish, Mitsuko noticed the resolve of Chitose, the swordsman, and she swallowed her remaining words.


    Thinking it over, Mitsuko then untied a red string from the handle of her Kagura bell and tied it to the end of the Demon de''s hilt,pleting it with a beautiful knot.


    Su Lun appraised it for a moment, realizing that the red string was actually the Shinto spiritual implement "Amaterasu Exorcism String," which had the effect of warding off evil and subduing demons. Moreover, the effect was not weak; measured against alchemic items, it could also be considered of high quality. This gift was far from light.


    With this string, the malevolent spirits sealed within the de would be greatly restricted if they sought to cause trouble.


    The ethereal red string adorned the snowy-white de, instantly diminishing its sinister aura and making it look even more attractive. Chitose liked this new aesthetic, and she thanked Mitsuko, "Thank you, Miss Mitsuko."


    "It''s nothing."


    Mitsuko nodded her head gently, showing a soft and gentle side of a woman, indicating she had no intention of continuing with her male disguise from before.


    She then turned her gaze back toward Su Lun, asking curiously, "Mr. Su Lun, if I may be so bold as to ask, how did youe by this Demon de?"


    Her look towards Su Lun was entirely different now. After seeing the phantom of the Lord of the Netherworld, she knew that the man before her was far from ordinary.


    "It''s a long story..."


    The experience at the Sword Forging Vige had also left Su Lun puzzled, and considering Miss Mitsuko was a Shinto Shrine Maiden of the Mountain Hermit nation, he thought she might know more.


    He then recounted the situation, "I went to ''Sword Forging Vige'' before, and something strange happened..."


    Upon hearing this, the bystanders listening to the bizarre experience all wore faces of disbelief.


    Chitose eximed in astonishment, "You saw a destroyed vige before, and the people inside were all alive?"


    After all, she knew that Su Lun possessed the talent of the All-knowing Eye and could not be fooled by illusions.


    Therefore, the situation became all the more eerie.


    If it weren''t for the guide who was actually a Ninja in disguise, one could really say it was "monsters causing chaos" with no one able to find any ws.


    But with the appearance of that Ninja, it was clearly a man-made trap.


    Someone had artificially controlled the abnormalities of Sword Forging Vige.


    Even after hearing the story, Shinfuku Mitsuko wore a puzzled look on her face.


    After pondering for a moment, she said, "The Demon de had been enshrined in the Sword Forging Vige''s shrine for over a hundred years, a fact known by very few. But a year ago, Sword Forging Vige was suddenly engulfed by a bizarre fire, all vigers died, and ''Onimaru Hyakume Munemasa'' also vanished without a trace. It''s said to be the work of monsters, but the intelligence I received points to the involvement of the ck Dragon syndicate in the background."


    Being a royal princess, she naturally knew some hidden information.


    On hearing this, Chitose''s beautiful visage tensed, "Are you saying, the mastermind behind this is also the ck Dragon syndicate?"


    "Mm."


    The Princess nodded, "Mr. Su Lun said that the person was skilled in Ninjitsu and controlling demons, probably a member of the Koga Ninja n. The ck Dragon syndicate has many skilled members from the Ninja ns. They are loyal to the Takeda Shogunate."


    Su Lun, hearing this "also", seemingly guessed what Chitose and the others had experienced.


    The ck Dragon syndicate is thergest organization in Mountain Hermit, somewhat like a mafia but also serving as a semi-official intelligence agency. The organization is mainly active in the Edo region, with a mixed membership of ronin, Ninjas, martial artists, merchants, and various performers from the underworld.


    Their puppet master, it is said, is the Shogunate General Takeda Nobuyasu (the alias of the Rune Old Man).


    However, linking these facts, the logic also worked out. The agents of the King of the North Sea wereing to collect taxes and dere sovereignty, which would most affect the power holders of Mountain Hermit: the Shinfuku royal family and, of course, the Shogunate General with significant authority.


    Having a motive to dispatch someone to assassinate is also usible.


    But Su Lun had little interest in power struggles. He was more curious about the ''year of disappearance'' and directly asked, "Princess, do you know why I saw the already destroyed Sword Forging Vige? Moreover, I am certain that I saw living people."


    Upon hearing this, the Princess also showed a look of confusion, and after thinking it over, she said, "I''m not quite sure what that situation was. However, in our Mountain Hermit, there''s a legend that the heavenly god ''Lord Tsukiyomi'' has the power to create realistic illusions. It''s said that under that type of Illusion Technique, everything ispletely identical to the real world..."


    Illusion Technique?


    Su Lun frowned upon hearing this and looked up at the sky.


    This answer did not help to resolve his confusion.


    He had the All-knowing Eye, and unless this Illusion Technique was so advanced that it was beyond the scope of cognition, it would not be possible for him to miss any sign.


    And besides, this was only a "legend," which was not very reliable.


    He had previously studied some customs of Mountain Hermit and knew that people here worshiped a great number of gods, said to number in the tens of thousands.


    The most famous of these were the sun god "Amaterasu Omikami"; and the moon god "Lord Tsukiyomi," also known as "Tsukuyomi-no-Mikami," the deity governing the night.


    However, these were mythological tales; the era was too remote to distinguish between truth and fiction.


    At least the nature gods worshipped by the Dalu n still exist. The many gods of Mountain Hermit are now just stories to be listened to.


    The Princess perhaps sensed Su Lun''s thought and said with a sincere face, "Honestly, I am a Shinto Shrine Maiden of the Sugaha Shrine lineage. Although Shinto''s influence is now weak, the gods truly exist. Mr. Su Lun, your situation, can only be most logically exined this way."


    "Mm."


    Su Lun, having listened, did not say much more; although he was an Alchemist, he still respected other people''s religious beliefs.


    Chitose, on the other hand, seemed to think of something, speaking with a grave expression, "Now that you mention it, I do recall some details of the previous assassination attempt."


    Pausing, she added, "When we went to assassinate Takeda Nobuyasu, and that unexpected change urred, could that not have been the same method? Otherwise, how could it be that you, Princess, had no hint at all."


    Upon hearing this, the Princess seemed to realize something, her expression bing serious, "I had always thought Takeda was the biggest enemy, but now it seems there might be an even more deeply hidden presence behind him. Otherwise, our well-prepared assassination should not have failed..."


    The assassination attempt had failed in a very strange way.


    Until now, no one could understand where the problemy.


    ....


    Su Lun listened to the two people''s brief analysis and rey of events and also roughly understood what they had been up to before.


    In the Mountain Hermit Kingdom, the "Shinfuku n" of the divine royal family seemed to be in power nominally.


    But in reality, the actual authority was controlled by Takeda Nobuyasu, the Shogunate General, and many of the lords were also obedient to the shogunate.


    The imperial power was in name only.


    Furthermore, Su Lun also gleaned that there were some issues rted to faith, which seemed to shake the foundation of the divine right of the Mountain Hermit Kingdom''s imperial power.


    Therefore, the royal family wanted to reim their power.


    But with the Shogunate General holding significant power, it would be impossible to overthrow him by normal means.


    The only way was assassination.


    Shinfuku Mitsuko, the royal princess, had been secretly preparing for years to resolve the Takeda Shogunate through assassination.


    Continue your adventure at My Virtual Library Empire


    And this time, it was about secretly recruiting a group of experts to ambush in the Edo residence.


    However, the assassination n, which was supposed to be fail-proof, copsed due to some "bizarre mishap."


    The circumstances were so strange that Senjo didn''t understand how they had failed.


    From the Princess, Su Lun also learned about the "Rune Old Man''s" experiences after defecting from the Emperor Luying''s empire to Mountain Hermit. This guy indeed had capabilities, climbing from being a mere son-inw to his current position, just one step below the top, all within a mere twenty years.


    One would have thought he''d be the final boss, but the assassination revealed there were hidden forces behind the scenes.


    The more they analyzed the situation, the clearer it became. The Princess, after all, understood the state of Mountain Hermit. She suddenly said, "I''ve thought of someone!"


    Senjo apparently also knew some inside information and guessed, "Are you thinking of... Yoteihime?"


    "Yes!"


    The Princess nodded, "That woman appeared after Takeda made a name for himself. Many domestic authorities were infatuated with her beauty. Now that I think about it, it seems as if there are no connections between the two, and yet there are countless ties. Takeda''s smooth rise to Grand General definitely had some external force behind it!"


    "..."


    Su Lun listened with some confusion.


    The legendary "Number one beauty under heaven"?


    What did a courtesan have to do with governance?


    It sounded like yet another tale of a beauty causing the downfall of a nation.


    Although Su Lun wasn''t clear about what exactly happened, he was aware that the "Rune Old Man" had defected with a powerful cursed object.


    Could there be some connection?


    The Princess seemed to have grasped a crucial point and stated confidently, "That''s right! If we can escape this time, we must thoroughly investigate that woman''s background when we return to Edo."


    ...


    Watching the few people talking without any sign of leaving the bamboo forest, one of the Princess''s guards suddenly returned and said, "Um... Your Royal Highness Princess, shouldn''t we leave now? After nightfall, the [Ghost Warriors] will likely appear."


    Upon hearing this, the Princess nced at Senjo and then turned her questioning gaze to Su Lun.


    She already knew that the "reinforcements" before her were not to be underestimated.


    Currently unable to shake off the pursuit, she could only rely on these two people.@@novelbin@@


    Senjo, too, understood the current situation and asked Su Lun, "Are you confident?"


    Su Lun replied with a rxed face, "I''ve made some preparations, and I''m somewhat confident. However, I haven''t seen the [Ghost Warriors] with my own eyes, so I don''t know if the measures I''ve prepared will really be effective."


    Whether he could win or not, he wasn''t a hundred percent sure.


    But he felt quite confident about escaping and saving their lives.


    So there was no need to feel urgent.


    "Let''s give it a try then. If we keep on running like this, we''ll be cornered sooner orter anyway."


    Hearing this, Senjo didn''t say much; she simply sat down casually on the ground, heaving a sigh of relief, "I''ve hardly had a moment of peace in these three days and nights; it''s a good time to rest now."


    As she spoke, she looked at Su Lun and said nonchntly, "I''m counting on youter."


    "I''ll do my best,"


    Su Lun responded with a wry smile.


    But since he was there to help, naturally he would give it his all.


    Upon seeing Chisen''s demeanor, Shinfuku Mitsuko also let out a small sigh of relief. She was always very polite, bowing and saying, "Mr. Su Lun, thank you for your trouble."


    Su Lun was still somewhat unustomed to this formality and quickly said, "Please don''t mention it."


    At that moment, it seemed Chisen had thought of something. She took out a pottery jar from the cloth bag behind her and then pulled out a scroll, saying to Su Lun, "Oh right, these are for you."


    "For me?"


    Su Lun felt surprised. He looked at the dark pottery jar, which was identified as the "Soul Sealing Jar."


    "Yes!"


    Chisen saidzily, "Didn''t you say you wanted the Magician''s heritage? That''s what the scroll is. And inside the pottery jar is the sealed soul of ''Ghost Sword'' Ashi; that guy''s rune expertise is not bad, I think you might need it. You owe Princess a thanks for her help."


    "Ah...?"


    Su Lun, hearing this, looked at the two items in his hands in disbelief.


    The main reason he hade to Mountain Hermit was to find the Magician''s heritage and then create the "Replica of the Primal Rune" to advance to the fourth order.


    Now, he had it in his hands so easily?


    This gave him an almost dreamlike, unreal feeling.


    Princess, being perceptive, seemed to guess something and interjected appropriately, "Takeda initially came to Kamakura and, to quickly gain the trust of Lord Hosokawa, he handed over the heritage of the Secret Techniques he brought. Later, Hosokawa offered it to the imperial family, and that is the very one we have here. This was the condition of Chisen''s agreement to our employ. For this, she also took a big risk."


    Was this the condition for Chisen''s attempt to assassinate Rune Old Man?


    Su Lun, upon hearing this, finally understood that Chisen had already done so much for him without his knowledge.


    The most reliable way he had previously thought to acquire the Magician''s channel was toe to Mountain Hermit and target that "Rune Old Man." But a sixth-order professional was not so easy to kill, especially one who held military authority like the Shogunate General.


    Even the second before they spoke, Su Lun hadn''t thought of any other way to acquire the heritage, except for calling his senior sister to help.


    But now, the Secret Technique was in his hands, as if by some fantastic dream.


    Chisen, who seemed carefree and blithe on the outside, was actually very meticulous.


    Even with the Secret Technique, learning and mastering it required exceptional talent.


    She had also thoughtfully left the soul of ''Ghost Sword'' Ashi.


    Su Lun was not one to stand on ceremony, and with a raised eyebrow, he smiled, "Thanks, sister Chisen."


    Their rtionship was already quite close; they didn''t need the formality of exchanging gifts.


    As if he would hesitate to give Chisen a priceless Demon de.


    Chisen was dozing with closed eyes and, without looking straight at him, casually said, "It''s not asplicated as you think. I came to Mountain Hermit in search of the ''Sword Saint'' Akutagawa Ryuichi to ask for the true solution of the Sword Dao. Helping you out... was just a matter of convenience..."


    Su Lun smiled.


    He was very clear in his mind that the danger of this trip to Edo was not as easy as Chisen made it seem.


    ....


    Before long, nightfall came and the skypletely darkened.


    The group made their repairs in the bamboo forest. Tonight''s moonlight was beautiful, the bright white moonlight spilling over thend.


    Su Lun sat in meditation as usual, his expression unchanged, while Chisen beside him continued to sleep soundly, and Lolita, holding a sword, looked very tense.


    Not far away, the Princess and her ninja guards never lost the seriousness in their eyes, always keeping watch over the bamboo forest.


    After all, the pursuers wereing for them.


    Suddenly, a crow cawed "caw caw" from the bamboo branches.


    Hearing the noise, Su Lun abruptly opened his eyes, looking at the depths of the dark bamboo forest, and eximed, "They''re here!"

 Chapter 310 Divine Weapon Descends

    ```


    The repeated pursuits over the past few days had cast a deep shadow on Shinfuku Mitsuko and herpanions, and upon hearing Su Lun''s words, "They''re here," everyone immediately entered a state ofbat readiness. The group of ninja bodyguards instantly drew their weapons and closed in to protect the Princess.


    The atmosphere in the bamboo forest became instantly tense, and everyone could hear each other''s heavy breathing.


    The Princess nced at Senjo, but her gaze actually lingered on Su Lun, conveying an unmistakable meaning: What do we do now?


    Although she knew that Su Lun was certainly strong, he was after all just one person.


    The ghost warriors were fallen warriors who already died in battle. They were numerous and still employed their military formation and encirclement tactics from life, with formidablebat strength. The key issue was their undying nature¡ªthat was the most troublesome part. In such a situation, even fifth- or sixth-rank professionals would find no advantage in battle. Otherwise, their group would not have been decimated to this extent.


    If they were to sh head-on as they had in the past couple of days, there would undoubtedly be heavy casualties, and they might not evenst until dawn.


    With a formidable enemy on their heels, Senjo maintained her usual nonchnt demeanor of "indifference to life and death, quick to draw the de". She noticed the Princess''s gaze, shrugged her shoulders, and indicated for her to look at Su Lun at her side.


    Feeling the stares of several eyes on him, Su Lun appeared calm, but he was actually feeling a bit of pressure.


    Just by hearing how the ghost warriors had chased Senjo and the others to this miserable state let him know they were not to be underestimated.


    His original n beforeing here was that, if truly overpowered, he would take Senjo and Lolo Ta with him and flee.


    However, the reality was that the Princess was quite righteous, having urged them several times to split up and escape.


    This actually made Su Lun feel that running away without a fight would be kind of... dishonorable.


    Besides, it seemed Senjo''s intention was to repay a favor by ensuring the safety of the Princess as much as possible.


    Well then, he would give it his all.


    ...


    Senjo''s hands were sealed, and her hand seals were very stiff. What should have been an instant process to release the sixteen sorcerer''s seals on her prosthetic arms became a slow-motion performance, taking nearly half a minute to gather together. Her prosthetic arms were also restricted by anti-magic runes, and she barely conjured up two functioning prosthetic arms. She rested her hand on the hilt of the "Demon de Munemasa", and her entire presence suddenly became foreboding.


    Lolo Ta also drew her long sword, standing earnestly beside Senjo. The girl''s face transformed once the sword was unsheathed, disying fearless resolve on her youthful features.


    Compared to them, Su Lun was the most rxed.


    Having waited in the bamboo forest for nearly an hour in advance, he had already made all necessary preparations, and there was nothing left for him to do.


    Yet, hisck of activity was precisely what caused the leader of the ninja bodyguards protecting the Princess to twitch with anxiety. It was as if he found Su Lun unreliable, having wanted several times to urge his Princess to flee for her life. Still, as a loyal retainer, nobody dared to overstep.


    Without intending to exin himself, Su Lun held the Human Skin Rune Fan in his hand, carefully sensing the chilling spiritual bodies that had abruptly emerged in the bamboo forest.


    The Princess, on the other hand, looked unfazed. Seeing no other tactical arrangements from the "reinforcements", she presumed a head-on fight was inevitable and had mentally prepared herself for it. She gritted her teeth and also drew a longbow, slinging a quiver on her back, ready for closebat.


    However, she was also curious why this Mr. Su Lun could detect the arrival of enemies sooner than herself, a Shinto shrine maiden who was more sensitive to monsters and spirits?


    ...


    It wasn''t long after everyone enteredbat mode that a dense sound of footsteps suddenly filled the gloomy bamboo forest.


    It sounded like hundreds of people were encircling their small party, an utterly chilling sensation.


    A few breathster, they finally saw figures converging toward them.


    Upon closer inspection, they were soldiers d in tattered armor wielding spears and swords. Their eyes zed with blue phosphorescence within their eye sockets, like dried-up corpses.


    "So these are the ''ghost warriors''..."


    Su Lun observed the ghostly figures, having already assessed the details, and had a general sense of the situation.


    These were monsters with characteristics of both zombie and spectral types.


    If that were all, Su Lun didn''t think the problem was too big. After all, these creatures, Senjo said, had only thebat strength of first- or second-rank professionals.


    In the legends of the Mountain Hermit nation, humans and the dead coexist, with daytime being for humans to roam and nightfall belonging to those passed. Night was originally the time when yin energy was most intense, and with the appearance of the ghost warriors, the temperature plunged suddenly, creating an eeriness that seemed to shake one''s soul.


    However, Su Lun didn''t feel much of it. As a descendant of dark sorcerers, he had a high resistance to dark energies.


    The ninja bodyguards were visibly tense, these ghostly creatures having left far too many scars on them.


    The number of ghost warriors was overwhelming, estimated to be over six to seven hundred, and pairs of ghastly blue phosphorescent eyes were particrly unsettling in the pitch-ck bamboo forest.


    The leading monsters had approached to within a hundred meters of Su Lun and hispanions when the ninja bodyguards, with a rub of their hands, threw several shuriken which bore the Wind de Technique. Their attack was swift and razor-sharp, and well-hidden in the dark. Su Lun watched as a sh of light passed by, and the projectiles easily sheared through the bamboo, making a crisp "clink clink clink" as they struck a swath of ghost warriors, piercing through them.


    "Quite strong..."


    Su Lun''s eyes narrowed slightly.


    If the sustainability was not discussed, these elemental shuriken seemed even more lethal than regr alchemy bullets. Explore more adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    ```


    However, his attention was more focused on those ghost warriors who were struck.


    The guards by the Princess''s side were all master ninja of the highest level with strongbat capabilities, roughly equivalent to the strength of third or fourth-tier alchemy practitioners. As such, it was quite easy for them to y these ghost warriors, who were generally of the first or second tier. Just this round of shuriken had hit about ten or twenty ghost warriors, all of them striking vital points, and a tter of severed limbs and chunks of flesh fell to the ground.


    Surprisingly, as soon as the ghost warriors were killed, their bodies, which were solid, suddenly turned into a cloud of ck sand-like death energy and dissipated into the air.


    In the blink of an eye, that dark energy reformed, bing solid once again.


    Su Lun''s left eye shone brilliantly as he carefully observed the process of their elemental state turning back into corpses, his thoughts growing more active, "The ghost warriors'' transition from death to revival is a transformation from spiritual body to physical body, but their attacks are still physical, not too troublesome. And before they are killed again, they can be physically controlled. Moreover, since they are humanoid monsters, although dead, their body structures are still human... wondering if ''psychic tendrils'' could control them."


    This information was almost the same as what he had obtained from Qiantiao earlier.


    The ck crow on his shoulder cawed once, seemingly quite fond of the death energy. Su Lun narrowed his eyes, but his mind thought of another possibility, "If this could be used in the puppet legion, this property of being undying... a truly splendid thing! But where does their energye from?"


    ....


    Since they could reconstitute after dying, even several master ninja fighting vigorously couldn''t reduce the numbers of the ghost warrior army. Instead, they seemed to be steadily increasing, almost surrounding them in a siege formation.


    With the situation as it was, no one could afford to just watch. Even the Princess of the royal family, Shinfuku Mitsuko, had taken up her longbow and begun shooting arrows with great speed.


    Her arrows were no ordinary projectiles. As a Shinto shrine maiden who also had some mastery of spells, the mana-infused arrows were like beams of flowing light that instantly prated several ghost warriors. Those whose bodies were pierced burned to ash in the blink of an eye. Her speed at drawing arrows was incredibly fast, and her attack was the most lethal among the group.


    "The shrine maiden of Iga Shrine, Amaterasu Omikami, light magic spells..."


    Although the spell systems were different, Su Lun could tell that these were arrows imbued with a spread effect against undead creatures.


    Unfortunately, they were not very powerful.


    Having spent a considerable amount of time among the Dalu n, Su Lun had a full understanding of the capabilities of the divine faithful.


    With Shintoism in decline, all spells based on Shinto were simrly weak.


    This Princess could protect herself, but when it came to killing the enemy, she fell slightly short.


    Su Lun was still observing, watching the dispersed death energy reform without taking any action, "As I thought, there''s a source of death energy..."


    If they wanted to solve this pursuit, the problem wasn''t just with the ghost warriors.


    There was also the root of the problem.


    For instance:


    Why can''t they shake off these monsters?


    Who is controlling them?


    Is someone using some sort of special tracking method, or is the problem internal?


    In the eyes of ordinary people, many phenomena that cannot be exined are attributed to "supernatural events."


    Especially in countries like Mountain Hermit, where theocracy reigns, an air of mystery, untouchability, and ruling over the naivet¨¦ of the popce strengthens the power and faith of those in control. To some extent, the residents are "ignorant."


    Therefore, the ghost warriors are also beyondprehension.


    But in the eyes of an alchemist, energy is conserved.


    All seemingly bizarre phenomena have a root cause that can be traced back and understood.


    These ghost warriors are immortal, and there must be a reason for their immortality.@@novelbin@@


    Su Lun was still waiting.


    He felt that he was missing a crucial piece of the puzzle.


    ...


    Su Lun, this "reinforcement," hadn''t made a move but merely watched the situation with an unfazed gaze. This unusual behavior surprised everyone except for Qiantiao.


    But no one really had anything to say about it.


    Currently, they were reliving the nightmare of a few days ago, having no choice but to endure with their flesh and blood.


    Now that the ghost warriors hadpletely surrounded them, ranged attacks were no longer efficient, and everyone had to engage in closebat.


    And at that moment, the leader of the ghost warriors finally appeared!


    In Su Lun''s perception, a very powerful spiritual body emerged.


    Looking closer, a ghost warrior d in crimson warriors'' armor appeared in his vision.


    It wore a blood-red ghost mask, its breastteposed of five dark red steel tes fitted together, with shoulder armor and knee guards crafted from woven crimson dragon scales. This was the famous war armor of Mountain Hermit country, the ''Iron Red Scales Coated Five-te Armor''!


    Su Lun appraised the armor. The material, from the iron sheets to the bindings, was made of extremely rare substances. The breastte was crafted from meteoric iron, and those scales were indeed top-tier materials stripped from a seventh-order sea monster. The armor provided astonishing protection against both physical and magical attacks.


    The shuriken, which had easily dispatched ordinary ghost samurai before, merely sparked off this armor.


    Even the Princess''s arrows, when hitting the mark, only managed to disperse some lingering death qi, barely making an impact.


    With this individual''s arrival, everyone''s expressions became incredibly grave.


    This was the monster that had in too many of theirrades over these two days.


    Several ninjas drew their swords and rushed in, as did Lolohta.


    Before charging in, Senjo turned to Su Lun and said, "This guy''s armor has no weak points in defense, except for an inch behind the head on the left side where there''s a gap that can be exploited. But itsbat instincts are troublesome, making it extremely hard to kill. It only bes somewhat rigid when it is reassembling its body."


    "Hmm,"


    Su Lun nodded. With this intelligence, he could save a lot of effort.


    "I''m going!"


    Having said that, Senjo gave Su Lun a nce and dashed forward with his de drawn.


    In the blink of an eye, Senjo was locked in battle with the ghost samurai leader.


    Sword Qi flew in all directions, kicking up dust and debris, andrge swathes of green bamboo in the forest fell.


    The ghost samurai leader was killed and then revived, again and again...


    Su Lun had almostpletely figured out these monsters'' characteristics.


    Still, he remained inactive, his gaze sharp as he carefully scanned the surroundings of the bamboo forest, searching for something.


    ...


    Though the battle prowess of Senjo and the other top ninjas was strong, despite being at an absolute disadvantage in numbers, they did not fall back.


    But as the battle wore on, more enemies would join the fight, leading to the same oue as the previous days¡ªa fight to the death by attrition.


    Gradually, more ghost samurai emerged around them, and the group struggled to cope with the increasing numbers.


    The Princess Shinfuku Mitsuko''s frequency of drawing the bow and shooting arrows decreased significantly, and the potency of her light arrows also waned.


    Senjo''s situation did not look promising either. Her hands were sealed, making it difficult for her to wield her sword. The Demon de, which had not been tamed, seemed reluctant to be used, and apart from its sharpness, it did not exhibit the might it should have as the third-ranked de of the twelve craftsmanship.


    It didn''t take long for close calls to ur, and several top ninjas also sustained injuries.


    As the "reinforcements" everyone had hoped for, Su Lun''s performance was quite disappointing.


    He did not appear to be protecting Princess Shinfuku Mitsuko; rather, it seemed like she was protecting him.


    He stood by her side, calmly taking shots from a distance. asionally, he would draw his sword, which was not especially skillful, and cut down a few ghost samurai that drew near. After that, he did not take any more astonishing actions.


    Even the little girl Lolohta stole more attention than him when it came to eagerness in battle.


    At least, he was not worth the anticipation everyone had just shown.


    Finally, witnessing the situation turning ever more perilous, without any sign of improvement, the guard leader could no longer contain himself and shouted, "Your Royal Highness Princess, please leave! We will hold off these ghost samurai!"


    In this "reinforcement", they saw no glimmer of hope.


    If they dyed any longer, it would be toote!


    Previously, because he was a guest of Her Royal Highness Princess, the captain of the guards refrained from speaking his mind. But now, with life and death at stake, he could no longer afford the courtesy.


    He even began to doubt the "reinforcement''s" motives... Was he deliberately stalling?


    Hearing this, Princess Shinfuku Mitsuko also looked troubled.


    Although she suspected that Mr. Su Lun by her side was not giving it his all and seemed to be nning something, what could change even if he fought with all his might?


    Su Lun, hearing those words filled with obvious anger, remained expressionless, observing everything indifferently.


    If these people just left, it would save him a lot of trouble.


    After all, the only person he had rushed here to protect was Senjo.


    For outsiders who did not trust him, it was not a matter of whether they were worth saving, but that saving them would lead to furtherplications afterward.


    Moreover, he was not intentionally procrastinating.


    If no one fought desperately, the person controlling everything from behind would likely not show themselves.


    Even if we fend them off tonight, it would reveal our hand to the enemy, rendering many ns ineffective and leading to endless troubles in the future.


    ...


    The atmosphere was somewhat awkward due to distrust and suspicion.


    Chitaba had absolute trust in Su Lun, and she could roughly guess what Su Lun was thinking at that moment, so she didn''t urge him at all.


    But after all, there were outsiders present.


    She was obligated to protect Princess Shinfuku Mitsuko and couldn''t just keep her in the dark. She asked Su Lun, "How about it?"


    Su Lun responded sinctly with three words, "Wait a bit more!"


    Chitaba listened and said no more.


    At this point, those who trusted would wait, and for those who didn''t, it was all that could be done in good faith.


    The entire conversation took ce in front of everyone. Chitaba had already inquired, and Princess Mitsuko realized that the choice rested with her.


    If she chose to leave, perhaps they could fight while retreating,sting until dawn.


    But if they escaped tonight, they might not escape tomorrow.


    Yet if they didn''t leave, considering the current situation, once the guards were exhausted, they would surely perish in this bamboo forest tonight.


    For a moment, Princess Mitsuko was caught in a difficult decision.


    The distant guards were still urging her on.


    "Your Highness, if we don''t leave now, it will be toote!"


    "Quickly, leave!"


    "..."


    She could disregard her own life, but she carried the heavy duties of a Shinto Shrine Maiden and the royal family...


    Intuition told her this might be the most crucial turning point of her life.


    While Shinfuku Mitsuko continued to draw her bow and shoot arrows, she caught sight of Su Lun holding a ck umbre. Inspired by his calm demeanor, a flicker of determination crossed her eyes, and she finally made a decision, biting her silver teeth and trusting him, she eximed, "Let''s follow Mr. Su Lun''s lead and continue the fight!"


    ...


    Su Lun nced at the Princess and thought to himself, "A smart choice."


    Since she had chosen to trust him, he felt it was worth it to make his move.


    And after observing for so long, Su Lun was fairly certain the problem wasn''t internal.


    They were now in a dire situation, yet not one of the ninja guards had shown any sign of a breach.


    Just then, as the ghost warriors seemed to have driven Princess Mitsuko and her people into a "dead end," the mastermind behind the scene decided to show up. Su Lun suddenly sensed an abnormal spiritual fluctuation within one of the ghost warriors, his gaze hardened, "It''s him!"


    The next instant, Su Lun''s hands moved quickly, forming sorcerer''s seals like lightning. Behind him, the ferocious eight-armed spider spear became prominent, and the ground lit up with the Hexagram Array as a massive cross slowly formed in the sky above the bamboo forest.


    He murmured softly, "Secret Technique: Puppet Theater!"


    Chitaba saw him finally make a move and let out a sigh of relief.


    Lolota, who had already experienced several close calls, recognized the formation and murmured excitedly, "Is Mr Su Lun finally going to cast that magician''s spell..."


    In the puzzled gazes of Shinfuku Mitsuko and the ninja guards, Su Lun shed his earlierziness, his gaze sharp and his movements fluid, "Seal¡¤Release!"


    The next moment, spatial ripples exploded all around the bamboo forest.


    Looking again, one saw bizarre puppets hanging eerily in midair, and not far off stood an automaton wielding a Ship-Cutter.


    The puppet army had finally appeared!


    The sudden appearance of hundreds of puppets, seemingly more eerie than the dense ghost warriors.


    Staring at this exaggerated number of puppets, the shock in their eyes reced their confusion, and in that moment, Shinfuku Mitsuko finally understood.


    She understood why Miss Chitaba trusted this Mr. Su Lun so much.


    "This is just too exaggerated..."


    Princess Mitsuko had never expected that this "reinforcement" would save the day in such an unimaginable way!

 Chapter 311 Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Scroll (Happy Chinese New Years Eve)

    The one pulling the strings behind the ghost warriors hadn''t shown himself yet, hellbent on using a war of attrition to whittle down the protective forces of the Shinfuku Mitsuko through sheer numbers.


    The ghost warriors were undying and indestructible, normallycking a countermeasure, any number of assants would have just been thrown away.


    Regrettably, they encountered Su Lun the Puppeteer.


    He was equally adept at employing a horde strategy.


    The ghost warriors might not fear death, but puppets were equally indifferent to life and death.


    Once Su Lun''s few hundred puppets appeared, they instantly reversed the disadvantage posed by the numerical gap. Moreover, they could spew fire and ice, with moreprehensive functionalities and stronger collectivebat capabilities.


    The moment his sinister eight-armed spider spears appeared, the vast bamboo forest turned into his puppet theater. With a tug of the threads, he controlled the puppets in formation and charged into battle, shing with the ghost warrior legion in an instant.


    Most of the Alchemist''s abilities came from external sources, and the reason Su Lun had set up so many energy crystal cores in the bamboo forest beforehand was to oust these monsters.


    He certainly didn''t think that the ghost warriors'' revival came without an energy cost.


    As for that ghost warrior leader d in "Iron Crimson Scale Painted Five-Piece Armor", Su Lun had the "Divisional Admiral ss IX Mechanical Battlesuit" to keep it engaged.


    You im your armor is impervious to des and spears, huh?


    Care to sh head-on with a mechanical battlesuit?


    Let''s see whether the armor is tougher or the defense of steel machinery is more superior.


    Another advantage of technology is the more efficient use of energy sources. The Morga military''s exquisitely designed steam and magical energy boilers are absolutely top-notch in energy utilization, iparable to the natural consumption of humans (and monsters) at the same energy level.


    This armor might not be able to kill the ghost warrior leader, but at the very least, it could restrict its rampage for a short time.


    As for the other puppets, if one breaks, there are plenty of spares.


    Theoretically, as long as there is sufficient energy, Su Lun''s puppet army could oust that person''s ghost warrior legion indefinitely.


    It''s just a matter of who gives out first.


    However, Su Lun had no intention of dragging it out like this, he didn''t have that much money to burn.


    Besides, he had already located the position of that controller!


    ....


    With the deployment of the puppet army, the Shinfuku Mitsuko and her ninja protectors saw tumultuous waves arise in their eyes.


    Su Lun single-handedly took control of the situation.


    The puppets assumed their positions in battle, making everyone else seem redundant.


    The astonishing disy of hundreds of puppets gave them an immense sense of security.


    "This..."


    The dire situation that was life-threatening just a moment ago dramatically turned around, and the captain of the guards who had just spoken was now dumbstruck, unable to utter another word.


    Even the handsome face of the Shinfuku Mitsuko was filled with disbelief.


    Looking once again at the silhouette manipting the eight-armed spider spears, she realized theposure he carried concealed such formidable power.


    Despite sensing that his real strength was not extremely strong ¡ª probably around the rank of a third-tier professional outside of the Mountain Hermit ¡ª she had not expected such overwhelming domineering presence once he made his move!


    The puppets held back the ghost warrior legion, affording a moment''s respite for everyone. The injured ninja protectors seized the opportunity to swiftly tend to their wounds and consume pills to recover their strength.


    Chitose also sheathed her sword, breathing heavily, her eyebrows rxing.


    For her, with hands sealed and involved in high-intensitybat, the strain was not light.


    She approached the Princess, facing the Shinfuku Mitsuko who stood in a daze, and said with a raised eyebrow, "The rest is up to him."


    "Miss Chitose, that... Su Lun, how could he..."


    The Shinfuku Mitsuko was at a loss for words to describe the stormy thoughts swirling in her heart.


    What she thought was a nearly certain death scenario had been effortlessly turned around by someone else.


    This... It was almost like a dream.


    Chitose had never doubted Su Lun''s abilities, so she was not the least bit surprised, "Mmm... He always brings surprises."


    The puppet army''sbat strength was truly astonishing. The tense atmosphere suddenly dissipated, and everyone''s faces revealed expressions of great relief.


    Lolotta came over, with the look of an adoring fan, and eximed, "Wow... Su Lun is so amazing. Even though it''s not my first time seeing his technique, I''m still so shocked."


    This scene was akin to the one back in Blizzard City at sea, where the three of them as pirates faced encirclement, and Su Lun turned the tide just as dramatically. It brought too many shocks to that young girl''s heart.


    After a pause, the lively girl looked at Chitose mischievously and said, "I told you, if the teacher is in trouble, Su Lun will definitelye to help!"


    Chitose, hearing the cunning in her words, knocked on the girl''s head, "With all the praise you''re heaping on ''Mr. Su Lun'', why don''t I send you to be his disciple?"


    Lolotta shook her head vigorously like a bobblehead, "No, I want to learn Sword Dao from the teacher!"


    Then, pausing, she sneakily nced at Chitose and murmured deviously, "Anyway, you and Mr. Su Lun are so close, it doesn''t make a difference whether you send me or not."


    As she spoke, she made exaggerated gestures with her eyes, hinting: They''re so close that they could bathe together without clothes.


    "..."


    Listening to this, Chitose gave her a look but decided to ignore her.


    ....


    Su Lun had already observed almost all the traits of the ghoul warriors, so the battle was not supposed to have any surprises, everything was mostly within his expectations.


    Enjoy exclusive chapters from My Virtual Library Empire


    However, his thoughts did not stop there.


    Before taking action against the controller, he was still contemting whether he could use this monster as a puppet.


    The previous ghoul warriors had been closing in step by step, which was exactly what Su Lun wanted. With the monsters gathered together, nearly all within the puppet theater, they were easier to control.


    Right after he blocked the ghoul warriors'' offense with this encounter, the sorcerer''s seals in Su Lun''s hands changed again, "Armor Release!"


    He released the third tier of "Spiritual Tentacles," and that immense spiritual power spread along countless threads.


    Without halting his motion, Su Lun frequently manipted the eight spider spears on his back, murmuring in his heart, "Let''s try the secret technique I''ve recently mastered..."


    "Silk Control Method - Spider Cocoon Binding Technique!"


    Su Lun''s gaze became sharp as numerous witch''s hair-like strands in the air suddenly solidified into a tangible form.


    In an extremely short amount of time, crystalline and tenacious threads wound around hundreds of ghoul warriors, enveloping and weaving them into spider cocoons, rapidly binding the targets like a spider capturing prey.


    But seeing this scene, the Princess from afar showed no happiness on her face, instead, she looked worried. She couldn''t help but shout out in urgency, "Mr. Su Lun, be careful! Ghoul warriors are incredibly strong and can phase through objects. They simply can''t be controlled..."


    Beforehand, they had tried many methods to deal with these ghoul warriors, naturally including physical control, but somehow they would inexplicably phase through, rendering all attempts at control useless.


    But what she never expected was that, just as she said this, instead of watching those cocoons immediately shrivel away, nearly a hundred ghoul warriors, including their leader, actually froze in ce.@@novelbin@@


    Were they really being controlled?


    How did he do it?


    With a sh of white in her eyes, the Princess suddenly saw something. In the countless threads wrapping each ghoul warrior, there was one infused with a strong flow of spiritual power!


    "What kind of Illusion Technique is this?"


    Seeing such a magician for the first time, the Princess was a bit puzzled, specting in her heart, "Could it be because of the threads?"


    In Mountain Hermit''s cultivation system, Illusion Techniques (spiritual secret techniques) are arge category within the Ninjutsu and Divine Arts, and are not umon amongst practitioners.


    As a Shinto Shrine Maiden, she herself was proficient in various spiritual spells.


    But ghoul warriors were immune to spiritual secret techniques!


    She herself had tried before, to no effect, so why was this technique working now?


    The Princess did not know that most spiritual spells were magical attacks, while Su Lun''s Spiritual Tentacles were physical attacks.


    The principle was to use the understanding of human anatomy to forcibly disrupt and block the transmission of neural signals with threads, thereby achieving control.


    While they seemed to have the same effect, in reality they were fundamentally different.


    Illusion Techniques focus on "magic" and require constructing a spiritual power field that induces hallucinations in the target; Spiritual Tentacles emphasize "reason" and represent direct anatomical control.


    This was a technique that could only be utilized by alchemists who had a thorough understanding of the arts of life.


    That was also why Su Lun was not in a hurry to attack earlier, waiting instead to find that puppet master behind the scenes.


    Because these tactics, once revealed and known by the enemy, would have a significantly reduced chance of sess when used a second time.


    ....


    In the eyes of others, the resurrection of ghoul warriors was a mystery.


    But to Su Lun''s All-knowing Eye, almost no secrets remained after just one observation.


    He also discovered that ghoul warriors would only phase into an elemental state and resurrect after death. Once controlled, they could phase''s but in essence, it was equivalent to blowing themselves up once.


    But even self-destruction required the flow of energy, which ghoul warriors achieved through the reverse surge of their deathly aura, giving them the apparent ability to phase like elements.


    This type of energy flow also followed meridian channels.


    Thus, as long as the normal signaling was cut off, they would not be able toplete a self-destruction.


    Su Lun had already thoroughly researched the human anatomical notes of Gerald, former leader of the "forensic doctor" group, and naturally saw through the truth of the self-destruction at a nce.


    Even for the ghoul warrior leader in the crimson armor, it was a matter of using a few more threads.


    "Miss Princess, please help me seal these ghoul warriors!"


    Su Lun shouted, charging into the swarm of monsters.


    He intentionally inquired beforehand, knowing that Shinto Shrine Maidens are skilled at sealing spirits and naturally spared no courtesy.


    Despite how impressive Su Lun''s control over the monsters with his Spiritual Tentacles looked, he couldn''t maintain it for long.


    The more spiritual threads he divided, the weaker his control became.


    He knew that this move had caught the puppet master behind the scenes off guard, and once that person reacted, it was highly likely that there would be otherplications. He didn''t want the "ghoul puppets" he had acquired to be taken back.


    Therefore, he struck first.


    Upon hearing this, the Princess, who had been feeling guilty about her distrust just a moment ago, suddenly brightened up as if being needed on the battlefield made her realize her own foolishness, "Okay!"


    ...


    The secret techniques of Mountain Hermit were endless. Su Lun nearly suffered at the hands of a mysterious ninja woman in Sword Forging Vige previously and couln''t afford to be careless.


    With a call, a blue cold me suddenly surged from his body, quickly gathering behind him into an armored me giant. On closer look, around that me appeared some "paper effigies" inscribed with strange talismanic symbols.


    ```


    The paper man was burned, seemingly letting out the agonizing screams of a tormented evil spirit being incinerated.


    Su Lun''s gaze hardened, almost falling into the trap.


    This was a tactic he had not even detected!


    With the emergence of the "No Servant" shadow, others might not have felt it peculiar, but behind Su Lun, the Shinfuku Mitsuko''s eyes revealed an incredulous hue, thinking to herself, "Divine Arts? No, it''s Alchemy that has been spread..."


    Su Lun didn''t concern himself with others, knowing that once he acted, he must eradicate the opponent with the swiftness of a lightning strike.


    In his hand suddenly appeared a ck-and-white chessboard, from which he fired a beam of light into the pitch-ck bamboo forest.


    Although that guy was well-concealed, perfectly masking his tracks with ghostly energy, he was unmistakably clear in Su Lun''s Soul Perception.


    The scenery around them shifted in a sh, suddenly transforming into a space resembling a ck-and-white chessboard.


    Upon looking again, Su Lun saw a figure emerge before him ¨C a man with a pale face wearing a tall ck hat and a white hunting garment adorned with cloud patterns.


    Seeing this attire, Su Lun''s gaze turned slightly sharp, "An Onmyoji?"


    It wasn''t surprising, after all.


    The ability to control ghost warriors wasn''t strange for an Onmyoji.


    Adept at Demon Control, knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, proficient in the Art of Escaping Armor... this was a divine priest from the Mountain Hermit nation.


    The pale-faced individual before him, with eyes like peach blossoms, exuded a very eerie feeling.


    Su Lun immediately guessed who this person was; the royal family''s chief priest, known to outsiders as the ''Mystic'' Abe Yasukazu.


    Beside this man followed a shadow of a white massive hound several meters tall, upon closer inspection, it was the hard-to-find Onmyoji''s guardian spirit, "Inugami."


    It was no wonder he was able to pursue relentlessly.


    Abe Yasukazu, looking at himself now trapped within the chessboard space, showed no signs of disturbance and remained calm.


    Instead, upon seeing Su Lun, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes, and he seemed to mutter an inaudible phrase to himself. (Could it be that guy? Heh, what a coincidence... Well, it''s worth a try.)


    He appeared to recognize something, his interest piqued, he raised his hand and his fingers spread out, revealing that the palm line in the center of his hand split open, transforming into a blood-red eye. Upon closer inspection, the eye also disyed a magatama, unmistakably the monstrous "Hand Eye."


    That creature seemed to lock onto its target, and perhaps possessed other nefarious abilities?


    Su Lun didn''t dare to be careless. He opened the rune-embellished ck umbre in his hand with a swoosh, enveloped by resentful spirits, while the sorcerer''s seals in his hand swiftly condensed into form.


    The soul fire of the Onmyoji before him wasn''t overly extravagant, but these divine priests shared some simrities with Puppet Masters. You couldn''t gauge theirbat strength by their physical tier; the most tiresome aspect was their Demon Control Technique.


    The Puppet Theater was deployed once again, and in this enclosed space, Su Lun held absolute advantage.


    He pinched the sorcerer''s seals, the rune-embellished ck umbre''s "Nightfall Domain" unfolded, preparing to execute a strategy of depriving the enemy''s vision and then focussing attacks to rapidly eliminate them.


    Yet, the eerie individual opposite didn''t seem affected by the wailing resentful spirits, simply shaking his head dismissively, "Indeed, it''s a very powerful Alchemy... Pity, the Ghost Path Secret Technique is useless against me."


    This person didn''t seem like other ignorant countrymen from Mountain Hermit nation; instead, he seemed to know a great deal about Alchemy.


    As he spoke, he raised a hand and from his wide sleeve fluttered out a cloud-patterned scroll. With a swift gesture from his right hand as if wielding a sword, he cried out, "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Scroll, Wind God Secret Technique, Kamaitachi, speed forth!"


    As themand was issued, the scroll bearing the image of a yellow weasel spirit burst open with a "bang."


    Su Lun''s left eye glinted, clearly seeing something darting out, and a swiftly moving Spiritual Body also appeared in his Soul Perception.


    That scroll too was a precious item, the "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Scroll," sealing the existence of numerous ghostly beings.


    He was not to be outdone. He pinched the sorcerer''s seals and his gaze hardened, "Flesh Alchemy, Diamond!"


    At a second nce, a metallic luster like goldencquer flowed all over his body. Protected by the "Diamond" Secret Technique, a fifth-tierw understanding, it wasn''t going to be easily broken!


    "Ding"


    "Ding"


    "Ding"


    "..."


    Almost the moment Su Lun''s sorcerer''s seals solidified, a bizarre whirlwind struck. Sparks flew off his skin and the creature inflicted hundreds of attacks in mere seconds, the sounds of des striking echoing densely by his ears.


    "The wind-slicing demon ''Kamaitachi,'' capable of killing invisibly, indeed lives up to its legend."


    Su Lun''s gaze grew solemn, and although he was protected by Diamond, the high frequency of cutting damage was heating his skin. Continuing to endure it might not ensure he could hold on.


    Moreover, sealed within that Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Scroll weren''t only creatures like this one.


    The ''Mystic'' Abe Yasukazu''s strength was unfathomably deep.


    Just from a single encounter, Su Lun knew this was a formidable opponent.


    His guard was up every tenfold.


    ....


    Meanwhile, Abe Yasukazu, standing as the opposition, was equally astonished.


    He had presumed that unleashing the demon "Kamaitachi" would easily subdue his adversary. Its speed was meant to be unpredictable, sufficient to counteract most so-called fourth or fifth-tier Alchemists with ease, yet it was ineffective?


    A Puppet Master, with such a strong physical body?


    Moreover, while he unleashed the demon, his opponent was obviously not idle.


    ```


    ```


    It was in that instant he discovered that his body was suddenly surrounded by dense threads. These threads, imbued with a pale blue wind element, visibly exuded a cutting edge that was menacing to the eye.


    Not far away, Su Lun''s hands wed at the void, and with a fierce tug, he shouted, "Silk Control Method - Caged Sparrow!"


    Abe Yasukazu''s eyes twitched as he formed a sword seal with his fingers and called out, "Rece!"


    On the next nce, his body was smoothly sliced into dozens of pieces by the threads.


    But as a flicker of light passed, instead of a scene of blood stter, the figure turned into a slowly descending piece of shredded paper.


    "What a strange Divine Arts technique..."


    Seeing this, Su Lun''s gaze narrowed slightly as he once again captured the soul fluctuations dozens of meters away.


    The soul''s me was still there, so how did it suddenly turn into a paper person?


    There was no spatial fluctuation, it wasn''t physical teleportation, and it wasn''t the "sh" from Ninjutsu...


    He couldn''t understand the principle behind this "Paper Person Technique."


    Alchemists have an innate obsession with the unknown.


    But although he was still curious, Su Lun''s actions were not slow. His eyes suddenly bloodshot, he pped his hands together, "Flesh Alchemy: Hormone Rampage!"


    Whether it was the ck scythe, the threads, or the puppet, they were all of limited use against this adversary.


    Su Lun was already considering other options.


    His initial intention was to kill this adversary, but now his goal was to probe as much as possible for the opponent''s foundation.


    Like most magical practitioners, Divine Arts Magicians have one weakness, and that is their frail physical bodies.


    Thus, Su Lun chose close quartersbat.


    This allowed him to better sense the intricacies of the "Art of the Paper Person," and it wasn''t so easy for his opponent to escape.


    ....


    "Wham!"


    "Wham!"


    "Wham!"


    "..."


    Stepping on Air produced a series of explosive sounds in the air.


    Witnessing the figure before him suddenly charge at several times the speed toward himself, Abe Yasukazu was greatly surprised, "Isn''t this guy supposed to be a Puppet Master? Howe he has so many tricks up his sleeve..."


    Seeing the other party''s intent to engage in closebat, he couldn''t let his guard down.


    In such close quartersbat, there was no room for carelessness.


    Abe Yasukazu called out again, his body surged with demonic energy as he bellowed, "Art of Escaping Armor - Release!"


    Upon another nce, his robes fluttered without wind, and his muscles visibly bulked up.


    In the next instant, Su Lun''s punches and kicks arrived.


    And so, two magicians who relied on controlling external objects began engaging in hand-to-handbat.


    Both were utilizing secret techniques to squeeze out their body''s potential, and whoever had a stronger physical foundation had the edge. Su Lun, with his body modified by "X Serum," had recovery, resilience, and strength far superior to an average person. Hence, as long as he didn''t go all-out, he necessarily held an absolute advantage.


    The two of them thus exchanged blows within the chessboard space, with Su Lun asionally deploying threads and puppets to encircle and narrowly gaining the upper hand.


    Abe Yasukazu''s expression grew increasingly strange on the other side.


    He knew that if they continued fighting, without revealing his true capabilities, he definitely wouldn''t have the slightest advantage.


    But he had no intention of fighting to the death.


    Although releasing the sealed demons from the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Scroll might give him a chance to kill his opponent, when he had used "sh," the Space Arcana, he knew he had no chance to catch Su Lun.


    Continuing the fight would only expose his trump cards and serve no other purpose.


    Finally, after a touch that created some distance between them, Abe Yasukazu once again pulled out the [Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Scroll], formed a seal, and pped it, making a massive red [Mokugyo Daruma] appear in the space.


    Su Lun watched helplessly as the man jumped into the demon''s mouth, and with a burst of demonic aura, they both vanished from the chessboard space.


    It was a lonely battle.


    Su Lun had no thoughts of pursuit.


    It puzzled him that the man clearly had other methods at his disposal, yet seemed to have had no intention of fighting to the death from the start?


    Considering his relentless chase to kill the Princess and her party earlier, his attitude now seemed rather perfunctory.


    Su Lun curled his lips, unable to figure it out.


    But considering he also had no certainty of killing his opponent, he let it go.


    The thought barely registered before Su Lun dispelled the chessboard space and walked out.


    PS. Completely out of drafts, there aren''t many authors coding on New Year''s Eve. At the same time, I wish the book friends who follow the updates a happy new year~ Thank you for your support!!! ?(¡ä???`) Much love!


    ```

 Chapter 312 When I Was Young, I Also Wanted to Be a Poet (Happy New Year)

    When Su Lun emerged from the chessboard space, the Onmyoji had already vanished without a trace.


    Besides the hundred or so ghost warriors bound by silk threads, the other creatures in the bamboo forest hadpletely disappeared.


    Chitatsu looked at Su Lun as he emerged and asked, "How did it go?"


    Su Lun shrugged his shoulders, responding somewhat helplessly, "That person was likely ''Yokai'' Abe Yasukazu, very powerful. Normally, none of us would be able to detain him."


    Previously, he had theorized various counter-strategies, but it seemed that none of the presentpany had the means to kill that fellow.


    The people outside the chessboard space had not seen who Su Lun was fighting, but hearing the name "Abe Yasukazu" caused the Princess to look shocked.


    She was all too familiar with him.


    Because that man was the royal family''s chief priest!


    "No wonder he dares not show himself..."


    Shinfuku Mitsuko instantly understood something and her expression became very grave.


    She realized that the threat was not only from the shogunate, but there was also a major internal problem within their royal family.


    Because of his special identity, being exposed would be troublesome, so he had used this method of summoning shikigami to kill without showing his face.


    Yet, what shocked the Princess even more was that this Mr. Su Lun had emerged unscathed from a battle with Abe Yasukazu, known as the "court''s foremost priest"?


    This was too incredible.


    Su Lun, observing the Princess''s gaze, also read her doubts.


    He seemed to be speaking to Chitatsu, but he exined to everyone, "That guy''s strength is unfathomable. But it seemed he had some reservations, so he did not go all out. However, I think this is not a ce to stay for long."


    What Su Lun left unsaid was: if that guy had gone all out, he would now be absconding with Chitatsu and Lolota.@@novelbin@@


    Chitatsu, listening, nodded slightly: "Mm."


    Su Lun knew that Chitatsu and Shinfuku Mitsuko had a protective contract, being aware that she might have some other ns. He did not assist in making any decisions and went to inspect the ghost warriors bound into "zongzi."


    Since he had been busy with the battle, some of the bound ghost warriors had not beenpletely sealed and had escaped, leaving only a few dozen.


    Fortunately, the armored leader of the ghost warriors was still present, each one affixed with a Shinto talisman.


    Su Lun examined the symbols drawn on those white papers, somewhat resembling runes; patterns and energy structured into aplete solidifying spell with demon-exorcising and evil-suppressing effects. However, the energy within the talismans was not pure, having also utilized the power of Shinto faith.


    He was quite satisfied with his spoils of war.


    With such samples, he would be busy for a long time.


    In the field of Alchemy, theoretically, everything in the world can be deconstructed and applies to the principle of equivalent exchange. Any characteristic that living beings possess can be replicated on rune golems. If he mastered this thoroughly, producing an army of endlessly reviving golems in the future, he would truly make a fortune.


    Thinking this, Su Lun did not forget to say to Shinfuku Mitsuko not too far away, "Thank you, Miss Mitsuko."


    Hearing this, Shinfuku Mitsuko bowed courteously, "It should be I who thank you, Mr. Su Lun."


    ...


    This was the first time since leaving Edo and being pursued that they had managed to repel their enemies.


    Although the situation had improved, the crisis was not fully resolved. Chitatsu asked, "Miss Mitsuko, what are your ns now? That man has been temporarily pushed back but he might return with reinforcements."


    Mitsuko nced at Su Lun, as if an idea had struck her, then said, "Miss Chitatsu, would it be possible for you and Mr. Su Lun to continue guarding me for a few more days? I will provide appropriatepensation..."


    Her demeanor was very humble, without a trace of the pride typically held by a royal or a Shinto shrine maiden.


    After a pause, she added with an inquiring tone, "And, I also have some matters I would like to consult with Mr. Su Lun about."


    Chitatsu, hearing this, did not express her opinion but looked at Su Lun, "What do you think?"


    Her arms were sealed, and herbat strength was limited. If she encountered the same situation as before, she would be powerless despite her intentions.


    "..."


    Su Lun, however, wore an indifferent expression,


    because the two had already established a tacit understanding. He also noticed a trace of peculiarity in Qiantiao''s expression, which seemed like he was expecting him to respond?


    Thinking that they weren''t close and there was no contract, if they encountered an enemy they couldn''t defeat, he would definitely run, so he said, "I''m fine with it."


    But after all, the inheritance scroll and the "Ghost Sword" soul of Aki came from her, and there was some emotional connection. Achieving the main goal ofing to Mountain Hermit, it wouldn''t hurt to follow along.


    Moreover, upon further reflection, he felt that interacting more with the Shinfuku Mitsuko would be beneficial.


    Just now, his battle against the Onmyoji had stirred Su Lun''s desire as an alchemist to learn more about Shinto secret techniques.


    His teacher, Cereia, once said that an alchemist must be knowledgeable, needed to understand the world, and use knowledge toprehend everything. Understanding various deities was also a part of this.


    There couldn''t be a more suitable person to discuss this with than a Shinto Shrine Maiden.


    Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire


    He wanted to inquire about some Shinto secret techniques, like the recent "Paper Man Technique," the principles behind a ghost warrior''s resurrection, or other bizarre and strange monsters.


    Hearing Su Lun''s agreement, Shinfuku Mitsuko''s face lit up with joy as she bowed again to Su Lun and Qiantiao, sincerely saying, "I appreciate your assistance."


    "However..."


    Su Lun looked at the mess in the bamboo forest, suddenly thought of something, and shifted the conversation, "I think Princess should make some other preparations."


    He could agree to help out a bit more, but he didn''t want to actually attract any major trouble.


    The reason for Abe Yasukazu''s previous "leniency," he hadn''t figured out yet, so he naturally needed to be more cautious.


    Su Lun directly said, "Abe Yasukazu has a shikigami ''Inugami'' by his side. If we leave like this, there is a high probability that we will be chased down again."


    Clearly, anyone could foresee that situation.


    Hearing this, Shinfuku Mitsuko asked cautiously, "Mr. Su Lun, what do you suggest, then?"


    Su Lun knew Qiantiao might have reasons not to speak up and take on the role of the "bad cop," saying unpleasant things, so he had to do it.


    With an expressionless face, he said, "I think we can split up into several groups. ''Inugami'' tracks its targets by scent, so I suggest that you, princess, and the guards separate. The guards could carry some articles of clothing and head in different directions."


    This was the most rational n at the moment.


    Su Lun had carefully considered this before speaking.


    Since the Princess is a shrine maiden, her own cultivation is not weak, and she is also skilled in the art of Ghost Path secret techniques, the likelihood of being continuously tracked by monsters exists but is not high.


    This arrangement alsopletely rules out another possibility, that the enemy might actually be tracking one of her guards.


    Hearing this, a trace of hesitation appeared on the princess''s face.


    Without her guards, her life would be entirely in the hands of these three foreigners from Mountain Hermit.


    But this hesitationsted only a moment, as she immediately nodded, seriously saying, "Okay! I also think Mr. Su Lun''s n is very good!"


    Actually, from the moment she chose to stay in the battle, she had already entrusted her life to this "reinforcement."


    And given the current situation, having guards or not seemed to make no difference.


    After all, the methods of Abe Yasukazu were not something a few upper ninjas could withstand.


    But hearing this, the captain of the guards looked worried and quickly interjected, "But, Your Royal Highness..."


    Although he also thought the n was reasonable, as the captain of the guards, he was concerned about leaving the precious princess in the hands of "strangers."


    Shinfuku Mitsuko, with a resolute expression, said, "No need to say more. We''ll do as Mr. Su Lun suggested."


    The few ninja guards could only bow andply, "Yes, Your Highness!"


    "Sorry, Miss Chitanda, Mr. Su Lun, could you wait for me a moment?"


    Saying this, the Princess walked toward the darker part of the bamboo grove.


    Su Lun guessed from her actions that she was probably going to change her clothes.


    Although his night vision was decent, it wasn''t appropriate to stare at a girl changing her clothes, so he turned around and started seriously bundling up this pile of "rice dumplings."


    ....


    It wasn''t long before the Shinfuku Mitsuko reappeared, already changed into another set of clothes.


    She had shed her disguise and donned the vestment robe of her priestly position, an undergarment of in white silk and an overcoat embroidered with a silver sun motif, and below, a pleated skirt-styled red hakama, and her feet were shod in a pair of red knotted straw sandals. Her thick, lustrous ck hair cascaded over her shoulders, an elegant air of "long straight ck" hair enveloping her instantly.


    Su Lun watched the Shinfuku Mitsuko in women''s clothes, his eyes flickering with a touch of amazement.


    Indeed, her male attire had been eye-catching, and returning to female clothes was naturally excellent.


    Unlike Mr. Jing''s cold pride, Chitanda''s martial vigor, Yuta''s wildness, and Sabina''s enchantment... Shinfuku Mitsuko had a delicate, genteel charm. Moreover, given her "deity''s servant" status, coupled with her elegant red and white vestment robe, her image of purity, sanctity, transcendence, and ssic beauty was strongly ingrained in one''s mind, exuding a unique allure all over.


    Su Lun nced at her then quickly averted his gaze, a thought flickering in his mind: No wonder she dresses in men''s clothing. With such an appearance, it would be difficult not to attract attention without a disguise.


    However, more than the Princess''s delicate features, Su Lun took another look at the vestment robe.


    Upon closer inspection, not only was the craftsmanship exquisite, but it was also a treasure trove. Both the outeryer and lining were robes of spells, even the white linen cord at her waist boasted demon-expelling properties, a spiritual artifact of Shinto.


    Although the mountain hermits were impoverished, some sses were no less noble than those in the outside world.


    Chitanda, who had been the big sister at the Cross Association, was ustomed to ttering speech, and upon seeing the beautiful girl, she naturally blurted out: "Wow... Miss Princess, you look really beautiful."


    Hearing this ragamuffin-style tease, the Shinfuku Mitsuko''s cheeks seemed to sweep with a shade of shyness as she bashfully nodded, "You tter me, Miss Chitanda."


    Saying this, she handed the four parcels she was holding to the four guards, instructing, "Men of Jinwei, these contain my clothes and paper effigies, you will go respectively to the shrines in Owari, Mikawa, Nagano, and Akiyama."


    "Yes, Your Highness!"


    The Ninja guards took the packets and vanished instantaneously into the bamboo grove.


    Su Lun listened to the Shinfuku Mitsuko''s arrangements and could find no fault. The four locations were reputed to house the Ise Grand Shrine, indeed quite deceptive.


    ...


    Once the guards left, only the four of them remained in the bamboo grove.


    Princess''s mood seemed slightly odd.


    With fewer people, it felt starkly empty.


    As a royal princess, she had always traveled with guards at her side and had never experienced going out alone.


    Now, she was only surrounded by a few strangers.


    The Princess felt somewhat isted.


    Since they naturally couldn''t stay in the bamboo grove, Chitanda asked, "Miss Princess, where shall we go next?"


    The Princess seemed to have a n already and said, "In the southwest, less than a hundred miles from here, lies the Izumo region, where there''s a ''Tea Crying Mountain.'' There lies my secret base."


    "Oh."


    Chitanda raised an eyebrow, her face indifferent.


    As they talked, the Princess seemed to remember something and added, "Miss Chitanda, didn''t you ask earlier which hot springs by a volcano were good? Tea Crying Mountain has the best hot spring bathhouses of the mountain hermits. The scenery is particrly splendid during winter~"


    At this, Chitanda''s eyes lit up instantly, clearly intrigued, "Great! Let''s go there."


    The Princess smiled.


    As for Su Lun, he was indifferent to the destination. Now that the "Rune Magician''s Legacy" was in his possession, his ultimate goal in Mountain Hermit had been achieved. He needed to quickly assimte that knowledge and then craft "Replica of the Initial Runes" to advance to tier four.


    The dark spiritual power was already overflowing. Only after advancing to the fourth level would there be another breakthrough, exponentially increasing the might of all magicians. Encountering Abe Yasukazu again, the confidence in dealing would rise significantly.


    A group of four decided on their route, cleared the traces of battle, and then disappeared into the bamboo forest.


    ...


    Pirate City Hastelin was always a ce where dragons and snakes mingled, harboring not just pirates but various powers in hiding.


    While the ninth fleet of the Northern Maritime Forces was heading towards Mountain Hermit, in a secret harbor of Golden City, an inconspicuous merchant ship was docked, and several cloaked figures were preparing to set sail.


    On the deck, what looked like a farewell was taking ce.


    One cloaked figure was holding another''s hand, speaking of something.


    "Great-grandmother, do you really need to go there yourself? But your health..."


    The voice was very gentle, like a girl in the prime of her youth. Though the alchemy cloak concealed her face, upon closer examination, one could see that the speaker had beautiful purple hair.


    The other figure was slightly stooped, resembling an elderly person nearing the end of her life.


    She spoke in a calm, slow voice, "Yes. Grandmother''s life has reached its end. If I don''t go now, I won''t be able to next year either."


    She held the purple-haired girl''s hand as if it were theirst goodbye, "Katyusha, don''t be sad about grandma''s departure. Coming to Mountain Hermit... this is the rare choice in my life to follow my own will. And thank you. After listening to your story, grandma decided toe and see."


    The purple-haired girl knew this farewell would be theirst. Her tone was full of sorrow, "But... Great-grandmother, the situation in Mountain Hermit Country is currently at a critical point. The results of the astrology... aren''t good either. If you really must go, let me apany you, okay?"


    "No, I want to go and see for myself."


    The old woman, who had long resigned herself to the reality of life and death, gently caressed her tear-streaked cheeks, "My little Katyusha, promise grandma that these will be yourst tears. Since you''ve chosen your path, proceed firmly."


    "..."


    The purple-haired girl remained silent, unable to express the sorrow of bidding farewell to the dearest person in her life with any words.


    The old woman cupped the tear-stained face and smiled, "Being born into our family is both a fortune and a misfortune. In my youth, I married into a southern financial conglomerate for the benefit of the family. I''vepromised and given my all for the prosperity of our family all my life. Now, at the end of my life, I want to make my own way for thisst journey. Go there and see if his story holds a reflection of me."


    The purple-haired girl didn''t know how to start a conversation, "Great-grandmother..."


    "If I had your courage when I was young, I might have taken a different path."


    The old woman smiled tenderly, "Back then, my dream was to be a novelist or a traveling poet. Even now, thinking about it seems quite nice."


    As she spoke, her clouded eyes reflected the image of the purple-haired girl, as if seeing her younger self, and she began to narrate her own story, "Back then, like you, I loved writing ys,posing the most beautiful poems. And Gustav liked writing novels about gods and spirits. He wrote with boundless imagination, often about stories of the lower sses. Such stories are not well-received in high society, and we always lived in poverty. But we didn''t mind the hardship back then. We would run wildly on flower-covered hills,ughing foolishly. It seemed like our tomorrows would always be full of blooming flowers..."


    Hearing this story, the glint in the purple-haired girl''s eyes gradually calmed and settled.


    She had buried her past in that dense forest.


    From now on, there would be no more blossoming flowers on her path.


    It was ultimately time to part.


    The old woman patted her shoulder, "Alright, I must leave."


    The purple-haired girl stayed silent, nodding her head.


    The old woman raised her hand in farewell, smiling with herst words, "The only regret grandma has now is not being able to watch you grow up. I''m also curious, what kind of man can make my little Katyusha make such a choice?"


    Upon hearing this, Yekaterina touched a strand of hair by her temple and smiled broadly, "Great-grandmother, Katyusha has already grown up."


    "Hmm."


    The old woman leaned on the railing, smiling.


    The ship slowly left the harbor.


    PS. Wishing all my readers a happy new year, and thank you for yourpany throughout.

 Chapter 313 Grandmas Soup Room

    "Tea Crying Mountain" is located in the suburbs of Izumo Castle; it is an active volcano.


    In cultures with divine beliefs, great mountains and rivers often carry certain mystical meanings, and Tea Crying Mountain is one of the top three sacred mountains of the Mountain Hermits, said to be the burial site of the Yomi Country Lord.


    The mountain top is perennially covered with snow, and an eruption hundreds of years ago brought a vast amount of fertile volcanic ash from the depths of the earth, creating lush vegetation from the mountainside to the foot of the mountain, rendering the scenery quite pleasant. Also, because of the high-quality mineral hot springs in the earth''s veins, the vige at the foot of Tea Crying Mountain has built arge number of hot spring bathhouses, attracting tourists from all directions.


    In winter, it is the best season to enjoy the snow and take a hot spring bath, with tourists flocking in great numbers.


    Su Lun and hispanions traveled quickly, covering a hundred li under the cover of night, and arrived at the small town at the foot of Tea Crying Mountain before dawn. The all-night pubs and geisha houses were brightly lit, with drunken guests wandering the streets.


    Without stopping in the town, Shinfuku Mitsuko led them up the mountain on a small path by night. They traveled along a cobblestone pathid through a dense forest before finally reaching a three-story building with a green tiled roof and white walls. On either side of the doorway stood moss-covered Kappa stone sculptures, and under the eaves hung a sign, with a few characters in peelingcquer: Granny Cha''s Bathhouse.


    Su Lun, holding a Rune Umbre, observed everything around him attentively. The bird of augury on his shoulder was also quiet, not detecting any anomalies.


    It seemed the pursuers had not followed.


    The proprietors were a in-dressed elderly couple, respectfully waiting at the entrance after receiving the message from a paper crane.


    As Su Lun and his group approached, they saw the Princess and immediately knelt on the ground, whispering, "We greet Your Highness."


    The Princess was congenial, yet also possessed the inherent dignity of a royal princess. She did not intend to attract attention and simply gestured with her hand, "Lead us to our rooms."


    "Yes, Your Highness.


    The elderly couple bowed and led the group inside.


    To maintain secrecy, the Princess had not informed the elderly couple ahead of time and considering it was the peak season for hot springs, there weren''t many vacant rooms upon their arrival. As Su Lun passed by, he sensed the presence of twenty to thirty souls¡ªa mix of old and young, all ordinary people¡ªin the rooms on the first and second floors. Their breathing was steady and long, suggesting they were all still asleep.


    The group did not disturb anyone and made their way to the third floor, where they reached a room.


    The bathhouses of Mountain Hermits were generally "suites," suitable for family stays. The elderly couple arranged this room just for the Princess.


    Thinking Su Lun and hispanions were the Princess''s guards and maidservants, and with no vacant rooms left, the elderly couple prepared to vacate their own living quarters, squeezing in together.


    The Princess, however, rejected this suggestion.


    She did not mind sharing her space with others, and since Su Lun and his twopanions were her guests, she naturally invited them into the room.


    The elderly couple had no objections and respectfully excused themselves.


    ...


    Following the Princess''s example, Su Lun and hispanions left their shoes outside before stepping onto the rush matting.


    The room was filled with a faint scent of incense and decorated in a quiet, beautiful, simple, and elegant style. There were hardly any walls, just brown wooden pirs andttice doors pasted with in white rice paper. The small room felt spacious and was well lit, with pleasant moonlight. The bathhouse was built against the mountainside; though this was the third floor, it ingeniously featured a chic courtyard connected to the mountains behind. Looking out the window, one could see lush greenery concealing rising misty steam¡ªa private hot spring pool.


    Granny Cha''s elderly couple had arranged one of the best rooms.


    Having entered the room, Shinfuku Mitsuko casually set up a barrier against prying eyes and bowed to Su Lun and Heran Qian Tiao, "I apologize for not making arrangements in advance, and for any inconvenience it may cause everyone."


    As they were here to seek refuge, they naturally could not make a big show of it.


    Neither Su Lun nor Heran Qian Tiao was the type to fuss over minor details, so they certainly did not mind.


    Besides, the room''s elegant environment hardly fit the word "inconvenience."


    "Princess, you are too kind," Su Lun responded.


    Heran Qian Tiao waved her hand dismissively.


    Never one to see herself as an outsider, she began to remove the long sword from her waist as soon as she entered the room, simultaneously gesturing to begin undressing and mumbling, "Ah... Finally, a chance to rest properly. I heard about the unparalleled volcanic hot springs here even beforeing to Mountain Hermits, and now I can finally try them out."


    Su Lun was not surprised by her eagerness; this gambling-addicted woman had battled for several days, her clothes stained with blood that had congealed into ckness. After days without changing or washing, a strange odor emanated from her hair and clothing¡ªabination of various scents. As someone who loved taking baths, she could hardly endure it.


    While speaking, Heran Qian Tiao also did not forget to invite their host, "Princess, let''s go for a hot spring bath together."


    Shinfuku Mitsuko smiled faintly and replied with a nod, "Yes."


    As the host, it was only natural for her to apany them. Moreover, she had also intended to do so.


    Because the essence of the bathhouse was that of an inn, suchrge rooms were designed to conveniently amodate a whole family together.


    Inside the room, there were cleverly designedttice doors, originally meant to partition off other functional small rooms, such as changing rooms.


    But Heran Qian Tiao had no intention of showing any restraint in front of the few people in the room.


    As she spoke, she had already taken off her kimono jacket, exposingrge swaths of skin to the air until only her shorts remained. She ignored the only man in the room, Su Lun, and began to unravel the bandages wrapped around her chest.


    Upon seeing this, Shinfuku Mitsuko showed little surprise on her face.


    In the traditional culture of the Mountain Hideaway, there was rarely any privacy among family members; "mixed-gender bathing" was a very natural custom. Even after reaching adulthood, it was quite natural for family members to be naked in each other''spany without much reservation.


    But this kind of behavior was generally reserved for those who were very close.


    Thinking of something, the princess nced sideways at Su Lun in the room, and a glint passed fleetingly across her eyes. Yet, she said with a smile, "Miss Heran Qian Tiao, you really have a nice figure."


    Heran Qian Tiao didn''t care about such things; looking down at herself, she raised an eyebrow and said, "Ah... I actually think it gets in the way of my swordy."


    Hearing this, the princessughed lightly, covering her mouth: "Miss Heran Qian Tiao really has an enviable problem."


    Lolota, on the other hand, seemed quite ustomed to this, adeptly helping her teacher pick up her clothes and hang them on a nearby coat rack. The three had already been living in this manner for several days at the bathhouse in Blizzard City, so she was used to it by now.


    The girl, studying Sword Dao under Heran Qian Tiao, had also adopted her carefree attitude. After taking care of Heran Qian Tiao''s clothes, she also hung her sword on the wall, preparing to undress and bathe in the hot springs as well.


    ...


    There was a small partition near the back courtyard area of the room, which was the ce for rinsing off the body.


    Heran Qian Tiao had strippedpletely and had already walked over there.


    Her back was perfect, but the full-back tattoo of a fierce demon was strikingly conspicuous.


    The princess watched with slightly widened eyes.


    The room was a scene of generous exposure, yet Su Lun was remarkablyposed.


    Given the presence of an outsider, he wasn''t in the mood to appreciate Heran Qian Tiao stripping. He simply found a spot to sit and nned to digest the things he had just obtained.


    Soon, the sound of ''whooshing'' water could be heard.


    However, it was at this time that Heran Qian Tiao called out from behind the screen, "Su Lun, aren''t you going to join in the bath?"@@novelbin@@


    Su Lun replied, "No, I still have some things to take care of, I need to quickly resolve your Rune Seal..."


    Compared to bathing, he was more eager to digest the legacy of the "ghost sword" Yaxi and the lineage of the Magician.


    Not to mention, sealed ghost warriors awaited his attention, as did research on the Hand of Silver...


    So much to do.


    "Oh."


    Heran Qian Tiao responded with an "I''m going ahead then."


    Su Lun did not reply.


    At this moment, Shinfuku Mitsuko, still in the room, spoke up as well, bowing slightly with impable politeness, "Mr. Su Lun, I will also go to bathe. Excuse me."


    Su Lun, slightly unustomed to such courteous attitude even at such times, also replied, "Hmm. You don''t have to be so formal, Princess."


    The princess smiled faintly and prepared to change into a bathing cloth in the room.


    But unlike Heran Qian Tiao, she wasn''t bold enough to undress without a change of expression in the room. She walked over to the woodenttice door without losing decorum, creating a changing area.


    The sounds of clothes rustling reached his ears; soon, a whole set of miko robes were removed and hung up on the screen.


    Su Lun was fully focused on his own matters, arranging some things before him and attending to his work. However, his ability to multitask allowed him to clearly discern the subtle sounds within the room. Hearing the faint footsteps, he knew the princess had gone to the rinsing area. Discover stories at My Virtual Library Empire


    True enough, it wasn''t long before the sound of water followed.


    The bathhouses in the Mountain Hideaway were not like those in other ces; they did not have boiler pipes for rinsing.


    The hot water here is directly drawn from the hot springs using bamboo pipes.


    When Heran Qian Tiao bathed, she likely did so with a bold ssh, filling the air with the sound of rushing water.


    Meanwhile, when Princess bathed, it seemed she used a gourd scoop to pour water bit by bit, creating a gentle trickling sound. Her movements sounded very delicate.


    For some reason, Su Lun suddenly found his attention drawn to these noises.


    He raised his eyebrows and nced at the priestess robe on the screen, then shook his head gently before quickly refocusing his mind.


    Finally, Princess too went to the courtyard hot spring pool, leaving Su Lun alone in the room, allowing him to focus on his own matters.


    He took out the "Soul Sealing Jar," and behind him, the death god''s shadow instantly condensed, bringing an immediate and chilling presence to the entire room.


    Su Lun, expressionless, uncorked the ceramic jar and a ghostly sphere of light floated out, which the death god''s shadow devoured instantly.


    "You have extracted ''Yaxi Aurorae''s'' soul, and you have gained a great deal of ''Magician'' heritage knowledge."


    "You haveprehended 108 variations of ''advanced rune magic.''"


    "You have gained a great deal of knowledge on ''universal runenguage,'' ''Body Refinement Realm techniques,'' and ''rune engraving skills''."


    "..."


    In the room, Su Lun was busy.


    At the same time, Shinfuku Mitsuko, who was soaking in the hot spring in the courtyard, sensed the unique presence of the death god and her pretty face showed slight surprise.


    Heran Qian Tiao raised her eyebrowszily and said, "Don''t bother with him."


    Princess also guessed that Su Lun might be performing some secret technique, so naturally it wouldn''t be appropriate to pry.


    Curiously, she asked, "Miss Qian Tiao, if I may be so bold, is Mr. Su Lun your lover?"


    Qian Tiao rolled her eyes, "Does it look like it?"


    "It does."


    Princess smiled and said with certainty, "Only for someone deeply loved would one venture into danger without hesitation. I can tell that Mr. Su Lun cares a great deal about Miss Qian Tiao."


    "Tsk~"


    Hearing this, Qian Tiao rolled her eyes as if not even bothered to exin.


    Their connection was not one of romantic affection.


    At that moment, Qian Tiao thought of something and suddenly disyed a mischievous, unruly look. She yfully propped up Princess''s chin with her hand, scrutinizing her from top to bottom, and said with mock seriousness, "Actually, I think you two would make a good match. Princess, you are pretty, with fair skin and an excellent figure. The young Su Lun would surely be very satisfied."


    The two had gotten quite familiar with each other in Pirate City, and spoke without much reservation.


    Shinfuku Mitsuko was at a loss, caught off-guard by the turn in conversation, "Miss Qian Tiao is joking¡ªI am a priestess serving the heavenly gods. I will dedicate my life to the deities."


    "Oh, right, I nearly forgot, only the purest maidens can serve the gods."


    Qian Tiao clicked her tongue but looked utterly unconcerned.


    Something else crossed her mind, and her expression became even more teasing, "However, meeting the young Su Lun, perhaps your ''lifetime service to the gods'' might note to fruition."


    Princess: "..."


    ....


    After a while, Su Lun assimted the knowledge that flooded his mind, and his eyes gradually cleared. He couldn''t help but remark, "It''s also a blessing that the divine secret techniques can preserve souls; this extraction alone has saved me years of arduous cultivation."


    Yaxi was far more knowledgeable and had a deeper understanding than his fourth-order brother, the pirate.


    Having digested those memories, Su Lun instantly felt immensely rewarded.


    His death god shadow, when extracting the soul of a five-tier professional, could now capture about 3% of the soul fragment in its entirety. To gain as much knowledge about the "Magician" as possible, he even forwent this fellow''s very standard insights into the Tier-5 Wind Law and Sword Dao Sword Intent.


    Still, such trade-offs turned out to be highly effective.


    "Rune Mage" is a branch of the alchemic system that specializes in the study of runes, and the gap between professionals and amateurs is not small.


    This made Su Lun, a "master-level" Rune Master, feel quite inadequate.


    Instantaneously acquiring a vast amount of rune knowledge, Su Lun felt that his proficiency in runes had taken a significant step up.


    What was even more crucial was that with this knowledge as a foundation, he could better understand the [Rune Inheritance Scroll] he''d obtained.


    With that in mind, Su Lun took out the yellowed scroll and spread it before his eyes, where a dense script immediately caught his gaze.


    This nearly ten-meter-long scroll contained almost all the rune knowledge that the "Rune Old Man" had originally brought from Emperor Luying''s capital, including advanced sequences andbat secret techniques.


    The scroll did not only contain in text, but also encrypted content and special runenguage.


    It was also fortunate that Su Lun had stripped Yaxi''s soul, allowing him to decipher all the content with hardly any obstacles.


    Su Lun rapidly scanned the text, with the dense words reflecting in his eyes like ripples.


    The scroll was like a key, unlocking the door to the higher realm of runes.


    But the mysteries of rune learning are as deep as the ocean; it was like he had fished a treasure chest from the sea.


    Even though Su Lun''s current expertise in rune learning was already considered high by others, the contents of the scroll were enough for him to delve into for a lifetime.


    Su Lun didn''t intend topletely digest these things right away; he wanted to find a way to refine [Imitation of Original Runes].


    If he managed to sessfully advance to the fourth order, then came back to study the scroll, he would undoubtedly achieve twice the result with half the effort!


    Su Lun carefully searched the content of the scroll and then, in the "Advanced Sequence Selection" section, he found several ssic advancement paths for Rune Mages, from 1st to 6th order.


    Just as he had hoped.


    He quickly found several profession material refinement forms that could match [Imitation of Original Runes].


    After analyzing them, he finally chose two with the highestpatibility¡ªone called [Universal Comprehension] and the other called [Zosimus''s Heavenly Eye].


    The first refining match was a "universal form" with not so highpatibility, but the materials were rtively easier to find, and the final product''s effect was fairly standard.


    The second form required some bizarre materials, such as "Dust from the Corpse of a Lake Sprite," "Tears of a Narwhal," "Brain Marrow of a High-order Siren"... Some materials were even beyond Su Lun''s current knowledge. They were tricky to obtain, but correspondingly, the results would be better.


    "These materials aren''t easy to find..."


    Although he was mentally prepared, Su Lun frowned at the sight of those names.


    Alchemy Magicians investigated materials thoroughly in their domain; they were not limited to any single type. As long as they could decode the specific function of materials in a blueprint, they could actually find other materials with simr effects as substitutes.


    The scroll went into detail about the "pharmacology" and "properties" of various materials.


    After careful consideration, Su Lun did think of several materials that could be substituted.


    Still, he was missing a lot.


    To more fully unleash the characteristics of top-grade items like [Imitation of Original Runes], the higher the grade of the matching materials, the better.


    Those materials, even if easily kept at a top auction house, might not necessarily be gathered quickly.


    "Hiss, what can be done to gather these in a short time..."


    Su Lun was momentarily worried.


    This ce was far from Pirate City, and even trying to go there to purchase them would take time, let alone gather them quickly. The first thing he thought of was the other members of the Mirror Organization, so he decided to first ask through themunicator.


    But just as he was engrossed in thought, the sound of water erupted from the courtyard outside his room.


    On looking again, Heran Qian Tiao and two others had entered after taking a hot spring bath.


    Upon seeing Shinfuku Mitsuko, Su Lun''s eyes suddenly lit up.


    Wasn''t she the Mountain Hermit royal princess?

 Chapter 314 The Daily Life of the Soup Room

    "Phew...that''s more like it."


    A glowing Chien-Tiao stepped into the house from the courtyard with a bold stride.


    She watched Su Lun studying rune scrolls and couldn''t help but praise him, "The volcanic hot springs of Tea Crying Mountain are truly unparalleled, this is the most delightful soak I''ve ever had. Su Lun,d, you really missed out..."


    Princess and Lolota, by her side, also looked refreshed and rosy-cheeked. It seemed as if the hot springs had washed away the fatigue and grime of the past few days.


    "Oh, really?"


    Su Lun looked up, his lips curling slightly into a smile.


    All three of them had changed into the in white kimonos provided by the inn, which looked like pajamas and felt homey.


    Although it was the same kind of clothing, the effects of wearing them differed entirely among the three.


    Chien-Tiao was dressed casually, her outer garment draped carelessly, giving off a total gangster vibe. Without a chest binder, her white cleavage was ringly distracting. In the case of Shinfuku Mitsuko, the kimono seemed tailor-made for her, very fitting and imparting a dignified and elegant aura. Lolota, that little girl, waspletely t, um, nothing much to see there.


    If Chien-Tiao was endlesslyplimenting the ce, then the hot springs here had to be excellent.


    Nevertheless, Su Lun''s mind was not on the hot springs at that moment.


    The materials he needed, whether from Pirate City or the Mirror Organization, were not immediate solutions, but here was a princess from Mountain Hermit in front of him.


    Should he ask her?


    ...


    "Teacher, where are we going to sleep tonight?"


    "There are futons in the cupboard, justy them out there..."


    "Oh."


    The threedies entered the house, looking like they were getting ready to rest.


    After being chased for several days, with ghost warriors appearing at night, none of them had a peaceful sleep.


    Lolota pulled out the futons from the cupboard andid them on the tatami. Then she slid the woodenttice door, creating a semi-open bedroom.


    Chien-Tiao and Su Lun had shared a room many times, with not the slightest intent to maintain appearances. She sprawled out on the futon without any consideration, her beautiful legs and half of her rounded buttocks revealed under the loose kimono. It was Lolota who, with a face full of worry for her teacher, covered her up with a nket.


    Su Lun nced over but had something else on his mind.


    He was hesitant, unsure how to bring up the matter of the materials.


    After all, they weren''t close.


    But Shinfuku Mitsuko keenly caught the unusual look Su Lun gave her and took the initiative to ask, "Mr. Su Lun, do you have some kind of concern?"


    "Well..."


    After a moment''s hesitation, Su Lun finally said, "Indeed, there is a small matter for which I might need Princess''s assistance."


    Thinking of this somewhat transactional protection, he did not feel embarrassed and spoke directly, "I need some rare materials..."


    "Materials?"


    When Princess heard this, she didn''t find it bothersome; instead, her eyes lit up with delight.


    This Mr. Su Lun had saved her once, and now she could return the favor; she felt such a cooperative rtionship would be more solid.


    She moved to the coffee table, knelt down gracefully on the rush mat, and asked, "What kind of materials do you need, Mr. Su Lun?"


    "Lake Demon''s Dust of Corpse," "Sixth-rank Sea Monkey Brain Marrow"..."


    Su Lun listed off the names of the materials he needed.


    Since the scrolls of the magician came from the royal family of Mountain Hermit, there was nothing much to keep secret; he even pointed to the contents on the scrolls and listed his requirements one by one.


    Princess, after hearing the names of the materials, took out pen and paper and wrote them down carefully.


    Only after Su Lun finished describing the traits of the materials did she offer her suggestions, "The ''Shadow Tentacle'' you mentioned can be substituted with the ''Nail of the Monster Oil Aka,'' based on the traits you described, they are both dead spirit type, fire attribute energy, the effect of the two materials in the form should be simr. I haven''t heard of this one either, but I think it can also be substituted with ''Revenant''s Bone Powder,'' which might even produce a better result..."


    "Hmm."


    A sh of different colors flickered in Su Lun''s eyes, which was when he realized that the Princess had a deep mastery of potion studies. This Shinto Shrine Maiden not only had extraordinary knowledge but also was proficient in the medicinal properties and effects of various materials.


    Especially some of the specialties of the Mountain Hermit, many of those herbs and magical creature materials were blind spots in Su Lun''s knowledge, yet the Princess knew them like the back of her hand.


    Both being proficient in potion studies, theirmunication was thus very smooth.


    With just a little discussion, they could easily understand each other''s meanings.


    As soon as they started talking, Su Lun immediately felt that he had found the right person.


    The most crucial aspect was the Princess''s dual special status as Royal Princess and Shinto Shrine Maiden, which not only gave her knowledge of these rare materials but even detailed information on where to find them!


    Although the Mountain Hermit nation was backward and poor, Su Lun had witnessed the profound depth of the Shinfuku royal family.


    After listening to his requests, the Princess didn''t find it difficult at all.


    She confidently took on the task, saying in a rxed tone, "There are a lot of materials stored in the royal treasury, many of which I remember we have. Even if we don''t have some, the pharmacy at the Sugaha Shrine should be able to find recements. I''ll send a message to the guards, and we should be able to gather everything in a few days..."


    Indeed, some things that are difficult for ordinary people


    Are but simplemands away for those at the pinnacle of power.


    "Then thank you, Princess."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun naturally could not refuse.


    If he were to gather these materials himself, who knows how many years and months it would take.


    In contrast, the Royal Princess could resolve it in just a few days.


    And since he didn''t know how much these materials were worth in Mountain Hermit, it would seem crude to offer payment, and she probably didn''tck for money.


    The Princess smiled slightly, seemingly happy to be able to help, "You''re wee. Mr. Su Lun, you saved me. I''m just assisting with a trivial matter."


    Su Lun''s eyebrows lifted slightly, nomittally.


    This was a favor he owed.


    Having said that, the Princess had already folded the piece of paper, inscribed with Xiujuan''s calligraphy, into a paper crane and then gently blew on it in her palm.


    Then, a miraculous scene unfolded.


    The paper crane glowed with spiritual light, as if it hade alive, pping its wings and flying out of the window.


    Su Lun watched, uttering a soft exmation of surprise in his heart.


    Seeing his curiosity about the paper crane, the Princess volunteered an exnation, "This is the ''Shikigami Spirit Crane,'' a secret Shinto technique. It can only be used by clergy who are well-versed in Onmyoji."


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    "Oh."


    Su Lun sensed a faint soul fluctuation from the paper crane, yet it didn''t resemble theplex soul oscitions of a truly living creature.


    His mind instantly went back to the previous battle with Onmyoji Abe Yasukazu, who had used the "Paper Doll Technique" several times to escape certain death.


    How did he achieve that with mere paper?


    Curious about the technique, Su Lun took the opportunity to ask directly, "Miss Princess, may I ask you a question?"


    The Princess humbly replied, "Mr. Su Lun, you''re too polite. In front of such a learned Alchemist as yourself, I dare not ept the term ''teach.''"@@novelbin@@


    Su Lun smiled as well, maintaining the necessary politeness given theirck of familiarity.


    He didn''t beat around the bush and simply asked, "It''s about that Paper Doll Technique that Abe used before..."


    The Princess said, "That is also a very clever ''Shikigami Paper Doll Technique.'' It''s an inheritance unique to the Abe family''s Onmyoji. It''s said that eight hundred years ago, the Abe family had a genius Onmyoji, Abe no Nakamaro, whose spells were so powerful, they subdued many in Shinto..."


    Su Lun listened intently to the Princess''s exnation, nodding from time to time.


    Sure enough, the most knowledgeable about Shinto secret techniques were still the shrine maidens of Mountain Hermit.


    Naturally, the Princess knew that Su Lun was curious about this issue because he wanted to understand the principles behind the technique, so she continued, "The principle of that secret technique is simr to my ''Shikigami Paper Crane,'' which is about granting a certain amount of spirit to inanimate objects, only much more sophisticated. But apart from the Abe family, I haven''t heard of anyone else who can..."


    When Su Lun heard that, he asked further, "Granting spirit to inanimate objects?"


    "Yes," she affirmed.


    The Princess nodded and added, "That is a power bestowed by the gods."


    "I see..."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun also immediately understood why he couldn''tprehend it, it was another god-given ability.


    Without being a devout follower, one cannot use those divine spells.


    Su Lun also temporarily abandoned the idea of attempting that particr spell.


    But only temporarily.


    In the eyes of an alchemist, many Shinto spells that seemed iprehensible were actually just the gods responding to their followers, granting lower-ss professionals power beyond their standing.


    However, in reality, everything in the world could be understood, inability to understand was just ack of personal knowledge.


    In the future, once his status had increased, he might well be able toprehend it.


    The two of them continued on this topic, with the Princess exining many aspects of Onmyoji and Shinto to Su Lun, which he found eye-opening.


    But there was too much to say, and it couldn''t all be covered in a short time.


    Before long, Su Lun noticed the Princess''s undisguisable fatigue. That''s when he realized that dawn was fast approaching.


    Upon another look, Sen and Lolota had already fallen fast asleep.


    Considering they seemed to be staying together for the next few days, Su Lun felt they would have plenty of time to talk, so he said, "Thank you, Miss Princess, for resolving my doubts. Sorry for dying your rest, you should go to sleep."


    "Having the opportunity to exchange knowledge with such a learned alchemist as Mr. Su Lun has also been very beneficial to the Princess," she replied politely, then asked in turn, "What about you, Mr. Su Lun?"


    Su Lun said, "I still need to spend some time in meditation."


    "Oh. Alright then."


    The Princess gave a slight smile.


    She didn''t insist on staying up, stood up, bowed respectfully, "Then good night, Mr. Su Lun."


    Su Lun nodded.


    ...


    The rooms in the bathhouse weremunal, not due to some cheesy twist of fate, but because this, like "mixed bathing," was also a custom of the Mountain Hermit.


    In the mountain retreat, even if people weren''t family, just bying to the hot springs together, they were considered acquaintances. Nobody would mind sleeping together, and it was even seen as a way to enhance rtionships. The Princess naturally didn''t find it strange.


    Lolota hadid out four futons, one for herself, and Sen had sprawled out over two. This left the Princess with the one next to them. She removed her kimono, donning only a thin robe that hinted at her elegant figure. This royal Princess, high in status,cked any princess-like airs and carried herself gracefully and meticulously. After folding her clothes neatly and tidying her sash, she then slipped into bed.


    Being used to sharing a room with Sen, Su Lun should have felt nothing unusual about the situation. Yet, for some reason, the presence of an outsider made it feel somewhat odd to him.


    Having just received an inheritance scroll of rune spells, Su Lun wasn''t sleepy in the slightest, so he decided to meditate there and then, assimting the content of the scroll.


    The gentle aroma of incense filled the air, aiding sleep.


    The room was quiet and still, the atmosphere growing ever more harmonious.


    Su Lun wasn''t sure if it was an illusion, but it seemed that the design of thismunal sleeping arrangement truly could bring people closer together quickly.


    He suddenly felt that the Princess wasn''t that much of a stranger anymore.


    Or perhaps,


    It was because he was now in her debt?


    Furthermore, had she employed some clever tactics of engagement?


    Su Lun pondered, then reined in his thoughts.


    Regardless, there was no malice, and indeed, the interaction was quite pleasant.


    ...


    Several days passed in a blink.


    ```


    Su Lun and the others stayed in the bathhouse.


    It seemed like they hadpletely shaken off their pursuers, and no one came looking for them.


    During these days, the Princess Shinfuku Mitsuko did not dare to wander outside and had never left her room. Being a princess who was being hunted, aside from the Takeda shogunate, the situation within the imperial Shinfuku family was also not optimistic. Before she could ascertain the truth, she naturally did not dare show her face.


    Over these days, the Princess Shinfuku Mitsuko sent and received the "Shikigami Paper Cranes" many times.


    As Su Lun did not deliberately avoid them, he saw everything.


    However, he did not interfere.


    The two of them tacitly coexisted in this way.


    Su Lun was quite reclusive as well; he needed a lot of time to digest all that he had recently acquired and had no time to go out.


    As for Chihiro and Lolota, the master-apprentice duo were often nowhere to be seen during the day. They said they were practicing their swordsmanship, and would only return in the evening, drenched in sweat and the smell of blood, then they would take a bath, eat, and sleep... quite blissfully.


    Also, because the two were not often in the room, it was usually just Su Lun and the Princess, a man and a woman alone together.


    Su Lun was very interested in everything about the Mountain Hermit nation, especially its monsters and cultivation system. Fortuitously, the Princess was the person who was most knowledgeable about this information. And she was also very interested in Alchemy. The two therefore had many academic topics inmon, and their interactions were not awkward.


    They learned from each other and made progress together, thus bing more familiar with each other as time went on.


    Su Lun also noticed that the Princess gradually lost that "politeness of etiquette" towards him.


    It wasn''t exactly a deep friendship, but at least they could be considered friends.


    During this period, Su Lun gradually received the materials he needed.


    Some were delivered by people, and some were brought by various kinds of mystical creatures. Those creatures would pop out from the mountains, roof beams, water, walls... all sorts of ces.


    That Princess greatly broadened Su Lun''s horizons.


    Finally, on the sixth day, Su Lun gathered all the materials needed to synthesize the [Replica Primordial Rune].


    ...


    Because the required materials were very rare, but Princess Shinfuku Mitsuko still managed to procure two sets of every material needed, regardless of the cost.


    Su Lun was not sure he would be able to synthesize it sessfully the first time.


    Especially for some materials he had never seen before, he needed the assistance of someone knowledgeable.


    The Princess was more than willing to help.


    The potion studies in Alchemy greatly differed from the Mountain Hermit''s medical system, but certain underlying principles were the same and couldplement each other.


    So the two of them set up various bottles, jars, and synthesis equipment in the room, cooperating with each other in an orderly manner.


    "Mr. Su Lun, is it enough if the [Ghoul Mushroom Powder] is purified to 75%?"


    "Is the [Ghoul''s Crimson Tongue] mixed with mercury to catalyze the reaction?"


    "The [Carrion Slug''s Mucus] from our Mountain Hermit has a special treatment method that can achieve the perfect condition for use..."


    "..."


    Once the materials were purified and ready to use, the final step was to merge them together using a Formation of Alchemy.


    The Princess provided significant help to Su Lun in this process.


    With her assistance, Su Lun got all the materials ready.


    Despite being unfamiliar with the form, he had the All-knowing Eye, which allowed him to identify the detailed attributes of each material. He also had an absolutely calm mind and master-level synthesis skills. Theoretically, as long as his thought process and form were correct, the likelihood of sessful synthesis was high.


    As expected, due to ample preparation and a bit of luck, Su Lun seeded on the first try.


    He had crafted the [Replica Primordial Rune] into the advancement material he needed to break through to the fourth tier.


    With dark Spiritual Power already brimming, Su Lun decided to advance to the fourth tier immediately.


    PS. Ah... sorry, the transition between the two chapters might be a bit mundane.


    ```

 Chapter 315 Advance to Rank 4 (Supplement)

    In the third-floor room of the soup kitchen run by Granny Ha, Qian Tiao and Shinfuku Mitsuko were leisurely ying chess. Lolo, who was standing by with her sword, watched with great interest.


    This nine-by-nine grid chessboard, with pieces like Jade Generals, Flying Chariots, Angled Movers... is a unique method of y developed by the Mountain Hermits.


    The three of them had been taking turns ying, and it had been going on for two days and nights.


    The loser would get strips of paper stuck on their face as a punishment, and now Qian Tiao and Lolo looked like they both had manes like a lion''s. Shinfuku Mitsuko didn''t have as many on her face, but she still had quite a few. These "decorations" added a worldly, lived-in charm to the Princess who was otherwise ethereal and refined.


    The atmosphere was very harmonious.


    On the other half of the room, a woodentticed door separated a secluded chamber that was equipped with various Shinto prohibitions to prevent energy leakage. Although it was impossible to see what was happening inside, the oppressive and terrifying energy and dark spiritual power that asionally seeped out still interrupted the thoughts of the three ying chess from time to time.


    Moreover, the frequency and intensity of the energy leaks had been increasing today without any sign of subsiding. It was only after reinforcing the magical barrier several times that it remained undetected by outsiders.


    Just as a move was made, Shinfuku Mitsuko''s attention was drawn away by the sinister energy fluctuations next door.


    Being a Shinto Shrine Maiden from Ise Grand Shrine, she was particrly sensitive to such dark attribute energy fluctuations.


    The degree of that exaggerated energy had already exceeded her knowledge of any professionals of the same rank. It felt as if the person advancing in that room was not so much a human progressing but rather a hellish monster evolving.@@novelbin@@


    As she made her move, she casually asked, "Miss Qian Tiao, the energy Su Lun is releasing is really excessive, isn''t it? And it''s been going on for so long; could there be any problems?"


    Lolo blew at the paper strips on her face and added, "Yeah, Teacher. Didn''t Su Lun just advanced to the fourth rank? Why is themotion so big?"


    Qian Tiao nced over and smacked her lips, "That guy''s dark spiritual power is indeed extravagant. Not even professionals advancing to the fifth rank make as much noise. But there are signs of the energy declining already, so it should be over soon. Probably no problems."


    Although she said so, there was not a hint of worry on her face.


    Qian Tiao knew Su Lun too well; his foundation was far deeper than that of any peer, so it wasn''t surprising that themotion was extensive.


    Furthermore, the stronger the curse characteristics of the advancement materials, the longer the body needs to digest them.


    As for the possibility of not being able to digest the curse materials and causing mutations, that was even less concerning. For someone with the All-knowing Eye like Su Lun, it''s nearly impossible.


    His steady character was also nothing to worry about.


    ...


    The three of them weren''t merely ying chess here to pass the time; they were also here to protect Su Lun during his progress.


    After all, something as important as advancing couldn''t tolerate any disturbances.


    Qian Tiao, the gambling addict who was hardly seen during normal days, hadn''t left the room for two whole days, not even to take a dip in the hot springs. She patiently stood guard inside.


    The three of them talked while ying chess, and Lolo yawned.


    Without much thought, Qian Tiao said, "Lolo, if you''re sleepy, go to sleep."


    Lolo said earnestly, "No, I want to stay with Teacher."


    Qian Tiao then turned to Shinfuku Mitsuko, who was sitting across from her, and suggested, "Princess, if you''re sleepy, feel free to go to sleep."


    Shinfuku Mitsuko gave a small smile, "There''s no need."


    As the host, it wouldn''t be proper for her to go to sleep alone, and she was more than happy to help Su Lun even if just a little.


    Hearing this, Qian Tiao''s expression flickered with a hint of teasing as she suddenly asked, "Princess, what do you think of that young man Su Lun?"


    "He''s very talented."


    Shinfuku Mitsuko made her move.


    After a moment of thought, she earnestly responded, "Su Lun''s erudition is really breathtaking. It seems he knows everything, excelling in everything; he is truly exceptional. Having interacted with him these past few days, I''ve asked many questions and benefited greatly."


    Having spent these days in closepany, she hade to understand Su Lun better.


    With the initial wariness for a "stranger" gone, she found that being in Su Lun''spany was veryfortable. Strong abilities, well-read, multi-talented, self-disciplined, modest, focused, and handsome... She could hardly find any faults.


    Most importantly, he had good character.


    He could perfectly control his own emotions. After all, living together, the asional unconscious nces were part of human nature; yet, he never let his thoughts drift to wanton fantasies, which was a truly rare quality.


    That was also why the Princess found their cohabitation over the past few days pleasant and didn''t mind it in the slightest.


    As a Shinto Shrine Maiden, she could clearly sense people''s emotions and certain thoughts.


    Hearing this reply, a spirited and beautiful Chitose raised an eyebrow, "Yo~ I knew it, you definitely have a thing for him."


    She looked at the Princess''s pretty face with a yful gaze, as if trying to detect some unusual emotion.


    The Princess, now ustomed to this teasing, didn''t change her expression and corrected, "My feelings for Mr. Su Lun are of admiration, not of a romantic nature."


    As she said this, she paused, then smiled, "Rather, I think Miss Chitose and Mr. Su Lun would be a good match."


    Chitose rolled her eyes upon hearing this, showing no intention of arguing, andzily remarked, "That guy once told me this weird story called ''The Vulture Couple'' that had a line like ''One mistake can ruin your whole life.'' I think it''s quite fitting for you..."


    Ignoring her, the Princess just made her chess move and simply said, "Mr. Su Lun has told me some very interesting stories as well."


    "..."


    Chitose looked down at the chessboard, only now realizing she seemed to be losing again, her expression turning odd.


    She frowned in thought for a moment, unable to find a way to turn the game around, and could only gain the upper hand with her words, "Have you ever met anyone more handsome and outstanding than him? Tsk tsk... If you don''t seize the opportunity, you might find it difficult to meet someone like him again."


    Listening, the Princess calmly replied, "I have naturally never met anyone like that, and it''s unlikely I ever will. But... Miss Chitose, you seem to have forgotten that I am a Shinto Shrine Maiden."


    As she spoke, she made a chess move and smiled, "You''ve lost again."


    No sooner had she spoken than a white strip of paper stuck to Chitose''s face.


    Chitose rolled her eyes, her face showing utter disinterest.


    In the meantime, Lalotaughed heartily without a care in the world and urged, "Teacher, you lost, it''s my turn now!"


    ....


    As Chitose and the other two continued their chess game, when there was almost no space left for paper strips on Chitose''s face, suddenly, the energy fluctuations in the other half of the roompletely ceased.


    Chitose immediately realized something and heaved a sigh of relief in her heart.


    In the end, these two days had passed without any mishap.


    The Princess beside her also noticed and a smile appeared on her face, "It looks like Mr. Su Lun''s advancement is over."


    Lalota, realizing the others had stopped, came to her senses. She looked towards the wooden door, muttering softly, "I wonder if he seeded..."


    No sooner had she voiced her concern than thettice door was suddenly pushed open and Su Lun stepped out, full of vigor.


    Having just advanced, he couldn''t yet perfectly contain his aura; the outpouring of fourth-level fluctuations amazed all three in the room with surprise and anticipation.


    Lalota, ever hasty, asked, "Mr. Su Lun, have you sessfully advanced?"


    Su Lun nodded, he had seeded.


    Chitose eyed Su Lun''s skin, where mysterious runes faintly glowed, and asked with curiosity, "You made such a big fuss, how does advancing feel?"


    "Very strong."


    Su Lun thought for a moment and replied with just two words.


    He couldn''t describe his current experience, but it felt incredibly good!


    If finding the Magician''s lineage scroll in the wild was like stumbling upon a piece of gold, then now he had mastered the method of "turning stone into gold!"


    After the advancement, it wasn''t just the acquisition of more rune-rted knowledge, but his understanding of the rune domain, as well as his capabilities in logical thinking, learning, extension, deduction, variation, perception... all these abilities skyrocketed.


    After forcibly assimting it with Alchemy, he was even more certain that the [Replica of the Primeval Rune] was indeed a treasure!


    The essence of runes was "patterns imbued with Magic Power," abstract concepts ofws expressed in visual and tangible patterns. By using specialbinations and arrangements, they created all kinds of miraculous effects.


    At this moment, Su Lun felt as if he saw a lighthouse in the vast dark ocean of knowledge, which gave him direction and lit his path, giving him a vague sense that he was finally qualified to touch upon the ultimate secret of thews.


    Advancing in the fourth tier in this direction was definitely the right choice!


    "Rune expertise" improvements are crucial for a Puppeteer, and with this advancement, thebat power of the rune puppets Su Lun creates will surge by N times.


    Those high-tier runes of the sixth and seventh tiers, the various variations of the Luoen runenguage... they now feel like college-level problems to a primary student, easily grasped and readily understood.


    If previously his level could be considered that of a "Rune Master,"


    Now he is nothing less than a "Rune Grandmaster"!


    Moreover, there are many secret techniques among the legacy of the "Rune Magician," and once Su Lun gets a hold of them, his ownbat power will also soar several times over!


    Seeing the bright spark in Su Lun''s eyes, the Princess beside him couldn''t help but smile slightly, genuinely happy for him, and softly offered her congrattions, "Congrattions, Mr. Su Lun."


    Su Lun nced at her, filled with emotion, "I couldn''t have advanced without Miss Princess''s help..."


    He had a thousand words of gratitude but struggled to voice them all.


    From the recipes, materials to the final crafting, everything was directly rted to the Mountain Hermit Princess in front of him.


    Without the Princess, Su Lun would have found advancement far out of reach.


    He truly owed her a great debt.


    And it wasn''t light.


    The Princess bowed slightly in return, responding, "You are too kind, Mr. Su Lun."


    Off to the side, Chitose rolled her eyes, interrupting their politeness, "You two, can you stop with all the thank you''s back and forth..."


    Su Lun couldn''t help but chuckle at this.


    Just then, his gaze fell upon the Anti-Magic Rune seal on Chitose''s arm, and he added, "Chitose, I''m now confident I can unlock the ''Anti-Magic Rune Seal'' on your arm!"


    Previously, his rune expertise wasn''t sufficient to undo a seal cast by a sixth-tier Rune Grandmaster, and he might have taken ten days to a half month just to find the correct method.


    But now, after his advancement, with just one look, he immediately discerned the pattern behind the arrangement of the runes.


    "Oh?"


    Chitose raised an eyebrow, her face lit up with joy.


    She certainly wouldn''t mind Su Lun helping her; the rune seal on her arms had caused her a fair amount of trouble in a short time, and she would be d to have it resolved.


    Suddenly, however, she seemed to catch a peculiar scent and wrinkled her nose in distaste, "Su Lun, what''s that smell on you?"


    Su Lun sniffed and replied, "I don''t smell anything?"


    Lolo made a grimace, hinting, "It''s a sour smell..."


    The Princess covered her mouth,ughing silently.


    "..."


    Only then did Su Lun realize what they were referring to.


    Despite staying at a hot spring inn for many days, he hadn''t once soaked in the pool,pletely engrossed with the matters of advancement. Plus, the time spent on the Pirate crew''s ship meant he likely hadn''t bathed in over half a month, not to mention days spent crafting materials amidst smoke and soot, surely the smell wasn''t pleasant.


    With an awkwardugh, he suggested, "Maybe I should go take care of that first?"


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    After being cooped up in his room for two days and nights for his fourth-tier advancement, he felt he should clean up, and he moved toward the courtyard.


    Hearing this, Chitose nced at the Princess with a teasing look in her eye, waved a big hand, and said, "Let''s go soak in the hot spring! I found a great spot up on the mountain, truly a top-tier experience. I haven''t been out for two days either, let''s go enjoy the ''scenery''..."


    Su Lun thought it sounded good, "Alright."


    Chitose gestured like she was heading out, then casually slung an arm over Shinfuku Mitsuko''s shoulder, "Come on, Princess, you''re joining us."


    "Ah?"


    The Princess had a premonition that Chitose was up to some mischief, but outright refusal seemed too alienating. Before her mind could catch up, her body was already being pulled along by Chitose, and she could only nkly respond, "Oh."


    A party of four quietly leapt from the courtyard and ascended the mountain.


    ....


    Su Lun and hispanions all boasted exceptional physical abilities, and they didn''t take the main path, choosing instead to trek through forests and scale mountains.


    The geothermal hot springs of Tea Crying Mountain were abundant, but all the bathhouses were built on t terrain. The higher the altitude, the scarcer the human presence.


    Before long, the group had reached above the snow line, and the temperature around them dropped suddenly.


    As they drew nearer to the direction of the volcano''s main peak, Su Lun, driven by curiosity, asked, "Sister Qian Tiao, where are we heading?"


    Without stopping, Qian Tiao replied while walking, "Previously, when I was out practicing swordy with Lolo Ta, we stumbled upon a natural hot spring here on the mountain. It was a beautiful ce, with excellent water."


    Su Lun: "Oh."


    At that moment, Qian Tiao turned to the Princess and asked, "Princess, you''ve probably never been to an outdoor hot spring like this, have you?"


    "Ah... that''s right."


    The Princess seemed a bit distracted as she nodded, "I visited Tea Crying Mountain when I was a child, but I only stayed in bathhouses and never wandered up here on the mountain."


    Looking around at the snowyndscape, her face lit up, much like a canary breaking free from its cage, and a sh of awe crossed her features. "I never imagined the scenery here could be so spectacr."


    Qian Tiao raised an eyebrow, "Oh, then you really should try it. That hot spring will definitely leave asting impression on you."


    For some reason, the Princess felt that Qian Tiao''s smile seemed a bit teasing today.


    Maybe it was payback for winning too many chess games these past two days?


    ...


    "It''s right above us!"


    In no time, Su Lun and his threepanions arrived at the base of a nearly vertical cliff face. Qian Tiao pointed to a barren tree near the top of the hundred-meter cliff where the trickle of a stream andrge ice cascades could be seen.


    "Hurry and follow me up!"


    With a powerful leap, Qian Tiao bolted upward from the ground. Much like a nimble mountain goat, she pushed off the protruding rocks of the cliff face and quickly made her way to the top.


    Lolo Ta, not to be outdone, wielded her short de to hammer into the ice and scale upwards, shouting encouragement halfway through to Su Lun and the Princess below, "Mr. Su Lun, Princess,e on, hurry up!"


    "Okay."


    Su Lun replied with a nod.


    Climbing a wall was easy for him, but as he nced over at the Princess, who looked a bit distressed by the rock face, he asked, "Princess, shall I help you up?"


    "Ah?"


    She looked momentarily confused.


    It wasn''t that she couldn''t climb up; it just seemed somewhat improper. She was a royal princess, after all, and climbing walls wasn''t exactly something she was ustomed to. Even in such situations in the past, her guards would have prepared the way for her.


    Her mind was racing:


    Would climbing be impolite?


    Her etiquette tutor had certainly never allowed such behavior for a princess.


    And... would Mr. Su Lun find it strange?


    But as she was still pondering, she was suddenly swept up by an arm, and as she felt a lightness, she heard a voice by her ear, "Hold on tight, Princess. I''m taking us up."


    Su Lun, with a clear conscience and no time for dilly-dallying, saw the Princess''s dilemma and promptly took action.


    With the Octopus Spear disengaged, he easily scaled the cliff while carrying another person.


    PS. Making up for yesterday, if time permits, I will try to write another chapter. Don''t wait up, it might be veryte. Or perhaps tomorrow.

 Chapter 316 Fasting King

    Su Lun led Shinfuku Mitsuko up the cliff, and then stopped on the stone tform where a withered tree stood.


    Having brought her up, he steadied himself before saying again, "Excuse me, Princess."


    "Ah...?"


    The Princess had not yet fully reacted when she felt the ground beneath her feet again, hearing these words, a fleeting unusual color passed across her fair face. Like a deer encountering a Hunter in the woods, she btedly bowed and said, "Thank you, Mr. Su Lun."


    The stone tform nestled in the crevice wasn''t veryrge, just about fifty square meters or so. But conveniently, a spring bubbled up through the crevices, forming an irregrly shaped hot spring pool. The water was crystal clear, and through the misty vapor on the surface, one could clearly see the pebbles at the bottom of the pool.


    Surrounding the mountain wereyers of snow that didn''t melt all year round, yet only the stone tform enriched by the hot spring was damp, with patches of vibrant green nts growing. It was a mystery how the spring water came up through the crevices, with a substantial flow that trickled down, overflowing from the pool and crystallizing into icicles below the cliff upon contact with the cold air.


    Seeing this ce, Su Lun finally understood why Senjo raved about it so much.


    Tea Crying Mountain was the tallest mountain in the southern part of Mountain Hermit, and naturally, the view from halfway up was spectacr. The viges below, with their plumes of smoke from chimneys, were clearly visible, and even the bustling Izumo Castle could be faintly discerned in the distance.


    Soaking in the hot spring pool and enjoying the nourishing waters, one side offering a view of the snowyndscape while the other allowed a panoramic view of the mountain scenery.


    It was serene, tranquil, blissfully delightful¡ªas if in a fairnd.


    ...


    Senjo had arrived a step earlier and was already soaking in the water. She looked at Su Lun and the two as they arrived and called out, "Nice ce, right?"


    Su Lun nodded in agreement, "Yes, it''s very nice."


    Senjoughed and said, "Then don''t just stand there,e on down and soak. The water here doesn''t have that sulfur smell like the ones down at the bathhouses in town; it''s superb."


    "Oh."


    Su Lun looked around; the scenery of the wild hot spring was beautiful, but it seemed tock something.


    Like, a ce to change clothes?


    The already limited tform offered no privacy to speak of¡ªit waspletely transparent with nowhere to hide.


    He, being a grown man, didn''t particrly care, but what about the Princess beside him?


    Senjo and her apprentice clearly had been here multiple times and were quite familiar with the ce. Lolo was in the process of undressing, hanging her clothing on a protruding rock nearby. The young girl was somewhat embarrassed, changing into a bathrobe with her back turned to Su Lun, her ears tinged with red, before quickly slipping into the water.


    The clear pool water couldn''t obscure the view, but it seemed capable of shielding one''s modesty.


    Su Lun didn''t dawdle, knowing his continued presence would only make the Princess beside him feel more awkward.


    He also took off his clothes, leaving just his undergarments, and approached the edge of the pool.


    He dipped his toe to test the water, and the temperature was just right.@@novelbin@@


    Once his body was submerged in the spring water, he could distinctly feel a pleasant sensation as his pores opened up.


    Su Lun and Senjo weren''t bashful with each other, so they sat facing each other. This position conveniently had their backs to the Princess, tactfully respecting her privacy as she changed.


    Senjo caught sight of the Princess still on the bank and a yful glint flickered in her eyes; her lips curled up as she urged, "Princess,e on down."


    "..."


    When she heard this, the Princess realized she had been toyed with.


    She gave a resigned nce in response, and from the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the back of Su Lun''s head, feeling an inexplicable sense of relief.


    Because she was now ustomed to the process, the Shinto Shrine Maiden showed less embarrassment; her delicate hands untied the sash around her waist.


    Her white garment, under-dress, and red hakama were shed one by one, before she then put on a bathrobe designed for soaking in the baths.


    This enchanting beauty would probably mesmerize thousands of men, but regrettably, only the mountain breeze and the white snow could witness it.


    Senjo, however, watched intently and fanned the mes with her teasing remark, "Wow... No matter how many times I see it, Princess''s figure is truly excellent."


    Su Lun only heard the rustling sound behind him and naturally knew that the Princess was changing her clothes.


    Listening to Qian Qiao''s words, he also understood that the two were teasing each other, which had be quite normal these past few days.


    To avoid any impropriety, Su Lun wrung out a hot, wet towel and ced it on his forehead, then he closed his eyes for a short rest.


    Before long, he heard footsteps getting closer from behind.


    It was the sound of bare feet on the wet stones, damp and soft.


    For some reason, even without looking, the image of a pair of jade-like beautiful legs slowly approaching automatically popped into Su Lun''s mind.


    Then he heard the sound of water, walking right past him, very close.


    The hot spring pool was not regr in shape, only a few square meters in size which wasfortable enough for two to soak in, but it became somewhat crowded with four. Even stretching one''s legs out in the water, they could touch each other''s feet.


    As the Princess got into the water, he heard Qian Qiaough and call out, "Princess,e over here."


    The Princess didn''t respond, silently walking over and then soaked in the water.


    With his eyes closed, Su Lun felt an extra pair of feet in the water, the asional unintentional touch was extremely slippery.


    The ripples in the water swayed for a moment before quickly returning to calm.


    ...


    On an isted cliff, at this moment, time seemed to slow down.


    All he could hear were the babbling of water, the whistling of the wind and snow, and asionally, the piercing cry of an eagle echoing through the gorges...


    Nobody spoke for some time as the four of them thoroughly enjoyed the pleasant soaking, lookingnguid and content.


    Suddenly, Lolota eximed, "Look, there seems to be someone on that snow mountain!"


    Hearing this, Su Lun also opened his eyes and noticed that on another mountain peak a kilometer away, there was a figure braving the wind and snow amidst the pure white expanse.


    The Princess nced over and said, "That is the ''Snow Woman''."


    As soon as Su Lun heard this, he instantly had an impression in his mind; he hade across the description of this creature in the "Fairy Tale."


    But looking at the distant figure, he was quite curious; his vision was excellent, and he could clearly see that it was a tall figure, akin to an ice princess.


    Lolota asked curiously, "What is the ''Snow Woman''?"


    The Princess answered, "It is a beautiful demon that can control wind and snow, sometimes seen in the high mountain snowy areas. It often lures men who enter the snowy mountains to secluded ces to kiss them and then freezes them, taking their souls to consume."


    Lolota listened with wide eyes, "Wow, so it''s an evil demon then?"


    The Princess shook her head and said, "Not entirely. The ''Snow Woman'' is said to be a manifestation of the resentment of a woman who was abandoned by an unfaithful man. As a demon, she only seeks out men who break their oaths to take their lives..."


    Resentment?


    Thinking over the legend of the Snow Woman, Su Lun''s thoughts began to flow again.


    What is the essence of a monster?


    It seems that monsters truly exist because people believe in them.


    In the belief system of the Mountain Hermit, people believe that all things have a "spirit," including stones and nts.


    Monsters aren''t a type of being that originally existed in this world, but rather a result of certain special reasons, then passed down through oral tradition as a "collective of beliefs."


    Almost Shinto.


    As he listened to the Princess''s exnation, Lolota by his side blinked, nced at Su Lun, and teasingly said, "Mr. Su Lun, that demon only goes after men. You better be careful~"


    "Hehe."


    Su Lun smiled without saying a word.


    Chitose, beside him, seemed to think of something, and teased, "Legend says the ''Snow Woman'' has icy skin and a jade-likeplexion, beautiful enough to overthrow cities and kingdoms. Now that I see her, she is indeed quite pretty. But s, she''s not as charming as our princess here."


    With that, she wrapped an arm around the slender waist of the princess beside her, and unapologetically kneaded her tender skin, "Don''t you think?"


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    The princess had no way to counter such hooligan behavior.


    Beingplimented didn''t bother her, but she helplessly retorted, "That''s just a monster."


    Chitose had a frivolous expression of a female rogue on her face, "The beauty of a fairy is the most captivating. But our princess here is even more enchanting than a monster. If I were a man, I''d surely be smitten."


    "..."


    Listening to those flirtatious yet not unpleasant words, the princess''s face was a mix ofughter and tears.


    As she spoke, Chitose turned to look at Su Lun and asked, "Su Lun, do you find the princess pretty?"


    "Uh...?"


    Su Lun hadn''t expected the jesting conversation to suddenly turn to him.


    At her words, his gaze reflexively fell upon the princess across from him.


    Although they had shared a room for several days, he''d always been careful to avoid impropriety and never bathed together.


    With one look, he discovered that the princess''s skin was really white, even whiter than snow.


    The previously loose-fitting sorceress robes had concealed her figure, but now, the bathing garment was just a thinyer, and she wasn''t wearing much else underneath. As she entered the water, her graceful silhouette partially revealed, could not bepletely hidden. Where it should be perky, it was perky; where it should be rounded, it was rounded, a scene of infinite beauty...


    This glimpse was captivating enough to make it difficult to look away.


    Especially since the bathing clothes were made of translucent material, clinging to her Wen Yu-like skin after being soaked, offering a sheer allure. Her proudly perched bosom and deep cleavage were hinted at beneath the mist, exuding a subtle beauty.


    Her sleek ck hair and delicate features were impable, coupled with the unearthly aura of a shrine maiden, giving her an undefiled and stunningly pure presence.


    Su Lun knew Chitose was just fooling around and calmly said, "The princess is naturally very beautiful."


    Hearing this, the princess smiled faintly and politely responded, "Thank you for thepliment."


    Having spent the past few days together, they had gotten quite familiar with each other.


    Everyone was open-hearted and thus didn''t feel any awkwardness.


    "..."


    Chitose felt she hadn''t managed to tease anyone and pouted, clearly unamused.


    Suddenly, with a mischievous glint in her eye, she seemed to think of something, raised her hand, and called out, "Hey, Su Lun, didn''t you say you were going to show me the seal? Come here and show me."


    Saying so, she shifted her body, conveniently leaving a half space between herself and the princess, gesturing for Su Lun toe and sit.


    "Oh."


    Su Lun, unbothered, stood up and went over to sit beside her.


    The pool was quite small, amodating two peoplefortably, but with three, it felt a bit cramped.


    Chitose didn''t mind; she was indifferent even as there was extensive skin contact with Su Lun. But the princess felt a bit ufortable, while not minding bathing together, she thought being too intimate in actions was not quite right.


    All three of them seated together, even with their best efforts to leave space, it still felt crowded.


    She intended to move in another direction to make room, but Chitose reached over Su Lun''s shoulder and pushed her down, "Hey, hey, hey, don''t go. It''s more fun to chat when we''re closer together."


    "..."


    The Princess was "manipted" and couldn''t break free, resigning herself to the situation helplessly.


    ...


    Su Lun certainly knew this was Qiantiao''s wicked sense of humor and paid no attention to it. He nced at the magical runes that sealed off demons on Qiantiao''s arm while searching for a topic to make the Princess less embarrassed. He asked, "Miss Princess, Tea Crying Mountain is said to be the burial site of the ''Yomi Country Lord.'' Is that true? And are there so many monsters on this mountain because of it?"


    Legends are legends, but they often have some basis in truth.


    Besides, there are indeed more monsters on this mountain than on others. Even if it''s not the resting ce of the ''Yomi Country Lord,'' there are other factors at y.


    With a topic to discuss, the ufortable atmosphere created by the prank thankfully dissipated quite a bit.


    "Yes, that''s right."


    The Princess, with a serious expression, responded, "The Lord of the Netherworld is a deity who governs death, and she is the mother goddess of our Mountain Hermit n. It is said that when she gave birth to the Fire God Kagutsuchi, she was burned and eventually sumbed to her injuries... And her body was buried on Tea Crying Mountain."


    Su Lun had seen parts of this story before in the ancient books of Mountain Hermit, but it wasn''t as detailed as the Princess''s ount.


    Ultimately, it was more or less the same¡ªit was all legend.


    After finishing the story, the Princess added, "Speaking of which, Mr. Su Lun shares a certain connection with our Mountain Hermit deities."


    Su Lun showed interest and prompted, "Oh?"


    The Princess exined, "The fire-based Alchemy technique you used before¡ªI wanted to ask, was that the ''Fire Servantless'' Secret Technique?"


    Su Lun nodded, "Yes, that''s right."


    The Princess exined, "Actually, this Secret Technique originally came from our Shinto teachings; it''s the divine fire technique passed down by Amaterasu Omikami. Later, for various reasons... it spread and became the ''Servantless'' Secret Technique within Alchemy."


    As she spoke, she lifted her hand out of the water to demonstrate. She formed a sword seal with her fingers, muttering under her breath, and suddenly, a ball of golden me appeared at the tips of her fingers.


    "Eh..."


    Only now did Su Lun realize the origin of ''Servantless.''


    Being proficient in this technique himself, he immediately noticed that the Princess''s spell looked familiar, yet there was something different about it. What she produced was not the pure fire element energy of Alchemy; it was intertwined with Shinto power.


    Nowadays, with the weakened state of Shinto, the power of its followers naturally became feeble.


    Therefore, it seemed that the might of her disy was not as profound as Su Lun''s level.


    Seeing this, Qiantiao, who was beside them, chimed in with a thought, "I think I''ve heard of this too. They say a Shinto Shrine Maiden fell in love with an Alchemy Magician, leading to a bittersweet love story that spread far and wide..."


    The Princess nodded and said, "Mhmm. That urred during the neenth generation of Sai¨­."


    Su Lun, hearing a term, asked curiously, "Miss Princess, are you the current Sai¨­?"


    The Princess nodded, "Yes. I am the ny-ninth Sai¨­."


    In Mountain Hermit, the imperial power is bestowed by the gods; the Shinfuku royal family represents Amaterasu Omikami, holding supreme authority. However, the bnce of power has shifted towards the shogunate in recent years, and the Shinfuku royal family gradually lost its absolute ruling power.


    Sitting beside them, Lolota asked Qiantiao, "Teacher, what is a Sai¨­?"


    Qiantiao exined, "It''s the highest rank among shrine maidens. Typically, a princess holds the position."


    Lolota, with a look of sudden understanding yet still puzzled, asked, "But didn''t the Princess say that a shrine maiden remains unmarried,mitted to serving the deities? How could a Sai¨­..."


    Hearing this, Qiantiao curled his lips into a sly smile and said teasingly, "Ah? That''s a question you should ask the Princess."


    Observing Lolota''s innocent gaze seeking answers, the Princess could only respond, "Shrine maidens are indeed dedicated in both body and spirit to the deities during their tenure, and must not be involved in romantic affairs. But after stepping down, it no longer has any effect."


    "Oh, I see..."


    Lolota was quite astute. Upon hearing this exnation, she covered her mouth and giggled softly.


    PS. For consistency in the storyline, the extra chapter I talked about addingst night will be included today.

 Chapter 317 Its not like I havent seen it before

    The group soaked in the hot spring while seeking topics to chat about.


    Chitose knew the situation of the Princess better than Su Lun. At this moment, she suddenly spoke up and asked, "Princess, I see you''ve been frowning for the past few days, are you facing some difficulties?"


    "Hmm..."


    The Princess listened, her brows slightly furrowed, hesitating for a moment.


    She had no intention of hiding anything and said openly, "To be honest, the situation in Edo is indeed quite bad."


    Chitose guessed something and asked curiously, "Has the truth behind thest assassination attempt been rified?"


    "It''splicated."


    Hearing this question, the seriousness on the Princess''s face became evident. "From the existing clues, we can almost be certain that Abe Yasukazu, that ''demonic figure,'' is likely not one of the shogunate''s men."


    Hearing this, Chitose also felt puzzled and eximed in surprise, "Not one of the Takeda shogunate''s men?"


    Previously, they had attempted to assassinate Takeda Nobuyasu and ended up being chased all the way to Akita.


    As a result,


    the people chasing them,


    were actually not from the Takeda shogunate,


    but another force?


    Listening at the side, Su Lun''s eyes narrowed slightly, and he quickly realized that someone was "diverting disaster eastward" or "using another''s hand to kill."


    The Princess, too, felt perplexed and continued, "Because we learned that Abe Yasukazu was involved, I sent people to follow this lead. It was only then that we discovered, aside from the Takeda shogunate, there is indeed a third party stirring up trouble in Mountain Hermit. They''ve concealed themselves very deeply, mixing in among the royal family, shogunate, and various daimyos, yet they hardly let anyone notice them before! It''s only for some unknown reason recently that they''ve started to show their face and slip up..."


    The Princess was for the first time actively discussing her own predicament. Although she didn''t care about power, regal authority is the will of the gods, both flourishing and declining together.


    Whoever shakes the royalty''s power is challenging divine authority.


    "A third party?"


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun immediately thought of something, his expression turning slightly strange.


    A recent emergence?


    The most significant recent change in the Mountain Hermit kingdom could only be King Oleg of the North Sea dering himself king.


    But such a deep and far-reaching scheme, capable of turning a chief court priest, was no simple matter. It didn''t seem like the work of Pirates who only knew looting and piging.


    He directly asked, "Princess, do you suspect King Oleg of the North Sea?"@@novelbin@@


    "Hmm."


    These topics were already very sensitive political secrets, yet the Princess didn''t avoid Su Lun and the others when speaking, "But I can''t be certain it''s him."


    She spoke inly, "Because the Abe family and our Divine Attire n have no old grudges, and there was no reason for Abe Yasukazu to try and kill me before. Besides, even if I were killed, it would mean nothing without the support of a Daimyo behind him. Therefore, I suspect he has the backing of a force that can contend with Takeda Nobuya. There''s no second shogunate in Mountain Hermit, so it can only be an outside force."


    "..."


    Hearing this, Su Lun fell silent.


    The Princess''s analysis was entirely reasonable.


    As for Su Lun, he wasn''t interested in the struggles for regal power. Moreover, though the Mountain Hermit country was small, the situation of an entire country wasn''t something a few people could change.


    He had an inkling that if Oleg hadn''t given up on Mountain Hermit, and the main fleet arrived again, there might be some significant upheaval.


    The royalty and the Divine Attire n faced internal and external troubles; the situation was far from optimistic.


    The political topic was indeed very serious, and for a time, no one spoke in the hot spring pool.


    Perhaps sensing the mood had be somewhat stiff, the seriousness on the Princess''s face suddenly dispersed, "Sorry, I brought up a rather dull topic."


    The atmosphere didn''t ease; instead, it became more silent.


    Princess''s gaze lingered on the scenery below the mountain, growing deeper as she seemed to ponder over something. Then she said, "The time spent with everyone has been really enjoyable. I wish it could always be like this."


    Chitose sensed something and asked, "Are you leaving?"


    The Princess''s eyes were scattered, and without looking at her, she nodded and said, "Yes. For the ''ck Sun Grand Festival'' in half a month, as the shrine maiden of the Ise Grand Shrine, I must return to the capital to preside over the festival. Once the royal guards arrive, I''ll probably depart after a few days."


    As she spoke, a hint of regret surfaced on her lovely face, "These days, I''m really happy thanks to thepanionship of Mr. Su Lun and Miss Chitose..."


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    These words clearly implied a farewell.


    The situation in the royal capital was perilous; she didn''t n to continue this "protective contract task."


    But before Princess could finish her words, Chitose interrupted her.


    Chitose stepped past Su Lun, hooking the Princess''s shoulder with gusto, "Don''t look so gloomy. Once Su Lun gets rid of the seal on my arm, I''ll apany you on a trip!"


    With the Demon de in her hand and the renowned Sengoku armor "Iron Red Scale Painted Five-Piece Suit," even facing Takeda Nobuyasu of the sixth rank again, she wouldn''t be easily beaten.


    "Ah... this..."


    The words gave a strong sense of security, and Princess was well aware that Chitose always meant what she said.


    But she couldn''t bear to see her friend face danger and wanted to refuse, yet before she could be touched by the sentiment, she was pulled off bnce and stumbled into Su Lun who was beside her.


    Su Lun was also a bit stunned, as he was still studying the seal on Chitose''s arm when suddenly, he had Wen Yu in his arms.


    Initially, the three of them were sitting very close, and though there was contact, it wasn''t much.


    Now, pressed firmly and intimately against each other.


    The soaked garments were thin to begin with, and now that they were wet, they felt almost non-existent.


    At this contact, Su Lun distinctly felt his arm sink into softness; the Princess''s skin had a magical smoothness that slipped away with a touch.


    As she toppled over, she fell right into Su Lun''s arms, her demeanor anxious and a little bit disheveled.


    Chitose''s movements were even more exaggerated. She almostid her full weight on him as a prank, the heavy pressure making Su Lun feel its excellent texture.


    Honestly, although they had been intimate on a daily basis, such a real touch seemed to be a first.


    After a moment of flustered scrambling, Princess finally settled back into her seat, and with a mixture ofughter and rebuke, she scolded, "Miss Chitose, you..."


    She well understood that Chitose was teasing her, yet she was helpless to stop it.


    However, after sitting back down, she didn''t make any effort to put distance between herself and Su Lun, feeling that it would be quite rude. They were much closer now than before. Extensive skin contact allowed both to feel the other''s body heat.


    Seeing a hint of difort on Princess''s face, Chitoseughed heartily and bluntly asked, "So Su Lun, how is it? Princess''s figure is quite something, isn''t it?"


    "..."


    Su Lun rolled his eyes in his mind; responding to that could make him seem frivolous straightaway.


    Yet if he didn''t respond, Princess might feel awkward.


    His thoughts shed, and looking at Chitose beside him, he cleverly shifted the topic, "I actually think, Sister Chitose''s figure is also quite exceptional."


    With that jest, Princess covered her mouth and chuckled, agreeing, "I think so too."


    Lolita watched the entire drama unfold, smiling without a word.


    The awkward atmosphere vanished instantly.


    "Heh..."


    Chitose didn''t want the topic to shift to her, but she didn''t mind either.


    With that look, she didn''t hide at all but instead showcased herself freely, boasting, "Tch, you''ve seen it before anyway. Look all you want."

 Chapter 318 How does it feel?

    ```


    Su Lun and Qian Tiao had already grown very familiar with this way of interacting. Enjoy exclusive content from My Virtual Library Empire


    Su Lun didn''t mind, either. He took another unabashed look, smiled, and didn''t give Qian Tiao the chance to tease him further.


    He then asked, "Princess, did you say the ''ck Sun Grand Festival'' is in a half month''s time?"


    The "ck Sun Grand Festival" is the most important ritual event for Mountain Hermits.


    The ck Sun, inyman''s terms, refers to an "eclipse."


    In the legends of the Mountain Hermits, such celestial phenomena are believed to be Amaterasu Omikami, the Sun Deity, hiding away, which is why the world turns dark and lightless. When this happens, a shrine maiden must perform the Kagura dance to worship, and only then will light return to the earth.


    Although to a Magician specialized in Alchemy, such a natural astronomical event is given so many special meanings, it all sounds quite mystical.


    But Su Lun didn''t find it absurd in the least.


    Amaterasu Omikami must have truly existed at some point in history, leaving behind a legacy of faith. Perhaps she is no longer in this realm, or maybe she has fallen. However, as long as there are believers, She will continue to exist.


    Although it''s not quite appropriate topare with monsters, Amaterasu Omikami, who has amassed belief over countless years, is definitely not something any monster canpare to.


    This "ck Sun Grand Festival" involves faith and therefore is certainly not trivial.


    Upon hearing his words, Princess nodded and said, "Yes, in half a month."


    Su Lun, seeing that Qian Tiao was determined to go, also said with a smile, "If possible, I would like to apany the Princess to witness this grand ritual event."


    He had now advanced to the fourth rank, his strength had surged significantly, and his ability to defend himself was in no way inferior to Qian Tiao''s.


    He would follow along and lend a hand wherever he could.


    After all, favors must be repaid.


    Moreover, havinge to the country of Mountain Hermits and experienced many strange events, he was genuinely interested in the capital, Edo.


    Upon hearing him, something twinkled in the Princess''s dark eyes as if she wanted to say something.


    But at the tip of her tongue, all she ultimately uttered was two words, "Thank you."


    Su Lun smiled and said no more.


    ....


    Qian Tiao wasn''t the least bit surprised to hear that Su Lun wanted to go.


    She asked, "Su Lun, can my seal be resolved before we set off?"


    "It can."


    Su Lun took a look at her arm and said, "I''ve deciphered the pattern of this rune seal; it''ll just take some time to resolve. Roughly a few hours."


    Qian Tiao''s brow rxed, "That''s good."


    She directly ced her hand in front of Su Lun and said, "Then I''ll trouble you with this."


    Su Lun nced at the hot spring, "Do it here?"


    Qian Tiao, feeling she had nothing else to do, replied, "Here is fine."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun took her arm, and suddenly, a surge of dark Spiritual Power began to flow from the tips of his fingers, methodically breaking down the rune seal along its patterns.


    The Rune Old Man had advanced to the sixth rank, and his natural talent was unquestionable. Having immersed himself in the study of runes for decades, his mastery was beyond what ordinary people could imagine. Hence, a seal that would challenge even a runic Grandmaster could not be easily broken.


    Unfortunately for the Rune Old Man, Su Lun, after assimting the [Replica of the Primal Rune], had gained the ability "Rune Comprehension + MAX." Now, faced with what looked like garbled runenguage, he was quickly able to discern the principles with a little organization.


    Deciphering the seal was like solving a veryplex mathematical equation, requiring one toy out the steps one by one until reaching the ultimate solution.


    A single mistake in calction could lead to scrapping all previous efforts, which was the difficulty of this "Magic Banishment Seal."


    Su Lun began the decryption with focus, his mind functioning like a high-speedputer, deducing all manner of possibilities.


    The runes on Qian Tiao''s arm were also steadily vanishing.


    ....


    Time flew by imperceptibly.


    "Mr. Su Lun, we''re heading back first. You and Miss Qian Tiao"


    "Teacher, Princess and I will be taking our leave now."


    "Hm."


    One couldn''t soak in the bath forever, and when Su Lun heard the Princess and Lolo leaving, he didn''t let it disrupt his rhythm and continued to concentrate on the seal-breaking.


    Finally, after about four or five hours, thest bit of the seal was broken, and Su Lun, channeling dark Spiritual Power into the meridians and finding everything flowing smoothly, finally let out a long breath.


    "Whew... It''s finally done."


    Su Lun, looking at the arm before him, nodded in satisfaction.


    Breaking such a highly challenging counter-rune seal, he felt a great sense of achievement.


    "Qian Tiao, it''s done."


    Su Lun announced, lifting his gaze from the arm only to discover that Qian Tiao was lying on her back, sound asleep.


    It was quite normal for a closebat job holder who required ample rest to take quick naps in order to maintain peak condition.


    Yet, that nce presented Su Lun with a sight that was stirring to the blood.


    Qian Tiao had never been on guard around Su Lun, dressing very casually when they were together. Now, at a hot spring on the edge of a cliff without anyone else around, she was naturally even more rxed. At that moment, her clothing gaped wide open, her proudly lofty peaks partially floating on the water''s surface, undting with the flowing spring. The details on them were also distinctly visible...


    Looking further down, an enticing curve swept down to a very beautiful V-line of the abdomen. The muscle lines were perfect, an abdominal area without an ounce of excess fat, and toned, long legs, all in in view.


    Su Lun might have been able to control his emotions, but that didn''t mean he was devoid of desire. His appreciative gaze lingered, and he took a few more nces.


    That look, of course, was noticed. Qian Tiao immediately opened her eyes and rolled them at him, "Still looking?"


    In the past, she would have grumbled a little, but as Su Lun''s skin got thicker and Qian Tiao really didn''t mind, she got used to it and just let him be.


    However, it seemed like he was getting more and more presumptuoustely...


    Expressing his true impressions and mimicking the tone he had used before to tease the Princess, Su Lun said, "No matter how many times I look, Qian Tiao''s figure is always such a delight to the eyes."


    Qian Tiao didn''t take any offense, as she didn''t really mind, and repliednguidly with a snort, "Cut it out. Weren''t Princess''s curves bewitching enough, haven''t you seen enough of her?"


    "..."


    Su Lun found nothing worthy in responding to that line of conversation and didn''t engage with her banter.


    Qian Tiao didn''t say more, instead she inquired, "Su Lun, is it done?"


    Su Lun spread his hands, "It''s done."


    Qian Tiao lifted her hands out of the water, clenched her fists, and felt an immediate, smooth flow of dark Spiritual Power; a look of joy crossed her face, "Finally resolved."


    Having the strength in both arms restored made her feel fantastic.


    ```


    She looked at Su Lun, eyes sparkling, "Your advancement this time seems to have really made you stronger."


    Su Lun shrugged nomittally.


    "Let''s go, we should head back too."


    With that, Qian Tiao stood up and walked out of the water.


    The sound of water "sshing" rang in his ears as her alluring figure waspletely exposed to the air. The sheer gown she had worn in the spring was soaked and clung to her skin, almostpletely transparent. Even the demon tattoo on Qian Tiao''s back was clearly visible. At such a close distance, he could see everything clearly.


    Su Lun got up a stepter and saw this captivating scene that one couldn''t easily look away from.


    He watched unabashedly, wondering if it was the secluded environment of this cliffside hot spring or the absence of others that made him so unreserved.


    Qian Tiao naturally noticed the gaze that was roving over her figure behind her, not retreating in the slightest.


    There was no ce to change clothes at this cliffside hot spring, and no way to hide. She clicked her tongue silently, yet didn''t seem to mind, and undid her buttons right in front of Su Lun, letting her wet clothes slide down from her fragrant shoulders.


    For a moment, her beautiful back was bare to the air, and tiny glistening droplets of water slid down from her shoulders.


    Without any hesitation, Qian Tiao then began to take off her pants. A belt was undone, a leg was hooked, and with a step of her foot, the damp pants were pulled off. The ultimate lines of her figure were naturally unrestrained...


    Realizing that the gaze behind her had not retracted, Qian Tiao then turned her head to nce back.


    Due to her slight turn, Su Lun also got a clear view of the undting curves of her figure.


    He would out of politeness look away when the Princess changed her clothes.


    But he wouldn''t avoid this woman, already so familiar and given to gambling, as she dressed.


    Seeing that Su Lun''s gaze didn''t waver, Qian Tiao felt somewhat helpless.


    She even noticed the aggressiveness in the gaze that fell on her chest, "Haven''t you seen enough, kid?"


    Su Lun bared his white teeth, maintaining a very serious demeanor, "No."


    Rolling her eyes at his shameless antics, Qian Tiao replied half in exasperation, half in admonishment, "Do you want to try it firsthand?"


    Hearing this, Su Lun originally thought to restrain himself, but a strange glint crossed his eyes for a reason he couldn''t fathom, and he immediately countered, "Can I?"


    "???"


    Qian Tiao''s eyes twitched involuntarily.


    Hey...


    I clearly asked rhetorically, but this guy deliberately treated it as a question?


    With an indifferent expression, she replied offhandedly, "Up to you."


    Saying so, she turned away and continued dressing herself.


    The sound of water followed as Su Lun also stepped out of the spring.


    In Qian Tiao''s opinion, Su Lun was probably just teasing her with clever words.


    But just as the thought passed, she didn''t expect arge hand to caress up her body.


    It slid under her arm very naturally, as if embracing her, and covered the proud peak on her left side without restraint.


    The hand rested there without any barrier, paused.


    His fingers even pressed slightly, giving a little squeeze.


    It seemed as if he was testing the feel?


    "..."@@novelbin@@


    Qian Tiao immediately felt the hot body pressing close behind her.


    She frowned slightly.


    It wasn''t that she found it unpleasant,


    but that something felt odd.


    Body contact wasn''t rare in their interactions, and she didn''t think much of it. Yet at this moment, something felt off.


    Her own movements paused, her brows slightly raised, and she asked softly, "How does it feel?"


    Su Lun raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Very nice."


    "Tsk~"


    Qian Tiao looked bored, as if to say: What''s so good about touching?


    The atmosphere grew strange again.


    Su Lun then released his hand, refraining from indulging in the bone-eroding warmth and softness.


    At that moment, Qian Tiao smoothly put her kimono on, covering up the exposed beauty in an instant, and called out, "Let''s go, time to head back."


    "Mhm."


    Su Lun changed outfits like magic, instantly dressed.


    He followed Qian Tiao down the mountain.


    As they walked down towards Granny Xia''s bathhouse, they chatted briefly from time to time.


    The images from the hot spring echoed asionally in Qian Tiao''s mind, for some reason unknown to her.


    As she walked, she mumbled, "Why do I feel like you''ve been getting more and more presumptuoustely..."


    I treat you like a brother, so why does it feel like you want more from me?


    Isn''t that Princess nice enough?


    "Hahaha..."


    Su Lun raised his eyebrows and, taking the hint,ughed out loud.


    Neither of them took it too seriously.


    For Su Lun, Qian Tiao''s attitudes were more amusing than the actual facts.


    "..."


    As Qian Tiaoughed without understanding why, her eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a hint of danger,


    She angrily drew her sword and struck Su Lun''s head with the scabbard.


    A "thud" resounded.


    Su Lun held his head, twisting his face in a pained cry, "Ouch..."


    "Heh."


    Only then did Qian Tiao smile, thoroughly satisfied.

 Chapter 319 The Grand General Arrives Personally

    Su Lun and Qian Tian returned to Grandma Xia''s Bathhouse.


    The charming spring scenery at the mountain cliff hot spring was just a minor episode; neither of them genuinely cared.


    By the time they got back to the bathhouse, the sky had already darkened, and the orange glow of lights shone from the wooden houses scattered across Tea Crying Mountain.


    The two climbed from the back mountain into the house through the courtyard, where Lolota was spreading out the bedding. Shinfuku Mitsuko sat beside the oilmp with an ancient thread-bound book, engrossed in reading.


    Seeing them enter, Lolota came over with a radiant smile, "Teacher, Mr. Su Lun, you''re back."


    With that, she pointed to the other side of the room where a table was set with an array of delicate small dishes and said, "We''re having hot pot tonight. Teacher, shall I start the charcoal in the copper pot?"


    Qian Tian nodded, "Mm."


    Fresh and invigorated from the bath, both of them looked very pleased.


    Shinfuku Mitsuko put down the book she was holding and nced at Qian Tian''s arm with a smile, asking, "Has Miss Qian Tian''s seal been resolved?"


    "Yeah."


    It was indeed a cheerful matter for Qian Tian as well.


    As she spoke, she walked over to Shinfuku Mitsuko and nonchntly sat down beside her, casually putting an arm around her shoulders, "But now, there''s something else where I need Miss Mitsuko''s help."


    Shinfuku Mitsuko blinked, "Oh?"


    Qian Tian took the Demon de "Onimaru Hyakumekusou" from her waist and ced it on the table, saying, "I n to fully tame this demon de. When the demonic aura leaks out, it might attract some demons. So, I need Miss Mitsuko to set up some barriers..."


    These past days, nurturing it continuously with her own Sword Qi, but topletely control the demon de was still a long way off.


    Now that the seal on her arm was lifted, naturally her first thought was to handle the de.


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    If she could indeed utilize the full power of this demon de, it wouldn''t be outssed by other professionals who possess a "sealed artifact". This was a temptation that no swordsman professional could resist.


    In dealing with demons, none was more proficient than a Shinto Shrine Maiden, and Shinfuku Mitsuko knew what she had to do. Although she considered it a risky move, she readily agreed, "Okay!"


    Su Lun remained silent on the side.


    He naturally would support whatever decision Qian Tian made.


    But trying to forcibly tame the demon de was risky; the slightest carelessness could turn one into a "ve of the de."


    However, Su Lun had now advanced to the fourth rank, and if that demon de wanted to act up, it wouldn''t be so easy.


    ...


    Before long, Shinfuku Mitsuko had set up the Shinto barrier in the room. Straw ropes were tied on the doorway, with white "Ö®" shaped talismans hanging from them. Shinto talismans were also affixed to the windows andttice doors.


    These were things that demons greatly feared.


    Su Lun also made some necessary preparations in the room using silk threads.


    After all this, the broth in the brass pot was boiling merrily away.


    The four of them then gathered around and began to enjoy the lively hot pot.


    Su Lun, Shinfuku Mitsuko, and Lolota squeezed into one side, while Qian Tian upied the other three sides by herself.


    This was simply because, at that moment, the spectacle surrounding Qian Tian was too astonishing.


    From the moment she decided to tame "Onimaru Hyakumekusou", the demon de sensed something and became restless.


    Even though the de was still sheathed, the surging demonic aura leaked out, like a tsunami threatening to engulf the few people in the room.


    Ifst time was just a touch-and-go,


    This time, it was a fight for their lives.@@novelbin@@


    Both the person and the de.


    Qian Tian could only emit more and more energy to suppress it, with increasingly fierce Sword Qi swirling around her. Her entire being was like a slowly unsheathed sword, edge fully exposed.


    Behind her, the ghostly figure of a wrathful spirit had appeared, glowering and contending with the hideous centipede with a hundred eyes writhing around her.


    Qian Tian''s eyes shone with a crimson glow, the rippling light reflecting a vision of hell. With her arms unsealed, her domineering presence was even more overwhelming, with the indiscriminate aura of violence and rage seeping out, heedless of others.


    Even Su Lun and the other two nearby felt the constant danger of being cut to pieces by her at any moment.


    Su Lun and Shinfuku Mitsuko were still fairlyposed,


    While Lolota, overwhelmed by the aura, was pale but gritted her teeth and persevered.


    Watching the increasingly agitated demonic aura, Shinfuku Mitsuko asked worriedly, "Miss Qian Tian, are you alright?"


    After all, no one knew the past of this demon de better than her.


    Countless gifted swordsmen had tried to wield it, but all of them became victims under its de.


    This act was no different from betting one''s life, and the odds of winning were not great.


    "I''m fine."


    Qian Tian''s face was expressionless, but the veins on her forehead betrayed how ufortable she was, though her gaze remained resolute.


    She managed a weak smile, "Everyone just eat, don''t mind me."


    This was something no one else could help her with; she had to do it herself.


    Su Lun looked at her hand as she stiffly picked up food and, without saying much, silently added a slice of cooked meat to her bowl.


    Qian Tian nced at him; they had already developed a tacit understanding. Just a simple exchange of looks was enough for them to grasp each other''s meaning; what Su Lun wanted to say was: You still have me.


    And this was one of her sources of unhesitant confidence.


    The red glow in the thousand eyes dissipated in an instant.


    ....


    A few people were eating and chatting.


    "By the way, Princess Mitsuko, what''s the situation in Edo now?"


    "It''s not too ideal. This ''ck Sun Grand Festival'' could bring a major upheaval..."


    "..."


    Since he nned to apany the Princess to Edo Castle, Su Lun naturally had to ask more about the situation in the Mountain Hermit nation¡ªabout the Takeda Shogunate, the Imperial household of Shinfuku, the ck Dragon Society...


    Only by understanding the situation could he predict in advance who might be potential enemies and prepare ordingly.


    The Princess didn''t avoid any topics, borating on many secrets that outsiders of the Mountain Hermit had no qualification or means to learn.


    She said, "The ''ck Sun Grand Festival'' happens only every few decades, or even centuries. At that time, the sun will be obscured by darkness, and thend will lose its light. That is when Amaterasu Omikami will leave the mortal realm, and it is also the most challenging time for our Ise Grand Shrine. Without the suppression of divine power, all kinds of demons and spirits will cause chaos. Those with ulterior motives will definitely choose that time to act. Because the main source of power for our Shinfuku householdes from Amaterasu Omikami, we will also be at our weakest. Therefore, it will be the most dangerous time. Historically, there have been several rebellions by domain lords during this period..."


    This was definitely a royal secret.


    Hearing this, Su Lun knew that the Princess didn''t regard them as outsiders.


    These few sentences pointed to the crux of the matter¡ªthe "ck Sun Grand Festival."


    The Princess''s gaze was firm as she said, "I am the current Saio, so I must return. Only I can bring about the descent of Amaterasu Omikami anew."


    ....


    "The rebellions all happened during the ''ck Sun Grand Festival''?"


    As Su Lun heard this, his thoughts began to diverge.


    He also felt fortunate that he had perused many texts about the Mountain Hermit nation beforeing and had coincidentally heard about that legend.


    The legend says that the eclipse (ck Sun) urs because Amaterasu Omikami leaves in displeasure for some reason. Once she leaves, the ck Sun descends, and there is no light on thend. Then, grand worship ceremonies will be held across the Mountain Hermit nation, shrine maidens will dance the Kagura, and only then will Amaterasu Omikami return.


    And as the top-ranking Shinto shrine maiden, the "Saio" Shinfuku Mitsuko was crucial.


    She ys the most important role in the rites.


    If she is killed, the sun might still rise, but perhaps Amaterasu Omikami might not return?


    Could it be that the Shinfuku household that represents the divinely sanctioned imperial authority might copse on its own?


    Intuition told Su Lun that this was definitely possible.


    The rise and fall of a divine nation directly rte to its revered deities.


    If someone wanted to shake the imperial power of the Shinfuku household, this was indeed the best opportunity.


    The previous assassination attempts made sense now.


    And those people had not dared to act at other times, probably out of fear that the Shinfuku household was "divinely sanctioned imperial authority."


    Despite the current Princess''s personal strength not being too formidable, she truly couldn''t be judged by ordinary standards.


    If there was anyone in the Mountain Hermit nation who was closest to the gods,


    It was her.


    The strength of a divine follower is not merely about their own rank.


    Previously, the ''demon'' Abe Yasukazu came to pursue her. His strength was formidable, yet he didn''t dare show his face. Besides not wanting to reveal his identity, it''s likely he feared some of the Princess''s desperate "trump cards."


    ....


    The Princess''s expression grew more solemn, "I thought initially that only the Takeda Shogunate was a threat, but now it seems the matter is moreplicated... After returning to Edo, the troubles might be more than anticipated, and the situation could be more dangerous."


    Su Lun remained silent and didn''t speak.


    He also had a clear grasp of the entire event''s chronology in his mind.


    The Shogunate had almost absolute control over the Mountain Hermit nation; assassinating the Grand General Takeda Nobuyasu could solve part of the problem. And the Princess''s attempt to assassinate him could only be realized by recruiting experts outside of Mountain Hermit, which is how she met Chekhov and got involved in the subsequent events.


    However, the abrupt emergence of the "third-party force" represented by Anbei Taiwa made the situation moreplicated.


    Suddenly, Su Lun thought of something and asked, "Is there any movement from King Oleg of the North Sea?"


    Su Lun had not asked before, so naturally, the Princess wouldn''t have brought it up on her own initiative. Now hearing this, she said, "The news I''ve just received is that King Oleg of the North Sea''s Ninth Fleet has set sail from Pirate City towards the Mountain Hermit. The fleet, led by ''Gluttonous Grand General'' Yixier Peion himself, will arrive at Edo shortly."


    "Oh..."


    Su Lun frowned as he listened.


    He wasn''t too surprised that Oleg would send more people.


    The previous fifteenth tax collection vanguard team was essentially sent as "cannon fodder" to probe the situation.


    Now that the entire army has been wiped out, naturally, an even stronger fleet woulde.


    A fleet led by a ss 7 professional indeed had the military strength to suppress Mountain Hermit.


    He was just puzzled whether King Oleg truly was the "third-party force" meddling in Mountain Hermit affairs.


    If not, then who could it be?


    As they discussed this, the Princess looked at them again, "I am very grateful that Mr. Su Lun and Miss Chekhov n to apany me. If things be impossible, please ensure your own safety..."


    Chekhov raised an eyebrow and nced at her as if she hadn''t really taken in what the Princess said.


    Impossible?


    First strike, then talk.


    Su Lun also wore an indifferent expression.


    No matter how intense the battle, his ability to protect himself was not weak.


    If things really became unmanageable, he at least had some chance of keeping Princess Mitsuko, this newly befriended ally, safe.


    ....


    As they chatted, the hot pot meal came to an end.


    Lorota tidied up the room and sat down with her long sword to begin meditation.


    Although staying inside the room pressed by Chitose''s aura was quite ufortable, it was also the best opportunity to gain insight.


    The Demon de, now possessing a significant spiritual nature, was fiercely contending with Chitose''s fierce Sword Intent, wrapped in the demonic aura of its previous users.


    It was like two peerless swordsmen sparring, a rare chance to observe.


    Even Su Lun, ayman in this regard, passively perceived insights into the way of the sword.


    He didn''t sleep, always vignt of Chitose sumbing to demonic possession, sitting beside her while flipping through the scroll of Magician lineage.


    Princess Mitsuko was also nearby, surrounded by divine instruments like the Kagura bells, Bat Fan, taiko drums, and bamboo flute, ready to help immediately if something went wrong.


    Unconsciously, the night deepened.


    Looking out the window, the moonlight was like silver, casting mottled ck shadows in the courtyard.


    In the room, the phantom of Raksasa and the Hundred Eyes Centipede were still in a stalemate, and Chitose''s condition remained stable.


    Part of Su Lun''s attention was always on her, while his eyes quickly scanned the text on the scroll.


    Before, the content of the scroll had been abstruse and difficult to understand, but now it seemed clear and straightforward.


    The predecessors of the Magician lineage had summed up these highly practical rune Secret Techniques over countless years, which were priceless treasures.


    In the outside world, such a systematic body of lineage knowledge would be impossible to purchase.


    As Su Lun looked at the Secret Techniques, his eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.


    From first order to second order, third order... all the way to sixth order, countless epic rune knowledge unfolded before himpletely.


    Having assimted the "Imitation of Primeval Runes," even the most arcane secret techniques were instantly understandable to Su Lun.


    Linguistic runes were swiftly digested, integrating into his mind and adding lush leaves to his already dense skill tree.


    This systematic rune knowledgepleted an vital part of Su Lun''s work on puppetry, alchemy, mechanical research, andbat.


    Beyond the technical aspects of rune knowledge, what Su Lun coveted most was the Rune Old Man''s signature move¡ª[Runic Flesh].


    Treating one''s flesh like a crafted object, inscribing runes into skin, flesh, veins, and bones, until reaching the state of a "human-shaped curse artifact."


    "This [Runic Flesh],bined with the [Vajra] secret technique, to create a [Rune Vajra], would skyrocket defensive power by many times over..."


    "And it is not just the metal series, there are also wind, fire, water series... matched with various elemental techniques, all of which would enhance power."


    "Blood runes directly amplify the toughness of muscles, meaning I could even consider initiating hormonal outbursts on the fourth or fifth levels, as my body would be able to handle it. Why do I feel like I am straying further and further onto the path of meleebatants..."


    "..."


    Su Lun''s thoughts raced through his mind.


    Not to mention anything else, his life-preserving ability had taken a substantial leap forward.


    Then another thought urred to him.


    "Oh, right, the living dead!"


    Su Lun remembered those top-level rune-inscribed living dead in the cursed space of [Havier''s Morgue of Grudges] in Old Lington.


    Now that he thought about it, weren''t they of the same origin?


    With this scroll as a "textbook" in his possession, along with the research notes of the resurrection madman Tillmido M. Chekhov on the living dead, everything he needed was at hand.


    Those high-level rune secrets that were once beyond reach were now finally within his grasp for in-depth study.


    If he managed to create those top-tier living dead, sheesh...


    Su Lun''s thoughts soared wildly.


    ....


    Chitose''s process of subduing the Demon de was somewhat like enduring a trial, a test of who would give in first.


    She didn''t leave the house, and neither did Su Lun and the others.


    But the situation seemed quite good, and after enduring for a day and a night, Chitose hadn''t fallen behind.


    The situation was much better than the previous time.


    Su Lun was happy to stay indoors, as he was indeed very busy.


    Afterpleting his rune knowledge, he had so many things to do.


    Inscripting [Runic Flesh] upon himself, creating advanced decoys, the living dead, and finally having a lead on the [Hand of Silver]...


    As for the required materials, with Princess Mitsuko, the Mountain Hermit, they scarcelycked anything.


    In the room,


    Chitose engaged in meditation with the Demon de, while Su Lun busied himself with other tasks.


    Because of the advancement in rune knowledge, his mind suddenly opened up.


    Inspirations bubbled up like a spring.


    He needed to turn too many thoughts into action, and the sinister eight-armed spidernce behind him was incessantly busy.


    Some were carving puppets, others tinkering with machinery, some dealing with silver arms in petri dishes, and still others drawing runes onto his skin.


    The room, too, was made to resemble a spider''s den, with various reference materials and alchemy ingredients hanging from threads, densely arranged...


    Since Su Lun had grown ustomed, he didn''t avoid others and disyed his multitasking abilities to the fullest.


    This scene had long left the Shinfuku Mitsuko and Lollota speechless.


    Having previously witnessed Su Lun''s aplishment in Alchemy and his extraordinarybat capabilities, they were already quite amazed. Now, seeing his endless variety of "fancy moves," they were lost for words.


    This near-madness of multitasking was dizzying. It was already quite something for a normal person to do well in one activity, yet Su Lun was managing several simultaneously without a single mistake.


    What''s key is, he still had time to chat with the Princess, exchanging knowledge.


    In the midst of the busyness, time flew by.


    ....


    Finally, a breakthrough urred in the deadlock between Senjo and the Demon de.


    At noon the following day, Lollota was meditating, the Princess was reading, and Su Lun was still engrossed in his various research endeavors.


    Each was busy with their own activities.


    Suddenly!


    The Princess noticed something and eximed in surprise, "Eh... The ''Zongzheng''s'' demonic energy is weakening, it seems like Miss Senjo is showing signs of taming it."


    Su Lun, who had been monitoring Senjo''s situation, naturally noticed the anomaly as well.


    His hands paused for a brief moment as he nced over.


    Senjo was still meditating with closed eyes, and though her aura was much weaker than the previous day, the six-armed Asura phantom behind her clearly had gained the upper hand. The Hundred Eyes Centipede''s ferocity was contained, showing faint signs of submission.


    Seeing this, Su Lun also felt it was strange.


    Could it really go so smoothly?


    At least the first time Senjo got her hands on this Demon de, she almost became demon-possessed.


    The Princess was naturally puzzled, murmuring to herself, "Eh... That''s strange. The hardest part of mastering this Demon de is to tame the sealed Hundred Eyes Demon King inside. Such a mature great demon can sense a person''s fate. Under normal circumstances, except for gods and spirits, humans can hardly gain its recognition."


    Being a Shinto Shrine Maiden, she clearly knew much more.


    This was also why the ''Onimaru Zongzheng'' had never been tamed before.


    With a puzzled face, the Princess thought of something, "Miss Senjo''s state of mind seems much more resolute than before. Could it be because the seal on her arm was lifted? But that can''t be right... The Demon de did not recognize her fatal potential before, so why would it submit now?"


    Su Lun, too, understood why it was going so smoothly this time.


    It seemed Senjo''s fate had grown stronger?


    The Princess''s eyes shifted, suddenly thinking of something. She looked at Su Lun and asked, "Mr. Su Lun, could something have happened at the cliffside hot spring earlier? Looking back, I also feel that Miss Senjo''s fate seems to have changed since then..."


    All these days, they had been together constantly, the only time out of sight being the day they went to the hot springs on the cliff.


    "Nothing happened..."


    Su Lun did not understand these matters of fate.


    But listening to the Princess, he also reminisced for a moment.


    That day, soaking in the hot springs, there seemed nothing special.


    Just lifting the seal, and then...


    Oh,


    Right,


    He also took a little advantage of the gambler''s wife.


    Su Lun figured that probably wasn''t the reason, right?


    Seeing Su Lun''s expression, the Princess blinked, as if guessing something, but did not pursue further, merely smiling.


    It was then that a sudden, extraordinary event urred.


    As soon as the Demon de''s defeated momentum was revealed, it suddenly copsed like andslide.


    Senjo, meditating with her eyes closed, suddenly opened her eyes, and an invisible aura instantly swept across the entire room.


    In that instant, her eyes zed with a red light, yet they were also crystal clear.


    The surging demonic energy mingled with the Asura phantom behind her, enveloping her entire being in an eerie atmosphere!


    "Did it work?"


    Su Lun''s eyes sharpened with a hint of anticipation.


    He distinctly sensed Senjo''s exaggerated and somewhat alien demonic aura, but did not detect any chaos in her body.


    This meant that she might have tamed the Demon de?


    The Princess and Lollota also looked on expectantly.


    Just then, the bizarre aura on Senjo retracted abruptly, and despite her tired appearance, she could not conceal her excitement.


    Her gaze focused as she looked at them and said solemnly, "I have mastered the de!"


    Upon hearing this, all three of them heaved a sigh of relief.

 Chapter 320 "Shadow Buddha" Kato Danzo

    Su Lun did not know how much the "Demon de Hyakumenzou Masamune" would enhance Mitsuko''s capabilities, but it was definitely much stronger than when he, a novice in Sword Dao, had it in his possession.


    After taming the Demon de, Mitsuko''s entire demeanor had dramatically transformed, making her seem more ethereal and elusive. With her aura radiating outward, she resembled a divine being, like a Rakshasa Woman from hell, exuding a terrifying murderous aura that chilled onlookers to the bone.


    The Famed Sword, once recognizing its master, would perfectly synchronize, and with this Demon de in hand, Mitsuko even outdid Su Lun with his ck Sickle, as if there was nothing in the world she couldn''t cut through.


    However, this wasn''t without side effects.


    ording to Mitsuko, even though she could now wield this masterwork of the twelve craftsmen, she would continually suffer from the demonic influences of the Demon de in the future. The sword had developed a spirit, had been worshipped for years with incense, and had be a demonic weapon of the hellish path. As she continued to battle, it would absorb the spirits and the aura of ughter from beneath its de to grow stronger, bing increasingly ferocious over time, and would eventually bacsh against its wielder.


    This meant that she would need to constantly be stronger and make breakthroughs in her Sword Dao to keep it suppressed.


    In this regard, Su Lun wasn''t worried at all¡ªMitsuko''s faith in her Sword Dao was unshakeably strong, beyond ordinary people.


    ....


    Princess Shinfuku Mitsuko had previously chosen toe to Tea Crying Mountain as a refuge.


    Now that the situation wasrgely clear, there was no point in continuing to stay.


    After some discussion, they decided to set off immediately and head back to Edo.


    The next morning, they left the grandma''s tea house and arrived at a mountain road junction from Surveyor''s Mountain towards Akita. Mitsuko had already informed the royal family with a paper crane, and they were to be escorted by guards arranged to meet them.


    This was a secluded hill, not a single passerby in sight.


    The group had already been waiting here for a while.


    Su Lun was not the least bit impatient.


    He was preupied with inscribing eightyers of runes on his own skin, which he could do anywhere. He could draw while walking; waiting was even better.


    The practice of Rune Magicians involved the Secret Technique "Rune Flesh," which required inscribing runes on body skin, muscles, and bones depending on one''s needs, to produce runes of a certain element or effect.


    Su Lun was just starting out.


    Toplement the "Vajra" Secret Technique, he was creating a gold-adaptive sixth-order rune called "Gold Dragon Pattern." This variant rune wasplex, somewhat simr to weaving a fishing¡ªinterlocking loops that formed a "rune protection" over the body. It could resist, disperse, and cushion attacks. Once inscribed, it also significantly enhanced the toughness of the skin, dramatically increasing closebat and survival abilities.


    Su Lun had no issuesprehending rune theory, but it was meticulous work that required a lot of time; thus, he spent almost the entire day and night tinkering with it.


    Mitsuko, having just tamed the Demon de, spent her days holding the de, municating feelings" with it.


    Seeing Su Lun working meticulously, she didn''t forget the opportunity to train her disciple, "Aren''t you always admiring how great your ''Mr. Su Lun'' is? Now you understand why he''s so formidable, right? Today''s practice task is to perform the Iai sh three thousand times..."


    "Yes, Teacher."


    Lorota was very serious and obedient; she immediately began practicing the Iai sh, the sharp ng of metal resounding incessantly.


    Princess Mitsuko, overhearing Mitsuko''s words, chimed in, "Mr. Su Lun really is very diligent. He''s always hard at work, which is no wonder he''s so formidable."


    Su Lun simply smiled nomittally.


    He was ustomed to it, as studying and researching were integral parts of his life; it had always been like this for him.


    This was also a day in the life of an Alchemist.


    At that moment, he nced at the time and casually asked, "Miss Mitsuko, did you arrange to meet the guard at exactly ten o''clock?"


    "Yes. They seem to bete."


    Mitsuko frowned as she listened.


    The appointed time was almost upon them, yet there was no sign of the guards.


    A look of unease appeared on her face.


    As a princess, under normal circumstances, the royal warriors could only be early, neverte.


    If they werete, it likely meant something had happened.


    "..."


    Su Lun also frowned slightly upon hearing this.


    Many factions were currently seeking Mitsuko''s death, and he harbored no illusions of luck.


    The hill''s elevation was high, and ck crows stood on the treetops, looking out at a distance. Even with their shared vision, nothing unusual was detected.


    But it was exactly this calm that gave Su Lun a vague bad feeling.


    As he watched Mitsuko release another paper crane, probably trying to confirm the situation, he felt they might only need to wait.


    However, before long, a death crow perched on a branch, seemingly sensing something, suddenly started cawing loudly.


    Su Lun''s expression changed abruptly, and he eximed, "Not good, let''s move!"


    At his words, Mitsuko, who had been resting on a rock nearby, sprung to her feet and asked in a grave tone, "What happened?"


    Princess Mitsuko, not understanding what was going on, looked at Su Lun with confusion.


    "Not sure. But danger is approaching!"


    Su Lun''s expression was grave; he himself was also unclear about the situation.


    But he knew well that the death crow''s ability was to foresee death.


    Its urgent warning just now meant that a "deadly" danger was quietly approaching!


    Seeing Su Lun''s serious demeanor, both Mitsuko and the Princess tensed, asked no further questions, and followed the already retreating Su Lun.


    ...


    As Su Lun ran, several thoughts rapidly crossed his mind.


    If danger was approaching, then it was most likely those aiming to assassinate the Princess. The warning from the death crow as a "deadly danger" meant the opponent''s strength must be very formidable. Had it been him setting up an ambush, the main roads would definitely be heavily guarded.


    "Take the mountain path, don''t take the main road!"


    Su Lun nced at thepletely deserted t road and suddenly changed direction.


    He had been carefully observing the terrain near the hill, and if there were an ambush, only the winding mountain path would offer the greatest possibility of escape.


    He plunged into the woods, followed closely by Qian Tao, Princess, and Rorota.


    Almost at the same moment they left the hill, a sudden "swoosh" sound came from not far behind them.@@novelbin@@


    Listening again, there was a "boom" as a signal arrow exploded in the air.


    Seeing this, Qian Tao and Princess also immediately understood what had happened: there was an ambush!


    They sped even faster through the mountain forest.


    ....


    "There seem to be a lot of them, it might be people from the Takeda government!"


    "Not necessarily. It could be that Abe Yasukazu..."


    "Be careful. Let''s retreat from this mountain area first."


    "..."


    Although theirbat ability was not bad, they were not foolish enough to fight within the enemy''s encirclement.


    Su Lun was holding a ck umbre, running while expressionlessly pondering something.


    Just then, he suddenly noticed something, his fingers grasped at the void, and with a tug on several transparent threads, he watched a thick tree cleanly cut into two halves.


    Qian Tao and Princess also noticed Su Lun''s action, and with a nce, they saw fresh, crimson blood flowing from the cut on the fallen tree.


    There had been a ninja using Wood Escape hiding inside the tree trunk!


    Looking up, dozens of bamboo gliders suddenly appeared in the sky.


    Princess''s pupils contracted, recognizing the ninja star emblem on their clothes, and eximed, "Those are Koga ninjas!"


    Su Lun''s gaze sharpened.


    There are many sects of ninjas in Mountain Hermit, mainly the Koga and Iga sects.


    Iga sect ninjas are skilled in protection and pharmacology, loyal to the royal Shinfuku family.


    However, Koga sect ninjas are belligerent, skilled in ninjutsu and researching various ninja tools, usually serving warlords in warfare, and are very active on battlefields. Currently, thergest faction is within the ck Dragon Syndicate.


    Seeing Koga ninjas meant there was an eighty percent chance the people were from the Takeda government!


    It was now clear that the enemy had long been lying in ambush, even predicting that they would take the mountain forest route. This meant the situation on other routes was even more perilous.


    It was fortunate the heralding bird had warned them earlier; otherwise, if the encirclement had closed, the consequences would have been unimaginable.


    But now that their whereabouts had been exposed, a major battle was unavoidable.


    Su Lun, seeing the ninjas beginning to jump down from the sky, thought of something and quickly said, "Miss Princess, there might be strong opponents among the enemies, prepare the second n."


    "Okay!"


    Princess, without any hesitation, took out a human-shaped white paper from her bosom, bit her finger to draw blood, drew a spell charm on it, and handed the newly created "Shikigami paper doll" to Su Lun.


    In that moment, an old man appeared in front of Su Lun and the others, blocking their path.


    This guy wore a dusty, tattered felt hat and had a sake gourd hanging at his waist, his nose reddened by alcohol flush; he looked like an inebriated country farmer.


    But despite his disheveled appearance, once Princess saw him, she yelled, "Be careful, it''s one of the ''Demon Hand'' Koga Three Ninjas, Ueno Sasaki!"


    Su Lun had heard of this man, a special jonin, an assassin-type ninja whose reputation definitely ranked in the top ten of Mountain Hermit ninjas.


    There are no false reputations under great names, and he didn''t underestimate him at all.


    The little old man was unceremonious, looking at the three approaching, he raised his hand forming a seal, and suddenly a visible wind de sprayed out of his mouth, "Ninpo: Wind God Kama Itachi Technique!"


    The wind des grew elongated with the wind, initially just the size of a finger when expelled, they quickly turned into crescent moon wind des.


    Those thousands of wind cycles rampaged through the forest, and in the blink of an eye, these thick trees were "blown" down like cut wheat.


    Qian Tao was at the forefront, his sword swinging impermeably.


    Astonishingly, when the sword de touched those wind des, sparks flew with a ng, indicating that the wind des contained the edges of thousands of sickle des.


    The wind-attribute Ninjutsu permeated everywhere, its area attack unstoppable.


    Su Lun,cking Qian Tao''s exceptional swordsmanship, pinched a sorcerer''s seal, and his skin instantly shimmered with a dark golden luster. Looking closer, it effused a pattern like dragon scales. A fifth-tier "Vajra" Secret Techniquebined with a sixth-tier Rune "Rune Golden Body"¡ªnot so easily breached, the dense wind des cutting on his skin left not a single mark.


    Su Lun''s attention was never on these wind des.


    He knew this was the enemy''s smoke screen.


    Looking again, that little old man in the distance had indeed disappeared into thin air.


    "Such a superb Invisibility Technique! Worthy of being one of the Koga Three Ninjas..."


    Su Lun''s gaze slightly narrowed.


    Sight, hearing, and touchpletely failed to detect that man''s presence, only in the Soul Perception did he sense a soul fire mingling with the wind des moving towards Princess.


    Pretending not to notice, it was in that instant that Su Lun suddenly burst out, "String Control Secret Technique: Caged Sparrow!"


    With one hand, he pulled, and countless threads turned substantive, enveloping the person''s shadow.


    Before the threads could sever, a smoke bomb inside suddenly exploded with a bang, and that soul fire, like teleporting, ran a hundred meters away.


    The old man, slippery like an eel, quickly fled after his attack failed!


    Su Lun inwardly eximed, noting the extraordinary escape speed of the Ninjutsu.


    Qian Tao, not to be outdone with her vtile temper, hadn''t even settled from the wind des when she fiercely stomped the ground,unching herself like a human cannonball, charging towards the defense line the old man had escaped to.


    In midair, he drew his sword and shed ahead, a Sword Qi tearing through the air. Enjoy exclusive chapters from My Virtual Library Empire


    Ueno Sasaki,pelled to reveal himself from his Wind Escape, crossed his steel w des on his hands to block the sh.


    Seeing this, Su Lun was already able to roughly gauge Ueno Sasaki''s strength.


    Although Qian had just tested him with a sh, the ease with which it was blocked suggested that this guy also had the strength of a fifth-order professional.


    "Ueno Sasaki is proficient in the Art of Wind Escape, don''t tangle with that guy!"


    "Okay!"


    Su Lun and his threepanions didn''t pay attention to that guy and continued running towards the deeper part of the dense forest.


    But just then, they vaguely heard someone chanting next to their ears: "Ninpo: Myriad Flower Wheel Technique!"


    Looking again, the forest suddenly filled with falling cherry blossoms, like snowkes, breathtakingly beautiful, casting a momentary spell of fascination.


    The Princess quickly warned, "Be careful, that is ''Sakurahime'' Kobe Kaoru, one of the three Koga Ninjas. Skilled in controlling demons and proficient in illusion techniques. She has the ''Mind Recement'' bloodline limit!"


    In the Mountain Hermit nation, because believers cultivate divine power, the probability of innate awakening is very low. But once there is an awakening, the probability of bloodline inheritance is extremely high, often referred to as "bloodline limit."


    Having heard the Princess''s words, Su Lun immediately tranted the term in his mind to an alchemy talent, [B-025-Instigator].


    This talent naturally possesses persuasive charisma and high growth in spiritual power.


    Indeed, it is a talent very suitable for an illusionist.


    Qian, possessing the Demon de, naturally wasn''t affected.


    Only Lolota was momentarily dazzled with infatuation, then promptly snapped out of it when hit by the Princess with a Shinkou Bell.


    Su Lun had already seen through the illusion technique from the start; such a magician was no big issue for him now.


    But what made him more curious was that he had seen this spirit me before in his Soul Perception.


    It was actually the female ninja who had disguised herself as a guide back in Sword Forging Vige!


    ....


    This brief encounter revealed some insights to both parties.


    "Damn it, weren''t Lady Takeda''s arms sealed, how could she still possess such strength?!"


    "And why is the Demon de Sohi here!"


    "That one using the strings, that''s the guy I told you about, be careful, he is very skilled!"


    "..."


    Su Lun recognized Kobe Kaoru, and that female ninja recognized him too.


    ...


    "The three Koga Ninjas" had already shown two; from the looks of it, they were determined to kill the Princess.


    If Qian and Su Lun hadn''t been by her side, perhaps those guys might have had the chance to kill the Princess.


    But now, they were far from enough.


    However, Su Lun had no intention of fighting.


    A warning from the ck Dragon kept him vignt.


    None of these people could pose a fatal threat to them.


    After all, ninjas are primarily assassins; without a certain kill, the two particrly sharp ones had not dared to sh but just followed along.


    With the ck Dragon still cawing, Su Lun and hispanions had not paused for a moment, killing several blocking Koga ninjas along the way, thinking they had probably broken out of the encirclement.


    But just then, Su Lun suddenly sensed an incredibly fast-moving figure.


    He shouted urgently, "Someone underground!"


    "This person is strong! Be careful, I''ll stop him!"


    Qian yelled explosively, also feeling the chilling murderous intent akin to the one she felt when they assassinated the sixth-order Rune Old Man before.


    Facing such a high-level adversary, there was no choice but tomit fully.


    She reached out, and with a magical trick, her kimono was instantly reced with a set of bright red armor, the famed war armor ''Iron Red Scales Painted Five Panels Fully Equipped.''


    With a Tengu mask covering her face, she suddenly looked extremely formidable.


    This time, she drew the Demon de Sohi outright.


    Her fighting spirit was surging.


    Watching Qian''s actions, Su Lun''s gaze also sharpened.


    For someone who could make the now fifth-order Qian say "very strong," there probably weren''t many in Mountain Hermit.


    This guy was probably the reason why the ck Dragon had been so restless.


    Su Lun dared not be the slightest bit careless; the eight-armed spider spears were already disyed behind him.


    The man who emerged from the earth just a hundred meters away stood out, d in ck iron armor, face covered, legs bound, in standard ninja attire, with a n crest of a crescent moon on his armor.


    Seeing this, the Princess was also surprised, "That is... that is the leader of the Koga Ninja n, ''Shadow Buddha'' Kato Danzo!"


    Listening to this almost legendary name, Su Lun''s eyes filled with solemnity.


    The number one person in the Mountain Hermit ninja n, a master of both Ninjutsu and physical techniques, the sole "Shadow level" ninja.


    Although his Soul Perception only showed the strength of a fifth-order professional, this man''s true power was profoundly inscrutable.


    Legend had it that this man had actually assassinated a Daimyo amidst a myriad of troops!


    ....


    Su Lun and the rest, due to their decisive actions, had now escaped the encirclement, with only a few high-ranking ninjas catching up to them.


    But seeing the "Shadow Buddha" Kato Danzo in front of them, they stopped in their tracks.


    Su Lun also felt somewhat intrigued, actually encountering such a "legendary character".


    But since he had seen the person, he wasn''t panicking anymore.


    Kato Danzo was strong, but many of his techniques were "already known".


    The oue of the battle could also be somewhat predicted.


    Currently, with the Demon de in hand and famed armor on his body, Su Lun was confident in self-protection, not to mention beating Kato.


    Moreover, with the Princess by his side, if it really came to a fight, there was a good chance both sides would suffer.


    Su Lun sensed the rising battle intent from Chisen standing beside him, guessing what she wanted to do, he asked, "Chisen, what do you think?"


    The safest n was naturally not to force a confrontation; as long as Chisen could hold off the strongest one, Su Lun and the others could find a way to kill some of the others.


    Then, it was time to...run again.


    As expected, Chisen responded with the answer he had anticipated, "You guys go first, I want to test my de on this guy."


    Though both actions involved fighting, "holding back" and "testing the de" represented two different mindsets, one defensive and the other aggressive.


    Swordsmen are forged through countless battles like this.


    Encountering a worthy adversary and not fighting when the urge struck, felt wrong.


    The "Shadow Buddha" Kato Danzo was not only a ninja, but in terms of swordsman skill, he absolutely ranked among the top five within the Mountain Hermits¡ªa top-level giant of the sword.


    His strength could pose a real threat to Chisen, making him the best possible opponent.


    Chisen now had the Demon de in hand, just missing a fierce battle to feel utterly fulfilled.


    "Oh."


    A fierce light shed in Su Lun''s eyes as he casually responded.


    During the brief moment of their exchange, Kato Danzo wasn''t idle.


    Just then, the ninja formed a technique seal and eximed, "Ninpo: Fertile Cloud Wild Marsh Technique!"


    Thunderous sounds were unremitting; upon another nce, the man had actually spit out a waterfall. The dam-like volume of water, like a mountain torrent, voraciously washed over everything, instantly leaving rocks and trees in a state of disarray...


    In a blink, the vast forest had turned into a marsnd.


    "So this is the ''Shadow''s'' strength..."


    Su Lun''s Octopus Spear floated easily on the surface as he remarked sentimentally.


    He also looked at the extravagant volume of water being spit out, not understanding the principle, and internally criticized, "How can this guy spit out so much water?"


    Ninjutsu and Alchemy are entirely different; this technique wasn''t just concentrated water elements, but more like using a spatial spell to pull a river from somewhere else. Otherwise, if it werepletely like a magician gathering water elements to cast a spell, it would require a seventh-tier professional to produce such an amount of water.


    For a group, this ninjutsu was definitely a disaster-level attack.


    But for Su Lun and his group, the problem wasn''t too big.


    Just as Su Lun was pondering the motive behind Kato Danzo creating so much water, with another look, the man was also using a special skill, directly stepping on the water and charging over.


    It turned out this was to create a favorable battle terrain for himself.


    Seeing this, Chisen didn''t show any weakness either, shouting out loud, "Here I go!"


    "Snap," "snap," "snap"...a series of Stepping on Air resounded.


    One skimmed the water; the other stomped the air, charging towards each other.


    In the blink of an eye, the two were about to collide.


    Unfortunately, Chisen had just advanced to the fifth rank, and her strength might be much weaker than Kato Danzo''s. But the sword in her hand was the "Demon de Masamune."


    It could blind, possess demonic aura, and confuse the mind...many negative statuses.


    With one slice, Sword Qi extended for hundreds of meters, and waves several meters high surged on the water''s surface.


    The moment Kato Danzo made contact, darkness filled his vision, and he immediately knew something was wrong. His reaction was extremely fast as he violently withdrew his body, leaving the affected area.


    With that one slice, he immediately knew the strength of his opponent.


    With only his eyes visible beneath his cover, his gaze turned icy as his hands formed the ninja technique seal.


    But this time, a faint luminescence condensed around his body, as if blessed by some mystical volition.


    "Divine Arts: Thousand-Armed Stone Buddha"


    Kato Danzo finally used the ultimate technique of the Iga ninja, handed down in secrecy.


    Upon looking again, a Stone Buddha of several hundred meters in height appeared out of nowhere, imposing and terrifying in its divine might.


    This move, it was said to have the power of a deity!


    ...


    Just as the two exchanged blows, Su Lun had already run a great distance in another direction.


    Feeling the earth-shaking noise behind him, he turned back to look, raising his eyebrows, "Indeed, these believers in divinity really have unimaginable strength..."


    He was no match for this level.


    "But then again, to force out the opponent''s full strength with one move, Chisen has really grown strong..."


    Thinking this, Su Lun didn''t look back, leading the few pursuers behind him and disappearing into the mountain forests.

 Chapter 321 The Mysterious President of the Black Dragon Society

    Make adjustments before changes. Two of the Koga''s top three ninjas arrived, and even Kato Danzo, an "elite-ss" ninja who had long faded from the public eye, was present. This lineup was sufficient to assassinate any Daimyo from the Mountain Hermit nation.


    Furthermore, considering the troops that might be barricading the main roads, the Takeda Shogunate was decidedly set on winning this round.


    Unfortunately, they had underestimated the strength of Su Lun and hispanions.


    Or rather, they had not anticipated the variable at the Princess''s side, one capable of taming the Demon de Zongzheng ¡ª a Chihiro, and one Su Lun.


    As Su Lun ran, he also weighed the pros and cons.


    A royal princess of the current era, who had almost no connection to the right of imperial session. Therefore, if Takeda Nobuyasu went to such lengths to kill her, it was very likely because of the "ck Sun Grand Festival."


    Su Lun was also curious about what role the Princess would y in the ritual that made the Shogunate''s people so determined to kill her.


    On the other side, Chihiro''s battle with "Shadow Buddha" Kato Danzo was of such a level that even elite ninjas had no right to interfere. Therefore, when Su Lun fled, he also attracted the pursuit of nearly all Koga ninjas following him.


    In fact, they weren''ting for him.


    But because of the "Shinfuku Mitsuko" he had at his side.


    As long as the target was there, those pursuers were relentless.


    However, upon closer inspection, the expression in the eyes of the "Princess" next to Su Lun seemed slightly stiff.


    ...


    Behind them, the sounds of "bang" and "bang" were ceaseless.


    All kinds of pellets, ninja darts, shuriken, flying needles... whipped past him.


    Although these Mountain Hermit ninjas were without advanced firearms, they wielded all sorts of peculiar fire tubes.


    Don''t be fooled by these firearms that seem crude, taking half a minute to reload after each shot; their destructive power is far from small. The secret-form gunpowder creates poisonous smoke and some special shrapnel upon ignition, and their damage is no less than that of a grenade.


    Luckily for Su Lun who was tough-skinned, this shrapnel couldn''t prate the protective "Rune Vajra" he wore.


    With a tell-tale bird sharing its vision from the sky, Su Lun wasn''t worried about being surrounded.


    He continuously switched directions in the forest, always managing to avoid the encirclement of his enemies.


    But the dangers were real, and several times he was almost caught by his pursuers.


    Actually.


    Su Lun had had the opportunity to shake off those chasing him.


    After his advancement, the curse properties of his eight-limbed spidernce had also increased, and now his mountain Spatial Discement ability had also greatly improved, his speed not the slightest bit inferior to those ninjas skilled in various Escape Techniques.


    Besides, he had Spatial Discement.


    He wasn''t escaping with all his might simply because he was deliberately creating the illusion to those behind him that they could catch up.


    After all, in n B, adept at strategic retreat, he was merely "bait."


    Because the "Shinfuku Mitsuko" at his side, was also a fake!


    It was a life-sized puppet and an illusion created with "Robert''s Monocle."


    ...


    Having spent day and night together these days, Su Lun naturally knew thoroughly the appearance and figure of Shinfuku Mitsuko, so the illusion he conjured up could easily deceive the eye.


    Moreover, the puppet was also stered with the Princess''s "stand-in paper figure," making it difficult for the sensory ninjas to distinguish true from false by aura.


    As for the real Princess, she had taken the chaos earlier as a chance to hide away.


    The longer Su Lun drew the pursuers away, the more time the Princess had to escape.


    But ultimately, it was a fake, and after some time, it began to show ws.


    With the overwhelming number of pursuers, no matter how careful Su Lun was, he could protect himself, but not the "Princess."


    ```


    Two special Jonin''s moves were not simple either, as they seemed to have also sensed something fishy, making multiple probes. Finally, "Demon Hand" Ueno Sasaki blew a series of wind spells haphazardly, the "Princess" couldn''t avoid them in time and had a leg sliced off.


    Looking at the blood gushing from the severed leg of the "Princess," the illusion expert "Sakurahime" Kobe Kaoru finally realized the problem and shouted, "Damn it, we''ve been tricked! It''s an illusion!"


    Upon hearing this, dozens of ninjas stood frozen in ce.


    An awkward silence filled the air, as if a flock of crows were "caw-caw-cawing" as they flew by.


    Hmm... there actually was a ck crow.


    Su Lun listened as his ruse was exposed, the corners of his mouth curling slightly. He thought his bloody illusion had been rather convincing and didn''t know how it was discovered.


    However, having dyed for so long was enough.


    By now, the Princess should already be safe.


    Given the current situation, it was time for these Koga ninjas to be caught in a dilemma.


    With their chase target gone, pursuing Su Lun no longer made much sense.


    But then again, it seemed, going back didn''t hold much meaning either.


    The old man Sasaki made a swift decision, ordering in a light voice, "Kaoru, take the men back to search for them! I''ll go kill him!"


    Kobe Kaoru thought of her brief encounter with Su Lun in the Sword Forging Vige and a touch of worry shed through her eyes.


    She knew that the guy in front of her didn''t seem too strong, but his methods were very unorthodox.


    It appeared he was even more formidable than before.


    But now was not the time for talk, she responded sharply, "Yes! Senior, be careful."


    Saying so, she turned with her team and retraced their steps.


    ....


    In the blink of an eye, dozens of Koga ninjas were reduced to just that old man with the rosacea nose.


    With the numerical advantage gone, the pressure on Su Lun was suddenly lifted.


    The man before him was skilled in wind ninjutsu, could run fast, and was one of the three great ninja, a bona fide fifth-tier professional.


    Normally, Su Lun''s most prudent course of action would be to flee with all his might.


    With his ability for Spatial Discement, escaping wouldn''t be difficult.


    But, after hesitating for a moment, he stopped in his tracks.


    Su Lun thought of the scene where Senjo confronted Kato Danzo before.


    Even when facing an enemy stronger than herself, she was fearless.


    Only by facing adversity in life can one feel the kind of pressure that transforms a person.


    It was like a renowned saying in alchemy: True gold is tested by fire.


    Su Lun knew this was what hecked.


    His character was too cautious and prudent, but itcked a bit of "spirit".


    With this thought, Su Lun looked towards the elderly ninja standing before him.


    He had never faced such a high-level opponent alone and had no assurance.


    To fight might not mean a loss.


    But to avoid battle, he would definitely not "win".


    As this thought arose, a fighting spirit surged within him.


    The moment Su Lun decided to stay, it was from this old man before him that he truly felt a tangible sense of oppression.


    ```


    This was the sense of crisis that he had been chasing for so long, without feeling the slightest hint of it.


    The murderous intent below him made his hairs stand on end.


    It seemed like a long time...


    Since he had felt the dance of swords.


    Su Lun had an inexplicable familiarity with it.


    His body took pleasure in this sensation, and a hint of excitement began to rise within him.


    "Hehe..."


    Su Lun''s mouth stretched into a grin, revealing a sinister smile at the corners.


    Seeing Su Lun stand still, Ueno Sasaki felt a bit surprised and snorted coldly.


    Once again, his feet generated wind, and his entire figure turned into a blur, charging fiercely forward.


    Su Lun lured his opponent into the dense forest, then suddenly raised his hand as if presenting a chessboard, and a beam of light enveloped Ueno Sasaki.


    A second look showed that the surroundings had already be a space of ck and white chessboard squares.


    If he had decided to fight properly, then he shouldn''t allow outside interference.


    ....


    Realizing he was trapped within a chessboard space, Ueno Sasaki''s gaze turned cold, but he did not panic.


    "Ninjutsu: Wind Barrier Barrier!"


    "Secret Technique: Puppet Theater!"


    Both sides were unyielding, forming seals at the same time.


    Just as the alchemy formation lit up, and a giant cross slowly condensed in the sky, Su Lun felt the air around his body suddenly be as viscous as asphalt.


    And it was solidifying rapidly!


    This made every movement he made feel as though he was bound by a weight of a thousand pounds.


    "Area control? What a masterful counter!"


    A sharp sh passed through Su Lun''s eyes.


    This Ueno Sasaki, facing a limited space, also used an area control ninjutsu,, making it so neither side seemed to have a definite advantage.


    Su Lun was not panicked either, he raised his hand with the "Rune Human Skin Umbre" and with a "bang," opened it up, the sorcerer''s seals in his hands changing once more.


    But at that moment, Ueno Sasaki didn''t give him the chance to form seals, his figure flickered several times in an approaching rush. His steel ws glittered coldly, grabbing towards Su Lun.


    The edge was menacing, and Su Lun hurriedly performed a sh retreat several meters, only to see the afterimage in front of him being ripped into pieces by the sharp ws.


    "Wrong!"


    Although Su Lun had dodged that strike, at that moment, his back hairs stood on end.


    One''s vision could be deceived, but within his soul perception, he clearly sensed that this old man in front of him was just an illusion!


    Even without turning around, he knew perfectly well that his enemy was behind him.


    "Such a high speed!"


    A chill ran through Su Lun''s heart.


    sh allowed him to quickly avoid danger, but it was not without an interval time. The enemy had ounted for this, predicting that after one strike failed, another lethal move would follow.


    The technique was clearly the very advanced Ninjutsu "Double Illusory sh"!


    The pressure on his back was like a mountain copsing, and Su Lun immediately felt a sense of death closing in.


    When facing such a true expert, no matter how many tricks you have, the threat is limited.


    Because the adversary simply won''t let you use them!


    Su Lun had intended to use the Rune ck Umbre to strip his opponent of his senses, not expecting that before the sorcerer''s seals in his hands could be formed, he would receive such a heavy blow.


    He caught sight of the enemy, but his body couldn''t keep up with his reaction, forcing him to change hand signals, "Puppet Substitute!"


    The next instant, with a "clink" of a subtle cutting sound, "Su Lun''s" body was suddenly cut into three sections by the sharp steel ws.


    With two strikes, his opponent had broken both his lifesaving techniques.


    But at almost the same time, Su Lun''s expression shifted anew a few meters away, because at that moment he saw a second "Ueno Sasaki" suddenly appear beside him!


    There was no soul fluctuation, only "qi."


    "Wind Shadow Clone!"


    Su Lun immediately grasped what was happening, deserving of his status as a top-level killer, his opponent''s techniques flowed one after another in session.


    But as he realized this, the clone had alreadyunched its attack.


    These three desperate moves took only a second or two in total, leaving no time for reaction!


    At this extremely critical moment, Su Lun''s fingers pulled, and several strands of thread suddenly converged, pulling his body off to one side.


    But even so, the w still struck his back.


    "Creak..."


    A grating sound, like a metal de cutting, erupted, and Su Lun was sent flying backward.


    Although the w failed to breach the defense of the "Rune Vajra," the immense force prated his organs, causing his blood to surge violently.


    Unable to hold back, he spat out a mouthful of blood as he flew backward.


    ...


    "The body is too weak..."


    Only when up against a true master did Su Lun fully realize his shoring.


    His neural response was sufficient, but his physical response simply couldn''t keep up.


    He had thought his body was strongpared to other Puppet Masters, but now he saw that, in front of a true master, it was still far from enough.


    A prestigious Puppeteer, unable to use even a single puppet, was nearly killed.


    Luckily for him, he had many lifesaving techniques. Had it been an ordinary Puppet Master, even of the fifth rank, they would have already been captured as a dead soul by now.


    Su Lun''s thoughts shed through his mind as his body was thrown backward.


    Just then, leveraging the force from being thrown, he finally managed to pull out three puppets in mid-air, guarding himself with them.


    These were rune puppets he had refined after advancing to the fourth rank, barely possessing forth rankbat power.


    Against such agile opponents, a strategy of quantity over quality with lower-ranking puppets would not hold any advantage. Even if he brought out mechanical armors, besides passively getting hit, they wouldn''t be of much use!


    For a moment, tactical thoughts whirled in Su Lun''s mind.


    ....


    Seeing Su Lun continuously dodge three lethal techniques, "Demon Hand" Ueno Sasaki was also greatly surprised. He had killed many enemies stronger than the one before him with this one move over his years as an assassin, yet this man had escaped?


    High explosive physical techniques took their toll on the body, and having used "Double Illusory sh," Ueno Sasaki wasn''t able to perform the triple strike tactic he had previously executed in such a short period.


    But his motion paused only for an instant before he vanished from the spot like a wisp of breeze.


    Su Lun watched the dissipating light and shadow in front of him, and behind him, he suddenly pulled back the eight-armed spidernce, "Silk Control Secret Method - Flower Waterfall!"


    In an instant, numerous threads converged like a white waterfall, closely enveloping him.


    This move was for defense, but it also trapped the enemy!


    Yet, since the reaction was so swift, the figure still charged in.


    "Squeak..."


    There was another piercing sound of metal being torn apart.


    Su Lun''s limbs didn''t have enough time to dodge when he felt a burning pain in his chest.


    The de-encased cyclone steel ws didn''t slice him into pieces, but they left three bloody gashes on his gold-painted skin.


    "These steel ws are also of famous ninja tool quality!"


    A thought shed through Su Lun''s mind, and he endured the severe pain, yanking hard on the silk threads, but upon looking again, that Ueno Sasaki had already dropped two smoke bombs and disappeared without a trace.


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    Two explosions rang out.


    Purple toxic smoke instantly spread everywhere.


    Su Lun covered himself with a gue doctor mask, and to make the other party suffer as well, he also threw out two poison gas bombs.


    The hissing sound of gas leaking was incessant, and within moments, the vast chessboard space was covered in purple and ck smoke.


    The other party was silent, obviously also holding back a major move.


    Su Lun didn''t dare to dy, and the sorcerer''s seals in his hands rapidly formed and changed.


    He didn''t think that the opponent would be unable to track his position without sight! Such a top-tier ninja''s hearing and sense of smell were too keen.


    He must strip this guy''s senses to stand a chance at victory!


    The Rune Vajra umbre was the only tactic Su Lun could think of as feasible.


    Otherwise, even if he yed his trump card, the "Xiupunos''s Scythe of Night," it would not change the situation!


    As Su Lun was concentrating on the spellcasting gestures, the opponent was naturally not idle either.


    Suddenly, cries that resembled ghosts howling and wolves wailing surrounded him.


    "It''s a wide-ranged wind magic spell after all..."


    Su Lun''s expression grew very solemn, yet he wasn''t the least bit surprised inwardly.


    In a closed space, there was no avoiding wind-style ninjutsu!


    If he were that Ueno Sasaki, he would naturally choose such a method as well.


    "Ninjutsu: Mountain Gale Wild Boar Technique!"


    Su Lun''s hands didn''t cease weaving the magician''s seals, but just then, he suddenly felt countless wind des slicing towards him.


    Even if there was a waterfall of hair woven into a wall by his side, it was as fragile as paper mache in front of the wind des, instantly shredded to pieces.


    "Such formidable cutting power..."


    Su Lun felt the wall of threads being instantly shed andmented in his mind.


    It was much stronger than his own "Wind Elemental Cutting" ability.


    The wind des also snuck through the gaps in the threads, "scraping" across Su Lun''s body, producing a sharp noise that made one''s scalp tingle.


    Peering through the gaps, he saw a strange wild boar demon head in the sky, faintly showing signs of dispersing his Puppet Theater''s crucifix!


    This was a suppression of spell rank...


    Agonizing pain assaulted Su Lun as if countless steel des were scraping his bones. He clenched his teeth, choosing to tough it out against the spell.


    Without the "Golden Dragon Runes" engraved over the past two days, even the [Rune Vajra] Secret Technique, condensed from fifth-tier principles, would not have held.


    But the wind seemed endless, showing no sign of subsiding.


    Just when Su Lun felt he was about to copse and be "dissected," hisst sorcerer''s seal finally materialized in his hands.


    If this attempt were interrupted as well, he''d immediately choose to flee!


    Fortunately, as soon as theplex set of sorcerer''s seals waspleted, Su Lun''s momentum abruptly soared, and the phantom of the Grim Reaper surged behind him, sweeping through the whole space with the breath of death. In a low voice, he intoned, "Dark Domain: Nightfall!"


    With the spell achieved, a dark tide as pitch as asphalt swept across the entire chessboard space from the ck umbre at its center.


    Countless malicious spirits with fierce faces rushed towards the one hidden in the wind nearby.


    ....


    In the confined space, it was also an unavoidable, area-wide attack.


    The darkness of the night obscured everything, and Ueno Sasaki instantly felt like he had lost his vision. Not only was his sight stripped away, but his hearing and touch vanished too.


    He couldn''t even feel his own body, nor the presence of the wind.


    It was as if he had stepped into hell, where countless demons beneath were reaching out to pull him into an endless abyss...


    Shock shed through Ueno Sasaki''s mind.


    Being a potential "special higher ninja," he too had undergone various grueling training. During the psychological control, he bit his tongue hard, momentarily regaining rity of perception.


    Seizing the moment, he spat out a mouthful of crimson blood and burst a Ninjutsu Scroll, forming sword fingers with both hands and shouting before his five senses were stripped away again: "Spiritualism Technique: Wind God Eye Connect!"


    No sooner had the Ninjutsu been deployed than a violent wind swept through the sealed chessboard space.


    Su Lun was immediately annoyed.


    Because, once again, he sensed the will of a god.


    Though weak, it was real.


    Without a doubt, that guy opposite must have summoned some creature of faith, a "monster" or so to say, "god."


    (PS. There are tens of thousands of gods revered by the Mountain Hermit, none of which are of the divine rank)


    As expected, another nce revealed a gathering whirlwind amidst flying dust and rocks, the poison was also sucked in, and the visibility cleared up, rapidly forming a vortex in the air.


    The whirlwind in the sky visibly erged and then transformed into a terrifying eye nearly ten meters in diameter.@@novelbin@@


    He just opened his left eye, a stream of light circling as he looked over.


    [Wind God Eye Connect]


    Exnatory note: One of the myriad gods manifested by the Mountain Hermit''s faith, responsible for the domain of wind, able to use wind as eyes to perceive the shape of objects; fears the energy of Acorus cmus.


    Only when Su Lun saw this did he finally take a deep breath in relief.


    If it weren''t for the will being not too strong, he would have already released the spell and fled.


    Many of the Mountain Hermit''s "Mountain Gods" and "Water Gods" are not true gods, rather "special monsters" with various bizarre abilities, also possessing weaknesses.


    Those weaknesses, besides the knowledgeable Onmyoji and shrine maidens, are rarely known, especially to those outside the Mountain Hermit.


    But Su Lun possessed the All-knowing Eye.


    He looked at the identified information, his heart leaping with joy. The Princess had given him more material, and there was plenty of Acorus cmus left.


    Moreover, he sharply caught onto something, "wind" could only sense solid objects!


    ....


    Ueno Sasaki''s eyes were lifeless, his pupils unable to focus, seeing that his body was indeed affected by the "Nightfall Domain."


    But somehow, this guy regained control of his body by some means, and the moment he summoned the eye of the storm in the sky, his aura surged several times over without hesitation, and he charged fiercely towards Su Lun.


    Su Lun had a moment to breathe and used sh to avoid him.


    In the instant of the Spatial Discement, several space scrolls simultaneously exploded in the chessboard space, and hundreds of puppets appeared out of thin air.


    There were humanoid objects everywhere.


    At that moment, Ueno Sasaki suddenly froze, clearly unable to discern where the target was.


    Seeing this, Su Lun felt a surge of joy in his heart, "That''s right!"


    It was in that instant that he finally saw the possibility of defeating his enemy.


    Ueno Sasaki didn''t understand why so many "people" had suddenly appeared, but he didn''t stop his hand movements, forming ninja seals and eximing, "Ninjutsu: Peacock Dance!"


    As soon as he formed the seal, dense Wind des, like peacock feathers, condensed behind him, and he pointed ahead, "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh," as if darts were flying towards the humanoid objects filling the space.


    The area attack instantly sliced through the group of puppets, but unfortunately, without hearing and sight, even if the Wind de hit Su Lun, it was hard for Ueno Sasaki to tell which one was the real body.


    Su Lun wouldn''t give him a chance to tell either; every time he used sh, a bunch of puppets would appear at the same time.


    Besides, even with area ninjutsu, there was still a primary and secondary target.


    Unable to catch Su Lun''s real body and attacking hundreds of targets at once, the damage caused was nothing more than a scratch.


    Su Lun hid among the puppets and began to counterattack.


    .....


    After a fierce battle for over half an hour, the oue was finally decided.


    One of the three great Ninja of Koga, "Demon Hand" Ueno Sasaki, perished on the spot.


    But there was no denying that this guy was truly strong.


    Especially after summoning that "Wind God Eye Connect," his Wind Escape Ninjutsu was absurdly powerful.


    Even stripped of his five senses by Su Lun, hisbat ability remained fearsomely strong.


    Meticulous in thought, rich inbat experience, he also knew various tactics to lure the enemy. If he caught even a slight opportunity, he would deliver a fatal blow.


    Under normal circumstances, even a fifth-order professional who encountered him would likely have little chance of survival.


    Unfortunately for him, Su Lun, with stripped emotions, was as calm as a machine.


    He was the kind of person who simply didn''t make mistakes or slip-ups in battle!


    From the moment Ueno Sasaki failed to distinguish his real body, the oue of the fight had actually been destined.


    No matter how strong he was, human physical strength had its limits.


    Su Lun was in no hurry to take action and didn''t engage directly. He just used various puppets and undead to wear his opponent down, never giving him a chance to breathe.


    The two tested each other, using their wits and bravery. Ueno Sasaki, facing an opponent who never made mistakes, ultimately exhausted all his strength.


    Su Lun used a ck scythe to kill him.


    ....


    Su Lun, amidst the wreckage of the chessboard space, nced again at the bisected corpse on the ground, deeply moved, "So strong..."


    Having lost hundreds of puppets and sustained numerous wounds himself, it was a narrow victory.


    This was also the first time he had killed a fifth-orderbatant using only his own strength.


    This battle was extreme; relying on numerous cursed items, he had luckily won.


    In a head-to-head fight, Su Lun would still have a long way to go.


    However, for an Alchemist, there was nothing shameful about this.


    Making good use of cursed items was also a part of an Alchemist''s fighting strength.


    This battle provided tremendous gains.


    However, it had also exposed his shorings.


    His Dark Spiritual Power wasn''t strong enough...


    His defenses weren''t strong enough...


    His bodily reactions weren''t quick enough...


    His "normal attack" methodscked lethality...


    As a Puppeteer, when facing professionals who could directly confront him, his survival tactics were still insufficient...


    In an instant, Su Lun''s mind shed through the scenes of the recent battle, and he fully recognized his deficiencies.


    Fortunately, knowing his shorings, he now had directions for improvement.


    But now was not the time to review the battle. Heposed himself and stripped the soul from the corpse.


    "You have stripped the soul of ''Ueno Sasaki'' and gained a wealth of ''Ninjutsu'' inheritance knowledge."


    "You haveprehended the spell insights rted to ''Wind Escape.''"


    "You have gained knowledge and insights rted to ''Mountain Hermit Divine Path.''"


    "You have learned some top-secret information: ''The ck Dragon Association has a very mysterious chairman''..."


    "..."


    Su Lun had thought he might strip away some profound insights into the "Wind Elemental Laws."


    But clearly, he had thought too much.


    The Ninjas from Mountain Hermit were also devout believers; their Ninjutsu consisted just of a few spells and seals, far simpler than the casting processes of an Alchemist. But despite this "rudimentary" nature, they achieved incredible effects.


    Upon investigation, it was the power of the divine system they believed in that empowered them.


    With this stripping, Su Lun understood the whole Ninjutsu system, which didn''t delve into the principles but focused on application.


    Without knowing the principles, there were few Ninjutsu he, as an Alchemist, could use.


    Even the few he could use wouldn''t be as powerful as those wielded by Ninjas.


    However, certain experiences could be corrted, and he still gained quite a lot.


    Moreover, Su Lun had obtained a sensational piece of information from Ueno Sasaki''s memories: The chairman of the ck Dragon Association was actually the one known as "the most beautiful princess in the world," Shinfuku Mitsuko?!


    This connected perfectly with the previous spections of his allies.


    After their assassination attempt failed, a "mysterious person" appeared behind Shogunate General Takeda Nobuyasu and turned the tide.


    Now that the ck Dragon Association was actually under the control of this "Princess Yoru Hime," everything made sense.


    But how could a geisha be the boss of the ck Dragon Association?


    Moreover, she seemed to have a significant rtionship with Takeda''s shogunate!


    Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire


    Why specifically her?


    Having remained hidden for so many years without discovery, what was she plotting?


    Too many questions arose, but Su Lun didn''t think about them in depth.


    The answers could only be found in Edo.


    With the dissolution of the chessboard space, he quickly disappeared into the mountains.

 Chapter 322 Met an Old Lady

    Su Lun had taken out "Demon Hand" Ueno Sasaki and then fled into the mountains; naturally, it was very difficult for anyone to catch up with him.


    Before long, word also came from Qiantiao that after a tough battle, she had been wounded, but had sessfully escaped as well.


    Su Lun breathed a sigh of relief.


    He did not go to meet with the Princess or Qiantiao but disguised himself as a down-and-out samurai and headed to the docks of Izumo Castle, nning to take the water route to Edo.


    Now that they had evaded the Takeda shogunate''s round of encirclement and assassination, the most dangerous moment had passed. However, the whole of Izumo, and even the neighboring fiefs, were likely under blockade. Now that they had been exposed, splitting up actually made each target less noticeable.


    ....


    The Hii River is thergest river in Mountain Hermit Country, with tributaries covering the whole of Honshu Ind like veins on a leaf. The river is hundreds of meters wide and can amodaterge ships, allowing seagoing vessels to sail upstream from the estuary directly to Edo Castle.


    The docks of Izumo Castle were bustling with people early in the morning, a busy scene.


    The dockworkers unloaded bundles of cargo from merchant ships¡ªgoods brought by foreign traders; they also loaded some heavy items onto the ships, with fine ironware and ores transported from here to various parts of Mountain Hermit Country and overseas.


    Su Lun, in his shabby samurai clothes and wearing a bamboo hat, with a cheap iron sword at his side, was hardly noticeable among the crowd.


    No one knew how the shogunate officials spread the news, but the bounty board at the docks had already listed thetest Bounty Orders. Su Lun, Qiantiao, and Lolo were all on the list. The Shinfuku Mitsuko was not, probably due to her special status.


    As Su Lun passed by, he nced at it and then shook his head and walked by.


    Not to say his disguise was very clever andpletely different from his original appearance. Even if he hadn''t disguised himself, the hastily drawn portraits with ink brush were unlikely to be recognized by anyone.


    Although the guards conducting inspections would check household registration ques, those household registration sheets without any anti-counterfeiting marks were all too easy to fake.


    Moreover, his fluent local ent, which he had peeled off, also made it hard to doubt him.


    Su Lun passed the inspection with ease.


    He made his way to the docks where a bamboo and thatched hut stood, under which some people squatted with cloth bags on their backs, travelers preparing to take boats to other ces, as well as peddlers who roamed around.


    Cargo ships generally did not carry passengers, so Su Lun had to wait here for a passenger ship to pass by.


    About once a week, several ships would pass by Izumo docks, but in this era, there were no schedules. One simply waited at the docks, and when a ship came to shore, one would ask if there was room, pay some ship fare, and board the ship.


    Su Lun was not in a hurry, after all, there were nearly ten days until the "ck Sun Grand Festival," and there was still plenty of time. He sat on the ground, holding the broken sword in hisp, closed his eyes to rest, his mind going over various alchemical knowledge.


    The battle the day before had yielded a lot, and he needed a lot of time to improve on his weaknesses.


    After a long wait, people came and went under the hut, with twenty to thirty people gathered.


    The wandering peddlers, who traveled from south to north, were well-informed and struck up conversations.


    Most of the conversations were mundane, which Su Lun listened to, deliberately and indifferently.


    Then, he heard news of the King of the North Sea''s fleet.


    "Just yesterday, a lot of big ships passed by here, all loaded with cannons and armed men. I don''t know what they''re up to."


    "That''s the ninth fleet of the King of the North Sea. I heard they are going to Edo. Are theying to impose taxes on us in Mountain Hermit Country?"


    "I''ve heard that those pirates are intending to invade and rule over us..."


    "Our great and benevolent Emperor is a monarch granted by Amaterasu Omikami itself, how could we let outsiders rule over us? Those foreigners will surely be punished by the gods..."


    "War is about to break out. Haven''t you seen? These past few days, the docks have been shipping lots of swords and bows to Edo? I heard various Daimyo have jointly petitioned, preparing for a decisive battle against those foreigners..."


    "..."


    While Su Lun absorbed alchemical knowledge in his mind, he also thought about these pieces of news.


    He was also curious about whether a war would break out.


    Oleg wanted to be the true "king" over the vast waters of the North Sea, and the four countries of the north were definitely his targets for conquest.


    Mountain Hermit, though small, would not be easy to subjugate.


    At least in his previousmunications with the Princess, Su Lun knew that the Shinfuku Imperial family''s stance was to never submit, preferring to be shattered jade rather than intact tile.


    ....


    Due to the need to transport arge number of supplies to Edo, the usual passenger ships had been conscripted to carry cargo.


    Su Lun waited at the docks until the afternoon but was unable to catch a ship.


    Just as he was considering whether to inconvenience himself by taking thend route, a fleet of boats slowly made their way up the river.


    The ships bore gs with white cherry blossom patterns on a ck background, official merchant ships of Mountain Hermit Country. They came from Pirate City Hastelin. The great Daimyo of Mountain Hermit had many businesses abroad, and these ships wereden with various imported goods that would fetch huge profits after being sold.


    Seven ships docked for resupply and unloaded a lot of cargo, keeping the dockworkers busy.


    The itinerant peddlers seemed to be familiar with the ship''s stewards, went to ask, and soon came back with news.


    "Hey! The folks on the ship say they can let us board!"


    "Of course, given the special circumstances. There''s limited space on the ship. The tickets are going to be a bit more expensive than before..."


    "..."


    Su Lun heard this and understood that the peddler was also selling "channels".


    He stood up and paid the fellow an extra fifty percent of the passage fee. His identity as a destitute samurai could still support such an expense.


    He thought it was better to travel by arge sea vessel to avoid encountering any sea monsters or storms that could easily sink a smaller boat. Moreover, a big ship with many people and backgrounds was not easy to inspect. It saved a lot of trouble.


    Su Lun and a dozen other travelers boarded the middle ship.


    After perceiving his surroundings, there were no particrly troublesome presences on board.


    He also didn''t mind squeezing into the cargo hold that had just been cleared out for them.


    Before long, the merchant ship was resupplied and set sail again.


    Su Lun stayed in the cabin for two days.


    Therge ship had a dining room, but it wasn''t provided for them, the temporary passengers who had jumped on at thest minute.


    When he was hungry or thirsty, he ate some dry food and drank water he had brought with him, and he didn''t feel restless.


    He spent his days in meditation and digesting knowledge.


    Traveling with stops here and there, it would take about four to five days to reach Edo Castle from Izumo if all went well.


    But on the third day, Su Lun suddenly opened his eyes from meditation.


    He saw sunlight pouring in through the venttion window, casting a golden beam. The fine dust in the rays of light was clearly visible.


    Today was a rare day of good weather.


    "The sun hase out..."


    Su Lun suddenly had a feeling that he should go out for some fresh air.


    But at the same time, he furrowed his brows.


    It felt "strange" for him to have such a thought.


    Being able to control his emotions meant that, under normal circumstances, he wouldn''t need some inexplicable rxation just because he''d been enclosed in the cabin for two days like a normal person would.


    After awakening the second stage of his Reaper talent, Su Lun had be more sensitive to many mysterious abilities and was less likely affected by them. After his professional ranking increased, this ability had strengthened considerably.


    "Could it be that I''ve been influenced by some supernatural power?"


    Su Lun thought about the time he and Mr. Jing had encountered the maniption of fate in Gadronte Harbor.


    Since then, he was extra cautious of simr situations.


    Or was it just an illusion?


    Su Lun pondered with a furrowed brow for a moment, but he still decided to go out and have a look.


    ....


    Although this fleet was an official merchant ship of the Mountain Hermit, it was a motley crew.


    In addition to the kimono-d Mountain Hermit folks, there were also many blonde and blue-eyed people of various skin colors on the ship, career merchants who had been traveling to and from pirate ships to the Mountain Hermit domain.


    Especially since war seemed imminent, the ship was also mixed with many who wanted to follow along and profit from the warfare.


    Su Lun left the cargo hold and observed along the way. The upper deck was noisy with gambling and the enticing dances of the Singers, some of the few entertainment activities aboard, and the crew enjoyed themselves immensely.


    Su Lun didn''t notice anyone special and went straight up to the deck.


    After noting out for two days, breathing a breath of fresh air rejuvenated him.


    The ind river had no big waves, and therge ship traveled smoothly on the river surface.


    On the deck, apart from the indolent sailors idle with card games, there were also a few travelers who hade up to bask in the sun. At the rear upper structure were the Captain''s quarters, the first mate''s room, and several luxury cabins for big merchants and their families.


    After a nce, there was nothing worth noting.


    Su Lun walked to the ship''s rail, leaned against it, and murmured, "Was it really just an illusion?"


    The sun''s rays felt warm and pleasant on his skin. He wasn''t in a hurry to return to his cabin, thinking it was nice toe out and get some air.


    Su Lun gazed at the riverside scenery, his eyes slightly narrowed.


    The green mountains and white snow were intermittently visible.


    Just then, a "gurgle" sound arose, a silver coin rolled from behind on the deck and stopped by Su Lun''s foot.


    He turned his head to look; it was a clumsy maid chasing after it.


    Su Lun bent over to pick up the silver coin that had stopped by his feet and handed it over; the young girl thanked him with a "Thank you".


    Su Lun smiled faintly, not lingering on the girl before him, but his gaze fell upon the old woman behind her.


    The old woman was dressed in a well-fitting purple gown, with neatlybed silver hair, exuding an air of distinct elegance even while simply standing. Although she wore no dazzling jewelry, her bearing immediately revealed her exceptional upbringing. Even though age had etched deep lines upon her face, that one look suggested to Su Lun that: she must have been very beautiful in her youth.


    However, what surprised Su Lun more was the fire of her soul that his Soul Perception detected.


    ```


    Very faint.


    Like the flickering candlelight in the wind, it could be extinguished at any moment.


    Su Lun immediately realized that this was an old woman whose life had reached its end.


    ...


    Suddenly encountering such a special old crone on the ship, Su Lun didn''t think it was a coincidence.@@novelbin@@


    His expression showed no sign of surprise, nor did he make any move.


    But it was that mere nce that seemed to alert the old woman, and she slowly walked over.


    The deck was not long, and within a few steps, she was beside him.


    The old woman took the initiative to speak, "I originally wanted to find an excuse to casually meet you. But it seems you''ve noticed I was waiting for you."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun immediately realized that his prior feeling was correct!


    But he didn''t sense any hostility, and he cautiously asked, "Old madam, do we know each other?"


    Addressing an elderly woman as "madam" is always correct.


    "We''ve met once before."


    The old woman gave Su Lun a look, and a glint of light shed in the depths of her eyes before she retracted her gaze. Leaning against the railing just as Su Lun had, she added another phrase: "At ''San Torii''."


    "..."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun immediately remembered.


    In Pirate City there was a shop called "San Torii," which he had visited only once. He was there to buy materials and had encountered several cloaked figures. He remembered an old woman who had boldly bought up all the grand manuscripts of the great writer Fujiwara Hayato.


    Clearly, it was the woman before him.


    Moreover, Su Lun also knew that his disguise had been seen through. No, he had been recognized back in Pirate City already.


    Su Lun''s brows furrowed slightly, "May I ask, madam, who you are?"


    She was probably not an enemy.


    If she was an enemy, this introduction would be a bit too gentle.


    The old woman straightforwardly said, "I am Naqiusha''s great-grandmother."


    "..."


    Hearing this, Su Lun''s eyelids twitched fiercely.


    This was truly a great surprise!


    Naqiusha''s great-grandmother, what''s going on?


    For some reason, Su Lun felt as if he had trifled with someone''s youngdy and her elder hade knocking on his door.


    Indeed, where would there be so many elegant olddies.


    Only the grandmother from a grand noble household could possess such an air.


    So when he felt observed at San Torii, it wasn''t an illusion¡ªwas it that girl Naqiusha?


    But how did she recognize him?


    Was his disguise that bad?


    Su Lun felt somewhat speechless inside but guessed it must be some special secret technique.


    However, speaking of which.


    The life before him had reached its end, and she had specificallye to find him?


    As if guessing his thoughts, the old woman smiled, "I didn''te especially for you. I just had some business with the Mountain Hermit. It was fate that let us meet."


    Her smile deepened the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, but it allowed one to see the kindness in her gaze.


    Since she had already mentioned Naqiusha''s name, Su Lun naturally couldn''t feign ignorance. But he didn''t believe this was some twist of fate, so he directly asked, "You... How do you know I am here?"


    The old woman spoke gently, "Meeting a capable person is a kind of fate. Magicians struggle against fate all their lives, but often do not realize that many times, fate is already decided."


    It sounded like nonsense, but Su Lun understood something from it.


    A talent simr to [S-003-Fate Controller]?


    And in that instant, thoughts began to race through his mind, connecting like lightning.


    He suddenly had a bold thought: the "third party" behind Abe Yasukazu, could it be Naqiusha''s family?!


    What the fuck...


    This was the territory of the Four Countries of the North, under Oleg''s domain. Did the hand of the Ruying nobility reach so far?


    ```


    Moreover, from the looks of it, this scheme wasn''t concocted on a whim; it might have been years, even decades in the making, with seeds sown long ago.


    Sure enough, only those great families with centuries of heritage had the foundation and the finesse for such endeavors.


    Indeed, what could a bunch of pirates know about spinning conspiracies? It was up to those seasoned professional politicians of the Luying faction!


    Su Lun even felt that the Ninth Fleet''s arrival this time, to a greater or lesser extent, had the shadow of some conspiratorial puppet-master behind it.


    ....


    But this elderly person''s life was nearing its end.


    Su Lun really couldn''t guess, why did shee to Mountain Hermit?


    Before he could sort out his thoughts, the old person took the initiative and said, "I am here to see an old friend."


    "..."


    Su Lun felt as if someone had peeked into his mind.


    Just like when he first encountered Mr. Hei, there was something about the gaze of the wise that seemed to see through everything with a clear light.


    The old person asked, "Young man, may I have a few words with you?"


    Su Lun nodded, "Of course."


    The old person''s benevolent smile was like the warm sun in winter, making it impossible to entertain thoughts of refusal.


    "I mean you no harm. It just so happened that I ran into you, and I wanted to see for myself what kind of man could earn such high praise from that girl Naqiusha."


    At this point, she paused and nced sideways at Su Lun, "Now that I see you, you indeed seem quite special."


    Listening to her, Su Lun found some of her words to be a bit cryptic and somewhat unusual, yet he responded with a polite smile, "You tter me."


    The old person chuckled and shook her head, "Among so many young talents in the empire, that girl Katyu Sha holds herself with pride, and she has never truly favored anyone. But you are the only one."


    "..."


    Su Lun felt even more puzzled.


    Although he got along very well with Katyu Sha¡ªsomewhat like... there wasn''t that kind of implication, right?


    The old person seemed tock energy; after just a few sentences, she needed to rest.


    Looking at the distant mountains and waters, she continued, "Katyu Sha was like an ugly duckling as a child, somewhat reclusive by nature. She liked to gaze at the stars in the garden by herself; she enjoyed spending entire days holed up in the study reading storybooks. Her heart is pure, kind, and understanding..."


    People at the end of their lives would often reminisce about the beautiful people and events they had encountered.


    Su Lun yed the role of a quiet listener.


    In that moment, it was as if through the passage of someone else''s years, he saw a reflection of his own future self.


    At this, the old person seemed to remember something as a hint of a smile crossed her face, "But as she grows up, she will be quite beautiful."


    "..."


    With thatment, it felt like the atmosphere suddenly shifted.


    Instantly, Su Lun''s thoughts turned to that freckled, pigtailed girl at the airport.


    She was one of the few people he found to be exceptionally pleasant to be around.


    But to say she was "quite beautiful" would indeed be stretching it.


    He understood the olddy''s mindset of praising her own great-granddaughter and nodded in agreement, "Hmm."


    As if seeing through his thoughts, the old person didn''t exin further. She looked up at the sky and said something profound, "I was young once too. Back then, someone said to me, ''If the world is a prison, then love is the key that unlocks it.''"


    Su Lun listened, his brow slightly furrowing. Upon giving the words more thought, he felt there was something deeper implied.


    The old person had no intention of rifying further and continued, "In this life, it''s not easy toe across someone whose soul resonates with yours. When you do, you should cherish that person."


    Su Lun felt those words were meant for him,


    but could they also be about her own story?


    He listened patiently, ultimately keeping his thoughts to himself, asionally responding with a nod, "Hmm."


    Standing for a long time seemed to take a toll on the old person; she remarked wistfully, "In old age, one''s energy isn''t what it used to be."


    She didn''t seem inclined to continue the conversation and nodded as a signal, "Young man, thank you for humoring this old soul''s ramblings. I need to rest now."


    "Take care."


    Su Lun watched as the old woman was escorted back to her cabin by a maid.


    A contemtive look appeared between his brows.


    Was it just a chance encounter?


    What a strange meeting.

 Chapter 323 The Curse Brought by Defection

    ```


    Su Lun only met that elegant olddy once on the deck, and then he never saw her again.


    There were no signs of any idents due to being recognized because of his identity.


    It seemed she really just came to fulfill her final wish of seeing a friend of her great-granddaughter before she passed away.


    But Su Lun always felt that there was a deeper meaning behind that encounter.


    After pondering for a long time without figuring it out, he decided not to dwell on it any further.


    So he stayed in his cabin all the time.


    On the evening of the fourth day of the voyage, the fleet finally arrived at the capital, Edo, of Mountain Hermit.


    ....


    "Let''s go, off the boat we go!"


    The ship docked, and a violent shake urred. The travelers in the cargo hold picked up their luggage and crowded out of the cabin.


    Su Lun also walked onto the deck calmly and immediately saw dozens of three-mastedrge sea ships moored at the dock. The mast flew the skull pirate g of the King of the North Sea pirate group, and the sails disyed a colorful "fat skeleton" g of the Ninth Fleet''s "Gluttonous Grand General," Yixier Peion.


    These were all warships, most of which were equipped with advanced cannons sent by the Mafa Empire.


    There were also signs of cannon fire on the dock, which seemed more like a disy of military power than a fierce battle, as if a few shots had been fired deliberately. After shattering a few gun emcements, there was no more to it.


    Su Lun disembarked and didn''t walk far before he saw a group of youths in ck uniforms parading on the dock, loudly shouting slogans.


    "Firmly oppose the ''Non-Resistance Treaty,'' eliminate the national traitor!"


    "Strongly demand the Takeda shogunate to join the war directly, expel the invaders!"


    "Swear to fight to the death for our Red Rice Port!"


    "..."


    The marching crowd was fervent, and Su Lun observed that they were dressed like students.


    The students blocked the dock entrance, distributing leaflets to travelersing to Edo, which detailed the entire situation.


    Su Lun was handed one as well.


    He nced at it and quickly understood the situation.


    Basically, a day before, the Ninth Fleet arrived at Edo with menacing force, fired two shots, and then the Takeda shogunate, which held absolute military power in Mountain Hermit, "knelt" without resistance. They then signed a non-resistance treaty, allowing the North Sea fleet to enter Edo Castle directly.


    In fact, the shogunate, with the nation''s forces at itsmand, did have the power to resist the invasion.


    At the very least, against this newly formed Ninth Fleet, they had the capacity to inflict mutual destruction.


    Without any resistance, this was why the students were so enraged.


    However, upon reviewing the events, Su Lun immediately spotted the "sly move" of the Takeda shogunate.


    They signed the non-resistance treaty, and now all the "contradictions" had shifted to the Imperial Court.


    Once the royal family agrees to be ruled by foreigners, their faith will definitely copse.


    If they disagree, the shogunate could kill with a borrowed knife, letting the North Sea fleet confront the royal family directly.


    In the end, Mountain Hermit still needed a ruler, and although the shogunate lost some "reputation," their power had increased even more than before.


    ...


    Su Lun looked at the passionate youths on the dock, as if he saw the shadows of the movements to overthrow the shogunate and to modernize from his previous life.


    Over the years, Mountain Hermit had contact with the outside world, and the courtiers also tried to start new schools in Edo, thus cultivating a group of knowledgeable young students.


    Being a transmigrator, he naturally understood this was an inevitability in social development.


    As civilization advanced, the historical tide would inevitably wash away those outdated systems that did not conform to thews of development.


    Even though Su Lun Jue considered the Princess his friend, he did not believe that such a major trend could be altered by an individual.


    The North Sea fleet''s arrival was probably this "catalyst". Even if they had note, the deepening ss conflicts would sooner orter be a raging fire that would sweep through all of Mountain Hermit.


    However, the current situation in Mountain Hermit seemed a bit unusual.


    If Su Lun had not encountered Katya''s grandmother before, he would likely not have cared about these political affairs at all.


    But now, seeing these people, a conspiracy theory suddenly popped into his head: Could it be that this student movement was also being driven by that "third party" behind the scenes?


    The "divine right of kings" and the "shogunate" are deeply rooted in Mountain Hermit. If that third party wanted to control Mountain Hermit, these two forces would certainly be barriers to ovee.


    The best method Su Lun could think of was nothing other than "change of dynasty".


    Mountain Hermit''s resources were actually abundant, with deposits of gold, silver, iron, fisheries, lumber, and extraordinary materials... all of which were advantageous. It was only the backward production that limited the development of these resources.


    If it were up to Su Lun, a primitive and backward Mountain Hermit would certainly not be an ideal domain.


    Empowering it would yield the greatest benefits.


    For example, by having a steam machinery revolution.


    ```


    Su Lun felt that which he coulde up with, the person behind the scenes could certainly think of as well.


    ....


    "Princess''s troubles aren''t small at all..."


    Su Lun muttered to himself, then stuffed the flyer into the dirty cor of his robe and climbed the green stone steps towards the city.


    He also contacted Qiantiao using themunicator by the way.


    They had taken thend route and had already arrived two days earlier.


    That gambling-addicteddy had a big heart and was now gambling in a gambling den controlled by the ck Dragon.


    This was Edo Castle, and although the Takeda shogunate had an immense power, the imperial n of Divine Attire also held significant control over city, so there was no need to worry about being surrounded and attacked by arge force as in other ces.


    Qiantiao was bold with her remarkable skills, so she was left to her own devices.


    Su Lun wasn''t much interested in gambling, so he wasn''t in a hurry to meet up.


    He walked out of the dock and slowly headed towards the ancient city that hadsted for a thousand years.


    Up from the riverside dock, there was a nearly ten meters tall stone city wall. Passing through the gate, Su Lun stepped onto a road wide enough for six horses to travel abreast.


    Edo Castle was thergest city in the Kingdom of Mountain Hermit, with a poption of several hundred thousand. It was not as prosperous as Lu Ying''s industrial cities, but it was still bustling with activity.


    It was evening now, the sky was getting dark, andrge snowkes were drifting in the sky. The number of pedestrians on the streets was also thinning out.


    Lanterns were gradually being lit throughout the city, with orange lights shining under roof eaves, illuminating corners and connecting into patches like fire dragons coiling within the city.


    Both sides of the streets were lined with neat rows of blue-tiled houses. The shops along the streets hung signs for grain, fabric, pharmacies, meat... and other necessities of life.


    At a nce, there were hardly any traces of industrial buildings in the city.


    A very primitive agricultural society.


    Having eaten dry rations for several days, Su Lun''s mouth felt nd, and he decided to find some hot food to fill his stomach.


    But as he walked, he passed by a bookstore just as it was closing up.


    He thought for a moment and walked in. He was met with a room full of blue-covered, thread-bound books and a strong smell of ink.


    Su Lun wanted to buy a few books about the ghosts of Mountain Hermit and customs.


    The books in these stores were much richer in content than those in Pirate City.


    While browsing, recalling the olddy he met on the ship, he asked, "Shopkeeper, do you have books by the great writer, Fujiwara Hayato?"


    "Of course we do."


    The shopkeeper was a little old man who responded and pointed towards a wall.


    There were dozens of works by Fujiwara Hayato.


    Su Lun nced at the titles, all of which were supernatural tales, mostly about the strange tales and legends of the yokai of Mountain Hermit.


    He picked some he hadn''t read before and said, "Shopkeeper, please wrap up those few books for me."


    "Alright."


    Perhaps because he thought he had found a big customer even though he was closing up, the shopkeeper was all smiles.


    As he gathered the items, he said, "Fujiwara Hayato-sama is superior in writing about ghosts and yokai. His works are the most wonderful fairy tales I have ever seen. Even after decades of reading leisurely, when I flip through those stories, I often wake up from dreams, as if the yokai in the books havee to life and entered my dreams to disturb people..."


    Su Lun listened to the old man''s words and nodded in agreement.


    This was not an exaggeration to make a sale; he had read some before.


    The yokai in those stories were vividly portrayed, leaving a profound impression on him.


    Moreover, he also felt that this "great writer" Fujiwara Hayato was shrouded in ayer of mystery.


    Words canmunicate with the divine, and thews of poetry and literature are among the supremews that can embody godliness.


    Given that the stories from his pen were written so vividly and realistically, it was impossible without having seen those yokai.


    But to have encountered so many yokai and still be alive was no simple feat.


    Su Lun spected that he might very well be a high-ranking professional.


    Although Su Lun didn''t understand this professional hierarchy, he had seen some of it.


    For instance, the bard of the Dalu tribe, and that girl, Katyusha.


    That ability of "Word Bes Law" was still vivid in his memory.


    Su Lun hadn''t heard of Fujiwara Hayato before, but observing Katyusha''s grandmother collecting the manuscripts of this great writer, he inexplicably felt there was a story within.


    Thinking of something, Su Lun asked another question, "Shopkeeper, is Fujiwara Hayato-sama from Edo?"


    "No."


    The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "To my knowledge, Fujiwara Hayato-sama is an adventurer from overseas. He has traveled all over our Mountain Hermit, which is how he wrote these supernatural stories. Eventually, he settled in Edo and lived in Asakusa Temple for over ten years. He left many calligraphy pieces in the city. The book you''re holding, ''Fairy Tale,'' is Hayato-sama''sst work. The monks of the temple say that he has always been writing a world-shaking masterpiece, seemingly depicting the affairs of the gods, often causing extraordinary phenomena in heaven and earth... s, decades have passed, and to this day, no one has seen that work. Some say Fujiwara Hayato-sama has died, some say he has wandered away, and others say his creativity dried up, and he went mad..."


    "..."


    Having heard these words, Su Lun filled in some details that he hadn''t known before.


    He contemted, "So, it seems that the old acquaintance Katusha''s grandmother mentioned wanting to meet might be this Fujiwara Hayato. Is he still alive?"


    Fujiwara Hayato has another masterpiece that has not yet been released?


    The bookstore owner''s words had also piqued his interest.


    Without further thought, Su Lun paid and left the bookstore.


    ...


    The winter sun''s afterglow faded quickly, and as Su Lun had lingered in the bookstore for a while, it waspletely dark when he came out.


    The city was aglow with lights, presenting a unique scene.


    Su Lun walked down the street, where a thinyer of snow had already umted on the pavement.


    In Jianghu City, there were various distinctive izakayas, and Su Lun, spotting one called "A Chrysanthemum''s Tavern" with a memorable facade, decided to go in for a bite.


    As he approached, he hadn''t yet entered when he saw two shabbily dressed beggars in the snow, shivering with cold. Oney on the ground with a reddened face, resembling someone with a high fever, and the other gazed at the passing pedestrians with hopeful eyes. Probably, if they couldn''t get any money, hispanion would die in the snowy night.


    Such beggars were plentiful in Mountain Hermit.


    Su Lun took a few copper coins from his pocket and tossed them, clinking as theynded in the broken bowl.


    He didn''t look at the grateful eyes that were cast his way and pushed aside the warm blue curtain decorated with a wave pattern.


    The shop wasn''trge, with room for only four or five tables.


    They sold homemade sake as well as food¡ªramen, sushi, and some oddly named fried and boiled skewers.


    These foods were avable in Pirate City too, but they tasted better here.


    Having not eaten a warm meal for days, this one gave his taste buds a grand treat.


    While Su Lun ate, he asionally sipped some clear sake and flipped through the book he had just bought.


    However, as he was eating, a message suddenly came through hismunicator.


    "Hurry to the ''Tianhai Pavilion.'' ''The First Beauty'' is about to appear!"


    Qian''s tone was a bit excited.


    It was as if she thought Su Lun''s focus wasn''t on the ck Dragon head, but rather on the "beauty."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun became genuinely interested.


    The role of Ote Himeya in Edo''s chessboard was unique and was one of the things he was most curious about on this trip.@@novelbin@@


    ....


    Su Lun didn''t eat to fullness, instead packing a few skewers of fish balls to eat as he walked.


    He casually asked someone, and it turned out that "Tianhai Pavilion" was in the western district, near the former silver coin minting area known as the bustling "Ginza" district.


    He hired a carriage and soon arrived, hearing the mor from afar.


    Before him was a scene awash with neon lights and colors, with gambling stalls, taverns, bathhouses, and geisha houses¡ªall visibly shouting their presence. This was originally the night district of Edo Castle and the most bustling area, primarily set up to cater to visiting merchants. Now with the ninth fleet of the King of the North Sea here, pirates filled the area.


    As Su Lun walked down the street, he frowned upon seeing several cold bodies.


    They were geishas dressed in kimonos, their faces painted with heavy makeup, looking like they had died some time ago, their skin turning blue. Their bodies were hung at the entrance of the geisha house, pping in the wind like gs, slightly horrifying.


    It was also like a warning or a punishment.


    Su Lun''s hearing was excellent, and he caught snippets of conversation from passersby.


    He immediately understood that these geishas had been driven to death by pirates.


    Traditional geisha entertained but did not sell their bodies and had rules that customers knew and everyone lived in harmony.


    But now, with piratesing as invaders, they acted without restraint. The people of the Takeda Shogunate arranged for the pirates to stay here, pampering them with good food and drink. The geishas, unable to bear the humiliation, either submitted or ended up hanging outside their establishments.


    Su Lun walked past with an impassive face, and as he passed an alley, he changed into a pirate''s outfit.


    Nearly ten thousand pirates had swarmed into Edo Castle, and nearly every shop in the Ginza district was packed.


    "Tianhai Pavilion" was even busier.


    It was arge three-story building upying a vast area, with bouncers sportingrge tattoos at the entrance.


    At a nce, Su Lun recognized them as members of the ck Dragon.


    This gang controlled nearly all the entertainment venues in Edo.


    Dressed as a pirate, Su Lun wasn''t stopped and walked in smoothly.


    After circumventing a corridor, the ce suddenly erupted with noisy voices.


    Upon looking, he saw a dueling gambling arena where two sumo wrestlers in loincloths were battling it out on the raised ring.


    The betting crowd was shouting themselves hoarse.


    Su Lun''s gaze quickly fell on the vociferously shouting Qian Tiao.


    This gambling-addicted woman seemed to have bet a lot, fervently cheering for the red side she backed.


    Su Lun didn''t bother her but stood under the ring, watching thepetition.


    "Hahaha, these fat pigs, you know, are actually quite nimble."


    "No, they are sumo wrestlers worthy of respect."


    "Oh, the next match is of


    Yokozuna-level sumo wrestling. Even in Edo, it''s rare to see such a high standard..."


    "Who do you think will win the next match?"


    "...."


    Before long, two heavyweight sumo wrestlers took to the stage, colliding like trucks, and in a blink, they were fighting so fiercely that flesh and blood blurred.


    The gamblers were instantly exhrated.


    Su Lun also watched with great interest.


    These sumo wrestlers might look clumsy, but they were actually very fast.


    Every p carried a clearly visible force, howling as if from cannon fire. When itnded on the opponent''s body, it was like a hammer blow, creating ripples.


    The intensity of these attacks was such that even a third-rank professional might not be able to withstand them.


    Pretty strong.


    As Su Lun watched the match, his gaze also swept over the people in the betting booths.


    Most were pirates from other fleets of the ninth squad whom he had seen before.


    Even, Su Lun spotted a few "teammates" who had narrowly escaped back in Sword Forging Vige.


    ....


    Before long, another match had ended.


    As the conversation went on, the topic among the crowd started to get risqu¨¦.


    "Tsk tsk... I heard that the top geisha Ote Himeya of Mountain Hermit wille to performter. I''ve long heard ''The First Beauty'' is in Mountain Hermit country, but I wonder if it''s true."


    "The captains said they''ve seen her before, and she''s really unbelievably beautiful! Not to say she''s the most beautiful face under heaven, but that figure is simply stunning. They say her skin is so delicate and clear, it''s like a jade-carved lioness..."


    "I''ve heard too. I rushed here just to see if that legendary ''White Jade Lioness Shining Night Princess'' is as beautiful as the rumors say..."


    "Heh heh, I wonder what it would feel like to ''ride'' a ''jade lioness'' of this sort."


    "Don''t even think about it. I heard that even the captains can''t get an audience with her."


    "...."


    Su Lun listened on the side, somewhat skeptical.


    If someone imed who was the first inbat power, he might acknowledge that.


    But as for being "The First Beauty" in the world, he couldn''t help but be doubtful.


    Su Lun had seen many beautiful women, Mr. Jing, Princess, Yuta, Sabina, and even Qian Tiao who never dressed up... Weren''t each of them stunningly attractive?


    Plus, "beauty" isn''t just about appearance; there''s also temperament to consider.


    Maturedy, lolita, long ck hair, styles vary, they''re hardlyparable.


    In such a vast world, who could im to definitively hold the title of "The First Beauty"?


    Su Lun was just curious as to what made Ote Himeya, the boss of the "ck Dragon," secure in her seat of power.


    Merely by looks?


    Impossible!


    It wasn''t long before the vast venue suddenly quieted down.


    Someone shouted, "Princess Ote is here!"


    Everyone turned to look.


    In the corridor of the second floor, a breathtakingly beautiful woman in a kimono walked gracefully. As she appeared, everything around her seemed to dim. Only she shone brilliantly.


    Su Lun also nced over.


    But with that one nce, his originally calm heart suddenly surged with shock.


    His eyes could hardly conceal his amazement, and he blurted out in his heart, "Pandora!"


    In that moment, he finally knew what curse the Rune Old Man had brought with him when he defected from Ruying!

 Chapter 324 Alchemical Homunculus

    "No wonder she is hailed as the greatest beauty in the world. It makes sense now..."


    Su Lun''s expression turned somewhat bizarre.


    When he saw that the All-knowing Eye in his left eye identified the name as "Pandora," he immediately realized what this Princess of the Night was all about.


    This was not a human being.


    To be precise, not a human in the normal sense that people recognized.


    She was a very special alchemical product, an "artificial human"!


    In the field of alchemy, there are three ultimate challenges, with "creation of life" being the most difficult.


    Especiallyplex intelligent life forms, such as humans.


    That required not only the creation ofplex bodily tissues and organs, but also a soul.


    This was a subject many ancient Great Alchemists devoted their lives to researching.


    And so did the line of Puppeteers to which Su Lun belonged.


    The concept of rune puppets was essentially "artificial humans."


    His teacher, Seraya, had left some notes on ultimate puppetry research, including an iplete project called "Pandora Artificial Human."


    The process roughly involved Seraya and Count Exa discovering some ancient relics from a mythological civilization.


    That relic recorded a mythological story, which spoke of a supreme god who, in order to punish a deity who had stolen fire to proliferate civilization, created a woman of ultimate beauty on earth, yet she was a herald of disaster, epidemic, and cmity to bring misfortune to humanity.


    This divine-created being was called "Pandora."


    A great pride of alchemists is that they can use alchemy to do what gods can do.


    Thus, Seraya was inspired to create an artificial human and decided to use alchemy to produce an ultimate rune puppet, still named "Pandora."


    But because back then, inside the curse space of Central Prison of Dawn City, Seraya was merely a remnant soul, the records only contained some iplete research ns.


    Su Lun thought it was just a research direction. (In those texts, there are many such unfulfilled ns.)


    But now, when he noticed those details on this Princess of the Night that only a Puppeteer could recognize, he realized his teacher Seraya''s research had seeded.


    Before him stood a top-tier rune puppet!


    Although he didn''t know why, a thousand yearster, this alchemical artificial human had reappeared here, but Su Lun could infer some of the causes and effects.


    The fall of Dawn City, many treasures emerged through Duke Rafael''s "mineshaft," and this artificial human might be one of them.


    ...


    Upon the entrance of the Princess of the Night, therge hall went silent, and the men''s faces immediately disyed an entranced fascination.


    Even the few female pirates showed the same mesmerized expressions.


    Upon her entrance, it was as if a charming fragrance that drove men crazy swept through the air. The entrancing scent invaded the nostrils, offering an exquisite pleasure akin to floating on clouds.


    Under the light, her skin truly appeared like that of a White Jade Lioness, smooth and delicate, moistly radiant with an ultimate sense of crystal-clear beauty.


    The appearance of this woman, as if through a highlight filter exclusively cast upon her, made everything else around her pale inparison.@@novelbin@@


    Psychology states that beautiful things often inherently provide a favorable impression.


    Upon seeing her, it seemed as if from that moment, all evil thoughts in everyone''s hearts dissipated. A robust desire to protect burst forth in everyone''s heart, immediately creating the impulse to abandon all to cherish this peerless beauty of the world.


    "No wonder she''s called ''White Jade Lioness Shining Night Princess,'' the moniker is indeed fitting..."


    Su Lun watched her, his expression slightlyplex, muttering to himself before regaining hisposure.


    Even though he knew she was a "doll," his own heart had involuntarily stirred just now.


    If someone asposed as he was affected this way, what about others?


    If not for the All-knowing Eye, even Su Lun would have doubted his judgment¡ªcould such a beautiful woman really be a product of alchemy?


    The beauty of "Pandora" was not just skin deep, but everything from the materials, runes, to the initial design concept...everything was crafted for ultimate allure.


    Seraya''s notes stated that her body was supposedly molded from the divine y used to create humans; her bones, eyes, hair...all were crafted from materials most pleasing on earth, also embedding various permanent auras and spiritual power fields. She embodied beauty, intelligence, erudition, dignity, purity, elegance, and virtue... an array of "hardware."


    Her cursed characteristic was "beauty."


    Now it made sense why Rune Old Man had taken her with him when he rebelled against Ruying.


    Su Lun also thought she was quite a delight to the eyes.


    But as much as he looked, sensing that soul fire no different from a living person''s, he also thought to himself, "This Princess of the Night has aplete soul...did my teacher really create a soul?"


    That was the most astonishing part.


    Creating humans, such acts were truly those of gods!


    Su Lun thought, along with the "Research Notes on the Living Dead" he held in his hand, had the trio of ultimate alchemical pursuits once faced by Dawn City been conquered after all?


    Only with a deep understanding of alchemy could one realize the difficulty of these three great challenges.


    Even though Su Lun''s knowledge now surpassed 99% of the people in this realm, he still hadn''t touched the threshold of these three major topics.


    At that moment, the word "great" came to Su Lun''s mind to describe the alchemists of Dawn City back then.


    Only in the academic environment of Dawn City, led by Sir Isaac, could there have been so many great research inventions.


    "But how on earth did the teacher manage it?!"


    Su Lun was stumped.


    He knew that the "Pandora" project was not about transnting a soul onto an alchemical body, but rather about truly allowing her to birth her own soul.


    In Su Lun''s current understanding, this was nearly impossible to achieve.


    He felt that once he left this ce, he should go back and thoroughly examine that part of the notes.


    However, now that he knew Ote Himeya was an artificial being, Su Lun''s initial confusion didn''t clear up; in fact, it deepened.


    Why did shee to Mountain Hermit?


    Why is she stirring up so much trouble now?


    Moreover, Su Lun always felt that his All-knowing Eye seemed to be blocked by some indescribable "high-levelw," preventing him from fully seeing Ote Himeya''s true nature.


    This feeling also led him to a trace of spection.


    Facing things he couldn''t understand, he tended to guess towards a higher order, something Su Lun had done many times before.


    Divine tier?


    Certainly unattainable.


    Then it must be the special demonic faith of Mountain Hermit.


    This seemed to also exin why Rune Old Man fled straight to Mountain Hermit.


    ....


    The melodious sounds of the harp and psaltery rose, and Ote Himeya had started dancing on the second floor''s loft. Her dance moves were light and ethereal, with a soul-capturing and alluring charm.


    The pirates below were as if their souls had been snared, staring fixedly.


    The atmosphere was exceptionally peaceful.


    While Su Lun was still guessing the various mysteries surrounding Ote Himeya, he suddenly frowned.


    Because... he sensed an "acquaintance" walking in.


    Turning his head, he saw a man in a ck hat and a white cloud-patterned hunting robe.


    This man saw Su Lun and, as if greeting an old friend, gave a slight smile. His narrow, peach-blossom eyes and slightly lifted red lips made him seem more enchanting than a woman.


    Su Lun twitched his eye corner, wasn''t this Abe Yasukazu, the court''s chief Onmyoji known as "Demon Man"?


    This man was supposed to have "disappeared" after his schemes were exposed, yet here he was, brazenly appearing in Edo Castle?


    Abe Yasukazu, dressed unmistakably as an Onmyoji, seemed to go unnoticed by the pirates surrounding him.


    The man walked straight in.


    His gaze turned towards Ote Himeya upstairs while he muttered, "I hadn''t noticed her existence before. It was the Princess''s assassination attempt that made me realize there was such a formidable figure behind Takeda Nobuyasu."


    Though the statement wasn''t loud, it was clear, but seemingly unheard by others nearby.


    Su Lun guessed it might be some divine secret technique.


    At this moment, the man opposite, clearly having spotted this demon man, directed his gaze over, his expression turning grave.


    His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, as if ready to draw and strike at the slightest provocation.


    Su Lun, however, remained unfazed.


    He didn''t feel any hostility from Abe Yasukazu.


    After all, strictly speaking, there was no direct conflict between him and this man, so they weren''t exactly enemies.


    Now that Su Lun suspected this man might be an undercover agent of the Katsushika family, there was even less reason for hostility.


    That being said, he still owed him a small favor for "going easy" on him before.


    ....


    Abe Yasukazu walked up to Su Lun and greeted him with a smile, "Mr. Su Lun, long time no see."


    Su Lun, not fearing any hostile move, yet feeling a slight difort at the proximity of his bewitching face, coolly responded, "Now the whole city is on the lookout for Mr. Abe, but it seems you are not afraid of being discovered."


    With an indifferent smile, Abe Yasukazu shook his head slightly, "I am just an insignificant character. The situation in Mountain Hermit won''t change whether I am here or not."


    "..."


    Hearing these words, Su Lun immediately confirmed that these were people from the Katusha family.


    Clearly, Abe Yasukazu hade here for the princess Ote Himeya upstairs as well.


    With his head tilted, he watched the beautiful dancer upstairs with great interest and said, "It''s strange, she has a demonic aura, yet she is not a demon. To call her human doesn''t quite fit either. She is too perfect, as if she embodies all the beauty in the world; even the Creator shouldn''t show such favoritism. With such beauty, she seems more like someone''s creation..."


    Could one detect a hint of jealousy towards beauty in his words?


    Clearly, even he was puzzled, dragging out hisst syble, he paused and added another sentence, "Tsk tsk... Now her state, it wouldn''t be too much to call her a deity." (Mountain Hermit''s deity)


    "..."


    On hearing this, Su Lun internally admired Abe Yasukazu''s insight.


    Without the All-knowing Eye, to have analyzed to such an extent was truly extraordinary.


    He knowingly asked, "Did youe here for her?"


    "Yes."


    Abe Yasukazu didn''t attempt to hide his intentions and added, "The ''ck Sun Grand Festival'' ising soon, but she is the only variable that I do not understand. I thought I''d try to test her out."


    "Oh?"


    Su Lun listened without expression but was also hoping internally that this enchanting person would sh with Ote Himeya.


    He would then have a chance to probe the depths of both individuals.


    But what does it mean,ing up and speaking to me?


    Su Lun felt that this man had another agenda.


    "Mr. Su Lun, I have an impertinent request."


    As expected, Abe Yasukazu suddenly thought of something and made a request very politely, "The armor ''Iron Red Scales Five Piece Full Body Armor'' I can gift it to you, but could the other ghost warriors be returned to me? Without the ''Symbol of Underworld Soldiers'', the dead energy cannot circte, and it is useless to others. Missing a few dozen, it would be inconvenient for me to useter..."


    A fight is indeed brewing!


    Su Lun listened and responded indifferently yet promptly, "Fine."


    Since they were not enemies, having taken somebody''s belongings and being asked about it, it seemed fair to return it as a courtesy.


    Moreover, he had studied those ghost warriors for quite some time, and without the belief in the divine way, he really couldn''t make much use of them.


    "Thank you."


    The smile on Abe Yasukazu''s face seemed like it would never fade.


    Guessing what Su Lun had used the ghost warriors for, he continued, "Of course, if you wish to understand Yin Yang Secret Technique, I can share some of my humble skills. However,pared to that, the Imperial Family''s royal library at the Divine Garments Imperial Pce would be a better ce to go. The Imperial Pce holds the most books from Mountain Hermit, with various rare and secret volumes, secret techniques, and marvels abound. It is also under the protection of Amaterasu Omikami, so it won''t be affected by the ''Night March of a Hundred Demons'' that urs in this world prior to the arrival of the ck Sun..."


    "Imperial Pce?"


    These words seemed to open a new doorway to another world for Su Lun.


    In such a theocratic society, the continuous lineage of the royal family indeed held many secrets not known to outsiders.


    Su Lun also picked up on Abe''s implied suggestion that it was unsafe in the capital region recently, hinting that the pce was "safe."


    Su Lun was not afraid of trouble, but coincidentally, he needed an undisturbed environment in theing days to work on his Rune Vajra and puppets, and the Divine Garments Imperial Pce was indeed the ideal ce.


    He and the Princess were already well-acquainted; probably, it wouldn''t be a problem to ask for a favor?


    ....


    Before long, a dance ended, and the captivating performance on the second floor concluded.


    The one known as "The First Beauty of Mountain Hermit" and "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World," Princess Ote Himeya, captivated everyone''s attention as she came and went with an ethereal grace.


    As the figure disappeared from sight, the pirates on the first floor seemed to regain their souls, the infatuated look gradually fading from their eyes.


    "Oh, Lord Guardian, she was incredibly beautiful."


    "If only I could be honored enough to kiss the tip of Lord Ote''s foot in this lifetime..."


    "If I could follow Lord Ote, I would be willing to give up everything..."


    "Ah, I don''t want to leave. I''ll stay in Mountain Hermit for the rest of my life, following Lord Ote..."


    "..."


    Those who were spouting obscenities earlier had now beplete gentlemen. Not to mention intimacy, even the mere sighting of her seemed like a luxury. In their eyes, Princess Ote Himeya had be an untouchable goddess.


    The lower the status of the onlookers, the deeper their obsession with her beauty was.


    As Su Lun listened to the dreamy murmurings of the people around him, his mind was drawn to something else.


    That woman had not exhibited any overt use of spiritual techniques, yet these people were utterly mesmerized.


    No wonder the Rune Old Man managed to be a Shogunate General so smoothly. With this kind of support, it certainly wasn''t difficult.


    Beside him, Abe Yasukazu muttered, "It''s really strange, he seems almost divine. Tsk tsk... not trying it would be too puzzling."


    Su Lun heard this, and it seemed like a signal to make a move.


    Upon hearing this, he actually grew a bit of admiration for this guy.


    Taking the risk of being surrounded and still making a move, that dedication to seeking knowledge truly was admirable.


    No wonder he was so formidable.


    Abe Yasukazu pulled out a scroll depicting a hundred demons. Suddenly, he noticed something, turned his head to look at Su Lun, and said, "Eh... Have you encountered a deity recently?"


    Speaking, he answered his own question, "You really are lucky."


    "???"


    Su Lun reflected for a moment. He had encountered quite a few monsters recently.


    As for a deity, when he battled the ''Demon Hand'' Ueno Sasaki, could the spirit summoned called "Wind God Eye Connect" be considered one?


    Abe Yasukazu didn''t intend to exin much. He said meaningfully, "You really are special."


    After a pause, he narrowed his eyes and said, "In our Mountain Hermit, there''s an ancient saying, good intentions might not be immediately rewarded, but they are surely watched over by the gods."


    "..."


    Su Lun felt that these guys who served ghosts and gods were always cryptic, preferring to speak in riddles when theymunicated.


    But before he could say much else, the guy beside him suddenly erupted with a surge of demonic energy.


    In Abe Yasukazu''s peach-blossom eyes, a dangerous glimmer suddenly burst forth. He bit his finger and, with bare hands, drew a mystical Necromancy symbol in the air, chanting: "Purification, Barrier, Yin-Yang, Barrier Break, Illusion... Void Formlessness!"


    Each word was emphatic and resonant.


    The spell seemed to strike directly at the soul, echoing persistently in his ears.


    With each word he uttered, it seemed as though a ghostly force blessed him, and his aura became more and more exaggerated.


    He raised his hand forward and the blood-red ghost eye in his palm fiercely opened up, its hollow gaze fixating on the center of the room, sending shivers down one''s spine. Before anyone could react, he spread open the Scroll of a Hundred Demons, as if unlocking the gate of a monster cage, and countless shadows surged out...


    In an instant, therge hall seemed to be covered with ayer ofherworld filter, dark and terrifying.


    One by one, the legendary monsters and evil spirits abruptly descended ¡ª ghost warriors, Great Tengu, Tall Woman, White Jade Lioness, Slit-Mouthed Woman, Green Lady, Snow Woman, Lamp Ghost...


    With a hundred demons by his side, Abe Yasukazu''s face bore a fiendish and seductive smirk, "Hundred Demons ¡¤ Night Parade!"


    ....


    "Going all out with a big move as soon as he attacks..."


    Su Lun felt his scalp tingle from the sudden burst of power from this guy.


    The temperature in therge hall plummeted, causing goosebumps to immediately cover his skin.


    This look, it turns out, meant he had been holding back significantly at their initial encounter.


    This guy, bolstered by a hundred demons, suddenly became elusive and misty.


    Su Lun once again marveled that these ghostly beings truly had ineffablebat prowess.


    Yet, aware a fierce battle was imminent, Su Lun had no intention of lingering longer in this ce.


    While unnoticed, he dropped a scroll sealing dozens of "Ghost Warriors" and then followed the panic-stricken crowd, squeezing his way out.


    He had just left when the three-story "Tianhai Pavilion" copsed with a thunderous crash.


    Above the ruins, chaos reigned supreme, and various spells collided like brilliant fireworks.


    The shockwaves from the battle grew more intense, causing the surrounding wooden houses to copse "rattle-rattle".


    On the roadside, Su Lun and Senju mingled in the crowd, watching the spectacle.


    Watching the fierce battle unfold, Senju remarked, "That demon-like guy is very strong..."


    Su Lun looked on with mixed feelings, "Indeed."


    He had to admit, this was truly a "Hundred Demons Night Parade," with the demonic Abe single-handedly resisting enemies hundreds of times his number, showing tremendous strength.


    Su Lun squinted at the ongoing battle, subtly gaining some insight.


    But as thrilling as it was,


    Observing the continuing influx of North Sea Fleet pirates, ck Dragon members, and warrior legions... He knew that forcing out Princess Ote Himeya would not be easy.


    After tonight, Su Lun felt a growing sensation.


    It seemed like "Pandora" was getting ready to unleash something "big" in Edo Castle.

 Chapter 325 The Netherworld Appears in the World

    First they would adapt, then they would alter. The noise of battle grew louder and louder, almost affecting every block in Ginza.


    More and more people surged over, scattering in escape, looking for excitement, fishing in troubled waters, fighting... The scene was chaotic.


    Su Lun focused intently on the center of the battlefield with a tinge of regret.


    From the beginning to the end, he never saw Ote Himeya make a move.


    There were simply too many pirates, shogunate officials, ck Dragon members, and Imperial City warriors. She didn''t need to lift a finger.


    Su Lun, watching those figures active on the battlefield, also sighed, "There are indeed many experts in Edo..."


    Before long, the battle ended, the hundred demons dispersed, and Abe Yasukazu was nowhere to be seen amidst the roaring mes.


    Su Lun didn''t bother to ponder whether that demon could escape death; he had witnessed that guy''s survival skills, strong as a horse.


    Even career professionals a rank or two higher might not be able to restrain him.


    Chitose, looking at the ruined district, grumbled, "Ah, looks like there will be no gambling tonight..."


    As she spoke, she casually hooked her arm around Su Lun''s shoulder, "Let''s go. We should grab some midnight snacks."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun hadn''t finished his meal before arriving and was still hungry; going to fill his stomach seemed like a good idea.


    The two of them walked shoulder to shoulder towards another half of the street that was undamaged by the battle, where there were many specialty eateries and stalls.


    As they walked, Su Lun asked, "Sister Chitose, you''ve crossed swords with Ote Himeya before. What do you think of her strength?" Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire


    After thinking for a moment, Chitose replied, "Very strong. She was able to catch my sh with her bare hands. She seems to be on the same level as a professional in rank and the Rune Old Man, following the path of physical enhancement."


    "Catch a de with her bare hands?"


    Su Lun was intrigued by this revtion.


    But upon deeper reflection, it no longer surprised him.


    Catching Chitose''s shes with bare hands was something not even a regr tier-six professional could achieve. However, the essence of "Pandora" was that of a rune-engraved puppet, and her body was likely inscribed with the highest grade of runes that the material could sustain. Naturally, her strength was formidable.


    Otherwise, the Emperor Luying''s lineage of Magicians wouldn''t treat her as a heirloom treasure.


    Chitose was unaware that Ote Himeya was an alchemic creation. At this point, her tone shifted, and with a furrowed brow, she added, "But herbat skills aren''t too sophisticated. Her martial techniques are also quite standard, even somewhat unpolished. They do not quite match her ability to catch des barehanded. However, she possesses a very cunning method of mental control, extremely peculiar. If it weren''t for the Princess, none might have escaped from that assassination attempt..."


    Su Lun himself only knew the name "Pandora" and wasn''t clear on the abilities of this alchemic creation.


    Listening to Chitose, he began to surmise some possibilities.


    Strong physique, powerful spiritual power; these should be inherent attributes. And if herbat skills seemed raw, it could be a matter of learningter in life. Perhaps, after being unearthed, she had been confined and studied as a "cursed object" for years, which is why she had no chance to learn and practicebative techniques?


    Yet, this Ote Himeya was a key figure. Without understanding her capabilities fully, Su Lun always felt that it might lead to serious trouble.


    Suddenly, a thought struck him, and an idea surfaced, "Right, my senior sister must know!"


    If "Pandora" was indeed his teacher Cereya''s research achievement, then Mr. Jing, her daughter, must know everything about it.


    Seeing his expression change suddenly, Chitose inquired, "Thought of something?"


    Su Lun said, "I might know the details about this Ote Himeya."


    As he spoke, he picked up themunicator and dialed, "Senior Sister, do you know about Teacher''s ''Pandora Research''?"


    Hearing this title, Qiantiao knew immediately who he was calling and raised her eyebrows.


    It wasn''t long before a response came through themunicator: "I know a bit. What''s up?"


    Su Lun was pleased to hear this and briefly exined the situation he had encountered. He then added, "So, the situation now is... I want to know more about ''Pandora.'' For instance, what abilities she possesses."


    After listening, Mr. Jing pondered for a moment before responding, "That was one of my mother''s research topics. I went into hibernation before the study waspleted, so I don''t have a lot of details. Besides, because the subject of ''artificial humans'' is actually taboo, there wouldn''t be detailed research notes left in the world."


    "A taboo subject?"


    Su Lun was somewhat surprised by this.


    "Yes."


    Mr. Jing continued, "The act of ''creation'' is supposed to be within the power of the creator alone. This type of research is considered a ''taboo'' that the gods of all heavens dread. My father once deduced some conclusions in his fate research. It is certain that once this knowledge is mastered by humans, it would likely be concealed and erased by some indescribable higher beings. Those aren''t ordinary divine beings, but rather supreme existences like thews of all things..."


    As soon as Su Lun heard this, he immediately understood.


    Creating life seemed to go against the normalws of nature?


    Mr. Jing seemed to have guessed what Su Lun really wanted to ask, and she shared her spection directly, "I''m not very clear on the details. However, Pandora''s soul could be rted to faith. Some historical records show that many of the pan-dimensional wars in ancient times were struggles over the resources of faith among deities. The system of faith is veryplex where the Mountain Hermit resides, where anything can be a spirit or monster. Since that Ote Himeya you mentioned has stayed in the Mountain Hermit''s nation for many years, it''s very possible she''s coveting this... Of course, that doesn''t exclude some strategies left by my father and mother. After all, they once studied the topic of ''how to create gods.'' The fact proves that even if deities have fallen, their followers remain, and the gods will still exist in the world. This is also why the Dawn Era copsed, and this ne no longer gave birth to gods; however, some ''pseudo-gods'' continue to emerge..."


    "..."


    Su Lun was truly shocked by these words.


    It wasn''t just about artificial humans,


    Sereya and Sir Isaac intended to create gods?


    Damn...


    The teachers are awesome!


    My teacher''s husband is awesome!


    But, the current situation was that Pandora was most likely from the enemy camp, and the stronger she was, the harder it would be to deal with her, right?


    Su Lun expressed his concerns.


    Mr. Jing replied, "My parents were very thorough in their work and usually left some leeway. They would never create an alchemical product they could not control themselves, bringing trouble to the human civilization of future generations. So, that Pandora definitely has weaknesses that can be exploited. Think about it carefully..."


    ....


    After hanging up themunicator, Su Lun let out a long breath.


    Although he didn''t get a precise solution from Mr. Jing, he now had some ideas in mind.


    If Pandora was an alchemical product, then her weaknesses could lie in the materials and some ws in functionality, just like the intelligent robots from his past life, with "system backdoors," "administrator privileges"...


    "Huh... administrator privileges?"


    Suddenly, Su Lun thought that since she was a rune puppet, could that "weakness" be rted to the lineage of the Puppeteers?


    His mind was still sieving through various possibilities,


    when at that moment, Qiantiao, who was beside him, came to a stop and suddenly spoke, "Shall we eat here?"


    Su Lun came to his senses and found they had already arrived in front of a small food stall on the street.


    Calling it a stall was a stretch, it was actually a delicately made wooden cart. On the cart was a stove and pots steaming hot, with various ingredients ced on a rack. The sign read: "Weile Ramen."


    The owner was a middle-aged man with a bowl-shaped haircut, who smiled warmly as he saw the customers approaching.


    Su Lun was already half full and nodded, "Anything is fine for me."


    Qian Tiao waved her hand toward the owner, "Tworge bowls of ramen, please!"


    The two then took their seats on the stools provided.


    Before long, steaming bowls of ramen were served. Qian Tiao, with one leg propped on a stool, began eating heartily without concern for her image.


    After exchanging a few words, Su Lun released the paper crane left by the Princess, contemting the idea of visiting the royal library.


    He had thought about inviting Qian Tiao as well, but this gambling-addicteddy shook her head like a rattle-drum, "You''re going to the Imperial Pce? That ce is so boring I''d die, I''m not going."


    Su Lun knew she couldn''t bear to leave the excitement of the casino and wasn''t one for idleness, so he didn''t say more.


    Instead, he asked, "Sister Qian Tiao, you said you came to Edo to seek the ''Sword Saint'' Akutagawa Ryuichi to learn about swordsmanship, did you find him?"


    "No. It seems he''s dead."


    With her mouth full of noodles, Qian Tiao responded somewhat indistinctly, "I went to a few swordsmanship schools to pay respects, and those so-called masters of the ''Yagy¨± One Sword School,'' the ''New Yin Style,'' there are hardly any who truly grasp the essence of swordsmanship, quite boring. On the other hand, ''Shadow Buddha'' Kato Danzo''s swordsmanship was the highest. It''s a shame though, that guy is formidable, but his swordsmanship realm is still far from that of a saint..."


    "Oh."


    Listening, Su Lun slurped up some noodles and sipped the warm soup.


    In this snowy night, he felt very satisfied.


    Qian Tiao then mentioned, "I heard that ''Sword Saint'' Akutagawa Ryuichi has a sessor in Edo. I went to ''Tianhai Pavilion'' tonight precisely to find someone named... Yagyu Hanjiro, said to be a descendant of the sword saint Yagyu Juubei from a hundred years ago, and a true inheritor of the ''Yagy¨± One Sword School.'' But I didn''t meet him."


    "Oh..."


    Su Lun didn''t know much about swordsmanship and had only heard of these names.


    As the two of them ate and talked, at that moment, a blind girl carrying a Sanxian Qin and leaning on a bamboo staff approached, "Sir, miss, would you like me to y a piece for you? It''s only two copper coins."


    The blind girl looked to be around fifteen or sixteen, wearing a washed and patchy cotton dress. A girl with such disabilities couldn''t be a geisha and could only perform on the streets for a living. There were many like her in the vicinity. Although two copper coins could buy about half a kilo of brown rice, which was the cheapest form of entertainment, it wasn''t something the poverty-stricken mountain hermits could afford. These girls could make ends meet in ces like Ginza where foreign merchants mingled.


    Su Lun nced and didn''t pay much attention. He had noticed the blind girl when she was passing by from seven or eight stalls away. No one had requested her to y, and she had been asking along her way in the cold wind.


    Before he could speak, Qian Tiao, not even lifting her head, tossed a few copper coins and waved her hand generously, "y a tune."


    "Thank you, generous patrons."


    Following the direction of the voice, the blind girl gave a slight bow in thanks.


    She set down her bamboo stool she had been carrying, tuned her qin strings, and then began to y.


    "ng, ng, ng..."


    The melody of a folk tune reached his ears.


    Su Lun found it rather pleasing to listen to. The technique was wless, the Sanxian Qin''s sound was slightly harsh, but in this snowy weather, it carried a certain mood.


    "Eh..."


    ```


    But Qian Tiao seemed to have heard something else and even stopped eating her noodles.


    After the piece was over, she turned her head and asked, "Have you studied the Sword Dao?"


    The blind girl gently replied, "Never."


    Qian Tiao gave her a look-over, and seeing that she had calluses from ying the qin but not a single scar from swordy, it was clear she was not a swordsman.


    Without saying much more, Qian Tiao tossed a few more coins into the basket, "Well yed."


    Feeling the coins, the blind girl seemed a bit flustered, "Sir, you gave too much. Let me y a few more pieces for you."


    Qian Tiao waved her hand, "No need. It''s a reward for you."


    "Thank you."


    Unable to insist, the blind girl thanked her and left.


    After the girl had left, Qian Tiao muttered to herself, "Her music was quite interesting. She must have listened to a Sword Dao master practice before. She has grasped a bit of the Sword Intent."


    Su Lun hadn''t detected that much from the performance, but the blind girl''s spirit fire was just that of an ordinary person, nothing worth noting.


    ...


    Qian Tiao didn''t know how long she had been at the gambling stall, apparently really hungry, as she gulped down one bowl of ramen and then ordered another, devouring it eagerly.


    It was quite a coincidence that, as the two of them were eating noodles, a group of patrons arrived at the stall next door.


    They were several warriors with swords at their sides.


    Their attire and swords suggested they were not the down-and-out kind, but rather individuals of some stature.


    "Ah... those foreign pirates really are insufferable. As if Mount Hermit had no one!"


    "Hmph! Not to brag, but once I unleash my ''Lightning Five-Strike Sword,'' those pirates would be so frightened, they''d wet their pants. It''s all because the Takeda Shogunate is inactive and won''t let us resist; otherwise, I''d really teach those arrogant foreigners a lesson."


    "Mr. Yagy¨±''s Sword Dao is naturally beyond reproach. Nowadays, among all the ''One Sword Schools,'' you''re probably the only one who hasprehended the true essence of the Sword Dao..."


    "..."


    Listening to their conversation, Su Lun couldn''t help feeling a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu with a "Grandmaster X."


    And what''s more, wasn''t one of them, coincidentally, the ''Yagy¨± Hanjiro'' that Qian Tiao had mentioned earlier?


    Appearance-wise, the guy did look the part, with his hair slicked back and the sword at his waist clearly not ordinary.


    But ording to Soul Perception, he didn''t seem very strong.


    Thinking he might have misjudged, Su Lun nced at Qian Tiao beside him, "Is this the person you''re looking for?"


    The gambling-addicteddy had thought she was in luck, having finally found the man she was looking for. Her fighting spirit had just soared when she turned her head for a look, and then she was promptly disappointed.


    Some people, you can tell at a nce they''ve lost.


    Qian Tiao shook her head, "Someone like that isn''t worth drawing my sword for."


    On hearing this, Su Lun couldn''t help butugh ruefully. His perception hadn''t been wrong; every world has its fake masters.


    With new customers at the neighboring stall, the previous performers made their rounds once again.


    That Yagy¨± Hanjiro and hispanions seemed to know how to enjoy themselves, having called over a few entertainers to y music and sing, serving them and their drinks.


    ```


    The blind female qin master was also there.


    ....


    Su Lun was waiting for a reply from the Princess and was not in a hurry to leave.


    Qian Tiao, the glutton, still hadn''t had his fill, and the bowls of ramen were stacking up.


    This Ginza was originally Edo''s entertainment district, where the likelihood of a drunkard causing trouble was inherently high.


    Especially these past few days with an influx of pirates; those scoundrels whom the city guards dared not manage, thus bing increasingly unrestrained. Humiliating themon women, demanding food and drink without payment, their arrogance knew no bounds...


    Just as Su Lun and hispanions were eating noodles, a few pirate-dressed fellows, drunk as lords, sat down at an adjacent stall.


    "Boss, bring us your best food and drink!"


    The men settled boisterously into their seats and bellowed at the stall owner.


    The owner, not daring any dy, quickly brought over meat and wine.


    The leader, whom Su Lun had coincidentally seen before, was the acting squadron leader of the ninth fleet, seems his name was Marx, a fourth-order professional. The men around him also carried fine firearms, clearly not the kind to provoke easily.


    Seeming unsatisfied with just eating and drinking, they shouted toward the performers next to the neighboring seat of Yagyu Hanjiro, "You there,e over and sing a song for the lord!"


    Having one''s song interrupted was usually a humiliating affair. Yet the samurai seated at Yagyu Hanjiro''s table, who had been full of pride moments before, were speechless in the face of the pirates'' attire.


    They were street performers, relying on their craft for a living, neither remarkable in physique nor appearance. But those drunk and inmed with desire often acted out of line.


    These intoxicated pirates started a dispute without any deterrents.


    "Come on, strip off your clothes and dance for young master."


    "Damn it, am I giving you face? Believe it or not, I''ll shoot you dead with one bullet!"


    "..."


    The conflict erupted immediately.


    The pirates knew very well that as long as they didn''t actually kill anyone, the Mountain Hermit authorities wouldn''t intervene.


    A "ripping" sound was heard as the blind female qin master''s cotton-padded jacket was torn open, revealing her frail body. She fell into the snow, groping for her bamboo pole.


    Rowdy, lewdughter from the pirates filled the street.


    The pirate who had just torn the clothes off even reached out his hand, intending to continue groping inside her cotton jacket...


    Even so, the people seated at Yagyu''s table a few meters away made no movement, instead bowing their heads as if in fear of getting involved.


    Upon witnessing this, a cold light shed through Su Lun''s eyes.


    Qian Tiao, sitting next to him, mmed down his chopsticks and sneered, "Is this what the descendants of the Sword Saint Yagyu Juubei amount to?"


    Listening to the direct insult, Yagyu Hanjiro wanted to defend himself, "If not for... If not for the Grand General''s order, I..."


    "Hmph!"


    But before he could finish, a contemptuous snort sounded, followed by the "ng" of a sword drawn from its sheath.


    Before anyone could react, a Sword Qi streaked through the air, and a severed handnded in the snow.


    The fourth-order acting squadron leader sobriety snapped back immediately, he was the first to react angrily, "How dare you! Who dares to attack someone from the North Sea Fleet!"


    But before he could finish, Qian Tiao''s figure shed, rushing forward ten meters, and in an instant, five heads from a table tumbled to the ground.


    The fourth-order squadron leader managed to block a few strikes before his head nked down onto the ground.


    The entire incident took just a few breaths'' time, with the pirate''s heads neatly severed.


    Qian Tiao had already sheathed his sword, standing lone and proud in the snow.


    The people at the neighboring table of Yagyu Hanjiro were left dumbfounded.


    They had not anticipated actual killing.


    But soon, shock turned to terror.


    "This woman has brought disaster!"


    "Oh no... Let''s go, don''t get dragged into this."


    "...."


    Buskers for half a street block scattered far away, even the stall owners forwent their business, hiding who knows where.


    Su Lun sat emotionless, idly hooking his finger, holding the ck umbre in his hand, ready forbat.


    If a fight was to ensue, then so be it.


    However, in the next second, something happened that Su Lun could never have anticipated!


    ....


    There were many pirates near this small food street, and Qian Tiao had just killed a few men from Marx''s eleventh division.


    Some of the pirates on the streets cried out as Qian Tiao''s Sword Qi beheaded them, and no one dared to step forward carelessly.


    They thought it would probably take a few minutes for other division leaders to arrive.


    If the division leaders couldn''t handle it, then high ranking officials like fleet leaders woulde.


    Su Lun figured he could enjoy a few good minutes at least.


    Qian Tiao didn''t bother with the blind qin master on the ground; getting involved too much would only harm her. He simply said, "You go first."


    The blind woman remained silent, found her bamboo pole, and quietly left.


    But before the pirate division leaders could arrive...


    Just then, suddenly, the light and shadow flickered, and a straw-hatted swordmaster in a hemp robe appeared out of thin air.


    "This!"


    Su Lun''s pupils shrank sharply, without any fluctuation, that person appeared!


    Qian Tiao, not far away, was already on high alert, staring intently at the neer.


    A master!


    An elite swordsman!


    He isn''t from the North Sea Fleet!


    Countless thoughts shed through Su Lun''s mind, and he hadn''t figured out the identity of the swordsman who suddenly appeared.


    Suddenly, just as the group from Yagy¨± One Sword School were about to slip away, a silver moon appeared before them.


    The sword light was like a hidden moon.


    At first nce, Yagy¨± Hanjiro''s expression froze, and a line of blood immediately appeared on his neck.


    One of hispanions realized something and trembled, "The ''Yagy¨± One Sword School''s'' secret technique, Sword Secret Art: Moon Transcript! This... must be an ancestor of the Yagy¨± n!"


    Su Lun waspletely puzzled, this swordsman in hemp clothes suddenly appeared, killed a henchman, and left?


    Moreover, judging by what others were saying, it seemed like he was an elder from the Yagy¨± family?@@novelbin@@


    However, the next scene.


    Made Su Lun doubt his own eyes.


    The hemp-clothed swordsman took two steps, then his figure faded away. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he simply vanished into thin air just as he had appeared out of nowhere!


    There were no spatial fluctuations, and both his body and soul''s fire had disappeared.


    Is this some kind of ghostly business?


    He was clearly a living person, how could he appear and disappear so suddenly?


    Su Lun felt this scene was familiar and immediately thought of the previous situation at Sword Forging Vige.


    But before he could think further, Chitaba seemed to have understood something and murmured, "Such a realm of Sword Dao... could only belong to that Sword Saint Yagy¨± Juubei from a hundred years ago."


    Su Lun, hearing this, felt for the first time that his mind might not be sharp enough.


    He didn''t say anything, and Chitaba signaled, "Let''s leave first, we''ll talkter!"


    Su Lun nodded, and the two quickly disappeared into the crowd.


    ...


    Listening to the mor behind them, Su Lun and Chitaba changed their clothes and strolled casually through the dark alley.


    Su Lun asked, "Sister Chitaba, what was that just now?"


    Chitaba answered, "That should have been the Sword Saint Yagy¨± Juubei from a hundred years ago."


    "A person from a hundred years ago is still alive?"


    Su Lun grew even more confused listening to this.


    The ancestral forefather of the Yagy¨± family, came to kill a descendant and left?


    "He''s dead. That was his soul."


    Surprise also showed on Chitaba''s face.


    Su Lun frowned at listening, "His soul?"


    It clearly seemed like a living person in his perception, so how could it be a soul?


    Could it be that his perception was wrong?


    Suddenly, he remembered what Abe Yasukazu had told him, "The ck Sun Grand Festival" is approaching, and the Netherworld is ovepping with the living world...


    Could this be what he meant?


    Although Su Lun had heard the legends of the Mountain Hermit, that people who die go to the Netherworld, which was said to be just like the living world. There were even legends iming that the world of the living at night was actually the Netherworld.


    Chitaba narrowed her eyes slightly and said, "There have been simr incidents over the past few days. People who are clearly dead have been appearing in the living world. Those spirits from the Netherworld follow the bloodline of their rtives to find them..."


    This exined everything.


    Why the Sword Saint Yagy¨± Juubei would appear here just now.


    He likely came following his unworthy descendants.


    But as Su Lun listened, he found it unbelievable.


    Legends are one thing, but when they be reality, how is one to understand?


    Alchemy magicians are materialists; they need to see the essence through phenomena so they won''t be perplexed.


    But what''s the essence of this event?


    Chitaba continued, "I asked the Princess before, and she said that this kind of situation also happened during previous ck Sun Grand Festivals. But this time, it seems to be quite different. Previously, only somemon ghosts appeared. But this time, the rumors have all been about famous strong figures from history. It''s as if all these big shots who should only exist in historical records and novels are flocking back to the living world..."


    As she spoke, she did not have the confusion that was on Su Lun''s face.


    Instead, a thick anticipation rose on that spirited face.


    An eager anticipation to exchange Sword Dao with strong figures who have vanished in history!


    To have the good fortune to spar with the strong who have disappeared from history, what a great blessing that would be!


    ....


    Su Lun felt that everything was amiss.


    The whole event was steeped in strangeness, yet he didn''t know where the problemy.


    Could this matter... have something to do with Ote Himeya?


    But no, if she could really control the Netherworld, wouldn''t that ability be too exaggerated...


    Su Lun pondered without results.


    But just as the two were about to step out of the alley, they were stopped by someone blocking their way.


    Looking up, a blind girl holding a Sanxian Qin stood at the entrance of the alley.


    She opened her eyes to look at Chitaba and said, "Miss, may I have a word with you?"


    Chitaba tilted her head, "Oh?"


    Su Lun looked at her cataract-like lifeless eyes, his gaze became sharp, suddenly realizing something, he guessed in his heart, "Gift A-088-The All-Seeing Eye?"


    Strange events were happening one after another.


    Seeing this scene, he was no longer surprised.

 Chapter 326 Is the Kagura Dance About Taking Off Clothes?

    "[Talent A-088-Heavenly Eyes]This talent is very rare, very powerful, and belongs to the mystical series of prophetic abilities."


    However, it doesn''t enhancebat strength.


    At least, the recorded initial awakenings are like this.


    Su Lun knew from the texts he had read before that in Mountain Hermit, this lineage of "Bloodline Limits" was passed down.


    It''s said that these eyes could see where beings of the six realms die and where they are reincarnated.


    But the bearers of this ability were destined for a tragic fate from birth.


    For once those eyes were opened, they could see the scenes of others'' deaths, which were future events that would definitely ur and could not be changed.


    Therefore, they would time and again see the death scenes of rtives and friends nearby. Fate gave them the opportunity to see the future clearly, yet they couldn''t change it, which was the most powerless part.


    Therefore, those who awakened this talent were usually regarded as "Ominous People" who brought death.


    This was simr to the death heralding bird Su Lun had contracted with.


    The qin master girl in front of him wasn''t blind; she just didn''t want to use those eyes to see this world, which she felt was like a "horror movie."


    Su Lun frowned as he saw her seeking him out, having a bad premonition.


    ....


    Qian Tiao seemed to recognize the special nature of these eyes as well and asked with a slight smile, "So, have you got something to tell me?"


    The qin master girl''s face was very sad, as if telling her was to bring misfortune to people, "I know you''re looking for my grandfather. But he passed away two years ago."


    "Your grandfather?"


    Upon hearing this, Qian Tiao suddenly realized something and asked, "Are you the granddaughter of ''Sword Saint'' Akutagawa Ryuichi?"


    The girl nodded, "I was picked up by my grandfather."


    This identity, once revealed, would bring her lots of trouble.


    Listening to this, Qian Tiao revealed a sudden understanding and murmured: "No wonder there''s Sword Intent in your music..."


    But at the same time, her face also showed deep regret, "Mr. Akutagawa has passed away, huh, that''s unfortunate."


    The qin master girl seemed unsure of how to organize her words so that they wouldn''t make people dislike her, just like once in the vige where her predictions of the vigers'' deaths eventually made everyone fear, iste, ostracize, and drive her away...


    She stammered, "I don''t know how I can help you. But... but... take this."


    With that, the qin master girl hastily disassembled the pegs of her shamisen and then dismantled the whole instrument, revealing a small carving knife and a piece of thin silk inside: "This is a musical instrument my grandfather carved for me. He once said, if I ever encounter a good person, to give it away. I..."


    Qian Tiao, seeing that carving knife, her pupils abruptly narrowed: "The secret transmission of the Akutagawa Ittoryu!"


    The more she examined, the sharper the Sword Intent she could feel from that ancient carving knife.


    The little figures drawn on that white silk were indeed an extremely sophisticated swordsmanship technique.


    Qian Tiao took a deep breath, her spirited face unable to hide her delight, "For me?"


    The qin master girl nodded, "Yes."


    Her expression was somewhat panicked, seemingly unsure how to exin her actions in case someone delved deeply, "I don''t know if this can help you. But you are good people. That''s all I can do."


    Hearing this, Qian Tiao suddenly understood something.


    She smiled slightly, "You saw my death?"


    "I.. I..."


    Hearing this, the qin master girl tried to hide her panic, afraid of being disliked again...


    But to her surprise, the female swordsman in front asked in a calm voice, "I''m also curious, how will I die?"


    The qin master girl hesitated for a moment before speaking with difficulty, "I saw that you... you in a raging fire..."


    Su Lun, who had been silent all along, suddenly felt a stir at these words.


    Qian Tiao will die?


    Even though he knew that death was the eventual path for everyone, being prematurely mentioned always felt ufortably surreal.


    Moreover, he was well aware that the deaths foreseen by [Talent A-088-Heavenly Eyes] were bound to ur.


    Did that mean Qian Tiao would die in an ident? (Qian Tiao won''t die; there''s an interesting plot to follow)


    Both bystanders were more or less emotionally perturbed, but only Qian Tiao, upon hearing this, casually raised her eyebrows.


    Her face showed no sadness, not much surprise either, as if she viewed her own life and death very lightly.


    Such was the fate of a Rakshasa Woman.


    Seeing the girl''s anxious demeanor, she smiled reassuringly and asked, "And at that time... did I have any regrets?"


    "Not at all."


    The qin master girl shook her head, her lifeless eyes looking at the woman in front of her as she responded, "I saw you... turn back and smile amidst the mes."


    Listening to this, Qian Tiao''s mouth turned up slightly in satisfaction, "That''s good then."


    As if foreseeing the envisioned end made everything else unimportant.


    She looked at the girl in front of her and asked, "Do you want to be my apprentice?"


    The qin master girl shook her head, "No. This is my own fate. It cannot be changed by others."


    Qian Tiao shrugged, seeming to see her own reflection, and did not say much more.


    She turned and called out to the slightly distracted Su Lun, "Let''s go."


    "Yes."


    Su Lun nodded.


    He nced back at the girl, hesitating to speak, feeling like he should say something but not knowing what to say.


    The Qin Master had already closed her eyes. "Sir... you are already the master of the underworld, I cannot see your future."


    ....


    The two walked side by side out of the alley.


    Su Lun looked at the snow on the ground, his gaze flickering again to Chitatsu by his side.


    It was as if he was seriously looking at her for the first time, her face full of heroic spirits, still carrying that carefree and humorous smile.


    Chitatsu, of course, noticed this gaze andined, "Hey hey hey... why are you always looking at me?"


    Su Lun shrugged his shoulders and didn''t respond to her.


    In that instant, many thoughts went through his mind.


    How could one avoid dying?


    Su Lun suddenly felt, was this the meaning behind studying the three ultimate challenges of alchemy, to unlock the meaning of life?


    There is no eternal matter in the world.


    Someday, rtives will die, friends will die, I will die...


    Since their birth, all things in this world were destined to reach an endpoint.


    And is this endpoint "death"?


    Is death really the end?


    He vaguely felt an understanding stir within him.


    Su Lun''sprehension of the ws of death" far surpassed ordinary people. At this moment, it was as if grains of sand were passing between his fingers, and he seemed to have realized something new.


    Just as these thoughts shed rapidly through his mind, suddenly a very familiar arm slung over his shoulder and pulled hard against his body.


    As intimate as usual.


    Su Lun only felt his head sinking into a soft sensation, as though he was punched, apanied by Chitatsu''s grumbling voice next to his ear, "What are you thinking about!"


    Chitatsu was half a head shorter than Su Lun.


    Their close actions forced Su Lun to bend over, his neck locked and unable to break free, so he simply squatted down and then hoisted Chitatsu around the waist and lifted her up.


    In countless previous instances of friendly shoulder ps, Chitatsu had the upper hand, but this time Su Lun turned the tables.


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    Suddenly lifted into the air, Chitatsu was greatly surprised and unable to break free. "Hey hey hey, what are you doing, put me down!"


    "Hahaha..."


    Laughing heartily, Su Lun ignored her struggles and started to dash through the alley.


    His physical fitness was not too shabby. Even carrying a person, he was light as a swallow, running and leaping, he found the highest building nearby and directly climbed up the roof. Finally, he put Chitatsu down.


    By now it hadpletely darkened, and the great Edo Castle was awash in orange light, with a starry sky overhead.


    Chitatsu, carried onto the rooftop, gazed out distantly. Initially nning to give Su Lun a good beating, she was gradually captivated by the scenery, remarking, "Yo, this ce actually has a nice view."


    Su Lun smiled.


    The two then sat side by side on the ridge of the roof, looking out at the human fireworks in the city.


    The Fei River divided Edo Castle into north and south. Little stars twinkled on the river¡ªthese were rivernterns residents released to pray to the deities. In the sky, there were some skynterns too, which, from afar, appeared like fireflies.


    Lately, many spirits from the underworld had appeared in the city, and the number of worshippers had also increased.


    At the edge of their view loomed arge mountain, its outline misty.


    That was one of the three great mountains of Mountain Hermit, the "Sunlit Divine Mountain." Even at night, one could see the grand mountain profile and the snowy peaks.


    The structures built along the mountain, with white walls and green-tiled roofs, were the royal pces where the Shinfuku royal family resided.


    The two sat without speaking for a long while, their eyes reflecting the scenes of the city.


    Suddenly, a paper crane flew through the sky.


    Chitatsu caught the paper crane, and said, "Princess ising."


    Su Lun looked down and indeed saw several figures quickly approaching.


    A few guards stayed below while a figure in white clothes leapt onto the roof. On a closer look, it turned out to be Princess Shinfuku, disguised as a man.


    Seeing the two sitting on the ridge, Princess joined them without hesitation, "Eh... Chitatsu and Mr. Su Lun have found a ce with quite the view."


    Chitatsu pursed her lips and said, "Su Lun found it."


    She continued, hooking her arm over Princess'' shoulder and speaking on Su Lun''s behalf, "Princess, Su Lun would like to stay with you for a few days. He is asking if you would be willing."


    With these words, the atmosphere suddenly turned a bit awkward.


    Su Lun looked at her, caught betweenughter and tears.


    Although that was the meaning, when the words came from Chitatsu''s mouth, they somehow felt odd.


    Fortunately, the Princess had grown quite familiar with them over these days, and hearing Chitatsu''s words, she glossed over the teasing and quickly grasped the meaning, "Mr. Su Lun wants to stay at the pce for a few days?"


    She revealed a warm, weing smile and answered her own question, "Of course, you can!"


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun also nodded and expressed his thought, "I''d like to stay in the royal library for a few days and look through the Mountain Hermit''s archives. I wonder if that would be convenient for you, Princess."


    "Of course, it''s convenient."


    Princess happily said, "The library indeed contains many secret scriptures. Mr. Su Lun, you who love research, will definitely not be disappointed."


    The group, no longer strangers, saw Su Lun not being overly polite as he smiled, "Then I''ll be imposing on you."


    Princess dismissed the notion, "It''s no trouble at all."


    Chitatsu, feeling as if her role was nowplete, grumbled, "Then you two can keep chatting, I won''t apany you."


    Hearing this, the Princess looked at Chitatsu, surprised, "Aren''t youing, Chitatsu?"


    Qian Jiao was restless and said disinterestedly, "The pce has so many rules; what''s the fun in that? I certainly don''t want to be confined there."


    With that, she stood up, leaped down without looking back, and said, "Alright, you two have a good chat, I''m off!"


    When they looked again, in the blink of an eye, she had already disappeared into the alley.


    Su Lun: "..."


    Princess: "..."


    The two people on the roof looked at each other, both showing a wry smile.


    The Princess stood up and bowed slightly, "Mr. Su Lun, let''s go then."


    ...


    Su Lun followed the Princess to the pce at the foot of the Sunlit Divine Mountain.


    As expected of a princess, there were many guards around her in Edo Castle. Along the way, Su Lun also noticed many masters among the various overt guards and covert sentries.


    Su Lun just wanted to find a quiet ce to focus on his research and read. Naturally, he didn''t want to meet any high-ranking royal figures. All those red tapes and unnecessary socializing held no more value to him than conducting two additional alchemical experiments.


    The Princess knew his thoughts, so she didn''t notify anyone else and led Su Lun across the moat and into the pce, enclosed by white walls.


    The two silently entered the pce.


    The pceplex was not small,prising an outer garden and an inner garden. The inner garden, where the royals lived, was heavily guarded, and visiting it was a hassle Su Lun did not want. He wanted to go to the library in the eastern outer garden, which was a four-story building with a green-tiled roof as well.


    Upon entering the pce, the guards dispersed a bit.


    The Princess''s status was special, not only as a princess but also as a Sai-¨­, and her authority was significant.


    Bringing someone into the pce went unquestioned.


    She acted like a diligent little tour guide, introducing her own home.


    They walked through a garden with a blue lotus pond and many cherry trees. Somehow, the flowers were in full bloom, creating a captivating scene brimming with the essence of spring.


    The architectural wonders of the pce, from borately carved beams to painted eaves, and the craftsmanship of the wooden structures, were a pleasure to behold.


    The Princess led Su Lun on the stone path in the garden, pointing to the building next to the library and said, "That is the royal treasury..."


    "Oh?"


    Su Lun looked at the small building resembling a museum, and casually observed, he saw a set of famous armor from the Warring States period enshrined in a ss case. The royal collection was naturally extraordinary, gathering almost all the top treasures of the Mountain Hermit.


    While walking, they talked.


    Su Lun also shared some of his insights with the Princess, such as industry and social development. The situation in Mountain Hermit wasplicated, and it was also the general trend.


    But there was a conflict between the technological society and the theocratic society, so he didn''t say much, just casually reminded her as a friend.


    The Princess perhaps knew the situation even better than him.


    As they talked, they walked into the library.


    The inside was very dry, with whale oilmps hanging from the beams, illuminating the space brightly even at night.


    They turned a corner in the corridor, and before them was a dense array of various books.


    The Princess exined, "The first floor has some books collected from the people; the second floor holds various rare and unique editions; the third floor contains various Secret Techniques, Ninjutsu, and Onmy¨­-d¨­; the fourth floor is reserved for royal secret scriptures. Going up to the fourth floor requires a decree from my father, the Emperor, because many scriptures about the deities are not allowed to be read by anyone outside of the Shinfuku lineage."


    Smiling slightly, she added, "However, if Mr. Su Lun wishes to go up there, I will be in the pce these days and can apany you."


    Su Lun listened and responded, "Then I have to trouble Princess. I just want to learn some about Mountain Hermit, and there''s no need to look at overly sensitive scriptures."


    Being brought by the illustrious princess to visit the royal collection was an honor indeed, and he wasn''t about to push his luck.


    Moreover, with so many books on these three floors, just trying to read through all of them would take many years.


    Listening to this, the Princess smiled slightly; they were both familiar with this way of interacting.


    She continued, "Sadly, the library was burned, losing many of its books."


    Su Lun was also somewhat surprised, "This ce was burned?"


    There were many masters in the pce, and even if a fire broke out, using a ''Water Release Ninjutsu'' to extinguish it in minutes¡ªhow could it have continued burning?


    "Yes, almost every one or two hundred years, it''s been burned down," she said, seemingly aware of what Su Lun found strange, and added, "Actually, not all of them were idents, some fires were the will of the deities. Some texts offended the dignity of the deities, or should not be spread among people, so they naturally cannot be left in the world."


    "Oh."


    Su Lun listened with a dawning expression of enlightenment.


    At the same time, he thought of what Mr. Jing had said before, that certain knowledge within humanity would be erased or blocked by higher deities. Was this an example?


    They did not linger on the first floor, and walked up to the second floor on the wooden staircase.


    This floor contained many unique and manuscript books, which couldn''t even be bought as copies elsewhere.


    Su Lun''s gaze zapped across thebels on the bookshelves. His eyesight and cognitive abilities were extremely high, allowing him to understand what kinds of books were there almost at a nce.


    He saw something and was slightly puzzled, "Miss Princess, do you have manuscripts by the great writer Fujiwara Hayato?"


    "Of course," she responded.


    The Princess pped her hands.


    Immediately, someone in the loft replied, "Her Royal Highness Princess, Fujiwara Hayato''s manuscripts were borrowed two days ago by the Chief Military Minister, Houjo Kazuo. In the library, we only have a copy from Taihe 9. It''s in cab West 13."


    The Princess listened and nodded, "Okay, you may leave."


    Su Lun listened without surprise since he had just noticed that the bookshelfbeled ''Fujiwara Hayato'' was empty.


    He suddenly thought of Katyusha''s grandmother, that olddy''s influence was really significant. They even arranged to have items taken out of the Shinfuku Royal Library for her.


    Su Lun didn''t say much. Whether it was manuscripts or copies, it made no difference to him.


    Then, remembering what the old bookstore owner had said, he asked, "By the way, Miss Princess, do you know about Senso-ji? I heard that Mr. Fujiwara eventually retired there to lead a monastic life."


    Her Royal Highness Princess nodded, "Of course, I know. The history of Asakusa Temple predates even Edo Castle... It is said that the ''Yamata no Orochi'' is sealed there."


    Su Lun asked, "Yamata no Orochi? Does that mythological creature really exist?"


    Although he asked that, he was dealing with a mythical creature. Counting the time, it was a monster from the era of Amaterasu Omikami, most likely nonexistent.


    "It is said to exist," she replied with a sweet smile, pausing for a moment before delicately exining, "It is the monks who are guarding it. I am a Shinto Shrine Maiden, not very clear about it."


    Mountain Hermit not only had Shinto but also Buddhist temples; these were two belief systems with little intersection.


    "Oh."


    Su Lun did not ask further.


    But his thoughts whirled, why would Mr. Fujiwara choose to train at Asakusa Temple?


    Before they knew it, the two had walked up to the third floor.


    The third floor had fewer books, but many more scrolls, steles, and beast skins showing obvious energy fluctuations. There were also various ninja family crests, major family crests, and martial arts school symbols, covering nearly every era of Mountain Hermit. Ninjutsu, swordsmanship, Shinto secret techniques, Onmyodo, forbidden secret techniques...


    Just looking at thosebels made Su Lun feel dizzy.


    Upstairs was the most mysterious fourth floor of the library.


    Even on the stairs, Su Lun saw various prohibitions.


    Though Su Lun knew that the books upstairs involved some taboos, he still wanted to visit and expand his knowledge.


    He asked, "Princess, may I visit upstairs?"


    Understanding his intent, the Princess happily nodded, "Of course."


    Thump, thump, thump...


    The two of them walked up the stairs.


    With the Princess leading, none of the prohibitions were triggered.


    Upon ascending, the space was not toorge, and there weren''t too many collections.


    Su Lun looked around the fourth floor with ck and white curtains hanging everywhere, enticing those wearing the Shinfuku family crest, and also some sacrificial totems of Amaterasu Omikami.


    With most of these collections, Su Lun distinctly felt an indescribable will.


    It was the power of the gods.


    The Princess exined, "These are all items inherited by our Shinfuku family, once enshrined with the ''Three Divine Artifacts'': The Kusanagi Sword, Yasakani no Magatama, and Yata Mirror. Unfortunately, they were lost in the warster..."


    "Oh..."


    Su Lun felt truly enlightened, seeing so many "Objects of Shinto" for the first time.


    Having seen and learned, he did not want to offend.


    After pausing briefly, he was just thinking of going down.


    But at that moment, his gaze swept across the colorful mural on the wall. He quietly eximed and focused his attention on it.


    The mural depicted the "ck Sun Grand Festival."


    The content was a legend he had heard before, where Amaterasu Omikami left in anger, and a ck sun appeared in the sky, leading people to conduct a grand sacrificial ceremony.


    And the core content was about the Shinto shrine maiden''s sacrificial process.


    It wasn''t just any maiden, judging by her attire, she was a Sai¨­!


    The mural showed the maiden dancing atop a fallen barrel, her upper bodypletely uncovered, her chest exposed, her garment hanging down to her private area, drawing cheers from the surrounding gods.


    The painting style was so vivid, it was as if one were looking at a real-life movie scene. It seemed as if celestial music was ying by his ears, the dance movements as if performed by a heavenly being.


    However, looking at that maiden''s attire, Su Lun unconsciously thought of what the Princess''s shrine maiden attire looked like, noting a ny percent simrity in demeanor and appearance.@@novelbin@@


    Moreover, he just realized that the traditional Kagura dance involved disrobing?


    Although he harbored no impure thoughts, his mind inevitably wandered a bit.


    The Princess, noticing Su Lun''s gaze, blushed slightly and exined, "This is the ''Kagura Dance,'' a ritual dance that every Sai¨­ must be familiar with."


    She seemed to recall something else, paused, and added, "This dance is performed for the gods to see. It takes ce only inside the shrine altar, invisible to others. The Kagura dances outside are all simplified versions..."


    Su Lun expressed his realization, "I see."


    He felt thating here was indeed worthwhile, as his knowledge greatly expanded.


    The Princess was a good friend indeed.


    Without her, Su Lun would not have had the opportunity to ess so many secrets of Mountain Hermit.


    ...


    After a moment, the two walked down to the third floor.


    The Princess knew Su Lun had many secrets that would be troublesome if known by outsiders, so she had instructed the guards in the library to leave the building.


    Soon, the vast library was left with just the two of them.


    The Princess also had to prepare for the grand festival and thus would stay in the imperial residence for the next few days for incense burning, bathing, and purification. She was staying in a loft not far from the library, and could easily be reached if needed.


    Su Lun felt that nothing much would happen.


    At least before the ck Sun Grand Festival, he nned to stay in the library.


    He had too much to do.


    Once the Princess left, Su Lun unleashed the Octopus Spear Prosthetics, and countless threads pulled out the books he was interested in.


    Reading a hundred lines at a nce, he flipped through several books at once.


    Su Lun absorbed the knowledge in the library like a ravenous beast.

 Chapter 327 Legendary!

    Su Lun had spent several days in the library.


    Since it was the imperial pce, he didn''t have to worry about being disturbed. Every day, maids brought him exquisite food, making his days leisurely andfortable.


    asionally, when Princess Shinfuku Mitsuko was free, she woulde to read as well, and they would discuss matters rted to their training. Whenever Su Lun encountered something he didn''t understand, he had someone to ask.


    Su Lun knew that the further up he went in the library, the more valuable the books became, so he had started from the third floor and worked his way down to the second and first floors.


    The high development of his brain and multitasking ability significantly enhanced his learning and memory. He also had two cursed items, "Sereia''s Blessing" and "Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript," which were divine artifacts that assisted in learning.


    Su Lun read at an extremely fast pace and with high efficiency.


    If he had enough time, he would probably be willing to stay in this library for months.


    But with the "ck Sun Grand Festival" approaching, he felt something might happen, which made him cherish these tranquil days even more.


    He could read hundreds of lines at a nce and browsed several books at once.


    Having a solid foundation of knowledge, Su Lun could understand most of the books almost immediately.


    Even the cultivation techniques that required understanding and contemtion, he would try toprehend them. If he couldn''t understand something, he didn''t force himself. He just kept it in his mind forter digestion whenever he had more time.


    Moreover, Princess Shinfuku Mitsuko had given him many copied manuscripts.


    He had books to read and books to take.


    Su Lun found that he could really get along with this friend.


    If there was a problem, she could indeed help.


    ....


    That day,


    was Su Lun''s eighth day in the library.


    Tomorrow was the "ck Sun Grand Festival,"


    and he wanted to quickly finish going through the books he was interested in.


    At that moment, the first floor of the library was like the Silk Cave, filled with shimmering silk threads.


    Books hung from the threads, and the continuous rustling of pages filled the air, as if invisible hands were ceaselessly flipping through them.


    The first-floor collection mostly consisted of folk literature, which Su Lun read roughly, merely ncing over them. However, as they were treasures umted by the Mountain Hermits over many years and collected by the royal family, he did not overlook any.


    After all, in these days of reading, Su Lun also discovered some small pleasures.


    He found some secrets in these books that perhaps even the librarians didn''t know about.


    For example, there were "word puzzles" hidden in unique, handwritten notes that resolved into some type of "forbidden technique," or some erased "historical facts," "heretical dark arts." There were even subjects described by Princess Shinfuko as "unspeakable content."


    Su Lun finally understood why alchemists loved to use various encryption means to hide their research results.


    It was not only to keep secrets from outsiders but also to deceive those higher beings who did not want lower life forms to master advancedws.


    Usually, the value of taboo content was very high.


    ....


    At that moment, Su Lun had solved the Eight-armed Spider Spear and was immersed in his busy tasks. Stay updated through My Virtual Library Empire


    Seven or eight booksy open in front of him, which he asionally flipped through,


    His eyes skimmed lines of text, while the Spider Spear handled other tasks.


    In the room, there was an alloy surgical table, and Su Lun was performing a precise surgery on himself.


    He had cut open his flesh and was now engraving some arcane runes onto the radius bone of his left arm.


    His arm''s flesh was syed open, the stark white bones exposed to the air, yet Su Lun''s face remained unchanged.


    With hisprehensive knowledge of human anatomy, he knew the exact paths of each blood vessel and nerve, so everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.


    Luckily, with the Spider Spear imnted, he was able to perform suchplex surgery and engraving on his own.


    The "Rune Flesh" secret technique required turning one''s own body into a cursed artifact. Su Lun had already drawn runes on his skin and now needed to draw them on the bones, blood vessels, some necessary fasciae, and soft tissues. Then he would connect these variously effective runes to form a precise andplex rune system to unleash some incredible uses.


    The preparation process was difficult, requiring high rune expertise and specific secret techniques,


    which Su Lun now possessed.


    Armed with these, he couldpletely disregard other risks.


    Su Lun had absolute calm and multitasking thinking ability. The surgery and engraving process would almost certainly have no subjectivepses.


    However, the process was somewhat tedious and could not be hurried.


    Reading was just the right way to pass the time.


    After finishing with the ulna and then the radius, Su Lun stitched up the incision, then began working on the humerus...


    If an outsider were there, they would likely be greatly rmed by his drastic actions.


    Yet Su Lun felt as calm as if he were cutting someone else''s flesh.@@novelbin@@


    "X Serum" endowed the body with super regenerative abilities, and with some alchemy potions, once a wound was sewn up, it healed almost visibly to the naked eye.


    Even if some rare materials werecking, the royal treasury was right next door, having a princess as a friend was quite handy, and there was no shortage at all.


    ...


    Atst, the sun was nting westward.


    Su Lun finished the preliminary carving of the runes on his bones before tomorrow''s "ck Sun Grand Festival."


    He put away the surgical instruments and stretched his arms and legs.


    With dark spiritual power infused, a dim golden luster flowed around his body, and his skin faintly revealed dense mysterious patterns.


    The fundamental framework of "Rune Vajra" is already set up, now the physical defense capability has greatly improved. This strength should support the fourth stage of hormonal rampage, and perhaps it could even break through to the fifth stage briefly... Afterprehending higher runenguages in the future, there will be a significant increase in potential."


    Su Lun raised an eyebrow, seemingly quite satisfied with his aplishment.


    With the Puppeteer''s core survival ability enhanced, hisbat power would enormously increase.


    He estimated that if he encountered one of the "Koga Three Ninjas" previously, Ueno Sasaki with the "Demon Hand," it probably wouldn''t be as perilous as before.


    He even felt somewhat confident about being able to kill him in a head-on fight.


    However, he murmured to himself as if he had thought of something, "But, the big problem with dark spiritual power is a major drawback. ''Rune Vajra'' is very strong, but suchplex runes require more energy. Moreover, the energy consumption during a hormonal rampage increases exponentially. If I go full power now, I probably can''tst three minutes..."


    "Rune Vajra" + Hormonal Rampage = Three minutes of real man.


    If he were to engage in prolongedbat, it would be a huge problem.


    However, this problem is only temporary.


    Su Lun still had an epic-grade alchemy enhancement sealed in his chest, which is his biggest confidence in pursuing this professional advancement route.


    He was greatly looking forward to it: "After advancing to the fifth tier and merging with ''Isaac''s Alchemical Heart,'' I won''tck mana. Then, I can use both secret techniques without limits, and the control range of the puppet theater can be infinitely exaggerated..."


    It could be said, once he advanced to the fifth tier, hisbat power would be unbelievably exaggerated.


    But just as he thought of this, Su Lun''s thoughts drifted off, and he thought to himself: "That''s not quite right either, the physical endurance has its limits. Even with unlimited mana, against higher-tier professionals, the body can only endure a bit longer before it copses, and the hormonal rampage could cause irreversible damage or even death. Tost longer, I might need to enhance the physical strength. If even the sixth-tier runes are barely supported by my current body, perhaps after advancing to the fifth tier, I should consider augmenting physical strength?"


    With this thought, it turned into an infinite loop.


    A stronger body could support stronger runes, stronger rune-infused bodies could possess greaterbat power...


    Su Lun''s expression revealed deep thought, faintly shaping some reference directions for his future career advancement.


    His mind still racing,


    However, just then,


    Suddenly,


    His gaze sharpened!


    "Eh..."


    Su Lun looked at a newly pulled book from the shelf, his left eye flickered with light.


    Having the All-knowing Eye, he instantly recognized the special feature of this manuscript.


    This novel named "The Chrysanthemum de" bizarrely revealed a very sophisticated method of alchemy encryption!


    "Van Hormont encryption method? A very advanced encryption technique..."


    After flipping through a few pages, Su Lun''s All-knowing Eye automatically identified the patterning of the text.


    This was an encryption method named after "Van Hormont," a Great Alchemist from the Dawn Era, typically used to encrypt very advanced alchemical secret techniques.


    This was already the domain of study for "Master" alchemists.


    It was this realization that made Su Lun even more curious.


    What content deserved such encryption?


    Was this novel written by an alchemist?


    But why would it be in the Mountain Hermit''s library?


    Su Lun''s mind automatically found the corresponding decryption method.


    The text of the original novel in front of him transformed into something else.


    "When you decipher the secret I''ve hidden in this novel, congrattions to you, the thoughtful destined one. There are some small surprises hidden within."


    Upon reading this line, an image of an alchemist who liked "treasure-hunting games" and was a bit "mischievous" vividly emerged from the pages.


    Moreover, he suddenly had a hunch.


    However, when he read the next line, he was immediately shocked.


    "My name is Carl Gustav Jung, oh, this name might be unknown. You might have heard of my other pen name, ''Fujiwara Hayato''..."


    "It really is him!"


    Su Lun, looking at this introduction, immediately realized


    this could absolutely not be an impersonation by anyone else.


    It was definitely Fujiwara Hayato himself!


    Because, it would be impossible for anyone else to impersonate him!


    Using cryptography to hide secrets is not too impressive; any Magician with a bit of knowledge base in Alchemy could manage.


    But what''s impressive is encrypting these secrets and hiding them in novels that already hold high literary value.


    Thus, when Su Lun discovered this "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword," he knew that the author was not just a Magician but also possessed a very high literary aplishment!


    There are definitely not many such people.


    Coincidentally, Su Lun had just heard about one!


    Seeing that name, he was already eager to read what followed.


    "I had initially nned to follow ''Bemy'' to explore uncharted routes, but I discovered something far more entertaining, and I stayed in the Mountain Hermit. Think of this as part of my travelogue, although the ces I visited were a bit special¡­"


    Right from the start, it indeed did not disappoint Su Lun.


    In the circle of big shots, most are big shots.


    Seeing the phrases "explore uncharted routes" and "Bemy," Su Lun immediately thought of one person.


    Sam Bemy, the legendary Pirate King recognized by all four seas thirty years ago!


    "Fujiwara Hayato knew the Pirate King?"


    Suddenly, Su Lun felt as though he was unveiling a piece of legendary history unknown to others.


    A simple line made him feel as though he was seeing two legendary figures from that era conversing breezily.


    Filled with intense anticipation, Su Lun continued to read.


    "Because I went to a very special ce, I wanted to express this experience in writing. This creative process is difficult because, after all, those beings are indescribable. Writing this story might consume my lifespan. I don''t know if I canplete it by the end of my lifespan, but no matter what, I intend to try¡­"


    A very special ce.


    As expected of a great literary master, suspense handled just right.


    Su Lun kept reading.


    "Without firsthand experience, one absolutely cannot write a soulful story. This is also the most important reason I became an adventurer, a Navigator. Sinceing to the Mountain Hermit, I''ve discovered many fascinating stories."


    "You must be very curious about where I went, right? Hehe¡­ you might not believe it if I tell you, but I took a trip to ''Netherworld''."


    "Yes! The real ''Netherworld''."


    At this point, Su Lun furrowed his brows.


    He suddenly felt as if he was reading another supernatural fantasy novel?


    After all, Fujiwara Hayato had written many such novels, and he had read quite a few of them.


    But Su Lun felt it was not that simple.


    If it were just a novel, there''d be no need to hide it within another story.


    "I returned alive from the Netherworld, my soul tainted by the spirit of Death. I n to go to Asakusa Temple, where the monks are adept with Buddhist practices to suppress things rted to the undead; it should allow me more time to write down my experiences¡­"


    "Oh, this was an unforgettable adventure. No one would believe that I havee back from the Netherworld, where no living person has ever returned!"


    "As for what I saw, I n to express it in another story. In this book, I want to leave for future generations how I went there and how I returned. If by chance you are an adventurer, then surely you would be curious about a ce full of mythological hues, right? Who would refuse the chance to step into legends? Haha¡­"


    "This story starts from when I was traveling in the Mountain Hermit, where I found two ''Ghost Train Tickets'' used for crossing over souls¡­"


    "..."


    Reading this, Su Lun really didn''t know how to describe his feelings.


    The Fujiwara Hayato had discovered a way to the Netherworld and then actually tried it!


    What the fuck... Is this the courage of an adventurer?


    Su Lun''s rationality made his entire body resist the type of "curiosity" that could kill him.


    No, you don''t want to go!


    It''s life-threatening!


    Fujiwara Hayato decidedly was a Great Alchemist and he died because of it. Su Lun did not want to risk his life just to satisfy his curiosity.


    But he couldn''t deny that as he read the words, a certain impulsive thought started sprouting in his heart.


    Just as the great literary master stated, given the chance to step into mythology, who wouldn''t want to glimpse the truth?


    ¡­


    "The Sword of Chrysanthemum" was not a lengthy novel, just a thin volume of a few dozen pages, which Su Lun quickly flipped through to the end.


    The vivid text made it seem like a truly great adventurer wasing to life before his eyes.


    That guy


    It was also because of such pioneering adventurers that so many splendid legendary stories were left in the world.


    Thest passage in the book penned down this statement.


    "Oh, that''s right. Bemy had a premonition that his voyage might meet with an ident, so he left behind three gold coins. One of them was left with me. I kept it inside this book. If you''re interested in that guy''s nautical adventures, then that''s probably another story. Oh, just thinking about it is exciting. A story about treasure? Turns out, unknowingly, we seem to have be the protagonists in legendary stories in the eyes of others..."


    Su Lun watched as his eyelid twitched.


    On thest page, there was a drawing of an ancient coin and a sketch of a train ticket written with a brush.


    As he finished reading, these two patterns suddenly emitted a glow.


    Su Lun felt a spatial fluctuation, reached out his hand, and a gold coin and a green train ticket appeared in his hand.


    [ck Sam''s Cursed Gold Coin]


    Description: Legend has it that collecting three gold coins can lead to Pirate King Sam Bemy''s sunken treasure; the coin is engraved with some iplete cryptic information.


    "Indeed, it was that pirate king."


    Seeing the attributes of the identified coin, Su Lun confirmed his thought.


    That Bemy was the Pirate King who disappeared thirty years ago.


    Birds of a feather flock together.


    The circles of legendary figures are indeed legendary!


    And Su Lun already had one gold coin in his possession.


    Now he had two.


    He hadn''t expected to flip through the Royal Family''s library and have such a find.


    Looking at the train ticket in his hand, Su Lun''s expression grew even stranger.


    [Ghost Train Ticket]


    Description: Buying a ticket to board the train, it can take you to the Netherworld; the ticket has some kind of undead certification. A train? No, not what you think. This is an ancient monster that has existed far longer than you can imagine.


    Su Lun, having read the story in the book, was silent for a long time.


    He knew that Fujiwara Hayato truly took this "train ticket" to the Netherworld.


    After a while, Su Lun finally sighed deeply and couldn''t help but remark, "That guy was really crazy..."


    But it truly evokes a sense of profound admiration from the bottom of the heart.


    ...


    Su Lun put away the train ticket and gold coin, the content of the book was deciphered, and it didn''t matter whether it stayed in his hands.


    He flipped through it again from the beginning.


    The title page had this phrase: "If the world is a prison, then love is the key to unlocking it."


    Su Lun had heard this phrase before, from Grandma Kasusha''s mouth.


    After finishing, Su Lun felt as if he had set down a heavy piece of history.


    He returned "The Chrysanthemum Sword" to its original ce on the shelf, thinking that maybe one day in the future, another person discovering the secrets in the story would probably be equally astonished at Fujiwara Hayato''s legendary life.


    As for going to the "Netherworld," Su Lun was curious but had no intention of going.


    He thought that without the strength of a level eight or nine, going there would be game over.


    Fujiwara Hayato coulde back alive was not only due to his strength and adventure experience but also a great deal of luck.


    He naturally couldn''t risk such dangers.


    Instead, another thing made Su Lun more curious.


    "The Chrysanthemum Sword" was written before going to Asakusa Temple. That is to say, Fujiwara Hayato was truly creating at thest moments of his life.


    He had written his experience going to the Netherworld in the story?


    If he really wrote it down, what a remarkable work it would be!


    Su Lun was looking forward to that story.


    He previously thought that going to Asakusa Temple might have been fruitless. After all, with Fujiwara Hayato being so famous, countless people wanted to find his manuscripts over the years; the threshold of Asakusa Temple was probably worn out.


    But now seeing this book "The Chrysanthemum Sword," he felt it might really be possible.


    Perhaps hidden somewhere?


    Even if it was a rough draft, there should be something left behind.


    While Su Lun was still contemting, amotion was heard from the pce garden outside.


    It sounded like many people hade in.


    In the peaceful and serene pce, this was unusual.


    Su Lun sensed that strong and familiar soul fire, furrowed his brows, and muttered, "Has ''Greedy Grand General'' Yixier Peione? Those pirates finally couldn''t restrain themselves from forcing a showdown..."


    It''s not surprising; he had felt that the "ck Sun Grand Festival" was a major threshold for the Royal Family, and those who would kick them when down would seize the opportunity before rather than after.


    PS. The current subscription situation is pretty bad; dear readers who can support, please do support. I appreciate it.

 Chapter 329 Horror Novel Materialization

    It turned out that holding an umbre did not block out the sunlight, at least notpletely.


    Su Lun reacted quickly when he noticed there was something wrong with the sr eclipse light, and immediately opened his runeden ck umbre.


    Unfortunately, he was still drawn into it.


    Qiantiao was embraced in his arms, looking around, still somewhat confused, "What exactly happened?"


    Everything around them seemed unchanged, yet everything seemed altered.


    The two were still on that small hill, facing the brightly lit Edo Castle.


    But upon closer inspection, it seemed like something was different.


    Moreover, it was clearly an eclipse, so why was there a bright moon in the sky?


    And the whole world, as seen through their eyes, seemed to have been filtered through the underworld, giving off a sinister and terrifying vibe.


    Su Lun looked troubled, as being dragged into the space had be a reality, and he finally had time to exin in detail.


    A bitter smile appeared on his lips as he said, "We''ve been pulled into a cursed space."


    "Cursed space?"


    Upon hearing this, Qiantiao''s expression also became very strange, "Isn''t this just Edo Castle?"


    "It is, yet it is not."


    Su Lun spoke withplicated emotions, took a deep breath of the cool air, then added, "This is the ''Netherworld.'' To be precise, it''s the Netherworld as depicted by Fujiwara Hayato."


    ....


    If Su Lun hadn''t constantly monitored the sr eclipse with his All-knowing Eye, he might have missed the instant the curse''s properties erupted.


    Otherwise, he might still be kept in the dark.


    But knowing the true nature of the event only made it more incredible.


    In the fierce conflict among "true reality," "cognition," and "sensory world," he began to doubt himself.


    Did the senses deceive cognition?


    Did the senses cover up the truth?


    Even now, as his left eye flickered, actively observing the surroundings, he noticed nothing out of the ordinary.


    It waspletely as though observing a real world, everything matched his "logical understanding."


    This was what made it truly incredible.


    Because Su Lun knew, this was a "cursed space"!


    But why couldn''t he see any signs of a cursed space before him?


    It was like ying a game with a logic bug, where the edges of the map were pixted... all these once spotted by a yer, could immediately distinguish it as a fake world.


    In any cursed space Su Lun had encountered before, he could spot some "bugs" with the All-knowing Eye.


    But not here,


    Not at all!


    This is a truly real,w-abiding world!


    It made one truly believe they had arrived in the mythical Netherworld!


    Seeing this, Su Lun could not hide his shock and murmured, "This doesn''t seem like a cursed space, it''s clearly aplete world."


    His thoughts whirled rapidly.


    Before his cognition copsed, he came up with the only reasonable exnation.


    When you look down at the ground, you firmly believe it is the "ground."


    Only in space, at a high enough, broad enough perspective, can you identify the concepts of " or "ne."


    That is to say, if you can''t jump out of a cognitive world, you can''t see clearly where you really are.


    And now, they were inside a world from a novel!


    Frog in a well?


    Because one''s cognitive level is not enough on the level ofws, that''s why they can''t see through another''s perfectly depicted world.


    That was the most reasonable exnation.


    ...


    But how vast must the imagination be, to create such an enormous fantastical world all by oneself?


    Su Lun immediately realized that Fujiwara Hayato''s attainment in alchemy must have been extremely high.


    Eighth tier, ninth tier?


    No, wrong!


    Perhaps there were some other external forces involved.


    For instance: why did the story he wrote be a "cursed object"?


    Su Lun''s mind raced with too many thoughts in an instant.


    Upon hearing this, Qiantiao frowned, once again scanning everything before them, casually asking, "Is it possible to get out?"


    Su Lun said calmly, "For top professionals, this is a ''T-level'' space. It would be very difficult to get out."


    "Oh. T-level, huh..."


    Upon hearing this, Qiantiao raised his eyebrows, and his furrowed brows rxed.


    When the danger level became "no survivors," any further fretting seemed like unnecessary worry.


    She took life and death lightly, and her carefree personality granted her a sense of tranquility no matter the circumstances.


    Even in dire situations, she optimistically suggested, "Shall we go for a stroll first?"


    After all, she knew that brainstorming was not her strong suit. Figuring out how to break the situation should be left to the professionals.


    "..."


    Su Lun understood the meaning in her eyes and a wry smile appeared on his face.


    He was also infected by her optimism, saying, "Alright."


    Since fantasizing wouldn''t get them out, it might be good to take a walk.


    And possibly look for some clues.


    After all,


    there are usually three ways to break a curse space.


    All must be tried.


    The first is to defeat the BOSS. If you are invincible in the curse space, it usually means your power transcends the Space Law, and naturally, you could leave;


    The second way is to find the ''curse material'' or ''energy source'' that supports the entire curse space, which often coincides with the first condition;


    Su Lun did not believe that a "T-level space" could be escaped by defeating monsters.


    The third way is to follow the hints and figure it out.


    Su Lun was also relieved that he had seen the hint before entering: "Only when the gods of the book''s world approve of you, can you leave."


    The religious system of Mountain Hermit is veryplex,


    Gods?


    What kind of gods?


    Although it wasn''t easy, at least there was a direction now.


    ...


    As Su Lun and Chiao were chatting, the vast Edo Castle and tens of thousands of people were sucked into the curse space.


    Over ten thousand from the Ninth Fleet of the North Sea and those merchants wanting to profit from the war, together with various other outsiders with different motives in Edo Castle...


    Anyone without the faith of Mountain Hermit''s gods was drawn in.


    Almost instantly, the news that arge number of living people had arrived spread rapidly throughout the entire Netherworld.


    "So many living people havee..."


    "Wow, the scent of the living is really tempting."


    "Don''t scare them, eat them slowly, hehehe..."


    "..."


    This is the world of the dead.


    The spirits and monsters were celebrating their festive feast.


    ...


    Su Lun and Chiao descended from a secluded hill and walked towards the bustling city.


    To avoid standing out, both transformed into the local ronin swordsman appearance of Mountain Hermit.


    As they walked, they talked.


    "So, was the previous ''manifestation of Netherworld'' actually a sign of curse characteristics spilling over?"


    "Yes. Although I don''t know how it was done, this is the only exnation."


    "Tsk tsk¡­ Takeda Nobuyasu really knows his moves, pretending to submit to the North Sea Fleet on the surface, but actually nning to wipe out these foreigners in one stroke. This faith screening has directly purged spies imnted by other forces in Mountain Hermit. Once he takes power, it will be even harder for anyone to interfere with the internal politics of Mountain Hermit."


    "..."


    Although Chiao was careless, her intuition was surprisingly urate.


    She pointed out something Su Lun had overlooked.


    Faith screening?


    This move would indeed capture all those without divine faith.


    Su Lun faintly felt that he had grasped something crucial.


    But what exactly does Ueda Sakurai intend to do?


    However, Chiao seemed more interested in something else and suddenly became very excited, adding, "Does that mean we might actually encounter those ancient great swordsmen here?"


    Su Lun''s eyes flickered uncertainly, "Perhaps."


    ....


    The Edo Castle before them was brightly lit, the orange glow lighting up the night.


    The city was very lively, with dense crowds visible everywhere, reminiscent of a festival, leisurely strolling the streets adorned with vibrant attire. The streets were lined with lively stalls selling steaming food and handicrafts...


    The scene was indistinguishable from the world of the living.


    Su Lun and Chiao dared not rashly enter the streets and observed from a distance.


    Chiao, looking at the familiar streets, curiously said, "Is this the ''Netherworld''? Why do I feel that the houses in Edo Castle are almost the same? It seems... there are some changes?"


    At least from a distance, the imperial pce under Sunlit Divine Mountain looked quite different.


    Knowing why, Su Lun exined, "It is said that the Netherworld is the ce where the deceased of Mountain Hermit go. So the dead reconstruct the cities and buildings ording to their memories, resulting in architecture that is very simr. But there are some differences. After all, this ce is inhabited not just by human spirits but also by various monsters and gods. Um... since it''s a novel, there might also be some artistic embellishment involved."


    Qian Jiao had a look of gaining a new experience, "So that''s how it is..."


    But after watching for a long time, the two of them couldn''t discern any danger.


    The tell-tale bird was very quiet on their shoulders, and the people in the town seemed no different than those in Edo Castle, not exuding the urgency of a dangerous cursed space.


    Perhaps it wasbeled "T-level" simply because those who came couldn''t leave?


    By this time, Su Lun had also noticed some familiar faces appearing on the streets¡ªthose pirates from the North Sea Fleet.


    Ready for battle, these men were fully armed, carrying guns and cannons, highly recognizable.


    These guys probably hadn''t realized that it was a cursed space, running rampant in the streets without any inhibition, seemingly trying to figure out what was happening.


    After all, being undisciplined pirates, they indulged heavily in the bustling night market, not forgetting to flirt with the pretty passersby.


    Disputes were constant, and there were some minor conflicts, but nothing odd urred.


    Su Lun guessed something, and chuckled meaningfully, "Indeed, power is the passport for the strong. Even in the Netherworld, the same holds true."


    He probably knew why those pirates hadn''t encountered any trouble.


    With Seventh Order professionals leading and so many others, even ghosts would have to be cautious.


    This also made Su Lun and hispanion feel much safer; their abilities were strong, so even if they encountered trouble, they could definitely protect themselves.


    Qian Jiao asked, "Shall we go check it out too?"


    Su Lun nodded, "Yeah."


    To find a way out, they ultimately needed to take a look around.


    ....


    The two emerged from their hidden alley and blended into the stream of people on the streets.


    Their attire made them indistinguishable from these "deceased"; they did not stand out in the slight.


    Rednterns hung on both sides of the street, casting a somewhat dim light.


    "Hey... guests, want to eat something? Fried eyeballs, bursting and crispy!"


    "Come try the delicious blood intestine noodles..."


    "Char-grilled hearts and lungs, fried raw souls, big sugar coated hawthorn sticks..."


    "..."


    As they walked along, calls from vendors were incessant.


    Both sides of the street were mostly food stalls, with oily, golden, fresh, and delicious ingredients piled up. The air was filled with enticing aromas that made one''s mouth water uncontrobly.


    This fragrance, much like a hallucinogenic potion, had an irresistible allure to the living.


    The pirates were indulging in food and drink at various stalls, their mouths glistening with grease.


    ''Gluttonous Grand General'' Yixier Peion, known for his appetite, stuffed tons of food into his mouth...


    After eating, a look of extreme pleasure appeared on these people''s faces.


    Even Qian Jiao, seeing those appetizing foods, swallowed his saliva and said, "Although the names are a bit strange, they do look delicious."


    Generally speaking, even in a cursed space, food could be eaten.


    But Su Lun held back her thought, saying solemnly, "If you eat the food here, you''ll never be able to leave."


    This was the information he had identified earlier.


    Now, it was clear why.


    In his perception, the souls of those pirates who were devouring the food greedily, were gradually bing cold, increasingly resembling the "natives" of the Netherworld.


    Moreover, the materials of that food, once identified, were likely not something anyone would want to eat.


    A fist-sized sugar-zed haw stick? No, under the scrutiny of the All-knowing Eye, those were skulls of babies.


    Char-grilled hearts and lungs, fried raw souls... all made primarily from various human organs.


    "Oh."


    Hearing this, Qian Jiao smacked his lips somewhat regretfully, losing interest in the food.


    ....


    For some reason, many young women, geisha,dies, and madams adorned mboyantly and mostly beautiful, were frequently walking up and down the streets.


    This also aroused the lust among those well-fed pirates.


    Soon, various private homes, brothels, and dark corners of streets and alleys witnessed unspeakable erotic spectacles unfolding.


    It seemed the pirates had forgotten their circumstances, forgotten why they were here, what they were supposed to investigate. One by one, they began hunting pleasures recklessly, immersing themselves in that sick indulgence.


    As Su Lun and hispanion walked on the street, always observing coldly, they too noticed these abnormalities.


    Su Lun looked at those pirates, lost in pleasures, and said gravely, "Their will has been eroded and assimted by this cursed space..."


    Qian Jiao also nodded in agreement, but his eyes showed a thick sense of doubt, "Odd, since it''s a cursed space, why do these guys seem so intelligent, indistinguishable from living humans?"


    This was also strange to Su Lun, who responded, "Indeed."


    Normally in cursed spaces, the manifested NPCs have very low intelligence levels, only some "main consciousnesses" seem like living people.


    Even previously, in the Central Prison of Dawn City, his teacher Sereya, once such a powerful being, only had a bit of soul remnant left, missing some cognition.


    But now, in this "Netherworld," everyone seemed as alive as in the real world, blurring the line between reality and fantasy.


    In an instant of realization, Su Lun felt as if he was in a drowsy slumber, unsure whether he was in reality or a dream.


    In dreams, all irrational scenes are rational.


    He bowed his head to look at his fingers, performing an action to determine whether he was in a dream.


    Apparently, it was not an illusion.


    But having encountered a simr situation in "Sword Forging Vige" before, Su Lun spected in amazement, "If this is truly a world manifested from a novel, then the great writer Fujiwara Hayato has really brought these characters to life..."


    To endow novel characters with souls?


    What kind of inconceivable ability was that?


    However, considering this was an unexinable "perfect world," it seemed not so strange anymore.


    What they didn''t know was that while the pirates were wholeheartedly indulging in pleasures, within this brilliantly lit city, a pair of greedy eyes hidden in the shadows had grown impatient.


    ....


    "We need to find the deity of this ce, it seems we should head to the imperial pce beneath the Sunlit Divine Mountain? I wonder what level of deity resides within this cursed space..."


    "Since it''s a Tier-T space, it''s definitely not going to be simple. Be cautious. I think we should gather more information; we at least need to figure out who exactly resides in that pce."


    "Hmm. Where should we go to find out? Perhaps the tavern or maybe the gambling house?"


    "Let''s start by asking around nearby."


    "..." Discover exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    Su Lun and Chian walked through the bustling night market.


    Naturally, being trapped, they thought about leaving.


    The two casually chose an unupied local izakaya and sat down.


    While walking, Su Lun suddenly spotted a familiar sign.


    "A Chrysanthemum''s Tavern?"


    Su Lun remembered that when he first arrived in Edo, he had eaten at a small shop just like this one.@@novelbin@@


    His eyes shifted, and to verify his thought, he called to Chian, "Come on, let''s go inside and check it out."


    "Mmm."


    Chian nodded.


    The two lifted the noren and stepped inside. There weren''t many customers, just two tables upied by six patrons.


    For some reason, Su Lun felt that when they entered, some strange nces swept over them.


    Chian noticed it too.


    The two didn''t mind and sat on the high stools in front of the bar.


    They ordered two portions of food but didn''t n to eat.


    Su Lun remembered that the owner of the shop he had previously visited was a middle-aged couple.


    But now, an elderly, hunched-over granny stood before them.


    Su Lun casually asked, "Granny, how may we address you?"


    The olddy squeezed out a somewhat unnatural smile and responded, "The guests all call me ''Granny Aju''."


    Su Lun keenly caught that microexpression and realized that this person had discovered something.


    At that moment, the Death Herald Bird on his shoulder suddenly cawed sharply.


    Danger was approaching!


    Su Lun was even more rmed within.


    But he couldn''t figure out where the danger wasing from.


    There was no time for beating around the bush. He sniffed the fried skewer on the te, feigning enjoyment, and probed, "Oh, I know a shop owner named ''Ueda Sakurai''. Her tempura also has this familiar taste."


    He also wanted to know if, given the high level of intelligence, this realm might acknowledge his descendants.


    Or rather, if there was any connection between this cursed space and the real world!


    Upon hearing this, the olddy suddenly paused, nced at the other patrons in the shop, and seemed hesitant to speak.


    Seeing her expression, Su Lun suddenly felt chills and instantly realized: This granny knows the shop owner from the world above!


    Were the people in this world''s book actually the dead from reality?


    Is this indeed the Netherworld, a returning ce for the deceased?


    How could this be possible...


    What kind of unprecedented masterpiece had Fujiwara Hayato written to possess such a miraculous capability?!


    However, at that moment, the olddy struggled for a moment but finally decided to speak up, replying, "''Ueda Sakurai'' is my daughter. My daughter and son-inw took over that small shop..."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun and Chian''s expressions changed simultaneously.


    Granny Aju''s eyes shone with kindness as she looked at Su Lun and hispanion, whispering in a low voice as a form of solemn advice, "Both of you guests have true souls and are not evil. I don''t know how you came here, but the Netherworld does not wee the living. You should flee... Perhaps Asakusa Temple outside the town can offer you some protection."


    Su Lun and Chian instantly broke out in goosebumps.


    They thought their disguises were wless, yet they had been discovered long ago!


    That means, from the very beginning, all the way here, all the "ghosts" knew they were "living people".


    Damn, it turns out that the ghosts on that street were all performing for them!


    But now, understanding came toote.


    The words of the olddy seemed to break some taboo. Simultaneously, the patrons at the two other tables turned their heads around, faces bearing pale and eerie cold smiles, their gazes staring fixatedly at Su Lun and hispanion...


    In a sh, the harmonious festivity of the night market''s "ethical y" suddenly morphed into a "horror movie".

 Chapter 330 Is Qiantiao that kind of woman?

    "A Chrysanthemum''s Tavern," a chilling, haunting presence swiftly attacked from behind.


    With a ng, the sharp essence of a drawn sword cleaved through the air.


    Without any hesitation, Qian snatched her sword from its sheath and shed horizontally, turning to face her attacker.


    The demon de Zong Zheng''s keen edge glided through the air, easily severing six "human heads" to the ground.


    However, there was no scene of blood spraying wildly.


    Becauese what stood before her were not humans, but "ghosts."


    At the severed necks, there was no sign of crimson but rather ck spiritual bodies emerged, their forms grotesquely swelling and rapidly expanding into strangely shaped, translucent ghostly monsters. The six monsters increased in size, soon merging into one gigantic creature that filled the entire tavern, devouring the tables and chairs and rapidly dissolving them within its body.


    Su Lun''s gaze sharpened as he recognized this famous monster of the Mountain Hermit.


    [Glutton Ghost], a spectral ghost creature, immune to physical damage!


    Qian reacted quickly, seeing that a single sh was ineffective, she knew instantly what was happening. A bizarre green me suddenly erupted on her demon de. Without any hesitation, she slew once more in reverse, slicing open a ming gash across the monster''s belly.


    The demonic power of "Ghost Maru Homayumi Zong Zheng" scorched the creature''s soul, followed by a spine-chilling scream echoing beside their ears.


    "Run!"


    Qianmanded in a low shout, leading as she surged forward and smashed through the window, leaping out.


    Su Lun did not dare dy and followed swiftly.


    Once outside, they saw the previously peacefulntern-lit night market suddenly turn sinister. The rows ofnterns inexplicably came to life, shifting in shades of ck and red, roaming everywhere along the streets.


    Su Lun inspected them and also identified them as a type of monster ¡ª [Lantern Fiends].


    Qian wielded her sword and with two strikes of her Sword Qi, "boom" "boom" sounded like grenades exploding, the fierce mes sting over.


    In his senses, countless malevolent creatures surged towards them.


    Su Lun released the Herald of Death to observe from the sky; the vast Edo Castle had now turned into a Ghost Town.


    To the naked eye, dense hordes of ghosts swarmed in the streets and alleys, boiling like a scalding oil pan. Like a dark torrential flood, they swept through.


    Edo Castle housed several hundred thousand residents, and the Netherworld had no fewer.


    The sheer number made one''s scalp tingle.


    Su Lun shouted, "The Senso Temple is in the south city, let''s head out of the city first!"


    Qian responded solemnly, "Okay!"


    The two did not dare dy for even a moment and dashed towards the south with all their might.


    ....


    Qian led the way, clearing a path with her sword, her armor released, six arms wielding six des, air-tight defense.


    Su Lun didn''t hold back either, pulling out a rocketuncher, and bombarded a concentrated area of the North Sea Fleet pirates with a barrage of cannon fire.


    He thought this action might help draw some of the ghostly creatures'' attention to the pirates.


    "Bang!"


    The intense explosion created a me wave several tens of meters high on the street.


    Yet even with such a loudmotion, even as people around them transformed into terrifying monsters, the majority of the pirates showed no reaction at all.


    They continued to indulge in excessive eating and drinking at their stalls, and ravaging the female ghosts...


    The pirates'' eyes were ssy, their expressions numb as if they had lost their souls. Even as malevolent spirits swarmed around them, treating them as delicious food, biting into their flesh, they didn''t stop... until they died physically and turned into "ghosts."


    Over ten thousand well-equipped pirates were almost wiped out without resistance in the Netherworld.


    Seeing this, Su Lun and hispanion felt a shiver of fear.


    If they didn''t know earlier that they couldn''t eat anything here, they might have ended up assimted in the same way, unaware of how they died.


    Realizing this, Su Lun understood why this ce was rated as a "T-ss space" by the All-knowing Eye!


    However, his barrage was somewhat effective.


    A few high-ranking officers of the Ninth Fleet, whose wills had not been fully corrupted, jolted awake upon hearing the unexpected explosion, as if awakened from a dream.


    Battle instincts prompted them to overthrow the evil spirits gnawing at their bodies.


    But the food and seductive ghosts had acted like "anesthetics," numbing their minds and bodies.


    Having been contaminated with too much aura from the Netherworld, they staggered to their feet in a dazed and clumsy struggle.


    The physically huge ''Gluttonous Grand General'' Yixier Peion was the strongest among them. His talent [Gourmet King] allowed him to absorb energy from various foods, even evil spirits!


    In that moment, his survival instincts triggered him to deploy the "Gluttonous Domain."


    Suddenly, a devouring ck vortex appeared, as if engulfing everything like a whale, the evil spirits were swallowed in a blink.


    His power was unrivaled, without equal inbat prowess.


    Watching the activity there, Su Lun breathed a sigh of relief, at least those surviving pirates could help them contend with most of the city''s ghosts.


    However, he also knew that Peion would notst long.


    Because he had diagnosed earlier that absorbing spiritual power in the Netherworld would also lead to assimtion.


    The strength of the Gluttonous Domain was in devouring the local spiritual energy for its own use; theoretically, any energy could serve him.


    But this was the Netherworld!


    Even for a ninth-tier alchemist, there was no known method of 100% equivalent exchange; the remaining part of the Netherworld aura would contaminate and assimte his body.


    The result was, the more he absorbed, the quicker the assimtion progressed!


    Peion, possessing astonishing fighting power, devoured hundreds of evil spirits in a short time. Yet he himself appeared to be intoxicated, the more he ''drank,'' the more severely ''drunk'' he became.


    His entire presence was bing more and more ghost-like.


    Moreover, Su Lun had sensed the presence of a formidable entity among those evil spirits.


    Those capable of resisting the "Gluttonous Realm" were great demons with at least sixth-tierbat strength.


    And there were several of them!


    They absolutely couldn''t continue to stay in the city.


    ....


    Even though the pirates had dyed many of the evil spirits, the situation for the two of them was equally terrible.


    They faced hundreds of thousands of monsters, a number they simply could not match.


    Even professionals of the seventh tier would eventually be surrounded and killed, and they were no exception.


    They could only flee the city while Peion was still alive.


    Although they weren''t sure what was at "Asakusa Temple," that Granny Aju had advised them to go there, but they knew the number of monsters outside the city would definitely be fewer.


    The two of them sprinted all the way.


    Qian Tiao was a grand swordmaster, and with the Demon de in hand, hardly any evil spirits could survive a single sh from her sword.


    The two of them cooperated, and they moved forward without much danger.


    However, Su Lun noticed that the pressure on Qian Tiao was immense¡ªdespite her Sword Qi shing through dozens of meters and chopping monsters like vegetables.


    But actually, executing Sword Qi sh consumed a lot of her Inner Dark Spiritual Power.


    Killing a hundred, or even a thousand, was manageable, but these hundreds of thousands of ghosts and demons were endless!


    And, ordinary ghosts and demons were one thing, but there were also some bizarre fiends.


    "Don''t go near the river. The sludge in the water hides the ''Rotten God.'' If the river isn''t dry, it can''t be killed! Don''t waste your energy..."


    "''Wind Roon'' isn''t harmed by cuts, target its head with area hammering strikes!"


    "Be careful of your shadow; a ''Shadow Woman'' has entangled it. It fears light!"@@novelbin@@


    "..."


    Beneath their feet, in the air, within shadows, rivers, walls, trees, stone carvings... Those demons could emerge and attack from anywhere.


    If it weren''t for Su Lun''s Soul Perception that allowed him to detect demons all around, and the All-knowing Eye that could pinpoint weaknesses instantly, if they had blindly charged ahead, these bizarrely tactical monsters would have killed them over and over again.


    Su Lun was a Puppeteer, ustomed to winning through sheer numbers. Now, he too felt the terror of being overrun by the quantity of his enemies.


    Because they were fleeing, the puppet theater was useless; he only carried around twenty to thirty puppets, which shattered again and again.


    Moreover, Qian Tiao was in no better condition.


    She was at the forefront of the charge, already umting wounds.


    Moreover, to harm spectral monsters, or reviving special ghosts like ''Ghost Warriors,'' she had to use the demonic power of ''Onimaru Hyakume Zakus¨­ji.'' Although she had tamed this demon de, utilizing demonic power also required a significant consumption of her Inner Dark Spiritual Power, a tremendous burden.


    But even so, their situation did not improve at all; instead, it was getting worse, as more and more monsters were attracted to them.


    Su Lun shared a look with the death birds in the sky, saw that the road to the southern city had been blocked by various monsters, and immediately decided, "If this continues, we can''t escape, we need to find a ce to hide!"


    Qian Tiao responded, "Okay!"


    Just then, Su Lun''s monocle lens shed, and he suddenly took out several high-explosion smoke grenades and threw them forward. A thick smoke instantly filled the streets, and Qian Tiao immediately understood and dashed in.


    In an instant, the shadows of the two figures charged in from one end and rushed out from the other.


    A group of evil spirits also followed in pursuit.


    Seeing this, two people in Gold-Patterned Cloaks inside a wooden house breathed a sigh of relief.


    ck crow, adhering only to the paper puppets made by the Princess, "Robert''s Monocle," created almost real illusions, temporarily deceiving the group of evil spirits and giving Su Lun and Qian Tiao a chance to breathe.


    The alchemical cloaks made by the Mirror Organization greatly prevented their scents from leaking, seeming also to have deceived the demons'' perception.


    Su Lun looked at Qian Tiao''s pale face and asked, "Are you alright?"


    Qian Tiao''s chest heaved violently and her forehead was covered in sweat, clearly showing she had not lightly consumed her energy. She replied, "I''m okay."


    Su Lun said, "Those illusions won''tst long, we need to leave here."


    "Mhm."


    Qian Tiao nodded and took the recovery drink Su Lun handed to her, gulping it down.


    The two only stayed for a few breaths before silently sneaking out the door.


    But after all, this was a "T-grade Cursed Space."


    They had not walked far when Su Lun''s expression suddenly changed drastically.


    Because by then, they saw a handsome young man in a floral robe standing at the entrance to the alley. With his chest bared and a heavy demonic aura on his face, he stood there exuding an overwhelming demonic pressure without leaking any demonic power.


    Qian Tiao also sensed the terrifying pressure that felt like a thorn in her back, slightly shifted to position herself in front of Su Lun, her gaze serious, "If you find a chance, just go. Don''t worry about me!"


    Being a person of resolute decision, she naturally understood that it was time to separate life and death; to let even one escape would be worthwhile.


    Hearing this, Su Lun narrowed his eyes slightly and remained silent.


    The name identified by the All-knowing Eye was "Ghost King Shuten Douji."


    One of the most terrifying Ghost Kings from the legends of the Mountain Hermit''s Hundred Ghosts, impervious to des and spears, its strength unfathomably deep.


    This was also the strongest entity detected by Su Lun''s Soul Perception.


    Shuten Douji, with a mocking smile ying on his enchanting face, looked at them and said, "Humans, you do have some clever tactics. It''s been a long time since the Netherworld was this lively... I really don''t want to kill you just like that."


    Su Lun immediately realized that the Gold-Patterned Cloak could not hide their presence from this entity, and he quietly retreated back into the house.


    Shuten Douji naturally noticed his action, scoffed and said, "It seems yourpanion wants to escape."


    Qian Tiao''s face remained expressionless as she slowly drew the long sword that had already been sheathed at her waist.


    "It''s a good sword. Too bad, your proficiency in the Sword Dao is stillcking a bit."


    Shuten Douji looked at the Demon de, his eyes shing coldly, yet he didn''t show much dread.


    As he spoke, his forked crimson tongue, simr to a snake''s, suddenly licked his lips, showing even more interest in Qiantiao''s body, "Tsk tsk, the sweet scent of a virgin... And such a rare pure Yang energy, it must be a delicious body indeed."


    At these words, the atmosphere should have instantly be tense.


    But Su Lun didn''t know why, something about what he heard felt odd.


    He knew that Shuten Douji liked to eat humans, but Qiantiao was actually... what?


    Qiantiao ignored thement, gathered her Sword Qi to its peak, seized the moment, and charged forward with her de drawn: "Single Sword Style¡¤Demon Funeral!"


    The Demon de was wrapped in ayer of green me, as the de traced a green line through the air.


    In a sh, Qiantiao''s de struck Shuten Douji.


    With a ng, it sounded as though it had struck metal.


    On closer inspection, Shuten Douji had a face full of contemptuous smile and in his hand, a bundle of red lotus fire, easily catching the de strike. Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire


    Qiantiao pulled back her de and retreated explosively. Her hands formed a sorcerer''s seal and for the first time, the fiery, vertical silhouette of a Rakshasa appeared behind her. Six arms, six des, she was finally about to unleash a powerful attack.


    Seeing this, Shuten Douji finally took a proper look, "Huh... A Rakshasa Woman? Turns out it''s a human who practices the Hell Path. Hehe, this is getting interesting."


    With a loud pop of stepping on air, Qiantiao stomped on the ground and surged forward.


    Suddenly, her Sword Qi filled the air, sending stones and sand flying.


    Shuten Douji was not to be outdone. His fists, wrapped in red lotus fire, met her attack head-on, filling the sky.


    That Sword Qi, which could slice stones and cleave gold, didn''t even scratch his true form.


    In the air, waves of ripples spread, and buildings around were sliced down...


    ....


    Watching from not far away, Su Lun wasn''t surprised by this, as the legend says, Shuten Douji, the Ghost King is immune to des and spears.


    He also knew Qiantiao was fighting desperately.


    However, despite the Rakshasa Woman''s strength, her energy consumption was also exponentially greater. Given the situation, it was clear that she couldn''t hurt the enemy, and the oue was predictable.


    Su Lun still hadn''t made a move. Joining the fight blindly now wouldn''t change anything.


    The light swirled in his left eye, and he observed something else, thinking, "This demonic power is so condensed... It''s not that the ''Demon de'' isn''t sharp, but the red lotus fire formed by that demonic power is a big problem. It''s somewhat simr to a sixth-tier professional''s ''dominance''¡ªunable to break through that demonic field, even the sharpest de can''t hurt its true form. Moreover, that guy''sbat skill is really superb¡­"


    After observing for a moment, Su Lun still couldn''t see any opportunity to exploit.


    He was facing a Ghost King. The Ghost Path techniques were not very effective, and since the Demon de hadn''t blinded him, the ck umbre probably would be limited in use too.


    So...


    Su Lun knew he had only one method that might hurt that child, and that was "Xiupunos''s Scythe of the Night!"


    But the guy''sbat skill was indeed superb, very crafty.


    In a battle of skill, Qiantiao had no upper hand. Even if sheunched a powerful strike, he could either withstand it or block and avoid it.


    Su Lun had no confidence he could hit him with a surprise attack using the scythe.


    In an instant, his mind was like aputer, rapidly calcting all the possibilities,


    With such a powerful Ghost King appearing, the situation had dramatically worsened. But the upside was, with this guy taking the lead, the other monsters seemed very wary of this Ghost King and hadn''t dared to approach.


    Looking again toward the movements of the North Sea fleet in the distance, they were getting smaller and smaller. Dragging it out further would be increasingly unfavorable for them.


    Qiantiao also realized their predicament, initially thinking there might be a chance to fight for it, but now it seemed, there was no chance of victory at all.


    An indestructible corporal body, already in an invincible position.


    Seeing that Su Lun had not left, she used themunicator to send a mental message, "You go first!"


    She knew Su Lun''s escape techniques were strong, and with her holding this guy back, he could possibly get out alone.


    A stern look shed in Su Lun''s eyes, not saying much, he replied, "Qiantiao, I have a method¡­"


    .....


    As soon as the words were out, Su Lun''s hands rapidly formed a sorcerer''s seal, "Rune Vajra¡¤Concentrate!"


    Another look, and his skin suddenly shimmered with a dark gold luster, revealing densely packed dark gold runes.


    And that wasn''t all!


    Veins bulged at Su Lun''s temples, his expression fierce and twisted as he clenched his teeth, his hands shifted the sorcerer''s seal, and he roared, "Flesh Alchemy: Hormone Rampage!"


    For the first time, he activated the fourth tier state inbat.


    As the sorcerer released the seal, hormones crazily rushed into his limbs and organs. His muscles visibly swelled up, his body brimming with eruptive, volcanic strength!


    "Rune Vajra" plus "Fourth Tier Hormone Rampage," he only had three minutes.


    Su Lun''s muscles began to heat up, steam pouring out, and with a ferociousugh, he explosively sprang forward like a cannonball.


    With a pop of Stepping on Air, the figure he left behind flew apart.


    Another look, and his figure had already charged a hundred meters away.


    His speed had reached an extreme!


    Themotion was not small and naturally didn''t escape Shuten Douji involved in battle.


    Seeing Su Lun charging towards him, knowing he couldn''t dodge, his demonic power surged as he punched out in anticipation.


    "Boom!"


    The severe shockwave swept through streets like a tidal wave.


    A dark and a red torrential wave collided, Su Lun was knocked back dozens of meters, while that child was pushed back three steps.


    Feeling the exaggerated power of that punch, Shuten Douji looked at Su Lun, looking like a bronze man, and became more excited, "Hey, I underestimated you. Even though your cultivation isn''t high, you possess such power. A secret technique that stimtes the body''s potential? Tsk tsk, it reminds me of someone I once encountered who practiced the ''Art of Escaping Armor.''"


    "..."


    Su Lun didn''t bother arguing with it.


    From this collision, he immediately concluded that he could fight it!


    Though impervious to ded and blunt weapons, it was only adept at physical attacks and was not skilled in Teleportation or Spell attacks¡ªthis was also where Ghost King Shuten Douji fell short!


    Despite fighting, it asionally murmured a few words.


    But in fact, thousands of swords, and his own fists, posed a significant threat to it!


    Su Lun''s punch was ineffective, and he charged forward again.


    Simultaneously, Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o also silently drew his sword, and the two attacked together.


    "ng," "ng," "ng"...


    "Thud," "Thud," "Thud"...


    The attack frequency was extremely high, and their fists and sword gleams sparked numerous sparks on Shuten Douji''s body.


    The Ghost King realized it couldn''tpletely dodge their high-frequency attacks and simply stood its ground, generating ayer of fierce red lotus mes on its body surface. It remained unmoved by any attack method used against it.


    As legends had it, Shuten Douji was arrogant, conceited, and haughty, and Su Lun had verified this after such a long test.


    Even then, it kept murmuring.


    "Tsk... such methods won''t hurt me..."


    "Tsk tsk, you both seem incapable, don''t you?"


    "..."


    Just as the legends suggested, this creature enjoyed verbally humiliating its opponents.


    After fighting for so long, Su Lun also knew that it must have recognized its weakness!


    And that was that its corporeal Secret Technique wasn''tsting.


    In fact, Su Lun''s body was nearly at the point of copse.


    After intensebat, numerous muscle fibers in Su Lun''s body felt like they were about to snap, his bones showed cracks, and his body temperature made his skin seem like molten metal.


    This was not his own strength, but rather obtained by squeezing his body to its limits.


    The longer it dragged on, the more severe the injuries became.


    Just then, Su Lun''s condition visibly weakened in the midst of the battle. Seeing his chance, Shuten Douji punched him in the lower ribs. Su Lun''s breath hitched, he instinctively twisted his body, curling his arms around his ribs like arge shrimp, trying to protect his vitals, but he exposed a huge opening in his abdomen.


    "Hmm!"


    Seeing this, Shuten Douji inwardly sneered.


    This kind of opportunity required no thought; its hand, sharp as a de, instinctively stabbed forward.


    "Pfft" Despite it being a hand strike, it sharply pierced through Su Lun''s Rune Vajra, and blood spurted out.


    Shuten Douji thought that even if this strike didn''t kill him, there would be no suspense afterward. Just as it was about to stab fiercely again, at that moment, Su Lun suddenly let go and mped down on its arm.


    "Eh... courting death?"


    Shuten Douji couldn''t understand why Su Lun would make such a move, but at the same time, six long swords were ced on its body.


    Not to injure it, but to restrain its other arm.


    "You think you can capture me?"


    Shuten Douji was baffled by this move. What could these two do by restraining it?


    If it was restrained, weren''t these two as well?


    Moreover, it could break free from such a level of restraint instantly!


    But a death instinct told it that something was off.


    ....


    "Puh~"


    A hole was stabbed in Su Lun''s abdomen, and he couldn''t help but spit out a mouthful of blood tinged with a metallic taste. Yet, a sinister smile crossed his lips, "String Control Secret Art: Titan''s Hand!"


    In an instant, silver threads that had never appeared in the battle suddenly coalesced like a corpse.


    These were his hairs, recently inscribed with "Sixth-order Resilience Runes," demonstrating the strongest single-entity control technique from the Puppeteer.


    In just a moment, the threads tightly wrapped around both Su Lun''s body and Shuten Douji''s arm.


    The grotesque Shuten Douji finally changed color, faintly realizing something. It forcefully tensed its arm, snapping numerous threads, attempting to break free.


    But just then, it suddenly saw a figure with a ck scythe looming behind Su Lun!


    The moment their eyes met, it seemed to see the gaze of a higher being, causing its gaze to falter.


    Seeing this, Su Lun was overjoyed, "It worked!"


    As he anticipated, a second-phase Death manifestation could still intimidate such a high-level ghost creature!


    At such a close distance, even a momentary shock from the Death manifestation was enough.


    Almost precisely calcted to the millisecond, a spatial rift suddenly appeared at Shuten Douji''s neck, drawing a fine line.


    The usually infallible spatial rift cut through the indestructible demon-protected body like a knife through cowhide, not too smoothly.


    "Eh..."


    It was the first time Su Lun encountered such resistance when cutting with the ck scythe.


    But the oue was still favorable, as the shock from the Death had not allowed Shuten Douji to react, and this slice ultimately severed its head.


    Su Lun, watching the dissipating "gray mist" from the corpse, didn''t know if the ghost mist had other ways to revive, but he gave no opportunity, directly allowing the Death manifestation to devour it.

 Chapter 331 Begging the Gods, Sensoji Temple, Izanami

    Su Lun had previously read in the annals some legends saying that the Netherworld is the final abode for the dead.


    Therefore, ghosts under normal circumstances wouldn''t "die." Even if they were killed, they would only lose some of their cultivation, and then they would be reincarnated and their bodies recondensed under some specialws.


    However, Su Lun also felt that this was the general situation.


    In dealing with various types of ghosts proficient in revival, his abilities were exactly the antidote.


    If a Soul Shard was stripped away, there was a high likelihood of no resurrection.


    Su Lun skillfully stripped the soul mist from the Shuten-doji.


    "You have stripped the soul of the Ghost King of Hundred Demons ''Shuten-doji'' "


    "You haveprehended a special Gang Qi body protection secret technique ''Imperial Flow Overbearing Body''."


    "You have gained a piece of information: ''The Yomi Country Lord Izanami is the supreme being...''"


    "You are now aware of: ''Some history of the Netherworld''..."


    "Spiritual power +..."


    "..."


    Since Alchemy and demons aren''t from the same system, he didn''t choose to strip away some cultivation insights, but he did want to understand the Netherworld through this channel to find a way out.


    The intelligence gained was indeed substantial.


    Keywords: Yomi Country Lord, Izanami?


    Su Lun vaguely felt that he might have found the key to breaking the situation.


    Many "deities" manifested in this cursed space, but in the heart of Shuten-doji, a great demon at this level, there was only one supreme being above all others, and that was Izanami.


    Su Lun didn''t know if it was the one from the legends.


    After all, that''s a "Mother Goddess" even more ancient than Amaterasu Omikami.


    A true True God.


    No mortal could depict deities; hence they were called "indescribable."


    Therefore, Su Lun also felt that She wouldn''t appear in this cursed space.


    Stripping memories would scatter a small part of the soul. Su Lun was ultimately curious about why his ck scythe hadn''t smoothly cut the target for the first time, and casually stripped another horizontal training secret technique ''Imperial Flow Overbearing Body'' from the ghost child.


    Upon inspection, he learned that apart from the creature''s inherently strong body, the most important factor was a sophisticated technique of using "Qi" to protect the body.


    Upon stripping, it was an unexpected delight.


    This was a very advanced and insightful skill that was still outside of Su Lun''s essible knowledge.


    Under normal circumstances, this would be an area only a sixth-order professional would explore.


    Su Lun couldn''t use it.


    Because his "Qi" hadn''t yet reached the level needed to utilize this secret technique.


    Condensed Demonic Qi ¡Ö A type of Gang Qi ¡Ö Overbearing Qi?


    Because Mr. Jing had always said that "Qi" is a key to advancing to higher levels for professional careers, Su Lun could vaguely understand some of it.


    Although the carriers were different, it seemed that the essence was the same.


    But now, his "Qi" was like a thin mist that would disperse upon the slightest touch.


    In that secret technique, the "Qi" must be as solid as steel and not scattered at all. It was like being fully proficient in controlling the transitions between the three states of metal; solid, liquid, and gas.


    Exceptionally difficult.


    In the future, once he has mastered "Overbearing Qi," the secret technique seemed usable.


    By then, it would be ''Rune Vajra Tyrant Body,'' which seemed like a rather good survival ability?


    A flurry of thoughts passed through Su Lun''s mind, but he didn''t dwell on it.


    Because at that moment, something even more strange happened before his eyes.


    The body of the Shuten-doji unexpectedly turned into wisp after wisp of ck Qi, which was absorbed by his body!


    No,


    More precisely,


    It was absorbed by the Death''s shadow behind Su Lun!


    ....


    Qianniao, who was nearby, also witnessed this bizarre event and before she could deal with her own roiling qi, she cried out sharply, "Su Lun, are you alright?"


    Su Lun knew she was concerned about him but shook his head.


    Because he too clearly felt the Death''s shadow absorbing a type of energy that made him feel extremely, extremely euphoric.


    The All-Seeing Eye identified at a nce that the ck Qi from the corpse disyed was "Demonic Qi mixed with the Power of Faith."


    "This ck Qi can actually solidify Death''s shadow?"


    Su Lun was both shocked and overjoyed in his heart.


    He had previously guessed that the creatures of Mountain Hermit were bodies of collective faith, and it turned out that this was indeed the case.


    But what he didn''t expect was that the faith-infused demonic Qi was essentially the same kind of thing as Death''s shadow.


    In the instant of their conversation, they watched as the beheaded corpse of Shuten-doji waspletely absorbed, vanishing from sight.


    In just that moment or two, Su Lun also distinctly sensed a tremendous change.


    Death''s shadow visibly became more solid!


    Previously, the face beneath Death''s cloak waspletely foggy, but now the facial contours were faintly visible. On a closer look, although the features were unclear, the outline vaguely resembled Su Lun himself.@@novelbin@@


    Furthermore, the external changes were secondary.


    Su Lun strongly felt that his understanding of thews of death and some indescribable abilities had grown enormously!


    He estimated that if he were to naturallyprehend thews of death himself, he might not see this degree of progress in five years, or even ten years.


    "Powerful!"


    A glimmer shed in Su Lun''s eyes, unable to conceal his amazement: "Such faith-infused demons... can directly enhance the understanding of Death''s shadow!"


    Innate abilities generally could only be strengthened through one''s ownprehension, yet because he had been sucked into this cursed space, he had discovered a shortcut.


    An S-ranked talent was already rare to awaken; progressing further and developing abilities required not just time but also great fortune. Just like how Su Lun had to die once before to awaken the second stage of his talent. Now, the development of his ability was crawling like a snail, with increments like 0.001%, 0.002%, 0.003%...


    Yet now, there was a leap of a whole 1%!


    This showed Su Lun that a window had been opened and before him was a whole new world.


    "If this growth continues, after the second stage of talent awakening, might there be a third stage?"


    However, Su Lun also clearly felt that the absorbed demonic energy was impure, containing a strand of negative energy.


    That was demonic power.


    The negative impact was not on the body, nor on spiritual power, but it made his entire demeanor slightly eerie.


    Butpared to the gains, this minor negative side effect was negligible.


    ....


    Having killed Shuten-doji, Su Lun discovered a great opportunity hidden within this dire situation, which was a blessing in disguise.


    However, now was not the time to ponder over those gains.


    Because their crisis was not over, and their situation had be even more dangerous.


    The surrounding evil spirits, having seen Shuten-doji killed, all froze on the spot. Especially upon seeing the Death''s shadow behind Su Lun, it was as if time had stopped, and the ghosts looked at each other in bewilderment. But then, a shrill, ear-piercing screech, like a tidal wave of wailing, erupted from the nearby streets.


    Without the Ghost King''s deterrent, those minor spirits fell into madness and swarmed in.


    "Run!"


    Qian Tiao shouted sharply, drawing his de and charging ahead.


    "Right!"


    Su Lun didn''t dare to dy and turned to make a run for it.


    But he hadn''t expected that just as he moved, a burning sting spread through his muscles, and he staggered, nearly falling.


    He immediately understood what was happening.


    The activation of stage four hormonal overload had caused his body to fight in an overburdened state, resulting in massive damage.


    Muscle ruptures, bone fractures, although he didn''t die on the spot, he still needed time to heal.


    However, these ghosts certainly wouldn''t give him time to recover.


    "Body''s at its limit, huh..."


    Su Lun''s face turned ugly.


    This was his first time facing an unknown enemy of this caliber. Even being extremely cautious, it was impossible topletely calcte the opponent''s damage.


    Being able to kill it was merely a result of the two gambling with their lives and not having bad luck.


    Especially with that hand de strike to the abdomen, though he had tried to avoid vital points, the surge of Red Lotus demonic energy also made his blood and Qi chaotically violent.


    Su Lun was very aware that his body was already on the verge of copse and utterly incapable of sustaining intensebat any longer.


    Escape was no longer an option.


    Having rapidly analyzed the pros and cons, Su Lun was a decisive person.


    Seeing various ghosts surging from all around, his gaze turned cold, and he took out the scroll to unseal the Mecha battlesuit, preparing to tear it open, "Huff... It''s the final stand."


    The Mecha battlesuit had strong defenses, and its operation inbat wasn''t heavily dependent on the user''s physical condition; it might be able to hold out for a while.


    But Su Lun also knew that once he entered the Mecha, there would be almost no chance of escape.


    The Mechacked the capacity for Spatial Discement, and its speed was somewhat clumsy; it was impossible to escape from the city amidst the encirclement of hundreds of thousands of ghosts.


    He took it out only because he thought that in a fight to the death, maybe he could distract some monsters and give Qian Tiao a slim chance for survival.


    However, the moment the scroll was taken out,


    Qian Tiao''s peripheral vision caught sight of it and she seemed to immediately guess something, unhesitatingly turning back to kill her way back.


    The speed of the swordfighter was even faster than Su Lun pulling at the scroll. With a sh of her figure, she scooped Su Lun up and burst out with him in tow.


    Though being carried away, Su Lun still spat out a mouthful of blood, enduring the pain all over his body, he said gravely, "Sister Qian Tiao, I can''t make it. You go first!" "..."


    Seeing his condition, Qian Tiao''s pupils narrowed, clearly understanding what Su Lun was trying to express.


    She was already at her limit, and carrying another person meant almost certain death for them both.


    So the most rational decision would be for those who could escape to do so.


    But she didn''t even think about it and with a fierce shout eximed, "Hmph! Nonsense!"


    Su Lun frowned upon hearing this.


    The two of them had reached a level of familiarity where they could read each other''s thoughts. He knew well that this gambler of a woman was always led by her emotions; she would never flee alone even if it meant dying.


    Just like he had chosen to stay behind just a moment ago.


    Su Lun did not say more, merely lying silently on her shoulder and asionally tossing out a few bombs to alleviate some of the pressure.


    "Boom," "Boom," "Boom"...


    The fireworks from the bombs exploded with dazzling brilliance throughout the city.


    Su Lun even took out his hidden high-explosive bombs.


    Unfortunately, powerful as they were, many of the ghostly creatures weren''t affected by firearms.


    Gasping for breath, Qian Tiao swung her sword slower and slower, and her Sword Qi grew ever weaker...


    Their situation became more and more perilous.


    ....


    In fact, since they had been discovered by Shuten-doji, they had been in a hopeless situation.


    Whether they won the fight or not, with time spent and the surrounding ghosts having closed off all the exits, the likelihood of escaping had plummeted.


    Even at their peak, getting out was a matter of luck; now that both of them were injured, the thought of breaking out was a mere fantasy.


    Qian Tiao''s long sword hacked away until blood filled her vision.


    On her shoulder, Su Lun controlled the only fingers that could still move to create a bit of chaos with a few puppet bombs.


    Both of them couldn''t even maintain their second-tier talent states anymore.


    Eventually, Su Lun and she encountered another formidable Demon King-level monster.


    It was a Great Tengu with thebat power of a fifth-stage pinnacle.


    The monster with wings on its back and a stature as imposing as a Minotaur''s had a ruddy face; it was a formidable swordfighter, too, equipped with famous swords and armor.


    Even at her best, Qian Tiao wasn''t sure if she could win easily. In their encounter, after barely holding on for a few rounds, she was sliced down and sent flying dozens of meters, crashing into a heap of ruins. If not for the protection of the famous armor "Iron Red Scales Painted Five Panel Harness," both she and Su Lun would have likely been split in half by that blow.


    ....


    In the midst of the ruins, Qian Tiao''s helmet had been knocked off by that strike; her blue hair scattered, with blood trickling down from her forehead, making her look ferocious and disheveled.


    She propped her sword against the ground, kneeling on one knee, and only then did she manage not to fall.


    Su Lun was just as disheveled beside her. Throughout the brutal battle, those ghostly creatures had left various wounds all over his body. If not for the runes drawn previously on his bones and skin, which greatly strengthened his physique, he would have likely been minced by now.


    Escaping from the southern city gate had be hopeless.


    At this moment, what entered their eyes were ghosts and monsters, with the ck, towering spirit of the ghosts surging towards the sky like a tsunami. When it crashed over them, they would instantly be crushed to pieces.


    Qian Tiao struggled for a moment, wanting to charge forward, but instead, a mouthful of blood spewed forth.


    Su Lun nced at her sideways.


    Just moments before, he had thought there might be a chance, his spirits were highly tense.


    Now, with all their options exhausted and no chance left, he seemed to have reached a state of resignation.


    Qian Tiao felt that gaze as well.


    Their eyes met, and there was no despair or sorrow in them, only a smile.


    "Qian Tiao, there''s a slim chance we can kill it."


    "Oh? Let''s give it a try then."


    "Right."


    After that brief conversation, both of them slumped down where they were.


    Qian Tiao''s profile was beautiful, if a little sharp, but that was just nitpicking.


    She sighed and asked, "Su Lun, you clearly had a slight chance to get away earlier. Why did you stay?"


    In fact, Su Lun''s best chance to survive was when Qian Tiao was holding off Shuten-doji.


    Su Lun panted heavily, and seriously replied, "Qian Tiao, I''ve always wanted to say that fighting side by side with you is something I''ve been looking forward to."


    For the first time, he felt death wasn''t so... resistant.


    Hearing this, Qian Tiao''s eyebrows arched, "Oh..."


    It seemed many thoughts had be clear.


    The lights in the city were like the afterglow of a setting sun, making their faces glow red. A very beautiful smile also appeared on her face.


    Unfortunately, they didn''t have much time left in life.


    The Great Tengu sensed the danger. It didn''t rush forward immediately, but it was slowly closing in.


    Su Lun was gathering his strength for a desperate final strike, but the cautious dy made him choke on his breath, causing another mouthful of fresh blood to spurt out.


    He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his lips revealing a bitter smile.


    That was the best he could do.


    It''s over.


    All of a sudden, a thought urred to him, and he suddenly turned his head, "Qian Tiao, can I ask you something?"


    "What?"


    Qian Tiao instinctively replied.


    But then she looked at Su Lun''s eyes shifting and suddenly realized something, a glint of understanding crossing her eyes.


    She guessed what Su Lun was going to ask, and an unnatural blush shed across her imposing face for the first time.


    Su Lun''s eyes were full of teasing as he directly asked, "Qian Tiao, are you really a virgin?"


    At the end of life, they needed to find something to be happy about.


    To him, there was no question more amusing than this.


    "..."


    As expected, it was that question. Qian Tiao shot him a look but did not respond.


    "Hahaha..."


    Seeing her reaction, Su Lun burst outughing.


    Even though Shuten-doji was a legendary demon, it still had a keen nose.


    Su Lun thought....


    So it was true!


    Listening to that annoyingughter, Qian Tiao finally lost herposure and red at him,ining, "Hey hey hey... You''re really asking for a beating. Is it that strange to you?"


    "Ahahaha..."


    Su Lunughed uncontrobly, blood still bubbling from his mouth.


    Qian Tiao nced at him, her eyes shimmering with emotion, but ultimately she let him be.


    Just then, the overwhelming presence of the Great Tengu came bearing down; its five-meter-tall figure stood in front of them.


    It swung its de, shing forward.


    ...


    Sword Qi approached, kicking up dust and pebbles along its path.


    Qian Tiao''s eyes were fierce with anger as she slowly drew the Demon de. She was ready to perform her final cut in the stance of a swordsman.


    Su Lun''s body wasn''t nearly recovered enough to dodge abruptly. He felt certain this cut would seal his fate.


    But suddenly, a thought shed through his mind: "That prophecy from the Qin Master with the Heavenly Eye..."


    The blind woman saw in her vision that Qian Tiao wouldugh amidst burning mes...


    This oue was wrong.


    Moreover, the death-predicting bird on his shoulder had stopped its cries.


    Could there be a chance for a turning point?


    Although Su Lun hoped for a turnaround, he couldn''t think of any means to change the situation.


    The various seals and curses on his body were impressive, but they could only dy death, not save his life.


    Could it be an external force?


    For instance, a Princess descending from the heavens?


    Su Lun thought of all possibilities.


    He looked up at the sky, and indeed, just at that moment, a mysterious event unfolded.


    However, what Su Lun saw was not a Shinfuku Mitsuko descending from the heavens, but a battered porcin bowl that suddenly appeared there.


    "???"


    Su Lun found the broken bowl vaguely familiar.


    But before he could further contemte, the porcin bowl was already blocking the Sword Qi.


    "ng," "ng," "ng"... A series of sparks and sounds erupted.


    Watching a beggar''s bowl, seemingly fragile enough to shatter on impact, sessfully block the Sword Qi was astonishing.


    Witnessing the scene, both Su Lun and Chitose were stunned.


    Though the "Netherworld" was filled with monsters, not many could block a strike from the Great Tengu.


    Could it be that another powerful demon hade to snatch their "food"?


    This was Su Lun''s first thought.


    Before they had much time to think, a fierce wind suddenly whipped up around them, and dpidated buildings formed a massive vortex. The howling wind and flying debris isted all the monsters around them.


    Then, two mud pills fell from the sky,nding before Su Lun and Chitose.


    [Beggar God''s Mud Pills]


    Exnation: A spiritual medicine imbued with the essence of the Netherworld, extremely rare; after consumption, the medicine''s effects can continuously conceal the living person''s Yang energy preventing them from standing out like a beacon in the night and attracting ghosts, but it won''t let you be assimted by the Netherworld''s essence. The effectsst for 30 days.


    Su Lun felt somewhat baffled but, recognizing the mud pills'' effects, his spirits immediately lifted.


    He finally remembered why the broken bowl with the blue-and-white pattern seemed so familiar.


    Wasn''t it the bowl belonging to the two freezing beggar children he had encountered on the streets when he had first arrived at Mountain Hermit?


    At that time, he remembered tossing a few Copper Coins into it.


    It was an act without thought, yet it seemed he had received something in return?


    Su Lun had a feeling of disbelief.


    In a sh, he finally understood the bizarre words that the "demon" Abe Yasukazu had told him, "In our Mountain Hermit, there''s an old saying, ''Good intentions may not be immediately rewarded, but they are observed by the gods.''"


    ....


    It was when the mud pills hit the ground that a voice came through the whirlwind, "I can''t hold on much longer... leave quickly."


    A figure in tattered rags materialized.


    "Thank you, Beggar God, for your assistance!"


    Su Lun bowed respectfully in the Mountain Hermit''s customary gesture of thanks toward the apparition, and without hesitation, picked up the mud pills from the ground and said to Chitose, "Quick, eat it!"


    The [Beggar God] is one of the many deities in Mountain Hermit, but to call him a deity might just mean a slightly more powerful demon. Now intervening amidst thousands of ghosts to save them, their chance of holding out was uncertain.


    Chitose too, without hesitation, looked at the dirty mud pill that Su Lun handed her and swallowed it in one gulp.


    It felt like swallowing mud, the pill scraping down her throat. Although it was hard to swallow, once the medicinal power spread, a minty coolness with a hint of floral fragrance swept through her lungs and infused her limbs and veins.


    Su Lun didn''t notice any changes in his body, but he immediately no longer felt repelled by the chilly environment around him.


    At that moment, he finally saw a glimmer of hope for breaking the stalemate.


    The primary reason they had been relentlessly pursued by phantoms was their "Yang energy," which they simply could not hide. No matter where they fled, they shone like brightmps, easily detectable.


    But now, the mud pill had addressed the root problem!


    Chitose also felt the changes in her body, but she waspletely clueless about what had happened.


    Why would a demon help them?


    After ncing at Su Lun, she guessed that he must have brought about this miracle.


    They both showed a sh of sharp brilliance on their faces, as they had narrowly escaped from a desperate situation.


    In that moment, Su Lun had regained a bit of mobility. He formed sorcerer''s seals with his hands, and beneath his feet, a purple-ck six-pointed star appeared, opening a spatial rift in front of him.


    "Let''s go!"


    He grabbed Chitose''s hand and stepped through.


    .....


    Su Lun, gravely injured, did not teleport far with Chitose.


    But it was enough.


    When they emerged from the spatial rift, they were inside an empty dwelling.


    Able to sense the fires of souls, Su Lun perfectly avoided all ghosts.


    Yet, he could clearly sense that just beyond the door, dozens of ghosts lingered.


    The very instant they appeared, it seemed some ghosts sensed something, but without detecting "Yang energy," none entered to investigate.


    They had truly evaded detection!


    Looking at each other, Su Lun and Chitose shared the same realization: They were saved!


    Soon after, the wild wind outside died down.


    The monsters, unable to find their prey, cursed and grumbled.


    "Damn it! Greedy God, where did you take those two humans!"


    "That damned beggar, don''t think you can keep them to yourself..."


    "Run, run, kekeke... No living person can escape the Netherworld, let''s see how long you can hide..."


    "..."


    Outside the house, the air was heavy with spectral energy. Ghostly creatures passed through the walls, ncing briefly at the two hiding inside before drifting away.


    Fortunately, the "Gluttonous Grand General" Peion seemed to be holding strong, and the battle on the western side at the Ghost Lantern Night Market had not yet ended. The spectating ghosts as well were drawn there.


    Su Lun and Chitose remained hidden, waiting until the sounds of the surrounding monsters faded into the distance before they dared to take a deep breath.


    Since the ghosts were oblivious to their presence, there was no urgent need for them to attempt an escape from the city.


    Chitose asked, "Where do we go now?"


    After some thought, Su Lun replied, "Let''s recover a bit first then head over to the Senso-ji Temple to check the situation."


    He had stripped some souls from the ghosts, and now he had a target.


    If all went as expected, the Yomi Country Lord, "Izanami," could very well be the key to escaping the cursed space.


    But given the current situation, where Su Lun and Chitose had nearly perished facing a Shuten-doji, seeking out the "King" was most likely a mission with no return.


    They needed to find some other opportunity. Stay tuned for updates on My Virtual Library Empire


    And Su Lun had also learned that the evil spirits were reluctant to approach the outskirts of the city near the "Senso-ji Temple," as it was imbued with divine power and would be safer.


    Moreover, his intuition told him that Senso-ji Temple would be a critical ce.


    After all, the great literary figure Fujiwara Hayato hadpleted the [Death Novel] right there at the Senso-ji Temple!

 Chapter 332 Getting Thicker-skinned

    Su Lun and Qian Tiao were both seriously injured. They had nned to treat their wounds in the house before leaving the city.


    However, the "Messenger of Death" birds they released found that ghosts were still wandering nearby, seemingly not giving up on searching for them. This made both of them very cautious.


    Although they took the "Supplication Pills" to mask their living breath, Su Lun wasn''t sure whether some monsters with unique sensing abilities could still locate them.


    If discovered, it was unlikely they would be so fortunate to have someonee to their aid again.


    It was not safe to stay in the city, so they quickly bandaged their wounds and left the house.


    Ironically, soon after they stepped out, themotion from the Ghost Lantern Night Market ceased.


    The Ninth Fleet of the Northern Sea had beenpletely annihted.


    Su Lun guessed that the fleet''smander, the seventh-tier "Gluttonous Grand General" Peion, was probably not killed but assimted by the energy of the Netherworld.@@novelbin@@


    Despite the dangerous battle, Su Lun could roughly assess the strength of the ghosts in this cursed space.


    He estimated that the strongest boss in the city should probably be of the seventh-tier professional level, right?


    Otherwise, if there was an eighth-tier power, the battle at Peion''s side would not have been in such a stalemate.


    Of course, the Yomi Country Lord Izanami is another matter.


    Previously, when Su Lun extracted the Soul Shards from those ghosts, they regarded this being as a very special existence.


    ...


    After the battle, the chaos in the city subsided into quietness.


    At the corners of streets, ghosts were still fighting over the bodies of the living, and everywhere there were gruesome scenes of blood and flesh being devoured.


    Su Lun and Qian Tiao changed their clothes and blended in with the crowd of ghosts. Without their living breath, they smoothly made their way to the southern city wall and climbed out.


    Much of the poption of the Mountain Hermit Country was concentrated in cities and viges, with almost everything outside being "lonely wilderness." The Netherworld was even more deste, where hardly a ghost''s shadow could be seen outside the city.


    Moreover, the paths here were different from reality.


    Even though Qian Tiao said she knew the location of Sensoji Temple, they still wandered on the mountain roads for a long time without finding it.


    Finally, they reached a point in the pitch-ck mountain where there was no longer any path, and they stopped.


    Su Lun asked, "Sister Qian Tiao, could we have taken the wrong direction?"


    The wilderness, with tall grasses all around, seemed like a perfect ce for shooting a horror film but did not look like the path to Sensoji Temple at all.


    Qian Tiao also massaged her temple with a puzzled face, "I shouldn''t have remembered it wrong. The incense at Sensoji Temple is very prosperous, and I''ve been there once. The temple covers arge area, almost half a mountain is dominated by the temple and Buddhist sculptures. It''s strange, why can''t we find it? I remember it should be on this mountain..."


    "..."


    Su Lun frowned upon hearing this.


    No temple was in sight, not even a glimmer of light, just slopes upon slopes.


    He even felt as if they had been fooled by some ghost, but the All-knowing Eye didn''t detect any anomalies.


    After pondering for a moment, Qian Tiao suggested, "How about we go further in and look? This ce seems different from the real world. The way to Sensoji Temple I remember was always a stone pavement leading straight to the temple gates. But here, without incense, maybe no ghostse?"


    "Yeah."


    Su Lun nodded, agreeing that this was the only possibility.


    Without any dy, they chose a direction and plunged into the grass, groping their way deeper into the mountains.


    Finally, the Messenger of Death Bird flying in the sky saw traces of a structure in the mountains.


    "Found it!"


    Su Lun also sighed in relief, finally certain they had not gone in the wrong direction.


    Qian Tiao muttered, "I said so, I shouldn''t have remembered the direction wrong."


    Soon, they emerged from the tall grass to find a narrow trail.


    Following the trail for half a mile, they finally saw a stone with the faded characters for "Sensoji Temple."


    Looking up, a few dpidated houses built against the mountain were seen, with the red walls long faded. The paper-covered doors and windows were torn, covered in cobwebs, and the tiled roof was covered in snow. There were no lights, making it look like no one had visited for a long time.


    Qian Tiao pointed to Buddhist statues carved into the cliff, saying, "I''ve seen this statue in the main hall of Sensoji Temple before; it''s said to be the oldest statue in the temple..."


    While talking, she also expressed her confusion, "Strange, why does this Sensoji Temple look different from what I saw?"


    Su Lun wasn''t surprised, smiling slightly, "We should have realized earlier. This is the Netherworld, the world of ghosts and monsters; there shouldn''t be any temples here. Keeping these few dpidated buildings is already fortunate."


    Looking at therge Buddha sculpture, he paused and added, "Moreover, if I''m not mistaken, this is the ''Ancient Sensoji Temple.'' Sensoji Temple has been rebuilt many times, each timerger than thest. It even burned down before. It was rebuilt during the Heian period, which is when it grew to the size outside of Edo Castle."


    "Oh, that''s how it is. I see..."


    Upon hearing this, Qian Tiao seemed to finally understand, "How do you know so much?"


    Su Lun spread his hands and said, "I''ve nced through the books in the Godly Garment Royal Library; I just happened to pay more attention to this temple, and I have some impression."


    "Not bad at all."


    Qian Tiao showed a hint of appreciation in her eyes and then asked, "But why did Granny Aju suggest wee here? What''s special about this temple?"


    Su Lun too was puzzled, and after a moment of contemtion, he said, "The history of Sensoji Temple predates Edo Castle. There are many mysterious legends about this temple. Apparently, it housed many high monks, some special monsters, converted bandits... It also sealed the legendary ''Yamata no Orochi.''"


    Upon hearing this, Qian Tiao seemed to sense there was more to it and asked, "So, what have you found?"


    Su Lun''s left eye flickered with luminosity, shaking his head, "Nothing."


    No matter where he looked, there was nothing special about this decrepit temple.


    He also guessed, "Perhaps it''s because ghosts and goblins instinctively avoid temples, so it feels safer?"


    Qian with a frivolous frown, said, "Shall we go in and have a look?"


    Su Lun nodded, "Mhm."


    ....


    The two stopped in front of the temple gate for a moment.


    ck Crow went in for a look and found nothing unusual.


    Su Lun was holding an umbre in his hand, sending out his perception, but didn''t detect any soul fluctuations either.


    Only then did they walk inside.


    And what they saw was chilling to the bone, dpidated and deste.


    Hmm... No matter how you looked at it, it was just an unremarkable, broken temple.


    The courtyard was filled with snowdrifts and fallen leaves, a few jujube trees were bare, and the stone steps were covered in moss.


    Su Lun also felt somewhat disappointed, having thought that this ce, where Fujiwara Hayato once stayed, might be key to breaking the cursed space.


    But looking at the situation, it seemed like he might have thought too much?


    Arriving at a "Senso-ji Temple" on an unknown timeline, many things were different.


    The two pushed open the temple''s main hall door riddled with holes, only a few rays of moonlight pouring through the roof breaches provided visibility, which was very low.


    Su Lun''s night vision was strong, and he immediately saw various menacing wooden statues inside.


    He instantly concluded, "These Buddha carvings are new, made in the past few years, there must have been someone staying here before."


    "Mhm."


    Qian by his side seemed to have discovered something special about these statues.


    She took out an alchemy magicmp, and as soon as it was lit, an orange glow dispelled the darkness.


    Statue after statue of exquisite Buddha figures immediately appeared, some with fierce frowns, others with malevolent expressions, and still others majestic and solemn...


    Continue your journey on My Virtual Library Empire


    The craftsmanship was fine and the expressions were lifelike.


    Were it not evident at first nce that these were wood carvings, Su Lun might even have thought they were alive.


    Qian leaned in close, examined the craftsmanship carefully, and immediately said, "These carvings are by a Sword Dao expert."


    After a moment of contemtion, her voice took on a note of shock, and she quickly corrected herself, "No... His swordsmanship is very high, he might be a Sword Saint!"


    "Sword Saint?"


    Su Lun looked again more closely.


    He himself often carved Rune Vajra, and felt that even now he couldn''t produce such lifelike statues.


    Hearing Qian''s words, he too thought it likely so.


    Traces of Sword Intent lingered on the marks of the carvings.


    But at the same time, a sense of alertness arose in him.


    This was a cursed space, and ghosts did not wee the living.


    The higher the master''s skill, the more dangerous it was.


    Su Lun nced around, noting only a cushion and a campfire in front of the Buddha statues and nothing else, and spoke solemnly, "There are no footprints on the snow in the yard, and the campfire ash inside the hall has turned cold, that person must have left three or four days ago."


    Qian became even more convinced, saying, "With such a serene craftsmanship, his disposition is beyond that of ordinary people. That ''Sword Saint'' definitely isn''t someone who kills indiscriminately. It''s a pity, it would''ve been great to ask him for guidance on the Sword Dao."


    High-ranking swordsmen indeed can discern the temperament of others through Sword Intent.


    Listening to her, Su Lun''s furrowed brow finally rxed, and he added, "Perhaps... this is the reason Granny Aju asked us toe here."


    "Mhm."


    Qian nodded and asked, "Shall we rest here for the night then?"


    "Okay."


    Su Lun also felt they had no other choice; both their injuries were at a point where not treating them would be troublesome, and the decrepit temple, though shabby, at least had no ghosts to disturb them.


    Going elsewhere, they might encounter other monsters.


    ....


    Having decided to stay for the night, Qian hung the magicmp on a beam, casting a light that was neither bright nor dim around the room.


    Su Lun took out a camping tent andid out a mat.


    Both of them started to tend to their own wounds independently.


    Now in a rtively safe environment, Su Lun could properly address his injuries. Having sustained a cut to his abdomen, he opened the blood-soaked bandage, revealing a gory wound. If it was a regr injury, his natural healing abilities would have already closed it up, but the wound contained the crimson demonic energy of Shuten-doji, its eerie power impeding the healing and coursing through his veins.


    However, Su Lun had ample experience handling such injuries and had prepared high-grade potions just for this kind of situation.


    He released two "Healing Dolls" from the Eight-Arm Spear, which continually emitted a healing aura. Meanwhile, he poured an alchemical potion designed to cleanse the wound of foreign energy over the cut and began to stitch it up.


    Aside from the abdomen, he had several other minor injuries on his body.


    Because he possessed multiple hands and was "Expert-Level Medical Proficient," he handled his wound care with ease. Even surgeries that normally required multiple people were no challenge for his eight spider-like limbs.


    Qian, on the other hand, was not having such an easy time.


    It wasn''t that the higher one''s professional level, the better their healing techniques.


    At least a thousand such gambling-addicted wives would be just like her.


    Her healing methods were limited to topical potions, ingestible concoctions, rough bandaging... she didn''t even know the basics of suturing.


    Oh... that''s not right.


    After knowing a certain fact, describing her as a young wife seemed somewhat inappropriate.


    Qian Tiao''s injuries were no less severe than Su Lun''s; she removed the shoulder armor of the "Iron Red Scale Coated Armor Set", then she could wipe off five scale-like red breasttes. Only then did she see the nextyer of chainmail with unfastened buckles, revealing the fabric underneath. When thestyer of fabric was gone, only a bandaged chest wrap remained.


    In the process of dismantling her armor, she couldn''t help but spit out another mouthful of dirty blood.


    It was only then that Su Lun saw her back full of marks that looked like me burns, signs of demonic energy contamination that were quite dangerous. There were also some fine, scale-like wounds from Sword Qi. This made her originally smooth skin look like it was covered in wounds.


    Su Lun observed and his gaze slightly narrowed as he said, "You can''t deal with the wounds on your back by yourself, let me do it."


    "Oh?"


    Qian Tiao, with her back turned to him, nced over her shoulder and said, "Okay."


    With that, she gathered her long blue hair high up and tied it with a red string, revealing her entire beautiful back.


    Because the wounds covered her entire back, she proceeded to unravel the bandages around her chest, as if it were just a normal thing to do.


    But as soon as she started, pausing as if she remembered something, her hands stopped in front of her chest for a moment.


    A trace of unusual color shed across Qian Tiao''s face, but she soon continued.


    She unwound the blood-stained bandages round and round until her upper half waspletely exposed to the air.


    The angle of the magicmp cast her silhouette on the ground, graceful in the light and shadow, her chest rising high with proud curves.


    Without any distraction, Su Lun conjured several spidernces, first using potions to clean the wounds on her back, and then began to suture them methodically.


    The higher the tier of extraneous energy needing to be cleared, the more painful the process, akin to sulfuric acid being poured on skin, a deeply stinging pain.


    Closebatants like Qian Tiao were even more severely contaminated.


    Yet from beginning to end, she remained expressionless, even managing to tend to some of her wounds by herself.


    The dense sweat on her forehead and her paleplexion confirmed that she was not at ease.


    ....


    Professional medical care naturally yielded much better results than haphazard bandaging. Once the negative energy is cleared, with potions and healing alchemy arrays to help, except for somerge wounds, minor injuries usually heal quickly.


    Su Lun''s excellent medical skills and multitasking ability allowed him to handle it adeptly.


    In a short while, he had almost finished dealing with the wounds on his own abdomen.


    It was about time to suture Qian Tiao''s back wounds...


    As if he had finished his homework and wanted to turn the page, Su Lun casually added, "All right, Sister Qian Tiao, your back is treated, turn around."


    If it had been before, Qian Tiao would have turned around without hesitation, unashamed to be so exposed. After all, it wasn''t as if they hadn''t seen each other before.


    But then after someone asked her a silly question earlier, she felt as though something had changed.


    Feeling somewhat less confident, Qian Tiao squeaked, "I have mostly taken care of the front already..."


    "With your level of wound treatment? It could take ten days or even half a month to heal."


    Su Lun, with an expression of disdain, interrupted her unceremoniously and barked, "Hurry up and turn around."


    "..."


    For the first time, Qian Tiao felt that she had lost the upper hand in presence to Su Lun.


    Nevertheless, she turned around,pletely unguarded before him.


    Su Lun, without ncing aside, looked at the sloppy bandaging on her abdomen and frowned, "You call this self-treatment? Is this it?"


    "..."


    Qian Tiao, put down by his scolding and without a retort, rolled her eyes at his pure gaze and let him take over.


    Su Lun began to work on the wounds, cleaning them, dispelling the foreign energy, suturing...


    ....


    Because Su Lun had trained in life-saving skills, the Rune Vajra left him with few superficial injuries. Aside from his abdomen, the rest were quickly dealt with.


    But Qian Tiao''s injuries were much more serious; after the upper limbs were taken care of, there were also many wounds on her lower limbs.


    Under Su Lun''s firm stance, Qian Tiao also undressed her lower body armor.


    Knee guards, tassets, thigh armor, shin guards... the pieces of armor were taken off one by one.


    In the end, not even her close-fitting underwear could remain.


    Qian Tiao''s extraordinarily beautiful body waspletely exposed to the air, as she stood there with a slightly helpless expression.


    Emotions could be sensed.


    If Su Lun''s gaze had beenpletely unswerving before, by the time he was nearly finished treating her, that gaze had be almost provoking.


    Qian Tiao was helpless against this shamelessly thick-skinned fellow.


    She thought of pretending she didn''t notice by closing her eyes, but that annoying man insisted on speaking.


    "Yo, Sister Qian Tiao, upon closer inspection, you have a really nice figure," he said.


    All the serious injuries had been dealt with, and this was Su Lun''s first time appreciating Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o''s figure from such a close distance, and on top of that, asionally his hands could get legitimately involved.


    Completely unobscured, tsk tsk... quite a feast for the eyes.


    "Focus on what you''re doing and please don''t stare randomly, okay?"


    "Oh."


    "What does ''oh'' mean? Just ''oh-ing'' doesn''t mean you should hold back a bit? Also, for that spot on my butt, you could have just used the spidernce. Your hands make it really ticklish..."


    "..."


    Oh, well, if he had to look, he had to look.


    This rascally behavior was something Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o couldn''t do anything about.


    Even though his gaze and hands were a bit unruly, after all, he was truly treating her injuries.


    She couldn''t really punch him for that, could she?


    And in fact, Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o didn''t really mind; they were quite familiar with each other after all, but it did feel genuinely strange.


    She had never imagined she would be in such a situation.


    If it were someone else, those daring to look like that would''ve been chopped down long ago.


    Fortunately, Su Lun did not make the atmosphere awkward; after treating all the wounds, he trulyposed himself and started cleaning the surgical tools on the side.


    Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o donned a loose in white cotton robe; with clothing as a cover, that odd feeling disappeared.


    ....


    After the earlier fierce battle, both were extremely exhausted.


    Even Su Lun, mockingly called the "study demon" by Lolota, didn''t want to meditate, just wishing for a good night''s sleep.


    The decrepit temple was draughty from all sides, and snowkes fell from the tattered roof, creating a deste and lonely atmosphere.


    Su Lun spread out a soft mat inside the tent, and theyy down there.


    Originally, this was nothing more than a normal way of interaction.


    Countless times they had shared the same room, the same mat.


    But as it turned out, rtionships are peculiar that way; the more time spent together, the more intimate they became over time.


    When they first met, they acted very properly. After they became familiar, they stopped minding the little things. Then, after spending more time together in the same room, they even stopped caring about changing clothes around each other, and then, even some intimate contact became routine...


    It didn''t feel inappropriate, and somehow, it seemed that after bing familiar, this was exactly how it should be.


    The two of themy back on the mat, each under their own nkets, thoughts racing.


    Having walked the thin line between life and death tonight, looking back, both couldn''t help feeling emotional.


    While neither had fallen asleep yet, they started to chat.


    "Kid Su Lun, do you think we can make it out of here?"


    "I don''t know. The potion''s effect shouldst a month, so we still have enough time to figure something out."


    "What if we can''t get out?"


    "If we can''t get out, then we can''t. But, I''ve got some ideas; there might be a chance."


    "Actually, it doesn''t really matter whether this ce is the Netherworld or not. Being able to meet the deceased masters of the Sword Dao is really a great fortune in life. Ah... if I can enter the ''Sword Saint Realm'' in this lifetime, I would have no regrets."


    "Yeah, I feel the same. If only I could know what kind of novel Fujiwara Hayato had written. It''s getting more and more intriguing."


    "..."


    Both were in good spirits and didn''t let their current predicament lead to despair; they took it in stride.


    But as they chatted, Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o suddenly felt her nket being pulled away, and then it felt rather crowded.


    Ordinarily, this would have been due to her own sprawling sleeping position. But since she was still awake, she knew she hadn''t moved.


    Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o grumbled, "Hey, why are you squeezing over here? It''s really crowded..."


    In the darkness, Su Lun''s reply came, "The cold wind blowing in is a bit chilly."


    "Heh, is that so?"


    Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o chuckled coldly, as if sensing something, "Then what''s the deal with your handing over?"


    Su Lun: "Ah, I have a wound, and it''s morefortable to put my hand like this..."


    Upon hearing this, Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o pursed her lips in retort, "Oh, you''re quite presumptuous, aren''t you?"


    This guy''s cheekiness was really increasing by the day.


    Last time at the Tea Crying Mountain hot spring, at least he would have asked. Now, he just went ahead andid his hand there?


    But despite her words, she didn''t knock his hand away.


    During this brief exchange of words, the Su Lun beside her seemed to have fallen asleep, no longer stirring. The awkward feeling that had beset her also quickly faded away.


    "..."


    In the dark, Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o wore an expression of helpless resignation, and her normally unfussy self didn''t seem to think anything was amiss. She shifted slightly to find afortable position for herself and closed her eyes innguid repose.


    Just let it be.


    Sweet dreams throughout the night.

 Chapter 333 When I draw my sword, it is hell

    The Netherworld knows no division between day and night; when Su Lun awoke, the sky still bore that ghostly gray moon.


    A good sleep had restored his energy.


    Even the hormonal rampage that had torn through his body tissues had mostly healed.


    Su Lun nced at Qian Tiao still sleeping soundly beside him, raised an eyebrow slightly; this gambling addict of a woman seemed to have no defenses against him, her spread-eagled sleeping posture brought a smile to the corner of his mouth.


    Meleebat professionals require more rest, so he didn''t wake Qian Tiao. After dressing, he set up a stove in the dpidated great hall and prepared to make something to eat.


    The food in this cursed space should not be eaten, but luckily, Su Lun was always prepared with plenty of food.


    Having Spatial Ability is convenient; there''s no worry about the Storage Ring running out of space.


    He took out a bunch of canned beef and started fussing over a beef soup pot. Mafa''s military food, in terms of both taste and quality, was superior to that of a typical restaurant.


    Snow still drifted outside, the cold wind shrilling.


    Soon, the aromatic scent of stewed meat permeated the entire great hall.


    In her sleep, Qian Tiao instinctively sniffed and, without opening her eyes, her body sat up. The loose cotton white dress couldn''t hide her fine figure, half of the cor hanging loosely on her shoulder, and the deep V-neck further revealing part of her proud peaks enticingly smooth to the eye.


    "Something smells so good..."


    Qian Tiao muttered as if sleep talking, seemingly aware of some gaze, and suddenly opened her eyes.


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    Then she saw Su Lun''s mischieviously smiling face.


    She gave him an annoyed re, somewhat speechlessly adjusting the clothes on her shoulder, covering the revealed scenery. Her eyes seemed to disdain, what''s there to look at?


    Su Lun didn''t shy away at all, smiling cheerfully, "Come and eat."


    Qian Tiao, seeing the meat in the pot, immediately cheered up and approached, "Tsk tsk, I knew that sticking with you, kid, I''d never go hungry."


    Su Lun felt a bit surprised upon hearing that.


    Isn''t preparing food a basic action when traveling?


    He casually asked, "Sister Qian Tiao, have you ever gone hungry?"


    Qian Tiao didn''t blush at all as she admitted, "I have. Before, when I was at sea and supplies were not sufficient, I ran into a storm and couldn''t even catch fish. Starving every other day, I almost couldn''t make it to shore..."


    Su Lun''s eyes twitched, and then heughed softly.


    Qian Tiao seemed not to notice anything amiss and kept scooping up the meat, eating with great enjoyment.


    Outside, the wind and snow blew, and the two huddled near the stove, eating the boiling hot pot and chatting leisurely.


    Quite pleasant, indeed.


    Before long, they were full and satisfied.


    Both had wounds on their bodies and did not n to run around. They decided to stay at the Senso-ji Temple for a day or two.


    Qian Tiao seemed bored to death, staring at the wooden Buddha statues for a long time. Then she wrapped her chest with gauze, changed her clothing, and began practicing her sword in the snowy yard.


    Su Lun meticulously toured the "Senso-ji Temple," examining almost everything that could be identified by the Eye of Omniscience.


    However, to his slight disappointment, he found nothing special and no clues to help them escape.


    The surroundings were all barren mountains, devoid even ofrger trees.


    The good thing was that no ghosts approached the ce, making it quite safe.


    ....


    "Swish," "swish," "swish"...


    The sound of Sword Qi tearing through the air was incessant.


    In the courtyard, Qian Tiao, with a serious expression, swung her sword again and again, the ground''s snow marked with a session of traces.


    Su Lun sat in meditation under the eaves where the snow did not reach, his previous battle having given him much to ponder, requiring time to digest therge amount of information obtained.


    This "Death Story: The Netherworld" differed so much from the regr cursed spaces, with NPCs undistinguishable from real persons and the known map seemingly boundless, with no ws to be seen in its rules...


    So many parts Su Lun couldn''t figure out.


    He needed a great deal of information from the world to piece together those scattered clues and see if he could find any hints to leave this ce.


    The two of them were each busy with their own tasks, the time passed leisurely, not at all like being in a T-level cursed space.


    It seemed as though there was no division of time in the Netherworld, the moon in the sky hadn''t shifted at all, it always hung in that same spot.


    When Qian Tiao got tired, the two of them would have a full meal again.


    It was still her practicing with the sword, and Su Lun in meditation, each busily engaged.


    The time on the pocket watch was probably in the evening when a crow on a dry tree branch suddenly cawed.


    Su Lun abruptly opened his eyes and looked solemnly towards the outside of the temple, eximing, "Someone''sing!"


    Qian Tiao also showed a guarded expression and asked, "A monster?"


    "No. It should be a human ghost."


    Su Lun''s eyes reflected the image the crow had seen, it was a hunchbacked old man in a hemp garment, bncing a yoke on his shoulders and stepping on two massive logs, walking unhurriedly from the narrow path outside the temple.


    From his attire, Su Lun guessed something and added, "It seems like the ''Buddha Carving Master'' who stayed here before."


    Upon hearing this, Qian Tiao immediately showed interest, looking forward expectantly, "That Sword Saint?"


    "Yeah."


    Su Lun thought it likely was, his face grew slightly somber.


    As the man approached, within Su Lun''s perception, the soul fire was much strongerpared to ordinary ghosts.


    Moreover, the man''s perception was very sharp. The moment Su Lun noticed him, he immediately spotted the crow on the tree branch.


    Qian Tiao, even more intrigued, said, "Let''s go have a look!"


    ....


    Sens¨­-ji Temple was a rare ce of safety in the Netherworld, and naturally, Su Lun and Qian Tiao wouldn''t leave lightly.


    Plus, Qian Tiao indeed had a great interest in that mysterious "Buddha Carving Master."


    The two went into the courtyard to wait for the visitor.


    Before long, the old man entered through the temple''s main gate. He wasn''t at all surprised by the presence of two more people in the ruined temple. He walked in as if it were his own home, very familiar with the ce, and then ced the two logs he had carried under the eaves.


    Su Lun sensed for a moment; it was naturally a "ghost."


    But judging from the strength of the soul, it was only around the fourth or fifth order, not very strong. However, that ancient calmness exuded from him gave an inexplicable sense of oppression.


    Su Lun didn''t underestimate him. Even though a person bes a ghost after death and their cultivation starts anew, this was, after all, a "Sword Saint."


    Qian Tiao went up to him directly and performed a swordsman''s salute, holding her sword, "Senior, I apologize for the intrusion."


    The dpidated temple had been imed by someone else earlier, so their presence was indeed a disturbance.


    The old man nced at them and said indifferently, "Are you the two humans who escaped from the city yesterday?"


    When their past was so urately divined, Qian Tiao didn''t deny it, "Yes. Granny Aju guided us here. We apologize for disturbing you, Senior."


    The old man was easy to talk to, seeming to know they came looking for refuge, showing no malice, "If you truly can''t find a ce to stay, then it''s fine here. This is a Buddhist temple, not my dwelling, so it''s not an intrusion. It''s just unfortunate that the Yomi Country isn''t a ce for the living, you''vee to the wrong ce."


    Seeing his attitude, Su Lun breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.


    It looked like their previous judgment was correct; this "Buddha Carving Master" wasn''t like those evil ghosts always looking to devour the living. It seemed they could get along.


    The old man didn''t mind at all that there were two more people here. As if nobody else was around, he sat down on a small stool under the eaves, picked up his carving knife, and started working on the two logs he brought back, apparently nning to carve a new Buddha statue.


    Witnessing this scene gave Su Lun a very strange feeling.


    Once the old man sat there, it was as if he instantly merged with the surrounding environment. He became a part of it, just like the stone pagodas, logs, dead trees¡­ and so on. He wasn''t an abrupt human presence.


    It was a feeling of "a person within a painting."


    "Is this the Saint Realm..."


    Su Lun murmured to himself.


    Realms cannot be measured solely by professional levels, but generally speaking, the understanding of "entering the Saint Realm" on the level of principles is about the standard for a seventh-tier professional.


    There are also poetry, magic, art, music¡­ any path that can concentrate divinity has such a significant threshold.


    Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o, standing nearby, also noticed this point, her eyes filled with reverence.


    She bowed once more and said frankly, "Mr. Akutagawa, I wish to learn Sword Dao from you."


    Indeed, this was the renowned Akutagawa Ryuichi, the only one in the Mountain Hermit country in the past two decades who had entered the "Sword Saint" realm, a great grandmaster of the Sword Dao.


    Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o had noticed the Sword Intent left on the wooden Buddha carvings in the hall previously and felt it was familiar. Uponparison, she realized it was almost identical to the Sword Intent on the carving knife given to her by the blind qin master she met at Edo Castle.


    Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o came to the Mountain Hermit country specifically for him.


    Unfortunately, this Akutagawa Ryuichi had already passed away.


    But fortunately, she encountered his spirit in the Netherworld.


    The old man, hearing Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o''s words, showed not the slightest surprise.


    He merely nced at the sword marks in the courtyard and recognized the sh practice of "Akutagawa Ittoryu," saying indifferently, "Since Xiao Xun has given you the carving knife... her choice of person would naturally not be poor."


    At these words, Su Lun finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    But speaking to this point, he suddenly shook his head, and the conversation took a turn, "However... Ittoryu is not used like that."


    Su Lun, who was standing nearby, listened and nced sideways. Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o''s cultivation in the Sword Dao was not weak¡ªwherever "great swordsmen" are found, they are considered experts. But in the old man''s tone, she was spoken of as if she were merely an apprentice barely starting the Sword Dao?


    He was also curious about just how powerful a "Sword Saint" really is.


    Hearing this, Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o did not feel embarrassed by the denial but was instead delighted, "Please enlighten me, senior."


    Since the old man spoke these words, he was evidently willing to teach the Sword Dao.


    ....


    Akutagawa Ryuichi''s reaction seemed to have the dymon to the very elderly.


    Upon hearing this, he appeared to respond with a beat''s dy, setting down his carving knife leisurely, and then looked at the de in Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o''s hands, asking, "Are you perhaps puzzled about your current realm, feeling that, despite having excellent weapons and your sword techniques being refined to the point of hardly improving, you still feel powerless against higher-tier enemies?"


    "Yes! I beg senior to resolve my doubt."


    Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o was taken aback by hisment, which pinpointed her greatest confusion.


    She had suffered a significant loss in the battle the day before.


    Facing off against the Red Lotus Demon Fire of Shuten-doji, she did not lose in skill or in de, but she did not gain the upper hand and almost died there. She was clearly aware that her understanding of Sword Dao did not match the sharpness of the de, rendering her unable to unleash the true power of a renowned sword.


    Moreover, it was even more challenging to sh at Spiritual Bodies; aside from using the Demon de''s own demonic qi to scorch the Spiritual Bodies, Sword Qi could hardly cause effective damage.


    She knew where the problemy¡ªshe needed to use the Sword Dao to condense a dominating aura.


    But she did not know how to break through.


    That one step to move beyond, in the end, was just extraordinary.


    The old man did not seem in a hurry to talk about Sword Dao, but instead, he looked at the white-sheathed de in Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o''s hand, "The de in your hand is ''Onimaru Hyakume no Munemasa,'' isn''t it?"


    Without waiting for an answer, he answered for himself, "This hellish demon weapon, I''ve wielded it too. s, it didn''t choose me as its master. How unexpected that it ended up in your hands, that too is destiny."


    Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o felt a hint of surprise¡ªwhat a coincidence?


    "Destiny, huh..."


    The old man''s tone was somewhat wistful, and seeing that de seemed like seeing an old friend he hadn''t met in a long time.


    Truly, it was like a separation between life and death.


    Never thought he would see it again in the Netherworld.


    After musing for a moment, his turbid eyes casually flickered with a sparkle as he asked, "Have you... ever seen the hellishndscapes beneath this de''s edge?"


    Qi¨¡n Ti¨¢o replied earnestly, "I have seen them. They are awe-inspiring."


    The old man smiled ambiguously as if in agreement, as if he had finally reached the heart of the matter, asking, "So, what do you think your Sword Dao is?"


    Upon hearing these words, a fierce Sword Qi seemed to burst from Qian''s eyes as she firmly said, "Once I unsheath my sword, I can split mountains, sever rivers, cleave seas, and y gods and demons."


    The old man shook his head upon hearing this, "The resolve in your sword heart is good, but that''s not your Sword Dao. Sword Dao is the courage in your heart. Before you unsheath your sword, if you believe that what you''re holding in your hand is ''something'', then your Sword Dao is that ''something''."


    "This..."


    At these words, confusion flooded Qian''s eyes.


    She gripped the handle of the Demon de Soujirou, seemingly unable toprehend, and then asked, "Senior... may I ask what your Sword Dao is?"


    "Mine...?"


    Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on the old man''s weathered face, and his presence suddenly became unfathomable.


    With that, he mimicked unsheathing a sword with the carving knife in his hand and said, "Like you, I cultivate the path of hell."


    ....


    A great sword expert and a Sword Saint were discussing Sword Dao; Su Lun was far from reaching their realm and feltpletely confused by their conversation.


    Moreover, this was no longer a matter of mere "technique"; listening in prematurely might not necessarily be beneficial.


    While eavesdropping, Su Lun also fiddled with his Alchemy.


    But it was the old man''s words that suddenly changed the harmonious atmosphere.


    Out of the blue, Su Lun felt goosebumps explode all over his body.


    It was like... before in the city, when countless malicious spirits surrounded him, like the oppressive feeling of facing a desperate situation.


    Su Lun turned his head to look, his expressionplex: What a terrifying aura!


    In front of him,


    Not far away.


    The old man was holding the handle of the carving knife backwards, as if slowly drawing a long sword.


    It was just an unremarkable carving knife, but it seemed even more terrifying than Qian unsheathing the Demon de Soujirou, exuding an indescribable dreadful pressure. With each inch he pulled, his presence rose to new heights.


    And behind him, one could almost see a towering sea of blood.@@novelbin@@


    Akutagawa Ryuichi''s eyes were as sharp as lightning, his voice as ifing from the deepest abyss, "When I unsheathe my de, it is hell."


    With that casual remark, it felt as if thunder exploded beside the ear, "This is my Sword Dao."


    One face is that of a Buddha, the other bears the overwhelming killing intent capable of turning hell into a river of blood.


    In the heart is the Buddha, behind is hell.


    Even Su Lun, a novice in the way of the sword, faintly felt as though he had grasped something. As he looked at the Buddha carvings behind Akutagawa Ryuichi, he came to understand.


    It seemed to be about the sword, but it was more about the "Dao."


    Qian''s face changed when she heard this, as if she had seen a scene that deeply shocked her.


    She just stood there, stunned.


    She took a long time to snap out of her shock.


    ...


    Qian stood frozen in the yard as if a paralysis spell had been cast on her.


    A quarter of an hour, an hour, half a day... still as stone.


    Goose-feather snow floated down from the sky, gradually building up a thickyer on her shoulders.


    Su Lun had been keeping an eye on her condition, always feeling as though she had fallen into a strange state, like that of a butterfly struggling to break free from its cocoon, just like when she had tamed the Demon de Soujirou before.


    However, Su Lun also knew he could not help.


    He was not idle either, sitting on the ground next to Akutagawa Ryuichi, who was carving a wooden Buddha statue. He eased into the conversation, then asked, "Mr. Akutagawa, do you know about the King of Yomi Country?"


    Since he had met a corpse he could properlymunicate with, he naturally would not pass up any opportunity to leave this space.

 Chapter 334 A Beam of Light From the Sky

    Su Lun had now confirmed that the "Death Novel: Netherworld" curse space was connected to reality.


    Moreover, he had distinguished two types of "natives".


    One kind was the monsters like Shuten-doji, which had always existed in this space.


    The other kind was people like Granny Aju and Akutagawa Ryuichi, who had died in Mountain Hermit ande here.


    Although Su Lun didn''t understand how that "Princess of Night Handling" managed to do it.


    But the question arose.


    What was her purpose in creating such a cursed space? It certainly wasn''t just to lure outsiders in and kill them. Figuring out her motive might reveal how to get out of this space.


    Also, the space itself was full of oddities.


    Normally, the plot within a cursed space would be a segment of pre-mortem memories of a certain "main will".


    But what was strange here was that the plot wasn''t something that had already urred but had aplete timeline. It was still developing over time.


    In all the ghostly memories that Su Lun had peeled away, whoever it was felt that this "Netherworld" was the Netherworld that had existed for countless years in the myths.


    And yet, the fact was that Fujiwara Hayato wrote this novel within thest thirty years. Experience more content on My Virtual Library Empire


    Could it be that the great writer wrote the history of countless years for this world with his pen?


    To do so without any ws was incredibly difficult.


    However, as a transmigrator, Su Lun didn''t find it especially unbelievable.


    After much thought, he came up with a rtively reasonable exnation.


    That was that the cognitive abilities of the creatures in this world were restricted by something, such as: dimensions!


    Every illusion did not avoid one premise: this is a world within a book.


    Su Lun then thought, if they truly couldn''t get out, then in that "Death Novel," would there be an additional phrase: "Su Lun and Chisen ultimately could not walk out of the Netherworld and remained there forever..."


    Two living people, in this dimension, were summed up in just a few sentences.


    Thinking about this, Su Lun felt slightly wistful, but also found it very interesting.


    Could the so-called real world also be just a story within a novel?


    ....


    Snowkes drifted through the sky in the courtyard of Senso-ji Temple.


    Chisen was still in the snowy ground, appreciating the Sword Dao she hadprehended.


    Under the eaves, Akutagawa Ryuichi''s aged hands were steadily carving the outline of a Buddha statue out of wood with a carving knife.


    The sound of the de embedding into the wood was very subtle, "swish," "swish..."


    Wood shavings fell to the ground, piece by piece.


    Su Lun took out a half-finished curious puppet next to him and patiently sought advice.


    Although he didn''t understand swordsmanship, he had some insights into sculpting.


    And since he had previously read a lot of Mountain Hermit country''s literature, there wasn''t much barrier in theirmunication. He could speak a few sentences on any topic, and they got along quickly.


    "Mr. Akutagawa, does your Buddha carving rte to your ''Draw-sword Hell Sword Intent''?"


    "Hmm. Swordsmen who cultivate the path of hell emphasize killing. Without apassionate heart, one will sooner orter fall into the demonic path. Moreover, after I entered the Saint Realm in myter years and began carving Buddhas, I realized that the Buddha nature does not suppress my Sword Intent from killing that rose from the path of hell, but instead took my Sword Dao a step further. A realm is like a tub of water, when the tub is full, you need higher walls to hold more water. The higher the Buddha nature, the higher the Sword Dao. Your friend has a great talent, but she still needs some enlightenment. Your situation is simr..."


    "..."


    Su Lun knew although the old man was speaking to him, he was actually always providing guidance to Chisen, and he nodded from time to time.


    He also asked about some matters concerning the Netherworld, but didn''t get many clues that he wanted.


    Even for the Sword Saint, who was a top-notch powerhouse of Mountain Hermit in his lifetime, in his cognition, this was the real Netherworld.


    Moreover, the residents of Mountain Hermit had an ineffable divine worship for "Izanami", as if the sun should exist in the sky, a solidified cognition. Not to mention inquiring about what tier the Yomi Country Lord was, it was even taboo to discuss lightly.


    The only thing that could be confirmed was that the Yomi Country Lord was "unfathomable".


    ```


    ...


    Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.


    Su Lun and Senjo had been staying at the Asakusa Temple, and because of the temple''s sanctity and the Mud Ball, no demons or ghosts hade to disturb them.


    With a Sword Saint constantly providing guidance, Senjo had been willing to stay, practicing her swordsmanship in the courtyard every day.


    In her words, as long as she couldprehend the true essence of the Sword Dao, she wouldn''t mind even if she couldn''t find a way out.


    Su Lun had not been idle either; once his wounds had healed, he had sneaked into the city infested with all manner of demons and ghosts several times to gather more information about the Yomi Country Lord and look for a way out.


    Because he had made preparations in advance, his forays into the city had been thrilling but without incident.


    However, despite his several visits, while he had encountered a variety of bizarre monsters in the Netherworld, he had made very little progress.


    The information he had obtained was extremely limited.


    The only way out he could think of was still to go directly to Izanami.


    But the King was so mysterious that Su Lun felt it was best not to take any risks before he was certain.


    On this day, as usual,


    Akutagawa Ryuichi, the "Sword Saint," would leave to find suitable wood after carving Buddha statues every now and then.


    Leaving only Su Lun and Senjo in Asakusa.


    In the courtyard, Senjo was still practicing her swordsmanship day in and day out.


    "Swoosh," "swoosh," "swoosh"...


    The sound of Sword Qi tearing through the air was incessant.


    Unlike her usual forceful strikes, Senjo was now holding her sword as if she were "ying" with it. A dry leaf dancing along the de''s edge, each time it was about to touch the ground, was lifted by a burst of Sword Qi, with the force measured so precisely it seemed to float up and down like a feather.


    Upon closer inspection, one could see that the leaf bore a pattern etched by the Sword Qi.


    Su Lun, carving an enigmatic puppet under the eaves, nced over and rolled his eyes.


    The pattern on the leaf seemed to be a crude depiction of himself, Su someone, but wasn''t it a bit too shabby?


    Just then, a crow flew over the sky, and with a "whoosh," Senjo used too much force on her Sword Qi, splitting the leaf in two.


    Seeing this, Senjo grimaced and muttered in annoyance, "Ah... I failed again."


    Su Lunughed and said, "Senjo, why don''t you take a break? Your Qi seems a bit disturbed."


    He naturally knew this was a highly sophisticated method of finely controlling Sword Qi.


    This advanced Secret Technique was something that someone of Su Lun''s fourth-tier profession shouldn''t have been able to understand orment on.


    But fortunately, after previously stripping away the "Imperial Flow Overbearing Body," he actually knew what was going on.


    This was Akutagawa Ittoryu''s Secret Technique of swordy, requiring a sense of control over Sword Qi that was incredibly precise.


    It was very difficult to master.


    However, once one mastered this Secret Technique, even facing creatures like the "Rot Monsters," which were nearly immune to physical attacks, ordinary Sword Qi could inflict significant damage.


    From a scientific perspective, this Secret Technique transformed the sh from a "single line" to a "particle-level" sh, using Qi to disrupt the target''s structural integrity.


    Watching Senjo''s frustrated look, Su Lun gestured with his carving knife and advised, "You should try doing it like this first, then like that..."


    Senjo gave him a dismissive look, and although she thought he made sense, she couldn''t help but retort, "Do you think everyone has your kind of talent?"


    The Secret Technique sounded simple, but grasping that sensation was incredibly difficult. One had to keep trying over and over until the body learned and developed muscle memory, eventually leading to stable output.


    She exhaled a deep breath of turbid air and picked up another dry leaf from the ground to start anew.


    Su Lun watched her increasingly skilled strikes and couldn''t help but smile at the corners of his eyes.


    He, of course, knew how important it was to have a good teacher, especially at certain significant bottlenecks that requiredprehension.


    These days, Akutagawa Ryuichi, the "Sword Saint," had been instructing her, and Senjo''s swordsmanship had visibly improved rapidly. Her understanding of "Sword Intent" seemed to be on the verge of breaking through.


    It was no wonder Senjo didn''t want to go anywhere else. Coming to the "Netherworld" turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as meeting a Sword Saint long passed in the real world was indeed a rare opportunity.


    ```


    ....


    Before long, Su Lun nced at his pocket watch, and it was already twelve o''clock noon.


    Every day at this time, he would go out for a wander, looking for some clues.


    He tidied up the puppet and stood up, "Sister Chitaba, today, I n to take another trip into the city."


    As Chitaba chopped leaves, she asked, "Do you want me to apany you?"


    Su Lun shook his head, "No need, this time I''m not going to encounter any significant monsters, just going for a stroll."


    If it weren''t for being trapped, he was actually quite fascinated by this strange world.


    Thews of Netherworld within the book were wless and fraught with dangers, but that also meant that, like the outside world, there were many hidden treasures and secrets to uncover here.


    There were many materials in the Yomi Country that contained the principles of death, which were scarce in the real world. And then there were those fairies and goblins, rarely seen outside, yet one could encounter countless exotic varieties just by walking the streets here, a top-tier scarce resource.


    In half a month''s time, Su Lun had exchanged some of his own stock for Netherworld materials worth billions. These materials would fetch a hundred times, or even a thousand times their price in the real world.


    He felt that, if he could really make it out alive, he could also write a travelogue, titled "My Life as a Profiteer in the Netherworld."


    Chitaba didn''t say much, just nodded, "Hmm."


    Both were clear that if they were discovered in the city, they would have to flee.


    Two people were not as well off as one alone.


    After a pause, she gave Su Lun a nce and added, "Be careful."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun, draped in his cloak, picked up the Rune Umbre and, as usual, first sent out the ck crow to scout ahead, then headed towards the dpidated gate of the temple.


    But having taken just a few steps, suddenly, a white light shone in the sky, illuminating the eastern part of the city!


    That beam of white light, in this dim world, was as eye-catching as a falling meteor.


    Chitaba sharply turned her head to look at the light and eximed softly, "What is that!"


    Su Lun''s eyes flickered with anticipation, and he immediately said, "Let''s go, let''s check it out!"


    All this time they had been searching for a way out, but this world seemed like a circle, with apletely closed loop, utterly devoid of any ws.


    But such a strange event...


    It seemed like sunlight?


    How could there be sunlight in Netherworld?


    ....


    Su Lun and Chitaba left Asakusa Temple, making their way east towards the city.


    However, the celestial event was not insignificant. Along the way, they also noticed other demons being drawn to the site.


    As they were on the outskirts of the city, the two of them moved quickly, but as they approached, they noticed an increasing number of demons around them, some of them quite powerful presences.


    The two didn''t rush to get closer but watched themotion from a distance, hidden in the surrounding woods alongside some minor specters there for the spectacle.


    Although they were far away, their view was clear enough.


    The sky appeared punctured by arge hole, with a "spotlight" shining down, illuminating the hilltop like a monk''s shaved head.


    Su Lun studied the location of the hilltop and felt it was familiar, muttering, "The ce where that beam of light is falling, isn''t that the location of Iga Shrine?"


    Chitaba also realized this point, "It couldn''t be the Princess''s doing, could it?"


    In the Mountain Hermit, the sun was synonymous with Amaterasu Omikami, and Shinfuku Mitsuko was a shrine maiden who served the deities.


    They also hadn''t forgotten that when they entered, there was supposed to be a great battle unfolding outside in Edo Castle.


    Although half a month had passed inside the cursed space, it wasn''t necessarily the case that much time had passed outside.


    With so many coincidences, it was probable they had guessed correctly.


    "Hiss, if it''s the Princess, don''t we stand a chance of getting out?"


    As Su Lun spoke, he nced at the streak of golden light that streaked across the sky.


    But perhaps he had inadvertently jinxed it, just as he finished speaking, the gap in the sky suddenly closed up, and the "spotlight" went dark!


    Su Lun "..."


    Sanjo "..."


    The two exchanged nces, each seeing in the other''s eyes a speechlessness.


    The situation seemed very much like someone had thrown another "thing" in from the outside.


    Sanjo guessed, "Could it be that something happened on the Princess''s side?"


    "It''s highly likely."


    Su Lun also frowned slightly, "Let''s go, we should check it out."


    The probability was high.


    The people of the Takeda shogunate had chosen tounch a war during the "ck Sun Grand Festival," employing a plot to contaminate the sun and deal with all foreigners, a sign that they were confident in their actions.


    Even without knowing the details of the battle outside, one could guess the oue.


    Sanjo nodded.


    The two of them then climbed down from the tree and crept over.


    ....@@novelbin@@


    The yokai of Yomi Country were all very afraid of sunlight, with none daring to approach the mountaintop.


    Even without the "spotlight," the mountaintop still had a lingering glow like that of a luminous pearl.


    Su Lun and Sanjo walked over and indeed saw a mirage of a pce.


    "It''s the Iga Shrine! It must be a projection from the real world..."


    Su Lun looked at the mirage, his eyes grew sharp.


    There were no shrines in Yomi Country, and even if there were, they would be as dpidated as the Asakusa Temple''s shrine.


    Sanjo clenched the sword in his hand and asked, "Shall we go and take a look?"


    Su Lun nodded.


    Whether it was the Princess or some other situation, they needed to investigate clearly.


    The two walked towards the glowing mountaintop.


    The light and pce mirage on the mountaintop were fading visibly fast due to theck of external light beams for replenishment, and the outer edges of the mirage began to disperse, shrinking in area.


    With the absence of sunlight, the surrounding ghosts went mad and surged towards the mountaintop.


    The mountaintop seemed to have a scent that was very attractive to these ghosts.


    The two noticed this and rushed over quickly.


    Being human, they were unaffected by the light and got directly to the mountaintop where the pce was located.


    There was indeed a dpidated shrine there.


    And the ghosts that could reach this ce all had the strength of a fourth or fifth tier professional.


    The number was not too many, but not few.


    A giant head [Big Head], an ugly snake-faced [Candle Shadow], a blue-skinned monk with one eye [Ao Bozu], [Pig Demon], [Mushroom Demon], [Octopus Demon]...


    During these days, Su Lun had encountered many monsters that existed only in stories and saw a few familiar great demons.


    When the two arrived, some monsters had already braved the non-blinding sunlight and charged in.


    Intense fighting sounds came from the dpidated shrine.


    Su Lun and hispanion did not approach rashly; he released a ck crow to overlook everything from the sky.


    Sharing the crow''s vision, they saw that inside the shrine, several yokai were besieging a human, and the battle was fierce.


    Looking at the ck-haired girl wielding a bow and arrow, dressed in red and white miko attire, Su Lun recognized her in an instant, if not Shinfuku Mitsuko, then who?

 Chapter 335 Treasure Collector

    Su Lun didn''t know how the Princess suddenly descended into the cursed space.


    But her current situation was not optimistic.


    Just like when Su Lun and another person had just arrived earlier, the scent of the living attracted arge number of ghosts and monsters, and she was being surrounded and attacked.


    Moreover, it seemed that because she was a shrine maiden, certain scents particrly drove the monsters mad.


    "The Princess is inside!"


    Su Lun ryed what the ck crow had seen to Senju.


    Upon hearing this, Senju''s expression turned stern, and he asked, "Are there any troublesome monsters?"


    With this question, he naturally intended to rescue someone.


    The Princess was their friend; they would not refrain from saving her.


    Su Lun had the same intention and said seriously, "There''s a ghost-type monster that''s particrly thorny. We can fight it, but we can''t recite battle spells against it."


    He had learned while gathering information in the Ghost Town that there was only one Ghost King called "Red Monster" in the area. This type of monster liked to hide in abandoned shrines, belonged to the ghostly series, and had the troublesome ability to control wind and rain.


    But even though both were Ghost Kings, there were higher and lower ranks. The monsters inside the city were usually much more formidable than those in the wild.


    This "Red Monster" was much weaker than the "Shuten-doji" they had encountered before. Su Lun estimated that theirbat power differed by about half a major rank.


    Not too troublesome.


    "Hmm."


    Senju nodded, his gaze fierce, and as his hand rested on the Demon de, he said, "Just in time. Let''s test the secret sword technique I''ve justprehended."


    This wasn''t the city, where endless ghosts and monsters lurked; hence, they didn''t need to be apprehensive.


    Moreover, they had arrived just in time and had not yet attracted too many powerful monsters.


    A quick battle guaranteed the chance of rescuing someone. Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire


    ....


    At this very moment, inside the dpidated shrine,


    Shinfuku Mitsuko was being attacked by several ferocious monsters, her face filled with despair.


    Am I dead?


    As a shrine maiden serving the Shinto faith, as soon as she entered this world filled with an imperial aura, she immediately realized that this was the fabled Netherworld where people went after death.


    But what puzzled her even more was that, judging by certain physical characteristics, she appeared not to be dead?


    She didn''t know how she had arrived in the Netherworld,


    but in the current situation,


    she was probably really going to die.


    Originally, fighting even one of those monsters was very difficult for the Princess, let alone when five or six of them were crazily ganging up on her.


    If this were the real world, she could have relied on the divine power of Amaterasu to inflict tremendous damage on these ghosts and monsters.


    But that wasn''t possible here.


    In this Netherworld, there was no sunlight at all. The power of Amaterasu couldn''t be replenished, nor could it be utilized.


    She also discovered that with every casting breath, the air of the Netherworld eroded her own divine power.


    Although the Yomi Country Lord Izanami was also the "Mother Goddess" of the Mountain Hermit, she was actually a higher-level supreme deity than Amaterasu Omikami. Moreover, Amaterasu originated from the lineage of Izanagi, and the two systems were somewhat oppositional in a "yin and yang" sense.


    Currently, she was just barely holding on with the mana within her body and a few treasured items passed down from the shrine maiden lineage, but eventually, death was inevitable.


    "Pfft!"


    Just then, the Princess was struck in the abdomen by a blue-skinned, one-eyed monk¡ªAo Bozu¡ªwith a Zen staff, spitting out bright red blood that stained her pure white undergarment. The radiance from the forensic doctor''s garment faded due to being tainted with the evil spirits'' miasma.


    And beside her, the grotesque "Red Monster" was scratching through the foul and fishy rain, eroding her protective golden light bit by bit.


    The Princess''s face was as pale as gold paper, but she managed to stand up again.


    Because she had already expended all her mana in the "ck Sun Grand Festival" ritual battle, she was now at the end of her strength.


    What''s more, a shrine maiden unable to receive the gods'' responses had herbat strength diminished by seventy percent.


    As she stood up again, she was caught off guard by a "Turbid Yin" ancient monster''s breath of filth, knocking a stone pir flying and crashing to the ground in disarray.


    As she had been continuously injured, her body had reached its limit.


    The Princess knew that she could not escape her fate, and the brilliance in her originally radiant ck eyes also dimmed.


    She stood up again, her figure already a bit shaky.


    It was impossible to turn the tide.


    In thest moments before death approached, she nced at the sky and murmured to herself, "The legends are true; the sky over the Yomi Country is eternally night..."


    But just then, a ck crow¡ªsomehow familiar¡ªsuddenly intruded into her field of vision.


    "I remember, Mr. Su Lun also kept such a ck crow. I wonder if he and Miss Senju have been affected by the war..."


    A tinge of mncholy crept into the Princess''s heart.


    She felt that when people were about to die, they would all have thoughts like these.


    But in that brief moment, she vaguely felt that the raven was looking at her too, and the two of them ended up making eye contact.


    "Is this Su Lun''s raven!?"


    The Princess immediately realized something, and her eyes trembled with intense surprise.


    Before she could figure out what exactly was going on,


    suddenly, she saw two figures dash in from outside.


    They were not at all affected by Amaterasu''s barrier and began fighting with several monsters in the blink of an eye.


    Were they here to help her?


    Not ghosts or monsters?


    After being beaten up without reason, someone came to rescue her?


    The Princess had not yet understood what was happening when she saw one of them had already appeared a meter away. This person was incredibly ferocious, shing a [red monster] that resembled a mist of blood into two halves with a single stroke of their de.


    Although the red monster recovered in an instant, it let out a piercing shriek when hit by the sh.


    Just one de injured a powerful ghost-type monster?


    The Princess''s eyes widened in disbelief as she watched the swordsman with a heroic face, eximing, "Miss Chijo?"


    "Yes."


    Chijo responded to her with a nce and didn''t have time to say more; she raised her de again to block an iing staff.


    There was a "ng" of metal striking sharply, apanied by sparks of light.


    In that instant, figures with six arms and six des and Raksasha shadows appeared, and as she drew her sword, it was as though the gates of hell had opened, a terrifying aura sweeping over the entire scene. She alone tangled with several major demons and didn''t seem to fall behind at all!


    The Princess''s eyes shimmered with excitement, and she was so thrilled she couldn''t speak, murmuring to herself: It really is Miss Chijo...


    Only those who have never faced a hopeless situation could fail to understand her current thrill at seeing a glimmer of hope.


    And the next second, she noticed the space around her fluctuate, and another person stepped out from a crack in space.


    Looking at him, who else could it be but Su Lun?


    ...


    In a different ce, the same dire situation.


    Just like that time in the bamboo forest of Akito, when Su Lun said, "Princess, can you still walk?"


    "I''m still..."


    The Princess tried to speak but couldn''t help the spicy, metallic taste that assaulted her throat. She quickly covered her mouth, but blood still spilled from the corner of her mouth.


    Seeing her condition, Su Lun shook his head, "We''ll talk moreter. Right now, we need to get out of here."


    Without any ceremony, he walked over, wrapped an arm around the Princess''s slender waist, and bolted towards the outside of the shrine.


    The Princess felt this was quite impolite, but before she could react, she was already lightly rushing towards the outside.


    Leaning on Su Lun''s shoulder, she didn''t know why, but the feeling of despair she had when facing death suddenly vanished. At this moment, as she watched ghosts swarm after them, she finally had the spare mental capacity to think about something else. This scene seemed familiar, as though back in Akito Domain''s bamboo forest, in a desperate situation where she was being hunted, it was also he who came to her rescue.


    The Princess found it incredible.


    But she also wondered why both Su Lun and Chijo would appear in the Netherworld?


    A momentter, she was overwhelmed by guilt.


    She guessed that it must have been her that dragged them into this.


    Her beautiful eyes brimmed withplex emotions.


    Su Lun carried the Princess and ran at full speed.


    It wasn''t that they couldn''t fight; it was because themotion had attracted the attention of the creatures from Ghost Town, and further dy would only lead to more trouble.


    With Chijo holding off the great demons at the mountaintop and the minor ghosts below unable to stop Su Lun,


    listening to Chijo starting to retreat safely through themunicator, Su Lun continued to run towards the direction of Asakusa Temple.


    This ce was not Ghost Town; there weren''t endless ghosts to kill. These lonely spirits, though they drooled over the Princess as if she were "Tang Sanzang''s flesh," had littlebat power, scattering at the first charge. Many even instinctively feared the shadow of the Death God that loomed behind Su Lun.


    Before long, the two hadpletely shaken off those lesser ghosts and stopped in a mountain ravine.


    Once Su Lun set down the Princess, he finally took a deep breath and asked, "Princess, are you alright?"


    The Princess lookedplicated, "I''m fine."


    After a moment''s pause, they both tried to speak at the same time: "You..."


    Su Lun smiled, looking at the Princess and waiting for her to speak first, then directly asked, "Princess, how did you end up here?"


    "I was taken by Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto during the ck Sun Grand Festival..."


    The Princess paused, feeling that it wasn''t necessary to go into the details, and instead asked, puzzled, "Mr. Su Lun, have you and Miss Chijo also died?"


    "Died?"


    He was momentarily confused by the question, then realizing she thought this ce was the Netherworld, he shook his head and said, "No, we''re not dead. And this isn''t the Netherworld."


    Upon hearing this, the Princess was clearly stunned, "Ah... this...?"


    With the ghosts here, the aura of the Netherworld, the gray moon in the sky, and the mncholy scenery... how could it not be the Netherworld?


    Su Lun knew it was incredible and immediately exined, "This is a space cursed by a curse."


    Many Mountain Hermits didn''t know about the Alchemy system, but as a princess, the Princess was very aware, and the incredulity on her face was evident as she asked, somewhat surprised, "A cursed space?"


    Su Lun exined, "This is a novel world, specifically a novel written by the great literary master Fujiwara Hayato about his experiences going to the Netherworld. Somehow, it turned into a cursed space. Then it was during the descent of the ck Sun anomaly that someone tainted the sunlight and in that way sucked in all the people of Mountain Hermit who didn''t believe in the gods."


    He looked at the Princess''s face, originally wanting to see if she was aware, but judging by her expression, she wasn''t.


    Listening to him, the Princess finally understood the situation they were in.


    She looked around again, and though she found it unbelievable, she didn''t doubt Su Lun''s words for a second, also realizing why she saw them both here.


    It wasn''t due to a deathing, but evidently, she had been dragged into it.


    At this point in his exnation, Su Lun asked, "By the way, Miss Princess, how did you get in here?"


    "I..."


    The Princess''s face showed someplexity, as if she encountered something not easily exined in a few words.


    After organizing her thoughts, she finally said, "The ck Sun descended, and I was just holding a ritual in the shrine, trying to wee back Amaterasu Omikami. Instead, ''Tsukuyomi Omikami''s will descended, and I lost my divine power..."


    "Just now?"


    Su Lun caught a key phrase and asked back, "How long had it been since the ck Sun descended when you entered?"


    The Princess, not sure why he was asking this, replied, "At most a quarter of an hour."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun''s eyes showed a trace of gravity.


    They had been here for half a month already, and only a quarter of an hour had passed outside?@@novelbin@@


    Could it be a problem with the rate at which time flows in the cursed space?


    Su Lun thought it wasn''t too surprising, considering it might be one of the peculiarities of this cursed space.


    After all, isn''t the pace of a story within a book dependent on how quickly the reader turns the pages?


    He then asked further, "What happened after that?"


    The Princess''s face turned uglier as she hesitated for a moment before saying, "Afterwards, Tsukuyomi Omikami bestowed new rights, dering Takeda Nobuyasu as the ''Lunar Emperor.'' I raised some improper questions and then offended the deity, and found myself here..."


    Su Lun finally understood why the Princess was somewhat reluctant to speak.


    The Shinfuku Mitsuko''s Netherworld is divinely given, and now suddenly Tsukuyomi Omikami has appointed a new royal family, so where does that leave the Shinfuku Mitsuko?


    Su Lun also quickly grasped the brilliance behind the Takeda Shogunate''s move.


    Legitimate and proper, the residents of Mountain Hermit would not mind in the slightest.


    After all, Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, and Susanoo are all revered gods of Mountain Hermit, nothing oundish about it.


    Since royal authority is often proimed to be divinely ordained, do you, Shinfuku Mitsuko, acknowledge this ''Lunar Emperor'' or not?


    Su Lun frowned slightly and asked, "Are you sure that it was Tsukuyomi Omikami''s will that truly descended?"


    "Certain."


    The Princess nodded firmly, "I am a shrine maiden who serves the gods; I have some special methods tomunicate directly with the deities. What descended was indeed Tsukuyomi Omikami."


    Su Lun felt a choking scent of conspiracy.


    Because he knew that Takeda Nobuyasu was a Magician who had defected from Ryeong, and there was also an Alchemy-created being hidden in the shadows, "Lady of the Imperial Hand." The Alchemy system was already shunned by the deities, so how could they receive the recognition of Tsukuyomi Omikami and be the ''Lunar Emperor''?


    He proposed a hypothesis, "What if... I mean, is there a chance that someone used some other means to deceive your perception?"


    No matter the reason, questioning the faith of believers was disrespectful to the deities and considered rude, so Su Lun was very cautious with his words.


    But he knew at least one thing ¨C Alchemists were adept at using scientific methods to simte theological phenomena.


    Like, for instance, this Netherworld right here.


    The Princess instantly understood what he meant, wanted to shake her head in denial, but didn''t speak, and her expression became conflicted.


    "..."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun didn''t ask any further questions.


    Being the ritual Princess, she surely had some abilities he was not aware of.


    He had hoped to hear some clues from the Princess about how to leave this cursed space, but now it seemed the situation was getting moreplicated.


    ....


    However, this wasn''t the time to be concerned about that issue.


    The ravens lingering in the sky shared their vision, and Su Lun saw that ghosts seemed to have been drawn closer, no doubt attracted by the Princess''s aura.


    Now they needed to get to a safer ce.


    But Chisen had not yet arrived.


    It had been a while, which was unusual.


    Su Lun immediately used themunicator and asked, "Sister Chisen, haven''t you shaken off those ghosts yet?"


    Chisen''s response came quickly but sounded subdued, "No, I shook them off. But there''s been aplication. I''ve lost my sword, and I''m looking for it."


    Su Lun was also taken aback and asked, "Ah... Your sword is missing, what happened?"


    Chisen seemed equally puzzled as she replied, "I don''t know what happened. I got rid of those specters and hung the ''Demon de Momo'' on my waist, but while running and moving, it just vanished. It''s like it was stolen; I sensed a very subtle Spatial Discement..."


    "..."


    Su Lun suddenly felt his face go strange.


    This situation was even more surprising to him than the danger Qiantiao had faced, because for a swordsman, their de is their life. The guy who just ate could definitely not have lost it.


    Besides, they were just fighting; how could someone have stolen the sword?


    Qiantiao''s sharp senses didn''t even register it, which meant the thief was very skillful.


    In this Yomi Country, there were no living people, only ghosts and monsters.


    Listening to her description, Su Lun immediately ruled out various possibilities with the knowledge stored in his mind.


    He said, "Sister Qiantiao, I think I know what monster stole your sword. Don''t bother looking for it; you won''t find it. Where are you? Let''s meet up first."


    Qiantiao responded eagerly, "Okay!"


    ....


    Su Lun and the Princess didn''t dare stay put and kept moving.


    Before long, they ran into Qiantiao, who had arrived.


    The gambling-addicteddy had lost her sword and looked furious, even more upset than she was when she nearly died.


    Before she even had the chance to reunite with the Princess, she asked, "Su Lun, do you know which damned ghost or monster stole my sword?"


    Su Lun said, "We might have encountered the Shirazuno Master."


    The Princess, who was also familiar with this monster, was surprised, "Ah? If it''s that kind of monster... it''s going to be very difficult to get the lost treasure back."


    Clearly, she had experienced this herself and added, "Our royal treasury has lost things several times. After investigating, we learned it was the doing of the Shirazuno Master. That monster is very cunning and also skilled in the Escaping Through Air Technique, it''s impossible to catch..."


    The Hyakuzo Master was a monster people both loved and hated. It was among the top treasure hoarders and the most notorious thief. Legend has it that it has a bag of a hundred treasures containing many rare and unusual treasures. Its innate ability is to smell the scent of treasures; once it appears, you must be careful because your most important possessions might be stolen.


    After a while, Qiantiao, with dark lines filling the corners of her eyes, grumbled, "So... you two have been educating me all this time just to tell me that I can''t get my sword back?"


    With that, she looked utterly heartbroken, beating her chest and stomping her feet, "Oh, my goodness... that cursed thief, if I catch it, I''m going to chop it into mincemeat! Minced! Minced!"


    Su Lun also found Qiantiao''s anger quite amusing, shaking his head with a smile, "Not necessarily without chance. If the legends are correct, the Hyakuzo Master always carries a bag of treasures with it. Although it causes people to lose things, if you can catch it, it will use its treasures to pay ransom for mercy. You''ll get an ''ultimate treasure'' with a value not inferior to the lost item!"


    Upon hearing this, Qiantiao immediately understood from their tacit understanding that Su Lun had a n.


    The Princess, who had been standing by, blinked, even tossing aside theplex emotions she had upon entering, and curiously but also reminded, "But no one has ever caught that legendary monster, it can escape into nothingness."


    Su Lun shook his head, a mysterious smile on his face, "That''s Spatial Discement power. Indeed very tricky, but not utterly without solution."


    To have eluded Qiantiao''s detection, that Spatial Discement had to be many times more advanced than his own.


    But... when skill is insufficient, treasures can make up!


    Because Su Lun had something special: the "Chronos Spatial Glove," designed to counteract Spatial Discement!


    As soon as Qiantiao heard this, her face, which was just contorted like a bitter melon, immediately brightened, "What should we do?"


    Su Lun''s eyes narrowed slightly, "Blindly searching for it is impossible. The monster is very cautious, and it will instantly flee if we close in. But its talent is treasure hunting; it''s also very greedy and will be drawn to treasures like a moth to a me."


    At this, Qiantiao''s eyes sparkled brightly.


    She had already grasped the n!


    Su Lun''s gaze sharpened, "As long as we have enough treasures, we can ensure it''ll take the bait."


    He wanted not only to retrieve the sword but also to make a big score!


    ....


    Qiantiao had only lost the "Demon de Sojo," while the other renowned sword "Kikuichimonji Norimune" wasn''t lost. This showed that the creature was selective about treasures.


    Correspondingly, if the legend held true, the better the "ransom" after catching it!


    He had specifically read all of Fujiwara Hayato''s novels these days, and almost had them down pat.


    The character of the Hyakuzo Master could not be clearer to him.


    If it were somewhere else, he might not be confident, and worried about it being all for naught¡ªa fear of losing even the "bait" due to unknown circumstances.


    But this was the world of Fujiwara Hayato''s novels!


    Though it was a bit risky, it seemed worth it.


    If the treasures were too few, they might not attract attention...


    If the items were too low-end, the monster might not take interest...


    With that thought, Su Lun pulled out a pile of his own treasures: "Xiupunos'' Night Scythe," "Oz''s Mummy Wrappings," "Rune Human Skin Umbre," "Tartarus'' Soul Lantern Chains," "Stanitz''s Chessboard," "Anniestora''s Poison Incense Burner," "Robert''s Monocle," "Hundred-Armed Giant King''s Arm," "Sands of Time," "Giant King''s Crown"...


    Various sealed items, cursed items, materials, special treasures... a dizzying array.


    To ensure variety and dazzle the monster''s choice, Su Lun took them all out of spatial seals and carried them on his back.


    Seeing this array of treasures, even the Princess, ustomed to royal luxury, was left staring agape, utterly astonished.


    It was as if she saw the royal treasury mounted on someone''s back.


    Moreover, in terms of value, the treasures before her were not things the royal family necessarily had in abundance.


    Although Qiantiao was aware of Su Yilun''s resources, seeing so many treasures still elicited ament, "Wow, you kid really have quite a collection of good stuff..."

 Chapter 336 Two Top-Tier Treasures

    Su Lun and hispanions were making rounds just outside the city.


    They had also discovered that Princess''s aura could not be hidden at all. The living yang energy repelled by the entire Netherworld was like a beacon of light in a dark world. No matter how much they tried to conceal it, even a leak would attract monsters from afar.


    So, even going to the Asakusa Temple, the monsters would relentlessly pursue them.


    The Shroud of the OZ Ice Man that Su Lun had couldpletely conceal her aura, but the cursed property of this sealed item was life consumption¡ªusing it might be worse than not using it at all.


    There likely wouldn''t be another chance to receive a mud pellet from the "Beggar God."


    Hence, under normal circumstances, if they didn''t split up from the Princess or stayed in one ce too long, they were at constant risk of being caught up by monsters.


    Moreover, the corrosion of theher energy was a big problem.


    Su Lun and hispanion absorbed dark spiritual power and each possessed a "Fallen Angel''s limb," continuously supported by spiritual power, so they didn''t have to worry about the corrosion from theher energy.


    But the Princess couldn''t do the same.


    If she wanted to avoid further corrosion by theher energy, she had to seal off her spiritual power intake and avoidbat and spellcasting as much as possible.


    This meant that she was currently just an ordinary person.


    However, Su Lun and hispanion didn''t mind at all, still leisurely wandering around with the Princess, their "dead weight."


    After all, this was outside the city, and without arge scale of ghosts and monsters, nothing could hold them back.


    Besides, the Princess''s energy, viewed as savory meat by monsters, was also a "treasure."


    The previous "Hyakuzo Master" was very likely attracted by her aura.


    Furthermore, after Su Lun noticed that the major demons and Ghost Kings were particrly interested in the Princess, he came up with an idea.


    That was to ambush these major demons batch by batch.


    Su Lun and hispanion''s aura couldn''t be detected by ghosts, and together, theirbat power was enough to confront a Ghost King head-on, which was the best strategy for an ambush.


    The bodies of those monsters could enhance the Reaper''s Phantom, and such opportunities weren''tmon elsewhere.


    Even a slight increase in strength would give them a better chance when meeting Izanami.


    The precondition, however, was that they had to first retrieve hispanion''s "Ghost King Hundred Eyes School Justice."


    .....


    Soon after, the trio found an inconspicuous cave to rest and stay.


    Su Lun prepared a simple outdoor hotpot and cooked a pot of vegetable stew with meat.


    Soon, the cave was filled with the delicious aroma of meat.


    Having lost her Demon de, hispanion was in low spirits, looking even more miserable than when she had lost everything at the gambling booth. Normally joyful when eating meat, she now appeared sickly and listlessly poked at the meat in the pot, chewing as if it were wax.


    Su Lun, on the other hand, was in good spirits.


    At that moment, he was glowing with a unique shimmer of divine artifacts ¡ª a scythe in his left hand, a ck umbre in his right, a chessboard hanging from his belt, and a golden pocket watch around his neck...


    Ordinarily, he was very low-key, even if he possessed many treasures, he only showed them when necessary, and had never unted them this openly before.


    Now, he was experiencing what it felt like to show off wealth like a nouveau riche with gold chains around his neck ¡ª and he didn''t mind the feeling.


    However, if someone were able to sense the fluctuation of powers, they would immediately discover that all the artifacts were connected by invisible threads.


    The Princess was also not in the best of spirits, still worried about the situation outside. This time, the "ck Sun Grand Festival" had tossed even the Shinfuku Mitsuko into this mess, and she could only imagine the predicament of the royal family of the Shinfuku. Naturally, she wanted to get out as soon as possible.


    Su Lun and she exchanged some known information, and then she found a new glimmer of hope.


    The Princess said, "If the king of this ''Netherworld'' is also Lord Izanami, I serve as a priestess in Shinto rituals. I believe if I request an audience, that lord should agree to meet me."


    Su Lun nodded in agreement, saying, "Right now, we must be prepared for both oues. It''s best if we can negotiate, but if not, we must consider the worst-case scenario. Moreover, it''s now clear that the timeline here differs from the outside world, so there''s no need to rush. We should make ample preparations..."


    He wasn''t too optimistic about the negotiations.


    Given that it was an enemy-controlled cursed space that had thrown the Princess inside, there was hardly a chance they would let her escape easily through some loophole.


    Su Lun''s n was to at least wait until the effects of the "Beggar God''s mud pellet" wore off, and when they could no longer hide, then make a move.


    The Princess understood naturally and nodded, "Mhm."


    As a princess, she rarely spoke while eating, chewed her food thoroughly, and appeared very refined.


    Most of the time, it was Su Lun who spoke.


    After finishing their meal, the Princess put down her utensils and politelyplimented, "Thank you for the delicious hospitality. Mr. Su Lun, your cooking skills are truly great."


    Su Lun shook his head with a smile, "Miss Princess, you''re mistaken. This is just fool-proof fast food. The seasoning is pre-mixed, and it only needs heating."


    "Ah?"


    The Princess, apparently unfamiliar with Mafa military rations and not skilled in cooking herself, had just realized the mistake.


    But since they were already familiar with each other, there was no awkwardness, and she smiled and said, "Well, Mr. Su Lun, you are still impressive, always giving unexpected surprises."


    Saying so, she also started to help clean up the stove, her movements slightly awkward, as if she had never done such chores before.


    The two of them continued chatting idly.


    "By the way, Miss Princess, do you know where we could find some energy gemstones?"


    "I would normally carry some myself, but for the ck Sun Grand Festival, after the purification rites, I didn''t bring any personal belongings."


    "I have some light energy stones here with me. If you really need to use them, try to absorb the energy from the stones. This way you can avoid being contaminated by theher energy."


    "Thank you. I''ll be troubling Mr. Su Lun these days..."


    "..."


    The "Hyakuzo Master" was cunning, so since setting up this fishing n, they stopped discussing important matters, talking instead about mundane trivialities.


    Observing the two chatting, hispanion, if it were any other time, might have teased them a bit, but now, her expression could almost spell out "despair."


    Su Lun and the Princess exchanged a few words, but there was not much else to talk about.


    Being full after a meal is when people are usually least alert.


    All three of them then rested in meditation.


    About half an hourter, Su Lun suddenly perceived something and abruptly opened his eyes, "They''re here!"


    He himself knew some Space Law, so he was much more sensitive to spatial fluctuations than a thousand inscriptions!


    Moreover, he also noticed that the thread hanging from the jar "Sands of Time" had vibrated like a fish taking the bait. In that instant, a mysterious force silently wrapped around the jar without causing any energy fluctuations!


    But the thread was actually abination of physical and spiritual power.


    Because it was imbued with spiritual power, even if it was cut, he could immediately detect it.


    "Indeed, the ''Greatest Thief in the World''!"


    Su Lun secretly admired the cleverness of the method.


    The spatial fluctuation felt by him was like the sensation of wind blowing against body hair and it disappeared in an instant. Just this alone showed that this person''s spatial ability was far superior to his!


    The moment the item disappeared, the "signal" dropped at a coordinate a hundred meters away!


    Even with the enhanced range of the ck umbre, there was no soul fluctuation in that area. The creature had hidden itself in a "spatial rift"!


    Su Lun was extremely decisive, raising his left hand wearing "Chronos'' Spatial Glove" and reaching into the empty void where there was no visible target.


    A "crack" of a gemstone shattering was heard, one of the cursed source crystals on the glove broke.


    But at the same time, the space in that area was instantly fortified, preventing any spatial discement.


    It was as if, while swimming smoothly in the water, the soft liquid suddenly turned into mercury; not only could one not swim through, but one also floated up...


    A clumsy shadow was squeezed out.


    It carried a blue and white id bag that resembled a bedsheet and its nose was wrapped in a handkerchief, giving it a ratherical look.


    As the legends say, the[Hyakuzo Master]was a creature with a human body and the head of a yellow weasel!


    ....


    From realizing there was a thief to taking action, Su Lun took only a fraction of a second.


    But Chitose reacted very quickly as well. The moment he sensed Su Lun moving, he sprang to his feet as if infused with vigor, and with a "pop" from his leg muscles, he shot out like an arrow released from its bow.


    The[Hyakuzo Master], who had appeared in a wretched state, hadn''t even figured out what was happening before seeing a fist as big as a sand pot strike it in the eye.


    "Thud!" The punch carried a bit of personal grudge.


    Then there was a pitiful scream, "Ouch!"


    Chitose pinned it down and swung down heavy punches, hammering several times.


    However, to everyone''s surprise, the following punches seemed to hit a deted sandbag and failed to connect!


    From a distance, Su Lun narrowed his eyes slightly, "Still trying to escape? Truly cunning!"


    Unfortunately, he had seen in Fujiwara Hayato''s novel that the[Hyakuzo Master]had an escape skill that almost certainly allowed it to break free from any confinement.


    If not for that, it really would have escaped with that move!


    The original text in the book described it: "Just like a gecko losing its tail, this ability can only be used once in a short time!"


    Although he didn''t know what spell it was, Su Lun was waiting for it to use up this tactic.


    Now the creature couldn''t escape into the void, and though it was "invisible," the fleeing soul fire was very clear in the Soul Perception.


    Su Lun made a grabbing motion with his hands in the void and pulled on the threads he had prepared earlier, binding that figure in ce again!


    Seeing this, the Princess beside him shot an arrow.


    A "whoosh" sound, and the arrow with a[Demon Seal Talisman]struck the still struggling creature.


    Almost simultaneously, Chitose charged again, pinning the[Hyakuzo Master]firmly to the ground.


    Su Lun rushed over as well and wrapped the creature up in countless threads like a cocoon.


    The Princess approached, sticking dozens of talismans, sealing all of the creature''s abilities that could be used.


    The three worked together seamlessly, capturing the Mountain Hermit''s most notorious "Demon Thief" at the onset!


    ....


    The[Hyakuzo Master], realizing it had been subdued twice,


    Chitose''s punches rained down like a torrent, the thuds of hitting the sandbag were incredibly satisfying to hear.


    The creature, in pain, pleaded repeatedly, "Ouch, stop hitting, stop hitting!"


    Chitose didn''t stop.


    Su Lun didn''t call him off either.


    Because he knew from the books that this creature was a bully who feared the tough; the harder it was beaten, the "ransom" it had to pay would be.


    Chitose continued to pound while furiously shouting, "Damn thief, that''s for stealing my sword, that''s for stealing my sword! I''ll kill you!"


    Catching this thief released the pent-up frustration within him.


    The Princess stood by with wide eyes, curiously observing. It was her first time seeing such a creature. Aside from stories, she had never heard of anyone actually catching such a creature. Even the royal family was helpless against it. They could only appease it with food and offerings, praying it wouldn''t often visit the treasure pavilion.


    Indeed, the severe beating proved effective as the yellow weasel creature continued to beg, "I''ll return your sword! I''ll return your sword!"


    Ignoring his pleas, Chitose punched a few more times before asking, "Where''s the sword?"


    Yellow Weasel Creature: "It''s in my pocket. Let me go, and I''ll get it for you."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun''s lips curled into a smile as he said, "We can let you go. First, spit out the Demon Core."


    Now that they had caught it, they naturally wouldn''t let it go easily.


    He knew well that this creature had not only top-tier escape skills, but its bag of treasures also contained various rare and strange items.


    They had taken advantage of a surprise attack which allowed them to capture it. If they had let it escape, where would they get another chance to catch it?


    Upon hearing Su Lun''s words, a sly glint shed across the eyes of the Yellow Weasel monster, "What ''Demon Core''?"


    Su Lun didn''t bother with further discussion and said, "Chitaj¨­, this guy isn''t being honest, hit him again!"


    Chitaj¨­, without any courtesy, swung a heavy punch again.


    If it weren''t for Su Lun saying that this monster couldn''t be killed, she would have killed and searched the body a long time ago.


    "Thud", "Thud", "Thud"...


    Another round of severe beating followed.


    No matter what tempting offers the Yellow Weasel made, such as "I''ll exchange Immortal Technique for my life", "I have three Divine Artifacts", "I have a way to return to the living world"...


    Su Lun maintained an upromising attitude.


    Finally, the monster, believing it was about to be beaten to death, spit out a drab looking Demon Core.


    Looking demonically vibrant and emitting the same aura.


    With this thing, the monster couldn''t escape.


    However, Su Lun instinctively used caution and checked it with the All-knowing Eye; it read "Yellow Weasel''s Demon Core" rather than "Hyakuzo Master''s Demon Core".


    This guy was tricking them again.


    Seeing the look in Chitaj¨­''s eyes, Su Lun said expressionlessly, "This guy isn''t honest, continue beating!"


    Upon hearing this, Chitaj¨­ rolled up her sleeves and swung again.


    This time, the Yellow Weasel seemed to realize something, "Ouch, stop hitting. I was blind and didn''t recognize the ''All-knowing Eye''."


    It was the first time someone recognized his talent, and Su Lun listened with interest.


    The legends said this monster had the ability to identify all treasures in the world, and it indeed had some tricks.


    This time, the Yellow Weasel did not gamble on luck, "Honorable ones, I''ve released the Demon Core, you must promise not to harm me, not to enve me. Otherwise, I would rather die thanply."


    Su Lun was straightforward, "Alright! As long as you provide a ransom that satisfies us, we absolutely won''t harm you anymore."


    Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire


    The Yellow Weasel then breathed a sigh of relief, knowing it had met tough opponents, where would it dare to dally? It finally spit out another Demon Core.


    This time it was genuine.


    Su Lun held the Demon Core in his hand, finally unraveling theyers of threads.


    ....


    The Yellow Weasel finally escaped, but still hung its head.


    Being caught as a thief, it naturallycked confidence.


    Chitaj¨­ urged, "Hey, hey, hey... where''s the sword?"


    Listening to this felt like having a piece of flesh dug from its body, the Yellow Weasel very reluctantly took off the checkered cloth bag from its back, then without opening it, reached inside. It seemed like there were a lot of items inside; after rummaging for a while, it finally pulled out the sword with a snow-white scabbard¡ª the Demon de.


    Chitaj¨­ snatched it back immediately. She drew the long sword, caressing it as if it were her own child, her face which had been shadowed for most of the day, finally burst into joyful smiles.


    The Demon de was recovered, their initial objective was achieved.


    The three of them all breathed a sigh of relief.


    But despite the calm expression on his face, Su Lun was almost unable to restrain certain thoughts.


    He knew that the "Bag of a Hundred Treasures" was a spatial artifact, and the treasures hidden inside were invaluable.


    However, whether in Fujiwara Hayato''s novels or in the legends of the Mountain Hermit, this monster could be beaten, but not killed.


    This monster signified "good fortune."


    After all, treasures only appeared in prosperous ces.


    It would only show up there.


    It was said that if one grew greedy and killed it, not only would all the treasures vanish, but unbearable bad luck would also follow.


    Although Su Lun was an atheist, when in Rome, do as the Romans do; it was better not to touch these taboos if possible.


    Considering the ability this monster had shown, its mastery in thews of space was no small feat.


    The Yellow Weasel, feeling uneasy under Su Lun''s gaze, weakly pleaded, "Sir, I have already traded the items with you."


    After a pause, it sneakily nced at Su Lun again, testing, "I can use my weight in gold to exchange for my freedom."


    Su Lun didn''t have time to bargain with it, knowing that this world was full of ghosts and monsters, any dy could lead toplications, so he directly said, "You stole thisdy''s sword. ording to the rules, you shouldpensate with something of even greater value."


    He had thought before that there seemed nothing more suitable for Chitaj¨­ than a sword, "No need for other things, just another sword will do."


    Upon hearing this "rule", the Yellow Weasel knew that the other party knew everything.@@novelbin@@


    Having said that, it had toply.


    "Oh... such good swords are not found everywhere in the world, you are making this difficult for me."


    The Yellow Weasel grimaced, reached into the Bag of a Hundred Treasures again, seemingly struggling to find a suitable item, then suggested, "I see thisdy''s cultivation of the Hell Path Sword Intent might need some opportunity to advance. I happen to have one item here..."


    As it spoke, it didn''t forget to add, "If you agree, as per the agreement, after I give the item, you should release me."


    Su Lun was also curious about what treasureparable to the Demon de the monster could produce, yet his face remained impassive, "You know that I also understand how to appraise treasures. If it''s of too low a value, I won''t acknowledge this ''deal''."


    The Yellow Weasel, listening to this, looked even more distressed and pulled out a wooden knot that looked like a date pit.


    Su Lun nced at it, and his pupils slightly narrowed.


    "Holy Bodhi Seed"


    Details: A holy item for Buddhas, this item is extremely rare in lower nes; rumored to be the fruit of the Bodhi tree under which the Hell Lord Yanmo achieved enlightenment, containing high-levelw powers and divine attributes of high-ranking deities; the Buddha nature can suppress the evil karma of the Hell Path, ward off demonic barriers; cultivating the true heart can lead to a probable sudden enlightenment.


    This item might not appear to have practical use, not being a weapon or capable of killing enemies.


    But with just these few lines describing its effects, Su Lun immediately saw its value.


    He had previously heard from Akutagawa Ryuichi that swordsmen who follow the path of hell do not cultivate the Buddhist heart, and the higher their realm, the greater their chance of sumbing to demons. This Sword Saint had managed to suppress it by cultivating the Buddhist heart daily for decades.


    Su Lun was still worried that this hidden danger would be unavoidable after advancing further, but he hadn''t expected the "Bodhi Seed" to dere "uncorrupted by demons," and immediately resolved the issue!


    Moreover, there was something about "containing high-levelws" and "divinity"...


    This thing was truly exceptional!


    Although Chihiro hadn''t seen what the actual use of the action and object was, as soon as it appeared, she inexplicably felt at peace, and even the Demon de in her hand quieted down.


    She directly said, "This object is of great use to me."


    That statement wasn''t much of a surprise.


    After all, both parties recognized the treasure, and it wasn''t possible to pick up something underrated or bargain for a lower price.


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun nodded, signaling his agreement.


    Yet his heart stirred again.


    Damn, what kind of treasures did this Hyakuzo Master have in his hundred-treasure pouch to actually produce something of equal value to the Demon de?


    His eyes slightly narrowed.


    After all, this was a cursed space.


    Perhaps it wasn''t his treasure, but something collected by Fujiwara Hayato?


    That man was not only a great literary master but also a Great Alchemist!


    ....


    The Yellow Weasel watched as Chihiro epted the object, and although it pained him, he also breathed a sigh of relief; the "rule" had been upheld.


    It nced at Su Lun and the other two, humbly reminding them, "Sires, you can let me go now, right?"


    With the Demon de in her hand, Chihiro wore a yfully menacing expression.


    The Princess didn''t speak but looked at Su Lun beside her.


    Su Lun''s lips curled into a smile that was not quite a smile, and he said lightly, "You have resolved the matter of stealing thedy''s de. But..."


    He paused, then abruptly shifted his tone, "What about you stealing my belongings?"


    The Yellow Weasel panicked immediately, "But I didn''t¡­"


    I haven''t seeded yet...


    Su Lun directly shattered itsst hope, "My ''Sands of Time'' are still in your pack, isn''t it time you returned them?"


    "Sands of Time" are material of Laws, truly priceless.


    This creature wouldn''t know unless it stole them; did it only then realize that among his items, this pile of sands was the most valuable?


    Or, was it that these sands were of the greatest use to it?


    Upon hearing this, the Yellow Weasel reluctantly took out the can of sands.


    Su Lun unapologetically took it and then asked, "How do you intend to redeem yourself for this theft?"


    The Yellow Weasel was beyond tears, and could only sincerely say, "I''m sorry, it''s really hard to find anything more precious than this in the world. Because time is priceless."


    Having been caught with such a valuable treasure, he was now in big trouble.


    Su Lun didn''t care about that; the fact that he hadn''t decided to resolve this all at once already showed great self-control, "You figure it out. After all, you set the ''rules'', and if we don''t follow them, then no one needs to follow them."


    Theft was a fact, and being caught was also a fact.


    The "rules" had been set, and it had to offer something in exchange for its life.


    Su Lun felt that managing to hold back the idea of taking everything at once several times showed great self-control.


    The Yellow Weasel hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "I... what if I give you my pouch?"


    Listenting to this, Su Lun couldn''t help but disy a stern face: Are you joking with me?


    You think I amcking in space storage equipment?


    That "Treasure Pouch," when earlier assessed, turned out to be just an "old checkered cotton floral bedsheet." You''re offering this in exchange?


    However, as the creature fumbled around, it pulled out a pouch from under the package that seemed like a "ck hole."


    This object appeared, and all the light around seemed to be sucked into it.


    Su Lun''s gaze was drawn to it.


    Upon a closer inspection, he couldn''t help but exim in his heart, "Holy shit."


    This was actually an organ of a mythical creature!


    "Endless Stomach of the Void Whale"


    Quality: Legendary


    Description: The stomach of a young ''Void Whale,'' a top-tier spatial material containing high-levelws.


    Characteristics: This is a spatial container; when removed, uncontroble cursed characteristics were eliminated, providing a natural imnt for learning basic Space Laws. Integration grants a ''Little Void Realm''; gains ''Void Whale Swallow'' ability, able to pull in objects within range; initial space is small, imntation whale swallowing ability is released rtively slowly, consumption is enormous, and characteristics depend on proficiency with thews;


    Detailed Exnation: This imnt has growth potential, but the requirements forws and external materials are extremely high. Due to the passage of endless ages, its spatial characteristics have diminished, hence its reduction to legendary quality, but it possesses the potential for growth to a mythical level. Theoretically, if the integrator''s understanding of the Void Laws is high enough, and sufficient materials are provided, it can grow into a ne.


    "A legendary-quality imnt!"


    Su Lun, looking at this description, immediately thought, "Absolutely delightful."


    This was an Alchemical growth imnt. Because of degrading, it was only legendary?


    "Mythical level" growth potential...


    It could grow into a ne?

 Chapter 337 Fourth-Order Parasitic Armor

    Seeing the item the Yellow Weasel took out, Su Lun indeed couldn''t take his eyes off it at once.


    He had seen the record of this "Void Travelling Whale" in ancient texts and documents.


    It was a mythical void creature, asionally mentioned in ancient mythological stories.


    In the mysterious books of alchemy, it was written that it was born directly from the primordial creation era, possessing the ability to form universes. It roamed the endless void, lived a long life, devoured the energy of the void, and had a world of its own inside its belly, capable of nurturing all things.


    Another description was that it was the so-called "miniature cosmos."


    The records stated that not even gods could kill it.


    To find its corpse, one would have to wait until that universe naturally copsed, which could take billions of years.


    This "Endless Stomach of the Void Travelling Whale" could certainly not be seen by anyone other than those of great fortune.


    Seeing this, Su Lun became even more certain of an idea.


    That was that the treasures of such caliber appearing in this cursed space could not possibly be found by some minor demon from Mountain Hermit.


    It''s likely a collection of the great adventurer Fujiwara Hayato, who dares to travel to the Netherworld with just a boat ticket!


    ....


    Upon seeing this stomach, Su Lun immediately decided it would be his fourth-tier nting gear!


    Who could refuse the possibility of owning a ne?


    It just so happened that he had just entered the realm of Space Law, fulfilling the extremely low fusion requirements of this nting gear.


    But despite the low fusion requirements, the actual conditions for use were quite demanding.


    For nearly anyone, even if sessful fusion was achieved, it would likely be a mere useless trinket.


    It''s like having enriched uranium in hand, but where does an ordinary person have the capability to turn the material into an atomic bomb?


    "Casting slow," "immense consumption," "extremely high Law requirements"...


    The identified words were very striking.


    They all cautioned the owner not to "aim too high."


    This was an item that was a dead weight in the early stages, with high potential and powerful in theter stages... but very slow to advance!


    After all, to grow into a true ne, creatures like the "Void Travelling Whale" also spent billions of years. The mere hundred years of a normal human lifespan was not even enough for such a creature''s single breath.


    But Su Lun didn''t really need a ne (though it would be better if he had one). An independent, huge, and with aplete set ofws, expandable empty space was already enough for him.


    What he valued more was the ability of the "Void Whale Swallow!"


    Su Lun was not the kind to want to use something just because it was good, regardless of whether it suited him or not.


    This was a well-thought-out rational idea he had after careful consideration.


    If his "Reaper" talent wasn''t suitable, then probably no one else was suitable for this nting gear!


    After the fusion of the nting gear, one would gain the ability of the "Void Whale Swallow," which required a strong understanding ofws to use proficiently.


    Need an understanding of thews?


    It just so happened that he knew that King Oleg of the North Sea had discovered a vast amount of spatial materials at a certain ce. With the "Death Reaper" in action, it was like a scytheing across a ripe wheat field, could there be a fear of running out of "food"?


    Upon reaching the fifth tier, why not acquire some advanced materials to enhance theprehension of Space Law even further?


    As for the drawback of high consumption...


    That''s even less of a problem!


    The fifth-tier "Isaac''s Alchemy Core" was still waiting for him to fuse it!


    After advancing to a higher tier, Su Lun clearly understood how farsighted Sir Isaac was. Thete-stage need for "mana" for a Magician indeed kept increasing.


    This alchemical heart was nearly a Divine Artifact must-have.


    Having a good heritage from a mentorship indeed means avoiding countless detours!


    ....


    Seeing Su Lun''s interest in the item, the Yellow Weasel also visibly sighed with relief, "My lord, now that I have paid the ransom, can you return my Demon Core to me?"


    "Ah... this..."


    Su Lun really wanted to keep it, but he truly had no excuse.


    This guy had stolen twice and attempted once, and had already paid the "ransom."


    By the rules, it indeed had to be released.


    Why don''t you steal one more thing?


    The Yellow Weasel, as if understanding his thoughts, spewed out in desperation a strange tone, "Oh, sir, rest assured, we will definitely not meet again. If there''s ever a ce where you are, I''ll be sure to avoid it far and wide!"


    Huh...


    This damned trantional tone is a bit weird, doesn''t feel like a local spirit from Mountain Hermit?


    Suddenly, a bold idea shed through Su Lun''s mind.


    This spirit, the Hyakuzo Master, could it be Fujiwara Hayato''s "little follower" from back then?


    The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was true.


    Such a spirit with a talent for identifying and seeking treasures staying by one''s side, isn''t that a must-have for a great adventurer???


    As Su Lun thought about it, if he also had such a follower, with its skills, wouldn''t he have no worries about treasures?


    In an instant, Su Lun felt that he had discovered a blind spot and he couldn''t help butugh unkindly as he probed, "Mr. Hyakuzo Master, would you be willing..."


    But before he could finish,


    The Yellow Weasel was shaking its head like a rattle-drum, directly interrupting, "Unwilling!"


    Su Lun asked again, "Do you have any rtives, sisters, siblings, anything like that?"


    Most of the spirits in Mountain Hermit were conglomerates of belief and weren''t born live or from eggs, so naturally, they wouldn''t have any rtives.


    The Yellow Weasel decisively responded, "None!"


    It knew very well what Su Lun was thinking and was very determined, "I absolutely won''t serve humans again..."


    After saying this, it seemed to suddenly realize its word choice was wrong and confusedly muttered to itself, "Huh, why did I say ''again''?"


    "..."


    When Su Lun heard this, he knew he had no chance of keeping the Yellow Weasel.


    What a pity.


    But from this guy''s expression, he also keenly caught something.


    Out of caution and habit, Su Lun quickly took out his notebook and recorded a sentence, "Does this space have some specialws that limit the logical thinking abilities of the beings within it regarding specific issues..."


    He had once found some "memorandums" in his notebook that he had forgotten about. In that cursed space in Silent Forest, something had happened that he had forgotten.


    Intuition always made Su Lun feel there was something wrong with the closed loop of Netherworld, but he didn''t know what it was.


    Such a clumsy method could avoid the possibility of subjective consciousness being deceived.


    ...


    Despite Su Lun''s various temptations, the Yellow Weasel wouldn''t take the bait.


    Eventually, he wasn''t prepared to break the agreement and returned the Demon Core to the creature.


    Although it happened for a reason, he still picked up two treasures for nothing. From this perspective, the Hyakuzo Master really was "auspicious."


    Su Lun didn''t forget the most important thing. While the spirit was still there, he asked, "Excuse me, do you know how to leave Netherworld?"


    The Yellow Weasel, after a thorough beating, originally had someints.


    But seeing that these humans actually released it, its face clearly rxed quite a bit, and it casually replied, "For that, you''ll need to ask King Izanami. No living person hase to Netherworld, naturally, none could leave. If there is a way, only that great person would know..."


    After saying this and without waiting for Su Lun to speak again, the spirit transformed into a wisp of yellow smoke and vanished on the spot.


    Their ears still carried its distant murmur, thick with a manly emphasis, "Oh, damn, what an unlucky day..."


    ....


    After the spirit left, Su Lun and his twopanions were left standing there.


    Sendo had her sword back and was in high spirits.


    She was currently ying with the Bodhi Seed she had acquired, her face full of vitality. Since they weren''t strangers, she also shared her novel experience, "It''s really a treasure indeed. Holding it, I feelpletely clear-headed. It feels like I can control ''Sojo''s'' demonic energy without fear of bacsh. Being able to swing my sword with full force, mybat power has at least increased by thirty percent..."


    "Thirty percent? That''s quite impressive..."


    Listening to this, Su Lun''s thoughts returned from the departed spirit.


    Akutagawa Ryuichi had mentioned before, the higher one''s Buddha-nature, the greater a hell-sojourning swordsman''s mastery would be. Sendo''s feeling made sense, after all, she was holding a Demon de that had yet to truly show its strength.


    Su Lun also shared his assessment, "This Bodhi Seed is a Buddhist treasure, it can prevent one from falling into demonic hindrances and is greatly beneficial for swordsmen who cultivate the hell-sojourning path. Wearing it can even offer the chance of sudden enlightenment."


    Upon hearing this, Sendo lit up, "Hahaha..."


    ```


    It was like winning money in gambling, which gave her an immense sense of satisfaction.


    This gamble had paid off big time!


    Laughing heartily, she took another look at the thing in Su Lun''s hand that resembled a ck hole, and asked, "Su Lun, what is this? It looks like spatial storage equipment?"


    Su Lun said, "Not only that. This is the ''Void Whale''s Stomach Pouch,'' and it''s also a part of breeding equipment."


    "Void Whale?"


    Clearly, neither Qian Tiao nor the Princess had heard of such a mythical creature.


    Su Lun didn''t borate.


    The function of this "Endless Stomach Pouch of the Void Whale" was too special. It would take too long to exin, so he simply said, "There''s been a slight change in the original n. I intend to go back to the Senso-ji Temple and fuse with this breeding equipment immediately. This process might take two or three days..."


    Originally, the n was to ambush and kill the monsters, and now, of course, it had to be put on hold.


    Qian Tiao immediately caught the hint and continued, "Right. We''ll split up for the next few days. I''ll take the Princess out for a stroll."


    The tacit understanding between the two was such that there was no need for further exnation. Su Lun didn''t beat around the bush and said, "Good! Be careful. If anything happens,municate with themunicator."


    "Hmm."


    Qian Tiao nodded.


    With her current strength, self-preservation outside of the city was almost no issue, and now with an unexpected advancement, she was even more formidable.


    Although the Princess couldn''t engage in regr fights, she was a shrine maiden who was well-versed in the arts of gods and ghosts, and knew the characteristics of ghostly creatures like the back of her hand.


    As long as they were cautious and kept to themselves, there shouldn''t be any significant problems with the two of them partnering up.


    ....


    Su Lun left directly.


    He left all the light gemstones with the Princess.


    Qian Tiao looked at the misty shadows at the foot of the distant mountains, where it seemed new ghost creatures wereing their way. She hooked the Princess''s shoulder familiarly and called out, "Princess, let''s get going."


    The Princess had been silent all along. She was well aware that she was currently a "burden" and said with a face full of remorse, "I''m sorry, Sister Qian Tiao, for causing you and Mr. Su Lun trouble."


    Qian Tiao didn''t care about these things. She rolled her eyes and said, "I''m not going to be as polite with you as that kid Su Lun."


    She thought responses were all affectation and made her point with her actions instead.


    She threw an arm around the Princess''s slender waist like a hooligan and then leapt into the air, moving swiftly.


    "Ah..."


    The Princess, whose waist was embraced, gave a soft cry like a startled fawn.


    However, she had to avoid using spiritual energy as much as possible now, so she could only let Qian Tiao carry her half-hugged, half-held.


    The two wandered through the mountains and fields, stopping here and there. Eventually, they found a cave in a deste wilderness where no ghostly creatures were active and decided to spend the night there. It was very far from Ghost Town, so they hoped for a few hours of peace.


    They lit a fire, ate some instant food, and Qian Tiao set up a camping tent.


    Aside from herself, a set of clothes, and some magical implements on her person, the Princess had brought nothing else, and she had to leave all arrangements to others.


    Both of them crawled into the tent andy down on the same mat.


    Having stayed together in the bathing chambers of Tea Crying Mountain for quite some time, the Princess didn''t feel there was anything unusual.


    Although the campaign tent was not spacious, it was quitefortable.


    This, too, seemed to be something that Mr. Su Lun had left behind.


    The Princess''s thoughts flew in turmoil as shey on her side on the soft air mattress, unable to sleep.


    Too much had happened today, making her flurry of images arise in her mind as soon as shey down: the ck sun, the sacrifice, the great god Tsukuyomi, the Netherworld, meeting old friends...


    It all felt like a dream, and up till now, she still found it somewhat unreal.


    But as she drifted off to sleep, she suddenly felt a warmth against her back.


    "Is Sister Qian Tiao kicking off the nkets again..."


    The Princess murmured to herself, used to it by now.


    Qian Tiao''s bold sleeping habits always involved draping her limbs over the Princess when they slept together.


    But just as this thought had emerged, suddenly, a hand covered her chest and even gave a slight squeeze.


    As if testing the feel?


    ```


    This was clearly a conscious action.


    The Princess knew that Qian Tiao hadn''t fallen asleep, full of curiosity, she squeaked out, "Sister Qian Tiao?"


    Qian Tiao asked by her side, "Do you feel anything?"


    The Princess was caught off guard, "Ah... what kind of feeling?"


    An awkward silence descended upon the tent for a moment before Qian Tiao''s faint response came, "Oh, nothing."


    "..."


    The Princess felt a sea of question marks over her head.


    At that moment, she felt Qian Tiao''s arm retracting, but it didn''t stop there. Clearly, she could feel that Qian Tiao seemed to be testing herself again?


    What was this operation?


    If they weren''t both females, the Princess might have thought she was being molested.


    But a momentter, as if she had guessed something, under the dim light, her pretty face with bright eyes cleverly shifted, and then she pursed her lips in a smile.


    Sure enough, she heard Qian Tiao''s voice murmur like a fine thread, "I don''t feel much... but, your touch, Princess, seems even better."


    In her heart, she thought that her own were too big, soft and fluffy.


    Those like the Princess''s were just the right size, firm and tenderly soft.


    Um... they seem quite nice.


    As she spoke, Qian Tiao''s wandering hands seemed to want to relive the sensation, reaching out again. Explore stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    After trying, she didn''t forget to mutter, "Just as I thought."


    A good touch?


    Listening to such straightforward words, the Princess felt a sudden surge of shyness.


    Yet she didn''t know how to assess this hooligan behavior.


    Although she didn''t mind, as both were women and she didn''t see anything particrly objectionable, she still thought it was a very strange move.


    She could only speak hesitantly, "Sister Qian Tiao, you..."


    Qian Tiao: "Ah... I''m asleep."


    The touch was good, but she seemed to really find it uninteresting.


    At least people can''t just hold onto it all night long, can they?


    The only difference might be that the other guy usually touches from underneath the clothes directly?


    "..."@@novelbin@@


    The Princess couldn''t help butugh and cry, guessing exactly what had happened.


    She knew that the rtionship between Qian Tiao and Su Lun was no ordinary one, not lovers but closer than friends. Their interactions were so open that it had even influenced her subtly, and she hadn''t found anything strange about it.


    But now, did something seem different?


    Out of curiosity, the Princess asked, "Sister Qian Tiao, have you and Mr. Su Lun defined your rtionship?"


    Qian Tiao didn''t understand and asked casually, "What rtionship?"


    After a pause, as if she finally got it, she straightforwardly said, "How could that be possible!"


    As she spoke, the Princess suddenly felt herself being hugged tightly, a breathless intimacy.


    Qian Tiao, with her bold personality, didn''t find these questions embarrassing at all.


    Being touched meant being touched; there was nothing to deny.


    She said, "I actually think, Miss Princess, that you and he would be quite suitable. What a pity, that little guy Su Lun went to integrate into the armor. Otherwise, if he tried, he would surely not be able to let go."


    Oh...


    These wild words threw the Princess intoplete disarray.


    Try?


    This... how could you just try that, Sister Qian Tiao!


    A multitude of embarrassingly bashful thoughts erupted in the Princess''s mind, and she even became somewhat incoherent, "I... I... how could I possibly... Sister Qian Tiao, you''ve asked a really strange question!"


    Qian Tiaoughed heartily.

 Chapter 338 Konjin Thunder God

    Two dayster, at Sensoji Temple.


    In the dpidated great hall, the light of the Hexagram Alchemy Array gradually faded.


    In the center of the formation, Su Lun slowly opened his eyes, letting out a tired breath, "Hoo...finally, the fusion is sessful."


    Although it was his first time integrating a "legendary" quality prosthetic armor, the process went smoothly without any uncontroble or deformed idents.


    This "Endless Stomach of the Roaming Whale," as identified, could be sessfully merged as long as one understood the basics of the Space Law.


    Su Lun sensed the changes in his body and muttered to himself, "As expected of a legendary prosthetic armor, both space affinity andprehension of thew have increased significantly."


    This was anticipated. After the fusion of the prosthetic armor, it would passively enhance certain rted attributes. This stomach, being the biological material of a void beast, was naturally not bad.


    Su Lun felt the gain was significant; even if the prosthetic armor turned out to be "useless," at least the enhancement of spatial ability meant a stronger capacity for survival.


    With this in mind, he formed the sorcerer''s seals with both hands, and the alchemy array beneath his feet suddenly lit up: "Prosthetic Armor¡¤Release!"


    On another look, his palm moved forward slightly, and a ck dot suddenly appeared. As dark spiritual power was infused, the ck dot gradually erged. About half a minuteter, it had formed into a fist-sized ck hole in the center of his palm, resembling the infinite depth of the starry sky.


    Half a minute. In the time it took for the spell to seed, an enemy could have killed him countless times.


    Despite being mentally prepared, Su Lun could not help feeling a tinge of helplessness at the corner of his eyes, thinking, "Slow to cast, uses up a lot of mana... just as I thought."


    Upon sensing again, the "ck hole" contained an independent space.


    It was the "initial point" of space described by the All-knowing Eye, almost as big as several dozens of indoor basketball courts.


    Inside, it could fit a few fully intact warships.


    Su Lun was very satisfied; at least, he wouldn''t have to worry about conveniently carrying superrgebat mechas he nned to build in the future.


    Furthermore, there was immense room for growth in the future.


    It was like blowing up a balloon; how big it could ultimately be depended on his own ability.


    Su Lun thought about it and changed the sorcerer''s seals in his hand again, causing the ck hole in his palm to begin emitting a suction force, naturally executing the "Void Whale Swallow."


    As he continued to infuse dark spiritual power, the suction force grew stronger, forming an increasinglyrger ck vortex in his hand. The gusting wind whistled through the decrepit hall, and the wooden Buddha statues trembled slightly.


    As the suction increased, it could now whip up sand and rocks...


    Themotion and appearance were quite good.


    But therger the vortex became, the geometrically greater the amount of dark spiritual power needed.


    Su Lun''s face turned slightly pale.


    The absorption thatsted about a minute had consumed about thirty percent of his dark spiritual power, an amount that was terrifying.@@novelbin@@


    But the effect it caused was not proportional.


    A preliminary evaluation suggested that the "Whale Swallow" could absorb objects within about ten meters, but both the suction power and the casting speed were hardly impressive.


    It might be suitable for collecting certain inanimate objects.


    If they were alive, they would have run away long ago.


    For a battle of his current stage, this almost had no offensive use.


    Hmm... indeed quite useless.


    It was like a tractor engine trying to pull an aircraft carrier.


    The thing was good, just not very useful at the moment.


    However, with the improvement in understanding of the Space Law, the absorption effect would greatly increase.


    Su Lunforted himself inwardly: The future holds promise.


    ...


    After sessfully advancing, Su Lun did not n to stay longer at Sensoji Temple.


    He hadn''t forgotten that during these two days, Chitose and the Princess were being chased by ghosts and spirits all over the ce.


    They had been inmunication over these two days; it''s very likely that they were not in danger but were trying to hold on, not wanting to disturb his advancement.


    As soon as he turned on themunicator, Chitose''s somewhat resentful voice came through, "Oy, you finally seeded in advancing! If not, we were about to be chased into a corner... Hurry up, there''s a Ghost King!"


    Hearing Chitose''s tone, Su Lun also breathed a sigh of relief - at least they were safe.


    ....


    About half an hourter.


    Su Lun had ambushed his targets in a dense forest, while crows with totemic wings circled in the sky above.


    Soon, he saw two familiar figures being chased by dozens of ferocious ghosts and spirits in a pitiable run.


    The group of ghosts and spirits, with the momentum of a storm, appeared terrifying. The leading Ghost King was the "Red Demon," the same "Mountain King" that had previously besieged the Princess at the dpidated ancient shrine.


    Su Lun looked at the two people running towards him with the eight-armed spider spear unfolded behind him, and a number of rune-infested puppets appeared in the woods.


    Such a small number of monsters posed no threat at all.


    Charging into the forest, upon seeing Su Lun, Qianjiao let out a loud shout, "Catch!"


    With that, she threw the Princess she was holding in her arms over to him. Her face lit up with excitement as she drew the Demon de, disengaged her six-armed outfit, and turned back to ughter her way into the monster horde. It looked as if she were venting all the frustrations from being chased around the world these past few days.


    Su Lun hadn''t the chance to say anything before he saw a person flying towards him, his eyelid twitching, but he caught the Princess and held her in one arm.


    The Princess, knowing she was a burden, steadied herself and said somewhat awkwardly, "Sorry for the trouble."


    Su Lun smiled and ced her to one side, "We''ll talkter."


    With that, he started to control the puppets to battle with the monsters.


    The battle was without suspense; after Qianjiao distracted the Red Monster, the lesser ghosts posed no threat.


    In the wilds, without a continuous assault by a horde of ghosts, Su Lun''s puppet army quickly ughtered the lesser monsters. Some of them with strong survival abilities that could burrow or phase out fled, and he didn''t bother chasing after them.


    A short whileter, the battle was nearing its end.


    In the dense forest, only Qianjiao and Red Monster were left entangled in battle, but the oue was bing clear.


    Clearly, there was no need for help, so Su Lun and the Princess just stood by and watched.


    He observed Qianjiao''s Sword Qi flowing smoothly through the red mist, ying indiscriminately; the Sword Qi wrapped around the Demon de caused tons of damage to the Ghost King, and a hint of surprise shed in his eyes, murmuring, "Qianjiao''s Sword Intent has improved so drastically these past two days...?"


    Previously, Qianjiao''s shes had very limited effect on such Spiritual Body monsters, and she relied entirely on the Demon de to kill them.


    Now, it was clear that even a regr sword sh could cause the red mist to fade. The ying made the monsters howl in agony.


    Hearing this, the Princess nodded and said, "The Bodhi Seed is a treasured Buddhist relic, greatly affecting those who cultivate the Sword Dao of the underworld. These past two days, sister Qianjiao haspletely unleashed the Demon de, and herprehension of the Sword Dao has indeed soared."


    "Oh?"


    A glimmer of joy appeared in Su Lun''s eyes as he listened.


    Now, it seemed that the value of the Bodhi Seed to Qianjiao was immeasurable.


    ...


    It wasn''t long before the battle ended.


    The mist of the Red Monster grew thinner, and with the Princess''s talismans, there was no escape; in the end, it was in by the sword.


    The previous fleeing by Qianjiao and the Princess wasn''t forck of ability to counterattack, but because it was inconvenient to move with a nonbat Princess, fearing that she might get hurt. They also had to give the monsters the illusion that they could keep on attacking.


    More importantly, the Ghost King had to be left for Su Lun to devour.


    After putting away her de and catching her breath, Qianjiao called out to Su Lun, "The rest is up to you."


    "Alright!"


    Su Lun saw the "grey mist" left by the Ghost King and didn''t dy, directly devouring it.


    ''You have stripped the soul of the Kurayama Ghost King ''Red Monster''.''


    ''You''ve grasped some casting techniques rted to manding the wind and rain'' spells...''


    ''You''ve obtained a piece of information: ''There are some ancient secrets hidden beneath the decrepit shrine...''


    ''You know some secrets of the Netherworld...''


    ''Spiritual Power+...''


    ''...''


    Beyond the Soul Shard, like before, the dispersing aura of the defeated Ghost King in the forest was also absorbed by the shadow of the death god.


    Su Lun felt exhratingly refreshed in an instant, and his perception became clearer.


    Although it wasn''t as exaggerated as the Aura of Shuten-doji, he immediately felt that his understanding of the Death Law had risen a notch.


    Behind him, the features of the shadowy figure of the death god became somewhat more defined.


    This feeling of "experience points" skyrocketing was quite delightful to Su Lun.


    But he didn''t linger for long.


    The noise of the battle had attracted other monsters; several exploratory ghostly mists appeared at the edge of the forest.


    Su Lun gestured to Qianjiao and the Princess, "Let''s go, we should get out of here first."


    Qianjiao asked, "Where to?"


    Su Lun''s eyes flickered as he replied, "Let''s head to the Cangshan Shrine. I stripped some information from the monster''s soul just now. There seems to be something special there."


    Qianjiao: "Okay."


    ....


    Su Lun and his twopanions made their way towards the east of the city, to a deste mountain with a shrine known as "Cangshan."


    The local bully of Cangshan was the "Red Ghost," but now that the Ghost King had been killed, there weren''t any troublesome creatures left on the mountain, so the trio made their way up smoothly.


    As they walked, Su Lun couldn''t help but ask, "Sister Qian, your ''Sword Intent of Drawing Sword Hell'' seemed quite simr to Mr. Akutagawa when you killed the Ghost King just now. Are you close to entering the Sword Saint Realm?"


    He naturally noticed that even without the enhancement from the Demon de, Qian''s Sword Intent was already quite substantial.


    "I don''t know," she replied.


    A hint of sigh lingered in Qian''s eyes as she shook her head and said, "The hurdle of ''Sword Saint'' is one you either ovee or you don''t. There''s no such thing as ''about to ovee.'' It''s a difficult process for any swordsman ¨C it might take several more years or maybe even a lifetime to bridge that final gap."


    As she spoke, her brow furrowed, and she added, "Moreover, since everyone perceives things differently, the paths of the Sword Dao arepletely individual. Mr. Akutagawa could guide me, but I can''t possibly follow his path exactly. I always feel like I''m missing some kind of opportunity. My Qi dissipates instead of condensing, but I just... don''t know what''s missing."


    Su Lun nodded, not quite understanding, and asked offhandedly, "Then the Bodhi seed was of no help?"


    "It''s precisely because it was helpful that I came to realize this gap," Qian answered.


    "Oh..."


    Su Lun couldn''t help much with this issue, so he said no more.


    During their previous rapid visit, they hadn''t had the chance to take a good look at the mountain scenery. Now that they could see it more closely, despite the destion, there was a sort of decrepit beauty to thendscape. The stone bird gates had copsed, and along the path stood some iplete stonenterns, whose architectural style differed slightly from the current Mountain Hermit''s shrines, revealing an ancient charm throughout...


    The three of them made swift progress and soon entered the shrine.


    Just like Sens¨­-ji, the shrines in the Netherworld saw few ghostly visitors, leaving only a few dpidated houses behind.


    To Su Lun and Qian, who were both outsiders, all shrine buildings seemed identical.


    But as a Shinto Shrine Maiden, Shinfuku Mitsuko could discern the architectural details of the shrine at a nce. She pointed out, "This is an Ancient Shrine. It seems to be in the architectural style of the shrines before the ''Great Copse.''"


    Qian asked, "The Great Copse?"


    "Yes," Mitsuko nodded and exined, "There''s a legend in our Shinto teachings about a ''Great Copse'' that urred a very long time ago, leading to the crumbling of realms and the fall of deities... But the era is so distant that I don''t know much about it. I only know that Shintoism thrived before that, and deities would often descend to impart their teachings andws. So, the shrine buildings have some unique styles..."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun immediately guessed that it was probably the cataclysmic war between gods during the copse of the Dawn Era, the part of history known as the "lost history" when the Alchemy ne was shattered.


    But he didn''t gather any more useful information.


    Su Lun even thought that the real Netherworld probably didn''t have shrines or temples. They likely existed just because they were written about by Fujiwara Hayato.


    It seemed to bear some special symbolic significance.


    He looked at the shrine, his eyes reflecting contemtion, and pointed to a building, saying, "Come on, let''s go inside and take a look. There''s a basement there."


    The memory from the Red Ghost indicated that it had lurked here precisely because of that basement.


    The three of them arrived at what was supposed to be a side hall, standing over a stone floor. Su Lun pointed to a tile, "It''s beneath this one."


    Mitsuko looked at theyout of the hall and said, "This should be the ''Treasure Hall.'' It''s usually where the divine artifacts and treasures of the shrine are worshipped."


    Interested by the conversation, Qian chimed in, "Is there really treasure?"


    While ghosts and specters could pass through walls and burrow into the ground, Su Lun and hispanions could not.


    Luckily, Su Lun was skilled in engineering machinery. He took out some mechanical parts and quickly assembled a steam-powered drilling rig with a helical drill bit. Once the steam boiler was activated, the drill bit furiously bored into the ground, churning up the soil, and soon broke through the rock ceiling of the underground pce.


    When Su Lun heard the distinctive sound of breaking stones, he said, "Let''s go down."


    The three of them leaped down.


    ....


    The underground pce wasn''t very spacious, and it was engulfed in darkness. When the magicmp was lit, the first thing they saw was a golden deity statue.


    The deity statue had an angry furrowed brow, its body red as mes, holding swords and spells in hand. Most eye-catching was the eight magatama patterns representing thunder drums on its back.


    Mitsuko recognized it instantly and eximed, "This is the incarnation of ''Konjin Thunder God,'' the Great Deity!"


    Su Lun already knew about the existence of such a deity statue and was not surprised.


    Hearing the name from Mitsuko, he immediately recalled the description of this deity from the archives.


    This deity was worshipped by the Mountain Hermit''s residents as both the "Thunder God" and "God of Swords."


    Although not as famous as Amaterasu Omikami, this deity was from the same era and held a revered status. It was said to be linked to the death of Izanami.


    In the extracted memories from before, the Red Ghost had lingered in this ce because the deity statue possessed a special "Divine Power."


    Yet, upon scrutinizing the statue, Su Lun couldn''t discern anything noteworthy, although the All-knowing Eye identified it as a statue that contained "Shinto Regret."


    However, even after sensing it, Su Lun, as an Alchemist, didn''t find anything special.


    Thinking that Mitsuko might know something, Su Lun turned to her and asked, "Miss Mitsuko, what is an incarnation of a deity?"


    Mitsuko borated, "Legend has it that before the Great Copse when Shintoism flourished, deities would descend to bless their faithful by embodying themselves in certain crafted golden images of the devotees. These images usually retained some of the deities'' Divine Power."


    "Oh."


    Su Lun listened and still felt that this thing shouldn''t have much to do with him, it probably had some use for the Princess.


    But suddenly, he felt a violent storm of Sword Intent bursting around him.


    "Eh..." Discover more stories at My Virtual Library Empire


    He turned his head to look, and Qian Tiao''s expression was extremely serious, her gaze fixed on the divine statue like lightning. Her hand rested on the Demon de, and the six-armed Rakshasa phantom had already manifested behind her.


    Upon closer inspection, ayer of Protecting Body Qi, condensed by Sword Qi, began to swirl around her body. Thatyer of Qi, however, resembled dancing thunder serpents, gradually crackling with strands of lightning.


    Su Lun immediately realized something, "Sword Qi bing Gang Qi, has Sister Qian Tiao''s dominance seeded?"


    More than that, the Sword Intent of the path to hell was erupting like a volcano, so intense that standing beside her, one felt almost pressured by her sharpness. The "Ghost King Hundred Eyes Monk Zong Zheng" in her hand released demonic Qi like a tide, as a snow-white, thousand-eyed centipede phantom wrapped around her left arm.


    Upon further observation, the [Magic¡¤Bodhi Seed] hanging at her waist was shining brightly, seemingly protecting her mind and spirit.


    A twitch appeared at the corner of Su Lun''s eyes as he thought of something, "Has she had an epiphany?"


    The instantaneous enlightenment of Buddhism is indescribable and profoundly mysterious.


    It hade just like that.


    The "Konjin Thunder God" is the God of Swords, and that hint of "Shinto Regret" must have be the final piece Qian Tiao needed to step into the realm of the "Sword Saint."


    The Princess, noticing the anomalies on Qian Tiao''s body, exchanged a nce with Su Lun and also showed a relieved smile.


    Not knowing how long the process would take, the two of them did not disturb Qian Tiao and quietly moved a bit further away.


    ....


    The subterranean pce was fairlyrge, so the two of them walked to the other side of the divine statue.


    Something came to Su Lun''s mind, and he whispered, "I remember there were some Shinto stone carvings and murals on the walls..."


    As he spoke, he illuminated them with a magic light source.


    The pale yellow light wasn''t very bright but still revealed a section of vividly carved reliefs.


    Without looking, Su Lun knew that the content on them was simr to the movements of a "divine dance" and ceremonial scenes, none of which were of use to him.


    But when the Princess clearly saw the content of the murals, it was as if she had seen something unbelievable, with a look of shock impossible to hide on her beautiful face.


    She quickly covered her mouth, eximing, "This is the secret ''Dance of the Divine Priestess,'' never passed down before the Great Catastrophe of our Shinto Shrine Maidens!"


    Seeing these stone carvings felt like a duty had descended upon the Princess; she quickly examined all the murals and said in astonishment, "My god, at our Iga Shrine we only have a few remaining fragments, but here, there areplete twenty-four paintings!"


    Su Lun was seeing the Princess lose herposure for the first time and asked, "Is this secret technique very powerful?"


    "Yes."


    The Princess''s bright eyes trembled with excitement, and without concealing anything from Su Lun, she said excitedly, "The inheritance of our Shinto Shrine Maidens almost alles from the content on these stone tablets. This path... can lead to the divine!"


    "Shrine Maiden" is a profession,


    "Imperial Prince" is a status,


    and "Divine Priestess" is a level of power.


    These few paintings were more precious than those Su Lun had seen previously in the royal pce.


    Hearing this, Su Lun thought to himself, "This Netherworld really has many treasures."


    He looked at the joyful expression of the Princess and couldn''t help but feel that their chance encounter was too coincidental.


    Yet what he found even more impressive was that Fujiwara Hayato, that grand literary master and grand adventurer, had indeed collected quite a few treasures!


    ....


    Qian Tiao was immersed in an epiphany before the statue of the "Konjin Thunder God," and the Princess had discovered a secret technique on the underground pce''s stone tablets. Both were fixated in an extremely obsessed state, looking as if they wouldn''t rest for quite some time.


    This left Su Lun suddenly with nothing to do.


    After strolling around the underground pce and finding nothing else of use, he went outside.


    Thinking he might stay in this shrine for a few days, Su Lun set up some barriers to iste their presence, praying that no major demons woulde to interrupt before Qian Tiao finished her epiphany.


    After all was done, Su Lun opened his notebook and, on the sketch he had made of the Netherworld, he drew a mountain and wrote down "Ruined Shrine."


    In the center was Ghost Town, with Asakusa Temple to the south, and Izanami''s shrine to the north.


    Su Lun added a few notes to his notebook, analyzing all possible ways out.


    Though this trip to the "Netherworld" brought huge gains,


    he hadn''t forgotten that if they couldn''t get out, all the treasures were for naught.


    The three of them, and the treasures they carried, would just add some more relics to this world.

 Chapter 339 Thunderous Hell

    Initial draft. The news that the Kurayama Ghost King "Red Demon" had been in spread out.


    Half a dayter, Su Lun found various fairies and goblins gathering at the foot of the deste mountain where the shrine was located. Some came to inspect the situation, some were onlookers, and others were drawn by the scent.


    Qian Jiao was still staring nkly at the golden statue of the Konjin Thunder God, while the Princess was busyprehending the Shinto legacy on the stone tablet. Neither of the women seemed to have any intention of leaving the underground pce soon.


    This was an opportunity not to be missed, and Su Lun would not let the ghosts and monsters disturb them.


    Just like how he had merged with his armor a few days earlier, it was now Su Lun''s turn to cover for the two of them.


    He went down the mountain and repelled several waves of goblins.


    If he encountered troublesome monsters, he would lead them away in circles.


    Su Lun was meticulous in thought and decisive in ughter, confusing the peculiar group thoroughly.


    Regrettably...


    After stripping some ghost souls, he discovered a problem¡ªthat no matter how manyyers of barriers there were, the Princess''s Yang energy would still attract an endless stream of monsters.


    Some ghosts with sensitive perception still detected the presence of the Princess and stealthily approached the mountain.


    If left unaddressed, more waves of monsters would attackter.


    Ultimately, Su Lun had no choice but to go to the underground pce and take the Princess out.


    The Princess is a Shinto Shrine Maiden and could not engage in actions that would damage the shrine.


    However, Su Lun did not have such concerns. He directly cut down all twenty-four relief sculptures and packed them away using a space-sealed scroll.


    Then, it turned out to be Su Lun fleeing everywhere with the Princess.


    ....


    Half a dayter.


    Two figures were quickly weaving through the forest. asionally, a thread would appear, strangling a ghost lurking in the shadows prepared to ambush them.


    Su Lun''s methods were quite effective in dealing with minor creatures.


    Because they ran fast and there were ck crows in the sky, the two were not blocked by arge assembly of ghosts and monsters.


    Before long, the two arrived at a deste mountain vige.


    "Mr. Su Lun, there is no scent of ghosts and monsters in this area. We can rest here," the Princess said.


    Her Shinto secret techniques had a much wider range than Su Lun''s Soul Perception, and she was particrly sharp in detecting ghosts. With her by his side, they could finally catch a peaceful breath.


    "Good."


    Su Lun also breathed a sigh of relief as if relieved of a heavy burden, setting down the Princess whom he had been half-embracing.


    Originally, he could have used threads to carry the Princess like a puppet, but he thought that would make both feel awkward, truly like carrying a burden, and also feel alienated.@@novelbin@@


    Fortunately, after asking the Princess, she did not mind, so they kept moving in that manner.


    After being held close for so long, both of their garments retained each other''s body heat.


    Although it waspelled by circumstances, there was still a distinction between men and women.


    The Princess straightened her dress, her cheeks slightly red, and bowed politely, apologizing, "I have caused you trouble."


    The two were familiar with each other, naturally not too rigid with formalities. The Princess''s habitual polite manners were usual to Su Lun. He smiled, said nothing, and then suggested, "Let''s eat something and rest here."


    The Princess nodded: "Yes."


    Su Lun took a few steps and found a house in the vige that looked sturdy enough not to copse from wind or rain, then took out camping cooking tools to start a fire for cooking.


    Running around for half the day, they were both extremely tired and hungry.


    Only then did he realize the pressure Qian Jiao had experienced during those two days he spent merging with his armor.


    Those ghosts gave no breathing room, appearing anytime, anywhere.


    Before long, the canned meals were heated up, with the scent of the food wafting through the air.


    Su Lun and the Princess sat by the stove and began their meal.


    The ck crows on the rooftop were very quiet.


    Perhaps because he had cleared the minor monsters near Kurayama when ughtering the Red Demon, this ghost vige-like deserted vige had no trace of ghosts.


    It was a rare chance to rest and recuperate.


    After a simple meal, the Princess sat down with Su Lun and began tidying up the cookware. They were not in a hurry to leave and started making repairs.


    The Princess took out a stone te she had found in the shrine''s underground pce and studied the "Dance of the Shinto Priest" on it.


    As it was an unspoken secret of the Shinto teachings, although Su Lun was curious about those "deitymunicating" secret techniques, he had no intention of probing further. Instead, he began inscribing runes on a thread nearby.


    But as he was carving, suddenly, a series of crisp and delightful bell sounds reached his ears.


    Ring-a-ling~


    Ring-a-ling~


    Looking up, he saw the Princess holding a Kagura bell, mimicking the movements shown on the stone te, while softly muttering some arcane and difficult ancient chants.


    Although she did not use Spiritual Power, the rhythm and melody felt as if they were resonating with some cosmic principle.


    It was quite magical.


    Seeing Su Lun''s gaze directed at her, the Princess smiled back, not hiding anything, and exined, "This is a linguistic spell known as ''Shinto Priest''s Chant - Heavenly Auspicious Jade Chime.'' It''s usually used to summon deities and bring blessings. Even ordinary people who hear it feel a sense of calm in their spirits."


    Su Lun showed a look of realization: "Oh."


    The Princess then asked, "Mr. Su Lun, did I disturb you?"


    Su Lun smiled and shook his head, "Not at all."


    He possessed the ability to multitask effectively, so even though he was currently conversing with the Princess, his engraving actions didn''t stop.


    The two of them continued the conversation along those lines.


    "Mr. Su Lun, weren''t you curious about the Onmyoji''s ''Shikigami Substitute Technique'' before? I also noticed some records on this stone tablet..."


    "The stone tablet records Onmyoji techniques?"


    "Yes, not just that. The stone tablet also contains records of major historical events from before the ''Era of Great Devastation.'' However, many I still haven''t figured out how to interpret, and I''m still researching them."


    "Oh. Are these things alright to discuss?"


    "Apart from Shinto secret techniques, other religious rules don''t prohibit them from being shared¡­ Of course, Mr. Su Lun, you mustn''t share them either."


    "Okay."


    "¡­"


    Su Lun was indeed quite interested in the history before the ''Great Devastation,'' and since it was a rare opportunity, they began exchanging ideas.


    While talking, they analyzed together.


    However, not much content had been interpreted from the stone tablet yet, and after a few sentences, they nearly reached the limits of that topic.


    They gradually shifted to some casual conversations.


    This cursed space was like a cage¡ªif they couldn''t escape, perhaps this would be thest moments of their lives.


    So, it seemed like there were no topics they needed to avoid,


    training, life, royal gossip, childhood experiences...


    They could chat about any topic for a bit.


    This also brought some relief from the constant tension of being chased by monsters.


    In the broken house, heartyughter from the two was asionally heard.


    Suddenly!


    While chatting, Su Lun thought of something and casually asked a question, "By the way, Senpai Chitose told me earlier that Miss Princess had something she wanted me to try out? She even mentioned it was a ''surprise''?"


    This was something the three of them discussed in secret at the shrine, with Chitose suggesting he should ask the Princess when he had a chance.


    They had been running around earlier and hadn''t had the time to ask in detail.


    Now that they had a moment to rest, he posed the question.


    "¡­"


    As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became somewhat awkward.


    The Princess''s pretty face instantly reddened, and her ears turned burning hot.


    How could she just try that!


    But as she nced at Su Lun, who was earnestly inquiring, she could guess that they had both been teased by Chitose.


    Unconsciously, her cheeks flushed, and she stuttered, unsure of how to exin the topic, "Ah... this..."


    The soft light of the magicmp cast upon her teasingly bashful face, full of shyness.


    Seeing her demeanor, Su Lun immediately realized something, and awkwardlyughed, "Ah... I must have been teased by Senpai Chitose again." Experience more tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    "¡­"


    The Princess dared not continue with that topic.


    But upon mentioning it, she instinctively thought of Chitose''s bold actions when they slept together, and her gaze involuntarily fell to her own buxom chest.


    Su Lun caught her expression and twitched his eye.


    His vision was excellent. It was fine when he didn''t intentionally look, but with this nce, his eyes delved into the open cor of her miko attire, viewing a stretch of smooth, white cleavage.


    Having bathed together before, and carrying her all the way here earlier, he naturally knew the Princess had a shapely figure, which was beyond reproach.


    Thinking of Chitose''s bold nature, he probably guessed something, and immediately his face betrayed an expression that was both amused and exasperated, unsure of what to say, "Senpai Chitose really is..."


    The Princess is a friend.


    That was quite alright.


    Upon hearing this, the Princess understood what he had guessed, and her gaze became even less direct.


    ...


    They had not been settled in the dpidated house for a few hours before a wave of monsters attacked the deserted vige.


    They had to run away again.


    Moreover, Su Lun had discovered some troubling information from the memories of the monsters he killed.


    The Ghost King [Red Monster] had been in; hearing this, several otherrge demons nned toe and kill them. Even from Ghost Town, several infamous Ghost Kings emerged.


    This was originally good news; Su Lun could use this opportunity to absorb demon qi to enhance his Reaper''s Phantom.


    But as the mainbat force, Chitose was still at the shrine, and facing them head-on was very risky.


    Su Lun''s fighting power against minor monsters was sharp, but facing a Ghost King was more of a gamble. He could take on a single Ghost King in desperation, but he couldn''t always rely on desperation.


    Moreover, he had the Princess with him.


    The two could only keep dodging and hiding.


    Just like that, two days passed.


    They encountered dozens of monster waves. Su Lun killed all that he could.


    The ones he couldn''t kill, they cleverly avoided...


    But ultimately, the ghosts'' intelligence was very high, and some were adept at scheming and using special methods.


    They figured out Su Lun and hispanion''s perception methods and began a nned encirclement. A group of monsters chased them, while some ambushed them. Even though Su Lun was already very careful, the situation grew increasingly dire.


    After all, this was the realm of the dead; enemies were everywhere.


    As they ran, they finally crashed into arge group of monsters'' encirclement.


    ...


    That day.


    In the dense forest.


    Having unlocked the Eight-Armed Spider Spear, Su Lun, carrying the princess, sprinted through the forest.


    Having just escaped a fierce battle, both were covered in ck blood.


    Behind them, arge mass of ck hair floated in the air, relentlessly pursuing with great momentum.


    This was a Ghost King-level monster called the "Hundred Faces Hair Ghost."


    It didn''t have a body, only hair that could extend indefinitely. Beneath the tide of hair, dozens of crowded, terrifying ghost faces looked extremely eerie. Dozens of eyes fixed on Su Lun and hispanion, while from their throats came a chilling "jiejiejie"ughter.


    Su Lun didn''t dare think of fighting.


    This creature greatly restrained his abilities; once he used his puppets, they would be entangled by the hair.


    Besides, Su Lun sensed that this thing had several dozens of soul fires. Each ghost face hidden in the hair had soul fluctuations¡ª even using his ck Scythe, Su Lun didn''t know which to strike first.


    The only advantage was that this hair monster feared fire.


    Su Lun knew the technique "Wu Shi," ensuring his safety.


    However, the ck crows in the sky also noticed some movement of other monsters at a distance, which showed Su Lun a hint of military tactics.


    He realized they had been surrounded.


    The princess in his arms also noticed the perilous situation and asked, "Mr. Su Lun, should I make a move? I have a technique that can heavily damage this ''Hair Ghost.''


    Su Lun shook his head, "Not yet. We are running low on light gemstones; save them for the most critical moment. Besides, that monster clearly wants to force us into the valley to the south where there''s likely an ambush. We have only one path now¡ªto head for Cangshan Shrine."


    The princess nodded, "Right."


    Meeting up with a thousand warriors, they could turn the tables.


    ...


    As they sprinted, they soon saw Cangshan from afar.


    But just then, a ck crow in the sky suddenly cawed loudly.


    The princess sensed something too, her expression changing, "There''s arge area of ghostly energy fluctuation ahead!"


    Su Lun narrowed his eyes, suddenly understanding something, and analyzed in a deep voice, "We have been operating around Cangshan these past few days; the monsters clearly perceived our range of activity."


    They had stayed close by these past days to coordinate with the thousand warriors.


    But the ghosts had also noticed this and had prepared their tactics early.


    As Su Lun had suspected, there were capable beings among the ghosts.


    However, Su Lun uttered these words quietly.


    Because a reply had alreadye from the thousand warriors.


    She said they could kill.


    ...


    The crow''s rm forewarned them of at least one powerful monster.


    Indeed, after running only a few steps, Su Lun and hispanion encountered another Ghost King.


    Su Lun looked at the general d in tattered armor and, upon closer inspection, was startled to recognize a historical figure.


    A significant figure from the Warring States Period several centuries ago¡ªGhost Warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi.


    And behind it, an army of over five hundred "Ghost Samurai," all lined up in formation!


    Seeing these soldiers, Su Lun knew that this encirclement was likely their doing.


    Without giving them any time to react, the moment they showed up, the group of long-prepared ghost samurai suddenly raised their bows and released countless arrows into the sky.


    "Swoosh," "swoosh," "swoosh"...


    The arrows fell densely like a thunderstorm, covering the sky.


    Su Lun pulled with one hand, and several mechanical shields appeared from nowhere. With a series of "click-ck" metal sounds, the shields quickly connected into a shield wall, instantaneously surrounding them.


    After setting the defense, with a single hand forming the sorcerer''s seals, a dark golden luster flowed over his skin.


    Just as he embraced the princess for protection, the sound of rain hitting banana leaves erupted.


    Filthy ghostly energy exploded on the shield, sending waves of energy impacts, one after another, like the chill of deep winter, painfully piercing to the bone.


    After a round of arrow rain, without much pause, a second wave of arrows shot toward them again.


    The dense crossfire left no time for escape.


    Su Lun''s heart sank.


    The ck crows in the sky shared their view, and he could clearly see the ghost samurai charging over.


    Lonely wandering ghosts were manageable, but these well-trained ghost samurai were the most troublesome!


    Su Lun nced at the agreed time and decided not to move, stopping in ce.


    There was no point in heading up the mountain now. Being trapped on the mountain would be worse than deciding the battle right here.


    In case of unforeseen circumstances, there would still be a way out.


    Moreover, dealing with these ghost warriors, he also had enough experience and wouldn''t be at a disadvantage for a while.


    Su Lun made his decision.


    "Princess, prepare for battle! You block the "hair ghost"!"


    "Okay!"


    He set down the Princess, sped his hands in the sorcerer''s seals, and softly chanted, "Puppet Mastery ¡¤ Puppet Theater!"


    In an instant, the Hexagram Array beneath his feet lit up, and a giant cross quickly condensed in the sky above.


    Su Lun took out a few scrolls and exploded hundreds of puppets.


    The Princess stood solemnly next to him, lightning-quick she drew her bow and arrow, bit her finger to draw blood-red runes on the arrow shaft, and shot an arrow at the hair ghost chasing them.


    "Whoosh~"


    The arrow, wrapped in white Amaterasu daylight fire, easily prated the hair ghost, directly demolishing several ghost faces in range. The creature screamed and retreated repeatedly.


    On the other side, Su Lun''s puppet army had already shed with the ghost warriors.


    Army formation battle, if you can do it, so can I.


    The ghost warriors'' formation was tight, clearly old soldiers.


    But these "ghost warriors" here couldn''t infinitely resurrect like those previously under Abe Yasukazu''s control. When the puppet army charged, they also suffered casualties. Plus, the mechanical armors loved charging against such fleshy walls, massacring all over.


    These humanoid ghost creatures, capable of being controlled with mental tentacles, Su Lun seized any opportunity to control some with thread, causing his puppet army to gain a significant upper hand.


    He himself also unleashed the fourth stage of hormone rampage, directly shing hard with that "Ghost Hero ¡¤ Toyotomi Hideyoshi".


    This ghost king was of about fifth-stage profession strength, not easily killed.


    The battle instantly became extremely intense.


    Plus, with two great ghost kings tied up, there were continuously various ghosts and monstersing from all directions.


    Su Lun was not at all panicked.


    Because his mental countdown was almost up.


    15, 10, 5...


    Sure enough, just then.


    From the direction of the dpidated shrine on the mountaintop, a sudden surge of sword intent burst forth, and the sky was instantly filled with thunder and lightning.


    Su Lun''s expression hardened: "It''sing!"


    ...


    Very abruptly, thunderclouds appeared in the sky above the deste mountain peak of Cangshan.


    And in an instant, the dark clouds rolled, covering arge nearby area with roaring thunderclouds, looking like an apocalyptic scene, with thick purple-red lightning snakes shing within.


    A solitary figure stood beneath those thunderclouds.


    After pausing for an instant... she charged fiercely toward the foot of the mountain!


    "That''s a bit too exaggerated..."


    Su Lun didn''t know if Chikara had suddenly reached the realm of Sword Saint in the Divine Pce, but before she could only call for help when she couldn''t win.


    Now, seeing the soaring sword Qi, he knew she had seeded.


    This scene seemed familiar, almost like seeing that previous "Sword Saint" Akutagawa Ryuichi''s corpsden "Draw Sword Hell."


    But differently, behind her was not a "Sword Hell" but a "Thunder Roaring Hell"!


    And more astonishingly, there was still more toe.


    Chikara charged down like lightning, and behind her the shadow of a six-armed Asura suddenly emerged. Unlike before, behind that shadow were now three hooked-jade-patterned thunder drums!


    These were thunder drums condensed from pure elements; her movements caused the thunderclouds in the sky to respond to her, trailing fire and electricity as lightning mixed with sword intent covered her in ayer of shing protective Gang Qi.


    Her speed was incredibly fast, leaving a long trail of thunder light behind her.


    Her momentum was like a thunder dragon descending from the heavens, fiercely cleaving down from the mountaintop.


    Dominance on full disy.


    Su Lun saw this and his pupils suddenly contracted: "Chikara''s also became dominant!"


    This was the biggest hurdle for a sixth-stage professional, and she had finally crossed it.


    In the blink of an eye, the thunder light had arrived.


    Su Lun only heard a "ng" as the long sword was unsheathed, as if a profound sound hade from hell: "Single Sword Style - World Exile!"


    Su Lun could only see a sharp sh of lightning zip by, as if the world in front of him had been split in two by the sword light.


    The speed was so fast that it was impossible to react!


    Looking again, the "Many-Faced Hair Ghost" that the Princess was struggling against had suddenly stiffened, its dozens of ferocious faces showing shock and fear.


    At that moment, time seemed to have stopped.


    A crack split from the center of the creature''s faces, and then lightning shed within the fracture. Immediately after, a bolt of purple lightning struck down from the sky. The heavens exploded in brightness, like a thunderous hell.


    This "Ghost King," along with its tide-like ck hair, also disintegrated into ash under the lightning.


    Reduced to ashes.


    The sound of breaking stones echoed by his ears, and looking again, a small hill a hundred meters behind the creature had been forcefully shaved off a chunk.


    Chikara sheathed her sword, standing therezily, lifted her eyebrows slightly, and muttered, "Sorry, I just grasped this ''Thunder Roaring Hell,'' couldn''t contain the sword Qi."

 Chapter 340 The Transition Chapter Before the Fight

    As soon as Qian Tiao made her appearance, she directly beheaded the Ghost King "Hundred Faces Hair Ghost," leaving Su Lun and the Princess dumbfounded.


    Having crossed the "Sword Saint" threshold, herbat power had more than doubled, without exaggeration.


    Moreover, it was even more evident that Qian Tiao was handling the "Ghost Maru Hundred Eyes Munemasa" with increasing ease. At this moment, this Demon de in her hands finally disyed its true might as a hellish magic weapon. The Sword Qi was focused and unyielding, gathering on the peerlessly sharp de, making chopping through the armored ghost soldiers as easy as slicing through melons and vegetables. With one sh, she would trigger a sky full of purple-red thunder, resembling an electric prison that exploded with countless ghosts wailing in pain within.


    This was indeed the true spectacle of "Thunderous Hell."


    The three did not catch up on old times. After Qian Tiao killed the "Hair Ghost," she immediately attacked "Ghost Hero¡¤Toyotomi Hideyoshi," who was engaged inbat with Su Lun.


    Both were swordsmen, and their swords shed with sparks flying everywhere.


    But Qian Tiao clearly had the upper hand, each of her shes carried the momentum of thunder, incredibly domineering, forcing the Ghost King to retreat step by step.


    Seizing the opportunity, Su Lun broke away. The technique of four-stage hormone rampage was undone; he gasped for air heavily.


    This time, because he hadn''t fought to the point of desperation, and he had timed it just right, his muscles were hot and steaming, but luckily he was not as injured asst time, unable to even walk.


    He walked over and protected the Princess by his side, then devoured the "grey fog" on the scorched ground.


    Unfortunately, a thunderous baptism had burned away much of the souls and demonic aura, so the fragments harvested by Su Lun were few.


    But it was better than nothing.


    With Qian Tiao''s entrance, the situation turned around instantaneously.


    While Su Lun controlled the puppet to kill minor monsters, cleaning up the "materials" left on the battlefield was quite leisurely.


    Soon, the battle ended, with a ground strewn with corpses of ghosts and monsters.


    Su Lun went on to harvest the soul of "Toyotomi Hideyoshi," gaining a wealth of ancient military formation tactics. The demonic aura from the corpse also significantly boosted his Death''s Shadow''s "experience."


    The news of their encirclement spread among the monsters, and the three didn''t dare linger near Cangshan, finding a direction to break out.


    ...


    Not long after, they came upon a nameless mountain stream with flowing water.


    The trio walked on a pebbled beach.


    On their journey, they had killed another minor Ghost King and had finally broken through sessfully.


    For miles around, they no longer saw any trace of monsters.


    Since they had been moving quickly before, and the Princess had been continuously carried by Su Lun. Now that the situation didn''t seem as critical, he set her down.


    Now that they had a moment to rest, the three finally had the chance to chat casually.


    Curious about Qian Tiao''s current realm, Su Lun asked, "Qian Tiao, have you advanced to ''Sword Saint''?"


    Qian Tiao was in a good mood, her face decorated with a smug smile, "Of course."


    After a pause, she continued, "I always felt I was missing something. When I saw that ''Konjin Thunder God'' statue in the underground pce, I had an epiphany about that hint of high-level thunder Sword Intent, and suddenly I understood. It also helped to invoke the Sword Intent contained within the Demon de from the previous swordmasters, and it made me think of the hellish scene filled with thunder, which led me to develop this ''Thunderous Hell''."


    Hearing this, Su Lun felt happy for her, "That''s great."


    He figured that if they encountered a Great Ghost King of the same caliber as Shuten-doji, even if they couldn''t beat it, they would at least be able to protect themselves with ease.


    Only when Sword Intent turned into Gang Qi did Qian Tiao truly gain the ability to sh through Protecting Body Qi.


    As she spoke, Qian Tiao fiddled with the Bodhi pendant hanging on her waist, adding, "I owe it to this ''Bodhi Seed'' too. Without it, I wouldn''t have been able to perceive that almost imperceptible trace of divinity."


    Su Lun, curious, asked, "What does it feel like to have an epiphany?"


    Qian Tiao reflected for a moment, "It''s magical. It''s like suddenly bing enlightened, grasping that sensation that once seemed like sand slipping through your fingers."


    The Princess, standing nearby, blinked and interjected apologetically, "Qian Tiao, did we interrupt your moment of enlightenment?"


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    She naturally knew that if Su Lun hadn''t been burdened with her, Qian Tiao wouldn''t have felt the need to rush to their aid.


    "Ah... interrupt? That''s not the case," Qian Tiao responded with an indifferent expression.


    The conversation continued, and with a mischievous look, she suddenly draped her arm over Su Lun''s shoulder and whispered with a mysterious grin, "By the way, Su Lun, did you try out the surprise I mentioned to you?"


    "..."


    Su Lun just rolled his eyes upon hearing this, showing no intention of engaging the topic.


    Though she imed to speak softly, her words were clear to the Princess standing beside them.


    Then, Qian Tiao hooked her arm around the Princess, saying, "Oh dear, it would be a pity not to try it if we can''t get out, wouldn''t it?"


    Hearing such tant teasing, the Princess couldn''t help but roll her eyes at her helplessly.


    ...


    Over the next few days, Su Lun and his twopanions were on the road, ambushing various ghosts and monsters.


    The effect of the Princess''s "monk''s meat" was indeed impressive; those demons could find her from a long distance.


    Su Lun''s fighting power was now ridiculously exaggerated. Although she was only at the fifth rank, she had mastered the "domineering force" that only those of the sixth rank could wield skillfully. This endowed her sword qi with an immensely strong armor-piercing effect, making it extremely sharp against spiritual and elemental creatures.


    Moreover, the "Thunderous Hell" sword intent she had grasped harmonized incredibly well with the Demon de, even managing to unleash all the abilities of the "S¨­j¨­b¨­" hellish demon weapon. The demonic aura was originally too exaggerated and using the power of the Demon de carelessly could have led to possession by demons, but with the "Bodhi Seed''s" Buddhist restraints supplementing it, shepleted that most crucial link.


    With the Demon de in hand, Su Lun was like someone wielding a "forbidden weapon" that wouldn''t backfire with a curse, chopping wildly.


    Even Su Lun couldn''t urately assess herbat strength anymore.


    Gauging roughly, as long as she didn''t encounter an ability that countered hers, she could take on practitioners of the sixth rank.


    The trio''s teamwork and coordination were impable as they ambushed demons in various mountains and wild ridges.


    The Princess acted as the bait, sensing the monsters, while Su Lun and Su Lun took care of killing them.


    In just a few short days, they had in more than a dozen Ghost Kings and thousands of ghosts around Ghost Town.


    As a result, Su Lun stripped away a massive amount of demonic aura, and hisw of death surged by multiple times.


    This gave him a vague sense that the underworld in the book seemed a bit different now.


    However, those ghosts were not fools; as tempting as the Princess''s aura was, it wasn''t as important as their own lives.


    Gradually, the efficiency of their ambushes declined.


    Su Lun harvested a wealth of information about the Yomi Country, and he had almost aplete grasp of the demons there, especially the more well-known ones, knowing their abilities clearly. If they encountered something they couldn''t beat, they would circumvent and whittle it down; if they could beat it, they would annihte it.


    It was after they had set up an ambush and wiped out arge group of zombies led by "Blood Drought," one of the "Eight Great Demons of Yomi" with the same status as "Shuten-doji," that they finally ran out of "business."


    No matter how much they provoked or lured them in, those Ghost Kings wouldn''t be foolish enough to seek them out again. asionally, they could take out a few lesser-known ghosts unaware of their "notorious reputation," but that was hardly satisfying.


    ....


    Before they knew it, Su Lun and hispanions had been in the Yomi Country for more than twenty days.


    The sky of the Yomi Country was eternally shrouded with a dim, cold, grey moon.


    Come dinnertime, in a dpidated small temple.


    Having wandered about for half a day with little to show for it, the trio decided to spend the night there.


    Su Lun had initially nned to wait until the thirty-day effect of the "Mendicant''s Pellet" wore off before figuring out a way to leave.


    But now, it seemed there was no difference whether their presence was detected or not.


    Monsters no longer came looking for them, and there seemed to be no threat to life outside the city.


    However, it was impossible to stay in this cursed space forever. The Eye of Omniscience showed that, even though they were absorbing dark spiritual power through battle, the aura of Yomi was still polluting their bodies through their breathing.


    So, leaving a few days earlier orter made no real difference.


    They nned to make contact with the Yomi Country Lord Izanami the next day.


    Su Lun set up the tent, took out the stove, and then took out a bunch of food.


    The Princess was helping with the arrangements. Without anyone to tend to her these days, the princess, who had never cooked before, had also learned to manage quite well.


    Although it was instant food, the meal was extraordinarily abundant,plete with dried fish, air-dried meats, canned fruits, and dehydrated vegetables.


    Once heated, the aroma was tantalizing.


    The three gathered around the steaming stew pot, eating merrily.


    The absence of monsters to fight wasn''t entirely bad.


    The upside was that they no longer needed to hide, and they could get a good night''s sleep and eat something substantial without worry.


    Su Lun''s sitting posture was full of swagger, always holding her sword even while eating. Sheined as she ate, "Ah, life''s be unbearable. Now these demons have all gotten wise and no longere to their deaths..."


    The Hell Path''s sword fighters lived forbat, not afraid to fight, only afraid of nothing to fight.


    It had been a good while since they encountered a demon that required her to draw a second strike, so naturally, she felt somewhat uneasy from idleness.


    Hearing this, Su Lun''s face showed a hint of a smile, but there was a grave look in his eyes, "Su Lun, rest well today. If things go as expected, tomorrow''s business won''t be so smooth."


    Hearing this, Su Lun just shrugged indifferently.


    After a moment of thought, she asked, "Su Lun, you''ve been gathering so much intelligence these recent days. What do you think about the real strength of that Yomi Country Lord?"


    Su Lun revealed a thoughtful look, saying, "That King is very mysterious. All the ghosts in Yomi have an almost iprehensibly fervent worship of Him. Naturally, there''s no record of any battles."


    Thinking for a moment, he changed the subject and analyzed, "However, we can make some guesses about strength. ''Generally speaking,'' the curse space subjects and thews of the ne restrict, so an individual entity within the space won''t be too high. I think¡­ He probably has the special powers of a seventh rank."


    This was the most logical conclusion.


    On their Alchemy ne, the rules were shattered, and the upper limit was locked at the "Demigod rank."


    This is still the limit.


    Under normal circumstances, even the cursed space formed after the death of a Demigod is at most of the seventh or eighth order. Over time, it is also subject to the influence of the environment and energy.


    In these days, Su Lun had almost fully grasped the entire Ghost Town of Yomi Country; [Shuten-doji] with the strength of a sixth-order professional was considered one of the top demons in Yomi Country.


    There were a few legendary Great Ghost Kings in the city, but it was estimated that their power barely exceeded the seventh order.


    They were notorious mostly because of certain special abilities they possessed.


    After all, Su Lun had truly seen beings of divine level.


    He didn''t think this "Izanami" would be infinitely strong.


    Whether it is the "Fallen Angel" or the "Nature God" of the Dalu tribe, these are genuine living deities.


    And those gods of the Mountain Hermit, perhaps in ancient times they really were high-ranking deities. But without surprise, in that "Great Catastrophe," Ying should have mostly fallen.


    Otherwise, they wouldn''t have never descended till now.


    The many gods of Mountain Hermit now are actually personifications of a collective faith, essentially being "pseudo-gods," "outer gods"¨Cthat level of existence.


    To put it more casually, they are very powerful "Great Demons."


    Upon hearing this analysis, Qian Tiao''s brows also furrowed tightly.


    After pondering for a moment, she said, "Even if it''s seventh order, facing it directly, we have no chance of winning. Let''s hope it bears no malice..."


    However, Su Lun was not optimistic and nodded, "Mm. We Ying Ai should focus on what to do in case of unexpected oues... and also, I always feel like something is not quite right."


    After the insight into thew of Death improved, this feeling became increasingly strong.


    Qian Tiao: "..."


    As the two talked,


    The Princess beside them had not said a word the whole time.


    After all, believers cannot spheme the gods. Even here, she still adhered to her faith.


    ....


    After finishing dinner, the three of them cleaned up and prepared to rest.


    The snowkes in the sky became denser and soon created a thickyer outside the threshold of the dpidated temple. The cold moonlight shone on the snow, reflecting a strange and hazy blue glow.


    Perhaps because tomorrow was the day when their fates would be decided, the three of them actually rxed a bit.


    Su Lun held the notebook he had used to collect information these past days, like a student reviewing before handing in an exam paper, trying to find possible "mistakes" in the n.


    The Princess was getting ready to rest because she had to perform a ritual tomorrow.


    Next to her, Qian Tiao, wearing a loose kimono,y there with her legs crossed, aszily as ever.


    Qian Tiao looked at the serious-looking Su Lun, patted the spot next to her, and beckoned, "Come over and rest properly, Su Lun kid. We''ve done all we could."


    On hearing this, the wrinkles on Su Lun''s brows finally eased, and then he raised his eyebrows with a smile, "Mm."


    Indeed, they had done everything they could.


    If they truly could not ovee the force, tactics would not change it.


    He walked to the edge of the tent.


    The Princess inside made room, and Qian Tiao also shifted her buttocks, leaving a spot for him to lie down.


    Su Lun did not stand on ceremony andy down next to Qian Tiao.


    The three of themy back on the mats, and from this angle, they could see out of the doorway of the dpidated temple and view the snowy scene outside.


    For a while, no one spoke, and they justy there quietly.


    Without any hint of sleepiness, their eyes reflected the deste beauty of the snow in Yomi Country.


    Suddenly, Qian Tiao asked, "Su Lun, do you have any regrets if we really can''t get out of here?"


    Su Lun replied with a light tone, "Quite a few regrets. It''s such a fascinating world, there''s still so much to see..."


    As he spoke, he counted on his fingers, "For instance, I haven''t stood at the pinnacle of the alchemy domain to view the scenery; I haven''t experienced the bustling capital cities of the two great empires; I haven''t seen other dimensions. Mm... Also, the many friends I''ve made, not being able to meet them again, that''s the most regrettable."


    Listening, Qian Tiao also heaved a slight sigh, "Ah, we even talked about going on pirate adventures together. I didn''t expect our first venture to be so unsessful. And you know what, I''m really starting to admire those great adventurers like ''Fujiwara Hayato'' and ''Pirate King ck Sam.'' Exploring the world and discovering the unknown is truly wonderful."


    Su Lun replied with a smile, "Yeah, I also think the profession of an adventurer is quite nice."


    Their tones carried a subtle note of pessimism.


    And indeed, that was the case.


    Until now, Su Lun had not the slightest confidence that they would definitely make it out alive.


    If Ote Himeya chose to use this [Death Novel], she certainly intended to trap all outsiders here; it wouldn''t be easy to break free.


    ```


    Moreover, this was a "T-ss" space, as judged by the Eye of Omniscience. Without finding a one in ten thousand chance, it was absolutely impossible to escape.


    The situation for tomorrow,


    Grim.


    Su Lun then asked, "What about you, Sister Qiantiao?"


    "Me? I''m pretty good..."


    Qiantiao was quite philosophical about it, saying, "I have now entered the ''Sword Saint Realm,'' glimpsed the supreme height of the Sword Dao, and have thus fulfilled my wishes. If I could have one more exhrating battle, that would be even better."


    At this moment, she thought of something and turned to the Princess on her right, "Miss Princess, what about you?"


    The Princess''s character was gentle and serene, barely noticeable when she did not speak.


    Even when the three of them were together, most of the time she just quietly listened on the side.


    Upon being asked, she replied with a very calm voice, "For us of the Shinto lineage, the process of death is merely awaiting the next cycle of reincarnation."


    While speaking, she took a deep breath, her in white garment rising and falling significantly.


    She wasn''t concerned about her own life or death but felt sorry for involving her friends.


    The Princess said somberly, "I''m sorry. I''ve implicated Mr. Su Lun and Sister Qiantiao. If it wasn''t for..."


    Before she could finish, Qiantiao hugged her tightly and said with dissatisfaction, "Hey, hey, hey... Princess, saying things like that is really alienating."


    The Princess''s head was pressed against Qiantiao''s chest, feeling a suffocating pressure.


    She could only plead, "Sister Qiantiao, I''m having trouble breathing..."


    Qiantiao then let go with a yfulugh.


    ...


    The three chatted sporadically for a while and gradually fell silent.


    The magicmp was turned off, and the surroundings grew dim.


    In the tent, only the even sound of breathing remained.


    Su Lun was not sleepy, lying on his back on the mat, and the more he thought, the stranger the premonition grew in his heart.


    He felt he had vaguely touched upon some key point, but it seemed like looking at flowers through fog, elusive and indistinct.


    Qiantiao was sleeping beside him, very close. Their skin touched extensively, but neither found it ufortable. Such intimacy had bemonce over these days.


    Neither of them was asleep.


    Suddenly, Qiantiao turned towards him.


    Su Lun just felt his arm sink into a mass of heavy softness.


    Qiantiao pressed her face to his ear and whispered softly, "Su Lun, if you have the chance to survive, live well."


    Previously in Edo, the blind qin master with the "Heavenly Eye" talent foresaw her own death.@@novelbin@@


    Since her fate could not be changed, if possible, she did not want to drag Su Lun down with her.


    Su Lun listened, but did not respond to her.


    Their understanding of each other let him immediately know what she meant.


    Would Sister Qiantiao die?


    But if it''s going to happen, it would be here.


    This was a thorn in Su Lun''s heart.


    ....


    It should have been a very sentimental atmosphere, but at that moment, Qiantiao suddenly rolled over and directly across Su Lun, "Switch ces!"


    She squeezed Su Lun into the middle without ceremony.


    "Give me your hand."


    "???"


    "How does it feel?"


    "..."


    Su Lun guessed Qiantiao probably had some mischievous idea,


    but after changing positions, she quietly fell asleep holding his arm.


    On one side was Qiantiao, and on the other was the Princess.


    To Su Lun''s slight surprise, the Princess did not shy away either. She shifted slightly and leaned in closer, her breathing gradually bing steady.


    ```

 Chapter 342 341

    Next day.


    Su Lun and his twopanions took a good rest for the night, and they once again returned to the dpidated shrine in Cangshan.


    The three of them reconstructed a simple altar at the highest point of the main hall using bricks and stones.


    The Princess, having donned the properly washed shrine maiden attire, hung straw woven Shimenawa and white "Ö®"-shaped ceremonial paper streamers on the boundary of the altar, lit the incense made from the materials collected over the past few days, and then began the ritual proceedings.


    The Shinto ritual was quiteplicated, but she was meticulous and conducted it with full reverence, in ordance with ancient practices. Discover more content at My Virtual Library Empire


    Su Lun and Qian Tiao, besides helping to move some bricks and stones, which was toughbor, were unable to assist with theter parts. They watched from a distance, their expressions all too familiar.


    Under normal circumstances, the Princess would use secret techniques to bless, and then attempt tomunicate with the deities.


    If the Yomi Country Lord was indeed Izanami from the Mountain Hermit''s faith system, she as a Shinto Shrine Maiden, should be able to make contact.


    If not... there were other contingencies.


    Su Lun also wanted to use this method to ascertain the true nature of this ruler.


    ...


    Soon, the Princess was ready.


    She washed her hands in a bronze basin, then took off her shoes and socks, and barefooted, she stepped onto the altar. Her movements were very slow, looking like they were a slow-motion rey. But upon closer inspection, every gesture seemed to be a blur, carrying an elusive and profound subtlety.


    It was Su Lun''s first time witnessing a "Saio" level ritual.


    Or to say, in this era, the number of people who have observed such top-level rituals could be counted on one hand.


    Su Lun watched attentively, asionally jotting down some thoughts in his notebook. Shinto rituals and the rituals of the Dalu tribe he had seen before werepletely different, providing him with a plethora of unique insights.


    Barefoot on the altar, the Princess prayed, and then began to strike a small drum she held.


    "Bang," "Bang," "Bang"...


    The rhythm was slow.


    The sound of the drum was crisp, echoing throughout the entire rundown shrine.


    As she struck, she also began to dance.


    This sequence, Su Lun had previously seen in murals at the Edo Castle library belonging to the God Clothes Priestly Family. After starting the ritual, the shrine maiden would perform several dances on the altar: sacred music drum, archery dance, sacred bell, fan dance...


    It''s said to please the gods in heaven to watch.


    The movements looked simple, but the Princess danced beautifully. Each move seemed infused with deep devotion, inspiring awe in those who watched.


    Su Lun''s left eye shimmered with light, carefully observing every detail.


    Gradually, he perceived a growing concentration of the Power of Faith on the altar, like ayer of hazy white light.


    "Seems like she really made contact..."


    Seeing this, Su Lun murmured to himself.


    ...


    On the altar, the Princess''s movements were meticulous, very slow.


    But time seemed to pass very quickly.


    Unknowingly, the dances of various Shinto ritual implements hade to an end.


    At that moment, the Princess untied the cords of her hakama, retracting her hands from the wide sleeves. Looking again, she extended her right hand out from the open front of her garment. The left hand followed suit, and the white under-kimono fell to her waist, leaving her entire upper body exposed to the air without cover.


    Delicate corbones, the perfectly raised curves, the smooth and t belly... all were bare for the view.


    Su Lun''s expression changed slightly as he watched.


    The skin of the Princess had a warm jade-like luster, so white it was translucent. At this moment, with Divine Power gathering in her body, her entire being radiated a white glow, like an untarnished jade figure, exuding a fresh and ethereal sacredness.


    So much so that even upon seeing her naked body, one would not harbor any impure thoughts.


    Su Lun knew that the most crucial part of the ritual was approaching¡ªthe Shrine Maiden was about to begin the sacred Kagura dance.


    Whether or not the deities would be drawn in was now the question.


    Qian Tiao also watched intently, his hand always on the hilt of his sword.


    This is the Netherworld, and this Cangshan Shrine has no barrier to block demons. They were uncertain if what they had attracted was a divine being or some demon.


    If there was a problem, they would choose to rescue the Princess first.


    Actually, the ritual dance in ancient times was not only for the eyes of the True Gods.


    But since the generations of imperial princesses performed it topless, naturally, others were not allowed to see.


    Over time, this sacrificial event was gradually passed down and it became taboo for outsiders to watch. Each time the sacrifice was performed, it was done alone by the imperial princess in the shrine.


    Just like now.


    The Princess, holding Shinto bells in her hands, danced gracefully on the altar, her figure soaring through the air, creating seemingly ten, dozens of shadows that made it difficult to discern her true form...


    The Kagura dance was not only a sacrificial art but also a very clever technique of shifting and dodging.


    As she danced, she chanted blessings under her breath.


    Usually, the content of the blessings were prayers for rain, blessings, and protection.


    Now, she prayed to converse with the divine.@@novelbin@@


    ...


    On the altar, the sky above shone brightly as if it were daytime.


    This phenomenon in the cold and dreary Netherworld was like the light of dawn, drawing significant attention.


    Su Lun narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression growing more and more solemn.


    Because he clearly sensed that after the Princess started the Kagura dance, surging demonic energy began to converge above the mountains surrounding Cangshan. Nearby ghosts and monsters were forcibly attracted by the Shinto secret technique, revealing themselves...


    The three had not yet waited for the Yomi Country Lord, Izanami.


    At that moment, a demon could no longer restrain itself. Suddenly, death energy rolled over the broken walls outside the shrine, slowly coalescing into a fierce ghostly face. It looked at the white light above the altar with a greedy gleam in its eyes.


    Su Lun identified it at a nce, disying "Gukuri-ba," a type of evil spirit.


    Before the ghostly face fully emerged, Chitose suddenly drew her sword, and a sharp Sword Qi shed out, killing the great demon coveting the Power of Faith on the spot.


    Su Lun didn''t avert his gaze, waiting in strict formation.


    On the altar, the Princess continued to dance wholeheartedly. This Kagura dance, which invoked Divine Power tomunicate with the gods, was extremely draining both physically and spiritually. In no time, beads of sweat began to form on her skin, shining crystal clear under the refracting light, adding a certain unintentional charm to her. Due to her movements, they slid down her smooth skin.


    Suddenly, Su Lun sensed something, his pupils contracting sharply as he shouted, "It''sing!"


    Hearing this, Chitose quickly closed her eyes, for she too sensed that suddenly descending will... indescribable upon the shrine!


    Divine beings must not be looked upon directly.


    In that instant, the immense will became clearer and clearer.


    As soon as Su Lun clearly perceived it, ensuring his left eye saw what it did, a storm of shock surged in his heart, "How is it possible! How could Fujiwara Hayato have depicted a real divine being in a novel?"


    He had originally thought this Izanami was just a "great demon" or a "false god."


    But in his sense, that indescribable feeling was certainly notparable to lower beings.


    This was a genuine "True God"!


    Because Su Lun himself had seen god-level beings with his own eyes, and the All-knowing Eye''s identification would never be wrong.


    But how could it be possible...


    How could there be a real god-level being in a cursed space?!


    Fujiwara Hayato had depicted an "indescribable" existence with his pen?


    For a moment, Su Lun''s own understanding shed with the facts he was witnessing.


    He vaguely caught on to something amiss. But that feeling wasn''t strong enough to decide whether his own understanding was wed or if his senses were being deceived.


    Chitose nced at him with a puzzled look on her face. Normally, she would wait for Su Lun to assess the situation before deciding the next course of action.


    But now, even Su Lun was confused.


    Facing a demon, one could fight or retreat.


    But what about a True God?


    ....


    ```


    Before Su Lun had time to think further, the Princess kneeling at the altar prostrated herself on the ground with utmost piety.


    Su Lun also lowered his gaze, not daring to look directly.


    If this was indeed a True God, it would be an offense for lower beings to even gaze upon them directly.


    The undescribable will coalesced in the sky, and although Su Lun didn''t know what It looked like, he could sense a soul as monumental as a mountain range.


    The "Izanami" that descended upon the shrine saw that It had been summoned by the Princess, and only then did that overbearing pressure relent slightly.


    But an air of untouchable majesty remained.


    As the pressure above dissipated, Su Lun and Wen Yu finally felt their breath, which had seemed to stop, return to normal.


    In the wilderness surrounding the barren mountain, an authoritative female voice echoed, "Followers of Amaterasu... I never expected to see the living in the Land of Yomi."


    The Izanami in the sky, as if feeling a breath of freshness in the eternal destion, murmured to Herself.


    Su Lun immediately sensed a subtle probing wave sweep over him.


    However, the being that had descended did not show enmity from the start, and both he and Wen Yu by his side breathed a sigh of relief.


    After a moment of pondering, Izanami seemed to perceive something, and spoke to the Princess at the altar, "I feel your devotion, speak, what do you beseech."


    Although the Princess was a Shinto Shrine Maiden from the Iga Shrine, after all, these mountain hermits and divine beings were part of the same system; one could say they were all followers.


    The Princess responded respectfully, "Great Yomi Country Lord, ruler of Death, Izanami-sama, I am Shinfuku Mitsuko, the ny-ninth generation Saio of the Amaterasu Shinfuku n... We have strayed into the Netherworld, and I beseech you to allow us to leave this ce."


    Upon hearing this, a sneer came from the sky, "No living being can leave the Netherworld."


    The Princess prostrated herself on the ground, saying nothing.


    A shaman is only a proxy for the deity, after praying, the final decision lies in the hands of the divine beings.


    No matter the oue, she had to abide by it.


    ....


    The living cannot leave?


    Hearing these words, Su Lun felt disappointed, though not surprised, and thought to himself: If it were that easy to get out, it wouldn''t be a T-level difficulty...


    But just as this thought arose,


    suddenly, the situation took a sharp turn.


    The majestic voice as if changed its mind, spoke up again, "However, in light of your piety, I shall grant your prayer."


    Overjoyed at hearing this, the Princess bowed quickly in gratitude, "Thank you, Lord of the Country."


    "????"


    This left Su Lun confounded.


    It was agreed upon so easily?


    So easily that it seemed somewhat unreal.


    But his instinct told him it couldn''t be that simple.


    Sure enough, as if having received some direction, the Princess, with a face full of apprehension, spoke up, "But... Yomi Country Lord, may I... may I request that you also send my two friends away?"


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun felt a chill in his heart.


    The tone of Izanami became somewhat indignant and cold, "They are not followers of the Shinto path, I have no obligation to help them. Besides, do you think the Land of Yomi is a ce where one cane and go as they please?"


    The domineering nature of the Lord of the Netherworld was fully disyed in this statement.


    Listening to this, the Princess became even more anxious, her face pressing lower into the dust.


    As a shaman, she should absolutely obey the will of the divine, but for the first time, she persisted with her own thoughts. She pleaded again, "I beseech you, Lord of the Country, to send my friends away. For this, I am willing to give my all."


    "Princess..."


    Listening and wanting to stop her, Su Lun found that the Princess had already spoken.


    Moreover, her words seemed to have touched a taboo, as Izanami''s tone suddenly turned ominous, "Hehehe... you are a Shinto Shrine Maiden, yet you plead for two outsiders?"


    With an uneasy face but still a firm tone, the Princess replied, "Mr. Su Lun and Miss Wen Yu are... extremely important friends to the Princess. I earnestly request the Country Lord to fulfill my wish."


    With these words, the atmosphere suddenly dropped to a freezing point.


    ```


    "Heh heh heh... How foolish!"


    Izanami seemed inmed with rage, her sneer incessant. She questioned, "If I were to say, only one of you and your friend can leave the Netherworld. Would you still insist on your decision?"


    Upon hearing this, the Princess froze for a moment, as if suddenly recalling the many memories of acquaintance, feeling an inexplicable warmth in her heart.


    Knowing them might be the most delightful event of my life.


    Without any hesitation, she nodded: "Yes, even at the cost of my life."


    ....


    What Su Lun and his twopanions did not know was that, at that very moment, in a secret chamber within Edo Castle, the pages of a novel turned automatically once more.


    The words that appeared on the page read: "Shinfuku Mitsuko''s heart was filled with conflict. She could not betray her own faith, but on the other hand, they were friends she believed she could share life and death with. Ultimately, she chose to sacrifice her life to give Su Lun and hispanion a chance at survival..."


    ...


    Hearing the Princess''s answer, Izanami did not hide her mockery: "Heh heh... Such ludicrous sentiment!"


    She suddenly became irate, almost scolding: "Foolish believer, then have it as you wish! You shall give up your life, and I will let your friend leave!"


    The moment Su Lun heard this, he muttered, "This is trouble."


    Gods, just like humans, possess jealousy, resentment, greed... all sorts of inferior traits.


    ording to legend, Izanami, because of her death, arrived in the Netherworld. Her partner, Izanagi, attempted to retrieve her. But on seeing her decayed body, he was horrified and fled in panic. Since then, Izanami has harbored "malice" towards the world of the living.


    It was said that from that point on, she envied all perfect love, friendships, and familial bonds.


    Inyman''s terms, this deity had some psychological issues.


    Su Lun immediately spoke up to interrupt: "No! Princess, if you have the chance, leave this ce first!"


    He did not doubt that Izanami could send them away, but definitely not in exchange for the Princess''s life.


    Meanwhile, Senjo also perceived the determination in the Princess''s expression and shouted, "Princess, don''t do it!"


    But it was already toote.


    The Princess looked back at them, her lips curving with a sorrowful smile, "Mr. Su Lun, Senjo, I am delighted to have met you in this life. Knowing you has made my days the most wonderful..."


    With those words, her body radiated a dazzling light. In the eyes of Su Lun and hispanion, she transformed into a sky full of pink cherry blossom petals, scattering into the air.


    The Princess knew all too well she was facing a true deity!


    This was the only chance she saw for a living escape.


    If she were to go, who else couldmunicate with this noble deity?


    The fate of Su Lun and hispanion was almost certain death.


    The Princess could not be so selfish.


    She decisively ended her life, not giving Su Lun, herpanion, or even the noble deity the time to react.


    Since the deity had agreed,


    there would be no chance for her to regret once she was dead.


    It was worth it.


    ...


    The Princess''s body dissipated upon the altar, her smiling visage vanishing amidst the profusion of cherry blossoms.


    Senjo shouted in distress: "Princess!"


    Su Lun clenched his teeth tightly, unable to utter a word, his expression dark.


    He had pondered over every possible scenario beforehand, but had never anticipated this one.


    Before his sorrow could unfold, it was then that voice from the heavens sounded once more with a hint of taunt: "Alright, since she chose to end her life in exchange for yours, decide amongst you, who will stay and who will leave..."


    Upon hearing these words, Su Lun''s gaze turned icy.


    This was ying with human nature again...


    In the eyes of that lofty deity, humans, these lower beings, were probably just a source of amusement in her endless years.

 Chapter 343 Section 3 Rakshasa Woman

    "Sister Qian, let''s head to the south. There''s a ten-thousand-foot cliff behind the ruined temple where we stayed before. I''ll take you down!"


    "Okay!"


    Su Lun had anticipated that they might be pursued.


    His n was to use the terrain to shake off their pursuers.


    With the eight-armed spider spear, he could nearly ignore any terrain obstacle. With Qian Tiao clearing the way in front, he could look for opportunities to break through. asionally, using the silk thread to pull Qian Tiao along, theirbined speed was definitely not slow. Even those ghosts flying in the sky could hardly catch up with them.


    Just like right now.


    At the beginning of the battle, this n seemed to have no issues. It appeared that Su Lun and his partner were in danger, but there was actually a good chance of escaping to safety.


    But gradually, problems began to arise.


    This was thend of the Yellow Springs, home not only to monsters but also to that unfathomable King, Izanami.


    That "divine being" clearly would not let them escape so easily.


    Su Lun had not expected that Their methods could alter the course of mountains and rivers, making the sky fall and the earth copse...


    The terrain had turned into an obstacle for Su Lun and hispanion''s escape.


    ...


    Before long, Su Lun and his partner reached the abyssal cliff which they had scouted before.


    They had once spent the night in this ruined temple.


    Behind the temple was an ancient pine tree, beside which stood a rudimentary stone table carved with a chessboard. From there, one used to be able to see the bottomless ten-thousand-foot cliff.


    Su Lun had long thought of descending from there, following the river downstream through the depths. Suchplex terrain would be difficult for the ghosts to follow.


    But now, hope turned into despair when they looked.


    The cliff...


    Had actually disappeared without a trace!


    In its ce was a barren and bumpyndscape.


    Seeing the cliff that had vanished without a trace, the faces of Su Lun and his partner turned very grim.


    Although they did not know how Izanami managed to do it, it was no longer important.


    This escape route waspletely hopeless.


    And what was worse, in the shared sight of the crows in the sky, the "Gate of the Yellow Springs" in the heavens continued to spew out ghosts without end. It was as if a hole had opened in the sky, and a ck tide was pouring out from all sides.


    Su Lun''s face was somber.


    This moment, he found himself in an unprecedented mental dilemma.


    He could think of no strategy that could allow them to escape under this "absolute control."


    Qian Tiao nced at him and guessed what was happening, her expression hardly changing.


    The two stopped running and did not continue.


    They leaned against the ancient pine tree, gasping for breath.


    Their furious flight had depleted their spiritual power considerably. Qian Tiao, whose sword Qi could sh hundreds of meters and who had in several "Ghost Kings," was actually using moves that drained almost all her spiritual power.


    She had been persisting only because Su Lun had told her there was a way out here.


    However,


    It turned out that there was no escape.


    Qian Tiao calmed her heavy breathing and did not dwell on matters of life and death. Instead, she noticed that Su Lun was not himself and asked, "Su Lun, are you alright?"


    "I''m fine."


    Although Su Lun said that, an eerie gleam appeared in his eyes.


    He knew exactly why Qian Tiao was asking.


    Because the identification panel clearly showed several negative status effects like "Mild Corruption by the Qi of the Yellow Springs," "Moderate Pollution by Demon Qi," "Severe Pollution by Ghost Qi," and so on.


    As Qian Tiao had fought her way through and Su Lun had reaped along his path, in a short time, he had absorbed a massive amount of demonic qi.


    This qi was mixed with the Power of Faith, impurities, negative energy... and many other strange existences. It was too much to handle in one go, and his body simply couldn''t digest it healthily.


    By forcibly absorbing it, the demonic qi directly corroded his body and soul.


    Su Lun''s current condition seemed to be teetering on the edge of "half-human, half-ghost."


    It was an emergency that threatened his life, even worse than the previous "mental aberration" condition.


    But Su Lun had no choice.


    His intuition told him that improving his "death rule" would be the key to breaking out of this situation.


    Now that Izanami had confirmed it was impossible tomunicate and had shown hostility, if Su Lun desperately didn''t absorb that demonic energy, even if he escaped, he couldn''t think of any other sliver of possibility to get out of this cursed space!


    But now, it''s still just a little...


    Su Lun felt that he still needed arge amount of demonic energy, perhaps to see some "opportunity".


    But at present, whether it was him or Qian Tiao, both were at their limits; it simply wasn''t possible.


    Besides, what if he bet wrong?


    ....


    Is this where it ends?


    Yes.


    It seems there''s no other way.


    When one choses to face death head-on, no desperate situation will induce fear in her anymore.


    With this thought, Qian Tiao''s previously extremely solemn expression suddenly rxed.


    She noticed the hint of frenzy in Su Lun''s brows and spoke calmly, "Su Lun, you''ve always been veryposed and rational at any time before. It''s this distinct quality of yours that gave me... a kind of indescribable sense of security. Don''t me yourself, you''ve already done very well."


    Su Lun remained silent upon hearing this.


    He did indeed me himself.


    He med himself for being powerless.


    It was the same with the Princess before, and now with Qian Tiao as well.


    After a pause,


    Qian Tiao thought it was the end of her life, and it seemed like she should say something.


    It seemed she recalled something, her eyes shimmering, she continued to speak, "Before, the Princess asked me if I liked you, I felt that was not the case. Later on, when I thought about it carefully, it wasn''t that I didn''t like you, but it wasn''t that ambiguous feeling between a man and a woman either. To me, you are very special. If I had to say, perhaps, you are the most important man in my life? Yes... important enough for me to entrust my life with you."


    At this point, she smiled sweetly, "So... even though I find some of your actions a bit dull, I didn''t reject you either."


    For the first time, Qian Tiao "confessed".


    As she spoke, her always spirited and handsome face showed a hint of tenderness.


    Her tone was very calm, and she didn''t speak quickly.


    But the calmer she was,


    the more uncontroble the frenzy in Su Lun''s heart became, and the demonic red glint in his eyes grew harder to suppress.


    Looking at the faint smile on Qian Tiao''s face, he seemed to see the Princess''sst parting smile.


    A strong sense of destion surged up.


    He knew, he was about to lose something very, very important in his life.


    Qian Tiao looked towards the approaching "wave of evil spirits" and thought there probably wasn''t time to say much more, so she just said, "Su Lun, we definitely won''t be able to escape like this. I know that without me, you actually have a chance to survive. If there''s even a sliver of a chance to live, you... must find a way to survive."


    Fury raged silently in Su Lun''s heart; he wanted to do something but realized he was powerless.


    The Eclipse Totem on his chest was burning hot, and the beast inside him seemed about to break out of its cage. He struggled to control his emotions, "Sister Qian Tiao, what are you talking about..."


    Even if there was a real chance, how could I possibly abandon you and live alone?!


    Qian Tiao understood his thoughts very well.


    But she knew all the better that her dark spiritual power was already depleted, absolutely without the ability to make another charge like before.


    When the monsters would enclose them, it would be their time of death.


    It was time to make a choice.


    She said directly, "My Rakshasa Woman talent has a secret technique that can ''seize all beings'' essence and energy'', this will be my strongest stance in this life. To die in battle is the fate of a Rakshasa Woman. In this lifetime, with the Sword Dao and friends, I have no regrets."


    "I will try my best to create... even if it''s just a sliver of an opportunity for you."


    After a pause, she looked at Su Lun''s near-ferocious expression, afraid that he would do something foolish, and added another sentence, "You are someone worthy of my entrusting my life to. Don''t let my death... be in vain."


    ...


    Closebat professionals more or less all have a desperate secret technique, Su Lun has the Hormonal Burst, and Qian Tiao naturally has one as well.


    Qian Tiao said this and took out a fist-sized rune case from the pocket she carried with her.


    Su Lun had seen this kind of case before; it was once used by Mr. Jing to seal the limbs of the Fallen Angel.


    Every member of the Jing organization had one of these.


    Qian Tiao took out the rune case, without any hesitation, she made a hand seal with one hand and uttered softly, "Release!"


    The runic glow on the case lit up as if triggering some mechanism, and the case opened.


    In an instant, a flood of dark spiritual power burst out from the case!


    Upon closer inspection, two jet-ck finger segments were inside.


    Even with just a finger, an intimidating pressure that made one''s scalp tingle instantly swept through the area.


    Qian Tiao gathered Gang Qi in her hand and took the finger out.


    After a nce, she slightly raised her eyebrows, flicked her finger, and popped the two segments of the finger into her mouth, swallowing them directly.


    At this point, Su Lun finally understood what she was doing.


    She had cut off her own retreat.


    The "Fallen Angel" was a true god-tier being. How could a fifth-order professional withstand the energy andws contained in just one of its fingers?


    It was like a radiation source; you can slowly draw energy from it, but you can''t just devour it all at once.


    No matter what the secret technique was, in the end, Qian Tiao was bound to die without a doubt.


    Su Lun wanted to stop her from this crazy suicidal act.


    But... it was toote.


    And he couldn''t bring himself to say it.


    In the current situation, if they didn''t fight with all they had, they would die all the same.


    Neither of them had a choice.


    ...


    After swallowing the finger of the Fallen Angel, Qian Tiao''s body curled violently like a shrimp, and the veins on her forehead bulged instantly.


    It seemed she was enduring immense pain, clenching her teeth tightly and emitting a low growl from her throat.


    But at the same time, an absurdly overwhelming dark Spiritual Power, far beyond her rank, was erupting out like an avnche, and it was getting more and more exaggerated!


    And behind her, the almost copsing second form of Rakshasa''s shadow suddenly solidified.


    Not just solidifying, the six-armed Rakshasa shadow, with ming spikes and armored hide, eyes shing like lightning, full of life, with the three magatama behind it glowing in the Radiance of Thunder, lit up the dpidated temple with a purple-red glow.


    Once this shadow appeared, it brought an overwhelming sensation as if a demon from hell had arrived.


    Qian Tiao''s six arms detached from her armor, holding six des, her eyes fierce. The wild dark Spiritual Power surging through her was like mes, zing furiously.


    That wild Spiritual Power was ten times, dozens of times higher than before!


    The uncontrolled outflow of dark Spiritual Power created shockwaves one after another, sending dust and pebbles flying and tiles shattering within the ruined temple.


    However, as a consequence, her skin began to show patches of ck energy spots, a sign of physical mutation.


    ....


    A few breathster, Qian Tiao seemed to have adapted to that violent energy.@@novelbin@@


    She turned her head to look at Su Lun for thest time, smiled faintly, and said, "I''m going!"


    With that, she stomped fiercely on the ground and with a "snap," the boulder where she stood shattered like a spider web into countless fragments.


    At another nce, the shadow dispersed.


    She had transformed into a purplish-red thunder dragon, charging into the ghost tide without any hesitation.


    That figure, striding away sword in hand, was so proud and aloof.


    Watching her figure, Su Lun had no thoughts of trying to escape for his own life.


    "Sister Qian Tiao, if you''re willing to die for me, how could I, Su Lun, be a coward who fears death?!" he thought with a fierce sneer in his heart, pulling out a spatial scroll, and instantly made a hand seal, "Seal¡¤Release!"


    With a "boom," a mecha armed with the Ship-Cutternded heavily on the ground, naturally, it was the "Colonel-level Ship-Cutter IX Mechanical Armor."


    The Mecha''s defense was very strong, and it wouldn''t be defeated by amon Ghost King in a short time.


    But once this suit of armor was donned, it also meant losing the possibility of escape.


    Once surrounded, there was nothing left but to fight to the end.


    Just in the brief moment they dyed, the first batch of evil ghosts had already caught up and were ferociously attacking.


    Su Lun was half a step slow in covering himself with the Mecha. With a "click," the helmet and the main body armor merged, and his eyes also showed a determination as sharp as a de''s edge.


    After the steam boiler charged up with a "whoo" emitting white smoke, the pressure relief valve opened, and the heavy steel body charged like a truck straight into the ghost tide.


    The Mecha, known as the "battlefield meat grinder," wasn''t just for show.


    The several meters long Ship-Cutter swung like a giant windmill; with every swing, it was sure to take dozens of lower-level monsters with it.


    No demon dared to withstand the special vibrations of the Ship-Cutter.


    Like a flesh-and-blood millstone, wherever Su Lun passed, he left behind a trail of severed limbs and broken bodies.


    Even the spectral monsters that could ignore the steel armor and prate the cockpit could do nothing to him.


    With Su Lun''s current spiritual power, those spectral ghosts would find it hard to control him!


    Amidst the horde of ghosts, Qian Tiao''s might was even more exaggerated.


    A massacre in all directions, no one dared to stand in the way.


    After swallowing the "finger," she no longer worried about the darkness Spiritual Power.


    Around her, in the sky of the region several miles around, there was lightning and thunder, with Sword Qi carrying the Sword Intent of "Radiance of Thunder" shing down, and tens of thousands of bolts of lightning exploded from the sky towards the ground.


    The "boom" sound was deafening, and a thousands of six-armed swords hacked through the horde of ghosts, creating storms of lightning and thunder.


    Under the Ghost King, almost no ghost could be her match in a single strike. Above the Ghost King, there were few who dared to touch its sharpness.


    Wherever she passed, corpses were strewn everywhere, filled with the stench of ghostly blood and severed limbs...


    After the Demon de "Guimaru Hyakume Zongzheng" tasted blood, its power was even greater, and only now did it disy the true might of a hellish demon weapon.


    The two cleaved their way through like cutting vegetables, charging relentlessly.


    Yet even with such fierceness, the two were like two drops of cold water in a pot of boiling oil. Although they caused a violent, boiling reaction, how could that extinguish the rolling oil?


    Far from decreasing, the number of monsters was growing.


    Su Lun''s eyes were already bloodshot with killing.


    He was still recklessly absorbing the demonic Qi and ghostly Qi from those monster corpses...


    Hoping to grasp thest chance of a turnaround.


    The feeling in his heart became clearer and clearer, but he was still a bit short.


    It seemed there was no chance to see the true face of this cursed space world.


    "ng," "ng," "ng"....


    The defensive shields on the battle Mecha emitted piercing cracks, as runes and tingyers were rapidly consumed.


    Su Lun knew he couldn''tst much longer.


    It was the same for Qian Tiao.


    Despite her ferocious appearance, with such an intense level of darkness Spiritual Power, her body could copse at any moment.


    Even though almost no demon dared to directly confront her, every time she shed out with the "Radiance of Thunder," she couldn''t help but spit out blood.


    Her body simply couldn''t withstand such an exaggerated energy surge.


    Moreover, it was probably because of Izanami that those monsters, even though they knew death awaited, still rushed into the Radiance of Thunder Hell like moths to a me.


    They gave Qian Tiao no opportunity to catch her breath.


    Su Lun looked at the figure fighting among the monsters, his heart filled with all sorts of unpleasant emotions.


    To watch someone important to him die before his eyes, powerless to help, how utterly desperate.


    ck Crow watched from a corner, sharing vision, and he saw in the sky that Izanami, filled with mockery.


    This "deity" seemed to be watching a y, one that added not light but excitement to the underworld.


    As for those ghosts, no matter how many died, she wasn''t moved in the slightest.


    ...


    Qian Tiao was very clear about her current state as well.


    Just then, through themunicator, herst transmission came: "Su Lun, I''ve just had an epiphany, it seems I can break through to the third stage of Rakshasa Woman. I can probably create a chance for you. But I don''t want you to see me in the state of a wretched death. You must find a way to survive..."


    It was a farewell.


    Her tone was tender like never before.


    There was no hysteria, as if she was narrating something very ordinary.


    It was like... thest words of an old friend.


    Upon hearing her words, Su Lun, who had been bloodshot with killing, suddenly sobered up.


    Looking again at the figure standing with a sword not far away, his eyes moistened.


    It was right after the transmission ended that the Bodhi bead hanging from Qian Tiao''s waist made a crisp sound as it shattered,


    A dark golden Buddhist light infused into the Rakshasa phantom looming behind her.


    In an instant, the Rakshasa phantom went from illusory to solid, seeming like it was cast from pure gold.


    With a majestic appearance, it was fierce on one side, Buddhalike on the other.


    Rakshasa Golden Body!


    Seeing this, Su Lun was deeply shaken.


    Qian Tiao had an epiphany just before her death, breaking through the third stage of Rakshasa Woman!


    At that moment, the wind and clouds surged between heaven and earth.


    Qian Tiao pointed her sword to the sky,ughed freely and heartily, and shouted loudly, "Izanami, do you dare to take my strike!"

 Chapter 344 Their Story Ends

    Su Lun achieved enlightenment in the midst of battle and sessfully advanced to the third rank of Rakshasa Woman.


    At that moment, the six-armed Rakshasa behind her was no longer an illusion but a fiercely frowning golden body of cast gold. Upon closer inspection, it was slightly ethereal yet was the condensation of Gang Qi at its utmost purity. This Gang Qi, like armor, radiated golden light one foot from her body, visibly exuding an indestructible and substantial aura.


    Su Lun''s eyes were filled with darkness as he watched.


    Both Mr. Jing and the previously encountered "Sword Saint" Akutagawa Ryuichi had praised her for possessing an almost immacte heart of Sword Dao, which promised immeasurable mastery in her future sword path. Now, she had utilized the opportunity provided by the "Bodhi Seed" to break through the legendary triple talent unlock.


    Unfortunately, it was her swan song.


    As Su Lun herself said, this was the strongest she would ever be in this lifetime.


    At that moment, she pointed her sword towards the sky, fearlessly invoking the name "Izanami."


    The sky above was terrifyingly low, with tumbling purple-red thunderclouds seeming to slowly descend, rumbling as if to shatter the heavens with thunder.


    Once the majestic Rakshasa Golden Body appeared, even the myriad demons and ghosts were stunned.


    A group of Ghost Kings looked at each other, none daring to touch its sharpness.


    Just then, it suddenly sounded as though a chant of Buddhist scriptures began resonating beside her ear, echoing through the heavens and earth.


    "I see the evil ghosts of hell, Mara''s forms, all forms do not enter my eyes... I see the Lords of Hell, the Yomi Country Lord, Yama, all gods do not disturb my heart... Across nine mountains and eight seas, there is nothing I cannot sever, all specters and spirits, there is none I cannot sh. With my sword drawn, I can split mountains, sever rivers, cleave seas, and y demons and gods..."


    Before these words had even finished, a strange phenomenon suddenly urred in the sky.


    A crack abruptly appeared in the thick thunderclouds, and a blinding golden light shone down from the gap. In the gloomy Land of Yomi, it was as if a golden sword had pierced down from the heavens.


    Wherever the Buddha''s light shone, evil spirits scrambled to evade, wailing in pain, instantly burned to ash by the radiance.


    That beam of light ultimately pierced through the murky mists and shone upon Su Lun''s Rakshasa Golden Body.


    For a moment, the golden light intensely red, as if a deity had descended.


    As if prophesized by divinemand, the Sword Intent umting within her also reached its peak with the chanting.


    Furthermore, the inexhaustible dark Spiritual Power continuously gathered in the sword, the Sword Qi overflowing for three hundred meters. It seemed as if her single strike could shatter the entire Yomi.


    Just then, an even more astonishing scene unfolded.


    Looking up, a grand Rakshasa Golden Body of boundless golden light suddenly appeared in the crack, majestically overlooking all beings of Yomi.


    Suddenly, the giant Rakshasa Golden Body in the sky frowned fiercely and red at the Yomi Country Lord who had been watching the battle from the beginning.


    Immediately afterward, there came the venomous curse of Izanami, offended, "Wretched ants, you dare to offend a great deity!"


    "Hmph!"


    Su Lun let out a cold shout.


    Regardless of whether the Country Lord responded or not,


    Her swing was already imbued with the intent to "y a god."


    But how could those mountain spirits and ghosts tolerate a human offending their revered Country Lord?


    How could they allow Su Lun to bypass them and confront their king directly?


    Although they instinctively feared the ring Buddha''s light, at the shout of the Ghost Kings, the immense spectral energy that had just calmed suddenly surged again.


    That ghostly energy gathering ck torrents sweeping across the sky,


    like tidal waves crashing against the shore, seemed intent on extinguishing the Buddha''s light in the sky.


    But it was already toote.


    The entire world was pitch ck,


    but suddenly, a beam of light lit up.


    It was feeble,


    isted and forlorn,


    but it...


    pierced through the endless darkness!


    With six arms wielding the sword, Su Lun charged fearlessly into the ck tidal wave of ghosts, her mouth full of exhratingughter: "Hahahaha...Izanami, your demons and ghosts can''t stop me!"


    Like a War God, wherever she passed, she demolished all in her path, unstoppable.


    ....


    At that moment, Su Lun had already charged up to Izanami,


    The high and mighty deity seemingly felt fear for the first time.


    Is He a god?


    No!


    He is far from it!


    The "Fallen Angel" was indeed a genuine god-tier being. Could any part of its body be matched by Izanami, who attempted to simte the appearance of a deity through unknown methods?


    Under the pinnacle strike of Chizuru''s de, it too felt the fear of being erased.


    At that moment, as the myriad ghosts failed to stop the human charging fiercely towards them, Izanami finally made her move.


    She raised her hand, and a bizarre sea of green mes appeared in front of her.


    Those mes, as if capable of burning everything, left nothing unburned in their path¡ªbe it mountains, rocks, vegetation, fairies, or ghosts.


    Yet Chizuru did not stop advancing.


    In thest instant before plunging into the green inferno, she looked back onest time.


    It just so happened that her gaze met Su Lun''s from afar.


    Thest backward nce of her life,@@novelbin@@


    She smiled.


    In Edo, the blind Qin Master had once foretold this scene: Chizuru would advance into the sea of fire with her sword, but her face would show no regrets, noints.


    ...


    Ah...!


    Ah...!!


    Ah...!!!


    Su Lun watched in agony as Chizuru''s body began to burn.


    He knew that Chizuru was creating an opportunity for him.


    Without drawing Izanami''s attention, even the strongest lifesaving methods would have been futile.


    At that moment, Su Lun seemed to hallucinate, as if hearing those words of farewell again, "Su Lun, goodbye. Live well. Don''t let my death be in vain."


    Su Lun suddenly calmed from his almost frenzied state.


    Afraid of dying?


    No.


    Having once experienced death, he no longer harbored such fear.


    To die alongside someone he could entrust his life to was worth it for this lifetime.


    Yet at this moment, the more he watched Chizuru''s figure, the more those words echoed in his mind: "Don''t let my death... be in vain."


    Just like the previous Princess, Chizuru sacrificed her life hoping Su Lun would survive.


    It was like being haunted.


    That sentence echoed incessantly in his mind.


    Why should I!? Why should I carry on living carrying the weight of your lives!?


    Su Lun raged within, manipting his mechanical armor to furiously battle through the ghostly mist tide, seemingly attempting to drown his sorrow with ughter. He wanted to charge forward and join Chizuru in striking down that supreme deity.


    But why...


    Why am I powerless!


    Su Lun could only watch helplessly.


    The more he killed, the calmer he became within.


    Suddenly, he stopped.


    Just then, Chizuru roared from a distance, finally unleashing that long-umted ultimate secret Technique.


    In Asakusa Temple, Su Lun had once practiced swordy with Chizuru for a long time.


    They had once had a conversation like this.


    "Inside me lies the strongest sword, still uncut. But one day, it can cut down all gods and demons. Su Lun, help me choose a domineering name..."


    "Tyrant Dragon sh?"


    "Pfft, could your naming be any more clich¨¦d? Can''t you think of a name... um, something that sounds poetic?"


    "How about... Dawn of the New World?"


    "Yes! That''s it. My sword will bring the ''light of dawn,'' a de that brings hope."


    "..."


    And so, Chizuru had chosen a beautiful name for this sword technique¡ª"Secret Art¡¤Dawn of the New World!"


    ...


    With a single sh, the towering Rakshasa Golden Body illusion in the sky also swept down its de.


    In an instant, thunder rained down filling the sky, the noise and movement reaching an exaggerated peak.


    The rolling thunder elements pervaded the entire field of vision.


    This sh directly shattered the "Gate of Yomi" in the sky.


    The lightning connected into a, covering vision, perception, energy fluctuations... everything.


    The sea of lightning obliterated almost all the demons in the center of the battlefield that couldn''t escape in time. Yet, right where Su Lun was, the lightning was slightly less potent.


    Su Lun knew this was his only chance to survive.


    This was what Qiantiao had sacrificed his life for.


    Grief appeared in his eyes, he gritted his teeth, still made a magician''s seal, and detached from the armor''s cockpit.


    No demon paid any attention to this spot; all eyes were drawn to Qiantiao''s sh.


    After a loud "rumble",


    Su Lun could no longer hear or see.


    ....


    He didn''t know how long it had been.


    Su Lun woke from his deep sleep.


    He struggled a bit and realized he must have been buried.


    Momentster, Su Lun''s memories seemed to pick up from a "fragmented state".


    "Did I survive..."


    Su Lun murmured to himself.


    But he couldn''t muster any joy at having survived the ordeal.


    He remembered everything.


    Qiantiao had delivered the final sword strike.


    Su Lun hadn''t seen it.


    He had jumped into a crevice in the ground, hidden himself, and now he had woken up.


    This was a technique Su Lun had learned from Mr. Jing, a vampire''s "Feigned Death Dormancy Technique," using some alchemist potions that allowed him to suspend breathing and reduce his bodily functions to an extremely low level to enter a state of feigned death. Together with the "Wrapping Cloths of an Oz Ice Man" to conceal his presence and a "body double" he had cultivated from his own body''s tissues, these multiple methods almostpletely blocked any means of detection.


    It seemed the n was a sess.


    He was still alive, which meant he hadn''t been discovered by Izanami.


    Su Lun struggled a bit and disengaged the "Thousand Threads" imnt gear, sending sharp strands of fment into the soil''s crevices, extending outward like nt roots.


    Then, he felt the ground.


    About ten meters above.


    Using the fments, Su Lun loosened the soil, straining like a zombie crawling out of a grave, finally able to breathe again.


    He sighed with relief, shed the wrapping cloth, and looked around.


    Due to that battle, the scene was aplete wreck; mountains and rivers were shattered, and the ground was fissured everywhere. More terrifying, a bottomless abyss abruptly appeared in the distance.


    The abyss was oddly shaped in the form of a "T."


    The horizontal part looked as if it had been burnt by mes, with obvious signs of scorching.


    The vertical part of the cut was very sharp, dozens of meters across, as if it had been shed.


    Su Lun remembered thest scene he saw was Qiantiao charging at Izanami with that sh.


    Had he killed her?


    No.


    The vertical sh marks werepletely blocked by the scorch marks.


    In hisst nce, Su Lun identified the origin of those green mes.


    [True mes of the Fire God Kagutsuchi]


    Detailed exnation: The unquenchable divine fire, one of the primeval true fires of the heavens; condensed from high-level gods'' deathws and firews, it can burn everything; as long as there are targets, the mes will not extinguish.


    "Even that sword Qi was burnt away..."


    Su Lun looked at the traces of the battlefield, analyzing the results.


    [Fire God Kagutsuchi] in the Mountain Hermit mythology is a very special existence, He is a divine child born by Izanami.


    But because she gave birth to this Fire God, Izanami also died from those special mes, and thus became the Yomi Country Lord.


    The mes controlled by this deity were the primal true mes that could kill a True God.


    "Fujiwara Hayato really did find some special treasures... Could it really be from the Land of Yomi?"


    Su Lun thought to himself, the curse space must naturally hold the collection of that great adventurer and literary master.


    Suddenly, as these thoughts ran through his mind, it was as if thunder exploded in his head!


    He realized, "I understand now... I finally understand what this cursed space is all about!"


    ....


    Meanwhile, in the Land of Yomi, inside a tavern in Ghost Town.


    An elegant old woman leisurely held a book, engrossed in reading.


    The passing ghosts and monsters around her seemed not to see her,pletely ignoring her presence.


    As she read, she asionally murmured to herself.


    "Gustav, you still love writing tragic endings. Those tragic novels you wrote made readers throw stones and shattered a lot of your house''s windows. Don''t you know readers dislike such stories? Or, are you holding a grudge because I obeyed my family and married to the south?"


    "You actually used high-level rune symbols to depict the deity in the book... Oh my, your literary talent truly has no match in this era."


    "Oh...? If the world is a prison, then love is the key to unlocking it. You still leave some hope for those gorgeous romances."


    "..."


    She read the final ending in the book, which said: "Su Lun ultimately survived. Having absorbed a massive amount of ghost energy, he surpassed the threshold of Death''sws contained in space and saw the true nature of the world."


    This was an unfinished book.


    But the story concluded here.


    Seeing this, the old woman seemed to glimpse an ending that satisfied her, and her eyes suddenly smiled, "Eh... I thought I might need to lend him a hand, but it seems not. Katya''s judgment is indeed good. I really look forward to seeing how far that girl can go..."


    The story continued, but she didn''t keep reading.


    Because at this point, the old woman saw the words the author left for her: "Natasha, I can''t wait for you anymore. I can only leave my story in this book. I hope one day, you will read it."


    Upon reading this, she smiled tenderly, her eyes blooming like flowers, as if she was responding across the ages to the writer, "Yes, I am here."


    Having finished someone else''s story, she seemed to decide to take action herself.


    Holding the novel, she gently spoke to herself, "Gustav, you are gone, and I am also at the end of my life. Our story has reached its conclusion. But I know, you are surely waiting for me there. When this story is opened anew, our tale should begin anew as well. I am curious what I look like under your pen..."


    Reaching this point, the elderly woman seemed to have used up herst bit of energy, as she slowly closed the thick novel.


    With the anticipation of a young girl, she opened the never-before-opened first page and began reading from the beginning.


    The story started with the words: "It was a sunny and pleasant morning; I finally enrolled in the much-longed-for Royal Academy of Rueil. And there, I met the most beautiful girl of my life..."


    The old woman read on, tears brimming in her eyes.


    Just then, something magical happened.


    The scenery around her began to transform, as if the space itself was twisting and time rapidly rewinding.


    The wrinkles on her face visibly changed. Deep creases slowly faded, then smoothed out, turning her visage into that of a jade-like young girl.


    Her silver hair also gradually took on color, turning into a cascade of purple, wavy locks.


    The shriveled and stooped figure became voluptuous, with a rounded chest and pert buttocks, exuding the unique beauty of youthful radiance.


    Such an exceptionally radiant young girl she was.


    Once, she too had been this young.


    The surroundings shifted from Ghost Town to a ssroom in the Royal Academy of Rueil.


    She closed the brand-new notebook and heard someone greeting her.


    Turning her head, a young man with a sunny expression extended his hand, introducing himself warmly, "Hello, my beautiful ssmate, my name is Gustav. I am happy to meet you. I dream of bing a great literary master and adventurer! Now, we are ssmates."


    He was not particrly handsome, and his clothes were cheap, indicating his humble background.


    But the bright sunlight outside just happened to shine on his face, illuminating a pair of pretty light blue pupils that were deep and pure, as if hiding the stars in a summer night sky.


    The purple-haired girl extended her slender hand, returning a noblewoman''s smile, "Hello, my name is Natasha."


    Their hands gently sped together, each feeling the warmth of the other.


    From their very first meeting, Natasha had a premonition that she was about to embark on a passionate love affair.


    Just then.


    Some notes appeared in a notebook describing the author''s personal thoughts: "Actually, I''ve known all along that we weren''t suitable, but you still refused all suitors and apanied me on a path that had no oue. Although it wasn''t long, it was unforgettable. Natasha, I hold no grievances, only some regrets. It''s regrettable that at the most dream-driven and empty time of my life, I met the most beautiful you. And this life, I am forever grateful for having met you... I''ve written our story into this novel, so that our youth will never fade. Forever loving you¡ªCarl Gustav Jung."


    The story of Gustav and Natasha, amoner boy and a noble girl, concluded here.

 Chapter 345 The Truth of the World

    ```


    "I''ve finally understood!"


    A look of sudden realization appeared in Su Lun''s eyes.


    In the previous battle, he had devoured a great amount of demon qi like a whale consuming its prey, and thews of death within him had also increased significantly. After several days of dormant rest, his body hadpletely absorbed those foreign energies.


    Now awakened, Su Lun had a very clear feeling, that his understanding of the deathws had surpassed even Izanami, whom he had encountered before!


    Since Izanami represented the upper limit of thews of this world as the Yomi Country Lord,


    It was precisely because he had broken through that "upper limit" that the foggy perception in Su Lun''s mind had been swept away, bing utterly clear.


    "Wrong, so wrong¡­ It turns out that from the very beginning, my line of thought was incorrect. The ''god'' in the novel world isn''t Izanami, nor is it any other character, but the ''author'' of this story. He created this story, this ''world''!"


    Su Lun took out the notes he had made and saw the clues he had written down; he understood everything.


    He flipped through the notes rapidly, and the points that had previously baffled him, when viewed from a higher perspective, became instantly clear, "I hadpletely ignored the most crucial premise before¡ªthat I am trapped within a cursed world constructed by a novel''s framework. In other words¡­I might have been dimensionally reduced! In this world, I feel like I am a ''person,'' but in reality, I might just be a special existence described by a segment of text."


    A single leaf obstructs the view!


    Just like in a maze, your vision is always obstructed by walls.


    Only when your horizon and cognition extend beyond the walls, can you see the correct path through the maze¡ªand not be blindly burrowing through, following its designated logic.


    "Previously, my logical thinking, world cognition, and judgment were all confined within a closed-loop circle, much like a maze. Without the ability to go beyond this ''upper limit,'' I couldn''t see the true nature of this world. Therefore, that is the difficulty of the ''T-grade space.'' Without touching the limits of thesews, anyone whoes here is bound to die!"


    Su Lun also instantly understood why, when they first arrived in the Netherworld, despite the ghosts being filled with hostility, they couldn''t perceive it at all.


    Under normal circumstances, this would be impossible.


    Not to mention the Ghost King, why didn''t they perceive the hostility from those lesser ghosts with their senses?


    But in the logic of the book, it all made sense.


    If the story''s logic doesn''t require you to discover (this plot), then, you won''t discover it!


    The dimension limits your imagination, forcing you to think along its designated logic.


    Just as ants are unable toprehend the construction of a highway next to their anthill.


    In the cognition of such creatures, perhaps, it''s akin to the end of the world.


    A two-dimensional being cannot understand the concept of three-dimensional space either!


    But does that mean they aren''t living beings?


    No, of course not!


    Now, looking back, many encounters did have significant ws.


    But they have always gone unnoticed.


    Fantasy manifesting within a perfectly closed logical loop and trapping people inside.


    This is the greatest challenge of this cursed space.


    Having thought through everything, Su Lun''s eyes sparkled with vitality.


    "The All-knowing Eye had actually identified the way out before, and even made great efforts to articte the answer. However, after I entered the space, my cognition was limited, and I couldn''t think of the ''author.'' Thus, I also failed to realize the truth behind breaking the situation."


    Su Lun couldn''t help feeling a bit wistful.


    What seemed like simple logic turned out to encapste a loop.


    Within a certain world, that world dictates your imagination.


    And so, you would never doubt any "illogicality" in this world.


    Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire


    Because, within this world, as long as something exists, it''s considered logical.


    Good heavens, that''s inconceivable.


    Su Lun felt as if he had touched upon some high-level "world enlightenment."


    ...


    Ultimately, he knew how to get out.


    At this thought, Su Lun released a long sigh of relief.


    ```


    ```


    However, the excitement after the decryption onlysted a moment before his face regained its calm.


    It seemed like he found out toote.


    Qian Tiao and the Princess were dead, and he himself was in a "half-human half-ghost" state.


    Since the author of the "Death Novel" was a "True God" of an unfinished story, could it be possible for him to rewrite the ending?


    At that thought, a glimmer of hope reappeared in Su Lun''s eyes.


    If possible, he was willing to pay any price to save them both.


    But he was also uncertain.


    Because his current state was very strange ¡ª in the book, yet somehow transcending the story.


    So,


    if the past story had been set in stone, would there still be the present if the past ending changed?


    This seemed to be a contradiction.


    Su Lun pondered for a long time but couldn''te to a clear conclusion.


    He noted this thought in his notebook, nning to find that "author" first.


    That would be the decisive factor.


    ....


    The battlefield was a mess, with the air of death lingering everywhere.


    Su Lun summoned the ck crow again, took to the skies, and found a road back following the direction of Ghost Town.


    But as he walked, he suddenly felt something abnormal in his body.


    Looking at the data panel, he eximed in surprise, "My physical strength has actually increased? And it''s still continuing to grow..."


    The disyed bodily data had skyrocketed by arge margin ¡ª strength, agility, neural response speed, resilience... it was an all-around increase, roughly by two or three tenths.


    This would only happen during the injection of "X serum" for bloodline modification.


    Originally, this would be a positive phenomenon.


    However, Su Lun now frowned.


    Because this increase was beyond his control.


    How long it wouldst and in what direction it would grow were unpredictable.


    Any uncontrolled body mutation could be called "mutation."


    That is to say, he was now experiencing a "physical mutation."@@novelbin@@


    The reason was naturally due to absorbing too much "demonic qi" and "Netherworld qi," which contaminated his body.


    But due to certain factors, he had notpletely mutated into a monster.


    Checking the panel, Su Lun guessed it was his own "X serum" resisting the uncontroble changes. The [Fallen Angel] was a genuinely divine-tier bloodline. From birth, they were gods. This was something lower beings could notpare with.


    Just as he had suppressed the danger of a "mental mutation," he now found a new problem and felt somewhat troubled.


    Nevertheless, he wasn''t too concerned about his own state at the moment.


    Dragging on a life only possible by carrying the lives of two important friends didn''t seem worth celebrating or cherishing.


    ...


    Su Lun walked on the mountain path at an unhurried pace.


    Seeing the exaggerated signs of battle, images of fighting side by side with Qian Tiao flooded his mind, a mix of emotions: "Sister Qian Tiao''s strength was really exaggerated. I never expected she would even break through to the third stage of the [Rakshasa Woman]..."


    The world he saw now was quite special ¡ª like watching a sci-fi movie that was both real and illusory. He could immerse himself in it as if it were the real world, or he could observe everything from the perspective of an outsider and see some additional things.


    Thinking of talent, Su Lun suddenly remembered that his Laws of Death had also increased manifold in an instant.


    Although he hadn''t broken through to any third-release state, there was a significant difference now.


    A sudden insight struck Su Lun''s mind.


    ```


    ```


    Oh...


    In my hand, there is a sealed forbidden item that requires control under thews of Death?


    The "Xiupunos''s Night Scythe," this formidable weapon had been by my side since the days in Old Spiriton Outer City, helping me through one fatal crisis after another.


    Though it slices through space fissures, the actual force driving it is thews of Death. (Power, elements, once strong enough, can all create space fissures.)


    A replica of the reaper''s weapon is naturally governed by thews of Death.


    Because using this sealed item carries a very dangerous curse bacsh, previously I could only use undead to control it, using them to divert the bacsh.


    But now, as soon as I grasped it, I immediately felt a sensation of effortless ease, as if there was some inexplicable "handiness."


    It''s as if I could control it?


    Upon closer identification, I finally confirmed that I had reached the usage threshold for this sealed item!


    "That means... from now on, I can use this ck scythe at will, without worrying about curse bacsh?"


    I suddenly felt a sense of unexpected joy.


    This ispletely serendipitous.


    Although I am now adept at controlling undead to use the ck scythe, their endurance has its limits.


    An undead could, at most, swing the de five times, and I had to control the arc of the strike.


    Handy, but wasteful of corpses, and superfluous motions that easily alert opponents.


    Yet now, holding it myself, I can hack away as I please!


    Ten shes, a hundred shes, a thousand shes...


    Until the target is chopped into mush.


    I held the ck scythe and casually swung once, a nearby rock was abruptly bisected by the space fissure.


    I carefully sensed the feeling of using it, clearly capturing the entire process of thews of Death surging from the scythe, activating the alchemy matrix and runes emitting energy fluctuations, and thought, "Hmm... it''s notpletely evading the curse''s bacsh. There will still be some if the cutting surface is toorge. Nevertheless, this meets the normal need for shing."


    The scythe finally feels right in my hand.


    And... something else that''s different, previously using the ck scythe was just about leveraging its inherent properties.


    Now, having infused it with thews of Death, I can control even the ripping degree of the space fissure!


    It''s like a sharp sword which ispletely different in the hands of a swordsmanpared to ayperson.


    I feel like I''ve gotten stronger.


    But at the same time, I let out a long sigh.


    If I had been stronger before, maybe I could have changed something.


    ...


    I wrapped the ck scythe in a bup bag and slung it over my back.


    I entered the Ghost Town once more.


    The author of this "Cursed Novel" is Fujiwara Hayato, and I know he is key to breaking the curse on this space.


    I have harvested many random skills before, and although I''m no great writer, I have learned some of themon knowledge of novelists.


    Therefore, though I''m not sure if Fujiwara Hayato will be in this Netherworld after his death, I can definitely find a "Fujiwara Hayato within the book."


    In any novel, there''s always a character that reflects some aspect of the "author," be it emotions, cognition, or values...


    Usually, that''s the protagonist of the novel.


    But in this "Netherworld," I haven''t found any main character.


    So, I must search within the Ghost Town.


    Different from the times I came here before with trepidation, as I now enter the city, my heart is calm and still.


    As long as I don''t want to, these ghosts and monsters seem as if they cannot see me at all.


    ```


    ```


    He was an existence that had "transcended" this world.


    The number of ghosts and monsters in the city had clearly decreased a lot, especially the powerful presences that were few and far between.


    The previous battle had also caused Ghost Town to suffer a great deal.


    Su Lun kept walking, walking, watching the various ghosts, and spirits of the dead like watching a movie.


    Suddenly, as he passed a teahouse, he heard a storyteller narrating a "love story between a nobledy and a poor boy."


    Su Lun stopped.


    Because he was too eye-catching.


    As if the entire world in his eyes was ck and white, with only that person being in color.


    Su Lun knew, he had found the person.


    It was a monster, called the Storyteller.


    They say he was a destitute schr with some talent but neglected by others. After his death, his resentment turned him into a monster who kept telling stories, hoping to gain people''s recognition.


    The man saw Su Lun and, as if awakening from a deep dream, his eyes immediately became clearer.


    He gave Su Lun a slight smile and said, "Has someone finallye to look for me?"


    ....


    Su Lun and the man sat by the window on the second floor of the teahouse, looking at the dejected storyteller with aplex gaze.


    He had seen this fellow several times before but never once realized that this monster might be the key to getting out.


    Clearly, the cluesy within his stories, yet without having gone through the events himself, he couldn''t grasp their deeper meanings.


    Su Lun sighed and asked, "Should I address you as Mr. Fujiwara, or Mr. Gustav?"


    The middle-aged man said indifferently, "Either is fine. Because they are both my names, yet I am neither of them. I am just a story character with a bit of obsession, that''s all."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun pondered for a moment, then directly asked, "Can you tell me, what exactly is going on with the Netherworld?"


    Even now, it all seemed like aplete "world."


    It was precisely because of these past days'' experiences that Su Lun''s understanding of this world had deepened, making it all the more inconceivable.


    Fujiwara Hayato chuckled and said, "But I know what puzzles you."


    Pausing for a moment, he continued, "Actually, no matter how knowledgeable a person is or how many principles one understands, it''s impossible to construct apletely wless world. So, I thought of a method to use external forces to help meplete this world. That''s why I turned the novels I wrote into cursing artifacts, to collect some souls of the dead. Those souls live and practice in the ''Netherworld Country.'' Everything they experience is to perfect and simte this world. It will be more and more perfected..."


    "..."


    Su Lun found this exnation to utterly overturn some of his understandings.


    This guy actually used such a method to extrapte and create a world?


    This means, what''s the difference with that of a god?


    Fujiwara Hayato said, "Don''t be so surprised. And don''t think that this act is heartless. Thews of the world are very peculiar. Especially in the eyes of us magicians, all energy is in one ''pot,'' merely in different forms; the essence isn''t much different, including you and me. This isn''t entirely my own idea either¡ªI remember it was during an adventure, in an ancient ruin, where I discovered the secret techniques of the gods..."


    "..."


    Su Lun listened somewhat confused, only half-understanding.


    He was very interested in this method of world creation.


    Fujiwara Hayato had said only half but did not continue, "However, I can''t exin too much to you... To ensure I keep certain specific memories and not forget the person I am waiting for. So, there are some questions I can''t answer for you. If you want to know those truths, you''ll have to verify them yourself."


    On hearing this, Su Lun suddenly thought of Katusya''s great-grandmother whom he had met before.


    She bought so many of Fujiwara Hayato''s novels; naturally, the two knew each other.


    While Su Lun was curious about their rtionship,


    he was more concerned about another issue.


    He directly asked, "Previously, mypanions died in battle, is there a way to resurrect them?"


    Fujiwara Hayato looked at him with a half-smile, "It''s possible. But there''s a cost."


    ```

 Chapter 347 346

    Su Lun sighed in relief when Fujiwara Hayato said there was a way.


    Although he knew the cost would not be small.


    He calmly asked, "May I ask, to resurrect my friend, what must I pay?"


    Fujiwara Hayato nced at him and answered directly, "Although your friend died in a dimensionally reduced novel world, which requires a rtively smaller price, reversing life is still taboo. Thus, you must still offer your soul to the ''demon''."


    "Oh."


    In the eyes of an alchemist, everything requires an equivalent exchange. Upon hearing this, Su Lun showed no surprise.


    He even felt fortunate to have the qualifications to trade with a demon.


    In the end, he was not powerless.


    He asked, "What must I do?"


    Fujiwara Hayato responded, "Since you managed to escape from this novel space, your soul has gained value to be imed by a demon. Have you heard of the ''Cursed Ship''?"


    "I have heard of it."


    Su Lun nodded, recalling a story well-known among seafarers, "Sometimes on foggy nights, fortunate souls might encounter a ghost ship drifting on the sea. The ship is loaded with gold, silver, fine wines, and beautiful women, all of which you can freely take and enjoy. However, one must disembark before midnight, or they''ll never be able to leave, and once the ghost ship vanishes, they must join the crew of spectral beings."


    Fujiwara Hayato said, "I know an ancient secret technique for offering one''s soul in a trade with a demon. You could naturally use it to resurrect your friend. The price is, at a specific time, you must board that ''Cursed Ship'' and journey to its final destination. Put simply, you are paying your ''future'' to the demon to fulfill your current wish."


    "Is that all?"


    Su Lun was quite surprised.


    He thought it would involve sacrificing his soul and dying on the spot...


    Was it just a matter of boarding a ship?


    In his view, given his current physical condition and not knowing how long he would live, this was an ideal "price."


    Su Lun also guessed that the "Cursed Ship" was no ordinary ghost ship. It seemed to involve some great secret.


    "Yes. Do not underestimate this ''price''. The things you receive through equivalent exchange, what you get and what you must pay, are surely equally precious..."


    "Thank you, Mr. Fujiwara. Please tell me that method."


    "..."


    Fujiwara Hayato revealed the method, and Su Lun carefully wrote it down.


    Now he finally saw hope for the resurrection of the two women, and it lightened his heart.


    He curiously asked, "Mr. Fujiwara, have you been on that ship?"


    "Of course. I too have traded with demons for certain matters. But..."


    Fujiwara Hayato appeared to struggle with a failing memory, stopping mid-sentence, "Sorry, my limited memory cannot offer you more exnations. This world holds too many secrets. If you wish to explore them, take a look for yourself. Being an adventurer is quite an interesting experience."


    "Yes."


    Su Lun nodded, not pressing further, as he had learned all he needed to know.


    He nced at the man before him and stood up saying, "I must take my leave, Mr. Fujiwara."


    Fujiwara Hayato smiled, a look of satisfaction in his eyes, "Yes. Farewell, young man."


    ...


    This cursed space could no longer confine Su Lun. As his thoughts shifted, the surroundings rapidly changed.


    The uniquely bleak realm of the underworld gradually receded and the view brightened.


    Su Lun saw the long-missed sunlight, warm on his skin.


    Having been in the dark for so long, he was slightly unustomed and squinted his eyes, taking a good while to adapt.


    Su Lun looked around and found himself back in Edo Castle, on the same deste hill where he was previously swept up.


    To his surprise, there were no sounds of war from within the city.


    The "ck Sun Grand Festival" seemed to have passed, and the eclipse had ended, leaving fairly good weather.


    Looking around, the city bore some signs of bombardment and battle scars.


    "Wonder how long it''s been outside..."


    Su Lun murmured to himself, heading towards the city.


    On inquiring casually, he discovered that they had spent a month in the cursed space, while five days had passed outside.


    Moreover, the situation in Mountain Hermit had changed dramatically.


    "The Emperor of the Sun forced to abdicate?"


    Su Lun felt a pang of sorrow hearing this.


    Through further inquiries, he understood the whole course of events.


    Because the "Great God Tsukuyomi" had appeared and the current Imperial Princess''s whereabouts were unknown, the battle a few days ago met almost no resistance except from the imperial dynasty, and the Takeda government seized the throne, bing the new "Moon Emperor."


    The divine right of kings meant that even the followers of the Shinto religion and all the inhabitants had to obey the divine will.


    There were naturally no voices of opposition within the country.


    The Takeda shogunate quickly stabilized the situation with strength and the will of the gods.


    Moreover, due to the method of polluting the sun, the Takeda shogunate''s ck Sun Grand Festival almostpletely eradicated all the "foreigners" lurking in Edo Castle, making the domestic faith purer and almost free from any hidden dangers.


    Even if the King of the North Sea''s fleet were toe, they had to weigh whether they could afford to lose another fleet.


    ...


    After gathering information, Su Lun walked out of the teahouse and strolled along the streets of Edo.


    What surprised him more was that after the Takeda shogunate seized the throne, Ote Himeya was still working as a geisha in a geisha house?


    "Is she continuing to hide her identity and then manipte everything from behind the scenes?"


    Su Lun guessed something.


    He now knew that Ote Himeya was an alchemic artificial person, so he was sure she yed a decisive role in the chaos at Mountain Hermit.


    However, what he did not understand was that "the Great God Tsukuyomi" had truly descended.


    Su Lun thought of "Izanami" that he had encountered in the underworld, although these personified gods did not possess real divine tiers, they also had certain inexplicable powers.


    "But this is also good. Since she''s not in the imperial pce, it''s easier for me to get close to her."


    Su Lun thought and then walked toward the Ginza district in the west city area.


    He didn''t know how long his physical condition could hold out. While he hadn''t yet "mutated" into a monster, he had to get things done.


    In the world of the novel, Fujiwara Hayato, the author, was waiting to rewrite the ending, and time was limited. If dyed any longer, that lingering regret might notst much longer, and the princess and Senjo might never return.


    ...


    The post-war Edo Castle seemed much lonelier.


    The Takeda shogunate had be the new emperor, and it seemed that the student movements had also been suppressed. The "New Learning" students, who were frequently seen marching in ck school uniforms, were no longer visible on the street.


    The current situation in Mountain Hermit was leaning towardpletely shutting the country off from the outside world.


    The people remain ignorant, the information secluded¡ªdoes this create purer faith and more consolidated royal power?


    Su Lun was not surprised.


    He stepped into the street that used to be a bustling geisha district. He hadn''t walked far when he passed in front of a geisha house with a sign that read "One Foot Interval."


    The names of geisha houses usually had some poetic vor. This name stemmed from a rather famous haiku from Mountain Hermit: "The light breaks continuously, brightening and dimming at one foot interval, how can one bear the solitude?"


    The geisha houses remained the same, but the scenery had changed.


    Local people in Mountain Hermit were mostly very poor. Without foreigners and pirates to bring business, the entertainment industries in the west city''s Ginza also declined, presenting a dead and depressing sight throughout the streets.


    ck crows fluttered in the sky, perching on high eaves to survey their surroundings.


    Su Lun, holding a rune-decorated ck umbre disguised as a walking cane, and with a ck scythe wrapped in a canvas behind his back, passed by without attracting any notice.


    Sensing around, there were some ninjas and ronin mingled on this street, but none were particrly strong.


    After some consideration, he could understand why.


    Now the entire Edo Castle was controlled by the Takeda shogunate and the ck Dragon Association, and there were no treacherous foreigners present; naturally, there was no need to be overly cautious.


    Moreover, the fact that Ote Himeya was the leader of the ck Dragon Association had nearly been hidden from everyone. If strong bodyguards constantly followed her, she would have revealed ws long ago.


    Furthermore, her inherent battle strength was not weak. It was nearly impossible for someone in Edo to harm her.


    ording to information previously mentioned by Senjo, Ote Himeya''s inherent battle strength was not strong, around the level of a fourth or fifth-tier professional. But because she was an alchemic body, immune to both physical and magical attacks, almost no conventional methods could harm her.


    Su Lun held the ck scythe in his hand and currently could still use it without worrying about curse rebounds, which was an opportunity to try.


    But there were other methods of Ote Himeya''s to be concerned about.


    For instance, that method of polluting the sun.


    It was still early, not time for entertainment.


    The geishas had not opened for business yet, and since there were hardly any customers, they gathered in small groups outside.


    Su Lun did not directly enter the "One Foot Interval" geisha house; he wandered around nearby, intending to see if there were other breakthroughs besides a direct confrontation.


    Ironically, just as he was passing by, he suddenly sensed a familiar "soul fire" in a tavern.


    ....


    "How could this guy be here?"


    To Su Lun''s surprise, he found ''the demon'' Abe Yasukazu, disguised as a drinking customer in the tavern.


    Last time, this fellow had tested Ote Himeya, fought a big battle, and then disappeared.


    This guy is really audacious...


    Su Lun thought.


    Having witnessed the technique of "Tainting the Sun" and the method that summoned the "Moon Reading God," he became even more convinced of Ote Himeya''s inscrutable tactics and schemes.


    This Abe Yasukazu now dared to appear in Edo Castle, his courage and methods naturally impressive.


    "This guy must know Ote Himeya is here, could he also be here for her?"


    Su Lun knew he was from the Kachusha family, naturally not an enemy.


    What purpose?


    Thinking this, he walked straight in.


    The moment he entered, the cautious guy noticed him.


    Abe Yasukazu sat by a second-floor window, a position perfect for observing everyone in the bar.


    Su Lun''s approach almost made this demon jump out the window to escape.


    Fortunately, it seemed he recognized him too.


    Su Lun sat across from him. Abe Yasukazu stared at him incredulously as if he had seen a ghost, "You actually came out on your own?"


    However, at the same time, it seemed as if he had aplished some task, he sighed with relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted.


    Su Lun didn''t n to exin much, "Mr. Abe, what are you doing here?"


    Listening, Abe Yasukazu''s tone was a bit odd, "What am I doing? I''m here for you, of course."


    Despite the disguise, the bewitching look in his eyes made Su Lun very ufortable. He asked, "For me?"


    Abe Yasukazu nodded and said, "Thatdy heard about the situation in Mountain Hermit and asked me to confirm your whereabouts. You were sucked into the ck Sun Grand Festival previously, and I was trying to find a breakthrough to save you..."


    "..."


    Su Lun also felt a strange sensation in his heart.


    Kachusha is so afraid I''m dead?


    Although grateful, Su Lun always felt that the girl''s motives weren''t so pure. Wanting him alive seemed not just for friendship, but mixed with some other factors.


    Abe Yasukazu didn''t continue, he sighed deeply, "Well, since you''re safe, I can report back now."


    The tone of relief was evident, one could imagine the pressure he had been under.


    The Divine Royal Family had been overthrown by the Takeda Shogunate, and he, all by himself, however powerful, would find it difficult.


    However, Abe Yasukazu seemed to discover something and asked, "Why do I feel like you''ve turned into a ''ghost''?"


    He was adept at the Yin Yang Secret Technique, naturally sensing something aberrant in Su Lun''s body.


    Su Lun, without exining his experience in the underworld too much, simply asked, "Can you fix it?"


    Abe Yasukazu frowned, seemingly seeing a tough challenge, and instead of answering, asked, "May I check?"


    Su Lun extended his hand.


    Abe Yasukazu, like feeling the pulse, carefully sensed it.


    But the more he saw, the stranger the expression on his face became. Looking back at Su Lun, he seemed not to see a person but a monster, his eye corner twitched violently, "How are you still alive in this state?"


    "..."


    Listenting to this, Su Lun gave him a nce, but said nothing more.


    He now had several negative states such as mental and physical mutations, underworld Qi contamination... It was truly a miracle for a normal person to survive.


    He was probably still alive because of the "X Serum."


    But the reasons weren''t important anymore, the result was whether he could be saved.


    Abe Yasukazu shook his head, "Bing a ''ghost'' is irreversible. Your condition is very special, not only your body but your soul has been demonized."


    At this point, he seemed somewhat pained, then added, "I can only suppress a bit with the Yin Yang Secret Technique. Moreover, I can only transfer a portion of the ghost Qi. For the rest, I am powerless."


    Abe Yasukazu took out something that looked like a weather doll and ced it on the table.


    Su Lun inspected it and found it to be a rare treasure.


    [Onmyoji''s Weather Doll]


    Detailed Exnation: An Abe Familial Yin-Yang Dao inherited instrument, containing a hint of Yin and Yang power; when carried, it can transfer some of the continuous negative states the body suffers; it wards off evil and bnces Yin and Yang, greatly restraining ghostly bodies;


    This item, counted as an alchemical object, was also a rare "dark gold quality" treasure.


    He eximed in surprise, "For me?"


    "Yes."


    Abe Yasukazu''s expression changed slightly.


    He didn''t say it aloud, but he thought to himself that thedy had instructed him to protect your life at any cost.


    "Oh. Thank you."


    Although Su Lun didn''t say it, he could guess as much.


    The two weren''t particrly familiar with each other, but this fellow had given such a valuable item for the sake of Katya.


    Last time in Cursed Valley, he was still haunted by that "corpse soldier," and here it was again.


    It seemed like the debts of gratitude were umting...


    Since it was a lifesaving item, he didn''t hesitate to take it.


    He had actually long thought of someone who could heal his bodily deformity, and that was Danny''s father, Dr. Banks, a top expert in the field of biotechnology with a high level of skill in researching biological deformities. If he couldn''t solve it, it was doubtful anyone else in the world could.


    But now, in his condition, he probably couldn''t leave Mountain Hermit alive, so having this "Fair Weather Doll" was just the solution to his urgent problem.


    ....


    Although he had lost a treasure, the mission was finallypleted. Anbei Taiwa suppressed his depression of several days, and finally felt relieved, saying, "Well, now I''ve done all I can. I''ll arrange for you to leave Mountain Hermit."


    Since Su Lun hade out alive, he no longer needed to find a way to approach Ote Himeya.


    After several probes, he hadpletely lost the spirit to confront that woman. The more he understood about her, the more mysterious she became.


    Upon hearing this suggestion, Su Lun remained silent.


    He didn''t respond to the matter of leaving, but instead said, "Mr. Abe, I would like to consult you about a secret technique."


    Upon hearing this, Anbei Taiwa looked slightly perplexed, "Armor Escape Secret Technique?"


    Although it was a closely guarded secret, it wasn''t a big problem for this individual.


    But why?


    A strange light suddenly shed in his eyes.


    Su Lun nodded, "Yes, if it''s convenient."


    Previously in the underworld facing Shuten-doji, he had almost perished alongside him during a four-stage hormone rampage fight.


    Upon reflection, he realized there was a slight w in his technique.


    Now in his "Rune Vajra" state, his physical strength was sufficient to support that level ofbat, indicating that generally, there was no problem.


    However, some organs still suffered from fatigue damage, indicating detailed issues.


    The secret technique "Hormone Rampage" wasn''t about how much more hormones were better but the precise control of them. Specific hormones needed to stimte specific bodily organs, and the precision of hormone secretion directly affected physicalbat abilities.


    This secret technique originated from Gerald, the leader of the Old Lington umbre organization and a forensic doctor. But due to the limitations in professional rank in Old Lington, the great talent interested in studying corpses only researched up to the "third stage."


    This fourth stage was something Su Lun was exploring on his own, still a "half-finished" technique.


    Originally, with ample time for attempts, he could slowly improve this technique, but now, he couldn''t wait.@@novelbin@@


    Now isted and without support, facing Ote Himeya, the only desperate measure he could think of was this "Hormone Rampage" secret technique.


    And now, he was only half-aware of the "fourth stage," and the "fifth stage" waspletely unknown.


    Blindly unlocking the "fifth stage" without consideringbat, he would most likely die on the spot.


    Therefore, he needed a shortcut to perfect the "fourth stage" or even to try reaching the higher level of the fifth stage!


    And now, there was an opportunity right in front of him.


    Su Lun had studied the Armor Escape Secret Technique of Mountain Hermit, which essentially also stimted the body''s potential to bring forth strongerbat power.


    Although fundamentally different, some theories were simr, such as how to handle the body''s excessive stress, energy flow, how to protect the meridians, and high-pressurebat techniques...


    The royal family only had some iplete texts. Princess mentioned that Ninja and Yin-Yang Dao each had their top-level Armor Escape Secret Techniques.


    The person in front of him, Anbei Taiwa, just happened to be the most orthodox inheritor of Mountain Hermit''s Yin-Yang Onmyoji.


    ....


    "What... what are you nning to do?"


    Upon hearing this, Anbei Taiwa was asking, but he had already guessed that the person in front of him was probably up to some mischief.


    Having seen youe out alive, still going?


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    His face became very gloomy as he hurriedly urged, "Don''t be rash. I must tell you, that Ote Himeya is very special and has some mysterious methods. Even seventh-tier professionals from your alchemy system have no chance of winning against her! And I suspect that one of the three divine artifacts of Mountain Hermit, the Yata Mirror, is in her possession, very powerful..."


    "Mhm."


    Su Lun listened with an undoubtedly indifferent expression and nodded his head, neither happy nor sad. He didn''t insist further and immediately stood up, saying, "Then, I shall take my leave, Mr. Abe."


    His mind was made up. RegardlessÊÇ·ñÓÐÈË°ï,Ëû¶¼ÊÇҪȥµÄ.


    "You..."


    Anbei Taiwa watched Su Lun preparing to leave, his expression turning very troubled.


    Although he didn''t understand why Su Lun wanted to do this, his attitude was already very clear.


    If it were someone uninvolved, Anbei wouldn''t care about his life and death under such circumstances.


    But this was the person that the youngdy had explicitly requested him to protect!


    Finally, seeing Su Lun really about to leave, Anbei resignedly waved his hand, "Wait a moment!"

 Chapter 348 347

    "Do you really want to go after Ote Himeya?"


    Mr. Abe''s expression became oddlyplex.


    He could not help but detect the resoluteness hidden beneath Su Lun''s seemingly casual demeanor.


    Persuasion was futile, so faced with choosing the lesser of two evils, he could only ask, "When are you nning to make your move?"


    With a faint air, Su Lun replied, "Within three days."


    "So soon?"


    Mr. Abe''s brows furrowed upon hearing this.


    Thest ck Sun Grand Festival had practically wiped out all of Edo Castle''s undercover agents; he had no more pawns to y.


    Given more time, he might have thought of some other way.


    Or perhaps seek support from beyond the Mountain Hermit''s reach.


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun did not provide any further exnation.


    The suggestion given to him by "Fujiwara Hayato" in the novel was best executed within three days for a surefire chance of perfect resurrection. Otherwise, staying in "Yomi-no-kuni" for too long would render resurrection impossible, even if the soul was still intact.


    Mr. Abe asked, "How confident are you?"


    "Hard to say,"


    after some thought, Su Lun uttered these three words.


    He felt his only advantagey in the fact that Ote Himeya was his mentor''s alchemy creation.


    Mr. Jing said that her mother would not design an alchemical homunculus that she could not control. Although Cereya did not detail the method to make this "Pandora" in her research notes, as a sessor to the Puppeteer lineage, Su Lun had guessed at some possible ways to restrain her.


    But it was just a possibility.


    He had no other choice but to take a gamble.


    After a pause, he added, "But no matter the odds, I''ll make my move within these three days. The sooner, the better."


    "..."


    Upon hearing his words, Mr. Abe''s eyes narrowed slightly.


    This "hard to say" left much to the imagination.


    At the very least, if Mr. Abe were to face Ote Himeya himself, he would only have one answer: no confidence at all.


    He had thought to simply knock her out, take her away and be done with it, but now, it seemed as if that n was not feasible.


    Moreover, this willingness to risk his life was the most touching reason for Mr. Abe''s concern.


    Indeed, thedy who summoned him at all costs to protect someone was not to be underestimated.


    His gaze hardened as he agreed, saying, "Alright! The Art of Escaping Armor isn''t quite the same between the Ninja Sect and us Onmyoji. Ninjas study the ''Eight Gates Escaping Armor'', while our Onmyoji tradition is the ''Art of Qi Men Escaping Armor''. Coincidentally, I''m familiar with both. You want to use it to research the secret technique you used before, right? I''ve also done some research in this area..."


    Since it was an utmostmand, Mr. Abe naturally wouldn''t just let Su Lun go by himself, and he indicated his stance, "When the timees, I''ll help you as much as possible."


    ....


    Initially, Su Lun had only wanted to borrow the "Art of Escaping Armor" from the Onmyoji lineage for his research. He didn''t expect Mr. Abe to not only provide him with the original text to read but also share his personal insights and the inherited training experience of the Abe family.


    This greatly facilitated Su Lun''s endeavor.


    It was as if he had a teacher by his side whom he could immediately question if he were in doubt.


    Onmyoji in the feudal society of Mountain Hermit held a position akin to "traditional scientists." They understood astronomy and geography and sought the true essence of life. They were responsible for devising the calendar, interpreting omens, and exorcising spirits and demons.


    Su Lun was initially the one to ask for the secret technique.


    But after half a day ofbined research, their interaction evolved into mutual learning from which both greatly benefited.


    They both made extremely important breakthroughs in this secret technique.


    The [Hormonal Burst]focuses on the "principle" of Flesh Alchemy Technique, which requires full understanding of hormones'' effects on the body. Dosage, type, stimtion form, and release presentation all need to be precise with no errors.


    The [Art of Escaping Armor], on the other hand, emphasizes the "practicality" of the technique. Mr. Abe may not know the dosages, but his lineage, after countless generations and attempts, has discovered the most optimal usage. Knowing how to use it allows one to transform this secret technique into a warfare advantage, maximizing its potential.


    It wasn''t just the Hormone Rampage - Fifth Unleashing. Su Lun realized that in Mountain Hermit before the Era of Great Devastation, there were legends of ninjas who could simply use their bodies to cast the Art of Escaping Armor and possessbat powerparable to deities.


    After hearing this, Su Lun had many thoughts, and his mind was fully opened.


    At least it gave him a clear direction for his future study of [Hormonal Burst], rather than having to fumble in the dark.


    As a gesture of reciprocity,


    Su Lun also gave Mr. Abe a set of copies of the dissection research notes from the forensic doctor, Gerald, along with a generous gift of modern medical texts.


    This immediately made the otherworldly being experience a sensation akin to opening the "gates to a new world."


    He was a "mad scientist" restricted by his environment, possessing an extraordinary understanding and talent for human anatomy.


    Just looking at those notes sparked all sorts of bizarre ideas in Mr. Abe, and he immediately conceived concepts like: eternal life through body swapping, interspecies biological grafting, reviving the dead...


    Though these topics aremonce in the realm of alchemy,


    in Mr. Abe''s eyes, such fervor was chilling. He thought not of modern science but of applying Yin Yang Secret Techniques.


    Su Lun even felt, with a twinge, that this inadvertent action of his might give rise to a future grand viin.


    ...


    Two dayster.


    In the Ginza district of Edo Castle.


    The small bar not far from "Ichi Sun Ma" geisha house.


    Su Lun and Mr. Abe were still sitting by the window on the second floor of the bar, drinking.


    "Mr. Abe, is everything set up?"


    "Hmm. As per your instructions, I''ve ced the Energy Barytes around the geisha house."


    "Was it not discovered?"


    "After all, I was once the court''s chief Onmyoji, I still have some confidence in that."


    "Right, I''m sorry, it''s a matter of great importance..."


    "..."


    Su Lun and Abe Yasukazu were confirming the final preparations.


    Once night fell, Su Lun nned to meet with Ote Himeya.


    After speaking, Abe Yasukazu confirmed again, "Are you really going alone? What I mean is, I might be able to help a bit if I go."


    Su Lun shook his head, saying, "Dealing with Ote Himeya, having more people doesn''t necessarily help."


    Based on the information they had obtained, during the failed assassination attempt, the Princess had used Divine Power of Amaterasu just to barely escape, and Ote Himeya''s methods were not something an ordinary person could handle.


    Besides, he was staking his life on this.


    If he lost the bet, there was no need to involve others.


    Abe Yasukazu listened with a grave expression, but he didn''t insist any further.


    Having interacted over the past few days, he had also realized that Su Lun was the type of person who acted with careful nning and steadiness; further persuasion was futile.


    Thinking it over, he then said, "At that time, I will use Yin Yang Secret Technique to iste the surge of faith around the geisha house, which can prevent anyone from summoning the ''Great God Tsukuyomi.'' My people will also create chaos in the city. We should be able to hold them off for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, preventing Takeda Nobuyasu from getting timely reinforcements. And one more thing, if she really has the Yata Mirror, one of the Three Sacred Treasures, you must be cautious. That is a treasure of Visual Illusion Technique. Once it hits you, there is no escape. Thest ck Sun anomaly was likely rted to that Divine Artifact..."


    "Understood."


    Su Lun nodded, raised his cup of sake, and sincerely said, "Thank you, Mr. Abe."


    Whether it was for the sake of the Katushya family or not, Abe Yasukazu had helped him far too much. Hispiled intelligence had at least increased the chances of sess for this operation by twenty percent.


    "Take care."


    Abe Yasukazu raised his cup and downed it in one gulp.


    ....


    Su Lun left the tavern and headed straight for the entrance of "Ichi Sun Kan," a geisha house.


    Normally, to flip the sign for an appointment with Ote Himeya, "the number one beauty in thend," without a reservation six months in advance was impossible.


    Even now, with the geisha house business so quiet, the local Daimyo, generals, and rich merchants from Mountain Hermit still flocked there.


    It was through Abe Yasukazu''s remaining connections in Mountain Hermit that Su Lun was able to secure an appointment for that evening.


    Su Lun''s current disguise was as the illegitimate son of a fringe lord of Mountain Hermit.


    His identity could withstand scrutiny, and even his identity tags were genuine.


    As soon as he entered, asserting his identity, the Madam immediately greeted him warmly. Although they didn''t know each other, she had the air of being well acquainted, "Oh my, if it isn''t Master Shota from the Miyamoto family?"


    A client who could find Ote Himeya was naturally generous. Su Lun casually threw two pieces of gold nuggets as a tip, and the Madam beamed even more brightly and led him through the cloister to an annex.


    As "Mountain Hermit''s number one geisha," Ote Himeya certainly had some status and had her own independent courtyard.


    Su Lun walked in without revealing any emotion, not daring to look around too much, squinting and using only his left eye to see. He sensed around a bit¡ªOte Himeya''s soul fluctuations were right here!


    "Master Shota, please wait a moment, Miss Himeya will be here soon."


    "Sure."


    He entered the guest room, the Madam excused herself, and Su Lun was left alone in the house.


    It didn''t take long for the sound of light footsteps toe from the courtyard.


    "She''s here!"


    Su Lunpletely closed his eyes, relying solely on Soul Perception.


    Having confirmed the target, he didn''t hesitate at all. It was best to strike first!


    With rapid movement of his ten fingers, Su Lun formed sorcerer''s seals. Behind him, the eight-armed spider spear appeared in an instant, and the Thousand Threading Armor materialized just as quickly. With a soft chant, he invoked, "Puppet Mastery ¡¤ Puppet Theater!"


    As the Hexagram Array was still forming beneath his feet, the sorcerer''s seals shifted again. The spider spear and hands grasped at the void, pulling out countless shimmering threads.


    "Silk Control Secret Art - Cocoon World!"


    This was a sequence of actions he had rehearsed countless times in his mind, leaving no possibility for error.


    In just a brief moment, Su Lun hadpleted the casting of four alchemic seals.


    The person at the door was clearly stunned by this sudden surge of energy and hastily retreated.


    Toote, though!


    Abe Yasukazu had arranged for his men to deploy arge number of Energy Baryte and alchemy formation auxiliary devices around the courtyard¡ªit was all for this moment.


    As Su Lun activated them, a myriad of threads suddenly sprouted around the small courtyard, swiftly enveloping the ce into a gigantic cocoon.


    As the lethal threat surged like a tide, Ote Himeya reacted swiftly, using an almost ghostly technique to try and flee the courtyard before the threads fully enveloped it.


    But it was wishful thinking, for just then a talisman appeared in the sky, suppressing her phantasmagoric technique on the spot!


    "Yin and Yang talismans, Abe Yasukazu?!"


    Ote Himeya''s gaze sharpened slightly as she guessed the assant''s identity.


    If it was him, she was still not concerned.


    But at the moment this thought arose, she suddenly realized something, her expression drastically changed, "I can''t sense the Power of Faith anymore!"


    She soon realized that her opponents had guessed her trump card and came prepared!


    On the street outside the gate, Abe Yasukazu squinted slightly and muttered, "Actually made a move, huh..."


    He also pulled out a scroll, red eyeshadow appearing on his face, his aura surging dramatically as he pointed with a sword gesture and shouted, "Onmyoji Secret Technique: Night Parade of One Hundred Demons!"


    In an instant, the whole Ginza district suddenly became eerily haunted, with a horde of ghosts surging wildly from the scroll.


    ...


    Once Su Lun chose to act, he would not give his opponent any chance to react.


    Just as he confirmed that Ote Himeya was trapped, he raised his hand, and "Xiupunos''s Scythe of the Night" was in his grasp.


    ```


    "Swoosh," "swoosh," two consecutive shes headed straight for the door.


    At the same time, a light grunt came from the courtyard, clearly having been hit by the spatial rifts.


    Not dead?


    That didn''t surprise Su Lun.


    Given Pandora''s design strength, her body material should be the best avable in this ne. Under normal circumstances, she could probably resist the skills of seventh or eighth tier professionals with ease, not to mention some other tactics. Even with the ck scythe in hand, a regr ranged sh wouldn''t do the job for Su Lun. But channeling too much of the death rule would backfire, causing his own body to suffer from recoil. A reanimated corpse would fare even worse.


    Moreover, Su Lun''s purpose ining here wasn''t to kill her.


    After those two shes, he pped his sorcerer''s seals together again, and suddenly his skin shimmered with a dark golden metallic luster, runes slightly visible, "Hormonal Outburst¡¤Quadruple Dissolution!"


    With a "pop," he charged out.


    "The scent of blood?"


    Su Lun didn''t dare to open his eyes, but he clearly smelled it and knew that Ote Himeya had been injured.


    The ck scythe could hurt her¡ªthis was a good sign.


    And now, tackling her head on, he knew the moment to decide the battle had arrived!


    ...


    Ote Himeya was caught off guard by Su Lun''s decisiveness.


    She hadn''t expected to be trapped here, let alone injured, without even seeing her assant.


    This was the first time she''d been wounded since she had memory!


    This caused her to feel fear.


    Ote Himeya looked at her opponent''s tactics¡ªhow could she not know that he might possess a lot of information about her?


    But... how was it revealed?


    Even the previous assassin, Shinfuku Mitsuko, only knew about her indestructible body, so why did this attacker manage to seal off her connection with the Power of Faith...


    Could he have guessed something?


    She had no time to think further as danger struck again!


    The wounds on her abdomen and arms were healing at an astonishing rate, almostpletely healed in the blink of an eye.


    But the "attacker" inside the room was even faster.


    Almost the next second after those two shes hit her, a "pop" resonated through the air, and that face had already appeared a few meters in front of her.


    And he still had his eyes closed!


    Seeing this, Ote Himeya felt panic for the first time, as if she had been thoroughly seen through.


    That means he knows I have the Yata Mirror?


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    Damn it, how was it exposed!


    Ote Himeya felt a surge of killing intent. No matter who he was, since he knew her secret, he must be killed.


    Her greatest skill wasn''t just her physical strength and the Yata Mirror, but her Art of Enchantment!


    She was Pandora, possessed of a legendary beauty that could even captivate deities, the ultimate allure of this world.


    No one could resist such charm.


    Even if he had his eyes closed!


    ...


    Because Su Lun had the upper hand with his surprise attack, he seemed to have gained a huge advantage at every step.


    But he didn''t let his guard down for a second, because he knew very clearly that Pandora''s trump card had yet to be yed, and only if he could withstand this challenge would his "life gamble" truly see a chance of victory.@@novelbin@@


    Just as he was dashing out, suddenly, a ridiculously terrifying wave of spiritual power came crashing towards him!


    Even with his eyes closed, he saw a "pink world"...


    The [gue Doctor''s Beak Mask] filtered out any possibility of breath-rted poisons, but he still smelled a captivating "fragrance" akin to that of a young girl...


    The seductive sounds that reached his ears threatened to lure him into oblivion...


    Su Lun immediately realized this was Pandora''s unique psychic charm.


    This strange spiritual technique was so iprehensible that he couldn''t make heads or tails of it even with his current mastery.


    "Here ites!"


    Su Lun had anticipated this.


    But to his surprise, the next instant he found the mental shockpletely bypassing his spiritual power!


    It was as if...


    A finely meshed had almost captured all the fish in theke, yet missed the water itself!


    "As expected! The Puppet Master''s lineage [Starry Sky Contemtion Secret Technique], with its linear spiritual power, is the key to counter Pandora!"


    Su Lun was overjoyed, his guess was correct!


    He had spected on many possibilities, thinking that the most important legacy of the Puppeteer lineage besides rune puppets was that unique form of spiritual power technique.


    If his teacher left a countermeasure within Pandora, it would likely have something to do with spiritual power.


    But until now, it was merely a guess, and Su Lun wasn''t sure how to use it.


    Now, forced into a head-on confrontation, he discovered that Pandora''s mental tactics couldn''t control him!


    If one could perceive it, spiritual power has a shape. The spiritual power of ordinary people is a misty human shape, while those who practice psychic techniques have spiritual power in all sorts of forms to fulfill the needs of their techniques. Spiritual needles, spiritual knives, spiritual hammers...


    Su Lun''s, however, was so fine it was almost imperceptible, the signature secret technique of the Puppeteers, perhaps unique throughout the entire ne!


    It was precisely this linear shape that perfectly evaded Pandora''s psychic.


    Rendering him immune to the enchanting technique that topples mortals!


    ```


    ....


    Ote Himeya used her unique charm techniques.


    Normally, no one would be immune to her control.


    Just like countless times before, daimyos and generals lured by her beauty, and even the current "Moon Emperor" Takeda Nobuyasu, would be lost in their spiritual world with just a nce. No one had truly touched her, nor could anyone defy hermands.


    This was also the most important means by which she had managed to keep her disguise a secret all these years.


    But... the anticipated scene did not ur.


    A fist as big as a casserole dish, with no regard for beauty, smashed into her eye.


    There was a "boom".


    Even though Ote Himeya felt that the punch hadn''t harmed her in the slightest, the sheer force sent her flying backward.


    "How is this possible?! How could he be uncontroble?"


    Ote Himeya had never expected such a turn of events.


    How could there be someone in this world who could resist her beauty?


    But before she could ponder any further, Su Lun charged at her again.


    Ote Himeya''sbat skills might not match up to Senjo, but they were certainly not weak.


    The two were locked in closebat.


    Blow for blow, fist to flesh, the sounds of their skirmish echoed with "bangs" and "booms".


    But because of her indestructible body, Ote Himeya was not at a disadvantage, no matter how hard she was hit.


    Su Lun knew very well he couldn''t get the better of her like this!


    The ck scythe was sharp, but the opponent wouldn''t just stand there and let themselves be cut down.


    Moreover, this was Edo Castle; the longer the battle dragged out, the less favorable it was for Su Lun.


    Though Abe Yasukazu was out there holding the fort, if Su Lun were to be surrounded by arge force, even if hepleted his objective, he would be trapped!


    He could not dy any longer.


    Su Lun''s gaze turned fierce, and a sinister expression suddenly crossed his face.


    Now that he couldn''t get the better of Ote Himeya, and she couldn''t get the better of him either.


    In the midst of the fight, Su Lun formed the sorcerer''s seals with both hands and let out a bestial growl from his throat: "Hormone Rampage - Fifth Unleashing!"


    This technique was still theoretical, never before tested in actualbat.


    With this action, he was effectively "betting his life".


    Yet Su Lun did not hesitate in the slightest.


    If you want to tie up a ferocious beast, first you have to subdue it!


    The moment the technique seeded, a surge of hormones flooded his limbs and organs, inting Su Lun''s body like a balloon. The umtion of strength produced an immense amount of heat, which made his entire skin appear as though it had been scorched red, presenting a steamy, unhealthy pink color.


    An unprecedented sense of explosive power surged through him.


    Su Lun felt fantastic!


    He was also fortunate to have inherited Abe Yasukazu''s "Dunjia Secret Technique," otherwise this trial by fire would be enough to end his life due to the high temperature.


    But Su Lun was also acutely aware that this state wouldn''tst long, and without any hesitation, he stomped on the ground. With a "snap," he surged forward.


    His speed had increased tremendously, and with this advance, Ote Himeya had no time to react before he was already in her face!


    Su Lunnded a heavy punch, striking her hard in the stomach.


    Immediately afterward, the "most beautiful beauty under the heavens" was sent tumbling away in a sorry state, smashing through a wall of the small courtyard like a cannonball.


    But as she rolled on the ground, she suddenly saw a figure who had already teleported to hernding spot, moving at an unbelievably fast speed.


    Those iron-tongs-like hands instantly grasped her neck, and another punch hammered down on Ote Himeya''s head.


    There was a "dong" sound, like the muffled toll of a bell.


    While Ote Himeya did not feel any fatal damage, she felt an overwhelming humiliation.


    Hitting my face?


    No man had ever dared to do this to her before!


    She wanted to struggle, but found that the iron-tongs-like hands possessed a terrifying strength, almost as if they were indifferent to the prospect of crushing her slender, jade-like neck.


    This guy was simply a madman!


    Su Lun''s eyes were closed, yet blood had already spilled from the corners of his eyes.


    He bellowed, "Speak! Where is that cursed novel?"


    Before his words fell, the de of a ck scythe had already touched Ote Himeya''s neck.


    The cold metallic sensation made her heart skip a beat in fear.


    ....


    The man standing before her, bleeding from every orifice, was like a demon, utterly ferocious.


    Ote Himeya was truly scared.


    Having spent so many years in the geisha house, her skills in reading people were highly refined. How could she not hear the resolve of joint destruction in his voice?


    She was very clear that if she dared utter half a "no," this man who had gone berserk would not hesitate to sacrifice his own life to kill her on the spot!


    Yes!


    He hadpletely lost his mind!


    From him rose a will to destroy the world, intense and mad.


    It was this suicidal momentum that frightened Ote Himeya into loose her tongue, "It''s in... in the hiddenpartment in the room."

 Chapter 349 Ask the Princess to Help You

    "Sister Qian Tiao, ah... this... Mr. Su Lun''s body, it won''t have any problems, right?"


    "This kid probably hasn''t touched a woman in a long time, a normal reaction. Hehe, even unconscious he can''t behave. Now it''s up to you, Princess."


    "Ah? Up to me? I... I don''t know how to¡­"


    "If you don''t know, then forget it, just leave him dirty. Anyway, this guy is tough-skinned, being a bit dirty won''t hurt him."


    "But Mr. Su Lun''s injuries are very serious, they must be dealt with immediately..."


    "Well, then there''s no helping it, I''m not good at treating injuries, at most I can administer a potion."


    "Then... then... I will try."


    "..."


    In a daze, Su Lun seemed to hear Qian Tiao and the Princess talking, and then a pair of soft hands were cleaning his body and tending to his wounds.


    The movements were meticulous but slightly awkward and clumsy, it seemed she had never done this sort of serving before.


    Su Lun wanted to open his eyes to see, but he was in terrible shape.


    After sessfully reviving Qian Tiao and the Princess, the strong belief that had been sustaining him rxed, and he didn''t have a single thought left, only wanting to sleepfortably.


    And he fell asleep.


    This sleep was very long, and his dreams were filled with all kinds of monsters.


    Having been infected with too muchherworldly energy, the dreams he had were all nightmares.


    Su Lun could distinguish between dreams and reality, but even so, he didn''t want to wake up.


    His body was too weary, and it needed rest too badly.


    ...


    He did not know how much time had passed.


    Su Lun felt his brain was finally willing to reconnect with the body that would flood him with intense signals of pain, numbness, ache, itchiness... all sorts of negative sensations as soon as the connection was made. Stay updated through My Virtual Library Empire


    Though he still felt like after a heavy workout with dyed onset muscle soreness, it was much better now.


    He moved his fingers and immediately heard an excited chirp by his ear.


    "Sister Qian Tiao, Mr. Su Lun seems to have woken up!"


    "Hmm."


    Then, he heard the sound of two women letting out a sigh of relief in unison.


    Su Lun slowly opened his eyes.


    He saw two faces very close, blinking... in Qian Tiao''s eyes was a look of relief, while the Princess''s eyes seemed to twinkle with stars of anticipation.


    Seeing the somewhat exotic temperament between his brows, Qian Tiao inquired with concern, "Su Lun?"


    Being awake didn''t mean there were no other issues.


    Su Lun''s gaze focused as he looked around, it was no longer the cave of the bear he remembered, but it seemed he was still outdoors.


    After pondering for a moment, it was as if he re-imed the ability to speak and asked, "Where is this?"


    Qian Tiao replied, "It''s Tea Crying Mountain in Izumo, the cliff hot spring we foundst time."


    Qian Tiao and the Princess weren''t foolish, seeing that Su Lun was reviving them in a wild mountain cave, they realized the situation wasplicated. The "Death Novel" space of curse was controlled by the Takeda Shogunate; seeing Su Lun''s condition they guessed that acquiring the novel must have involved a dangerous and arduous battle.


    Now, with the Mountain Hermit''s situation unclear and without understanding what had happened, any possible exposure of their whereabouts could be a fatal threat.


    So, they decided not to rashly contact anyone before Su Lun woke up.


    They could only get as far away from Edo Castle as possible, changing locations several times, and just so happened to arrive at Tea Crying Mountain they had passed before.


    In order not to attract attention, they even avoided visiting Granny''s Soup House and instead pitched a tent directly on the cliff.


    It was only then that Su Lun came to realize.


    The view here was very open, as if it was halfway up the mountain.


    He then asked, "How long have I been unconscious?"


    Qian Tiao answered, "Two days."


    "Oh."


    Hearing this, Su Lun''s mind gradually recalled the events of the past few days.


    Seeing his slightly bewildered state, the Princess beside him also asked with concern, "Mr. Su Lun, how do you feel now? Your body showed signs of ''turning into a ghost,'' and the injuries were very serious..."


    "I''m fine now. No immediate danger to my life."


    Su Lun responded.


    He sensed his body, the injuries were mostly healed. However, the degree of "anomaly" had deepened on his status panel.


    Hearing this, Qian Tiao interjected, "In the past two days, you''ve had a high fever and sweated profusely, and it was the Princess who took care of you, changing your clothes and wiping your body."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun looked at the Princess whose expression was a bit reserved and said gratefully, "Thank you, Princess."


    Having such a pampered royal serving him, just the attitude and intention alone was quite astonishing.


    The Princess seemed to think of something, unable to meet his gaze, "Compared to what Mr. Su Lun has done, what I did was just a trivial matter."


    She was well aware that acquiring the novel as well as the revival of the deceased must not have been easy, and that Su Lun must have paid a high price.


    ...


    Su Lun struggled to squeeze a smile out of his stiff facial muscles, just as he tried to sit up, he realized his body was too stiff to manage it.


    The state of "Hormonal Rampage" had put a great strain on his body, and even now, his muscles had not recovered.


    Seeing this, the Princess quickly stepped forward to help him up.


    Chitajo knew that Su Lun''s body had been polluted by absorbing an excessive amount of ghost energy in the Netherworld.


    A deep concern surfaced on her face as she furrowed her brows and said, "I found that your body seems to be ''mutated,'' and the situation looks rather bleak. The Princess can do nothing but use a secret technique to temporarily suppress the spread of the ghost energy..."


    As she spoke, she gave Su Lun a nce and said seriously, "We must think of a solution as soon as possible."


    Physical mutation was no small matter. Based on the Princess''s examination, Su Lun could be a "ghost" at any moment, which posed a life-threatening risk.


    Su Lun, knowing she cared about his condition, nodded and said directly, "I know someone who should be able to handle the mutation issue. As long as I can hold out until we reach Hastelin in Pirate City, the problem with my body should be resolved."


    Everyone who came out of Old Lington was aware of the horror of mutation, and fearing that he was just toughing it out, Chitajo pressed further, "Is there anyone else who can resolve the mutation?"


    "Yes."


    Looking at her, Su Lun gave a slight smile and truthfully said, "I encountered Dr. Banks, the lead scientist of ''Project X'' before. Oh, he''s little Danny''s father."


    "Didn''t the Banks couple die in aboratory ident?"


    Chitajo''s face lit up with joy.


    If it was that person, there was indeed a possibility!


    "No. He was lucky enough to survive thatboratory ident. He''s now hiding in the Northern Fleet."


    Su Lun knew he couldn''t exin everything in a few words, so he didn''t borate further, and added, "That''s why I need to leave Mountain Hermit as soon as possible and find Dr. Banks."


    "Right!"


    Chitajo also felt this was an urgent matter and said solemnly, "This is Izumo, thest major city from Mountain Hermit to the sea. If there''s a ship setting sail, we''ll find out right away here. However, due to Mountain Hermit''s situation, the number of ships leaving has decreased greatly. We may have to wait a day or two."


    They had chosen to head south previously considering the possibility of an escape by sea in case they were pursued.


    After thinking it over, Su Lun said, "A dy of a few days should still be okay."


    The current situation in Mountain Hermit wasplicated; having a ship avable for the sea was already fortunate.


    The Princess, of course, could not show herself, even if her Shinfuku family still had some hidden methods at their disposal.


    If all else failed, they could still contact Abe Yasukazu and use the Kasios family''s channels to set sail.


    The problem didn''t seem toorge.


    After expressing concern for Su Lun''s physical condition and finding hope for a solution, the heavy concern in Chitajo''s brows finally easedpletely.


    She then asked, "By the way, what exactly happened before? Didn''t we die in the Netherworld? How did wee back to life?"


    The curious Princess, withrge eyes, also looked over.


    Hearing their inquiries, Su Lun took a deep breath and said, "This starts with the novel written by Fujiwara Hayato..."


    ...


    "Princess, you were at Cangshan Shrine... and Chitajo, you delivered that final blow..."


    Before long, Su Lun recounted the whole experience of seeing through the curse space, and the subsequent fight with Ote Himeya after emerging.


    Chitajo and the Princess were stunned by Su Lun''s near-death experience.


    Only then did they learn that so much had happened afterward.


    However, when it came to the price Su Lun paid for their revival, he glossed over it, "Later, in that cave, I just brought you back to life..."


    Although he didn''t spell it out, it didn''t mean the two women couldn''t guess.


    Battles and the like were secondary. Since they hade back to life, the oue was already more than satisfactory.


    Chitajo directly asked, "What method did you use to revive us?"


    Su Lun looked at her and responded indifferently, "I offered my soul to a demon."


    Chitajo''s expression darkened upon hearing this.


    The Princess became very serious as well.


    Su Lun fully understood the guilt of living by burdening someone else''s life, and he didn''t want the two women to feel the same way, so he said with a rxed demeanor, "It''s no big deal. Based on some information provided by Fujiwara Hayato, I specte that the ''demon'' of the contract holder is likely existing in a special higher ne. He won''t demand I fulfill the contract until I''m powerless. Once I have the power, I will inevitably want to explore the divine nes anyway. Considering that I can see you both again, it''s not too terrible a price to pay."


    Chitajo stayed silent.


    The Princess did as well.


    The three had entrusted their lives to one another, so naturally, they could understand this kind of sacrifice.


    But the deed was done, and there was no use in discussing it further.


    Seeing the atmosphere turning somewhat somber, Su Lun shifted away from the topic and said, "By the way, when I captured Ote Himeya, I also found a mirror. It might be one of the three Holy Artifacts of Mountain Hermit, the ''Yata Mirror.'' Princess, would you like to have a look?"


    Upon hearing this, the Princess''s expression changed with surprise, "The Yata Mirror?"


    The three Holy Artifacts had long disappeared into the annals of history, with the legendary Illusion Technique treasurest appearing eight hundred years ago.


    She had not expected it to reappear in the world.


    Her bright eyes moved, and she then said, "If it really is the ''Yata Mirror,'' it would exin why Ote Himeya could affect the entirety of Edo during the ck Sun. The legend says that if the mirror is powered by strong enough Divine Power, it could even plunge all the humans in the world into an illusion."


    That powerful?


    It was naturally something she wanted to see for herself.


    Hearing this, Su Lun also felt fortunate that he had not hesitated during the battle and had not given Ote Himeya a chance to use the mirror.


    He cautioned, "I heard that even a single nce at the mirror can trap you in an illusion. Can I take it out now?"


    The Princess nodded and said, "It''s just perfect that our Iga Shrine has secretly passed down the techniques to use the Three Divine Artifacts. And my divine power of Amaterasu can restrain some of the infinite Illusion Techniques of the Yata Mirror."


    "Oh."


    Previously, Su Lun alone, he did not dare to take this thing out, lest if he fell into an illusion, there would be no one else to help him out of it.


    Now that he had the Princess, an expert, by his side, Su Lun no longer had any reservations. He and Chitose both closed their eyes before he took out the tightly sealed mirror.


    The Princess took it over and immediately recognized it, barely concealing her shock: "It really is the Yata Mirror!"


    Really?


    Su Lun didn''t know what was happening; he just felt a surge of divine power emanating from the Princess, as hot as the sun''s mes.


    He did not open his eyes out of curiosity but asked, "How is it?"


    The Princess sounded clearly excited, "I can control it temporarily. Mr. Su Lun, Sister Chitose, you can open your eyes now."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun breathed a sigh of relief and opened his eyes to see that the Princess hadpletely sealed the mirror with her own talisman papers.


    This was the first time Su Lun had actually seen what it looked like since acquiring the object.


    It was a bronze mirror about the size of a face, with very simple engravings, and one could immediately sense the endless years it had witnessed. Because it was sealed with talisman papers, it looked quite ordinary.


    Su Lun took a look and agreed it was as the legends described, capable of making someone lose themselves in an illusory world forever.


    But this was also simr to the Holy Artifact of the Dalu tribe; only a specific divine power could use it. To anyone else, it was just a peculiar mirror that could trap people indefinitely.


    He became even more curious: how could Ote Himeya, this artificially created being, use it?


    Su Lun noticed the hardly concealed joy in the Princess''s eyes.@@novelbin@@


    It had always been the divine mandate of the Shinfuku family to recover the lost Three Divine Artifacts.


    He directly said, "You might as well keep the mirror, Princess. It is an Artifact of Mountain Hermit, and others can''t use it anyway."


    Since the Princess was capable of using it, that was for the best, and it could also give her more ability to protect herself.


    The Princess was slightly surprised and ttered, and after thinking about what polite words to say, she softly uttered two words: "Thank you."


    The experiences in the Netherworld had eliminated any awkwardness between them.


    They were both people who could trust each other with their lives.


    With Shinfuku Mitsuko present, they could have brought "Ote Himeya" out from the space to interrogate her and learn the truth about everything.


    But after discussing it, they decided not to dare to do so.


    Now knowing that Ote Himeya could also use the Yata Mirror, the sudden appearance of the "Lunar Reading Deity" was definitely rted to her!


    If they were to release her, it could lead to some unpredictable consequences.


    Su Lun nned to wait until they had left Mountain Hermit before figuring out what to do.


    With the behind-the-scenes maniptor taken away, the situation in Mountain Hermit should improve a lot.


    ...


    Although their recent experience in the Netherworld could be described as a close brush with death, in the end, they all survived.


    That was the most ideal oue.


    The three of them chatted andughed, talking about many things.


    Suddenly, Su Lun''s stomach growled, and he looked at the other two, a bit embarrassed: "I''m a little hungry."


    Although he had injected nutrient fluids, his stomach''s emptiness intensely signaled that he needed some steaming food to fill it.


    But now he was half a cripple, with no ability to take care of himself.


    The Princess at his side, hearing this, took the initiative to say, "I''ll get us something to eat."


    With that, she skillfully took out some instant canned food, set up a stove, and soon the aroma of meat and alcohol began to fill the air.


    Before long, they had eaten their fill, and as the sky became dark, the threey in the tent, gazing leisurely at the stars outside.


    There was no pursuit here, and this was not the Netherworld...


    Time seemed to slow down.


    Chitose purposely chose to lie on the far left. In doing so, whether Su Lun or the Princess slept in the middle, they would end up next to each other.


    Su Lun knew this was probably Chitose''s little mischief. But since he was currently "half-disabled" and couldn''t take care of himself, he didn''t want to make a fuss and felt quite content to sleep in the middle. The Princess was on the left.


    Thankfully, they had previously been in a simr situation in a dpidated temple in the Netherworld, so the atmosphere felt fine.


    As none of them felt sleepy, they started chatting.


    The situation in Mountain Hermit had almost reached a conclusion, with the former "Sun Emperor" a thing of the past, and the Shinfuku family nearly wiped out.


    With themand of the "Lunar Reading Deity," Takeda Nobuyasu had swiftly settled the chaos, and the current situation in Mountain Hermit was even more stable than before.


    This left Shinfuku Mitsuko, a royal princess and Saio, in a very awkward position.


    Since Su Lun''s physical aberration required them to leave Mountain Hermit, the Princess''s future became an issue.


    As the night deepened, clouds drifted across the sky, concealing the moonlight, and the light suddenly dimmed.


    In the tent, Chitose asked, "Princess, are you really not going to leave with us? The situation in Mountain Hermit is tough. If you stay, your position might be very bad."


    In the darkness, the Princess''s tone was firm as she replied, "Even though the royal family is no more, the Shinfuku family still needs me. Besides, as a miko of the Iga Shrine, I can''t leave..."


    "..."


    Su Lun was listening quietly and also discerned the heavy responsibility carried by the Princess.


    She represented not only herself, but also her status as a royal princess and the Shinto lineage of the sun goddess Amaterasu.


    Some burdens can''t simply be thrown away with a word.


    With royal power being seen as divinely granted, even their Shinfuku family had no choice but to acknowledge the "Moon Emperor." Although it seemed like there might be something fishy about it, it was for this exact reason that the Princess, as the ny-ninth Zaio, had to take on the great task of investigating the truth behind it all.


    Fortunately, now that one of the three Divine Artifacts, the "Yata Mirror," has been found again, her ability to protect herself is nothing short of strong, so there''s not much need to worry.


    Chitose understood this too and didn''t keep persuading her.


    All she did was whisper softly, "Some people, once you miss out on them, you really have missed out."


    As soon as these words were spoken, the tent fell into a brief silence.


    The Princess was no longer the young maiden who would blush red at the slightest tease.


    After pondering for a moment, she actually responded, albeit in a soft voice, "When my tenure is over... I mighte to find you, and then... we can go on an adventure together. Chitose, and Mr. Su Lun, take care too."


    "Sure!"


    Hearing this, Chitose''s smile brightened. Suddenly, she turned to the side, reaching over Su Lun to pat the Princess and added, "I told you a long time ago, after meeting this guy, the idea of serving the way of the gods for life... that wasn''t going to happen anymore."


    Upon hearing this, the Princess also remembered that she had once said something like that, and couldn''t help but smile a little.


    Now it seemed that she really was entertaining the thought of wavering.


    She had intended to cover her own minor embarrassment with silence.


    But perhaps she felt that after this parting, it would likely be a long time before they would see each other again.


    Or perhaps,


    Just like the story of Fujiwara Hayato and Miss Natasha in the books.


    A parting in life could really mean never seeing each other again.


    A wave of sadness suddenly rose in the Princess''s heart, and she boldly responded, "It''s certainly rted to Mr. Su Lun. But most importantly, I want to go on an adventure with you and Chitose as well."


    With that said, the darkness concealed the faint blush that appeared on the Princess''s lovely face.


    Su Lun didn''t think there was anything amiss with the Princess''s words.


    But because Chitose was leaning over to the side, her whole body was almost pressing down on him. This pressure made Su Lun feel his arm sinking into extreme softness. Since the pajamas were thin, the feeling was very real, a bone-melting delicacy that was endlessly memorable.


    Moreover, Chitose''s movements were quite significant, therge patches of skin in contact, and even the subtle details of their soft bodies, were distinctly felt.


    Normally such physical contact wouldn''t disrupt Su Lun''s control over his thoughts. It wouldn''t be a problem.


    But now his body had be deformed, and that "demonic energy" made some of his emotionspletely uncontroble.


    Chitose listened to the Princess''s reply and "giggled" with augh, not seeing through everything.


    She was about to pull her hand back, but suddenly, as her hand brushed over Su Lun''s body, she also sensed something unusual.


    "Eh..."


    With a light exmation, she discerned the anomaly.


    In the darkness, her eyes suddenly glowed.


    Being straightforward and never mincing her words, she blurted out immediately: "Hey hey hey, Su Lun, can''t you hold yourself together a bit? Isn''t this embarrassing...?"


    His awkward situation exposed, Su Lun felt a bit sheepish and could only admit truthfully, "I can''t control it. My body has be distorted."


    "..."


    Hearing this, Chitose seemed to fall silent all at once, seemingly contemting it.


    The Princess didn''t yet grasp what the other two were talking about; she was still immersed in the previous conversation.


    Suddenly, Chitose spoke up again.


    With a very understanding look, she grumbled, "You kid haven''t touched a woman in a long time, have you? I can understand that, but..."


    Chitose, who came from the gangsters, had seen all kinds of pleasure houses.


    After a pause, she continued, "But don''t let your mind wander. I''m not interested in men. If you really want to, go ask the Princess to help you."


    Listening to this, Su Lun was quite helpless, answering stiffly, "Ah... Chitose, you really don''t hold back with your words."


    Could someone really say something so blunt?


    Yet his body was honest,pletely uncontroble.


    Chitose didn''t mind in the slightest, her tone casual as she said, "Tssk¡ªwhat''s there to be embarrassed about? The Princess has been taking care of you these past few days, she''s already seen all of your embarrassing moments."


    "..."


    At this, Su Lun''s face was streaked with lines of embarrassment.


    The Princess, on the other hand, had already blushed red with shame, and didn''t dare to join in.


    Help...?


    The darkness concealed the pink blush that spread to her neck.


    As if not caring at all, Chitose kept on chattering, "But speaking of which, Princess, your figure is really top-notch. Don''t you think so, Su Lun? You saw during the Kagura dance. I''ve been telling you to give it a try..."


    Su Lun: "..."


    The Princess: "..."


    The three had shared the same space many times before, but this was the first time the atmosphere in the tent felt a bit unusual.

 Chapter 350 The Mysterious Incident at Sea

    Luck was on our side.


    Early the next morning, as Su Lun looked down from the waist of Tea Crying Mountain, he saw arge ship departing from the port of Izumo.


    The trio quickly packed up their sundries and leaped down from the cliff.


    After a whole night of meditation, Su Lun could just about walk on his own. Senjo supported him down the mountain path, and with a rune umbre used as a walking stick, he moved at a decent pace.


    The port of Izumo was vast. Hidden in an inconspicuous corner of the street, the Princess watched the two about to depart, her eyes shimmering, "Goodbye, sister Senjo, Mr. Su Lun."


    Senjo nced at her, "Are you really noting with us?"


    The Princess gave a small smile.


    She didn''t speak.


    She was afraid she might let out an involuntary "yes".


    Seeing her like this, Su Lun smiled and opened his arms; the Princess didn''t hesitate, and they embraced to say goodbye.


    As Su Lun smelled her fresh and tranquil fragrance, he tenderly stroked her smooth hair and said, "Take care."


    The Princess buried her head in his chest, not daring to look up, "Take care, Mr. Su Lun."


    After saying their farewells, Su Lun and Senjo headed towards the ship.


    The Princess watched their departing figures, her gaze lingering for a long time.


    ...


    After the "ck Sun Grand Festival" event, Edo Castle had almost purged all the outsiders, and foreign trade had nearlye to a halt.


    But these days, ships had begun to sail again.


    This "Hiyori-go", capable of carrying a thousand people, had traveled from Edo, and the ship was almost filled to the brim with those needing to travel by sea.


    Su Lun and Senjo boarded without tickets, using Spatial Discement to enter the cabin directly.


    The ship was packed with people, even the cargo hold was full.


    Nobody cared about the sudden appearance of two who looked like down-and-out samurai.


    Su Lun and Senjo found a spot near a venttion hole and started meditating on a pile of cargo.


    Before long, the ship slowly left the harbor.


    The port of Izumo was thest major harbor within the borders of Mountain Hermit, and this ship would not stop again, sailing straight to Pirate City Hasturin.


    With their embarkation, their journey to the Mountain Hermit country finally came to a close.


    Su Lun reflected on his experiences in the Mountain Hermit Nation, feeling a touch of mncholy.


    Originally, he had followed the Ninth Fleet of the North Sea to collect taxes, only for the entire fleet to be annihted, and the situation in Mountain Hermit had undergone earth-shattering changes.


    Of course, the gains were not small either; he made new friends and acquired Fourth Order Armaments: "Endless Stomach of the Sky-roaming Whale," "Death Novel," "Armor Escape Secret Technique," and a plethora of treasures.


    As he mused, Su Lun felt as if someone were watching him.


    He opened his eyes and looked through the venttion hole, just in time to see a girl in a red and white shrine maiden outfit silently standing on the riverside, watching the departing ship.


    Senjo naturally saw her as well, raising her eyebrows and murmuring, "Ah, Miss Princess is such a finedy; it''s really a miss if you let her go."


    While saying this, she didn''t forget to tease Su Lun, "Speaking of which, you had such a good opportunityst night, why didn''t you give it a try?"


    "..."


    Su Lun nced at Senjo but did not respond to her.


    If it were any other time, even if sharing a bed, he wouldn''t act disrespectfully.


    But after his body had mutated, some actions were driven by instinct,pletely beyond the control of reason.


    When he woke up in the middle ofst night, Su Lun felt something was different, and that''s when he discovered that he was holding not Senjo, but the Princess in his arms.


    His hands had also been mischievous, slipping under her pajamas, directly caressing her smooth and delicate skin. Just like Senjo had said, the Princess''s skin felt umonly silky and smooth. The vast area of skin contact was almost unimpeded; had he really "tried," his body would have enjoyed a nearly greedy pleasure, unwilling to let go voluntarily.


    To Su Lun''s mild surprise, the Princess certainly felt his roving hands. However, she did not resist and, out of shyness, dared not move.


    Thus they embraced intimately throughout the night.


    Qian Tiao heard those hurried breaths and small movements, only to tease with ill intention.


    ...


    Su Lun and hispanion stayed low-key in the cargo hold, but still encountered several groups of people who came to investigate.


    They silently killed two groups.


    Only after stripping their souls did they discover they were from the ck Dragon Association.


    After all, since "Ote Himeya," the leader of the ck Dragon Association, had been captured by him, Takeda Nobuyasu was definitely searching everywhere, with outbound ships being of utmost importance.


    By killing the informants, theck of feedback would soon be noticed by the people on shore.


    Fortunately, the ship set sail smoothly, entering the open sea, and the ck Dragon Association''s men were toote to pursue.


    After sailing several dozen nautical miles, a seagull pped its way in through the venttion hole andnded on Qian Tiao''s hand.


    This was a messenger from her "Dawn Pirate Crew."


    Knowing there would be a great battle in Edo, Qian Tiao had Lo Lo Ta and other crew members set sail ahead of time, waiting along the coast these past days.


    Su Lun and Qian Tiao directly disembarked from the merchant ship and stayed on the surface of the sea.


    They released a lifeboat and signal res, and before long, saw a pirate ship cutting through the waves from afar.


    From a great distance, Lo Lo Ta and the crew cheered from the deck: "Captain!"


    Su Lun and Qian Tiao leaped aboard in one jump.


    Once on their own ship, the constant vignce for enemies in their hearts finally settled down.


    ...


    The pirate ship, being much faster than the heavilyden cargo ship, sailed away riding the wind and breaking the waves.


    This was a well-established route, and after heading south for several days, they encountered no unexpected incidents.


    One day, with gentle winds and a beautiful sun, the sea was calm.


    They spotted a lighthouse atop a reef in the distance¡ªit was the "Rock Caiman Strait."


    On the deck, Dawn Crew members were sitting in a circle,ughing and betting among themselves.


    This trip to Mountain Hermit Nation brought a few new recruits, including a top-ranked sumo wrestler and several warriors pursuing the Sword Dao.


    At that moment, the sumo wrestler was arm-wrestling with the Giant Three Brothers, as other crew members cheered on the side.


    The atmosphere of a pirate crew is directly rted to the captain''s personality.


    Pirate crews that enjoyed plundering and looting mostly gatheredwbreakers and the dregs of society.


    But under Qian Tiao, a battle maniac, most of her crew were also battle maniacs.


    Those they rescued who didn''t like adventurous battles were given a resettlement fee to leave.


    The ones who stayed on the ship were almost all enthralled by Qian Tiao''s charisma, willingly following as part of thebat crew.


    Those who stayed didn''t care much about the profits of robbing money. They were more interested in adventuring with their captain, enjoying the thrill of adventure.


    Just then, with a "bang," the keg used for arm-wrestling was crushed to bits by overpowering strength, and the two contestants decided the victor.


    The giant race proved superior.


    Laughter erupted across the ship.


    "Hahaha... Captain Yuguro lost!"


    "Oh, Captain Heck is our Dawn Crew''s First Great Strongman, there''s no doubt about that!"


    "Pay up, Tamu, you lost a thousand rixdales to me."


    "Next up, who wants to spar in Sword Dao with our new mate Ran Saki? He is the current master swordsman of the ''New Shadow Style''..."


    "Lo Lo Ta, you wanna try? Otherwise, your position as the second swordsman of the Dawn Crew might not be safe."


    "Ah, Lo Lo Ta has been fighting Ran Saki for the past few days, not winning much. Ran Saki probably thinks he needs to challenge the captain to get a real challenge..."


    "Yeah. Ran Saki, you give it a try. We also want to see just how powerful Captain Qian Tiao is now..."


    "Oh, can you guys stop egging me on to do something foolish? The captain has already reached the Sword Saint Realm, and I''ve lost before she even draws her sword; I can''tpare at all. She is the person I admire the most. However... one day, I will be just as formidable as the captain."


    "..."


    The crewughed and joked, and one spar after another continued.


    Fistfights, swordy, wrestling, spearmanship... even fishing and drinking.


    As long as it was about earning a "Dawn Group ranking," the crew was endlessly enthusiastic, each striving to be the first.


    The few dozen people on board came up with some odd rankings like "Dawn Group''s First Strongman," "First Gunner," "First Anchor Man," "The First Big Eater," "First Fart King"...


    ...


    In the dimly lit cabin.


    Since boarding the ship, Su Lun had been very reclusive, hardly ever leaving the cabin.


    He needed lots of time to make puppets and study various secret techniques.


    Suddenly, he heard a message from Qian Tiao.


    He packed up his things and went up on deck.


    Almost everyone in the Dawn Group recognized the very mysterious and powerful "Mr. Su Lun".


    They also knew that he was very close to their captain, so they naturally didn''t treat him as an outsider.


    As soon as Su Lun reached the deck, the crew greeted him warmly.


    "Hey, Mr. Su Lun!"


    "Good afternoon, Mr. Su Lun."


    "..."


    Su Lun also smiled and responded to everyone in turn.


    He walked to the deck and leaped up to the crow''s nest on the mast. At this moment, Qian Tiao was up there, blowing in the sea breeze and observing the distant sea.


    The winds were strong at the top of the mast, and the sea breeze, slightly fishy and damp, brushed against his face.


    The crow''s nest was simply two semicircr nks joined together, quite narrow. Su Lun, holding onto the rope, dangled in midair before he steadied himself and asked, "What''s wrong, Sister Qian Tiao? Did you get me toe up here for something?"


    "Yes."


    Qian Tiao put away her monocr telescope and then said, "The Rock Caiman Strait is right ahead of us, and we need to be cautious. The crew mentioned thattely, there''s been talk among the pirates that quite a few ships have mysteriously disappeared in these waters. There are remnants of ships on the sea''s surface, which suggests a deep-sea monster may have passed through and sunk them..."


    "A deep-sea monster?"


    On hearing this, Su Lun''s gaze also became slightly sharp.


    He took the telescope that Qian Tiao handed to him and looked through it.


    His eyesight was very good, and the visibility on the sea was high that day, calm and serene.


    But he didn''t see anything unusual.


    If it really was a sea monster capable of destroying ships, it would indeed be troublesome. Raising the rm was too great, and it wouldn''t be easy to hunt it down in the sea.


    While observing, Su Lun asked another question, "How many ships have disappeared? Have any survivors mentioned what kind of sea monster it might be?"


    Qian Tiao replied, "About seven or eight, I suppose; the probability is quite low. They all vanished in the waters nearby. But what''s strange is that, to this day, there have been no known survivors."


    "How can there be no survivors?"


    Immediately upon hearing this, Su Lun became alert.


    Sea monsters attacking ships usually do so because they have been disturbed or they are hunting for food.


    Typically, a sea monster capable of destroying a ship is huge, and even if hunting, there are bound to be some that slip through the.


    The totalck of survivors was suspicious.


    It was a bit like a deliberate "eradication".


    And if the monster was just passing through, sinking one or two ships might be the end of it, but seven or eight?


    That means the monster might still be lurking in the nearby waters?


    Su Lun suddenly felt a bit troubled.


    Never mind how strong the deep-sea monster might be, if their "Dawn" were to be sunk, that would be a major problem.


    With that thought in mind, he took his telescope and carefully searched the sea surface.


    Indeed, he could see some floating barrels and broken nks.


    Farther away, about a dozen nautical miles on the ck rocks, stood thatndmark lighthouse.


    ...


    There was nothing particrly special about the Rock Caiman Strait itself, but due to its strategic location as a maritime throat, virtually all of the sea routes from the vast northern waters converged here, making it an essential passageway to the Pirate City.


    If one were to detour, the journey could be more than twice as long.


    This was a well-traveled route with hundreds of years of history, and aside from asional pirate robberies by those of unknown identities, there were hardly any dangers.


    Chian frowned deeply, the "Dawn" was her family''s foundation, and she naturally wouldn''t let a sea monster sink it. She said, "Su Lun, your perception is stronger than mine, check if there''s anything else approaching from under the sea."


    "Okay."


    Su Lun nodded, also pondering what kind of sea monster it could be.


    Sovereign of the deep-sea eels? That temperamental sea creature did indeed like to attack ships, but it usually wouldn''t stay in one area for too long; a school of sawtooth piranhas? That didn''t fit either, those fish would indeed cleanly eat any humans that fell into the water, but they were almost no threat torge ships; the so-called "sailboat killer," the short-nosed spikefish? The cold climate wasn''t suited for that type of fish...


    Su Lun had harvested many pirates'' souls before, and he was well-versed in various marine deities.


    However, he racked his brain and couldn''t associate any type of sea monster with the current situation.


    With that ruled out, he couldn''t help but think: what if it wasn''t a sea monster, but a human action?


    Su Lun''s thoughts suddenly started whirling.


    It was no wonder he thought this way, as he had personally encountered such a situation before.


    ....


    That time, Duke Raphael''s super battleship ambushed and captured the stray "divine mechanical blueprints," and except for him, who survived because of his recement puppet, not a single person from that group of merchants survived.


    To kill all, naturally, was for the sake of secrecy.


    This also satisfied the logic of the crime.


    But...


    Now, the weather was clear and sunny, there was no natural fog, nor any war fog.


    There wasn''t a single battleship shadow.


    Could it be Mafa''s submarines?


    No... The Mafa Empire was in a flirtatious phase with Oleg, and there were rumors about sending submarines to deliver munitions, but attacking passing ships didn''t make sense. Many pirate ships aren''t even as valuable as a single fish.


    There was just no motive.


    But the Rock Caiman Strait was a very special location; if one wanted to intercept a certain special ship, this was indeed the most convenient ce.


    Su Lun felt that if this line of thought wasn''t wrong, then among those vanished ships, there might be something "special" worth being ambushed for?


    With that in mind, he looked at Chian beside him and asked, "Sister Chian, have you received any other intelligence? I always feel that there''s something odd about this."


    "No."


    Chian shook her head, her green hair fluttering with the sea breeze, "I just have a premonition that we might encounter some situations."


    "Premonition?"


    Su Lun nced to the side as he heard this.


    After advancing to a higher level, professionals indeed developed a sort of "sixth sense," a special perceptual ability that grew stronger. Chian had advanced to the "Sword Saint Realm," mastered dominance, and even awakened the legendary triple talents of the "Rakshasa Woman," which indeed transformed her strength dramatically from before.


    Chian nodded and added, "After dying once in thend of the dead, my ability to sense danger has grown stronger. The closer we get to the Rock Caiman Strait, the more I feel there''s ''something'' under this sea."


    Even so, they wouldn''t change their route just out of fear of a sea monster.


    Besides, taking an unfamiliar route might even increase the chance of encountering sea monsters.


    Hearing Chian''s words, Su Lun''s brows furrowed slightly. He dared not take it lightly and, with a pinch of his sorcerer''s seals, pped them towards the void: "Necromancy ¡¤ Release!"


    "Bang," a ck crow flew out.


    The crow of death did not cry out, which meant there was no fatal danger.


    However, he still released the ck crow, letting it circle in the sky, surveying the entire marine area from above.


    Su Lun also took out his Rune Umbre and opened it, his senses extending instantly. Although water could impede his senses, he could still perceive up to a hundred meters underwater. The sea in this marine area was deep, but if anyrge creature approached the ship, he would be able to detect it in advance.


    ...


    Su Lun and Qiantiao stopped at the mast.


    It would take about half a day to travel through this marine area. The two sat there, oneprehending the Sword Dao, and the other carving puppets.


    Qiantiao''s premonition came and went but neverpletely disappeared.


    Naturally, they did not dare to be careless.


    By evening, the sky was already filled with a red glow.


    Suddenly, the ck crow in the sky cawed.


    Su Lun''s expression turned sharp, and almost at the same time, he sensed something, eximing, "Something swam past, very fast."


    Qiantiao''s hand fell on the handle of her knife, asking, "Is it really a sea monster?"


    Su Lun frowned slightly, recalling, and said, "Seems like it. But it''s not too big, probably around ten meters. It just swept under our ship, heading in the ten o''clock direction."


    "Only ten meters?"


    Qiantiao, full of confusion, listened on.


    Marine creatures of about ten meters were merely "food" category, posing no threat to the ship at all.


    She had thought it was at least a hundred meters long, a massive creature.


    But the ck crow''s rm meant there was indeed danger approaching.


    Qiantiao did not dare to be negligent and yelled loudly, "All hands to battle stations!"


    "Aye aye, Captain!"


    On the deck, everyone immediately sprang into action.


    Su Lun released the ck crow, pursuing the direction of ten o''clock.


    After the ck crow flew a hundred meters, its vision suddenly expanded, and within the shared view, in the azure blue water, several fast-moving shadows were indeed visible.


    "A school of marine creatures?"


    This time, Su Lun seemed to have seen clearly and muttered, "They have tentacles, like more than tenrge octopuses, seems like they are hunting."@@novelbin@@


    Qiantiao became more puzzled upon hearing this, "Octopuses?"


    When she heard about this creature, her head filled with images of "octopus balls," "octopus hot pots."


    Could such food-grade marine creatures capsize a ship?


    However, the very next second, sudden violent explosions erupted far off at the sea''s surface.


    "Boom boom boom!"


    The explosion noise was deafening.


    Everyone on the deck saw clearly, water spouts dozens of meters high surged into the sky, right on the sea surface two to three leagues away from their vessel, the "Dawn"!


    ...


    Undersea explosions?


    Su Lun watched, still puzzled, this was clearly not the noise of an underwater volcano erupting. Instead, looking at the way the st light spread, he confirmed it was the light from high-explosive torpedoes or some sort of alchemical gunpowder.


    It also meant that there were indeed submarines from the magic world underwater?


    Were thoserge octopuses going after the submarines?


    Although he did not understand what was happening, Su Lun shouted sharply, "Turn the ship around, away from the direction of the explosion!"


    If a battle ensued, it meant they were "lucky," actually encountering the truth behind the recent shipwreck mystery near the strait.


    That also meant they were very likely to be "silenced"!


    Upon hearing themand, the sailors on deck quickly turned the helm and adjusted their course, the sails billowed, and they sailed at full speed away from the direction of the explosion.


    And just then, a submarine surfaced rapidly from the ocean not far from the explosion.


    Watching the over one hundred-meter iron lump rise from the sea, Su Lun finally understood what was happening.


    "A mechanical octopus? What is this situation..."


    Su Lun really was bewildered for a moment.


    He had guessed the beginning, but not the ranking.


    Seeing a mechanical submarine here didn''t surprise him in the least. Currently, only the military of the Mafa Empire had this technology, and it was really hard to say how many submarines there were in the vast rear of Ruying.


    But... what on earth was that mechanical octopus?


    Su Lun''s eyes narrowed; he had sensed and seen something in the sea before, but he hadn''t expected these things to be mechanical creatures with souls.


    There was only one entity with such technology.


    In an instant, he thought of something: "Neural mechanical technology, Duke Raphael!"


    Before him, several dozen mechanical octopuses clung with their mechanical tentacle suckers onto the submarine''s hull, and then all kinds of "ion cutters" started to prepare to breach the hull.


    Experience more tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    They were like stubborn sters that couldn''t be hit, nor shaken off!


    The submarine had no choice but to surface, and several warriors dressed in Mafa''s mechanical battleship armor ejected from the submarine, engaging in a fierce battle with the mechanical octopuses!


    ....


    "These mechanical octopuses, could they be capturing the submarine?"


    Seeing this situation, Su Lun instantly understood everything.


    Those mechanical octopuses weren''t simply trying to sink the mechanical submarine; instead, it was clear they were carrying out a nned dissection, wanting to preserve the submarine hull as intact as possible.


    Both the Mafa Empire and the Ruying Empire coveted "neural mechanical technology" from Duke Raphael, but he likewise lusted after this advanced submarine technology.


    It was hard to find on the battlefield, but recently Mafa and the King of the North Sea were on ambiguous terms. By lying in wait in this strait, the chance of encountering a submarine increased significantly!


    This area of the sea may have been stalked by mechanical octopuses hunting for quite some time now.


    They wouldn''t act on normal days, only appearing when they encountered submarines.


    This could also exin why passing ships would asionally sink in this vicinity.


    It was probably just bad luck, happening upon a time when a submarine was passing by and getting caught up in the capture operation.


    "Duke Raphael has actually created a mechanical monster army, how many tricks does that guy have up his sleeve¡­"


    Su Lun had spected before that if it were possible to make "Super Mechanical Warriors," then theoretically there could be an army of "Super Small Mechanical Monsters."


    Yet he hadn''t expected that the finished product was already in existence!


    By relying on "neural mechanical technology," Duke Raphael cut corners. With this technology in hand, the Ruying royal family''s "sea dominance" was far behind Duke Raphael!


    Even the Mechanical Holy Land Mafa would be weaker byparison!


    Thinking this, Su Lun couldn''t help but exim at the excitement of it all


    The situation in Ruying was getting more and moreplex by the day.


    If it weren''t for King Oleg of the North Sea suddenly proiming himself king, throwing Ruying''s rear into chaos, who knows when the scheming Duke Raphael would have revealed his hand.


    Once the "mechanical monster army" was truly scaled up, then he would truly be the "Supreme Overlord of the Seas."


    No wonder there was a need to "cut the weeds and eliminate the roots" for secrecy; with such a technique, theter it was exposed, the better.


    Now that it was prematurely revealed, it was just that the submarine technology was worth exposing.


    ....


    But Su Lun didn''t care about the power struggles among the high nobility; he himself had been researching "neural mechanical technology"tely. Now, looking at these living mechanical octopuses, they seemed to him like walking "technology libraries," his eyes gleaming with excitement.


    His own conception was still in the theoretical stage, but here were finished products!


    This might be the result of the Raphael family''s decades of work and countless resources.


    The key is, this thing is too much of a Puppeteer''s trump card!


    Su Lun felt that if he truly got his hands on it, it would definitely be a "shortcut" that could save him decades of struggle!


    Meanwhile, the battle had begun, and three fast-moving shadows appeared in the sea.


    They were extremely fast, even quicker than the "Dawn" at full speed, and it looked like they were about to catch up soon.


    This was a "kill and silence" mission!


    Senjo also saw the rapidly pursuing sea monsters, "ng" her sword was drawn, and a bizarre Sword Qi soared into the sky.


    Seeing this, Su Lun shouted, "Senjo, try not to damage them, leave them intact! I have a great use for these things!"


    This mechanical octopus was worth much more than a battleship, and even if their ship was sunk, he felt they had to capture it to take a closer look.


    Hearing this, Senjo also let out a light shout, "Got it!"


    Su Lun spoke again, "Use the fog of war, activate the alchemy sails..."


    He had no intention of fighting right away.


    Since there were mechanical octopuses here, but their intellect wasn''t sufficient for organizedbat, there must be professionals working for Duke Raphael nearby, controlling them.


    In such an unclear situation, to directly engage in that kind of battle was definitely not a wise choice.


    They needed to take the opportunity while the mechanical octopuses were busy fighting the Mecha warriors on the submarine to escape as far as possible.


    The crew on deck heard the orders and immediately started bustling about with their tasks.


    As soon as the fog of war was released at the stern, a dense fog quickly enveloped the sea, blocking the view in an instant.


    The pale blue formation on the sails shone brightly, and after consuming arge amount of energy crystals, their speed also shot up significantly.


    ...


    Pirate crews that operate alone are usually notrge, so only three mechanical octopuses were in pursuit.


    They were underestimated.


    Su Lun was pleased with this, considering it a good thing.


    Senjo was at the stern, merely staring at the shadow that was getting closer and closer.


    Even the loss of energy crystals worth hundreds of thousands in an attempt to escape could not shake them off; no wonder no survivors had ever escaped from encounters before.


    But now that she knew what the creatures were, she actually breathed a sigh of relief.


    It wasn''t some giant sea monster; for Senjo, killing them wouldn''t be difficult.


    She nced at Su Lun beside her and asked, "This thing is very agile, huh? It can even cut through the steel armor of a submarine; our ship can''t withstand that."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun narrowed his eyes slightly, nodded, and added, "I have a n."


    As a soft-bodied creature, an octopus is quite tricky to handle. They specialize in entangling, strangling, adhering... and function even more powerfully when mechanically modified. If they got close to the ship, this kind of wooden vessel would likely not stand a chance.


    But after observing for so long, he had also thought of a way to counter these mechanical octopuses.


    The sounds of battle at the rear of the ship grew increasingly distant.


    Su Lun still did not hurry to act.


    Each side pursued the other for a quarter of an hour, the distance closing rapidly.


    On deck, the crewmembers who had no tasks crowded at the stern, holding weapons and on full alert.


    Only then did they get a clear look at the monsters in the water chasing them, and they were greatly surprised.


    Seeing their own captain and Su Lun appearing so calm, they weren''t too tense either.


    Someone asked, "Captain, what is that thing? It looks like an octopus, but why is it made of iron?"


    Senjo spread her hands, "How would I know?"


    Neural mechanical technology was not widely known, and even fewer had ever seen it.


    Not to mention these "mechanical monsters."


    Lolota nced at Su Lun and asked, "Mr. Su Lun, do you know what that is?"


    Responding with a phrase, Su Lun said, "As you can see, it''s a kind of mechanical monster."


    "Ah?"


    Lolota was somewhat perplexed.


    Given the backward mechanical technology of Ruying, she naturally couldn''t understand such advanced technology that was far beyond her time.


    Su Lun didn''t borate, as there was a lot of technology on the mechanical octopus that he himself couldn''t decipher.


    They weren''t idle either, as cannons fired pell-mell into the water at the three mechanical octopuses.


    But naturally... it was to no avail whatsoever.


    "Hephaestus titanium manganese alloy? The technological content is really high..."


    Su Lun recognized the material as a special alloy he had seen on the main body of the super mechanical warriors, something that ordinary firearms couldn''t damage at all.


    Naturally, it wasn''t something that could be purchased on the open market.


    Just then, the three octopuses had closed the distance to within a hundred meters and suddenly elerated!


    "They must have reached attack range, activating the rush program..."


    Su Lun keenly observed a significant energy fluctuation in the mechanical octopus''s kic boiler and wasn''t surprised.


    Seeing this, it seemed they aimed to sink them with one strike.


    But just then, behind Su Lun, the eight-arm spider spear suddenly jerked, and countless transparent threads instantly solidified, weaving in a sh into a huge trawling at the stern.


    The three mechanical octopuses, having just elerated, charged directly into the. They struggled to break free, but at this moment, Su Lun forcefully yanked them, pulling them out of the water.


    A formidable creature in water should be pulled out of it;


    Those with might in the sky should be confined to the ground;


    That way, theirbat power would decrease by more than eighty percent.


    The three mechanical octopuses were the same, hanging midair in Su Lun''s.


    Although the mechanical octopuses were formidable, they were easy to deal with given the right countermeasures.


    They countered submarines and mechanical armor, those kinds of "hard objects."


    But against "soft things" like threads, they were helpless.


    Once the mechanical octopuses left the water, they frantically writhed their tentacles around, trying to entangle...


    But Su Lun''s "Thousand Threads" imnt had infinite hair; however much they entangled, he would release even more.


    Soon, the three octopuses had nothing to leverage, directly wrapped into cocoons. Even equipped with cutting tools, the cutting speed couldn''t keep up with the speed of being entangled.


    Su Lun didn''t want to kill such a precious research product, so he put his three-stage alchemy imnt "Spirit Tentacles" to use.


    One by one, the threads burrowed into the mechanical octopus''s interfaces and gaps...


    The more a mechanical product sought flexibility, the less likely it was for its armor to be entirelyprehensive.


    Su Lun''s threads easily found some neural tissue.


    But just then, he realized that the mechanical octopuses couldn''t break free and had actually triggered a self-destruct program.


    "Still want to blow yourselves up?"


    Su Lun noticed the abnormal neural signal and sneered inwardly.


    Others would be helpless in this situation, and even if they managed to capture these mechanical octopuses, they''d end up with just a pile of scrap.


    Pity, Su Lun himself was an expert in the field of neural mechanics!


    He knew that to control mecha, the octopuses must have aplete nervous system.


    He used the threads to easily find the neural center and directly severed the self-destructmand.


    The three mechanical octopuses were immediately immobilized.


    Gazing upon the spoils of battle he had captured, Su Lun''s eyes zed with a scorching light.

 Chapter 351 I Plan to Join You

    Su Lun captured three mechanical octopuses, to everyone in the Dawn team, it was almost as surprising as if they had caught several "alien creatures."


    The members who had not heard of neural mechanical technology had a hard time understanding how there could be steel monsters in the sea, not to mention how they could survive.


    But looking at their silver-ted, luminescent skins, which could change color to hide, Su Lun truly felt like he''d stumbled upon a treasure.


    It wasn''t bad luck that he encountered them, it was incredibly good fortune!


    Now that he thought about it, Archduke Raphael was reaching out quite long indeed.


    This Duke, who seemed to be excluded from the core power circle of the Luying Empire, actually harbored great ambition and had already acquired the strength to directly confront King Oleg of the North Sea.


    No, even the Luying royal family.


    In the past, pirates piged unscrupulously, thinking that the steel naval vessels couldn''t catch up to the fast-sailing pirate ships, nor reach Pirate City.


    Now it seemed that the navy simply disdained to shoot at mosquitoes, awaiting the high-tech submarines of the Magic Empire.


    Insurmountable barriers?


    Nonexistent.


    Even the chaotic wind belts and whirlpool regions surrounding Pirate City couldn''t stop these mechanical octopuses that could swim in the deep sea.


    Qian Tiao watched as Su Lun stored the three octopuses into his storage space and also saw some tricks, eximing in admiration, "These things seem quite remarkable."


    "They are more than just remarkable,"


    Su Lun exined excitedly, "In the sea, even fourth or fifth-tier professionals without countermeasures would hardly be a match for them. And they are perfect for destroying ships, with a clusteringbat power that is very terrifying. This is top-notch technology that could change the course of future wars."


    Qian Tiao listened, not quite understanding but still nodding in agreement.


    If their methods hadn''t precisely countered these mechanical octopuses and had the steel monsters reached the ships, even submarines could be sliced through, so what chance would wooden sailboats stand?


    A powerful individual like Qian Tiao could kill them, but what if there were hundreds?


    The entire sea area would be a boiling mass of mechanical tentacles, a terrifying image to even think about.


    And besides, these were "small" ten-meter-long mechanical octopuses.


    What about the hundred-meter or kilometer-long super beasts?


    The design philosophy of this era was that bigger is better. Therger the mechanical monsters'' size, the more substantial the defensive armor they could carry. As they grow, they be virtually invincible!


    Su Lun would not be na?ve to think that Duke Raphael hadn''t thought of this.


    He even suspected that Duke Raphael, apart from Old Lington, might have one or several "secret bases" dedicated to researching mechanical monsters and steel behemoths.


    Su Lun had a premonition that now Duke Raphael had joined forces with the Raga family of the south, the conservative old guard at the top of the Luying Empire might suffer a great loss.


    A storm wasing.


    And this previously barrennd of the four northern countries was really heating uptely.


    Fortunately,


    The critical "neural mechanical technology" wasn''t unique to Raphael''s household,


    Su Lun understood it too!


    Now with a sample of mechanical monsters, future research directions became clear, and he could avoid many mistakes.


    ...


    Before long, the distant sounds of gunfire also suddenly ceased.


    The battle ended quickly, far from what one would expect from a fight involving "Commodore-level" mechanical power suitsparable to fifth-tier professionals.


    But Su Lun wasn''t the least bit surprised.


    For most Magic Empire mechanical suits, these soft-bodied mechanical octopuses were a perfect counter.


    Once stuck, a mechanical suit could hardly utilize even twenty percent of itsbat capabilities.


    Moreover, since Duke Raphael''s men chose to ambush, they must have been confident of sess.


    Su Lun, originally intending to check out the battlefield for a chance to scavenge, reconsidered.


    If Duke Raphael had already extended his reach, then not only near the Rock Caiman Strait but also along the way to Pirate City, there would likely be mechanical monster troops.


    This could even already be an "encirclement."


    Su Lun''s priority was to return to Pirate City to find Dr. Banks for treatment of the mutation, and he couldn''t afford to be sidetracked. Otherwise, if encircled and "Dawn" was sunk, the consequences would be unimaginable.


    Also, those who ambushed the Magic Empire submarines seemed very cautious.


    After achieving their goal, the sea quickly returned to calm.


    Presumably deeming the three disconnected mechanical octopuses had "self-destructed," no one followed up to investigate the situation.


    The Dawn team sailed away without incident.


    ...


    For caution''s sake, the Dawn team didn''t follow the original n through the Rock Caiman Strait but took a great risk by making arge detour, opting for an alternate route. Although they encountered some extreme weather and actual sea monster attacks, fortunately, they came through unscathed.


    In the following days, Su Lun was dedicated to figuring out how to control the mechanical octopuses.


    The huge ss jar was filled with seawater, and he would asionally feed the octopus, replenishing the necessary nutrients.


    He carefully analyzed every detail of the mechanical octopus, removed the positioning tracker, and gradually became adept at controlling it.


    The octopus itself was intelligent, with a highly developed and substantial nervous system, nearly as many neurons as mammals, and an intellect that wasn''t inferior to many terrestrial and aquatic mammals.


    This was also why Su Lun had previously thought that it was one of the most suitable temtes for creating mechanical monsters.


    The mechanical octopus was obviously trained and would have many conditioned reflexes likebat reactions when facing different situations.


    He guessed that among those who hunted submarines, there must have been professionals akin to "Beast Tamers." They controlled mechanical octopuses by "technique," which required specific secret techniques and a long time to be familiar with.


    But Su Lun didn''t need anything soplicated at the moment.


    He directly controlled the octopus'' limbs with "Mental Tentacles." As long as he understood the octopus''s nervous system well enough, he could control them as perfectly as if they were zombies.


    Finally, they safely returned to Pirate City Hastur.


    ...


    After the King of the North Sea was crowned, Pirate City became several times more bustling than before, thriving like arge territory.


    Countless new pirates, harboring dreams of striking it rich, converged here from various seas, a jumble of good and bad.


    The most direct manifestation of this was that the number of pirate ships at the docks of Golden City had multiplied several times over.


    The docks were crammed with pirate ships of various specifications and ostentatious pirate gs adorned with skulls... What used to be almost free ship berthing now even had a charge.


    The Dawn Group was not yet famous, so they could only squeeze in with a bunch of "subpar" pirate gangs on the periphery.


    They didn''t mind, having just captured three mechanical octopuses from the Magic Empire, and stowing their gs away, it was quite good to keep a low profile.


    "Sister Qian, I''m going to find Dr. Banks first to deal with the anomaly. Be careful, there must be spies from Duke Raphael in this Pirate City."


    "Mhm."


    After the ship docked, it needed resupplying, and the crew wanted to spend some time rxing. Qian was unable to contain her gambling urge that she hadn''t indulged in for many days, her mind set on heading to the gambling dens to spend some money.


    Su Lun didn''t join them, as his anomalous state was getting worse.


    After parting with everyone, he walked alone on the city''s streets.


    There were many more people in Golden City, and the streets were everywhere filled with people of various attire. Whereas before it was almost all slovenly pirates and sailors, now Su Lun saw some well-dressed, respectable people in the crowd?


    Merchants, nobles, guards, Magic Empire navy, and so on...


    Although not many, these sorts of people would not normally appear in Pirate City.


    Moreover, surprisingly, the city was festooned withnterns everywhere as if some big shot was getting married.


    It was customary in Pirate City to hang rednterns for festive asions, and thenterns were all over the city. Apart from Oleg, no one dared to put on such a grand disy.


    "Could it be Oleg, or perhaps, one of his children has just had a wedding?"


    Su Lun looked at the grandeur that was obviously not just a small affair, and there were many disys that were clearly only for high-ranking nobles.


    For instance, high-ranking nobles would throw coins to themon people in the streets during a wedding, there would be professional musicians performing on the streets for several days and the celebration wouldst for a long time...


    "Is it possible that the King of the North Sea has made a marriage alliance with a significant noble from the Magic Empire?"


    Su Lun spected in his heart.


    Marriage alliances were the mostmon method of political alliance.


    In the current situation, there could be no oneing to form an alliance from the Emperor Luying''s nobility, only from the Magic Empire.


    However, he didn''t bother to inquire further, as his priority was to find Dr. Banks.


    Su Lun went to the middle area of the city and found an inconspicuous inn with a "Shark Hotel" sign.


    With his senses, he detected some familiar faces from the "Steam Party" inside the inn.


    He went upstairs, to room 206.


    Knock, knock, knock!


    Su Lun knocked on the door.


    The door opened, and a person who looked like an aberrant monster stood there.


    Su Lun greeted politely, "Dr. Banks, long time no see."


    The monster smiled and said, "Indeed, long time no see, young friend Su Lun."


    After a pause, he gestured, "Pleasee in."


    ....


    There was clearly a barrier in the room; as soon as Su Lun entered, he smelled a pungent, strange odor.


    This was a temporaryboratory, filled with various bottles, jars, and active equipment, and the shelves were crammed with manuscripts, books, bones of oddly-shaped creatures, and specimens of nts and animals.


    But he was used to it because Su Lun himself often conducted simr experiments.


    Dr. Banks had called him directly to meet in theboratory, not treating Su Lun as an outsider, and he spoke with a tone full of apologies, "Sorry, I couldn''t leave because of an experiment, so I asked you toe to theb. It''s a bit messy in here..." Find more chapters on My Virtual Library Empire


    After a moment, he realized Su Lun''s expression was off, he pped his forehead and said, "Young friend Su Lun, you might need to wear a gas mask. Heating the rootstock of ''Gold Cloak Grass'' releases trace toxins, which, while not affecting me, can cause anosmia in ordinary humans."


    "No need."


    Su Lun smiled and shook his head, "I feel okay."


    This poison, aside from being pungent, actually didn''t have much of an effect.


    Dr. Banks seemed to recall something, then suddenly said, "Oh, I almost forgot, bodies modified by ''X Serum'' canpletely metabolize poisons of this level normally."


    Su Lun just smiled nomittally.


    He was interested in Banks''s experiments, and as he looked around the room, his eyes grew somewhat greedy. Several of the pieces of equipment were ones he needed but had not found a way to acquire, so he couldn''t help but remark, "Dr. Banks has a lot of top-tier equipment here..."


    Banks also appeared rather wistful, "Yes, it took quite some time to collect them all. After Old Lington was raided, many instruments ended up in Pirate City. Luckily, those pirates didn''t know the value of what they had, and I managed to acquire these top-of-the-line research devices for a very small price. Otherwise, with those people from Mafa here now, all the good stuff would have been snatched away..."


    Listening, Su Lun also raised his eyebrows, as his own equipment hade to him in the same manner.


    Thinking of something, he casually asked, "By the way, who''s getting married in the city, to make such a grand affair?"


    Banks replied, "The Magic Emperor''s Thirteenth Princess, ''Frost Moon Princess'' Scatty Harris, and King Oleg of the North Sea''s youngest son, ''Frost Troll'' Gaal Popov, formed a marriage alliance. A grand wedding was held in the city the day before yesterday."


    "Gaal?"


    Su Lun''s expression changed slightly upon hearing this.


    He had met Gaal before. That guy was a hybrid of troll and Viking giant, towering and limited in intelligence. He was utterly unsuitable for a normal human female. The real sense of "Beauty and the Beast."


    Who would have thought the Mafa Empire would be willing to pay such a price, essentially marrying off a princess to a pirate?


    No wonder he had seen so many non-pirates in the city before.


    The two made small talk on a few insignificant topics, and then Banks asked, "Young friend Su Lun, when you contacted me before, you mentioned something urgent?"


    Su Lun nodded and said bluntly, "Yes. My body has undergone a mutation, and I wanted to see if you might have a way to deal with it."


    "Mutation?"


    Confused, Banks murmured, "X Serum should stabilize after a sessful transformation. How could it mutate?"


    Su Lun seemed to find it bothersome to exin and simply said, "It''s not ''X Serum,'' it''s a special kind of dark energy. Hmm... Have you heard of the legend of the Mountain Hermit''s monster?"


    Banks furrowed his brow upon hearing this, seemingly understanding something, and then thought for a moment, "Can I take a look first?"


    "Sure, I''d appreciate it."


    Su Lun released the suppressed demonic energy and gray-ck patterns immediately appeared across his skin.


    "This is serious..."


    Banks had only taken a cursory look and his brow was already deeply furrowed, "If it weren''t for the elevated tolerance of X Serum, with this level of mutation, you would probably be dead already."


    After a pause, he added, "I need to conduct a thorough examination to give a precise assessment of your body''s condition."


    Su Lun nodded.


    ...


    With various diagnostic devices connected to his body, Dr. Banks collected some biological samples for analysis.


    Indeed, specialized matters should be left to the professionals.


    It seemed to Su Lun that there might be a solution, as Banks indicated he needed more detailed data for an evaluation.


    Feeling somewhat relieved, Su Lun thought that having found the top biological expert, the rest would be up to luck.


    Soon, the results of the examination came out.


    After carefully analyzing the data, Banks looked very grave, "This is troublesome. Your body shows signs of multiple mutations, and they continue to evolve in an uncontroble direction. Luckily, you have strong physical health, which has allowed you to hold on this long... Under normal circumstances, within a month, it would threaten your life."


    His words were precise, giving Su Lun a clearer understanding of his condition.


    He asked directly, "Is there a solution?"


    "There is."


    Banks didn''t beat around the bush and said, "I''ve done some research on suppressing mutations before. With some time, I can prepare a potion that can suppress your mutation, but it will only work for a while."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun listened patiently, nodding asionally.


    This was something he had also considered and was the most important reason he had sought out Banks.


    Banks continued, "To address the root of the problem, I''ve thought of three methods. The first is to inject the [Eternal Cell Serum] I''m currently using. The ''X serum'' gic sequence has the strongestpatibility I''ve seen. So, with that foundation, your chances of sessful integration will be much higher than my previous attempts. But it probably won''t exceed 10%. However, after integration, your appearance will also change like mine did. I think this method is something you''re unlikely to consider."


    As he spoke, he handed over a pitch-ck potion.


    Su Lun examined it briefly, knitting his brows in difort.


    It was somewhat simr to "X Serum," a gene-modifying potion. It could suppress his current mutation and significantly enhance his attributes, but the sess rate was only 7.3%.


    Furthermore, side effects were guaranteed, and as Dr. Banks had said, it would transform its user into a creature withpound eyes and serrated limbs like his.


    Indeed, unless absolutely necessary, this certainly wasn''t an option to consider.


    He asked with a wry smile, "What about the other methods?"


    Dr. Banks said, "The second method is for you to advance as quickly as possible, integrating the corresponding biological enhancements to raise the limit of your body''s tolerance for mutation. As we''ve discussed before, what we call mutation urs when an organism''s body can''t handle certain foreign elements and changes ur. Mice and elephants operate onpletely different energy levels. Ultimately, it''s because the human constitution is too weak to withstand it..."


    He then added seriously, "But I estimate that to enhance the body with this method, the biological enhancements required will have to be of high quality to ensure they can handle this overflow of mutant energy. For example: dragon, ancient giants, abyssal behemoths... or perhaps organs refined from other massive creatures. The quality of the enhancements must be at least ''legendary'' or higher... But this method might lead to other issues. If you really want to try it, we''ll have to see how things go."


    "..."


    Su Lun listened and fell into deep thought as well.


    It was a very reasonable n.


    Biological mutations are actually bidirectional.


    Those who can''t endure it be monsters, but those who can, receive enhancements.


    The human body is like a tree, the stronger it is, the more likely it can "graft" other branches onto itself.


    If he had a body as colossal as a dragon''s, such negative effects from mutations would probably be nothing more than a "minor cold."


    However, now that there was a n, the first thing that came to Su Lun''s mind was to search for it.


    A thought reflexively popped into his head, "Giant prosthetics?"


    Because he hade across them before.


    Inside the Royal Library of Emperor Luying, there was a volume of "Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscript," which contained records of a type of giant graft called "Isaac''s Giant Strength."


    Previously, many from the "Sacred Judgment Legion" had advanced by integrating this official graft.


    And in Su Lun''s possession was a piece of giant material he had found in the Cursed Valley ¡ª the "Arm of the Hundred-Armed Giant King."


    Without any surprises, such abination would definitely yield a prosthetic of "legendary quality."


    What hecked was that very manuscript.


    Banks nced at him and continued, "The third option is to look for some special mythical items. As you know, there are many treasures from the mythological era in legends, possessing some incredible effects. Like the ''Fountain of Youth'' from overseas, the Elves'' ''Moonwell'', the Holy Grail forged by Dwarves..."


    After listening, Su Lun understood that none of the three ns were easy.


    He could prepare for them simultaneously, but he prioritized the second option.


    He had nned, if given the chance, to collect the other volumes of "Isaac''s Alchemy Manuscripts."


    Now he had yet anotherpelling reason to do so.


    Fortunately, Mr. Hei and Sabina were currently in Emperor Luying''s capital, so Su Lunmunicated with them to keep an extra lookout.


    But such royal treasures were definitely not easy to obtain.


    Su Lun felt that he might have to go there in person someday.


    Whilemunicating, he also asked about the situation of Danny, who was in Emperor Luying''s capital. Danny had already received the mutation suppression potion. After taking it, his health was improving.


    Banks, as a father, visibly rxed a lot upon hearing this.


    ....


    Having temporarily solved the urgent matter at hand, Su Lun also breathed a sigh of relief.


    Developing a targeted "mutation suppressant" would take a long time, and he did not leave theb, instead starting a casual conversation with Banks.


    "Mr. Banks, has there been any major change in Pirate City recently? The city seems to have changed quite a bit..."


    "One of Oleg''s men, a capable person who has arrived, is said to have been a politician from Emperor Luying previously, named ''Zs D. Andres.'' That man has the talent for governance, and in a short time, almost without lifting a sword, he has integrated Pirate City and several nations of the north. However, it seems that there has been a bit of a situation in Mountain Hermit, but it''s not a big deal... If this trend continues, within three to five years, the North Sea will undoubtedly be unified by Oleg. By then, King Oleg of the North Sea will truly have transformed from a pirate into a king."


    "Has there been any recent change in the war between the two empires? Why else would Magic Emperor send a princess to seek an alliance through marriage all of a sudden?"


    "The war is still at a stalemate. I suspect... the urgent alliance between Magic Emperor and Oleg is very likely targeting the ''Void Relics.''


    "Void Relics?"


    "Yes. The news that the North Sea Fleet has arge amount of void materials has spread, and now everyone is inquiring for intelligence. Emperor Luying''s, Magic Emperor''s, various arms dealers, great nobles, intelligence agencies, Bounty Hunters, adventurers... the city is now a mix of dragons and snakes, attracting many strong individuals. And from the fleet, I''ve received some concrete information that says Oleg has discovered an alchemy academy ruin from the Dawn Era ten thousand years ago, which once was a ce for researching void creatures..."


    "..."


    While "Mechanical Butcher" Banner is officially known as the chief of the North Sea Fleet, in reality, it is Dr. Banks who is the man behind the curtain.


    He also had a lot of first-hand intelligence in his hands.


    Listening to those pieces of intelligence, Su Lun began to understand the current situation.


    It seems ... very lively indeed.


    He even felt that Archduke Raphael exposing his mechanical monster army this time was probably not just to intercept Magic Emperor''s submarine, but also aimed at that "Void Relic." After all, void materials were too special, and if Oleg managed to create a Void Army, the threat would be immeasurable.


    That relic was definitely something Su Lun would look for an opportunity to explore.


    Unfortunately, information was still scarce at the moment, and he needed to take the time to gather intelligence, which was not something to be rushed.


    The two discussed the current situation for a while, then shifted the conversation to academic issues.


    "Neuro-mechanical technology," "Hand of Silver," "Mechanical Octopus"... and so on.


    Su Lun posed all the academic difficulties he had recently encountered.


    He was not skilled in theoretical research, but was better at applying mature technologies in practice. On the other hand, Banks was a top theoretical expert in the field of biology, which made this a rare learning opportunity.


    Dr. Banks also did not stint on his words, patiently analyzing and exining those issues to Su Lun,ing up with solutions one by one.@@novelbin@@


    When discussing academic issues, time always flies.


    Su Lun felt he never had enough time; he always thought that it would be even better if they could spend time together regrly.


    Unexpectedly, Banks took the initiative to bring up the matter fromst time.


    While the two were researching the Mechanical Octopus, suddenly, he said, "By the way, young friend Su Lun, I''ve been thinking about the ''Dawn n'' you mentioned to mest time... I''ve decided to join you."

 Chapter 352 Mysterious Cartographer

    Your journey continues at My Virtual Library Empire


    Dr. Banks was the most pure kind of "Magician" dedicated to Alchemy.


    He didn''t like being a pirate, nor was he interested in wealth or political power. He only loved studying alchemy and biology, exploring the mysteries of life, and benefiting the whole of human civilization.


    Otherwise, with the technology he mastered, he would have been a highly esteemed guest in either of the two great empires, or serving under any noble, enjoying endless glory and wealth.


    Previously, Dr. Banks had expressed his interest in "New Dawn City," but then Su Lun followed the fleet to Mountain Hermit, and the matter was postponed.


    Now, he had formally expressed his wish to join.


    In other words, Dr. Banks was now "one of us."


    Su Lun also felt that it was a great boon, finally contributing to his senior sister''s still-ethereal "New Dawn City."


    ....


    Crafting potions took a long time, and Su Lun hadn''t gone out at all. So he just opened another room next to room 206 at "Shark Hotel," where he set up his own mechanic workshop.


    During this potion crafting period, with the help of Dr. Banks, Su Lun sessfully deciphered the structural design of the mechanical octopus.


    The technology contained within this mechanical octopus was highly advanced; "neural technology" and "mechanical technology" were already cutting-edge, not to mention the disguises and misdirections used by Duke Raphael for keeping the technology secret.


    Truly cracking it would undoubtedly count as a top-tier challenge.


    If it had been anyone else, even the best mechanic from the Mafa Empire, with a finished product in hand, it might have taken years to analyze and decrypt each part.


    But Su Lun and Dr. Banks specialized in this field, and they smoothly worked out theplete design drawings.


    The advantage of having a finished sample was that Su Lun didn''t need to spend time and energy trying to test various data.


    Like theposition of materials, mechanical structure, stability, energy source, optimal state...


    Everything was well-designed and tested for practical use inbat.


    Skipping various experimental stages and following the diagram allowed for mass production.


    However, Su Lun didn''t have ess to the abundant resources like Duke Raphael, nor did he haverge-scale forging equipment and workshops.


    He could only manufacture in a "small workshop."


    But he also had his own advantages, such as his hand-drawn runes and ting, which were much higher quality than those obviously produced on assembly lines.


    And because it was small-scale production, Su Lun could also select some rarer and more special materials, adding some other practical features to the mechanical octopus.


    The performance of the resulting mechanical octopuses could thus be greatly improved.


    Su Lun''s modest goal was to start with thirty to fifty units.


    Only when they were a swarm did they have fighting strength.


    ...


    Two dayster, Su Lun walked out of the hotel''s temporaryboratory.


    Dr. Banks had crafted a batch of "Mutant Suppression Potion" tailored to his condition, which would ensure that he wouldn''t turn into a monster due to demonic mutation for at least the next year.


    Su Lun breathed a sigh of relief.


    A year was enough time for him to do many things.


    He made a long shopping list for himself.


    First, he needed to go to the seafood market to buy some live octopuses suitable for mechanical transformation.


    Then he would go to the ck market for materials.


    And along the way, he might pick up some information.


    ...


    ```


    Su Lun went to the alchemy ck market at the bottom of the fortress, a path he knew well. The ce had quite changed since hisst visit.


    In addition to the familiar pirate loot fence shops, there were now some very "well-funded," official-looking stores.


    By their names, they seemed to berge enterprises from the Mafa Empire.


    Su Lun browsed around and found that theserge shops offered a rich variety of high-quality, yet affordable goods; the key was that even non-locals didn''t have to worry about being cheated anymore.


    Ever since Zs D. Andres, the great politician, had arrived, Pirate City had clearly been moving towards legitimization.


    Moreover, among the shops opened by Mafa merchants, there were several "military hardware stores," selling Mafa''s military industrial products!


    Guns, mechanical arms, mechanical skeletons, assault boats, torpedoes, rocketunchers...


    These were military-grade equipment that was decades more advanced than the average pirate gear prior to this.


    They were even on par with the military equipment of Luying forces.


    Most importantly, the prices were unbelievably cheap ¨C truly "factory direct prices"!


    Realizing this, Su Lun immediately recognized the sinister intentions of the Mafa Empire.


    Trouble was brewing behind the scenes in Luying.


    Previously in the North Sea, Luying''s navy was able to chase pirates everywhere ¨C the pirates hardly had the capacity for a head-on confrontation mainly due to the vast gap in equipment. That was the most crucial reason.


    Now that Mafa was supplying the North Sea pirates with an abundance of high-quality but cheap equipment, theirbat capabilities would skyrocket. Their raiding radius would vastly expand, and the number of their targets would also increase. They could even siege and upy various noble territories...


    This would definitely give the official navy of Luying a constant headache, and could even force them into an embarrassing situation of fighting on two fronts.


    Besides,


    what''s more ruthless was...


    Su Lun actually saw various job postings for military factories in the ck market!


    Although Pirate City was behind in development, after centuries of existence, it had arge poption. Aside from the able-bodied young men who could go to sea as pirates, there were many elderly, weak, women, and ordinary folks.


    Before, the people on pirate ships were utterly reliant on luck ¨C they ate what they captured. But now, they had entered into an industrial society, which took those once considered "burdens," and turned them into fully utilized citizens, providing a sustainable ecology of development for the North Sea poption.


    The significance of this move was extraordinary, with longsting impacts!


    The "North Sea Kingdom"cked neither mineral resources nor an abundance of riches. It was merely its remoteness and the restrictive controls of the Luying Empire that left it impoverished and underdeveloped.


    But with this single reform, the whole North Sea had been invigorated.


    With the support of Mafa''s technology and economy, it was foreseeable that in the next few years, the economic strength and poption of the entire North Sea would experience explosive growth.


    As the "North Sea Kingdom" grew stronger, the Mafa Empire, being too far across the sea, would hardly be affected negatively, and could even continue to benefit from the spoils of war.


    For Luying however, this was undoubtedly a severe threat.


    If things were to develop, "North Sea Kingdom" could even potentially rise to form a tripartite bnce of power alongside Luying and Mafa.


    "That Zs D. Andres truly has a great talent for statecraft..."


    Witnessing the changes in the ck market, Su Lun couldn''t help feeling a deep sense of awe.


    Being bandits on one side and developing their industry on the other, wasn''t this the same development path followed by the empire on which the sun never sets?


    It would be strange if the North Sea Kingdom didn''t prosper.


    ...


    The advantage of the ck market was itsbination of good quality and low prices, which had be even more economical with the establishment of Mafa''srge enterprises.


    Su Lun walked through the ck market, purchasing many alchemy materials he needed.


    He inquired about "void materials," but unfortunately, nobody knew their origins ¨C Oleg had done a good job keeping it a secret.


    However, some low-grade void materials had made their way onto the market.


    ```


    Su Lun wasn''t particrly interested.


    After browsing for a while, he took the cable car to the "Colorful Conch Market" next to the fortress.


    It was a flea market with many small vendors, often a good ce to find treasures.


    No sooner had Su Lun gotten off the cable car than he heard the boisterous cries of the hawkers.


    It was several times busier than hisst visit, with crowds surging through the market.


    "Whale oil, top-quality whale oil, only five thousand Lisuo a barrel,e and buy..."


    "Sunken treasures just fished out of the sea, porcin and relics from the era of the Atlia Empire..."


    "Hey, brother! Just snatched a young female ve, twenty thousand each, want two..."


    "Unopened warehouse mystery boxes, interested bosses,e and talk."


    "..."


    Su Lun strolled past various stalls along the way.


    Not only were there more people in the market, but the goods for sale were also more diverse. With advanced technology brought by Mafa, the pirates'' treasure-hunting and plundering abilities had greatly increased, and there were indeed many fine goods.


    The All-knowing Eye was looking all along, indeed spotting many ancient items worth some money, but of little use.


    As he walked, Su Lun bought a few small items, but didn''t encounter anything that truly interested him. Nor did he find any research instruments from Old Lington like he had stumbled uponst time.


    After making a round, he intended to leave, but suddenly he heard a not too loud hawker''s call from a corner, "Highest quality sailing charts, at a low price..."


    Su Lun didn''t care much, as everyone in such a market touted their wares as "the best."


    Moreover, the vendor looked sneaky, like a scalper selling fake tickets.


    But just a casual nce, and Su Lun let out a light eureka.


    To his surprise, he found that the sheepskin maps on the small stall were exquisitely drawn, beyond expectation.


    The handwriting, scale, and current markers were all very clear.


    This quality was indeed the best hand-drawn version of a sailing chart he had seen so far!


    "Could it have been stolen?"


    That was Su Lun''s guess.


    Such "artisanal" grade sailing charts were pricey, even rarer than the printed editions. They were usually collectibles owned by certain nobles.


    Appearing in Pirate City, they could only have been plundered.


    The vendor in front of him, d in a ragged cloak covering his face, looked young, like one of the professional thievesmonly seen in Pirate City.


    It was not unusual for them toe to fence goods.


    "How are you selling this nautical chart?"


    Su Lun stopped walking and asked.


    When he returned from Mountain Hermit, the Dawn team took a detour because they were unfamiliar with that sea area. They ran into storms and rocky areas and nearly suffered a significant loss.


    If he had a more precise chart, it would provide much more security for sailing.


    Upon hearing a customer interested in the sailing chart, the vendor seemed hopeful and hastily exined, "Which sea area''s chart are you interested in? A thousand for one near Hastelin, three thousand five hundred for the southwest Devil''s Sea, six thousand Lisuo for the Chaotic Winds area near the Berman Archipgo, there are also ones going to Luying... If you need some specially detailed custom charts, it might take some time. Depending on the detail level, prices vary. Oh sir, although you might find the prices slightly high, I can assure you they are the best sailing charts avable, they will provide the most urate navigation insurance for your voyage!"


    He spoke with his face hidden, as if afraid of being recognized.


    "Thatprehensive?"


    Su Lun thought there were just a few charts, but he realized upon a closer look that the vendor had dozens of sheepskin scrolls in his canvas bag.


    He randomly unrolled one, and all were of very high-quality hand-drawn sailing charts.


    Looking at the handwriting, one could tell they were all drawn by the same cartographer.


    Furthermore, what surprised Su Lun even more was that, judging by the vendor''s tone, it seemed navigation charts could be customized?


    Could they have not been stolen?


    "Count how much it all costs, I''ll take them all."


    After carefully examining several charts, Su Lun made his decision immediately.


    He himself had harvested many navigation chart memories and could easily distinguish that these were indeed the finest sailing charts avable on the market, impable from both a drafting and a professional perspective.


    Navigation charts were an essential strategic resource for any pirate crew, even considered a "heirloom" for navigators, and when used well, they could even affect the safety of the crew members.


    For their Dawn Crew, these would be very useful.


    The more, the better.


    "You want them all?"


    Upon hearing this, the vendor seemed somewhat surprised but quickly came up with a total, saying, "There are twenty-seven shares of navigation charts here, with an original price of 158,300 riso. You can just give me 150,000."


    Not bad with calctions...


    Su Lun nced at him, musing to himself.


    In the pirate circles where many couldn''t even perform basic addition and subtraction, quoting a price like this was a remarkable ability.


    And the price was indeed not expensive, at least rtive to this quality, it was very cheap.


    He cheerfully paid the money and casually asked, "If possible, may I know who the cartographer of these navigation charts is? My ship, we need such an excellent sailing master."


    It was a tentative question, but upon hearing this, the vendor, like a snake whose tail had been guessed, immediately became very cautious, "Sorry, the charts were picked up by me."


    Saying this, he seemed to want to leave the market straight away.


    Watching his reaction, Su Lun''s gaze sharpened slightly, but he wasn''t surprised.


    In the Atlia Empire, apart from the royal cartographers, the act of privately drawing navigation charts was a serious crime, especially such detailed charts.


    Even in Pirate City, Oleg probably wouldn''t want to see Atlia forces acquiring precise navigation charts near Hasterling.


    Private trading of precise navigation charts was a dangerous act.


    But Su Lun was even more certain that the person who crafted the charts was directly rted to the vendor before him. He didn''t press further, instead asking, "Oh, that''s a shame. But if I want more such navigation charts, how could I contact you?"


    At this question, the vendor finally stopped, clearly conflicted.@@novelbin@@


    He wanted to make money but feared exposing his identity.


    He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Well... post a reward at the guild, and I will contact you when I see it."


    "Oh, okay."


    Su Lun watched him disappear into the crowd and didn''t follow.


    It seemed that the vendor was likely in need of money; otherwise, he wouldn''t take the risk of selling navigation charts.


    And in Su Lun''s view, he probably wasn''t the cartographer.


    After all, a master cartographer would likely be an excellent sailing master.


    If he were an excellent sailing master, he would certainly not be short of money in Pirate City.


    He would be a scarce talent that all major fleets would vie to recruit.


    Su Lun thought that perhaps the vendor was telling the truth that the items were "picked up," or maybe "copied"... the source mighte from some famous navigator.


    Now that he had a way to contact, Su Lun nned to look for an opportunity to reach outter.

 Chapter 353 Tanni

    Having acquired a batch of precise maps was already an unexpected gain.


    After wandering around the flea market, Su Lun didn''t find any other items to his liking, and he returned to Golden City Fortress.


    He''d bought the materials; now, he needed to gather some intelligence.


    For instance, news of the Cyclops, as well as the whereabouts of the sacred object of the Dalu tribe, "Fal''s Chalice", and thest "ck Sam''s Cursed Gold Coin"...


    Since Oleg imed the throne, the situation in the North Sea had changed drastically. Neutral organizations such as the "Adventurers'' Guild", "Professionals'' Guild", and "Alchemy Guild"... had also opened up here.


    With many more information brokers around, it was much more convenient to inquire about news.


    Things that could be done with money always saved a lot of effort.


    Su Lun posted rewards in various guilds and then went to a tavern to wait for news.


    ....


    "The cksmith Tavern" is a low-end pirate tavern in the city and also a pirate job market.


    This ce is often frequented by a bunch of sailors, cooks, gunners... old pros or newbies without a permanent captain.


    Pirate captains oftene here to pick crew members.


    Su Lun sat by the window, slowly sipping a ss of rum.


    "Strange, isn''t it? Why isn''t anyone interested in that gold coin?"


    Su Lun had just received news that thest "ck Sam''s Cursed Gold Coin" was in the possession of someone named "Gourling Tani".


    He actually got wind of this before heading to the Mountain Hermit but, at that time, "Tani" seemed to have gone out to sea and wasn''t in the fortress.


    Now, it was said that he had returned and liked to frequent several pirate taverns.


    So, Su Lun decided to try his luck.


    But what made him even more curious was that this news didn''t seem to be a secret; many information brokers in Pirate City were aware of it.


    But if they knew that the gold coin was in "Tani''s" hands, why had no one made a move?


    The Pirate King''s treasure, just like that,cks appeal?


    Information brokers simply said that the gold coin was cursed, and no one wanted to touch it.


    Su Lun grew even more curious; what kind of curse could ovee human greed?


    While thinking, he drank his rum and listened to the pirates in the tavern boasting and shooting the breeze.


    These sailors, who traveled far and wide, were quite well-informed, mostly discussing recent changes in Pirate City.


    And that marriage alliance.


    "Gal the boss hit it big this time, wedding the thirteenth princess of Mafia, ''Princess Frostmoon'' Skadi. She''s true royalty."


    "Oh, I had the fortune to catch a glimpse of the princess from afar at the wedding ceremony. My god, you have no idea, she was the most beautiful woman I''ve ever seen, her skin as smooth as moonlight, and her breasts asrge as a cow''s..."


    "But I''ve heard from others that ''Princess Frostmoon''s'' reputation in the Mafia Empire isn''t very good; they say her line of lovers could stretch from the royal pce all the way to the city gate..."


    "Haha, I wonder what the princess tastes like. Her delicate frame probably can''t handle the wildness of Gal the boss..."


    "..."


    The pirates were most enthusiastic about discussing the romantic escapades of high society, with the conversation mostly centered on the flirtatious beauty of the princess.


    Although it was mainly hearsay, Su Lun felt some truth to it as he listened.


    Being sent far away to the North Sea to marry, that princess probably wasn''t a daughter dearly cherished by the emperor.


    Or perhaps ambitiously aspiring?


    Su Lun, however, was not interested, as it had nothing to do with him.


    At that moment, a one-eyed pirate wearing a captain''s attire entered.


    The pirates in the tavern seemed to recognize him, and they greeted him one by one.


    "Hey, Captain Hije, are you here to recruit sailors again?"


    "Captain Hije, I heard your crew found Bartholomew''s Treasure Map. Did you find the treasure on this hunt?"


    "Don''t even mention it. We found the treasure, but at a heavy loss of men. Not much money was brought back, and the ships sank in the storm."


    "Hahaha... I knew you''d encounter a storm. Knowing that Tanni is the ''cursed by the sea'', why on earth did you think of taking that kid along?"


    "Even though that kid is jinxed, you have to admit, he''s probably the best navigator in all of Pirate City. Without him, we couldn''t have found that sea area, let alone the treasure. Anyway, stop talking about it. I want to recruit a group of people to salvage my ship,den with treasures. You know, it''s worth at least several hundred million. Are you interested?"


    "Definitely in! Count me in!"


    "..."


    For a time, the atmosphere in the tavern heated up.@@novelbin@@


    The topic of their conversation was rather ordinary, but Su Lun''s ears perked up when he heard the name "Tanni."


    Upon listening more carefully, he realized that this "Tanni" was not just someone with the same name, but probably the person who possessed the third "ck Sam''s cursed Gold Coin."


    It dawned on Su Lun that this guy had gone treasure hunting with this person?


    Moreover, he caught several key phrases: the best navigator, cursed by the sea, storm...


    "This is getting interesting... What''s so magical about Tanni that he''s bound to encounter storms every time he sets sail?"


    As Su Lun listened to the captain''s tale, he also found it fascinating.


    ...


    Su Lun had stayed in the tavern for two or three hours, and he had had enough to drink.


    He had nned toe back another day, but just as he was about to leave, a messenger came looking for him.


    It was a person dressed in ragged sailor''s clothes, with the brim of his hat pulled down low.


    Without drawing any attention from others, the man saw the sign at Su Lun''s table and came over, simply stating, "Sir, I see you''re offering a reward for information on the ''Cyclops'' and the ''Far''s Holy Grail''?"


    "Oh? You have some information?"


    Su Lun''s eyes shed with intrigue as he listened.


    Despite the disguise, he immediately recognized the soul fire of the person before him.


    Wasn''t this the same person who had sold him the map at the flea market?


    What a coincidence, this fellow also knew about the information he wanted?


    The mysterious informant said, "Your reward offer is 100,000 lira."


    Su Lun, well-versed in these matters, immediately pulled out a stack of cash and said, "Here''s the deposit. If the information is good, the money is yours."


    Pirates have their own code of conduct when trading, and they understand each other, so there are rarely any problems. Conducting business in a tavern is also a form of security as making a scene is bad for everyone involved.


    Su Lun wasn''t worried about someone taking the money and not delivering.


    The mysterious person took the money and revealed, "The ''Far''s Holy Grail'' wasst seen thirty-five years ago, in the hands of ''Marquis Hays''. That cup is a sacred artifact of the Dalu tribe, believed to condense a cup of Holy Water at regr intervals, which can heal ''karma'' and various diseases."


    "..."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun''s expression remained unchanged, but he was genuinely surprised inside.


    After asking around for so long without any leads, he didn''t expect someone to provide such precise information!


    The details about the Holy Grail''s powers and origin were entirely urate, which meant that the rest was likely not fabricated either.


    He asked, "Do you know where the Holy Grail is now?"


    The mysterious informant replied, "You need to pay the remainder."


    Su Lun offered another eighty thousand.


    The man continued, "Wherever ''Marquis Hays'' went, he always carried the goblet with him. However, during a voyage, his fleet encountered the Pirate King Sam Bemy... So, in the end, the holy goblet fell into the hands of the Pirate King."


    Listening to the story, Su Lun said, "You mean to say that the goblet ultimately sank into the sea along with ck Sam''s fleet."


    The mysterious man confirmed, "Yes."


    "..."


    Su Lun frowned upon hearing this.


    Knowing the whereabouts of the goblet was good news; with that thing, both his mental and physical mutations could be


    But... this whereabouts were somewhat troubling.


    On the ship of the Pirate King, sunken into the sea?


    Su Lun asked with a frown, "Can I know where you got this information from?"


    The mysterious man replied, "Sorry, I have my sources. But I can swear on the ''God of the Sea'' that the message is absolutely urate."


    For those who spend their years at sea, this was a "cursed oath."


    Su Lun listened and pondered for a moment without asking further. Find adventures on My Virtual Library Empire


    It seemed usible.


    Besides, now that he also knew the whereabouts of the third Gold Coin, he could soon find the shipwreck''s location; it wasn''t entirely hopeless.


    Su Lun then asked, "So, do you also know about the ''Cyclops''?"


    He felt that this guy in front of him might bring him some surprises.


    The mysterious man answered promptly, "I do!"


    Looking at how efficiently Su Lun paid, he didn''t beat around the bush and quoted directly, "The news about this has a bounty of fifty thousand, and it''s worth that much usually. But if you need it, I can give you a detailed nautical chart! Just the price..."


    "..."


    Su Lun was truly astonished.


    He had inquired before about "legends" of Cyclopses on the dangerous inds in the western seas, but nobody had ever been there, let alone having any sea charts.


    This guy was saying he could provide a detailed nautical chart?


    What was this guy''s background?


    Su Lun said gravely, "If there really is a detailed sea chart, I''ll give a hundred thousand!"


    Upon hearing this, the mysterious man fell silent for a moment as if hesitating.


    After a thought, he said, "Fine!"


    As he spoke, Su Lun watched as a rolled-up chart in a leather case was handed to him. His feelings at this moment... were indescribablyplex.


    This guy... actually carried it with him?


    Su Lun opened the leather case and unfolded the sheepskin map to look at it, murmuring to himself, "Just as expected."


    As soon as he saw the neat handwriting and the meticulously drawn patterns, wasn''t it just like the one he had bought before?


    Now he was almost certain that this map was created by this fellow before him, or someone around him.


    The map was very detailed, marking a route to a certain ind in the far west.


    Currents, wind directions, sea creature distributions, temperature, reef areas... everything was included.


    The detail on it was so astonishing that Su Lun couldn''t look away.


    Without having been there personally, it was impossible to draw such a detailed chart.


    Seeing Su Lun fascinated with the map, the mysterious man reminded him, "Sir... you should pay up."


    At this reminder, Su Lun raised his eyebrows, took out a bag of money, and tentatively said, "I am very satisfied with your information. I''m thinking that we could establish a long-term contact..."


    The mysterious man counted the money but declined the offer, saying, "If you need it, you can put up a bounty. If I see it, I will contact you."


    Just like when he had sold the map before, as soon as the transaction wasplete, he quickly left the tavern.


    Su Lun watched, his gaze sharp; this guy was like a "treasure," the more he engaged, the more surprises he found.


    He wouldn''t give up on such a source. Without getting up, the ck crow outside followed suit.


    ...


    But the ck crow didn''t follow him for long before Su Lun let out a light exmation, "Huh... pretty cautious, huh."


    Although he didn''t know how the boy found out, after entering a narrow alley, the ck crow was shattered by a beam of light.


    "Quite an interesting magical device..."


    Su Lun saw thest image shared by the ck crow; the guy seemed to have used a strange device to emit a ser" that killed the ck crow.


    Having inquired all the news he needed in one go, it was quite a fruitful endeavor.


    Having lost the mood for drinking, Su Lun left the tavern.


    He nned to stroll around the streets.


    The "Tanni" market was mingling within the tavern district, but he wasn''t sure which one it was.


    Tea Beard Tavern, Windmill Tavern, Giant Tavern, Blue Whale Tavern...


    The streets were full of drinkers, and mboyant women were weing guests at the doors.


    Su Lun wandered the streets, asking around without anyone having seen


    Soon, he found himself in the higher-end tavern district without realizing it.


    Golden City wasrge if it was said to berge.


    And small if described as small.


    The tavern district spanned just a few streets.


    Suddenly, within Su Lun''s Soul Perception, he recognized a familiar "soul fire."


    A few half-grownds were blocking a raggedly dressed, brown-haired youth, looking like they were bullying him.


    "Unlucky Tanni, heard you went to sea again and sank five of the ''Rhino Group''s'' big vessels? Killed hundreds of people?"


    "Jessica, don''t get too close to that guy; he''s a jinx."


    "Exactly, don''t let his bad luck rub off on us."


    "Pah! Let''s go, Jessica, Tuck, leave him. This guy is a monster, careful he bites your ears off..."


    "Haha, spawn of a sea monster! Pah!"


    "..."


    After the youths spat insults, they scattered.


    The brown-haired youth had been holding back and said nothing, but after they left, he silently turned around and went elsewhere.


    Su Lun, witnessing this, didn''t know how to describe hisplex feelings.


    He was "Tanni"?


    In one day, three encounters with the same person, three different scenarios, three different disguises, three identities...


    The key thing was that each one aroused Su Lun''s intense interest.


    This guy, what''s his story?

 Chapter 354 The Son of the Pirate King?

    Su Lun had originally thought that the mysterious vendor selling maps was backed by a Great Pirate gang or was an "apprentice" with a way to ess a top-tier navigator.


    Only now he was certain that this person named "Tanni" was himself one of the most outstanding navigators in Pirate City, and his reputation was not small.


    But it wasn''t a good reputation, rather, it was infamous.


    While other pirates had cool and domineering monikers, this guy''s nickname was "The Unlucky Bastard Cursed by the Sea."


    Known as a "Human Cursed Object," it was said that if he sailed with a ship, they would definitely encounter a storm.


    This streak of bad luck also made Tanni subjected to ostracism in Pirate City, which was the reason he had been bullied just now.


    Su Lun watched the deste figure leaving and a thick interest surfaced in his eyes, so he decided to follow.


    Now that he was certain the third "ck Sam''s Cursed Gold Coin" was in this Tanni''s possession, he naturally wouldn''t let it slip away.


    However, he had no intention of confronting him directly.


    Since the coin had been in Tanni''s hands for so long without being snatched by anyone, and its reputation was so "sinister," there must be some special reason for it.


    In this supernatural world, there were some inexplicable curses that no one could really exin.


    Su Lun nned to first understand the situation a bit more.


    His intuition told him that this fellow probably harbored some other secret.


    ...


    "Quite vignt, huh..."


    Su Lun strolled leisurely along the streets, and through his Soul Perception, he noticed that his target was constantly on the move.


    After following for two streets, Tanni was always on high alert. It was clear that this guy was born and raised in Pirate City; he knew every alley like the back of his hand, climbing and leaping between various eaves and lofts like a monkey. If Su Lun didn''t have Soul Perception, he would''ve been spotted if he had tried to follow directly.


    The chase between the two didn''t take long before they arrived at the upperyer area.


    This area was for high-end consumption, filled with various upscale brothels and gambling dens, and frequented by the Great Pirates who had bounties on their heads.


    Su Lun paused and watched Tanni in the alley, seemingly waiting for someone.


    Sure enough, before long, a pirate with a cock''sb walked out of a gambling den.


    Su Lun recognized him as a small team leader from the Northern Sea fleet.


    "Hey, Tanni boy, did you bring the money?"


    "I did. Captain Fusher, where''s the thing I asked for?"


    "..."


    Through ck Crow Sharer''s vision, Su Lun could finally see clearly that the two were sneakily conducting some sort of transaction.


    Tanni handed over a money bag full of cash to the man and then received a small packet in return.


    It looked like a potion?


    Su Lun was also curious as to what that fellow needed the money for that he had to earn it by risking his life. Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    It certainly wasn''t a hallucinogen; that much money could allow one to enjoy the best hallucinogens until death.


    The two seemed to be quite familiar with each other,pleting the transaction in a sh.


    "You''d bettery lowtely. I know you''re short on cash, but the big shots have given the word, they don''t want to see such urate maps appearing in the city."


    "I''ve already drawn them as rough as I can... if they are worse, they might endanger the lives of people who venture out with these maps. Sorry, I can''t produce the kind of maps that aremon on the market..."


    "I''ve given you the heads-up anyway, don''t me me if you get into troubleter. I''ve got a document here, seems to be some sort of ancient text we haven''t seen before, the archaeologist in our group couldn''t decipher it, so you help me with it. If it''s valuable, I''ll share some of the profits with you."


    "Alright. Captain Fusher, if there''s a need for a guide or navigator for a voyage, you could rmend me. I''m willing to go anywhere."


    "Forget about it. Thest time I rmended you to the ''Rhino Gang,'' they nearly got wiped out in a storm. Now the word''s spread throughout the city. You can forget about anyone daring to recruit you for the time being..."


    "Actually, I can handle the storms and weather. It''s just that they don''t trust me, nor are they willing to give up on the treasure, that''s why the ship sank..."


    "..."


    The two exchanged a few more words before parting ways.


    Su Lun watched Tanni''s face, filled with bitterness, and followed him again.


    This time, Tanni went downwards, heading directly to a stgmite ind near the fortress.


    That was a residential area.


    Even in Pirate City, there were slums.


    Those with money could live inside the fortress, those without could only stay in these sorts of shanty areas on the stgmite.


    Had he not followed, Su Lun would''ve never known Pirate City had ces with such terrible living conditions.


    The shanty area was full of filthy stagnant water, it was damp, foul-smelling, and riddled with mosquitoes.


    Su Lun watched as Tanni entered a dpidated shack; a faint candlelight quickly lit up inside the ce.


    This living environment did not seem to match someone who had just handled several hundred thousand in his hands.


    Su Lun''s brow furrowed as he sensed the area, thinking: "Is there someone else in the house?"


    Besides Tanni, there indeed was another soul fluctuation, but it was very weak, as if on the brink of life and death.


    Su Lun wanted to understand what was happening and without making a sound, he moved closer.


    But at that moment, possibly having triggered some minor trap, a cloaked youth holding a strange mechanical device on his arm emerged from the darkness, his face full of wariness as he said, "Who are you? Why are you following me!"


    Discovering he had been noticed, Su Lun''s eyebrows quirked.


    This shanty area belonged to someone else, so being spotted wasn''t a surprise.


    Since he had changed his attire, Tanni failed to recognize him.


    Su Lun wasn''t concerned about the mechanical device either; a weapon resembling a firearm wouldn''t harm him, so he went straight to the point and said, "I heard you have a ''ck Sam''s cursed Gold Coin''."


    "Are you here for the Gold Coin?"


    Tanni seemed somewhat resentful of being tracked and his tone was a little cold, yet he didn''t deny it, "I do have a Gold Coin. But sorry, you must have heard, that coin brings misfortune. I''m not going to sell it to you."


    Whether it was those who came to steal or to buy the Gold Coin, none had met with a good end. He hadn''t intended to harm anyone else but hadn''t expected others to still seek it out.


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun nced at him and said, "Hmm, I''ve heard. But may I take a look first? For this, I can pay you some money up front."


    No matter what curse it bore, he had the All-knowing Eye and could identify it with just a nce.


    It was only then that he noticed Tanni''s teeth were different from a human''s, resembling serrated, sharp fangs.


    Mutation?


    Or perhaps a hybrid?


    Tanni, seeing the stack of cash thrown by Su Lun, had some of his wariness dissolve. At least this wasn''t like the previous robbers who would directly confront; this guest was a lot more courteous.


    Seemingly desperate for money, Tanni hesitated for a moment after receiving the cash before taking off a pendant from his neck. He then removed the Gold Coin and once again reminded him with good intention, "I''ll let you look. But I suggest you don''t get any ideas about it¡ªit truly will bring you misfortune."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun watched the Gold Coin, a flicker of light passing through his left eye.


    This third Gold Coin had been easier to obtain than expected.


    The coin was no different from the two he had, carrying some fragmented hidden information.


    But during the identification, an additional ''curse'' warning appeared, "A coin bearing a father''s most heartfelt blessing for his child; those of non-specific lineage who take this coin will encounter misfortune, and it will also bacsh against anyone who harbors malice towards that lineage;"


    ...


    It was after seeing this information that Su Lun''s inner thoughts became rather colorful.


    The Gold Coin was indeed cursed, and a powerful one at that!


    But...


    The phrase "a father''s blessing for his child" particrly stood out.


    This special Gold Coin was made by the Pirate King Sam...


    Then why was Tanni not affected by the curse?


    Huh...


    It couldn''t be that Tanni was rted by blood to the Pirate King Sam, could it?


    The more he thought about it, the more sinister it seemed to Su Lun, and suddenly he felt that this was not as simple as just a treasure map.


    However, this person concealing his face with a cloak only appeared to be in his early teens; the age didn''t match...


    Tanni, observing Su Lun''s odd expression, thought he was being affected by the curse and asked, "Sir, are you alright?"


    ...


    For a moment, Su Lun didn''t know what to say.


    He had originally intended to collect three Gold Coins and then unveil any secrets. If he could really find the location of ck Sam''s sunken ship, he would consider searching for itter.


    But now the situation had dramatically changed; it seemed he had directlye across a descendant of the Pirate King?


    Shock filled Su Lun''s heart, yet his face showed no sign of it as he asked, "How did youe by this Gold Coin?"


    At the question, Tanni''s brows furrowed and after a moment''s hesitation, he replied, "I don''t know. It has always been with me since I became aware."


    "Oh."


    Countless thoughts whirled through Su Lun''s mind.


    Now, he was indeed in a dilemma.


    To buy the Gold Coin?


    It was clearly cursed; he couldn''t casually take it away.


    And there was an obvious big secret associated with Tanni.


    This piqued his curiosity even more.


    Su Lun didn''t bring up the topic of the Gold Coin again but instead tentatively said, "I have expertise in medical science, and my fleet includes some of the world''s top experts in biological medicine. I smell the scent of disease. Of course, I don''t mean anything by that... I''m just saying... if you need it, I can take a look at the patient inside."


    "You..."


    Tanni, hearing this, had the wariness that had faded from his face immediately rise again.


    He instinctively wanted to reject this "stranger" with an unknown background.


    But clinging to ast hope, he asked cautiously after a moment of hesitation, "Sir, you know medical treatments?"


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun nodded his head, not exactly lying.@@novelbin@@


    He himself was skilled in conventional medicine and could handle the vast majority of illnesses without any problem.


    The soul fluctuation in the room was so weak that there must have been some condition.


    Tanni finally looked over with a hopeful gaze and asked, "Then... could you please help my mother?"


    Mother?


    Su Lun nodded and said, "I need to see the patient first."


    Tanni looked somewhat troubled but, thinking about his own home being poor and having nothing worth coveting, he ultimately invited Su Lun in, "Then please,e inside."


    ....


    Su Lun stepped into the shack, where there was a strong scent of the ocean breeze.


    The room was tiny, probably only about ten square meters. Aside from a bed, there was a desk and then mountains of various books piled everywhere.


    On the desk was a dim oilmp illuminating a corner. Therey various tools for chart making, a ruler, apass, a caliper... and an open piece of yellowed parchment with a halfpleted sea chart drawn on it.


    Seeing this, Su Lun knew that these sea charts must havee from Tanni''s hands.


    On the bedy a person with a drip bottle hanging by her side; the bottle contained a blue liquid, identified as "Ocean Essence."


    This was a type of pure water energy material, very expensive¡ªone milliliter could sell for 80,000 to 100,000 riso on the market.


    Su Lun also understood what Tanni had traded to Captain Fusher.


    However, what surprised him even more was the state and form of the person on the bed.


    Yes, form!


    This was not a normal human being!


    The identification showed the name "Naga Person in the Midst of Petrification."


    Her skin was almost entirely a rock-like grayish-white, with only a bit of flesh-colored skin on her face¡ªthe only remaining trace of vitality.


    Su Lun, examining the slightly different body structure, immediately realized that Tanni was indeed a half-blood sea monster!


    He had read in mythological stories that the Naga, a branch of the ancient elf race, had a divine bloodline flowing in them and controlled the oceans and storms.


    ...


    The small room, with an anxious Tanni on the side afraid that his mother''s appearance would frighten strangers, asked, "Did my mother''s appearance scare you? I''m sorry, sir; I did not intend to hide anything. I am indeed not a pure-blooded human."


    Su Lun did not mind, "No, it did not. I am truly sorry for your and your mother''s misfortune."


    It was not umon for humans and other races to interbreed, but often their offspring would face discrimination.


    Tanni clearly had his fill of discrimination and ostracization. Not concerned about his own status, he was full of hope as he hurriedly asked again, "Then... sir, can you solve my mother''s problem?"


    Su Lun frowned tightly, unable to deal with this sort of petrification, but, thinking that Dr. Banks might have a way, he didn''t say it outright and instead asked, "Can you tell me how this happened? If I understand the source, perhaps I could better... "


    If his guess was correct, the person before him could very possibly be the Pirate King''s wife!


    And Tanni himself might not even know his own identity.


    Tanni hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "Have you... have you heard of the ''Gorgon race''?"


    Of course, Su Lun had heard of them.


    The "Gorgon race" was also a demigod race from mythological tales, and they were female monsters with snakes for hair.


    The most famous one was named "Medusa."


    Hearing this, Su Lun immediately understood what was going on.


    ....


    Perhaps because Su Lun showed enough kindness and sincerity, Tanni also revealed some of his circumstances.


    The two talked in the dpidated shack.


    "So, the reason you know about the Cyclops is that the Naga live in that sea area?"


    "Yes. That sea area not only has Cyclops but also dragonkind, Gorgons, merfolk... There are manyrge inds to the west, inhabited by some powerful and ancient races. Our Naga race was invaded by the Gorgon witches, and our people escaped at sea. We were then hit by severe weather, and the fleet was scattered by the storm. My mother and I were carried here by the wind and currents, saved by a kind fisherman... but soon after, my mother''s petrification symptoms began to spread, and we settled down in Hasting, up until now."


    "You''ve seen dragons with your own eyes?"


    "I have. But that was when I was very young..."


    "..."


    Su Lun heard some eye-opening information from Tanni.


    It turned out that the dangerous and unknown sea area to the west indeed contained some ancient mythological races.


    However, Tanni did not seem to know who his father was.


    If Su Lun didn''t have the All-knowing Eye, he might also be puzzled, but now, he could roughly guess what had happened.


    It was highly likely that the Pirate King Sam encountered a beautiful Naga girl during his voyages, which then led to Tanni''s birth.


    After all, there weren''t many adventurers who ventured into those unknown sea areas.


    Moreover, the story of "Fal''s Holy Grail" was told as a bedtime tale to Tanni by his mother when he was a child.


    As for that gold coin, Tanni wasn''t sure where it came from, but it was probably left by Sam himself.


    Although it happened thirty years ago, the lifespan of the Naga race is much longer than that of humans, their appearance ages little, and their spirits are also much purer.


    That is to say, Tanni, in human ages, would only be around twelve or thirteen years old.


    Su Lun could imagine how tough life must have been for a young boy facing ostracism on one hand, and on the other, striving hard to earn money to extend his mother''s life.


    ...


    "I can''t solve the problem of your mother turning to stone, but I can ask a friend on my ship to take a lookter. He has deep research in the field of biological mutations, and he might be able to think of a solution," Su Lun said.


    "Thank you," Tanni replied.


    Su Lun couldn''t solve the petrification issue and considered consulting Dr. Bankster.


    He then turned his gaze to the full array of nautical books in the room, only to discover that many of them were hand-copied, not only including navigation but also archaeology, history, ancientnguages... a wide variety of schrly books. A good adventurer must certainly be learned.


    Su Lun asked, "Did your mother leave you all these books?"


    Tanni replied directly, "Yeah, some of them. Some I collectedter."


    Meeting Su Lun''s gaze, he added somewhat sheepishly, "I sold the valuable ones. These are mostly ones I copied by hand."


    Su Lun could tell, no wonder the handwriting was more beautiful than printed text. He asked again, "Did you draw all those nautical maps before as well?"


    "Yeah," Tanni nodded and responded, "Because the adults in town forbid the sale of detailed sea charts, the ones I sold before were simplified versions. Mr. Su Lun, if you need more detailed sea charts, I can draw them for you too."


    "I see..."


    Su Lun marveled at Tanni''s incredible talent.


    Only now he realized that the nautical maps he had thought were of high quality were merely abridged versions.


    Simply put, the level of charting was enough to qualify Tanni as a top-tier navigator and master cartographer.


    Su Lun thought recruiting him would be even better.


    And now that he had obtained three Gold Coins, but to navigate to the coordinates of the Pirate King''s shipwreck, he still needed a skilled navigator.


    If Sam left one Gold Coin for his son, it was very possible there were other factors at y.


    Su Lun no longer just wanted the sea charts now, wouldn''t it be better to have a master cartographer?


    After pondering for a moment, he asked solemnly, "If possible, I''d like to invite you to join our crew, as my ship''s navigator. What do you say?"


    "Really?! You want to invite me to be a navigator?" Tanni was overjoyed, almost in disbelief.


    Nautical adventure was his lifelong dream.


    But because of his own reasons, the teams willing to invite him had dwindled, and the dream felt increasingly distant.


    "Yes," Su Lun nodded in confirmation and added, "And before your mother is cured, you can also bring her aboard to sail with us. My ship provides an allowance, which should cover all expenses."


    The petrified Naga on the bed needed Ocean Essence to sustain life, costing several hundred thousand lisos a month. Su Lun thought thatpared to recruiting a top-tier navigator, this cost waspletely worth it.


    If he was going to recruit, he needed to consider everything for his crewmembers.


    "This..."


    Hearing this, Tanni didn''t know how to express his current excitement.


    Being able to bring his mother, he had no more concerns.


    But then Tanni''s face showed a hint of difficulty as he kindly reminded, "But... aren''t you worried that I might bring storms and trouble to your fleet?"


    Su Lun''s eyes narrowed as he counter-questioned, "Do you know why your setting sail brings about storms?"


    Tanni looked confused and said, "I don''t know. But when I go to sea, I can feel that the sea breezes and currents seem to really like me, to wee me..."


    His ability was to foresee theing of storms, but they were certain to encounter them.


    This was why people called him an "unlucky fellow."


    Su Lunughed and said, "You needn''t be troubled. Perhaps... it''s a unique talent you possess."


    He had some suspicions that Tanni''s circumstances might be rted to his Naga heritage and the fact that he was Sam''s son.


    The Naga tribe were the favored children of the ocean and storms. How could they be "unlucky fellows cursed by the sea"?


    Moreover, just as Tanni had said, even if they encountered storms, he could often deal with them; it was just that others didn''t trust him.


    However, before that, Su Lun still nned to observe and confirm for himself.


    ....


    Su Lun had intended to converse further with Tanni, but as they talked, hismunicator buzzed with an urgent message from Qiantiao: "Su Lun,e over to the ''War God Colosseum.'' I''ve seen ''Kai.''"


    At the sound of that, Su Lun''s expression tensed.


    "Kai" was one of the members of the Mirror Organization, an Awakened second-stage Red Demon.


    Mr. Jing had previously received a plea for help from Kai, stating he had encountered a formidable enemy. After that, the contact was lost.


    Su Lun hadn''t expected Kai to actually fall into the hands of the pirates of the North Sea.

 Chapter 355 The Ten Great Bounty Hunters

    "Hey, did you hear? Princess Scatty came personally to the ''War God Arena'' to watch the diator games. My God, what a chance to catch a glimpse of that beauty!"


    "What day is it today for her to step out? Ha ha ha, I thought after her wedding night with Gaal, she wouldn''t be able to get out of bed..."


    "I heard there''s going to be a good show tonight. Those guys from the Western Sea have sent a batch of strong ve fighters, and all the bookmakers have opened up big stakes. Seems the princess enjoys that too."


    "Really? This is something we''ve got to see!"


    "..."@@novelbin@@


    When Su Lun returned to Golden City from Tanni''s shack, he could hear people talking about the diator games everywhere along the way.


    He didn''t linger and kept on walking.


    The ''War God Arena'' is thergest arena in Pirate City, located on the upper levels of the fortress. The space is huge, able to amodate thousands of gamblers.


    By the time Su Lun got there, the ce was already swarming with people.


    Probably to catch a glimpse of Princess Mafa, the usual freely essible betting stalls had started to charge admission and limit the flow.


    Tickets were two thousand lire, pricing out most of the ordinary pirates who came to watch the excitement. As a result, any high spot around the arena¡ªbeams, pipes, water towers... anywhere that offered a view¡ªwas packed with people.


    "Damn, I''ve never seen such a fair-skinned girl in my life. That princess from Mafa is damn provocative..."


    "Her dress is so transparent, it''s like she''s wearing nothing at all, making her perks bounce and getting my blood up. Gaal''s a lucky man, ha ha ha..."


    "If I could sleep with a woman like that just once, I''d dly give up ten years of my life!"


    "..."


    All sorts of vulgar talk, cheers, and whistles filled the air.


    That''s the atmosphere among pirates, and Su Lun''s expression remained unchanged as he listened.


    He paid his entry and squeezed into the crowd.


    ...


    Inside the arena, it was packed to the brim, every seat taken, and the aisles were jammed so tightly that it was impossible to find footing.


    This dashed Su Lun''s hopes of pushing through the crowd to meet Tanni.


    Just as he entered, Tanni seemed to have spotted him too, and hismunicator came to life: "10 o''clock direction, on the waiting tform."


    Following the direction, Su Lun looked over and found a good view of Tanni''s back in the front row. The gambling-addicteddy had obviously secured a prime spot these past few days.


    In the 10 o''clock waiting seat row sat a lineup of diators, d in simple and battle-worn armor, awaiting their turn.


    There were Vikings, giants, and some in tattered military uniforms looking like captured Roying Navy officers.


    Some were ves, and others professional diators.


    In a corner, a burly middle-aged man with a full beard sat gloomily, none other than the long-missing "Kai". Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire


    Kai''s neck was fitted with an ''Explosive Cor,'' and his hands and feet were bound with heavy iron chains. His face and body bore numerous scarred wounds, clearly having been tortured not a little.


    Su Lun frowned slightly at the sight.


    He had a good impression of this taciturn but fiercely brave uncle.


    In the center of the venue, inside a wire cage, the diatorial deathmatch was still fiercely ongoing.


    It was a fight to the death, every sh bloody, every punch bone-crushing.


    This bloodypetition also stimted the nerves of the audience, causing the cheer to intensify wave after wave.


    Thoughts whirled rapidly in Su Lun''s mind.


    Kai was a member of the Mirror Organization; they would definitely try to rescue him.


    But with the current situation, things seemed a bitplex.


    It definitely wouldn''t work to force their way in Pirate City; they needed to think of a n.


    ...


    Su Lun gathered his gaze and looked towards another focus of the arena, where ''Princess Frostmoon'' Scatty Harris was seated.


    The Pirate City arena didn''t have anything like VIP boxes, even visitors like Oleg, on normal days, watched the matches from the public seating areas. The pirates also enjoyed this bustling atmosphere.


    At this moment, right across from Su Lun, he saw Princess Mafa for the first time.


    Beautiful golden hair, nothing much to fault in her appearance, a figure slightly plump, skin as white as milk...


    Su Lun had heard people in Pirate City extolling her beauty, and seeing her now, it indeed was no exaggeration.


    Princess Scatty did indeed seem like a very charming beauty.


    However, her attire was rather striking.


    She wore an almost fully transparent court dress, adorned with glittering diamonds, which under the lights, seemed like she was wrapped in the stars of a summer night, dazzling and eye-catching. The dress sculpted her figure in an incredibly enticing way, even more provocative than being naked. The asional switching of her crossed legs gave glimpses of an even more tantalizing view...


    It was said that the Mafa Empire had much more liberal views than Roying, with women''s clothing being very open and fashionable. Such sexy outfits were normal among the affluent ss. But in the shabby pirate circle, it stood out quite a bit.


    Tens of thousands of spectators, countless greedy eyes roamed over her stunning figure, having almost seen through it thoroughly.


    Her Royal Highness the Princess seemed not to mind showcasing her beauty and figure, nor did she care whether she was revealing too much, chatting andughing naturally with a handsome young man by her side.


    Su Lun nced and then looked away, his heart unmoved.


    To him, that was all there was to it.


    Merely unting.


    Her ability to capture attention was significantly boosted by her princess status.


    More than her attire, Su Lun was curious why Princess Scatty hade to watch the match not with her husband, the "Frost Giant" Gaal Popov, but with a handsome young man?


    This young man also had quite a reputation, being the notorious son of the "King of the Western Sea," Morlock Poppen, Figol Poppen, with a bounty of 7.99 billion rysis. He was known in the pirate circles for being treacherously ruthless and had a bad reputation.


    Looking at the subtle expressions on their faces, was it more like flirting?


    Su Lun looked slightly perplexed.


    Although he had heard that in noble circles, this kind of behavior was quitemon. Political marriages were mainly about the union of power for the sake of mutual benefits, not love. After marriage, spouses did their own thing, and having a few lovers was nothing out of the ordinary. It was an unspoken rule everyone understood.


    But... they had just got married, in full public view, was this really okay?


    With a sound barrier in ce, others couldn''t hear what they were talking about.


    Su Lun was not interested in delving into the romantic escapades of the princess, his gaze fell on the legion of guards behind her, thinking: "A whole royal mechanical guard legion, indeed..."


    His gaze swept across those dozens of brilliantly shining officers who looked like golden saints, his expression growing solemn.


    A royal princess''s entrance was naturally spectacr.


    The gear that the attending officers from Mafa wore represented the pinnacle of Mafa''s technology inbat armor.


    "One ''Commodore-ss Mecha,'' three ''Rear Admiral-ss,'' twelve ''Colonel-ss''... this is a dire situation."


    Su Lun silently calcted in his mind.


    Looking at the ranks on those armors, he could easily discern the levels of these mechas.


    He had once by chance obtained a [Colonel-ss Zhanjian IX Mecha], although it was lost in the realm of Huangquan, that armor had helped him ovee many difficulties.


    He was well aware of the prowess of these armors.


    Thebat strength of this royal guard legion would be extremely formidable,parable to a fleet at least.


    ...


    If he really had to rescue "Kai," he might have to face this princess''s guard troop head-on.


    Even though Tanni had now entered the Sword Saint Realm and was very powerful, Su Lun did not think they stood any chance.


    The duels in the arena continued one after the other.


    With each match, a corpse was inevitably dragged down from the stage.


    Su Lun''s gaze grew increasingly grave.


    Direct rescue was definitely not possible.


    The only n he could think of was to create chaos, ending tonight''s diatorial matches. Then seek an opportunity to rescue within the chaos.


    Just then, amidst the hysterical introduction from the host about the contenders stepping onto the stage: "In the next match, from the Western Sea, we have ''Death God'' Belusebab, a top-ranked fighter who has won 72 consecutive matches and is a descendant of the Dragon Blood lineage; and from our Northern Sea, we also have a very strong contender. You might find him a bit unfamiliar, but... please remember, his name is ''Kai''!"


    Kai, with the irons chaining his hands and feet removed, slowly stepped into the duel cage.


    Su Lun squinted, gauging the strength of this "Belusebab" through his Soul Perception, which was a standard fifth tier.


    Kai''sbat ability was extraordinary;[B-002-Red Demon]was recognized as one of the strongest closebat talents, with its second release state, he had almost no rivals within the same tier.


    Even if a fourth tier faced a fifth tier, he should not be defeated in a short time.


    But time was running short.


    Su Lun decided to act immediately.


    He shared his n with Tanni, stealthily leaving behind the ck crow and was about to leave the arena to create chaos outside.


    "First, throw a few bombs outside, but to affect the duels, I fear we need to make a biggermotion..."


    Su Lun calcted in his mind, just as he was about to leave.


    But just then, his expression changed drastically.


    Because at that moment, he sensed a very special soul fire approaching!


    "So powerful!"


    Su Lun turned his head and saw a weird guy dressed in a suit, holding a canvas, walking towards him. His unkempt xen hair looked somewhat delicate.


    "I wanted to include you in my painting, but it seems I''ve failed..."


    As this guy walked along, he continued to sketch on the iplete painting with the brush in his hand. His gaze met Su Lun''s, a interested smirk spreading across his face: "Tsk tsk, there aren''t many people in this world I can''t capture in my art. You are very special."


    "..."


    Upon hearing those words, Su Lun felt as if he was facing a formidable enemy, his back hairs standing on end as he instantly prepared for battle.


    The person before him...


    Was strong!


    Extremely strong!


    But the next second, with a quick identification by the Eye of Omniscience, Su Lun immediately guessed the strange man''s identity.


    The canvas in this guy''s hand was a renowned sealed object called "God''s Canvas," known for its legendary cursed properties.


    And the owner of this sealed item was no less notorious, it belonged to one of the "Top Ten Bounty Hunters," Vincent F. Van Gogh, the "God''s Painter"!


    Why would such a great bounty hunter appear in Pirate City?


    Having recognized his identity, Su Lun simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.


    At the very least, he wasn''t from the pirate faction.


    This guy had a good reputation and was quite proud, known to only y those criminals whose wicked deeds were great and who had bounties over a hundred million¡ªas great pirates.


    Su Lun didn''t think this guy was after him, a person without renown.


    However, if someone was targeting him, he couldn''t escape.


    Su Lun then seriously said, "Do you need something, sir?"


    Van Gogh seemed to be testing him as well, observing Su Lun''s reaction, the previously confrontational aura suddenly subsided.


    He shook his head and focused once again on his painting, mumbling, "I originally thought you were Her Royal Highness Princess''s secret guard. But it looks like we are not enemies."


    He paused then added, "Oh, no need to be so tense. The scent of sin on you is faint, I will have no ill intentions towards you. I just find you quite interesting. Just a reminder, take the opportunity to keep your distance, otherwise you might get involvedter."


    Listening to these inexplicable words, Su Lun''s pupils constricted slightly, no longer understanding the purpose of this man''s appearance here.


    In just a moment of exchange, his gaze unconsciously fell on the painting Van Gogh was working on.


    The painting was abstract, depicting a scene inside an arena. The various spectators, masking tens of thousands, all faceless¡ªjust colorful outlines drawn. Yet incredibly, upon closer examination, it seemed as though the painting came to life, with each spectator cheering excitedly. It was fuzzy yet peculiar.


    In the painting, the most striking figure was the alluring ''Frost Moon Princess'' Scatty.


    Everyone was blurry, but this woman''s features were distinctly visible!


    At that moment, Van Gogh had just finished painting that person and seemed very pleased with his work, a smile ying on his lips.


    He nced at Su Lun and asked, "Sir, what do you think of the painting?"


    Su Lun responded impassively, "It''s great."


    Although he didn''t understand what this man wanted to do, from an artistic perspective, the painting was indeed top-notch. Both the conception and the skills were impable.


    Upon hearing this, Van Gogh, as if finding a kindred spirit, smiled, "Indeed, sir, you know how to appreciate art."


    Su Lun listened and suddenly realized something.


    Those who are into art, more or less... have some form of madness.


    This guy is simply feeling lonely in his high tastes, wanting to share his work with someone.


    Su Lun suddenly felt, although they had exchanged just a few words, that this guy was somewhat to his liking.


    Moreover, he had guessed why this man appeared here, and what he intended to do.


    He was about to make a move.


    ...


    Indeed.


    As Su Lun had expected.


    Just then, Van Gogh began to murmur a phrase that sounded like a spell, "I painted you with vibrant colors, praising your unparalleled beauty. But as I painted, I found your soul to be so filthy, anger took over, and I painted with blood, sentencing you... to be decapitated!"


    Though sounding like a recitation, it chills Su Lun to the bone.


    The previously warm, artistic temperament of this man suddenly turned devilishly cold.


    As these words were chanted, a colorful eight-pointed star alchemical circle lit up under Van Gogh''s feet. His brush, as if dipped in blood-red paint, drew a line across the neck of the dressed woman in the painting, sharp as a knife.


    Su Lun watched, his brow involuntarily twitching, because he sensed death!


    Following that, a bizarre scene unfolded.


    Two hundred meters away, on the slender neck of ''Frost Moon Princess'' Scatty, a bloodline appeared out of nowhere.


    Just like the scene on the oil painting, identical.


    "Pfft~"


    Blood spurted out, spraying several feet!


    His head was about to fall to the ground.


    Unfortunately, just as Princess Scatty''s neck was about to be severed by that "invisible de," another mysterious force suddenly emerged, manifesting as dazzling milky white light, visibly healing the wound.


    Seeing this, Van Gogh simply raised an eyebrow, "There really is a protective artifact."


    However, other than a slight expression of pity, he seemed not to care much, muttering to himself, "After all, I did make a move, it''s not my fault I couldn''t kill her."


    It was as if he owed someone a favor, and had now repaid it with his action.


    Su Lun watched, his eye twitching.


    This guy really was here to assassinate the "Frost Moon Princess."


    Such a casual attempt on her life, indeed, great strength is the biggest reliance.


    This method, just like the legends... sinister!


    ....


    The sudden assassination attempt instantly tensed up the guards around Princess Scatty.


    "There''s an assassin!"


    "Protect Her Royal Highness Princess!"


    "..."


    One after another, magical shields appeared, swiftly enveloping Princess Scatty securely on all sides.


    The tens of thousands of spectators in the arena hadn''t quite grasped what had happened, each one gaping in shock.


    The moment he made his move, it was as if he had lit the fuse on a barrel of gunpowder. The assassination had just begun when a group of unidentified suicide attackers also emerged,unching a berserk assault on the entourage of the "Frost Moon Princess."


    The vast arena boiled over in chaos, turning into a tumult in an instant, with screams of agony filling the air.


    No one knew how many assassins there were, nor who the assassins were...


    Almost at the same time, some experts also spotted Van Gogh in the stands. The attacks came without any regard for the onlooking pirates, bombarding furiously.


    Van Gogh waved his paintbrush in front of him, and the bullets transformed into colorful spots as if paint sshed on a canvas.


    He seemed not prepared to stay any longer, he packed up his canvas and, ncing at Su Lun, still wore a rxed smile, "It''s rare to meet someone who appreciates art. Hope to see you again."


    "..."


    Su Lun was filled with frustration, grumbling in his mind: Chatting with me at this critical moment, does he want others to mistake us for aplices?


    He now also saw it clearly.


    This was a politically premeditated assassination.


    The Mafa Empire and the Northern Seas union, the most restless would be the Lurying royal family.


    These guys must also be sent by Lurying.


    If this woman were to die, the ambiguous rtions between the Northern Seas and Mafa would likely immediately freeze.


    But it was just as well, as he had also nned on making a scene to end the diator match.


    Themotion caused by these professional assassins turned out to be much more perfect than Su Lun had anticipated.


    No one was now in the mood to watch the match, and no one would suspect there were people aiming to rescue her, which wouldn''t attract trouble to himself, making it the ideal situation.


    Su Lun reluctantly watched as Van Gogh calmly made his way out through the crowd.


    At that moment, Tanni also found an opportunity to approach him.


    With a puzzled face, she looked at Su Lun, eximing, "Su Lun, when did you find such an expert to act together? Why didn''t you tell me earlier?"


    She had been ready for a major battle, only to be surprised by another group suddenly emerging.


    Su Lun spoke somberly, "It wasn''t my arrangement. It just so happened to coincide with the assassination."


    "Oh?"


    Tanni listened, her expression showing realization.


    Indeed, even if there was amotion, Su Lun had no reason to assassinate that princess.


    The battle in the arena grew more intense, but the prison cage area was already heavily guarded, and Kai was taken into custody. With the pirates rushing to protect their charges, there was no chance for a rescue.


    Tanni frowned and asked, "So, what do we do now?"


    Although they hadn''t rescued the person, the goal had been achieved.


    Su Lun nced over the chaotic situation, his gaze deepening, "Let''s withdraw first. We''ll find another chance to rescue her."


    Tanni: "Alright!"


    Saying that, the two blended into the crowd and evacuated from the arena.

 Chapter 356 Secret Mechanical Research Institute

    The noise of the fight had disturbed half the night, setting the entirety of Hasteline aze and rming hundreds of thousands of people.


    The assassination had clearly been premeditated; besides "God''s Painter," Vincent F. Van Gogh, one of the ten Great Bounty Hunters, there were dozens of assassins.


    Even a captain from the North Sea fleet had participated in the assassination.


    That fellow seemed to have been an undercover agent from Luying all along, utilizing the opportunity to save others as a pretext tounch a ferocious attack on Scatty.


    Unfortunately, it ultimately failed.


    The mechanical legion of Mafa disyed their astonishingbat abilities. Scatty''s royal guard, with one against a hundred, managed to withstand various firepower and explosions, guarding the princess as securely as a steel drum.


    Even when the arena was reduced to ruins, they remained unscathed.


    Although the assassination didn''t seed, such a serious political event as the princess of Mafa being targeted naturally triggered a manhunt for the perpetrator.


    The assassins who acted didn''t leave any survivors behind, and King Oleg of the North Sea, infuriated, personally ordered a city-wide search.


    Unfortunately,pared to the professional espionage organization members and well-trained security personnel of the two great empires, the pirates'' professional capabilities were far too inferior.


    Thew enforcement system wasn''t well-developed yet, and the ountability system for the pursuit was practically nonexistent, making the efficiency of the manhunt very low.


    Besides, Pirate City was a haven of mixed influences with various powers, fugitives, retired pirate overlords, and bizarre cult followers... no one would dare to thoroughly investigate.


    After a bout of chaotic searching, the matter just fizzled out.


    ...


    On the other hand, Su Lun and Thousand because they hadn''t participated in the war, withdrew from the battlefield smoothly.


    With the "Frost Moon Princess" having been targeted and the arena bombed into ruins, it was no longer feasible to hold events there for a while, ensuring Kai''s temporary safety.


    But for now, there wasn''t an opportunity for them to rescue anyone.


    The assassination had made one thing clearer for Su Lun: taking action in Pirate City was definitely not going to seed.


    They needed another opportunity.


    Thousand had someone keep a watch, and Su Lun returned to the "Shark Inn."


    He handed over the sample of Tanni''s mother, who had been turned to stone, to Dr. Banks for research.


    Having purchased a heap of materials today, Su Lun began working on crafting a mechanical octopus.


    Days passed in a sh.


    ...


    Because he had bought enough materials, Su Lun hadn''t left the house at all these past few days.


    To facilitatemunication, rooms 205 and 206 in the inn were joined, with each side serving as the temporaryboratory for Su Lun and Dr. Banks respectively.


    At this moment, in room 205, various mechanical parts and forging equipment were hanging everywhere. A workbench was busy working, coating drawn runes onto the parts while making a continuous "kaz kaz" noise.


    The wall above the workbench was covered with densely packed blueprints.


    Su Lun, without looking up, focused intently on embedding the power core into the energy system of the mechanical octopus. He had almost memorized every detail of the blueprints, and could craft them perfectly without even looking once.


    Most striking in the room were the threerge ss tanks, within which eight-armed spider spears were simultaneously assembling three half-finished mechanical octopuses.


    Su Lun carefully assembled the rune-drawn and coated armor tes into the form of an octopus, much like assembling Lego.


    Each mechanical octopus consisted of over three thousand parts, a task that was incredibly draining on the mind.


    Even with eight-arm spider spears and his own two arms, the progress wasn''t fast.


    Without molds for mass production, Su Lun had expended a lot of energy these past few days manually crafting the steel armor for the mechanical octopuses, one piece at a time. Fortunately, his ability to multitask and his superior spiritual power and focus allowed him to work almost without rest, managing to produce the mechanicalponents for three mechanical octopuses.


    The quality of handcrafted mechanicalponents was meticulously superb, and the finished products were of a higher quality than the three he had seized.


    Su Lunforted himself over his "low efficiency" in this way.


    At that moment, he assembled the final piece of the octopus and the octopus in the water tank came to life.


    He tried using "Mental Tentacles" to control it, and the octopus''s mechanical tentacles in the culture dish responded to his brain signals, performing various coiling, adhering, and strangling actions.


    After a series of operations, Su Lun noticed that one of the tentacles was slightly stiff.


    He could distinctly feel the problem in the nerve signal feedback and picked up a tool to make a slight adjustment, which made it work smoothly at once.


    A hint of joy appeared on Su Lun''s face.


    Afterpleting the preliminary tests, the mechanical octopus was soon ready forbat use.


    Having sessfully crafted three mechanical octopuses, Su Lun let out a long breath, unable to hide his fatigue, and internally remarked, "Ah... It would be great if there was arge machinery factory."


    ...


    These past few days, thankfully with the help of Dr. Banks, several live octopuses had sessfully been mutated into "Immortal Octopuses."


    The "Immortal Cells" fused into Banks''s body were quite special. Once an organism was infected and survived, its vitality became extremely robust, addressing the high mortality of "neuromechanical technology" transnts from the source.


    This meant that the three mechanical octopuses crafted by Su Lun were much stronger both in terms of the materials used and their vitality. They were not easily killed, and they possessed an extraordinary self-healing ability when injured.


    Otherwise, crafting these three mechanical octopuses by himself would have taken several months.


    Your journey continues with My Virtual Library Empire


    Just then, Dr. Banks, next door, suddenly spoke up, "Su Lun, are you free right now?"


    Su Lun poked his head through the door they had made a hole in and looked over, responding, "Dr. Banks, what is it?"


    "I''ve analyzed the sample you gave me."


    Dr. Banks pointed to a machine and said, "The petrification caused by Medusa''s gaze involves a high-order rule energy transforming the matter''s form. Theoretically, it could bepletely reversed by alchemy''s equivalent exchange, but that requires a lot of understanding of the petrification spell. If we try to reverse it from a biological perspective, there''s hope, but it might take a long time... What I''m sure of right now is just preventing the petrification from spreading further."


    "Hmm. Okay."


    Su Lun listened and contemted the meaning of that statement for a moment before nodding again.


    Being able to stop the petrification was already an ideal result, Tanni would certainly be pleased to hear this. At least it would save his mother''s life.


    The life of the Nagas was quite special, having been petrified for decades without death, they weren''t in a rush at this very moment. Stopping further petrification meant there could be other solutions consideredter on.


    Su Lun then asked, "Doctor, do you think there''s hope for sess in mass-producing the ''Eternal Tolerance Potion'' for octopuses that you mentioned earlier?"


    Banks responded, "The chances are high. The octopus''s rich neural structure is very tolerant to eternal cells. I''ve split part of their cellr gene chains and am currently experimenting with fusion culture. Based on the current progress, the results are within expectations. In a month or two, we should be able to cultivate the first batch of mutant tolerance potions, which could then be used for mass production."


    Hearing this good news, the fatigue on Su Lun''s face vanished, reced by a bright smile, "Haha. Thank you for your hard work, Doctor."


    Indeed, having such a top-level biologist by his side brought him many conveniences.


    Su Lun had previously only considered forced transntation, which would have a very low efficiency due to the high mortality rate.


    Now, with the ''Tolerance Potion,'' the speed of forming the ''Mechanical Octopus Corps'' was significantly reduced.


    Moreover, the final product would be much stronger than Duke Rafael''s original version!


    ...


    Kai was imprisoned and had no chance of being rescued for the time being.


    Sen had been constantly having people watch over the activities at the arena.


    They were waiting for an opportunity.


    So, Su Lun decided to stay at the inn, going nowhere else.


    He and Dr. Banks shared manymon topics in their research, and as two people who were into scientific research, they couldfortably stay indoors, and time flew quickly.


    ording to Su Lun''s thoughts, if there were no other matters, he truly intended to stay inside until the Mechanical Octopus Corps was established.


    But things did not go as nned.


    One dayter.


    While Su Lun was in his room adjusting the newlypleted triple-headed mechanical octopus, suddenly, he sensed something and warned, "Doctor, that princess from ''Frost Moon'' has revisited the inn."


    Banks frowned, "Again?"


    The Shark Inn was a mid to low-end establishment, chosen for its sufficient istion to avoid attracting attention.


    Furthermore, it was almost entirely upied by their own people, with very few outsiders entering.


    One reason was to avoid disturbances, and the other was to steer clear of people from Mafa.


    Dr. Banks controlled the neenth squad of the Fourth Fleet of the North Sea, formerly one of the three major gangs in the Old Spiriton Outer City, the "Steam Party".


    The gang leader, the ''Mechanical Butcher'' Captain Banna, was now the squad leader.


    They had the Old Spiriton-specific "Limb Mechanical Imnts", not the highest in technological level, but unique to Luying.


    This technology was something the North Sea fleet pirates previously did not understand or show interest in.


    But now, with ''Princess'' Frost Moon'' married in, a group of mechanical experts arrived, true specialists in the field.


    Dr. Banks worried that some high-end technology being discovered here could draw unnecessary trouble, especially if the "Neural Mechanical Technology" were exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.


    Unfortunately, despite their efforts to avoid it, their mechanical squad''s reputation in the North Sea Fleet was not small.


    Through some channels, ''Princess Frost Moon''s'' people had gotten wind of some information about the neenth squad, and in the past few days, people had beening over to probe and inquire about some technical issues.


    The more they asked, the more was exposed.


    And as Banks and his team were officially still a direct squad of the North Sea Fleet, they couldn''t leave for sea without orders.


    Some issues just couldn''t be avoided.


    ...


    Su Lun''s soul perception covered the entire inn, and he could clearly sense several soul fires he had seen before; several mechanical warriors were the guards of the Princess of Luying.


    Listening closely, an argument had already begun downstairs.


    "This is Dr. Bachar, the chief mechanical engineer of Her Royal Highness Princess. He''s quite interested in your imnts. Where is your captain? Call him out."


    "Reply to your lordship. Captain Banna is still at the ''Queen''s Bathhouse''."


    "Last time it was the same, and it''s the same again! Is your captain stuck on some woman''s belly and can''t get up? Go call him back! The doctor has some technical questions for you all."


    "..."


    Su Lun listened to the arrogant attitude of the other party and frowned deeply.


    Dr. Banks also looked solemn as he listened.


    He pondered for a moment, then directly transmitted a message through themunicator, "Tell them, ''Captain Banna now holds the rank of colonel, a high-ranking officer. ording to thetest decree by Prime Minister Zs, no one but King Oleg canmand him.''"


    Listening by the side, Su Lun thought this response was a bit firm, but normal.


    Pirates previously had no such hierarchical rtionships.


    Even between a squad leader and a fleet leader, they were partners, brothers, friends with ordinary members.


    But within the noble ss, the sense of hierarchy was very pronounced.


    Nobles were nobles with absolute rights, andmoners were supposed to obey absolutely.


    ''Princess Frost Moon'' got married and brought these customs from Mafa.


    The pirates, used to being unruly, did not take well to this, leading to frequent conflicts with them.


    As this dialogue ensued, a fierce argument indeed erupted downstairs.


    Before long, the uninvited guests left dejectedly.


    Peace was restored in the inn once again.


    ...


    The crisis was temporarily averted, but Banks''s frown did not rx.


    This time, the other party had explicitly targeted Banna by name.


    He looked at Su Lun and said, "Staying in Pirate City any longer might invite trouble. We need to find a reason to leave here."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun nodded, but secretly leaving port would also spell trouble.


    He couldn''t think of a good solution at the moment.


    Pondering the earlier conversation, Su Lun thought of something and asked, "Doctor, who is this chief mechanic? I haven''t heard of him before."


    Dr. Banks replied, "There have always been rumors that Princess Scatty of Frost Moon married over from Mafa and brought an entire mechanical research team and even a secret mechanical research base. However, due to the confidentiality, no one knew the specifics. Now it seems to be true."


    It was no secret that Mafa had technological support.


    Yet, Su Lun caught another key term in his mind, "Mechanical research base?"


    His eyes shifted, and relevant clues automatically connected in his mind.


    He suddenly remembered a scene where a mechanical octopus intercepted a Mafa submarine.


    With the route from Mafa to the North Sea nearly blockaded by Luying, it seemed impossible for anyrge-scale research base toe via the surface.


    Could it be that this secret research facility was in a submarine?


    "It must be the only possibility..."


    Su Lun concluded in his mind.


    Apart from technological support, there must be some equipment support as well.


    At the same time, an uncontroble thought sprouted in his mind.


    What you think about, you bring about.


    Su Lun calcted in his mind, a dark light shing across his eyes.


    Hecked arge mechanical factory so much so that many mechanicalponents couldn''t bepleted.


    Combat Mechas, mass production of mechanical octopuses, all were restricted.


    Considering the current situation, Mafa was determined to elevate the technological level of the North Sea, undoubtedly bringing mature technology and equipment.


    Isn''t this the perfect target?


    If he could obtain specific intelligence about that submarine, it could be worth making a move.


    Don''t look now, but the mechanical technology of Duke Rafael has overtaken many, yet Mafa''s military mechanical level far exceeds any contemporary organization.


    Just like the structure and the power core used by mechanical octopuses, if those were switched to Mafa''s technology, they could be upgraded several notches!


    With that thought, Su Lun''s thoughts branched out.


    He became intensely interested in that "secret mechanical research facility".


    ...


    Su Lun''s thoughts had already wandered far.


    Meanwhile, Dr. Banks was still pondering the present situation.


    He furrowed his brows and after a moment said, "Mafa must have discovered some clues, otherwise that chief mechanic wouldn''t havee personally. If all else fails, we may just have to hide Banna for a while."


    Su Lun, listening to this, also found it rational and nodded.


    Suddenly, a thought shed through his mind, and he added, "However... I feel that they definitely know we might hide. They''ll probably force Banna to show himself..."


    Speaking of which, Su Lun had a profound thought, "I think... we might even need to prepare for a departure and battle."


    Dr. Banks: "Oh? How so?"


    Su Lun narrowed his eyes and slowly said, "That Princess Scatty is very cunning..."


    The alliance between Mafa and the North Sea was for mutual benefit.


    The princess from Mafa clearly had her own agendas as well.


    Even if she suspected that "neural mechanical technology" had been leaked through other channels, she definitely wouldn''t share this news with King Oleg.


    The likeliest possibility is... she''ll secretly "devour" it herself!


    So, Su Lun was certain she would not alert the higher-ups of the North Sea fleet just because of her suspicions.


    Otherwise, they would havee previously with orders from Fleet Commander Gaal Popov to see Banna, and they wouldn''t have any reason to refuse.


    Su Lun''s brain swiftly processed this and dismissed some possibilities, arriving at the most usible scenario, "Super mechanical warriors have appeared on the battlefield, and the Mafa military must have some understanding by now. Anyone involved who notices Banna''s action would at least be suspicious of some neural technology on him. If I''m not mistaken, we''ll soon receive a transfer order to head somewhere else by sea."


    "It looks like we''ve really caught their attention."


    Dr. Banks, following Su Lun''s analysis, also felt it made sense and said, "Are you suggesting... that Princess Scatty might find an excuse to dispatch us to sea and then make a move?"


    Su Lun''s gaze deepened, "Hmm."


    Hearing this, Dr. Banks''s expression also became very grave, "Then we really need to prepare early."


    ...


    Su Lun and Dr. Banks had discussed for a while before they began to pack up the temporaryboratory.


    No matter what, they could no longer stay at the hotel.


    Sure enough, it wasn''t long before a messenger from the Shark Hotel arrived with a direct order from Fleet Commander Gaal Popov, informing them that Squadron 19 was to prepare supplies and set sail the next day.


    There wasn''t any mention of the reason or the mission.


    Only that it was confidential.


    That was unusual.


    As soon as the messenger had left, Dr. Banks, who was packing up theb, looked at Su Lun with a smile and said, "Su Lun, my young friend, your guess was very urate. This ''secret mission'' is probably them getting ready to make a move on that ''Frost Moon Princess''."


    If it were a cruise or a robbery, they would typically have some prior information.


    Su Lun merely shrugged, his expression far from rxed, "Once we are at sea, we need to find a chance to break away from the main fleet before they make a move. If we are not well-prepared, we will definitely be suspected. There might be a big battle."


    The people of Mafa might only be suspicious, but they really had the technology.


    Once checked, they definitely won''t be able to keep it hidden.


    Neither of them harbored any illusions.


    Banks also analyzed, "If the Princess of Mafa really wants to ''devour'' us, there might not be many pirates traveling with the group. Our main adversaries will be her mechanical guard corps..."


    "Hmm,"


    Su Lun had already devised a tactic in his mind, "I have a n..."


    Now, he had six mechanical octopus secret weapons in his possession, which had a natural advantage in a sea chase.


    Although mecha armors were strong, they did not have much advantage in naval pursuits.


    Their chances of escape were high.


    After thinking it over, Su Lun decided to notify Tanni.


    With her around, not to mention the huge boost to their security, if the enemy''s numbers were few, they might even have an opportunity to fight back.


    Coincidentally, just as Su Lun finished devising his strategy and was about to inform Tanni, Tanni contacted him first.@@novelbin@@


    "Su Lun, I just got some information. Kai was taken away by the people of ''Frost Moon Princess'' Scatty. My people saw the Mafa military officer''s ship preparing for supplies; it seems they are setting sail, but I don''t know where they are heading. What do we do now?"


    Hearing Tanni''s message, Su Lun wasn''t too surprised, and felt a sudden realization inside, "So it really is that princess preparing to leave Hastelin¡­"


    Facing an assassination gave her a reason to leave.


    Tsk tsk...


    Hearing this information, Su Lun instantly connected all the dots.


    Her Royal Highness Princess might be interested in Kai''s tier-two talent awakening.


    Kai''sbat strength was unmatched, with almost a hundred percent chance to advance to the sixth level. Since he was not a direct descendant of King Oleg, he was the best candidate to draw over. With the Mafa royal family''s resources, he was bound to be a powerhouse in the future.


    He responded, "Tanni, prepare to set sail. We might have to pull off something big."


    ...


    Arge fleet''s departure was almost impossible to hide.


    Because the ship needed to be stocked with a lot of fresh food and water, which was only purchased shortly before setting sail.


    Moreover, the royal entourage demanded even more.


    The quantity needed for supplies was astonishing.


    After Tanni''s people confirmed the supply amounts again, Su Lun was almost certain that it was Princess Scatty setting sail.


    That raised a problem.


    It meant that escaping from the princess''s apanying fleet would lead to encountering even stronger enemies, almost certainly the entire Luying Royal Guard Corps.


    But, blessings and misfortune go hand in hand.


    Su Lun also guessed a favorable situation!


    With the departure of Her Royal Highness Princess, along with the mechanical guard corps, that "secret mechanical research facility" likely would also move along.


    Although the rtionship between the North Sea and Mafa seemed ambiguous, it was actually one of mutual use.


    Even if it was a "dowry", the core technology was definitely in the hands of Her Royal Highness herself.


    If Su Lun had guessed right, that "secret mechanical research facility" was a submarine.


    Maybe...


    That submarine, right at this moment, could be somewhere under the sea near Hastelin.


    The princess was leaving, so wouldn''t it have to go along?


    Targeting that research facility now, for Su Lun, was akin to reaching into a tiger''s mouth.


    But¡­ one must have dreams.


    He held the "submarine killer," the mechanical octopus, in his hands; what if there was a chance?


    Thinking about this, Su Lun calcted another n besides the escape...


    This time, they really might need to go big!

 Chapter 357 �Brigadier General Level Magic Blade X1 Type Mechanical Armor】

    Early the next morning, the bustling and noisy crowd filled Dock No. 2 within the Golden City''s stronghold.


    The dock, originally a mooring spot for several main battleships of Oleg''s "First Fleet," had been cleared just for the arrival of the "Frost Moon Princess" from the Mafa Empire.


    Moored at the dock was a "Sea King ss" warship, nearly two hundred meters in length; such discement marked the pinnacle of current sail-powered ships.


    Even in the entire North Sea, there were only three such ships before.


    This was the fourth.


    The Mafa Empire''s iron-d warships were indeed formidable, and had theye to this sea area, there would have been virtually no pirate ship able to contend with them. Unfortunately, Ruying would never allow Mafa''s naval ships to appear in the waters behind the Empire''s territory.


    The royal family never reused another''s old goods, so to facilitate travel, Princess Scattyvishly purchased this battleship, still in the shipyard, to serve as her vessel. It was repainted and decorated luxuriously, aptly named "Princess Scatty."


    Beside the gship, eight escort ships were arranged in neat order.


    These ships had undergone mechanical modifications; their hulls were fitted with alloy shields andrge-caliber heavy cannons, looking formidable and majestic.


    The princess''s royal procession was extremely grand, with a red carpet stretching a mile and a guard of honor extending as far.


    Only after the saluting cannons fired did the vibrantly dressed Frost Moon Princess, Scatty Harris, slowly emerge from the city, escorted by a throng of royal guards.


    ...


    Beyond the dock, the neenth squadron of the Fourth Fleet, having received their orders, had been waiting outside the port for some time.


    Though officially an escort fleet, theycked the privilege to approach the princess''s ship.


    On the deck, "Butcher" Banner and his confidants watched from a distance.


    "This Mafa princess really has quite the presence. Just a few days since thest assassination attempt, and still so high-profile, she isn''t afraid of being targeted by assassins again."


    "Heh, and they tell us it''s a ''secret mission''? The royals really are all about saving face..."


    "You just don''t get it. For the royals, face is more important than life itself. But that said, that woman is damn attractive, with such fair cheeks that nearly make me dizzy. Visible but untouchable... I really envy Captain Gar."


    "Hehe, I''ve heard that the princess and our big boss Gar are only husband and wife in name. After all, despite Princess Scatty''s beauty, in a giant''s eyes, she probably isn''t much different from a monkey."


    "Hahaha..."


    "..."


    Despite their gripes, the crew''s bodies were honest. When Princess Scatty appeared, they all climbed the masts with telescopes in hand, their eyes nearly popping out, uttering risqu¨¦ments now and then.


    ...


    Inside the cabin, Su Lun and Dr. Banks also looked out through the venttion windows, silently observing everything.


    Dr. Banks'' public identity was merely that of a nondescript pharmacist on the ship, and the ordinary crew members had no idea he actually controlled the unit.


    "The ''Frost Giant'' Gar not setting sail with them is good news."


    "The battle prowess of the Mafa Royal Mechanical Guard is extraordinary, more than enough to match a fully staffed fleet, and without the need for pirates. Moreover, after thest assassination attempt, with a squadron leader-level assassin at work, the Mafa royal guard doesn''t trust pirates."


    "However, their warships have been mechanically enhanced, resulting in a deep draft. When the timees, if we can avoid their cannon range, we''ll have a great chance of increasing the distance. But I suspect there might be submarines below the water, and if there are... it could be troublesome."


    "Hmm. We''ll decide based on the situation when the timees."


    "..."


    While Su Lun and Dr. Banks were deliberating, the princess''s fleet slowly left the harbor.


    Their pirate ship from the neenth squadron dangled at the end of the fleet, setting sail as well.


    In his hands, Su Lun had a detailed maritime chart drawn by Tanni, which proved to be quite useful.


    Along the way, he marked points and sent precise coordinate feedback to Qiantiao, who had been waiting on the open sea.


    ...


    Today''s weather is very clear, with mild winds and a bright sun.


    Before long, the fleet made it out of the chaotic winds of the Devil''s Sea near Hastelin and headed in the direction of the four countries to the north.


    Su Lun held a rune ck umbre in his hand, watching the "Princess" closely nearby.


    After sensing for so long, he finally confirmed something and turned to Dr. Banks beside him, "There are definitely submarines underwater, seems like more than one."


    His tone was even, as this was within expectations.


    In a blink, he looked at the dark,rge-caliber cannon barrels with a smile that was not quite a smile, "We''ve now reached the uninhabited waters. If nothing goes wrong, that princess ought to send someone over soon."


    "Indeed," Dr. Banks mused.


    He nced at the position of the sun, then added, "Su Lun my friend, you''ve guessed right. The fleet is heading in the direction of the ''Roman Kingdom'' to the northwest. This way, our n can be carried out smoothly. How did you guess it?"


    Upon hearing the question, Su Lun exined, "The grand empire of Mafa, since it''s marrying off a princess to a pirate and bringing so much mechanical equipment and technology, must be looking to trouble Luying, and there''s surely an exchange of interests involved."


    Pausing for a moment, he continued, "Pirate Oleg rose to power; he could part with equivalent capital for the trade, and that would be the ''Void Relics.'' Hence, the ''Frost Moon Princess'' was eager to set sail just days after her wedding. Assassination is probably just a pretext; more importantly, she might want to check out those relics. Now it seems, I suspect those ''Void Relics'' might be somewhere in the four countries of the North Continent..."


    Dr. Banksughed upon hearing this, "Su Lun my friend, your mind is meticulous; not somethingmon folks can match."


    "..."


    Su Lun, having beenplimented, merely shrugged nomittally.


    Considering the intelligence at hand, he thought it wasn''t too difficult to guess.


    This is Luying''s rear guard; the fleet wouldn''t head towards Luying to their deaths.


    Heading in the direction of Mountain Hermit to the northeast, they would almost certainly have to pass through the Rock Caiman Strait, where Mafa''s submarines were previously ambushed. Even if the newsing out was "mysteriously vanished," the "Princess Fleet" would most likely not take the risk before it was clear.


    Heading west is into unknown barren seas. It''s risky and meaningless.


    Therefore, they could only go northwest.


    The sea affords an unlimited view, making trailing difficult, so one could only set an ambush.


    Because they predicted the enemy''s rough course in advance, they were able to arrive at the nned waters in anticipation.


    Coincidentally, while the two were casually chatting, themunicator on the ship suddenly transmitted a grating static noise.


    "Zzz..."


    "Zzz..."


    Dr. Banks immediately realized something and stated expressionlessly, "Themunicator is being jammed by a special maic field; we can''t even send out a signal now. Those people should being."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun also nodded.


    At this point, he asked through themunicator, "Sister Qiantiao, are you in position? We can make our move."


    Upon these words, a response filled with a fighting spirit came through themunicator, "We''ll be there soon!"


    Themunications device from the Mirror Organization, the "Goblin Communicator," is really handy: unlimited rangemunication unaffected by all sorts of strange maic fields.


    Having given his instructions, Su Lun looked into the distance, muttering to himself, "I wonder if Tanni''s ''Cursed Halo of the Unlucky One Betrothed to the Sea'' wille in handy..."


    ...


    Just after themunication was jammed, on the main ship "Princess," a royal guard d in mechanized armor suddenly shot up from the deck.


    The jet propulsion system gave the armor the ability to leap briefly into the air, spanning hundreds of meters; a few jets from the mechanical boiler on the back of the armor ensured a smoothnding on the deck of the neenth team.


    This arrogant Mechanical Knight didn''t even spare the people on the deck a second look, and announced in a deep voice, "Her Royal Highness Princess has ordered, please ask Colonel Banner toe to the main fleet, there are matters to discuss!"


    "Butcher" Banner could only reply, "Yes!"


    In the captain''s quarters, Su Lun looked through the window at everything unfolding, then nced toward the "Princess" at the rear and its several escort ships.


    Those cannons were said to be behind the fleet in formation, but they were actually aimed at the neenth squad''s vessels.


    Within firing range, slipping away wouldn''t be easy.


    Moreover, the submarines lurking beneath the sea also made escape under normal circumstances impossible.


    Banner had received the princess''s orders and had no reason to refuse.


    But he was dawdling, hesitating to disembark.


    "Hurry up! Her Royal Highness Princess is waiting."


    The Mechanical Knight beside him kept urging.


    This fellow was here not just to ry a message but also to supervise.


    A slight dy might be excused, but as time dragged on, the courier''s face grew increasingly suspicious, and the atmosphere aboard the ship became somewhat eerie.


    In the captain''s quarters, Su Lun and Dr. Banks had remained silent, waiting for something.


    It was then,


    Suddenly,


    A startling p of thunder resounded in their ears!


    "Crack~"


    For an instant, everything was illuminated.


    Looking again, lightning flickered miles away, and the sky seemed to have been stained with ink, rapidly coalescing into a massive storm cloud.


    The area affected by the thundercloud kept expanding, with the situation escting.


    In a blink of an eye, the sky above the "Princess Fleet" had also turned ominously dark.


    Outside, the wind howled and the waves grewrger, causing the ship itself to sway.


    It seemed as if they were about to encounter a severe storm.


    Su Lun, upon seeing this, was not rmed but delighted, almost eximing, "It''s here!"


    ...


    Encountering a storm at sea couldn''t be more normal.


    But the storm at hand was anything but ordinary.


    A seasoned sailor would use air pressure, temperature, and humidity to predict the direction and scope of a storm. But one wouldn''t just appear out of nowhere, as was happening now.


    Su Lun squinted into the storm and murmured, "Tanni''s talent is quite special..."


    Having temporarily resolved the issue of Tanni''s mother''s petrification, Su Lun had gained Tanni''s absolute trust.


    Tanni revealed a secret known only to himself that encountering a storm while at sea was highly likely but not guaranteed.


    However, if he were injured, a storm would irrefutably, immediately ensue!


    Upon learning of this ability, Su Lun immediately thought of abat n.


    If they tried to escape into thin air, they wouldn''t stand a chance of getting out of firing range.


    Even if they jumped into the sea, the royal guards would certainly catch up...


    So, they needed a pretext to leave the fleet.


    And a storm, with its waves, offered the perfect cover!


    ...


    Once the storm hit, themunications on the ship suddenly returned to normal.


    Clearly, dealing with the storm took precedence over interrogations.


    The Commander of the main ship issued orders: "All ships, be careful. There are unidentified vessels approaching in the storm! Prepare the cannons, ready to sink them!"


    This n was known to none but Su Lun and Dr. Banks.


    The crew on deck, unaware of the circumstances, looked out into the distance, and indeed saw a pirate ship braving the wind and waves, shrouded by the storm.


    No, not just one!


    But a dense mass of them, at least dozens.


    Upon closer inspection, the sails of the ships within the storm were ragged, and their hulls peppered with holes, looking utterly dpidated. Under the shes of lightning, these battered vessels were covered in a strange halo of light, like... Ghost Ships.


    "Ghost Fleet!"


    "My God... We''ve actually encountered the Ghost Fleet!"


    "This is bad, the Ghost Fleet is heading for us, steer clear!"


    "..."


    The sight caused a change of color in everyone on deck.


    Legends of "Ghost Ships" were rampant on these seas, and almost every version was an ill omen.


    But what went unnoticed was the single eyess on Su Lun''s left eye in the captain''s quarters reflecting a gleam.


    The cursed object "Robert''s Single Eyess" could create realistic illusions, and naturally, these Ghost Ships were just that.


    Su Lun figured that with such a favorable stormy setting, adding some Ghost Ships would be right on theme.


    It would also disguise any noise made by the approach of the "Dawn Group."


    ...


    The waves surging around the ship were gettingrger, with several-meter-high breakers fiercely rocking the vessel.


    Now faced with both a storm and the "Ghost Fleet," thatmunications officer naturally couldn''t press Banner to disembark anymore.


    In the face of nature''s fury, human effort seemed so insignificant.


    The ships could only drift and bob with the waves, how could they maintain the original formation?


    The neenth squad''s vessels also drifted away quietly in the tumult.


    The Ghost Fleet was clearly charging toward the "Princess Fleet," but the Commander was decisive, barking an order through themunicator: "Fire!"


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom...


    The sound of a hundred cannons firing in unison came from the ships ahead, the sound of their gunfire even drowning out the thunder, deafening.


    "Now''s the time!"


    It was then that Su Lun''s pupils suddenly dted, his hands grasped at the air and with a sharp tug, the numerous [War Fog Grenades] prepared on the ship instantly exploded.


    Cannon reloading required time, but the War Fog took but an instant to envelop arge area.


    "Damn it, what are you doing, nning a mutiny!"


    From the deck came the exasperated and furious shout of the courier, but the voice suddenly cut off.


    The very next second after Su Lun made his move, with the ck sickle in hand, he swung down, and a rift in space fell, iming a head.


    Su Lun took action, and Banner on the deck decisively gave themand, "Yang Fan, take the helm and head south! Everyone,unch the war fog!"


    Although the crew didn''t understand what was happening, most of them were veterans of the "Steam faction" with absolute trust in Banner. Upon hearing the order, they began to busy themselves amidst the fog.


    On the sea surface, more and more "Fog Bombs" were beingunched, and the scope of the fog was increasing.


    ...


    "Team neen, what''s the situation on your side!"


    "Stop right now, or we''ll open fire!"


    "..."


    The exasperated voice of the Commander came from themunicator.


    Banner didn''t respond, knowing they must have guessed that they were trying to escape.


    Moreover, this escape obviously had a trick to it. As long as the Mafa people weren''t foolish, they would also immediately guess that they indeed held the "neural mechanical technology"!


    Knowing that the technology was onboard, they naturally wouldn''t bomb them indiscriminately.


    If the technical personnel were sted to death, this top-secret technology would truly be missed.


    Soon, Su Lun heard the sound of a second round of cannon fire. The sts sounded significant, but judging by the trajectory of the cannonballs, most were aimed too high and shot towards the distance.


    This was merely a chaotic warning salvo.


    Seeing this, Su Lun also breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that the other side hadn''t guessed and would send a barrage of fire.


    Since they dared not bombard them, they took no notice and continued at full speed.


    The defensive and offensive capabilities of their mechanically-refitted battleship far surpassed the pirate ships of Team Neen by numerous times, but the only drawback was its speed. The storm and the waves disrupted the formation, which also increased the distance between the two sides.


    The battle had begun, and both Su Lun and Dr. Banks hade up to the deck. They watched the raging sea intently, as if trying to capture something.


    If the ship could not be caught up to, then submarines would surely be dispatched.


    The storm had much less impact on submarines underwater.


    Dr. Banks said solemnly, "Mechanical submarines should appear soon."


    Everything was proceeding ording to n, but the most dangerous situation was approaching.


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun nodded, indifferent as he took out several scrolls and smashed them towards the water''s surface. pping his hands together, the sorcerer''s seals instantaneously congealed. Purple spatial runes appeared, and six ss jars materialized out of thin air.


    With a "crack," the ss shattered, and several mechanical octopuses crashed into the water.


    In the water, Su Lun''s "Soul Tentacles" could only control within a limited range, so he had to wait quietly for the enemy toe.


    ...


    The sea churned with the wind howling violently. Su Lun, holding a ck umbre and dressed in a raincoat, watched the sea surface with detachment in the pouring rain.


    Dr. Banks stood by, fully on guard.


    Although he dislikedbat, that didn''t mean hecked fighting ability. A mysterious force kept the rain an inch away from his body, unable to touch him.


    "They''re here!"


    Su Lun''s eyes narrowed.


    Because at that moment, dozens of human souls emerged from the seabed into his perception range.


    It probably wasn''t the "secret research base," but... they''d capture whatever it was first!


    It wasn''t long before structures resembling shark fins appeared on the surface, and themunicator ryed another warning: "Team neen, you are now ordered to stop immediately, or we will sink your ships at once!"


    Hearing the warning, Su Lun and Dr. Banks didn''t show the slightest intention of heeding it, continuing their frantic escape instead.


    They were certain that the other party wouldn''t open fire and sink them, so now it was about running as far away as possible.


    The greater the distance they put between themselves and the "Princess," the smaller the danger would be.


    As they had anticipated, despite repeated warnings, the submarine neverunched a torpedo, only doggedly gave chase.


    Su Lun wasn''t sure if there was any high-tierbat power aboard the submarine chasing them, so he refrained from acting.


    He wanted to wait until a thousand threads were close enough.


    However, Su Lun had underestimated the technology of Mafa.


    The guys didn''t dareunch a torpedo to destroy them, but they didunch something even more exaggerated than a torpedo.


    A "whoosh" sound echoed.


    Something resembling a torpedo shot out of the water.


    Su Lun saw the trajectory of the projectile.


    But he thought it was just a warning shot.


    Because the torpedo''s trajectory wasn''t aimed at their ship at all, it was off by tens of meters.


    But in the very next moment, the torpedo left the water with a "boom," and suddenly exploded in mid-air.


    There was a sh of light, no violent explosion, but a visible shockwave expanded rapidly from the center of the explosion like lightning.@@novelbin@@


    The shockwave swept across the entire sea surface in an instant, and the ships of the 19th Fleet were also affected, shattering all the bulletproof ss into pieces.


    Su Lun had anticipated the explosion and Rune Vajra had readied its defenses. But when the shockwave hit, what surprised him was that the shockwave seemed to have no effect on human bodies?


    It was then that he realized this wasn''t an ordinary gunpowder bomb, but a "Shockwave Bomb"!


    "This projectile will directly destroy the ship..."


    Su Lun''s face showed a strange expression.


    This was the first time he had learned of such a projectile in Mafa.


    The ships of the 19th Fleet were just ordinary pirate ships, whether in terms of materials, enchantments, or coatings, they were all quitemon. Hit by this "Shockwave Bomb," the hull swayed in the waves and "crack, crack" sounds of wood breaking could be heard everywhere about the ship.


    "Boss, it''s not looking good, the mast has broken!"


    "Boss, water is leaking into the cabin too!"


    "Oh, heavens, our ship is falling apart. Quick,unch the lifeboats!"


    "..."


    The ship descended into chaos.


    Through themunicator, bad news came one after another.


    Su Lun didn''t need anyone to report; he could already feel the ship starting to capsize, soon to sink into the sea.


    He wasn''t panicky at all and leaped into the sea.


    It was at this moment, he sensed that the submarine was very close to them!


    Su Lun controlled his eight-armed spidernce, and six mechanical octopuses hidden in the sea were instantly activated.


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    The tentacles of the octopuses contracted and extended in the water, allowing them to teleport tens of meters. In the blink of an eye, the six mechanical octopuses were close to the submarine, and with the suction cups on their tentacles, they clung tightly to the hull.


    Then, the various tools on the tentacles began to cut into the hull...


    ...


    The Mafa soldiers aboard the submarine had just been celebrating that a single shot had sunk the ship and were preparing to capture those floating in the sea when they suddenly sensed that something foreign had attached to the hull!


    Just like thest time Su Lun encountered in the Rock Caiman Strait, the mechanical octopus was designed with specialized cutting tools, and the people on the submarine didn''t dare to entangle in the water, rapidly surfacing instead.


    As soon as the submarine''s hull emerged from the water, more than ten soldiers in mechanical armor came out from the submarine''s cabin, intending to deal with the mechanical octopus clinging to the ship.


    But how could Su Lun let them have their way?


    He controlled six mechanical octopuses and in the blink of an eye wrapped around six mechanical warriors.


    Mechanical octopuses naturally restrained mechanical armor. Once adhered to by the tentacles, low-tier mechanical armor had almost no means to break free. In the end, they could only be slowly dismantled by the octopus and killed.


    However, the opponents were well-trained professional soldiers.


    The moment six octopuses clung to six mechas, the other soldiers who were not ensnared, carrying ship-cutter swords, hammers, saws... showed no hesitation out of concern for their equipment, fiercely shing away.


    They struck with such determination that even if it meant killing theirrades, they were intent on eliminating these mechanical octopuses.


    "How decisive!"


    Su Lun felt a sense of admiration in his heart.


    He also guessed that these fellows might be aware of the "mechanical octopus" and had corresponding tactics to deal with it.


    Otherwise, they would definitely not be so decisive.


    But Su Lun only had six finished octopuses in hand, naturally, he would not just watch as his hard-made mechanical octopuses were killed.


    And since he had chosen to take action, he also had his own set of tactics in ce.


    In his hand was another cursed artifact highlypatible with mechanical speech¡ªthe "Xiupunos'' Night Scythe"!


    The octopus had many tentacles, with its most important battle capability being "control." Some tentacles controlled the target while others were attached to the ship''s hull, rendering the mechanical warriors practically immobilized.


    And the Night Scythe''s favorite targets were those that were stationary!


    Hidden behind the wreck of a distant ship, Su Lun watched as the octopus seized control of the targets and decisively raised the dark scythe, "swish" "swish" "swish"... six shes in a second.


    Previously, when he controlled the living dead, the best one could barely make three to five shes before copsing.


    But now that he had reached the understanding required to utilize the Death rule, such sh attacks werepletely free of any curse bacsh, ready at hand.


    With six sharp shes, six spatial rifts appeared not far away.


    Even a fifth or sixth-tier professional would find it difficult to break through the "Lieutenant Colonel" and "Colonel" level mechanical armor, which were instantly severed at the neck.


    Then four of them triggered their self-destruct mechanism and exploded into a burst of mes.


    Su Lun felt a twinge of pain as he watched, thinking to himself, "It''s a pity they blew up..."


    Each piece of Mafa officer-level armor had a unique self-destruct device. It wasn''t located in the same position; any external damage triggered an immediate self-destruction.


    The two that didn''t explode were probably because their triggers were not on the neck.


    Su Lun watched his "spoils of war" get destroyed, and although pained, he was not idle.


    Since he was controlling all the mechanical octopuses alone, there was no issue of coordination whatsoever.


    After he killed the six Mafa soldiers, without any gap, the mechanical octopuses detached and swiftly reattached to another six.


    Then it was the same tactic again: adhering, controlling, the Night Scythe shing swiftly.


    Using this method, Su Lun had killed all the mecha warriors, over ten of them, who had emerged from the hangar in an extremely short amount of time.


    The rhythm of this battle was almost exactly as he had previously rehearsed.


    But Su Lun was not the least bitcent; he watched the mechanical submarine that was about to be cut open with a grave expression.


    Because... he knew the most troublesome opponent was about toe out!


    ...


    In the past few days, Su Lun had also gathered some intelligence: the highestmander aboard a Mafa Empire standard submarine typically held the rank of "Commodore."


    That also meant the equipment was of a "Commodore-ss" Mecha, roughly equivalent to thebat power of a fifth-tier professional.


    And "Commodore-ss" was a watershed for Mafa military Mecha.


    Below this specification, the attacks were almost all "physical attacks," which Su Lun could easily deal with;


    But the Mecha above it possessed some truly magical abilities. For example, "Brigadier-ss" Mecha, even in top-tier professionalbat, performed very strongly.


    Given the special identity of the "Princess of Frost Moon," Su Lun dared not be certain about the military rank of the submarine captain in her protector team but guessed it was highly likely to be "high-spec."


    As expected.


    It was after Su Lun had killed more than ten men emerging from storage in two or three encounters that the people in the cabin also came to their senses and immediately more than ten Mecha warriors charged out.


    This time, a formidable enemy came!


    The leader, d in fiery red mechanical armor, was instantly recognized by Su Lun for his rank, as well as the model marked on his armor ¡ª "Brigadier-ss Demon de X1 Mecha!"


    "So it''s ''Brigadier-ss'' after all!"


    Su Lun''s gaze turned icy.


    Meaning, this guy had at least thebat power of a regr sixth-tier professional!


    The moment this guy appeared, he drew a mechanical sword from his hand, flowing with magma.


    The name disyed by the identification was "Magical Energy Magma Python Knife"!


    Before Su Lun could think further, he watched the man raise his hand and sh down with the knife.


    A miraculous scene unfolded, the crimson sword didn''t sh down but softened like a whip,shing toward a mechanical octopus not far away!


    "A whip?"


    Su Lun watched, his face suddenly pale.


    With a "whoosh" of air breaking, before he could have the mechanical octopus dodge, the crimson whip struck the octopus.


    It was like metal meeting strong acid, Su Lun watched as the whip rapidly corroded the enchanted ting on the octopus''s mechanical tentacles, then swiftly ate away at the runes.


    After a brief struggle, Su Lun could no longer feel the nerve signals from that part of the octopus''s limb.


    This one strike had directly "crippled" a mechanical octopus.


    "So powerful."


    Su Lun watched, his eyelids twitching.


    He only had six octopuses; how could they withstand such treatment?


    At this encounter, he controlled the remaining five octopuses to jump into the water, not daring to linger for battle.


    Almost at the same time, Su Lun watched as that "Brigadier" turned his gaze toward him.


    Clearly, this guy had just seen Su Lun use his ck scythe to kill his subordinates on the ship!


    Su Lun felt a tingle on his scalp as he was stared at.


    However... it wouldn''t be easy for this guy to kill him.


    Su Lun wanted to find a chance to avoid him first.


    But just then, from the distant sea surface, a series of "pop", "pop", "pop" came as air burst.


    ncing sideways, a teleporting swordsman running wildly from the sea surface with wind and thunder approached.


    Behind her, a raging sea of thunder surged, as the six-armed Rakshasa shadow''s three thunder drums activated a sky full of thunder, extravagantly exaggerated to the extreme.


    If not Lei, then who could it be?

 Chapter 358 Listening to the Voice of Sea Beasts

    Su Lun had guessed earlier that the submarine might not be able to handle elite generals.


    But it wouldn''t be someone too high-ranking, at most a "Commodore."


    After all, top-ranking generals like "General Stars" were few in the Mafa Empire, and their mechanical power armors were strategic-level resources that almost never left the country as a "dowry."


    Moreover, the noble pageantry had a set of fixed rules that had continued for thousands of years, especially for the royal family. The pageantry was also fixed.


    Princes had the pageantry of princes, and princesses had the pageantry of princesses, one must not overstep their bounds.


    Simply put, the Thirteenth Princess, Scatty Harris, didn''t qualify to have a "Commodore" level high-ranking general as part of her dowry.


    Su Lun was sure of this, and that''s why he hade up with his current n.


    The original n was, if it was a "Brigadier General," then he could kill.


    If it was a "Commodore," they would probably have to retreat.


    Although Qian Tiao had entered the realm of the Sword Saint and her sword skills were exquisite, she was only Fifth Order. If it really came to a fight, the difference in power from a higher order was not so easily erased.


    And mechanical power armor was essentially the nemesis of sword fighters.


    Just like right now.


    ...


    Qian Tiao had made her entrance, countering themodore-level officer with an iparably domineering stance.


    But even though her Sword Qi was sharp, able to split the sea surface with a hundred-meter long Sword Qi and even sever the waves, it left practically no mark when it fell on that set of "Commodore level de X1 Type Mechanical Power Armor."


    The mechanical armor had ayer of dissolution barrier on its surface, able to visibly dissolve any energy attacks.


    The Magic Energy Magma Whip in the Mecha''s hands was also incredibly sharp, capable of crippling mechanical octopuses with a singlesh, let alone the flesh and blood of humans.


    And this set of "Commodore level" armor wasn''t an ounce awkward like low-tier armors. Its magic energy power system had almost no charge-up dy, its action interval was extremely short, and it was very agile. Even the slight rigidity, inherent to all mechanical devices that cannot be eliminated, was offset by its strong defensive and offensive capabilities.


    The mechanical armor''s super defensive advantage was here.


    It could take a beating for a long time, but you shouldn''t let it hit you.


    Onesh, one blow to the soul.


    Qian Tiao could head-on sh with the armor, but she also had to dodge the whip.


    A few encounters and exchanges, and she didn''t gain any advantage.


    Facing such an opponent, Su Lun used all his means. If they ganged up on it, they could have a chance to kill, but it would take a significant amount of time.


    Unfortunately, the "Princess" and its eight escort ships were all nearby, and there was simply no time for a protracted battle.


    They had to retreat first!


    Su Lun watched the fierce battle ahead, his eyes shifted, and he immediately came up with a n.


    He didn''t go to help Qian Tiao, but instead, controlled the mechanical octopus and headed for the submarine!


    Without that "Commodore level" armor, other mechanical soldiers were almost all easy to control and finish with one cut for Su Lun.


    Moreover, Su Lun''s ck scythe posed a significant threat to the submarine.


    No matter how sturdy the steel armor was, before a spatial rift, it was like cutting through butter.


    The "Commodore" seemed to realize this as well.


    Watching as Su Lun killed two more of his subordinates, he didn''t dare to tangle any more and charged straight at Su Lun, trying to restrain him. As soon as Qian Tiao entered, this guy was also clearly aware that relying on just one warship, self-preservation was difficult, let alone keeping people. Not feasible, the already damaged submarine also got the order to dive quickly.


    Su Lun squinted at the diving submarine. He was confident that he could sink the ship.


    He had Spatial Discement, so catching up was not difficult.


    But as this thought shed through his mind, it was reced by another, better n.


    Even if he sunk it now, he had no time to salvage.


    When "Princess" arrived, they still had to leave.


    And besides, the submarine was a warship, not that "secret mechanical research facility."


    Just securing this submarine wouldn''t satisfy his appetite.


    With his thoughts shing, Su Lun watched the submarine dive into the sea and didn''t pursue it, but pretended to be tied up and together with Qian Tiao, they continued to oppose the "Commodore."


    Lower-tier professionals couldn''t interfere with a battle of this level, so Su Lun informed Dr. Banks to have the lower-order crew members underwater leave first. In a blink, the battle on the sea surface was left with just "general versus general."


    To deal with mechanical soldiers, Su Lun had no intention of depleting the few puppets he had.


    He took out his rune ck umbre, pinched the sorcerer''s seals with both hands, and a dense throng of red Spiritual Bodies enveloped by a furious will emerged in a surge. There were nearly a hundred thousand vengeful spirits in the rune ck umbre, and these resentments could continuously attack the target.


    Su Lun had personally experienced the super-powerful "Necromancy Spell Pration" of the ck sh. He knew full well that even though the mechanical armor had inspiring alloy that could resist most mental attacks, the persistent attacks of the vengeful spirits would increasingly affect the person inside the armor.


    And since vengeful spirits were immune to all physical attacks, not even the "Magical Energy Magma Python Knife" could hurt them.


    If it really came down to attrition, once the "Commodore" was mentally controlled and reacted even a bit slower, Su Lun could immediately kill with his ck scythe!


    Su Lun also figured out that the "Commodore" was trying to dy them, waiting for the main force toe and surround them.


    But they had no intention of fighting a prolonged battle.


    He and Qian Tiao kept up the fight while leading the person into the depths of the storm.


    ```


    The "Commodore" kept his distance all along. After probing, he also understood the limited attack range of Su Lun; the grudge spirits from the ck umbre could cover hundreds of meters around. As long as he didn''t approach that range, he wouldn''t be affected.


    But how could they possibly keep Su Lun, whose teleportation ability on the sea surface was extremely strong, if they didn''t dare to engage in closebat?


    With a simple trick, he and Qian Tiao vanished amidst the raging wind and waves.


    ...


    Soon after, aboard the "Dawn".


    Su Lun and Qian Tiao leaped onto the deck.


    As soon as they boarded the ship, they heard Tanni''s voice overpowering the sound of the torrential rain,manding the sailors to control the sailing ship.


    "Hard to port, we''re going to surge up the waves!"


    "Right, secure the sails, we must harness the storm, not let the storm push us around!"


    "Everyone hold tight, we''re going surfing!"


    "..."


    On the deck, Lolo Tata, the Giant Three Brothers, the Sumo Wrestler, swordsmen... everyone was working in unison, pulling the ropes vigorously, intent on executing everymand with precision.


    Their ship was in the center of the storm with waves tens of meters high, washing over the ship and the crew like water spilled from a bucket.


    Such a storm surge, for the vast majority of sailors, signified a catastrophic weather event that meant death.


    In encountering such weather at sea, there''s usually only one conclusion: "Shipwreck"!


    Yet, under Tanni''smand, the three-masted sailing ship "Dawn" not only didn''t sink, but it surfed the waves smoothly, gliding over the increasingly high swells, performing one astonishing, inconceivable voyage after another.


    Even Su Lun was astounded.


    He used his Octopus Lance to secure himself on the deck, but his center of gravity kept shifting with the tilt of the ship, to the left, to the right, vertically inclined... almost capsizing upside down.


    Lifted by the waves, then plunging from heights, there was also that intense feeling of extreme heaviness and weightlessness as when riding a roller coaster.


    This was Su Lun''s first time experiencing such thrilling navigation.


    Each time the ship felt like it would be overturned by the storm, but at the critical moment, it miraculously rode the next giant wave.


    It was as if... they were notbating a vicious storm.


    But rather, they were beloved children of the ocean, surfing through the storm, revelling with abandon.


    The waves washed over the hull, the "whooshing" sound incessant in their ears.


    The heavy rain soaked them both.


    The blue hair on Qian Tiao''s forehead stuck to her face.


    The recent fight had left her feeling somewhat unfulfilled, but looking at the young man passionately directing in the pilot house, her eyes could not hide her admiration as she remarked, "Su Lun, the navigator you found is quite remarkable."


    "Indeed,"


    Su Lun looked on with sparkling eyes and a satisfied expression.


    He''d anticipated this, but witnessing it firsthand, the shock in his heart was no less intense than Qian Tiao''s.


    When making the battle ns earlier, Su Lun had shared some of his ideas.


    He''d asked Tanni, could he pilot a ship in such extreme storm conditions?


    Tanni had confidently assured him that he could.


    Su Lun had put his full faith in him, handing over the helm of the ship to Tanni.


    In this moment, seeing the confidence in the eyes of the young Naga hybrid, Su Lun knew his trust was well ced.


    Tanni was undoubtedly one of the finest navigators in Pirate City Hastlin, or even across this vast azure ocean.


    Qian Tiao, with the excited expression akin to discovering a treasure,ughed, "Haha... from now on, he''s our ''Dawn Squad''s'' Chief Navigator!"


    ...


    The ship continued to rock violently; Tanni had said that the storm might persist for several more hours.


    In the shared vision of the ck crows, the "Princess" at the edge of the horizon was no longer visible.


    In such a strong storm, the slightest misstep could mean shipwreck. Even if they desired the "neuro-mechanical technology," it''s unlikely that the precious ''Frost Moon Princess'' would recklessly chase after them herself.


    And while there might still be submarines pursuing them, Tanni had already directed the vessel to widen the distance considerably.


    This one wasn''t "cursed by the sea as a hapless fool"; the waves and the storm favored him.


    Wherever Tanni went, the storm followed.


    The ship, boosted by waves and fierce winds, moved as swiftly as an arrow released from a bow; even submarines wouldn''t be able to catch up at this speed.


    The situation looked perilous, but the most dangerous moments had already been passed.


    ...


    With Tanni and the crew maneuvering the ship, and Qian Tiao staying on deck, there was no need for Su Lun to worry, so he walked into the captain''s quarters.


    There, Dr. Banks, ''The Butcher'' Banner, and some of the core members of Squad 19 had already been waiting for a while. Although many members had been scattered at sea, this was already the best oue. Those who were separated had been prepared with life-saving equipment. After the storm, they would just slowly gather them up in this sea region.


    Dr. Banks, seeing Su Lun''s safe return, also let out a sigh of relief.


    ```


    Su Lun didn''t ask anything else and directly asked with anticipation, "Doctor, is the marking done?"


    Dr. Banks smiled and said, "No problem. I''ve marked that submarine with a bio-marker. No matter how far away they are, I can sense the position of their fleet."


    Hearing this, a pleased expression appeared on Su Lun''s face, and he let out a long sigh of relief, "All our effort wasn''t in vain."


    Previously, Su Lun actually had the opportunity to sink that submarine, but he chose not to do so.


    The n was to let the prey travel further away to catch a bigger fish.


    The sess of this tactic was rted to one of Dr. Banks''s abilities. He could mark objects with "Eternal Cells". As the "parent body", he could sense the exact location of those cells.


    Conventional magical markings or other device markings can easily be detected and removed in the military field.


    However, this kind of biological marking is very secretive, like microorganisms clinging to the hull, virtually undetectable.


    Thus, Su Lun and his team could constantly monitor the position of the escaping submarine.


    If the "secret mechanical research institute" was indeed located in a submarine as Su Lun suspected, then such an important base would certainly have protective forces.


    Surface ships are too conspicuous targets; submarines are the best choice.


    The number of these submarinesing from the Mafa Empire, the "Frost Moon Princess" Scatty, wouldn''t be too many.


    So... the chances were high they would be together.


    As long as the position could be confirmed, once Su Lun''s octopus legion was formed, the sess rate for the next interception would be very high!


    ....


    Su Lun watched the magic crystalmp in the captain''s cabin shake violently for a long time, and finally, after two hours, the waves subsided.


    Sunlight pierced through the dark clouds, shining down on the deck.


    The storm had washed the ship, giving it a fresh, shiny appearance.


    Su Lun and Dr. Banks walked onto the deck, and when the crew saw them, they greeted them one after another.


    At that moment, Tanni also jumped down from the mast andnded on the deck, saying, "Mr. Su Lun!"


    Su Lun looked at the person who had contributed the most to the sess of this operation and smiled, "Tanni, you''ve worked hard. Your navigation skills are really great."


    Hearing the praise, Tanni bashfully turned his head, but his clear, pale blue eyes lit up with an inspired luster.


    This wasn''t his first time steering a ship, but it was the only time it had gone so smoothly.


    On such a huge sea vessel, everyone trusted him, followed hismands... No one looked at him differently because he was the "sea-cursed misfortune," nor did anyone look down on him for his youthful appearance.


    He felt a strong sense of... being trusted!


    By his side, Qiantiao also patted Tanni''s shoulder and said, "Tanni, you did well. From now on, you''re our Dawn Group''s navigator!" Read new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    As soon as Qiantiao spoke, he formally acknowledged the new crew member''s status.


    Hearing this, the sailors on board cheered, praising and weing the new member to their ranks.


    "Wee our new group member, an excellent navigator!"


    "Oh, I can''t believe we''ve just sailed out of such a disastrous storm ''without a scratch''! Hahaha..."


    "Tanni is the most impressive navigator I''ve ever seen!"


    "Yeah. It''s really amazing!"


    "..."


    The crew members were generous with their praise,


    Tanni, looking at those warm, family-like smiling faces, felt warmth in his heart. His eyes welled up with tears as he said excitedly, "Thank you, Mr. Su Lun, thank you, Sister Qiantiao, thank you, everyone..."


    He hade to Pirate City when he was very young, and because he was a hybrid of a sea demon and a human, he was always discriminated against and excluded.@@novelbin@@


    He was even called the "sea-cursed misfortune."


    Before she could talk, his mother told him to live well, for destiny would be kind to everyone who faced life positively.


    So, he had always tried to live on.


    Even though his mother hadpletely turned to stone and hadn''t spoken for many years,


    he still remembered his mother''s words.


    He had always lived actively and optimistically, earning money and diligently learning navigation skills...


    His dream was that one day, he would have his ownpanions, steering their own great sea ship, exploring every corner of the ocean.


    As Tanni thought about these things, tears suddenly filled his eyes and began to flow uncontrobly.


    He had never encountered such amicable people; everyone was full of goodwill, and for the first time, he experienced respect and equality. That feeling was wondrous, like the warm sunshine after a storm, warming his heart.


    It was not like the deceitful, depressing, and dark atmosphere of Pirate City.


    At that moment, he saw the beauty of the world.


    Seeing Tanni burst into tears, Lolota handed him a handkerchief, teasingly smiling, "Here... this is for you. Our teary-eyed navigator."


    "Thank you, Miss Lolota."


    Tanni epted it, smiled shyly, and looked quiteical with tears still hanging at the corner of his eyes.


    Qian Tiao also couldn''t help but chuckle. She smiled and then introduced, "This is Mr. Banner. Many people on the ship should recognize him, from the Old Lington Steam Party. Now, he and his team members are also part of our Dawn Group!"


    With that, the ship immediately became lively.


    "Wow...wee, old friends from the Steam Party."


    "..."


    Most of those who came from the Steam Party and the Cross Society were high-level officials, and many knew each other. Meeting on the ship felt like "old friends in a foreignnd," so no one felt like an outsider.


    Qian Tiao didn''t introduce Dr. Banks; that was the doctor''s own preference.


    Even now, as a member of the "Dawn Group," he didn''t want his presence known and preferred to quietly engage in scientific research.


    ....


    The escape n was perfect.


    Almost every detail unfolded as Su Lun had previously anticipated.


    Now, their task was to follow the bio-markers and distress signals left by Dr. Banks and slowly salvage the crew members previously scattered at sea.


    The sea was calm, and the ship sailed unhurriedly on the ocean surface.


    The sky had cleared and was cloudless.


    On the sea, the "Princess" fleet hadpletely vanished, and the previous tension had entirely dissipated.


    Qian Tiao stood on the mast enjoying the sea breeze, Dr. Banks was holed up in the cabin tinkering with hisboratory, Lolota practiced her swordsmanship as diligently as ever, and Banner and his brothers were working hard to integrate into this new team...


    The Dawn Group had weed some new members, and everyone was very happy.


    Su Lun basked in the sun on the deck, enjoying the rare leisure time.


    But suddenly, Tanni jumped down from the mast.


    With a puzzled look on his face, he said, "Mr. Su Lun, I''ve noticed something and need to report to you."


    Su Lun looked at him and asked, "What is it?"


    Tanni frowned and said, "There seems to be something very strange in the water."


    Hearing this, Su Lun was puzzled and instinctively asked back, "Strange creatures in the water?"


    The others on the ship also looked over.


    "Yes."


    Tanni hesitated for a moment, as if recalling some unpleasant memory.


    Seeing the crowd''s kind and curious gazes, he mustered his courage and said, "The fish have noticed something very strange in the sea."


    When Su Lun heard this, something crossed his mind, and he asked, "You... you canmunicate with fish?"


    Tanni nodded and said, "Yes. Since I was young, I''ve been able to understand what little animals say, but it wasn''t something I could always hear. But now, it seems I can hear them all the time."


    He had once told others that he seemed to understand the voices of little animals.


    But the ability was inconsistent, and when he tried to prove it, he would fail to hear them and was ruthlessly mocked for it.


    After that, he never mentioned it again in front of others.


    "Oh."


    Su Lun realized that this might be a natural ability.


    Somewhat like "Innate Ability C-021 - Beast Speaker."


    People are more likely to awaken innate abilities during major ups and downs, or when their state of mind undergoes significant changes.


    However, Su Lun wasn''t sure if this was Tanni''s innate ability.


    Because he could also passively attract storms.


    That was a gift of the naga race, the favorites of the ocean and the storms.


    Still, Su Lun was more curious about something else rather than pursuing that question.


    He asked, "What is it?"


    Tanni organized his thoughts and tried to describe it, "Well... it''s actually been there for a while. It seems like ''eel,'' ''multi-tailed sea snakes,'' ''octopus,'' or some other tentacled sea creature. But ''they'' shouldn''t be in these waters, and now, it seems like they are following us."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun''s gaze turned sharp instantly.


    Some studies suggest marine life have an exceptionally strong perceptive ability, in certain aspects even stronger than human sensory professionals. When strange thingse into a marine area, the fish are the first to know.


    Tanni didn''t know what they were, but Su Lun did.


    From the description, he immediately realized there were other mechanical octopuses under the sea!


    Su Lun asked, "How many of these creatures are there?"


    Tanni replied, "At least several dozen."


    "That many?"


    Hearing that, Su Lun was not worried but instead delighted.


    He hadn''t snagged the ''Frost Moon Princess'' dowry submarine ¨C was Duke Raphael nning topensate him with some mechanical octopuses?

 Chapter 359 Great Harvest

    Su Lun really felt like he had struck gold.


    Not only was Tanni one of the best sailing masters in Pirate City, but the ability he now disyed to "listen to the voices of sea creatures" was also a great help to the Dawn Group.


    Otherwise, without realizing it, Su Lun would not have noticed that they were being watched.


    The mechanical octopuses acted very covertly in the sea, as they possessed the soul fluctuations and some life characteristics of normal octopuses, making it difficult to distinguish them from regr octopuses unless seen with one''s own eyes, even for practitioners with sensory abilities.


    With these advantages, they were easily overlooked in the deep sea areas dense with marine life.


    But as for the tracking,


    with a little thought,


    Su Lun knew that these octopuses were probably not originally after them but were more likely following that "Frost Moon Princess" Skadi.


    The alliance between Mafa and the King of the North Sea allowed the pirates to grow swiftly. This greatly impacted several major nobles whose dominionsy within the raiding range of the North Sea Fleet, with Duke Rafael at the forefront.


    Thus, if there was a chance, the person with the most motive to assassinate the princess would definitely be Duke Rafael.


    But now the assassin, instead of following the "Princess," turned to follow the Dawn Group, and Su Lun guessed it was probably because of the mechanical octopuses that appeared during the recent battle. That individual hiding in the sea wanted to figure out exactly what was going on.


    After all, the princess could be ambushed at another opportunity.


    But Duke Rafael''s exclusive techniques must not fall into the hands of outsiders!


    ...


    Now that they knew they were being tracked, naturally, they had to flush out the tracker.


    Moreover, considering the situation with the Dawn vessel, they couldn''t shake the pursuit even if they wanted to.


    "It won''t be easy to lure that guy out..."


    Su Lun listened to the position described by Tanni, where that individual was hiding in the deep sea, far away and very cautious.


    That person probably didn''t surface because they weren''t confident they could take down everyone on their ship.


    With Tanni''s ability tomunicate with schools of fish, they could indeed confirm some of the mechanical octopuses'' positions.


    But since they were constantly on the move, capturing them urately was difficult.


    It would be rash to dive into the sea, and there might not be any results.


    If they struck at the snake without killing it, it would lead to big problemster on.


    The key issue was that they weren''t sure where the "controller" was.


    Once Tanni brought this up, many people on the ship started paying attention.


    Even Qian Tiao cast an inquiring look, clearly asking: Are we going to make a move?


    Su Lun shook his head, not intending to startle the snake.


    He raised his hand to signal that everyone should keep doing what they were doing.


    Seeing this gesture from him, the crew also understood tacitly, and no one asked out of curiosity.


    Meanwhile, Su Lun''s mind was rapidly considering strategies.


    In his head, he reviewed all the scenes after leaving Pirate City, reenacting the entire process from the beginning and pondering, "Since that person has been trailing us until now, they must have some special way to keep track of the ''Princess.'' Either there is an insider, some special positioning ability, or it might be a mystic''s power like divination or prophecy..."


    Su Lun ruled out various possibilities one by one.


    The Royal Guard of the "Frost Moon Princess" consisted of elites; tracking them without being noticed was difficult.


    Furthermore, there were submarines in the water, and even with mechanical octopuses, constant close tracking seemed unlikely.


    If they were too far, then how were they managing to follow without losing track?


    Mystic divination abilities?


    That would require a highly skilled practitioner, especially since Mafa''s Royal Princess would surely have treasures to prevent divination.


    Moreover, since they were using mechanical octopuses, it''s not likely a traditional alchemist.


    The likelihood of an insider existed, but that chance was small as well.


    For the moment, Su Lun wasn''t certain what means the "controller" used.


    As he pondered, his thoughts drifted away.


    It was at this moment that he faintly heard crew membersmunicating throughmunicators by his ear.


    "First Mate Hays, there''s a distress signal three miles north. It might be a brother who has fallen overboard, should we go take a look?"


    "Alright! Turn the rudder!"


    "..."


    At that moment, the "sizzle" of the signal sounded unusually clear in Su Lun''s ears.


    Though the Dawn was notrge, relying on shouting alone was inefficient formunication between the cabin and the deck. Especially in bad weather like they had encountered before, when the sound of wind and waves could drown out human voices, makingmunication ineffective.


    To convey orders urately, almost every ship was equipped with mechanicalmunicators.


    When Su Lun heard this, a sudden brainstorm shed through his mind.


    "Right, themunicators!"


    It was only then he realized he had been neglecting something due to preconceived notions.


    In his hand was a "Dagus Goblin Communicator," which allowed for long-distance securemunication regardless of obstructions.


    Suchmunicators were excellent, but they didn''t have the capacity for mass production.


    Therefore, to equip them widely in the military, they relied on conventional mechanicalmunicators.


    But these mechanicalmunicators had a fatal w; all their channels were open. Themunication waves would propagate indiscriminately within a certain range, which could potentially be intercepted and decoded by others.


    Even the advancedmunication devices of Ruying and Mafa military couldn''t avoid this issue.


    Su Lun''s eyes shifted as he guessed in his mind, "That guy must have some ability to decipher and capturemunication signals, which is how he located the ''Royal Princess''..."


    Suddenly, he felt like he had a way to lure that guy out.


    The n formed in his mind in an instant.


    Su Lun signaled to Qian Tiao, then took out the ship''smunicator and pondered before saying, "Hey, Captain, no joke, those six mechanical octopuses you got this time are really useful. We almost took out those Mafa submarines..."


    A glint flickered in Qian Tiao''s eyes, and he immediately understood, following up with, "That''s for sure."


    Su Lun continued, "Ah, if ''Old Ghost'' could get us a few more, we wouldn''t have let that submarine get away."


    As the conversation reached this point, Qian Tiao had guessed what Su Lun was up to and added, "Duke Rafael''sboratory isn''t that easy to get in and out of. Getting these mechanical octopuses was already tough enough."


    Su Lun said, "The folks from the Royal family of Luying are offering a reward on the ck market for information, and they''re willing to spend a lot of money to buy these ''mechanical octopuses.'' Even if we sold them in bulk, we could make a fortune. I heard that our mechanical octopus blueprints could be traded for at least the title of a ''hereditary marquis,'' not to mention we''ve got three of thetest ''experimental grade'' products. I''m thinking, when we get back, we should have a chat with those military intelligence guys from Luying. Oh, right! The Mafa folks would definitely want them too. When the timees, we can negotiate with both sides, get a good price..."


    Qian Tiao knew that Su Lun was trying to lure out the enemy and agreed, "Yeah, let''s decide on that. Once we pick up the man overboard, let''s sell the blueprints when we get back. They''re no use to us sitting on them anyway."


    Despite being close by, the two usedmunicators to talk.


    This type of unencrypted channel was almost effortless to eavesdrop on.


    If it was as Su Lun had spected, then their conversation should have already been intercepted.


    If that was the case, it was highly likely that the guy would make his move.


    ...


    There were actually some ws in the conversation between Su Lun and Qian Tiao.


    For instance, why they would fight with the Mafa people, why the blueprints, the mole... these couldn''t withstand scrutiny.


    But he was certain that the "puppeteer" would take the bait.


    Dr. Banks had been the head of an experimental project under Duke Rafael back in Old Lington. So, they were very familiar with the strict confidentiality management system of theboratory.


    Duke Rafael had many secretboratories working on various projects.


    But theboratories were independent of each other and kept secrets from each other.


    Even casually inquiring was considered a serious crime.


    Moreover, to preserve technological confidentiality, the biological department,bat department, and mechanicalboratory werepletely separate entities. There was almost nomunication between members of different departments.


    And since the "puppeteer" hade to the North Sea to perform an assassination, he was almost certainly from thebat department. Hence, he likely had no idea about theboratory''s situation.


    So, he wouldn''t know the specifics about the "mole."


    But the conversation between Su Lun and Qian Tiao would make someone''s imagination run wild!


    Even though three mechanical octopuses had been lost previously in the Rock Caiman Strait, there were six at present. There were also three "Mechanical Octopuses.plus," which were what Su Lun emphasized in the conversation as "thetest products from theboratory."


    The puppeteer definitely didn''t know that there was someone else who had mastered "neuro-mechanical technology."


    Under normal circumstances, even if a mechanical octopus was captured by any power, even if it fell into the hands of the Mafa military headquarters, it was virtually impossible to have them reverse-engineered so quickly.


    In anyone else''s mind, the only reasonable exnation would be that something went wrong within Duke Rafael''sboratory, and things leaked out.


    But none of that mattered.


    What mattered was that there was indeed a problem now, so they had to find a way to mitigate the damage!


    The "puppeteer" couldn''t chance letting Su Lun and his team leave, and couldn''t wait for backup; he had to risk an attack.


    Otherwise, once they returned to Pirate City Hastlein, he would lose any chance of acting.


    Moreover, he was quite confident in his mechanical octopuses.


    If dozens of mechanical octopuses attacked at once, even top professionals would have to keep their distance.


    Even if they couldn''t kill the enemy, damaging the ship in these deserted waters would be enough to wear these people down to death.


    ...


    As expected.


    Shortly after the conversation, Tanni immediately confirmed through the fish in the sea that the group of mechanical octopuses was approaching from underwater.


    Su Lun calmly set up some energy barriers beneath his feet, and as he opened the rune-covered ck umbre in his hand, an invisible force of Soul Perception spread out.


    With Soul Perception, everything was crystal clear.


    Since the enemy was approaching, Su Lun was only then able to perceive clusters of special Soul Fires, which were none other than the mechanical octopuses.


    Among these clusters of Soul Fires, there was one that was particrly distinct.


    The Soul Fire of a human waspletely different from that of an octopus.


    With a quick scan, Su Lun instantly identified the guy, who was the "puppeteer"!


    He quietly shared this information with Qian Tiao and a few others on the ship, including Dr. Banks, who had the strongest fighting capabilities.


    Since the enemy had decided to attack, they were very decisive.


    Just then, the sailors at the ship''s rail also saw shadows rapidly approaching underwater and cried out in rm.


    "Captain, there are monsters in the watering towards us! There''s a lot of them!"


    "Damn it, those tentacled beasts are attacking our ship!"


    "..."


    Most people didn''t understand what was happening, but they could clearly feel the ship''s body shaking violently. A "thud" and "crack" could be hearding from the lower deck.


    These were sounds of the ship being chipped away.


    Mechanical octopuses were known as the ultimate "ship-breaking weapon." Under normal circumstances, two or three mechanical octopuses could dismantle a wooden sailboat in a short amount of time, let alone dozens.


    Just one touch from them, and a three-masted ship started showing signs of capsizing.


    Su Lun looked at the situation without the slightest panic, a hint of joy in his heart: "Thirty-eight? Geez, that''s quite a number..."


    The "Maniptor" didn''t make a move earlier, which means that their strength was just so-so.


    Otherwise, if they were truly confident about taking them down, they would have acted earlier.


    No need to worry too much.


    Just then, Su Lun also captured the location of the Maniptor''s Soul Fire, and with a roar shouted, "Thirty meters underwater, at the nine o''clock direction! Move, grab that guy!"


    "Got it!"


    Upon hearing this, Qian Tiao, Dr. Banks, Banner, and a few of the strongest forces on the ship, leaped into the sea without paying any attention to those mechanical octopuses and swam towards the ocean floor.


    At the same time, Su Lun pinched his Suren Sorcerer''s Seal, and the energy baryte under his feet burst into dazzling light, instantly forming a huge cross in the sky.


    "Puppet Mastery ¡¤ Puppet Theater!"


    The moment the cross in the sky lit up, the transparent strands that had been set up on the ship for a long time had also rapidly condensed into physical form.


    Those mechanical octopuses were busily trying to break the ship.


    Above the sea were churning mechanical tentacles everywhere, making the water look as if it was boiling, extremely terrifying.


    The crew were still fighting valiantly.


    But whether it was swords or sabers striking those mechanical tentacles, aside from a spark, there was hardly any damage.


    Neither musket bullets nor individual bombardments could leave many marks on those mechanical tentacles.


    Facing such cluster attacks from mechanical monsters, the Dawn seemed to be in danger of annihtion.


    The Maniptor probably thought of a "one-hit kill," sinking the ship and killing as many people on board as possible in an instant. That''s why all the mechanical octopuses were concentrated and charged over together.


    Unfortunately for them, there was Su Lun on the ship!


    To exert force, the mechanical octopuses definitely required a solid anchoring point. Each of those tentacles also adhered to the hull, spreading onto the deck, the cabin, the masts...


    It was this kind of close contact that gave Su Lun the opportunity to wrap them with his tendrils.


    The moment those dozens of mechanical octopuses appeared, numerous threads that had already covered the entire ship quickly condensed into solid forms. Like capturing prey that fell into a spider''s web, the octopuses hardly struggled before being tightly entangled.


    Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for Su Lun to control dozens of powerful mechanical beasts with his threads simultaneously.


    Not even the strongest strongman could handle such a feat of strength.


    However, after extensive research and crafting, Su Lun now had aplete understanding of the construction of the mechanical octopuses.


    As the threads wound around them, the [Spiritual Tendrils] skillfully prated the armor joints, finding the octopuses'' nerve tissue. Without much effort, he easily stopped those dozens of mechanical octopuses at the source.


    Though the Dawn was almost destroyed in an instant, the octopuses only acted ferociously for that moment.


    The next second, they were like someone had hit the pause button, staying still on the spot.


    The crew members, who were previously in a state of confusion, were instantly dumbfounded, turning their heads to look at the figure standing on a piece of ship wreckage, their eyes shining brightly.


    The old team members of Dawn, like Lorota, who had seen Su Lun''s abilities, looked at the sky full of threads.


    Their expressions changed from shock to extreme joy.


    "Mr. Su Lun is mighty!"


    "Hahaha... Mr. Su Lun is indeed formidable!"


    "..."


    Who would have thought that a moment ago it was the brink of annihtion, and in the blink of an eye, it was reversed?


    ....


    This scene even had the "Maniptor" dumbfounded.


    The sinking of that pirate ship was as nned, caught by a single encounter.


    But what was going on now?


    He never would have thought that someone could use this method to crack the nearly invincible mechanical octopus legion.


    How could this be...


    They had even defeated the fully-equipped naval ships of Mafa without allowing them any chance to fight back, how could they be defeated so easily?


    Before he had any more time to think, his surprise turned into horror as a sword qi charged with the force of thunder shed directly at him.


    He saw several figures rushing towards the location where he was hiding!


    Every time, he had controlled the mechanical octopus legion from within the sea, never being exposed before. How did these people ascertain his hiding ce?


    ...


    If the enemy''s trace wasn''t discovered, it would be fine, but once found, how could they allow their target to escape?


    The methods of Qian Tiao and the others were extremely sharp, there was no chance they would let him escape, even in the sea.


    Moreover, after Su Lun took control of the mechanical octopuses, he quickly "turned" the group of octopuses and cornered the Maniptor in the water.


    Before long, the fellow was cornered with no way out and was killed by a single strike from Qian Tiao.


    This guy was a "Super Mechanical Warrior," and as expected, his ownbat ability was around the level of someone with a fourth or fifth-order profession.


    However, his mechanical limbs were a bit special with fins on his arms and legs, equipped with a delicately designed [Mechanical Aqua-lung] enabling long periods of underwater swimming and strong concealment abilities. And as expected, a [Communicator Decrypter] was also found on his person.


    As for prisoners?


    They weren''t needed.


    Su Lun had the ability to strip Soul Shards.


    He devoured the gray mist on the corpse, selecting the information he was interested in.


    ''You have stripped the soul of ''Sid Haivent.''


    ''You have gained experience rted to the maintenance, repair, and upkeep of mechanical octopuses.''


    "You have acquired arge amount of knowledge about mechanical warriors, mechanical experience +554"


    "You have harvested a portion of the organizational structure, secret codes, and strength distribution from the memories of Duke Raphael''s special legion"


    "You extracted some information: ''One of Duke Rafael''srge secret bases is located near ''Prospector Sea Ind'', specializing in the manufacturing of mechanical creatures''..."


    "Spiritual Power +4.1"


    "..."


    ...


    "The base where Duke Raphael manufactures mechanical octopuses is near a ce called ''Prospector Pirate City'', in the Nameless Wastnd Sea to the west of the ck tower?"


    After Su Lun harvested this guy''s memories, he immediately became spirited.


    It seems that this time, it''s not just about harvesting a few dozen mechanical octopuses, but also about uncovering a bigger secret?


    These mechanical warriors have been imprinted with an absolute loyalty "thought steel stamp" in their consciousness since they were produced. No matter how they are tortured or even hypnotized, they would not reveal any secrets.


    But Su Lun''s soul separation technique directly bypassed those will barriers and peeled away this big secret.


    "Finally, I know where Duke Raphael''s secret factory is..."


    Su Lun''s thoughts immediately became more active.


    Arge research base means arge amount of materials, advanced mechanical equipment, numerous research documents, finished products, semi-finished products...


    "Damn, bing a pirate makes my brain reflexively think of one thing, to rob?"


    In an instant, Su Lun even came up with some battle ns in his mind.


    Apletely isted military base... That means, as much as possible, it''s something outsiders should know little about, so its defenses may not be particrly strong.


    Was it like the former Old Spiriton Underground City?


    Although the intelligence from inside the base isn''t detailed, perhaps... some maniptions could be made?


    While Su Lun''s thoughts were rapidly turning, his teammates in the distance also started to mor.


    A surprise attack battle had ended without much danger, with hardly any casualties.


    But the problem was, during the recent battle, their ship had been turned into pieces by the mechanical octopus.


    Fragments floated everywhere on the sea surface, with some crew members on lifeboats, others clinging to barrels, masts floating around, looking both miserable and ludicrous.


    "Captain Qiantiao, our warship is destroyed, what should we do now?"


    "Yeah, this is the Nameless Wastnd Sea, hardly any ships pass by, and it''s almost certain we can''t get back on lifeboats. Themunicator''s signal is too far, we can''t call for help..."


    "Oh~ This is really bad, are we going to feed the sharks together with our mighty captain?"


    "..."


    The crew members weren''t particrly pessimistic, actually somewhat delighted in their misfortune, taking after Qiantiao''s heartiness.


    Hearing her crew''s self-deprecating jokes, Qiantiao rolled her eyes.


    She looked at Su Lun again and asked, "Su Lun kid, you should have some preparations, right?"


    She was very clear about Su Lun''s personality. Since he took action, he must have anticipated this oue.


    Upon hearing this, Dr. Banks also cast an inquiring look at him.


    On the sea without a ship is a terrible situation indeed.


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    Su Lun spread his hands and said, "I do have some preparations indeed. But it will take some time."


    Hearing his words, the members of the Dawn Team all let out a sigh of relief.@@novelbin@@


    This Mr. Su Lun, every time in desperate circumstances, could bring them a great surprise.


    At the same time, they also wondered, with no ship left, what could be done?


    Even if he had spatial storage, at most, he could take out a few small lifeboats, which wouldn''t solve the problem at all.


    Su Lun didn''t exin further. He took a deep breath, pinched the sorcerer''s seals, and a ck hole slowly formed in the palm of his hand.


    Indeed, this was the sorcerer''s seals to unlock the fourth-tier armament [Endless Stomach of the Space Whale].


    With such a huge storage space, Su Lun naturally wouldn''t waste it.


    He anticipated possible contingencies, so he crammed all sorts of odd items into the space ¨C mostlyrge objects that didn''t fit in his regr storage space.


    The biggest of these was... an entire three-masted sailing ship with a discement of nearly a thousand tons!


    It was indeed possible to store it.


    But whether it was storing the ship or releasing it now, both processes were extremely draining.


    Su Lun''s Spatial Ability was like an ant dragging an elephant. Just opening the "miniature void world" already felt like his dark Spiritual Power was being drained by half.


    With no other choice, he took out a pile of Energy Baryte, absorbing it while continuing to pour Dark Spiritual Power into it, erging the ck hole enough for the ship toe out.


    ...


    The Dawn Team''s crew members watched the eerie spatial ck hole appear, not understanding at first what Su Lun was up to.


    They gathered the floating items from the sea, watching with interest.


    However, when a huge three-masted sailing ship slowly emerged from the ck hole...


    All their gazes froze.


    Nobody expected Su Lun to be carrying a warship with him!


    Qiantiao, with sparkling eyes full of surprise, murmured to herself, "This kid really dide prepared..."


    Even theposed Dr. Banks looked astounded, saying in disbelief, "That... is indeed an extravagant preparation."

 Chapter 361 360

    Under the astonished gazes of everyone around, Su Lun conjured a three-masted sailing ship out of thin air.


    No longer needing to soak in the sea, the crewughed and chattered as they boarded the ship.


    With information from the fish obtained by Tanni, they scoured the nearby waters again and found several more mechanical octopuses.


    With the previous ones included, they had captured a total of forty-three.


    It was truly a bountiful harvest.


    Not counting the cost ofbour and technology, the material cost alone made each mechanical octopus worth more than a hundred million liso.


    This haul of spoils saved Su Lun billions in costs, as well as one or two months of non-stop production time.


    And now, with a small army of mechanical octopuses, they finally possessed a formidable group fighting force.


    With a total of forty-eight and enough materials left to produce a few more, Su Lun could, like the guy before him, take on a full fleet head-on.


    With these ship-breaking tools, the mechanical octopuses, dozens of them attacking at once, were the nightmare of all warships.


    Su Lun also felt that his once-conceived "Mechanical Puppet Army" was finally showing signs ofing to fruition.


    As for other mechanical monsters, just these mechanical octopuses alone, with another thousand, wouldn''t it be like locusts crossing thend, gods blocking killing gods, demonsing ying demons?


    Although mechanical products performed poorly in the realm of high-level professions, they could still undergo a qualitative change through quantity.


    If a thousand were not enough, then ten thousand...


    Su Lun felt that the future held great promise.


    As for how to acquire ten thousand mechanical octopuses, he already had a "clue."


    Beyond the spoils of war, perhaps the greatest gain this time was that piece of intelligence.


    He had obtained information on Duke Rafael''s secret research base!


    When Qiantiao and the others heard this news, they all said they must seize the opportunity to strike a blow. The people of Old Lington, having been "miners" for generations, harboured some resentment against the mine owners.


    Su Lun also found it feasible.


    After all, they were pirates now!


    What if they managed to raid it and realize the dream of a mechanical army?


    ...


    The Dawn Group had a new ship, which was less conspicuous.


    Even if they encountered the group from the "Frost Moon Princess" again, they wouldn''t be recognized immediately.


    The crew were in high spirits, busy salvaging items from the sunken ships before. They also helped paint and tidy up the cabins. The captains were organizing the crew to find their own cabins in preparation for the celebration after the big battle.


    As the "New Dawn" sailed, they continued to search for crew members lost at sea during the previous storm.


    Su Lun naturally didn''t need to worry about these trivial matters.


    On the deck, he and Qiantiao were enjoying the sea breeze.


    By his side, stood Lolota holding a sword.


    This young girl was now always by her teacher''s side, sensing the profound and mysterious Sword Intent of the "Sword Saint Realm."


    Tanni was silently by Su Lun''s side as well, staring into the sea.


    Enjoying the breeze was one thing, but Su Lun was more interested in seeing if there were a few "fish that slipped through the" still to be caught in the sea.


    Such windfalls from the sky were always wee.


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    After all, who knows how much of Duke Raphael''s influence had infiltrated the area.


    ...


    The excitement on Tanni''s face didn''t fade for a long time.


    This new member of the Dawn Group was incredibly earnest and full of energy. He gazed at the sea, acutely sensing everything around him, listening for the responses of the sea creatures.


    This was Tanni''s first time on arge seafaring vessel, and he felt he couldn''t let everyone down; he had to excel as the Dawn Group''s chief navigator.


    Su Lun watched, a trace of thought flickering in his eyes.


    Today they had encountered two fierce battles in a row, but thanks to their meticulous nning, the Dawn Group did not suffer heavy losses.


    However, the actual process was rife with danger, and one wrong step could have led to theirplete annihtion.


    And in the future, such situations would be moremon.


    The veterans in the group were aware of this, but for a new member, Su Lun thought some things needed to be exined.


    The Dawn Group operated with freedom, with almost no restrictions.


    If someone felt tired, no longer wishing to wander, they would even receive a severance package.


    But since Qiantiao started with those old timers from the "Cross Society," except for those who fell in battle, no one has left.


    Looking at Tanni''s somewhat youthful face, Su Lun decided to speak up, "Tanni, I was too preupied with the battle earlier and didn''t ask for your opinion... By the way, what do you think of our Dawn Group?"


    After all, they hadn''t known each other for too long, and Su Lun''s initial invitation for Tanni was merely a transaction.


    He offered to provide a potion to dy his mother''s petrification in exchange for his cooperation in this unnned venture.


    And because of this right decision, Su Lun saved himself a lot of trouble.


    But throughout, no one had ever asked Tanni whether he truly desired to stay with this team for the long term.


    After all, his identity and background were also somewhat special.


    Upon hearing Su Lun''s words, a look of panic shed across Tanni''s face. Thinking he had done something wrong, he anxiously asked, "Mr. Su Lun, what do you mean by that? Have I done something wrong?"


    When he was with other pirate crews before, he was always ostracized and neglected by those mean-spirited pirates. Especially due to his special "cursed physique," after encountering storms at sea, he would often be disliked and cursed by others.


    At this moment, he thought he had done something wrong.


    After all, if there hadn''t been the previous storm, those sailors wouldn''t have fallen overboard.


    Seeing the unease on his face, Su Lun exined with a smile, "What I mean is, our Dawn crew is not an ordinary pirate crew. In the future, we may do a lot of meaningful things, venture to dangerous ces, and face many battles, just like today''s. The journey ahead will be filled with danger."


    He paused for a moment, then continued, "Although we of the Dawn crew really need an outstanding navigator like you, we must also follow your wishes. This is not a transaction; we need a partner who is willing to live and die together."


    "I am willing!"


    Before the words were even finished, Tanni nodded without hesitation.


    Then he spoke very quickly, "Mr. Su Lun, my dream is to be a navigator, an adventurer! To venture into the great sea, to explore unknown waters, I am not afraid of any danger..."


    As he spoke, he seemed to realize he was getting too excited and with less confidence, he added softly, "If possible, I... I... I want to be everyone''s partner."


    Su Lun listened, a faint smile on his lips, "Hmm."


    He did not speak further, but Lolota, who was beside him, watched Tanni''s cautious demeanor and pped his shoulder carefreely, saying, "Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Navigator, you don''t have to be so formal. Mr. Su Lun is actually very kind and easy to talk to. And look... we are none of those dirty pirate crews. Since we''re partners now, no one on the ship will bully you."


    She herself hade from a ve diatorial arena, and she understood all too well that kind of mentality, sensitive from being oppressed and alienated for long, fearing that one wrong move could strip away the tiny bit of "happiness" just acquired.


    Listening to Lolota''s words, as if someone had voiced his deepest desires, Tanni bit his lower lip and nodded seriously, "Hmm."


    ...


    Finally, Tanni''s intentions to be the chief navigator of the Dawn crew had been confirmed, resolving a important matter.


    Fragments of wreckage floated on the sea surface, as the rescue operation continued in an orderly way.


    At this point, Su Lun thought of something and asked, "Tanni, did your mother ever tell you who your father is?"


    Upon the sudden mention of the father he had never met, Tanni''s expression turned gloomy: "No..."


    After thinking for a moment, he added, "Mother said my father was a very powerful big shot. I could only learn his name once I became strong enough. Otherwise, it would bring me trouble."


    "..."


    Su Lun, hearing this, was unsure whether to share his own guess with him.


    After all, that ''Pirate King'' Sam Bemy really was one of the few people standing at the pinnacle of that era.


    ```


    Being cautious about iming someone as your father is probably for the best.


    Otherwise, what if you guess wrong?


    With a thought, Su Lun merely ryed the information he had discerned and said, "In the[Cursed Gold Coin]you hold, I can feel a mysterious power connected to your bloodline. It will protect you and keep misfortune at bay. Perhaps... it was left to you by your father."


    Tanni''s face shed with a glimmer of hope upon hearing this.


    However, he then thought of something else and took out his own gold coin and the other two given by Su Lun, saying, "My mother never told me where these gold coins came from. But when I was very little, she told me that only a person favored by destiny could possess these three cursed gold coins. She also said if someone else brings the other two coins to me, that person is to be trusted, and I could go on an adventure with them!"


    Su Lunughed at this, thinking to himself: Indeed, it takes great luck to obtain these two coins.


    Just then, Tanni seemed to remember something; he rubbed the three coins in his palm and blew on them. Astonishingly, under the sunlight, the three coins suddenly sparkled with a dazzling golden glow.


    Su Lun keenly caught this change, with a light sound of surprise.


    All of a sudden, an even more magical scene unfolded.


    Just like a rainbow appearing after a storm, an ethereal sea map materialized before their eyes.


    The map disyed a vast expanse of blue ocean, dotted with tiny specks that were actually inds. It was as if they were looking down from a great height upon the sea, with the map detailing many inds with names, storm zones, dangerous waters, and areas where sea monsters lurked.


    Bristone Trench, Ontic Volcano, Senarius Chaos Winds, Burning Sea, Narachi Nightmare Phantoms...


    One by one,ndmark names appeared before them.


    Many were infamous "death zones", untouched by man.


    "This..."


    Su Lun looked on, thunderstruck.


    For now the names showing on his appraisal of the three cursed coins had changed; they had be the[ck Sam''s World Sea Map]!


    [ck Sam''s World Sea Map]


    Description: An ethereal map made of special memory material; drawn personally by the Pirate King Sam Bemy, depicting the footprints of his lifetime of adventures at sea; a particrly unique alchemical item, capable of recording coordinates, terrain, climate, wind direction, currents...;


    ....


    Su Lun, gazing at the transformed coins before him, realized what the Pirate King had left behind.


    Such a magical alchemical sea map, it was undoubtedly a divine artifact for navigation!


    It transformed the map from mere ink on paper to a panoramic view of the actual scenery... a sea area sandbox!


    Clearly, Tanni had only tried it on a whim and had no idea the coins would exhibit such a wondrous phenomenon, stuttering, "This... I... I don''t know why this is happening."


    But as he beheld the stunningly urate and realistic sea map, he could see the value of the alchemical item, eximing in amazement, "My goodness, it records so many ces... many of which are uncharted territories never noted on any sea map!"


    There is no treasure that could excite a navigator more than obtaining a map of unknown regions beyond their wildest knowledge.


    ```


    The coordinates marked on the sea chart almost include the entire Emperor Luying Empire, the Mafa Empire, the Far North Ice Field, the four nations of the Northern Continent, the West Sea Inds, the Southern Sea... all the territories known to mankind.


    "So this is what the world looks like..."


    Su Lun''s eyes were also filled with immense shock.


    He still remembered the shock he felt the first time he saw a world map in his previous life.


    Just like now, it was the first time he was seeing the "World Map" of this world.


    He had thought that the four nations of the Northern Continent were huge, but on this sea chart, they were just specks of sesame seeds.


    The Silent Forest located at the edge of the Far North Ice Field was just a thin line on the edge of the ice field...


    Even the threerge inds of the Emperor Luying Empire were only the size of fingernails.


    There were too many ce names marked on this sea chart, and even more regions Su Lun had never heard of.


    What secrets did the Western Sea that ultimately sank ck Sam''s ship hold?


    What lies further to the west?


    Does the ocean have an end?


    Where does the endless mountain range to the east of the Mafa Empire lead to?


    How vast is the Endless Ice Field in the Northern Sea?


    Is this realm round, or does it extend infinitely?


    ...


    A flurry of questions surfaced.


    Su Lun didn''t know how to describe the stir within him, his heart touched by the shock.


    Upon seeing this sea chart, an uncontroble thought emerged from the depths of his heart.


    The world is sorge, I want to see it all.


    He had an urgent desire to set sail and explore, to uncover the secrets of those "fog-covered areas"¡­ and then to mark them on this map.


    It felt as if by doing so, he would truly leave his footprints in this world.


    No matter the oue of his life, it would prove that he had been here.


    ...


    Tanni, the professional Navigator, obviously saw even more value in this map, and he was equally stunned.


    Looking at Su Lun and Qianjiao, who were both casting nces his way, he exined, "I didn''t know about the sea chart inside this Gold Coin before. Then... after I began to continuously hear the voices of sea beasts, I thought I could give it a try. And then, it just happened like this..."


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun had his suspicions.


    Was this a secret that could only be unlocked after awakening a talent?


    He felt that it was probably a threshold set by ck Sam for his son¡ªif Tanni had not awakened the ability to "hear the voices of sea beasts," this sea chart would not have been revealed to him.


    Now it seemed as if the Pirate King had left something for his child.


    Some of Su Lun''s concerns also dissipated a great deal.


    Even though he knew previously that this was a sea chart left by the Pirate King Sam Bemy, the level of danger was truly unknown.


    After all, there are many malicious people in this world who create fake treasure maps pointing towards dangerous waters to lure adventurous and treasure-seeking navigators to their deaths.


    But with Tanni around, those concerns could be put to rest.


    Tanni then said, "This Gold Coin records a sea chart, and I already know where it points to. But it''s a very dangerous area, to the west..."


    Su Lun wasn''t too surprised, and he nodded in agreement.


    They, the Dawn Group, currently don''t have the strength to explore that area.


    ...


    Su Lun spent most of the day on the deck, and the crew had almost all surfaced, but they didn''t find any more mechanical octopuses.


    So he went to the cabin.


    This battle hadted arge amount of war spoils which required his inventory.


    In addition to over forty mechanical octopuses, there were also the Mafa Royal Guards they had killed when they intercepted the submarine earlier.


    About twenty or thirty storage rings, and two damaged "Lieutenant Colonel level" Mecha suits.


    Su Lun did an inventory check of those men''s storage rings and found arge amount of ammunition, as well as recement and supplementary equipment for the Mecha.


    Mecha weren''t just one thing; they could be outfitted to suit differentbat scenarios,


    Such as heavy firearms, missileunchers...


    It must be said, thoseing from the royal family are so rich they''re dripping with wealth.


    Although these storage rings didn''t hold many misceneous items, the neat rows of spare military gear and ammunition dazzled Su Lun.


    Just considering the few submariners they had killed, the value of their individual equipment was worth at least tens of millions, not to mention the priceless Mecha suits.


    The equipment that those ten or twenty people carried could possibly rival plundering dozens of Pirate groups in terms of value.


    The mechanical equipment of the Royal Guard Legion is the pinnacle product of Mafa''s military achievements, hard to analyze¡ªSu Lun knew the difficulty was immense.


    He didn''t bother to put in the effort.


    Su Lun took out his experimental equipment and set up a temporary mechanicalboratory in the captain''s room.


    He intended to focus on researching the mechanical octopus, as this was the path to rapidly developingbat capabilities.


    Once everything was in ce, Su Lun sat at the workbench and carefully analyzed the blueprints he had drawn earlier.


    He wanted to refine this batch of mechanical octopuses.


    The design concept of the current mechanical octopus was actually quite perfect already. It had a super-strong metallic body with strong defense against both magic and physical attacks; it also had excitation alloys and special runes, making it less affected by spiritual power or other mysterious methods; motion control systems, kic systems... there was almost nothing to criticize.


    This was definitely the result of many years of research and experimentation by arge team.


    If it weren''t for someone like Su Lun who could use spiritual threads for direct "physical control," under normal circumstances, a fourth or fifth-stage professional facing a single mechanical octopus would have to hack away for a long time. Either they had the strength to directly sever the metal tentacles like Thousand did, or a group of forty or fifty would be enough to give a sixth-stage professional pause.


    Although Su Lun felt there probably wasn''t anyone with physical "spiritual tentacles" like his, the extraordinary powers in this world were varied and strange.


    Small workshops had their advantages, allowing for cutting-edge use of certain materials.


    He nned to reinforce these mechanical octopuses in his area of expertise with rune enhancements and direct control using mysterious powers.


    Once he had a clear n, he became busy.


    And so, Su Lun spent several days absorbed in the cabin.


    ...


    One day, Su Lun was researching the mechanical octopus when he suddenly noticed the two decapitated mecha armors he had confiscated in theb.


    These were only "Lieutenant Colonel" level mecha armors, not very high-end.


    And with only two, Su Lun hadn''t originally nned to dismantle them first.


    But then, an idea urred to him¡ªif there were mechanical octopuses underwater, what about onnd?


    Equipped with various gears, mecha armors were more than suitable.


    Yet another thought crossed his mind¡ªif he encountered them again, would he just have to sh them in two with the ck scythe and hope for luck to pick up some scraps?


    Without aplete mecha armor, even if he managed to repair one, there would be significant problems.


    Su Lun''s hands were still working with the mechanical octopus, but his thoughts became active.


    The "Colonel Grade yer IX Mecha Armor" he had encountered before was killed directly by a special seal item like the "Bow of Time," which shot the controller inside the mecha.


    Hecked such an item.


    What he did have was a "Rune-Carved Human Skin ck Umbre."


    But this umbre had strict usage conditions and was almost restricted to one-on-one encounters. Moreover, if he faced a high-grade armor, the opponent could still escape.


    What if he ran into a group of mechanical warriors again? How would he deal with them?


    Moreover, the people of the Mafa Empire had a habit of destroying their technology.


    As Su Lun''s thoughts branched out, he suddenly felt vexed.


    Now he knew that it was highly probable there was a "secret mechanical research institute" near "Princess Frostmoon," and he had marked the location of one of the submarines.


    But that presented a problem.


    If he met them again and managed to sessfully ambush them, what if they triggered the self-destruct mechanism?


    Su Lun was confident in picking off the enemy one by one, but he had no way to deal with self-destruction.


    If he hustled and only managed to gather a pile of scrap metal afterward, that was certainly not what he wanted.


    But neither he, Thousand, Dr. Banks, nor anyone from the Dawn Group had the means to kill someone through the mecha armor.


    Show a hint of a domineering air, and the enemies would willingly bow down and submit?


    Impossible...


    "What method could there be to seize the submarine intact? Without a special curse item, it has to be a mysterious technique. Deploy a virus? Dr. Banks would have that capability, but how to deploy it inside is a big problem. Or maybe a mental sorcerer... I''m still far from that level," Su Lun pondered more, his frown deepening.


    He went through all the possessions and abilities he had, even considering the people he knew.


    There was no suitable method.


    Even if Mr. Jing showed up, it seemed he couldn''t resolve the issue.


    Su Lun felt slightly frustrated.


    It was like the gold mine was right in front of him, yet hecked the tools to refine the ore. Could he only rely on luck to find nuggets?


    "Eh...!"


    Suddenly, something dawned on Su Lun, and his expression turned fierce.@@novelbin@@


    If it was about mental control, Su Lun couldn''t do it himself, but he knew someone far stronger than him.


    "Pandora''s seduction powers are extremely strong, isn''t that the very pinnacle of spiritual control?"


    It was then that Su Lun remembered the alchemy homunculus that had been locked away in the "Minor Void Realm" for a long time.

 Chapter 362 Void Ghost Hand

    Pandora signed her name and then turned and said, "Alright, I''ve signed the contract as well, can you let me go now?"


    Su Lun listened but was not in a hurry.


    He had already offended her and didn''t mind tying her up a little longer.


    He then picked up a pen and began to sign his own name.


    However, he did not sign immediately.


    Su Lun was very aware that a contract was reciprocal.


    In the field of alchemy there is a basic concept, reciprocal energy that qualifies for stability.


    This applies to contracts as well.


    Even in equal contracts, the two parties are not far apart in strength, only then can there be equality.


    If the strength differs too much, such contracts have no binding power.


    Especially for those "pseudo-gods" who are inherently a level higher than humans in terms of life, if it''s just a signature, that contract is nothing but waste paper.


    But if he could think of using a contract to bind Pandora, where would he not consider this point?


    Just then, Su Lun took out a beast skin scroll, mumbling words, and chanted, "In the name of the great God of Nature, the lord of the Wind and Rain Forest, the God of Poems and Freedom, I recite your sacred name, and request your witness to an equal contract..."


    Since he himself didn''t have that power, he might as well ask a real deity to be the notary.


    The "God of Nature" at thew level is not something any ordinary deity can match.


    With this witness, probably no one in this realm would dare defy the contract.


    This was the divine scroll he had brought from the Dalu tribe, a farewell gift from Yuta, a cherishable item indeed.


    Using it here, he could not consider it a loss.


    After all, this Pandora was very special, not only a homunculus but also the "Moon Reader," with an immeasurable future.


    At least in this realm, Su Lun did not want to be her enemy.


    ...


    Pandora listened to the sacred names Su Lun recited and furrowed her brows instantly.


    Being a cultivator of divine path herself, how could she not know that those sacred names actually pointed to thews controlled by that deity? These consecutive titles made her frown even more.


    "This guy isn''t an alchemist; is he actually trying to invoke a response from a higher deity?"


    Pandora was greatly puzzled.


    This act was as iprehensible as when Su Lun knew she was the "Moon Reader."''


    Moreover, in this shattered realm, no deities existed.


    The followers of deity were considered "The Forsaken," so this action made her somewhat puzzled.


    However, the puzzlement onlysted a moment, then it turned into shock!


    "He actually received a response from a real high deity?!"


    When Pandora felt that indescribable will descend, her face drastically changed.


    Although she herself was a "deity," she was merely unting her supremacy in this broken realm; in front of this true deity, she was nothing.


    No one knew better than her how terrifying the "God of Nature" who had responded to Su Lun was!


    Pandora immediately understood what Su Lun was up to; this sly guy, had actually summoned a real high deity as a witness?


    Immediately, the slight hope she had vanished instantly, and she sighed slightly, conceding.


    Fortunately, that indescribable will onlysted a moment before disappearing.


    Both Su Lun and Pandora felt a great weight lifted from their shoulders.


    After the descent of the divine will, the contract scroll also acquired a ring of bright, mysterious patterns.


    It was a third-party witness''s mark, left by a True God.


    Su Lun saw the contract established and heaved a great sigh of relief.


    Only then did he gather all the threads that had bound Pandora. He also took out the storage ring, clothes, everything that he had stripped from her before, and said, "These are your items. However, the ''Yata Mirror'' has been given to someone else..."


    When taking someone''s belongings, it was naturally right to mention it.


    "You gave it to that little princess of the Shinto family, didn''t you?"


    Pandora stepped onto the ground barefoot, no longer suspended; she felt incredibly rxed.


    She just stood there naked, moving her limbs. The threads left no marks on her body, that sculpted figure wless from start to end, epitomizing ''perfection.''


    If anyone else were here, seeing this stunningly beautiful body, they definitely would not be able to look away.


    Unfortunately, the only spectator had his eyes closed.


    Her tone was somewhat contemptuous, yet she did not pursue further, and said, "Forget it. That item is of no use to me now, given away is given away."


    Now that she had taken the faith of the Mountain Hermit, bing the "Great God Moon Reader," she was no longer constrained by a single divine artifact.


    Rustling sounds of clothing came from beside his ear; Su Lun listened, she must have been getting dressed.


    Between clever people, there''s no need to beat around the bush, just say what you think directly.


    He thought for a moment, then added, "As for that ''Death''s Novel'', if possible, I''d like to keep it in hand to use as material for job advancement in the future."


    Although he still couldn''tprehend some of the information contained in the "novel", he felt it should be highlypatible. After all, his prosthetic gear had a "Little Void World"; what if it became a Great Void World, or even an entire ne in the future... wouldn''t it be aplete world? The idea of "creating worlds" was all written in the novel, and there was much he could learn from it.


    Hearing this, Pandora scoffed coldly, "Hah. You''re really not shy."


    But she seemed indifferent as well; after all, if that thing could be used once, it wouldn''t count for much against high-tier professionals a second time.


    Su Lun listened to her implicit consent and shamelessly thought: As a captive, it''s only right to strip some spoils of war.


    He then asked, "By the way, can you use this ''Death''s Novel'' to seal high-tier professions now?"


    Pandora, hearing his increasingly outrageous words, replied discontentedly, "No! That ability can only be used within the Mountain Hermit Nation, in the ces where faith is most concentrated. Here, the cost I would have to pay is huge."


    At that point, before Su Lun could continue chatting, she directly added, "Give me a room, don''t bother with me, I don''t want to see anyone else. I agree to act once, but you better think it through before you call on me!"


    "..."


    Su Lun listened as she finished getting dressed and then he finally opened his eyes.


    He caught sight of that exquisitely wless, breathtaking face.


    Heh, beautiful indeed, but that arrogant, haughty demeanor, just like a stubborn ancestor.


    But after all, she is a "deity".


    Su Lun was initially curious about how she became "Tsukiyomi", but seeing her attitude, it was good enough that they hadn''t fallen out.


    Perhaps... she would discuss it another day.


    They might not be friends now, but they were no longer enemies either.


    A cooperative rtionship is also fine, no guilt in taking advantage thoroughly.


    So thought Su Lun.


    ....


    Su Lun left the "Sealing Chamber".


    The two guards by the door saw him emerge and immediately looked as if they were facing a great enemy.


    Sen''s hand rested on the handle of his sword, while a dark aura rose from Dr. Banks.


    "All''s well now."


    Su Lun shook his head and made a pre-arranged secret handshake.


    Seeing this, Sen and Dr. Banks both let out a long breath, their expressions showing immense relief.


    Both were very aware of Su Lun''s character; any situation he handled with such caution inside had to be incredibly perilous.


    Sen and Dr. Banks naturally sensed that there was an additional person inside. But due to the previous restrictions thatpletely blocked any energy fluctuations, they didn''t know what had transpired.


    Now that all was well, Sen finally spoke up, "So, you settled things with that woman?"


    Su Lun heard his phrasing and felt something was amiss, so he honestly replied, "A contract has been signed; she won''t be causing us any trouble."


    Turning his head, he raised an eyebrow, "But she also doesn''t want to deal with us."


    "Hmph."


    Sen gave a dismissive snort, indifferent.


    She didn''t even want to engage with that woman.


    However, she was more curious about how Su Lun had managed it, considering that woman, being the "world''s number one beauty," had been forcefully taken. And now she had willingly signed the contract?


    She incredulously asked, "So, what did you do to that woman that made her not want to kill you? I thought there would be a fierce battle."


    Su Lun furrowed his brows, recalling the events that had just transpired, which were tooplex to cover in a few words, "Let''s go to the deck and I''ll exin slowly."


    He had a feeling that Pandora was willing to sign the contract due to the situation, but perhaps, and more so, because of his master "Sereia."


    Sen was greatly interested and, hooking her arm through Su Lun''s, they headed to the deck. As Su Lun divulged that Pandora was "Tsukiyomi", her expression grew incredibly vivid...


    ...


    An extra person was on the ship, unknown to everyone but Su Lun and a few others.


    Pandora also never appeared before the people.


    They trailed the submarine''s markers, heading north.


    The "Frost Moon Princess" Skadi, as Su Lun had guessed, really went to the waters near "Roman Nation."


    Tanni''s "cursed by the sea" reputation was well-earned; as they sailed north, they encountered storms and huge waves multiple times¡ªevents some sailors never experience in a lifetime, but they faced it repeatedly.


    Fortunately, Tanni''s keen sense of stormy weather always turned peril into safety.


    Apart from some sea sickness among the crew and some damage to the ship, there were no severe impacts.


    Moreover, after multiple storms, Tanni seemed to gain some insights into his unknown talent. He could sense storms earlier and handle them more calmly.


    Even, Tanni felt, he might be able to actively manipte storms to some extent.


    If one could proactively control the storms, such ability would definitely defy the heavens. At sea, he alone would be worth countless fleets!


    To hear the sounds of the sea beasts and to induce storms...


    Su Lun still didn''t know what his talent was called.


    Since ancient times, humanity had many talents, themon ones recorded in the books, but there were also many rare awakening talents barely known, thus gradually fading from transmission.


    Yet, often those very rare awakened talents carried some miraculously skilled abilities.


    Su Lun felt that Tanni must be the son of Pirate King Sam, so perhaps he had also inherited some of his father''s special abilities.


    After all, to reach the top in this cruel supernatural world, one''s talent must be exceptional.


    ....


    With "ck Sam''s World Navigation=Sea Map" and having Tanni, a top navigator aboard, Su Lun and his team were like having satellite positioning, clearly knowing their precise coordinates in the ocean. They didn''t need to rely on justrge directions and instinct as before.


    During their journey, they continually perfected the map.


    In the following days, Su Lun didn''t leave his cabin again.


    The job of modifying over forty mechanical octopuses was not small, and would likely take about half a month.


    The crew of the Dawn group were still carefree,ughing all day long, engaged in various bizarre contests.


    Now, there was also a major activity added, which was fishing out "big fellows" from the sea to improve their food.


    Previously when they encountered fierce deep-sea monsters, they avoided them at all costs, because those big fellows could identally overturn and smash the ship.


    But now with Tanni''s perception, they could identify their position in advance.


    Moreover, the most crucial factor was that Senjo was already a "Sword Saint." Rakshasa Woman was naturally born forbat, and no one on the ship could beat her; she was idle all day long. Apart from practicing her sword, she could only find adversaries in the sea.


    Thus, hunting the giant beasts became the most exciting activity for the Dawn group.


    The participation of the big fellows was also very high, after all, the supply of food carried by the ship was limited, and they couldn''t possibly use all the space equipment to store food, nor could they store much. But the Giant Tribe''s three brothers, the sumo wrestlers, ate a lot, and the limited amount always left them feeling hungry. Moreover, the higher the profession, the more calories food needed to provide, especially in battle, leading to a huge consumption of food.


    Now without that concern, capturing a sea beast bigger than the ship meant everyone could eat until they burst.


    Then, stuffed with food, they continued fighting and hunting sea beasts.


    This vast sea provided countless delicious foods and treasures.


    ...


    After sailing for several more days, they had already reached the vicinity of the "Roman Nation."


    It was a theocratic nation known for producing "Heroes" and top "diators."


    That day, in the cabin,@@novelbin@@


    Su Lun was tinkering with the mechanical octopuses.


    After days of hardbor, he had essentially upgraded those dozens of mechanical octopuses to the "PLUS" version.


    As for Pandora, Su Lun naturally took care of her daily.


    After all, she would be a crucial determinant in how much they could harvest when they encountered a submarine again in the future.


    Su Lun did not want some residual annoyance to affect his ns.


    The more they talked, the better their rtionship, not always cold anymore.


    Although their topics mostly revolved around his teacher "Celia."


    Everything was developing in a positive direction.


    Just then, suddenly, a specialmunicator started making a "zzz" static noise.


    "Huh...did it connect?"


    Su Lun uttered in surprise, looking over.


    Thismunicator was a military encryptedmunicator from Lu Ying, previously left by the "Sacred Judgment Legion"mander "Ferocious Beast" Alek Barrett for convenientmunication.


    But thismunicator had a limited connection range, and after leaving Pirate City for Mountain Hermit, there had been no contact.


    After such a long time, Su Lun thought they had been annihted.


    After all, he hadn''t heard that they had surrendered to King Oleg of the North Sea, so in this region of the North Sea, without supplies, they would hardly survive.


    He even thought that those "Activated Silvers" had gone nowhere, but now they had managed to connect?


    ....


    At the same time, hundreds of sea miles away.


    Three pirate ships were chasing a modified Lu Ying sail military vessel.


    The primary gs on those three pirate ships belonged to the North Sea Fleet, disying the Wolf Fang Club insignia, but the squadron g designs were not any known under Oleg''s seventeen squadrons.


    It was a g featuring a skull and a starry background, resembling a pirate ship sailing through the void.


    On the deck, a group of people huddled together, watching the clumsily fleeing ship ahead, faces sporting mocking, amused expressions.


    Once chased around the world by the Lu Ying Navy, now it was their turn to have the prestigious "Sacred Judgment Legion" running all over the ce.


    The pirates chuckled andughed, intermittently firing a few shots to create sshes on the sea surface.


    This was Duo Luo Sai Er¡¤Castillo, the deputymander of the "Void Fleet," the newly formed eighteenth squadron of the North Sea Fleet, and a sixth-order professional known as the "Void Ghost Hand"!


    Having chased for two days without sess, the pirates were also losing their patience.


    "Hey, boss, we''ve been chasing them for two days and nights," one of them said, "Why go to all this trouble? Barrett''s only got one arm now, much weaker than before. If you were to make a move, wouldn''t you capture him easily? After all, you have sessfully fused with that extremely rare high-order dark gold artifact, the ''Void Ghost Hand.'' No one below the seventh order can match you!"


    "Themander trained by the RuYing royal family isn''t so simple to deal with. I am confident that I could kill the Barrett, but you are underestimating him. Even with one arm gone, if he really fought desperately, he could take half our crew down with him. Do you believe that?"


    "That strong?"


    "What else? That guy is feigning weakness, actually waiting for us to charge in so that they can fight back desperately. Now, by dragging this out until their supplies are exhausted, slowly wearing them down, that''s the best choice. Don''t worry,"


    "The boss is wise!"


    "The boss is mighty!"


    "Hahaha... The boss''s strategies are unparalleled!"


    "You guys shouldn''t use the old way of thinking anymore. King Oleg now has his crown, we are no longer just pirates, but the royal special guard legion. Although RuYing has caused us a lot of trouble in the past, people with military talent are rare. His Majesty has said that if we want to move towards regrization, we start with reforming the fleet."


    "But if we keep pursuing like this, could something go wrong?"


    "What could go wrong? The targets that our North Sea Fleet wants, no one dares to protect them."


    "Humph! Even if someonees, they are just courting death. Our ''Void Fleet'' has never shown itself before the public, and now that we have emerged, we must let the whole North Sea... no, the entire RuYing know our power!"


    "..."


    A group of pirates started to revel on the deck.


    All of them had fused a few Void artifacts and space-rted advanced materials, and with control over the void, theirbat abilities were far beyond those of ordinary pirates.


    ...


    On the dpidated warship.


    Barrett looked at the three pirate ships hanging not too far behind, his face looking grim.


    "Commander, those pirates are not falling for it. They don''t seem to intend to sh directly. It looks like they n to wear us down alive," one spoke.


    "We''re running out of potions and fresh water. The wounds of the brothers who were injured earlier are worsening. If we don''t find a way to resupply soon, we... we might be in trouble," another added.


    "Commander, shall we charge at those dirty pirates?"


    "..."


    Hearing this, Barrett was silent, his fists clenched as if to squeeze water from them.


    The "Sacred Judgment Legion" was indeed in a dire situation now.


    Although they still had the strength to fight, without supplies, they would be worn down alive.


    Should they submit to the pirates?


    Though no longer royal knights, they would not betray their honor to survive.


    The despicable pirates of the North Sea had always been enemies of RuYing, and now, with their own kingdom, they were even more so.


    Thy had lost their honor and their status, but they still had their dignity.


    Even though they weren''t afraid of death as career soldiers, seeing his brothers, whom he personally led, dying fromck of medicine, Barrett felt bitterness in his heart.


    Barrett was plunged into an unprecedented confusion.


    Ever since the RuYing royal family dered the legion disbanded for "treason," he felt as if he and his brothers, who had once fought and died for the empire, were abandoned by the world.


    They had no identity, nowhere to go, no one to take them in...


    Aimlessly drifting on the sea.


    They had heard that a group of members from the "Holy Legion" in the empire''s capital had been secretly bought by ve traders and sent to Roma as diators.


    They thought to rescue those brothers.


    It was a ploy.


    But knowing it was a ploy, they still had toe.


    Now they were driven into a corner.


    As Barrett''s thoughts raced, he reminisced about his life.


    He had fought for the empire, achieving famous victories, yet he never expected to end up in such a predicament.


    Then suddenly, someone reported.


    "Commander! Someone is contacting us through encryptedmunication!"


    Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire


    "Who?"


    "He said he''s the person who traded ''Living Silver'' with youst time!"


    Upon hearing this, Barrett''s expression and gaze sharpened slightly.


    He thought of that young man named "Su Lun."

 Chapter 363 I Alone Am The Legion

    "That young man is actually nearby?"


    On the deck, Captain Barrett frowned tightly upon hearing themunication link.


    In his heart, he also silently thought it was somewhat fortuitous, just didn''t expect to encounter him at this time.


    From themunicator, came a voice in conversation.


    "Captain Barrett, are you in the nearby waters?"


    "Yes."


    "It''s like this, didn''t we have a dealst time? The ''Hand of Silver'' you needed has been prepared, and I thought if it''s convenient, we could meet and you could try it."


    "..."


    On the battered deck of the warship, about a hundred members of the "Sacred Judgment Legion" all stared at themunicator, a special gleam emerging in their eyes.


    This was the only time they had been contacted by an outsider in such a long time.


    Barrett listened to the wordsing from themunicator, yet his eyes showed contemtion.


    If it weren''t for their current predicament, he really would want to meet.


    The "New Dawn City" mentioned by the young man, he was also very interested in it.


    These days drifting at sea, he truly hade to a realization. What royal knights, generational honors... they weren''t that important anymore. Once how much he hoped for military achievements to be ennobled, now it seemed, even somewhatughable.


    On the other hand, the "Freedom City" which aimed for human civilization''s advancement and for the study of alchemy, he had grown very interested. Though it was still just an "ideal state," if it really could be established, it seemed to be a good ce to go.


    Unfortunately, there was no chance now.


    After not having spoken for a long time, Su Lun''s inquiry came from the other end of themunicator.


    "What''s the matter, Captain Barrett, is there some inconvenience on your end?"


    "..."


    Hearing this, Barrett was just about to speak when his deputy suddenly interrupted, his faceplex, saying, "Captain! We..."


    He swallowed his words, but didn''t speak them.


    Barrett turned his head to look at other members again, all of whom were also looking at him synchronously. Seemingly twinkling in their eyes were stars, the despair at its extreme, thest flicker of hope.


    Barrett shook his head, knowing well what his brothers were thinking.


    This was their only hope.


    If they could get supplies, perhaps they could hold on a bit longer.


    "Su Lun my friend, could you help deploy some supplies in the nearby waters?"


    "Supplies? Have you run into trouble?"


    "Yes."


    "How much trouble?"


    "Quite troublesome."


    "Is it pirates, or people from Ruying?"


    "Pirates."


    "Which group? Is it Oleg''s people?"


    "..."


    From the other end of themunicator, came a series of inquiries.


    The questions were very detailed, seemingly to confirm exactly who it was, before considering whether to provide supplies.


    Barrett was just about to respond, when the deputy again interjected, "Captain! If we tell them our current real situation, they probably won''t dare toe. After all, in the North Sea, no one dares to offend Oleg''s fleet. Even if it''s just deploying supplies, being known could cause trouble, nobody dares..."


    He knew that his own Captain Barrett was absolutely honest and would not lie, but right now if they did not get supplies, they simply could not hold on.


    Moreover, now they had enemies all over the world, really having no allies, and nothing much


    Barrett looked at everyone, lightly shook his head, clearly indicating that their situation was not worth dragging others into.


    The soldiers looked at him and said no more.


    Barrett picked up themunicator and truthfully said, "We''ve been pursued by Oleg''s ''Eighteenth Fleet'' and are in a very dangerous situation. Su Lun my friend, if it''s convenient, please deploy some potions and fresh water supplies in the sea. If it''s not convenient... then we''ll contact youter."


    Upon hearing this, one could see the faces of all the soldiers of the "Sacred Judgment Legion" turn grim.


    In their minds, since it was known it was the King of the North Sea''s forces chasing them, naturally nobody would dare toe.


    This lone hope for supplies was also slipping through their fingers.


    As expected, after Barrett said that, the other end of themunicator fell silent for a while.


    It seemed they were frightened, with no responseing through.


    ...


    Barrett sighed lightly, feeling nothing particr about it.


    Seeking benefits and avoiding harm, it''s human nature.


    Just as he was about to put down themunicator, suddenly, the other end spoke again, "Isn''t Oleg supposed to have only seventeen fleets? What''s this ''Eighteenth Fleet'' about? Could it be... you''ve encountered the ''Void Fleet''?"


    Barrett was startled hearing this, as the other party didn''t mention anything about supplying, but instead inquired about these... irrelevant matters?


    "You''ve heard of this fleet?"


    "Yes. I''ve encountered a few before, and guessed a bit."


    "Your information is surprisingly urate."


    "..."


    Barrett''s expression turned slightly odd, why did it seem that the other''s tone, instead of being cautious of Oleg, contained a hint of anticipation?


    Who exactly was this guy, knowing about the "Void Fleet"?


    What did that expectant tone mean?


    Could he have misheard?


    Right at that moment, themunicator rang again, "That... what''s the highest rank on their side? How many ships, how many people in total?"


    Barrett''s eye twitched sharply when he heard this.


    He finally realized that he hadn''t misheard, but rather, the person across from him was truly expecting something, "What do you mean?"


    Barrett responded, but a highly unlikely yet seemingly factual thought had already emerged in his mind: Could this guy be nning to target that Void fleet?


    Could it be that "Dawn City" has be so powerful that it can ignore the North Sea fleet?


    However, he had guessed correctly.


    At this moment, the voice came through themunicator again, "What I mean is, if they aren''t above the seventh tier, I and mypanions might be able to lend a small hand."


    Hearing this, a dense anticipation shot through Barrett''s eyes, his voice trembling slightly with excitement, "You... which power do you belong to?"


    He had met Su Lun before and knew the young man to be meticulous and steady. Since he had spoken, he must be quite confident!


    The response came through, "Didn''t I tell you? New Dawn City. But we''ve just started organizing, calling it the ''Dawn Group.''"


    Upon hearing this, not just Barrett, but all the soldiers aboard his ship showed expressions of shock.


    Following the shock, they were ovee with the wild joy of having survived a close call.


    After days of desperate escape, atst, they saw a glimmer of hope for survival!


    ...


    On the other hand, aboard the Dawn.


    Su Lun had gathered everyone on the deck.


    The faces of the crew were filled with intense excitement and anticipation.


    "Brothers, there''s work to do this time! There are three ships on their side, a total of twelve hundred people. One sixth-tier professional, seven fifth-tier. It''s time to see how many they can handle, and how many Barrett can hold off."


    Su Lun exined the situation on the other side to everyone on the ship,


    Although Barrett''s "Sacred Judgment Corps" had been pursued for several days, they had figured out the strength of their pursuers, especially the abilities and tactics of those high-tier professionals, almost clearly.


    With this detailed information, Su Lun benefited tremendously.


    Now that he knew the overallbat power of his adversaries, naturally... he could take them on.


    The King of the North Sea and his men were already enemies, the crew was thrilled at the prospect of beating them.


    After assigning tasks, everyone began to organize their equipment and ammunition.


    Su Lun also released the mechanical octopuses into the sea.


    In thest two days, usingponents from the spoils of war, he had made two more, now totaling fifty mechanical octopuses.


    These mechanical monsters would destroy the enemy ships at the first opportunity.


    Tanni was also very excited, perched atop the mast holding the "Demon de Zongzheng," umting Sword Qi.


    For her, the most anticipated thing was shing with a master.


    Su Lun climbed up to the mast,nding beside Tanni, and spoke in detail, "Sister Tanni, be careful when the timees. The deputymander of the eighteenth fleet, ''Demon Hand'' Duo Luo Sai Er¡¤Castillo, has fused with a high-tier dark gold Void-prosthesis, which can almost ignore elemental barriers and Protective True Qi of other professionals at the same tier, dealing actual damage to the body. He is a Fighter, but his weakness is that he can only fight in closebat. The troublesome part is his ability for Void Discement..."


    Even though he mentioned a sixth-tier, Tanni was not at all daunted. Her eyes brimmed with high fighting spirit, saying, "In that case, it indeed is a bit tricky. But my Sword Qi''s long-range attack capability is not weak; even if I may not beat him, at least I should be able to hold him off."


    Su Lun nodded, "Yes, that would be best. Once I have destroyed their ships, I''lle help you. I have a cursed item that can limit Spatial Discement; we''ll give that guy a severe blow at the crucial moment! As long as we kill that sixth-tier, the other problems won''t be big. If they fall into the water, we''ll fight together."


    Tanni''s face was full of eager fighting spirit, "Good!"


    In the control room, Tanni was directing the sailors to maneuver the sails.


    The sea breeze blew, the sails bulged, and the Dawn cut through the waves like an arrow released from its bow.


    ...


    Meanwhile, on the "Sacred Judgment Corps" ship after themunication had been cut off.


    Hearing that someone woulde to support them, Barrett and his subordinates were also hopeful. They eagerly awaited on the deck, looking out over the endless sea.


    The weather was very good today,


    but they had not seen any ships for a long time.


    After the excitement, they fell into contemtion.


    "Captain, is that ''Su Lun'' reliable? Dare they reallye?"


    "Yeah, this North Sea, no one dares to offend the North Sea fleet... and even if willing, they might not have the strength."


    "Yes. Those pirates are very strong and have mastered Void abilities; ordinary fleets simply can''t handle them. Unless a seventh-tier professionales, we really can''t resolve our predicament."


    "..."


    The team members discussed amidst themselves,


    most fearful that after having hope, they might not see hope realized.


    What if the hope turned out to be in vain?


    Barrett remained silent, he alone knew that the young man named "Su Lun" would never act recklessly.


    Just as everyone was peering expectantly, suddenly, the lookout atop the mast shouted.


    "They''reing!"


    "Captain, look quickly, there''s the shadow of a sail at the five o''clock direction!"


    "Really? Where?"


    "My god, they''ve reallye!"


    "..."


    The crew members were immensely excited, each grabbing telescopes to look in that direction.


    They indeed saw the sails, then a warship appeared.


    It was a three-masted sailing ship.


    Everyone''s eyes also showed wild joy. It seemed, they had indeede!


    But after waiting a moment more,


    they could see clearly.


    One ship?


    "Only" one ship hade to support them?


    "Only one ship?"


    "This... Could there be a top-tier professional? It doesn''t look like it."


    "..."


    The people on the ship gazed at the lone warship appearing on the screen, full of confusion.


    They said they were wary of offending Oleg, but he really came.


    They imed to be sincerelying to the rescue, but there was only one ship?


    The enemy had three top-tier sailing warships, and if a sea battle truly ensued, they had not the slightest advantage.


    Even Captain Barrett furrowed his brow as he watched.


    Large-scale naval battles often hinge on the number of ships and cannons; if they were to sh directly, they had already fallen into a severe disadvantage before the fight could even begin.


    At that moment, someone eximed.


    "Captain, there are two peopleing over the sea!"


    "That spider rig is quite peculiar, actually allowing for rapid movement across the sea."


    "Anyone daring enough toe over must be a high-level fighter. Sensor officer, what''s the situation on your end?"


    "Captain, it seems... their strongest is only level five, and the fluctuation from the other spider arm is only level four."


    "..."


    Hearing the report from the sensory professional, Captain Barrett and the crew were visibly astounded.


    ...


    At the same time.


    When Captain Barrett was able to spot Su Lun and his group, the scoundrels of the North Sea fleet noticed as well.


    On the deck, the pirates looking at the three-masted sailboat showed no concern, just disdain and anger.


    "Eh... Which group is this? Didn''t they see our North Sea Fleet g?"


    Enjoy new tales from My Virtual Library Empire


    "They aren''t flying a g, probably frightened of us recognizing them. Looks like it''s support Barrett has found. Hmph, it doesn''t matter who it is, the person the North Sea Fleet wants to intercept, even the Ruying Emperor cannot save!"


    "Blind fools, no need for pleasantries, if they daree close, sink them directly."


    "Yes, Captain!"


    The group of pirates didn''t take the distant ship seriously at all.


    Both in terms of cannons and ship strength, they were far behind!


    ...


    Su Lun, moving swiftly across the sea with Qian Tiao, got close to the "Sacred Judgment Legion''s" ship and, seeing the battered warship, they also immediately understood the predicament of Captain Barrett and his men.


    The deck was crowded with people, each casting suspicious nces at the two people over the sea.


    From a distance, the battle-scarred Barrett called out, "Su Lun, my young friend, long time no see."


    His voice boomed like a bell, echoing across the entire sea.


    Regardless of the oue, since he darede in person, Barrett owed him this favor.


    Listening to the greeting, Su Lun responded with a smile, "Long time no see, Captain Barrett!"


    But he could also see through Barrett''s calm appearance to the fatigue he couldn''tpletely hide.


    As the two approached, they stepped lightly over the water and boarded the ship.


    Su Lun climbed onto the deck, and Barrett approached to greet him.


    Even in such a dire situation, the legionmander, whose face was as chiseled as if by axe and knife, wore a broad, open-hearted smile, saying, "Young friend Su Lun''s courage and wisdom impress me deeply! Your gesture is well noted by Barrett and all the soldiers of the ''Judgment Legion''!"


    As he spoke, he immediately pulled out a storage ring, saying, "This is something from ourst transaction. It would be even better, young friend Su Lun, if you brought some supplies."


    "¡­"


    Su Lun watched as Barrett handed the storage ring over directly, assuming it contained the "Living Silver" inside.


    Barrett then pointed to the three pirate ships hanging not far away, saying, "The situation with these pirates I mentioned in themunicator previously is very tricky. They are targeting us specifically. We appreciate your gesture, Su Lun. Leave the supplies and then please make your departure quickly, to avoid any coteral damage."


    Su Lun didn''t dawdle, epting the storage ring handed over.


    Barrett''s words were


    this is his way of setting the threshold.


    He probably thought that Su Lun came because he couldn''t let go of these divine materials.


    By giving him the items first, he acknowledged the "favour" of taking such a risk boarding the ship.


    If they didn''t have the power to assist, they could just as well leave then.


    However, Su Lun showed no intention of leaving; instead, he said, "I have already prepared the ''Hand of Silver'' I promised you before. But it looks like it''s toote for transntation now. Uh... what I mean is, Mr. Barrett, how muchbat power do you have left?"


    "Combat power?"


    Barrett listened with an unchanged expression, but a hint of suspicion quickly flitted across his eyes. Why ask such a question at this crucial moment?


    Nheless, he responded truthfully, "The loss of my arm has greatly affected mybat power; at most, I have only forty percent of my peak capabilities. However... if ites to a desperate fight, I can still function like amon sixth-level professional."


    Su Lun listened and nodded, "That''s good then."


    Asking aboutbat power naturally meant that there was a fighting. Barrett vaguely guessed something but could hardly believe it, asking, "What do you mean?"


    "Hmm¡­"


    Pausing for a moment, Su Lun said emotionlessly, "I n to annihte that group of pirates behind us."


    His words were soft, but clear enough for everyone on the ship to hear.


    Upon hearing this, it was like a thunderp on a clear day, setting off a storm in the hearts of the "Sacred Legion."


    Annihte?


    This choice of words...


    Could I have heard it wrong?


    This brought deep suspicion in everyone''s mind.


    Captain Barrett nced at the Dawn, being very cautious as he asked, "Did your Dawn team just bring top experts?"


    Su Lun knew they had misunderstood and replied, "No, just us."


    As he spoke, he introduced the person beside him, "This is the leader of our Dawn team, Ms. Ottilia Evelyn. My n is for you and us to go first, hold off their high-endbat power. Then, we''ll annihte them all."


    Barrett gave a knight''s salute, "It''s an honor to meet you, Miss Ottilia."


    It had been a long time since anyone had called her by her real name, and it felt awkward, but she also said, "Captain Barrett, it''s an honor to meet you as well."


    Hearing that this "fifth order" swordsman was the leader, the nearby soldiers of the Sacred Judgment, though not showing any disrespect, couldn''t help but feel stunned internally.


    Is this it?


    If the leader is only fifth order, the team members must be even lower.


    And they have only one ship.


    With neither numerical nor ship advantage, how could they fight against those pirates?


    Barrett looked at Su Lun, feeling as if he had misunderstood something, then asked again, "You mean, just ''us'' going to wipe out those pirates?"


    "Yes."


    Su Lun nodded his head, unsure how to exin further.


    Both he and Ni Tanni''sbat power were not something ordinary people could understand, but no matter what, outsiders surely wouldn''t believe it.


    Just as he was wondering how to start exining, Ni Tanni suddenly rested her hand on the hilt of her sword.


    In that instant, her aura burst forth. She hadn''t moved, yet it felt as if she had stepped out of hell itself, a vast Sword Intent sweeping across the entire deck.


    With that disy of authority, the tremendous force of her presence caused everyone to step back in unison, their faces changing color instantly. They were all struck dumb, unable to speak as they stared at Ni Tanni in shock.


    Those who had awakened to Sword Intent were renowned experts wherever they went.


    But a fifth order professional managing to awaken to Sword Intent? Unheard of!


    The soldiers began to wonder, who exactly was this hitherto unknown swordsman? What divine power did she possess?


    Barrett, whose perception was deepest, looked at Ni Tanni with sheer disbelief and admiration, "Your excellency hase from afar as a Sword Saint; I have been disrespectful!"


    With that, he saluted again.


    A salute of respect for a formidable fighter.


    The sharp Sword Qi that had shed momentarily, even he felt a strong, fatal threat.


    Swordsmen were reputed as one of the professions with the strongest killing intent.


    And among them, a Sword Saint was extremely rare.


    This one... was very strong!


    Ni Tanni just nodded.


    On the side, Su Lun said, "So, my n is, Captain Barrett, the three of us will go first to restrain them. Once I destroy their ship, we''ll go together. We need to resolve the battle as quickly as possible."


    At that moment, Barrett finally believed that these two really came to rescue.@@novelbin@@


    If there was a Sword Saint, indeed, they had the strength to fight.


    However, were it to be a head-on sh, Barrett estimated, it might still end in a 20 to 80 situation?


    Su Lun didn''t exin further, because just then, he noticed that the three ships behind had already turned their cannons, seemingly ready to fire.


    He looked at Barrett and said, "That''s the n. So, Mr. Barrett, are you willing to go first with us?"


    Barrett hesitated only for a moment before saying boldly, "Alright!"


    With that, his deputy and subordinates spoke up, "Captain!"


    Just the three of them going, wasn''t it a suicide mission?


    And sending the leader... this tactic, didn''t it seem like something an enemy spy would n?


    Barrett shook his head; he looked to Su Lun, his eyes full of resolve, "I trust in the strength of young Su Lun. Everyone, just follow his battle nter and adapt to the situation!"


    At this time, he had no other choice.


    And indeed, his instincts also told him that the person before him was trustworthy.


    Su Lun wasn''t surprised to hear this.


    From the previous incident in the Cursed Valley, when Barrett had defied the empress''s orders to organize the intelligence people to break the seal, Su Lun knew this was a man he could work with.


    Honest, brave, and trustworthy.


    ....


    Su Lun didn''t say much more.


    He, Ni Tanni, and Barrett jumped onto an assault boat.


    Under the anxious gazes of the Sacred Judgment team on board, they headed straight towards the three approaching pirate ships.


    The wind today was not small, causing the assault boat to bob and weave significantly on the sea.


    Su Lun watched the pirate ships in the distance, silent.


    Ni Tanni''s expression was also very calm.


    Although Barrett appearedposed, the puzzlement in his heart grew stronger. Since boarding the ship, he had yet to understand where the confidence of these two people came from.


    Finally, he couldn''t hold back any longer and asked, "Young friend Su Lun...that is, although I''m not questioning your tactics. But are we directly charging over just like this?"


    Su Lun exined briefly, "Yes. I need to get close to those three ships to employ my tactics. At that point, we will be focused with fire, and my safety will depend on you two. But as long as we restrain Demon Hand, Duo Luo Sai Er¡¤Castillo, the rest should be manageable."


    Upon hearing this, Barrett''s eyelid twitched violently; so it wasn''t that he had misunderstood, the n was indeed just this straightforward and brutal.


    He pondered momentarily, then said, "So all we need to do is hold off that Duo Luo Sai Er? But they have over a thousand men. And those with Void capabilities are very troublesome. My men and your Dawn team shing head-on with them... might lead to severe losses..."


    Su Lun interrupted and corrected, "Not us, but you and Ni Tanni sister to hold him off. The rest... you can leave to me."


    Dawn Team + Sacred Judgment Team = two teams?


    No,


    It''s three.


    He, Su Lun, was an army by himself!

 Chapter 364 Naval Battle

    Su Lun and his twopanions rode the assault boat, cutting through the waves and heading straight towards their destination, while the people aboard those three pirate ships from the North Sea Fleet also took notice.


    The pirates crowded the deck, ready for a goodugh.


    "Yo... has Barrett finally decided not to be stubborn and ising to surrender?"


    "He only brought two people with him, probably here to negotiate."


    "Something''s wrong. Look at their warship, and that three-masted sailing ship at the nine o''clock direction that''s not flying any gs. Why does it seem like they are approaching us?"


    "If they dare enter firing range, sink them. Hmph, blind as a bat, they deserve death if they die. The high-caliber cannons supported by the Mafa Empire wille in handy..."


    "Do you sense any other stealth units?"


    "Boss, no. Our sensing feedback confirmed it too, aside from Barrett, the other swordsman is fifth order, and the guy steering at the back is just fourth order."


    "..."


    On the deck of the pirate ship.


    The pirates, gathered in groups, stood there joking andughing.


    The sixth-order Vice Fleet Commander ''Demon Hand'' Dorosel, along with several fifth-order squadron captains and fourth-order team leaders, watched the swiftly approaching assault boat with an air of ease, not regarding it as a serious threat.


    No matter how one looked at it, the other party should be here to negotiate.


    After all, with just three people, and without a seventh-order professional, any nefarious intentions would simply lead to a pointless death.


    But as the assault boat drew closer, Dorosel started to feel an ominous premonition rising within him, for some reason.


    Reaching the sixth order, his crisis detection ability was extraordinary.


    He picked up the long telescope in his hands once more, squinting at that approaching assault boat, his gaze growing ever more solemn.


    But he couldn''t pinpoint the source of his unease.


    ...


    Aboard the assault boat, even the battle-hardened Barrett''s breathing grew slightly heavy.


    The three pirate ships ahead exerted a deathly pressure on him, and the closer they got, the more the deck''s dense hostility felt like a mountain pressing down, making his scalp tingle.


    After so many years in the military, he had never attempted such a crazy "tactic."


    The highestmander charging straight into the enemy''s stronghold, with the legion behind?


    But he didn''t question any further.


    When he agreed to this tactic, he had already put his life out of his mind.


    Su Lun was also not careless, knowing full well that the North Sea Fleet was the pinnacle of pirate strength. There were many high-level fourth and fifth-order warriors on the three ships, and they were not to be underestimated with over a thousand enemies. The situation could change in an instant, and he was still analyzing every possibility based on the current circumstances.


    Qian led the way without speaking, her hand resting on her sword sheath, continuously charging her Sword Qi.


    At this point, Su Lun also noticed that those pirates seemed to be somewhat alert. He said, "Get a bit closer, within a hundred meters would be best."


    Listening to this, Barrett frowned and responded, "Dorosel might not let us get that close. The guy is a sixth-order professional, after all. He must have sensed something."


    "Then we''ll raise a g to negotiate."


    Su Lun had a look of being prepared all along on his face.


    As he spoke, he took out two small gs, signaling with them.


    At sea, there was a universal g signaling system for long-distancemunication between ships.


    Nearly every ship is fitted with a "Signal Officer."


    Su Lun, having previously acquired this skill, wielded the small gs with extreme dexterity, signaling: We want to negotiate.


    This move would also make the opposing pirates believe he was just a "minor character."


    Su Lun never cared about being seen as an icon¡ªminor character or big shot, it was all the same to him.


    With a battle imminent, the more inconspicuous he was, the safer he would be.


    Barrett watched his action, and the expression that flickered across his face was quickly concealed, thinking: He really dide prepared.


    ...


    As expected.


    Because of the negotiation g signal that Su Lun sent, the cannons aimed at them did not open fire, and they smoothly closed in on the group of pirates.


    The three pirate ships formed a ''Æ·'' shape, surrounding the assault boat within.


    The pirate underlings, not sensing the imminent danger, each gathered at the ship''s railing to enjoy the spectacle.


    ''Demon Hand'' Dorosel, though feeling uneasy, couldn''t imagine by any stretch that these three before him stood any chance of sess.


    Where did this sense of crisise from?


    Out of caution, he didn''t let Barrett board right away but instead spoke from a higher position, "Captain Barrett, what''s this? You''ve seen the light and want to have a talk?"


    "..."


    Barrett looked at the pirates, each with a mocking expression, with utter disdain in his heart.


    He would rather die than submit to these pirates.


    However, Barrett also knew he needed to buy some time for Su Lun behind him.


    So he didn''t rush to express his stance.


    At the stern of the boat, Su Lun appeared to be operating the engine, staying quiet as his "nobody." The invisible threads in his hands, however, had sunk into the sea below.


    Dorosel was no fool; looking at Barrett''s subtle facial expressions, his suspicion in his eyes deepened.


    Seeing this, a squadron captain nearby immediately caught on. He threw a pair of shackles over and said, "Barrett, since you want to negotiate, put on these ''magic-restraining handcuffs'' ande aboard to talk."


    Barrett didn''t even look at the handcuffs, his face flushed with the fury of feeling insulted and retorted, "This is how the North Sea Fleet treats its guests? Ha, I came here to negotiate, Barrett is not a prisoner of war!"


    He was stalling for time, since a fight was inevitable anyway.


    While saying this, he also didn''t forget to mock, "Dorosel, such a big fleetmander you are, and that''s all the courage you''ve got? Haha..."


    With those words, the atmosphere instantly became awkward.


    Dorosel, with furrowed brows on hearing this, wasn''t upset because of the mockery but rather, the sense of unease within him grew stronger and stronger.


    Yet he didn''t know where this unease stemmed from.


    A one-armed "Ferocious Beast" Barrett was not worth such treatment.


    But after all, with three squadrons and over a thousand subordinates watching, Dorotheus could not possibly show weakness.


    Everyone was talking about negotiations, after all, the mighty Northern Sea Fleet wouldn''t possiblyck the courage to negotiate, right?


    Just as he was about to call Barrett aboard...


    Suddenly,


    An unexpected situation arose!


    These pirates were not all fools, there were various skilled individuals on the ship, and those with perceptive professions also keenly detected something was off in the sea.


    At that moment, someone shouted loudly.


    "Captain, something''s not right! There''s something in the sea!"


    "It looks like a lot of big octopuses, and they''re heading towards us!"


    "Damn it, we''ve been tricked! Open fire, kill them!"


    "..."


    The pirates on the three pirate ships immediately reacted.


    In this situation, it would indeed be foolish if they still didn''t understand what was happening.


    Upon hearing the news, "Demon Hand" Dorotheus''s face turned pale, and seeing the group of transparent shadows rapidly approaching the ships through the sea, he finally understood the source of the unease in his heart!


    Barrett was only pretending to negotiate, in reality, he was nning a battle to the death!


    Yet even at this moment, he still couldn''t understand, with over a thousand brothers, on what basis did the opposition dare to make a move?


    ...


    The mechanical octopuses had a special light-absorbing coating on their surfaces, especially in the water, which made them look like transparent jelly, hard to detect with the naked eye.


    Even if a "transparent octopus" were to be considered a new species, it wouldn''t be surprising in the bountiful Endless Sea.


    Even if someone did discover them, they would likely be mistaken for a new species and not immediately thought of as a means of attack.


    But the cluster approaching the ships was too evident and was discovered.


    Su Lun listened to the pirates discovering the mechanical octopuses approaching in the water, his gaze suddenly became sharp.


    But he was not the least bit surprised.


    Having dragged on for so long was already perfect.


    Since they had been discovered, there was no need to hide any longer...


    Su Lun''s mouth curved into a sinister smile, his ten fingers wed at the void, and he pulled out dozens of strands of thread. As soon as the kic system activated, the mechanical tentacles of the octopuses retracted and propelled forward, like pressurized springs being released, their speed increasing several-fold.


    In the span of a few breaths, dozens of octopuses neared the bottoms of the three ships!


    If any of the mechanical octopuses got a tentacle attached to the underside of a ship, the other tentacles could effortlessly wrap around it.


    In just a moment, fifty mechanical octopuses had all climbed onto the three pirate ships, beginning their ship-sabotage operations.


    "Boss, something doesn''t seem right!"


    "Damn it, those octopuses are made of steel, and our muskets can''t affect them! Harpoons are useless too!"


    "No good, those monsters are destroying our warships!"


    "..."


    The pirates quickly realized a terrifying fact.


    They thought they were being attacked by sea monsters, only to find out they were "mechanical creatures" they had never heard of before.


    Thispletely overturned their understanding.


    Although they had been quick to notice and respond, mechanical octopuses, most of whose functions were designed for ship sabotage, were "ship-breaking tools." Once they were activated, there was simply no chance for human response.


    Each ship had more than a dozen octopuses attached to it, and in an instant, the "crack" and "snap" of breaking wood was incessant.


    The exaggerated twisting force of the mechanical tentacles and the ship-sabotaging equipment crushed the wrapped hulls into pieces in an instant.


    Vast amounts of seawater poured into the cabins, and all three pirate ships began sinking rapidly almost simultaneously.


    Even though a few fifth-order Pirate Squadron Captains reacted quickly and used Spatial Ability to sever some tentacles, they still couldn''t prevent the three ships from breaking apart and sinking into the sea.


    The pirates screamed and fell into the water, each one in a sorry state.


    "How... how could this happen..."


    "Demon Hand" Dorotheus''s eyes were filled with disbelief.


    He could never have imagined that just in one encounter, his three warships would be sunk right before his eyes!


    At the same time, several dozen lifeboats were being lowered from that distant warship and the three-masted sailboat, and hundreds of people were rushing towards them.


    "Damn it!"


    The fleetmander''s face darkened, and with a powerful stomp, he charged towards the assault boats, shouting: "Kill them first!"


    Intuition told Dorotheus that he had to kill the three individuals in front of him first, otherwise big trouble would ensue.


    Moreover, he just realized that the "Signal Officer" he initially thought was insignificant seemed to be the real ringleader controlling these mechanical octopuses!


    ...


    The group of pirates was caught off guard and was utterly astonished.


    Simrly, Barrett was just as deeply shocked by the scene before him as those pirates!


    "Mechanical octopuses?!"


    Though he had anticipated Su Lun would solve the problem with some surprising method, he had not expected it to be this kind of method.


    But looking at the mechanical tentacles boiling on the sea surface, he still couldn''t believe what he was seeing.


    Having been a high-ranking officer in Ruying, he was naturally aware of some cutting-edge technology.


    Looking at these mechanical octopuses, he immediately guessed something.


    "So he has already mastered neural-mechanical technology..."


    Barrett''s heart was filled with deep amazement for a long time.


    He actually did it... he sank three main battleships of the North Sea Fleet with just one encounter.


    Moreover, what shocked him even more was yet toe!


    ...


    "Demon Hand" Dorosel, after all a sixth-tier professional, charged towards the assault boat carrying Su Lun and two others as soon as he realized something was amiss.


    Barrett had been keeping an eye on this guy. Seeing that disappearing figure, he suppressed his shock and urgently shouted in his heart, "He''sing!"


    From the previous battle, he had already experienced this person''s fearsomeness firsthand, with his Spatial Teleportation and "True Damage Demon Hand," undoubtedly a nightmare for any professional of the same ss.


    Not a hint of fear showed on Barrett''s face; he resolved himself that, even at the cost of his life, he would not let this man harm Su Lun!


    However, before he could even move, he suddenly felt a domineering and heaven-piercing Sword Intent rise beside him.


    Suddenly, it was as if he heard the sharp ng of a sword being drawn from its sheath beside his ear.


    In that moment, thunderclouds suddenly rolled in the sky, and the sky darkened instantly. All of a sudden, a purple-red lightning bolt shed from the dark clouds, striking the sea with a "crack," casting a sinister red glow on the faces of hundreds of people.


    "Thundering Hell!"


    A thousand faces showed fierce battle intent, their robes fluttering loudly due to the overpowering aura.


    The Sword Qi that had been umting for so long burst forth like a dam breaking at the moment the "Demon de Sect Master" was drawn from its sheath.


    After she drew her sword, the six-armed Rakshasa shadow behind her instantly solidified.


    Another look revealed three barrels of thunder drums, drawing countless lightning serpents from the sky, converging at the tip of the de and sharply shing down, "One de Style ¡¤ Fleet Wind Battleship!"


    A "whoosh" of sword Qi burst forth, tearing through the sky.


    At such a close distance, Barrett felt the impact most deeply, instantly experiencing a hair-raising sense of impending death.


    Even though the sword Qi wasn''t directed at him, he felt as if countless sharp des were grazing over his body, a sensation of steel scraping against bone.


    "Is this her Sword Dao... such a tyrannical thunderous Sword Intent."


    Barrett could no longer describe the shock in his heart.


    The Sword Intent previously emitted on the ship was not even one-thousandth of what it was now!


    He had never seen a fifth-tier Sword Saint with such a dominant and terrifying Sword Intent before.


    Moreover, it wasn''t just the exaggerated realm of her Sword Dao. Barrett looked at the second form of the Rakshasa Woman''s shadow behind her; that was the rarest part.


    "Second form, [Rakshasa Woman], a demonically talented nature..."


    A myriad of thoughts shed through Barrett''s mind in an instant.


    In his life, he had seen too many geniuses in Ruying; he himself had also grown up bearing the halo of a "prodigy." Yet, looking at the person before him, he felt like he was truly witnessing an "outstanding prodigy."


    And that de, filled with monstrous demonic energy... was clearly no ordinary item.


    All of it...


    Far exceeded Barrett''s earlier expectations.


    He had already held the "Squadron Captain Thousand" in high regard, overestimating the "Dawn Squadron," but now he realized he had still underestimated them by far too much.


    No wonder they dared to sh head-on, even though they clearly knew this was a vice captain of the Northern Seas Fleet.


    It turns out they truly possessed the strength to sh!


    ...


    With a single sh, Qian Tiao unleashed a thunderous Sword Qi, cutting through the air from dozens of meters away, and suddenly a figure hidden in the void was forced out in a sorry state.


    Dorosel, the "Demon Hand," evaded the deadly Sword Qi, but no one dared to block it. It tore through the air, covering a hundred meters in the blink of an eye, and turned those squadron captains'' half-destroyed warship into splinters.


    Now, everyone was soaked in the sea.


    Not everyone knew how to "Stepping on Air" or had gear to move in the sea...


    With the warship destroyed, thebat power of these over a thousand people was instantly reduced by eighty percent.


    Dorosel, the "Demon Hand," looked on with a gloom so dense it seemed about to drip water. Only then did he realize that the "Fifth Order" he had not taken seriously was actually a "Sword Saint" with such domineering mastery over the Sword Dao. But the deed was done, and there was no room for regret as he charged again.


    Qian Tiao was not to be outdone and leaped from the assault boat.


    "Pop," "pop," "pop,"... After a series of explosions, she fearlessly faced the pirate boss who was a whole major rank above her.


    Since she knew about the guy''s abilities in advance, Qian Tiao didn''t foolishly sh head-on but shed from a distance with several cuts of Sword Qi. Although a Sixth Order professional was strong, they had not yet formed their own domain and were quite wary of the Sword Qi.


    But Dorosel had mastered Spatial Ability, with flexible Teleportation, so the Sword Qi could not achieve sess in such a short time.


    Seeing this, Captain Barrett would not just stand by and watch.


    He exchanged a nce with Su Lun, asking if they should offer help.


    Su Lun shook his head.


    Seeing that, Barrett didn''t hesitate any longer and charged fiercely into the fray.


    Although he admitted that the several dozen mechanical octopuses were astonishingly impressive, he didn''t believe that Su Lun could withstand those over a thousand pirates by himself. After all, many of those pirates were Fourth and Fifth Order professionals, and what was more critical, nearly everyone in the fleet had Spatial Ability. Mechanical gadgets could dominate momentarily but definitely could notpletely suppress these people.


    If it had been before, Barrett might have had doubts, thinking it impossible.


    But now, he had absolute trust in Su Lun!


    He had a hunch that this person would bring even greater surprises.


    ...


    As nned, as long as they could hold off the Sixth Order "Demon Hand" Dorosel, Su Lun''s own survival ability was not to be underestimated.


    The lives of the "Judgment Group" were at stake, so Barrett naturally went all out. Qian Tiao wouldn''t let Su Lun fall into danger, and even if she were in a perilous situation herself, she wouldn''t let that guy get close to Su Lun.


    Dorosel was embroiled with two experts and couldn''t take care of himself.


    Su Lun also breathed a sigh of relief watching this.


    Looking at those over a thousand people in the water, his hands forming sorcerer''s seals were moving rapidly.


    Those pirate squadron captains and team leaders naturally saw him too, and a group with wings were already flying towards him.


    A cold light shone in Su Lun''s eyes as he murmured, "It''s my turn to perform now..."


    A Fleet from the Void?


    In Su Lun''s eyes, as long as they were the enemy, they were just experience points!


    As Qian Tiao and the others were engaging the enemymander, Su Lun felt that it was finally time to go all out. His sorcerer''s seals condensed, and the ferocious form of the eight-armed spidernce appeared behind him.


    When the sorcerer''s seals changed once more, the Hexagram Alchemy Array lit up beneath his feet, and a huge cross, a hundred meters in diameter, slowly formed above his head.


    "Mystic Art: Puppet Theater!"


    He casually tossed out five scrolls, and "Bang" "Bang" "Bang"... a burst of white smoke exploded, suspending five hundred rune puppets out of thin air. The spidernce behind him pulled, and one by one, the puppets with painted blush and eerie smiles on their faces seemed toe to life, emitting "click" "click" sounds from their gnashing mouths as they charged toward the multitude.


    A nce revealed that in his left hand, he held the "Human Skin Umbre," and in his right hand was "Xiupunos''s Scythe of the Night."


    It had to be said, Spatial Ability was a natural counter to mechanical equipment.


    Even mechanical octopuses with high-order runic patterns couldn''t withstand several shes from fourth and fifth-order professionals, leaving tentacles scattered everywhere.


    The "Void Fleet" wasn''t just filled with spatial professionals; they also possessed cursed items imbued with Spatial Ability. The weapons capable of slicing through space were the real trouble. Even a small cut could be fatally damaging to mechanical products.


    Su Lun was not willing to see his hard-earned fifty mechanical beasts destroyed by these people.


    The battle losses had already pained him greatly,


    Fortunately, the mission of the mechanical octopuses wasplete, and Su Lun had sunk them into the water, waiting for the right moment to act.


    Now was the time for the rune puppets to take the main stage.


    Puppets weren''t afraid of being destroyed.


    Let them be destroyed, painless and itchless, after all, there were plenty of reserves.


    Su Lun, single-handedly controlling five hundred puppets, engaged in variousbat on the sea.


    Not all members of the pirate group were fourth or fifth-order leaders, and even within the North Sea Fleet, more than 80% were first and second-order professionals.


    Although these fellows had awakened some Spatial Ability, which could be incredibly sharp against other professionals, when facing puppets...@@novelbin@@


    Go ahead and destroy them if you wish.


    Your de might be sharp, but do I, a puppet of wood, fear being cut?


    The suicidal charges of the puppets sent pirates scattering in all directions.


    Of course, the most lethal was Su Lun himself.


    At the moment, he held the ck scythe, and the shadow of the reaper rose behind him.


    The sea was littered with people like dumplings in water, on broken pieces of shipwrecks, barrels...


    With a few swishes of Su Lun''s ck scythe, he didn''t even need to aim to hit several enemies.


    Although the ck scythe had a lower chance of hitting higher-order professionals, it gave almost no time for lower-order professionals to react.


    More often than not, a single sh would send limbs flying haphazardly, and blood spurting everywhere.


    Once the corpses multiplied, the blood soon stained the entire sea red...


    Meanwhile, Su Lun himself wasn''t just standing by; looking at the "gray fog" over the sea, he rushed over and began a harvesting spree.


    "You have stripped ''Akhmum Red'' of his soul."


    "You have gained some casting skills of ''Space Spell,'' experience +13."


    "You have gained a slight understanding of Space Law."


    "..."


    "You have stripped ''Ogar Kingsley'' of his soul."


    "You have stripped ''Siyam Bali'' of his soul."


    "You have stripped ''Mick Tyson'' of his soul."


    "..."


    Experience +18, experience +9, experience +131, experience +12, experience +41...


    These lower-order pirates, relying on the integration of spatial imnts, had some understanding of Space Law, albeit slight, but inrge numbers!


    Even if there were ovepster in the harvest, in a short time, Su Lun visibly saw his "Space Law"prehension skyrocket.


    As for those fourth and fifth-order pirates who wanted to gang up on him?


    Within the "Puppet Theater," Su Lun''sbat capabilities were extraordinary.


    Even if he couldn''t beat them, he could run.


    Su Lun''s Spatial Ability was no less than that of any Pirate Squadron Captain here.


    His ability to save himself was incredibly strong.


    Moreover, not far away, people from the "Dawn Group" and the "Judgment Group" were fiercely approaching on speedboats.


    ....


    The battle reached its climax the moment the mechanical octopuses destroyed three warships.


    With the ships destroyed, there was no chance of escape; the battle for survival had both sides fighting with desperation and fierceness.


    Not far away, Qian Tiao and Captain Barrett were fiercely locked inbat with "Demon Hand" Dulosel.


    As both sides fought desperately, the battle was intense and indecisive.


    Dulosel, a professional from the "Fighter" ss, excelled in closebat. Whether it was his cursed glove or the "Void Ghost Hand" imnt that he had fused with, both matched his profession perfectly. His punches could shatter the void, ignoring armor and elemental shields, and they absolutely made his opponents question their life choices. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire


    Dulosel was confident, believing he had a chance to triumph even against two opponents. But frustratingly, they didn''t engage him directly, making his punches feel like they hit cotton, unable to exert his true strength.


    Dulosel vaguely sensed that they were dragging out time, but he didn''t understand why they would do such a thing.


    Was there reinforcementing?


    Despite the ship being destroyed, Dulosel wasn''t particrly panicky.


    After all, he possessed Spatial Discement ability; if he really wanted to escape, no one could prevent him!


    If he found a chance to kill the two who were ensnaring him, he could turn the tables!


    However, little did he realize that Su Lun was precisely waiting for the enemy to have this "I can turn the tables" mentality...


    If "Demon Hand" Dulosel chose to flee at the first chance, Su Lun would indeed be helpless against him.


    But he decided to stay, awaiting an opportunity for Su Lun to free up his hands.


    Then, the oue, most likely, would not be as "free toe and go" as he had anticipated.

 Chapter 365 The Fear Dominated by Su Lun

    Having obtained detailed intelligence about the North Sea''s eighteen fleets in advance, Su Lun''s n had considered almost everything that could happen at the moment.


    A strategic bination punch" caught the enemy off guard. Before the pirates could even react, three warships had been sunk with crew members thrown overboard.


    After he had wielded his ck scythe to swiftly kill two fourth-tier squad captains and a bunch of underlings, it was only then that the remaining squad captains realized what was happening.


    ''Drunkard'' Roberson was the fleet''s lead squad captain, wielding a Void w with strong armor-piercing capability and few equals in his tier. It was his weapon, the Void Steel w prosthetic, that had sliced off several of the kraken''s tentacles, preserving half of the ship¡ªalthough it waster breached by a sword qi strike from Qiantiao, his strength was beyond doubt.


    As everyone knows, the most direct way to deal with a Puppet Master is to kill the controller.


    Roberson''s eyes were cold as he stared at Su Lun on the sea surface and bellowed, "Kill that Puppet Master first!"


    With those words, he exchanged nces with the nearby fourth squad captain ''Whaler'' Aireno and ninth squad captain ''Python Fist'' Teck.


    The three Tier-Five experts instantly understood each other and charged forward.


    ....


    Su Lun''s Puppet Theater was positioned cunningly, covering the area of the three sunken ships, where the crowd was densest.


    Qiantiao and Barrett had already joined forces to push the sixth-tier Dorosel far outside the range of the sunken ships, allowing Su Lun to freely manipte his puppet legion inbat.


    The ck umbre enhanced his Soul Perception range; he could see all the souls on the sea surface and below, their fluctuations were crystal clear. The Dead Herald birds circling in the sky shared their vision with him, allowing Su Lun to see everything happening on the sea. His ability to multitask also enabled him to maintain perfect control of the entire battlefield.


    This also meant that he was simply impossible to ambush!


    Even without using his eyes to see, a casual swing of his ck scythe was bound to strike its target.


    This nearplete sensory coverage left the enemy with no defense. No line of sight to capture, no perception of malice, no breath targeting... one could never know where the next spatial fissure would appear.


    With a swing of the ck scythe, a random "lucky one" was taken away.


    As if Death itself was following at their side, nobody knew when the ck scythe would reap their life.


    The cursed object of sealed-item grade truly demonstrated its equivalent rank of lethal prowess at that moment.


    Unstoppable!


    No one dared to stand where the scythe''s de pointed!


    Panic spread rapidly.


    And just then, Su Lun sensed that the fifth squad captain had vanished from his perception, and his gaze suddenly sharpened.


    He identified that the leading figure was ''Drunkard'' Roberson, an Assassin by profession.


    "Void powers" and Assassin professions were a perfect match, allowing their stealth to be more than just optical disappearance; it was slipping into the void itself.


    Su Lun tended with no less caution.


    Suddenly, he perceived a spatial fluctuation behind him and without any hesitation, he used a "sh" to dodge away from his original position.


    Almost at the same time, the afterimage he left was caught by five void fissures and dispersed.


    "Such a sharp assassination technique!"


    Su Lun''s pupils contracted sharply because an arrow barrage was heading his way.


    The one attacking was the fourth squad captain ''Whaler'' Aireno, a master archer, whose weapon was a rare cursed object capable of firing void arrows. Continue your journey at My Virtual Library Empire


    Su Lun had nced at it earlier and recognized it on the spot. Harvested from ancient ruins, with an effective range of three hundred meters, it could ignore armor defenses.


    Another very troublesome cursed object.


    And what''s worse, in the blink of an eye, Su Lun noticed a figure stepping on air, charging towards him vigorously. It was none other than the Ninth Squad Captain, ''Python Fist'' Teck, whose Stepping on Air wasbined with Void Discement, moving so fast that several afterimages remained in the field of vision.


    Three tier 5 professionals were working together seamlessly, nearly cutting off all of Su Lun''s avenues of escape.


    Su Lun looked at the dozens of Spatial Arrows mere inches away, a sh of cold light in his eyes.


    Instead of avoiding them, he suddenly took out a ck-and-white chessboard.


    Faster than the arrows, a beam of light shot forward, hitting the ''Whaler'', Aireno Mei, who had been shooting from cover.


    When it came to cursed items, Su Lun had more than these pirates could handle!


    In an instant, the surroundings flickered with light and shadow, and suddenly he was in the enclosed space of the ck-and-white chessboard.


    ...


    The firepower of archer professionals was formidable, and they possessed a terrifying ability for long-range sniping.


    But usually, if a profession has strengths, it inevitably has weaknesses.


    And most archers'' physicalbat capabilities were weak!


    Therefore, professions like archers and snipers were generally the key protection targets within a team.


    Just like now, this guy was guarded by an entire small squad.


    But Su Lun''s [Stanitz''s Chessboard] was meant for one-on-one duels, pulling people in unreasonably directly.


    The scenery shifted all around.


    Aireno Mei''s face turned pale as well.


    His reaction was quick; raising his hand, he drew his longbow, and several more Void Arrows materialized.


    Su Lun gave him no chance, pinching a sorcerer''s seal, and ayer of dark golden runes appeared on his body as he softlymanded, "Hormonal Outburst¡¤Quadruple Dissolution!"


    The spell rapidly took shape, and his muscles swelled instantly. With a fierce stomp on the ground and a "crack" sound, he shot forward like a cannonball.


    Aireno Mei was horrified and puzzled: How could a Puppet Master possibly be this fast?


    But his hands didn''t stop moving, firing three arrows in quick session.


    Su Lun didn''t dodge at all, charging towards the iing arrows.


    Just as the arrows were about an inch from his forehead, [sh] was ready for use once more.


    In this constrained space, Su Lun''s exaggerated speed allowed him to close the distance abruptly, appearing right in front of Aireno Mei''s face.


    At this very moment, the pirate squad captain''s face was a mix of disbelief and terror.


    The spatial chessboard couldn''t restrain those who were capable of Spatial Discement, but unfortunately for Aireno Mei, he couldn''t use it!


    His path of advancement wasn''t Spatial Discement. In order to use that cursed longbow in his hands, he put all his advancement options into "output."


    Under normal circumstances, a professional in a team doesn''t need every member to be all-around capable.


    As long as the healer has enough healing power, the tank can take damage, and the damage dealers can strike... that''s enough.


    Everyoneplements each other, allowing collectivebat power to multiply exponentially.


    But now, turned into a "1V1" by Su Lun, Aireno Mei waspletely flustered.


    He had just stripped enough "grey mist" from the corpses of those pirateckeys, allowing Su Lun to understand the capabilities of the various squad captains like the back of his hand.


    Multi-tasking and extremely high brain capacity development were utilized to their fullest in suchplexbat, making Su Lun''s brain operate like a high-speedputer that could quickly process newly acquired information.


    It was precisely because he had mastered these pieces of intelligence that he didn''t hesitate to opt for close-quartersbat.


    Once he got close, his ck scythe shed horizontally, and Aireno Mei''s frail body meant he couldn''t perform extreme dodges right after shooting arrows and could only watch helplessly as a spatial rift appeared at his waist.


    The leather armor he was wearing wasn''t ordinary either. Under normal circumstances, it could protect him from fatal injuries, even if he faced an opponent of the same level.


    Unfortunately, what Su Lun wielded in his hand was a "sealed item."


    It was a smoothness without the slightest pain, and Aireno watched as his upper body separated from his lower, his life force rapidly fading away.


    It wasn''t that the squadron captain wasn''t strong enough; from beginning to end, he was calcted to death due to the asymmetry of information.


    ...


    "You have stripped ''Aireno Mei''s soul."


    "You have gained arge amount of casting skills for ''spatial spells'', experience +751"


    "Yourprehension of the Space Law has been enhanced..."


    "You have stripped some information: ''The death rate of fusing with the void is extremely high, but at least I finally pulled through. All thepanions that were once with me are dead, only I am left...''"


    "..."


    After ying his target, Su Lun stripped away that mass of gray fog.


    Theprehension of thews by a fifth-order professional was iparable to that of lower-order professionals; this mass of gray fog brought him improvements many times greater than the dozens of other mass he had stripped before¡ªenough to save him ten years of arduous cultivation.


    Squadron captain-level pirates would possess more secrets, and Su Lun also learned about the situation of the "void fleet" from this guy''s soul.


    This fleet was formed over a mountain of bones.


    Not everyone is suitable for fusing with the void profession, but human life isn''t worth much in this world. King Oleg of the North Sea tried with arge number of people, numerous deformations, and deathster, and only one in a hundred survived. Only then did this "void fleet"e into being.


    Without the time to think deeply, Su Lun didn''t even look at the spoils of war, but stuffed the corpses and arrows into his storage space.


    The scenery around him changed once more, returning him to the surface of the sea.


    ...


    The pirates had no clue what had happened, watching Su Lun vanish into thin air and then reappearing simrly out of nowhere.


    The whole process took less than ten breaths of time.


    What was key was that the Fourth Squadron Captain ''Whaler'' Aireno who vanished with him never reappeared!


    The pirates understood all too well that the squadron captain was probably more unlucky than not.


    Meanwhile, Qian Tiao and Captain Barrett, who were fiercely battling in the distance, also saw what happened here.


    Although it seemed that these two high-ranked fighters were the biggest factors influencing the oue of this sea battle, they both understood that the actual, most important variable was "Su Lun."


    The battle changed in the blink of an eye, and in just this short period, so many unexpected things happened. Barrett was so utterly shocked he couldn''t speak.


    Previously, when he saw those dozens of mechanical octopuses appear, he thought Su Lun was a [Beast Tamer].


    But now, looking at the sky filled with silken threads and runic puppets, he realized, was he actually a Puppet Master?


    But even so, he never could have imagined that Su Lun alone could oppress over a thousand people in battle?


    Which Puppet Master could control hundreds of puppets at once?


    He could still afford to be distracted while fighting several professionals a whole major rank above him, and even managed to counter-kill one?


    Barrett''s gaze wasplex as he looked at Su Lun in the distance, with the specter of a scythe-wearing death reaper looming behind him.


    Emperor Luying''s domain was a ce where talents converged, with all sorts of rare A-tier and B-tier talents; what hadn''t he seen before?


    But this death reaper phantom wielding a ck scythe, he truly had never seen before.


    He had not even heard of it!


    Yet, that did not stop him from discerning that this was an extremely rare "S-rank" talent.


    Moreover, the fact that the specter was externally manifested also meant that it was a talent at its second awakening.


    Barrett felt that today, he had exhausted a lifetime''s worth of shocks.


    He had just witnessed a second awakening of Rakshasa Woman, which he thought was one in a hundred million, only to encounter another talent that was even more unique.


    Barrett himself was a second awakener of the "Talent C-071-Ape"; how could he not know, the higher the rank of a talent, the more difficult it was to develop?


    Without exaggeration, could a normal person who hadn''t been through several near-death experiences awaken such a high-level talent''s second form?


    But these two guys in front of him both were...


    Forget it, iparable.


    For the first time, Barrett felt that his former reputation as the "prodigy graduate of the Imperial Capital Military Academy" was so dim and dull in the presence of these two.


    It was said that they also had a very powerful and mysterious leader.


    Barrett couldn''t help but wonder, just who exactly are these people in the "Dawn Group"?


    ....


    As Su Lun left, the Puppet Theater lost its support, and runic puppets floated all over the sea.


    After he appeared on the sea''s surface, the sorcerer''s seals were joined once more, and the cross in the sky again began to slowly condense.


    Watching Su Lun act so brazenly, how could those squad captains stand it?


    Just at the moment Su Lun materialized, the "Drunkard" Roberson emerged once again from the void and reached out for another grab.


    Su Lun too caught the glimpse of a soul fire that had appeared behind him.


    This fellow was truly a professional assassin; he had chosen a very tricky moment to appear, exactly when Su Lun was concentrating on his spell. Under normal circumstances, this grasp, even if it did not injure someone, could interrupt the casting of the spell.


    And the killing intent did note from just one direction.


    On another front, "Python Fist" Teck also teleported and burst through the air, swinging a heavy punch.


    Thisbined attack maneuver was all too familiar by now.


    Su Lun knew clearly that his chessboard couldn''t keep these two guys under control.@@novelbin@@


    This time, however, he did not make any superfluous movements. The sorcerer''s seals in his hands continued to condense, but a certain thread pulled by the spider spear behind him moved ever so slightly.


    The crows in the sky that herald death could clearly see that the assassin behind was aiming a grasp at the back of his head.


    Su Lun tilted his head slightly, splitting open the grasp.


    The cooperation between these two squad captains was extremely synchronized. Under normal circumstances, as long as he chose to dodge, he would definitely face the oing heavy punch.


    But at that moment, a bizarre scene urred!


    The "Python Fist" Teck was originally aiming to bash Su Lun with a punch, but for some reason, his fist unexpectedly veered off, as if he had suddenly changed his mind, and he charged straight towards the "Drunkard" Roberson instead.


    The moment that was captured was Su Lun just managing to crane his neck away from the w when Teck''s heavy fist eerilynded on Roberson''s head.


    With a "thud," the sound was like a hammer smashing a watermelon.


    This punch, entwined with distorted space, hit right in the face.


    Luckily for him, the assassin''s extraordinary reaction speed allowed Roberson to lean back to the extreme, unloading seven or eight parts of the force.


    Otherwise, his head might have been blown apart by that punch.


    Even so, the punch still sent the Ninth Squad Captain flying out like a cannonball.


    Seizing the opportunity, Su Lun rapidly retreated dozens of meters, and the sorcerer''s seals in his hand were also sessfully condensed.


    A hundred meters away, Roberson, with a face blurred with blood and flesh, climbed up from the seawater, outraged, "Teck, what the hell is he doing?"


    This punch had nearly taken his life!


    Teck looked at his own fist as if he had seen a ghost, confusedly saying, "I... I don''t know!"


    He was clearly aiming for that guy, so how did he end up hitting his own partner?


    All the pirates'' gazes collectively turned toward the expressionless man.


    ....


    The cross in the sky had once again condensed.


    Su Lun breathed a sigh of relief.


    With "Puppet Mastery: ughter Theater," he felt once again as if everything was under his control.


    Looking at the pirates who had yet to react on the opposite side, he murmured to himself with an indifferent expression, "Didn''t kill him... that''s a bit of a pity."


    However, the next second, a murderous intent suddenly surged!


    A cold glint shed in his eyes, his left hand suddenly made a grabbing motion in the air, resembling the act of pulling on threads, while the scythe in his right simultaneously swung down.


    Teck, who was still in a daze, saw the dark scythe far away swinging toward him and showed an expression of horror.


    An instinctive sense of danger made him stomp on the wooden board beneath his feet, trying to use the force to dodge.


    In a normal situation, such an obvious attack trajectory could never harm him.


    But in that split second of dodging, he suddenly felt his body stiffen, and the spiritual power inside his body uncontrobly paused for a moment.


    "Not good!"


    Teck realized the abnormality in his body and understood what had just happened: someone had taken control of his body!


    How could this be?


    He hadn''t fallen for any illusion technique, so how could his body be controlled?


    But reality left no time for further thought; he clearly sensed a spatial rift appear above his neck.


    In that instant when death approached, Teck twisted his body to the limit, narrowly avoiding the spatial rift.


    Did he avoid it?


    No, he hadn''t!


    Su Lun hadn''t unleashed a single strike, but two!


    At that moment, Teck also sensed another spatial rift appearing in his perception.


    The opponent had even calcted that he would move to the right!


    With a face full of despair, Teck realized he had already lost his bnce and couldn''t dodge any longer.


    He could only watch in horror as the spatial rift sliced off half of his head, plunging his vision into darkness.


    From afar, Su Lun watched impassively as that head was split in two, whispering to himself, "Skilled in heavy side kicks with the right leg, which means the left leg is often used as the supporting leg to generate force... He most likely would dodge to the right."


    He had determined this from the intelligence he had obtained and from observations he made earlier.


    The guy was wearing shorts, revealing the muscr patterns on his legs, which were uncovered. Fighters, in their professional tier, could deduce force habits from certain details of the body''s muscles.


    Once figured out, some impulsive reactions could be predicted.


    Moreover, Su Lun had taken one more precaution: he manipted the tilt of the wooden boards on the water''s surface with threads, which was difficult to notice.


    In order to maintain the force and bnce, the guy would most likely move to the right as well.


    So, it was a one-strike kill.


    As for why the Ninth Squad Captain had hit the wrong person before, and why his body had tensed up for a moment, it was because of the "Soul Perception."


    Did the Puppeteer only control puppets?


    No, wherever his gaze fell, all became puppets!


    Su Lun was well aware that it was almost impossible for him to control high-ranking professionals with "Soul Perception" at the moment, but changing a little bit at a critical moment was still achievable.


    Soul Perception was a form of physical control, like inserting silver needles to instantaneously block the blood flow, sending false signals to the nerves, which was indeed achievable.


    Just before, he had stripped a fifth-tier professional in the chessboard space, so now Su Lun''s understanding of the "Space Law" had reached that of a fifth-tier professional. This meant he could break through Teck''s protective void barrier with threads without drawing much attention.


    This, too, led to the moment earlier, when the guy was misled by the wrong neural signals, thus losing control of his body for an instant.


    On the battlefield, such a mistake was enough to cost him his life.


    ...


    Each phase of the n was linked to the next.


    He had been holding back his "Soul Perception" control ability for so long, just to set a trap for a high-tier professional.


    Now it seemed, it worked just perfectly.


    Although Su Lun was just standing there, his body was surrounded by countless translucent energy threads, and if one could sense the energy fluctuations, they would realize he resembled a jellyfish.


    By this time, the lower-rankingckeys'' bodies were already pierced with various "thread ends."


    Those hair-like threads were difficult to detect.


    "The Wailing Witch''s Infinite Hair" had an outstanding discontinuous property, which is to say, it could be connected at any time.


    Now that the "Soul Perception" was exposed, Su Lun wasn''t nning on hiding it anymore.


    At that moment, a sinister and ferocious look appeared in his eyes. With ten fingers making a grabbing motion in the air, he pulled countless threads and eximed, "Puppet Mastery: ughter Theater!"


    ...


    Three fifth-tier squad captains attempted to kill a fourth-tier individual, but instead of seeding, two were killed in two rounds.


    Witnessing this scene, the pirates could not help but feel a chill.


    More than a thousand people looked at the solitary figure standing on the sea, the Harpoon Reaper, with eyes full of terror, as if time itself had stopped, and everyone had forgotten to attack.


    They truly didn''t know how to kill the man before them.


    He was clearly just a fourth-tier, so why was he so terrifying...


    He had too many inconceivable methods at his disposal.


    And then, an even more horrifying scene unfolded.


    The moment Su Lun''s spell was one percentplete, countless threads fell, and the pirates thought they were about to face a puppet army again, but without warning, theirrades suddenly drew their des and stabbed at them.


    "Mark, what are you doing!"


    "I... I don''t know! My body isn''t under my control!"


    "Damn it, don''te near me!"


    "Be careful, that guy has the ability to control the target''s body... Everyone, stay out of the range of that cross."


    "..."


    Firearms discharged wildly, cannons thundered and exploded.


    The low-rankingckeys were like puppets on the front line, each turning to shoot and sh at their ownrades.


    Their minds were clear, but their bodies were uncontroble.


    For a time, it was extremely chaotic.


    This group of pirates was experiencing the horror of being dominated by a "Puppeteer" for the first time.


    It was like when Su Lun had first crossed over, witnessing in "Storm Vi" Pestoya manipting the puppet for the first time.


    That type of fear from the unknown was truly terrifying.


    Was it truly one against a thousand?


    No, from the start of the fight, it was destined to be legion against legion.


    Su Lun''s "Mental Tentacles" could turn enemies into his puppets.


    As soon as they were controlled, they would immediately "mutiny."


    This move directly resolved Su Lun''s situation of fighting a lone battle.


    The pirates had only needed to defend against Su Lun alone; now, they had to beware of the people beside them,


    Even those squad leaders of the fourth and fifth tier instantly lost their will to fight.


    They then realized that from the start, that man''s face was always incredibly calm.


    It was a kind of despair... that no one could resist!


    Like the mastermind behind a puppet theater, he wasposed,


    He was in control of everything.


    ....


    As Su Lun manipted the pirates to ughter each other, members from the "Dawn Group" and the "Judgment Group" also gathered around from a distance.


    They hadn''t imagined that in the short time it took to charge, "Mister Su Lun" had already secured the victory by himself.


    But on everyone''s face was a look of horror.


    Even the members of the Dawn Group.


    A thousand people ughtering each other, the blood dyed arge area red, what an appalling sight?


    Beyond the shock, the crowd roared excitedly, chasing after the fleeing pirates to kill them.


    ...


    On the other hand, seeing this from afar, Barrett also heaved a sigh of relief.


    Su Lun fought against three squad leaders, killing two of the fifth-tier.


    He also caused chaos among the thousand pirates with his strange controlling techniques.


    Barrett was numb with shock...


    Drawing in a cold breath, he eximed, "This fellow''sbat power... is equal to that of an entire legion!"


    Barrett didn''t fail to see that the extremely meticulous battlefield calction was the most terrifying part...


    Like a dance of swords, any mistake could mean irreversible doom.


    And yet, he had done it.


    He was eerily calm.


    Despite his astonishment, Barrett felt a surge of tion.


    He knew that under the current situation, as long as he and the Thousand Stripes Miss could continue to hold on, the pirates of the "Demon Hand" Doloress would inevitably be defeated, and their Dawn Group would finally turn the tide.


    But Doloress had extremely strong spatial discement abilities; Barrett knew that he couldn''t keep him here and would ultimately have to let him escape.


    Just then, Thousand Stripes''municator seemed to receive a message.


    She shed out a Sword Qi, retreated a great distance in a burst, then cried out to Barrett, "Captain Barrett, get ready to make your move!"


    "???"


    Upon hearing this, Barrett was bewildered for a moment.


    What did she mean?


    Weren''t they in the middle of a fight?


    He thought he had misheard.


    But then, under his astonished gaze, he saw that Thousand Stripes, who had already been quite impressive, suddenly had her aura shoot up dramatically.


    Looking again, the shadowy six-armed Rakshasa behind her slowly condensed into a golden statue-like form.


    "This... this... this!"


    Barrett cried out in his heart,


    He might not have seen this before, but he already had a guess in his mind.


    This was definitely not the Rakshasa Woman in her second state!


    So, could it possibly be the third state?


    He then realized, from the beginning to the end, she had not really shown her true power?!

 Chapter 366 A Wave of Fat

    Su Lun used "Psychic Tentacles," plunging these thousand-plus pirates into internal chaos in a short time.


    This situation was not one they could fight through.


    Those pirates who were not controlled frantically escaped towards the areas outside the range of the puppet theater.


    Limited by his rank, Su Lun''s dark powers were not too abundant. The area covered by his puppet theater was not veryrge. If those pirates were determined to escape, there was little he could do.


    Su Lun could only kill as many of the controlled pirates as possible.


    With this killing, hundreds of "fog clusters" rose above the sea surface again.


    But just then, the crew members from the "Dawn Group" and "Judgment Group" arrived in the waters near the Sunken Ship.


    Su Lun had no intention of continuing to tangle with these pirates, as there was a "big fish" waiting in the distance.


    Only by killing that deputy fleet captain "Demon Hand" Duo Luo Sai Er, would the battle truly be over.


    And thus, avoid major future troubles.


    Su Lun disyed his Eight-Armed Spider Lance and quickly circled the sea surface, gobbling up the "fog clusters" like a roaming gluttonous snake.


    With rapid assimtion and digestion, hisprehension of Space Law surged, increasing significantly.


    Although the gains inw from harvesting those first and second-tier pirates became less and less, Su Lun nevertheless acquired various "experiences."


    Closebat spatial application experience, magic system experience, spatial weaponry experience, spellcasting tricks, Space Arcana, rare techniques, habits of void creatures... all sorts of knowledge.


    It was as if he had browsed through a library, Su Lun''s "Reaper of Death" talent allowing him to peel off the content he needed and then insert it directly into his brain.


    After informing Qian Tiao of his battle n, he undid the puppet theater spell and, controlling the Eight-Armed Spider Lance, sprinted across the sea surface towards the distant battlefield.


    ...


    At this moment, several leagues away, a fierce battle was in full swing.


    "Demon Hand" Duo Luo Sai Er waspletely baffled, not having anticipated that the thousand-plus men he brought would tend towards a major defeat in such a short amount of time.


    "How is this possible... A single person overpowering a thousand of my men?"


    Duo Luo Sai Er''s face was the picture of disbelief.


    At this moment, he realized what he hadn''t seen clearly before; he had thought that the "Signal Officer," a mere minion, was the most troublesome enemy.


    One mechanical octopus sink ships, then another inexplicable puppet secret technique, a single person managed to dominate over a thousand with no remedy.


    Seeing this, Duo Luo Sai Er even began to doubt his own perceptions: Could it be that after spending too long in the Void Fleet, having not seen the outside world for a long time, dual-evolved talents were everywhere?


    All three enemies in front of him were of this caliber.


    He realized that he must fight with all his might.


    Only by killing the two who were holding him back could their eighteenth fleet have a chance to turn the tables.


    Otherwise, today might spell a significant setback.


    But after trying, Duo Luo Sai Er became more and more puzzled; no matter how desperately he fought, exhausting all his methods, he still couldn''t kill the two opponents.


    Finally, when he saw the martial vigor of the six-armed Rakshasa female swordsman surge again, he understood why he always felt stuck and unable to shake free.


    It turned out that the female swordsman had never used her full strength!


    Although said to be only rank five, be it the chilling dominance or the Sword Intent that stirred a sea of lightning, how could these be just an ordinary rank five?


    When he felt the majestic and sacred pressure appear, Duo Luo Sai Er realized that this was not a dual-evolved "Rakshasa Woman" after all!


    "Could it be... the legendary triple-evolved talent?"


    At that moment, he finally understood the source of the unease in his heart.


    Just then, Duo Luo Sai Er saw the figure wielding the Eight-Armed Spider Lance rushing quickly toward him from a distance on the sea surface.


    Seeing the momentum, was heing to corner and kill him?


    Hah!


    Duo Luo Sai Er looked on in anger.


    As a mighty tier-six professional, he was part of the tiny elite at the pinnacle of this world''s extraordinary pyramid; how could he not have his own pride?


    He, who traversed the void with impunity, could not simply be sheared by any Tom, Dick, or Harry, could he?


    But the next instant, his confidence dissipated like smoke.


    Because at that moment, Su Lun, in the distance, suddenly stretched out a hand wearing "Kronos''s Spatial Gloves" embedded with an Energy Baryte and violently grabbed towards the front.


    With a "ng," the Crystal Stone shattered, and an invisible force pulsed out.


    Yet, it seemed like nothing had changed.


    Neither Qian Tiao nor Barrett were affected in the slightest.


    But in an instant, Duo Luo Sai Er''splexion drastically changed, terror rising in his heart: "Space has been restricted!"


    Being highly proficient in Space Law himself, how could he not feel the space around him being sealed by a mysterious force?


    It was as if a swimming pool suddenly turned into a concrete floor; how the hell was he supposed to "swim" now?


    At this moment, Duo Luo Sai Er finally panicked.


    He finally understood that the other party really meant to kill him.


    They had even prepared the means to take his life in advance!


    ....


    Battles between Rank Six professionals were not something that lower ranks could casually join in on; Su Lun hade over solely because the gloves had a limited release distance.


    This Spatial Technique of restriction immediately solidified arge area of nearby sea space, sealing it tightly.


    Duo Luo Sai Er''s first reaction was to try and escape the area enclosed by the spatial barrier, but to no avail; Qi''an and Barrett were not about to let him have his way.


    Without the ability to Teleport, Duo Luo Sai Er''s ghostly speed advantage disappeared.


    After all, if you had the ability to fly, who would be desperate to train their leg muscles to run?


    His physical speed was not even as fast as Su Lun, a Rank Four professional!


    Because of Su Lun''s move, the bnce of the battle suddenly tipped from a stalemate towards one side.


    Even though the range of the spatial restriction was indeed limited, Su Lun hade prepared.


    He had also collected several top-tier Energy Barytes during this time; just enough... to be sufficient!


    Even if each one was worth a hundred million lire, today, Su Lun would absolutely not let Duo Luo Sai Er escape using Spatial Discement!


    ...


    The appearance of Rakshasa Golden Body in its third phase formally announced that the battle had reached its final stage.


    The thunderclouds in the sky had grown very thick, with purplish-red lightning snakes constantly flickering within them.


    And at that moment, a more extravagant scene appeared in the sky: slowly emerging from within the thunderclouds was a Rakshasa Golden Body phantom standing a hundred meters tall. As soon as the phantom appeared, it was as though chantings from the beyond were heard by the ear. With an angry Rakshasa face on one side and a dignified visage of a holy figure on the other, the image was eerily bizarre.


    The Rakshasa Woman in her third phase had once cut down ghosts and deities. Although Qi''an''s current state wasn''t as exaggerated as it had been during her time in the underworld nation, the oppressive aura that emanated from her still caused the scalp of a Rank Six professional to tingle!


    Su Lun didn''t forget tomunicate through themunicator: "Captain Barrett, keep that guy under control!"


    Barrett had already heard the reminder from Qi''an and knew full well the desperation of this final fight.


    He, too, was prepared; gritting his teeth, he bellowed: "Flesh Alchemy: Open!"


    Upon reaching his first attainment as a Magician, he suddenly grew beast-like fur all over his body, transforming in an instant into a one-armed gori with bloodshot eyes.


    The fact that Barrett had only one arm greatly affected his ability to form seals, but he still exerted himself to use his killer technique.


    After a thunderous roar, the fur on his body stood up against the fiery waves of Qi, and a hysterical howl came from his throat: "Power Mystique: Ten Direction Fierce Beast Ban!"


    In a sh, four ferocious white Qi gori phantoms appeared in the sky above the sea area, and the surrounding air visibly thickened.


    Even Su Lun, who was far away, felt as if his breathing had be stagnant.


    The air had turned to glue, making it difficult even to breathe.


    He had seen this move before; it was an ultimate martial technique that relied purely on physical strength to suppress a space. It couldpress the air in an area to its limit, rendering the target immobile.


    Barrett, after all, had once been one of the best among Rank Six professionals, and hisprehension of thews was no less than that of the vast Pirate.


    Even though this "Ten Direction Fierce Beast Ban" only had a fraction of its peak power, with the additional restraint of the gloves'' spatial limitation, it pinned down the "Void Ghost Hand" Duo Luo Sai Er, rendering him unable to move in an instant.


    Unable to Teleport, the formerly overbearing Pirate leader finally showed panic on his face.


    But, being a Rank Six professional himself, he managed to condense ayer of obscure Void ck light on his arms in the instant he was controlled, forcibly breaking free of the restraint and regaining some movement.


    Duo Luo Sai Er grimly charged his fist, thenshed out with a preemptive punch and roared, "Die!"


    This shout was naturally a warning to Barrett that he was about to unleash his killer move; Barrett should get out of the way!


    But Barrett, with a defiant look in his eyes, showed no intention of dodging, and the four Qi goris continued to solidify around him.


    He was well aware that it was because of Su Lun''s surprise attack with the cursed item that they had managed to control Duo Luo Sai Er.@@novelbin@@


    There was absolutely no way they could let this man escape now.


    If they allowed him to be wary and escape, he would not be so easy to handle next time!


    However, it was this perseverance that caused Barrett to miss the first opportunity to dodge. Standing in ce, Duo Luo Sai Er''s pair of Void punch shadowsnded squarely on Barrett''s chest.


    "Thump," "thump" went the muffled sounds.


    The Qi concentrated Protecting Body Qi did almost nothing to weaken the force of the punches, which created deep indentations on Barrett''s chest.


    Unable to help himself, "Puh" went Barrett, as blood sprayed from his mouth.


    Duo Luo Sai Er''s alchemically enhanced prosthetics were the "Void Ghost Hand," designed specifically to ovee all types of defensive gear, Mecha, and Protecting Body Qi, causing real damage across the void.


    Barrett, taking those two punches head-on, was severely wounded!


    But it was because of his moment of steadfastness that Qi''an''s umted Sword Qi could be shed down as well.


    As the sword swung, the hundred-meter-tall Rakshasa phantom in the sky swung in unison, calling down a turbulent deluge of lightning from the heavens.


    Duo Luo Sai Er felt an unprecedented threat of Death bearing down on him, as the chilling Sword Qi caused all his hairs to bristle.


    Under normal circumstances, the sh of a Rank Five swordsman would pose very limited threat to a Rank Six professional who had mastered the Qi into Gang.


    But Qi''an was an exception!


    Not only had sheprehended Qi into Gang at Rank Five, but with the enhancement of the "Rakshasa Woman" third phase, her Sword Qi could now pierce through the Protecting Body Qi of a Rank Six professional. Moreover, she wielded the Demon de, "Ghost Pellet Hyakume Masamune," ranked third among the "Twelve Master Craftsmen des," which had an edgeparable to a forbidden item. The Sword Qi, augmented by such a sharp de, had an almost void-breaking prowess!


    Seeing that he couldn''t evade the oing sh, Duo Luo Sai Er''s eyes shed with a cold light, and a barrier of ck energy coalesced around him, distorting the light.


    ...


    Others might not understand what this was, but Su Lun who was watching from a distance, his pupils shrank abruptly, recognizing the technique: "Distorted Barrier?!"


    As expected of a rank six spatial ability user, his use of the technique was so proficient that it was nearly instantaneous.


    The thin ck barrier seemed only palm-thick, but the actual distance might be several meters, or even dozens of meters.


    This defensive method could lead enemies to misjudge the distance, greatly reducing the damage sustained.


    The sh from Qian Tiao was fierce, but it might not necessarily hit the target!


    But now that he had recognized the technique, how could Su Lun let this guy get away so easily?


    He too charged forward recklessly, sprinting over the sea surface with his spider spear while the Reaper''s shadow behind him became more solid, and his ck scythe became filled with a massive amount of dark spiritual power.


    Ordinary spatial sh attacks were of limited effectiveness against someone who had grasped higher levels of spacew, so Su Lun could only infuse as much deathw as possible.


    Almost in the instant when Qian Tiao''s de light fell, Su Lun''s ck scythe also shed down simultaneously.


    Far away, Duo Luo Sai Er had already known about the fierceness of Su Lun''s ck scythe, and upon seeing it sh towards him, a look of despair appeared on his face: It''s over!


    Because he understood spacew, he knew just how tricky the rifts created by that ck scythe were.


    Dodging on one side meant he would definitely not be able to avoid the other.


    In his moment of despair, a final thought rose in Duo Luo Sai Er''s mind: "How was that guy able to see through my technique..."


    He couldn''t fathom how Su Lun could possess such profoundprehension of spacew!


    ...


    The battle ended very abruptly.


    With a "whoosh" of Sword Qi cutting through the air.


    Qian Tiao''s sh carved through hundreds of meters, shing a trench over a dozen meters deep into the sea surface.


    The Sword Qi churned in the water, forcing the sea to part to either side. The trench remained for a long time before closing up again.


    Su Lun, watching as the bisected corpse surfaced with a "grey mist", finally rxed and rushed towards the battlefield.


    He chose to extract immediately.


    ''You have extracted the soul of "Duo Luo Sai Er¡¤Castillo."''


    ''You have drawn a massive amount of rank six spacewprehension, experience +32114.''


    ''You have stripped away the Spatial Technique [Mystery¡¤Spatial Barrier (Mastery)].''


    ''You have stripped the execution skills of Void Discement, significantly improving your proficiency in rted abilities.''


    ''You know some detailed information about the "Void Fleet."''


    ''You have obtained some information: "In the dangerous seas to the southwest of the Roman Kingdom, we have discovered a Void Relic. It is an ancient site from the Dawn Era known as ''Tokster Royal Alchemy Academy.'' But we have also found that deep within, there seems to be a sealed spatial passage connecting to another ne, inhabited by arge number of unknown void creatures, extremely dangerous. Due to many ancient technological devices we cannot decipher, Mafa will send experts over to work together on this..."''


    ''You have obtained a top-secret piece of information: We found a legendary item, [Kronos''s Void God Hand], in the relics, a sealed-item level spatial artifact, it seems. s, Lord Oleg ns to offer it to the Mafa Empire as the first batch of return gifts for the trade. Now, that treasure is likely already in the hands of "Princess Frostmoon," Scatty Harris. Oh, such an intriguingdy...''


    ''...''


    As expected of a rank six professional, Su Lun saw too much in his soul that he desired.


    Every professional who advances to rank six is a prodigy.


    This fellow had an incredibly richbat experience, high-levelwprehension, secret knowledge, spatial techniques...


    Su Lun selectively stripped away the most important parts, directly boosting hisprehension of spacew significantly.


    While still not reaching rank six, he was at least ten times higher than before.


    Su Lun casually reached into the void, feeling an intense stagnation... a sign of a great increase in spatial affinity.


    Trying out a casual [sh], it was as smooth as breathing.


    He felt this was truly a "fat loot."


    It was "forcing the growth," and hisbat power had leaped to a new level in an instant.


    Moreover, the most important thing was that he now had the coordinates to that Void Relic controlled by the Northern Sea Fleet!


    Su Lun immediately digested the information, his eyes shining brightly.


    ...


    In the state of "Triple Unlock" talent, Qian Tiao was brimming with fighting spirit; having killed Duo Luo Sai Er, she had no intention of staying put and said to Su Lun, "Su Lun, I''m going to help clean up the battlefield!"


    Su Lun nodded, "Okay!"


    Qian Tiao didn''t pause and treaded across the sea surface, heading out.


    Barrett, beside them, looking heavily wounded but still not showing signs of retreating, also said, "Young friend Su Lun, I''ll go ahead and help too."


    Su Lun didn''t say much, just tossing a top-tier Healing Medicine, "Captain Barrett, take care."


    "Okay."


    Barrett wasn''t shy; he was in dire need of medicine.


    He chugged the potion in one gulp, then rushed toward the still raging battlefield where the sunken shipy.


    Su Lun had waited for a moment, specifically to retrieve the corpses from the sea.


    At that time, two glowing objects were slowly coalescing atop the bisected corpse.


    They were the gold-level advancement material, "Sky God Strike boxing gloves," and the dark gold prosthesis, "Void Ghost Hand."


    After a quick assessment, both items were identified as very decent cursed objects.


    Su Lun looked at the "Void Ghost Hand," originally intending to merge it with Chien Tiao.


    This kind of ultra-high physical and magical pration, prosthesis that inflicts "true damage," would have a very highpatibility with the swordsman profession.


    But after stripping the memories from the corpse, he learned that Princess Frostmoon seemed to possess an even better legendary prosthesis¡ªthe "Void God Hand" of Chronos.


    That was an upgraded version of the "Void Ghost Hand."


    He wasn''t sure if Chien Tiao could assimte it, but since there was a better option, Su Lun decided to wait and see.


    After all, there seemed to be many great secrets inside that space relic.


    ....


    Since Su Lun had previously shattered the pirates'' morale, the Dawn and Judgement groups encountered very limited resistance.


    With Chien Tiao and Barrett joining the battlefield, the battle at the shipwreck site ended quickly.


    Several fifth-rank squad captains were killed, the remaining men scattered in disarray, fleeing in all directions, easy as chopping vegetables.


    Of the thirty-six men from the three squads put together, Su Lun kept count of each one.


    He stripped away a thousand and eighty swirls of grey mist; the rest might be corpses at the bottom of the sea or a few who managed to escape. But in these waters, it''s likely they wouldn''t survive anyway.


    Leaving no survivors was for the best.


    That way, the events here could be kept secret a while longer.


    Soon, members of the Dawn Group began the much-anticipated task of salvaging spoils from the sunken ship.


    This "Eighteen Fleet" was Lord Oleg''s ace secret fleet, with the best equipment configuration.


    The ships held arge amount of top-tier magic mechanical equipment, instruments, cannons... almost all brand new.


    These items were very valuable and could be used on their own ship upon retrieval.


    It was a pity, though, that three pirate warships better in quality than the Dawn had been sunk.


    But Su Lun had no choice.


    If they didn''t sink the pirate ships immediately, they wouldn''t have had the capacity to take on the three squads.


    Su Lun had mechanical octopuses; retrieving the materials at the bottom of the sea was quite doable, and not long after, the Dawn was packed to the brim.


    Aside from the ship''s materials, storage rings, equipment, countless void prosthesis, and advancement materials were also stripped from the corpses.


    The crew salvaged with great fervor.


    "Hahaha... this time, our ''Dawn Group'' has reaped a huge harvest. With so many advancement materials and prosthesis, we have plenty to choose from now." Your next read awaits at My Virtual Library Empire


    "Indeed. Mr. Su Lun is wise, our leader is mighty!"


    "But speaking of which, Mr. Su Lun is truly incredible, nearly wiping out these three squads by himself. Oh, if I hadn''t seen it with my own eyes, anyone who''d dare brag like this, I''d kick his ass with my shoe~"


    "My God, I''ve only just realized how far Captain hase. Sword Qi severing seas, that''s something I could never dare to imagine in my lifetime..."


    "Oh, look what treasure I''ve salvaged, a gold prosthesis!"


    "..."


    Looking at the loot they had gathered, everyone''s faces were filled with excitement.


    Su Lun smiled in response to his crew''s lively greetings and let out a long sigh of relief.


    This batch of spoils would immediately alleviate the financial situation of the Dawn Group.


    Despite the Dawn Group''s growing strength and the merger with Dr. Banks''s people,


    the group''s finances had always been tight.


    The consumption of a team wasn''t just as simple as filling the bellies of two or three hundred people. Advancement materials were needed for the team members, resources for cultivation... high-ranking professionals were built with vast amounts of resources.


    Of course, that was just a part of it.


    The real big money burners were Su Lun''s puppet legion and mechanical octopus legion,


    with damages this time amounting to at least several billion...


    Second was the research undertaken by Dr. Banks.


    Scientific research was an endless money pit; no matter how much you threw in, results weren''t guaranteed.


    With the spoils gathered this time, Su Lun could buy more materials to strengthen his puppet legion and ensure Dr. Banks had enough materials and equipment to continue his research.


    It could be said they dodged an emergency.


    No wonder piracy was addicting¡ªbag a big haul, and it really fattens you up.

 Chapter 367 Alchemy Gargoyle

    "Hey, brothers, look what I fished out! An ''Androfor gold-carved flintlock pistol''! Oh my, this is a craft from a hundred years ago, only the noble gentry could possess such a firearm. I think it suits our Captain perfectly."


    "Wow¡ªa whole case of twelve-year-old Popodi Manor golden rum! Hahaha, we''re in for a treat tonight."


    "Quick, look! There''s actually a top-tier gemstone in this guy''s storage ring."


    "..."


    The people of Liberty Dawn were fervently salvaging the spoils of war.


    With each surprising discovery, the crew''s spirits soared higher.


    After Su Lun used the mechanical octopus to salvage therge objects from the ocean''s floor, he didn''t personally bother with the rest.


    Fragments of three pirate warships were scattered across several nautical miles; salvaging them was a meticulous task that would take many days. This was a rare, delightful time for the crew during the otherwise tedious sea voyage.


    Since Liberty Dawn had taken the lead in battle, the soldiers of Sacred Judgment didn''t take part in collecting the spoils. These professional soldiers didn''t covet the loot and stayed on their ships to avoid any appearance of conflict.


    ...


    The battle hadn''t cost much, but Captain Barrett''s condition was rather bad.


    He had earlier taken two punches from ''Demon Hand'' Dorsel, dragged his severely injured body to join the final pursuit, and finally copsed into the sea, where he was carried back to the ship for treatment.


    Upon hearing the news, Su Lun returned to the Dawn.


    In the ship''s cabin, Dr. Banks was performing surgery on Barrett.


    Standing by, two deputies from the Judgment group watched tensely. After all, Dr. Banks'' appearance after biocellr alteration was somewhat frightening.


    Su Lun walked in and asked, "Doctor, how is it going?"


    Dr. Banks didn''t stop his work and said, "The spleen, lungs, and liver all have severe trauma; the situation is quite bad. Those two punches would have killed a regr Rank 6 professional. Fortunately, his physique is of a growth-oriented career. I am using the activeponents of eternal cells to restore his damaged organs. The problem isn''t too big..."


    As he spoke, his arm transformed into something like ck fluid, merging into Barrett''s damaged chest cavity.


    This method made the watching deputies'' skin crawl. It was precisely because the onboard doctor of the Judgment group couldn''t handle it that they had brought the injured here. They had not expected to witness a treatment even more bizarre than ck magic.


    Listening to these obviously severe symptoms being described in such an understated tone, their expressions were extremelyplex.


    "Oh, that''s good."


    Su Lun wasn''t surprised.


    Dr. Banks was not only a top-tier biologist but also a very skilled surgeon.


    One could say that as long as a person wasn''t dead, there was nearly no chance of dying in his hands.


    Just then, the previously unconscious Barrett suddenly woke up.


    He looked palely at the "monster" fiddling with his chest, his gaze turning as sharp as a tiger''s in an instinctivebat response. But then, catching sight of the deputies and Su Lun out of the corner of his eye, he quickly regained hisposure.


    Su Lun asked, "How do you feel, Captain Barrett?"


    If it hadn''t been for Barrett managing to control ''Demon Hand'' Dorsel earlier, ending the battle wouldn''t have been so easy.


    Though he came to save him, Su Lun had reaped a great harvest and now owed Barrett a favor.


    Barrett, perceiving his own steadily improving condition, and understanding what was happening, said, "I feel my body recovering."


    After a pause, he looked at Su Lun, then at the strange individual treating him, and sincerely said, "Thank you."


    Su Lun smiled slightly, unconcerned, and introduced, "This is Dr. Banks, our chief medical officer and biologist of Liberty Dawn."


    He didn''t go into further details.


    The two exchanged polite greetings.


    Seeing Barrett on the operating table, Su Lun remembered something and said, "Oh, there''s one more thing."


    With that, he directly pulled out a ss container from the storage space.


    A tank full of greenish fluid held a sturdy silver arm inside it.


    Upon closer inspection, one could see clear muscle texture on the silver arm, and even the faint pulsing of veins and nerves.


    The texture was metallic, yet the detail was indistinguishable from a human limb.


    Su Lun exined, "Captain Barrett, this is the ''Hand of Silver'' prosthetic I told you about. I have already tested this, and after integration, it can almost perfectly rece a normal limb. Moreover, it has strong ''memory healing'' and ''toughness'' characteristics, melding perfectly with flesh without hindering the flow of spiritual power. I even think its performance might be better suited forbat than an original human limb."


    He had tested it many times on zombies, and these effects were conclusions drawn from those tests.


    ''Revitalizing Silver'' is a divine material, with features well-documented in ancient texts.


    Ancient Great Alchemists highly valued this top-tier material. If it weren''t for Su Lun not being an extreme "Explosive Modification Sorcerer," he might have even considered turning his limbs into such metal bodies, greatly enhancing his survivability.


    "That amazing?"


    Barrett looked at the silver arm in the culture dish, his eyes showing anticipation.


    "Yes."


    Su Lun nodded, put the ss jar on a table next to the operation table, and said earnestly, "This was part of our deal earlier. Now, the finished product is yours."


    Barrett nced at the arm, hesitated only a moment, then earnestly said, "If possible, could you help me attach it now? I''d like to try it out."


    The instation of the unfamiliar prosthetic limb onto the body was a matter that required great caution.


    However, after two interactions, he had absolute trust in Su Lun.


    Moreover, the loss of his arm had really impacted him greatly. He had been targeted by pirates during this period, and strength was too important for their current situation in the adjudication group.


    Since it was his own product, Su Lun also felt that he should include instation and after-sales service.


    "Of course,"


    he cheerfully epted and then said to Dr. Banks, "Doctor, could you help me with this?"


    "Sure."


    Dr. Banks was also eager to try out these interesting surgical procedures.


    Su Lun had an eight-limb spider spear, and limb stitching surgeries were all too familiar to him.


    Under the cooperation of him and Dr. Banks, they started the busy procedure of reconnecting the severed arm.


    ...


    When Su Lun walked out of Dr. Banks''sb two hourster,


    the integration of the Hand of Silver had gone smoothly, and Barrett had not shown any signs of rejection. The task ahead was to observe and see if there were any areas for improvement.


    On the sea, the crew was still energetically salvaging spoils from sunken ships.


    Su Lun didn''t stay on deck long; he returned to the captain''s cabin.


    There was too much to digest today, both the spoils and the harvested Soul Shards needed a lot of time to process.


    Plus, he had acquired the much-coveted "Living Silver."


    Su Lun was somewhat impatient.


    In his storage ring, there were about ten cubic meters of silver metal, likely all the inventory of the adjudication group.


    It must be said, Barrett''s generous nature made him a pleasantpanion.


    Looking at this top-tier puppet metal, Su Lun couldn''t hide his anticipation.


    He took out the alchemy notebook he had acquired in the Central Prison of Dawn City from Sereya, flipping to the volume that contained details on the "Gargoyle."


    The notebook had detailed design schematics and thickly packed data.


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    During these days, Su Lun had been consciously collecting rted materials, and now that the main material was in his hands, he was eager to craft the "ultimate alchemy golem" envisioned in his teacher''s notes.


    Su Lun ced the mold, blueprints, and materials one by one on the workbench, and after making sure everything was ready, he began the creation.


    This task took several days.


    ....


    With Dr. Banks''s superb medical skills, Barrett''s injury healed quickly.


    The installed Hand of Silver achieved the expected results perfectly, not only showing no adverse reactions but, as Su Lun had predicted, this bionic metal arm was even more suited forbat than the original natural limb.


    Following the limb repair, Barrett''s strength did not just recover to a sixth-order peak but, due to the special properties of the metal arm, he gained a powerful "Iron Arm" that was proficient both in offense and defense. Due also to his life-and-death experiences during this period, he sensed some breakthroughs in his realm.


    Su Lun was very satisfied with his own work.


    However, after Barrett was healed, he did not stay with the Dawn Squad for the journey but led the "Sacred Judgment Legion" away on their own.


    It wasn''t that he was rejecting the Dawn Squad''s goodwill, but rather because they had urgent business to attend to.


    Barrett said that if the matter was resolved, he would look forward to meeting again.


    Su Lun didn''t ask where they were going.


    He knew that, although the adjudication group''s members were in dire straits, they still retained their dignity. Even at their lowest, they were reluctant to be indebted to anyone.


    Recruiting them now would seem more like charity. For that group of unwilling warriors, it would likely shatter theirst bit of dignity.


    Su Lun provided them with a substantial amount of supplies and bid them farewell personally.


    Later, from some news gathered by the crew, he learned that Barrett and his team had gone on a rescue mission.


    The affairs of the "Sacred Judgment Legion" were somewhatplicated; since theyst stumbled upon a potential collusion between the royal family and "heretics" in the Cursed Valley, they had been continuously pursued and hunted.@@novelbin@@


    But as they had been drifting at sea, it wasn''t easy for the royal household of Luying to kill them.


    That''s when they resorted to a stratagem.


    It seemed that the intelligence department of Luying''s military deliberately left some members of the adjudication group alive in the capital, only for them to be captured by vers and sent to Romandon as diators.


    They were just waiting for them to attempt a rescue.


    The previous pirate attacks were part of Luying''s intelligence department''s scheme to use others to aplish their ends.


    The news of Barrett''s death hadn''t been confirmed yet, and it was highly likely that the "bait" was still alive.


    So, a rescue was definitely underway.


    But such a rescue, clearly a trap, was bound to be fraught with danger.


    Now, the adjudication group had bounties posted by Luying, the Bounty Hunters Guild, and the pirate ck market. Their appearance anywhere would immediately attract the attention of various forces.


    Su Lun thought that Captain Barrett probably didn''t want to involve his team, Dawn Squad.


    Indeed, it was difficult for Su Lun to get directly involved in the rescue. He could only wait for Barrett to speak up.


    Moreover, Dawn Squad had their own matters to address.


    ...


    On this day, the weather was clear.


    Standing on the mast, one could already see the coastline at the horizon.


    In about half a day''s time, they would arrive at the Roman Nation.


    Dr. Banks''s biological marker led them here, meaning that the "Frost Moon Princess" Skadi was likely nearby.


    Su Lun and his team needed to rescue Kai and find those submarines, so naturally, they had to dock and check the situation.


    It had been somewhat quiet on the Dawn these days.


    The crew wasn''t fooling around either, because everyone was busy advancing themselves.


    Thest battle had yielded several thousand Spatial Imnts and fusion materials, which left the members of Dawn Squad spoiled for choice.


    Previously, there was no choice, but now, almost every professional could choose to incorporate Void abilities at a certain stage.


    Whether it was forbat or survival, "Spatial Ability" was one of the best options.


    The spoils of war contained Spatial materials suitable for various professions, and everyone in Dawn Squad found materials that suited them.


    Being mostly from the lower echelons, the squad treasured this great opportunity; everyone practiced diligently, aiming to integrate the Spatial materials as soon as possible.


    Moreover, with models like Qian Tiao and Su Lun, the crew had aspirational targets, and the atmosphere for cultivation was increasingly improving.


    Inside the captain''s cabin, Su Lun continued to study the Alchemy Golem.


    At this moment, in front of him appeared a three-meter-tall, burly "Gargoyle."


    It had a demon-like humanoid body, horns on its forehead, a triangr tail, and sharp fangs, with a pair of massive bat wings on its back. Sturdy and robust, its entire body disyed a thick, dark silver color. If one got closer, they could feel the cold energy seeping from its body surface, and the oppressive feeling of death originating from the material.


    After all, the so-called Living Silver was said to be a product of divine flesh corruption.


    And this Golem''s overall appearance was very "smooth", its head, various joints, buttocks... all had a roundness unlike human structure. This wasn''t for aesthetics but was the most stable structure for the material "Living Silver", as researched by Cire.


    Many materials have their most stable forms. Just like ordinary ss, the t shape differs greatly in the stress it can handlepared to a spherical state.


    This detail might seem mundane, but Su Lun had tested it before; the special curvature on the Golem''s body could deflect attacks like bullets, a phenomenon one could understand as "curvilinear deflection." Most damage could be reflected, and the attacks did not even reach the Golem''s basic defenses.


    Previously, Su Lun was merely amazed at the clever design of the blueprint, but only after actually constructing the physical Alchemy Golem did he realize how profound his teacher Cire''s expertise in puppetry was.


    So profound that he felt he could only look up to her, although he had reached a master level in "Puppetry," "Engineering," and "Mechanical Studies."


    If not for thisplete blueprint, Su Lun, even with Living Silver, would absolutely not have been able to create such an exquisite Alchemy Puppet.


    At this moment, Su Lun was using an Octo-spear to apply the finalyer of coating to the Gargoyle.


    His skilled craft allowed him toplete the highest standard of coating he could draw at his current stage.


    The materials were top-notch; the craftsmanship could be improvedter.


    Finally, it was done, and Su Lun let out a long sigh of relief.


    Gazing at it, he raised his gun and fired.


    With a "ng" sound, the bullet failed to leave any mark on the Golem.


    After multiple attempts, Su Lun found that none of the methods in his hands, except the Dark Scythe, could directly damage the Gargoyle.


    Thinking it over, he called Qian Tiao.


    ....


    Qian Tiao entered from the deck.


    Although both of them slept in the captain''s cabin, one half was a resting area, and the other half was a mechanical workshop.


    She pulled open the curtain in the middle of the room and, seeing the Alchemy Puppet that Su Lun was examining, asked, "What''s up?"


    Excitement sparkled in Su Lun''s eyes as he pointed at the Alchemy Golem and said, "I want you to help me try out this Gargoyle."


    "Oh, you finished it?"


    Qian Tiao raised her eyebrows and gave it a look.


    She knew that Su Lun had been tinkering with this thing these past few days.


    Seeing the finished product, she felt ... it didn''t seem very impressive.


    At least, this slightly chubby Alchemy Golem didn''t look as good as other puppets, nor did it have the intimidating appearance of mechanicalbat armor.


    When Su Lun asked her to try it out, Qian Tiao naturally knew what he meant.


    Her hand on the hilt, a cold light shed, and a crescent of Sword Qi precisely hit the Gargoyle.


    However, Qian Tiao''s eyes widened in surprise.


    She discovered her sharp Sword Qi was actually repelled?


    That sh just now, while not exceedingly powerful, could easily sever a few centimeters of steel.


    "Huh..."


    With a light gasp, she also noticed something intriguing, "That''s quite interesting."


    She saw that her Sword Qi had clearly touched the alchemy golem, but it was rebounded right off its surface.


    Su Lun seemed quite pleased with this and suggested, "Why don''t you try hitting it harder with another sh?"


    She asked, "Aren''t you afraid it will be damaged?"


    Su Lun''s eyes revealed a teasing smile, "It''s not that easy to damage."


    Listenting, she didn''t say much. At that moment, mes and air currents suddenly surged around her, she umted Sword Qi for three seconds, and then suddenly drew her de again.


    This time, the Sword Qi, filled with dominance, streaked out of the de and almost at the moment of unsheathing, there was the sound of the de sheathing back.


    On closer inspection, there was clearly a one-foot-long gash on the shoulder of the alchemy golem.


    "This..."


    She couldn''t believe that a sh powerful enough to kill a fifth-tier professional had only left such a small wound, and she found it inconceivable.


    Moreover, before the thoughts in her mind could even turn into an expression of surprise on her face, she watched in disbelief as the wound on the alchemy golem miraculously healed!


    The Sword Qi had left no trace on it at all.


    Seeing this, she eximed in awe, "Your puppet is that powerful?"


    Su Lun exined with a smile, "The ''Living Silver'' not only has extremely high physical and magical defense and a stable structure, it also has a strong memory feature. Once its form is fixed, even if it is cut into two, it can fuse back together and return to its original state in a short time."


    Listening to this, she suddenly realized and thought, "This puppet is indeed impressive. With this memory feature, even a sixth-tier professional wouldn''t be able to damage it. It''s good for safeguarding. Too bad, if controlled by threads, it might not be flexible enough..."


    Normally, choosing strong defense means sacrificing some agility. Such arge metal lump, anyone would think it''s quite clumsy at first nce.


    Thus, she thought, the defense is enough, but in the realm of high-tier professionalbat, it could probably only serve as a "shield."


    However, as soon as she finished speaking, a strand of blue hair by her cheek stirred in the wind.


    Her gaze sharpened, and she caught onto something.


    Looking again, the space in front of her was empty, the puppet alchemy golem had disappeared without a trace.


    She knew the gargoyle was now behind her, reflecting for a moment, she asked in surprise, "Spatial Teleportation?"


    "Yes!"


    Su Lun nodded, exining, "I solidified a ''Teleportation'' spell inside it."


    This is truly what makes the gargoyle an alchemy "golem."


    Because it can use magic!


    This is the brilliance in Ceresia''s puppet research.


    Not only is its form simr to humans, but the gargoyle also has an almost identical meridian system to humans. That is to say, from its design, it was meant to utilize various energies like humans and then convert them into alchemy through the principle of equivalent exchange.


    Theoretically, this is like aputer with top-tier hardware; as long as Su Lun could install various "software", it could perform various functions.


    Such as spewing dragon me, releasing lightning, storms, floods, and other spells; it could also inflict stun, pierce, and other types of physical damage.


    Recently, his "Space Law" had advanced to a sixth-tier level, and that''s why he solidified ''Teleportation.''


    With this speed, it temporarilypensates for the golem''s clumsy disadvantage.


    Unfortunately, Su Lun''s current "software" wasn''t sophisticated enough. In the future, once it''s perfected, this will be an almost wless alchemy creation without any weaknesses!


    Seeing this, she couldn''t help but remark, "You really did create a powerful weapon. If there were enough of them, these creatures could probably encircle and kill top-tier professionals..."


    Even she found it extremely troublesome.


    Alchemy bodies feel no pain, fear no death, and shing attacks can''t inflict fatal damage, which almost renders them invincible.


    "Hmm."


    Su Lun felt grateful; this was a crystallization of his teacher Ceresia''s wisdom, a great alchemy creation, the pinnacle of the Puppeteer lineage of puppet making.


    He also thought that a gargoyle legion was a decent idea but then shrugged his shoulders, saying, "But I don''t have enough materials, I could only make two or three more at most. Forget about a legion, having a few gargoyle bodyguards will greatly enhance my survival capabilities."


    He didn''t need quantity now but needed to improve the quality of these gargoyles.


    This gargoyle had significant potential for future upgrades.


    Apart from not having a soul...a gargoyle is essentially a form of alchemic life.


    Thinking this, Su Lun thought of a certain "Pandora" enshrined in the cabin, a bona fide alchemic life form.


    If he could study her body, Su Lun felt he might solve many mysteries.


    Unfortunately, Pandora would definitely not be willing.


    Su Lun thought he could only wait until their rtionship improved in the future before considering asking her.

 Chapter 369 368

    "Captain, we''ve arrived at Roman!"


    "Hahaha... finally, we can unwiind ashore."


    "..."


    Su Lun and Qian Tiao were still in the captain''s cabin testing the alchemic gargoyle when they heard the crew cheering on deck.


    Having sailed for so long, the days of docking for supplies were the happiest times for the crew.


    Su Lun put away the gargoyle and went up to the deck with Qian Tiao.


    As soon as they emerged, they could see the distant coastline clearly.


    The azure sky was cloudless, merging seamlessly with the sea.


    Due to their proximity to the coast, flocks of seagulls appeared near the ship. Some soared in the sky, some hunted in the sea, and othersnded on the deck.


    Legend had it that seagulls brought good fortune, so the sailors were very fond of these messengers of the sea. The birds, unafraid of strangers, happily epted food from the crew.


    Su Lun stood at the bow, gazing into the distance. On the coast, there was a gigantic city built against the mountain, its white and blue buildings visible from afar.


    On the cliffs by the sea, there was a temple constructed of hundreds of huge columns, majestic and spectacr.


    That was the "Temple of Aghaparnon," the most sacred ce in all of Roman.


    The Romans were warlike, producing a wealth of heroes and diators.


    They worshipped the War Deity, to whom the temple was dedicated.


    Roman had no royal family, just dozens of free city-states, each governed by a Governor who was somewhat like a Town Lord.


    In front of them was thergest city-state among Roman''s dozens¡ª"Moros".


    Since this city-state possessed the highest quality deepwater port and was the heart of Roman''s external trade, it naturally became the most economically developed city.


    It attracted arge number of pirates, spective merchants, vers, and adventurers from various ces.


    ...


    "Everyone be careful after disembarking. Try not to draw too much attention. Contact me immediately if there''s any situation."


    "Yes, Captain!"


    "Hahaha, let''s go. I heard the diator arena in Roman is quite the spectacle. Let''s check it out."


    ..."


    The Dawn Group, flying an inconspicuous pirate g, entered the port.


    The deepwater harbor was filled with hundreds of pirate ships of all kinds. With the advent of the Great Pirate Era, arge number of "new" pirate groups had emerged in the North Sea. The addition of one more ship went unnoticed.


    The crew disembarked in high spirits, heading into the city in small groups.


    Su Lun, Qian Tiao, and the little sword-carrying follower Rorota walked down the ship and strolled along the pier, where they saw the Sea King-ss warship "Princess Scatty" apanied by eight escort ships docked in the harbor.


    Both were unsurprised.


    After all, Dr. Banks had long since sensed that the marked submarine was near the seabed in this area.


    Qian Tiao only nced over and restrained his gaze, whispering, "That Princess Frost Moon is also in the city now; I wonder what she''s doing here."


    Su Lun, having peeled away the memories of the former deputy fleetmander of the 18th fleet, knew some ssified information. He said, "She''s probably waiting for the right time. The waters near those Void Relics are dangerous, after all. They have to wait for the proper wind and current to get there, which might ur only a few times a year."


    The Void Relics contained many ancient devices that were beyond theprehension of pirates, so a coboration with Mafa''s technicians was nned for their development.


    The warships held no appeal for them, and even if they did, they were not for the taking.


    Now that Princess Twin Moon''s people were in the city, they, too, could look for an opportunity to inquire about Kai''s whereabouts.


    If they were really to rescue someone, this ce was far better than Pirate City Hasturin.


    The three of them entered the city unhurriedly.


    ...


    Following the stone steps from the dock upward, a beautifully maintained white stone city wall came into view, its battlements and watchtowers adorned with intricate carvings.


    This was the most beautiful city wall Su Lun had ever seen.


    Not only were the Romans fond of war, but their artistic aplishments were profound. Thisnd had given rise to many master painters, musicians, and poets. They created many works of art of epoch-making significance...


    In every corner of the city''s architecture, one could see the pursuit of an aesthetic sense that flowed in their blood.


    At the city gate, there stood a squad of guards d in armor and holding long spears.


    Unlike guards from other city-states, they seemed very robust. Their bare arms were muscr, their gazes sharp, exuding an aura of killing intent.


    And these were merely the ordinary guards.


    Su Lun couldn''t help but take an extra look.


    There were no inspections, and they entered the city smoothly.


    No wonder pirate groups often returned here to recruit crew members; Romans were natural-born warriors.


    After entering the city, they realized the rumors were true.


    Pure Romans are easily identified by their blond hair and blue eyes. On the streets, one can frequently spot adult males with bare arms. While they may not be particrly tall, every one of them is as strong as a leopard, with wheat-colored skin and well-defined muscture that glistens under the sunlight.


    It is rare to see any corpulent individuals with beer bellies.


    Even the children chasing each other around in the streets have visible abs.


    Lifting weights, wrestling, sword fighting, hurling javelins... these activities are the kids'' idea of y.


    They take pride in their strength.


    Roman society is still agrarian with hardly any industry to speak of. Women in the streets typically wear loose garments made of rough linen, while wealthydies and misses might wear long cotton dresses imported from overseas. However, the designs of these dresses are so simple that they barely conceal anything. If you pay attention, you can spot breasts half-exposed beneath the cloth, and long beautiful legs are fully in view. Especially the young maidens, they don''t shy away from showing off their attractive figures, strolling through the streets as if it was the most natural thing. They worship heroes and are quite willing to spend a passionate night with the strong.


    As legends have it, the local customs here are indeed uninhibited.


    Walking on the streets, Su Lun found it quite a sight for sore eyes.


    The city''s architecture is densely packed, and it is easy to distinguish residential buildings from public ones at a nce.


    "Central diator Arena," "Senate," "Moros City-State Town Hall," "Muse Goddess Opera House," "Public Baths," "Trade Market"...


    The public buildings are all massive and sport unique architectural styles.


    ...


    The city also has plenty of foreigners, so Su Lun and his twopanions did not stand out.


    Apart from wandering around to observe the local customs, their priority was to gather some information.


    Roman country is now nominally part of the "North Sea Kingdom," with the wolf fang gs of the North Sea fleet flying all over the city.


    Naturally, Su Lun and his group had to be cautious, having just destroyed several squadrons of the North Sea fleet.


    Fortunately, Su Lun was prepared. Having deliberately gathered intelligence about the city during previous battles, he knew a few safe points for information exchange and reliable informants.


    Before long, when they stepped out of a ce called "Lavender Tavern," they had more or less gathered the needed intelligence.


    "Kai has been sent to the diator arena to be a ve diator. It seems he is to participate in some ''Trial of Heroes''. There''s a match tomorrow..."


    "If we can avoidbat, let''s not fight. I''ve spent some money at the arena to have a middleman inquire for us. When the timees, getting someone to contact Kai should work out a rescue. Moreover, there''s a group of Royal Knight ve diators from the Luying capital, and I suspect they are the ones Barrett and his group are looking for. Barrett and his group might be lurking in the city right now, so we''ll have to pay more attention..."


    "..."


    Qian Tiao and Su Lun walked along, exchanging the information they had just received.


    The current situation was quite ideal for them. Although the area was nominally under Oleg''s control, the North Sea fleet didn''t have much say in the diator arena.


    As long as one is willing to spend money, there are many ways to try and rescue people.


    Moreover, the current focus is not on them but on "Princess Frost Moon" Scatty.


    "The city situation isplicated now. The Luying royal family, Duke Raphael, and several other great lords are all watching Princess Frost Moon''s party. There are many outsiders who have infiltrated the city. We can guess they are here for the Void Relics, and naturally, those people can guess too. There might be big movements soon."


    "That Princess Frost Moon hasn''t appeared muchtely either, probably to avoid assassination. But even without going out, there are still scandalous rumors floating around about her and Oleg''s second son Onis Popov... tsk tsk, this princess really doesn''t keep still."


    "Heh heh... it''s pretty lively."


    "..."


    Another piece of good news was that Su Lun hadn''t heard of any bounties on their Dawn Group.


    On the other hand, bounties from the "Sacred Judgment Fleet" were stered everywhere in the ck market, and the reward amounts were bing increasingly extravagant.


    The three pirate squadrons from the annihted 18th fleet were currently listed as "missing."


    Some were offering rewards for information, but no one knew what had happened.


    This was good news for Su Lun and his group because they had left no survivors, which meant the news should be able to stay hidden for a long time.


    ...


    There were some stalls selling fruits, jewelry, and clothes by the streets, but the trio wasn''t interested.


    They did visit a cksmith shop, finding the quality of swords and armors to be quite decent, and bought some for the crew on their ship.


    Now that they had gathered information, Su Lun had spent money to send local contacts to inquire further; all they had to do was wait for news.


    The three of them strolled down the streets.


    After all, they had been at sea for over ten days and the sea breeze had left a fishy odor on them.@@novelbin@@


    For Qian Tiao, who liked soaking in hot springs, this was unbearable.


    At that moment, she said, "I heard the public baths of Roman are not bad, withrge natural hot springs and pools, and I n to try them out now. Su Lun, would you care to join?"


    Su Lun nodded, "Sure."


    The bathhouses in Roman indeed have a good reputation in the North Sea, known for their openness and famous for co-ed nude bathing.


    But as soon as he answered, he remembered something and added, "But I want to check out the flea market first. How about you and Lolota go ahead, and I''lle byter?"


    Compared to bathing, he was more inclined toward exploring the market.


    High-tier magical creature materials were cheap here, and buying materials and Demon Crystals might lead to some unexpected finds.


    The more remote the ce, the more likely valuable items are to be overlooked and gather dust.


    Eager to soak, Qian Tiao didn''t say much, "Okay, get in touch if you need anything."


    With that, they parted ways.


    Qian Tiao and Luo Lo Ta went to the bathhouse, while Su Lun took a stroll in the city, heading towards the market area of North City Shell Street.


    ...


    The winter in the Roman Country was very long, upying three-quarters of the year.


    Summer onlysted for these two or three months, hence the Roman''s own produce of grain was minimal, and the demand for grain imports was substantial.


    Moros, as the "First City-State of Roman," was able to maintain such arge poption because the city had arge number of grain merchants.


    The Romans were very belligerent; aside from waging war, they hunted magical beasts and sea monsters, consequently producing a variety of high-grade monster materials and weaponry. Those spective merchants would trade the imported grain for these monster materials that could be sold at high prices elsewhere, thus making a hefty profit. This business had persisted for centuries.


    Grains, ves, weaponry, monster materials... these were some of the hottest bulk trademodities in Moros City.


    Even before Su Lun entered the market area, he could hear the noisy haggling.


    The trading market here wasn''t much different from other cities, just more primitive.


    Grains were piled up on the ground,


    The Romans were belligerent, with a high birth rate. Constant wars between city-states meant arge number of war ves appeared on the market.


    Most men were sent to the diator arenas, sold to pirates and nobles as warriors.


    Women were stripped of their clothes and ced in chains in rows along the streets at the ve market. Those on disy were mostly young and good-looking, and they could fetch a good price.


    The buyers could freely touch and squeeze them, and the female ves had a numb expression, as if they had epted their tragic fate.


    Su Lun had no interest in ves and walked straight into the depths of the market.


    He browsed through several materials shops, where the monster materials were even cheaper than in Pirate City, and he also found many high-grade materials.


    For instance, the blood of seventh or eighth grade magical beasts was a necessary item for creating high-level runes.


    These were things that Su Lun urgently needed at the moment, so he did not skimp on money and bought a pile.


    The situation in Moros City-State was somewhatplex now, and the trading market, a ce that attracted many outsiders, was especially mixed.


    As Su Lun walked through, he spotted many individuals who seemed like secret agents, and among the harvested memories, he recognized some familiar faces.


    He had no interest in spies either and, after browsing through therge shops, he headed towards the flea market.


    These stalls were run by small merchants and peddlers who also had many good items.


    "Come and see! Fresh from the ruins, ancient secret steles, scrolls, and tomes... all at bargain prices."


    "Three-thousand-year-old fragments of the ''Book of the Dead'', anyone interestede take a look."


    "We specialize in selling all kinds of treasures, ''ckbeard''s Treasure Map'', ''Ancient God Stele'', ''Akkadian Era Inscriptions'', ''ddin''s Lamp'', ''Magic Flying Carpet''..."


    "..."


    The noise was unceasing, and all manner of odd and peculiar items appeared on the carpets.


    The world had a vast poption, and many people were lucky.


    Who knew if the copse of a mountain would reveal the tomb of some ancient king? Those burial items could make someone fabulously wealthy overnight and yield many ancient treasures.


    As Su Lun made his way through, the All-knowing Eye also identified items along the path.


    There were plenty of fakes, but also some "little treasures."


    However, for items at the level of "sealed artifacts" emanating curses, even without open eyes, one could feel their exceptionally unusual curse properties.


    So the likelihood of stumbling upon a significant oversight in the treasures and materials was extremely low.


    Su Lun was mainly interested in tomes, secret scrolls, and documents.


    He always remembered Sirea''s advice; a high-level alchemist must be learned.


    This world was buried with treasures from countless civilizations, and no one knew what could be unearthed beneath the ground or what great secrets were hidden within those documents.


    The All-knowing Eye could see at a nce the "Rough Imitations" and "Poor-Quality Antiques"...


    And could skip over them directly.


    He moved quickly through the stands.


    When encountering genuine items, there was no need even to read the content; Su Lun would buy them directly if the price was right.


    He simply ignored those who were asking for exorbitant prices.


    In the pirate circles, almost nobody was interested in these ancient documents, which were akin to waste paper.


    It was rare to get such a customer, so the stall owners were very eager to bring out their treasured wares.


    Goods always had a certain regional uniqueness, especially ancient relics.


    The ancient artifacts produced by the Roman Country were not easy to find elsewhere.


    Su Lun reaped a bountiful harvest.


    However, as he wandered, he unexpectedly discovered that the proportion of puppetry materials on the flea market was quite high.


    Special wood, silk threads, puppet energy cores... and some rted materials.


    This made him a little curious.


    Puppet Master was a rather niche profession, and materials for it were usually not easy to find on the market.


    But here, Su Lun found quite a few things.


    Moreover, just then, as Su Lun was walking, he also came across a particrly unusual stall.


    He looked at the dolls for sale on the stall and eximed in his heart, "Rune puppets?"


    Su Lun didn''t expect to see finished puppet products for sale here.


    ...


    The stall owner was a young girl with a long coffee-colored braid, her face adorned with light freckles, and her features did not resemble those of the local Roman people.


    At that moment, she sat cross-legged on a nket, the whole person "floating" mid-air.


    Su Lun noticed at a nce that she was being suspended by transparent threads.


    Many stall owners at the flea market liked to use such bizarre methods to attract the attention of customers.


    What caught Su Lun''s side-nce was not the person, but what was ced on her stall for sale.


    Some were clearly materials needed for puppets, and there were also a few finished rune-carved puppets, which were the most conventional types: "Wailing Dolls" and "Devious Smiling Dolls."


    Su Lun was an expert in this field, so he naturally noticed at a nce that the quality of these rune puppets was not high. Explore more stories with My Virtual Library Empire


    Whether it was the level of rune carving or the effectiveness of the finished product, all were far inferior to those he carved himself.


    It seemed as if the original design was wed, and some changes had been made, adding some new functions.


    But he couldn''t help being surprised.


    "Could it be that the ''Puppeteer'' lineage has been passed down?"


    Su Lun found it very intriguing.


    His lineage came directly from the founder of the rune puppet lineage, Seraya, a thousand years ago.


    Now that a thousand years had passed, perhaps some skills really had been handed down.


    Thinking that she might be from the "same sect," he walked over.


    At this time, he noticed a man who was trying to chat up the female stall owner.


    "Kama, may I invite you to dinner tonight?"


    "No, I''m running my stall, I don''t have time!"


    "Hey, I''m saying Kama, just stop running this stall. How much can you earn from this? I am now a squad leader of the North Sea fleet, a proper junior lieutenant officer with a sry of thirty thousand a month. If you marry me, you won''t have to worry about making a living."


    "Abel, I''ve told you I don''t look favorably upon being a pirate. Those despicable pirates killed my parents and robbed our manor, have you forgotten?"


    "That was in the past, forget about it. The North Sea fleet is now the royal army. And you know, my father is now the squadron leader of the Third Fleet, with a lot of power. If we form a family, we''ll definitely be happy in the future."


    "Sorry, please don''t interfere with my business."


    "How much for these items then? I''ll buy them."


    "I am not selling to you!"


    "..."


    Listening to their conversation, the two seemed to be acquaintances.


    But from the girl''s tone, they didn''t seem all that close.


    Su Lun roughly understood the situation.


    He approached the stall and asked, "Miss, how much for this wooden puppet?"


    ...


    Seeing a neer, the man chatting her up left with a chagrined look on his face.


    The female stall owner, seeing that there was someone inquiring about the price, hastily introduced her product, "This is not just any wooden puppet; this is a rune puppet. It has a very special effect. This one is a ''Devious Smiling Doll.'' Once its energy crystal core is activated, it can cast a visual illusion technique in an area..."


    Su Lun naturally had an intimate knowledge of rune puppets and took one look to know what was going on.


    But he listened patiently nheless.


    It appeared that these were crafted by the female stall owner herself.


    That is, she was a "Puppeteer."


    Su Lun didn''t n to inquire about her lineage right away but tested the waters by asking some other routine questions, "By the way, may I ask a question? I''m new to the city-state of Morolossos, and I''ve noticed there seem to be many puppet masters here. Why is that?"


    Upon hearing this question, a look of surprise clearly appeared on the girl''s face as she eximed, "Ah... You don''t know? Are you not here for the ''Four-Color Elemental Heart''?"


    "???"


    Su Lun frowned, feeling that she might be referring to some formidable puppet treasure.


    Thinking it over, he recognized the name from the records and probed further, "The ''Four-Color Elemental Heart'' you mentioned, could it be that powerful energy core from the legend of the ancient goblin civilization?"


    The girl responded, "Yes, that''s it!"


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun''s eyes lit up.


    Could this ce actually possess such a legendary treasure?

 Chapter 370 [Moros Central Colosseum]

    PS. Got writer''s block, this chapter is a bit of a filler.


    In the central square of Morlos, Su Lun had an unexpected encounter with Vincent F. Van Gogh, one of the top ten bounty hunters. Su Lun always felt that this man''s intentions were rather intriguing.


    Encountering the same person twice could only mean two possibilities.


    It could be a coincidence.


    Or it might not be a coincidence.


    Su Lun always preferred to assume the worse options.


    It was beyond doubt that the information about "Princess Frostmoon," Princess Scatty, was top-secret. Even the best-informed intelligence broker in Morlos knew very little about it.


    Yet, this man had handed over such crucial information so freely.


    It forced one to doubt his motives.


    Upon further reflection, this sort of intelligence could likely only be handled by spy structures like the ones operated by Emperor Luying''s military intelligence.


    Oh, no.


    Su Lun suddenly thought of someone.


    Katyusha.


    Having experienced the capabilities of the Katyusha family in Mountain Hermit, Su Lun guessed that the lineage of that poetry-loving girl was certainly extraordinary.


    Such top aristocrats were limited to a handful throughout the entire Luying Empire.


    Now that he thought about it, only such deeply-established aristocrats could afford to employ legendary hunters of such caliber.


    However, without contact with Katyusha, Su Lun could not confirm it.


    This mysterious fellow in front of him certainly wouldn''t reveal anything voluntarily.


    But fortunately, he always meant well.


    Su Lun reflected on how he came to know Katyusha, during the time in Blizzard City, when he reimed his two rings and had a drink...


    Then there was another drink in the Dalu tribe''s sacrednd, during which he was also bitten.


    Looking back now, the emotions were genuine, but those encounters might not entirely have been coincidences.


    The first time in the Cursed Valley with the death soldiers, the second time with Abe Yasukazu in Mountain Hermit...


    This Van Gogh, his approach seems somewhat familiar.


    No one hands over information for no reason.


    Su Lun felt, was he perhaps listed as some "little richdy"?


    Although he felt that he really got along well with that girl, it wasn''t enough for a widely experienced nobledy to keep him constantly in her thoughts.


    It is like those little princesses from great noble families who always want to see the world outside, thene out, meet some people, learn about the lives of the lower sses, and eventually, tired, they must return home.


    Perhaps there are other motives.


    Su Lun always had a premonition that before he could meet Katyusha again, things seemed about to unravel.


    ....


    Van Gogh stayed in the central square painting the sunset, and Su Lun did not chat much with him.


    He directly went to East City Walrus Street, the pub district in the city.


    The adult entertainment industry in Roman is quite developed,


    in Morlos''s red-light district, one can enjoy services unavable elsewhere. Not only are there professional dancers, but also captured female warriors with exceptionally flexible bodies.


    This is where pirates, adventurers, and spective businessmen like to spend their money.


    Su Lun was not there to visit brothels.


    He walked through the crowds of giggling women, passing by avish establishment marked "Golden Rose," pausing briefly in front of it.


    This was thergest brothel in town.


    There was a crowd at the door, consisting of men, women, and children.


    "Baron! Baron! Baron!"


    "Hero! Hero! Hero!"


    "..."


    The people cheered the name of Baron Optra, the "King of Fighting," who is the current shining star of Roman.


    After all, not many who undertake the "Hero''s Trial" return alive, he is a hero worshipped by all.@@novelbin@@


    Thest one was several years ago.


    Leaning on his umbre disguised as a walking stick, Su Lun sensed a very strong soul fire inside the brothel.


    In that guy''s room, there were probably more than ten weaker soul fires, entwining with each other.


    She must be a professionaldy.


    Su Lun felt that under the current circumstances, there was no way he could meet her.


    This kind of "hero" is now one of the big shots in Roman, probably not so easy to see.


    Su Lun noted the soul me that looked like a zing lion and had initially nned to leave.


    However, in his perception, he discovered another familiar soul me in a room of the brothel.


    Was it the young man who had chatted up a puppeteer apprentice named Kama at the Beck Street market earlier?


    He had just been proposing to a girl there, and now he was mingling in a brothel, was this okay?


    Su Lun shook his head and didn''t bother with such trifles.


    He contacted Qiantiao and spent some time soaking in a bathhouse.


    The grand bathhouse in Roman was indeed good, though not as exquisite and elegant as the volcanic hot springs in Mountain Hermit, but it had its unique charm.


    After the bath, he felt refreshed.


    At night, they found a hostel and stayed there.


    ....


    The next day, it wasn''t until the afternoon that Su Lun and hispanions left the hostel.


    The events at the "Central diator Arena" ran all day, but the truly intense matches involving high-level professionals usually took ce after evening.


    Su Lun, Qiantiao, and Lolota dined at a streetside restaurant.


    The table was rudely adorned with dozens of pounds of magical beast meat, a few brick-sized loaves of bread, and a strong liquor brewed from tundra wheat, called "Bocasa."


    These were all specialties of Roman.


    While eating, Su Lun said, "The local snakes have sent word that no one can meet the diators before the matches, but if Kai survives, they could arrange a brief meeting afterward. I''ve arranged everything."


    "Mm."


    Qiantiao nodded expressionlessly, with Su Lun beside her, she usually had nothing to worry about.


    She just replied, "Since Princess Scatty brought Kai over from Pirate City, she likely wouldn''t let him die so easily. Even in the diator arena, Kai''s second release, ''Red Demon,'' is almost unmatched among his peers. We probably don''t need to worry about his safety for now."


    Su Lun thought the same and said, "Mm. If it''s in the diator arena, it really isn''t easy to carry out a forced rescue. Plus, I heard that the ves from Mafa all wear very special ve cors. I need to go check it out to see what the situation is..."


    Qiantiao: "..."


    Before long, the three had eaten and drunk their fill.


    They walked leisurely towards the main street.


    ... Continue your journey at My Virtual Library Empire


    diatorialbat is the favorite sport of Roman citizens, and watching duel matches is their favorite form of entertainment.


    By the time the three arrived at the arena, it was already crowded with people.


    "Hey, have you heard? The beast ''Hell''s Mouth'' captured earlier will perform tonight. His opponent is that strong ''Red Demon'' Kai, who won three deadly matches the day before yesterday."


    "I''ve heard too. That guy seems to be a strong ve diator from Mafa. Many people believe that he''s this year''s most likely candidate to achieve the ''Hundred Victories.''"


    "Yes, I''ve heard that too, came here today especially to see it. It''s been a long time since we''ve seen such a strong outsider."


    "..."


    The people on the street were abuzz with conversation.


    Tonight''s major event was Kai''s elite match, which was rare for high-level professionals.


    Encountering one was like a grand festival; almost the entire city woulde out to join in the excitement.


    As Su Lun walked, he listened to the information from people around him.


    Soon, they arrived at the forecourt of the diator arena.


    This was an ancient diator arena over a thousand years old. Time had yellowed the white main structure and visibly left marks of rainwater erosion. This enormous cylindrical building was made up of countless thick, sturdy stone columns. The arches, small round windows, carvings, and fruit body sculptures were all extremely exquisite and distinctive.


    Earlier, Su Lun had not understood why Roman people liked diatorialbat so much, even the ordinary guards at the city gates were elite soldiers.


    Now, seeing the identified diator arena in front of him, he finally understood.


    His pupils dted as his gaze epassed the entire arena,


    [Molossus Central diator Arena]


    Details: This is an arena blessed by the War God Tyr; don''t be fooled by the arena''s mere thousand years of history, the stones are ancient relics from the ancient War God civilization from countless years ago; the stones, imbued with the blood of numerous diators and lingering valorous spirits, have some magical effects; diators fighting in the arena are inspired, with a chance to receive the ''Blessing of the Valorous Spirit,'' grasping the ancient valorous spirits''bat techniques, cultivation techniques, and skills, and achieving sudden insightful breakthroughs; the braver one is, the higher the probability to receive the blessing.


    Seeing the thick blood mist that hovered over the arena floor, Su Lun realized it was the indelible valorous spirits of the diators.


    In these nations with belief in the divine, there always seemed to be miracle-like phenomena.


    "So participating in the diator matches can also lead to understandingbat techniques and breakthroughs in realms."


    Su Lun marvelled inwardly as he watched.


    This arena was essentially arge "inheritance ground".


    However, a diator match was no ordinary contest; even if it wasn''t a "death match", the casualty rate was still very high.


    The diators trained through this method indeed possessed formidablebat skills.


    But for the Romans, who feared not death, the arena was indeed the quickest way to increase their strength.


    ...


    Money could always solve a lot of problems.


    Su Lun found a local scalper outside the arena and bought several expensive tickets with seats.


    The three followed the crowd in and managed to find their spots within the sea of people.


    Their seats were already upied by a group of muscr men.


    Su Lun shed his tickets, and Qian Tiao drew his knife, only then they managed to reim their seats.


    The arena was veryrge.


    Even the centralbat area was about the size of two or three ser fields.


    At that moment, the diator match was in full swing.


    The sound of weapons nging, "ng," "ng," "ng"...echoed throughout the space.


    Previously in Old Lington they had been doing gang work, so Su Lun and Qian Tiao were ustomed to various underground ck fights and death duels.


    The blood-soaked sand of the current fight didn''t offer much novelty to them.


    However, the diators here were far more professional in terms of martial skills, weapons, andbat awareness.


    The gangs were just scrappy fights, whereas here it was a stage for professional diator performances.


    Spear, axe, shield, Wolf Fang Club, il, knife, sword...


    All kinds of weapon routines were visible.


    Even Qian Tiao was vibrant, constantly admiring the diators'' adept fighting skills.


    The Roman nation''s centuries-old battle techniques were indeed remarkable.


    After all, since it wasn''t a performance, the pace inside the arena was very fast, and sometimes a match might end just after an encounter.


    The three had barely sat for a moment when several matches had already ended.


    Within the arena, there were three types of diators: the professional Roman diators, the ve diators, and curious outsiders who entered thepetition.


    And there, Su Lun noticed a crew member from the Dawn Group joining in for the thrill!


    It was the giant''s tribe leader, Hengke.


    The moment this guy appeared, Su Lun''s eyelids twitched.


    Qian Tiao and Lolota, however, were quite excited, even cheering with gs.


    Fortunately, he won.


    The strength advantage of the giant tribe was still very effective in the arena.


    With a few swings of the Wolf Fang Club, Hengke dented the opponent''s shield, and with a final heavy smash, he embedded his opponent into the wall, ending the fight.


    Several more fights ended quickly afterward.


    Su Lun also spotted the "Sacred Judgment Group''s" royal knights.


    Those wearing ve cors, tattered military uniforms took the stage, and the audience instantly erupted.


    Because matches with ve diators were almost always "death fights," they were extremely fierce.


    The opponents in these fights were usually the boldest Roman diators, confident enough to challenge those who had to gamble their lives in battle.


    The spectacle of the fight was very strong.


    Indeed, the battles started off extremely intense.


    Three fights in, one royal knight was dead and another severely injured.


    Su Lun watched expressionlessly, the gravity in his eyes never wavering.


    Every few deaths, it was clear they were pushing Barrett to show up sooner and rescue them.


    Su Lun couldn''t think of any way for Barrett and his group to rescue these people in the city.


    This was also why Barrett had chosen to leave with his group previously, for it was the most crucial reason.


    This batch of "bait" was lethal, but they couldn''t help but take it.


    ...


    Finally, thest fight of the evening arrived.


    Unarmed diator matches were alright; the death rate wasn''t too high. Once weapons were involved, even if not fatal, the likelihood of disability was still very high.


    But usually, the bloodiest would definitely be the "Beast Fight"!


    Thest match was the beast fight.


    It was then that they finally saw Kai take the stage.


    "Kai!"


    "Kai!"


    "Kai!"


    "..."


    As the protagonist of tonight''s event entered the arena, the audience erupted in a tide of cheers.


    His opponent was a monster over ten meters long. It had a body that constantly writhed like an earthworm, and its head was bud-shaped, opening to reveal a dense array of spine-chilling, sharp teeth.


    This was the "Mouth of Hell," a lord-level burrowing magical beast.


    Although this one was only level four, it hid underground and could easily prey on level five magical beasts as its food.


    For humans, it was lethal.


    The monster was released from the iron cage and charged straight at Kai. It looked bulky and clumsy, but as it moved, it secreted a mucus-like slime from its nose, and with a single spit, it expelled a thick acid that burned the ground, having a very wide range of attack.


    Even for Kai, this monster posed a lethal threat.


    Kai wore only simple armor and a helmet. As he unleashed his second-stage Red Demon form, his skin turned to a magma-like red texture, and a dominant aura instantly overwhelmed the entire venue.


    A fierce battle ensued between man and beast.


    Qian Tiao was also taken aback and softly eximed, "Has Kai progressed to level five as well?"


    Su Lun frowned deeply and replied, "Hmm."


    He understood all too well by then, no wonder the princess wanted to bring Kai here, she likely aimed to rapidly create a top-tier professional.


    The "Moloss Central diator Arena" indeed had effects that allowed breakthroughs of bottlenecks and rapid enhancement ofbat power.


    Although the mortality rate was high, it waspletely negligible for a Mafa Royal Princess.


    If he died, it was just the death of a ve, no loss at all.


    If he managed to progress to a higher level, that would be a real asset.


    Kai had great potential, and progressing to level six was almost a certainty. Bringing him to this arena now might truly give him a chance to achieve a "hundred consecutive victories" and then undertake the "Hero''s Trial" to progress to level seven!


    A level seven gain, Who wouldn''t want that?


    The fight was extremely intense, and the cheers of the audience surged higher with each wave.


    Su Lun, watching the perilously close calls faced by Kai, also wore a look of concern.


    However, outsiders couldn''t intervene in such matches.


    Instead, his attention was drawn to the cor embedded in Kai''s flesh around his neck.


    After identification, Su Lun''s gaze sharpened as he murmured to himself, "Now that''s going to be tricky."


    Qian Tiao nced at him and asked, "What''s the matter?"


    Su Lun answered, "Kai''s soul fluctuation is a bit odd, I suspect trouble on that side, probably using some secret technique to warp his will. Moreover, his neck is shackled by the ''Mechanical ve Cor'', which is technologically advanced and can only be unlocked with a specific key. Moreover, the person holding the key can control his life and death at any time."


    The maniption of will wasn''t surprising. Since "Princess Frost Moon" wanted Kai as her ve, she would certainly demand absolute loyalty.


    There are plenty of mental spells and potions on the market that can slowly alter a person''s will and perception.


    With slow trials, eventually, they could sessfully "brainwash" Kai.


    But Su Lun wasn''t unprepared.


    Using a higher-priority mental secret technique to twist it back wouldn''t be a big problem.


    To others, it might seem helpless.


    But in Su Lun''s hands... there was also a "Pandora"!


    After all, she was the "Great God of Tsukuyomi." Her divine arts for mental suggestion, in terms of tier, were definitely higher than any other mental methods Su Lun knew on the market.


    He had already nned to ask Pandora for help, to ce a mental suggestion in Kai''s mind.


    As long as there was no resistance, it could almost seed instantaneously.


    Even if Kai had indeed been brainwashed by Princess Frost Moon''s people by then, when Pandora reactivated the suggestion, he couldpletely recover his cognition.


    But... the "Mechanical ve Cor" would be very tricky.


    Identified as, if forcibly destroyed, the imnted poison device would immediately trigger,


    Listening to this, Qian Tiao''s expression also turned troubled as he asked, "So you mean, we not only need to rescue someone, but we also need to get the key?"


    Su Lun''s gaze deepened as he nodded and said, "I''m afraid so..."

 Chapter 371 The Pirate Ship Returning from a Treasure Hunt

    Before long, deafening cheers erupted.


    The arena was in disarray, as a lord-level "Mouth of Hell" monster had been smashed to pieces by a powerful punch, with its rotting flesh scattered all around and its corrosive green blood sshing across the sandy ground.


    Kai stood in front of the monster''s corpse, his body enveloped in fiery red steam, looking utterly fierce.


    With one side dead, a bloody diatorial match had finallye to an end.


    Amidst the tumultuous cheers from the audience, Su Lun and Qian Tiao discreetly made their way to the contestant''s passage.


    Due to prior arrangements made with a local fixer, Su Lun and hispanion had disguised themselves as frenzied fans of the diator, sessfully meeting with Kai. As all were members of the Mirror Organization, Kai also had absolute trust in them.


    As nned, during their brief meeting, Su Lun used a mental crystal created by Pandora with divine power to imnt a mental suggestion in Kai. With this measure, they at least didn''t have to worry about him beingpletely enved mentally.


    Now, the difficulty was that Su Lun had also received some troubling news: the key to unlocking the "Mechanical ve Cor" was carried at all times by "Princess Scatty of the Frost Moon."


    To obtain the key meant that they would have to find a way to approach the Princess of Mafa.


    This was a major problem.


    No one could get close to the princess past the Mafa Royal Guards.


    ...


    Several dayster.


    After stocking up on sufficient sailing supplies, most of the members of the Dawn Group had left the City-State of Moros, staying aboard the Dawn. The ship didn''t dock, just drifted near the coast on standby.


    For the city was not at peacetely.


    These days, Su Lun had gathered some intelligence, increasingly feeling a sense of an impending storm.


    King Oleg of the North Sea''s second son, Onis Popov, who had been rumored to be romantically involved with "Princess Scatty," was of both Viking and Roman descent.


    The North Sea Kingdom''s swift subjugation of Roman as a vassal state was directly rted to this man.


    His mother was a mystery; no one knew who she was.


    But reliable intelligence indicated that when Oleg first came to Roman, he had conquered the City-State of Moros with mighty military force and even visited the Temple of Aghaparnon, considered sacred by the Romans.


    Soon after, Onis Popov was born.


    He was a child graced by the War God from birth, endowed with "courage" ¡ª a truly formidable progeny.


    Some suspected that his mother might be a highly respected priestess from the temple.


    For this rumour, Su Lun had deliberately encountered this Onis Popov. Handsome and dashing, he possessed the robust physique of the Romans and the bravery of the Vikings.


    Oleg was strict with his offspring; those who were useless were simply thrown into the sea to feed the sharks. This guy, however, did well, achieving dozens of consecutive victories in the arena and possessing impressive strength.


    However, this guy was also lustful, arrogant, and reckless in his actions.


    He loved to plunder on the seas, particrly relishing the capture of beautiful women. Even though Princess Scatty was his blood sister, he didn''t restrain his inclinations.


    But Su Lun had no interest in this man''s private affairs.


    He was more concerned about other details.


    Given Oleg''s rugged appearance, gically speaking, this guy must have had a beautiful mother.


    And the most beautiful women in Roman were all in the temple.


    Therefore, the rumor was probably true ¡ª Onis''s mother might indeed be a temple priestess.


    And that was precisely the problem.


    The priests of the Temple of Aghaparnon were endowed with strong "prophetic powers"!


    Drought, tsunami, snow disaster, pestilence...the temple could always predict these in advance, guiding the Romans.


    Su Lun could not be too careful.


    They had eliminated several units of the North Sea Fleet, and although foretelling took a toll, it wasn''t guaranteed that some clues wouldn''t be uncovered.


    Caution was paramount.


    ....


    Qian Tiao and the others stayed on the ship, while Su Lun, with his strong survival skills, remained in the city to gather information.


    He wanted to find an opportunity to get the key from Princess Scatty''s possession, also waiting for news of the goods from Mafa and about submarines...


    But after several days, no opportunity had presented itself.


    That day, at the Rainbow Tavern.


    In the evening, Su Lun customarily sat in the tavern for a while.


    This was the busiest tavern in the City-State of Moros, and a favorite gathering spot for news traders.


    The tavern was noisy with voices, with groups of flushed-faced drinkers, adventurers, and pirates loudly boasting. Scantily d women moved about the tavern, and there was a blood-pumping erotic dance performance on stage.


    Su Lun sat in a corner, leisurely sipping from arge jug of wine by himself, listening to the tales brought by those fellows from distantnds.


    The situation between Ruying and the Mafa battle has changed again...


    Some noble''s butler has eloped with his sister-inw...


    A pirate crew has been sunk by the navy again...


    An underwater shipwreck has been discovered somewhere again...


    Wait a moment.


    Taverns are the fastest channels for transmission of news.


    Su Lun was drinking and asionally nced at a specialmunicator by his waist, murmuring to himself in a voice only he could hear, "Barrett has even turned off themunicator, seems like he''s preparing to make a move."


    Themunicator Barrett gave hadpletely lost signal.


    Not wanting to involve others was one thing. On the other hand, the high likelihood was that he was going to take action, which was why all possible means of tracking had been cut off.


    Su Lun had just obtained some intelligence and wanted to inform Barrett.


    But thinking about it, notifying him or not didn''t matter anymore.


    Knowing it was a trap, they would definitely take action to save people no matter what.


    It just depended on which recent day the action would be taken.


    The night was thickening, and the streets outside were gradually bing deserted, but the tavern was getting livelier.


    Recently, probably because of the news about "Devil''s Ind," it drew more and more adventurers and pirate crews from all directions. The tavern was also filled with many outsiders gathering information.


    The news that the ind contained innumerable ancient treasures had spread far and wide, with various rumors flying about, most of them unfounded hearsay.


    Those who fancied bing rich overnight had already set out towards that hazardous miasmic maritime region.


    But no one had heard of anyone sessfully returning with treasures.


    Su Lun narrowed his eyes and surveyed everything in the tavern.


    Before long, he had nearly finished his drink.


    Su Lun thought he wouldn''t hear any useful news tonight and was just about to leave.


    Suddenly, an excited news peddler suddenly rushed into the tavern.


    "Explosive news!"


    "Explosive news!"


    This person ran breathlessly, pped the bar, and said, "Quick, give me a drink, I''m about to die of thirst."


    This was a local hustler in the city, whom Su Lun also happened to know.


    The bartender served him a drink and teased, "Hey, Mars, did your wife run off with someone, is that why you''re in such a hurry?"


    After gulping down a drink, he shouted excitedly, "Oh, no! You guys, go look, the ''Flying Fish Pirate Crew'' has docked!"


    No sooner had he finished than someone scoffed, "What ''Flying Fish Crew,'' isn''t that just a third-rate small pirate crew, nothing to make a fuss over?"


    "It''s Devil''s Ind! Devil''s Ind!"


    Mars repeated excitedly several times then added, "They just returned from ''Devil''s Ind'', their ship was loaded with a whole ship''s worth of treasures! Oh, my God, the gold almost sank their warship, the treasures unloaded on the dock piled up like a mountain, some antique dealer roughly estimated, they made at least a few billion, a few billion¡ªmaybe even more! And I heard, they are nning to sell the map of the safe route they took this time!!!"


    "This..."


    At this, the tavern quieted down as if the mute button had been pressed, everyone seemed shocked by the news.


    Mars reported excitedly, and very quickly, "Oh, my God, those guys from the ''Sailors Gang'' wanted to monopolize this news, they kept it suppressed, didn''t let it out. I also went through a lot of trouble to find out..."


    As if they had justprehended what he said, the entire tavern erupted like a barrel of gunpowder had been ignited, instantly boiling over.


    "What! Someone came back alive from Devil''s Ind?"


    "And they brought back treasures?"


    "I''ve met the leader of the Flying Fish Crew, ''Old Smoker'' Lauren before! Oh, damn it, their crew was so poor they couldn''t even afford a new anchor chain, said they were going to take a chance, never thought they''d actually find treasure?"


    "..."


    If thest time "King of Fighting" Baron Optra came back alive, it was partly due to skill and luck.


    Then this "Flying Fish Crew" managing to bring back treasures was definitely a spirits-lifting minor cautious.


    This "Flying Fish Crew" wasn''t strong, their captain was only Tier Four.


    Since they coulde back alive, the same thought popped into everyone else''s mind, why couldn''t they?


    Treasure hunting, it''s a matter of acting early.


    If someone else steals a march, those goingte won''t even get soup to drink.


    With this news out, the tavern''s patrons instantly sobered up.


    No one knew who shouted "Let''s go!", everyone swarmed out.


    Mars looked anxiously as he took off his hat, tugging at his throat and yelled, "Hey, guys, my fee for the information!"


    The informed crowd was not stingy, and each man threw a few silver coins. In the blink of an eye, his hat was heavily filled with a pocketful.


    When the crowd hadrgely dispersed, Su Lun flicked his finger and threw a silver coin into the hat of the information merchant before he too walked out of the tavern, unhurried.


    "Someone actually came back alive from Devil''s Ind..."


    As he walked, he muttered.


    His eyescked the frenzy of those earlier, but a thick sense of anticipation was evident. Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire


    After all, on Devil''s Ind there was a top-tier puppet energy core¡ªThe "Heart of the Four Elements".


    Previously, those who ventured to explore Devil''s Ind were either fanatic adventurers or impoverished pirates betting their lives for fortune.


    Even if Su Lun was covetous, he wouldn''t joke with his own life.


    But now... a small group had actually made it back alive?


    With that thought in mind, Su Lun quickly headed towards the city''s outskirts to the docks, eager to uncover the truth.


    ...


    This news spread like it had wings, sweeping through the entire city-state of Moros in an instant.


    It was nearly midnight, but at that moment, the docks outside the city were brightly lit.


    The dock was crowded with people, a dense mass that likely numbered in the hundreds of thousands.


    By the time Su Lun reached, the city''s exit road was already jam-packed, making it impossible to reach the docks. Like others, he had no choice but to climb a cliff. He found a high spot and, from a distance, surveyed the scene at the docks.


    Fortunately, his vision was excellent, and he could see clearly.


    At that moment, at Dock Number Seven, a rickety pirate ship was moored.


    But at that moment, all eyes were on that pirate ship.


    Not many of the Flying Fish crew seemed to have survived, but the faces of those who did were filled with ecstatic joy. They were carrying off basket after basket of treasures from the ship.


    Gold and silver artifacts, gemstones, agate, crystals, antiques, Demon Cores... under the light, those treasures shone dazzlingly, utterly captivating.


    Captain "Old Smoker" Laureen was surrounded by a group of professional merchants, discussing the selling prices of those treasures.


    Right then, his face was beaming with a radiant glow.


    As time passed, more and more spectators from the city came to watch.


    Even the cliffs where Su Lun stood were packed with people.


    Watching such an abundance of treasures, Su Lun managed to stay calm, but the onlookers, their eyes gleaming green with envy, spoke with tones as sour as if they''d swallowed a mouthful of lemon juice.


    "My, my, the ''Flying Fish crew'' really hit the jackpot this time. These gains could set up their crew members for several lifetimes, damn I''m envious!"


    "Ah... why didn''t I think of joining them? Just recently, their crew was recruiting sailors in the tavern, and I didn''t go because their ship looked too shabby. Who would have thought I''d miss out..."


    "Stopining, let''s see if we can get a hold of a sea chart. I heard the Flying Fish crew might have discovered a safe route, at least one that our regr crews could pass through. Hey, even if we don''t gather as many treasures, getting just one-tenth would be enough for this lifetime..."


    "Exactly! I heard that the Flying Fish crew hadn''t even set foot on Devil''s Ind; they found all this treasure on a nearby ind. Their ship was simply too full, that''s why they returned. Apparently, there are many more such treasure inds in that sea area..."


    "If I can really buy a sea chart, I''m setting sail tonight!"


    "..."


    The sudden riches of someone else were a powerful example that stirred everyone''s heart immensely.


    Even Su Lun considered, if he could really get a sea chart, whether to make a trip to that "Devil''s Ind." His Dawn Era crew''s strength was much stronger than ordinary pirate crews, and their chances of obtaining treasures would be very high.


    But intuition told him that something about this seemed off.


    ...


    Su Lun, holding a monocr, closely observed the treasures being unshipped, and also scrutinized the condition of the crew and the ship''s damage.


    The metal artifacts bore marks of being corroded by seawater over the years, and there were stains of beast blood from battles on the ship...


    From all aspects, this was evidently a pirate crew that had just returned from a perilous sea adventure.


    Moreover, possessing the All-knowing Eye, Su Lun could see that those treasures were genuinely ancient relics.


    Not just gold jewelry, but also some cursed objects with special effects, extraordinary artifacts, and magical items.


    "Pharaoh''s Gold Scarab Beetles," "Gedro''s Spear of Courage," "Dark Magician''s Gold Tea Cup," "Sea Wave Pearls"...


    They had all sorts of items, although mostly damaged.


    But Su Lun also noticed a problem.


    These items were clearly not from the same era of civilization!


    "Why would ancient relics from different eras appear in the same ce?"


    Su Lun was somewhat puzzled.


    Mythological period, post-mythological period, prehistoric era, cial era, Dawn Era...even the majority of ancient artifacts identified were from civilizations that Su Lun had never heard of.


    Normally, the treasures of an ancient site should be from the same era.


    However, the artifacts found on "Devil''s Ind" seemed to be a bit of a mishmash.


    It was as if someone had deliberately collected them together.


    "Could it be that Devil''s Ind was originally some collector''s treasure trove?"


    Su Lun could only think of this possibility.


    ...


    The treasures on the Flying Fish Group''s ship were so numerous that Su Lun spent almost an hour looking over them and still hadn''t seen them all unloaded.


    The crowd at the dock was growingrger; it seemed that almost half the city had been drawn there.


    The scene was heating up, but just then, suddenly, a fierce explosion rang out in the city!


    "Boom!"


    A loud noise burst eardrums.


    A wave of explosion several dozen meters high erupted in a corner of the north city.


    The mes instantly lit up the entire sky.


    Thismotion quickly attracted the attention of the bystanders.


    "Look, quick, what''s happening? There''s been an explosion in the city!"


    "That strength of the explosion, ordinary explosives couldn''t achieve that."


    "Blue mes, that''s a specialpound explosive. I''ve seen military high explosives from Mafa that looked just like this."


    "North city... it seems to be in the direction of ''Princess Frost Moon''s'' guildhall!"@@novelbin@@


    "Could someone be attempting to assassinate the princess?"


    "..."


    After the first explosion, there were sessive explosions one after another.


    The entire north city was engulfed in mes.


    Everyone at the dock was shocked,


    While others didn''t understand what was happening, Su Lun looked on, his first thought being that Barrett and his crew had made their move.


    Because those blue-glowing military high explosives were personally handed to Barrett by Su Lun!


    Were Barrett and his team there to assassinate Princess Stika?


    No,


    Of course not!


    "Make noise in the east, strike in the west..."


    Su Lun squinted his eyes, immediately guessing what was happening.


    Now, undercurrents were surging in the city, with nearly all factions focusing on ''Princess Frost Moon.'' This explosion would certainly trigger a series of chain reactions.


    Sure enough, just as the explosion had erupted, the sound of fighting came from that direction.


    After some tentative skirmishes, the fighting grew more intense.


    "Rumble~"


    "Rumble~"


    "..."


    Shortly after the north city erupted in chaos, a district in the west city also erupted in explosions and intense fighting.


    The ruckus of the battle grew louder and louder, clearly indicating massivebat was underway within the city.


    Seeing the battle mes rising from the west, Su Lun was not at all surprised.


    Because that location was precisely... the headquarters of the Sun ve Trading Post, where the ''Sacred Judgment Legion'' members were detained!


    Currently, the city''s bystanders had mostly gathered to watch the excitement. It was indeed the best time to make a move.


    "Barrett and his team really chose to attack aggressively, huh..."


    Su Lun noted, as his gaze shifted.


    Without any hesitation, he blended into the crowd of onlookers, swiftly moving towards the area from where themotion in the city was emanating.

 Chapter 372 Reaping Two Cursed Objects at Once

    Su Lun didn''t go to the fervent battle in the North City but headed directly to West City.


    Compared to the situation with Princess Mafa, the battle at the "Sun ve Trade Firm" was a mystery to many and garnered little attention.


    After all, few knew of the Luying royal family''s n to lure and kill Barrett and his followers.


    Previously, Su Lun couldn''t quite understand why the Luying royal family was so bent on killing Barrett.


    But with the recent news from Mr. Hei, he had begun to grasp the reasons.


    The alchemists held no belief in deities, which is why the two great empires had never permitted, nor allowed any followers of foreign gods to openly propagate their faith within their territories.


    But now things were different.


    Despite opposition, the Luying royal family had issued a new decree, allowing citizens religious freedom and permitting the activities of various religious sects within the empire''s territory.


    This was quite intriguing.


    Various signs indicated that someone was manipting the decision-making of Luying''s upper echelons, seeking to gather faith within the empire with its massive poption base.


    As for who it might be, it was likely the "foreign god" that descended into Cursed Valley back then.


    As long as Barrett was alive, that "foreign god" couldn''t rest easy.


    However, Su Lun had no interest in caring about the distant Luying.


    Right now, he wanted to see the state of the battle on Barrett''s side.


    ...


    In West City, within Narachi District.


    This was the area where severalrge ve trade firms were concentrated.


    When Su Lun arrived, the battle was intense.


    Thebat prowess between high-ranking professionals was terrifying, even from a considerable distance, the shock waves and explosive air sts from the fight were causing dust and debris to fly on the streets, and swathes of buildings copsed as though bombed.


    Su Lun approached cautiously.


    He had been here before to observe the situation and knew that the few hundred soldiers from Luying, known as the "Sacred Judgment Legion," were typically imprisoned in the basement of building number 19 on the street.


    High-ranking professionals were on guard around the clock nearby.


    Now, his senses caught the presence of three powerful soul fires entangled in violent conflict, belonging to three sixth-order professionals.


    One of them was the familiar Barrett.


    Su Lun had wanted to find a ce to get a clear view but had not gone far when he encountered two mysterious individuals peering around the corner of a small alley.


    Seeing the sharp look in their eyes, Su Lun had no doubt about their identities.


    Without waiting for them to act or signal, a ck scythe swished twice, and two heads fell to the ground.


    Su Lun harvested the "Gray Mist" from the corpses, and upon consuming it, confirmed they were indeed peripheral members of the Luying Military Intelligence Service.


    He was now very close to the battle zone, and Su Lun chose not to approach rashly.


    He carefully collected themunication devices from the bodies and then found a three-story building to climb up.


    Looking through the window, he saw arge hole that had copsed in the Narachi District further away.


    Realizing the significance of the massive pit on the ground, Su Lun was secretly amazed, "So they dug tunnels to enter the city, no wonder there was no disturbance heard within the city."


    The bottomless hole had swallowed several buildings of the "Sun ve Trade Firm" along with it, seeming to directly push that batch of ves into the pit. This approach saved a lot of trouble that would have been faced during a rescue operation, indeed a good method to conserve strength and divine power.


    However, the subterranean of the Moros city state was made of hard and solid limestone. Digging such arge hole without being noticed was no easy task.


    Su Lun thought that Barrett must have some special treasures for digging at his disposal.


    However, those were obviously "bait."


    Emperor Luying''s most wanted target was always Barrett.


    At the moment, it seemed like the batch of ves had fallen into a pit, and it was unclear if they had managed to escape. However, Barrett and a few of his lieutenants were engaged in a fierce battle with several mysterious figures d in ck cloaks on the ground, and the situation looked grim.


    Barrett, with unrivaledbat prowess, was holding his own against two sixth-tier professionals, which was the only reason the battle was at a standstill.


    His lieutenants, too, were entwined inbat with a dozen others and couldn''t extricate themselves.


    They didn''t flee immediately, probably hoping to buy time for theirpanions in the passage. As long as they could stall these experts, it would make it easier for the others to escape.


    The most critical issue was that escaping probably wasn''t an option.


    The spies of Emperor Luying''s military intelligence division had been preparing this trap for a long time, and it wouldn''t be easy to shake them off.


    Su Lun could clearly see that Barrett and his group were visibly marked with a tracking substance simr to "Visibility Dust."


    ...


    You should know, anyone who advances to the sixth rank is a child of fortune, especially those from the Luying royal family.


    Su Lun noticed one of them emanating a vaporous pale blue me, which was unmistakably theplete form of the "Servantless" Secret Technique, a signature of Emperor Luying''s top-tier experts.


    Even so, Barrett, fighting desperately, was giving the two opposing sixth-rankers a hard time, leaving them with no temper at all.


    Whether it was because of the recent overwhelming changes he had gone through or the enhancement from the "Hand of Silver," Barrett''sbat strength was even greater than before. Theyer of power emanating from him seemed as though it was about to solidify into a "domain."


    Transformed into a giant ape, his fists moved so fast they were airtight, and the wind from his blows was like a bass cannon, sending wave after wave through the air.


    "Boom," "Boom," "Boom"...


    The vibrations were enough to rupture eardrums.


    Su Lun could not interject in such a battle; he could only watch from afar.


    He also realized that the two sixth-tier professionals were not only failing to gain any advantage but seemed to be helplessly unable to take Barrett down.


    Gradually, as the two continued to fight, their movements became increasingly anxious.


    It wasn''t that they had a poor mindset.


    You must understand, this wasn''t the territory of the Luying Empire.


    It was Romman, a vassal state of their sworn enemy, the King of the North Sea.


    If the people from Emperor Luying''s military intelligence division took action here and managed a swift capture, it would have been fine.


    But lingering too long risked unforeseen consequences.


    The North Sea fleet and the "Frost Moon Princess''s" followers were not weing to Luying''s people.


    However, seeing no one from the North Sea fleet hade so far, Su Lun guessed it probably wasn''t out of reluctance to get involved.


    These pirates were more likely to be watching the show, waiting for both sides to suffer and thene in to clean up.


    And this was why Su Lun felt it was a "dead end."


    No matter what, it seemed that Barrett was bound to die today.


    After all, those pirate fleets from the North Sea''s Eighteenth Fleet who were pursuing Barrett had "vanished," and by no means would the pirates give up the only clue to the "Sacred Judgment Group."


    ...


    Su Lun was intently watching the battlefield, looking for any chance to help.


    Just then, a voice came through themunication device in his hand: "Number Seven. Is it raining over there?"


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun immediately responded, "I brought an umbre!"


    This was Emperor Luying military intelligence division''s temporary battle code, freshly devised.


    Had there been no response, someone would havee to check immediately.


    "Number Eight!"


    "Foxes pretend grapes are sour when they cannot reach them."


    "Number Nine!"


    "..."


    After a conversation, Su Lun also realized that there were seven other hidden outposts nearby.


    To ambush Barrett, it seemed Emperor Luying had used up many of his undercover spies nted over the years.


    It was then, frustrated by the prolonged battle, curses began to be heard over themunicator.


    "Damn it, what are your information department folks doing, eating shit? Didn''t you say Barrett''s battle strength dropped to level five after he lost his arm? What the hell is this situation, how is he even stronger than when he was at his peak?"


    "I don''t know! Even if it''s a mechanical arm, it shouldn''t be this flexible. There''s something fishy about that silver arm..."


    "Am I blind not to see that there''s something fishy about the indestructible ''Hand of Silver''?"


    "The undercover agents from the North Sea Fleet are trying their best to dy further. They''ve sent a message, if we don''t kill Barrett soon, they will take action!"


    "Captain Glinton, more talk is useless, we must make it quick! n B, logistics group, use the ''Bow of Time''!"


    "Yes!"


    "..."


    As Su Lun listened to the messages on themunicator, his brow furrowed immediately.


    At that moment, he turned his gaze and spotted several heads poking out from the rooftop of a small building approximately five hundred meters away.


    In the blink of an eye, those sneaky individuals took out a radiant longbow from a sealed case.


    Su Lun narrowed his eyes slightly, recognizing the forbidden artifact at a nce, and murmured to himself, "The ''Bow of Time Curse of Chronos'' has been brought here too..."


    He had seen this bow once before, in Gadronte Harbor, when Emperor Luying''s Military Intelligence tried to intercept Princess Mafa purchasing the "neuro-mechanical blueprints."


    Both sides struggled fiercely, and the battle was exceptionally brutal.


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    This cursed longbow could ignore defenses and steal the life span of its targets, making it the most troublesome aspect.


    No matter how strong Barrett was, if he were hit by a few arrows, he would likely meet his end right there and then.


    "Bow of Time Curse of Chronos"


    Quality: Legendary


    Description: Time flies like an arrow, fleeting in a moment


    Cursed Trait: An ''Arrow of Time'' shot at the target ignores obstacles that are not more powerful than the bow''s ownw on thew level, seizing the target''s lifespan upon impact; Those who have not mastered the Time Law need to use their lifespan to concentrate arrows; The amount of lifespan taken from the target depends on their life''s destiny;


    Exnation: If your life''s destiny is not as strong as the target''s, more of your lifespan is required; The ''Sand of Time'' can be used to activate this forbidden item;


    As Su Lun once again identified the information of the bow, an additional line appeared.


    "Can be activated with the ''Sand of Time''? Does that mean I could use it?"


    Su Lun happened to have a jar with him.


    An idea suddenly popped into his head.


    ....


    Meanwhile, those on the other side were resolute, taking out the bow and arrow and shooting without hesitation.


    A pale green light arrow formed and, with a "whoosh," shot out.


    The cursed trait of the bow instantly sapped the life of the archer, and visibly, the man aged from his prime to a decrepit old man in an instant.


    At the same time, two level-six professionals from Emperor Luying''s Military Intelligence were also working hard to entangle Barrett, preventing him from dodging.


    Seeing that he couldn''t avoid it, an adjutant not far from Barrett shouted, "Watch out, Captain!"


    He didn''t hesitate at all, with a single leap he positioned himself in the middle of the light arrow''s trajectory.


    Almost the instant the bowstring was released, the light arrow pierced through his chest.


    The muscles on the adjutant''s face shriveled rapidly, like a piece of dried book leather, before he copsed to the ground, dead on the spot.


    Barrett watched his subordinate block the fatal strike for him, erupting in a choked bellow of rage, yet he was powerless to do anything.


    And then, seeing that a single arrow hadn''t killed their target, someone else on the opposite balcony picked up a longbow and started to shoot.


    Su Lun watched, his brows tightly furrowed.


    Reality didn''t give him any chance to hesitate, he had to act now or Barrett would eventually meet a dead end. He might be tough enough to take a few more arrows, but these military intelligence agents, just like those he had seen before, had no scruples about going on suicide attacks.


    "The risk is not small, but... it''s worth a try!"


    Determination red in Su Lun''s eyes, and in an instant, he made his decision.


    He pinched a sorcerer''s seal with one hand and peeled open the space in front of him. With one step, he was already hundreds of meters away in a small alley.


    Two sixth-rankers were holding Barrett back, and likewise, Barrett was also holding them back.


    The rest... were not much of a threat to Su Lun!


    This was an unexpected situation for Su Lun; Barrett was surprisingly robust, fighting to a standstill with those men. (Originally, he thought it would be a one-sided situation with no room for interference)


    ...


    No sooner had Su Lun stepped out of the spatial rift than he spotted two military intelligence agents guarding the small building.


    Now was not the time for killing, lest he alert the enemies to his presence.


    His face stern, he walked straight over to them.


    Before the two could even cast an inquisitive look, the cold me of "Invisibility" leaped from Su Lun''s body. He also smoothly pulled out a badge from his chest and shed it, uttering the password rapidly, "Night eternal, stars illuminate the path ahead."


    This was the exclusive password and badge of the high-ranking military intelligence officer Yegor, which Su Lun had stripped from him previously in the Cursed Valley.


    By now, Su Lun had a clear understanding of some of the basic operations within Emperor Luying''s military intelligence.


    For an operation at this level, the lower ranks wouldn''t know how many higher-ups were involved, and they might not even recognize each other.


    But they were certain to know the "password".


    Moreover, with the special badge and Emperor Luying''s royal secret technique "Invisibility," there was no way to fake it.


    As expected, upon hearing the password, the two men didn''t just refrain from stopping him; they saluted respectfully, "Officer!"


    Relief washed through Su Lun''s heart: His gamble had paid off!


    He ignored them entirely and swiftly ascended the stairs.


    Upstairs, he saw seven or eight people drawing their bows. Su Lun walked straight up, shed his badge again, uttered the password, thenmanded authoritatively, "Hand me the Bow of Time! I''ll do it!"


    As he spoke, he didn''t wait for the group to react, snatching the longbow right from them.


    The few archers didn''t understand why a "senior officer" would want to take over this death-defying job.


    But before they could figure it out, Su Lun turned around with the longbow and headed downstairs.


    The few left behind looked at each other in bewilderment.


    Military intelligence''s secrecy protocol was incredibly strict; subordinates had to obey superiors unconditionally, and lower-ranking officers weren''t entitled to question any of their superiors'' decisions.


    Although they also felt that something was amiss.


    But... what if it was a secret operation?


    Just secondster, as the shooting stopped, roaring came from thebatants on the battlefield belonging to the sixth ranks.


    "Support group, what''s going on there, why have you stopped shooting arrows!"


    "Commander! A leader from the ''Spade Group'' just came by; he took the Bow of Time..."


    "What ''Spade Group''? This mission is under the sole responsibility of our ''Spade Group''; no other department is involved! Oh... damn it! You''ve been tricked, go after the cursed longbow now!"


    "..."


    The people on the rooftop were all horrified, finally realizing what had just happened, and they chased after the thief.


    But once downstairs, where was there any sign of the thief?


    ...


    A few hundred meters away, Su Lun emerged from a spatial rift once again.


    Looking at the longbow in his hands, he too found it hard to believe.


    How could he have imagined that he would so easily deceive them out of a sealed weapon?


    Upon inspection, there was still a tracking mark on the bow.


    Having anticipated this, Su Lun pinched a sorcerer''s seal, and a ck hole appeared in his palm, sucking the longbow in.


    Thanks to his prior experience of stripping spatialw insights from over a thousand members of the eighteenth fleet, his spellcasting speed was now more than ten times faster than before.


    Looking at the ck vortex in his palm, Su Lun''s eyes shifted as he suddenly came up with a rescue n.


    Although it was a bit risky.


    ...


    Meanwhile, all sides on the battlefield were dumbfounded.


    Nobody expected that a mysterious "third party" force would get involved in the battle.


    Not being targeted by the Bow of Time, Barrett felt the spine-chilling threat of death suddenly disappear.


    Was someone intervening on his behalf?


    As he pondered in confusion, he suddenly saw a spatial rift open opposite him.


    The military intelligence operative nearly got split in half, crying out as he dodged.


    "It''s Su Lun!"


    Recognizing the familiar technique, Barrett finally understood who was helping him from the shadows.


    And it should have urred to him, under these circumstances, that only the Dawn Squad could be involved.


    At the same time, he also felt a pang of guilt.


    At this critical moment, help from anyone would be a hopeless situation.


    Whoever helps would be dragged to death!


    But thinking it over, Barrett still activated hismunicator.


    In the final moments of his life, he sincerely thanked, "Young friend Su Lun, thank you, and your Dawn Squad! But don''t concern yourself with me, get out of here!"


    Where Barrett knew, anyone else might escape, but he was destined to die.


    Because he was the one who had directly encountered and fought against that "Outer God."


    The heretic hidden deep within Luying''s higher-ups would never let him go.


    Over themunicator, Su Lun didn''t mince words but simplymanded, "Find a chance to head north, the western exit of Coral Alley, you only get one shot, three seconds at most!"


    Barrett, heart skipping a beat, wondered, could there really be a way out of this situation?


    Su Lun had always been steady and would never do something uncertain.


    Thinking back to when he was at sea, haven''t the seemingly hopeless situations all been miraculously resolved?


    Barrett responded, "I have magic markers on me, I can''t escape."


    Over themunicator, the tone was still decisive: "I know."


    "..."


    Hearing this, Barrett was at a loss for words.


    He had already braced for death, thinking if he could dy the enemy, the brothers fleeing through the tunnels would have a better chance of getting further away.


    Now... it seemed like there was a chance to escape.


    He himself was not afraid of death.


    But looking at the bodies of hisrades on the ground, and the remaining two brothers desperately holding off the enemy, Barrett''s gaze revealed his unwillingness to let them die.


    If there was really a chance to survive, he didn''t want to watch his brothers die while he did nothing.


    Barrett was a decisive man and made up his mind in an instant.


    He gave a "rally" hand signal, and the two surviving subordinates understood and immediately regrouped with him.


    Just then, Barrett let out a mighty roar, his momentum surging as he took out a high-explosive bomb.


    The two sixth-tier professionals thought they were going to self-destruct and instinctively moved away.


    "Boom!"


    A loud explosion shattered the surrounding buildings, leaving rubble everywhere.


    As the mushroom cloud of fire dissipated, three figures were sted out.


    On closer inspection, although Barrett''s right arm was sted to shreds, the three of them were clearly still alive. They picked a direction and rushed forward without any thought of fighting back.


    Seeing this, the Luying military intelligence operatives immediately understood.


    "Damn, they''re trying to escape!"


    "Hmph! As if it''ll be that easy!"


    "Notify the perimeter to close in, keep sensing the target''s location, and report their bearing!"


    "..."


    The battlefield was quickly shifting.


    To take advantage of the explosion to break free, Barrett''s right arm was blown off. But that right arm, now a silver mush, began to miraculously heal as they fled.


    "Captain, you go ahead, we''ll stay and hold them off."


    "Yeah, Captain, we can''t escape like this!"


    The two vice-captains, not understanding what happened, shouted anxiously.


    Barrett didn''t exin but led the two, racing through the streets and alleys, and bellowed, "Follow me! And whatever you do, don''t look back!"


    Closebat professionals have a significant advantage in short-distance bursts, and they ran through the winding alleys with no enemies in sight for the moment.


    And at that moment, they saw the alley aheadpletely obscured by fog.


    Desiring to rescue, Barrett was certainly familiar with the city''syout, and now he was facing what Su Lun had mentioned over themunicator: the western exit of Coral Alley!


    Under normal circumstances, encountering such an obscured area, they would never rush in.


    But at that moment, Barrett didn''t hesitate and plunged straight into it.


    The two vice-captains, with determination in their eyes, followed close behind.


    ...


    Inside the alley, Su Lun, already sensing Barrett''s soul me, had been waiting a long time. As the three approached, the spatial vortex in his hand opened just wide enough for one person.


    Upon entering the mist, Barrett saw Su Lun, and Su Lun saw them too.


    Su Lun bellowed, "Get in!"


    Concern for Su Lun flickered in Barrett''s eyes, yet he knew there could be no hesitation. He twisted hispanions and charged headlong forward.@@novelbin@@


    As Su Lun watched the group being sucked into the "Mini Void Realm," he didn''t dy and activated the Spatial Discement Alchemy Array he had prepared nearby.


    With one step, the scenery around him shifted, and he was already in another alleyway.


    Meanwhile, a violent explosion urred near the original Coral Alley, obliterating all traces in its wake.


    After several more teleports, Su Lun had moved from the west of the city to the south!


    Hurrying through an alley, Su Lun took off his clothes, sprayed himself with odor-removing potion, and applied every tracking countermeasure avable.


    Only then did he exhale a long breath, "Huff..."


    ....


    At the same time, on a cliff by the sea outside the city, inside the Temple of Aghaparnon,


    a mysterious priestess with a light veil over her head was engaged in divination.


    Opposite her, a handsome blond young many back in a chair, leisurely sipping fine wine and eating delicious grapes.


    This man was none other than Oleg''s second son, Onis Popov.


    Suddenly, the mysterious priestess seemed to sense something and eximed, "Barrett''s location can''t be detected, he has escaped!"


    Hearing this, Onis sprang to his feet in surprise, "How is that possible! Ipetent though the Luying Intelligence might be, they couldn''t possibly let someone escape under these circumstances, right?"


    The priestess also seemed puzzled, muttering to herself, "Barrett''s trace has vanished without a trace. This is highly unusual... unless... there is some treasure or a person with a powerful fate shielding him, interfering with my divination."


    Suddenly, she thought of something, her expression growing grave, "It could be ''the person who will bring disaster upon you'' mentioned in the prophecy!"


    "Oh, my dear mother, you worry too much. Who could pose a threat to our North Sea Fleet here in Romon? That prophecy of yours is too vague. Perhaps you have misinterpreted it?"


    Arrogance and nonchnce were written all over Onis''s face.


    But in the depths of his eyes, a flicker of chill went unnoticed.


    Hezily stood up and walked over to the side, picking up his gleaming golden spear, his tone flippant, "But anyway, since that''s the case, I do want to see how tough the person from your prophecy really is... to make you feel he''s a threat to me!"


    As he spoke, he gazed toward the distant massive city. Grasping the spear in his right hand, his arm muscles bulged, and after a running start, he hurled the golden spear with force.


    With a "whoosh".


    The spear tore through the air.


    Onis watched, a smug smile forming on his lips.


    ...


    Having not been pursued for a long while, Su Lun felt that the precautions he had taken must have fooled the people from Luying Intelligence.


    This was the escape route he had thought of in advance for times when he might encounter danger.


    Leaving the city was clearly not a good option now; the open countryside would make detection easy, whereas blending into the city would offer more safety.


    Su Lun wandered through the city streets.


    But just as he was starting to rx, suddenly, the death-warning bird on his shoulder let out a frantic cawing.


    It was a lethal warning.


    "Dammit!"


    Su Lun was startled; he didn''t sense where the danger came from, but instinctively used the "sh," teleporting several meters in an instant.


    Almost at that very moment, a golden light shot toward him, piercing the afterimage he left at his previous spot.


    Su Lun, his back slick with cold sweat, looked and realized it was a gleaming golden spear.


    [War God Tyr''s Causality Gold Spear]


    Quality: Legendary


    Description: The cause is wanting to kill you, the effect is your death.


    Detailed Exnation: The heirloom of the Temple of Aghaparnon; a divine spear driven by the power of faith, it can lock onto its causality target from an ultra-long distance and inflict piercing damage; after the attack, the spear automatically returns to the hands of the user; only those who have inherited the ''War God Heritage'' or have been blessed by ''Tyr'' can wield it.


    "Damn it!"


    Swearing inwardly, Su Lun felt a surge of frustration.


    He had been worried that some being with strange abilities or an unusual object might appear.


    And sure enough, whatever he feared came to pass!


    This spear turned out to be a causality weapon, which meant... if someone had locked onto him, he couldn''t escape no matter what.


    In that instant, he saw the golden spear stuck in the ground dissolve into points of light.


    And the next second, the crow cawed loudly again!


    Obviously, the spear was on its way back.


    Suddenly, Su Lun felt a real pain in the neck.


    This kind of "tracking spear" waspletely unavoidable. If he dodged one spear, what about the next? And the one after that?


    He had the nagging feeling that the spear-thrower wasn''t targeting Barrett, but him!


    But he couldn''t afford to think about it in detail.


    Su Lun focused his attention on the sky, and at that moment, he saw that streak of golden lighting at him again.


    This time, he chose not to dodge; with a p of his hand, the sorcerer''s seals appeared, and a ck hole coalesced in his palm once again.


    In this vast world, anything is possible.


    As for dealing with treasures akin to sealed relics, Su Lun didn''t think he could handle them.


    But he could gamble on it.


    He was also curious to see if in another dimension, the spear could still be recalled by its user!


    Though the golden spear was fast, within the vision of the All-knowing Eye, its trajectory was still captured in a fleeting moment.


    Su Lun raised his hand, and in a sheer moment of danger, right before the spear could pierce him, he ced the twisted ck hole in front of him.


    "Whoosh~"


    The golden spear pierced into the miniature void realm.


    Su Lun immediately transformed his open hand into a fist, crushing the ck hole together.


    Looking again, this time the ominous bird didn''t react.


    The whole world grew silent.


    A gleam of joy shed in Su Lun''s eyes: "As expected, it''s been sucked in!"


    He didn''t dare dy and darted into the dense warren of buildings in the civilian area within the city.


    ....


    Meanwhile, in the Temple of Aghaparnon.


    Onis Popov, whose face changed dramatically as he lost the sensory connection with his beloved spear!


    PS. Had to go out today, wrote thiste at night, sending it now.

 Chapter 373 [The Heart of the Puppet Mechanism]

    In just ten minutes, Su Lun had obtained two top-tier treasures: the "Bow of Kronos''s Time Curse" and the "Golden God Spear of War God Tyr''s Law of Causality." However, far from feeling fortunate, he sensed that things were taking a very bad turn.


    Originally, ording to his n, even if he had saved Barrett, the problem wouldn''t be too big.


    Magic markers and such arepletely ineffective in the "Minor Ethereal Realm."


    Separated by two nes of existence, it wasn''t so easy to be tracked down.


    Su Lun had thought to find a ce to hide first, and after themotion died down, it would probably be safe.


    After all, this was the kingdom of Roman, and no matter how many undercover agents from the Ruying Intelligence Agency there were, they couldn''t possibly drag him out in the city.


    Even if people from the North Sea Fleet wanted to find Barrett to inquire about the missing fleet, using special methods, they would most likely and definitely be more urately zeroing in on those "Sacred Judgment Legion" folks. They would never suspect Su Lun, the "outsider."


    But now, the situation had gotten more troublesome.


    Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire


    Su Lun didn''t know why a golden spear had fallen from the sky to kill him.


    Now that it had been taken into the Minor Ethereal Realm, the situation had be delicate.


    He had already identified that this golden spear was the "Treasure of the n" cherished in the Temple of Aghaparnon.


    This was a matter that involved seriousplications and implications.


    Su Lun had just happened to hear about the legend of the "Golden God Spear"... it was an object of faith for the Roman people.


    If an outsider took possession of it, they were virtually the enemy of all of Roman.


    But not taking it would mean being killed by the spear.


    Given the situation, Su Lun was considering how to resolve the forting troubles.


    As he ran through the city, doubts also sprang up in his mind.


    Who had thrown this spear?


    Did they want to kill him just to hit Barrett?


    Su Lun felt there was a possibility, but it was not likely.


    If someone could use divination to track Barrett inside his Minor Ethereal Realm across a ne, it was simply impossible. Would it require seventh, eighth, or even ninth-tier Prophets?


    Clearly, a Barrett was not worth such an exorbitant cost.


    The most likely possibility was that the Golden Spear was originally aimed at Su Lun himself.


    The person capable of using this Golden Spear definitely held no ordinary status.


    It was very likely to be a "Big Shot" from the Temple of Aghaparnon.


    But Su Lun felt that he had no conflict with the temple, so why would they want to kill him?


    ...


    The Minor Ethereal Realm now contained several big troubles, whether it was Barrett or the two weapons, they were obviously not things that should see the light of day now.


    Su Lun ran about the city, hiding here and there as if he were carrying several ticking time bombs, with a heart full of unease.


    Fortunately, the death foretelling bird remained very quiet, and no more bizarre incidents urred.


    But suddenly, the vast city-state of Moros was pierced by the deep sound of horns.


    "Woom..."


    Like an air-raid siren, this sound awakened the entire city.


    "Whoosh~"


    "Whoosh~"


    "Whoosh~"


    "..."


    Then another series of explosions followed, and res shot up into the sky.


    It was the dead of night, yet those res lit up the sky as bright as day, illuminating the streets and those sneaking around on them.


    Meanwhile, the Roman army barracks, the peacekeeping camps, the North Sea Fleet stations, and various official powers sounded the call to arms, and countless warriors, armored and spears in hand, flooded into the streets and alleys.


    The earlier fight was just the outsiders from the intelligence outpost causing a ruckus; now, it was the Romans themselves taking action.


    Su Lun, watching thismotion, was not rmed but actually let out an inward sigh of relief.


    The res illuminated his serious face brightly; he looked up at the sky, muttering, "Arge-scale manhunt has begun, eh..."


    Searching with manpower meant that those fellows from the temple no longer had any mystical means to locate him!


    "It seems I''m temporarily safe..."


    Su Lun exhaled a long breath of relief, a flicker of sharpness passing through his eyes.


    Having witnessed various divination techniques, he now very clearly understood the principles of divination.


    The higher the rank of the divination target, the more entangled the causality, and the moreplex the environment, the greater the cost of divination required.


    He, Su Lun, was no longer the second-tier lousy chicken he had been when he first came out of Old Lington, someone who could be easily divined by anyone.


    He had now advanced to the fourth tier, and with so many valuable treasures on him, relying on human divination was almost impossible. He estimated that any diviner below the sixth tier trying to precisely locate his position would probably drop dead on the spot.@@novelbin@@


    Without the Golden Spear, which had the special Law of Causality ability, it was unlikely for them to pinpoint his location.


    At this thought, Su Lun felt even more fortunate that he had taken the Golden Spear in.


    Such a high-level treasure, the entire kingdom of Roman might not be able to produce a second one.


    Caught off guard once meant the opposition had lost the initiative.


    "Even if it were the mysterious High Priest of the Temple of Aghaparnon, at most they could only predict that I''m in the city... Now, leaving the city, on the other hand, would draw attention."


    After analyzing all the known conditions at lightning speed, Su Lun scrapped his initial decision to risk leaving the city.


    ...


    Su Lun had already considered aprehensive n for emergency escape should he encounter any search and seizure.


    Inns, post stations, bathhouses, pleasure districts, taverns... these were ces where outsiders congregated and were definitely the focus of thorough searches.


    Su Lun didn''t dare go to those ces; instead, he headed directly for the slums.


    Therey the slum areas teeming with a jumble of life, where hundreds of thousands of the lower ss were packed.


    The situation in the city grew increasingly chaotic. The military, local strongmen, pirates... powers from all sides under the King of the North Sea began to stir.


    With the four city gates and various main roadspletely sealed off, no one could move openly anymore.


    But this was good news for Su Lun.


    It wasn''t just him who couldn''t be caught; within the Moros city-state, all sorts of forces were intermingled, especially the multiple factions who wanted to assassinate the "Frost Moon Princess" were also equally averse to sunlight.


    Because not everyone knew that the Temple of Aghaparnon was looking for their lost "Golden Spear."


    ```


    When confronted with a search, assassins would certainly think they had been discovered and fighting was inevitable.


    The city-wide manhunt was like detonating a bomb in a fish pond, forcing the big fish hiding in the darkness to emerge.


    Not long after the lockdown began, outbreaks ofbat cropped up all over the city.


    ....


    Clearly, the matter of the [Golden Spear] was of utmost significance, and the Temple of Aghaparnon''s determination to recover their sacred treasure exceeded expectations.


    Even those priestesses of the temple, clothed in long robes and veiled in scarves, personally appeared throughout the city.


    With their call to action, the entire city''s Roman popce was mobilized.


    Romans are born warriors; arming themselves with weapons, themoners quickly transformed into searching guards.


    More and more people joined the hunt, even navigating theplex civilian districts.


    Su Lun blended into the civilian slums, but found himself trapped there.


    The main roads outside were already filled with Roman soldiers.


    Su Lun moved swiftly through the small alleys.


    Urgent warnings echoed in his ears from the loudspeakers.


    "A thief has stolen the [Golden Spear], desecrating our sacred War God''s temple..."


    "Emergency martialw! Citywide curfew! All unrted persons, return to your residences immediately!"


    "The High Priest has decreed, all Romans stay home and cooperate with the search. Should you encounter unfamiliar persons, report them immediately!"


    "..."


    Upon hearing this, the Roman masses became incensed.


    Defiling their faith was a grievance graver than any other, many mored to catch the "thief".


    Su Lun''s face twitched as he listened, his previous good impression of the Romanspletely vanished.


    Theft?


    You fail at a sneaky plot, and now you call it stealing?


    It seemed that even a seemingly simple belief system was but a tool for those in power.


    However, Su Lun also came to some realizations.


    Any actions taken by the priests of the Temple of Aghaparnon would unconditionally be obeyed by the Romans, but now they were resorting to deception.


    This meant that the affair of someone from the temple throwing the spear couldn''t stand scrutiny.


    Otherwise, there would be no need for this secrecy.


    ...


    With the entire city searching, Su Lun''s situation was not looking good.


    He hadn''t expected themotion to escte to such an extent.


    Looking at the circumstances, it wouldn''t end without turning everything upside down.


    Clearly, among those were capable people; the military that was dispatched immediately surrounded the slums, dividing theplex shantytown into dozens of sections for door-to-door interrogation.


    No Roman refused to cooperate.


    The uncooperative were surely the guilty ones.


    Su Lun''s original ns also had to be changed.


    Even with a human skin mask disguised as a Roman, his solitary status with no family or friends would be a focal point. Origin, neighbors, duration of residence... A few questions could easily expose him.


    Worse still, he hadn''t even managed to reach the hiding spots he had scouted beforehand before being cut off by the Roman troops.


    Thanks to the shared vision with the ck crow and the sensing ability of the Rune Umbre, he narrowly avoided several groups, but the situation was getting more and more dire.


    Just then, as Su Lun hid in a dark alley, his way forward was blocked yet again.


    Killing these people would not be difficult, but exposure would lead to major trouble afterward.


    Watching the interrogation scene from afar, he felt a heavy weight in his heart, "This is bad... With no ''family'' or ''acquaintances,'' I''m sure to be interrogated. It seems they''re specifically targeting people who entered the city in the past few days."


    Su Lun looked up and surveyed his surroundings, noting that the crowd of onlookers was growing, and his chances of remaining undiscovered were diminishing.


    While he was calcting which direction offered the best chance of breaking through, he suddenly spotted a head emerge from the second floor of a residential building nearby. She looked towards Su Lun and called out with a questioning tone, "Sir?"


    Su Lun looked up, recognizing the person; it was the girl with the long braid from the flea market who had bought a puppet, apparently named Kama.


    He hadn''t expected her to live here.


    Just that nce was enough for Kama to guess that she had recognized the right person. Hesitation shed across her face as if deciding something, then she beckoned, "Sir,e over here quickly!"


    Su Lun didn''t know how she had recognized him, but after a moment''s thought, he teleported and appeared inside the room of that building.


    ...


    With a citywide curfew in ce, anyone still wandering the streets was surely an outsider without a fixed residence.


    No sooner had Su Lun entered the apartment than he saw Kama pull out a half-meter long ck Rune Puppet from her storage ring.


    Upon inspection, it was clearly a treasure.


    [Life-Substitute Puppet]


    Exnation: This was an antique puppet inherited over a thousand years, inscribed with ''Crafted by Robert Boyle''. After blood is dripped onto it, it could transfer all recent karma and traces from the host to the puppet, avoiding detection by mysterious means;


    "..."


    Su Lun was taken aback.


    He knew how to craft such [Life-Substitute Puppets], but the materials required were extremely rare; he had never seen one until now.


    To think he would encounter one here.


    And seeing the creator''s name, it was crafted by none other than his "senior brother".


    Kama was actually willing to bring out her family heirloom puppet?


    Su Lun looked at her in amazement: "For me?"


    He immediately understood that she must have guessed that he was the one being hunted in the city!


    How did Kama discover this, and how did she recognize him so coincidentally?


    While speaking, Su Lun''s eyes also revealed caution; her bringing out the puppet meant she must have suspected something.


    "If you feel the need, please don''t be shy," she said.


    Kama was obviously intelligent, seeing the subtle expression on Su Lun''s face, she guessed his apprehensions.


    Being identified in a citywide manhunt would make anyone wary.


    She used a formal address and added an exnation, "Please don''t misunderstand, I just felt you might need it. My innate ability is [B-098-Sixth Sense]. The reason I called out to you earlier was a feeling... that it might be you."


    ```


    ```


    So that''s the gift.


    Su Lun, upon hearing this, also showed a look of realization and epted the puppet.


    "Thank you. This is a very precious treasure," he said.


    He expressed his gratitude, then without any dy, he cut a small opening on his finger with the thread and smeared his blood on the puppet.


    Normally, he wouldn''t ept such a high-level treasure from a stranger for no reason, but the current situation was pressing, leaving no room for politeness, and he had to use it.


    As the fresh blood was smeared, a glint of spiritual light shed across the puppet.


    Kama responded, "You don''t have to be polite. My father always taught me: a treasure is precious because it is used in the right ce."


    She watched everything and became more certain of something in her heart: Only someone who was a descendant of (her) Puppet Master lineage would know how to use this puppet.


    She immediately felt that the treasure had been entrusted to the right person and added, "You can throw it into the firece."


    "Okay."


    Su Lun nodded, threw the blood-stained puppet into the burning firece, and heaved a great sigh of relief.


    As the puppet burned away, no one would be able to trace back to him through the causality created tonight.


    Now, even if he were caught, he wouldn''t be afraid.


    ...


    Knowing the value of a family heirloom, Su Lun had no intention of taking advantage, and he straightforwardly said, "The [Life-Substitute Puppet] just now was very precious. What would you like in exchange?"


    Hearing Su Lun say the name of the puppet, Kama shook her head and said, "Sir... Although the puppet is precious, it is not of much use to me. You don''t need to worry."


    Su Lun figured that it was probably the few sketches he gave earlier that led to this favor in return.


    Kama asked, "Sir, are you a descendant of the Puppeteer lineage?"


    Su Lun didn''t hide anything and straightforwardly admitted, "I am."


    Hearing this, Kama''s brown clear pupils immediately sparkled, "Really! Then you... which lineage''s descendant are you?"


    Being a Puppet Master was already niche, and now that he had encountered someone from the same path, he wasn''t an outsider.


    Hearing this, Su Lun hesitated for a moment.


    Which lineage?


    That was actually hard to say.


    If it came to seniority, this girl should address him as her great... great-uncle Master?


    Seeing his hesitation, Kama thought she had touched on something private and hurriedly said, "Oh, sir, if it''s inconvenient for you, then don''t..."


    She didn''t finish her sentence when Su Lun shook his head and said, "It''s not that it''s inconvenient to say. It''s justplicated to exin. I am... a disciple of Teacher Sereia."


    Hearing this, Kama showed a hint of suspicion on her face. Obviously, she was thinking that she had never heard of this lineage before.


    Her ancestral notes mentioned there were only a few Puppet Master lineages...


    Wait!


    Teacher Sereia?


    In his mouth... was he referring to the founder of the Puppeteer lineage, "Sereia"?


    How could that be!


    Su Lun saw Kama''s suddenly doubtful and shocked expression and somewhat helplessly said, "It''s as you''re thinking. It''s just a bitplicated to exin."


    "This..."


    Kama''s eyes widened in disbelief.


    Had she thought he was a brother from one of the lineages, only to find out he was her ancestor''s ancestor''s great-uncle Master?


    This... was this gentleman before her someone who had lived for a thousand years?


    That preliminary thought popped into Kama''s head, her expression became extremely odd.


    Su Lun knew that this im seemed fantastical, which is why he had hesitated earlier.


    He didn''t n to exin and said, "I''m not that old. But it''splicated to exin. If there''s a chanceter, I''ll tell you more about it."


    He also did not hide the fact that he was the person those outside were searching for and said, "You''ve helped me out of a big trouble, even saved me. But my being here might cause you trouble..."


    Hearing this, Kama became even more anxious. She seemed to think of something and quickly said, "No! It won''t be any trouble! If you don''t mind, you can stay here. I can help you."


    "..."


    Su Lun, hearing this, looked a little stern and nced around.


    This ce was a puppet workshop and also where she lived. The walls and workbench were covered with tools and blueprints for making puppets, and the room''s decorations were rather girly.


    From the arrangement of the house, it was clear that Kama had been staying here for some time.


    Now that the possibility of being tracked by mystical means was cut off, staying here would indeed avoid much trouble.


    And coincidentally, at that moment, Su Lun could sense that people were surrounding the ce.


    A group of people hade upstairs, knocking on doors from house to house.


    Going out now, the chances of being discovered were very high.


    Kama also heard the noise and looked at Su Lun, very seriously nodding, "Leave it to me."


    She didn''t know Su Lun''sbat strength, but she was well aware that after the Priest of the temple had spoken, no one would be able to leave the city now.


    Su Lun frowned, but did not leave.


    At that moment, someone knocked on the door.


    Kama went to open it, and outside stood several Pirates, wearing insignias of the North Sea Fleet.


    Upon opening the door, a poorly concealed surge swept through, clearly from someone with sensory abilities.


    "How many people are in this house? When did youe to the Morlos City-State?"


    "Two...me and my cousin."


    "Oh, your cousin? When did hee..."


    "A long time ago."


    "..."


    Obviously, those who came to check the residential houses were Pirates familiar with this area.


    Before the questioning could continue, someone outside shouted, "Hey, Laihte, stop asking, that''s Miss Kama''s house, I know it... let''s go to the next one."


    "Oh."


    Hearing this, the Pirates seemed to want to finish their inquiries quickly, took another look and then turned and left.


    ```


    With a solid foundation, there is naturally no cause for suspicion.


    Su Lun listened without speaking from inside the room.


    If he remembered correctly, the frivolous young man who pursued this girl was precisely a junior captain of the North Sea Fleet?


    As the door closed, Kama breathed a sigh of relief.


    Having been interrogated once, the immediate trouble seemed to have been temporarily resolved.


    She looked at Su Lun and said, "Sir, when the timees, you just say you''re my cousin..."


    Su Lun listened to the background she concocted and felt it posed no problem, nodding in agreement, "Hmm."


    .....


    Once the group of pirates left, only two people remained in the room.


    It was a young girl''s boudoir, and now that the two of them were alone and the serious conversation had ended, the atmosphere turned slightly awkward.


    ncing at the half-finished puppet on the workbench, Su Lun casually remarked, "You''re studying the ''Giles Equation''? You''ve got the wrong approach. It''s an alchemical matrix used for sealing, typically not applied to offensive puppets. Moreover, it''s rarely used by mid-level Puppet Masters."


    The room was filled with numerous puppet parts which, unlike the rune puppets Su Lun usually researched, included many ingeniously designed mechanisms like steel needles, poison gas, strangling cords, and devious spikes...


    The Boyle family''s heritage was another branch of Puppeteers¡ªthe mechanism puppet.


    However, by Su Lun''s current standards, the quality of this work was indeed not much.


    Kama shed a look of humble eptance of the criticism and nodded asionally, "Hmm."


    As Su Lun spoke, he was also thinking what he should give her topensate for the recently used "Life-Substitute Puppet."


    While he pondered, he took out several fourth-tier puppets he had crafted, "Oh, right, these puppets are for you."


    Though they could notpare to the "Life-Substitute Puppet," they were still quite costly to make.


    And for Kama, currently at the second tier, these puppets were more practical and could provide her with adequate security.


    For Puppet Masters,bat capability entirely depended on their puppets, and good puppets could instantly enhance one''s fighting power.


    Furthermore, puppets could serve as heirlooms, passed down through generations.


    This was the "hard currency" of Puppet Masters.


    "This..."


    Watching Su Lun take out several rune puppets, Kama''s eyes immediately lit up.


    As a Puppeteer, she could instantly discern that the craftsmanship of these puppets was far beyond her understanding.


    It wasn''t just the blueprints, but the carving, enchanting, runes... every aspect reflected master-level craftsmanship. All the details indicated that they were from the original ancient methods passed down through generations by the Boyle family.


    It was then she remembered their earlier conversation.


    Could this person truly be her great-great-great-great-granduncle?


    Only that could exin why he could produce suchplete blueprints and these high-tier puppets.


    Appearing somewhat overwhelmed by the favor, Kama felt it improper to decline the "gift from a senior of her lineage," and she epted the puppets, "Thank you... great-uncle."


    Su Lun, hearing this title, wore a strange expression. Although the lineage was correct, something felt off, so he said, "I''m called Su Lun. You can just address me by my name."


    Kama, hearing that Su Lun did not correct her, looked even more solemn, "Yes, great-uncle. Oh no, Mr. Su... Su Lun."


    Su Lun did not dwell further on the issue of address, saying, "My identity is troublesome, and it''s not good for you to be involved with me. I will not stay here long; once the city''s search is over, I will leave. If you have any problems, or need my help, just say so."


    As he spoke, his peripheral vision also nced toward a certain corner of the room.


    A millennia-old family legacy was bound to possess some profound foundations.


    In that unremarkable corner sat a semi-finished puppet that had a soul fluctuation.


    Kama hadn''t brought it up on her own, and he didn''t inquire about someone else''s privacy either.


    ...


    Listening to Su Lun''s words, a look of regret shed across Kama''s face, as if she felt that she was about to miss the opportunity of meeting a fellow sect elder.


    After pondering for a moment, she said, "That¡­ Mr. Su Lun, if possible, I would like to consult you on several puppetry-rted issues."


    Su Lun replied, "There''s no need to be so polite. Go ahead."


    Kama proceeded to take out a puppet and fiddled with its mechanism, then pulled several diagrams hidden inside the puppet''s body and asked, "Could you help me see where the problem lies with these diagrams?"


    Su Lun looked closely with a sidelong nce, noting the careful preservation indicating the items were of no ordinary significance.


    The diagrams were hand-drawn but exceeded any that could be found on a craftsman''s workbench.


    With just a nce, Su Lun frowned and asked, "Were these discovered in some ancient tome?"


    Simply by looking at the mystical runes on the diagrams, he knew that it was a highlyplex and sophisticated puppetponent.


    And it was only a part of it.


    Newly drawn, like imitating from an object¡­ This was also a crucial clue.


    Kama replied truthfully, "This is something handed down through the Boyle family lineage."


    "¡­"


    After carefully examining the diagrams once more, Su Lun instantly knew that it wouldn''t be easy to identify the problem right away.


    The intricate puppetary had been greatly expanded by "Robert Boyle," and much of it was his original creation.


    There was knowledge in the design that even Su Lun had not yet encountered¡ª"top-tier puppetry knowledge."


    He too would need to consult many texts before he could find the issue.


    Though he could not fully understand it, Su Lun could guess what effect this part of the diagrams was intended to have.


    He was beginning to understand the soul on that puppet in the corner.


    "This appears to be the making of a top-tier ''puppetry core.'' These marks indicate sorcerous secret techniques and it seems to be capable of harboring a soul¡­"


    Su Lun''s eyes narrowed, unable to hide his astonishment at the diagrams, and he eximed in admiration, "This is truly a great and marvelous idea!"


    Hearing Su Lun effortlessly articte the details of the diagrams, Kama knew that his puppetry expertise far surpassed her understanding.


    Excited and hopeful, she asked, "Are you able to repair these diagrams?"


    Su Lun''s expression turned serious as he said, "It''s difficult. The techniques in the diagram are knowledge that only those in the top-tier realm of puppetry would touch upon. Even if the materials were avable, I would not be able to construct it. Moreover, this is only a part of the diagram..."


    Hearing this, Kama urgently inquired, "What if¡­ what if I have other diagrams?"


    As she spoke, she realized her impropriety, and a hint of hesitation shed in her bright eyes, as if she had made some decision. Finally, she revealed her family''s biggest inherited secret, "That... It''s not that I mean to hide anything from you. But please, could you help me¡­ and my brother!"


    Su Lun''s brows raised slightly, "Your brother?"


    So, the soul fluctuation on that puppet was from her brother.


    Kama nodded earnestly and said, "Yes! This is the [Mechanical Puppet Heart] diagram passed down from our ancestor in the Boyle family. And my brother, he is trapped within a broken puppet heart."

 Chapter 374 [B-060-Exquisite Heart]

    Kama never disclosed the secret legacy of their Boyle family to outsiders because, firstly, she had not encountered a senior Puppet Master whom she believed capable of solving the problem, and secondly, she feared that revealing it might attract covetousness and malicious intent.


    After all, their lineage had been living quitefortably until five years ago.


    The family once held a minor hereditary barcy, owned arge sugar cane ntation, and enjoyed wealth and stability.


    But everything changed after a pirate attack.


    Her parents were killed by the pirates, and the manor''s wealth was plunderedpletely.


    Now drifting overseas, with no fixed abode.


    And Kama''s "sixth sense" told her that this pirate attack was a long-nned conspiracy.


    ...


    Kama picked up the inconspicuous half-finished puppet from the corner.


    An unfinished puppet is just an uncarved piece of wood, and that is exactly why it went unnoticed.


    If it weren''t for Su Lun''s ability of Soul Perception, he certainly would have overlooked such a special one among all the half-finished pieces in the room.


    Just then, a very polite greeting echoed in his mind, "Hello Mr. Su Lun, my name is ''Abel Boyle''. Sorry to meet you in this manner."


    Having previously sensed the soul fluctuations within the puppet, Su Lun was not too surprised and responded courteously, "Hello."


    Kama, standing by, sighed slightly and introduced, "This is my brother. He''s trapped in this ''Mechanism Core''."


    As she spoke, she touched a hidden mechanism, opening the chest panel of the puppet.


    It was then that Su Lun saw a very intricately made mechanism core inside.


    It was the size of a fist but was extremely well-crafted, resembling an openedplex mechanical watch filled with closely packed tiny gears, springs, coils, and various brass metal parts. The visibleponents alone exceeded a hundred varieties. It was not just technicallyplex but also featured top-quality runes and enchantments, selecting only the finest materials, and even using clearly necromantic magic runes and some peculiar materials.


    Its precision far surpassed any puppet or mechanical product Su Lun had ever seen.


    However, the core''s energy crystal at the very heart was dull and seemed to have exhausted all its energy.


    "Dragon Crystal?"


    Su Lun, feeling a twitch in the corner of his eye, saw the core''s energy source was actually a green dragon''s dragon crystal of the eighth order.


    Dragons, creatures only existing in legends.


    Yet, as soon as he invoked the All-Seeing Eye, the description of this object appeared.


    [Boyle Mechanism Puppet Core (Damaged)]


    Description: This is an ancient core from a thousand years ago, with its energypletely depleted; personally crafted by Robert Boyle, an alchemical product representing the crystallization of wisdom and peak craftsmanship of that Puppet Grandmaster, and also conceals theplete legacy of the Mechanism Puppeteer lineage. The item has a bloodline restriction, only a professional from the Boyle family lineage awakened with the talent "B-060-Exquisite Heart" can sessfully merge with it; damaged, repairing this item will allow its use and decrypting of encrypted content;


    As Su Lun looked at the appraised information, his expression became quite peculiar.


    Although he was a descendant of the Puppeteer lineage, he hardly understood most of the core''s functions.


    But it was undeniable that this object was indeed an invaluable treasure.


    Even though it was already damaged.


    Su Lun just stood there, stroking his chin and gazing intently for a long while, his eyes revealing deep thought.


    Thinking it over, he still decided to first rify the reason and asked, "Karma, how did your brother get inside?"


    Upon hearing this, Karma''s expression became slightlyplicated as she said, "This all starts with our family being attacked by pirates..."


    ...


    "Our Boyle family had a ntation in the southern region of Emperor Luying... On that day, five years ago, my father went out to sea to trade for brown sugar. Coincidentally that evening, a group of pirates attacked the ntation, they burned, killed, and looted... The guards fought desperately, but ultimately they were no match for the pirates. My mother had us hide in the family treasury of the ntation, where there was a secret passage. Then, Abel and I hid inside... We entered the treasury, and Abel seemed to sense something calling to him. Next, we found a damaged puppet in the treasury. After that, he was sucked into it."


    "I took the puppet through the secret passage, but unfortunately, it seemed that the passage had already been discovered, and the pirates had used explosives to copse the tunnel. I passed out."


    "When I woke up, my grandfather''s named disciple, who is now the captain of the Seventh Squadron of the Northern Seas Fleet''s ''Thousand Mechanism Puppet Hand,'' Vasili Tyermid¨®, found me wounded. He told me that everyone at the ntation had been killed by the pirates, including my mother and my father who was at sea. He fought desperately and managed to survive. Now only a few of us are left..."


    "I fell into despair, but it was as if uncontrobly, some thoughts crossed my mind. I felt something was wrong; the timing of the pirates'' attack was too perfect, and it seemed as though they knew the defensive force of the ntation inside out, as if there was an insider. I subtly realized something was wrong with Vasili''s words... Later, I realized it was the awakening of my ''Sixth Sense'' ability."


    "I concealed my brother''s situation. Probably because they thought I was young and believed their words, I have been safe up until now."


    "..."


    Su Lun listened to Karma recount her experience.


    It was only then that he understood, so that was it.


    No wonder he had always felt that Karma''s manner of speaking didn''t seem like that of amoner; indeed, she was a youngdy from a small noble family.


    Su Lun keenly picked up on some details in her narrative and, after pondering for a moment, asked, "So, you suspect that the pirate attack was actually a conspiracy by Vasili?"


    "Yes!"


    Karma nodded and said, "Vasili Tyermid¨® was actually the son of our family''s serf, andter my grandfather, recognizing his talent and diligence, took him as a named disciple. But my grandfather once evaluated him and said Vasili was very talented but a dangerous money wolf. Thus, during the transmission of Puppetry Technique, he held back... After our family was annihted by the pirates, the treasures in our family''s treasury werepletely looted, but I found that Vasili''s Puppetry Technique had advanced significantly, he had seeded in progressing to the fifth level and had even be the captain of a Northern Seas Fleet squadron..."


    Pausing, she continued, "As for why they left me alive, probably because a lot of our Boyle family''s heritage artifacts rted to mechanical puppetry are triggered by bloodline. Some secrets are only known to the direct descendants. I am the only survivor of the family, they must have thought it useful to keep me."


    "..."


    Su Lun listened without making any statement.


    ''Sixth Sense'' was an ability that indeed could chase benefits and avoid harm, sensing things that ordinary people couldn''t.


    And analyzing this matter from any angle, that "Vasili" indeed had a major suspicion.


    However,


    he didn''t delve into someone else''s family affairs.


    Karma was actually quite intelligent.


    From the moment she stepped through the door, when she unhesitatingly produced that ''Life-Substitute Puppet,'' Su Lun knew she had already anticipated the current situation.


    However, for a girl with such experiences, having such intricate thoughts was normal.


    Otherwise, she wouldn''t have survived until now.


    Right now, Su Lun was more curious about her brother trapped within the heart of the puppet.


    He asked, "Abel, is your awakened talent ''Exquisite Heart''?"


    As soon as he said this, not only Abel but also Karma was full of doubt and eximed in surprise, "What?"


    Su Lun realized they didn''t know and directly said, "This ''Puppetry Heart'' was left by Mr. Robert, an ancestor of the Boyle family. Only those of your family lineage and those who have awakened the ''Exquisite Heart'' can be recognized and sessfully integrated."


    Taking a breath, he continued, "So...in a sense, Abel being sucked in is not a bad thing, but because he met the criteria, he gained the qualifications for the inheritance. It''s just that because the core is damaged, he is trapped inside."


    Hearing this exnation, Karma''s eyes were filled with disbelief, and she asked eagerly, "Are you saying... my brother has awakened the ''Exquisite Heart'' talent?"


    Su Lun nodded, "Yes."


    This was a talent that highly matched the profession of a Puppeteer, simr to the ability of ''multitasking''. Enjoy new tales from My Virtual Library Empire


    At these words, Karma couldn''t hide the joy in her heart and covered her mouth, eximing softly, "Oh, my god! No wonder grandfather once said that Abel''s talent is astonishing, and he might be the most outstanding Puppeteer in our Boyle family in recent centuries. So he has awakened the same talent as the ancestor..."


    Abel inside the puppet also excitedly said, "No wonder I felt like my brain was getting more and more useful, so this was the reason."


    However, Su Lun was not too optimistic and said, "But the problem now is, the puppet core is damaged. If it''s not fixed, you might not be able toe out."


    Upon hearing this, Karma''s watery eyes looked over and asked, "Sir, can you... fix it?"


    "I don''t know."


    Su Lun was not sure and directly said, "This ''Mechanism Heart'' is veryplex, it will take me a lot of time to analyze it. It might not necessarily be fixable. Of course, if you have any ''Mechanism Puppeteer'' scriptures, perhaps the process could be quicker."


    He spoke modestly, but his current knowledge reserve and mastery in puppetry were feared by few.


    The structure of this ''Boyle Mechanism Puppet Core'' was veryplex;if he said it couldn''t be done, other puppet masters likely couldn''t either.


    Karma, the girl with the heavy name, also realized this.


    Now encountering this great-great-great uncle was also her only hope.


    She promptly said, "I have some scriptures in my possession!"


    As soon as she spoke, anxiety appeared on her face, "But... not many. And they are all basic texts. Over this past millennium, our family has faced several disasters and wars, moved several times, and lost much of the inheritance. Moreover, most of the scriptures were looted by pirates during those attacks."


    "..."


    Su Lun listened and frowned slightly.


    Not surprised, but somewhat troubled.


    The design of the puppet core involved advanced techniques, and without Robert''s unique scriptures, it would be difficult to understand.


    However, at the mention of "pirate looting," an idea immediately shed through Su Lun''s mind.


    He suddenly thought of Vasili Tyermid¨®, whom Karma had mentioned as the ''Master of A Thousand Puppet Hands''.


    If that guy really was the mastermind behind the pirate attack, then the scriptures looted from the Boyle family were likely in his hands.


    If those could be retrieved, it seemed like the problem might be solved.


    Additionally, if he could also extract the knowledge Vasili possessed...


    As this thought passed through his mind, Su Lun automatically filled in a series of subsequent events.


    He fell into deep thought.


    ...


    Karma, seeing his serious expression, felt disheartened, thinking the issue was troubling for Su Lun.


    This was the only hope, and she couldn''t give up.


    But now the problem was, as Su Lun had said, he was about to leave soon.


    Karma, looking uneasy, asked, "Then... Sir, could you possibly not leave yet?"


    As she spoke, she immediately realized this request might be impolite and quickly added, "Oh, no, what I mean is... may I follow you? I can be your maid, your servant... I can do many things and won''t trouble you."


    Intuition told her that this ancestor was a trustworthy person.


    If missed, there would no longer be such an opportunity.


    Only by staying close to him could this great uncle possibly find enough time to resolve the issue of her brother Abel being trapped.


    Su Lun shook his head, indicating her misunderstanding, and said, "You are the descendants of the Puppeteer lineage, and it is my duty to look after you and your brother. However, as you have seen, I am currently facing not a few troubles. By following me, you could be in danger at any moment... "


    But before he could finish, a glimmer of hope appeared in Karma''s eyes, and she immediately expressed, "I won''t be a burden! Even if we really face danger, I am already prepared to confront death!"


    "..."


    Su Lun was not surprised.


    If it were him, faced with such a life-changing opportunity, he definitely would not back down either.


    Seeing her insistence, he no longer borated and said, "Let''s talk after dawn. If circumstances allow, you can follow me."


    Hearing this, a look of joy covered Karma''s face, and she nodded, "Yes!"


    ...


    Initially, Su Lun had nned to find an opportunity to slip away, but now with a task at hand, he stayed in Karma''s room.


    The ''Puppetry Heart'' was ced on the workbench, and wearing magnifying sses, he meticulously dissected this intricately refined alchemical objectyer byyer.


    With the Golden Spear unfolded, as he observed, he used paper to draw everything he saw on a blueprint. Not just to help, but analyzing such a level of alchemical puppet object also greatly benefitted his own skills.


    Fortunately, Abel, who was trapped inside, had already deciphered quite a bit; the previous blueprints were his own work.


    This boy was indeed a natural at Puppetry Technique.


    The two coborated, and the research progressed swiftly.


    Karma observed the Golden Spear, not recognizing the special alchemical equipment unique to the Puppeteer lineage.


    She just stood quietly by the side, asionally bringing a cup of tea, barely opening her mouth.


    When Su Lun was immersed in concentration, he rarely paid attention to the people around him, and did not notice that Karma had been standing beside him all night.


    Unaware, the light outside the window gradually brightened.


    The dawn tinted the sky a dusky blue, morning had arrived.


    The city was noisy and rowdy all night, and the fighting only gradually subsided until thetter half of the night.


    Su Lun, listening to the sounds of battle, seemed to realize that several groups of unidentified people had sessfully broken out of the city, and the fighting was exceptionally fierce.


    No matter which faction those who broke out of the city belonged to, the current situation had diverted the attention of the Temple of Aghaparnon.


    Having had no onee looking for him all night meant that his current situation was still rtively safe.


    But if he had a chance, Su Lun would still choose to leave the city as soon as possible, to avoid any future problems.


    ....


    On the workbench, dozens of drawings had been sketched out, filled with dense alchemical symbols and precise data that could make one''s scalp tingle.


    But this was still far from enough.


    This "Heart of the Mechanism Puppet" might not look big, but the technology unraveled from it was very difficult. Perhaps a rune or structure analysis on a smallponent might require several drawings to depict it.


    Even if it was drawn out, understanding the principle and its role in the whole still had a long way to go.


    It was tooplex a configuration.


    This was Su Lun''s greatest realization after a night of research.


    It had been a long time since he had experienced such headache-inducing alchemic design, but it also ignited his desire for knowledge even more.


    Unraveling unknown knowledge could bring a strong sense of pleasure.


    It felt like a long time had passed, yet it seemed like just a moment.


    Sunlight streamed in from the outside, brightening everything before his eyes.


    Su Lun''s expression jolted, and he then took a long breath out, "huh..."


    Only when the string of focus in his mind loosened did he notice the faint scent of bread wafting in the air of the room.


    Turning his head, he saw a table full of a sumptuous breakfast alreadyid out in the small cabin.


    Upon seeing Su Lun look over, Kama hurriedly said respectfully, "Sir, you can have breakfast if you''re hungry."


    Su Lun shook his head with a smile, "There''s no need for such avish meal."


    Kama seemed very restrained, responding, "I didn''t know what you liked, so I prepared a bit of everything."


    "That''s thoughtful of you."


    Su Lun smiled slightly and said no more.


    Feeling hungry, he sat down unceremoniously at the table.


    Although there was a great difference in their generations, their actual ages were not that different.


    Perhaps becausest night''s exnation of their generations wasn''t clear, Kama always acted as if looking at a thousand-year-old creature, hardly daring to make eye contact.


    Su Lun, seeing Kama standing by, called out, "Come sit and eat with me."


    Hearing the mand," Kama sat down like a puppet.


    Su Lun thought the taste was good, the bread had a rich milky fragrance, a very thoughtful breakfast.


    This girl with the braided hair really showed a lot of humility, almost putting herself in the position of a maid.


    Golden morning light poured in from the outside, shining through the white patterned curtains like strands of golden silk.


    The dining table was quiet, so quiet one could even hear the sound of bread crumbs falling.@@novelbin@@


    Su Lun chewed on the bread, yet all he thought about was that "Heart of the Mechanism Puppet."


    He was somewhat mesmerized for a moment.


    But as he ate, he suddenly nced at the girl across the table.


    Thinking of something, he pondered for a moment and then suddenly said, "Kama, if you are willing, I would like to take you and your brother as disciples."


    As descendants of his own master''s lineage, they naturally could not remain maids; Su Lun didn''t have such idiosyncrasies either.


    Having exchanged some informationst night, they had alsoe to understand each other to a certain extent.


    With the Puppeteer lineage''s talent dwindling, both siblings had good character and a foundation, so keeping them by his side as disciples was quite a good idea.


    "Ah...?"


    Though Kama had been uneasily eating, upon hearing this, she visibly paused for a moment.


    Then, lifting her head sharply towards Su Lun and processing for a couple of seconds as if she had just understood something, a great joy appeared in her eyes.


    She put down her fork and knife, promptly knelt on one knee, performing a solemn master-disciple salute, and said, "Master!"


    Excitement also came from Abel working at the workbench, "Master!"


    Su Lun smiled and motioned for her to rise, then said, "Since you are willing to be my disciples, you are now part of the ''Dawn Group.'' It''s not easy to exin some situations right now, but I''ll exin more to you once we are at sea."


    "Yes, Master!"


    Kama bit her lip, her eyes shimmering with tears of joy.


    Now that she was recognized as a disciple, the huge stone in her heart had finally been lifted.


    They had been lonely siblings for so long, and atst, they had someone to rely on.


    ...


    After breakfast, Su Lun continued to busy himself at the workbench.


    Kama also worked by his side, carving her own puppet.


    Although she was merely a second-tier practitioner, her attainment in Puppetry Technique at her age was already quitemendable.


    Su Lun asionally offered some guidance.


    The rtionship between master and disciple gradually warmed up.


    ...


    As day broke, Su Lun patiently continued his research at the workbench, not in a hurry to figure out a way out of the city.


    Because someone was more anxious than he was.


    As the day grew lighter, the noise outside grew louder.


    "What right do you have to keep us from leaving? You have no authority to blockade the docks!"


    "Yes, we are merchants of the Emperor Luying Empire, not your Roman ves or criminals. Yourws do not apply to us! Let us out now!"


    "Damn it, you lost your things, why lock us all up in the city? I think you Romans just want to blockade us and then go hunt for the treasure yourselves!"


    "Hmph! It must be those despicable guys wanting to monopolize the treasure!"


    "..."


    Outside the window, the crowd was frantic.


    Things were looking bleak, and it seemed another major turmoil was on the horizon.


    The Romans might unconditionally observe a curfew and a city lockdown, but now there were arge number of outsiders in the city-state of Morlos.


    They didn''t care about some "thieves"; what mattered more to them were their own interests and the treasure.


    The cargo of treasures brought back by the Flying Fish Groupst night had electrified everyone''s nerves.


    Many adventurers had nned to set off early in the morning after resupplying but were now trapped in the city, which naturally wouldn''t keep them quiet.


    Su Lun, the "chief criminal" in this matter, was safe and sound here, so naturally, the priests from the Temple of Aghaparnon had not found the person they were looking for.


    He had assumed the search in the city would continue for a while.


    However, unexpectedly, by midday, the massive city lockdown had beenpletely lifted.


    The army had withdrawn to the barracks, and there were no more blockades on the streets.


    The priests from the temple brought the High Priest''s order that everyone could freely leave the port.


    Suddenly, arge number of sea vessels at the docks hoisted their sails and set off to search for treasure at Devil''s Ind.


    Even the Northern Sea Fleet sent a few squadrons, which also seemed to have joined the treasure-seeking groups.


    Su Lun found it strange. Could it really be that external pressure was too great, and the "puppet master" at the temple had given up on pursuing the "Golden Spear"?


    ...


    Before long, the room was tidied up.


    Kama had cleaned out all the items in the room and asked, "Master, everything is ready. Shall we leave now?"


    "Wait a bit longer."


    Su Lun stood by the window, sharing the vision of the bird of death.


    The city had returned to its usual noise and bustle, with lots of adventurers heading to the docks, ships leaving port...


    He had been worried it was a ruse and hadn''t been the first to leave the city, but now everything seemedpletely normal.


    But Su Lun always felt something was odd, yet he couldn''t pinpoint what that strange feeling was.


    Lacking sufficient information, he didn''t know what had happened.


    Thinking it over, he took out a scroll and softly said, "Unseal!"


    This was a method of exchanging information he had obtained when he encountered one of the top ten Bounty Hunters, "God''s Painter" Van Gogh, who had a very reliable source of information.


    After unsealing it, a line of text suddenly appeared on the scroll: "Aplex natural cave has been discovered beneath the city. The members of ''Sacred Judgment'' have safely escaped. The cargo of Princess Frost Moon has been confirmed to leave today, Dock No.3, ''Old Baldy''. The princess'' fleet also seems to be preparing to sail, most likely within the next few days."


    There really was news!


    Su Lun looked at the line of text, his eyes thoughtful.


    Currently, many ships were departing the port, which indeed presented the best chance to blend in and leave.


    He guessed the treasure would attract the attention of various forces, allowing Frost Moon Princess''s group to disperse inconspicuously.


    Either follow the cargo or the person.


    One of the two.


    "Should we intercept that cargo?"


    Su Lun was weighing the pros and cons in his mind.


    A momentter, he decided to intercept the treasure.


    He already had enough information about the Void Relics. Even if he didn''t keep an eye on Princess Frost Moon and her entourage now, he could find another opportunity to follow themter.


    But a legendary treasure like the "Chronos''s Void God Hand," if missed now, might not present such a good opportunity again.


    Thinking this, Su Lun sent a message to Chentao.


    He also confirmed that the submarine previously marked by Banks had quietly moved.


    Indeed, Princess Stika also nned to take advantage of the chaos to leave.


    ...


    Meanwhile, inside the Temple of Aghaparnon.


    Having lost his most precious "Golden Spear," the handsome blond youth, Onis Popov, had been gloomy sincest night.


    By his side, the High Priest, shrouded in a veil, was still divining something.


    "The cause and effect have beenpletely erased; I cannot trace even a slight hint. That person must have used some special treasure..."


    "Mother, I don''t care who that guy is, but how did he make my divine spear disappear?"


    "It must be a very sophisticated sealing ability. But that is also what puzzles me. Even if it is a ninth tier Sealing Skill, I used divine power to probe, why can''t I sense any connection with the divine spear at all..."


    "Damn it! So I definitely can''t get my divine spear back?"


    "Hmm. Once the sacrifice begins, it''s impossible for anyone toe back alive from Devil''s Ind. If that person is ''the prophesied one,'' he will definitely go there."


    "..."

 Chapter 375 I Got Cuckolded?

    The city-state of Moros was busier than ever.


    Last night, the "Flying Fish Group" not only brought back arge amount of treasures from Devil''s Ind, but also a rtively safe sailing chart.


    Information merchants bought that sea chart from Captain "Old Smoker" Laureen, and then resold it at a high price to some of the Great Pirate groups.


    Yet, no one knew how it got leaked.


    When everyone awoke this morning, it seemed like the entire city had various real and fake sea charts.


    With news of Devil''s Ind having been known for over half a year, the city-state was now overflowing with adventurers and pirates. Once the city lockdown ended, the adventurers in the city rushed to buy supplies from every major market. Cartloads of fresh water, food, fine wine, and essential sailing oranges pulled by Romant''s unique unicycle headed toward the docks and stuffed into the ships prepared by Yang Fan for departure.


    The major taverns and adventurer guilds were full of recruitment notices that were too many to take in at once. Any slightly better ship could recruit arge number of people in a short amount of time.


    Su Lun took Miss Kama and her sister Abigail as disciples.


    Since they were disciples, naturally, they had to be brought along.


    Kama tidied up the house, and they all left.


    ...


    Meanwhile, on the essential road to the docking city gates.


    A squad of the North Sea Fleet city guards had been waiting for a long time. Squad leader Abel was seething with anger, his gaze fiercely sweeping through the crowd, as if seeking out some personal enemy.


    That person was none other than the young man Su Lun had once met, the one who was pursuing Emma.


    "Remember, if that kid dares to resist, capture him immediately. If he really hurts someone, kill him on the spot!"


    "Understood, Captain."


    "..."


    The team members didn''t understand why their captain was so furious today; they whispered from afar.


    "Hey, Kahn, why is Captain Abel so mad today?"


    "Don''t you know? The captain got cuckolded!"


    "What? How did that happen?"


    "Didn''t you know the captain was pursuing Miss Kama? Yesterday, a patrol brother told me, that girl Kama already had someone. There was a ''cousin'' living in her house, and the two have been living together for several months..."


    "Wow! That''s so thrilling. Isn''t our captain going to twist that adulterer''s head off?"


    "Exactly~ If it weren''t for being on duty, the captain would have killed him by now. And our shift is ending, we are setting sail soon."


    "Setting sail?"


    "Yeah. I heard that Boss Vasili got our Seventh Squadron a good gig. Command has already ordered several squads to prepare supplies, we''re going to sail to Devil''s Ind for a treasure hunt. Our captain has got the mostplete sailing diary from the Flying Fish Group. Hahaha... By then, if we just find a bit of treasure, we''ll be rich."


    "..."


    Chatting about gossip and then about treasure


    The temptation of treasure was immense, and the pirates looked enviously at those adventurers setting out to sea.


    ...


    Su Lun and his Kama walked on the street uneventfully.


    Before long, they had already reached the city gate exit.


    Su Lun''s n was to find any ship at sea and then contact full Chiato and the others for a meet-up.


    Once at sea, they no longer had to worry about being captured.


    But as they approached the city gate, Su Lun immediately became alert, as he sensed several malicious gazes fixed on him.


    Yet a momentter, he was sure that those people had not recognized him but had recognized Kama beside him.


    Su Lun recognized the young man named "Abel," his lips curled up slightly in an arc, and he immediately understood what had happened.


    There''s likely to be a bit of trouble, but not much.


    Those people had already spotted them, and it was toote to avoid them. They were already near the dock, and if they started a conflict, all their previous efforts would have been in vain.


    Su Lun thought for a moment and continued walking casually.


    Miss Kama apparently hadn''t noticed that someone had targeted them. They had only walked a few steps when suddenly a group of people surrounded them!


    "Stop! Routine check!"


    The group directly blocked their path.


    Ackey spoke up, "Yo, Miss Kama, long time no see. Where are you heading?"


    Miss Kama frowned, immediately realizing trouble had arrived. Her gaze inadvertently darted toward Su Lun, and seeing his calm face, she hesitated for a moment before responding, "We are nning to go to Devil''s Ind."


    Before she had even finished speaking, Abel, having received the message, came over with a dark face.


    He made no effort to hide his hostility and directly asked, "Kama, who is this?"


    Although Abel was now a sub-lieutenant in the Northern Seas Fleet, the deeply ingrained inferiority of a servant''s son towards his master''s daughter lingered.


    Marrying Kama was his greatest aspiration in life.


    Moreover, his father had also said that only by marrying Kama could some of the Byerly family''s secret legacies possibly be obtained.


    Yet, after years of frustrated pursuit, he hadn''t even touched her, and now, to his outrage, some other man had stayed with her for months?


    As a man, how could he tolerate this.


    At this moment, Abel''s reason had beenpletely consumed by the mes of jealousy!


    Kama detected the intense hostility in his tone, furrowed her eyebrows, and said, "This is my cousin, Bock."


    Abel red at Su Lun, his eyes filled with suspicion, "Huh, howe I''ve never heard about this cousin?"


    Although he had disguised himself a bit, Su Lun''s strikingly charming face and demeanor still utterly overshadowed the pirates present.


    Cambell''s jealousy intensified.


    Kama retorted, "Why should I tell you about my affairs?"


    Abel sneered, adopting an official tone, "Last night, treasures were stolen from the temple, and my team was ordered to track down suspicious individuals. I suspect this man is an illicit actor who infiltrated the city. Come with me to the public security office now!"


    Su Lun said nothing, quietly watching.


    If they were baselessly using him, he really didn''t care.


    But these guys had identally stumbled upon the right person.


    Indeed, Su Lun was the man the Temple of Aghaparnon was looking for!


    Kama knew this too.


    But she was evidently smarter than she appeared, very adaptive; she immediately stated, "The city-state has just enacted a neww, even if you are city guards, without evidence, you can''t just take people away for investigation. Abusing power and framing others carry the same sentence!"


    Clearly, she was making things difficult for them, but she had hit the mark.


    Since the establishment of the Northern Seas, the "Iron-blooded Prime Minister," Zuras, took office and had drastically reformed the Northern Seas Fleet, enacting manyws to transform the previously ck pirates into disciplined soldiers.


    Upon hearing Kama''s words, the group of pirateckeys exchanged nces.


    To enforce military discipline, this particrw had been crucial for making examples. Having barely transitioned from pirates to "secure jobs," they did not want to lose them just like that.


    Listening to her, Abel grew even colder, clearly wary as well.


    If he really abused his power, it could even implicate his father.


    But he couldn''t just let them go either; Abel''s eyes shifted as he formted another n, barked, "I suspect the stolen treasures are on you. I will now conduct a thorough search! Hand over all storage rings and space equipment!"


    People couldn''t be taken, but they had the right to search them.


    When the henchman nearby heard this, his confidence suddenly surged, "Yes, search them!"


    Upon hearing this, Miss Kama''s face slightly changed, and a trace of difficulty shed in her eyes.


    She herself wasn''t afraid of being searched, but her teacher...


    At that moment, Su Lun said indifferently, "Let them search."


    He had seen right through them, these guys were deliberately looking for trouble, waiting for an opportunity to make a move. Who knows, they might even n to kill him on the spot.


    Seeing Su Lun so calm, Kama didn''t say much and obediently handed over her storage ring.


    ....


    Because he had prepared in advance, there was nothing sensitive in Su Lun''s storage ring.


    The pirates searched and found nothing unusual. Su Lun also turned a blind eye to some missing finances.


    Although they were deliberately looking for trouble, Su Lun didn''tpletely ignore them.


    This left the group of pirates with no chance to act.


    But when Kama got back her storage ring, her face changed drastically.


    She looked at the smug Abel and shouted angrily, "Where is my rune puppet? You... why did you take my puppet?"


    Her own dolls were all right, but the storage ring had contained four fourth-tier puppets that Su Lun had given her the night before.


    Those high-tier puppets, not to mention their significance to a Puppet Master being more important than life itself, were worth hundreds of millions just in material costs!


    For ordinary pirates, that was absolutely an astronomical figure.


    Now, the dolls in the storage ring had vanished without a trace, obviously stolen by those people during their inspection.


    The excitement from acquiring the treasure was undisguisable on Abel''s face, yet he retorted slyly, "What puppet?"


    Kama said anxiously, "That was... that was the fourth-tier rune puppet passed down in my Boer family!"


    It was a gift from her teacher, and now it was lost, she felt very guilty.


    Seeing Abel''s detestable expression, she shouted angrily, "Return our belongings to us!"


    Abel, with a face full of mockery, himself a Puppet Master, knew the value of those puppets, "Hmph! Are you saying we stole your things?"


    What''s done was done, and it couldn''t be undone.


    Even if he couldn''t get revenge on this despicable couple, obtaining such a valuable puppet waspensation enough. The money from selling this puppet would suffice for many indulgences.


    Thinking this, he waved his hand impatiently, "Alright, there is no problem now. You can go."


    Kama, frustrated by this shameless act, wanted to argue, "You... you..."


    But Su Lun shook his head, "Let''s just go."


    The pirates were now blinded by money, and insisting further could reveal some problems.


    Seeing that they were about to reach the dock, he didn''t want to createplications.


    Listenting to him, although Kama felt pain for the lost puppets, she knew the bigger picture was more important.


    As the two of them departed, the pirates didn''t stop them.


    They hastened down the road and upon reaching the bustling dock, promptly boarded an adventure ship called "North Wind" that was about to set sail.


    Heading toward Devil''s Ind, that region of sea was very dangerous,monly frequented by magical sea monsters. Normal ships usually didn''t carry manybatants, so taking a few extra now increased their safety.


    Kama demonstrated her strength as a second-tier professional and slipped the first mate some money, ensuring theirst-minute boarding before departure.


    Yang Fan, set sail.


    The ship slowly left the harbor.@@novelbin@@


    The ship was packed with adventurers bound for Devil''s Ind to hunt for treasure; Su Lun and Miss Kama could only squeeze into the cabin.


    Up to now, Miss Kama''s face was full of guilt, "Teacher, I''m sorry, the puppet you gave me was stolen by someone."


    "No worries."


    Su Lun justughed it off.


    He looked out through the cabin''s gun port and said meaningfully, "If nothing goes wrong, those guys will deliver themselves right to our door."


    Now that they had set out to sea, intercepting him was no longer possible.


    ...


    A thief''s heart is always guilty.


    After Su Lun and hispanion had walked for a while, Abel finally took out the four rune puppets with high spirits and started to examine them.


    Although he was only a mediocre practitioner of Puppetry Technique, he could tell these were high-grade puppets!


    He hadn''t had the chance to look closely at them before, but now, seeing them up close, he realized they far exceeded his expectations!


    Abel felt these were the most exquisitely made rune puppets he had ever seen, and while examining them, he couldn''t help but praise, "My goodness, the craftsmanship of these puppets is damn perfect, definitely a master''s work..."


    His cronies, watching their boss so excited,pletely forgot their own deep hatred and asked curiously, "Boss, are these wooden clunks really that valuable?"


    "Valuable?"


    Abel''s tone was full of disdain for the ignorant, and he exaggerated, "How is it just valuable! Just this one puppet, just the material cost alone might be several tens of millions of lisos, maybe even more! And without master-level rune work, sculpting, and enchanting, it would be impossible to make. If this fell into a Puppet Master''s hands, it wouldn''t be seen for less than a hundred million."


    His cronies, hearing this, were incredulous, "Fuck, is it that valuable?!"


    "Isn''t it?"


    Abel wore a triumphant expression as if he had struck a huge bargain, and excitedly said, "With these puppets, I could even kill any third-tier professionals in front of me!"


    His cronies, hearing this, also started boasting excitedly.


    With this find, the captain would definitely share arge sum with them.


    "Miss Kama actually had such high-level treasures; I hadn''t realized it before."


    "Heard it''s a family heirloom? Was that woman a nobledy before?"


    "We need to ask the captain about that; I heard she really is a fallen nobledy..."


    "I''ve seen Miss Kama before too, often selling materials and puppets at the flea market to make money. Logically, with such precious items before, she could''ve sold just one and livedfortably without being so destitute. What do you think... could these puppets have been given to her by that cousin of hers?"


    "That pretty boy is nothing but a coward. Did you see, he didn''t make a peep the entire time. I don''t know what Miss Kama sees in him."


    "..."


    The excitement of having found a treasure had clouded his judgment, but now that he had calmed down, Abel also sensed something was amiss.


    "Hey... something''s not right!"


    He was after all the son of a serf from the Boyle family; he knew Miss Kama''s situation all too well.


    She had never shown such valuable puppets before, so why would she suddenly have them?


    Family heirloom, that might be possible.


    Could it be a distant rtive from some branch of the Boyle family? Explore new worlds at My Virtual Library Empire


    Thinking of that man who had cuckolded him, a fierce expression once again crossed Abel''s face.


    That man had on him, undoubtedly other items of great value.


    Perhaps, there were also unknown family heirlooms of the Boyle family!

 Chapter 377 Gold Fleece

    The Northern Fleet only sent a single squadron, which, considering Su Lun''s current strength, didn''t pose much of a threat.


    Without a sixth-order professional or some special cursed object, he had nothing to fear.


    Besides, although the squadron leader "Mechanic Puppeteer" Vasili Tyermid¨® was infamous, he also came from a Puppeteer heritage.


    Since they were from the same profession, nearly all his methods were predictable.


    If it really came to a fight, at least Su Lun was not likely to be defeated easily.


    As for the deterrence of the Northern Sea Overlord?


    Su Lun had nothing to intimidate him.


    He unlocked the Mechanic Octopus Spear and ran wildly on the sea surface.


    This action not only left Kama and everyone on the North Wind in shock and disbelief.


    Even the pirates of the Seventh Squadron on the opposing pirate ship werepletely baffled.


    Was he in a hurry to rush to his death?


    That was the Northern Fleet''s fully organized squadron, with over 500 elite pirates!


    ...


    His son was eager to settle the score with the "adulterer," and Vasili couldn''t stop him.


    Although he knew anyone capable of creating a fourth-order rune puppet wasn''t weak, he wasn''t too worried.


    In the Northern Sea, no one dared to offend their fleet.


    But Vasili never expected that the opponent would actually dare to carry out an assassination!


    His only son was killed just like that?


    Vasili was stunned for a moment.


    Was someone daring to harm the men of the Northern Sea Fleet?


    In his rage, he was about to order the chase so the murderer wouldn''t escape, but then, to his surprise, the person was charging alone towards them?


    Looking at the Mechanic Octopus Spear behind Su Lun, Vasili''s eyes also revealed surprise, thinking, "The exclusive alchemical enhancement ''Octopus God Spear'' of the Puppeteer lineage still exists in the world? Could it be a descendant of some branch of the Boyle family... But no, I haven''t heard of it."


    Just then, a psychic professional on the ship reported, "Boss, judging from the energy fluctuations emanating from that guy, he''s just a fourth-order professional!"


    "Just fourth-order?"


    Vasili was even more puzzled. What gave a fourth-order the confidence to act?


    But he didn''t let his guard down for a second and, with a stern look, directly ordered, "Fire, take that guy down!"


    "Yes!"


    With thatmand, all sorts of guns and cannons on the pirate ship burst into mes.


    Suddenly, bullets and alchemical rounds rained down on Su Lun, who was in the distance, like a torrential downpour.


    With hundreds of muskets firing together and the additional firepower ofrge-caliber snipers and cannons, any high-order professional would have been riddled with bullets under normal circumstances.


    And just after this barrage, the figure on the sea surface was shattered.


    "It''s an illusion!"


    While the pirates still didn''t understand what had happened, the figure with the Mechanic Octopus Spear reappeared, having advanced a hundred meters.


    Su Lun previously harvested a vast amount of Space Law, so his use of "Teleportation" was mastered to perfection.


    Charging headlong towards the full deck of guns, he teleported several times andnded on the deck...


    Originally, Su Lun had a faster way to end the fight, which was to simply use the mechanical octopus to destroy the pirate ship, making it much more convenient to deal with the pirates afterwards.


    But he thought it was a shame to damage such a fine light warship.


    The three-masted sailing ship currently used by the Dawn Group was far inferior to this one.


    Moreover... it was not easy to encounter someone from the same profession.


    He also wanted to see for himself just what thebat power of this Master of Mechanism Puppets was like.


    ...


    "Ah... Teacher..."


    On the North Wind in the distance, Kama watched Su Lun board the ship, her crystal eyes filled with worry and shock.


    Up until now, her brain still made her disbelieve what she saw: her teacher was really going solo against a squadron of the Northern Fleet?


    That wasn''t just any ordinary squadron, it was the third fleet''s Puppet Master squadron. No one knew Vasili''s strength more clearly than her, including that war demon handed down by the Boyle family, the "Mechanic Puppeteer War Demon."


    The means of the people on that ship, even if faced with three to four times the number of ordinary enemies, were unlikely to be defeated.


    This meant that Su Lun was facing at least a two-thousand-person pirate group!


    How... how could this be possible!


    Watching the scene of guns firing in unison, Kama''s heart leaped with worry, but in the next instant, her expression froze.


    "Spatial Ability?"


    Kama''s eyes instantly changed from worry to surprise.


    So her teacher possessed such impressive spatial discement ability?


    And yet more shocking events unfolded.


    Before Kama could sort her thoughts, she saw a giant cross materializing in the sky above the distant pirate ship.


    As soon as the Puppeteer unleashed his technique, countless gleaming threads fell from the theatric stage.


    "This is a Mystery spell!"


    Kama knew her teacher was a Puppeteer and having this technique was not surprising. But when she saw Su Lun, after manifesting the Puppet Master, throw out a few scrolls that exploded into hundreds of rune puppets, her expression became frozen.


    Hundreds of them!


    My God...


    Kama was overwhelmed with shock.


    Before her, hundreds of Rune Puppets, each with distinct expressions, hung or stood, enclosing the pirate ship tightly.


    What in the world is the teacher trying to do?


    Karma was full of doubts, thinking it was some sort of tactic to confuse the enemy.


    But in the next instant, what happened in front of her overturned her understanding.


    A battle erupted upon first contact.


    She watched as those several hundred Rune Puppets actually engaged in a fierce fight with the pirates of the Seventh Squad.


    They were not stiff or dull; each puppet was like a living person, flexibly controlled, moving freely. Even though the enemies were numerous and formidable, Su Lun''s puppet army didn''t lose ground at all.


    "The teacher can actually control every single puppet simultaneously!"


    Karma, witnessing Su Lun''s operation, was astounded.


    Only those who were professionals as Puppet Masters knew the exaggerated difficulty of such a feat¡ªit was practically unimaginable!


    Indeed, it is better for a Puppet Master to control as many puppets as possible.


    But one also needs to know their own limits.


    She herself could control ten puppets, which was already the limit. With each additional one, the difficulty of control escted immensely. Any more, and the precision of control would greatly diminish, negatively affectingbat efficacy, and she simply wouldn''t have the mental capacity to manage so many.


    But these hundreds...


    Could the teacher really control them with such ease?


    It was not just about controlling this exaggerated number of puppets in battle, but also executing tactical maneuvers, assaulting, prating, beheading, and charging as a group...


    Looking closely at the details of the control only left her more shocked.


    My God,


    This is the true Puppeteer she had envisioned in her mind!


    ....


    With Su Lun''smand over the puppet army, he indeed caught the pirate group off guard.


    To those lower-ranking pirates, the puppet army was almost like demons. With the army''s charge, like locusts sweeping through, it was inevitable that a great number of lives would be reaped.


    And because it was their own pirate ship that was the battleground, those guys were hesitant and restrained in their actions.


    With Su Lun''s maneuver, the dead were strewn everywhere.


    Still, the Seventh Squad had quite a few Puppet Masters, and their response was extremely quick, as they immediately devised tactics against the puppets.


    "Melidis, have your second team of Stealth Mages use ''Elemental Steal'' to strip away the energy and bring down those crosses in the sky!"


    "Boss, it''s impossible! This spell''s understanding of thews far exceeds our own by too much; we can''t reverse the spell in such a short time! I suspect... the spell possesses the refinement of a sixth-order!"


    "How can that be, isn''t he just a fourth-order?"


    "..."


    Those pirates wanted to bring down Su Lun''s "Puppet Theater," but after attempting to do so, they were left in utter despair upon realizing the spell''s tightness resembled an iron barrel,pletely beyond the level ofprehension they could decipher.


    Instead, because of that moment''s dy, another swath of lives were harvested away.


    The pirate ship restricted the movement of those people, and the threads could just spread to every corner.


    It wasn''t just the savage puppets, but also the "spiritual tentacles" and threads wrapped with thews of space. These three-pronged methodsbined into a ruthless meat grinder, obliterating arge number of lower-ranked professionals in just a few encounters.


    The pirate puppet masters initially wanted to control their puppets to fight back, but in the puppet theater, Su Lun, the controller, was invincible!


    As soon as the pirates'' puppets were brought out, they were immediately entangled by countless threads, rendered useless before they could serve any purpose, turningpletely into junk.


    "The Thousand Gadget Hand," Vasili looked anxiously at his subordinates dying one after another.


    He bellowed, "Damn it, move out of the control range of these threads and attack from a distance! Don''t bother with those puppets, kill his body!"


    There were capable people among this pirate crew, and as soon as the order was given, the pirates began jumping off the ship.


    An ice magic professional conjured a fourth-level spell on the surface of the sea, quickly freezing a few hundred square meters of the sea''s surface, providing most of the pirates with a ce to stand.


    The rest of the pirates demonstrated their own divine powers, some stealthily submerged in the sea, others flew in the sky with flying gear, and there were those capable of fighting on the water''s surface. One by one, they escaped the coverage of the crucifixes and began another round of fierce attacks.


    Su Lun did not pursue them, for escaping the range of thread control indeed made them much safer.


    But that didn''t mean Su Lun had no means of attack left.


    In his left hand, he held the "Scythe of Xiupunos''s Night," shing through with spatial fissures. He could now precisely control a certain degree of space fissure attacks without bacsh. As long as he had enough dark spiritual power, killing was still as easy as chopping vegetables.


    After all, there were many opponents, and those who survived were third and fourth-level professionals with strongbat abilities. Without the pressure of the puppet army, various spells and alchemical bullets were also promptly returned.


    That kind of area coverage made it difficult for Su Lun to stand his ground on the pirate ship, even with teleportation.


    But Su Lun was not at all panicked.


    At that moment, he changed the sorcerer''s seals twice and uttered softly, "Hormone Overdrive. Rune Vajra!"


    As the spell took shape, a dark gold metallic luster emerged on the surface of his skin.


    At the same time, a burly monster with wings thundered onto the deck.


    It was an alchemical gargoyle.


    The gargoyle spread its nearly ten-meter-wide wings around Su Lun, immediately forming an impregnable protective shield. Most of the attacks, whether spells or bullets, bounced off the metal body of the gargoyle. Even the few that could break through the defense and leave marks on the gargoyle, the "Living Silver''s" memory properties, would instantly recover as before.


    Even when a few attacksnded on Su Lun, his body, now under "Rune Vajra," was not so easily killed.


    The group of pirates could only watch as the bullets sparked off of him without any effect, while Su Lun continued massacring the pirates on board as if nothing was amiss.


    Witnessing this scene, the pirates looked at the individual standing alone on the deck as if they were seeing a monster.


    Ordinarily, a puppeteer''s strength lies in their puppets, while their bodies are inherently weaker.


    Since puppeteers focus on controlling more puppets, both their career advancement choices and the alchemical enhancements they select are designed to serve that purpose better.


    Almost no puppet master would enhance their physical body, as doing so would only make their abilities increasingly futile.


    But what about now?


    They were witnessing a monster.


    A puppet master who could single-handedly withstand high-level spells, sniper bullets, and even alchemical cannons with his flesh alone!


    Being able to control hundreds of puppets was one thing,


    but to have such a strong physical body as well,


    how was anyone supposed to keep up with that?


    The longer they fought, the more the pirates despaired, unable to see a way to kill Su Lun.


    ....


    Just as Su Lun was being targeted, Vasili had already brought out dozens of mechanical boxes.


    Su Lun knew these were the Boile family''s heirloom Mechanism Puppets¡ªthe "Thousand-Handed Mechanism War Devils" that Karma had mentioned.


    With the sound of gears clicking into ce, dozens of mechanical boxes suddenly clicked and transformed, and through the use of delicate cables and mechanical fittings, they assembled together.


    Su Lun just watched as a thirty-meter-tall special puppet with countless mechanical arms appeared before his eyes.


    Vasili had integrated himself into the puppet through some special imnts.


    Well... the puppet gave off a vibe somewhat akin to a fantasy version of "Transformers."


    Upon inspection, although it was not an ancient artifact of a thousand years, it did possess several hundred years of history. Being the crystallization of the wisdom of generations of the Boile family, it naturally possessed extraordinarybat power.


    Vasili was nicknamed ''Thousand-Puppet Hand,'' and he made his name with this very mechanism puppet.


    After all, he was one of the select few at the pinnacle of the Puppet Master sorcerers'' domain; controlling this mechanism puppet, hisbat power was greatly enhanced. Normally, a fifth-order professional without suppression means would find it hard to contend with it, even if there were three or five of them.


    While it might not have a thousand hands, it indeed had hundreds.


    These clicking wooden arms were incredibly agile; they could extend, projectile, turn corners, and hide various lethal mechanisms.


    They could attack from a distance or engage in closebat.


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    In a single square mile, it could reach the attack intensity of hundreds of people.


    And its defense was astonishing as well.


    This "Thousand-Handed War Devil" was a heavily armored puppet, and many parts were not just physically defensive but also hosted special energy absorption devices.


    It could even dissolve the spatial fissures cut by the ck Scythe, as well as the attacks from the Rune Dark Umbre''s wraiths.


    Once the puppet appeared, Su Lun''s puppet theater was greatly restrained. The hundreds of agile arms were like his own, each grabbing a puppet.


    The strength of the mechanism puppet was absurd, and even the control capabilities of the Endless Thread were greatly limited.


    Su Lun seemed suddenly and utterly restrained.


    But he was not the least bit panicked.


    The "Thousand-Handed War Devil" was strong, but in its pursuit of heavy-duty defense, the puppet also lost the ability to move quickly.


    Actually, killing Vasili would not have been difficult for Su Lun; the most straightforward method was still to use the Mechanical Octopus and the ck Scythe for segmented disassembly, slowly whittling him down.


    However, doing that would significantly damage this precious mechanism puppet.


    He wanted to keep it as a gift for Karma and her brother.


    Moreover, Su Lun was not in a hurry for victory.


    Because at that moment, a three-masted warship appeared on the distant sea; it was the "Dawn Group"ing to reinforce.


    ....


    After a great battle, Su Lun had witnessed the skills of a Master of Mechanism Puppets and benefited greatly from the experience.


    But once Karma and the others joined the fight, there was no longer any suspense to the battle.


    Though it took some effort, under Karma''s guidance, Su Lun finally managed to take Vasili down with minimal losses.


    The Northern Sea Fleet''s Third Fleet Seventh Unit was also practically annihted.


    Su Lun harvested Vasili''s soul, resulting in another grand windfall.@@novelbin@@


    ''You have stripped away the soul of "Vasili Tyermid¨®"''


    ''You have extracted vast amounts of knowledge rted to "mechanism puppets," gaining +11245 Puppetry Experience''


    ''You have stripped away knowledge of mechanism creation, puppet maniption techniques,''


    ''You have understood the puppet maniption skill [Mystery of a Thousand Hands]''


    ''You have learned some information: "The Boile family''s core puppetry technique is not passed on to outsiders, and I cannot touch a dime of their wealth. Even if I die, my descendants will still bemoners. Damn it, I''ve given them so much, my talents are not inferior to theirs... Why them! Is it just because they are hereditary nobles? By a stroke of luck, I came into contact with the ''Ghost Shark Pirate Crew''... Five years ago, that night, I led them into the manor. I held back, and while the manor guards shed with the pirates, the pirates were also severely damaged, I wiped them out... Haha, I''ve finally got everything I wanted."'' ''


    ''You have obtained a secret: "The fleetmander has orders to drop the sealed boxes from the ship in a specific area near Devil''s Ind, not to be opened midway."'' ''


    ''Spiritual Power +233...''


    ...


    The battle had ended, and it was time for the crowd-pleasing harvest session.


    This Northern Sea third fleet''s seventh unit contributed a nearly intact high-quality warship to the Dawn Group, as well as arge amount of spoils.


    The crew members of the Dawn Group were scouring the sea for those elusive fish, while some were collecting the spoils of war.


    After hundreds of rounds of fiercebat with Vasili, Su Lun turned out to be thest to finish the battle.


    At this moment, on the deck, Su Lun was disassembling the huge "Thousand-Handed War Devil".


    After all, it was a Boile family heirloom, and with Karma being there, they quickly broke it down into pieces.


    By activating a mechanism, each piece transformed into dozens ofrge and small mechanical secretpartments, looking like tightly sealedrge wooden boxes.


    Su Lun admired the precision and the exquisite construction of the mechanism puppet.


    s, it had taken the Boile family centuries to umte enough to make just one such puppet; it had a very high manufacturing cost, and many materials were difficult to find.


    Otherwise, if it were possible to mass-produce them, Su Lun would have loved to create an army of mechanism puppets.


    Since he was pursuing a strategy of numbers, this thing was not suitable.


    Once everything was packed away, he handed the puppet and severalrge storage rings he had gotten from Vasili over to Karma beside him and said, "Karma, this mechanism puppet is yours now. It belongs to your Boile family."


    "Yes, teacher."


    Karma nodded obediently.


    At that moment, looking at her teacher, her eyes were filled with stars of admiration.


    The recent battle had thoroughly imprinted in the girl Kama''s heart the domineering shadow of a lone person suppressing an entire pirate crew.


    After stripping away Vasili''s memories, Su Lun learned the truth of the past events and said, "That...incident with your family was indeed Vasili''s doing. He colluded with the ''Ghost Shark Pirate Crew''... However, that pirate crew has already been silenced by Vasili."


    Su Lun briefly recounted the events from five years ago, and Kama listened with a gloomy expression, "Oh..."


    Over the years, she had been investigating the truth behind the attack on her manor and her spections grew closer to the truth.


    It wasn''t too surprising.


    Now suddenly knowing all her enemies were dead, the heavy stone that had been hanging in her heart finally fell.


    But she also let out a faint sigh.


    It seemed... with the enemies gone, the goal she had been diligently striving for was also lost.


    Seeing her demeanor, Su Lun smiled slightly andforted her, "You have a long life ahead of you, work hard. Your talent is good, and you will be a formidable Puppet Master in the future."


    Inspired by these words, Kama nodded earnestly, "Mm."


    At that moment, it was as if she had found a new goal.


    She wanted to be a Puppet Master as powerful as her teacher.


    Just then, someone from the Dawn Crew called out, "Mr. Su Lun, pleasee take a look inside the cabin!"


    ....


    Su Lun entered the cabin.


    Because they had just set sail, the cabin of this pirate ship was stocked with arge supply of provisions, and the storage room was packed to the brim.


    The Dawn Crew members were taking inventory of the supplies.


    And in the most central cabin, Qian Tiao and a few captains huddled around something, curiously pointing and discussing it.


    Seeing Su Lun approach, the crew members greeted him, "Mr. Su Lun."


    Qian Tiao was still his usual careless self after several days.


    ncing at the timid Kama by Su Lun''s side, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Yo, Su Lun, is this girl your new apprentice?"


    "Yes. Sister Qian Tiao."


    Su Lun looked at Qian Tiao and introduced her with a smile, "This is Kama."


    Kama too politely greeted them, "Hello Sister Qian Tiao, hello everyone, my name is Kama."


    The young girl''s heart was extremely nervous.


    Meeting the Dawn Crew, her teacher''s team, for the first time was undoubtedly nerve-wracking.


    There were giants, sumo wrestlers, ronin, and even strange mechanical modified warriors, as well as a doctor who looked like a monster... They all seemed so formidable and intimidating.


    Qian Tiao took a nce and praised, "Not bad."


    Su Lun chuckled and shook his head, not continuing that topic, but instead asked, "What did you call me in for?"


    Qian Tiao pointed to a treasure chest in the storage room adorned with golden rivets and said, "We found this chest. But it seems to be sealed and we can''t open it."


    "Oh?"


    Su Lun looked at the chest and identified it, noticing it had a seventh-level magic rune seal.


    He remembered the information about the chest from Vasili''s stripped memories and also knew how to open it.


    This seventh squad''s voyage wasn''t only about pursuing Su Lun and Kama, but they had also taken on a mission from the higher-ups of the Northern Sea fleet to search for treasure on Devil''s Ind.


    And this chest was the one they were explicitly instructed not to "open prematurely."


    Su Lun frowned slightly upon remembering this because the order seemed very odd.


    What exactly was inside this chest, and why was it that even the squad leader, Vasili, did not know?


    And why was it meant to be cast into a specific sea area?


    They were not members of the Northern Sea fleet, so naturally, they didn''t need to follow any orders.


    However, Su Lun was also worried about what undesirable things might be inside the chest, or if it might explode if opened prematurely...


    Thinking it over, he suggested, "I''ll take it up and open it to see."


    Qian Tiao nodded, "Okay."


    ....


    Su Lun moved the chest to the sea.


    The ship was at a considerable distance, and arge crowd of Dawn Crew members who loved to watch the excitement gathered on the deck.


    Everyone wanted to know what exactly was inside.


    After preparing, Su Lun finally used a puppet to open the mysterious chest in the prescribed way.


    There was no explosion as expected.


    However, upon opening, the brilliance that burst from the chest almost blinded everyone''s eyes.


    Upon closer inspection, Su Lun discovered that the box was filled with heaps of golden fleece called "The Golden Fleece of Colchis."


    This was a special material found only in Roman, and legend had it that one could weave the strongest defensive Golden Armor in the world with this fleece.


    Goats that produced this golden fleece were only found in one ce: the Temple of Aghaparnon just outside of the city-state of Moros!


    But the yield was extremely scarce, with just a small tuft of golden fleece able to be harvested from a goat each year.


    Such arge chest likely contained the entire Roman nation''s stockpile of a hundred years!


    Such a precious thing, to be thrown into the sea?


    After determining there was no danger, Su Lun dragged the chest back onto the deck.


    The Dawn Crew looked at the golden fleece, expressing admiration with clicks of their tongues, without understanding why it was inside the chest.


    Just then, Pandora, who had not shown herself from below decks, came up for some reason.


    Looking at the chest full of golden fleece, she enlightened everyone, "This golden fleece, even during the mythological era, was a very precious treasure. It symbolizes wealth, ideals, adventure, resilience, and the pursuit of happiness. It''s a very auspicious item, and in any era, mortals simply don''t have the right to possess it. Usually, it is used for sacrifices to the gods or in certain mysterious rituals."

 Chapter 378 The New Member of the Dawn Group

    ```


    Pandora''s existence, even among those in Dawn''s group who knew, was not widely acknowledged. Now that such a person had suddenly emerged, the crew were initially startled, then immediately their expressions turned grave.


    How did this woman appear out of nowhere?


    They hadn''t detected her presence at all!


    Wariness surfaced in the eyes of the crew, and their hands instinctively reached for their weapons.


    However, Su Lun had sensed her arrival in advance, and seeing the reaction of everyone, guessed they were probably "selectively blinded" by Pandora''s Illusion Technique.


    At the same time, he felt fortunate that he had formed an alliance with this woman.


    With such mysterious mind control techniques, if she were an enemy, few aboard this ship would have survived.


    Seeing that both Qiante and Su Lun seemed to recognize this woman prevented the crew from taking any rash actions.


    After all, being the "most beautiful woman in the world," even with her face veiled, Pandora''s inherent charm was undeniable.


    Her skin was fairer than snow, her figure graceful, her exquisite face partly concealed, devoid of any blemishes. Most extraordinary was the celestial aura she possessed, which to others, enshrouded her as if in radiant Holy Light, inspiring a sense of divine beauty that felt too sacred to profane.


    As she slowly approached, she drew the gaze of all present.


    Kama, the new recruit, was especially intrigued, having not expected to find such a beautiful woman within the ranks of Dawn. She felt that Pandora might even outshine the Priestesses of the Temple of Aghaparnon!


    ....


    Having heard Pandora expound on the uses of the Golden Fleece, Su Lun could guess her intent. "You..."


    Unsure how to address her properly, he hesitated for a moment before saying, "Miss Pandora, what is this about?"


    Pandora, clearly not intending to interact much with others, responded indifferently, "I wish to speak with you alone."


    Su Lun listened, his brows slightly lifting.


    They had been together every day, and he hadn''t noticed any changes.


    But now, after not seeing her for several days, he realized Pandora''s presence had be more ethereal and elusive.


    Su Lun also guessed it must be due to the Power of Faith.


    After all, she had gathered the Power of Faith from the Mountain Hermit''s god "Tsukuyomi," and now with the "Moon Empress" ascending, the Power of Faith would continuously fortify her. That dignified aura of hers was bing more like that of a sublime deity.


    "Alright!"


    Su Lun agreed without hesitation.


    Upon hearing this, the crew on the deck instantly understood the situation. They stopped staring at the enigmatic woman and dispersed to attend to their own tasks.


    Qiante could have stayed to listen, but she looked uninterested and had no intention of staying behind.


    She tapped Tanni and Lolorita, who were entranced, with her scabbard, saying, "Let''s go. We''ll tidy up below deck."


    "Oh."


    The two youngsters, as if awakening from a dream, their previously hazy eyes now clear, finally realized they had been entranced by a strange mental state. A hint of embarrassment flushed their cheeks, and they lowered their heads and followed Qiante to the cabin.


    With no one else around, Pandora directly stated her purpose, "I need the Golden Fleece."


    "Oh?"


    Su Lun raised an eyebrow, looking at her, but not rushing to express his stance.


    This Golden Fleece was a top-tier material, its value immeasurable.


    However, he wasn''t really concerned about the fleece; it was Pandora''s attitude that mattered more to him.


    To have a request was a good sign, indeed.


    Pandora exined her motives without disguising them, saying, "The Golden Fleece is offered to the gods because it is a rare material capable of bearing the Power of Faith. In the hands of mortals, it''s somewhat wasted."


    Having never gained an advantage in their previous confrontations, she knew that dealing with this cunning man meant that negotiating a beneficial exchange was the most straightforward approach.


    Pandora, observing Su Lun''s calm expression, added, "If you give it to me, I can help you with other matters. For example, dealing with that ship over there. I believe you would prefer not to kill them all to silence them."@@novelbin@@


    Communications between clever individuals are convenient. Having stated her objective and conditions, Su Lun weighed the options for a moment, then felt the trade was worthwhile, decisively agreeing, "Alright!"


    The deal may have seemed unequal at the moment, but he was definitely not at a loss!


    Pandora''s strength was growing more formidable, and her abilities had significant utility.


    Su Lun had previously felt that a mere contract was too flimsy to bind this powerful ally for long.


    Letting her owe him a favor, even if it meant taking a slight loss, was far better than a one-off deal.


    Now was the opportunity.


    As Pandora heard Su Lun''s agreement, she didn''t dawdle. A massive surge of spiritual power suddenly descended upon her, her gaze electric, her demeanor abruptly majestic and indescribable.


    Upon a second nce, her figure shone with a bright light, almost blinding to look upon.


    With a sh of light, her form appeared aboard the nearby "North Wind," and the faces of those on the ship instantly stiffened on the spot.


    ....


    Su Lun watched as Pandora''s body remained in ce beside him, casting her a sidelong nce.


    Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the glowing figure in the distance was actually a pure psychic manifestation?


    He understood what this meant, and felt a shock, "A psychic manifestation! Void Wandering!"


    Su Lun hade across such descriptions in texts, knowing only those with spiritual power reaching a seemingly inconceivable level could condense a ''spiritual avatar.''


    This technique was reminiscent of astral projection, allowing one''s mental will to leave the body and roam the void.


    ```


    ```


    Furthermore, it is said that during the mythical era, the gods descended upon the various heavenly nes using a simr method.


    With just a thought, their will incarnated and descended.


    Readtest stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    This is truly Divine Arts.


    While Su Lun was still in shock, the light around Pandora faded, and she calmly said, "Done."


    Su Lun: "..."


    He didn''t ask Pandora what exactly she did, but he could guess. "Tsukuyomi the Great" is most proficient in spiritual Illusion Technique, and she probably cast some sort of group illusion on that ship''s crew, altering their memories.


    But it indeed solved a big problem for Su Lun.


    On the North Wind, those few who were hostile had been killed by him, but there were still hundreds of innocent adventurers implicated.


    Letting them go would surely leak the information about the Dawn Group ambushing the North Sea fleet, which would lead to significant hidden troublester on.


    Yet, he couldn''t kill them all either.


    Although Su Lun was decisive in killing, he was not one to kill indiscriminately.


    Now that the problem was solved, he looked at Pandora and said indifferently, "Thank you."


    Pandora didn''t say much, simply stating, "It''s just a trade, after all."


    With that, she packed up the chest of Golden Fleece and didn''t continue to show herself on the deck, returning to her own cabin instead.


    Su Lun watched, his eyebrows raising slightly.


    Indeed, one feels indebted for a favor received.


    Though Pandora''s attitude remained cold, it had warmedpared to before.


    This was a good sign.


    ....


    Having acquired a Pirate warship, the members of the Dawn Group were busy painting and altering the appearance of their new ship.


    For a wooden battleship of this discement ss, the North Sea fleet''s ships were already the best, with fast sailing speed, powerful artillery, and sturdy construction...


    A slight modification to the exterior, and it would not be easily recognized.


    Su Lun sat on the deck, blowing in the sea breeze, lost in thought for a long time.


    Having just been enlightened by Pandora on the function of the Golden Fleece, he was now fairly certain that those pirates brought the "Golden Fleece" probably for some kind of mysterious divine ritual.


    Roman is a kingdom with a belief in gods, and various sacrificial activities are normallymonce.


    But the timing now, it''s somewhat intriguing.


    Su Lun''s thoughts wandered, conjuring one possibility after another.


    The value of this "Golden Fleece" was extraordinary, what presence in these seas required such a level of "sacrificial offering" for a ritual?


    A god?


    Su Lun thought of the treasures on Devil''s Ind.


    So many precious items appeared in the same ce, and they weren''t even from the same era.


    Could it be that it''s not some ancient relic but rather left there as sacrificial offerings through simr ritualistic acts?


    Aside from the priests of the Temple of Aghaparnon, perhaps no one knows the reason why.


    With this hypothesis in mind, the more he thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed.


    If the treasures on Devil''s Ind are all sacrificial offerings, then why does the temple allow adventurers to seek treasure?


    When the news of "Devil''s Ind''s treasure" came out, the Temple of Aghaparnon also yed a role in stirring things up.


    This time the news spread so quickly, Su Lun always felt there was someone behind the scenes pushing it.


    News leaked, treasure seekers returned, nautical charts circted...


    Each step seemed just right, piquing people''s curiosity and drawing adventurers to explore.


    Just yesterday alone, at least a hundred thousand adventurers set sail to hunt for treasure, and there may be even more in the following days.


    ...


    "What does the Roman temple want with attracting so many adventurers?"


    Su Lun couldn''t figure it out.


    If it hadn''t been for identally intercepting the "Golden Fleece" this time, he might still be kept in the dark.


    "Right, the temple!"


    Su Lun thought of the spear from the War God Tyr, the "Golden Spear of Causality," that fell from the sky trying to assassinate him.


    Why did the temple want to kill him?


    Su Lun was in Roman for the first time and was certain that he had no prior conflict with the Temple of Aghaparnon.


    Could it be because of the "divination"?


    But if it''s because of that, it seemed to him that the cause-and-effect rtionship was somewhat inverted.


    Why would I provoke you if you don''te to kill me?


    Now that enmity has been established, enemy or not, he is one now.


    ```


    Su Lun felt that mysteries were piling up.


    But without some key clues, he couldn''t figure it out.


    Just then, another thought popped into his head, "Oh, almost forgot... Barrett!"


    Su Lun almost forgot that Barrett and his two deputies were still in his "Little Void Realm."


    They were already far from the coastline, so he thought it would be safe to release them.


    With a pinch of the Suren Sorcerer''s Seal, a spatial ck hole slowly formed in his palm.


    Once the exit was big enough, three figures leapt out of the void.


    ...


    The sailboat was speeding through the azure sea, rising and falling with the waves.


    Recognizing their surroundings, Barrett also knew they had escaped the Moros city-state and let out a huge sigh of relief.


    Looking at Su Lun in front of him, his expression was veryplicated, filled with shame, gratitude, shock... all sorts of emotions stirring within him.


    After all, when they decided to go to the Moros city-state to rescue others, it was because they didn''t want to be a burden to Dawn Group.


    What they hadn''t expected was that, in their moment of crisis, it was still people from the Dawn Group who reached out to help, allowing them to survive.


    Counting this time, it was already the third time Su Lun had saved them from almost certain death.


    This life-saving grace could never be fully repaid no matter what.


    Barrett didn''t know how to express the gratitude he felt in his heart and sighed softly, "Su Lun, young friend, you''ve troubled yourself once again."


    With that, he and his two deputies performed a solemn chest salute towards Su Lun.


    Su Lun reached out to help the deeply bowing Barrett and said, "Mr. Barrett, there''s no need to be so formal. It was just a chance encounter¡ªit was no trouble at all."


    Shaking his head, Barrett sincerely expressed his gratitude, "The life-saving grace that young friend Su Lun has given us ''Sacred Judgment Group'' will never be forgotten..."


    No trouble at all?


    That certainly wasn''t the case!


    The operatives from the Luying Military Intelligence were not to be underestimated; rescuing people inside the Moros city-state had definitely involved great risks.


    Su Lun shrugged nomittally.


    It wasn''t that no pursuit had beenunched; he had taken that "Golden Spear," which had triggered a curfew throughout the city, disrupting the Luying Military Intelligence operatives'' ns for an encirclement and pursuit.


    He didn''t continue with the niceties on this topic but instead said, "We have reliable information that says the members of your ''Sacred Judgment Group'' have escaped from the underground caverns of the Moros city-state. The operatives of Luying Military Intelligence didn''t capture anyone."


    "Really?!"


    At these words, a look of wild joy instantly appeared on the faces of Barrett and his two deputies.


    At this moment, one of the deputies quickly took out themunicator he was carrying and started contacting. Watching themunicator light up green, he immediately confirmed something and excitedly turned to Barrett, saying, "Commander, there''s a signal!"


    Barrett, unable to hide his excitement and with a beaming face, exined to Su Lun, "This is the contact signal we had agreed upon. As long as they got out alive, they would activate a specific signal frequency, which we could receive even from a great distance. Now they should have already escaped to the sea ording to the n."


    As he spoke, he became visibly more excited and broke intoughter, "Hahaha... The brothers finally made it out alive!"


    This rescue mission was one where they had resigned themselves to the likelihood of death.


    Now that the brothers from the group have escaped alive, this was the best news, even more important than their own survival!


    As if the frustrations that had umted in his heart for days were dissipating, Barrett''s eyes started to fill with tears as heughed.


    Su Lun, observing this grizzled warrior with tears in his eyes, was happy for them too.


    This was a group of genuine, hot-blooded people.


    The sunshine was brilliant, and the sea breeze was weing.


    It was as if, after enduring the darkest times of their lives, everything was moving in a positive direction.


    At this moment, he was relieved.


    The knighthood''s glory, status, military rank, family, concerns... they all became things of the past.


    He could now embrace a new future.


    In Barrett''s eyes, there was no longer the previous bleak emotion. He looked at the seabirds soaring freely in the sky, his eyes lighting up with hope.


    Then, Su Lun spoke up in a timely manner, "Mr. Barrett, what are your ns for the future?"


    Hearing this, the excitement in Barrett''s eyes immediately withdrew, as if he had already made up his mind. He said with an incredibly serious demeanor, "If possible, I would like to join ''Dawn''."


    Su Lun smiled faintly, "You are most wee!"


    ...


    With Barrett and his Sacred Judgment Group choosing to join, the Dawn Group grew stronger.


    ording to Barrett himself, with the "Hand of Silver," his power is now stronger than in his prime, and he could potentially break through to Tier 6 at any moment and enter the realm of a top professional.


    And the "Sacred Judgment Group" still had four to five hundred royal knights; after reunification, it would double the number of the Dawn Group.


    The overallbat power of the Dawn Group was now formidable, and they wouldn''t necessarily be much weaker even if they encountered a fully organized fleet of the North Sea.


    Su Lun announced this news to everyone in the Dawn Group, and everyone gave a warm wee to the new members.


    Nobody treated them like down-and-out royal knights; instead, Barrett and his men''s act of risking their lives to save their brothers earned the admiration and respect of everyone.


    But before they could have a weing dinner, Su Lun organized a meeting with the high-level members of the group.


    Before long, in the captain''s cabin.


    Qiantiao, Dr. Banks, Barrett, along with the squad leaders, gathered together.


    The chandelier hanging from the ceiling of the meeting room swayed incessantly, casting a dim yellow light over a sea of exceedingly serious faces.


    Su Lun recounted the situation he had deduced.


    What was thought to be an ordinary treasure hunting adventure turned out to be entangled in a much moreplicated affair.


    Having finished speaking, Su Lun added, "The known intelligence is as such. Now, regarding how our Dawn Group should proceed, let''s see what everyone thinks."


    For a moment, everyone fell into deep thought, and the meeting room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.


    After a long pause, with a solemn face, Qiantiao was the first to speak, "So...Su Lun, you think that the treasure of Devil''s Ind is actually a conspiracy nned by some people?"


    Su Lun nodded, "Yes. There are too many coincidences involved, which can''t help but arouse suspicion. Moreover, I even suspect that some ''prophecies'' or simr abilities might be directed at our Dawn Group."


    If there are powers in the future capable of bringing about a significant change to this world, Su Lun believed that their "Dawn Group" was certainly one of them.


    Though the Dawn Group was still weak, it was growing robustly. With a leader like Mr. Jing, who harbored a grand ideal for the rebirth of alchemical civilization for humankind, coupled with members working hard for amon goal, the light of dawn may well shine upon the earth.


    In this world, there''s no hatred without reason,


    After pondering for a while, Su Lun felt that the Temple of Aghaparnon people''s assassination attempt was probably for these arcane reasons.


    King Oleg of the North Sea had meddled in the affairs of the Temple of Aghaparnon, and now Roman''s faith was no longer pure.


    At this point, Barrett interjected, "I think there''s a great possibility of that. When we explored some unknown sea areas before and encountered primitive tribes, we''ve also found that some ancient Evil God faiths are incredibly brutal, often with scenes of living human sacrifices."


    Dr. Banks found it unbelievable, "But...there were over one hundred thousand adventurers this time, do those people intend to use these hundred thousand as sacrifices?"


    Su Lun nodded, "If it is as I suspect, it probably is. The treasures on Devil''s Ind will certainly not be easily taken. The target of the sacrifice is likely to be a very terrifying entity."


    These words made the atmosphere in the meeting room extremely heavy.


    A sacrifice of a hundred thousand people?


    This wicked act was simply hair-raising just by hearing of it.


    Now that suspicions had arisen, the Dawn Group certainly wouldn''t be heading towards Devil''s Ind.


    The people of the Dawn Group were not overly kind-hearted, but they were definitely the sort who would draw their swords to redress an injustice when they saw it.


    The meeting reached this point when Qiantiao also said, "Even if what we''ve guessed is true, I''m afraid it''s toote to reverse the situation. Those adventurers have been blinded by the treasures, and they definitely won''t give up their treasure hunt because of some baseless spection. We also cannot gain their trust. And now at sea, we cannot even make contact with them..."


    Su Lun responded, "Yes...that''s the most troublesome part."


    The return of the "Flying Fish Group" from the treasure hunt yesterday was witnessed by too many.


    Greed can drive people to disregard everything.


    Even if they attempted to intercept and stop every single ship, they might be perceived as having ulterior motives.


    The question now is, where does the Dawn Group go from here?


    After a momentary silence in the meeting room, Dr. Banks suddenly had an idea and spoke up, "That''s right! Su Lun, you previously sent us a message, and I arranged for the dock workers to leave a biological marker on the ''Old Whitehead.'' I can sense the direction of that ship now; it should be only a few hundred nautical miles away from us..."


    Before he could finish, everyone''s gaze turned towards Dr. Banks.


    He continued, "Since we found the [Golden Fleece] on that ship earlier, could there be other ritual items on other ships? I suspect this level of sacrifice must require a very borate ritual..."


    Upon hearing this, everyone immediately understood.


    Qiantiao also said, "Do you mean that if we intercept all ships of the North Sea fleet, we might stop this conspiracy?"


    "Yes!"


    Dr. Banks nodded and added, "Moreover, the ''Princess of Frost Moon'' ship is also a key point. Even if they are to perform some evil sea ritual, the people of the Temple of Aghaparnon wouldn''t dare to sacrifice anyone from the Mafa royal family! Now that the ship hase to this sea region, there has to be a problem..."


    Su Lun also felt this made sense.


    From the memories he had detached from Vasily, he knew that this time the North Sea fleet had dispatched at least three squadrons to the sea.


    If they truly intercepted all of them, there might actually be a chance to thwart this conspiracy.


    ...


    Dr. Banks'' proposal gave everyone a glimmer of hope to break the situation.


    But now another problem arose¡ªif the Dawn Group withdrew to the outside, leaving now might be without any trouble at all.


    However, if they went on to attack the North Sea fleet, not only was there risk in the battle, but they might also involve themselves in some unknown situation.


    A decision so crucial to the safety of the team naturally couldn''t be made unterally.


    Su Lun proposed a vote and asked, "What does everyone think?"


    Qiantiao was the first to raise his hand, "I agree to intercept the North Sea fleet."


    Banks, "Agreed!"


    Barrett, "Agreed!"


    The squad leaders, "Agreed!"


    In the end, the members of the Dawn Group unanimously decided to go.


    There was risk, the unknown,


    And that too was the essence of a maritime adventure.

 Chapter 379 Ghost Ship, Sea Monster, Material

    "General Fred, look, there are two ships over there."


    "It''s really Captain Barrett! Thank goodness, they''re still alive!"


    "Huh, that ship seems to be a pirate ship? Howe the captain is on someone else''s boat..."


    "Those are the people from the ''Dawn Squad''! My God, it really is them!"


    "The Dawn Squad is...?"


    "They are our Judgment Squad''s most sincere friends, our saviors!"


    "..."


    Half a dayter, Su Lun and his group found the drifting people of the "Sacred Judgment Squad" at sea.


    When the two groups met, the Dawn Squad instantly became lively.


    This time Barrett and his group adventured to the Moros city-state to save people, rescuing over three hundred from ve traders, plus the previous team members, totaling five to six hundred people.


    This was also thest remnant of the once illustrious "Sacred Judgment Corps" of the Luying Empire that had been prominent for hundreds of years.


    These were truly elite Luying Royal knights, extraordinary inbat.


    However, now there was no Judgment Squad, only the "Dawn Pirate Squad".


    Even though they were rescued without equipment, it did not matter as the Dawn Squad''s warehouse had arge amount of equipment and supplies, all spoils of war from annihting several fleets of the North Sea. There was more than enough to equip these hundreds of people.


    Now, the "Dawn Squad" instantly transformed into arge group of almost a thousand people.


    Three warships, just aboutplete for three separate fleets.


    Tamu''s first fleet, Dr. Banks''s second fleet, and now Barrett''s third fleet.


    Thisbat power, among all the pirate groups in the North Sea, was also among the very top.


    Su Lun and the crew held a grand wee feast for the newly joined members. They brought out their finest meat and wine, their most sincere passion...


    This moved the former Royal Knights of the Judgment Squad to tears.


    They had once lost their families, their honor, their rankings, their everything.


    The whole world had abandoned them once, now, the Dawn Squad gave them new hope.


    ...


    Su Lun and his team wanted to catch up with the "White Eagle".


    Earlier, they had received information that the ship carried a "national gift" from the King of the North Sea to the Mafa Empire.


    Now knowing the "Devil''s Ind Treasure" incident was very likely a plot, that ship became even more special.


    Dr. Banks pin-pointed the ship''s position and found that instead of heading back to the Mafa Empire, it was also heading toward Devil''s Ind.


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    This was clearly unusual.


    The Dawn Squad''s three ships also swiftly pursued, hoping to intercept them before reaching Devil''s Ind.


    On the three warships, everyone was makingbat preparations: repairing the ships, maintaining the cannons, familiarizing with equipment, integrating new members...


    Barrett, truly a highly experienced professional senior officer, had extensive experience inmandingrge-scale wars and training troops. The staff on the three warships were rapidly reorganized under unified deployment , quickly finalizing secret signals,mand authority, emergency ns, and reward and punishment systems¡­


    Su Lun also felt it was very impressive; the inclusion of these professional military men like Barrett indeedpleted one of Dawn Squad''s weaknesses.


    While they didn''t necessarily adopt the whole set from the Luying Royal Knights, it still spared the Dawn Squad from the trial-and-error of future development.


    But inrge teams, scientific management can strengthen team cohesion, possessing a razor-sharpbat force!


    The Dawn Squad, although a group that upheld freedom like pirates, would get bigger in the future, and these steps were necessary.


    ...


    The three warships sliced through the waves at high speed.


    "Mr. Hunk, do you need any help from me?"


    "Oh, no, Miss Kama, handling the ropes and such heavybor, leave it to us giants."


    "Mr. Tamu, can I do something? I know how to..."


    "No, Miss Kama. Scrubbing the deck is dirty work, let us rough men handle it."


    "..."


    It was Kama''s first day on the ship.


    She felt it wasn''t very polite to just stay in her cabin on her first day.


    On the deck, she also helped out everywhere, wanting to integrate and familiarize herself with the new team as quickly as possible.


    After some interaction, she found that although everyone on the ship looked fierce, they were all easy to get along with.


    Kama tried hard to participate in some of the ship''s work, but it seemed that everyone else had their tasks, and there wasn''t much she could help with.


    But she had nearly gotten to know everyone: the domineering Sister Tamu, the mysterious Miss Pandora, the elusive Dr. Banks, the giant Hunk brothers, Captain Yuhaku, Captain Ran Saki...


    After making a round of greetings, she found that everyone on the ship was very enthusiastic and kind to her, treating her tenderly like family.


    Kama naturally knew this was because she was Su Lun''s disciple.


    Her teacher held a very special position within the Dawn Squad.


    At that moment, she saw Lalota practicing swordsmanship at the bow of the ship.


    Kama remembered, this was Sister Tamu''s disciple.


    Perhaps because they were of simr age, Kama felt she might be easier to get along with.


    They were all orphans, but they had once been young nobles with many shared experiences.


    After chatting for a bit, they quickly became familiar with each other.


    Sitting on the edge of the ship, they swung their legs, their faces bright with the charming smiles characteristic of young girls.


    As they chatted, the conversation turned to Su Lun.


    Miss Kama felt that meeting Su Lun was the luckiest thing in her life.


    But sincest night, her shock had not stopped. She had also witnessed the fearsome strength of her teacher in the great battle today.


    This was the Puppeteer she envisioned in her mind.


    However, after boarding the ship, Su Lun was nowhere to be seen, which Miss Kama found a bit hard to adapt to.


    She asked Lorota, "Miss Lorota, is the teacher always like this?"


    Lorota smiled and said, "Yes. Mr. Su Lun works very hard. As long as he''s on the ship, you can hardly see him. But if you go to theboratory, you''ll definitely find him."


    As she spoke, she pouted and added, "Mr. Su Lun is one of those people who are already super talented and still work hard. I always get scolded by the teacher for being dumb and not working hard enough... "


    Hearing this, Kama couldn''t help but snicker, and suddenly, she asked another question, "Is the teacher and Sister Qian Tiao lovers?"


    Lorota rolled her eyes and said, "Hmm... it''s hard to say."


    Kama was surprised, "Hard to say?"


    Lorota didn''t know how to exin and her face spread into a peculiar smile, "The rtionship between the teacher and Mr. Su Lun is quite special; it can''t be exined in a few words. Uh... you''ll know eventually."


    Kama: "Oh..."


    At that moment, Tanni suddenly slid down from the ropes dangling from the mast at the watchtower, "Hey, Miss Kama, I''m Tanni, pleased to meet you!"


    Kama was startled, "Ah... I''m Kama. The teacher mentioned you earlier; I remember your name."


    Lorota, who was clearly familiar with him, rolled her eyes and jokingly said, "This is Mr. Navigator, the crybaby!"


    Hearing this, a blush appeared on Tanni''s face, "Lorota, can you not bring up the past..."


    Lorota covered her mouth and giggled, "I won''t stop."


    Kama smiled and remained silent.


    The three young people of simr ages mingled andughed on the deck.


    The crew members looked at them, their faces also breaking into kind smiles.


    Their "Dawn" group would grow rapidly and shine brightly.


    ...


    After the wee party, Su Lun stayed in the captain''s cabin, which had been transformed into aboratory.


    Previously, after ambushing the Seventh Team, he had stripped the soul of Vasili Tyermid¨®, the "Puppeteer with a Thousand Machines," and had acquired a vast amount of puppetry knowledge.


    Although that guy was sinister and malicious, having harmed his own family master, it had to be said that his talent in puppetry was indeed not ordinary.


    Otherwise, he wouldn''t have secretly learned the secret techniques of the Boer family as a named disciple and developed many of his own remarkable puppetry skills, earning the title "Puppet Master."


    Su Lun had to admit that reaping this wave of experience had saved him decades of grueling skill refinement.


    It alsopensated for his many shorings in puppet making, control, and techniques, even opening up somepletely new ideas.


    Although the Mechanism Puppeteer lineage also stems from the Puppeteer lineage, it surpasses in the precision and functionality of the puppets.


    For example, the stripped technique "Mystery of a Thousand Hands" allowed one to control puppets to an extremely intricate and precise degree!


    Su Lun directly stripped this skill, which had decades of proficiency, instantly elevating his puppet control to a whole new level.


    Together with "Puppet Theater," these two secret techniquesplemented each other, making the puppet army extremely formidable.


    And it wasn''t just these gains.


    In Vasili''s storage ring, Su Lun found arge number of inheritances from the "Mechanism Puppeteer" lineage, including works on mechanism studies, puppetry, secret techniques...


    Besides the books, there were also some hereditary treasures from the Boer family and even two precious "Life Substitute Dolls."


    Su Lun would need many years to assimte those books himself.


    But since Vasili had already intensely studied these books, the knowledge was rich in his memory, which also made it convenient for Su Lun. The "Reaper" talent directly stripped and assimted that knowledge into his mind.


    This also greatly advanced the progress of another important task.


    That was to repair the "Mechanism Puppet Heart" and release his other disciple, Abec.


    Originally, Su Lun had limited knowledge about mechanisms and was uncertain about repairing that top-level alchemic object.


    Now, however, it seemed highly possible.


    Su Lun had reaped too much; he needed ample time to digest, integrating the knowledge into his own "knowledge tree."


    So, he stayed inside the cabin most of the time and did not go out.


    ...


    The speed of the "Old Man''s" ship was strangely fast, and it was only by using alchemic formations to sail at full speed that the Dawn group''s three ships managed to close the distance to several dozen nautical miles.


    But that was two dayster.


    While Su Lun was studying his puppets in the captain''s room, suddenly an observer''s warning came from the deck, "Everyone, be alert, there''s a suspicious ship ahead!"


    Immediately following this, the dutymander''s voice came through themunicator, "All hands, prepare for battle!"


    Su Lun nced at the thick fog outside the window, then did not continue to stay in the cabin; he quickly went up to the deck.


    At that moment, the deck was already crowded with people.


    Su Lun walked to the bow and asked Qian Tiao, "What''s the situation?"


    Qi pointed ahead and said, "At eleven o''clock, there''s a drifting ship. We''ve signaled them, but there''s been no response. It seems... there are no living people on board."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun''s face also showed a hint of confusion as he pulled out a monocr and looked in that direction.


    At this moment, a thick fog was drifting on the sea.


    This was already a dangerous area.


    His eyesight was better than others, so he could clearly see that the ship on the opposite side was drifting like a ghost.


    On the ship''s g hung a "skull with three muskets", and Su Lun''s mind instantly reflected the rted information.


    This seemed to be arge pirate group called the "Silver Spear Pirates," not weak in strength. The leader was a fifth-order professional, the "Sniper Shark Handler" Friedrich, with a bounty of one hundred and ten million and a crew of several hundred men.


    Su Lun seemed to have discovered something, leaped onto the mast, and upon closer inspection, he immediately saw that there was no one on the ship''s deck. However, on closer inspection, he could see bloodstains and bits of biological limbs on the side of the ship, along with traces that looked like a body being dragged.


    But strangely, there were no signs of a fierce battle on the ship.


    Su Lun''s pupils slightly constricted as he immediately said, "Tanni, pay attention to the movements in the sea!"


    "Yes, Mr. Su Lun!"


    Tanni also dared not be careless, listening to the movements in the sea.


    "Mr. Su Lun, what should we do now?"


    "Let the ''Steamship'' and ''Judgment Ship'' stay in ce, we''ll go closer!"


    "Okay!"


    Since they had encountered it, it was clear that they couldn''t avoid it now.


    So, Su Lun and his crew cautiously moved closer.


    With Tanni''s abilities and the mechanical octopuses swimming rapidly under the ship, even if some sea monsters approached, they would be able to detect them immediately.


    ...


    Su Lun and his crew approached the ship named "Musket."


    After a ten-yard distance, the Assault Team jumped over first.


    "Captain, no living people found! Nor any monsters..."


    "There are no signs of fighting inside the ship cabin."


    "..."


    The Sensory professionals soon confirmed that there were no signs of life on the ship, just as they had seen, it was an empty ship.


    Su Lun and Qi also jumped over.


    They took another look on deck, then went into the ship cabin.


    The cabin''s supplies were still there, and there were no ammunition loaded in the cannons... all these signs showed no battle had taken ce.


    But the crew''s sleeping quarters were a mess, with nkets thrown everywhere and scattered personal belongings. It looked like those sound asleep crew members had been dragged out of their beds without any resistance.


    There was silence in the ship cabin, and the air was filled with a weird atmosphere.


    Seeing this scene, everyone felt a chill running down their spine as if they were being targeted by some devil in the dark.


    Just then, someone suddenly shouted from the bottom of the ship, "Boss, a body was found in the hold!"


    Su Lun and Qi exchanged nces and immediately went downstairs.


    The hold was a storage room, storing lots of tobo, cured meat, and smoked fish, the air mixed with a strong, weird smell.


    It was probably because of these strong smells that the monster overlooked this body.


    Su Lun took a nce at the pirate "sleeping" among the cargo, clearly a sentinel.


    The deceased was about twenty years old, dressed as a pirate, with no wounds on his body...


    Su Lun looked and then pressed his hand on the corpse''s abdomen, there were no apparent internal injuries either.


    Being proficient in forensic autopsy himself, this bizarre death made him frown in confusion.


    Seeing this, Qi ced one hand on his sword hilt and asked, "What do you think?"


    Su Lun thought for a moment and said, "The deceased has no external injuries. He must have been killed by some sort of psychic attack, then the body was moved. Clearly, the perpetrator was not human but a monster. They were only interested in the body, not touching any money or materials. This is the ''Musket Pirates,'' not weak in strength. To annihte them silently, the monster involved must be very powerful."


    Saying this, he added, "Tell everyone to be careful."


    Qi nodded upon hearing this.


    The few captains behind them passed down the orders.


    At that moment, the sound of footsteps thudded on the ship deck, "I heard a body was found?"


    Turning his head, it was indeed Dr. Banks who approached.


    Su Lun said, "Doctor, your timing is perfect. Can you ascertain the specific cause of death for this person?"


    Professional matters should be left to the professionals.


    Dr. Banks nodded, saying little.


    He walked straight to the body, observed for a bit, then ced his hand on it.


    At that moment, everyone watched as his pitch-ck arm seemed to melt, turning into streams of tar-like liquid that crawled into the corpse''s nose and mouth.


    Though Su Lun knew Dr. Banks''s methods were a bit unusual, he still twitched at the sight.


    However, the effect was extremely good. After sensing for a while, as if he had discovered something, Dr. Banks spoke, "The time of death was approximately ten hours ago, roughlyst night. There are ruptures in the internal organs and blood vessels, especially the cranial tissues have suffered damage. This is the cause of death."


    Upon hearing this, Su Lun, puzzled, said, "It wasn''t a psychic attack that caused death?"


    "No."


    Dr. Banks said with definite certainty, "Some special frequencies of sound waves can cause this kind of widespread internal organ resonance damage."


    Hearing this, Su Lun immediately realized something, "Are you saying the murderer is a ''Siren''?!"


    This was a sea creature usually only mentioned in legends, very rarely seen by anyone.


    Because those who saw it, all died.


    Legend described it as a creature with a human face and a bird''s body, possessing a heavenly voice, fond of eating humans, usually appearing at night.


    The so-called "Song of the Siren" that people passed down was usually referring to this.


    Humans would die to its beautiful song.


    In fact, as magical as the legends were, essentially, the song was actually a kind of "Sub-Sonic Waves" that humans couldn''t hear.


    This type of subsonic wave had an extremely strong prating power; it could pass through the atmosphere, seawater, soil, and even obstacles.


    Wooden ships, even steel ships, could notpletely block the propagation of the sound waves. These waves did not easily decay and were not readily absorbed by water and air.


    And some frequencies of subsonic waves, due to their simrity or even identical nature to the vibration frequencies of human organs, easily resonated with the human brain and organs causing mild symptoms such as fear and agitation to severe cases of ruptured blood vessels and immediate death.


    Just like how this corpse died!


    Most importantly... these subsonic waves, the ordinary human auditory system simply couldn''t hear them!


    Dr. Banks nodded, "Mmm."


    Su Lun listened, his brows tightly furrowed, yet he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.


    At least knowing the cause of death made things much easier to handle.


    Ordinary humans couldn''t hear these subsonic waves, so they were silently killed.


    However, some people who possessed awakened auditory talents could hear them.


    Conveniently, there were people with the awakened talent of [D-032-Enhanced Hearing] on their ship.


    And even if the awakened individuals were not fully capable of hearing some higher-grade sea creature songs, animals could!


    Tanni couldmunicate with sea animals, andmon creatures like whales and jellyfish could hear various subsonic waves!


    Which means, that "Siren" posed no significant threat to the Dawn Group!


    Since there was no threat, an idea popped into Su Lun''s mind: Puppet materials!


    The "Siren''s" song was terrifying, but the creature''s actualbat strength was very weak.


    Yet, its vocal organs were extremely valuable,


    Regardless of how skilled the Puppetry Technique was, artificially made items could never match the perfection of natural ones.


    This [Siren''s Larynx] was recorded in the Puppeteer''s text as one of the ideal materials for creating the [Wailing Puppet]!


    ...


    Dr. Banks had analyzed the cause of death of the corpse, which suddenly changed the incident from a horrifying event to a normal sea creature attack.


    Everyone in the Dawn Group took a deep breath.


    They all prepared for a sea creature attack.


    The person with [Enhanced Hearing] was constantly on guard, and Tanni also focused intently on listening to the sounds in the sea.


    To be cautious, all watch posts were doubled, one with ears sealed with red wax, the other standing guard normally.


    This was the only method known in the legends to prevent the "Song of the Siren" from entering one''s ears.


    Su Lun returned to their own ship, his expression still contemtive.


    Seeing his expression, Miss Kama asked, "What''s wrong, is there still a problem?"


    Su Lun pondered for a moment, then shared his thoughts, "We were pursuing ''Bald Eagle.'' But in fact, this ce is not the closest route to ''Devil''s Ind.'' Why would the ''Silver Spear Pirate Group'' be annihted here?"


    Miss Kama wasn''t fond of cerebral guesswork, but upon hearing this, she sharply sensed something, "Are you suggesting that the ''Silver Spear Group'' was also targeting ''Bald Eagle''?"


    "Mmm. That''s where the problem lies."


    Su Lun nodded.


    His information likely came from Van Gogh and was probably leaked by the Luying royal family or another major power.@@novelbin@@


    Now, on ''Bald Eagle,'' those who were well-informed knew about Oleg''s return of treasures to the Mafa Empire.


    There were definitely people targeting this batch of goods.


    He expressed his concerns, "If we''re right and the ''Silver Spear Group'' really came for the Mafa goods, then why did they encounter death while ''Bald Eagle'' continues to sail?"


    Miss Kama continued the line of thought, "If it isn''t a coincidence, then perhaps the people of Mafa have a method to avoid sea creatures or prevent them from attacking? Or even... are they connected to them?"


    The people of the Mafa Empire were not fools.


    They wouldn''t have overlooked the potential leak of such information.


    Moreover, their intelligence systems were by no means inferior to the Luying Empire, especially in the territory of the King of the North Sea.


    Su Lun''s gaze deepened, and he had roughly connected all the logic in his mind.


    He murmured, "Thinking about it now, it''s possible that those guys intentionally leaked the information, then used the sea creatures in this area to eliminate everyone in one fell swoop."


    Miss Kama marvelled at the scheme, "What a cunning strategy."


    At that moment, Su Lun added, "However, for us, it''s not entirely bad news."


    Miss Kama looked over, her expression curious, "Oh?"


    Su Lun stared at the distant sea, his wordsden with meaning: "After all, even for fishing, one must use real bait."


    He paused, his pupils suddenly sharpening, "That ''Bald Eagle,'' there must be a treasure aboard!"

 Chapter 380 A Big Fish Called Princess

    The sea was shrouded in thick fog, rendering visibility very low, and the speed of the three Dawn Brigade ships slowed down.


    Especially now that evening was approaching and the temperature was dropping, the fog became even denser. Visibility steadily dropped to just a few dozen meters, to the point where even the three ships could only see vague shadows of each other.


    Under such visibility, ships normally wouldn''t be able to navigate at all. Especially in unfamiliar waters, where hitting a reef or encountering other special circumstances would instantly result in the destruction of both ship and lives.


    Fortunately, the Dawn Brigade had Tanni, a sailor who could "listen to the voices of sea beasts." The fish told him there were no reefs or shoals in these waters, which allowed them to proceed calmly into the depths of the mist.


    The moonlight and starlight were obscured by the thick fog, and the sea surface was almost pitch ck. It was only illuminated by the searchlights on the three warships, shining a light into this dark, vast sea.


    Creatures of the sea that were attracted to light swam around the ships, glowing jellyfish, shimmering schools of silverfish...


    On the ships, everyone was on high alert.


    Su Lun and Qian Tiao stayed together.


    Since he could read lips, he sealed his own ears with red wax.


    Though he couldn''t hear, it didn''t interfere withmunication.


    That way, if one of them was affected, the other could still react.


    As they waited for the sea monster toe, they chatted sporadically.


    "This dense fog is probably also the work of the sea monsters. If we don''t deal with them, our speed is nowhere near enough to catch up to the ''White Eagle.''


    "Mm. The Siren sea monsters like to move around at night. If they''ve sensed us, there''s an eighty percent chance they''lle hunting tonight."


    "These female demons are afraid of light and have fragile bodies, ordinary alchemy bullets can cause fatal damage. But since they wiped out the ''Silver Lance Troop,'' there must be ''Lord-level'' creatures within their ranks. It shouldn''t be too troublesome, though, Sister Qian Tiao, you should be able to kill one with a single strike. But if possible, don''t aim for the neck to avoid damaging their vocal organs. Ideally, we should capture a few alive."


    "Got it. Leave it to me."


    "..."


    "The Song of the Sirens" was infamous at sea, especially among fishermen, as it was hard to detect and almost certainly deadly.


    But the mood within the Dawn Brigade wasn''t too grim.


    After all, since they knew what monsters they were facing, they had found targeted countermeasures, which greatly reduced the danger level.


    As night fell, the sea breeze also turned a little chilly.


    The moon would asionally peek through the sky, with its light giving the fog a sinister white glow.


    Apart from the sound of the waves, everything seemed peaceful.


    At midnight, when everyone on the ship should have been sound asleep,


    suddenly, Tanni''s voice came through themunicator: "Captain, they''re here! The jellyfish we passed earlier ryed some information; there''s a distinct sound waveing from the south, about five nautical miles away from us!"


    Jellyfish are among the marine creatures most sensitive to subsonic waves.


    The member of the crew with the "Enhanced Hearing" talent hadn''t heard the subsonic waves yet, but the jellyfish had already sensed that the monsters hade out to feed.


    Qian Tiao ryed this information to Su Lun and also sealed her own ears with red wax.


    At the same time, everyone on the ship sprang into action, making the same ear-sealing movement.


    Su Lun also took out his ck umbre, intently observing the sea around him.


    But it seemed like nothing had happened, the calm around was eerily quiet.


    However, gradually, even with his ears plugged, Su Lun started to feel a bit nauseous and sleepy.


    He knew the sirens were drawing near.


    Because they had arranged tactics in advance, at this moment nearly everyone on the three ships fell limp on the deck and in the cabins as if asleep, looking like a ship full of corpses.


    Everyone held their breath and kept as still as possible to minimize signs of life.


    Leaning against the ship''s rail with his ck umbre in hand, Su Lun seemed just like them.


    Though he could neither see nor hear, suddenly hundreds of spiritual fires appeared in his perception!


    "They''re really here!" he inwardly shouted.


    While the dense fog hindered human vision, it also limited those Siren sea monsters. Unaware of anything amiss, they flew out of the fog without any guard up. The creatures, seemingly thinking they were about to feast,nded on the masts and rails of the three warships, their eyes glowing as they stared at the "corpses."@@novelbin@@


    Su Lun was keenly aware of the location of each siren. Waiting until he could feel the faint vibrations of themnding on the ship,


    he suddenly opened his eyes and fired the re gun that had been prepared in his hand.


    "Whoosh~~~~Bang!"


    The re exploded in the fog, emitting a brilliant light.


    Even with their eyes closed, the piercing light like needle pricks roused everyone on the three warships!


    Once people opened their eyes, they immediately saw the panicked faces of monsters.


    It was said that the Sirens were beautiful in appearance.


    But in reality... Beautiful my ass!


    They had the bodies of birds and human faces, with mouths full of serrated teeth, hideous and fierce, andrge, hook-like ws for feet!


    The members of the Dawn Group were not the least bit courteous to these monsters that sought to make them into meals, as they promptly revealed their guns.


    In an instant, gunfire crackled, and shots joined together in an uninterrupted barrage.


    The night was thoroughly woken.


    These one or two hundred Sirens hadn''t even grasped what was happening when they were "bathed" by a rain of alchemy bullets.


    Barrett had long arranged the detailed annihtion tactics, with the crew members banded in threes and fives, their tasks clear, firing at all the monsters on the deck with full coverage and no blind spots.


    The trajectory of the bullets wove a of fire in the darkness, leaving no chance for any Siren to escape.


    Those Sirens thatnded on the deck pped their wings in panic, trying to fly away, but before they could lift off, they were shot dead and fell into pools of blood.


    Even those elite monsters that tried to use the ship''s hull for cover and fly low over the sea to re-enter the fog were taken care of by dedicated snipers...


    As Su Lun predicted, among this group of Sirens there was a fifth-order "Lord" and several of silver and gold-tier monsters.


    The bird bodies of those Sirens clearly couldn''t take much; even as alchemy bullets caused feathers to fly in all directions, they still staggered in flight.


    But the Dawn Group was not short of experts, where would they allow those monsters toe and go as they pleased?


    After a volley of cannon fire, those professionals with the ability to leap into the air pulled out their weapons and furiously propelled themselves after them.


    Su Lun, not one to hold back, twirled his ck scythe and with a few swift strokes, several monsters fell into the sea in response.


    Because they were prepared in advance, the fight was fierce but over within minutes.


    After chasing them down, the other crew members began tidying up the battlefield.


    Except for a few monsters with light injuries that were knocked unconscious for research samples, the rest were killed for their materials.


    There wasn''t much of value in these Siren monsters for anyone other than Puppeteers; the other professionals really couldn''t make use of them.


    Before long, they too returned, bringing back with them the Lord-level Siren monster.


    Kama assisted Su Lun in removing the vocal organs from the corpses of the Sirens, while the other crew members began cleaning the bloodstains on the deck.


    After this group of Sirens was killed, the fog on the sea visibly thinned to the naked eye.


    And the night returned to tranquility.


    The speed of the warship also picked up.


    ...


    On the deck, some crew members stayed to deal with the battlefield, while others took turns resting.


    Everyone settled into a normal sailing routine.


    In theboratory.


    Su Lun was busy processing those fresh, living organs.


    This "Siren''s Throat" was an extremely precious material. He had previously inquired in various material markets, only hearing that some ancient specimens were asionally found in the collections of nobles. They were simply not for sale outside, nor was anyone buying.


    But handling such biological organs was not easy; it required sufficient experience.


    At his side, Kama was also helping to process those bloody Siren organs.


    She cleaned and sorted the material, then ced it into jars filled with green liquid.


    While working, she asked questions about anything she didn''t understand.


    "Teacher, why don''t we use ''Strong Silver Solution'' to process the materials, but instead use ''Hippolytus Solution''?"


    "Hmm... ''Strong Silver Solution'' does indeed have excellent preservative effects. But what we are processing now are still active biological organs. To ensure that the organs maintain their original functionality and extend their usefulness, we must consider not just preservation but also maintaining vitality characteristics. That way the puppets created willst longer and be more effective."


    "Oh. Teacher, how can this kind of biological material be used in puppets?"


    "That would require inscribing special life runes on the puppets..."


    "..."


    Su Lun had the eight-armed arachnid spear and originally didn''t need any assistants.


    But now with two newly acquired disciples, he also devoted plenty of patience to teaching.


    Karma also treasured this opportunity, working diligently, focusing intently, and striving hard, she showed all the qualities of an excellent Alchemist.


    Given time, Su Lun also felt that she would surely be a formidable Puppeteer.


    As for Yabec, trapped within the "Puppet Core," his talent was exceptionally outstanding.


    The talent of the "B-060-Exquisite Heart" was inherently suited for Puppet Masters; before, it simplycked guidance and systematic knowledge. Now, with a way to learn, he absorbed all the knowledge Su Lun taught like a sponge, oftening up with some incredibly imaginative and brilliant ideas.


    Su Lun was more than happy to polish this uncut jade.


    ...


    After passing through the waters haunted by Siren sea monsters, the speed of the Dawn group''s ship increased significantly. By noon the next day, Dr. Banks had already confirmed that biological markers were in very close proximity.


    The members of the Dawn group once again entered a state of battle readiness.


    But what Su Lun and the others didn''t know was that at some ce at sea, a mysterious and ritualistic operation had already begun.


    The sun was shining high in the sky, and several ships were anchored on the sea''s surface. There, unmistakably, were the "White-headed Vulture" and several Pirate ships.


    The people on the ships werepletely unaware that they were being pursued.


    On one of the ships, several cloaked individuals were muttering strange incantations over the sea. Their voices were deep and prating, cutting through the water and reaching the deepest ends of the abyss.


    If an outsider were here, they would definitely see that beneath these cloaks were beautiful women with blond hair and blue eyes, each exuding a pure, holy aura.


    These were the Priestesses of the Temple of Aghaparnon.


    In their hands they held jars, one pouring a glowing Spiritual Body into the seawater, another a crimson liquid, yet another silver powder, and one pouring golden ears of wheat...


    All were extremely precious top-tier materials, yet they poured them into the sea without regret.


    The ritual was proceeding in an orderly fashion.


    On another inconspicuous ship, a woman whose sensual figure could hardly be concealed by arge cloak, and who had a seductive appearance, waszily watching everything before her.


    This person was none other than Scatty Harris, the Thirteenth Princess of the Mafa Empire, known as the "Frost Moon Princess."


    No one would have guessed that she hade here quietly without any royal mechanical guards.


    At the moment, several individuals dressed as guards stood beside her.


    As she watched, Princess Stika suddenly spoke up, "High Priestess Helvi had a prophecy, suggesting that this ritual might encounter some unexpected situations. She advised us to be cautious. Gentlemen, where do you think the problem might arise?"


    Her demeanor was full of charm, but her eyes twinkled with intelligence.


    She was not as others rumored, a Princess reliant solely on her beauty.


    Her wisdom was matched by few.


    Upon hearing this, one of the aides responded, "The covert forces sent by the Royal House of Ruying, Duke Raphael, and Duke Lance should all have perished in the jaws of the Siren sea monsters and the ''North Sea Leviathan'' by now. The experts from Van Gogh are still tied up in the city. In the North Sea, there are no other forces left that can threaten us. Your subordinate feels that there will be no problems..."


    Princess Stika seemed to also think this made sense, but the hint of doubt between her brows did not clear, "The prophetic abilities of the High Priests of the Temple of Aghaparnon have always been urate through generations. We cannot afford to be careless."


    The aide spoke again, "Your Highness, my intention is not to question your judgment. But the High Priestess has sumbed to the overwhelming power of Oleg; the Temple''s authority is no longer what it once was. Moreover, you''ve seen for yourself that her faith is no longer pure. Intelligence indicates that she dotes on her son Onis Popov enormously. A prophet with personal desires will greatly diminish in ability..."


    Listening to this, Princess Stika arched a beautiful eyebrow, saying nothing but obviously agreeing with her subordinate''s words.


    Yet thinking over it, her brow furrowed again, and she changed the subject, "What do you make of the turmoil that took ce in the city-states of Moros? Who do you think stole the ''Golden God Spear'' from the Temple of Aghaparnon?"


    "This..."


    At her words, several subordinates looked at one another, no one able to provide a clear reason.


    Seeing the speechlessness of her followers, Princess Stika said, "Clearly, there is a ''mysterious force'' we have not grasped moving about in Roman. My father once taught me, one must not take any enemy lightly."


    "You speak very true, Your Highness."


    With that, one subordinate lowered his head, and nobody else spoke.


    But just then, an ill-timed voice rang out, "Your Royal Highness Princess need not worry about any threat."


    It was a man with a scar on his face, his eyes as sharp as Hawkeye.


    He spoke in anguid tone, "Having been hired by Mafa, I shall surely ensure the Princess''s safety. In the North Sea, other than Oleg and the two deputymanders of the North Sea Fleet making a personal appearance, no one else poses a threat to me."


    Oleg and Mafa were now allies, and he was currently employed by this Frost Moon Princess.


    That meant, in the vast expanse of the North Sea, there were no enemies.


    Such bold and supremely confident words.


    Yet upon hearing them, not a single person on the ship showed even the slightest hint of doubt on their face.


    Because this man had a significant reputation.


    He was Carlo Meldis, one of the "Top Ten Legendary Bounty Hunters," the "Pirate King"!


    Hearing this person''s stance, Princess Stika''s tone of arrogance also receded quite a bit; it was respect for a powerful being, "This trip will of course require Mr. Meldis''s careful attention."


    Her slender white fingers tapped the ship''s rail, producing a rhythmic knocking sound.


    After some idle chat, Stika suddenly thought of something and turned to ask with a smile, "Last time, Mr. Meldis, I heard you ran into a bit of trouble in the Silent Forest. Who exactly is this ''Mr. Jing''?"


    Her tone sounded teasing but did not evoke the slightest dislike.


    Upon hearing this, the cloaked man''s face shed with embarrassment as if recalling some unpleasant memories.


    But as a professional of his standing, he would not avoid the topic of defeat, only responding with a somber expression, "That woman... very strong! She is a high-ranking vampire, so she shouldn''t be one of those sub-humans. I did some investigatingter and it seems that no power is currently associated with her, as if she appeared out of nowhere."


    Princess Stika said, "I have heard Oleg mention that the woman seems toe from Duke Raphael''s mines. But at the time, she wasn''t that strong. At least, nowhere near strong enough to harm Mr. Meldis. Later, there was news that she was closely rted to ''Earl Blood'' Antonio Harris... She might be an ancient vampire who had been dormant for a long time."


    The cloaked man fell silent, then countered, "Does Your Highness suspect it''s her?"


    Princess Stika shook her head, saying, "No. Intelligence indicates that the major powers in Ruying are now paying attention to ''Mr. Jing'', she couldn''t possibly be in the North Sea right now. I was just asking casually."


    The cloaked man said, "Once those temple priests make contact with the one in ''haixu'' and offer up the sacrifice, Your Royal Highness Princess will get that thing, and then we can go directly to the Void Relics."


    Princess Stika said, "That would be best."


    But at this moment, quite abruptly, the lookout in the mast spotted something and shouted loudly.


    "Attention all hands, three unidentified ships spotted at ten o''clock! They are not flying any gs, and it seems they are heading straight for us!"


    "What?!"


    Hearing this, not only Princess Stika and the cloaked man but everyone was taken aback.


    This was not the route to Devil''s Ind; hence appearing here, they definitely were targeting them.


    Someone actually followed them this far?


    The sea monsters didn''t kill them?


    ....


    These three ships were naturally the three warships of the Dawn Group!


    If Princess Stika''s people spotted the ships of the Dawn Group, Su Lun and hispanions naturally also noticed them.


    "All hands, prepare for battle!"


    "Cannons calibrated, ready to fire onmand!"


    "..."


    Barrett gave the battle preparations order through themunicator.


    There was no dithering, no need to confirm anything.


    If "White Eagle" ships appeared here, they could fire without the risk of hitting the innocent.


    In the sky, the death birds circled above, and Su Lun had long taken in every detail of those ships'' movements.


    Watching the acts of those cloaked priests on deck, Su Lun was even more certain that the conspiracy involved the Temple of Aghaparnon.


    The behavior of those priests looked very sinister...


    No matter who was on the other ships, it was better to strike first!


    Moreover, the Dawn Group had a huge advantage, and that was the range of their cannons which far exceeded that of their opponents!


    Those fellows, in order to conceal their identity, sailed on a few ordinary Pirate ships. Although he didn''t know why they sailed so fast before, the onboard cannons were all pretty standard, just regr market goods.


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    But the cannons on the Dawn Group''s three ships were confiscated Mafa military cannons, not something one could buy on the market!


    The maximum range was several times that of the market''s!


    Meaning, they could hit the enemy while the enemy could not hit them.


    So, the instant they reached firing range, Barrett promptly ordered, "Open fire!"


    Nearly a hundred cannons fired simultaneously, creating an exaggeratedmotion.


    ...


    From afar, Princess Stika and her entourage on the "White Eagle" were dumbfounded.


    As they watched the sky filled with iing cannonballs, they were shocked, bbergasted, and yet felt they could not die.


    What enmity did they have to start with a barrage of cannons?


    PS. If there are many typos, you can refresh the page. Due to recent changes in my sleep pattern, the chapters are posted first and correctedter. I apologize for the poor reading experience.

 Chapter 381 The Giant Monster of the North Sea

    Naval battles are best fought with cannons.


    Especially when there is a gap in the quality of equipment, the side with the advantage can crush the enemy from a distance with cannon fire, thus minimizingbat losses.


    And as it happens, cannon operation is apulsory subject for students of the "Royal War Academy."


    The professional soldiers Barrett brought along with the Judgment Corps were all students of the Royal Academy, and nearly all of them were certified "senior gunners" or "expert gunners."


    As a result, when the three warships of the Dawn Corpsunched a volley of a hundred cannons, the cannonballs seemed guided by precision, covering the enemy vessels including the "Old Albatross" a few miles away with minimal deviation.


    With such firepower, it wouldn''t take many rounds to sink the enemy.


    Even without using any spells


    Su Lun also guessed that there must be experts among the enemies, since they were escorting valuable treasures.


    Therefore, cannons were also the most suitable means of probing.


    Before the battle began, Su Lun considered all possibilities.


    He was convinced that the enemy would most likely choose to flee since the pirate ships had been pursued for days and must have some special eleration devices.


    But he never expected that the second the cannons roared, an astonishing scene took ce, stunning everyone in the Dawn Corps.


    ...


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "..."


    The thunderous roar of cannon fire was deafening.


    Su Lun stood on the deck, squinting as he watched one cannonball after another hurtling towards the enemy ships.


    Some cannonballs fell into the sea, creating waves over a dozen meters high; some hit the pirate ships, sting cracks in the sails, masts, and wooden hulls...


    There were a total of five enemy ships huddled together, which would normally make the best targets.


    However, it was at this moment that the people of the Dawn Corps realized there was something abnormal; the cannonballs hit three of the ships as expected, prating and exploding...


    But when they struck the other two vessels, the cannonballs were stopped by an invisible barrier in mid-air, detonating in visible ripples of air pressure!


    Seeing this, everyone in the Dawn Corps got a shock.


    Barrett, as if recognizing something, immediately issued a warning, "Bad news, there''s a seventh-tier professional on the enemy ships!"


    Hearing this, Su Lun''s face suddenly changed.


    He had sensed something amiss when he observed the priests from the Temple of Aghaparnon.


    He had assumed that the escort team would at most have sixth-tier professionals, but withstanding a barrage from a hundred cannons was definitely not something a sixth-tier professional could withstand!


    Su Lun immediately realized there might be a highly sensitive big shot on the enemy ship!


    A thought shed through his mind, and he guessed something, "Could it be Princess Mafa from Mafa, or maybe some big shot from the temple?"


    If it were the North Sea pirates, they would not hide such things.


    People from the temple, on the other hand, might...


    But now in the whole North Sea, those needing to hide their tracks and apanied by top-notch experts, the most likely person was Princess Stika!


    "Clever tactics... intentionally leaking the information of the ''Old Albatross'' escort, making it seem like a diversion. In reality, the person was really mixed in with the escort fleet!"


    Su Lun immediately understood something.


    This move by Princess Stika was probably to avoid those from "God''s Hands," like Van Gogh.


    The assassins wanting her dead were all drawn by the royal guards of the Moros city-state, allowing her to slip away unnoticed.


    But why appear here?


    Su Lun, looking at the ongoing sacrificial ritual, guessed that the princess must have some motives foring here.


    He thought it was an ordinary interception, never expecting to catch such a "big fish."


    However, what the actual situation was no longer mattered; he ordered directly, "Continue the bombardment! Everyone, prepare for battle!"


    The situation now was, since they had encountered each other, neither the enemy nor they would show any mercy.


    At Su Lun''smand, the second round of ammunition was quickly loaded, and in a short time, mes burst from the cannon muzzles again.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "..."


    The sound of cannon fire continued incessantly.


    Although Su Lun didn''t watch to see what the "sacrifice" was for, since those people would rather endure the cannon fire than flee, it indicated the ritual was of utmost importance and couldn''t be interrupted.


    Whatever the enemy was attempting, the Dawn Corps had to disrupt it!


    Even a seventh-tier professional couldn''t withstand a salvo of cannon fire for long.


    ....


    Naturally, the enemies wouldn''t allow the Dawn Corps to continue the bombardment.


    Just then, the crows in the sky started cawing loudly.


    Su Lun sensed danger approaching; his gaze sharp as a hawk, he observed everything on the sea surface.


    Almost at the same time, Tanni reported urgently through themunicator, "Captain, there''s a huge sea monster attacking us from the water! It seems to be the legendary ''North Sea Leviathan - Kraken''!"


    "A sea monster?"


    Su Lun had naturally heard of the legend of the "North Sea Leviathan" that pervaded the North Sea.


    There was said to be an enormous tentacled creature in the deep sea, with a body asrge as an ind, capable of easily dragging arge warship into the depths.


    Su Lun''s expression darkened as he shouted, "Leave the sea monster to me! Captain Barrett, Sister Chian, Dr. Banks, guard against the enemy''s seventh-tier headshot."


    Chian and the others responded in unison, "Understood!" Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire


    Saying this, Su Lun leaped up to the ship''s rail, looking out to sea.


    His eyes could vaguely see a massive dark shadow swiftly swimming towards their battleship, and the waves on the sea surface began to churn.


    Time was of the essence, and Su Lun sped his hands in the sorcerer''s seals, uttering a crispmand, "Armament Release!"


    Behind him, the eight-armed spider spear unfurled, and with another shift of sorcerer''s seals, dozens of ss jars appeared out of thin air.


    Once the ss jars were opened, dozens of mechanical octopuses ttered into the water.


    In this battle, Su Lun couldn''t afford to be careless. He hadn''t expected to employ so many mechanical octopuses, but now he had to deploy them all into the sea.


    The tentacles of the mechanical octopuses extended ten to twenty meters, but they paled inparison to the colossal shadow under the sea.


    Fortunately, there were enough of them. Fifty mechanical octopuses hit the water and immediately became entangled with it.


    It was then that Su Lun could clearly see the true form of the sea monster as it drew close to the surface.


    It was indeed a super-sized octopus.


    [North Sea Behemoth - Kraken]


    Details: A sixth-rank dominating deep-sea behemoth; bloodline of ancient myth, a titanic titan sea beast; length of one hundred eighty meters, weighing over three hundred seventy tons; it possesses powerful tentacles and suction cups, controls the power of the water element, capable of long-range jets; its mucus has strong corrosive properties; its skin is flexible and has a power weakeningyer, allowing it to easily deflect conventional physical attacks;


    Reading the information, Su Lun''s gaze slightly narrowed.


    He had long wanted to find the giant octopus passed down through generations among the Roman fishermen, but he didn''t expect to encounter it here.


    But it also relieved him.


    This huge sea behemoth was almost invincible in the sea, and just this one creature could easily sink the three warships of the Dawn Group.


    With its massive body, even the ck Scythe would struggle to make a cut.


    If it weren''t for the mechanical octopus army, the Dawn Group would have really suffered a huge loss.


    ...


    Before the "North Sea Behemoth" could approach the three warships at the surface, the mechanical octopus army swiftly swam towards it.


    Even so, a thirty-meter-long tentacle covered with terrifying suction cups iled out of the water. With a "p," the resulting wave almost flipped a warship over.


    Su Lun''s gaze turned steely, and he hurriedlymanded the mechanical octopuses to swarm and kill.


    All members of the same species, all adept at strangting attacks, seven to eight mechanical octopusestched onto a tentacle and quickly wrapped around it tightly.


    To better control the mechanical octopus army, Su Lun had specifically studied the physiological structure of octopuses during these days, bing extremely familiar with the way these creatures exerted force.


    He wasn''t aiming to kill it, but at least to trap it.


    Even though the "North Sea Behemoth" had strongly corrosive mucus on its surface, the runes and coatingyers that Su Lun had painted on the mechanical octopuses during this time now came in handy. For a short period, the enchanted coatings on the mechanical octopuses were not easily corroded.


    And so, before the giant sea behemoth could emerge from the water, it was pressed down and struggled in the sea, unable to unleash its fury.


    Beneath the sea, fierce battles raged on, and above, torrents surged.


    The three warships of the Dawn Group swayed unstably amid the waves, but luckily, the deputymanders inside the gun decks all had sufficient navalbat experience, and the cannons never ceased firing.


    Although the hit rate was slightly off, a battery of a hundred or so cannons firing volleys would always strike plenty of targets.


    The Magic Army''s highly urate artillery characteristics were also fully demonstrated in this battle.


    At this distance, the enemy could not organize any effective counterattack.


    After only a few rounds of cannon fire, five of the enemy''s pirate ships, apart from the two shielded by barriers, the other three had their hulls shattered by the cannons, burning fiercely as they slowly sank.


    The sea was littered with pirates falling overboard, their cries of anguish mingled with the waves, carrying across the source.


    ...


    Not only were Su Lun and his group caught off guard by an unexpected encounter with a "big fish," but the crew of the "Frost Moon Princess" on the "White Beard" were even more bewildered.


    Three ships suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started firing upon meeting, but now it seemed that even the "North Sea Behemoth" couldn''t sink them?


    The sounds of cannonballs cutting through the air were incessant, and the explosions were continuous. Princess Stika''s face grew very grave as she saw this scene, "What is going on, why hasn''t the ''Kraken'' sunk their ships!"


    She was well aware of that deep-sea monster, an almost invincible beast in the ocean, certainly not something a few wooden ships could withstand.


    And now it was useless?


    One of her subordinates hastily reported, "Your Highness, those people have some special means to control the sea monster. It looks like some mechanical octopuses."


    "Duke Raphael''s men?!"


    Upon hearing this, Princess Stika''s face grew even more somber.


    Her first reaction was "assassin."


    The enemy''s preparations were well-informed and targeted, they must have solid intelligence.


    Only then did Stika realize that the prophecy was referring to the present moment.


    At this time, Carlo Meldis, known as the "Lord of Thieves," also wore a grim expression and spoke, "Your Highness, we have no advantage in an artillery exchange; this cannot continue. I will find a way to kill them. Otherwise, our situation will be very bad."


    The energy barrier that blocked the cannonballs was his doing, and without him, the two ships would have been sunk already.


    As soon as he spoke, a Priestess from the Temple of Aghaparnon turned pale with shock, disregarding decorum, she urgently interjected, "But the divine ritual is not yetplete, if the ''Sea King'' bes enraged, we... we will have wasted all our efforts! Moreover, interrupting the sea ritual midway could bring unpredictable... terrifying consequences!"


    "Hmph!"


    Hearing this, Meldis snorted coldly, "I am employed by the Magic Emperor, not your Roman. What do I care about your rituals?"


    As he said this, the overbearing presence of a Seventh Order powerhouse made it difficult for others to breathe.


    Hearing this, the Priestess turned anxious, but dared not speak further.


    All she could do was turn to look at Princess Stika.


    Unfortunately, Princess Stika''s face was veiled in darkness, yet she did not speak.


    Because she knew very well that even a Seventh Order professional could not withstand the bombardment of artillery fire for an extended period.


    To protect the two ships, not to mention the rapid consumption of Spiritual Power, if a significant amount of power were spent on this matter, even her own situation would be very dangerous.


    Although she was also aware of the dire consequences should the ritual be interrupted, once she ascertained that this was an "assassination" targeting her, the choice between life and protocol became immediately clear.


    Thinking this, Stika said, "Mr. Meldis, be careful."


    Meldis immediately understood, "Got it!"


    This also implied another meaning: if things turned sour, prioritize saving me.


    With that said, the "Top Ten Legendary Bounty Hunter" retracted his domain barrier, stepped down, and leaped onto the sea surface.


    ...


    The experts of the Dawn Group were all on deck, constantly watching the enemy warships in the distance.


    Just then, everyone saw the energy shield on those three ships suddenly disappear, and a figure leaped onto the sea surface, rushing toward them at high speed.


    The lookout on the mast immediately shouted, "He''sing! Everyone be careful."


    Su Lun issued themand, "Continue firing, sink those two ships!"


    At the same time, Barret, along with Qiantiao and Dr. Banks, leaped into the sea and rushed towards the figure.


    The professional draped in a ck cloak was indistinct, but as they moved, a monstrous shadow with the heads of a ram, a snake, and a lion rose behind them.


    "A Rank Two mythical beast talent [A-044-Chiramer]!"


    Watching this anomaly, Su Lun immediately recognized the talent and even guessed the identity of the neer.


    This talent was rare, a secondary awakening, and also level seven, there could only be one person.


    It was one of the "Top Ten Legendary Bounty Hunters," the ''Thief Emperor'' Carlo Meldis!


    Su Lun felt a sense of foreboding and immediately warned everyone through themunicator, "Be careful, that''s the ''Thief Emperor'' Meldis!"


    He truly hadn''t expected that what seemed like a regr bout of piracy would encounter such a renowned top-tier powerhouse.


    The strength of his Dawn Group was not weak, but they stillcked top-endbat power.


    Although they were ready for battle, a head-on sh would certainly lead to heavy losses.


    But the presence of this legendary bounty hunter confirmed to him that on the opposing ship was none other than the Frost Moon Princess of Mafa!


    "No, they still don''t know the true strength of our Dawn Group!"


    Suddenly, a n shed through Su Lun''s mind.


    If it was truly so, perhaps they need not fight to the death...!


    At that moment, Su Lun held a ck sickle in his left hand and pulled out the [Bow of Time Curse from Chronos] in his right.


    He was well aware that he had no ce in a battle of this level, only these two sealed items could pose a threat to the enemy.


    ...


    The battle was imminent.


    The ''Thief Emperor'' Meldis, seeing three people descend from the opposing ship, first sneered in disdain, "Without even forming a domain, they''re not very strong..."


    Lacking a domain also meant their power was at most sixth rank.


    Such enemies, whether three or five, posed no threat.


    But the next second, seeing the golden Rakshasa Woman appear behind Qiantiao, Meldis was stunned, blurting out as if seeing a ghost, "A Rank Three awakening [Rakshasa Woman]... How is this possible! There''s actually someone in this world who has achieved a third awakening talent?"


    Observing the thunderclouds of "Thundering Hell" gathering in the sky and the soaring Sword Qi, Meldis frowned.


    How could he, a professional a full rank above, feel danger from a lower-ranked professional?


    Meanwhile, his gaze turned to the figure that had transformed into a giant ape and he recognized, "The ''Ferocious Beast'' Barrett?"


    But he was also surprised, "Why is this guy here?"


    This nce seemed to solve the mystery at once.


    On the distant ship, Princess Stika also recognized Barrett and immediately realized that these people were the "mysterious force" that had caused a stir in Moros City-State that night.


    Dr. Banks'' methods were even more peculiar. As he leaped into the sea, the vast expanse of water turned pitch ck, as if poisoned, and seabirds began to drop, insects dying in droves.


    In just a moment, the group collided.


    Even facing three opponents, Melidis still held the upper hand.


    As soon as he activated his "void domain," be it Sword Qi, toxins, or physical hammering, the damage inflicted on him was very limited.


    Compared to the three in front of him, he was more wary of the person on the distant ship who held a bow and sickle.


    At this moment, Su Lun stood at the bow, having already drawn the "Bow of Time," his expression grave.


    However, he did not aim at the ''Pirate King'' Melidis, but instead pointed his bow at the cloaked figure surrounded by several people on the "Whitebeard."


    He was well aware that Barrett and his twopanions could hold out for a while, but they definitely had no chance of winning.


    Dragging this out, the situation for their Dawn Group would only get worse.


    The only advantage the Dawn Group had now was that the other party did not know their true situation.


    "Continue the bombardment! Sink them as soon as possible!"


    "Yes!"


    Another piece of good news was that the members of the Dawn Group were very effective; the cannons on the three warships didn''t stop, directly hitting the enemy''sst two warships as well.


    ...


    Su Lun did not hesitate and, after drawing his bow, immediately let an arrow fly.


    "Arrow of Time" could ignore most defenses and hit the human body.


    One of the guards stood in front of Princess Stika and was instantly drained of life by the light arrow, turning into a mummified corpse.


    Seeing the corpse beside her, Stika turned pale with fright; she recognized the infamous sealed weapon longbow from the Lu Ying Military Intelligence Department ¡ª the "Chronos'' Bow of Time Curse."


    What was even more terrifying was that as soon as the first arrow had arrived, the second was already on its way!


    A sealed weapon on its own wouldn''t normally have caused Stika such rm.


    But seeing another one of her subordinates die, the unknown in her heart turned into fear in an instant, "How is it possible, how did that guy not suffer from the curse bacsh?!"


    And from afar, she could see that the man on the opposite deck had already emotionlessly drawn the longbow, ready to fire the third arrow.


    ....


    Su Lun''s mastery of "Master-level Archery" was no joke, and even Princess Stika''s guards, despite desperately trying to dodge, could not avoid it.


    In order to avoid the eyes of Lu Ying spies, she couldn''t bring the Magic Empire''s experts with her.


    To have hired one of the "Top Ten Hunters" was already not easy, and those few fourth-tier guards were now utterly unable to provide her with any sense of security.


    A sealed weapon without any curse bacsh was just that unreasonable.


    It could make even the top professionals@@novelbin@@


    Su Lun was pained in his heart for using the "Sand of Time," but he didn''t hesitate to release two arrows in session. This decisive momentum scared the people of Magic Empire and also made ''Pirate King'' Melidis wary of acting rashly.


    The legendary bounty hunter knew all too well that if he continued to tangle with Barrett and the others, the Princess Stika he was protecting would meet her end right there and then.


    This guy was also incredibly tough; even as Barrett''s trio forcefully tried to keep him from approaching the ship, he repelled the three of them with a single blow, then the sorcerer''s seals concentrated, and suddenly the Octagram Array lit up beneath his feet: "Fire Mystery - Holy Light Sword!"


    Suddenly, he condensed a long sword emitting scorching white light in his hand, pointing it towards Su Lun.


    As the Light Sword aimed at him, Su Lun instantly felt chills down his spine.


    The murderous intent of a seventh-tier professional was palpable, even across several miles of sea.


    At the same time, he also understood that this guy was likely epting a hire from Mafa mainly because he was after the space relics.


    [A-044-Chiramer] Possesses an extraordinarily high affinity for thews of fire, space, and darkness.


    That guy probably needed space materials too.


    ...


    Against a seventh-tier spell, Su Lun would almost certainly have died if he took it head-on.


    But his expression showed no sign of retreat, resembling very much the "death warriors" of the Luying Intelligence Agency. His longbow fully drawn, he fired another arrow.


    The light arrow once again took the life of a guard beside Princess Stika.


    And at the same time, that seventh-tier fiery spell formed by thews materialized before Su Lun, leaving no room for avoidance.


    Just then, a towering alchemical golem teleported in front of him. The Light Sword pierced the golem''s abdomen, revealing a silvery metallic luster. The higherw was scorching the "wound," not healing quickly.


    A gargoyle of this level was far from enough to stop a seventh-tier professional, but it ultimately blocked this lethal attack.


    Su Lun''s face was without a ripple as he drew his longbow for the fourth time and fired another arrow.


    This time, another guard by Stika''s side was killed.


    Beside her, there were only two "shield bearers" left.


    Almost at the exact moment when Su Lun shot the arrow, another seventh-tier spell "Shadow Magic Arrow" came hurtling toward him.


    With the gargoyle not fully restored, its stability would be greatly decreased.


    This time, it might not be able to hold back the attack.


    But at this critical moment, a lovely figure quickly blocked in front of Su Lun, punching the shadow arrow away.


    Su Lun looked relieved, "Phew... So she finally made a move."


    Turning his head, the person who had acted was none other than the masked Pandora.


    Her alchemic body was invulnerable to all sorts ofws at a certain level, and a seventh-tier professional could not injure her. At least, a ranged spell like that was still far from enough.


    ....


    Seeing yet another mysterious and powerful figure with strange methods appear,


    Princess Mafa finally showed a change in color.


    How could she not see that this was clearly an attempt to "assassinate" her?


    A few people were holding off Melidis, and the master archer with the "Bow of Time Curse" started killing people.


    Now that someone capable of taking a seventh-tier spell head-on appeared, Princess Stika felt her life was hanging by a thread.


    At the same time, Su Lun''s fifth arrow was drawn, once again aiming at her.


    Scared out of her wits and unable to care about anything else, she quickly used hermunicator, "Mr. Melidis, stop bothering with those assassins and take me away! The ritual has gone wrong, the ''Marine Ruin'' could appear at any moment!"


    Fussing with a bunch of assassins wasn''t worth it.


    Even if she could kill them all, it wasn''t worth risking her extremely valuable life.


    In the distance, Melidis frowned upon receiving the order.


    He suspected that the mysterious woman who could withstand his attack wasn''t very strong and that she only had a peculiar body.


    Perhaps... another test would reveal the truth.


    But the reality was that the situation no longer allowed him to dy. If he wasn''t certain he could kill the archer quickly, Princess Stika was in danger. Moreover, the "Marine Ruin" could not be underestimated.


    Melidis'' eyes shed with hesitation but he also immediately left the battlefield and ran towards a few sunken ships.


    Then, to the shock of the Dawn Group, he took Princess Stika with him, tore a special scroll, and after a few flickers, their figures disappeared from the surface of the sea.


    Seeing this, Su Lun seemed unsurprised, exhaling a long breath, "Finally, they''re gone."


    If they really wanted to win, the Dawn Group should have focused all their strength on surrounding and killing that ''thief emperor'' Melidis.


    But the chances of a devastating loss were high.


    But Su Lun didn''t want to see that happen.


    That''s why he had been so resolute about killing Princess Stika, betting on this oue.


    The princess valued her life even more.


    She would surely retreat first.


    ...


    Pandora was willing to help, and Su Lun actually had a good chance of killing the princess.


    But he didn''t do it.


    And he couldn''t kill her.


    Because Su Lun knew very well, they couldn''t deal with ''thief emperor'' Melidis for now.


    Even if they could, the Dawn Group would suffer heavy losses.


    On the other hand, keeping the princess alive would keep that guy wary.


    Just like now.


    An intense battle ended abruptly, and the members of the Dawn Group seemed not to understand what had happened.


    Watching the enemy truly vanish above the sea, Chiramer came over, puzzled, "Why did that guy run away?"


    With a sigh, Su Lun replied, "Princess Stika probably thought we came to ''assassinate'' her. Unsure if we had any further tricks up our sleeves, she didn''t dare to gamble with her life, so she ran away."


    Speaking of which, his expression wasplex.


    He really hadn''t expected so many coincidences, encountering a mysterious Princess Mafa and a legendary hunter.


    Seems like luck wasn''t on his side...


    But, what''s done is done, nothing much to say now.


    Su Lun looked at the seabed, the mechanical octopus was still entangled with the North Sea monster.


    He said, "Dr. Banks, help me anesthetize that big guy under the water. Everyone else, go clean up the battlefield over there."


    Dr. Banks replied, "Got it!"


    The other members of the Dawn Group also began to clear the battlefield.


    The people were gone, but the precious sacrifices and the treasures on the "Old Man Whiskers" hadn''t escaped.


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